Across the lands of Great Rui, countless people looked up in stunned silence. What an awe-inspiring spectacle it was! The night sky, which should have been as dark as an abyss, was now pierced through by one massive, blinding beam of light after another.
Were sword cultivators sweeping through the night? No. What lay before their eyes was vastly more majestic and terrifying than passing sword radiance. It resembled blazing giant stars hurtling across the firmament at breakneck speed.
The curtain of night was completely gouged through by the dazzling rays!
Moreover, it sounded as though thunderbolts from the ninth heaven were detonating in deafening roars, seemingly tearing the entire celestial dome apart.
"Heavens, what is happening? Why have beings of this caliber awakened, traversing the skies above Night Province?" Many felt their very souls tremble in profound shock.
"This is... Earth Immortals passing through!" Several elders felt their hearts shudder.
Soon, it was Dayu's turn. Across the dark continent, city after city seemed to lose all sound. An absolute hush fell over every municipality. People found it utterly inconceivable, staring at the heavens like statues of clay and wood.
In the night sky, one terrifying, blazing sun after another burned with fierce brilliance, setting the firmament ablaze, scattering clouds heavy as lead, and illuminating both heaven and earth.
By now, it was impossible to conceal this clash of Earth Immortals.
Even when grandmasters from various paths emerged to watch, they could not clearly discern the figures of those supreme experts. Tears streamed ceaselessly from their eyes; they could scarcely bear to look directly at those "blazing suns."
"Earth Immortal bones!" A fortunate few struck unexpected windfalls, catching sight of lustrous white bone fragments stained with brilliant blood falling to the ground nearby. These were divine materials for artifact forging.
Those down on their luck, however, let out shrill, agonizing shrieks as they were showered by radiant Earth Immortal blood. Like rotten wood meeting molten magma, they were instantly incinerated to ash.
Others discovered lumpy, grotesque Earth Immortal flesh and skin outside their courtyard gates, the crimson blood billowing with thick black mist, startling them into frantic retreat.
Nian Songhe, Xiao Qingheng, and Mu Cangwu had suffered grievous wounds in succession. Along the way, one had severed an arm, another had half their torso blasted to pieces, and a third had part of their scalp shorn away by sword light—a horrific, unbearable sight.
These three Earth Immortals had once stood high above the ninth heaven, endlessly conceited in days past as they looked down upon the mortal masses below with cold indifference. When had they ever been reduced to such a wretched, miserable state?
Along this route of flight, they were nearly battered to complete disintegration.
Some had disheveled hair and were drenched in blood, stripped of all sacred dignity. Others were forced to reveal their terrifying true Earth Immortal forms, rearing as massive as mountains and robust as desolate beasts, their surfaces dripping with sticky fluid mixed with Earth Immortal blood, pattering down and dyeing the night mist.
"A drastic upheaval of heaven and earth is imminent, and the true world draws near! All of you are cornerstones of this era, capable of ascending to heaven and becoming honored guests within the jade palaces!"
"Fellow Daoists, is there some misunderstanding between us? Please, cease your attacks! You can still be esteemed guests of heaven!"
Nian Songhe and Mu Cangwu called out one after another, genuinely terrified. If this continued, their physical bodies would burst apart, incapable of withstanding such pressure.
Yet no one paid them any heed. Their assailants either had their faces masked with black cloth or wore golden masks, eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
This was brazenly burying their heads in the sand—did they truly believe their origins were unknown?
For whose benefit was this fake disguise put on? Xiao Qingheng was so furious she wanted to vomit blood, while Mu Cangwu's face turned ashen. Staring at their pursuers—such as that gigantic, mountain-sized Giant Spirit God—did the pursuer truly think they couldn't guess he was the Old Barbarian God?
Just then, someone abruptly bellowed, "Fiend from the west, are you courting death? Do you think using the Phenomenal Body allows you to impersonate my dear friend, the Old Barbarian God?!"
In an instant, Nian Songhe, Xiao Qingheng, and Mu Cangwu were utterly dumbfounded. Was there truly a "wild Earth Immortal" running rampant while adopting someone else's identity?
The cultivators hunting them were all employing peculiar treasures primarily to mask the traces left behind in the night mist, ensuring that even if the old mountain strongholds in heaven used Heavenly Treasures to trace their origins afterward, it would be difficult to project their silhouettes.
With a loud bang, the shoulder of Mu Cangwu's wounded body—barely repaired with secret medicine—suddenly exploded once more, crushed by a massive golden finger.
That was none other than the legendary Immortal-Slaughtering Finger. Cast by an unknown hand, it descended from the vast night sky, nearly blasting half of Mu Cangwu's torso to bits.
His shoulder was mangled and gory, his shoulder blade shattered into multiple fragments that flew outward.
He roared, "Do you know the consequences of this?! You could have become guests of heaven, yet you insist on making an enemy of Yujing?!"
Silently, an ebony-gold flying sword flashed near like a bolt of black lightning, making Mu Cangwu's hair stand on end as he dodged in desperation.
One of his ears vanished, and another patch of his scalp tore away in the sword radiance. Even half of his face was shredded into bloody pulp by the horrifying stray sword qi.
Beside him, Xiao Qingheng fared even worse. Her true Earth Immortal form had expanded into a colossal monstrosity; the once jade-smooth, snow-white skin was now covered in lumps and overgrown with coarse, long black fur, with bird beaks and beast talons sprouting from various parts of her flesh.
A saber light pierced clean through her torso from front to back.
"Can we truly not sit down and talk?!" Nian Songhe made a final desperate plea. Yet the night curtain shattered, and two enormous palms descended, wrapped in dazzling immortal runes, closing in on him from both sides.
Nian Songhe dodged frantically, but he was still a step too slow. One of his feet was caught between the closing colossal hands. With a forceful twist from the mysterious expert in the firmament, the Earth Immortal's foot and lower leg were pulverized completely.
Just what kind of ruthless figures were these? Nian Songhe was horrified. Hidden dragons and tigers truly roamed the wilderness! He had considered himself plenty strong, yet on the surface world, he had suffered one crushing blow after another.
*Mm.* He sensed something—the one who had just struck was likely that bear with its canine antics.
Up in the night sky, amidst the surging astral wind, the black-and-white bear rubbed its pair of large paws, seemingly having used the Phenomenal Body to conjure those giant hands and deliver him that brutal strike.
The Dog Sword Immortal turned its head toward the Earth Immortal from the Eastern Lands beside it and said, "Little brother, are your bones still sturdy these days? I smell the scent of tonic medicine on you; you seem a bit deficient."
The Earth Immortal from the Eastern Lands stared back, eyes widening in outrage, nearly blowing his top on the spot. Some time ago, a thief had broken into his herb garden. This black-and-white bear must have paid a visit; otherwise, how could it know he was taking special tonics?
In particular, someone had plucked his divine flower back then, strolled into his meditation chamber, and used his Longevity Furnace to concoct medicine right then and there, leaving behind two strands of beast fur at the scene!
"Beast God, were you the one who stole the precious herbs I cultivated and concocted medicine on the spot?!" the Eastern Lands Earth Immortal barked, pointing a finger at it.
"I swear, that definitely wasn't me!" the black-and-white bear proclaimed with righteous indignation. Indeed, it truly hadn't been him—Liu Mo had committed the deed prior to his departure. The Dog Sword Immortal had been very restrained, merely accepting a share of the medicine from Old Liu.
For two "old acquaintances" to find the leisure to "catch up" while hunting down three Earth Immortals demonstrated just how one-sided this operation was.
Though they were now within Dayu and not very far from Gengjin City, Xiao Qingheng and Mu Cangwu truly could not hold on much longer.
The trio had no idea how many Earth Immortals had allied to hunt them, but they were now driven into a dead end.
As he fled, Nian Songhe roared repeatedly. Having lost two major avatars and a portion of his pure yang consciousness, he resolved to fight to the bitter end, dragging his enemies down with him.
In an instant, his true Earth Immortal form grew immensely colossal, resembling a mountain of flesh. It ceased shining, turning pitch-black from top to bottom like an inky lotus rooted by an abyss.
He cast a forbidden art, resembling an infernal lotus blooming in the world. Portions of his flesh transformed into vegetation as layer upon layer of black lotuses burst into bloom, their petals flitting outward like dark heavenly blades.
Furthermore, the black lotus's leaves and roots clanged with metallic resonance, surging up boldly with the power of the abyss to tear through the night curtain. The demonic lotus stirred the astral winds; the screech of blades and the whistling of sword qi rang out incessantly.
Its stems, leaves, and lotus blossoms were all reinforced with dark immortal runes, turned into nigh-invulnerable weapons to stake his life against the hunters.
Nian Songhe's pure yang consciousness hid behind the dark lotus, attempting to sink beneath that abyss.
"Hoping to drag us down with you, discard your physical body, and flee with your pure yang consciousness? In your dreams!" someone shouted. Sword light fell from the night sky, thunder interwove, and an enormous foot stamped downward.
At least three supreme experts attacked simultaneously to finish Nian Songhe off.
With a boom, tough as the black lotus was with its dense immortal runes, it ultimately disintegrated, shattering inch by inch before dissolving into a mist of blood.
Even Nian Songhe's pure yang consciousness was jarred out from the abyss.
On the other side, Xiao Qingheng shrieked. Even as her massive frame shot out countless feathers, soaring like a robust phoenix while unleashing torrential sword qi, she still could not avert the collapse of her physical body.
Someone swung a saber, cleaving her multicolored feather swords into disarray, while an unrivaled powerhouse from the esoteric sect, draped in seven-colored divine rings, charged directly before her with overwhelming force.
With a squelch, the arms Xiao Qingheng had newly regenerated shattered once again during the clash.
The esoteric sect's supreme powerhouse tore violently with both hands, ripping her mountain-like fleshly body in two, while another beside him swung a saber, obliterating Xiao Qingheng's head.
Her pure yang consciousness was smoking as if set ablaze. She howled in agony as her conscious spiritual light burned, retreating backward.
Her physical body was completely obliterated.
Almost simultaneously, Mu Cangwu's physical body burst apart as well.
In the night sky, the cold contours of thirty-six Heaven-Anchoring Divine Stakes partially emerged, siphoning the flesh-and-blood essence of the three Earth Immortals.
"All things return to one!" Nian Songhe bellowed.
Xiao Qingheng's and Mu Cangwu's pure yang consciousnesses immediately flew toward him. The three brilliant spiritual fields spun and astonishingly fused into a single entity in the night sky.
In that instant, an intensely blinding radiance erupted from the spot.
Certain true scriptures expounded on the profound principle of "the three produce all things," which could naturally be reversed—in this case, all things returning to one.
They temporarily merged, becoming a monstrosity possessed of an extraordinarily powerful pure yang consciousness. Yet... they could still only flee for their lives, utterly unable to withstand the pack of hunting wolves.
Their first attempt at a counterattack was dismantled by Chaos force, two-forms sword light, and seven-colored divine rings. The fused form of the three Earth Immortals nearly exploded.
Most crucially, the night sky was sealed. The hunters remained perched above the celestial canopy to suppress them, granting them no chance to return to the ninth heaven.
Having lost their physical bodies and suffering the steady erosion of their pure yang consciousnesses, their fate was sealed.
Even so, the fused form of the three Earth Immortals did not give up, for the entrance to the Night Ruins was right before them.
***
During the hunt for the Earth Immortals, a few members of the Night Province patriarch brigade temporarily departed to make urgent arrangements.
Everyone knew that after slaying the four Earth Immortals, the old mountain strongholds in heaven would be incandescent with rage, and a terrifying storm might descend upon them.
One lightning bird after another took flight across the lands. Moreover, near the super fire springs of many Night Province cities, spatial tunnels opened, leading toward unknown distances.
Without a doubt, these were paths excavated long ago, activated only today.
"Disaster is looming. Where has Little Qin gone?" In Chixia City, Meng Xinghai was anxious beyond measure. This was already the second secret letter he had received recently.
In particular, he was well aware that an intense battle against Earth Immortals was underway, and a third letter would likely arrive soon to arrange and execute the "Sparks" preservation plan.
Yet he could not find Qin Ming, unaware of where he was.
"You..." Within Great Rui, the chief disciples of the four Earth Immortals were gripped by shock and dread. Multiple figures emerged in the night sky, surrounding them.
With a roar, a blinding immortal arrow shot forth, crimson as blood, blasting through the night sky like a thick bolt of thunder shattering the ninth heaven.
"Ah...!" Mu Cangwu's chief disciple could not evade the immortal arrow and was pierced on the spot, subsequently bursting apart, unable to endure the might of the shot.
His pure yang consciousness struggled, soaring skyward, only to be submerged by terrifying heavenly light force. Someone brought their hands together like a pair of translucent, colossal millstones, grinding him down within, crushing him to pieces again and again.
"You are defying heaven! Do you wish to make an enemy of Yujing?!" Nian Songhe's chief disciple yelled. He knew that things had reached a point where even bowing his head was useless; the opposition was hell-bent on exterminating them.
His entire body blazed with flames as pure yang power surged, aiming for a fight to the death.
Yet despite his resolve, his foes were simply too powerful and wielded peculiar weapons.
A demon-subduing pestle pressed down, radiating seven-colored immortal light that illuminated heaven and earth. With a thud, it pulverized him on the spot into a mist of blood.
Immediately after, others stepped in, wiping out his pure yang conscious spiritual light.
"The youth from the Five Elements Palace with the Five Elements Spirit Physique isn't here; he was sent up to heaven in advance."
"A pity. Perfection is hard to achieve in all things. A few were delivered above the ninth heaven, losing their freedom from then on. We arrived a step too late."
"Each has their own path and their own fortune. The future is hard to predict. If their wills are as unyielding as iron, they may not be unable to break free in the days to come."
The chief disciples of the four Earth Immortals were all slain, violently extinguished beneath the night sky. Many factions across Great Rui that had allied with the heavens trembled in terror.
In particular, several key figures of the Great Rui imperial family felt a chill run down their spines, their bodies stiffening with dread.
***
"How... how could you treat me like this?!" Xiao Qingheng seethed with resentment. Nian Songhe, who had once been on intimate terms with her, and Mu Cangwu, who had sought to become her Dao companion, had actually used her conscious spiritual light to block the two-forms sword light!
Though the three had fused into one, distinctions remained between them.
At the critical juncture, even close friends and confidants proved entirely untrustworthy, leaving her severely wounded.
Fortunately, they managed to plunge into the Night Ruins at that moment.
Behind them, the hunters showed no fear, charging straight in after them while deliberately moderating their pace, intending to herd the three immortals forward to pave the way and probe the Night Ruins.
"I wonder if an ancient powerhouse's cave estate truly exists there. It is our only hope."
"It will likely be grim. Even if we obtain an Earth Immortal fruit and instantly recover to our absolute peak, we can scarcely contend against those vile immortals and gods behind us—unless what grows in that cave estate is a Heavenly Immortal tree."
By this point, the three Earth Immortals were on the verge of despair.
Naturally, they were not naive enough to believe that fleeing into the Night Ruins would guarantee survival, or that entering that ancient powerhouse's cave estate would bestow great fortune. In truth, their outlook was utterly bleak.
Right now, they were merely treating a dead horse as a living one; they had no other choice.
"They really came?!" In the deep sea, Qin Ming was nearly petrified, staring into the distance with a dropped jaw.
A casual move on his part—forcing Xie Jinglan and Qi Daozhen to write a letter—had actually lured Earth Immortals here. It was quite absurd.
Soon, he realized something was amiss. Wasn't this commotion far too massive?
At the horizon, the dark night sky was plowed through by one thick light beam after another, gouging out terrifying conduits and blowing the cloud layers apart.
Below, the ocean raged with towering waves that crashed directly into the night sky, merging with the firmament as though all the seawater were pouring upward into the heavens—a scene of world-shattering proportions.
Fortunately, Qin Ming had anticipated all kinds of dire scenarios. Prioritizing safety above all else, he had hidden far enough away. Furthermore, he wrapped his conscious spiritual light in the ragged cloth and shielded his physical body beneath the Yellow Silk Canopy, peering out from the dark recesses of the boundless sea.
Myriad creatures inhabited the ocean. With him harmonizing with his surroundings, not even an Earth Immortal would pay him any mind.
"That's... Earth Immortal radiance! Master and the others have arrived?!" In the distance, Qi Daozhen nearly wept with emotion. Had his master truly entered the Night Ruins for his sake?
"Something is wrong. Run!" Xie Jinglan possessed a deeper cultivation and yanked him along, diving into the ocean and fleeing at high speed.
The two were not at the cave estate at this moment; they had been heading out and felt the suffocating pressure bearing down like Yujing itself. Just how many Earth Immortals had arrived in the distance?
"You go too far! The various divisions in heaven will surely settle accounts with you!" Nian Songhe roared. Left with no choice, he plunged headlong toward the ancient powerhouse's cave estate.
"It's Martial Uncle Nian!" Xie Jinglan was shocked. This Earth Immortal was renowned even in heaven, yet he was being hunted down!
"Could it be our letter that brought disaster upon Martial Uncle?" Qi Daozhen shed tears.
Xie Jinglan snapped, "Stop this cowardly sentimentality! Running for our lives is what matters! We must leave this sea region—an Earth Immortal war is about to erupt!"
The two vanished into the vast ocean.
"Aaargh!" A threefold shriek echoed from the merged consciousness.
The moment they barged into the undersea palace, they caught sight of the luxuriant immortal tree and the Earth Immortal remains. But before they could make a move, they themselves trembled violently.
Before them, a luminous parchment surging with dark light and covered in star-like runes darted toward their sea of consciousness in a terrifying manner.
"Impudent! You dare attempt to enslave us?!"
"A document akin to an immortal contract—it wants to force us to sign!"
The trio's minds were shaken with shock and fury. Just what kind of entity was this to dare make a move against experts of their tier?
Nevertheless, they were Earth Immortals with profound cultivation, so they were not ensnared immediately.
The undersea coral ramparts glowed, golden shells sparkled, jade palaces shone brilliantly, and endless runes steamed upward. One black luminous parchment after another floated up, rushing toward their consciousnesses in an attempt to take root.
"Something is amiss," the Old Barbarian God spoke from the distance.
The Dog Sword Immortal swung its sword directly, launching black-and-white two-forms sword light deep into the undersea palace.
"Hiss!" The remnant soul of the ancient powerhouse was thoroughly startled awake, sharply inhaling the chilly undersea mist.
"What era is this? The world has drastically changed, and heaven and earth can scarcely birth Heavenly Gods. Earth Immortals already stand atop the highest peaks. How have so many appeared all at once today, seeking to besiege this seat?!"
Without question, within the Night Ruins, the broader environment had altered long ago.
Deep within the undersea jade palace, the ancient powerhouse had been lying within a coffin. Now, he shoved the lid open.
His flesh was tattered and lacked vitality, and even his surviving conscious spiritual light was rather dim. Even so, his combat prowess was not to be underestimated.
He was a disheveled old man with a mutilated body. Staring toward the horizon, he immediately spotted six Earth Immortal-tier beings charging in pursuit, with more trailing behind.
"I must leave!" he barked in a low voice. With so many Earth Immortals appearing at once, even he had to flee; his current state did not permit him to awaken fully for a decisive battle.
In an instant, the luxuriant immortal tree began to shrink, turning into lustrous green branches that retracted atop the coffin.
The entire towering ancient tree had sprouted its branches directly from the coffin, reviving here.
Evidently, the coffin was no ordinary item.
Simultaneously, the four Earth Immortal remains beneath the tree sat bolt upright like stiff-limbed zombies. Lifting the old man's coffin, they fled toward the depths of the ocean.
A dying ancient powerhouse had startled up from his deathbed, carried away in his coffin by four sets of remains as he fled for his life!
"Where do you think you're going?!" The Old Barbarian God threw a punch, his massive golden fist causing the ocean to explode and vaporizing the seawater, exposing the abyssal seabed.
Another Earth Immortal swung a saber, sweeping across the four figures fleeing with the coffin.
"You three can leave your lives behind right here," the black-and-white bear said, turning its attacks upon Nian Songhe and Mu Cangwu.
The powerhouse from the esoteric sect, along with the Earth Immortals from the Eastern Lands and the West Sea, struck simultaneously, blasting that cluster of pure yang consciousness apart in the sea and repeatedly strangling it.
"Ah...!" Xiao Qingheng, Mu Cangwu, and Nian Songhe shrieked in agony, ultimately extinguished completely in gruesome deaths!
Afterward, the Earth Immortals present set off in pursuit of the ancient powerhouse.
A sage from Pugong barked, "Old fellow, you hid deeply indeed, concealing yourself all the way here! But every cause brings its effect—you should have anticipated this day long ago! We have come to collect the debt!"
Ahead, the ancient powerhouse, who had startled up from his deathbed, exhaled a helpless breath of turbid air. Those ferocious Earth Immortals charging toward him were indeed gunning for him.
The powerhouse sighed softly. "I knew it. Even hiding here in death seclusion through the long years, I ultimately could not escape fate. Cease your pursuit, everyone. I shall reveal the map; let whoever is fated claim that supreme treasure."
With a flick of his hand, he cast out a map that expanded in the night sky, featuring intricate terrain densely marked with glowing lines.
*What is going on?* The pack of rapacious old monsters exchanged strange glances. They had merely been beating the grass to catch a rabbit—could this truly turn up some extraordinary grand fortune?
Keeping their composure, only one of them spoke: "It is not detailed enough!"
The old man in the coffin frowned. "No matter how detailed you want it, I don't have it! This is all of it. The piece of exotic metal cloth embroidered with more than half a blazing sun is buried within this map!"
In the distance, Qin Ming's heart jolted with shock. He made a connection, and the reaction from the ragged cloth on his body confirmed his suspicion—the old cloth actually shuddered twice.
Above the ninth heaven, deep within the night-mist sea, a magnificent divine palace glowed. An emaciated, skin-and-bones elder suddenly sat up from his sickbed and murmured softly, "Something is about to happen."
"Ancestor, what is the matter?" Inside the divine palace, an expert hastily rose from a prayer mat and bowed respectfully to the frail-looking elder on the sickbed.
The gaunt elder possessed terrifying eyes resembling abysses that threatened to swallow one's mind. In a feeble voice, he said, "I wandered in my dreams and sensed something amiss. It feels as though a major event is about to unfold. Quickly, go investigate—where has a problem arisen, in the heavens or on the earth?"
Chapter 469