"Why did she come?"
"How did she get in?"
"Why did she arrive the exact moment I set foot on Mount Yanfu?!"
Three questions flashed through Luo Chen's mind in rapid succession.
The answers were no longer important—what mattered was putting as much distance as possible between himself and the center of the battlefield!
Luo Chen fled frantically. Behind him, churning worldly origin qi surged like a tidal wave. Disregarding the danger of being assimilated by heaven and earth, he unleashed his Wither-Bloom true intent to forcibly harness the massive influx of origin qi.
Though difficult, barely borrowing its momentum was still within his reach.
His speed soared, carrying him away from Mount Yanfu and straight toward the Alchemy Saint Hall.
At this moment, the only place he considered relatively safe was the Alchemy Saint Hall—specifically, the blessed land within, isolated from the outside world.
The distance between the two places was not particularly great.
Mount Yanfu had originally been excavated from the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land before being relocated to the ninth heaven.
With Luo Chen fleeing at top speed regardless of the cost, the towering structure of the Alchemy Saint Hall soon came into view.
Also entering his sight were over a hundred streaks of incoming escape light.
Led by Castellan Lingtian, this group of cultivators had naturally noticed the upheaval in the ninth heaven and the falling Mount Yanfu.
Shocked, they had flown skyward, only to cross paths with Luo Chen swaying precariously in midair like a frayed kite.
"Luo Chen, what happened?"
In his panic, Castellan Lingtian completely forgot formalities and did not even address him as Hall Master.
Luo Chen's footing was unsteady, and blood trickled from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He looked utterly wretched, a far cry from the banished immortal demeanor he had carried upon leaving.
One glance was enough to tell he had suffered severe injuries!
Luo Chen had no time to explain, uttering only four words: "A formidable enemy approaches!"
With that, he leaped past the crowd.
Castellan Lingtian froze for a heartbeat, then gritted his teeth and barked an order.
"Everyone, follow me to the ninth heaven to face the enemy!"
Over a hundred cultivators withdrew their Dharma treasures and soared toward the high heavens, faces set with grim resolve.
One moved downward, the others upward.
Luo Chen fleeing and the Mingyuan Sect cultivators charging formed a striking contrast.
No one blamed Luo Chen, for he looked to be in terrible shape.
Yet, on closer thought, the fact that he could still sustain such terrifying escape speed meant he undeniably possessed the strength left to fight.
The true reason for their diverging paths was simple:
Luo Chen was not truly a cultivator of the Mingyuan Sect, and he harbored no innate desire to defend the sect with his life.
As he was about to reach the Alchemy Saint Hall, Luo Chen could not resist looking back at Ye Lingtian and the others.
Monarch Qixia was so ferocious that a single blow had shattered Mount Yanfu, a peak that had stood for three millennia.
How was their charge any different from moths flying into a flame?
He could not dissuade them.
This was the Mingyuan Sect—the soil that had birthed and raised them!
The instant he entered the Alchemy Saint Hall, Luo Chen rushed straight to where Luo Lingxi was without hesitation.
Ye Ruoli was the first to notice him.
"Hall Master, what happened?" Ye Ruoli stepped forward, panic written across her face. As a Core Formation cultivator, she could already sense the earthshaking might roiling through the world outside.
"Father!" Luo Lingxi's eyes were wide with bewilderment, having no inkling of what had transpired.
Luo Chen offered no explanation. Sweeping his wide sleeves, his magic power wrapped around both of them.
With a thought, the grand hall's formations sprang to life. A drift of ethereal mist surged forward, sweeping all three into the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
"Take good care of Lingxi!"
Releasing the two, Luo Chen gave a brief instruction before sitting down cross-legged.
Origin power circulated through his body. Instantly, his nearly shattered flesh rapidly knit back together.
The seemingly dire injuries were not all that grave in the face of his terrifying regenerative ability.
In truth, this was also because Monarch Qixia's strike had not targeted him.
Had Elder Qideng and the others not stood directly along its trajectory, they likely would not have met such an end—reduced to ashes, their dao snuffed out and their bodies destroyed.
'What a pity for Fellow Daoist Fu and Fellow Daoist Gu.'
Luo Chen sighed inwardly with regret, then opened his eyes.
Meeting Luo Lingxi's anxious gaze, he forced a faint smile.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
He wiped his face, clearing away all traces of blood.
Afterward, Luo Chen sank into hesitation.
Luo Lingxi and Ye Ruoli had no idea what he was hesitating over; they only saw his expression shifting repeatedly between deep thought and apprehension.
Now that he had caught his breath, Luo Chen could finally revisit those three questions.
Why had Monarch Qixia come?
Her actions provided the answer: to rescue Immortal Qinghe, who was being refined by the three Mingyuan Sect Ancestors.
Yet the parting words she had spoken sounded even more like the true answer:
To avenge the Mingyuan Sect's repeated provocations against Mount Cangwu!
'That woman truly will not tolerate even a single grain of sand in her eye!'
Luo Chen swallowed hard.
He did not know how far her revenge would go—would she stop after making a point, or slaughter without restraint?
However, the fall of Mount Yanfu was a monumental humiliation that the three lofty Ancestors of the Mingyuan Sect could never endure.
Even if Monarch Qixia wished to leave, she would have to fight a brutal battle to do so.
And how had Monarch Qixia slipped into the Mingyuan Sect so silently?
Luo Chen had personally witnessed the Nether Abyss that guarded the Mingyuan Sect.
Nascent Soul cultivators could not cross it by force; they had to rely on spirit beasts native to it, like the Black Turtle, to ferry them across.
Even for a Soul Formation expert, a forced crossing would create immense disturbance. It should have been impossible for someone to strike deep into their home territory without anyone noticing.
Luo Chen could not figure out the answer.
Nor did he particularly care. A mighty figure of Monarch Qixia's caliber possessed her own wondrous divine abilities. What concerned him far more was why she had arrived precisely when he stepped onto Mount Yanfu.
The timing was far too coincidental!
Suddenly!
Luo Chen recalled the anomaly he had sensed back in Tianming Palace.
When he had released his Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, the black water pool suppressing Immortal Qinghe had experienced a fleeting, violent reaction.
Initially, he had assumed it was merely a response to powerful external forces.
Now, it appeared there was a deeper reason.
'Could it be that Immortal Qinghe sensed my magic power?'
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed as he weighed the possibility.
If Youquan had not deceived him all those years ago, the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture he cultivated traced back to the same lineage as Monarch Qixia.
Though male and female differed, and their species were completely different, magic power produced by the same scripture would inevitably share similarities.
Given Monarch Qixia's willingness to charge into the Mingyuan Sect to rescue Immortal Qinghe, the bond between them had to be profound, meaning Immortal Qinghe was undoubtedly familiar with her aura.
'So back then, Immortal Qinghe wasn't struggling against the seal, but transmitting a message?'
Pondering this, Luo Chen's thoughts expanded further.
He knew full well he had never possessed the qualifications to trade fairly with a Soul Formation supreme.
Even the most virtuous and respected senior would never casually bestow a peerless cultivation scripture capable of reaching the Mahayana stage onto a junior.
At least, had Luo Chen stood in Monarch Qixia's position, he could never have done so.
For example, Luo Chen had acquired vast quantities of spiritual wine from the Dieyun Sect—worth at least half of the sect's peak foundation.
Yet all he had left behind were three Nascent Soul Formation Pills.
Nothing more.
Would Monarch Qixia really be so generous?
Furthermore, why had she permitted him to come and go freely within Mount Cangwu? Had she truly regarded him with such high favor?
'Looking at it now, that transaction was never fair to begin with.'
'She took my Dao Integration Pill recipe, and knowing I would inevitably visit the Mingyuan Sect, she used the scripture as a tether, turning me into a beacon.'
'As for why she was certain I could ascend Mount Yanfu?'
Even before taking on the trial, Luo Chen had been utterly confident in himself.
After all, he had passed the Heaven Refining Demon Lord's alchemy inheritance trial; what was a mere trial left in the Mountain Sea Realm in comparison?
Having untangled the knot, everything became crystal clear.
Yet he felt no resentment toward Monarch Qixia.
A transaction's fairness was not judged solely by the inherent value of the goods exchanged.
It also depended on the relative importance of those items to each party.
At the very least, after switching scriptures, Luo Chen felt he had not lost out.
Only the danger of today left him with lingering dread.
'How is the situation outside?'
After a moment of hesitation, Luo Chen made up his mind.
Who would win and who would lose, and which direction the Mingyuan Sect would take—he had to watch closely.
Still, directly monitoring a battleground between Soul Formation experts was far too dangerous; he needed another approach.
Fortunately, he possessed the means right now.
Luo Chen looked up at the boundless expanse of the blessed land.
Though Patriarch Heize had reclaimed the token that served as the key, the moment the token's seal had been broken back then, this place had already acknowledged him as its master.
The corresponding formations, including all arrays across the Alchemy Saint Hall, were under his control.
With his proficiency in formations, executing simple manipulations was child's play.
His hands moved slowly, fingers weaving intricate hand seals.
Streaks of light flew from his storage ring, plunging into the ground.
Watching closely, Ye Ruoli saw they were formation flags.
Surprise flickered across her face. Was this Alchemy Saint Hall Master also skilled in formations?
The next instant, Luo Lingxi pointed toward the sky in wonder. "Sister Ruoli, look there!"
Ye Ruoli looked up and saw water mirrors forming across the sky.
For now, the water mirrors rippled with light, showing no clear imagery.
"Is that the Water Mirror Art?"
"A fierce battle is raging outside and the spiritual energy is churning chaotically. Can a simple Water Mirror Art even hold together?"
Meanwhile, above the Alchemy Saint Hall, the mist that had only recently dissipated surged once more.
Transforming into wisps of azure vapor, it drifted toward every corner of the Mingyuan Sect.
Inside the blessed land, Luo Chen focused his spirit and barked, "Stabilize!"
Instantly, the rippling water mirrors froze as if pinned by a mighty force.
Scenes from the outside world began appearing across their surfaces one after another.
It was none other than Luo Chen's self-created Cloud Chess Water Mirror Art!
Only this time, by merging it with the spiritual vein and the Alchemy Saint Hall's mist formations, it attained a vastly wider monitoring range and a far more stable state.
With all this done, Luo Chen finally let out a breath of relief and turned his gaze to the mirrors.
He dared not extend the surveillance toward Mount Yanfu, scattering it across the surrounding myriad li instead.
Yet seeing small details would still allow him to glimpse the broader picture.
Before his eyes, smoke and beacon fires already choked the horizon!
Streaks of escape light, radiating powerful magic power fluctuations, soared skyward from across the Mingyuan Sect.
Each represented a Nascent Soul true person!
Unlike Luo Chen, who had fled from the Soul Formation clash without looking back, these Nascent Soul cultivators of the Mingyuan Sect showed no fear, charging into the fray of their own accord.
"Is it because they previously participated in the hunt against Immortal Qinghe that they've grown so brazen?" Luo Chen muttered.
At the very least, he would not dare join in right now.
A streak of escape light paused briefly as it passed through the mist Luo Chen had released.
Yet the cultivator paid it little heed.
Across the Mingyuan Sect, formation lights were flashing wildly everywhere. While this particular wisp of mist seemed slightly odd, it nonetheless carried the sect's aura.
After a fleeting pause, the streak shot straight into the ninth heaven.
"Not enough!"
"Still not enough!"
Luo Chen had intended to extrapolate the whole from scattered pieces.
Yet the origin qi in the ninth heaven churned far too violently, preventing him from gleaning even the tip of the iceberg.
Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen formed another hand seal.
The next moment, the mist above the Alchemy Saint Hall condensed into a colossal red eye.
Within it, a golden pupil gazed coldly toward the sky.
The very first sight that greeted it left Luo Chen thoroughly shaken.
Before the three Ancestors, the red-robed figure crushed a sphere of light with her bare hand.
Among the three, Ancestor Tianyuan suffered a devastating shock as if dealt a crushing blow.
Monarch Qixia chuckled softly. "Did you not ask how I crossed the Nether Abyss? With this one's avatar as my guide, it could not have been simpler."
Even as she laughed, she struck with her palm, accompanied by golden flames.
Ancestor Tianyuan swung his sword, conjuring a thousand-zhang blade of light across the void.
Yet before that deceptively light palm strike, the sword light shattered like soft bean curd, and the palm struck Ancestor Tianyuan's chest across the empty air.
"Disperse!"
Ancestor Tianyuan barked a low cry, his body shattering into thousands of avatars that scattered in all directions.
Just as Monarch Qixia moved to pursue, a treasure scroll unfurled like the vault of heaven. Black smoke billowed from within, and yellow springs surged as it descended over her head.
The Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram!
One of the Mingyuan Sect's supreme sect-protecting spirit treasures!
Back then, the Ancient Demon Di Tian had been trapped beneath this very treasure, sealing his doom and destroying his body and dao.
Yet upon seeing it, Monarch Qixia showed complete indifference, neither dodging nor parrying as she allowed the heavenly scroll to engulf her.
Seeing this, Patriarch Heize looked overjoyed.
"Courting death!"
This spirit treasure possessed modest killing power, but its binding might was virtually unmatched in the world.
As ferocious as the Ancient Demon Di Tian had been, once trapped within, he had been reduced to a helpless beast awaiting slaughter.
For Monarch Qixia to be so careless, she was truly marching into her own grave.
Yet in the next breath, his face drained of color!
Within the scroll, spiritual light violently shuddered, and wisps of golden fire broke out across the painted surface.
Through his spiritual connection, Patriarch Heize's mind screamed with alarm.
The spirit treasure was about to be destroyed!
Patriarch Heize shouted urgently, "Senior Brothers, lend me a hand!"
Ancestor Tianyuan, who had scattered into ten thousand forms, instantly converged, charging into the spirit treasure with his sharp sword in hand.
Ancestor Yuming did not hesitate either, raising a hand toward the azure firmament.
"Call the wind!"
A strand of astral wind from the cyan void tore through space, wrapping around him as he plunged straight into the Yellow Springs scroll.
They intended to recreate the hunt against the Ancient Demon Di Tian, slaying Monarch Qixia within the spirit treasure.
Not only that, but before entering, Ancestor Yuming spread his divine sense across the entire Mingyuan Sect, barking an order:
"Thirty-Six Sons of Mingyuan, form the Universal Slaying God Grand Array!"
"Lei Daozi, you are granted control over the sect-protecting grand array. Channel the divine lightning of the nine heavens to slay the enemy and exterminate the demon!"
The divine sense transmission resonated across the clear sky like thunder.
Inside the ten-thousand-li scroll suspended in the air, treasure light rattled and golden flames roared, bearing witness to the ferocity of the battle within.
Massive amounts of worldly origin qi were drawn in, steadily pouring into the scroll and causing the yellow springs to surge with even greater fury.
In the heavens above, stars lit up one after another, numbering the full host of the universal firmament.
Furthermore, the grand array that had shielded the Mingyuan Sect for millennia roared to life. Under the control of Lei Daozi, who rose into the air like a god or demon, violet lightning gently rippled.
A lightning pool gradually took shape.
Though measuring barely a hundred zhang across, the terrifying power contained within warned every Nascent Soul cultivator against daring to brush against it even slightly.
Moreover, across the vast earth below, ancient and formidable auras began stirring from their slumber one by one.
This was Mingyuan's Great Cataclysm!
From top to bottom, hundreds of millions of disciples had to unite in mind and might to slay the enemy and exterminate the demon!
Chapter 908