Ancestor Liancheng!
One of the five living Soul Formation cultivators of the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
Hailing from the Lian family of the Twelve Great Houses, he had attained the Dao most recently and was the youngest among them. Compared to Ancestor Youli of the Southern Border, who was said to have already surpassed the natural lifespan limit of the Soul Formation stage, he could be considered a junior. For that reason, his words were quite polite, respectfully addressing the elder as Divine Lord Youli.
Yet while his words were polite, his hands showed not the slightest hesitation.
A divine ability was unleashed, and the Life Gate swung open down the middle!
The portal that had shielded the Gate of Life and Death for thousands of years was flung wide.
Across the rolling mountains and wilderness, formation after formation triggered in a chain reaction, flashing with light one after another in a desperate bid to shut the Life Gate. Yet for reasons unknown, the endless cycle of vital energy failed to come full circle at the critical juncture, leaving the great gate propped wide open.
Seeing this, Ancestor Liancheng channeled his divine power further.
*Boom!*
Amidst crackling snaps, thousands of formations shattered in unison.
Ancestor Liancheng felt a surge of joy, yet what greeted him was a voice laden with the vicissitudes of time.
"At last... you have returned!"
Within that voice lay excitement, relief, and a touch of liberation.
Ancestor Liancheng did not understand, but he had no time to ponder its meaning. He immediately barked an order.
"Kill!"
The next instant, the army of a million cultivators massed at One-Horn Mountain surged like a deluge toward the Southern Border's sacred ground, the Gate of Life and Death.
Inside, the cultivators of the Gate of Life and Death, who had rested and recuperated for years, launched an unhesitating counterattack.
***
Within the Yin-Yang Realm.
A giant nearly a thousand zhang tall still stood proudly between heaven and earth.
Low roars reminiscent of an ancient desolate beast issued incessantly from his throat, setting hearts trembling with shock.
Boundless, titanic strength concentrated in his hands and pressed against the solid barrier before him. Driven by his heave, the bronze gate that had remained shut for ages and seemed utterly indestructible emitted an ear-piercing screech, inching open a sliver of a gap.
"Open!"
It was as if a primeval giant were cleaving heaven from earth amidst primordial chaos.
Luo Chen let out a furious roar, concentrating all the strength in his body into a single point and erupting with it all at once.
*Boom!*
Heavenly Master Li and the others felt their heads buzzing, their minds overwhelmed and unmoored.
When their senses finally returned, they were stunned to discover that the massive gate before them was flung completely open.
A crimson moon hung high within.
A grim, chilling horror arose unbidden, sending cold shivers across their skin.
Turning their eyes back to Luo Chen, they saw the thousand-zhang giant shrinking rapidly. By the time he returned to the stature of an ordinary man, his energy was spent and his strength depleted; he could scarcely even stand steady. One could easily imagine what an immense toll pushing open this portal with pure physical might had taken on him.
Luo Chen stumbled, coming to a halt before the gate.
"Fellow Daoists, I have not failed your trust!"
Heavenly Master Li wore a smile of immense relief. "Indeed, my faith in Daoist Qi was not misplaced. Such attainment in body refinement is surely unmatched in this era."
Pale-faced, Luo Chen shook his head. "The matter here is concluded. It is time for Qi to take his leave. Please proceed at your own leisure, everyone!"
Surprised, Heavenly Master Li asked, "Do you truly have no desire to catch even a glimpse of the grounds where an almighty figure passed away?"
Luo Chen gave a strained wave of his hand. "In my current state, I doubt I could survive the layered perils within. Let it be, let it be. After departing this place, it will be time for me to continue wandering the Mountain Sea Realm—to see the chaotic tides of the Northern Sea, and to hear the Buddhist chants of the Western Desert."
Was Baxiu Qi Tian not only leaving the Yin-Yang Realm, but intending to leave the Southern Border altogether?
The smile on Heavenly Master Li's face gradually faded. Suddenly, he asked, "Daoist Qi, why is it that you have searched so bitterly for the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor?"
Luo Chen's gaze sharpened.
At that very instant, an invisible, formless attack struck from behind!
Sensing it, Luo Chen whipped his hand around in a counter-strike.
*Bang!*
Upon collision, Luo Chen was unexpectedly overpowered. A distinct five-fingered palm imprint surfaced across his back.
His expression shifted drastically. Borrowing the momentum of the blow to pull back, he flashed past the threshold and leaped into the Yin Realm that lay behind the Death Gate.
Heavenly Master Li raised his right hand, looking at the eerie green sheen glistening upon his skin, feeling somewhat unsettled.
"After exhausting his strength to open the Death Gate, he still had enough power left to counter an attack?"
The others were at a complete loss; the turn of events had unfolded far too quickly.
Only upon hearing Heavenly Master Li's mutterings did they grasp what had roughly transpired.
Meng Shentong instinctively pulled back, barking, "Heavenly Master Li, what are you doing?!"
Bai Xuanjun stepped up beside him, his gaze cold. "There is no need to slaughter the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone!"
Even Granny Hongye, Marquis Ziyi, and the Hidden Sword Tower Master were taken completely by surprise.
In response, Heavenly Master Li merely waved his hand.
With that wave, the bizarre green hue clinging to his right palm was sloughed off, splattering onto the ground.
It hissed as it struck the earth, sending up a wisp of green smoke that spoke volumes of its terrifying toxicity!
He offered a faint smile and explained, "You may not know this, but Baxiu Qi Tian has another origin. He is not a native cultivator of our Southern Border, and his heart harbors ulterior motives."
"Oh?" Meng Shentong's face was full of disbelief.
Heavenly Master Li explained in detail: "Every powerhouse in this world has roots. Vast as the Mountain Sea Realm is, it is not limitless to Nascent Soul True Persons like us. Yet an exceptional expert like Qi Tian possesses not a single trace of an upbringing or past trajectory. Are you truly not curious about his origin?"
The group froze.
While they were still bewildered, Heavenly Master Li uttered a single name.
"Luo Chen, the Alchemy Grandmaster of the Eastern Desolation!"
A collective uproar swept the group. Marquis Ziyi, in particular, looked utterly unconvinced.
"Rumors say that the Eastern Desolation's Alchemy Grandmaster is a peak qi refiner whose Dao arts and divine abilities are second to none. He shares not the slightest resemblance to this Qi Tian. How could it possibly be him?"
"Ha, Marquis Ziyi, are you questioning my intelligence gathering?" Heavenly Master Li countered.
Marquis Ziyi was struck dumb. When it came to which Nascent Soul True Person possessed the widest intelligence reach, Heavenly Master Li was undoubtedly second to none. He not only relied on the intelligence networks of the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance, but as a Gu Refinement Master, he had forged extensive connections across the realm. It was even rumored that among the Tianyuan Dao Sect cultivators who had entered the Southern Border, several were on close terms with him.
If he wished to uncover the background of an unfamiliar cultivator, there would be no secrets left hidden.
So... was Baxiu Qi Tian truly the Alchemy Grandmaster, Luo Chen?
The group's minds remained dazed.
Whether in conduct, cultivation systems, or combat methods, the two shared absolutely nothing in common. How on earth had they ended up being the same person?
Meng Shentong had no leisure to ponder it deeply, pressing on, "Even if he is the Alchemy Grandmaster, so what? He expended immense effort to open the Death Gate for you. Why turn on him and butcher the donkey the moment the grinding is done?"
"I had no wish to strike either. Had he been willing to walk this final leg of the journey with us, we could have parted on good terms. Yet he insisted on leaving early. If he returned to the outside world and leaked the secrets of the Yin-Yang Realm, what would become of us?" Heavenly Master Li countered.
Without even waiting for the others to reply, he supplied the answer himself.
"Once the news leaks, hordes of cultivators will flock to the demise grounds of an almighty figure, stirring up fresh turmoil. The sacred ground itself certainly wouldn't sit idly by either—after all, this is the tomb of their own ancestor.
"To guard against any mishap, I was forced into taking this regrettable measure!
"Let us go. Time waits for no one; we must head inside."
Having said his piece, he offered no further explanations and took the lead, stepping straight through the Death Gate.
The Yin Realm!
A crimson moon hung aloft in desolate, bleak solitude.
Faint beast roars seemed to drift in from the distance.
Yet within their field of view, there was not a trace of Luo Chen to be found.
Heavenly Master Li pressed his lips together, murmuring inwardly, *Such prime nourishment will not escape me.*
***
Deep in the Yin Realm, outside a mountain ravine.
Numerous rot-beasts had gathered, and skeletal zombies were converging from all directions.
Yet these creatures, who knew nothing of danger, seemed to lose their sense of direction upon nearing the ravine, wandering aimlessly in circles outside.
Inside the ravine, Luo Chen sat within a concealment formation.
Under the steady circulation of his origin power, the palm print upon his back was slowly smoothed away.
A full day and night passed before Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes, a look of ease returning to his features.
*To think Heavenly Master Li's timing would be so impeccably precise!*
Caressing his chest, he could almost still feel the terrifying force of that palm strike piercing through his protective qi armor and jolting his five viscera.
Was it Gu art? Magic art? Or perhaps a body art similar to Luo Chen's own?
Luo Chen could hardly tell, suspecting it was an amalgamation of all three. This revealed a mere tip of the iceberg of Heavenly Master Li's hidden strength—the man was far from an ordinary gu cultivator.
Yet because of this strike, the list of suspects in Luo Chen's mind shrank instantly to a single person.
*Heavenly Master Li is the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor!*
Reasons did not matter, nor was there any physical evidence; it was an intuition born straight from the depths of his heart.
From the moment the man had fed him all manner of intelligence—attempting to deflect his suspicions onto others while secretly laying down the deadly snare of the Mother-Child Qianji Gu—Luo Chen had kept his guard up against him. Even so, he had not expected the man's timing to be so exquisitely chosen.
It was not that Luo Chen had lacked vigilance; rather, heaving open the Death Gate had taken too great a toll on him.
After a day and night of recuperation, relying on his formidable recovery capabilities, Luo Chen had restored roughly seventy to eighty percent of his condition.
Time to move!
He dismantled the formation, letting the skeletal zombies and rotting demonic beasts charge heedlessly into the ravine.
Watching them, Luo Chen fell into contemplation.
*The reason Heavenly Master Li was able to throw off the previous Demonic Heart Gu Emperor's control back then, and even overthrow his master, was likely tied to whatever gains he obtained here in the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm!*
As he pondered, sword qi erupted from his fingertips.
Every enemy before him was instantly shredded to pieces.
Deafening beast roars echoed in the distance as powerful ghost beasts charged toward his position. With a shift of his thoughts, Luo Chen reined in his aura, vanishing silently beneath the light of the blood moon.
A moment later, a ghost beast standing three to four hundred zhang tall—its flesh rotting away to leave only an exposed skeleton—crashed into the ravine, finding nothing at all.
***
Across the vast, desolate expanse of the Yin Realm, several figures sped forward.
Heavenly Master Li flew in the center, explaining the local circumstances to the group as they traveled.
"The almighty Yin-Yang Zi was unwilling to perish alongside the desolate beast to which he had bound his Life-and-Death Gu when their lifespans reached their end. Thus, before his death, he went utterly mad. Mobilizing the full might of the sacred ground, he captured vast numbers of demonic beasts to experiment with various Gu insects.
"Later on, he did not even hesitate to use the sect's own disciples as test subjects.
"Unwilling to watch the sect suffer his depredations, Divine Lord Youli drove him out. He came to the lands of the Golden Lion Empire and established the Yin Realm.
"The countless fierce ghosts and demonic beasts we see now are all products of Yin-Yang Zi's research.
"We must be cautious, cautious, and cautious still. Among these entities are top experts on par with ourselves. Even devoid of sanity, they will not be easy to deal with."
Not a single person voiced an objection.
During this day and night of travel, they had already crossed paths with several troublesome foes. Aside from Heavenly Master Li and Granny Hongye, the rest had stepped up in turn to dispatch the threats. Yet the enemies were simply too numerous, and after a series of battles, each of them had depleted a fair amount of magic power.
From that alone, one could see the madness of Yin-Yang Zi before his death—even an expedition of such a stellar lineup found the going arduous.
The mess he had left behind had caused no end of grief for the Gate of Life and Death. To keep it contained, the Gate of Life and Death had been forced to establish the Yang Realm above the Yin Realm, and had further founded an expansive empire to suppress the Yin-Yang Realm. Even the dragon-lion statues outside had been specially arranged to prevent the Yin Realm's ghost beasts from escaping into the world.
"Another troublesome one approaches!" Heavenly Master Li's brow twitched.
The group behind him remained silent, their eyes turning toward Meng Shentong.
Without a word, Meng Shentong exchanged a glance with Bai Xuanjun.
The latter broke away from the formation on his own initiative, soaring to meet the newcomer.
It was a ghost beast resembling a colossal mountain ape, its frame massive and burly, yet stripped of most flesh to leave only stark white bone.
Bai Xuanjun vaulted into the sky, bone thorns erupting from his body in rapid succession. Every bone thorn that struck the colossal ape unleashed a deafening boom.
Heavenly Master Li marveled, "To think the White Bone Cult's Bone Thorn Gu possesses such might!"
Meng Shentong chuckled. "That is because Bai Xuanjun is formidable. An ordinary Bone Thorn Gu could never unleash such lethality."
The destructive power of the bone thorns was indeed astonishing. From the moment Bai Xuanjun engaged, it took only a short while before the mountain ape was blown into scattered fragments.
Moments later, Bai Xuanjun caught up to the group.
"Handled."
He spoke calmly, yet the uncontained ripples of magic power rolling off him revealed the immense output required even for that brief battle.
Heavenly Master Li praised him, then added with a solemn expression, "The ones encountered along the way are merely appetizers. The truly troublesome matter lies at the Yin-Yang Tomb!"
The others were puzzled.
Yet three days later, gazing upon a towering peak formed of stacked white bones and the endless sea of ghost beasts stretching beyond the horizon, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.
What in the world had Yin-Yang Zi done before his passing?
Giving them no time to digest their shock, Heavenly Master Li barked an order.
"Strike together and escort me into Netherworld Mountain! The Yin-Yang Tomb lies within!"
The crowd chorused their agreement, unleashing their techniques in full force.
Sword leaves fluttered, purple light surged to the heavens, and a hundred-zhang-tall white-bone giant clambered out from the earth to sweep away obstacles. Granny Hongye led the charge at the very front, compass in hand, unraveling one decayed formation after another. Meng Shentong stayed close behind Heavenly Master Li, striking down every ghost beast that drew near.
Their magic power drained at an unimaginable speed.
Gradually, the six figures vanished into the depths of Netherworld Mountain.
Amidst the endless wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves, a lone figure slowly emerged outside the mountain.
*Is this the demise grounds of an almighty figure?*
Luo Chen narrowed his eyes, siphoning a wisp of ghost beast aura and draping it over himself.
Disguising himself with the aura of these ghost beasts was the sole reason he had traveled this far unhindered. Yet whether to step into Netherworld Mountain gave him pause.
The mountain emanated an aura that sent a tremor of dread through his heart.
It was as if an ancient behemoth slumbered within, liable to awaken at any moment and devour all in its path.
Yet his hesitation lasted only a fleeting breath before Luo Chen charged in without looking back.
*Heavenly Master Li, don't you dare die on me. You'd better wait right there!*
Chapter 961