Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang were seized by inexplicable fury. Both had seen it clearly just now: the golden booklet Xu Fu displayed bore the exact talismanic text from the altar sealing Xu Ying!
How could this be permitted?
If this Qi Refiner who had appeared out of nowhere deciphered the talismanic script and Xu Ying broke free, all three of them would face the punishment of the Heavenly Dao and be consigned to eternal damnation!
What was worse, before the Heavenly Dao even had time to punish them, Xu Ying would have already torn them into ten thousand pieces!
"Where did this scarred man come from?" The veins on Beichenzi's forehead throbbed violently as he lowered his voice. "How did he get his hands on the demon-quelling runes? Those runes have almost never been revealed to outsiders!"
Fairy Yutang ground her teeth so hard they clicked. "It took us half a year just to heal our wounds, and now disaster is brewing again! Beichen, should we probe his background first?"
Beichenzi hesitated. "Anyone who can produce those demon-quelling runes is certainly no ordinary figure. We had better wait for reinforcements to arrive before doing anything."
The corner of his eye twitched; he had grown far more cautious.
After all, through his past lack of caution, he had been beaten by Zhou Qiyun, thrashed by the heavenly fiends pursuing Zhu Chanchan, and nearly killed by Xu Ying when a fragment of the youth's memories unsealed.
Only after taking enough beatings did one learn to behave.
Although Xu Fu bore scars across his face, he appeared refined and gentle, unlike the violent Zhou Qiyun. Even so, it was hard to tell. Thus, Beichenzi preferred to err on the side of caution.
Aboard Mount Fangzhang, Xu Ying glanced at Xu Fu and fell into deep thought.
"Mandated by Heaven, suppressed for eternity in this life; locked within cage and prison, sealed, pen-trapped, and encircled."
This passage was what the golden booklet had revealed. Though Xu Fu had merely waved it briefly, Xu Ying had committed the meaning of those characters to memory.
Yet even though he remembered their meanings, he could not reconstruct them. The moment he tried to visualize the forms of the characters, a surge of incense smoke qi would immediately overflow within his mind, shrouding his memories and obscuring his vision.
"Why did I give the demon-quelling runes to Xu Fu? Where did I learn these runes in the first place?"
Xu Ying departed Mount Fangzhang and walked over to Xiao Fengxian. She stood on the back of a giant roc, occasionally parting her small lips to breathe out bursts of flame.
Catching sight of Xu Ying approaching, the young woman grew somewhat nervous, evidently still agonizing over the dilemma between repaying a debt of gratitude and upholding righteous duty.
Xu Ying summoned Yuan Qi and the bronze bell. Recounting what he had seen earlier, he asked, "Lord Seventh, with your vast erudition, do you know what these words mean?"
Yuan Qi said, "The phrase 'Mandated by Heaven' signifies acting under Heaven's decree to enforce the Heavenly Dao. 'Suppressed for eternity in this life' indicates that the fiend in question has committed heinous crimes and must be suppressed forever."
The bronze bell sounded quite displeased. "How could Ah Ying be some fiend? Lord Seventh, you underestimate Ah Ying far too much."
Xu Ying coughed lightly. "Lord Bell, I'm still standing right here."
Yuan Qi continued, "'Locked within cage and prison, sealed, pen-trapped, and encircled'—among these eight characters, the first six signify sealing, imprisoning, caging, jailing, and surrounding. 'Pen-trapped' means corralling beasts, while 'encircled' means keeping in pens. All eight characters carry the sense of trapping and confinement."
Pausing, he added, "I don't understand the bird-and-worm seal script used to expound the Great Dao, but when it comes to ordinary writing, Ah Ying can't hold a candle to me."
Xu Ying said, "Lord Seventh, spare me a little dignity."
Yuan Qi agreed verbally, then whispered to Xiao Fengxian, "Far inferior to me."
Xu Ying acted as though he had heard nothing and said, "Only by laying eyes on the golden booklet in person can I comprehend the principles contained within those sixteen characters and then deduce a way to crack them. The problem now is that the booklet is on Xu Fu's person. How can we steal it?"
Xiao Fengxian adopted a solemn expression. "I heard that!"
Xu Ying replied, "Fengxian'er, think about the life-saving grace I showed you."
Xiao Fengxian was once again plunged into turmoil between repaying gratitude and serving righteousness, unsure whether she ought to report Xu Ying.
Yuan Qi remarked, "His golden booklet is likely hidden within his Realm of Xiyi; it won't be easy to steal. However, since he said he wants to decipher the script on it, he will definitely take it out. As long as someone is fast enough to seize the booklet the moment he brings it out, it can be snatched!"
The bronze bell said, "The person who snatches the booklet must possess extreme speed and absolutely cannot be caught by Xu Fu. Xu Fu's methods are simply too formidable; I suspect he might even surpass Zhou Qiyun at his peak!"
Having clashed with Xu Fu, the bell had failed to budge him in the slightest, only to have its bell nose seized, leaving it helpless.
That technique was called One Hand to Turn Heaven and Earth, and it truly gave the impression of holding heaven, earth, and the universe entirely within one's grasp!
Even if it faced Xu Fu again, it had no confidence in escaping.
Yuan Qi said, "Lord Bell can't fly fast enough, while Ah Ying and I lag behind in cultivation and can't outrun him. That means the fastest among us, the one most likely to slip from Xu Fu's grasp, is..."
Xiao Fengxian snapped to attention. She saw Xu Ying and the giant snake staring at her, and though the bronze bell lacked eyes, a pair of gazes seemed to rest on her as well.
"I won't betray Ancestor Xu Fu..." Xiao Fengxian stammered.
Yuan Qi urged, "Think of Ah Ying's life-saving grace."
Xiao Fengxian pulled a tearful face.
The bronze bell chimed in, "We're all on the same side. Think about how Ah Ying saved you, and then think about how you ought to repay him."
Xu Ying pondered for a moment, genuinely unable to recall how he had saved her, so he said, "Think carefully again."
Xiao Fengxian stamped her foot. "Fine! I'll help you!"
Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, exchanging an understanding smile with Yuan Qi.
However, in the days that followed, Xu Fu never brought out the golden booklet, leaving Xiao Fengxian with no opportunity.
The Qi Refiners following Xu Fu brought various scriptures to consult Xu Ying. Xu Ying turned away no one; whether it concerned cultivation arts, divine powers, formations, alchemy, hand seals, or finger techniques, he answered everything and even helped them complete missing portions.
While these Qi Refiners gained immense benefits, Xu Ying likewise absorbed countless closely guarded secrets of the Qi Refiners, and his cultivation and strength advanced by leaps and bounds!
Haojing drew steadily closer.
Over the past several days, glowing clouds of light had been erupting from beneath the earth, surging straight into the highest heavens in a magnificent spectacle. Even from a great distance, Xu Ying and the others could see the brilliant radiance, shifting with dazzling colors like burning torches concealed within the clouds.
Not only that, but they also sensed a terrifying palpitation, resembling the overwhelming might of a dharma treasure or the world-suppressing aura radiating from a peerless supreme expert.
"It is the Twelve Golden Men," Xu Fu said, feeling the resonance. "One of the Golden Men has awakened. The Twelve Golden Men were tasked with guarding Zulong's mausoleum. It seems the Nuo masters lured here truly have some tricks up their sleeves; they have already dug through to Zulong's tomb."
Xu Ying asked, "Lord Seventh, what are the Twelve Golden Men?"
Yuan Qi replied, "I have only heard that the First Emperor gathered weapons across the empire to cast the Twelve Golden Men, preventing the populace from rebelling. As for the specifics, the history books don't elaborate."
Xu Fu explained, "At that time, the First Emperor Zulong unified the world. He gathered the finest dharma treasures from the Qi Refiners of the Six States to cast the Twelve Golden Men, using them to suppress the Qi Refiners' destiny and prevent it from ebbing away. In those days, Qi Refiners were already declining, and the First Emperor Zulong used this method in an attempt to extend their lifeline. Yet after his death, it all became an illusion, and even the Twelve Golden Men were interred alongside him."
Xu Ying remarked, "I have never heard of the dead returning to life. Since Zulong is already dead, how can he be resurrected?"
As Mount Fangzhang flew toward Mount Li, Xu Fu said, "Zulong might not truly be dead. A figure such as him yearned for immortality; he may have used secret arts to seal his physical body and Primordial Spirit, placing himself in a state of suspended animation while awaiting resurrection."
Mount Li loomed ahead, soaring into the clouds and stretching hundreds of li around—many times larger than the original Mount Li.
Viewed from afar, the mountain resembled the character for 'metal' inverted upon the land, majestic and solemn.
However, someone had already discovered the entrance to the Mount Li Mausoleum and forced their way inside. Xu Ying also spotted dozens of corpses strewn haphazardly outside, evidence of a fierce battle fought over ownership of the great tomb.
"I once traveled to the Netherworld and searched for over two hundred years trying to discover where Zulong's soul had gone, but I never found him," Xu Fu recounted. "I also sought out Nuo masters who had unlocked the Bubbling Spring secret depository. They were experts in summoning souls and used Nuo arts to call upon ghosts. Yet they too reported that Zulong's soul was not in the Netherworld."
Arriving before the entrance of the Mount Li Mausoleum, Xu Ying spotted dozens more corpses. Judging by their attire, however, these people were not Nuo masters, but ordinary mortals.
Hua Xianchen stepped forward to inspect the scene. "There was a restriction on the tomb doors, harboring nether spirits within, making it exceedingly perilous. To breach the doors, those Nuo masters sacrificed these mortals, using blood to defile the restriction and lure out the nether spirits to slay them before forcing their way inside."
They entered the Mount Li Mausoleum. Every few paces along the tomb passage lay another corpse, also dressed in common clothes.
"Used for sacrifice."
Hua Xianchen produced a bright mirror, illuminating the surrounding tomb passage with absolute clarity. It even shone through the walls, revealing dead nether spirits sealed inside!
These nether spirits had been concealed within the restrictions, waiting to burst from the walls to slaughter intruders the moment the wards activated!
Regrettably, such exquisite restrictions had been dismantled by the crude method of blood sacrifice.
"A method of breaking wards piled high with human lives—crude," Xu Fu commented.
They pressed deeper. The number of dead grew steadily along the way, with fewer mortals and more Nuo masters among the fallen. There were even massive demon gods who had been sacrificed to break the restrictions!
Xu Ying even recognized a familiar face—a Qi Refiner of the Pei clan whom he had met once before, now similarly sacrificed to the nether spirits.
One could well imagine what a terrifying, vicious bloodbath had taken place here.
Reaching the depths of Mount Li, the space suddenly opened up. A vast subterranean world spanning thousands of li met their eyes. Well over a hundred immortal mountains drifted in the sky, and bright clouds of rosy glow cascaded between them from afar, shimmering with celestial brilliance in an extraordinarily splendid spectacle.
"Is this an ascension site?"
Xu Ying was deeply astonished. This Mount Li Mausoleum was actually an ascension site!
Moreover, more than one immortal had ascended here. Judging by the bands of ascension rosy glow, seven immortals had ascended in this place!
"Could this be a grotto-heaven and blessed land?"
The thought had barely formed when he realized something was amiss. This was not originally an ascension site; rather, someone had severed ascension sites from grotto-heavens and blessed lands and transplanted them here!
The cleaved spatial boundaries shimmered with glazed hues, and as his gaze shifted, brilliant colors reflected off the cross-sections of the space!
Xu Fu pointed into the distance. "The First Emperor transplanted seven ascension sites, using the rosy glows left by those ascending immortals to suspend his coffin, bringing himself closer to the Immortal Realm. Do you see his coffin?"
Everyone strained their vision to the utmost, but few could discern what lay within the ascension rosy glow. Xu Ying activated his Heavenly Eye and barely made out a golden coffin drifting within the glow, rotating slowly.
Could that be the First Emperor's golden coffin?
Mountains rose from the ground, and mountains hung from the sky—inverted immortal peaks tinged with a bloody hue.
Some of the peaks were coiled by blood dragons. From a distance, crimson scales seemed to slide across the rock, though whether it was an illusion or reality was impossible to tell.
"Those are Five Sacred Peaks immortal mountains taken from the Realms of Xiyi of peerless experts slain by the First Emperor Zulong to construct these restrictions. Passing through will be extraordinarily difficult," gasped Old Bamboo Slender, the elder who had aged so much that he stood only three to four feet tall. "The Nuo masters who arrived before us must have crossed the river to enter the mountains."
Beneath their feet flowed a silvery river spanning roughly a hundred zhang across, its currents heavy and rolling. It was a river of mercury, churning with immensely dense liquid metal.
The river of mercury wound through the mountain range, flowing between the peaks. Tracing its course, it appeared to approach the First Emperor Zulong's golden coffin!
Just as Xu Fu was about to cross the river, he halted abruptly. Xu Ying's heart also skipped a beat as he felt an overwhelmingly tyrannical aura surging toward them.
Following the aura, everyone looked out across the river. Floating along the surface of the mercury river came an altar measuring some fourteen to fifteen zhang on each side. The altar rose barely a foot above the liquid metal, with its submerged depth unknown.
Upon the altar stood a golden man over twenty zhang tall, gleaming with brilliant golden light, clad in golden armor and wielding a bronze sword. Incense smoke qi swirled intensely around it, accompanied by the earth-shaking aura of an extraordinary dharma treasure!
Behind it stood a divine shrine, alongside visions of floating Five Sacred Peaks immortal mountains, an inverted Heavenly River, a Heavenly Mountain descending from above, and mystic passes like Weilu, Jiaji, and Jade Capital clearly delineated.
A cauldron of cross-refining water and fire, gleaming Twelve-Storyed Mansions, and the Jade Pool with its God Bridge were all present!
The bronze bell gave a dull chime, its tone muffled. "Ah Ying, is that a Golden Man? It seems absurdly powerful... I might not be the mightiest dharma treasure anymore..."
Suddenly, someone cried out, "Look at the Golden Man's face! The ageless immortal!"
Everyone looked, overcome with shock. They turned to look at Xu Ying, then turned back toward the Golden Man atop the altar.
The face of that Golden Man was an exact replica of Xu Ying's!
"The First Emperor Zulong's Twelve Golden Men were forged in the image of the ageless immortal!"
Yuan Qi stared wide-eyed, muttering, "Ah Ying, the Mount Li Mausoleum is practically overflowing with your legends."
Chapter 123