Upheaval on the Other Shore

Xu Ying gazed up at the Golden Man, stunned beyond words. The Golden Man indeed bore a ninety percent resemblance to him! Could it be that in that ancient era four thousand years ago, besides crossing the sea to seek the immortal mountains, he had done something else—such that the Twelve Golden Men were cast in his image? Xu Fu was also somewhat astonished, seemingly not expecting Zulong to hold Xu Ying in such high regard as to cast the Golden Men in his likeness. The aura of the Golden Man grew increasingly formidable. In the vision behind him, the Heavenly River, which had ceased flowing, was now slowly resuming its course! Water and fire circulated, rosy clouds steamed from the cauldron, a dragon lay coiled across the God Bridge, waves stirred across the Jade Pool, and the three mystic passes opened in succession! Even the incense smoke qi swirling around the Golden Man grew ever more pungent, instantly flooding everyone's minds with cacophonous clamor—the chanting of ten thousand common folk! This was the omen of the Golden Man's awakening! Everyone braced as if facing a mortal foe. Suddenly, Xu Fu stepped onto Mount Fangzhang and soared forward, pressing down a light palm strike. Within the palm print, the bird-and-worm seal script character "Yu" materialized and stamped directly onto the Golden Man's glabella. The Golden Man let out a resounding clang. Instantly, the Heavenly River halted, water and fire ceased their co-tempering, the rosy clouds retreated into the cauldron, and the three mystic passes closed one after another. The long river of mercury murmured and flowed, carrying this Golden Man downstream. Everyone's hearts had leaped into their throats; only when the Golden Man drifted far away did they finally breathe a sigh of relief. Xu Ying raised his brows. The sixteen characters in that golden booklet had allowed Xu Fu to comprehend many useful divine powers; that "Yu" character just now had been derived from the golden booklet! The bronze bell whispered, "Ah Ying, he possesses the golden booklet and won't hand it over to you. I fear it's so he can thoroughly digest its contents and then use them to threaten you. He wants you to break free from the suppression of the demon-quelling runes only to fall right into his grasp!" Xu Ying nodded silently; he shared the same suspicion. When that time came, he would truly become a shadow at Xu Fu's beck and call! "The Twelve Golden Men are distributed throughout the mercury rivers among these mountains. Now that this Golden Man has passed, the next one cannot be far. Let us set off at once!" At Xu Fu's command, everyone leaped into action, using their respective means to alight upon the long river. Some conjured small skiffs, some rode leaves, some stepped on lotuses, and others balanced upon bamboo canes. Xu Ying thought to cast the bronze bell into the mercury river, but the bell refused adamantly, saying, "I've already served as a cooking pot—I'm not going to be a boat as well!" Seeing Xiao Fengxian toss out a phoenix feather that expanded upon touching the river until it was thirty to forty feet long and capable of carrying several people, Xu Ying brazenly walked over. Xiao Fengxian gave him a sidelong glance without speaking. Standing beside her, Xu Ying mumbled sheepishly, "This boat is really nice—very soft." Xiao Fengxian sighed softly with a melancholy expression, clearly still distressed over whether to snatch Xu Fu's golden booklet. A young Qi Refiner asked, "Why don't we fly across on our swords?" Old Bamboo Slender chuckled, took out a copper coin, and laughed. "Look!" He tossed the copper coin into the air. It expanded rapidly until it was over ten feet across, whistling and whirling as it flew toward the mountains. Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky and thunder erupted; in an instant, the copper coin was blasted full of holes! Everyone was horrified. Old Bamboo Slender chuckled. "See that? The seals and restrictions within the Mount Li Mausoleum are enough to make one's scalp tingle! Wanting to fly across unscathed is impossible unless you're an immortal." Just as he was about to retrieve the copper coin, water and fire suddenly surged from the mountains. The water was Lunar Divine Water, and the fire was Solar Divine Fire; water and fire invaded simultaneously, refining the copper coin into a pile of copper slag! Old Bamboo Slender was both shocked and enraged. Sensing that the imprint inside his dharma treasure had also been reduced to dross, he felt a pang of heartache. Right then, another sharp claw descended from the sky, crashing onto the copper slag with a resounding boom. The slag was blown into ash and smoke, utterly wiped from existence! Old Bamboo Slender shuddered. This copper coin was a dharma treasure he had refined himself. In his prime, the coin had naturally been inferior to him, but now that his physical body had aged, the coin was arguably stronger than he was. Had it been him entering the mountains, he feared his fate would have been the same! Fortunately, I'm old enough to have accumulated plenty of dharma treasures, so this won't bankrupt me in one go, he thought to himself. The river of mercury flowed on, carrying them into the midst of the mountains. Everyone looked around, noticing that the layout of the mountains was strangely familiar. "Over there is Mount Yandang! But it's Mount Yandang from four thousand years ago, before the heavens and earth were sealed!" "Look over there! That's the Kunlun Ruins! The Kunlun Ruins haven't even fully emerged yet!" "And that's Mount Wangwu—the very mountain that the Qi Refiner named Yugong summoned heavenly gods to carry away!" The trends and forms of the mountains and rivers here were identical to Shenzhou before the sealing of heaven and earth! It was as though Zulong had shrunk the rivers and mountains of the entire world countless times and hidden them away here. Now new territory was surfacing, and the new territory of today comprised the mountains and rivers from before heaven and earth were sealed. However, new territory was still steadily increasing, and the sealed world of the past had not yet fully unsealed. These people were long-lived Qi Refiners, yet only Xu Fu had seen the world prior to the Great Seal. None of the others, including Dong Meiqing, had seen the true Shenzhou. In Dong Meiqing's era, heaven and earth had already begun to be sealed. Riding their various river-crossing vessels, they gradually sailed into the mountain depths. Everyone gazed around, unable to resist marveling at the magnificent landscape. Enchanted and lingering, they eagerly anticipated even more breathtaking sights ahead, for around nearly every bend, a mythical mountain would loom into view. The main peak of Kunlun, Spirit Mountain, Mount Feng where the nine divine bells hung, broken Mount Buzhou, as well as legendary Yingzhou, Penglai, and Mount Fangzhang. Judging from Mount Fangzhang, however, the First Emperor Zulong probably had never seen the real Mount Fangzhang, for this replica was far larger than the one beneath Xu Fu's feet. Xu Ying was dazzled, marveling ceaselessly. It was no wonder Zulong sought to rule Shenzhou even in death, reigning over all under heaven and casting the Twelve Golden Men to guard his realm beyond the grave. The land was so enchanting—were it him, he too would wish to dwell beside such mountains and rivers for all eternity. Just as this thought crossed his mind, violent shockwaves echoed from up ahead—Nuo masters had triggered the seals and restrictions. Xu Ying looked over. Brilliant cave-heavens illuminated the sky, large and small cave-heavens shining dazzlingly. Several hundred Nuo masters must have pushed their cultivation to the absolute peak to fight against the seals! Suddenly, cave-heavens large and small went dark across the sky one after another, leaving only eight cave-heavens behind. Then, those eight cave-heavens abruptly dimmed as well. A Grand Nuo who cultivated eight cave-heavens died too, and died so quickly! Xu Ying thought, inwardly alarmed. After a moment, they arrived at the site of the clash. Countless corpses floated on the river of mercury, piled haphazardly along the banks by the current. Their deaths were gruesome beyond measure, with hardly an intact body among them; all had been sliced into fine pieces by some unknown force. "Look over there! There's a sword hanging beneath the gateway!" Someone pointed ahead. Xu Ying looked and saw that the river of mercury passed between two imposing peaks of a towering mountain. Between the peaks was a hollowed-out cliff face that formed an arching portal. Suspended beneath this portal hung a sword that was still dripping with blood. The sword glowed with red light, swaying gently in the breeze and radiating bone-chilling murderous intent from time to time. Evidently, the Nuo masters earlier had arrived here, triggered this sword, and been slaughtered by it! "A Dragon-Slaying Sword!" Yuan Qi, knowledgeable from his travels, said to Xu Ying, "Nuo masters use them to slay demonic dragons that stir up storms and waves. They're often hung beneath bridges. If a demon dragon summons a flood and passes under the bridge, it will be slain by the Dragon-Slaying Sword. That's why I'm always wary of traveling by water." Suddenly, the Dragon-Slaying Sword unleashed its power. A flash of light erupted, and invisible sword qi caused white blossoms of mercury to spray from the river. The bronze bell manifested, covering Xu Ying and Fengxian'er, clanging furiously under the strikes of the sword qi! The bronze bell spun continuously to deflect the force of the sword qi, shouting, "This sword is so strong!" All around, over a dozen Qi Refiners were caught off guard and instantly decapitated, their corpses tumbling onto the river! Everyone activated their divine powers to withstand the sword qi. Dong Meiqing rose to his feet and flew toward the long sword against the torrent of sword qi. The higher he ascended, the more fierce the sword qi became; even as a supreme expert of the Ascension stage, he had to focus his full concentration to resist it! The sword qi in the air formed a torrent, assailing Dong Meiqing from all directions with escalating ferocity! Dong Meiqing was driven back repeatedly for a time, until he finally had no choice but to manifest his Primordial Spirit to shatter the surrounding sword qi, granting himself a reprieve. With a swift leap, he plucked down the long sword! The weapon was a bronze sword over ten feet long, remarkably light and slender. With the slightest flourish, it bloomed into a shower of sword flowers, shedding vibrant green light! Both astonished and delighted, Dong Meiqing suppressed the bronze sword's violent trembling and set his heart on refining it. Seeing this, the others were consumed with envy. "This sword is not from the Qin era. Swords of Qin were thicker than this," Xu Fu observed, his expression shifting slightly. "This is a sword from the Zhou era. It already has a master—Dong Meiqing, let go!" Just as Dong Meiqing went to release his grip, the bronze sword coiled like a nimble serpent around his arm. With a gentle twirl, Dong Meiqing's arm was severed clean at the shoulder! Dong Meiqing cried out in agony. The bronze sword was already sweeping toward his neck, leaving him no way to evade! Suddenly, a palm reached out and flicked its fingers repeatedly against the sword's tip. Like a serpent struck on the head, the bronze sword shuddered violently from the blows and involuntarily straightened out! Xu Fu flicked away the bronze sword, only for it to thrust straight at him. In an instant, it generated an overarching sword-dao sky, evoking a vision of the sun and moon traveling side by side while illuminating fair mountains! Xu Fu raised his hand to meet it. All the sword qi converged into his palm as the bronze sword gathered its sword qi into a single point, stabbing into his hand! The sword's light pressed against his palm, its blade vibrating furiously, yet it could not advance an inch further. Xu Fu pushed his palm forward. The bronze sword cracked and shattered inch by inch. The sword attempted to turn and flee, but it was as if glued in place, unable to twist its body. As Xu Fu pushed forward, the bronze sword rapidly exploded all the way down to the hilt. With another heavy forward thrust of his palm, a tempest of violent power erupted, crushing forward along the sword master's spiritual imprint! Boom! Over a hundred li away among the mountains, a mushroom cloud suddenly billowed upward. A furious shockwave rippled out in all directions along the ground, triggering countless seals and restrictions throughout the mountains as terrifying power surged wave upon wave! The river surface erupted with snapping cracks, mercury splashing high and churning into monstrous waves! A tall figure clad in archaic attire darted through the mercury spray. The river surface beneath his feet detonated repeatedly as he dissipated the force of Xu Fu's palm strike; even so, he was jarred into coughing up blood, his aura thrown into disarray. Having finally dispersed the force of Xu Fu's palm strike, his breathing settled. Shock and horror gripped his heart: What is this person's background? I already possess a half-immortal body, yet he could wound me with a single palm. Could he be a true immortal? He swallowed down the blood welling in his throat. A soul-refreshing fragrance drifted from the blood—the fragrance of immortal medicine. He could not bear to spit it out. Suddenly, not far away, another Golden Man awakened. Its terrifying aura suppressed this pocket of heaven and earth, making it difficult for anyone of weaker cultivation to breathe. The young man in archaic attire immediately restrained his aura and flashed away, steering clear of the Golden Man. Before long, Xu Ying and the others arrived at the scene. Xu Fu gently raised his hand, and a droplet of blood flew up from the river surface, alighting upon his fingertip. Xu Fu took a gentle sniff and smiled at Xu Ying. "The authentic immortal medicine has indeed arrived. I previously worried there wouldn't be enough immortal medicine to resurrect Zulong, but now my mind is at ease. With this immortal medicine, Zulong can definitely be revived!" The bronze bell and Yuan Qi were utterly bewildered. "What immortal medicine?" Xu Ying suddenly shuddered, immediately understanding Xu Fu's intention! The Nuo masters lured here to hunt for treasure were the very immortal medicine he intended to use to resurrect Zulong! Nuo masters opened various secret depositories and obtained the immortal medicine within, yet they could not refine it, leaving it to accumulate in their bodies. Thus, every Nuo master was a living immortal medicine. Nuo masters who opened different secret depositories represented different varieties of immortal medicine: some enhanced divine sense, some boosted yuan qi, some invigorated physical vitality, each serving distinct purposes. Sacrificing these Nuo masters was the key to resurrecting Zulong! "And the person who hung the sword beneath the mountain gateway to slaughter newcomers is likely someone who returned from the world of the other shore!" Xu Ying said to Yuan Qi and the bronze bell, "The immortal medicine contained in that person's blood is exceptionally pure. It seems that besides Ancestor Chanchan, others have returned from the other shore as well." Yuan Qi and the bronze bell were startled. "A true pre-Qin Qi Refiner has appeared?" Zhu Chanchan had cultivated Nuo methods, which dragged down the progress of her cultivation. This ancient Qi Refiner had likely eschewed Nuo arts entirely, focusing purely on refining qi and absorbing the immortal medicine within his body. For him to clash head-on with Xu Fu, he was most likely a supreme master of the Ascension stage as well! "Logically speaking, no one should be able to return from the other shore, right?" Xu Ying pondered. "Why is it that after Chanchan returned, other pre-Qin Qi Refiners have come back from the world of the other shore as well?" The bronze bell ventured a guess: "Could it be that Pei Du, Old Ancestor Guo, and the others spread word of Ancestor Chanchan, prompting other Nuo master clans to enter the world of the other shore through their respective cave-heavens and rescue pre-Qin Qi Refiners?" Xu Ying considered this; it was indeed possible. He smiled and said, "I thought some upheaval had occurred on the other shore that allowed the ancient Qi Refiners there to escape. Lord Bell's reasoning makes sense." Up ahead, Nuo immortals were engaged in an earth-shattering battle, clashing against the warding seals of the Mount Li Mausoleum with terrifying commotion. Xu Ying saw nine dazzling cave-heavens blazing like nine suns. Even the Nuo immortal's Hidden Scenery emerged with boundless might, an overwhelming force that not even the immortal mountain in the sky could suppress! "This aura... it's an expert of the Yuan clan!" Xu Ying was surprised. Those nine cave-heavens were Yellow Court cave-heavens. The powerful fluctuations of divine sense radiating all the way here even disrupted the thoughts of some Qi Refiners, making it difficult for them to focus and nearly causing them to fall into the river of mercury! This was precisely the terrifying might bestowed by the Yuan clan's Yellow Court secret depository! Xu Ying had cultivated the opening chapter of the Yuan clan's Yuan Dao Heavens Induction, so he was no stranger to this divine power! "Could it be Yuan Wuji?" The youth's heart pounded as he murmured, "If Yuan Wuji is here, did Little Sister Weiyang come too?" Yuan Qi glanced at the bronze bell with a worried look. "Ah Ying's memory still hasn't fully recovered. He's mistaking Yuan Weiyang for Yuan Rushi." The bronze bell consoled him, "He'll get better, he'll get better." Full of concern, Yuan Qi asked, "Should we tell Ah Ying the truth?" The bronze bell said with a beaming smile, "If you tell him, I'll beat you to death. Truly."