"Heavenly Dao migrants?" Xu Ying looked toward the stone city, his curiosity piqued.
"Migrants" meant people who had relocated. "Heavenly Dao migrants" meant the Heavenly Dao had relocated them here. Where had these people migrated from? Why had they migrated here?
Guo Xiaodie's voice came from nearby: "In the new territories that previously erupted from the Cangwu Abyss, there wasn't a single trace of human life. Yunmeng Marsh also welled up from the Cangwu Abyss, so why are there living humans here?"
Xu Ying nodded gently. Carefree and blunt though Guo Xiaodie was, she made a good point.
"Perhaps Yunmeng Marsh is more unusual than the other new territories," Zhu Hongyi said. "Or perhaps these Heavenly Dao migrants are more unusual than ordinary people."
Three thousand years ago, the doctrine of Heaven-Human Induction held sway, leading to the great seal on heaven and earth and the disappearance of the Qi Refiners.
Yet now that heaven and earth had unsealed, those vanished Qi Refiners had not reappeared. The migrants of Yunmeng Marsh were the first living humans to appear in the new territories!
The group hurried forward. Seeing them approach, the villagers near the stone city paused in their chores and peered over, full of curiosity.
Their clothing was rustic and primitive, bearing the archaic style of the Qin and Han eras, while their features differed little from normal people. The only distinction was that they were somewhat taller than average, with broad hands and large feet like Xu Ying.
Xu Ying looked across the settlements and saw gigantic skeletons of unknown behemoths outside the villages. Several children were wielding bones from these beasts, clattering and banging them against one another in mock combat.
Muscles rippled across the children's bodies. Wielding massive bones weighing over a hundred jin as weapons, they swung them so hard the air howled, making one's scalp tingle.
*Thud!*
A frail child was sent flying by a massive bone, hurtling twenty paces through midair before slamming down not far ahead of Xu Ying and his party.
His head smashed violently into a large boulder, making Xu Ying and the others gasp in shock. Yet with a loud crack, the boulder split right down the middle, while the frail boy was battered, blood streaming down his face.
The boy executed a carp flip and sprang to his feet, revealing eight neatly defined abdominal muscles, and dashed straight back toward his "nemesis."
A woman urgently called out, "Xiao Liang, come back here!"
Helpless, the frail child named Xiao Liang had no choice but to go to her. After inspecting the wound on his forehead, the woman led him before an earthen altar in the center of the village and chanted softly toward it.
Upon the altar grew an herb one chi and seven cun tall, its nine leaves spreading like lobes of lingzhi.
Following her chanting, one of the stalks quivered slightly, and a visible stream of light flowed into the boy's wound. In an instant, the cut knitted together, leaving not the slightest scar behind.
The other playing children were summoned back into the village. The adults held fast to their young ones, watching warily as the Nuo master retinues of the Guo and Zhu clans passed by the village entrance.
"They probably think they're weak and fragile, don't they?" Yuan Qi said, shaken to the core.
The bronze bell ventured a guess: "Seventh Master, do you think the behemoths outside the village were beaten to death by them with their bare hands, dragged here, skinned, and eaten?"
"I'd bet on it!" Yuan Qi shivered.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the villagers were looking at him rather strangely.
Xu Ying looked toward the village. The houses were constructed against enormous beast bones, creating spacious interiors; clearly, these Yunmeng Marsh beasts had not died of natural causes.
"A fierce bunch of villagers!" Li Yingzhu thought, highly alert, and quietly instructed the Guo clan Nuo masters, "Do not provoke them!"
Zhu Hongyi felt equally sobered and hurried to order the Zhu clan Nuo masters not to cause trouble.
Xu Ying activated his Heavenly Eye and observed the villagers closely. A peculiar force inside their bodies had forced open their Weilu mystic passes, making them born at the Pass-Breaching stage!
Even that frail little boy from earlier was at the Pass-Breaching stage!
Yet what puzzled Xu Ying was that their Realms of Xiyi were not open, showing not the slightest trace of cultivation.
If they were Qi Refiners, their Realms of Xiyi would exhibit signs of practice, such as the Five Qis of the visceral organs Facing the Origin and harmonizing wind and rain. Yet these Yunmeng Marsh migrants had nothing of the sort.
As the Guo and Zhu clans continued toward the stone city, an aged voice suddenly drifted from the black-draped prisoner cart: "Zhu Zhongquan, the herb enshrined in their village is the crimson immortal wonder-herb of the Heavenly Dao world, an immortal plant nurtured by immortal qi! These villagers know nothing of cultivation; it is solely through the nourishment of this crimson immortal wonder-herb that they have grown so strong!"
He chuckled sinisterly. "It is a treasure for breaking through realms, a great medicine for breaching passes! If this treasure falls into your hands, cultivation bottlenecks and barriers will practically cease to exist!"
Hearing this, Zhu Zhongquan raised his hand and barked, "Halt!"
All the Zhu clan Nuo masters stopped in their tracks. Zhu Zhongquan turned his head to gaze at the crimson immortal wonder-herb in the center of the village and laughed under his breath. "So you mean, if I consume this immortal herb, I can immediately break through to the Cross-Refinement stage and cultivate a Golden Core?"
The old immortal inside the prisoner cart said, "Far more than that! Consuming a single leaf is enough for you to form a Golden Core! But to consume it like that would be a reckless waste of heaven's gifts. The greatest function of this treasure is to breach the Yuzhen heavenly pass! Without breaching the Yuzhen heavenly pass, one cannot ascend!"
Zhu Zhongquan's eyes blazed with fervor. He smiled and said, "Men! Fetch me that crimson immortal wonder-herb!"
Immediately, over a dozen Zhu clan Nuo masters stepped forth and charged toward the village.
Hearing this, Li Yingzhu and the others halted as well, looking toward the small earthen altar in the village center with doubt and surprise. Guo Yue whispered, "Could such a small village truly have an immortal herb?"
Li Yingzhu's eyes flickered. "Let us wait and see. If it truly is an immortal herb..." Her heart surged with fiery desire as well. An immortal herb that could enable direct breakthroughs in realm was simply too tempting.
For Nuo master aristocratic clans, switching to Qi Refinement was fraught with hardship. After all, not everyone was Zhou Qiyun. To them, the techniques of Qi Refiners were obscure and hard to comprehend, their realms difficult to break through, and those who could truly reach the pinnacle of Qi Refinement were few and far between.
If the spirit herb in this little migrant village truly was an immortal plant, even the Guo clan would be unable to resist seizing it!
Just as the dozen or so Zhu clan Nuo masters stepped into the village, a figure flickered. One punch per person, every single Nuo master was sent flying back outside the village!
When the figure came to a halt, it was a young man from the village. Standing majestically at the village entrance, he shouted, "How can you take people's treasures for no reason? This immortal herb protects our vil—"
*Whoosh!*
A streak of sword light flashed past. The young villager stood dazed, staring blankly at the Nuo master he had just sent flying. The Nuo master wore a ferocious expression, his sword casket already popped open.
The young villager touched his neck; his hand came away covered in blood. He opened his mouth to speak, but gurgles of blood welled up in his throat.
"Idiot!"
The Nuo master strode forward, planted a heavy kick into his chest, and sent him sprawling. He sneered, "You clearly had the chance to kill me just now, yet you stayed your hand! Fool!"
The sword qi flew back, sinking into the sword casket.
With the sword casket slung over his back, the Nuo master strode into the village, glaring malevolently around as he shouted, "A bunch of lowborn wretches! Just because you're built a little thicker, you dare slap my face?! Let it be known to you: our Zhu clan holds the office of Regional Inspector of Bianzhou—we are high ministers guarding the frontier!"
The young villager crashed to the ground, his throat bubbling with blood, his body twitching. It was obvious he would not survive.
Other villagers came rushing out with weeping cries, armed with primitive bows, arrows, and bone spears to shield the fallen young man, while others hurriedly dragged him over to the crimson immortal wonder-herb.
"We've destroyed more little villages like yours than we can count!"
The Nuo master laughed boisterously, unleashing sword qi from his casket at the villagers blocking his way. Yet every villager was remarkably strong. Swung bone spears and bone clubs deflected the sword beams one after another!
Patterns even surfaced on the bone spears and clubs, glowing brightly. They were the bones of ancient behemoths, most of which had awakened bloodline powers, leaving innate runes etched within their skeletons.
Though the villagers were not Qi Refiners, their bodies brimmed with surging vital qi and blood. By stimulating these runes, they drew an uncanny might from these seemingly ordinary weapons!
In an instant, all of the Nuo master's sword qi was shattered to pieces!
As the Nuo master froze in shock, bone spears rained down upon him, whistling through the air and turning him into a pincushion!
The other Nuo masters rushed forward, only to brake abruptly at the sight. Just then, a Grand Nuo of the Zhu clan charged out from behind them and sneered, "Useless trash! Out of the way!"
This Zhu clan Grand Nuo had opened three secret depositories—Mud Pill, Crimson Palace, and Jade Pool. Activating his Mud Pill cave-heaven, he dashed forward as roots erupted from the ground all around, entwining the villagers!
Flesh and blood sprouted over the bone spears, bone clubs, and bone swords in their hands, making them impossible to hold!
Even the villagers' own bodies began to warp in bizarre growth—another face sprouted on one's cheek, an extra heart formed on another's chest, while others ballooned to three or five times their size, covered in rolls of flab!
From octogenarian elders to young children, all fell under the sway of his Nuo art!
What this Grand Nuo exerted was none other than the Mud Pill Nuo art that the Zhou clan had once used to dominate the world. After the Zhou clan's ruin, many of their closely guarded secrets had fallen into the hands of other aristocratic clans!
"Kill them!"
The Grand Nuo sneered and strode toward the crimson immortal wonder-herb, his eyes burning with desire. "Cut the weeds and pull up the roots—leave no survivors!"
Behind him, the Zhu clan Nuo masters charged out, unleashing sword qi from their caskets at the villagers. A glittering blade of light stabbed toward a deformed child!
The child's mother was trapped nearby, ensnared by roots and her body mutated. She struggled desperately, muffled whimpers escaping her lips, but she was powerless to save her child!
Meanwhile, before the earthen altar, the wounded young villager was being healed by the crimson immortal wonder-herb. Miraculous beyond measure, the plant had pulled him back from death's door.
He struggled to his feet, about to confront the Zhu clan Grand Nuo.
The Zhu clan Grand Nuo approached with his hands behind his back. Gazing with peculiar intrigue, he smiled. "To heal even a severed throat—truly worthy of an immortal herb. Then, if your head is cut off, can you reattach it?"
With a gentle flick of his hair, a single strand flew like a sword across the young villager's neck, sending his head flying into the air!
He was a Grand Nuo; crushing a rustic peasant who possessed nothing more than a strong physique and a raw Pass-Breaching realm was child's play.
The Zhu clan Grand Nuo smiled and turned toward the crimson immortal wonder-herb. But at that moment, the young villager's head flew back toward his neck, granulation tissue sprouting and intertwining to reconnect head and body!
The Zhu clan Grand Nuo's eyes went wide. The young man's head had fused back into one with his neck—he had truly returned to life!
"Who is it?!"
Spinning around, he saw a figure standing between the other Zhu clan Nuo masters and the villagers. Every streak of sword qi had frozen solid in midair. No matter how flushed the Zhu clan Nuo masters became or how desperately they urged their sword caskets, they could not budge the sword qi by a fraction of an inch!
"Xu Ying! Demon King Xu!"
The Zhu clan Grand Nuo's eye twitched. He sneered, "Xu Ying, do you intend to meddle in our Zhu clan's affairs?"
*Swish!*
The sword beams pinned in midair suddenly reversed direction, whipping around the Zhu clan Nuo masters before sinking back into their sword caskets with a series of metallic clangs!
One by one, the Zhu clan Nuo masters wobbled and collapsed to the earth, dead on the spot!
Xu Ying flicked his sleeve and turned to face the Zhu clan Grand Nuo, the sword caskets snapping shut behind him with crisp clicks. The moment he turned, the mutated villagers returned to normal one after another.
When it came to the Mud Pill Nuo art, Xu Ying possessed Zhou Qiyun's true transmission. The Zhu clan Grand Nuo's Mud Pill art was like mud compared to clouds.
The Zhu clan Grand Nuo's eye twitched again. He sneered, "Xu Ying, even if you are an ageless immortal—"
The next instant, Xu Ying was right before him, throwing a punch. The Zhu clan Grand Nuo roared as tiers of cave-heavens unfolded behind him—Jade Pool, Crimson Palace, and Mud Pill secret depositories, varying in number. His Jade Pool secret depository was the most developed, boasting as many as five cave-heavens, while his Mud Pill depository, his least developed, still had four!
He had also cultivated Qi Refinement methods; his Realm of Xiyi manifested behind him, already advanced to the Pass-Breaching stage, brimming with vigorous dharmic power!
His Dao techniques and divine abilities erupted. Spreading his five fingers wide, layer upon layer of sealing arts surged forward straight at Xu Ying!
Xu Ying's fist blasted through every seal in a single blow, snapping the man's fingers and bending them backward before blowing his arm apart.
*Bang!*
Xu Ying's fist struck his face. Skin and facial features were plastered against the back of his skull as his brains were squirted out.
"Seventh Master told me that after killing someone, you reason with the corpse,"
Xu Ying pulled his blood-soaked fist from the ruin of the face, wiped his hands on the corpse, and said impassively, "What I want to say is: do you take me for dead?"
He turned toward the Zhu clan Nuo masters poised to attack outside the village. Rage burned in his heart. Looking down at the corpse of the Zhu clan Grand Nuo, he said, "You think you're worthy of using the Zhou clan's Mud Pill Nuo art? Let me show you what the true Mud Pill orthodox method is!"
A vicious glint flashed across Zhu Zhongquan's face. He waved his hand sharply, sending a swarm of Zhu clan Nuo masters charging in. Among them, Zhu clan Grand Nuo and clan elders lurked within the crowd, poised to deliver a fatal strike to Xu Ying!
The Zhu clan Nuo masters charging at the vanguard suddenly felt their vitality rapidly drain away. In an instant, they withered to skin and bones, their hair turning snow-white as they collapsed to the ground one after another, unable to move!
At the same time, the houses throughout the little village shook with a world-shattering roar. Tearing free of stone and mortar, flesh and blood sprouted over them as they transformed into colossal behemoths—the ancient beasts reviving under Xu Ying's Mud Pill Nuo art!
The behemoths stampeded toward the Zhu clan Nuo masters!
The Zhu clan Nuo masters went pale with terror, at a complete loss before the oncoming behemoths!
To strip away life and to bestow life—that was the true orthodox method of the *Mud Pill Hidden Scenery Longevity Art*!
Seeing this, the Zhu clan Grand Nuo and elders could no longer keep their presence concealed; they unfurled their cave-heavens to withstand the behemoths' assault.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhongquan threw himself to the front, dropped to his knees with a thud, raised both hands high, and laughed, "Brother-in-law, it's a misunderstanding! Stop, everyone stop! Sis, quick, come explain to Brother-in-law, this is all a misunderstanding!"
Zhu Hongyi braced herself and stepped forward. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, the behemoths fell back one after another, returning to the village and collapsing back into inert skeletons sprawled across the earth.
Bypassing Zhu Hongyi, Xu Ying walked straight up to the black-draped prisoner cart. "Old immortal," he said calmly, "since you find yourself in captivity, it would be best not to stir up trouble with reckless words."
"Hahahaha!"
Qi surged turbulently within the prisoner cart. The black cloth tore violently to shreds, and a blood-stained, white-haired old man abruptly rose to his feet. With wild hair flying, chains rattling around his limbs, he snarled with a hideous expression, "Little runt, are you speaking to me?"
His aura erupted, sweeping across the drifting clouds above. In an instant, dark storm clouds gathered, crackling with lightning!
*Crack!*
A bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the surroundings and dazzling everyone's sight.
Before Xu Ying's eyes, the prisoner cart, village, Zhu clan Nuo masters, Guo clan Nuo masters, distant stone city, and everything else vanished. Yunmeng Marsh was gone; this entire world had disappeared!
Suddenly, excruciating agony pierced his limbs. He looked down to see massive iron hooks boring into his shoulders and kneecaps, their barbed tips tearing through flesh and bone!
Cold sweat drenched him from the pain; his body grew rigid, unable to move.
Chains trailed behind the four iron hooks, rattling as they hoisted him into the air.
Iron bars flew in with ringing clangs, forming a cage that locked him inside. Xu Ying hung spread-eagled in the center of the cage.
"Little runt!"
The old man's face loomed larger and larger, his body growing toweringly vast. Raising his palm, he held Xu Ying and the cage entirely within his grasp.
Standing between heaven and earth, colossal and imposing, the old man sneered, his voice exploding inside Xu Ying's mind: "A brash youth who knows not the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth deserves a lesson! I shall erase the vision of your soul, punishing you for having eyes yet failing to recognize a senior expert—spend the rest of your days as a blind man!"
Watching the fingers reach toward his eyes, Xu Ying suddenly realized. "You say you're erasing my soul's vision... In other words, all of this is merely an illusion targeted at my soul."
The white-haired old immortal jabbed two fingers toward Xu Ying's eyes, laughing heartily. "You Nuo masters refine qi but never the soul. How could you possibly withstand my soul divine abilities?"
*Snap! Snap!*
His two fingers jabbed into the eyes of Xu Ying's soul as if striking an iron wall. Instantly, both finger bones fractured, bursting apart with loud pops and dissolving into wisps of smoke!
The illusion shattered. Xu Ying still stood beside the prisoner cart, while the white-haired old immortal rolled around inside the cage, writhing in agony and screaming piteously.
"Old immortal, seeing as you are in captivity, I'll let you off with just two broken fingers this time,"
Xu Ying crouched beside the cart, looking at the shrieking, thrashing old man, and said softly, "Next time, I'll twist your head clean off. Understood?"
He rose to his feet and, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, walked back to Yuan Qi's side, lightly landing atop the giant snake's forehead.
"Seventh Master, did I use that word 'captivity' correctly?" the youth asked nervously in a whisper.
Yuan Qi replied, "You didn't get it wrong this time. Ah Ying, studying character etymology with me these past two years has really improved your literacy."
Xu Ying smiled. "It's all thanks to your good teaching, Seventh Master."
Chapter 138