To the surprise of Xu Ying and Yuan Qi, Xue Ying'an crawled out of the battered Realm of Xiyi only slightly injured, with no grave harm done.
Xue Ying'an was as resilient as a cockroach, stumbling into pit after pit along the way and persevering through every single one. Even Xu Ying could not help but admire his tenacity.
Whatever one might say about Li Xiaoke, this youth truly commanded respect. With Xue Ying'an blazing the trail ahead, Xu Ying was spared a great deal of danger.
Streaks of rosy glow appeared in the desert ahead, looking as though they had descended from another world into the mortal realm, untainted by worldly dust. Xu Ying was astonished. "Strange. How could there be an ascension rosy glow here? Could that be the immortal encounter Xue Ying'an spoke of?"
Xue Ying'an noticed it as well. Deeply excited, he hastened his pace and dashed toward the glow.
A thought stirred in Xu Ying's mind. "Li Xiaoke must have told him many secrets about the ancient Yunmeng Marsh battlefield. I don't need to follow anyone else; following him is enough."
Xue Ying'an was far cleverer this time. Using the small bell as a scouting tool, he continuously stimulated its power to blast away invisible hazards along the path.
Yuan Qi whispered, "Ah Ying, is this kid afraid he won't die fast enough? Making such a grand spectacle will only trigger more dangers."
No sooner had he said this than, following a toll of the bell, winds howled and clouds roiled across the desert. A hundred-zhang skeleton rose from the sand, draped in battered armor flowing with iridescent light—chunks missing on the left and gaps on the right, hanging in tatters.
Behind the hundred-zhang skeleton floated a ruined Realm of Xiyi. It held a colossal broken blade, bearing the imprint of a palm right across the fracture.
Brandishing the broken blade, the hundred-zhang skeleton struck the small bell with a resounding clang, cleaving it in two! In the next instant, the skeleton's blade loomed over Xue Ying'an's head as it roared, "Battle! Battle! Battle!"
Xue Ying'an cried out in terror and hastily maneuvered his eight-sided sword to parry, only for the sword to be knocked aside by the broken blade!
He instantly shifted his footwork to dodge, but the skeleton wielded the broken blade with consummate skill. The blade clung to him like a shadow, arriving right behind his back!
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The skeleton's lingering consciousness roared. The blade light swept toward Xue Ying'an's waist, slicing through his garments. The skin on his lower back prickled with dread, and he inwardly wailed, "I am undone!"
Right then, a figure drifted over and arrived before the skull of the hundred-zhang skeleton. Spreading his arms, his ten fingers blossomed like flower petals. In a flash, his arms turned into phantom blurs, his fingers forming various bizarre palm seals that stamped in rapid succession upon the skeleton's glabella!
These seal arts were none other than the Heart-Centering Technique of the Pei clan from Shendu! And that figure was, of course, Xu Ying.
The Heart-Centering Technique could restore peace to a rampaging Dao heart. Xu Ying often used it to keep himself from succumbing to frantic turmoil.
At that moment, he struck seal after seal into the skeleton's glabella, swiftly refining away its lingering battle lust and murderous intent. The skeleton's towering frame froze, and the banner-like blade light halted right at Xue Ying'an's waist.
Xue Ying'an gasped, finding his midsection bathed in crimson.
He drifted to the ground and was about to thank Xu Ying when his waist suddenly folded forward, his entire body breaking in two.
Xue Ying'an collapsed onto the sand, clawing forward with both hands. Blood stained the ground beneath him as he wept loudly, "I don't want to die! I just left the mountain! I can't feel my legs!"
Though Xu Ying's rescue had been timely, the strike from the hundred-zhang skeleton had been too fierce. Even though the blade itself had not cut through him, the piercing blade energy had still severed him at the waist!
Xu Ying drifted down and landed on the spine of the broken blade. "Seventh Master, go tend to him."
Hearing this, Yuan Qi leapt down to the desert sand and mobilized his divine sense to lift Xue Ying'an's upper and lower halves. He then opened his Mud Pill secret depository, channeling the immortal medicine of longevity to stimulate the vitality of Xue Ying'an's physical body.
Floating before the colossal broken blade, Xu Ying shouted, "Seventh Master, don't join him backwards!"
Xue Ying'an was on the verge of fainting.
Yuan Qi chuckled. "Rest easy, I wouldn't make such an elementary mistake. If I make a mistake, it will be an advanced one."
With his severed bones realigned and his flesh and blood reconnected, Xue Ying'an hurriedly thanked Yuan Qi. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he cried out, "I still can't feel my legs or my rear!"
Yuan Qi scratched his head with his tail and looked up. "Ah Ying, he can't feel his legs or his rear!"
Xu Ying, who was laboring to wrest the broken blade from the skeleton's grip, called back, "Did you reconnect his nerve plexuses?"
Yuan Qi slapped his own head with his tail and yelled, "I didn't! What do we do now?"
"Pull him apart and reconnect them," Xu Ying replied, striving to pull out the blade.
Yuan Qi hurriedly told Xue Ying'an, "Bear with it, I'll be quick!" With that, he exerted two streams of magic power and yanked apart Xue Ying'an's freshly joined torso!
Xue Ying'an let out a hoarse shriek, his voice gradually trailing off into silence. Yuan Qi panicked. "Ah Ying, I've treated him to death!"
Xu Ying tossed down the broken blade and turned to untie the battered armor from the skeleton. "You're treating him with the immortal medicine of longevity—how could you possibly treat him to death? Didn't you think to replenish his qi and blood first?"
Yuan Qi caught on and hastened to replenish Xue Ying'an's qi and blood. Xue Ying'an groggily came to, his face pale as paper. Seeing his wound spouting blood like a fountain, he fainted dead away once more.
Yuan Qi hastily channeled the immortal medicine of longevity, first reconnecting his nerve plexuses before mending his bones, flesh, and blood. He called out, "Ah Ying, he hasn't woken up! He doesn't seem to be breathing!"
Xu Ying hauled down the tattered armor with a grunt. "Give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!"
Just as Yuan Qi was about to lean close, Xue Ying'an weakly stirred and said, "I am all right... I was only using the turtle breathing method to preserve my life. Thank you for saving my life. I can never repay this debt of gratitude, and can only..."
Yuan Qi chuckled. "Anything is fine as long as you don't offer yourself in marriage. By the way, give your legs a try."
Xue Ying'an stood up and moved about. Finding nothing amiss, he finally relaxed.
Xu Ying descended from above carrying the battered armor. "Seventh Master, open your mouth."
Yuan Qi opened his jaws wide, and Xu Ying stuffed the armor into his belly. He then dragged over the broken blade. Though snapped, it still radiated a biting chill and terrifying sharpness.
Xu Ying tried to refine the broken blade, only to find it astonishingly simple. He could activate it with effortless ease, as though he had refined it for ages.
He could not help but marvel. With a single thought, the broken blade shrank rapidly, transforming into a two-foot length that fit comfortably in his hand.
"Ah Ying, does this blade already belong to someone?" Yuan Qi asked in bewilderment. "How could you refine it to change size at will? Could it have as little integrity as Lord Bell?"
Xu Ying felt no spirit within the blade and shook his head. "I don't know what's going on either. It feels as if I had refined it before; it answers my every thought. Look, the handprint on the blade matches the size of my hand."
He held his hand against it. The fracture bore a palm print clearly left behind by the fiend, and Xu Ying's palm fit into the impression flawlessly, without the slightest discrepancy.
Xu Ying withdrew his hand and smiled. "The palm print on this blade matches my hand, so it was destined to be mine."
Yuan Qi looked on with envy.
"This skeleton was also a great hero. Even in death, his unyielding obsession drove him to continue fighting." Looking up at the hundred-zhang skeleton, Xu Ying felt deep admiration. "I wonder who that fiend was, to be so ferocious and powerful."
He grew worried. "Is that fiend still suppressed here? I wonder if the seal remains intact."
Xue Ying'an stepped forward and bowed deeply to Xu Ying and Yuan Qi in turn. "The great kindness of saving my life is something I will never forget. From now on, I will gladly work like an ox or horse for you both!"
Xu Ying waved his hand with a smile. "The main reason we saved you was that we were worried we wouldn't be able to find Jiucai Ridge on Jiulong Mountain if you died. Without finding that place, Lord Bell won't be able to emerge from his gloom."
Yuan Qi laughed. "Another reason is that your master Li Xiaoke must have told you many secrets about the ancient Yunmeng Marsh battlefield. Following you ensures we can find treasures."
Xue Ying'an said earnestly, "You may have had various motives for stepping in, but you still saved my life. You may not dwell on this debt, but I certainly will keep it in my heart."
Xu Ying greatly admired his character. "If we run into danger later, saving us once will be enough. There is no need to keep it constantly on your mind."
Xue Ying'an assented and walked forward, saying, "I will never hide anything my master told me. Before I left, he said this ancient battlefield was the heavenly road of ancient times, connecting the heavens and myriads of worlds. When immortals ascend, they do not ascend directly to the Immortal Realm; instead, they first ascend to the heavenly road."
Xu Ying hurriedly grabbed his arm to stop him from colliding with a residual divine ability ahead. Xue Ying'an halted, a bead of blood welling on his forehead.
Only then did he notice a nearly transparent needle suspended in midair. Had he taken another step, his glabella would have been pierced through!
"Let me take the lead," Xu Ying said kindly.
Xue Ying'an had no choice but to follow behind him, continuing, "Master said there are immortal roots along the heavenly road that contain celestial spiritual qi. Consuming an immortal root allows one to gradually shed one's mortal coil. There are many places like this along the road, each with different immortal roots. Ascending immortals journeyed onward in this fashion. Only upon reaching the Immortal Realm, having completely shed their mortal coils and become true immortals, could they enter."
Xu Ying activated his Heavenly Eye, discerning the hazards on the path ahead with absolute clarity. "I once heard someone say that an arch-villain severed the ascension road. Could the ascension road they spoke of be this very path?"
Xue Ying'an replied, "Master said the same thing. He said the heavenly gods and Heavenly Dao divine artifacts of the Heavenly Dao universe summoned all the great Qi Refiners of the Ascension stage across the heavens and myriads of worlds to intercept this arch-villain on the heavenly road. That battle broke the heavenly road, turning tribulation transcendence and ascension into an insoluble dilemma."
Xu Ying's imagination soared. The most powerful Qi Refiners across the heavens and myriads of worlds gathering to intercept an arch-villain—the mere thought filled him with excitement, wishing he could return to the past to witness the battle with his own eyes!
Composing himself, Xu Ying asked, "Then you headed for the ascension rosy glow because the immortal root is hidden within it?"
Xue Ying'an shook his head. "Master said the immortal roots of the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven naturally gravitate toward places close to the Immortal Realm. Therefore, upon seeing the ascension rosy glow, one must rush there. The immortal root is most likely right where it shines."
"So that's how it is." Xu Ying and Yuan Qi came to a sudden understanding.
They sped forward. Xu Ying sensed the aura of a Heavenly Tribulation, and his heart stirred. "Ying'an, when immortals reach this heavenly road, do they need to undergo another tribulation?"
Xue Ying'an shook his head. "I have never heard of such a thing. Why do you ask?"
Xu Ying took a deep breath. "We've stepped into a Heavenly Tribulation zone. Let me sense it... one, ten, fifty..."
Having observed Zhou Qiyun's tribulation and comprehended the Heavenly Tribulation Dao image, his sensitivity to lightning tribulations was extraordinarily keen. He immediately realized there were two hundred and sixty-seven Heavenly Tribulations overlapping here!
Judging by the area they covered, these two hundred and sixty-seven tribulations must have overlapped and been triggered at the exact same time!
In other words, two hundred and sixty-seven supreme Ascension-stage experts had simultaneously drawn down tribulations and undergone them together in the very same place!
Such a spectacle must have been staggering beyond imagination!
"Were the Qi Refiners of that era all so valiant?" Xu Ying murmured.
Startled by the scene he described, Xue Ying'an hastily shook his head. "I know nothing about others, but my master would never dare undergo tribulation like that. He is certainly not that valiant."
Yuan Qi suddenly chimed in, "Ah Ying, those two hundred and sixty-seven great Qi Refiners joined forces to face the tribulation, and they even succeeded! Look at those streaks of ascension rosy glow—most of them must have been left behind when they ascended!"
Xu Ying was stunned. Could joining forces to undergo tribulation truly succeed? He looked at Xue Ying'an, who shook his head. "I've never heard of it."
They journeyed on. After nearly an hour, having navigated various perils, they finally arrived where the ascension rosy glow originated.
This was also the place where the two hundred and sixty-seven Ascension-stage Qi Refiners had undergone their tribulations.
It was an oasis in the vast desert, cradling Crescent Spring, which looked like the smiling eye of a beauty—enchanting and serene.
Over two hundred figures of varying heights gathered around Crescent Spring, radiating powerful, mysterious auras. In diverse postures, every single one had an ascension rosy glow above their heads! These great Qi Refiners had faced tribulation together, and they had truly succeeded!
Xu Ying's shock knew no bounds. Could joining forces for tribulation really work?
Suddenly, Yuan Qi's voice rang out, "Ah Ying, come over here! I found Tian Qingzi!"
Xu Ying hurried over. By the edge of Crescent Spring sat a white-haired elder with his back to them, his hair hanging loose and his white eyebrows trailing along the ground.
Behind the elder stood a tall stone stele. Yuan Qi was reading the inscription. "It says he is Tian Qingzi, who guarded the tombs of his former comrades here and suppressed the fiend. In his old age, he passed away in meditation at this spot."
Xu Ying stepped forward to read the stele.
The inscription recounted a battle at Crescent Mountain. The fiend had swept along the heavenly road, unstoppable and invincible, routing the allied forces of the myriad worlds and inflicting catastrophic casualties.
Driven into the desperate corner of the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven Perilous Realm with their numbers dwindling, three hundred warriors stepped forward out of desperation. They took the initiative to trigger their Heavenly Tribulations, hoping to use the combined might of three hundred tribulations to blast the fiend to death!
The moment they summoned the tribulations, another thirty-three warriors fell to the fiend's hands, leaving only two hundred and sixty-seven tribulations to descend.
Two hundred and sixty-seven overlapping tribulations unleashed earth-shattering power, intending to obliterate the fiend along with the two hundred and sixty-seven warriors!
Xu Ying and Xue Ying'an felt their scalps prickle as they read. Gazing up blankly at the sky, where the dazzling streaks of ascension rosy glow remained so brilliant, they knew the two hundred and sixty-seven warriors had indeed survived their tribulations!
"In this battle, the fiend shook the tribulation and shattered it. Two hundred and sixty-seven Dao friends ascended successfully, joined forces to besiege the fiend, and died in battle here."
The stele recorded that the fiend had been gravely injured by the tribulations and then besieged by the two hundred and sixty-seven ascended experts. His momentum finally spent, he plunged into the Yuanshou world.
The Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven was flattened into ruins as a result, reduced from a miniature immortal realm on the heavenly road to a barren desert.
Before dying in battle, the two hundred and sixty-seven ascended experts each gouged out their own eyes and refined them into Crescent Spring, resembling the eye of a beauty.
Even in death, they intended to watch over that fiend. Anyone coming before Crescent Spring and gazing into its waters would be able to see the fiend's whereabouts.
Tian Qingzi wrote on the stele that his lifespan had reached its end, and he had to record this history lest future generations forget what these warriors had sacrificed for the heavens and myriads of worlds!
Reading to this point, Xu Ying was deeply moved. "Seventh Master, these people must be considered righteous men, right?"
Yuan Qi took on a rare solemnity. "Men of supreme righteousness!"
Filled with profound respect, Xu Ying walked to the edge of Crescent Spring and bowed to Tian Qingzi, who had passed away beside the waters. "Senior may rest in peace. Leave Senior's grave responsibility to us."
He peered into the spring, thinking to himself, "The stele says looking into the water reveals that fiend. I wonder if it's true."
The surface of Crescent Spring was smooth and unrippled, clear as a mirror. Xu Ying looked down and saw the back of a head.
He scratched his head, only to see a hand scratching the back of that head as well.
Puzzled, Xu Ying tilted his head back toward the sky. The person in Crescent Spring tilted his head back as well, looking up at the sky with a face full of confusion.
The face reflected in Crescent Spring was identical to his own.
Chapter 142