"Those two are extraordinarily strong. That four-armed outlander even managed to evade my new Nuo art,"
Xu Ying remarked in astonishment to Yuan Qi. "Though he didn't dodge it completely. And that four-armed woman was formidable as well. Hitting her Golden Core with the 'Yin' Dao sound failed to shatter it. They truly are something. Seventh Master, we cannot underestimate the heroes of this world."
Yuan Qi hesitated, sorely tempted to point out that both outlanders were likely at the Second Pass-Breaching stage, an entire realm above him. Yet, worrying that Xu Ying might grow conceited, he held back the truth, thinking, *It's rare for Ah Ying to be modest on his own accord. Better let him stay humble.*
Yue Hongzhu's injuries were also grave. Her Dao image had been destroyed and her Golden Core was on the brink of shattering—wounds that directly threatened her life. A shattered Dao image could be forged anew, but if a Golden Core shattered, one's soul might shatter along with it. It was perilous in the extreme! A Qi Refiner of her cultivation had already begun merging her Golden Core with her soul in preparation for forging the Primordial Spirit within the Twelve-Storyed Mansions in the next realm.
Therefore, her Golden Core could not be allowed to fail!
Supporting each other, the martial brother and sister struggled uphill, not daring to stop.
At last, panting and exhausted, the two reached the summit, only to be met by another group of four-armed clansmen ascending Jade Mountain from the opposite side. Seeing how battered the pair looked, the others were filled with doubt and alarm.
A middle-aged man hurried forward. The sight of him brought instant relief to Yue Hongzhu and Xiao Zheng, and both collapsed limp onto the ground.
"Who wounded you?"
This middle-aged man was their martial uncle, Yun Fan. Heavenly God Longyuan had located the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven, and Yun Fan was the strongest expert the heavenly god could dispatch into it. Anyone stronger would exceed the limits of Heavenly God Longyuan's power, destabilizing the road of ascension.
Yun Fan examined their injuries, his brow furrowing deeply. "I have never seen the divine power that harmed you. It is exquisitely intricate, and the power woven within it is on par with the art of creation!"
Yue Hongzhu and Xiao Zheng coughed blood ceaselessly, despair welling up inside them.
If Xu Ying's divine power could not be broken, it would remain trapped inside their wounds, causing them to deteriorate until it claimed their lives!
Divine radiance rippled behind Yun Fan as his four-armed Primordial Spirit materialized. "Do not worry," he said in a deep voice. "Though I cannot unravel it, I have gathered a good deal of primordial Dao essence this time. I can use the primordial Dao essence to sustain your life force, then forcibly shatter his divine power with my Primordial Spirit!"
No sooner said than done. He brought out a cluster of watery light to envelop Xiao Zheng's heart, and another to shroud Yue Hongzhu's Golden Core. His Primordial Spirit then reached out, grasping Xiao Zheng's heart and channeling magic power to forcefully wipe away Xu Ying's Nuo art, Reverse Longevity! Another hand of the Primordial Spirit extended a single finger to press against Yue Hongzhu's Golden Core. Wherever his magic power swept through, the lingering resonance of Xu Ying's 'Yin' Dao sound was utterly eradicated!
Both their hearts and Golden Cores took a heavy jolt, but sheltered by the primordial Dao essence, their lives were spared, even if their injuries remained severe for the moment.
Yun Fan ordered others to look after them, then led the rest toward the place where the Heavenly Dao divine artifact was summoning the immortal roots. "The Heavenly Dao divine artifact calling the immortal roots is no small matter," he said. "This must be the upheaval Heavenly God Longyuan spoke of! Let us make haste!"
Yue Hongzhu felt a chill in her heart. While still in the Yuanding World, she had repeatedly heard the elders of her sect mention an "upheaval," though always vaguely and with great secrecy. When she pressed for details, the elders only said that by the heavenly god's decree, an upheaval would occur in the mortal realms below, one that concerned whether one could achieve ascension!
Yet what that upheaval entailed, no one truly knew.
A Yuanding World Qi Refiner asked, "Martial Uncle Yun Fan, what about the person who injured Junior Sister Yue and Junior Brother Xiao?"
Yun Fan raised an eyebrow and replied indifferently, "No one can resist the temptation of so many immortal roots. That person will certainly trail behind them. We will cross paths with him soon enough."
The Yuanding World Qi Refiners buzzed with eager anticipation.
Qi Refiners of the Yuanding World were born warriors who took pride in battle; their favorite ritual was to sever their opponents' heads and impale them on wooden stakes as sacrifices to Heavenly God Longyuan. Xu Ying defeating two of their young prodigies had done nothing to intimidate them—it had only stoked their desire to fight!
In the mountain forest, Xu Ying leaped into the air alongside Yuan Qi, deploying Heaven-Soaring Cloud Ladder as he reached toward an immortal root in midair! The root was a cudrania tree with mulberry leaves, bearing fruit that resembled plump, white silkworms.
Just as Xu Ying moved to snatch its primordial Dao essence, every silkworm fruit on the tree spat out silk simultaneously. A vast web descended, wrapping Xu Ying and Yuan Qi securely until they were bundled into a stark-white cocoon! The cudrania tree drifted through the air in triumph, hauling the cocoon toward the gathering place called by the Heavenly Dao divine artifact to flaunt its prize to the other immortal roots.
The immortal roots were of one origin and possessed their own distinct means of communication. In an instant, the news that the archvillain had been captured spread among them.
An arrow-tree immortal root flew over from the distance, its branches bending like taut bows. Thorns grew from the boughs, notching against the curved wood before shooting in rapid succession—*thud, thud, thud!* Before long, the cocoon bristled like a hedgehog. Having loosed its volley, the arrow-tree swayed with smug satisfaction, calling out to its companions.
Next came an azalea-shaped immortal herb, only its blossoms were clusters of flames. This was no ordinary fire, but heavenly fire. The azalea immortal root gathered its sparks and set the silk cocoon ablaze, intent on burning Xu Ying inside with heavenly fire.
Then a thorn-spear immortal root swooped down, thrusting long wooden lances that pierced the burning cocoon clean through, back to front! The immortal roots were beside themselves with glee, reveling in their long-awaited vengeance. Other roots surged toward the commotion as well, determined to settle their blood feuds before answering the summons.
These immortal roots had originally hidden in Jade Mountain, gathering spiritual energy from the Immortal Realm while evading the Qi Refiners just to survive. Whenever they spotted Xu Ying, they naturally fled as far and hid as deep as possible. But now that he was trapped, their golden opportunity had arrived, and none intended to let it pass.
Right then, the blazing cocoon burst apart! Xu Ying emerged bristling with barbed arrow-thorns, impaled by thorn-spears, and enveloped in heavenly fire—yet he was still alive! The immortal roots erupted in panic, scrambling to scatter in all directions!
Xu Ying had no time to pull out the thorns and lances, nor to extinguish the heavenly fire that was roasting him until the scent of cooked meat wafted through the air. Instead, he lunged straight for the fleeing roots! His hands darted out repeatedly, plucking the primordial Dao essence from one immortal root after another.
Instantly, the vitality of the harvested roots withered, their leaves and boughs drooping limply as if struck by biting frost.
After Xu Ying seized the essence of more than a dozen immortal roots, Yuan Qi, huddled inside his Realm of Xiyi, cried out in terror, "Ah Ying, your body's about to be burned clean through! The heavenly fire has breached the Realm of Xiyi!"
Within the Realm of Xiyi, thick arrow shafts and heavy lances had punched through the Five Sacred Peaks immortal mountain, with several arrows embedded directly into the immortal mountain of Xu Ying's Kidney Peak!
Outside, the heavenly fire encroached, on the verge of sweeping across the entire Realm of Xiyi.
Though Xu Ying was keeping himself alive with the immortal longevity medicine of his Mud Pill secret depository, if his Realm of Xiyi caught fire and his magic power was incinerated, his cultivation realm would crumble to nothing! Hesitating no longer, Xu Ying plummeted toward the ground.
In midair, an immortal root transformed into a beam of spiritual light, sweeping down like the flick of a divine dragon's tail. Xu Ying executed Heaven-Soaring Cloud Ladder to evade it and ducked into the mountain forest. Unable to locate him, and compelled by the summons of the Heavenly Dao divine artifact, the disgruntled roots had no choice but to resume their journey toward the artifact.
Xu Ying summoned his Golden Core, attempting to suppress the heavenly fire that had burned down to his bones, only to find he could not hold it back. Panic finally crept in. "Seventh Master! Lord Bell! Come help, quick!"
Yuan Qi flew out from his Realm of Xiyi, opened his maw wide, and summoned various treasures from his belly to quench the blaze. Yet against the raging heavenly fire, what could Yuan Qi possibly do?
Xu Ying spurred his own treasures, but they too failed to subdue the flames. Seeing his flesh charred black, despair welled in his heart. *To think that I, Xu Ying, would perish at the hands of a bunch of weeds...*
Just then, a bronze bell wobbled out from Xu Ying's Bubbling Spring secret depository, swaying as if thoroughly drunk.
Yuan Qi, still trying frantically to put out the fire, paused with uncertainty upon seeing the bell. "Are you... Lord Bell?" he asked tentatively.
The bronze bell was covered inside and out with crusty green verdigris, looking filthy and disheveled—resembling a middle-aged vagrant who had wandered among beggars for two years without shaving or bathing, sprouting strange, unkempt fuzz. The original bell, though flecked with green patina, had mostly retained its solemn, ancient bronze luster.
To think that after so short an absence it had aged into such a weathered state; Yuan Qi could scarcely recognize it.
*CLANG!*
The bell chimed, and the tremor instantly extinguished the heavenly fire. It then flew into Xu Ying's Realm of Xiyi, putting out the flames there as well.
Only then did Yuan Qi breathe a sigh of relief. Looking toward Xu Ying, he found the boy burned to a crisp, slumped beneath a tree and still smoking with black vapor.
"Ah Ying burned to death?" Overcome with grief, Yuan Qi turned to the floating bell. "Ah Ying is dead, so the treasures he left in my care belong to no one. Let us inherit his valuables and his legacy, and divide the estate. You can go back to your ruined shrine at Little Stone Mountain, and I'll return to Mount Wuwang. We'll go our separate ways!"
Hardly had the words left his mouth when the "charred corpse" twitched. The burnt crust on the outside began to flake away. Yuan Qi, who had been wiping away tears to divide the spoils, froze on the spot.
Fresh flesh rapidly sprouted beneath the charred crust of Xu Ying's body, replacing the burned areas and restoring him to wholeness in no time.
"Seventh Master, give me a set of clothes!" Xu Ying called out.
Yuan Qi spat out a change of garments. Xu Ying yanked out the barbed thorns, arrows, and wooden lances impaling his body, donned the clothes, and asked, "Seventh Master, what were you saying just now? What estate are we dividing?"
Yuan Qi stammered, "Nothing of the sort! You must have misheard! If you don't believe me, ask Lord Bell!"
The bell spoke in a muffled, sullen tone: "Seventh Master said you were dead and made a fuss about splitting the family fortune."
Yuan Qi flew into a rage. "You broken bell, stop slandering a good snake for no reason! Ah Ying, look at it—it's green all over, not even the right color! How could you trust it? Who have you known longer, me or that broken bell?!"
A moment later, the giant snake was left battered and bruised, with one of his venom fangs snapped off. He coiled sullenly around Xu Ying's shoulder, the mane behind his head fluttering. *Lord Bell clearly wanted to divide the estate too,* he thought bitterly. *Why am I the only one who got beaten?*
Having opened his Mud Pill secret depository as well, his broken fang soon regenerated.
During his reckless charge through the throng of immortal Dao roots, Xu Ying had plundered the primordial Dao essence of thirteen roots. Five of the six immortal medicines corresponding to the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body were now active and continuously refining. Only the soul medicine of the Bubbling Spring secret depository remained dormant.
Xu Ying tossed the surplus primordial Dao essence to Yuan Qi, who soon collected enough to activate five immortal medicines as well, leaving only the soul medicine unrefined.
Xu Ying then handed the duplicate essence to the bronze bell. Although the bell had no immortal medicines within it, being bathed in the primordial Dao essence gradually cleared away its green fuzz, smoothed its bronze patina, and bolstered its power. Yet having been crushed by the revelation that it was merely a substitute, the bell remained listless and thoroughly downcast.
Seeing this, Xu Ying drew it back into his Realm of Xiyi and said, "Lord Bell, watch over my Realm of Xiyi so those immortal roots don't invade again."
The bell gave no reply, but remained suspended within the realm.
Xu Ying set the Pure Yang anomalous fire beside it. The flame was pure yang and radiant, sure to bring the bell some cheerful warmth. In time, the bell would surely step out of the gloom and regain its spirits.
Carrying Yuan Qi, Xu Ying dashed toward the summit of Jade Mountain. By then, the immortal Dao roots had already ascended. Lacking the time to repeat his ambush, he had no choice but to follow in their wake.
Looking up, Xu Ying saw beams of spiritual light radiating from the immortal Dao roots, intertwining to form a slanted road stretching into the void. From afar, the light gathered within these roots resembled the stems and leaves of a single colossal plant, albeit missing many parts.
"Is the Heavenly Dao divine artifact trying to gather these immortal Dao roots to restore the root of the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven?"
Xu Ying murmured in doubt and wonder. "The root of the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven was shattered by that archvillain, its pieces turning into countless immortal herbs scattered across various worlds. Can the Heavenly Dao divine artifact truly restore such a treasure on its own?"
Yuan Qi could not resist chiming in: "Ah Ying, *you* are that archvillain. Stop talking about the archvillain as if you're referring to someone else every single time."
"Seventh Master, has your tooth grown back?"
"It has."
"No, it hasn't!"
With two more teeth knocked out, Yuan Qi went back to mending his fangs, grumbling resentfully, "Ah Ying, you can't run away from the fact that you're the archvillain."
Even in its ruined state, the root of the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven was colossal. Xu Ying watched as it slowly hauled an immortal palace out from the depths of the void! Shrouded in immortal mist, the palace radiated a profound, lofty aura, as if immortals still inhabited its halls.
Yet the palace was visibly battered, more than half of it destroyed, leaving behind only half a hall and a courtyard.
*Most likely, this palace was smashed by that archvillain Xu Ying as well,* Yuan Qi thought silently. *Better keep quiet, though, lest I get beaten again.*
The draconic-headed, human-bodied deity manifested by the Heavenly Dao divine artifact was currently hauling the Lesser Xuan Heaven root, striving to pull that immortal palace into the Lesser Xuan Heaven.
At the same time, waves of Heavenly Dao majesty radiated from the deity, resonating with the myriad heavens and worlds. Xu Ying felt a jolt of recognition. *The Heavenly Dao divine artifact's Heaven-Human Induction feels remarkably like the Heaven-Human Induction practiced during Emperor Wu's reign! Could the Heaven-Human Induction of Emperor Wu's era be connected to the Heavenly Dao? Something doesn't feel right here...*
Having cultivated Heaven-Human Induction himself, he immediately released his divine sense, touching upon the resonance of the Heavenly Dao divine artifact. In that very instant, Xu Ying heard the voice of the Heavenly Dao!
"People of all realms! I am the avatar of the Heavenly Dao. Promptly return the immortal Dao roots you have stolen and restart the heavenly road! Refuse, and tribulation shall descend to smite you!"
Chapter 146