The dragon-headed divine being formed by the Heavenly Dao divine artifact rode the wind and thunder, soaring out of that destroyed heavenly realm and heading toward the other heavens.
Carrying world-ending might, it traveled through the Lesser Xuan Heaven immortal root into another world. In this heavenly realm, an immortal root was also being hoarded by the local Qi Refiners. The divine being was poised to annihilate another world.
To it, wiping out hundreds of millions of living souls was no different from swatting a fly.
Meanwhile, Xu Ying had entered the immortal palace of Lesser Xuan Heaven. Though more than half of the palace lay in ruins, it was many times larger than it had appeared from a distance; the closer one approached, the vaster its scale proved to be. The Lesser Xuan Heaven immortal root was linked directly to the immortal palace. Back in the era when ascension was still possible, countless immortals must have visited this place to rest their feet. Xu Ying landed and immediately followed his divine sense to search for that wall.
He searched every quarter with swift footwork. By now, many people had entered the palace to seek opportunities. Xu Ying ran head-on into Cui Dongli of the Cui residence. The Cui clan had dispatched numerous Nuo masters this time, including many Grand Nuo and clan elders, but the perils of Taiyi Lesser Xuan Heaven had exceeded all expectations, inflicting heavy casualties upon them.
At present, only four or five people remained by Cui Dongli's side. Yet Cui Dongli's aura was remarkably formidable. He was studying the ruins of an ancient immortal, deriving an extraordinary Dao image from them. Behind him, a diagram of the Great Dao rose like steam, depicting an ancient immortal battling a Heavenly Tribulation.
By stacking up lives, he had reaped considerable benefits in Taiyi Lesser Xuan Heaven, causing his cultivation to surge. Seeing Xu Ying charge in, his eyes lit up as he recalled how last time he hadn't even dared to trade a single blow with Xu Ying before losing his nerve.
"Monster King Xu!"
Cui Dongli could hardly conceal his excitement. He immediately summoned his Golden Core and proclaimed loudly, "I have harvested the primordial Dao essence of two immortal roots, making immense strides in cultivation and comprehending an Ascension Dao Diagram! I wish to duel you once—"
Turning a deaf ear, Xu Ying charged straight past.
Yuan Qi suddenly vaulted from his shoulder to confront Cui Dongli, shouting, "Beast! What do you think you're doing?!"
The great serpent revealed his true form, summoning his cultivated Golden Core and activating the six secret depositories. Manifesting the image of the Great Dao, he crushed downward!
Cui Dongli fought back desperately. Within three exchanges, his Flying Immortal Dao Diagram was shattered, and he was hurled against a wall, coughing blood and thoroughly drained. He slowly slid down from the wall and slumped onto the ground, his eyes completely dazed. "I'm not even a match for the snake raised by Monster King Xu...?"
Little did he know that Yuan Qi had consumed the primordial Dao essence of five immortal roots, possessing a cultivation higher than his own. Moreover, enjoying the advantage of being close at hand, Yuan Qi's arts and divine powers were guided directly by Xu Ying. While Cui Dongli was an outstanding young expert of the Cui clan, a distinct gap still separated him from Yuan Qi.
Having defeated Cui Dongli in three moves, Yuan Qi instantly shrank in size and darted after Xu Ying. Just as he was about to land on Xu Ying's shoulder, the sound of a zither drifted from a courtyard ahead. It was Young Master Gao Xingqian of the Gao clan playing the instrument.
The music was mournful at first, sounding like a reclusive scholar frustrated by unrecognized talent, or a noble lady whose desires went unfulfilled.
Then Gao Xingqian's zither notes grew strident and ringing, like a master burning with battle intent, challenging Xu Ying to prove himself, or like a noble lady insatiable in her lust, driven by bottomless desire. Dressed in white, Young Master Gao Xingqian sat in the immortal palace's courtyard plucking the strings with a smile, pondering a zither score he had discovered.
Seeing Xu Ying rush into the courtyard, he burst into laughter. Pushing the ancient zither aside with both hands, he projected his voice, "Monster King Xu, I have waited for this day for a long—"
Right at that moment, an exotic serpent bearing black-and-white horns pounced from behind Xu Ying, roaring in fury, "Cut the crap with that zither! If you want to fight, then fight; don't put on cultured airs!"
Young Master Gao Xingqian was horrified to see the great snake, whose body resembled a Dao image, strike with movements that resonated with the roar of thunder. The burst of divine power was so violent that he felt if he failed to deflect it, he would be slapped to death on the spot!
He pushed his cultivation to its limits, activating the Gao clan's Shenxiao Heavenly Expedition Induction. A thousand-armed deity manifested behind him, wielding all manner of treasures as it met Yuan Qi!
*Boom!*
Man and snake collided. Gao Xingqian's blood and vitality surged in violent disarray, and many arms on the thousand-armed deity behind him snapped.
Yuan Qi's tail swept across with immense force, stirring up howling gales. The colossal tail sent Gao Xingqian and the thousand-armed deity sliding backward together. Crashing into the wall, he realized things looked grim and decisively summoned his Golden Core, bellowing, "Foul creature, Monster King Xu is my opponent! What kind of thing do you think you are?!"
Another Golden Core came hurtling forward—larger, more translucent, and brimming with far more vitality. It was Yuan Qi's Golden Core! As the two Golden Cores clashed, earth, water, wind, and fire surged violently across several mu of land!
Gao Xingqian spat out a mouthful of blood. His knees buckled, and he collapsed face-first to the ground, fainting dead away.
Yuan Qi retrieved his Golden Core and slithered away in haste to catch up with Xu Ying. Xu Ying had already circled the courtyard without finding the mural, moving on into the next palace hall.
Yuan Qi darted inside to find Heir Li Tingshu studying a painting of a flying immortal on the wall. Without waiting for Xu Ying's instruction, Yuan Qi rushed forward, first using his Golden Core to suppress Li Tingshu, then sweeping his tail to swat the unprepared heir away, sending him crashing dozens of zhang into the distance.
Li Tingshu groaned in pain. Startled and enraged, he rolled to his feet, only to be suppressed by Yuan Qi's Golden Core once more.
Yuan Qi thrust the tip of his tail forward like a straight sword, barking, "You suicidal fool, you think you're worthy of challenging Master Ying? Pass me first!"
Even as a scion of the imperial household and a brilliant talent of the Li clan famed for his sharp intellect, Li Tingshu had never encountered someone so utterly unreasonable.
Suppressed by Yuan Qi's Golden Core, his entire cultivation was immobilized. Yuan Qi's tail-tip struck his chest, sending him flying backward while coughing blood, filled with bewildering grief and indignation. *When did I ever say I wanted to challenge Xu Ying?!*
The Li clan guards rushed to his rescue, but before they could strike, they saw their heir sent flying and immediately turned to attack Yuan Qi. A ferocious glint appeared in Yuan Qi's eyes. "You want a brawl? Why would Lord Niu Qi fear the likes of you?!"
His blood and vitality erupted into fury as swirls of sword Qi circled his body like drifting snow. Wherever he passed, bones snapped and sinews tore, leaving the Li clan guards wounded in an instant.
Xu Ying cast a swift gaze over the hall and called out, "Seventh Master, not here!"
Abandoning the crowd, Yuan Qi whistled past to keep up, racing alongside Xu Ying toward the next palace.
"Don't pursue them!"
Seeing his guards prepare to chase, Li Tingshu hurriedly raised a hand to steady his injuries, gasping, "No need to chase! I am wounded; if you leave, my life will be in danger. Protect me at once!"
Xu Ying entered the next palace hall. Inside, the Zhao brothers, Zhao Xianghai and Zhao Ling, were leading a group of Nuo masters to guard Chai Wuyong, an expert of the Chai clan, while he studied the ancient immortal inscriptions on the wall.
The inscriptions were written in bird-and-worm seal script, profound and difficult to decipher. Even with the extraordinary intellect of the three young experts, they were unable to decode the text in short order.
As Xu Ying charged in, Yuan Qi sprang out from behind him without a word, summoning his Golden Core to suppress everyone present. "So you're the ones looking to challenge Ah Ying? Always finding trouble, aren't you?!"
Seeing the sheer number of foes, Yuan Qi opened his mouth and unleashed the heavy treasures stored in his belly, crashing them downward.
The Zhao brothers and Chai Wuyong were the most prominent figures among the Zhao and Chai clans. In particular, the two Zhao brothers each possessed a Dharma treasure—an axe and a staff—and their cultivation and strength surpassed even Chai Wuyong's. It was only because the Zhao clan's foundation was shallow that they had attached themselves to the Chai clan.
The three acted decisively, unleashing their respective Dharma treasures to push back against Yuan Qi, which quickly proved too much for the serpent to bear. He yelled hurriedly, "Lord Bell!"
The bronze bell flew out from behind Xu Ying's head. With a resounding *dang*, its vibrations suppressed the Nuo masters of the Chai and Zhao clans along with the three young experts, pinning them completely motionless!
Xu Ying gave the area a quick once-over and rushed outside, shouting, "Not here!"
The bronze bell and great snake scrambled to keep up. Yuan Qi remarked, "Lord Bell, you've finally found your vigor! If we run into an expert later, back me up!"
The bronze bell said, "With so many immortal roots forming the Lesser Xuan Heaven immortal root, the primordial Dao essence must be terrifyingly abundant. Ah Ying is bound to be suppressed in the future and reincarnated as a fool. He won't be able to use the primordial Dao essence anyway, so us two brothers can split it fifty-fifty: seventy percent for me, twenty percent for you, and the remaining ten percent I'll keep safe on Ah Ying's behalf."
Yuan Qi went silent for a moment before praising, "Lord Bell, did you learn your arithmetic from your master Li Xiaoke? As expected of someone from a chive-cutting family—even the replica treasure forged by them is this good at keeping accounts."
Deflated by his words, the bronze bell slumped for a moment before perking back up, speaking with earnest sincerity, "Little Qi, your big brother is older than you, and I still need the primordial Dao essence to wash away the impurities on my body so I can scrap with that golden bell. Have a little pity on your big brother, won't you?"
Yuan Qi replied, "Lord Bell, Ah Ying isn't even dead yet. Isn't it a bit early to be talking about this?"
"True. We'll talk about it after he's arrested."
Xu Ying rushed into the next immortal hall, where numerous four-armed outlanders sat cross-legged, quietly contemplating a wall. As Xu Ying dashed forward, the bronze bell flew out behind him, casting down an immensely heavy wall of light with a resonant hum to suppress all the four-armed outlanders. Yuan Qi charged in, shouting, "Whoever dares move, Lord Bell and I will kill them on the spot!"
Pressed down by the bell, the four-armed outlanders turned red in the face. Veins bulged across their foreheads as steam-like blood and vitality rose above their heads, summoning Golden Cores one after another! The bronze bell was startled. Over a hundred four-armed outlanders gathered in this immortal hall, and all of them were Qi Refiners who had forged a Golden Core—a truly extraordinary feat! Several among them had even forged a Primordial Spirit, which also took on a four-armed form and possessed immense power!
"Lord Bell can suppress even heavenly gods, let alone you little brats who've only just forged Primordial Spirits!"
The bronze bell paid no heed, pressing down with full force.
Beneath the bell stood Yue Hongzhu, who had not yet fully recovered from her injuries. Seeing Xu Ying, she cried out hurriedly, "Martial Uncle Yun Fan, it's him!"
Yun Fan's gaze flashed like lightning onto Xu Ying. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, this bell is formidable. Offer sacrifices to Heavenly God Longyuan to break it!"
Decisively, the crowd produced wooden stakes and drove them into the ground.
Atop those stakes were human heads belonging to Nuo masters from the major great families. Their heads had been severed and grafted onto the stakes, yet they remained alive. As the outlanders cast their art, the heads upon the stakes opened and closed their mouths, muttering incantations.
Gradually, blood-stained patterns surfaced on the stakes, squirming across the bark like earthworms. The bronze bell immediately sensed a peculiar power piercing through itself and reaching deep into the void, connecting to another time and space!
Next, it felt a vast consciousness linking with the sacrifice!
Meanwhile, Xu Ying strode briskly before the outlanders and looked up to examine the mural. It depicted a sword immortal undergoing tribulation to ascend, a gourd hanging from his waist. His back was turned to the viewer as he gazed up at the Heavenly Tribulation in the sky, appearing calm and unhurried.
"Found it!"
Xu Ying's eyes lit up. He reached out toward the painting.
The mural was flat, yet Xu Ying's hand reached straight into it. With a gentle pluck, he took down the gourd hanging from the sword immortal's waist!
At that very instant, the sword immortal in the painting turned his head, his gaze meeting Xu Ying's.
Xu Ying's mind went blank. The painted sword immortal wore a gaudy, colorful mask that revealed only two eyes—a pair of flesh-and-blood human eyes!
*The person behind the Heavenly Dao divine artifact has been hiding here all along!*
Realization dawned upon Xu Ying. He instantly stowed the gourd and dashed toward the exit, shouting, "Lord Bell! Retreat!"
The bronze bell immediately swept up Yuan Qi and charged out of the immortal palace. Behind them, Yun Fan and the four-armed outlanders had just completed the sacrifice, and the power of Heavenly God Longyuan pierced through the void.
At the same time, the dragon-headed, human-bodied deity formed by the Heavenly Dao divine artifact broke free from the other heavenly realm and rushed toward this location.
Xu Ying leaped onto the bronze bell and shouted, "Lord Bell, back to Jade Mountain, quick!"
Yun Fan and the others also surged out of the immortal palace in hot pursuit. Inside the palace, others noticed the upheaval and poured out one after another.
Two vast, profound powers met in the void, where a voice detonated like thunder: "Who are you, to dare impersonate the Heavenly Dao?!"
The sword immortal walked down from the mural, gazed into the depths of the void, and smiled. "If you could do it on the first, why can't I do it on the fifteenth? Back then, you impersonated the Heavenly Dao, but you didn't do a clean job and left some weapons behind in the lower realm. I am merely wielding the weapons you discarded to reenact what you did back then."
Chapter 148