Toppled

The sorrowful old man stared at Xu Ying, forgetting all about eating the Nuo Immortal Zhong Chengxiao, and blurted out in shock, "How did you..." "How did I know you would eat people?" Xu Ying sneered. "Fu Yi, have you forgotten? The first time we met, when you spoke of eating Nuo Immortals, you couldn't control yourself and kept swallowing your saliva." Xu Ying remembered that scene vividly. Back then, he had escaped from the white-robed Nuo Immortal Chen Mianzhu's Hidden Scenery, pursued from behind by deities, while the white-robed Nuo Immortal's human skin drifted in the sky. It was under those circumstances that he had met the sorrowful old man. The sorrowful old man had invited him for tea and helped him shake off the pursuit of Chen Mianzhu's skin. At that time, when the sorrowful old man spoke of how Chen Mianzhu had been eaten, which had spawned his grudge, his Adam's apple had bobbed uncontrollably. The sorrowful old man's eyes glinted, and he gave a low chuckle. "Does Young Master Xu know who ate Chen Mianzhu?" He glanced around and found no sign of that Golden Crow, breathing a sigh of relief in his heart. If Jin Buyi were here, he would have no way out alive. But here there were only Xu Ying, a bell, a snake, and a stalk of grass, posing no pressure on him at all. The bronze bell said lazily, "Is it that worthless master of mine, Li Xiaoke?" The sorrowful old man froze for a moment, clearly not expecting this to no longer be a secret. He collected himself and asked, "How did Young Master Xu find this place?" Xu Ying raised his palm, and profound Heavenly Dao runes emerged in midair, shaped like individual eyes. "These are Tianshu runes from among the Heavenly Dao runes. When I fought the stone statue of Tianshu, numerous Tianshu runes would surface across his body every time he attacked," Xu Ying said leisurely. "Back then, he beat me mercilessly, leaving me powerless to fight back. His eyes could permeate every corner of space, watching my every move; none of my techniques could escape him." The sorrowful old man nodded. During Xu Ying's battle against Tianshu's stone statue, he had been watching from afar, waiting for Tianshu's statue to capture Xu Ying. At that time, Xu Ying had indeed been battered miserably by Tianshu's stone statue. Xu Ying continued, "Why was I able to strike back and kill him? Because the moment I saw the Heavenly Dao runes on his body, I immediately understood their meaning. Not only did I understand what they meant, but I could also discern whether the runes were correct or flawed, and fix the errors." The sorrowful old man understood, his expression turning even more bitter and sorrowful. "In the past, you must have battled many heavenly gods and studied them thoroughly, becoming even more familiar with the Heavenly Dao runes on them than they were themselves. But your memories have been sealed and suppressed—how could you still understand those runes?" Xu Ying smiled. "I don't know either. When I saw those runes, I simply understood them naturally." The sorrowful old man's eyes widened. Only after a moment did he recover his composure, sighing, "I see now. So this is why we could never keep you down. Every time we sealed your memories, you would always gradually embark upon the path of cultivation again. We previously thought Granny Meng was playing tricks with her soup." He shook his head and said, "It turns out the one playing tricks wasn't Granny Meng, but you yourself. You hid all your insights into these Daos and divine powers completely, tucking them away outside the seals. As soon as you see similar characters, those memories awaken. Brilliant, truly brilliant!" He could not help but marvel. Xu Ying had concealed this knowledge from the sixteen Immortal Dao runes so that he could make a comeback. And the difficulty of concealing anything from sixteen Immortal Dao runes could well be imagined! The bronze bell and Yuan Qi felt a stir in their hearts, suddenly recalling the thunder pattern that occasionally surfaced between Xu Ying's brows. *Every time Ah Ying becomes Master Ying, that thunder pattern surfaces, drawing in rolling heavenly tribulations to empower himself,* Yuan Qi thought. *Besides that, even when Ah Ying's memories hadn't returned, the thunder pattern would still surface from time to time. Could it be that Ah Ying's insights into the Daos and divine powers from his past life are hidden within that thunder pattern?* Xu Ying smiled. "Since I am even more versed in Tianshu than Tianshu's stone statue, using Tianshu's divine powers to track your movements in secret isn't difficult at all." No sooner had he spoken than a soft pop sounded in the sky of this Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground, and an eye actually sprouted from it! This eye was none other than the Eye of Heaven opened by Xu Ying's Heavenly Dao divine power, gazing eerily at the sorrowful old man! When Jin Buyi hacked the gods with his sabers and the bronze bell shook their stone statues into fine dust, the sorrowful old man had immediately departed upon seeing that. At that very moment, Xu Ying had already cast his Heavenly Dao divine power, manifesting eyes to track his whereabouts. These Heavenly Eyes of Xu Ying kept watch from a distance. His eyes appeared in the sky, upon the mountains and rivers, and even upon tree trunks and leaves, monitoring the sorrowful old man's movements. But they did not dare draw too close. The sorrowful old man's cultivation and strength were extremely high; getting too close would easily alert him. Once they reached Changsha, Xu Ying lost his connection to the sorrowful old man. However, knowing that the sorrowful old man was hiding in Changsha made finding him much simpler. The purple immortal plant was adept at slipping into others' Realms of Xiyi—it could even bore into Emperor Double Pupils' Realm of Xiyi to suppress Double Pupils. Having it search around the Realms of Xiyi of powerful experts made finding the sorrowful old man possible. The sorrowful old man sighed and said, "In the past, it was always us monitoring you. Whenever you posed a threat, we would force you to drink Meng Po soup, washing away your memories, falsifying new ones, and sending you elsewhere. I never expected that the moment our vigilance slipped, you would grow to this extent and actually start plotting against me." Xu Ying said indifferently, "Why would I remain at your mercy forever? In the past, I was powerless to resist you. But now, not only will I resist, I will strike back and kill. Fu Yi, you are the first." The sorrowful old man suddenly burst out laughing. His hunched posture slowly straightened as lightning flashed and thunder roared behind him, wind and clouds churning furiously as his aura climbed higher and higher! Behind him, cave-heavens large and small lit up one after another with a deep hum, distorting space-time and roiling the winds and clouds. Unlike Li Xiaoke, he did not possess a great multitude of cave-heavens—precisely sixty-three, neither more nor less. Among the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body, cultivating nine cave-heavens reached the pinnacle, allowing one to become a Nuo Immortal. The Bubbling Spring secret depository was divided into left and right, mirroring each other; thus, mastering all six secret depositories yielded precisely sixty-three cave-heavens. Sixty-three cave-heavens, combined with his cultivation that had long reached the Ascension stage, made his true strength far more terrifying than anything he had displayed before. "Xu Ying!" he charged forward, laughing loudly. "In the past, I was always begging on bended knee, pleading with those above to handle things, begging them to deal with you! Now, I don't care about those old fogies above who love following protocol—I will deal with you myself!" He let out a long cry as a towering, majestic Primordial Spirit emerged behind him, his dharmic power erupting! His Primordial Spirit's white hair fluttered in the wind, its face likewise bearing a sorrowful look, yet imbued with an immortal's ethereal presence. "Immortal Slaying Finger!" He thrust out a finger. Winds and clouds shifted violently, and faint streaks of immortal light—some fast, some slow—emanated from his fingertip. It was practically an immortal art, thrusting toward Xu Ying from different angles and different dimensions of space-time! This was no mortal divine power! It was a divine power passed down from immortals. Even when unleashed by a Qi Refiner of the Ascension stage, it carried an ethereal immortal aura that left no room to dodge or resist! Even in the hands of a sword master like Li Xiaoke, Xu Ying had never seen an immortal heritage displayed. Evidently, the legacy behind the sorrowful old man was extraordinary. Xu Ying said in a deep voice, "Lord Bell, how much of your full might can you unleash?" The bronze bell flew out from his side to meet the Immortal Slaying Finger, reverberating with deep resonance. "Originally, only eighty to ninety percent! But after Patriarch Chanchan's modifications, I can unleash a full ten-tenths!" Xu Ying suddenly struck the bronze bell with a palm, sweeping his hand firmly around the bell's wall in an instant. Across the surface of the bell, countless Dao images flared to life—sun and moon, mountains and rivers, stars and the cosmic ocean, birds and beasts, insects and fish, all things flourishing and myriad beings contending—all catalyzed by Xu Ying! In an instant, the bronze bell felt that it was unleashing not merely its full power, but one hundred and twenty percent of its potential! Xu Ying used the power of the Heavenly Dao to activate the Dao images across the bell's inner and outer walls, enabling it to better unleash its might. *Clang!* The bronze bell clashed against the Immortal Slaying Finger. Ringing peals exploded consecutively—*dang, dang, dang!* In an instant, the bell collided countless times with the finger strike! The Nuo Immortal Zhong Chengxiao's Hidden Scenery immediately began to crumble and collapse amidst the world-destroying might. Swaths of Dao images were annihilated, and this earthly paradise plunged into terrifying cataclysm as all things within were destroyed! Standing in one's Hidden Scenery made one an immortal of the mortal realm, yet Zhong Chengxiao had no power to resist, forced to watch helplessly as his Hidden Scenery was ruined. Suddenly, the sorrowful old man's expression soured. All five fingers of his right hand shattered. With a muffled groan, he leaped into the air. With a sharp tear, the Hidden Scenery ripped open, and the sorrowful old man flew into the sky. Just then, a Feilai Peak abruptly struck, slamming into his body and knocking both mountain and man right out of the city of Changsha! That Feilai Peak was astonishingly heavy, crushing down upon the sorrowful old man and dragging across the ground for dozens of li before finally coming to a halt! The bronze bell and Yuan Qi rushed out in haste, escaping the soon-to-be-annihilated Hidden Scenery. Xu Ying fell a step behind, asking Zhong Chengxiao—whose skin had already been torn open, "Have you opened the Mud Pill secret depository?" Zhong Chengxiao gave a reluctant, strained nod. Xu Ying said, "Having your Hidden Scenery destroyed might not be a bad thing. If you cultivate again from scratch, there will be no traps in your technique." He hauled the blood-drenched Zhong Chengxiao and flew out. Behind him, the Hidden Scenery collapsed completely, utterly destroyed. Xu Ying dropped Zhong Chengxiao, his figure flashing as he arrived atop Feilai Peak outside the city. The sorrowful old man let out a roar, exerting force with both arms to lift Feilai Peak. The bronze bell struck from an angle, slamming into his body and knocking him flying out from under Feilai Peak! With a muffled grunt, the sorrowful old man tumbled and rolled far away, crashing down. Just as he rose from the dust, Xu Ying was already upon him with the bronze bell. A burst of bell chimes blasted his Primordial Spirit away. Xu Ying closed in for hand-to-hand combat, unleashing the Thirteen Heavenly Sword Forms in an instant, piercing various points across his body! The sorrowful old man had no time to counterattack. The space between his brows, the back of his head, his chest, his Yellow Court, his throat, and the soles of his feet were all struck by sword light, sending him flying high into the air. Xu Ying stayed right beside him, striking him with a Dao-Returning Method! The old man heard his own bones crack, while a strange power invaded his body, acting upon the exact places Xu Ying had just struck with his sword forms. Flying alongside Xu Ying's palm strike was a strange horned snake, which bit viciously into his neck. Just as he was about to circulate his dharmic power to purge the snake venom, another Feilai Peak crashed down from above! The sorrowful old man bellowed, thrusting his palms upward to meet Feilai Peak head-on. Incredibly, he blocked the gargantuan bronze mountain, but despite his immense cultivation, the shockwave made blood spurt from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose! The recoil from Feilai Peak left Zhu Chanchan breathless as well, stymieing her offensive. At the same time, the sorrowful old man's Primordial Spirit forced the bronze bell back and returned to his physical body. The sorrowful old man laughed heartily, looking around. Those attacking him were merely Xu Ying, the bronze bell, Zhu Chanchan, and a snake; the single stalk of grass was useless. "Among you, the one with the highest cultivation is this little wench. And she has only just formed her Primordial Spirit," the sorrowful old man sneered, glancing at Zhu Chanchan. Zhu Chanchan scoffed, "In my prime, this patriarch could suppress you with one hand!" She wasn't exaggerating. In her heyday, Zhu Chanchan was also a grand Qi Refiner of the Ascension stage, covered head to toe in treasures embezzled during the forging of Haojing; she could have crushed the sorrowful old man with weight alone. The sorrowful old man paid no heed, saying, "The one with the most exquisite Dao methods is Young Master Xu, and the one with the fiercest offensive power is this bell. As for this snake that's just here to make up the numbers, you don't actually think your venom works on me, do you?" As he said this, his head suddenly grew slightly dizzy. Startled, he looked through his Primordial Spirit and realized he had indeed been poisoned—his neck had turned pitch black! *No! I possess nine Mud Pill cave-heavens. No poison can overcome my physical vitality. How could I still be poisoned?* He frantically mobilized his Mud Pill cave-heavens. Cave-heavens surfaced behind him one by one, only to suddenly pause and separate from his body, breaking free of his control! The sorrowful old man paled in fright. Hurriedly driving his Primordial Spirit to suppress the venom in his flesh, he asked hoarsely, "Young Master Xu, what was with those thirteen sword strikes you inflicted on me?" Xu Ying dispersed his sword qi and said, "I merely stripped the transplanted cave-heavens from your body." The sorrowful old man's face shifted between light and dark. With Xu Ying's current cultivation and strength, driving the Thirteen Heavenly Sword Forms into his body would not have had enough power to strip the cave-heavens away. What truly did the work was Xu Ying's Dao-Returning Method. This technique was exceedingly formidable, redirecting the sorrowful old man's own power to act upon the Thirteen Heavenly Sword Forms. In other words, the sorrowful old man's own power had activated the Thirteen Heavenly Sword Forms, severing his own cave-heavens! "So what if I have no cave-heavens?" The sorrowful old man suppressed the poison and exhaled a breath of turbid air. Looking around, he chuckled, "I am still a Qi Refiner of the Ascension stage. You have magic treasures—do you think I don't?" He laughed heartily. "Not only do I have them, I have far more! Over these four thousand years, serving those above, I have amassed untold wealth..." Suddenly, his heart turned cold. His Realm of Xiyi was completely empty. Whatever magic treasures he had were gone without a trace! Right at that moment, the purple immortal plant emerged behind him. Countless roots drilled into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, filling his Realm of Xiyi in an instant and binding his Primordial Spirit tightly! The sorrowful old man tried to resist, but this stalk of immortal medicine was a crucial component in suppressing Emperor Double Pupils. While it was not good at brawling, its sealing powers were extraordinarily formidable, instantly plunging his divine sense and consciousness into chaos. Controlling the sorrowful old man, the purple immortal plant walked toward them. Yuan Qi and the bronze bell shivered in terror. The bronze bell stammered shakily, "L-Lord Grass is so formidable... Little Bell is full of admiration..." Zhu Chanchan stared wide-eyed, then suddenly leaped over and punched the purple plant with a *thunk*, attempting to leave her imprint upon it. In the next instant, Zhu Chanchan's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were filled with roots, and she was controlled by the purple immortal plant alongside the sorrowful old man. Seeing this, Xu Ying looked at the immortal plant with eyes full of reverence, thinking to himself, *Fortunately, my relationship with this grave grass is good, and it has never done this to me.*