"Brother Yan, and who might this be?" Xu Ying asked, looking over the ordinary-looking man.
"This humble one is a newly initiated disciple of Emei, Zhong Ziqiao," replied Patriarch Qiao Zizhong—Daoist Qingshuang.
Xu Ying thought nothing of it. Yan Kongcheng was the Sect Master of Emei, after all, so it was only natural that he brought along a disciple or two on his journey to Kunlun. When aristocratic clans came to Kunlun, they dragged massive forces of hundreds or thousands, intending to send low-ranking Nuo Masters ahead as cannon fodder to probe for danger. Nuo Masters of that sort were not kin of the great clans, but retainers with different surnames, and they were consumed rapidly. At times, even peripheral scions of the clans served as disposable pawns.
Prestigious, orthodox sects like Emei seldom operated that way. When they brought disciples out into the world, it was usually for tempered training and to broaden their worldly experience.
"Did Martial Uncle Xu just descend from the Kaiming Mountains?" Qiao Zizhong asked. "Did you happen to see someone unleashing twenty-four bright moon pearls?"
A guilty twinge pricked Xu Ying's conscience. Knowing his Bright Moon Pearls came from Emei, he chuckled. "I only just arrived myself. A moment ago, I sensed an overwhelming aura of the Heavenly Dao that triggered an avalanche across the mountains, so I dared not head up. Does Ziqiao have business with that person?"
Qiao Zizhong said, "A patriarch of my Emei possessed a magic treasure known as the Twenty-Four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads. Once summoned, they transform into twenty-four bright moons, each harboring heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers within, holding astonishing might. Seeing a treasure just like it made this disciple rather curious."
Xu Ying smiled. "Countless treasures in the martial world look alike. Perhaps some senior master forged the exact same kind of heirloom as your Emei patriarch."
Qiao Zizhong concurred. "Similarities among treasures are indeed common." But inwardly, he left the rest unsaid: *Yet for every inch of landscape to match identical coordinates—that is unheard of. The bright moon pearls unleashed by that Heavenly Dao Crowd member earlier had every inch of mountains and rivers identical to mine. He is absolute tomb-robbing scum!*
Xu Ying asked, "What was the name of the patriarch who forged those Twenty-Four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads? My origins go far back; perhaps I might know him."
Qiao Zizhong took a sharp breath inwardly. *The alias I'm using now is just my name, Qiao Zizhong, reversed. If I tell him the pearls' owner was Zhong Ziqiao, he might piece together the truth. If that happens...* He resolved quietly in his mind, *I'll have no choice but to silence him.*
Yan Kongcheng chuckled. "The patriarch who forged the Twenty-Four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads was named Qingshuang. By the way, Brother Xu, what kind of runes are those bloodstains on your body? They don't look like Immortal Dao runes, yet they carry extraordinary power."
Hearing this, Qiao Zizhong looked over and noticed bloodstains on Xu Ying's skin—strange glyphs and patterns written in blood, already dry.
Xu Ying glanced down at his skin, grabbed a handful of snow, and casually wiped it off. "I ran into a formidable enemy and took a slight injury, so I drew a few talismans on myself with my own blood to boost my combat strength," he said offhandedly.
Yan Kongcheng remarked, "That belongs to the outer dao; best to use it sparingly. Brother Xu, you possess immense attainments in Immortal Dao runes as well. You should know that branding runes onto your own flesh grants power that is merely superficial. Truly comprehending the runes and making that knowledge your own—that is the genuine path to the Dao."
"Brother Yan speaks the truth," Xu Ying accepted the advice humbly.
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Xu Ying gathered some stones and piled them together into a small shrine, then molded a mountain god with a tiger's head and human face out of mud, placing it inside the little shelter.
"What are you doing, Brother Xu?" Yan Kongcheng asked curiously.
Xu Ying set the mud figurine in place, brought out several sticks of incense, and planted them before the makeshift shrine. "This mountain has a deity," he explained. "Alas, his divine power and consciousness were shattered. I wish to build him a shrine and reshape his form."
Yan Kongcheng looked up toward the Kaiming Mountains and also sensed the divine power lingering within—vast and profound, exceeding even that of the mountains behind them.
"The temple here has already been destroyed, the idol smashed to pieces, and without knowing the deity's name, there is no way to reconverge his divine power and consciousness," Yan Kongcheng sighed. "Moreover, there are no longer any Undying People left in this world; this mountain god cannot awaken. His divine power will dissipate sooner or later. When the people who offer sacrifice perish, the god slowly withers as well."
Xu Ying stood up, his expression somber. He, too, did not know the mountain god's name.
Yan Kongcheng traveled onward in his company. As it happened, Yan Kongcheng had several questions regarding the dual cultivation of Nuo and Qi, and took the chance to consult Xu Ying. Naturally, Xu Ying held nothing back, answering everything thoroughly.
Once they finished discussing the dual cultivation of Qi and Nuo, they turned to Immortal Dao runes. In this domain, Yan Kongcheng's foundation was far broader. Xu Ying summoned the bronze bell, and together they studied the eight sealing runes etched upon its wall. Emei possessed a deep heritage, and Yan Kongcheng was broadly learned and exceedingly clever. He soon found similar Immortal Dao runes from Emei. Though simpler in structure and shallower in principle, they served well for grasping the concept by analogy. Both were exceptionally gifted, and before long they found a breakthrough from Emei's Immortal character for "Seal," delighting both of them.
Seeing these eight sealing runes, Qiao Zizhong felt a chill in his heart. He hurriedly pulled Yan Kongcheng aside and whispered, "Sect Master, the glyphs on that bell constitute a grand seal of the Immortal Dao!"
"I know it's an Immortal Dao seal," Yan Kongcheng replied. "Our Emei doesn't possess such advanced sealing techniques, so there is much to learn."
Seeing he failed to grasp the point, Qiao Zizhong urgently pressed, "Think about it! Even our Supreme Patriarch lacked a sealing art this profound, so which figure in the Immortal Realm wielded such a seal? If you help him break it, I fear the Supreme Patriarch would jump out of his skin in fury, defect from Emei overnight, sever all ties with you, and maybe even execute his own kin in the name of righteousness!"
Yan Kongcheng's heart gave a jolt, but he chuckled. "Patriarch, you're being overly cautious. Brother Xu and I are merely studying the structure of these Immortal Dao runes, not breaking any seal. How could we offend some titan of the Immortal Realm over that?"
Qiao Zizhong felt he might indeed be overthinking it. *Those eight characters are etched on the outside of the bell,* he reasoned. *There isn't any demon sealed or suppressed inside. Even if they unravel the runes, they won't release any monster.*
His gaze swept past Xu Ying, who was engrossed in his research, and he mused, *It's just a seal—could it possibly be suppressing a person? I've stayed cautious my whole life to survive this long, but this time I really am overreacting.*
Suddenly, fragmented images flashed across Xu Ying's mind, and a name surfaced from the ancient seals of his memory. He swung around, facing the mountains they had left far behind, and let out an earth-shaking roar:
"High God Kaiming!"
His voice rang out like thunder, resounding between heaven and earth, echoing deep into the Kaiming Mountains.
Xu Ying called out three times in succession, but no answer came from the peaks. He thought sadly, *That mountain god truly might be dead.*
Yet what he could not see was that deep within the mountains, the vast ocean of divine power formed by incense smoke qi surged with waves. Within that ocean of divinity, countless broken thoughts and slivers of consciousness collided, swirling chaotically like a sea of chaos.
"High God Kaiming!"
Carried along by Xu Ying's cries, the turbulent waves in that divine ocean grew increasingly violent. The ancient, shattered consciousness seemed to awaken amidst the summons.
As Xu Ying's third cry echoed, at the foot of the Kaiming Mountains before the humble stone shrine Xu Ying had built, strands of incense smoke qi streamed straight into the tiny interior, sinking into the mud idol bearing nine human faces upon a tiger's body.
At the same time, rays of divine light welled up endlessly from the ocean of divine power within the mountains, clinging close to the peaks as they flowed directly into the tiny stone shrine.
The miniature idol of Kaiming gradually came to life. All of a sudden, this sturdy little deity leaped down from the altar and strode out of the stone shrine.
Along the path, more and more people were seen heading toward the Kunlun Divine Mountain. Among them were aristocratic clans from Shenzhou, as well as heirs from sects sealed away for three thousand years, each driven by their own motives.
In the mountain ranges, all manner of rare beasts, wondrous herbs, and exotic plants also grew increasingly plentiful. Some spotted a dragon blood tree—a divine tree whose bark resembled dragon scales and whose branches looked like dragon horns.
Others found legendary metals for forging immortal artifacts within the mountain streams, naturally bearing celestial Immortal Dao engravings.
Still others sighted a phoenix dancing around a treasured land in the mountains. Within that blessed ground, they discovered an enormous block of crystal sealing a woman, rumored to be a female immortal.
Word also spread that immortal radiance had appeared in certain peaks. Many flocked there, yet none ever returned.
There were further rumors of people unearthing immortal artifacts within Kunlun, chasing them until the treasures vanished into a mountain grotto. Some even claimed to have seen the vision of an immortal descending from the heavens to preach and impart the Dao—only to witness a scene of "The immortal strokes my crown, and my skull splits apart."
The closer they drew to the Kunlun Divine Mountain, the more violent the tremors became. Rumors circulated that along the southern foothills of the range, someone had discovered a bottomless abyss, out of which divine mountains were actively erupting.
Another tale told of an expedition of several thousand men who strayed into that area. The earth suddenly cracked open and swallowed them whole; when the ground sealed shut, it was as if they had never existed.
These legends were a mix of truth and fabrication, leaving Xu Ying and Yan Kongcheng looking at one another in wonder.
Nevertheless, genuine traces of battle marked the mountains. These remnants were ancient beyond measure, buried beneath wind and snow. Terrifying auras pulsed from deep within the snowy peaks; a single careless disturbance would result in total annihilation of body and soul.
In some places, weathered ruins and broken walls stood exposed. Walking among them, one could still perceive the hallmarks of a past civilization, brought to ruin by barbarism.
Xu Ying's group arrived not far from Yuzhu Peak and Yuxu Peak, when they suddenly noticed an unusual cluster of mountains. Two great peaks spread out like outstretched wings, the central ridge resembled the body of a steed, and the peak in front was shaped like a human torso. The geography was magnificent and striking.
Nestled within those mountains stood a cluster of tiled buildings—likely a hamlet or town.
*Another batch of the Heavenly Dao Crowd!* Murderous intent stirred within Xu Ying.
Qiao Zizhong looked up at the tiled roofs among the peaks, his eyes gleaming. *The scoundrel who looted my tomb has been wiping out the Heavenly Dao Crowd's settlements along his way; clearly he harbors a grudge against them. He will definitely head to this hamlet as well!*
Xu Ying smiled. "Brother Yan, I have an appointment with someone. Let us part ways here."
He immediately veered off. While the others continued toward Yuxu Peak, he hurried toward the cluster of buildings in the mountains.
Qiao Zizhong said in a low voice, "Sect Master, let us head to those buildings as well."
Yan Kongcheng agreed and called out with a smile, "Brother Xu, wherever you go, I'll accompany you!"
Xu Ying could only let them follow, musing inwardly, *How do I shake them off? If I run into the Heavenly Dao Crowd shortly and summon the twenty-four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads directly, will Brother Yan recognize them? Hmm...*
He pondered for a moment before deciding firmly, *If he asks, I'll just say I chanced upon another stroke of luck and acquired twenty-four Bright Moon Pearls in Kunlun. Since they are all Bright Moon Pearls, it's only natural they share some resemblance to Emei's. Yan Kongcheng has never seen Emei's Bright Moon Pearls with his own eyes anyway, so he won't be able to suspect me.*
Qiao Zizhong's eyes flickered with excitement as the buildings drew closer. He thought, *That thief is versed in the methods of the Heavenly Dao Crowd and hates them to the bone; he will definitely summon my Bright Moon Pearls. Little bastard, you're bound to give yourself away now... Wait!*
At that very moment, radiant moonlight began rising around him, pure and lustrous.
He snapped his head toward the source. From behind Xu Ying's head, luminous moons soared into the sky one after another, hanging across the canopy over that mountain hamlet—followed immediately by the descent of a Heavenly Dao domain.
Chapter 235