"The man in the bamboo hat who harvested Li Xiaoke was Zhu Chanchan's younger martial brother. To think we've already met."
Xu Ying froze. Zhu Chanchan's younger martial brother—an angler from the Great Zhou era who used Nuo methods to harvest mortals, and the executioner who harvested Li Xiaoke and his wife!
His cultivation was profound beyond measure. Xu Ying had clashed with him several times, and even with Xu Ying's cultivation having vastly increased, he had never gained the slightest upper hand!
He and the master of the Mud Pill Palace could be considered the foremost among the new generation of anglers!
Xu Ying had encountered many anglers from the Great Shang and Great Zhou eras, such as the five Great Shang Qi Refiners who besieged Nuo Xiang, as well as the Vegetable Farmer and the Woodcutter, yet all of them fell slightly short compared to the man in the bamboo hat and the master of the Mud Pill Palace.
As for the deceased Tao Danyang, former Sect Master of the Sword Sect, and Li Xiaoke of Nine Dragon Ridge, they lagged far behind.
Those two were unquestionably peerless prodigies!
"The younger martial brother Zhu Chanchan yearns for so dearly has already become an experienced angler. I wonder how she would feel if she knew?"
Flames flared. The fire of the bronze lamp swept up Xu Ying once more, plunging him into the memories of an earlier lifetime.
Great Emperor Beiyin was still struggling to hold on as he fueled the lamp flame. Breathing heavily and growing somewhat exasperated, he called out, "Divine Maiden Meng, what on earth did you put into your Granny Meng soup? Why is breaking the seal so difficult?"
Granny Meng was also reaching her limits and said, "My Elixir of Oblivion is meant to wash away past memories, but he drank heaven knows how many bowls—it stopped having any effect on him long ago! The elixir was merely a catalyst; something else entirely is sealing his memories. Emperor of the North, you've felt it too, haven't you? The sheer might of that thing is far more terrifying than the treasure that suppressed and sealed you!"
Daunted, she prepared to pull back: "If I meddle in this, I fear even my life will be in jeopardy! This old woman cannot accompany you any further!"
Great Emperor Beiyin fell silent for a moment before saying, "Back then, four of us perished and only you survived. If you slip away now, I fear there will be no place for you in the Netherworld in the days to come."
Granny Meng's heart gave a jolt, and she sneered, "Threatening me? You died because your skills fell short, while I survived because of my own abilities! Even if you've revived, I don't fear you! I've lived over sixty thousand years longer than you, and my magic power is already far above yours!"
Despite her words, she remained, continuing to channel the Stone of Three Lives to unravel Xu Ying's seals. "This old woman is helping you only for the sake of old times," she added. "Not because I fear you."
In Taizhou lay the Mount Weiyu cave-heaven, spanning ten thousand li in circumference. Also known as the Kongming cave-heaven, it was the second largest cave-heaven in Shenzhou. It was exceptionally mysterious, with streak after streak of ascension light reaching straight into the sky to connect with another world, producing a celestial phenomenon that revealed the translucent, ethereal depths of the Immortal Realm.
Standing within the Mount Weiyu cave-heaven, one could clearly gaze upon the Immortal Realm.
Beichenzi had raised an altar where incense sticks as thick as arms burned, their smoke drifting toward a shrine. Within the shrine, two demon-suppressing runes drifted into the air, the writing upon them glowing brighter and brighter!
Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang looked toward the shrine, their expressions grave.
Through the trails of incense smoke, they saw a divine stone radiating dazzling light as it traversed the incense smoke qi, breaking through barrier after barrier cast by the two demon-suppressing runes. Though the script on the runes flared with brilliant light, it was notably dimmer than before!
Besides this divine stone, a terrifying power surged continuously from the unseen depths, assailing the two demon-suppressing runes!
Faintly, that terrifying power even condensed into the silhouettes of a man and a woman manifesting above the altar. Disturbed by that terrifying force, the altar shuddered incessantly! The incense within the censer burned erratically, struggling to maintain the shrine's power.
If the incense smoke were extinguished, the script upon the two demon-suppressing runes would temporarily lose its magical potency!
"Beichen!" Fairy Yutang cried in alarm. "Think of something!"
Beichenzi gritted his teeth and pulled out arm-thick incense stick after arm-thick incense stick, lighting them and planting them into the censer to bolster the incense power. The incense smoke qi sustained the operation of the demon-suppressing runes, but adding more incense was useless—it could not increase the power of the runes themselves.
What was more, the divine power surging from the unseen realms was immensely vast, beyond what they could withstand. Seeing him produce yet another stick of incense, Fairy Yutang could not help but blurt, "Doing this won't help in the slightest..."
She had barely spoken when Beichenzi manifested his Primordial Spirit. Holding a stick of incense, the Primordial Spirit stepped forward to offer it in person. Incense ignited by a Primordial Spirit gave off the qi of utmost sincerity—it was equivalent to burning one's own Primordial Spirit!
As the incense burned, Beichenzi's Primordial Spirit transformed into wisps of utmost sincerity drifting toward the shrine, causing the script on the demon-suppressing runes to flare with blinding radiance!
Fairy Yutang's expression was conflicted. "Beichen, you..."
His hair white as snow and his face sorrowful, Beichenzi said, "Fu Yi hasn't shown himself in a long time; he has likely met with misfortune. If we fail and the demon-suppressing runes are broken, we won't even have a place to be buried! Yutang, no matter what, we must hold this final line!"
Gritting her teeth, Fairy Yutang also manifested her Primordial Spirit. Holding a stick of incense, her Primordial Spirit lit the flame.
Two streams of incense smoke qi drifted toward the demon-suppressing runes, stabilizing the glowing script.
Yet the divine power arriving from the unseen realms grew ever stronger, driving the power of the Stone of Three Lives. Radiating brilliance, the stone pierced through the incense smoke with divine might, striking toward the demon-suppressing runes!
Even with Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang burning their Primordial Spirits, holding ground was excruciatingly difficult!
Both were great masters of the Ascension stage. Over the three thousand years they spent monitoring Xu Ying, they had also harvested several Nuo Immortals and grafted cave-heavens into their own bodies. While their strength fell short of the anglers, it was still extraordinary.
They were merely burning themselves to stimulate the intrinsic power of the demon-suppressing runes, borrowing their strength to combat the Stone of Three Lives. Even so, their Primordial Spirits could not endure such depletion.
As their spirits burned faster and faster, teetering on the verge of turning to ashes, a beam of immortal light suddenly plunged down into the Kongming cave-heaven. From the light emanated a profound divine sense: "Petty lower-realm gods, how arrogant of you to dare touch my seal."
The immortal light shone upon the shrine.
*Buzz—*
The two talismans inside the shrine blazed with brilliance, scattering immortal light in all directions. A resonant, melodious immortal music burst from the shrine, carrying supreme Dao subtleties that expounded the profundities of sealing, suppressing, imprisoning, and confining!
The radiance of the Stone of Three Lives flying through the incense smoke was instantly suppressed, and a vast, surging immortal force traced backward along its path of origin, hunting down the source!
Wrapped in rings of fire, Xu Ying plunged through lifetime after lifetime, unraveling more and more sealed memories.
"He isn't human! He's an immortal ghost!"
"Using an ageless immortal to refine an elixir grants boundless magic power!"
"This Brother Ying... feels familiar, as if I've met him before."
Xu Ying whistled downward as another layer of memory unsealed. He saw the heavens tear apart, the flesh and blood of the Plague God covering the sky with countless dangling tentacles.
Before him stood a magnificent city, like an immortal citadel, radiating celestial light and soaring treasures.
Looking from afar, Xu Ying saw characters carved above the immortal city's gates.
"Chaoge!" Xu Ying read aloud.
Just as he uttered the word, an anxious voice called from beyond the heavens: "Fellow Daoist Xu! Fellow Daoist Xu! Wake up quickly!"
Xu Ying was startled. "Great Emperor Beiyin's voice!"
"Fellow Daoist Xu, wake up at once!"
Above Chaoge, the Plague God's flesh and blood vanished, replaced by Great Emperor Beiyin's anxious visage, his voice rumbling like thunder: "The Stone of Three Lives cannot hold! If you don't wake up now, you will be trapped within your memories forever!"
Xu Ying snapped his eyes open, awakening from the dream of the Stone of Three Lives!
At the same time, atop the altar in Mount Weiyu's Kongming cave-heaven, the phantom of the Stone of Three Lives within the incense smoke burst with a sharp pop!
On Mount Fengdu in the Netherworld, Granny Meng's divine maiden Primordial Spirit leaped back immediately and steered the Nai River away, her voice drifting back from afar: "Great Emperor Beiyin, when you die, stay far away from me! Don't let your blood splatter on me!"
Great Emperor Beiyin bowed from a distance. "Fret not, Fellow Daoist. I shall remember this karmic bond. If I am captured, I will never give you up."
Hardly had his words fallen when Xu Ying sprang to his feet, and the Stone of Three Lives beneath his head abruptly exploded into fine dust!
At that very instant, the sky above Mount Fengdu turned pitch-black. A burst of immortal light suddenly pierced down through the heavy storm clouds, striking Great Emperor Beiyin and Xu Ying with a resonant drone and illuminating them.
With a cold snort, Great Emperor Beiyin sent forth his Primordial Spirit and swept a hand across the sky, wiping away both the immortal light and the dark clouds.
"We cannot linger here," he said with utmost caution. "Fellow Daoist Xu, news of my revival has already reached the Immortal Realm, and using the Stone of Three Lives to help you search your past memories has drawn their attention. Before long, someone will come to kill me. Even in my prime, I was no match for them, and having been dead for so many years, I am even less of a match now. We must leave the Nether Sea as quickly as possible."
Awakening from the dream of the Stone of Three Lives, Xu Ying felt a profound sense of loss.
He had just traced his past back to the Investiture of the Gods war at Chaoge, seeing heavenly gods intervene in the conflict between Shang and Zhou, but had been awakened before uncovering the truth of the war. He could not help but feel dejected.
Yet he also knew how dire the situation was. The Queen Mother of the West had relocated Mount Kunlun, and Dongyue had abandoned his original domain and leaped into the Nether Sea right after reviving. Clearly, these ancient beings all regarded their enemies as overwhelmingly formidable, terrified that lingering a step too long would lead to their capture.
As for his sealed memories, they would have to wait.
"Fengdu is the place of your birth. Mister Beiyin, how will you move Mount Fengdu?" Xu Ying inquired.
"Simple."
Great Emperor Beiyin entered his palace and changed out of his imperial robes, reverting to his old-man attire. Carrying the bronze lamp, he said, "I shall turn this mountain into the lamp flame."
He tossed the bronze lamp upward. The oil lamp rose higher and higher, its light growing brighter and brighter as it hung dazzlingly in midair. Where its glow reached, even Mount Fengdu cast no shadow.
When the radiance converged slightly, Mount Fengdu was already held within the lamp flame. Xu Ying and Great Emperor Beiyin stood upon the mountain, surrounded by eerie Nether Fire, when a giant fish suddenly flew over, weaving through the lamp flame and dancing around Mount Fengdu.
Great Emperor Beiyin flew out of the lamp flame with Xu Ying, and the divine lamp shrank smaller and smaller. The giant fish also became tiny, smaller than a finger, like a sprouting willow leaf flitting to and fro around the flame.
The fish dove into the fire, took a gulp of Nether Fire, and blew it out from the blowhole atop its head.
Xu Ying looked at the lamp flame; sure enough, it took the shape of Mount Fengdu.
Such divine skill was truly unbelievable.
Having gathered everything, Great Emperor Beiyin asked, "Fellow Daoist Xu, if I ride this fish through the mortal realm, will it cause too much of a stir?"
Xu Ying nodded.
Great Emperor Beiyin lamented that it was a pity. Carrying the lamp, he walked out of the Nether Sea alongside him, saying, "You and I cannot travel together; we must part ways here. Fellow Daoist Xu, I shall cast a beam of light to guide you out of the Nether Sea."
Xu Ying was reluctant to leave, hoping to stay by his side so he could help unseal his memories. He said, "Mister Beiyin, I am not weak either. If we travel together, I won't drag you down. You don't need to worry about implicating me—I am doing this willingly."
Great Emperor Beiyin hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth: "Fellow Daoist Xu, I'm not afraid of implicating you; I'm afraid of you implicating me. The trouble hanging over your head is far bigger than mine! Fellow Daoist, form a good karmic bond and spare me, and I will keep your kindness in mind!"
Xu Ying was utterly dumbfounded.
Great Emperor Beiyin added, "You needn't worry; I will certainly repay this karmic bond of yours. I have several formidable figures under my command. During the years I was gone, they've likely made names for themselves. I shall go find them now. Once I've gathered them, I will seek you out and unravel your sealed memories!"
He cast a beam of lamplight and urged, "Fellow Daoist Xu, be on your way quickly. If you get caught, don't drag me down with you!"
Xu Ying was struck speechless. Seeing Great Emperor Beiyin's eager gaze, he stepped into the light and sprinted along its path.
"Right, Fellow Daoist Xu! You should make a trip to Mount Weiyu's Kongming cave-heaven. I sensed a man and a woman hiding there, tied to your seal!"
Having guided him out of the Nether Sea, Great Emperor Beiyin finally breathed a sigh of relief and departed immediately, thinking, *If I leave too late, I'm afraid they'll flank and surround me! But then again, I wonder what my old subordinates have been up to all these years, and whether they're still willing to acknowledge me as their Emperor.*
He vanished into the distance.
Following the light out of the Nether Sea, Xu Ying thought to himself, *Mount Weiyu's Kongming cave-heaven? A man and a woman? Could it be them?*
On the Nai River Bridge, Granny Meng watched Great Emperor Beiyin depart the Nether Sea and also let out a sigh of relief. She muttered softly, "Brother Daoist, when you die, you must remember your loyalty and never confess about this old woman. When they chop off your head, this old woman will offer you a stick of incense! Goodness gracious, mercy, mercy!"
In the Heavenly Dao world, smoke and fire drifted everywhere—the incense smoke qi offered by mortal beings to the heavenly gods. The gods of the Heavenly Dao absorbed the incense, while some, sensing sacrifices from the lower realm, projected half their bodies below to enjoy the offerings presented by common folk.
Just then, an immortal talisman drifted down from the heavens, landing within the Heavenly Dao world and suddenly flaring with dazzling light.
A deep, weighty voice resonated from the talisman: "Decreed: Now that lower-realm rebels Fengdu, Dongyue, and Kunlun stir up turmoil, and rebel Xu Ying wreaks havoc, the Thunder and Fire Ministry of Works is hereby ordered to lead the gods of the Heavenly Dao down to the mortal realm to quell the rebellion. Respect this."
The heavenly gods in the Heavenly Dao world looked at one another in bewilderment.
High God Tianli said, "I haven't seen the immortal official of the Thunder and Fire Ministry of Works for quite a few days. It seems no one is running the ministry, and this immortal talisman was tossed directly to us. Why don't we bypass the Thunder and Fire Ministry of Works and submit a memorial..."
High God Tiangang hastily stopped him with a laugh: "Haven't we long wanted to descend to the lower realm? Across the myriad heavens and worlds, our lineages are few, and our shrines are scarce; the incense offered to us is utterly mediocre. The mortals below must be made aware of heavenly majesty and learn awe and dread before they will bring tribute to us and swell our incense! If you report this upward and they dispatch another official to oversee us, where will our spoils come from?"
The Righteous Gods of the Firmament agreed one after another, chiming in, "With offerings and incense, our strength will advance by leaps and bounds—restoring our ancient glory will be child's play!"
High God Tianli therefore took down the immortal talisman and smiled. "Then, by imperial order, let us descend to the lower realm!"
Chapter 278