A Quick Death

Panic gripped Beichenzi's heart. He immediately veered around, shouting, "Yutang, split up!" Fairy Yutang caught his meaning and wheeled away in another direction. The two had worked together in close coordination for ages, fleeing along divergent paths. Never had they imagined that the youth they had once controlled would one day break free from their manipulation and surveillance! Still less had they ever dreamed that Xu Ying could one day become powerful enough to cut down an aloof, exalted heavenly god with a single strike of his sword! How weak had Xu Ying been back then? How helpless? Facing them, no matter how he struggled or begged, he could never change their minds. He was forced to part from his "parents," separate from his "sister," and say a permanent farewell to his lover! Time and again, they had torn Xu Ying away from his life, stuffing false memories into his head. In the past, Xu Ying had had no power to resist and could only endure in silence. Now, at last, his time to fight back had arrived! Beichenzi flew forward like fleeting shadows and skimming light, going faster and faster! He had never imagined he could be so swift. His speed reached an apex he had never before achieved, carrying him across a vast ocean until, gazing into the distance, he could actually see the sea's end! At the end of the sea was an expanse of starry sky. Stars large and small floated within it, their orbits in utter chaos. Celestial bodies ceaselessly crashed into one another, erupting in cataclysmic shockwaves! "Where is this place?" Beichenzi had never been here before and was utterly bewildered. Countless stars clustered and jostled one another, with colossal landmasses drifting among them, complete with mountains, waters, flowers, grasses, and trees. Yet the next moment, a star crashed down, pulverizing one of the continents and turning it into a realm of magma! Flying over an expanse of molten magma, Beichenzi exclaimed in shock, "The Yuanshou world has a place like this? Why have I never come across it before?" Suddenly, a magnificent bronze sacred mountain rose slowly from the edge of the continent. By the time Beichenzi flew before the peak, the bronze mountain completely blocked his vision ahead! Beichenzi strained to tilt his head back, watching the peak grow taller and taller, the mountain's mass growing ever more ponderous and vast. Straining his vision, he saw its summit piercing straight into the firmament, shrouded in churning clouds, wind, and lightning, with faint immortal light shimmering and immortal qi descending! This was a bronze sacred mountain connecting to the Immortal Realm! In that ocean of stars, countless celestial bodies were instantly caught by the bronze sacred mountain's pull, orbiting around it. At the foot of the mountain stood an enormous stone stele bearing two vermilion characters that glared into Beichenzi's eyes, striking him with blinding force: "Buzhou!" Reading those two words, Beichenzi fell into utter disarray. "Mount Buzhou... the legendary mountain of myth was severed long ago! How could it appear here? Could it be... could it..." A horrifying suspicion struck him. He whipped around to look back, his face filled with terror. Behind him, the azure sea raged, hundred-zhang waves churning high. Standing amid that boundless, roaring sea was an immortal who supported the heavens and trod the earth! Behind the immortal floated cave-heavens large and small, and within each cave-heaven was an other-shore realm blazing with immortal fire. Floating all around the immortal were colossal Dao images—the azure sea, Mount Buzhou, and the Sea of Chaotic Stars were merely parts of them! To the other side, Beichenzi saw an abyss burying the Great Dao stretching from east to west, a divine tree overshadowing the sun, moon, and stars, and a sword qi like a bright, snowy galaxy spanning the cosmos. Right now, Fairy Yutang was fleeing atop that brilliant sword qi, which mirrored her silhouette with crystal clarity! Only then did Beichenzi realize that he, too, was trapped inside the Dao images of Xu Ying's Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground! All this time he had been flying, he had never once escaped Xu Ying's Dao images! "Just how large can a Nuo immortal's Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground possibly be? I don't believe I can't fly out!" Beichenzi gritted his teeth and pushed his cultivation to the absolute limit, attempting to bypass Mount Buzhou. Yet the further outward he flew, the more colossal Mount Buzhou became, and the larger each celestial body grew. The speed of his flight could not even keep up with the rate at which the distances between the stars expanded! When he looked back, Xu Ying also appeared vastly more towering and imposing in his sight. At this rate, there was no way he could ever fly out of this Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground! "Opening nine tiers of cave-heavens makes one a Nuo immortal, and the Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground becomes the Nuo immortal's Immortal Realm. Inside their latent transformation ground, a Nuo immortal is truly an immortal!" Beichenzi had heard this saying long ago. A Nuo immortal was a realm equivalent to an Ascension-stage Qi Refiner. Yet he had always sneered at it. He had known from early on that Nuo immortals were a scam—nothing more than leeks cultivated by others. In the past, Nuo immortals only cultivated a single type of cave-heaven, without dabbling in any other. Their Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds were easily invaded, and throughout history, most Nuo immortals had been devoured clean by anglers and leek reapers. Beichenzi himself was one such reaper; he had cultivated his own Nuo immortals and harvested them several times! Yet this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on a true Nuo. Nine cave-heavens merged into one, the Nuo Ancestor cave-heaven—that was true Nuo, the pinnacle of the Nuo method! And now, he was facing just such a Nuo immortal! Beichenzi gnashed his teeth and abruptly swung back around. "Since I can't escape this Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground, I'll face you head-on! I refuse to believe that with merely three Nuo immortal cave-heavens, you can contend with my three thousand years of dharmic power!" He flew toward Xu Ying. Behind him, the stars large and small shrank continuously, and Mount Buzhou reverted to its original proportions. The closer he drew to Xu Ying, the smaller Xu Ying's physique appeared. By the time Beichenzi charged in front of Xu Ying, Xu Ying's size had returned to normal. Beichenzi roared and sacrificed his chessboard. He had refined a new board and pieces. Over these days, he had fled in terror, living in constant dread of being found by Xu Ying, so he had tempered the board and pieces through endless trials, preparing around the clock for the day Xu Ying tracked him down. And now, that day had finally arrived. One chess piece after another plummeted from the sky like falling stars, crashing toward Xu Ying! The chessboard spun, and suddenly the board seemed to vanish from heaven and earth, replaced by intersecting beams of crisscrossing light that slashed toward Xu Ying with a sharp whoosh! Beichenzi was full of confidence. Even if Xu Ying now possessed the realm of the three immortals, Beichenzi was not entirely helpless in a fight! Yet before those black and white stars falling from above could even reach Xu Ying's head, they reverted back into ordinary chess pieces, tumbling and clattering haphazardly to the ground. The moment the crisscrossing beams of light struck Xu Ying, they snapped back into the form of a chessboard; by the time it reached Xu Ying's side, all its power was spent, and it clattered to the dirt. Startled, Beichenzi channeled a divine ability and charged recklessly forward, landing a strike onto Xu Ying with a dull thud. At the same time, Fairy Yutang on the other side realized she could not escape either. She turned back to join the fray, joining forces with Beichenzi to attack Xu Ying simultaneously. "Sacrifice your Primordial Spirit!" Fairy Yutang cried. Hearing her words, Beichenzi immediately manifested his Primordial Spirit, and Fairy Yutang's Primordial Spirit manifested as well. Their Primordial Spirits resembled two heavenly gods, radiating towering divine power! Both their Primordial Spirits had been tempered thousands of times, harboring their personal insights into the Dao. The process of cultivating a Primordial Spirit to the Ascension stage was, in truth, the process of bringing the Primordial Spirit closer to that of a heavenly god! Yet the moment their Primordial Spirits drew near Xu Ying, magnificent, dazzling Heavenly Dao runes emerged across the sky above his head. The Heavenly Dao runes multiplied, making Xu Ying stand there like an authentic heavenly god! The closer their Primordial Spirits got to him, the heavier the crushing pressure grew, and the stronger the terror and dread mounted in their hearts. Suddenly, Xu Ying took a step forward. Boom! The crash of heavenly thunder sounded in Beichenzi's and Fairy Yutang's ears, as though a thunder tribulation had detonated in their divine consciousness. Xu Ying's figure abruptly filled their vision. His silhouette seemed to grow unimaginably towering. In the sky above him, Heavenly Dao runes lit up one after another, revolving like a revolving lantern, the majesty of the Heavenly Dao bearing down on them like gods from the ninth heaven. Thud! Thud! Both of their Primordial Spirits fell to their knees, crushed by the Dao might of heaven, unable to budge. Xu Ying took another step forward. The Great Daos within Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang shuddered, and the Dao images within their Realms of Xiyi cracked and began to disintegrate! Behind them, the various cave-heavens they had harvested from Nuo immortals and transplanted into themselves involuntarily emerged. These cave-heavens rotated silently before being peeled away from their bodies one by one, scattering haphazardly through the air. Suppressed by an overwhelming force, Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang froze in place. Suddenly, warmth welled in their nostrils; raising a hand to wipe it, they found blood streaming from their noses. Next, their vision blurred into crimson as their eyes bled as well. A piercing shriek rang in their ears, and blood seeped from their ear canals. Xu Ying took yet another step forward. Beichenzi and Fairy Yutang coughed up mouthfuls of blood with ragged gasps. The bones and sinews within them made agonizing popping sounds, on the verge of snapping under the unbearable strain. The Dao images in their Realms of Xiyi were already crumbling and shattering, cracks spidering across their Five Sacred Peaks! Above their heads, qi and blood gushed forth furiously like two fluttering banners! The draining of vital qi and blood caused their cultivation realms to plummet drastically; before long, they would be reduced to mere mortals! Crack! Crack! Their leg bones broke, and they fell straight to their knees before Xu Ying. Behind them, their Primordial Spirits had long been prostrated on the ground, their essence drifting away like smoke, on the brink of complete dissolution. A chill settled deep in their hearts. Xu Ying had not executed a single martial move, nor had he cast a single divine ability. Merely by unleashing the cultivation of a Nuo immortal, he had crushed them outright, showing them what an insurmountable chasm truly was. Xu Ying raised his left hand, and Beichenzi lifted into the air against his will, limbs splayed wide, floating suspended. Xu Ying spread his five fingers, and with a muffled grunt from Beichenzi, his Realm of Xiyi was forced into plain view: The Five Sacred Peaks, the Heavenly River and Heavenly Mountains, the three passes and furnace vessels, the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, Jade Pool, God Bridge, and Jade Capital—each manifested with vivid clarity. Xu Ying gave a gentle push forward, and Beichenzi's Realm of Xiyi separated from his physical body, floating in the sky behind him as though it no longer had anything to do with him. Beichenzi's body was stiff, immobilized midair. He tried to turn his head to look back, but his neck seemed fixed in place by the air, completely unable to turn. Xu Ying paced forward and stepped directly into his Realm of Xiyi. Beichenzi strained to roll his eyes, desperate to see what Xu Ying was trying to do, but no matter how wide he glared, his eyes could not peer behind him. Xu Ying searched meticulously. Passing the Five Sacred Peaks, he flicked his hand casually, peeling the Five Sacred Peaks straight out of Beichenzi's Realm of Xiyi. Beichenzi let out a groan, feeling the foundation of Five Qis Facing the Origin within him shattered. This was the most fundamental bedrock of a Qi Refiner; with it destroyed, he could never be a Qi Refiner again! Xu Ying searched with immense care, inspecting inch by inch. With a brush of his hand, a black iron mystic pass flew out from Beichenzi's Realm of Xiyi, followed by towering Heavenly Mountains one after another. Beichenzi was stricken with terror, feeling his cultivation realms stripped away one by one, peeled from bottom to top, as if he were being hollowed out from the inside out! His elixir cauldron of interacting water and fire, his life-prolonging Jiaji mystic pass, his Twelve-Storyed Mansions, Jade Pool, and God Bridge flew from his body one after another! Finally, Xu Ying arrived before the third great pass within him: the Heavenly Pass of the Jade Capital. Xu Ying raised his palm and swept it aside. This mighty pass reached to the very heavens, a place that received the mandate of heaven, and it only trembled slightly under his touch. Beichenzi let out a breath of relief. "He can't possibly strip away my Ascension stage..." The thought had barely crossed his mind when Xu Ying exerted force. With a tremendous rumble, the Jade Capital heavenly pass was wrenched free from heaven and earth, forcefully crippled by Xu Ying! The Jade Capital mystic pass flew out from Beichenzi's Realm of Xiyi and landed right in front of Beichenzi. Beichenzi's heart went completely cold. Xu Ying had dismantled every single one of his realms; now, his cultivation was utterly ruined, the very foundations of his Dao razed to the ground, leaving him with zero chance of ever turning things around in this lifetime. More importantly, Xu Ying had finally found the shrine and altar that bore the demon-suppressing seal! That altar was situated within the Jade Capital city behind the heavenly pass. The layout of this Jade Capital was identical to that of the Jade Capital at the end of the God Bridge atop Mount Kunlun. However, the altar in Kunlun's Jade Capital was where the successive Great Emperors of Shenzhou offered sacrifices to their ancestors, whereas the altar inside Beichenzi's Jade Capital was the place that sealed Xu Ying. Xu Ying stepped forward and walked toward the Jade Capital city. As he took that step, the Jade Capital shifted backward in tandem with his stride. Xu Ying took another step forward, and the Jade Capital shifted back an equal distance, maintaining an invariant gap between them—neither closer nor farther. Xu Ying sped up, yet the Jade Capital retreated accordingly. No matter how fast he moved, he could not step into this wondrous immortal city! Xu Ying let out a low roar and reached out. His vast dharmic power coalesced into a sky-covering hand, grasping toward the Jade Capital from afar in an attempt to seize the altar and shrine! Yet despite his boundless dharmic power, the giant hand remained a fixed distance away from the Jade Capital, unable to enter the city, let alone retrieve the altar and shrine! Xu Ying channeled divine abilities, trying to blast the immortal city to smithereens. But though his arts traversed boundless space and soared across an immeasurable distance, they could never breach the Jade Capital! This Jade Capital inside Beichenzi seemed merely a single step away, yet it felt as if it existed in another time, another dimension, forever denying him entry. At that moment, Beichenzi's feeble voice came: "Only an immortal's Primordial Spirit can enter the Jade Capital. Without becoming an immortal, you can never set foot in the Jade Capital. You are not an immortal... you cannot retrieve that altar..." Xu Ying frowned. He turned and stepped out of the Realm of Xiyi. Moments later, he returned, dragging Beichenzi along by the collar. "Beichenzi, take out the altar and shrine in the Jade Capital, and I'll give you a quick death." Xu Ying's expression was calm as he did his best to put on an amiable smile. "I won't torture you. I'll just kill you cleanly—the kind where I grind your bones to dust and scatter the ashes."