The Three Purities Hall had long been stripped bare. In an ancient era, immortals and gods had led an expedition against the demonic realm, capturing this place and reducing everything within it to ruin.
Xu Ying walked into the great hall and looked around. Nothing remained inside except rubble. Light leaked from above; looking up, he saw half the roof had been torn away.
Where statues of deities should have stood, not a trace was left.
'There should have been three divine statues here, likely corresponding to the Three Purities. I wonder which three demon gods the Three Purities refer to, or if they represent three kinds of demonic daos?'
Xu Ying searched the area, finding nothing of use, and walked outside to check on Hu Zhuojun and the others. They were still sound asleep.
Waiting patiently, he murmured, "This place is clearly just an ordinary Daoist monastery. Why is it called the Dao Revelation Ground? I suppose before it was destroyed, the statues of the three great demon gods stood here, absorbing the incense offerings of the demonic realm. Many old demons must have come here to pay homage."
Imagining a horde of demons bowing before the three great demon gods, it truly must have been a magnificent sight.
Xu Ying returned to the Three Purities Hall. Still finding nothing, he simply sat down inside and thought, 'Since it is called the Dao Revelation Ground, there must be something unique about it. I came to the demonic realm to comprehend the demonic dao. Since I can't see anything with my eyes, I'll try sensing it. Perhaps I will gain something!'
The spot where he sat happened to be where one of the statues had once stood, though that statue had long since been toppled, shattered, and reduced to nothing.
Xu Ying sat quietly with a calm mind. Strangely enough, sitting there, his perception of the world and nature grew far sharper, and his state of mind felt closer to the Great Dao.
'No wonder it's called the Dao Revelation Ground. But becoming a holy land of the demonic realm solely based on this still seems a bit far-fetched.'
Xu Ying spread his divine sense, attempting to commune with the worldly Great Dao of the demonic realm.
The moment his divine sense expanded, a tremendous clang suddenly rang out! Immediately followed by the Dao resonances of the five tones and twelve pitches, a massive bronze bo bell manifested within his sea of divine sense, heavily suppressing his consciousness!
Xu Ying was both startled and furious. 'An immortal artifact left behind by ancient immortals and gods! Why would it appear in my sea of consciousness when I am contemplating the worldly Great Dao?'
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a second immortal artifact appeared—an immortal cauldron no smaller than the bronze bo bell, radiating suffocating immortal might!
His sea of divine sense violently convulsed, his divine sense billowing like smoke and dust. Amidst the churning dust, one immortal artifact after another emerged. The unleashed might of the Immortal Dao bore down on him, thoroughly pinning his divine sense so that it could not move an inch!
Dao Weeping Pass held a total of one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts, concealed among the mountains and forests, disguised as soaring peaks or submerged beneath the waters, their traces hidden.
When Xu Ying used his divine sense to comprehend the worldly Great Dao of the Dao Revelation Ground, the one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts—originally left by immortals and gods to suppress the world—detected his spreading divine sense and suppressed him right along with it!
Xu Ying was outraged, his divine sense struggling to turn. 'B-Bastards! Absolute bastards! These immortal artifacts have no discernment whatsoever—they can't even tell I'm on their side...'
Right then, a long roar echoed from the distance outside: "Chu Tiandu, do you still remember me, Li Pingsheng? Ever since my narrow defeat at the Demonic Realm Dao Contemplation Platform, I, Li, reflected deeply on my failures and painstakingly cultivated my sect's immortal art, the Five Extremes Sky-Surpassing Skill, finally achieving mastery! Today, I have come to seek instruction once again!"
'Seek instruction from your grandmother's leg!'
Xu Ying nearly cursed aloud. His divine sense was completely pinned by one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts, unable to move or be retracted. If this Li Pingsheng stormed over and attacked, wouldn't he be doomed?
'Wait, I'm not even Chu Tiandu, what do I have to fear... But those bastards insist that I am Chu Tiandu!'
Xu Ying trembled with rage, but shaking in anger helped nothing. He focused his mind, considering how to break the deadlock. Li Pingsheng was still far away and would need time to arrive. As long as Xu Ying could free himself from the suppression of the one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts within that window, he still had a chance!
He had to save himself in this brief span of time!
'These bastard immortal artifacts suppress me for no reason. Did they not notice that I cultivate the Heavenly Dao of the myriad heavens and worlds?'
Xu Ying first sensed the bronze bo bell, attempting to find a flaw in it. To his surprise, the moment he steadied his mind, he immediately discovered a problem with the bell.
The Immortal Dao runes on the bronze bo bell were numerous and exceedingly complex. Trying to comprehend the secrets of these runes and unravel the Immortal Dao contained within them in a short time was practically impossible.
However, among them were several Immortal Dao runes he knew all too well.
'Líng! Yǔ! Yòu! Yǔ!'
Xu Ying's gaze fell upon those runes. He was more familiar with them than anyone—they were the very Immortal Dao runes that had sealed and suppressed him!
Yet the four characters for enclosure and imprisonment on the bronze bo bell were somewhat simpler than the demon-suppressing runes sealing him, bearing certain omissions.
He looked toward the other immortal artifacts and saw that among their runes, the characters 'líng', 'yǔ', 'yòu', and 'yǔ' were likewise intermingled.
These four sealing runes were nestled among the artifacts' native runes, inconspicuous at a glance.
Furthermore, the four-character seals on those other artifacts had the exact same missing strokes as the ones on the bronze bo bell.
This meant that whoever had inscribed these four runes was the same person!
'If it were only one or two treasures meant for suppression that bore these four characters, it would make sense. But for every single immortal artifact to bear them—that cannot be a coincidence.'
A flash of insight struck Xu Ying, and he suddenly recalled what the bearded man, Shen Baiyu, had said.
'Shen Baiyu said that Chu Tiandu's master, the Little Celestial Venerable, sealed and suppressed the one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts of the Dao Revelation Ground, but claimed the Little Celestial Venerable was unable to seal them completely. In that case, the four characters on these artifacts were written by the Little Celestial Venerable!'
Xu Ying's eyes gleamed as he instantly grasped the crux of the matter.
When the Little Celestial Venerable rose to prominence, in order to revitalize the demonic realm and reclaim lost territory, he had come to the Dao Revelation Ground and placed seals upon the immortal artifacts left by ancient immortals and gods, attempting to revive the Dao Revelation Ground.
However, the Little Celestial Venerable's attainment was insufficient. The runes he inscribed lacked sufficient power to seal the one thousand three hundred artifacts thoroughly, allowing them to continue suppressing the worldly Great Dao of Dao Weeping Pass.
Shen Baiyu's activation of the immortal artifacts had exploited the very loophole of the Little Celestial Venerable's incomplete seal.
'The Little Celestial Venerable is indeed a natural genius, knowing even Immortal Dao seals. It's just that he didn't know them completely,' Xu Ying marveled inwardly. 'But I do!'
Struggling, he channeled a wisp of divine sense, willing it to crawl slowly toward the four characters on the bronze bo bell, filling in the missing parts stroke by stroke.
He had been suppressed for over forty thousand years. Although he still could not unravel the demon-suppressing runes, he did not need to unravel them now—he only needed to copy them.
He simply had to replicate the demon-suppressing runes that had sealed his own body, completing the missing strokes of the characters.
"Chu Tiandu, now that you've reached the Dao Revelation Ground, are you still going to hide like a turtle shrinking into its shell?"
Li Pingsheng laughed boisterously, drawing closer and closer as his voice boomed, "You don't even dare to answer my challenge. It seems you haven't made any progress during this time!"
Xu Ying turned a deaf ear, pouring all his concentration into completing the four characters on the bronze bo bell!
The moment the four characters were restored, the bronze bo bell suppressing his sea of consciousness vanished abruptly!
At that moment, Li Pingsheng happened to arrive near the bronze bo bell outside. The artifact's might grew increasingly restrained, suppressed by the Little Celestial Venerable's seal as it gradually fell into a dormant slumber.
It slowly descended toward the ground at a steady pace.
Shen Baiyu was still beneath the bell, sitting cross-legged as he struggled to suppress the dao injuries across his body. Flames still flickered on his skin, roasting him until grease dripped.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, you're almost cooked through!" Li Pingsheng teased with a laugh.
Shen Baiyu snorted. His eyes remained shut as he replied, "Your cultivation and strength have improved, but Chu Tiandu has been advancing as well. Li Pingsheng, you may not be Chu Tiandu's match!"
Li Pingsheng sneered. "Brother Shen, you were defeated by Chu Tiandu, but that doesn't mean I will follow in your footsteps."
He looked toward the dilapidated monastery in the distance and said coolly, "Just now, Chu Tiandu actually unleashed the demonic realm's peerless divine power, the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace. That has only stoked my fighting spirit. If he hadn't made any progress all these years, I would truly be disappointed."
Shen Baiyu burst into laughter, which quickly dissolved into ragged coughing. Panting, he said, "Chu Tiandu is right inside that monastery. The Purple-Robed Demon Marquis's true appearance is a boy of fourteen or fifteen! Go to your death, then!"
Li Pingsheng was astonished. "The Purple-Robed Demon Marquis is a boy of fourteen or fifteen..."
Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, the bronze bo bell plunged from the sky with a thunderous boom, pinning Shen Baiyu directly beneath it.
Li Pingsheng cried out in shock and rushed forward. "Brother Shen! Brother Shen! Are you all right?"
From beneath the bronze mountain came Shen Baiyu's muffled voice: "I'm fine! Just broke my waist. Give me a moment to dig a pit, and I can crawl out..."
Seeing Shen Baiyu folded in half beneath the bell with only his backside sticking out, Li Pingsheng took out a bronze mirror and angled it toward him.
The mirror was called the Shadow-Retaining Mirror, capable of capturing scenery to preserve both image and sound.
After recording the scene to his satisfaction, Li Pingsheng stowed the mirror away and resumed walking toward the ruined monastery.
Boom!
Another mountain-sized immortal artifact plummeted from the sky and slammed into the earth, sending tremors through the ground.
Li Pingsheng paused in surprise and turned toward where the artifact had fallen. At that moment, another boom sounded as a heavy relic struck the ground to his right.
Before he could see what artifact it was, another crash rang out, and yet another immortal artifact dropped from the sky, smashing into the dirt. Immediately after, another floating relic lost all its power in midair and began falling, not yet hitting the earth.
"What is this..."
Li Pingsheng stared in disbelief. Looking up, he saw the immortal artifacts floating in the sky wobbling uncontrollably, unable to maintain their forms, tumbling down one after another!
The one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts were shedding their Dao might at shocking speed, turning into ordinary iron. Bereft of power, they rained down from the sky!
Across their surfaces, Immortal Dao runes flickered erratically before extinguishing in succession, leaving behind only four luminous runes!
Even an expert of Li Pingsheng's experience, who had seen much of the world, was filled with shock and bewilderment, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"Why would one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts lose all their power at once?"
His eyes flickered as he muttered, "I heard the seniors in my sect say that these artifacts were used by ancient immortals and gods to suppress the worldly Great Dao of Dao Weeping Pass. If these artifacts lose their power, wouldn't that mean..."
A violent shudder ran through him, terror creeping into his eyes as he looked up and surveyed his surroundings.
At that moment, Chu Tiandu was also rushing toward the ruined monastery in the Dao Revelation Ground. The sudden loss of power in the immortal artifacts and their plummet from the heavens gave him a fright as well.
'The treasures used by evil immortals and gods to suppress the worldly Great Dao have failed?'
His heart pounded wildly, his mouth going dry. 'Could Master's seal have succeeded? If these treasures have failed, does that mean... the worldly Great Dao here is about to revive?'
He trembled with excitement.
As the Little Celestial Venerable's disciple, he had spent his time roaming the heart of the demonic realm, defeating many heterodox experts who ventured deep into its territory, but he had never dared to step beyond the heartland.
He knew that once he reached the Dao Weeping Pass, where the worldly Great Dao was suppressed, his strength would be greatly diminished.
Now, the failure of the immortal artifacts suppressing the land meant the resurgence of the worldly Great Dao!
'The dormant Great Dao is reviving... Has our fortune finally returned?'
He looked around. Suddenly, radiant light cascaded from the heavens over Dao Weeping Pass, golden springs welled from the earth, and the barren flora turned lush and green in an instant, orchids blooming across the ground!
Within moments, the worldly yuan qi swelled in abundance. A brilliant rainbow streaked across the sky, leaving a vivid arc of seven colors in its wake!
Thunderclouds gathered above, rumbling with the vibration of spring thunder, and soon a gentle drizzle began to fall.
The rain was no ordinary water, but liquid saturated with worldly yuan qi, soaking into all things and nourishing the land!
Chu Tiandu stood transfixed. In just these few moments, Dao Weeping Pass seemed to have returned from the dead, breathing vibrant color back into a world that had been gray and desolate!
In the soft drizzle, Chu Tiandu knelt upon the earth, kissing the damp soil as tears of emotion streamed down his face.
The holy land was returning to its true form!
Inside the ruined monastery, Xu Ying moved faster and faster, finally completing the four characters across all one thousand three hundred immortal artifacts. His divine sense was freed from suppression, allowing him to exhale a long breath of relief.
His divine sense was linked to this realm. The instant it broke free, the world seemed to become his very body. The reviving Great Dao resonated with him, dancing in joy alongside his soul and his Primordial Spirit!
Xu Ying felt profound insights into various Dao methods surging in like a tidal wave. Never had he imagined that entering the Dao and comprehending it could be so simple, so effortless!
With every passing moment, endless epiphanies of the Dao washed over him, as though he had become intimately attuned to the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
Within his Primordial Spirit, his demonic dao attainment advanced by leaps and bounds, his cultivation surging at a terrifying speed!
Immersed in the vast, rolling sounds of the Dao, Xu Ying felt light as an immortal. Then, a weathered voice echoed from the Dao resonance: "Taiji divides to form Qian and Kun; Qian is the father, Kun is the mother, giving birth to the ancestral marvels of heaven and earth."
Another voice rich with Dao charm followed: "The Two Modes separate into Yin and Yang; Yang belongs to heaven, Yin belongs to earth, nurturing the Primordial Spirit of heaven and earth!"
Xu Ying looked and saw two lean, hale Daoists approaching—one clad in white, the other in green, exuding otherworldly grace.
The two Daoists bowed to him. Suddenly, a voice like divine music rang out: "Born before heaven and earth, tracing the eternal lamp passed down through the pavilions, the ultimate origin is without limit; Ancestor of the Dao and Dharma, gazing up at the cauldrons upheld on the five terraces amid clouds, mysterious and yet more mysterious!"
A third Daoist walked forward. Abruptly, the three converged into one, smiling at Xu Ying: "Thank you for your aid, Fellow Daoist. Since you have helped me break free of my confinement, I specially impart to you the One Qi Turning into the Three Purities."
The figure tapped a finger between Xu Ying's brows and vanished in an instant.
Xu Ying's sea of consciousness returned to stillness. Retracting his divine sense, he awoke from his meditative trance, his mind filled with doubt and bewilderment. 'Who were those three Daoists just now? What Primordial Spirit of heaven and earth, what origin without limit, and what Dao Ancestor and Dharma Ancestor? What an enormous boast! Do people in the demonic realm all love to brag like this?'
Just then, Li Pingsheng's voice rang out from outside the monastery: "Chu Tiandu, Purple-Robed Demon Marquis! Your lifelong rival Li Pingsheng is here! Will you come out yourself, or shall I fight my way in?"
Chapter 333