The Little Celestial Venerable remained standing behind Xu Ying, acting as though he had not heard a word from Perfected Cangyue. In a low whisper, he asked, "Did you comprehend the ancestral methods hidden within the imprint?"
Xu Ying said nothing, merely nodding in silence.
While the Little Celestial Venerable had been fending off the Five Extremes Sect's encirclement moments ago, Xu Ying had been immersed in deep meditation, merging with the imprint left behind by his self from forty-eight thousand years ago to comprehend the ancestral methods.
Because he had sunk so deeply into meditation, he felt as though he had returned to those days forty-eight thousand years past, completely oblivious to everything unfolding in the outside world.
It had been a wondrous experience.
The instant he merged with the imprint from forty-eight thousand years ago, it felt as if everything had returned.
Uniting as one with the imprint, he was once again his past self from forty-eight thousand years ago!
He felt the Taiyi Inborn Technique circulating within him and the slow rotation of the six Nuo ancestor cave-heavens. The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth resonated in harmony with him, ringing out like a triumphant hymn.
This place was called the Dao Comprehension Platform, a jade terrace for contemplating the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. When one contemplated the Dao here, the Dao resonated with them.
Yet when Xu Ying merged with the imprint, what he saw was a shattered Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
The Great Dao of the Ancestral Court had been shattered, worn away, and suppressed. What he had sensed back then was a fragmented, broken Dao, resonating with his sorrow.
Back then, he had sat here in withered seclusion. Though former sages and forebears had left their imprints upon this place, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth was no longer what it once was.
Upon the Dao Comprehension Platform, he had mourned the shattering of heaven and earth, weeping for the sorrow of the Great Dao.
Afterward, when he awoke from his trance, he discovered that his six secret depositories were already opened. The six ancestral methods circulated naturally, as though he had cultivated them long ago and had merely ceased running them in their proper manner.
For tens of thousands of years, the six Nuo ancestors and countless others had sought the Kunlun ancestral methods to no avail. Who could have imagined that the Kunlun ancestral methods were hidden right here, upon the Dao Comprehension Platform in the demonic realm?
The Little Celestial Venerable whispered, "Keep reaching out to sense the Heavenly Abyss. My lingering might still holds him back, so Perfected Cangyue won't dare approach for the moment. But the longer this drags on, the bolder he will become."
Xu Ying felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this. Though he did not know the full story, for even the Little Celestial Venerable to be so grievously injured meant the situation was perilous beyond measure!
Although the Little Celestial Venerable had constantly wanted to kill him to avenge the betrayal of the past, right now, the two of them were grasshoppers tied to the same string...
*Wait a second, are we really grasshoppers on the same string?*
Xu Ying blinked. Perhaps he and this Perfected Cangyue were the ones on the same string. In that case, joining hands with Perfected Cangyue to finish off the Little Celestial Venerable might not be an unwise choice either.
Suddenly, a warm liquid dripped onto Xu Ying's back. Reaching up to touch it, Xu Ying froze.
His palm was covered in blood.
A smile remained fixed on the Little Celestial Venerable's face as blood trickled steadily from his mouth. He murmured, "I cannot die here. If I die here, the Ancestral Court will fall into the hands of Weixu. Perfected Cangyue has already defected to Weixu... Don't look back."
Xu Ying did not turn around.
Blood began to seep from the Little Celestial Venerable's eyes as well, and with a rush of heat, fresh blood spilled from his nostrils. Because his back was turned to Perfected Cangyue, it had yet to be noticed.
"Back when you brought disaster to the Ancestral Court, you looted many ancient immortal artifacts and suppressed them in Tianxu. The moment you open Tianxu, those immortal artifacts will swarm out in a desperate bid to return to their masters."
Blood was now trickling from the Little Celestial Venerable's ears as well, yet he muttered on as if to himself. "When those immortal artifacts burst forth, seize that instant to pick one and let it carry you away. Perfected Cangyue is exceedingly powerful; you will have only one chance to escape with your life."
Xu Ying sent a divine sense ripple, transmitting his voice: "Little Celestial Venerable, you have always viewed me as a traitor to the Ancestral Court and wanted to kill me. Why should I help you?"
The Little Celestial Venerable made no reply.
Xu Ying glanced back, only to see the Little Celestial Venerable standing there with completely hollow eyes, blood pouring without pause from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Xu Ying closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, a wisp of pure qi drifted from the crown of his head, splitting off into a strand of Yuqing qi that slipped into the Little Celestial Venerable's body.
This strand of Yuqing qi was the Yuqing Primordial Spirit, one of his three Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits. Descending into the Little Celestial Venerable's Realm of Xiyi, it found the realm in total chaos. The Five Sacred Mountains were dislocated and cracked, the Heavenly River flowed backward, and the Heavenly Mountains lay toppled!
A great deal of five-colored immortal light left behind by the Five Extremes Immortal Formation had invaded the Little Celestial Venerable's body, wreaking havoc everywhere.
*Could Li Pingsheng have beaten the Little Celestial Venerable into this state?*
Xu Ying was startled, instantly recognizing that this five-colored immortal light likely originated from the Five Extremes Sky-Surpassing Skill. Li Pingsheng had cultivated this very technique when challenging him, only to be defeated in a single exchange.
Out of mercy, Xu Ying had merely broken half the bones in Li Pingsheng's body rather than killing him.
*Li Pingsheng certainly doesn't possess such strength, so who could have wounded the Little Celestial Venerable so severely?*
At the time, Xu Ying had been lost to the world, entirely unaware of what a brutal battle the Little Celestial Venerable had endured—one man pitted against ten thousand. Had it not been for the sneak attacks by the Five Extremes Immortal King and Perfected Cangyue, he would never have suffered such catastrophic injuries.
The origin qi across the Little Celestial Venerable's various cultivation realms was completely deranged, ravaged by clashing water and fire. His condition was dire in the extreme.
Xu Ying's Yuqing Primordial Spirit inspected the path and flew to the God Bridge. There, he saw that the Little Celestial Venerable was also a half-immortal; half of his Primordial Spirit resided within the celestial city, while the other half remained outside.
At this moment, however, his Primordial Spirit was dazed and sunken into a coma. Surrounding it was a Dao domain on the verge of collapse, roiling with earth, water, wind, and fire—a terrifying scene of world-ending annihilation.
Circling the perimeter of the Dao domain, colossal chains of the Great Dao whipped about, giving voice to deep, resonant Dao hymns!
Xu Ying frowned.
He could not get close to the Little Celestial Venerable's Primordial Spirit.
These Dao chains were formed from condensed Dao patterns, which were in turn composed of Dao images. They were immensely intricate and wielded overwhelming power, as though the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth had taken physical form!
Before falling unconscious, the Little Celestial Venerable had deployed these Dao chains to protect his Primordial Spirit from being invaded by external enemies.
Yet precisely because of these chains, Xu Ying could not approach to assess just how grave the wounds to his Primordial Spirit truly were.
*The Little Celestial Venerable has already blacked out, relying solely on his formidable willpower to keep himself standing tall and unbowed, projecting an undiminished aura to cow Perfected Cangyue,*
Xu Ying thought to himself. *In truth, Perfected Cangyue wouldn't even need to lift a finger. Any random passerby could strike him down right now!*
Collecting himself, he made up his mind and murmured, "It's fine that you've blacked out, but how am I supposed to know which shard is Tianxu?"
He entered deep meditation once more, merging with his imprint and entering that wondrous state again. Borrowing the imprint of his past, he reached out to sense that so-called shard of heaven!
Tianxu.
Meanwhile, his Yuqing Primordial Spirit remained inside the Little Celestial Venerable's body, putting out fires, mending the sky, dredging the overflowing floods, and helping him suppress the myriad Dao injuries across the Realm of Xiyi.
Seeing that the Little Celestial Venerable had not moved for a long time, Perfected Cangyue chuckled. "You must be wounded, aren't you? Though you are invincible in the Ancestral Court, Little Celestial Venerable, taking on so many opponents at once could not have left you unscathed."
Where he had been hiding before, he now stepped out from behind the boulders, revealing himself with a laugh. "You cannot be blamed. The Five Extremes Immortal King possesses transcendent strength; it is only natural that you could not stand against him. He did not even need to act personally—merely sending his disciples and grand-disciples to the Ancestral Court was enough to wound you grievously."
Xu Ying spread his divine sense, thinking, *Since I have already comprehended the ancestral methods, why hide them? I might as well use them directly!*
With a series of soft hums, six cave-heavens spun behind him, revolving in accordance with the ancestral methods. Among them, the Yellow Court cave-heaven bolstered his divine sense to immense proportions, sharpening his perception so sharply that it plunged into the void to search for any concealed space nearby!
In an instant, his perception peaked. All around the Dao Comprehension Platform, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth vibrated softly. Thousands of rays of rosy mist rose from the shattered world, drifting over in countless intricate strands brimming with Dao subtleties before imprinting onto the Dao Comprehension Platform beneath Xu Ying!
The spectacle was breathtakingly magnificent, yet tinged with an inexplicable sorrow that brought unbidden tears to anyone caught within it.
This was the sorrow of the Great Dao; standing within it, one could not help but weep alongside it.
Witnessing this, Perfected Cangyue grew suspicious. "Who is that brat beside you? That is not Chu Tiandu! Chu Tiandu doesn't have this kind of skill!"
He took a few steps forward, attempting to get a clear look at Xu Ying's true face, yet remained wary of the Little Celestial Venerable's might.
Just moments ago, the Little Celestial Venerable had unleashed seven revolutions of his divine art to clash head-on with a ten-thousand-man immortal formation and counter the Five Extremes Immortal King. Even after all that, he had still managed to take Cangyue's full-force strike and wound him severely in return!
Such battle prowess had truly terrified him.
Cangyue's eyes flickered. He produced his vertical flute and smiled. "Little Celestial Venerable, the Dao hymns around you sound far too sorrowful. Allow me to play a tune for you!"
The notes of the flute rang out, murderous intent surging within the Dao sound to agitate the Great Dao inside the Little Celestial Venerable's body. In normal times, the Little Celestial Venerable would not have cared in the slightest, but heavily wounded as he was, he could no longer withstand the slaughterous fiendish melody of the flute!
Xu Ying's Yuqing Primordial Spirit was still inside the Little Celestial Venerable's body. The moment the flute sounded, the Little Celestial Venerable's already deranged origin qi and Dao images erupted into utter turmoil. The power of his various cultivated Dao images burst forth, clashing violently against one another and worsening his injuries by the moment!
The Yuqing Primordial Spirit had only just managed to mend a fraction of his Dao wounds with great difficulty, but now the old injuries flared up anew, even putting Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit in grave danger!
The Little Celestial Venerable was simply too powerful, his cultivation too profound. His Dao images and various cultivation realms all held monstrous power.
With the Little Celestial Venerable having sealed his own Primordial Spirit, this Dao power was left masterless and easily provoked by Perfected Cangyue. A single misstep, and Xu Ying's Yuqing Primordial Spirit would be ground to pieces by the chaotic forces!
As Perfected Cangyue played his flute, he watched the Little Celestial Venerable closely for any reaction. The moment the Little Celestial Venerable showed any sign of faltering, he would strike without hesitation!
To his disappointment, however, the Little Celestial Venerable remained standing firmly behind Xu Ying, showing not the slightest hint of collapse.
Inside the Little Celestial Venerable's body, however, Xu Ying was at his wit's end. Cangyue's flute music battered the Little Celestial Venerable with wave after wave of injury, forcing Xu Ying to constantly dodge the rogue Dao patterns and Dao images.
*Whoosh—*
The Heavenly River hung inverted once again, its thrashing current sweeping past Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit and nearly blasting him away.
In the next moment, the mountain ranges trembled. Atop one of the Heavenly Mountains lay a place of dual refinement where Samadhi true fire and Samadhi divine water waged war, melting heaven and earth in their wake!
Dodging left and right, Xu Ying's Yuqing Primordial Spirit flew upward in fury. *Since the Little Celestial Venerable sealed his own Primordial Spirit and this body is left without a master, then I'll take charge!*
He threw himself into the Little Celestial Venerable's Twelve-Storyed Mansions. As his Primordial Spirit took up residence within the mansions, he instantly seized control of the Little Celestial Venerable's physical body.
The flute notes grew more urgent.
Perfected Cangyue shifted his stance, treading a bizarre formation pattern while blowing into the flute. The music carried a desolate killing intent, churning blood and qi while tearing at the Dao heart.
Yet the Little Celestial Venerable still offered no response.
Perfected Cangyue abruptly lowered his flute and laughed heartily. "Little Celestial Venerable, here I took you for a true hero, thinking you had endured my Chaotic World Fiend Melody with sheer grit. Who knew you had already passed out!"
He took a step forward, walking toward the Dao Comprehension Platform.
Right at that moment, Xu Ying's Yuqing Primordial Spirit took full command of the Little Celestial Venerable's body and threw his head back in a thunderous laugh.
With that laughter, the blood trickling from the Little Celestial Venerable's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth erupted into full geysers, drenching the seated Xu Ying from head to toe!
Yet the Little Celestial Venerable continued to laugh uproariously, completely oblivious.
Perfected Cangyue stopped dead in his tracks. Turning pale, he took a cautious step backward and gave a forced chuckle. "Little Celestial Venerable, what are you laughing at? Blood is spraying dozens of feet from both of your ears. Surely you can no longer suppress your injuries, can you?"
Xu Ying raised both of the Little Celestial Venerable's arms, shook his sleeves, and clasped his hands behind his back.
A jolt of apprehension seized Perfected Cangyue's heart. He hurriedly backed away several paces and summoned his Primordial Spirit, instantly pushing it to its absolute limit. The Primordial Spirit manifested eight arms, each wielding a dharma treasure: a bell, a chime, a guqin, a zheng, a pipa, a sheng, a drum, and a vertical flute. He sneered, "Little Celestial Venerable, we know each other inside and out. You know what I'm capable of, and I know your measure. My injuries are certainly lighter than yours!"
"Cangyue, that may not be true!"
The Little Celestial Venerable turned around, blood still spewing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. As Xu Ying controlled him to speak, the blood spurted in rhythmic bursts, splashing near and far.
Opening his mouth, the Little Celestial Venerable allowed blood to pour out recklessly as he grinned. "Cangyue, heavy as my injuries are, I still kept a trick up my sleeve. A trick prepared specially for you—taking your dog life will be child's play!"
Even as he spoke, the Dao Comprehension Platform was already awash in blood. Seeing the man's pristine white robes stained crimson, Perfected Cangyue felt an urge to laugh mingled with sheer horror.
He was amused because the Little Celestial Venerable had always been obsessed with cleanliness, unable to tolerate the slightest speck of dirt or dust upon himself.
Yet here he stood, his white garments drenched in blood, thoroughly destroying his image as the white-robed scholar.
What terrified Cangyue was that despite suffering wounds this catastrophic, the Little Celestial Venerable could still laugh and jest with effortless poise. It sent a creeping dread through his soul!
Fixing his gaze on the Little Celestial Venerable to study his expressions, Perfected Cangyue chuckled. "Little Celestial Venerable, you'd better go find a doctor. Losing this much blood, I fear you could drop dead at any moment. I happen to know a doctor called the Jade Hand Demonic Doctor who is quite skilled at lopping off heads. If he detaches your head and tidies it up, perhaps your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth will stop bleeding."
He frowned slightly. The blood flowed so freely from the Little Celestial Venerable, and his body acted as though it didn't even belong to him, showing not the slightest hint of pain or discomfort!
Blood gurgled from the Little Celestial Venerable's mouth, making his speech less articulate than usual, yet he chuckled. "Very well, I shall definitely have to meet this Jade Hand Demonic Doctor. But before he treats me, I will twist your head off first and let him practice on you."
Perfected Cangyue's brow furrowed, a sense of oddity rising in his heart. *The Little Celestial Venerable is usually solemn and humorless. Why is he joking around with me today? This doesn't seem like him at all...*
With a flicker of thought, he smiled. "Celestial Venerable, I recently composed a piece called the Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Fiend. I would appreciate your guidance."
Xu Ying laughed aloud. "Cangyue, you grow more pathetic by the day! Divine arts are divine arts—direct and straightforward, meant to claim lives. Yet you bother with entering the Dao through musical melody, putting on airs of elegance when it is utterly fragile, merely leading yourself astray into the demonic path! You can only lord it over a derelict ruin like the Ancestral Court. Were you to take a single step into the myriad worlds of the heavens, you would have been beaten to death long ago! Play it, then! Let us see if your Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Fiend can shake me by even a hair!"
Perfected Cangyue's face turned from green to white. Gritting his teeth, his eight-armed Primordial Spirit brandished all eight instruments—pipa, sheng, flute, bell, guqin, drum, zheng, and chime—playing them all at once!
Inside the Little Celestial Venerable, the Dao wounds worsened further, the Dao images collapsing into greater disarray. Blood hissed and sprayed violently from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, shooting thirty feet with the wind and a hundred feet against it.
"Nothing more than this!" the Little Celestial Venerable bellowed with laughter, blood gushing like a pillar from his mouth.
Xu Ying grew anxious inside. *Even if Perfected Cangyue were blind, he'd realize something was wrong by now! Tianxu, Tianxu, where on earth are you... Found it!*
Overjoyed, he finally located a doorway hidden deep within the layers of the void. Behind that door lay Tianxu.
Without a second thought, Xu Ying reached out and pushed against the door.
*Creak—*
The portal opened, and radiant immortal light surged forth from within!
At the same time, a savage glare flashed across Perfected Cangyue's face, and he snarled viciously, "You wretched brat, you're playing me! You're not the Little Celestial Venerable!"
Chapter 348