The Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism was not a demon cultivation method. Yuan Qi could not make heads or tails of it. Frantic, he scratched his face with the tip of his tail, having no choice but to commit it to memory first—yet his memory was not particularly good either.
By the time the immortal finished expounding the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism once through, Yuan Qi was still staring blankly with wide eyes.
Having finished his sermon, the white-robed immortal spoke no more, quietly waiting for everyone to comprehend.
Yuan Qi summoned his courage, held his tail up high, and cried out, "Immortal Master, that explanation whatever-it-is, I can't learn it. Does the Immortal Master have some simpler technique? An ultimate martial arts art would do as well. I don't possess immortal affinity; I'll settle for something basic."
The white-robed immortal kept his eyes on his nose and his nose toward his heart, unmoved.
Bent on seeking immortal affinity, how could Yuan Qi let this chance slip by? He raised a noisy clamor, begging for a rudimentary technique, making such a racket that the people around him could not enter meditative cultivation.
The white-robed immortal finally opened his eyes and said, "Insolent snake, cease your clamor. I will grant you a scroll of martial arts suited for snake demons like you." With that, he tossed down a scroll and said, "You and I have no karmic affinity. Scram."
Yuan Qi hurriedly picked up the scripture and flipped through a couple of pages with his tail. Seeing the title True Cultivation of the Ba Snake, he hastily said, "Immortal Master, the Ba snake and I share the same genus but a different lineage. It is a Ba snake, while I am a Yuan snake. If I study a Ba snake's technique, I fear being mocked by my kin."
The white-robed immortal's mouth twitched with anger. He tossed down another scroll and said, "This Dragon Snake Awakening Technique—take it and scram."
Yuan Qi took the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique. One glance showed it was indeed suited to him, far beyond what his ancestral Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist could match. Overjoyed, he quickly said, "Immortal Master, I love reading. Why not gift this scroll of True Cultivation of the Ba Snake to me as well?"
The white-robed immortal flicked his sleeve.
Yuan Qi kowtowed incessantly to the immortal, tears streaming down his face as he choked up, "No one has ever treated me this well. Immortal Master, you are like a second parent to me! Let me kowtow a few more times to serve as the ceremony of taking you as my master."
The white-robed immortal stealthily clenched his fists, then relaxed them again. He said, "You have filial piety; very good. Be on your way."
Yuan Qi flicked away his tears with the tip of his tail and slithered toward the temple exit.
The white-robed immortal let out a sigh of relief as well—only to see that shameless snake slithering right back.
Fury blazed in the white-robed immortal's chest, and he nearly could not hold back from slaughtering the snake, but he forcibly reined it in and said, "What do you want now?"
Yuan Qi said with an ingratiating smile, "Immortal Master, I just recalled that a good friend of mine is still outside and couldn't get in. He's very clever; if the Immortal Master met him, you would surely take a liking to him. So I took the liberty of accepting a disciple on the Immortal Master's behalf. May I trouble the Immortal Master for one more true scripture? I'll take it to him so he can cultivate, and he'll remember your kindness too."
The white-robed immortal nearly leaped to his feet, but held himself back again and chuckled, "You insolent snake actually possess great loyalty. Fine, fine. Today I will grant you immortal affinity. Whatever you do not understand in the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism, I shall explain to you point by point and make sure to teach it to you!"
Yuan Qi was overjoyed and bowed again and again. "This disciple understands nothing at all."
Suppressing his fury, the white-robed immortal was determined to teach him and send him to his own doom. He laughed and said, "Then I shall teach you from the very beginning!"
***
Among the immortal mountains, Xu Ying insisted on heading toward the grand temple. Left with no choice, the bronze bell followed him.
Suddenly, violent crashing sounds echoed ahead. Xu Ying hurried over, only to see from afar that a stone statue of a deity had revived and was conducting a wholesale slaughter.
Beside it lay several corpses of Yongzhou government officials, while several others were locked in fierce combat with the stone statue of the deity!
Being officials of the prefectural government, their cultivation and strength were exceptionally formidable, and their Nuo arts profound. To Xu Ying's surprise, one official carrying a broad mask on his back gave the most bizarre performance of all.
The mask was exceedingly strange: a ghastly white face with large eyes, a long tongue, and a mouth full of fangs, bearing a resemblance to the Netherworld deity of folk legend, the Impermanence ghost.
The official put the impermanence mask over his face. Countless fleshy tendrils suddenly sprouted from the mask's edges, drilling into his skin and knitting into his flesh and blood!
Governed by the power surging from the mask, his body grew rapidly taller, quickly becoming tall and gaunt—standing sixteen feet high, skin and bones, yet overflowing with abnormal strength!
From his mouth, a long tongue drooped down, full two or three feet in length!
Once this official donned the impermanence mask, a gust of yin wind radiated outward with him at the center. He no longer resembled a human, but rather a ghost-god of the Netherworld—an Impermanence!
The Nuo arts he unleashed turned eerie as well, suffused with chilling ghostly qi that specialized in harming the soul, battering the stone statue's divine soul and forcing it back repeatedly.
Yet the stone statue battling them was extraordinarily formidable. It had a third eye on its forehead, stepped upon a black tortoise, and was clad in golden armor. The dharmic power forged from its incense qi was boundless and profound, far deeper even than that of the deity that had chased Xu Ying earlier!
Around its body, incense qi swirled, and the prayers and thoughts of sentient beings hummed like a drone. The chanting of ten thousand people condensed into substantive golden glyphs, merging with the incense qi into flowing ribbons!
Backing up a few paces, the third eye on the deity's forehead shot forth divine light. With a hiss, it nearly severed the Impermanence-transformed official at the waist!
Meanwhile, the black tortoise beneath its feet was ferocious and wicked, moving at blistering speed without any of the sluggishness typical of turtles. Carrying the deity into the fray, it swept through all opposition!
Opening its gaping, bloody maw, the black tortoise snapped down with enough force to sever metal and stone, crunching human bodies and dharma treasures alike to pieces!
Looking on with his Heavenly Eye, Xu Ying could spot numerous discontinuities and flaws in the deity's dharmic power, and the same held true for the black tortoise.
*Even if I can see these flaws, I wouldn't even be able to land a strike before getting killed if I rushed forward,* Xu Ying thought.
The gulf between him and this deity was too immense to bridge with mere technique.
Suddenly, an official flew through the air, crashing down not far from Xu Ying.
It was the official who wore the impermanence mask. Only half his body remained, and the mask had detached from his face, rolling to a stop at Xu Ying's feet.
Lying on the ground, the official stared fixedly at Xu Ying, his breath like a gossamer thread, his lips quivering: "Save me..."
*Splat!*
A massive foot stomped down, crushing him to mush!
The black tortoise strode forward carrying the three-eyed deity, crushing the bisected official to death.
Looking ferocious and sinister, the black tortoise cast its gaze along the direction the Nuo master had been staring before death. Spotting no one, it let out a roar, stepped forward, and headed up the mountain.
Xu Ying and the bronze bell hid in a ravine to the side. Clutched in one hand, Xu Ying held the impermanence mask, his eyes wide and breath held. Only after the black tortoise and the three-eyed deity had gone far did he gasp for air in huge gulps.
The bronze bell was trembling as well.
Xu Ying stood up and climbed out of the ravine, only to see corpses strewn everywhere. Those officials had been wiped out to the last man by the deity; not a single one had escaped!
"Strong. Far too strong!"
Xu Ying frowned. Many divine statues were reviving now. With these statues being so overpowering, reaching the grand temple would likely be no easy feat.
"And what is the deal with this mask? Why did donning it cause a transformation in form?"
Xu Ying inspected the impermanence mask, recalling how the official had transformed into a ghost-god of the Netherworld after wearing it. *Yuan Qi is well-read. If he were here, he would definitely know what this is.*
He strapped the impermanence mask onto his back and looked up toward the sky. Deities were roaming along several ribbons of giant stones.
Xu Ying glanced into the distance. There was another boulder ribbon over there, though he did not know whether deities were present. He immediately headed in that direction. Suddenly, terrifying ripples of Nuo arts surged from ahead, even more dreadful than before, the impact toppling entire swathes of forest!
Xu Ying crept closer. The one locked in combat was still the three-eyed deity atop the black tortoise, but this time its opponent was a middle-aged man!
*It's that high official by the Regional Inspector of Yongzhou's side!* Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Heng, the Regional Inspector of Yongzhou, was the one who had ordered this man to lead experts in pursuit of him, so Xu Ying remembered him vividly.
The middle-aged man was named Zhou Zheng. A roar that shook the mountains and rivers ripped from his mouth. As he charged toward the three-eyed deity, he suddenly transformed into a Golden-Winged Peng, using his wings as blades to slash at the deity!
His cultivation and strength far exceeded Zhou Yihang's. Zhou Yihang had received true teachings from the Zhou clan, but not their supreme heritage, which Zhou Zheng clearly possessed.
Transforming into the Golden-Winged Peng, he was capable of injuring the deity. Wheeling through the air, he swooped down from above, his wings, golden feathers, and razor talons striking relentlessly!
His wings, golden plumage, and talons possessed power of the utmost hardness and ferocity!
After several exchanges, the three-eyed deity was wounded in multiple places. Suddenly, the third eye between its brows snapped open, projecting a blinding glare that sliced through both wings of the Golden-Winged Peng with a hiss!
Zhou Zheng's golden feathers scattered as he plummeted from the sky. Mid-fall, his muscles surged and bristled, and he transformed into a violent ape several tens of feet tall, crashing down from the heavens!
The violent ape was coated in golden fur, with sinews of bronze, bones of iron, and a forehead of steel. Clashing in close-quarters physical combat against the deity, it even battered the black tortoise until its bones broke and sinews snapped, forcing it back again and again!
The three-eyed deity repeated its tactic, opening its third eye once more to fire a beam of divine light at the violent ape.
Zhou Zheng abruptly dispelled the violent ape's form and twisted his body. Golden scales broke out from under his skin, transforming him into a dragon-headed, human-bodied titan treading on lightning, striding forward under the blue dome of heaven.
When the divine light from the three-eyed deity's eye struck his body, the gleaming dragon scales deflected it in all directions, riddling the earth and woods with holes and gouges, yet failing to pierce him.
Zhou Zheng swung his hand. Lightning coalesced beneath his palm like a great sword, and with a snap, he severed the three-eyed deity's head!
"For slaying so many of our Yongzhou government's men, death is too good for you!"
Zhou Zheng brought his foot down hard, trampling the black tortoise into splintered pieces.
Xu Ying held his breath and focused his mind, not daring to make the slightest move. The bronze bell did not dare breathe a whisper either. This Yongzhou Judicial Administrator was far more powerful than Old Master Zhou Yihang.
Then Zhou Zheng's voice drifted over: "Where on earth is that Xu Ying hiding? Five immortal mountains—such a vast place, and with so many deities reviving, tracking him down is a real headache! Grass and Trees Form an Army!"
He bellowed fiercely and stomped his foot down hard, instantly unleashing a Nuo art.
Hearing that shout, Xu Ying immediately knew trouble was brewing. Sure enough, a surging vitality erupted outward from Zhou Zheng in all directions. Everywhere it passed, all plants and trees tore themselves from the ground!
Whether wild weeds or fresh flowers, shrubs or towering trees, all were granted life. Weeds turned into little people in green clothes and pointed hats; wild flowers became thumb-thick maidens in straw hats; thorny shrubs sprinted like wolves clad in brambles; giant trees became treants crowned with lush foliage.
Like a surging tide, they swarmed in every direction to search for Xu Ying's whereabouts.
The very next instant, countless little people in green clothes and pointed hats gathered beneath Xu Ying's feet, all looking up at him. Several straw-hat maidens also trotted over, blinking their dark, glossy eyes as they stared at him.
Xu Ying pointed into the distance, gesturing to them.
The little people refused to fall for it, whispering to one another, "Yee-goo, yee-goo!"
One of the straw-hat maidens pulled out a tiny portrait, unfurled it, held it up twice to compare against Xu Ying, and checked the portrait again.
Xu Ying leaned in close and looked at the painting. Sure enough, it was him. So he whispered, "That person isn't me. Look, my clothes have a tear right here, but his don't."
The green-clad little people and the straw-hat maidens babbled "yee-goo, yee-goo" for a moment, then suddenly looked past him in unison.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat. Straightening up, he whispered, "Lord Bell, is that Yongzhou high official standing right behind me?"
The bronze bell chimed a dull, muted clang.
With a smile plastered across his face, Xu Ying slowly turned around. Sure enough, Zhou Zheng, the Judicial Administrator of Yongzhou, stood not far away, gazing at him with leisurely amusement.
*I thought I had fooled these little weeds and flowers, but the big trees between him and me have all run off,* Xu Ying thought with irritation.
When Zhou Zheng cast the Nuo art Grass and Trees Form an Army, the nearby flowers, grass, and trees had all uprooted themselves. A dense forest had originally separated Xu Ying from Zhou Zheng, but now that the trees had turned into treants and fled, Zhou Zheng had spotted the fugitive Xu at a glance, bent over and trying to swindle flowers and weeds.
"Culprit Xu, what else do you have to say?" Zhou Zheng said with calm satisfaction.
Xu Ying laughed heartily, turned on his heels, and sprinted for all he was worth. In an instant, he reached the edge of the immortal mountain, leaped into the air, and jumped off.
Zhou Zheng rushed to the edge of the immortal mountain and looked down. He saw the fellow Xu floating in midair astride a person-tall great bronze bell, which was laboriously and sluggishly flying toward the grand temple.
Zhou Zheng chuckled. His body shifted slowly, transforming into a divine Peng being with a bird's head, a human body, and a pair of wings. Flapping them gently, he flew toward Xu Ying at an unhurried pace.
Xu Ying frantically circulated the Taiyi Guiding Technique. The half-mu light field above his head shone brilliantly, expanding again and again until it grew to a full mu, creating quite the celestial phenomenon.
Zhou Zheng did not care in the slightest. He chuckled, "Xu Ying, even if you recover your cultivation and strength, you are still nothing to me. Why bother with this pointless gesture?"
Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly as Xu Ying's true intention dawned on him. *The purpose of him cultivating that demon art isn't to recover his cultivation, but to use the celestial phenomenon as a beacon marking his location!*
Just as this thought crossed his mind, streaks of azure incense qi flowed swiftly through the air, heading straight toward him. Before even drawing close, those streams of incense qi transformed into sharp flying swords that slashed at him with terrifying power!
Zhou Zheng looked back along the source of the incense qi, only to see the City Gods of Ningyuan, Dongning, Daozhou, Jiangyong, Lanshan, and other regions soaring through the sky on auspicious clouds, giving chase!
The City Gods had not yet arrived in person, but their flying swords arrived first, with the sole purpose of stopping Zhou Zheng from capturing Xu Ying!
Furious, Zhou Zheng flapped his golden wings as feathers flew off with ringing chimes, parrying the flying swords of the several City Gods. For the moment, he was hard-pressed to break free.
Stealing a glance, he saw Xu Ying riding the bell, sluggishly flying toward the grand temple.
*That brat's receding figure is damn well infuriating!* A profound feeling of helplessness welled up within him.
Chapter 35