"Something must have gone wrong while I was in the cycle of reincarnation. Perhaps this world right now is an alternate dimension, or maybe I altered the timeline during reincarnation, causing the present future to diverge from the one belonging to my original spacetime."
The Little Celestial Venerable hesitated, thinking to himself, *Otherwise, why would I wake from death only to find so many extra martial uncles calling themselves 'Lord'?*
His experiences within reincarnation had been so profound and wondrous that he was still in a daze, finding it hard to believe what he had been through.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were overjoyed. Having gained such an extraordinarily powerful senior martial nephew out of nowhere gave them a formidable backer in the demonic realm, which naturally brought endless perks.
The snake and the bell followed the Little Celestial Venerable. Yuan Qi said, "Ah Ying is up there beneath that Heavenly Gate. He guarded Hunyuan Palace and clashed head-on with the Immortal Kings, suffering grave injuries."
"Ah Ying?" the Little Celestial Venerable asked, puzzled.
Yuan Qi explained, "Back when he caught snakes, the villagers all called him Ah Ying."
"Catching snakes?" The Little Celestial Venerable glanced at him and thought, *Could he have caught a snake uncle for me? But why is his surname Niu?*
He was thoroughly baffled. Still, so many legends surrounded his master that the Little Celestial Venerable even suspected that over the past forty-odd thousand years, his master's wives had probably numbered in the thousands.
He flew up to the Third Heavenly Pass, only to see Xu Ying slumped on the ground beneath it, unconscious. Behind him, the six secret cave-heavens were in tatters, and wounds covered his entire body. Flesh and blood writhed across the wounds, seemingly repairing his physical trauma.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were startled. Seeing Xu Ying's six secret cave-heavens riddled with holes, as though chewed by bugs, their hearts jolted.
"Could Ah Ying have been bitten like this by the immortal insects?"
Yuan Qi and the big bell felt deeply ashamed. They had pursued the swarm all the way to Penglai, forgetting to check on Xu Ying's condition.
The Little Celestial Venerable inspected him and said, "It was indeed the swarm."
He had just suppressed the insects across the area, sweeping away and sealing all the immortal insects in the vicinity. A batch of insects must have been feeding on Xu Ying at the time, and only their capture had spared his life.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were on tenterhooks. Uneasy, Yuan Qi said, "I see the flesh and blood on Ah Ying's body is still recovering on its own. His injuries shouldn't be..."
The Little Celestial Venerable shook his head. "His six secret cave-heavens were chewed to ruin and cannot operate. When the immortal insects came to feed on him, he couldn't resist and could only endure it. His flesh and blood recovering now is likely the work of his indestructible true spirit, mending his broken physical body."
Yuan Qi and the big bell felt a pang of sorrow. One could only imagine the wretched state Xu Ying had been in—unable to put up any resistance, his six secret depositories infested by insects, left with no choice but to let them tear and devour him while relying on his indestructible true spirit to patch his mangled body.
"However, there is an upside. He was originally gravely wounded by the Dao injuries left by the two Immortal Kings, but now those Dao injuries have been eaten away by the insects as well. That is why his flesh and blood can regrow."
The Little Celestial Venerable inspected Xu Ying's Realm of Xiyi and Hidden Scenery Dao phenomena, his brow knitting tightly. Xu Ying's Realm of Xiyi and Hidden Scenery Dao phenomena were devastated beyond measure, resembling the present Ancestral Court—mountains and rivers shattered, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth withered and fractured.
Damage to the Hidden Scenery Dao phenomena was relatively manageable; they could be restored through future visualization. But repairing the devastation in the Realm of Xiyi would be fraught with difficulties.
He then examined the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body and couldn't help frowning.
Xu Ying's six secret depositories were equally grim. With the six cave-heavens damaged, the six secret depositories were a shadow of their former glory, and whether they could be cultivated back remained uncertain.
As for the Twelve-Storied Pagoda, it too had suffered catastrophic damage from the swarm and the Immortal Kings' divine abilities, leaving its state precarious.
Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit was damaged even more severely. It had never been particularly large to begin with, and now the light of his indestructible true spirit could already be glimpsed through the battered gaps.
"It must have been chewed to this state by the insects... Master was injured this badly just to save me."
A complex tangle of emotions welled within him. In his eyes, Xu Ying's ascension to the Immortal Realm back then was a betrayal, yet Xu Ying had fought with everything he had, risking his very life to save him. The intertwining love and hatred were difficult to unravel.
"Master..."
Suddenly, immortal light surged within Xu Ying's Jade Pool, pouring downward. Wherever it passed, mountains and rivers were reformed, the Heavenly Dao was reforged, the Five Sacred Mountains were restored, the Thirty-Three Heavenly Mountains returned to their original state, and the Dao ground where water and fire forged together normalized once more.
In mere moments, the Twelve-Storied Pagoda shone as good as new. Nourished by the immortal light of the Jade Pool, Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit gradually recovered as well.
The Little Celestial Venerable recalled when the Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden found him within reincarnation and took Jade Pool immortal water from his body.
The Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden had told him that her true body was adrift and struggling within reincarnation to avoid detection by gods and immortals, needing the Jade Pool immortal water to revive.
They had traveled through the spacetime of reincarnation to seek out her true body before finally reviving this Female Emperor.
Xu Ying had not yet reached the Jade Pool stage, and even if he had, he could never have refined Jade Pool immortal water. What the Little Celestial Venerable did not know was that Xu Ying had swept away most of the Jade Pool immortal water from the Queen Mother of the West's Jade Pool, a large portion of which was absorbed by the Jade Pool inside his Realm of Xiyi. Now that Xu Ying had suffered unprecedented devastation, the efficacy of the immortal water manifested in response, healing his body.
The Little Celestial Venerable straightened his back and looked up toward Weixu, a sharp light gleaming in his eyes. "As expected, only Master could awaken the fighting spirit in these seniors!"
In Weixu, the Four Evils of the Ling Family, Daoist Wuliu, and the others were engaged in a decisive battle against the two Immortal Kings. By now, the two Immortal Kings bore dozens of wounds, though the Four Evils and their comrades were hardly in better condition.
Yet the Four Evils and the rest fought with immense valor, terrorizing the two Immortal Kings until signs of defeat began to show.
For two Immortal Kings to be battered to such an extent by a group of nameless figures brought utter ruin to their prestige.
The Little Celestial Venerable raised his right hand, about to summon the Heavenly Halberd, when suddenly a young girl caught Nalan Du by the throat, hoisting him high into the air, and shouted toward the Ninth Immortal King inside the monstrous eye of Weixu: "Aba aba!"
The Little Celestial Venerable was completely flabbergasted. "Hua Cuoying?"
He even doubted his own eyes.
Hua Cuoying was a scion of the Hua family of Weixu and the daughter of the Five Extremes Immortal King. Why would she seize Nalan Du to threaten the Ninth Immortal King?
The Little Celestial Venerable froze in astonishment. "Lord Grass?"
Could that be Lord Grass? *Bah! I actually called a stalk of grass Lord Grass! If Chu Tiandu and Zhou Yashu heard that, what would they think of me?*
"Aba aba!" Hua Cuoying exuded murderous intent, gesturing across Nalan Du's neck with a sharp cry.
Controlling Hua Cuoying, the grave grass had waited near the Immortal Dao Jade Pool for an opportunity while Yuan Qi and the big bell went to suppress the insects.
When the Little Celestial Venerable suppressed the swarm across the surrounding world, the insects besieging Nalan Du were swept up and taken away as well. With Nalan Du's cultivation severely drained, this "maiden" immediately charged into the Jade Pool, heading straight for him.
Nalan Du was struck by a rapid succession of dozens of knee strikes from this "maiden," trembling in agonizing pain until he lost all fighting capacity, passed out, and became the grave grass's captive.
The grave grass knew how Xu Ying had once seized Nalan Du by the throat to threaten the Ninth Immortal King, so it copied the tactic by throttling Nalan Du to threaten him. It was just that it couldn't speak human tongue, only capable of "aba aba."
Yet the battle inside the monstrous eye of Weixu was intensely fierce, with divine abilities clashing at every instant; how could those muffled cries ever reach the Ninth Immortal King's ears?
Walking toward the monstrous eye of Weixu, the Little Celestial Venerable reached out to one side and said indifferently, "Victory is already well in hand for this battle; why bother using a hostage to threaten the enemy?"
A magnificent beam of light soared into the sky, and in the next moment, the Heavenly Halberd landed in his hand. The Little Celestial Venerable's aura erupted violently. Gripping this extraordinary weapon, churning with billowing murderous intent, he charged toward the monstrous eye in the sky!
Inside the monstrous eye, the two Immortal Kings were already at a disadvantage. Catching sight of the Little Celestial Venerable, their composure shattered.
In particular, the Ninth Immortal King's mind fell into even greater turmoil when he noticed Hua Cuoying clutching the throat of his beloved disciple, Nalan Du.
The moment his focus slipped, Daoist Wuliu seized the opening. Sword light pierced through his Dao domain and severed the Ninth Immortal King's hamstrings!
The Ninth Immortal King collapsed to the ground. His Immortal King Primordial Spirit immediately reached out to crush Daoist Wuliu, but the Ling brothers' Lanshan Sword, Heavenly Dragon Twin Maces, Refined Iron Staff, and Roc Wing Twin Sabers slammed into him in succession!
The Ninth Immortal King spat great mouthfuls of blood, his aura plummeting rapidly until he could no longer hold his ground against them.
Relying on his immense magic power, Xuan Yazi joined forces with Demon God Pan to confront the Five Extremes Immortal King, creating an opening for Daoist Wuliu and the Four Evils of the Ling Family. After putting down the Ninth Immortal King, Daoist Wuliu and the Four Evils immediately swarmed the Five Extremes Immortal King.
Eight supreme masters clashed. In the blink of an eye, both the physical body and Primordial Spirit of the Five Extremes Immortal King suffered grievous wounds.
Neither had the strength to fight on!
Before the resurrected Little Celestial Venerable could even strike, both Immortal Kings had already met defeat.
Demon God Pan raised the Primordial Sky Treasure Umbrella, intending to draw both Immortal Kings into the umbrella and refine them to ash. Suddenly, the Little Celestial Venerable's expression changed drastically. His body accelerated abruptly, dashing in front of the seven!
As he surged forward, his mystic art was already pushed to the Sixth Revolution. His six secret depositories opened completely, ancestral method cave-heavens emerging one after another. His aura circulated with effortless fluidity, devoid of the former sluggishness.
Though he had not learned the Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden's Dao techniques during his journey through reincarnation, drawing analogies from the experience had made his Dao methods and divine abilities far more rounded and unified, giving an impression of seamless reincarnation.
Even so, he dared not unleash the Seventh Revolution.
At the Seventh Revolution, the flaws were too glaring. Though the offensive power was formidable, it gave opponents an easy opportunity to exploit.
Fortunately, having returned from the dead, he was stronger than ever. Executing the Sixth Revolution now yielded a combat prowess no less potent than the Seventh Revolution.
Demon God Pan, the Four Evils of the Ling Family, Daoist Wuliu, and Xuan Yazi also sensed the chilling danger in that split second. Casting aside thoughts of slaying the two Immortal Kings, they immediately drove their respective treasures and summoned their Primordial Spirits, standing ready in full formation.
When the Little Celestial Venerable joined them, their combined momentum was pushed to its zenith!
Right at that moment, an unimaginably terrifying aura surged within that Heavenly Eye of Weixu. A colossal shadow slowly emerged, appearing behind the two Immortal Kings.
In an instant, the world tilted and the Great Dao twisted. Countless wails of ghosts and howls of gods resounded, as if plunging into the Avici Hell, driving one's Dao heart toward demonic madness!
Around that humanoid shadow, countless floating, tentacle-like shadows stretched across the sky like dark threads.
A suffocating wave of corpse qi washed over them.
Their Dao hearts rattled by the corruption, everyone struggled to suppress the demonic nature stirring within, bewildered and horrified. Beside Yuan Qi, Fairy Gushe awoke. Looking toward that terrifying silhouette within the monstrous eye of Weixu, a thought stirred in her mind:
*That day when I unraveled Xu Ying's karmic ties, I sensed several titans in Weixu linked to him by karmic threads. Could this grotesque figure be the most powerful among them?*
The shadow's features were entirely indistinct. Its eyes and mouth looked like shapes cut out of black paper figurines.
Its aura was far more powerful and twisted than that of the two Immortal Kings, its corpse qi so dense that it spilled into the outer world!
The Little Celestial Venerable felt a knot of tension tighten in his chest. This aura was simply too overwhelming. Though revived and stronger than before, he had not the slightest chance of victory against this shadow!
At that moment, a bright moon rose serenely, hanging in midair opposite Weixu.
The moon shone upon a single figure—a goddess pure as water and pristine as snow, walking across the moonlight. With a calm expression, she uttered:
"Begone!"
Behind the bright moon, the faint silhouette of a Female Emperor emerged, abiding in the Netherworld, her hair connected to the myriad heavens and realms, commanding the reincarnation of hundreds of millions of living souls.
That was the true body of the Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden!
The Female Emperor's voice seemed imbued with a singular power. The terrifying shadow retreated swiftly into the darkness, while the Five Extremes Immortal King and Ninth Immortal King seized the chance to flee back into Weixu.
Xuan Yazi and the others exhaled in relief. Without realizing it, they were drenched in sweat, more exhausted than if they had fought to the death against the two Immortal Kings.
The oppressive dread radiated by that terrifying shadow was simply too immense, evoking the sensation of an entity far surpassing Immortal Kings.
"Little Celestial Venerable, if you wish to annex Weixu and make the two Immortal Kings serve you, please think twice," Daoist Wuliu said.
The Four Evils of the Ling Family and the others nodded solemnly.
The Little Celestial Venerable hesitated, then nodded helplessly. "Uncles, my master is gravely wounded and dying down below. Won't you go take a look at him?"
An excited gleam flashed in Demon God Pan's eyes as he asked eagerly, "Is he going to die?"
"He won't die!"
Daoist Wuliu reached out and caught a carrying pole that flew to him. Sheathing his sword into the pole, he said lazily, "I once sneaked into the Yuanshou world to see him. Even if he gets killed, he will be reborn from his indestructible true spirit."
Xuan Yazi nodded and sighed. "That is indeed true."
Shouldering their weapons, the Four Evils of the Ling Family turned to leave, sneering in succession, "We've gone to look before too. He can't die."
Demon God Pan's enthusiasm evaporated. Resting the Primordial Sky Treasure Umbrella across the back of his neck with both hands draped over it, he stood to leave and chuckled, "Since he won't die, what's there to look at? Once he awakens his first life's memories, we'll come back and kill him!"
The Little Celestial Venerable frowned, thinking silently, *It seems their resentment toward Master cannot be resolved anytime soon.*
In the Ziwei Remnant Realm, outside Hunyuan Palace.
The Xuanwu Divine Turtle lay quietly on the ground, nursing its wounds. On its back, Mount Penglai hovered in the air, kept from drifting into the sky only by the chains binding it to the turtle's shell.
Inside the Heavenly King Hall, Yuan Qi's voice drifted out, laced with a coaxing warmth: "You're awake? You're already a girl."
Nalan Du slowly came to, only to be greeted by these spine-chilling words.
Just then, a chime rang out: "Seventh Master, hurry! Ah Ying is awake!"
Chapter 368