Fellow Sufferers

With the iron-core Buddha destroyed, a muffled snort echoed from within the portal between the two giant Buddhas. It struck Xu Ying's Dao Heart like a sledgehammer, sending his vitality churning. A chilling murderous intent rolled forth, quietly enveloping Xu Ying, Master Fire Dragon, and Han Zekang. From the fissure of the portal, a Great Dao of Heaven and Earth completely alien to this era surged out, eroding everything in its path. The three felt as if they had plunged into an icy abyss, shuddering uncontrollably. With their cultivation suppressed by the surrounding Buddha statues, they had no way to resist such corrosion. Seeing that they were about to be tainted by this alien Great Dao, Xu Ying adopted a sincere tone and said, "Fellow Daoist trapped within, though I know not why the Buddhas sealed you away, I imagine you and I are fellow sufferers. I, too, was suppressed for over forty thousand years—perhaps you have endured it even longer than I. I know full well the torment of being trapped under a seal." The murderous intent seeping from the portal gradually softened, and the outer dao surging out receded slightly. Xu Ying walked up to the portal, raised his arm, and gently caressed the massive doors. "All these years, living has been worse than dying for me. Surely it was the same for you. At least you know who your enemies are... yet I don't even know who mine were." From the sea of karmic fire beyond the portal, the ancient Buddha sighed mournfully. "So you also share such a tragic past..." Xu Ying swiftly inscribed sixteen characters of sealing runes upon the portal: *"By Heaven's decree, forever suppressed in this life; bound in chains, locked behind prison walls."* Then, turning toward the stone Buddhas, he said, "Indeed. And what of your origins, Fellow Daoist? Could you tell me?" Noticing that the incense Han Zekang had placed before the stone Buddhas was far too thin, Xu Ying shook his head, produced an incense stick as thick as an arm, lit it, and planted it before a stone Buddha. Beyond the portal, enduring agonizing torment within the sea of karmic fire, the ancient Buddha said, "They cultivated Buddhist teachings and attained Buddhahood; I also cultivated Buddhist teachings and attained Buddhahood. Yet they claimed my dharma was wrong, that I was an evil Buddha, and that I committed boundless atrocities. But I am a Buddha too... What are you doing?" He suddenly sensed that something was amiss—his seal felt significantly firmer than before! Over endless years, his corrosion and grinding had worn down the seals left behind by the Buddhas, causing them to loosen from their prime. Yet now, several new layers of seals seemed to have been placed over the existing ones! Xu Ying took out another thick incense stick, lit it, and planted it before another stone Buddha. "Keep going, Fellow Daoist. I'm listening." "You bastard..." The ancient Buddha's voice grew fainter, laced with fury. "If I ever escape, you're dead—" Xu Ying continued pulling out incense sticks as thick as arms, lighting one before every stone Buddha. Only when each statue had received its offering did he finally stop. "If I had more time, I would definitely haul the Great Thunderclap Temple back here and replace your incense on a regular schedule!" Xu Ying said with a fierce expression. Master Fire Dragon and Han Zekang exchanged stunned glances. "Never offend Young Master Xu," Master Fire Dragon whispered. "He holds grudges." Han Zekang nodded vigorously. Xu Ying stowed the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron, the Immortal Dao Jade Pool, and his other treasures back into his Realm of Xiyi. Leading the pair outward, he said, "Xuankong is trapped by someone. This is our chance to leave Mount Sumeru far behind." Master Fire Dragon hesitated. "My disciple and I have antagonized Xuankong and associated with you. Going out now might lead us to a grim fate." Xu Ying could not help but laugh. "Why would knowing me lead to a grim fate?" Seeing that Xu Ying lacked self-awareness, Han Zekang said, "You're the great villain who severed the Heavenly Road! Who wouldn't want to feast on your flesh and gnaw your bones? If people see us colluding with you in wicked alliance, they won't be able to touch you, but do you think they'll spare the two of us?" Enraged, Master Fire Dragon boxed his disciple's ears twice. "Collusion is right, but what do you mean by 'wicked alliance'? Is your master the wolf or the jackal? We were coerced! Young Master Xu, I wasn't talking about you." Xu Ying pondered for a moment and said, "I forgot to tell you: besides being the villain who severed the Heavenly Road, I was also the final ascender. The power of the super heavenly tribulation was calibrated according to my strength during my last ascension." Master Fire Dragon and Han Zekang stood dumbfounded, rendered speechless for a long while. Thoroughly pleased with their reactions, Xu Ying smiled. "Gentlemen, I possess an immortal mountain where one can achieve immortality. Would you be willing to relocate Divine Vulture Palace there?" Master Fire Dragon snapped back to reality. "One can become an immortal?" Xu Ying explained, "Merely pseudo-immortals. Within Penglai Immortal Mountain, you are immortals who enjoy eternal life without aging, but once you step outside Penglai, you revert to your original form. Then again, the Immortal Realm works the same way. I suspect the Immortal Realm is also an other shore, just on a much vaster scale. Its immortals can only leave by severing their own cultivation. It's essentially an oversized Penglai." As he spoke, he furrowed his brows. The Immortal Realm, the other shore, and the immortal mountains were simply too similar! Master Fire Dragon did not quite grasp the deeper implications, but the prospect of attaining immortality left master and disciple both surprised and overjoyed. They agreed without hesitation. "Will this implicate your founder?" Xu Ying inquired. Master Fire Dragon grinned. "If our founder is wise, he'll have resigned from Divine Vulture Palace already—even if he was the one who founded it." Han Zekang reminded him, "Master, betraying one's sect requires three blades and nine perforations, along with the crippling of one's cultivation." Master Fire Dragon clamped down on Han Zekang's head and smacked it hard twice, fuming, "Are you going to stab the founder or stab me? Three blades and nine perforations? Crippling cultivation? Why don't you ascend to heaven while you're at it?" Han Zekang clutched his head in deep grievance, muttering, "Back when I became your disciple, that's exactly what you told me. How come the founder doesn't get three blades and nine perforations when he abandons Divine Vulture Palace?" Master Fire Dragon glared at him and raised a fist. Han Zekang hurriedly pleaded for mercy. In the sky above, light and shadow flickered intermittently. Nine worlds hung beyond the heavens, forming nine peculiar immortal dao dojos radiating bone-chilling intent and terrifying power that sent shivers down the spine. Xu Ying looked up, a faint unease stirring in his heart. The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Immortal Array seemed to possess a peculiar resonance, as if specifically targeted against him! The array's rotation and the dao principles within the ninefold dojos subtly countered his techniques, warning him of impending danger. *"Could this immortal array have truly been forged just to deal with me?"* He pulled his gaze away and made his way outward alongside Master Fire Dragon and Han Zekang. In the sky, figures floated suspended in midair. As Xu Ying's group drew closer, they recognized the envoys sent by various sects for the grand assembly—sect masters, palace lords, elders, and young disciples alike. They drifted motionless in the air. When sunlight hit them, it passed right through their bodies, revealing them to be hollow and transparent. Upon seeing the trio approach, each figure turned its head, fixing eerie stares upon them. These were the experts harvested by Zi Xi, released into the sky like floating lanterns. "Chu Tiandu!" Suddenly, a voice came from one of the human skin lanterns. Xu Ying looked closely and spotted Shen Baiyu. The young expert from Sword Washing Valley was blending in among the crowd, floating stiffly like the others while his eyeballs rolled frantically. "It really is you!" Shen Baiyu scrambled out of the "crowd" and rushed to Xu Ying's side, blurting out, "You're still alive? Those who cultivate the demonic path really do have tough lives! Demon Marquis, my master is dead—what are you doing?" Master Fire Dragon slipped behind him, drove two fingers hard into the back of his neck, and felt solid flesh. Reassured, he mumbled, "Nothing, nothing. Go on." Shen Baiyu said, "Countless people have died. I discovered the harvester—what are you doing now?" Han Zekang had also crept behind Shen Baiyu, poking the back of his skull. Unable to pierce it, he was finally convinced Shen Baiyu was alive. Shen Baiyu continued, "The harvester is God King Xuankong's eldest disciple, Zi Xi! God King Xuankong sealed off Mount Sumeru so his disciple could run rampant here and slaughter everyone!" Just then, another voice chimed in: "Zi Xi's strength has reached an unfathomable realm! His cultivation is likely on par with an Immortal King!" Xu Ying followed the voice to another cluster of floating skin lanterns nearby. Among them hung a youth in white, rigid as an inflated skin. "I remember you—my mortal rival, Li Pingsheng!" Xu Ying said in surprise. "Brother Li, you're alive too?" Li Pingsheng drifted out from the skin lanterns, his expression unruffled. "Xuankong condoned Zi Xi's slaughter, violating the rules of the Taishi Great World. Zi Xi is utterly ruthless. At first, he concealed his tracks, but once he grew strong enough, he didn't even bother hiding anymore! I hid among these human skin lanterns. Knowing he had already hollowed them out, he never bothered checking, which is how I survived." Shen Baiyu added, "Same for me. Everyone, we must leave this place at once and return with me to Sword Washing Valley. I shall report everything to our founder, the Immortal King, and ask him to bring God King Xuankong and Zi Xi to justice!" Master Fire Dragon and Han Zekang walked over to examine the back of Li Pingsheng's head. Finding no incision, they finally relaxed. Li Pingsheng said, "I have never witnessed anyone so formidable. Zi Xi is undeniably an Immortal King-level entity. Even an Immortal King might hesitate to cross him." He had barely finished his sentence when his voice cut off. He stared blankly behind Xu Ying. Shen Baiyu, Master Fire Dragon, and Han Zekang also looked behind Xu Ying in sheer terror. Shen Baiyu snapped his legs straight, resuming his floating lantern posture. Han Zekang whispered frantically, "Too late!" Seeing brilliant radiance illuminating the space behind him, Xu Ying spun around. Sure enough, Zi Xi was hovering right behind him, his six cave-heavens glowing like suns stripped to their blazing coronas—yet far more dazzling than any sun. Zi Xi chuckled. "Xu Ying, even when I stepped right behind you, you failed to notice. It seems my cultivation has far surpassed yours. Now, can you still sever my cave-heavens?" "Xu Ying?" Li Pingsheng and Shen Baiyu froze. Shen Baiyu gasped, "Which Xu Ying? Isn't he Chu Tiandu?" Han Zekang sighed. "Which other Xu Ying could it be? The great villain, Xu Ying!" Their faces turned pale as ash. Exchanging a glance, they thought, *If we had known, we would have stayed hung up as skin lanterns...* Xu Ying flicked his finger. Behind Zi Xi, the Mud Pill cave-heaven merely trembled slightly, unbroken. Xu Ying's heart sank. Only when the gap in cultivation was overwhelmingly vast would his ancestral method fail to sever another's cave-heaven. Zi Xi's current power had clearly outstripped his by an immense margin. At this moment, Zi Xi likely possessed the might of an Immortal King. Even if Xu Ying deployed all four of his treasures, matching such sheer power was impossible. Only within the Penglai Immortal Realm, drawing upon the realm's boundless power, would he stand a chance against an Immortal King. Unfortunately, Penglai was not here. Zi Xi rested his hands behind his back and smiled leisurely. "Truth be told, even if you severed all six of my cave-heavens, I wouldn't care in the slightest. Even without them, my magic power remains vastly superior to yours." Behind Xu Ying, the Immortal Realm cave-heaven manifested once more, bridging immortal and mortal. The Twelve-Storyed Mansions, the Immortal Dao Jade Pool, and the Third Heavenly Pass flew forth, hovering behind him to form an external realm. Finally, the Huntian Cauldron surged out, waters and flames churning within, rolling across the sky in perfect harmony. Xu Ying's magic power surged tier by tier. His expression grew grave. This would likely be the most perilous battle of his life! Just then, a gentle voice called out, "May I ask if this young master is Young Master Xu, Xu Ying?" Xu Ying, Zi Xi, and the others turned toward the voice. Several tall, beautiful women had arrived nearby unnoticed, led by a young maiden in red with a white collar. Xu Ying managed a smile. "I am indeed Xu Ying, though I am no 'young master.'" The maiden in red beamed with delight. "You truly are Young Master Xu! Young Master Xu, we hail from the Demon Ancestral Court, guided by the consciousness of the Demon Ancestor to seek you out! The Demon Ancestor wishes to meet you. Please, you must make a trip to the Demon Ancestral Court!"