"Even a fool has a gain in a thousand deliberations—Lord Seven was right! Perhaps escaping the other shore means escaping the Immortal Realm!"
Xu Ying pondered, "Yet, why escape the other shore?"
He shook his head. The six other shores corresponding to the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body brought enhancements across many aspects, such as the physical body, spiritual consciousness, and soul. If the Immortal Realm was also an other shore, what it bestowed upon people was eternal life and longevity.
The benefits of the other shore were plain to see, so why escape it?
Furthermore, the ancestral method of the six secrets was an ancestral technique passed down in the Xu family, and Xu Ying had gained tremendous benefits from cultivating the six secrets.
If one did not cultivate Nuo methods, with what could one battle the powerhouses of the Immortal Realm?
"No matter what the other shore is like, one still must cultivate. Besides, aren't Qi Refiner methods precisely the ways to ascend to the other shore?"
Yet the young monk's words still left him somewhat uneasy.
The big bell said, "Can't you just fish that young monk out of the darkness and question him thoroughly to find out the reason?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "He stands in the darkness, drawing closer and closer to me, but no matter how I reach out, I can never grasp him."
This state of affairs was exceedingly bizarre. Ever since he left Da Leiyin Temple on Mount Sumeru, the young monk seemed to have left with him as well.
No matter where he went, the young monk followed.
From time to time, Xu Ying would even be pulled by him into that dreamlike darkness.
Each time he entered that illusory darkness, the young monk's position shifted, as if he were straining with every ounce of his might to walk toward him.
Yet he seemed frozen in dark space-time, moving at an excruciatingly slow pace.
Hearing his description, Yuan Qi and the big bell marveled in wonder.
Yuan Qi said, "Next time that happens, call me! I'll activate the Diamond Snare to see if I can draw that monk into it."
Xu Ying's eyes lit up. "Now that's an idea!"
He hesitated inwardly. *Lord Seven seems to be getting smarter and smarter—it doesn't look like a fool stumbling on a gain in a thousand tries. Can reading books really make someone wiser?*
However, there was no fixed time for his entry into that illusory darkness; it always happened abruptly, and while inside, he could not communicate with the outside world.
How to contact Yuan Qi to activate the Diamond Snare was a difficult problem, unless Yuan Qi could be pulled into the dark space-time along with him.
"That's simple,"
the big bell said. "Imprint a brand upon me. When you enter the darkness, you can activate me through this brand. I'll know you've entered that dark space-time, and I will draw Lord Seven inside my bell body. Then you can pull me into the dark space-time via the brand."
Xu Ying smiled. "We'll use this method!"
Yuan Qi hesitated a moment and did not object, thinking to himself, *An even simpler way would be to put a brand on me so Ah Ying can pull me straight in when he finds himself in that dark space-time. But if that happened, wouldn't I be treated like a magic treasure?*
If he became a magic treasure, wouldn't Lord Niu Seven be stooping to the same level as the big bell? Where would his dignity be?
Xu Ying flew toward Penglai with them and asked, "Where is Lord Grass?"
"At the Divine Mother's place, cultivating with a flock of immortal herbs."
Yuan Qi brought out the immortal insect and said, "Last time, Lord Insect rebelled, gnawing through Penglai and chewing on you too, before that rascal Little Celestial Venerable sealed it. Little Celestial Venerable's seal was too ruthless—Lord Insect can't move a muscle. Can you loosen it a bit?"
Xu Ying's injuries had still not healed to this day, and his six secret depositories were nearly ruined, forcing him to search everywhere for places his first lifetime had visited in an attempt to forge a new path and open Immortal Realm cave-heavens to replace the destroyed six secret cave-heavens.
The main culprits, aside from the two Immortal Kings of Weixu, were these immortal insects.
When Xu Ying had been severely wounded, these immortal insects burrowed into his body, gnawing on his physical flesh and primordial spirit, devouring his Realm of Xiyi, and riddling even his six secret cave-heavens with holes.
Little Celestial Venerable's seal had also been exceptionally heavy, using the four characters *Líng*, *Yǔ*, *Yòu*, and *Yǔ* to refine the immortal insects into a single body, suppressing it like a wooden carving or clay figurine, completely immobile.
His gaze fell upon the immortal insect. Long ago, Xu Ying had discerned that the immortal insect was composed of immortal dao runes—an extraordinarily marvelous immortal dao creature. It was just that back then, he could not comprehend those immortal dao runes.
Xu Ying took the immortal insect and said, "This insect is extraordinarily ferocious, constantly devouring and multiplying. If it spirals out of control, it will surely bring about a great catastrophe. It is a creature born of the Immortal Dao, embodying Dao in its very existence."
Yet now that he possessed the wisdom of the Imperial Monarch breaking through the seals of the Buddhas, gazing upon the immortal insect made everything clear as day; the marvelous principles of various immortal arts became intuitively self-evident.
Xu Ying contemplated for a moment, visualized a sequence of immortal dao runes, and carefully struck it into the immortal insect's body, fusing this sequence with the immortal dao runes that formed the insect.
Exercising extreme caution, he refined the two distinct kinds of immortal dao runes into one. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, smiling. "Now, I bestow wisdom upon you, freeing you from chaotic ignorance. From this day forth, you are the Mother Insect."
He unraveled the seal, and the four-character seal laid down by Little Celestial Venerable instantly disintegrated.
The immortal insect's wings buzzed and vibrated as it took to the air.
Yuan Qi and the big bell took fright. Yuan Qi activated the Diamond Snare while the big bell raised its own power, hastily bracing themselves.
Fierce and vicious, the immortal insect raised its forelegs to rub its mouthparts. Suddenly, its golden wings fluttered, and it split into a million immortal insects, buzzing loudly like a sky-blotting cloud as they pounced toward Xu Ying and the others!
Xu Ying sneered. Silently activating his sequence of immortal dao runes within his mind, the sky full of immortal insects froze midair, unable to budge.
Agonizing, unbearable pain tore through the bodies of each and every immortal insect, and the Mother Insect suffered the worst of all, wishing for death.
Xu Ying said, "I bestowed wisdom upon you not so you could eat me, but so you could serve as the Insect General under my command. If you remain stubborn and refuse my orders, I will obliterate you right now!"
With a flick of his sleeve, the countless immortal insects merged pairwise back into a single body, returning to the form of the Mother Insect.
The Mother Insect grew far more docile, no longer daring to act out.
Xu Ying said, "Fly to my side and follow me."
The Mother Insect flew behind him, flapping its golden wings as it followed.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were on edge. They could see the Mother Insect's compound eyes locked onto the back of Xu Ying's head, clearly not yet genuinely subservient.
Xu Ying paid it no heed and continued toward Penglai. Suddenly, with a gentle flutter of its golden wings, the Mother Insect landed atop Xu Ying's head, snapping its two large pincers straight down toward his skull!
To its shock, before it could even touch Xu Ying, it collapsed as if struck by lightning, twitching all over and incapable of movement.
Only after a moment did it recover. Hurriedly fluttering its wings, it rose and flew behind Xu Ying once more.
Xu Ying said, "Have you learned your lesson?"
The Mother Insect nodded frantically.
Xu Ying said, "Fly onto Lord Seven's head."
The Mother Insect flew onto Yuan Qi's head and touched down. Glaring with savage malice, it ground its mouthparts with a metallic screech, preparing to feast.
Yuan Qi felt a sudden chill on his head, as if his skull had been pried open, and cried out in alarm. But the immortal insect shuddered violently all over and collapsed.
Yuan Qi blurted out in panic, "Ah Ying! Lord Bell! What happened to my head? My scalp feels a bit breezy!"
Xu Ying consoled him, "It's nothing, really nothing! Just a piece of your skull got pried up, but you definitely haven't lost any brain! I guarantee it! Ask Lord Bell if you don't believe me!"
Once Xu Ying placated Yuan Qi, the Mother Insect took another harsh reprimand and became much more obedient.
Xu Ying then had the Mother Insect alight on the big bell's surface, leaving the big bell trembling in fright.
Just as the Mother Insect was about to chow down, it seized up in convulsions again and tumbled down.
Xu Ying barked, "I awakened your intellect not so you could run amok and eat whatever took your fancy. You may only eat when I command it; when I forbid it, you shall not touch a thing!"
Feeling deeply aggrieved, the Mother Insect suddenly multiplied by the thousands, transforming in an instant into a million immortal insects that scattered in all directions in an attempt to break free of Xu Ying's control.
Xu Ying sneered. With a mere thought, he gathered the swarm back together.
Only then did the Mother Insect behave itself meekly, daring not cause any more trouble as it perched upon Xu Ying's shoulder.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were reluctant to come too close, terrified that the beast might succumb to its wild nature again.
Xu Ying said, "Though I have awakened its intellect, it remains an immortal dao creature crafted by the powerhouses of the Immortal Realm—originally a tool made to oversee oaths. Once an oath was broken, it would devour the oathbreaker and fly back to the Immortal Realm to return to its master. If left behind, it retains only the impulse to devour everything. Now that its wisdom has blossomed, however, it will gradually suppress its primal instincts and won't pose too much danger."
Though a single immortal insect was not particularly strong, when clustered together, even Xu Ying had suffered at their fangs—one could easily imagine how terrifying they were. Taming it was a tremendous boon.
When they arrived at Kunlun, they saw the Queen Mother of the West emerging from Mituo Temple, with the Divine Mother attentively seeing her off along the way.
The Divine Mother could not leave Penglai, so Xu Ying, as the Immortal Master of Penglai, saw her off in her stead.
"Does the Queen Mother of the West recognize the Divine Mother?" Xu Ying inquired.
Seeing the immortal insect upon his shoulder, the Queen Mother of the West could not help but look at it twice. The insect wore a vicious, menacing glare, looking very much as though it wanted to make a tasty snack out of Her Divinity.
The Queen Mother of the West smiled. "I saw her in the past, but I do not know much about her. That insect of yours is quite ferocious, though."
Xu Ying asked curiously, "Could she be an immortal from the ancient era?"
The Queen Mother of the West replied, "You were the one who brought her down from the Immortal Realm to the lower realm, which shows that you know far more about her than I do. Son of the Xu family, once your memories return, you will naturally know who she is. Why the rush? How did things fare for you at the Jade Void Palace in the Kunlun Realm?"
With a slight stir of Xu Ying's thought, two Immortal Realm cave-heavens manifested behind him.
These two cave-heavens each had their own focus: one refined the immortal spiritual qi of the Immortal Realm into heart power, while the other refined the immortal spiritual qi into primordial qi, making his cultivation and strength grow ever more formidable!
Witnessing this, the Queen Mother of the West praised him with a sigh of wonder. "Kunlun has the Jade Pool, the Divine Bridge, the Jade Capital, and cave-heavens as well. Could cave-heavens also correspond to the realms of Qi Refiners?"
Xu Ying smiled. "If cave-heavens also correspond to a realm for Qi Refiners, then I suspect this realm will run through all the other realms."
The Queen Mother of the West pondered it, but still could not make sense of it. She smiled and said, "Son of the Xu family, since you have found the Jade Void Palace of Kunlun, you ought to have become the master of Jade Void Peak, yes? From now on, you and I are fellow Daoists, addressing each other as equals."
Xu Ying shook his head. "The master of Jade Void Peak bears responsibilities—one must remain on Jade Void Peak to receive the emperors of the myriad worlds and maintain ties with the Ancestral Court. I cannot stay to guard Jade Void Peak right now. I still have many mysteries to solve, and more than half of my own seals remain unbroken. I must ask the Queen Mother of the West to continue guarding this place."
The Queen Mother of the West sighed. "Who knows when Kunlun will become the Kunlun of old, just as you said. Very well, son of the Xu family, you may return."
Xu Ying halted his steps and watched her return to Kunlun. Only then did he return to Penglai, immediately taking Yuan Qi to look for Fairy Gushe.
Fairy Gushe was exchanging insights on Dao methods with Yuan Tiangang. Xu Ying said, "Fairy, could I trouble you to examine the karma upon Lord Seven? Lord Seven, coil up properly and don't fidget. Let the Fairy see whether the karma brought by your Diamond Snare is severe or not."
Fairy Gushe did not have a high opinion of snakes, insects, and their ilk, but Xu Ying was the Immortal Master of Penglai after all; since he had asked, she naturally had to divine the karma thoroughly.
With her primordial spirit seated in the void, she gave a soft shout, making the various karmic threads upon Yuan Qi manifest.
Fairy Gushe took a cursory glance, her face turning pale and her voice trembling slightly. Looking back at Yuan Tiangang, she said, "Come take a look."
Yuan Tiangang stepped forward to examine it closely, and his expression changed as well. He said, "Do not panic, Fairy. First sort out the karma brought by the Diamond Snare."
Fairy Gushe agreed. "I was merely startled, which unsettled my mind."
Yuan Qi hastily said, "What karma? You fortune-tellers always love scaring people!"
Turning a deaf ear to his words, Fairy Gushe sorted through Yuan Qi's karmic threads, setting aside all those unrelated to the Diamond Snare, leaving only the karma brought by the snare.
Her face deathly pale, Fairy Gushe said with a trembling voice, "No mistake. It truly is so!"
Seeing this, Yuan Tiangang let out a sigh as well. "Hopeless."
Yuan Qi laughed heartily. "I know your fortune-telling tricks! The moment you meet someone, you claim their brow is shadowed with doom, and to avert disaster they have to pay you to bribe your patriarchs! That trick won't work on me!"
Xu Ying was well aware of Fairy Gushe's abilities. Stepping closer, he asked, "Fairy, why is it hopeless?"
Fairy Gushe pointed at the tens of thousands of karmic threads linked to Yuan Qi's life force. "Immortal Master, follow these karmic threads and look upward."
Xu Ying looked along the karmic threads. He saw boundless, vast space-time stretching limitlessly, with these threads connected to ancient space-times, each gleaming with radiant golden light, surging toward another world!
Suddenly, dazzling immortal radiance erupted before his eyes amidst curling immortal qi—the Immortal Realm was actually drawing closer and closer!
"Sever!"
Yuan Tiangang drew his sword and slashed through the air, severing Xu Ying's gaze toward the Immortal Realm. He said in a deep voice, "The ancient beings of the Immortal Realm are far too numerous—tens of thousands of them! If you trace these karmic threads, they will surely detect you! If they strike back through them, it will not bode well for you."
Xu Ying expressed his thanks and asked in bewilderment, "Yet why are there so many karmic threads on Lord Seven? When did he ever forge such massive grudges with the ancient beings of the Immortal Realm?"
Fairy Gushe said, "That depends on what Lord Seven has been doing during the time he possessed the Diamond Snare."
Yuan Qi said, "I only went to those Immortal Dao anomalous zones and seized the treasures inside them. I haven't done anything else!"
Xu Ying froze for a good while before exhaling a breath of turbid air. "That is precisely the reason. The Immortal Dao anomalous zones of the Ancestral Court were left behind by the very forces that destroyed the Ancestral Court, meant to suppress it. By seizing the treasures of those anomalous zones, you forged grudges with those ancient beings. Lord Seven, this karma of yours..."
He shook his head. This was turning out to be quite troublesome.
Yuan Qi was stunned. He hastily asked, "Can I just return those treasures? If I return them, will there still be karma? Wait, there are a few even thicker karmic threads here—where do they come from?"
Fairy Gushe said, "These few should be the inherent karma carried by the Diamond Snare itself. You have not cultivated the karmic law and do not know the perils within. Let me take a look."
She looked along the origin of one of the pale yellow karmic threads. Suddenly, Xu Ying's hair stood on end; without a second thought, he pushed his cultivation to the absolute peak and threw himself in front of Fairy Gushe!
Rousing his dharmic power and surging his spiritual consciousness, he unleashed the divine ability Abyss of Burying Dao!
Yuan Tiangang and the big bell also realized the deadly peril—one raised his sword while the other flared its full might, blocking in front of Fairy Gushe.
An emotionless gaze swept in from the unseen depths. The Abyss of Burying Dao shattered with a thunderous roar, and Xu Ying, Yuan Tiangang, and Gushe collapsed unconscious to the ground without so much as a groan.
*Clang!*
The big bell crashed to the earth, rolled several times, and lay motionless.
Only Yuan Qi was left shivering in terror.
Chapter 398