"Yet why did your slash to sever your cultivation realm land upon your back, Perfected One?"
Seeing his mangled, bloody back, both God Kings were thoroughly perplexed.
They were beings of vast experience, having witnessed many immortals descend to the mortal realm to hunt Xu Ying down during the Battle of the Heavenly Path, yet not a single one among them had ever needed to sever their realm across their own back like Perfected Jade Pot.
Noticing the looks from the two, Perfected Jade Pot finally recalled his disheveled state. However, he had no spare clothing left in his Realm of Xiyi. The situation had been dire back then; he had been forced to empty out all the treasures in his Realm of Xiyi just to escape being devoured by the Diamond Snare.
With a slight visualization, garments materialized over his body to cover his nakedness. Still, they were not real clothes after all; anyone who saw through his visualization would realize he was actually wearing nothing at all.
"I fell into an ambush this time and suffered a defeat," Perfected Jade Pot admitted frankly to the two God Kings. "I originally intended to descend to the mortal realm to retrieve my magic treasures here first, only to be caught off guard and injured by a snake demon's bracelet and a bird demon wielding twin sabers. Then I meant to visit the Underworld to settle an old score before carrying out what Yuanjun entrusted to me. Who knew I would stumble right here? Xu Ying is that very person who opened the Immortal Realm cave-heaven. Somehow, he caught wind of my movements and laid an ambush in Yuanshou to plot against me."
Xuankong and Xuantian exchanged a glance, deeply surprised.
Xuantian said, "How could Xu Ying know the Perfected One's movements? Could there be an insider in the Immortal Realm leaking information?"
Perfected Jade Pot's heart chilled. "Though the Immortal Realm appears tranquil right now, undercurrents surge beneath the surface; it is far from peaceful. Many wish to stir up trouble as the tides of the Three Realms approach. The various factions are restless and scheming, so it wouldn't be surprising if someone resorted to underhanded methods and secretly tipped off Xu Ying to set an ambush to harm me."
In his view, he truly seemed to have walked into a trap.
Xu Ying had first lured him over with supreme treasures like the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron. Once he lowered his guard, Xu Ying had the great serpent unleash that shimmering silver bracelet, followed by a hidden strike—that swift bird swooping in to hack at him. More importantly, Xu Ying had even shouted: 'Cast the snare!'
Clearly, someone indeed did not want him to return to the Immortal Realm alive!
"The struggles within the Immortal Realm can still be considered refined and calm, but once down in the mortal realm, it becomes a fight to the death!" Perfected Jade Pot said. "Fellow Daoists, we must never let our guard down."
Shaken, Xuantian and Xuankong bowed in assent, each stepping forward to present treasures. Knowing his penchant for women, Xuantian had brought along over a dozen youthful beauties this time.
Perfected Jade Pot waved his hand. "Though I appreciate female company, I insist on mutual affection. One must not force such things."
God King Xuantian smiled ingratiatingly. "After sharing pleasures of love, won't mutual affection naturally follow? If they still are not pleased, you can simply let them leave."
Perfected Jade Pot had a realization and chuckled. "True enough."
Among the tributes offered by the two God Kings were a fragrant carriage drawn by dragon-horses and beauties by his side providing gentle, attentive care—a truly carefree and leisurely indulgence. Perfected Jade Pot sighed, "Where in the Immortal Realm could one find such carefree days?"
He selected several garments from the tributes offered by the two God Kings and had the maidens assist him into them, finally regaining a dignified appearance. These maidens were youthful beauties chosen from mortal kingdoms as tribute to the God Kings; each was accomplished in the zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, their conversation witty and enchanting, delighting Perfected Jade Pot immensely.
Noticing that Xuankong looked far worse than before, Perfected Jade Pot inquired closely. Xuankong recounted the incident at Mount Sumeru, concealing only how he had indulged his disciple Zi Xi in acting as an angler.
Pondering this, Perfected Jade Pot said, "The Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Array? To think Dijun developed such a formidable formation over the years, enabling Bai Yuchuan to contend with you—truly remarkable. Xu Ying and Bai Yuchuan joined forces to breach Mount Sumeru, leaving you homeless. Xu Ying claimed the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron while Bai Yuchuan took Mount Sumeru, yet our side suffered heavy losses. Could Dijun be pulling the strings from the shadows, seeking to swallow Yuanjun's mortal domains?"
Xuankong said with deep worry, "Perfected One, having severed your cultivation realm, you are currently at the Ascension stage. You must be careful in the mortal realm."
Perfected Jade Pot chuckled. "My Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture is extraordinary, possessing the ability to store the Great Daos of heaven and earth. When I descended this time, I severed my immortal realm and sealed it within a jade bottle, crossing the sea under false pretenses to sneak down from the Immortal Realm. Once I retrieve my Jade Pot Dao Domain in the mortal realm, I will be able to restore my immortal realm."
The two God Kings were thoroughly shaken, filled with profound admiration.
Since ancient times, whenever immortals descended to the mortal realm, only orthodox factions permitted by the Immortal Court could rely on secret arts from the Immortal Court to descend while retaining their cultivation.
All other factions, no matter how immense their cultivation or strength, could never leave the Immortal Realm with their cultivation intact!
For Perfected Jade Pot's Dao method to bypass this restriction was truly a display of vast supernatural power!
Just then, an immortal light flashed across the sky.
Perfected Jade Pot was startled. "An immortal is descending!"
He exchanged glances with Xuantian and Xuankong, and the three immediately gave chase.
As God Kings, Xuantian and Xuankong were adept in the Heavenly Dao and skilled at concealing their presence, seamlessly merging their bodies with the sky. Perfected Jade Pot, being the creator of the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, possessed spatial arts refined to perfection; he concealed the fragrant carriage and the maidens so completely that outsiders had no chance of detecting them.
The three pursued all the way without disturbing the ray of immortal light in the slightest.
Before long, the immortal light halted and converged with several other figures.
God King Xuankong said in surprise, "It's Young Master Yuchuan!"
God King Xuantian's eyes glinted fiercely as he said coldly, "And the new gods who usurped our divine authority, Xuanxing and Xuanchen!"
Perfected Jade Pot raised an eyebrow slightly. "That descending immortal is a disciple of Dijun, surnamed Wu and named Sansi, nicknamed Immortal Sansi. Heh heh, why has this Immortal Sansi appeared here? No sooner was I ambushed by Xu Ying than they showed up. Dijun might truly be trying to kill with a borrowed knife!"
God King Xuantian asked in puzzlement, "Did Wu Sansi not sever his realm?"
With a fierce glint in his eyes, Perfected Jade Pot sneered, "He is not of the Immortal Court's orthodox lineage, so it was impossible for him to obtain the secret method for descent. This man must have descended and undergone tribulation again to become a mortal immortal!"
The two God Kings were startled, then quickly realized. Xuankong blurted out, "The Heavenly Dao world nominally falls under the jurisdiction of the Thunder Department, but in truth it fell into Dijun's grasp long ago. Dijun replaced the old with the new, filling the Thunder and Fire Ministry of Works with his own people. If Wu Sansi underwent tribulation in the mortal realm after descending, the Heavenly Dao gods would go easy on him, letting him become a mortal immortal and regaining his realm just like that!"
Xuantian sneered, "The Heavenly Dao gods are corrupt and bend the law, completely failing to uphold the Heavenly Dao. Disgusting!"
Young Master Yuchuan and the others joined Wu Sansi. Suddenly, God King Xuanxing raised a large banner. The fabric fluttered gently, and once it swept aside, Young Master Yuchuan and the rest had vanished without a trace.
The large banner also faded away and disappeared.
Perfected Jade Pot surveyed the surroundings before coming to a sudden realization. "The Underworld! They went to the Underworld!"
Filled with murderous intent, the two God Kings Xuankong and Xuantian said in heavy voices, "We're going too!"
Armed with vast divine powers, the two God Kings sank sharply along with Perfected Jade Pot, plunging into the Underworld and disappearing from sight.
***
After bidding farewell to Guo Xiaodie, Xu Ying traveled to Haojing to see the Son of Heaven of Zhou. The Son of Heaven of Zhou was no longer as somber as before, having grown much more cheerful. He smiled and said, "Seven years have passed since we last met, yet the Ageless Immortal remains just as before, unchanged in the slightest."
He was already a mortal immortal—a genuine immortal. He maintained good relations with many immortal sects, using the immortal light and immortal qi channeled down by their immortal artifacts to cultivate, and consuming immortal medicines. His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, far surpassing his former strength.
Xu Ying smiled. "If I were to give you the ancestral method, would you cripple your immortal realm and cultivate from scratch?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou laughed heartily. "My sole purpose in cultivating the Nuo methods was to attain immortality. Now that I am an immortal, what use have I for the stepping stone?"
Xu Ying did not linger in Haojing and took his leave.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou did not try to make him stay either, ordering Jiang Qi to see him off on his behalf.
Escorting Xu Ying out of Haojing, Jiang Qi asked, "Young Master Xu didn't come to Haojing just to see His Majesty, did you?"
Xu Ying smiled. "I came to say goodbye. I fear I won't be returning to the Yuanshou world very often. Friend or foe, you are all old acquaintances."
Yuan Qi asked puzzledly, "Ah Ying, why didn't you teach the ancestral method to the others in Haojing?"
Jiang Qi smiled. "Young Master Xu withheld the ancestral method to protect us."
Yuan Qi thought it over and had a sudden realization. He laughed and said, "The Son of Heaven of Zhou wouldn't allow you all to learn the ancestral method of the six secrets! He doesn't want anyone in Haojing to wield strength that could threaten his rule. If Ah Ying passed it down, it would only bring harm to you! Isn't that right?"
Jiang Qi's expression remained neutral, neither confirming nor denying it.
Xu Ying asked, "These past few days I have been searching for Zulong, yet haven't found him. Where is he?"
"Zulong? We haven't seen him in a long time either. However, a year ago, someone underwent tribulation atop Mount Tai in Yuanshou, the tribulation clouds blanketing two thousand li."
Jiang Qi continued, "I went to Mount Tai to look. Traces left by the heavenly tribulation scarred the surroundings of Mount Tai, and atop its summit lay fragments of the Twelve Golden Men, as well as remnants of altars and the Nine Cauldrons. I gathered a few fragments while I was there."
Xu Ying was stunned. "You mean the person undergoing tribulation was Zulong?"
"It should be him," Jiang Qi said.
Xu Ying pressed, "Did Zulong succeed in his tribulation?"
Jiang Qi hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know whether he succeeded or not. According to Zulong's plan, he was supposed to link his Dao imagery to the entire Yuanshou world, mobilizing the Great Daos of heaven and earth across Yuanshou and holding all living beings hostage to face the heavenly tribulation. Yet he did not do so. Atop Mount Tai, he relied solely on his own cultivation to face the tribulation."
He paused, then continued, "Logically speaking, without holding all living beings hostage and without mobilizing the Great Daos of Yuanshou, there was no way he could have survived that super heavenly tribulation. And yet, on the summit of Mount Tai, I happened to discover an auspicious glow of ascension. Aside from that..."
He brought out a fragment of a magic treasure. The fragment was enormous, resembling a crescent moon over twenty zhang tall, covered in runic imprints.
"...there is also this item. Does Young Master Xu recognize what this is a part of?"
Xu Ying looked up to examine it, surprised. "Could this be... a magic treasure in the form of an ancestral method cave-heaven?"
Jiang Qi smiled. "It truly is just as I guessed. When I found this fragment atop Mount Tai and looked at it, I imagined Zulong undergoing tribulation there: the Twelve Golden Men hovering around him, the Nine Cauldrons structuring the land of Shenzhou, his Dao imagery taking the shape of the entire Yuanshou world to resist the heavenly tribulation. Behind him, there must have been bright, mechanical cave-heavens floating one after another.
"That scene atop Mount Tai must have been magnificent beyond measure. Regrettably, I was unable to witness it, nor do I know whether Zulong survived the heavenly tribulation and ascended."
Jiang Qi added, "It's just that for more than a year since then, there has been no word of him at all."
Xu Ying bowed slightly. Jiang Qi returned the bow and watched him depart into the distance.
Xu Ying brought Yuan Qi and the others to Mount Wuwang, where demon qi hung exceptionally thick. His two disciples, Niu Zhen and Niu Qian, had already become renowned demon kings in the vicinity. Xiong Qianli was also here, being Yuan Qi's sworn brother.
*If Little Celestial Venerable knew he had two junior brothers, I wonder what he would think?* Xu Ying thought to himself. Revisiting familiar haunts stirred a flood of emotions within him.
Xu Ying spent a few days giving pointers to Niu Zhen and Niu Qian before departing Mount Wuwang alone. Returning to Lingling City, he wandered around for a time.
He found his way to Jiang Family Fields, only to discover the village had changed dramatically. Ever since the Underworld invaded and the terrain shifted drastically, Jiang Family Fields had undergone great upheavals, and the villagers had all aged considerably.
"Are you... Ah Ying?"
A woman in her forties recognized him, both surprised and overjoyed, tears glistening in her eyes as she smiled.
"Why have you come back?" she asked with a smile.
Xu Ying recognized her; she was Uncle Jiang Lu's daughter, the bride whom Squire Jiang had offered as a sacrifice to the Jiang Family God.
Xu Ying stepped forward and listened to her recount the stories of what had happened in all the years since he left. Only after a long while did he bid farewell and depart.
Xu Ying returned to Mount Wuwang. Suddenly, the hems of his robes fluttered behind him, unfurling to blanket the sky. Wherever his robes spanned, the sun and moon vanished, the Great Daos shifted abruptly, and the realm of the living transformed into the Underworld.
Yuan Qi, Jin Buyi, and the others felt their vision blur. When they opened their eyes, they saw Mount Wuwang had already sunk into the Underworld.
Xu Ying said in a deep voice, "Seventh Master, Master Bell, let's take a trip to Wangxiang Platform!"
Within Wangxiang Platform, the sky was eerily warped, filled with scenes of fragmentation. Amidst the colossal fractures, shards of immortal artifacts hung frozen, as though time and space themselves were locked in stasis.
Young Master Yuchuan and his companions strode deep into Wangxiang Platform. Wu Sansi said, "Young Master, Dijun's Purple Nether Saber should be nearby. Do you sense anything?"
Bai Yuchuan focused his senses, but he could only feel various ancient, terrifying consciousnesses stirring within Wangxiang Platform, disrupting his divine consciousness and making it impossible to detect anything. He shook his head at once. "Why did Dijun hide this treasure here?"
Wangxiang Platform was simply too horrifying; even he felt peril at every turn.
Wu Sansi shook his head. "I don't know either. When I descended this time, Dijun merely said it would be best to stir up even more chaos in the mortal realm, and instructed me to assist you in retrieving this immortal artifact."
Silently trailing behind them, Perfected Jade Pot and the two God Kings Xuankong and Xuantian monitored their every move.
*God King Xuankong's prowess is far above mine. What is he doing sneaking around? And who is that other God King beside Xuankong?*
Farther back, Xu Ying noticed the anomaly in the Underworld's Heavenly Dao and immediately caught scent of the two God Kings, his heart jolting. *He must be a God King as well, likely no weaker than Xuankong... Wait!*
His expression shifted slightly. He immediately channeled the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, enfolding himself, Yuan Qi, Jin Buyi, and the others to conceal their traces within the void.
Just then, Perfected Jade Pot's sharp gaze swept through the void like a glaring blade, yet failed to detect Xu Ying and his party.
Though he was the creator of the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, Xu Ying's comprehension of it had already surpassed his own.
Tailing them, Xu Ying gradually ventured deeper into Wangxiang Platform. Suddenly, he sensed an uncanny aura.
*Inside Wangxiang Platform are the Great Daos of heaven and earth from an ancient era! Wait, this saber qi...*
His expression changed as he felt as though his entire body were about to split apart, and an involuntary shudder ran down his spine.
He sensed a peerless divine saber ahead—the very peerless divine saber that had once slain his physical body and severed each and every one of his realms!
Chapter 402