Xu Ying looked at Han Zekang and Master Fire Dragon, saying doubtfully, "Back then, the ancient immortals could not suppress those enemies even at the cost of their lives. Can these two really manage it in their place?"
He harbored deep skepticism.
Master Fire Dragon and Han Zekang looked utterly unreliable at a glance.
Farther off, the Seven Immortals of Penglai were leaping with excitement, having clearly obtained remarkable inheritances of their own.
Yet as far as Xu Ying knew, the Seven Immortals of Penglai were even less reliable!
The Divine Mother said, "If nothing is passed down, suppressing them will be even more impossible. By passing them down, a sliver of hope remains. Besides, when the ancient immortals suppressed those adversaries back then, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth had withered and decayed, leaving their strength far diminished from its prime. Now there is a chance that the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth may recover. If they continue cultivating, it is not impossible for them to keep those terrible entities suppressed."
Xu Ying recalled what he had witnessed at the Heavenly River immortal tomb. Judging by the aura erupting from the tomb, the beings sealed within were definitely extraordinary!
Even so, the Heavenly River had reemerged in the mortal realm, and the Ancestral Court had changed greatly from before, showing clear signs of resurgence. If the Little Celestial Venerable completed the Heaven Mending Plan, a true renaissance might genuinely dawn upon the Ancestral Court!
When that time came, perhaps every immortal of Penglai would meet with extraordinary fortunes.
"Divine Mother, just before I arrived, I met a strange man carrying a peculiar jade platter."
Xu Ying recounted his encounter with Perfected Qianhuan and the Returning Dao Jade Platter, asking, "What is that jade platter? Why can it revive the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from ancient times?"
The Divine Mother, whose face had been full of smiles a moment before, turned solemn upon hearing this. "A jade platter capable of reviving the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from an ancient era? That treasure is named the Returning Dao Jade Platter. It is adept at restoring and ordering the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, hence its name. Rumor has it that this treasure belongs to a Supreme Sovereign!"
She summoned Yuan Tiangang and Fairy Gushe, speaking with earnest gravity: "In our line of divine divination, there is one category of existence we must never calculate: a Supreme Sovereign. Calculating them incurs immense karma. Not only will the divination be inaccurate, but you will also lose your life!"
Seeing her solemn tone, Yuan Tiangang and Fairy Gushe each took heed and etched her words into their hearts. Fairy Gushe asked in confusion, "Why would the divination be inaccurate?"
The Divine Mother explained, "A Supreme Sovereign is inscrutable and unpredictable, having transcended the Three Realms and stepped outside the Five Elements. When our art of divination reaches profound heights, we can perceive a hazy future, where time resembles a long river. Yet though a Supreme Sovereign resides within that long river, they occasionally leap beyond time itself. If you attempt to divine them, they will inevitably sense it. They can leap out of time, rendering all karma void, so your calculations will naturally fail. Furthermore, following that karmic resonance, they can strike you dead. My own master was plotted against by someone into deducing the whereabouts of a Supreme Sovereign. No sooner had he finished the calculation than he dropped dead on the spot."
Yuan Tiangang and Fairy Gushe were both horrified.
They had originally believed divine divination to be omnipotent and all-knowing, only now realizing that there were boundaries beyond which its power could not reach.
Xu Ying felt a deep yearning toward the realm of Supreme Sovereign, murmuring, "What kind of realm is a Supreme Sovereign, to be able to temporarily leap beyond time and shed all karma..."
Currently, he was not even an immortal, so he naturally had no way of grasping the realm of a Supreme Sovereign.
The Divine Mother continued, "A Supreme Sovereign is unfathomable, possessing powers beyond anyone's reach, entirely inconceivable. The magical treasures of a Supreme Sovereign are no different. Although the Returning Dao Jade Platter is the treasure of a Supreme Sovereign, its master should have perished long ago. When this treasure surfaced in the past, it provoked contention among many powerful figures of the Immortal Realm and stirred up considerable turmoil. Later, the treasure vanished from the Immortal Realm without a trace. Seeing an immortal descend to the lower realm and employ this treasure means the person who acquired the Returning Dao Jade Platter must be planning something massive."
Xu Ying recalled how the revival of ancient Daos had also occurred at the tomb of Marshal Tianpeng, God of the Azure Sky. Combined with the demonic realm's invasion of the Yuanchu Great World, the Sun Pass incident in the Yuanshou world, and the Heavenly River's resurgence in the Ancestral Court, these phenomena might not be a genuine natural recovery of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth after all.
"Someone is using a Supreme Sovereign's treasure to deliberately revive the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from ancient eras, creating the false impression of a Dao revival and a demonic realm invasion,"
Xu Ying mused, "With the demonic realm invading, two different Great Daos clash and wage war against each other, claiming countless lives. Add to that the revival of ancient immortals and demons causing upheaval across the lower realm, and the Immortal Realm certainly won't sit idly by. So, when immortals descend in the future, will it be to render meritorious service, or to seize the chance to purge their rivals?"
The Divine Mother smiled and remarked, "The Immortal Master has never studied the laws of karma, nor the ways of divination and hexagram casting, yet already possesses such miraculous foresight."
Xu Ying laughed heartily. "Divine Mother, that flattery was quite pleasant to hear. Don't do it again in the future."
The Divine Mother said, "It is a foul habit left over from when Meng Wuhuai was Immortal Master; I always find myself flattering the Immortal Master involuntarily. But the Immortal Master is different from Meng Wuhuai. You are wise and enlightened; the moment I slipped in a bit of flattery, you saw right through it. This proves the Immortal Master is discerning down to the finest detail and will not be made lightheaded by flattery."
Xu Ying felt rather lightheaded, his expression pleasantly tipsy, and chuckled, "Naturally, I am different from Meng Wuhuai..."
The Divine Mother was about to pile on more praise when Xu Ying stopped her. "The Returning Dao Jade Platter throwing the lower realm into chaos also grants the Ancestral Court an opportunity to rise. If we make good use of this timing, the Ancestral Court can rise in one fell swoop."
His eyes flickered with resolve. "The Immortal Court is powerful, but not of one mind. Now that the opportunity lies before us, we must seize it! By the way, Divine Mother, cast a divination for me: will my upcoming journey to Weixu be safe?"
Mists swirled around the Divine Mother as her fingers flickered through calculations. She smiled and said, "The Immortal Master's journey will be safe and smooth, and all your wishes will surely come to pass."
Xu Ying burst into laughter, filled with ambition, and set off to find Hua Cuoying.
The Divine Mother watched him leave.
Yuan Tiangang stepped up beside her and murmured, "Master, I also did a reading just now. Immortal Master Xu's journey is fraught with peril and lurking with killing intent at every turn."
The Divine Mother shot him a sideways glance. "If I had said that, how could he ever be willing to go to Weixu? A journey to Weixu is fraught with peril and murder at any time. If that stopped him, how could anything ever get done?"
Yuan Tiangang was taken aback.
Fairy Gushe asked for guidance: "Can Immortal Master Xu's ambitions truly be realized?"
The Divine Mother's eyes glinted as she said softly, "There are some futures I do not wish to calculate, nor do I wish to see, yet scenes flash before my eyes from time to time. The Immortal Master's future is exceedingly perilous; he will struggle merely to preserve his own life, so how could he realize his ambitions?"
She paused slightly before continuing, "However, if one does nothing, there is truly no chance at all. Sometimes I think that since variables like a Supreme Sovereign exist in this world to make our divine divinations fail—since there is one loophole, there must surely be more."
Without another word, she returned to Mituo Temple.
Hua Cuoying and Chu Xiangxiang were residing together in Langxie Pavilion. The two women had originally been rivals, but after Hua Cuoying defected from Weixu, their past grievances had been resolved.
Xu Ying explained the purpose of his visit. Hua Cuoying hesitated for a moment and said, "I defected from Weixu. If they discover I have returned, it will mean certain death. Moreover, Weixu is extraordinarily perilous, and I know little of its geography. The only two safe places I know of are Fengluan Ridge, where my Hua family resides, and Diecui Valley of the Ninth Immortal King. Complete immortal Daos are preserved in those two locations."
Xu Ying smiled. "I already had the Divine Mother divine our fortune. Our journey will be safe and smooth, and all our wishes will come to pass. You may set your mind completely at ease."
Hua Cuoying asked, "Did the Divine Mother truly say so?"
Xu Ying laughed. "Of course. Why would the Divine Mother lie to me?"
Hua Cuoying was overjoyed and beamed. "If even the Divine Mother said so, then there will surely be no danger. Although I have little affection for the Hua family after leaving home, I still have some belongings I haven't packed up. I might as well make a trip back."
Chu Xiangxiang was eager to join in, but Hua Cuoying said, "No more people. Weixu is perilous in the extreme; one more person means one more measure of danger."
Chu Xiangxiang had no choice but to drop the idea.
Hua Cuoying invoked a Golden Seal-Script Immortal Talisman. The grotesque eye of Weixu painted upon the talisman snapped open and floated in midair; through its parted lids, an entire world emerged behind the eye.
One after the other, the two plunged into the grotesque eye.
Upon entering the grotesque eye within the Golden Seal-Script Immortal Talisman, a blaze of bloody light filled Xu Ying's vision. When his sight returned, he and Hua Cuoying were already within the abyss of Weixu, flying toward its depths.
The Weixu abyss was the nightmare of countless Qi Refiners across the myriad heavens and worlds. Whenever this abyss manifested in the sky, it meant catastrophe was at hand!
When calamity descended from the Weixu abyss, it would even drag all the Qi Refiners into its depths, leaving their fates unknown, and outright severing an entire world's lineage of Qi refinement! The Yuanshou world had suffered such strikes repeatedly in the past.
Xu Ying followed Hua Cuoying and glanced left and right at the abyss. Flesh clung to the sheer cliff faces on both sides, squirming with difficulty. Boundless flesh dyed the cliffs on either side a stark crimson.
That flesh belonged to mutated Qi Refiners struggling desperately, crawling with agony in an attempt to escape Weixu. Yet they could not escape at all!
Xu Ying felt his heart pound in terror at the sight, but Hua Cuoying had long grown accustomed to it. She whispered, "Immortal Master, they are fertilizer people."
"What do you mean by fertilizer people?" Xu Ying asked, bewildered.
"People used as fertilizer."
Hua Cuoying explained, "Maintaining the operation of Weixu requires vast energy. However, Weixu is a derelict wasteland without much worldly origin energy, so it must be extracted from the myriad heavens and worlds. But Weixu cannot simply linger in the sky above a single world and drain its origin energy continuously. Doing so would suck that world completely dry. Therefore, capturing Qi Refiners and treating them as fertilizer to be slowly absorbed allows Weixu to sustain itself for a very long time."
Xu Ying was stunned.
Hua Cuoying continued, "Look at these people struggling to crawl outward, believing they can climb out of Weixu. But their strength is constantly being sapped by Weixu, leaving them weaker and weaker. By the time they crawl to the edge of the abyss, they have been drained completely dry, and they plunge down to their deaths. As far as I know, no one has ever managed to escape Weixu!"
Xu Ying followed her to the deepest part of Weixu. Suddenly, the abyss shook violently. Hua Cuoying's expression changed abruptly; she grabbed Xu Ying's hand and flew toward one of the cliff faces, murmuring, "Not good! For Weixu to shake at this moment, someone must be driving it to pillage a certain heaven!"
The two pressed themselves against the cliff face. In addition to flesh, the wall was coated in a sticky fluid containing root-like tendrils. Detecting the two of them, the tendrils struck at once!
From the tips of the tendrils sprouted countless microscopic bristles, poised to pierce into their bodies!
Hua Cuoying formed a hand seal, her body emitting a soft fluorescence. When the tendrils touched the glow, they recoiled as if struck by lightning. "If those tendrils touch you, it will be dangerous."
Hua Cuoying pressed tightly against the cliff face, intensely nervous, whispering into Xu Ying's ear, "Those are the root tendrils of Weixu. Without cultivating the methods of Weixu, being caught by them means they will pierce your physical body and Primordial Spirit, filling your Realm of Xiyi with these bizarre bristles... They're coming!"
Xu Ying pressed himself against the cliff wall beside her. Just then, with a deep hum of vibration, the cliffs on both sides shook violently and spread wider and wider apart as billowing clouds of mist rushed into the abyss.
At the far end of the Weixu abyss, a colossal eye materialized, its gaze illuminating the chasm.
Xu Ying felt like an insignificant insect clinging to an eyelid. That grotesque eye of Weixu was unimaginably massive, staring gloomily downward. Within the eye, immortal corpses floated like drowned bodies.
Beneath the abyss, Xu Ying saw a magnificent world of immense scale, with dense mountain ranges, surging rivers, and numerous nations and lineages of Qi Refiners.
It was a vibrant, prosperous world.
Suddenly, a golden notice flew out from the abyss, fluttering and expanding as it drifted over the world below. The golden notice grew larger and larger, its characters sharp and clear, written in Immortal Dao runes and stamped with immortal talisman seals.
A voice boomed from the abyss of Weixu, reading out the golden notice:
"The Fangdu world has shown irreverence toward the gods, rebelled against Heaven's mandate, arrogantly cultivated immortality, and pried into longevity. By Heaven's mandate, calamity is hereby visited upon this world, to wash away the sins of the common folk and cleanse the souls of all living beings. Respect this!"
No sooner had the voice fallen than the golden notice rolled up with a rustle and whizzed back into the abyss.
The next instant, a tremendous force of the Immortal Dao surged from the abyss and took hold of the entire Fangdu world. Throughout that realm, countless Qi Refiners lost control of themselves, drifting upward toward the abyss above like floating corpses!
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of Qi Refiners drifted toward them like cadavers—a sight that seemed like a living nightmare to Xu Ying!
The entire Weixu abyss seemed to come alive. Countless root tendrils emerged from the flesh on the cliffs, shooting out thread-fine bristles like spider silk that embedded themselves into the bodies of the Qi Refiners!
Yanked by the tendrils, the Qi Refiners fell limp, as if their limbs had been stripped of bones and sinews, tumbling toward the bottom of the abyss and sticking to the cliff walls like seeds planted by Weixu.
"That golden notice just now was fake, wasn't it?"
Xu Ying stared blankly at the scene, suppressing the shock in his heart, and whispered, "Was it fabricated by Weixu to harvest the Qi Refiners of the Fangdu world? Isn't Weixu worried that the Qi Refiner sects of the Fangdu world have connections in the Immortal Realm who might bring charges against you?"
Hua Cuoying sneered. "Fake? Did the Immortal Master not see the immortal talisman seal on the golden notice? That is an authentic seal from the Immortal Realm. Weixu was merely acting on orders."
She paused and added, "I heard from my father that the secrets of many magnates of the Immortal Realm are buried within Weixu. The Immortal Realm must sustain Weixu, which requires feeding it at regular intervals. Furthermore, when the actions of certain heavens and worlds incur the wrath of some magnate in the Immortal Realm who wants to punish them, it is inconvenient for the magnate to act openly, so they hand the matter over to Weixu. That is a common occurrence."
Xu Ying's lips twitched, but he said nothing.
They waited quietly for several days until the calamity drew to a close. Millions upon millions of Qi Refiners from the Fangdu world had been captured and turned into fertilizer heaped at the bottom of the abyss.
The abyss of Weixu gradually closed, and that gargantuan eye faded away and vanished. Hua Cuoying waited another half day before saying, "Let's go!"
She soared into the air, flying toward the bottom of the Weixu abyss. Xu Ying followed her out of the chasm and glanced back, only to see countless twisted, struggling people embedded within the abyss, flailing their arms in desperate attempts to climb out.
He turned his head forward, and what entered his vision was an even more grotesque and distorted world.
This world appeared vastly larger than the giant eye of Weixu. The sky arched like a domed canopy; aside from the abyss behind them, there were two bottomless caves that resembled nostrils.
Xu Ying turned his head again and saw another abyss in the sky. That was another eye, though it had completely rotted away.
The entirety of Weixu was located inside an unimaginably colossal skull, the interior of which had already been hollowed out.
The Weixu abyss was merely one of the giant eyes that had not yet rotted away. Xu Ying saw the massive pupil, within which floated sealed, drowned corpses of immortals.
"I heard from my father that Weixu was formed from the skull of a Supreme Sovereign from an ancient era before history could even be traced. The immortals of the Immortal Realm love to cast things into Weixu—especially things that must never see the light of day..."
Hua Cuoying flew ahead, looking back to urge, "Hurry and follow me, don't get discovered!"
Chapter 416