"With my current cultivation and strength, I'm not yet ready to go to the Immortal Realm."
Xu Ying looked up at the overwhelmingly oppressive Immortal Realm, turned around, and began walking unhurriedly down along the Heavenly River.
As he walked, he continued reinforcing the imprints on his Ruyi Great Luo while immersing himself in comprehending the eighth cave-heaven.
According to the ten cave-heavens comprehension method, this cave-heaven contained Dao power within and was known as the Dao Power Cave-Heaven.
This cave-heaven was something ordinary Qi Refiners could not cultivate. Dao power was the power of the Great Dao. When Qi Refiners engaged in inward visualization, they usually visualized Dao images—the images of the Great Dao.
They had to progress from Dao images to Dao principles, and from Dao principles to Dao chains, in order to wield the power of the Great Dao.
Yet doing so was fundamentally impossible for a Qi Refiner, because mastering Dao chains required the realm of an Immortal King, which was also the ancient Golden Immortal realm.
Ascension was already exceedingly difficult for Qi Refiners, let alone cultivating into a Golden Immortal.
For Xu Ying, however, this was not actually difficult.
The so-called Dao principles were fundamentally runes. He had already begun deciphering Immortal Dao runes during his Qi Harvesting stage. Naturally, that was from the accumulation of his first lifetime.
In this lifetime, Xu Ying's Dao attainment surpassed his previous life, and his comprehension of Dao power had long since transcended Immortal Kings and Immortal Monarchs, reaching the level of a Heavenly Monarch.
He comprehended as he walked, sensing that he was drawing closer and closer to opening the Dao Power Cave-Heaven.
The Heavenly River was far from safe. Monsters and fiends abounded within its waters and along its banks, waiting for opportunities to prey on travelers crossing illicitly. In particular, now that the Heavenly River had revived, many peculiar creatures originally in the river had been nourished by the waters and were stirring up trouble once more.
Xu Ying suffered a continuous string of ambushes. Sometimes, corpses in the river dragged him into the water; sometimes, flowers along the bank swallowed him whole; and at other times, water ghosts surfaced to bewitch the young man.
Whenever this happened, Xu Ying simply took things as they came and bludgeoned them to death.
Lacking an immortal raft, he could only cross using his mortal body, and burdened by heavy karma, this was the only way he could travel.
Walking and stopping, more than three months slipped by before he realized it. He thought to himself, *Daoist Yuan should still be waiting for me in Tushita Palace, right? He wouldn't think me an untrustworthy man, would he?*
As he cultivated continuously, the Ruyi Great Luo became increasingly wondrous and stable, ready to transform into his bodhimanda at any moment.
However, Xu Ying had tried to create an art that could unify his Dao attainment, yet he had never been able to achieve it.
Meanwhile, within his Ruyi Great Luo Heaven, the big bell had formally embarked on its path of cultivation. It forged itself through the cross-refining of water and fire, tempering its body until it became incomparably hard.
Over these few months, it had successfully tempered itself with water and fire, condensed an inner core, and was now charging toward the Primordial Spirit stage.
It possessed no physical flesh, so it lacked the usual realms, but it emulated Sword Monarch Jinhe's sword Dao methods to cultivate its own Dao.
Sword Monarch Jinhe was the foremost sword Dao master in the Immortal Court, possessing a style all his own. To him, practicing the sword was like cultivating, and the Sword Monarch's Nine Essentials were developed based on the nine realms of Qi Refiners, tailored specifically to temper sword arts.
Building upon the foundation of the Sword Monarch's Nine Essentials, the big bell had pioneered the Nine Essentials of Magic Treasures, and it had actually set foot on the right path.
As a magic treasure, it harbored immense inherent power. Moreover, this cultivation took place within a Great Luo Heaven formed from innate qi, providing all the insight and spiritual energy it could ever need, allowing its cultivation to progress with extreme speed.
By the time Xu Ying walked down from the Heavenly River, it had already smoothly condensed a magic treasure Primordial Spirit—or rather, a Primordial Spirit lacking a crucial component, as it possessed no souls.
Now, having replaced souls with divine consciousness, the big bell had forged an unconventional Primordial Spirit. Suddenly, it felt an immense sense of absolute freedom. All the various runes and Dao images imprinted upon its body became inexplicably clear in their Dao charm and meaning.
Those Dao methods it had once failed to grasp were quickly comprehended in its heart.
It suddenly understood how to unleash its full might and how to cultivate more smoothly.
Everything came so naturally, like water flowing to form a stream.
—Of course, it had caught the favorable wind of Xu Ying's Great Luo Heaven. A Great Luo Heaven was also called a Great Luo bodhimanda, a world formed when a Great Luo Golden Immortal imprinted their own Great Dao. Although Xu Ying was still an unknown distance away from the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, imprinting the Great Luo Heaven with his own Great Dao had invisibly boosted the big bell's Dao attainment.
Had the bell been left to comprehend on its own, who knew what year or month it would have taken to reach this stage.
Though the big bell was somewhat hazy and did not fully grasp what this step meant, a magic treasure cultivating true Dao was unprecedented.
It was not rare for magic treasures to awaken self-awareness. Many immortal artifacts possessed autonomous consciousness, able to spontaneously unleash their power, protect their masters, or even attack on their own initiative.
Yet to independently pioneer a cultivation system and cultivate the Great Dao on one's own—currently, the big bell was the only one!
Taking this single step made it an unprecedented grandmaster!
The big bell was completely oblivious to this, continuing to cultivate inside the Ruyi Great Luo Heaven.
Within the Great Luo Heaven, there was also an aberrant flower from the Heavenly River. It, too, was breathing in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, having already transformed into a demon and growing ever sturdier and more ferocious. Its Dao attainment had not increased much, but its raw strength had doubled!
Xu Ying had simply forgotten about it, and the big bell paid it no mind either.
Xu Ying emerged from the Heavenly River. Just as he was about to head toward Tushita Palace in Lihen Heaven, he suddenly caught sight of a beautiful figure flying past the riverbank and called out in delight, "Xiangxiang!"
Beside the Heavenly River stood a goddess clad in court robes, stunningly graceful. Holding a jade bottle, she cast it into the water to gather the Heavenly River's water. It was none other than Chu Xiangxiang, goddess of the Xiang River.
Seeing him, Chu Xiangxiang was overjoyed as well. With a gentle tug, she drew the jade bottle from the water, which was now filled with an untold amount of the Heavenly River's waters.
Flying over, she said with a smile, "Where have you been all this time, Young Master Xu? You're always nowhere to be found."
A trace of complaint lingered in her tone. Back when her feelings had quietly sprouted, Xu Ying had left her behind and vanished without a trace.
The maiden of the Xiang River had feelings, yet nowhere to place them.
Xu Ying smiled. "After the battle of Weixu, I spent these past few years rushing all over to repair the six secret cave-heavens. With so much time passing, I ended up neglecting old friends. Xiangxiang, what are you doing here?"
Over the past few years, Chu Xiangxiang had been cultivating on Penglai, often keeping Hua Cuoying company, and she had also obtained the inheritance of the Heavenly River immortal tombs. The ancestral Dao methods and divine powers of the Ancestral Court often cultivated both immortality and godhood together, and this happened to be her exact path. Consequently, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds over the years, granting her extraordinary abilities.
"My father's enemy, Perfected Jade Pot, came knocking to fight a duel to the death with him. My father knows this man is full of wicked schemes and must have invited many experts to back him up. But Father is thin-skinned and unwilling to invite anyone to help, so I came to the Heavenly River to collect some river water to aid him in battle."
Chu Xiangxiang added, "I heard that Perfected Jade Pot's strength is exceptionally high. This time, we must never let him escape!"
Xu Ying's heart stirred. Although Great Emperor Cangwu was one of the Netherworld's Four Magnates, his cultivation and strength were far from restored to their peak. If he clashed with Perfected Jade Pot, he might not be able to overcome him.
Moreover, Perfected Jade Pot was exceedingly sly and backed by the Primordial Monarch of the Immortal Realm. His initiating this challenge definitely boded ill.
Xu Ying thought of Daoist Yuan in Tushita Palace, then cast Daoist Yuan to the back of his mind. "Brother Cangwu is in trouble; how could I stand idly by? Xiangxiang, I'll go with you!"
Chu Xiangxiang was overjoyed. "With you coming along, nothing will go wrong! I was planning to release the Heavenly River's water to drown them!"
Xu Ying asked to see the jade bottle. When it touched his hands, it felt unimaginably heavy, pulling his arm downward. Who knew how much Heavenly River water was contained within?
Surprised, Xu Ying laughed. "Xiangxiang, your cultivation has truly advanced by leaps and bounds. It's no small feat."
Chu Xiangxiang chuckled. "Little Sister Hua and I are like sisters now, cultivating the Heavenly River Demon Subduing Grand Method together, so my cultivation has made some progress. Still, you feel it's heavy because I can control the Heavenly River's water while you cannot; that's why it feels so weighty."
Taking back the jade bottle, she cradled it lightly in her hand as though it weighed nothing at all, handling the immense weight with utter ease.
Xu Ying, however, knew just how heavy that bottle of river water was. "Where did Perfected Jade Pot set the duel? Let's hurry over."
"Right at the mouth of the Nai River where it enters the sea," Chu Xiangxiang answered.
Xu Ying invoked the Third Heavenly Pass. The heavenly pass swung open, revealing the Netherworld behind the gate, and the two stepped inside. Before long, they arrived above the Nai River and crossed the Nai River Bridge, where Meng Po was still running her tea stall at the bridgehead.
Xu Ying bowed slightly in greeting. "Meng Po, long time no see."
Returning the bow, Meng Po said, "Xu boy, have you and this little lass come to back up Emperor Cang?"
Xu Ying confirmed that they had.
Meng Po sneered. "Emperor Cang has grown old. He hasn't restored his divine power over these years and is no match for them. What's more, Perfected Jade Pot came prepared this time."
Pausing for a moment, she nonetheless added, "Quite a few ruthless characters have arrived in the Netherworld recently, none of whom are mortal figures. Although this old woman is also one of the Netherworld's Five Magnates, I receive stipends from the Immortal Court and am supervised by them; I cannot interfere. Watch yourselves."
Xu Ying bowed deeply. "Thank you for the guidance."
Taking his leave of Meng Po, he followed the Nai River alongside Chu Xiangxiang.
Chu Xiangxiang grumbled, "Meng Po only knows how to speak cynical words. Whenever something happens in the Netherworld, she never steps in. Why bother thanking her?"
Xu Ying chuckled. "She is a deity, not like you and me. You and I can leave at will, but she must guard the Nai River Bridge in the Netherworld and cannot walk away. For Meng Po to point out the visitors from the Immortal Realm just now might seem like a trifling reminder to us, but for her, it was risking her life. When she risked her life just to warn us, a mere word of thanks is already far too meager."
Chu Xiangxiang pondered this, nodded in agreement, and admitted with shame, "I wronged her."
The two proceeded along the Nai River, venturing deeper into the Netherworld toward the mouth where the river entered the sea. That sea was the Nether Sea, the resting place of all souls.
Looking from afar, Xu Ying saw that the sky above the Nether Sea was pitch-black, yet illuminated by lamplight—clearly Great Emperor Beiyin's clear oil lamp!
On the opposite shore of the Nether Sea, a brilliant halo rose straight from the ground, swirling and turning into a halo of reincarnation. Half underground and half above ground, it was blindingly bright.
Xu Ying frowned slightly, slowed his pace, and whispered, "Xiangxiang, look at the sky. Can you see a dark sun?"
Chu Xiangxiang looked up. She did not see an extinguished sun, but she did see flock after flock of winter crows whistling through the sky, chasing sweeping clouds of paper money!
Xu Ying's expression grew solemn, and he whispered, "Perfected Jade Pot didn't just challenge Brother Cangwu this time. The Northern Emperor, Dongyue, and the Samsara Female Emperor have all been challenged to meet here! How can Perfected Jade Pot be confident enough to take on the Netherworld's Four Magnates all at once? Just who is this visitor from the Immortal Realm?"
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the earth suddenly trembled, splitting open continuously. Xu Ying followed the tremors with his gaze and saw several great mountains in the Netherworld split neatly down the middle, opening up a massive chasm.
At the head of that fissure walked a tall, elderly figure shrouded in flowing gray mist, emerging from the split Yin mountains and heading toward the mouth of the Nai River!
Wherever the gray-misted elder passed, the Netherworld seemed as if it were being torn apart, the fissure extending ever forward!
Great Emperor Cangwu!
Delighted, Chu Xiangxiang was about to call out to her father, but Xu Ying squeezed her palm and shook his head gently.
Startled, Chu Xiangxiang held her tongue.
At that moment, countless sheets of paper money swirled wildly in the sky, rustling loudly as they coalesced into an extinguished sun.
A golden crow surged forth from that sun of ashes, dragging chains behind it as it pulled the ash sun toward the river mouth.
Those countless winter crows plunged into the sun, faintly coalescing into a colossal shadow that propped up heaven and earth, seated upon the throne within the ash sun.
Upon arriving at the mouth of the river, the shadow within the sun stood tall, stepped down, and landed upon the shore.
The ash sun hung behind his head, while the three-legged golden crow folded its wings and perched upon his shoulder.
At the same time, the incomparably vast wheel of reincarnation in the Netherworld rotated, rising straight from the earth higher and higher until it hung in the sky like a bright moon.
The bright moon flew closer and closer, its moonlight focusing entirely upon a single figure—a beautiful goddess, looking supremely sacred under the lunar glow.
She walked with graceful steps, gliding across the surface of the sea.
Simultaneously, the faintly discernible divine Mount Fengdu upon the sea abruptly vanished, leaving behind only the Six Ancient God Heavenly Palaces floating there, lined with ferocious gods and demons amidst fluttering banners and thunderous drums.
An elderly figure holding a clear oil lamp walked across the sea toward them. Behind him, a young emperor crowned in imperial regalia slowly rose from the sea, his body growing taller and more imposing, surging with tempestuous divine power that caused the sea surface to continuously blast open!
The Four Netherworld Magnates had finally gathered!
Xu Ying looked around, thinking, *The Four Netherworld Emperors have gathered. Perfected Jade Pot alone definitely won't be enough to match them. What on earth is this old rascal scheming?*
Suddenly, hearty laughter rang out. Wearing wide robes with billowing sleeves and surrounded by lovely consorts, Perfected Jade Pot flew over aboard a jade terrace, laughing. "Fellow Daoists Cangwu, Northern Emperor, Dongyue, and Samsara—you truly are people of your word!"
Hearing the words "people of your word," Xu Ying's face darkened, and he thought, *Does that bastard Perfected Jade Pot know I'm hiding nearby and is mocking me on purpose?*
Seeing one another, Great Emperor Cangwu, Great Emperor Dongyue, and the others were all startled, instantly realizing that Perfected Jade Pot's invitation had to be a trap. They sent voice transmissions to one another: "Fellow Daoists, be careful!"
Perfected Jade Pot halted his jade terrace, looked toward Great Emperor Beiyin, and smiled. "Back when Sword Monarch Jinhe slew you, Brother Dao, do you still remember the two Immortal Monarchs beside him? How fortunate that they are also in the lower realm, and I have invited them here. Welcome Immortal Monarch Liang Yue and Immortal Monarch Yin Yu!"
He bowed respectfully. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and suddenly a Divine Bridge manifested overhead, upon which stood a grotesque figure wearing a fanged mask.
Behind that masked figure, an incomparably colossal Primordial Spirit was forcing its way through from another space!
Perfected Jade Pot chuckled. "In addition, there is Immortal Monarch Wang Ruo'an, who slew Daoist Friend Dongyue; Immortal Monarch Zhang Shanzong, who slew Brother Cangwu; and the Twenty-Eight Mansions Immortal Kings who besieged Brother Samsara. I have invited as many of them as possible."
The surrounding sky trembled continuously as towering figures descended from above, solemn and imposing, encircling the Four Netherworld Emperors.
"Furthermore, I have invited a truly great figure."
Perfected Jade Pot bowed, his tone solemn. "Welcome the Crown Prince of the Primordial Monarch, His Highness Ling Wuxin!"
***
Immortal Realm.
Xu Jing was finally reunited with his wife, Lan Suying. As the two met, a flood of mixed emotions welled up, with ten thousand words proving too difficult to voice. Their hands clasped tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably from their eyes.
Yet Xu Jing felt his wife's fingers tracing patterns across his palm. His heart stirred; this was a word-guessing game they had often played when they were in love back then.
Calming his mind, he realized the four words his wife Lan Suying had written were:
"Bide your time, flee quickly!"
Chapter 488