Senior Brother, Save Me!

Xu Ying looked around, but saw no trace of anyone. The surroundings were eerily quiet. Puzzled, he murmured, "Could they be over at the Ginseng Fruit Tree, fighting for the Dao fruits?" The big bell asked, "Ah Ying, are you truly not tempted by the Dao fruits of the Ginseng Fruit Tree?" Xu Ying chuckled. "I gained far more along the way. Earlier, when I clashed with Ling Wuxin, I discovered that his Primordial Spirit was extraordinarily powerful, far beyond the limits of what a physical body could hold. He learned under the Primordial Monarch, and her technique is the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Confluence Technique. At first, I envied him deeply, but after observing the Thirty-Three Heavens of Wuzhuang Temple, I finally uncovered the secrets of that technique." The big bell humbly asked, "What secrets does the Divine Confluence Technique hold?" "The Dao foundation of the Primordial Monarch's Divine Confluence Technique is the Thirty-Three Heavens—something Qi Refiners have always overlooked. Those thirty-three vertebrae are the key to her Primordial Spirit's immense power. Only by refining the Thirty-Three Heavens to the absolute pinnacle could she attain such mastery over the Primordial Spirit." Xu Ying channeled the Taiyi qi, raising it from the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains within his body. It passed through the Weilu mystic pass, ascended along the Thirty-Three Heavens, flowed past the Intertwined Refining stage and the Jiaji mystic pass, and reached straight into the Thirty-Three Heavens! At that moment, his Primordial Spirit felt a boundless surge of power rush in. The winds of the Dao and the light of the Dao upon the God Bridge seemed far less biting. Xu Ying circulated the Taiyi Indestructible True Scripture, and his mastery over his Primordial Spirit soared at breakneck speed! When Qi Refiners cultivated, they often neglected the Thirty-Three Heavens, focusing solely on the water-and-fire furnace vessel and the Golden Core of the Intertwined Refining stage, gathering power to break through the Jiaji mystic pass before ascending into the Twelve-Storyed Mansions. Yet having observed the Thirty-Three Heavens of Wuzhuang Temple, Xu Ying adjusted the flow of his Taiyi qi accordingly. Taking the Heavenly River as his waterway, he circulated it along the Thirty-Three Heavens. As for the water-and-fire furnace vessel of the Intertwined Refining stage and the Jiaji mystic pass, he treated them as vital nodes in the technique's circulation. In doing so, his Taiyi Indestructible True Scripture flowed far more smoothly, and the enhancement to his Primordial Spirit grew even swifter! *At this rate, cultivating my Indestructible Primordial Spirit to Ling Wuxin's level will no longer be an impossible dream!* Xu Ying felt immense delight in his heart. Because he had formed an Indestructible Primordial Spirit, its progress had been excruciatingly slow, dragging down his overall cultivation and leaving his advancement on the God Bridge far less rapid than before. Now that he had comprehended the mysteries of the Thirty-Three Heavens in the Realm of Xiyi, he felt confident he could soon cross the God Bridge and open the Third Heavenly Pass! Observing his Thirty-Three Heavens, the big bell followed suit, modifying its own Thirty-Three Heavens as well. It had embarked on a unique path of artifact cultivation. The essence of this path was to mimic the Qi Refiners' cultivation method: taking its own body as a vessel, visualizing the Realm of Xiyi, refining a Golden Core, cultivating a Primordial Spirit, bathing in the Jade Pool, crossing the God Bridge, and ascending to the Jade Capital. The difference was that an artifact's cultivation required no breakthroughs past the Three Passes. Without those obstacles in its way, it had three fewer realms to conquer, allowing it to cultivate far faster. It could even undergo Heavenly Tribulation and ascend. The big bell called this 'refining the false to cultivate the true.' An artifact's Realm of Xiyi, Golden Core, Primordial Spirit, Jade Pool, God Bridge, and Jade Capital were all artificial, but as long as it cultivated to the level of a Heavenly Immortal and formed a bodhimanda, that was true cultivation—a genuine attainment of the Dao. The big bell had already crossed its Heavenly Tribulation within Xu Ying's Grand Luo Heaven. The speed at which it formed its bodhimanda now left even Xu Ying staring in astonishment. Within Yingzhou, the immortals of Penglai flew out one after another to inspect Xu Ying's Thirty-Three Heavens. Xu Ying was not stingy in the least, letting them observe freely. He stepped into the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, only to find no one inside. Xu Ying surveyed the place. Having received guidance from the Ancestral God in the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, he had already mastered the twelve proofs of the Primordial Spirit, bringing his Twelve-Storyed Mansions to complete perfection. Yet, observing the Twelve-Storyed Mansions of Wuzhuang Temple, he actually gained fresh insights once more. The Twelve-Storyed Mansions were the cradle that nurtured the Primordial Spirit. Aside from the twelve proofs, the secret of ingesting and transforming qi was also paramount. Within these Twelve-Storyed Mansions, Xu Ying discovered the profound methods by which the Ancestor of Earth Immortals ingested and transformed qi. By the time he finished contemplating the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, another two or three days had passed. During this time, only scattered immortals made their way up from below; none of the leading figures were anywhere to be seen. Wuzhuang Temple remained eerily tranquil. Suddenly, what sounded like violent thunderclaps erupted from the direction of the Jade Pool. A deafening, resonant sound of the Dao followed. Xu Ying looked up to see the sky swirling, tainted by immortal Dao energy and twisting into bizarre colors! *A massive battle broke out at the Jade Pool!* Xu Ying was shocked. The ferocity of the divine powers was terrifying. Dozens of overwhelmingly powerful auras clashed, tore at one another, and crossed swords. Though he could not see the battle firsthand, from the divine powers unleashed by those mighty figures, Xu Ying could identify the Imperial Monarch, the Heavenly Venerables, the Primordial Monarch, Celestial Venerable Guan of the Finance Department, and Celestial Venerable Ning of the Grand Sui Department! *Wait, the Eastern King is there too! The Eastern King has joined the fray!* Xu Ying was astonished. *Is this a free-for-all brawl...? No, it seems those experts are besieging two people. Those two auras are unimaginably strong!* The Divine Mother said, "It looks like Heavenly Monarchs and Immortal Monarchs have joined forces to fight the boys guarding Wuzhuang Temple." After calculating carefully, she added, "Those two boys should be dead men. They took the ginseng Dao fruits and returned from the dead, but they are not entirely alive either." "Mighty figures capable of forcing the Imperial Monarch and the Heavenly Venerables to join forces—I must see them for myself!" His curiosity piqued, Xu Ying immediately steered the imperial carriage upward from the twelfth story of the mansions, soaring toward the Jade Pool. The battle above grew increasingly ferocious. Stray divine powers even rained down from above, striking the imperial carriage, but the swirling clouds around the vehicle churned and deflected the blows. Xu Ying urged the imperial carriage forward, braving the shockwaves of countless colliding divine powers until he finally reached the Jade Pool. Before him lay the boundless green waters of the Jade Pool, stretching tens of thousands of li. At this moment, colossal waves surged across its surface as dozens of powerful figures clashed above the sea. The Jade Pool contained the power of life and death, making it an exceptionally enigmatic realm. Very few could cultivate it to perfection. Yet Xu Ying had already seen through the mysteries of life and death, refining the immortal dew of the Jade Pool and even reviving the Demon Ancestor. This was a realm he had already perfected; even the Jade Pool of Wuzhuang Temple had nothing left to teach him. Xu Ying looked toward the dozens of battling experts. Of the Heavenly Venerables of the Six Departments, five had arrived, with only the Heavenly Venerable of the Dou Department absent. The Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department was the strongest, bringing numerous experts hidden within the cave abyss floating above his head. However, that cave abyss was not of the Heavenly Monarch grade, but merely an Immortal Monarch-grade cave abyss, used to replenish the magic power consumed by the Heavenly Venerable's incarnation. The other four Heavenly Venerables had summoned their respective treasures. Artifact after artifact weighed heavily upon heaven and earth, polluting the Jade Pool with immortal Dao power and battering the realm until heaven and earth shattered. Yet all four of these Heavenly Venerables were wounded and drenched in blood. Besides them, the Eastern King, the Imperial Monarch, and the Primordial Monarch were all battered and covered in injuries, yet they fought to the death without retreating, launching attack after attack against the two boys! Heavenly Monarchs like the Imperial Monarch and the Primordial Monarch used avatars, incarnations, or Dao bodies, but some Immortal Monarchs had arrived in their true bodies—some holding titles from the imperial court, others unaligned rogue cultivators. The two boys fighting them appeared twelve or thirteen years old. However, one of them had the skin of his face flayed off, which had not yet regrown, leaving him resembling a skeleton. The other boy had fair skin and rosy lips. Neither exuded the aura of a living person. They moved like two walking corpses, fighting fiercely on their own. Yet they were astoundingly powerful. Their two small frames actually held off the onslaught of dozens of mighty figures, even inflicting heavy injuries on their attackers time and again! Those whose cultivation was slightly weaker were struck down and incapacitated outright, tumbling into the Jade Pool! Whenever the two Daoist boys were hit by the Eastern King, the Imperial Monarch, or the others, human-shaped Dao fruits manifested behind them, radiating dazzling light that neutralized the incoming attacks. "The Immortal Monarch realm forms a Dao tree; the Heavenly Monarch realm forms a Dao flower; and the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm forms a Dao fruit!" Xu Ying had previously discussed the differences between the ancient and modern realms with the Dao Ancestor, giving him a general understanding of immortal stages. Titles like Imperial Monarch, Heavenly Venerable, and Primordial Monarch were merely designations granted by the Immortal Court, not actual realms; only Immortal Monarch and Heavenly Monarch were true realms. A Human Immortal formed the Domain of Six Immortals. An Earth Immortal united the six domains into one, forging a Dao domain. A Heavenly Immortal refined the Dao domain into a bodhimanda. An Immortal King turned Dao principles into Dao chains. An Immortal Monarch used Dao chains as seeds to cultivate a Dao tree, and a Heavenly Monarch brought the Dao tree to bloom, producing a Dao flower. Beyond that, the ancient and modern eras diverged in their understanding. The ancient era called an immortal who formed a Dao fruit a Grand Luo Golden Immortal, whereas the modern Immortal Realm equated a Grand Luo Golden Immortal and the Grand Luo Sublime Realm with the Supreme Realm. As to whether the Grand Luo Golden Immortal and Grand Luo Sublime Realm truly equated to the Supreme Realm, Xu Ying had never encountered those realms and had no way of knowing. "The Dao fruits of these two boys do not seem genuine. They must be pseudo-Dao fruits formed from consuming the Dao fruits of the Ginseng Fruit Tree." Xu Ying watched the battle and remarked, "Yet even a pseudo-Dao fruit is no small matter—it is enough to suppress all these heroes!" The big bell grew wildly excited. "Ah Ying, if I consume a Dao fruit, could I also refine a pseudo-Dao fruit?" Xu Ying shot it a glance, wondering how on earth a bell was supposed to eat a fruit. And even if it did, where would the pseudo-Dao fruit hang? The big bell was completely bare; there was nowhere suitable to hang it. The two Daoist boys, Qingfeng and Mingyue, unleashed their Dao fruits, rendering themselves nearly immune to all techniques. The crowd of experts could not harm them in the slightest! Xu Ying immediately understood why the Eastern King, the Heavenly Venerables, and the others had joined forces. Without eliminating these two boys, none of them stood a chance of claiming the Dao fruits of the Ginseng Fruit Tree. Yet even united, they could do nothing against the two boys. Suddenly, the Divine Mother sensed a hint of danger and urgently warned, "Immortal Master, a cataclysmic shift is about to occur here! We must leave at once and retreat to the Twelve-Storyed Mansions!" Hearing this, Xu Ying did not hesitate. He immediately steered the imperial carriage away from the Jade Pool, hurtling straight back toward the Twelve-Storyed Mansions. Right at that moment, an obscure tremor erupted from an unknown location. Even inside the carriage, Xu Ying felt his heart pound with dread, as if his magic power were being suppressed! At his current level of cultivation, very few could suppress him; not even a Heavenly Monarch could disrupt the flow of his magic power with an aura alone. Yet that obscure tremor not only interfered with the circulation of his vital energy, but also disrupted his divine consciousness and his control over yin and yang, mental strength, and Dao power! *A Supreme artifact?* The thought had barely crossed his mind when a halo of light surged up barely a dozen li from the imperial carriage, shooting straight into the Jade Pool! Within that halo lay a jade ruler-like treasure. Seen from a distance, it was hard to discern clearly, with only faint, hazy markings visible—yet that obscure tremor was emanating directly from that jade ruler! Even from more than ten li away, the shockwave from the jade ruler jolted the imperial carriage violently. Layers of clouds outside the carriage shattered continuously as they resisted the ruler's impact! Yet within an instant, the protective clouds around the carriage were wiped out entirely. The fierce impact tilted the imperial carriage, sending it veering downward at an angle. *Who unleashed a Supreme artifact?* Xu Ying wondered in bewilderment. Flying above the Jade Pool, the jade ruler vibrated in midair and unfolded like a folding fan. Each fold of the fan displayed an exquisitely detailed landscape painting. "The Supreme artifact, the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler!" The faces of everyone above the Jade Pool drained of color. Abandoning their assault on Qingfeng and Mingyue, they frantically channeled their divine powers to defend themselves. Like the Returning Dao Jade Platter, the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler had once been an unowned Supreme artifact. Its appearance long ago had stirred up storms of bloody warfare, before both Supreme artifacts vanished without a trace, disappearing from the world. As the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler descended, the two boys' bones cracked and their sinews snapped. Their Dao fruits nearly shattered as they were knocked backward. The Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler swept in a half-circle, its fan-shaped light slashing out in all directions. The crowd besieging Qingfeng and Mingyue let out muffled groans, all of them severely wounded. Spitting mouthfuls of blood, they scattered and fled in panic. "The one who unleashed the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler is among us!" No one knew who had summoned the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler, but after severely wounding Qingfeng and Mingyue, it turned on them as well, clearly intending to wipe out everyone at the Jade Pool in a single stroke! Fleeing for their lives, everyone understood with crystal clarity: *The one wielding the Supreme artifact is determined to claim the Ginseng Fruit Tree at all costs. He will never let us leave alive!* From above, a terrifying shockwave from the Jade Pool slammed downward. Xu Ying fought with all his might to steady the imperial carriage, inwardly thanking his good fortune. Had the Divine Mother not divined the danger and urged him to escape ahead of time, he likely would have been flayed alive, if not killed outright! Suddenly, two dull thuds rang out as two figures plunged from the sky and crashed into the imperial carriage. Xu Ying immediately leapt to his feet, only to find the two Daoist boys, Qingfeng and Mingyue, flanking him on the left and right. Without a word, Xu Ying summoned the Taiyi Golden Bridge to suppress them, but the force of the two boys' auras surged back, preventing the golden bridge from descending. Right then, with a heavy splat, the Eastern King tumbled into the imperial carriage as well, crying out, "Celestial Venerable Xu, save me!" He had also suffered catastrophic injuries from the Supreme artifact. Three of his four limbs were broken, leaving only his right leg intact as he sprawled on the floor. Catching sight of Qingfeng and Mingyue, the Eastern King's face drained of color. Despairing inwardly, he was just about to scramble away when the boy named Qingfeng suddenly spoke up: "So it is a Senior Brother from the Shangqing Dao Sect. Senior Brother, save me!" With those words, the auras of both boys collapsed, and they slumped limply to the floor. Shocked and bewildered, the Eastern King dragged his battered body, frantically crawling outward in sheer terror. *I've hunted wild geese all my life, only to be pecked blind by a sparrow! I've walked right into a bandits' den! This Xu fellow is in cahoots with those two boys!* Xu Ying hurriedly called out, "Eastern King, it's a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! Eastern King! Eastern King! ...He really crawls fast."