Carried atop auspicious clouds, the Central Palace hovered above the chasms of the Dragon Abyss. Aboard the palace above the clouds, the young maidens felt a pang of pity upon hearing Yan Kongcheng's agonizing screams. "What a tragic death that young gentleman suffered."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou's heart stirred. He turned to Liu Ruyi and said, "The one screaming is Yan Kongcheng, Sect Master of Emei. Though his cultivation realm is not high and he is not yet an immortal, ninety-nine percent of the immortals here could perish and he would still survive. The Dragon Abyss must be safe now. We can head inside."
Having witnessed wave after wave of immortals perish in the Dragon Abyss moments ago—nearly half of the Immortal Realm powerhouses who had gathered here wiped out in mere moments—Liu Ruyi could not help but feel her heart pounding with dread.
"Senior Brother, what if there is still danger...?" she hesitated.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou said calmly, "To unify Yuanshou, I investigated and studied everyone capable of posing a threat to me in the Yuanshou world, devising countermeasures against each of them. My judgment is never wrong."
Liu Ruyi had no choice but to urge the immortal clouds forward, piloting the Central Palace into one of the chasms of the Dragon Abyss—the very abyssal rift Yan Kongcheng had entered moments before.
Standing before the Central Palace, the Son of Heaven of Zhou looked in every direction. Crawling and slithering along both walls of the Dragon Abyss were dragon-shaped monstrosities formed of bloody bone. Moving with blinding speed like elusive phantoms, they were evidently the transformed remains of the immortals who had just entered the abyss and died.
These dragon-shaped abominations bore human heads, their bloody frames composed of human spines, entirely devoid of skin or internal organs.
They had been blasted by the sinister baleful energy leaking from the Dragon Court. Within that baleful energy lay the primordial qi of the dragon race, known as dragon essence, along with the dragons' malice and rancor. Merely grazing it had shattered their consciousness and transfigured their flesh and blood into draconic beasts.
These bloody bone dragons were formidable and exceedingly ferocious, but the maidens flanking the Son of Heaven of Zhou were exceptionally skilled; the creatures were no match for them.
Along both walls of the Dragon Abyss wound thick blood vessels, clinging like vines and branching out into finer capillaries. In some places rose massive dragon scales two or three people tall, dripping with blood from an unknown source.
The baleful aura here remained suffocatingly heavy, filling the air with a soul-chilling breath of death, rot, and ruin.
Yan Kongcheng was not far off. Seeing them, he was startled and muttered under his breath, "Old, sly, and slippery."
One could hardly tell whether he meant the Son of Heaven of Zhou or those flimsily clad fairy maidens—whose shoulders were indeed so smooth that their silk robes could barely cling to them.
Chen Chaosheng's gaze fell upon Liu Ruyi, and he raised an eyebrow. "So the Nine Palaces Dao Lord has come to join the fray as well."
Seeing Yan Kongcheng and Chen Chaosheng completely unharmed, Liu Ruyi could not help admiring the Son of Heaven of Zhou. *Senior Brother Ji isn't utterly useless after all.*
Her gaze shifted to Chen Chaosheng, and her heart gave a jolt. *Senior Brother Chen from Saint Luo's sect—he came too. But his choice of partner is poor; the man is merely a Qi Refiner.*
Suddenly, more figures entered the Dragon Abyss. The Son of Heaven of Zhou looked toward the newcomers, his heart jolting. *The Autocrat of Xianyang!*
The newcomer was none other than Zulong Zhao Zheng. By his side stood a burly man whose bulging muscles looked chiseled by blades and hewn by axes, exuding overwhelming might.
The burly man's ferocious aura was even heavier than the baleful energy inside the Dragon Abyss; he was actively absorbing the airborne dragon qi and refining it into his own body!
Zulong Zhao Zheng also noticed the Son of Heaven of Zhou, Ji Man. Surprise flashed in his eyes, but he did not approach, murmuring under his breath, "The Zombie of Haojing!"
The two were old nemeses, both solitary autocrats who had once sought to eliminate each other to rule Yuanshou alone. The Son of Heaven of Zhou had crossed his tribulation first, and Zulong had crossed his after. But Zhou had remained in Yuanshou, while Zulong had set out alone upon the Heavenly Road, parting ways from then on.
Chen Chaosheng addressed Wei Xu, "Fellow Daoist Wei, is there still a possibility of cooperation between us?"
Wei Xu bowed to him. "Thank you for the favor of saving my life."
Chen Chaosheng frowned slightly. Wei Xu was a malevolent fiend—when had he ever been so polite? They had saved his life, yet after breaking free, he ate whomever he pleased; gratitude meant nothing to him.
*Teacher said the one who spirited him away was the Immortal Emperor Supreme. It seems that was true after all.*
Chen Chaosheng thought, *His sudden politeness is his way of signaling that he is no longer his own master and is forced to act against his nature. He is already under the Immortal Emperor Supreme's control.*
He sighed inwardly. Saint Luo had gone to great lengths to rescue Wei Xu, only for the Immortal Emperor Supreme to reap the rewards. It had to be said that the Immortal Emperor Supreme's methods were indeed superior.
Suddenly, yet another person stepped into the Dragon Abyss—a giant even taller than Wei Xu, yet immaculately dressed in robes and cap, appearing every bit the scholar.
*The Master of Mud Pill Palace!* Both Zulong and the Son of Heaven of Zhou were startled.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace had harvested mortals and cultivators alike, catching all the fishermen and leeks accumulated across more than forty thousand years in the Yuanshou world in a single net. Emerging as the ultimate victor, he had crossed his tribulation, ascended, and smuggled his way into the Immortal Realm by force. He was the undisputed number one peerless monster of Yuanshou, more ruthless than any of them!
The Master of Mud Pill Palace noticed them as well. His expression shifted slightly, but he made no sound, merely nodding to them in greeting.
Just then, Xu Ying's voice drifted down from above with a chuckle. "What an extraordinary coincidence today, running into all of you at once!"
The four were startled. Xu Ying had descended into the Dragon Abyss entirely alone. The Son of Heaven of Zhou, Zulong, and the Master of Mud Pill Palace remained silent, not uttering a word.
Yan Kongcheng, however, was inexplicably excited and waved toward him. "Brother Xu, over here!"
Chen Chaosheng hurriedly shrank behind Yan Kongcheng, groaning inwardly. *If this fellow sees me, who knows how he'll scheme against me!*
Xu Ying swept his gaze across everyone, his eyes flickering with surprise. He had never expected these figures to gather in one place.
Wei Xu glared at Xu Ying, baleful light blazing in his eyes, yet he did not make a move.
Xu Ying nodded slightly to him, unusually refraining from provocation as well. *When Wei Xu broke out of the immortal tomb, his strength was only around ten percent restored. Now he must be at forty to fifty percent, right?*
At twenty percent recovery, Wei Xu would already be capable of shattering Xu Ying's Leakless Golden Body; the Leakless Golden Body could never dissipate that berserk power.
At thirty percent recovery, even if everyone present joined forces to drive the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler, they likely wouldn't scratch him!
At forty percent, if he wanted to kill, not a single person present could escape!
Were he to return to his peak, perhaps only an Imperial Monarch or Heavenly Venerable who had consumed a Ginseng Dao fruit could rival him. Even the Eastern King would likely fall slightly short. As for the Primordial Monarch, Xu Ying judged that even with a Ginseng Dao fruit, she would be no match for Wei Xu.
"How rare for our Five Gentlemen of Yuanshou to meet here," Xu Ying said with great courtesy. "Fellow Daoists, shall we find a chance to get together?"
"I was thinking the exact same thing," the Master of Mud Pill Palace, Xing Daoyuan, said softly, his eyes flickering.
Yan Kongcheng chuckled. "The Five Gentlemen of Yuanshou haven't gathered in a long time. We truly ought to find some time to catch up."
"Some other time," the Son of Heaven of Zhou said calmly, rather aloof. "I have no time right now."
Zulong Zhao Zheng was even colder. "My hands are tied at the moment."
Xu Ying smiled faintly, unfazed. "Then we shall gather when we have time."
They exchanged glances and made their way toward the Dragon Court, keeping neither too close nor too far from one another.
Yan Kongcheng tried his best to sidle toward Xu Ying, but Chen Chaosheng hurriedly grabbed him and hissed, "Are you out of your mind? That guy Xu has a black heart and ruthless hands, with countless murders to his name! He's number one on the Immortal Realm's wanted list, practically legendary for it! If you get close to him, watch out or he'll beat you to death! He kills without batting an eye!"
Yan Kongcheng said, "We're Gentlemen of Yuanshou. Brother Xu wouldn't harm me."
Chen Chaosheng replied, "He has countless enemies! Practically every prominent figure in the Immortal Realm has a grudge against him! If people see you hanging around him, killing him might be hard, but killing you will be child's play!"
Only then did Yan Kongcheng drop the matter.
Passing through the unfathomable depths of the Dragon Abyss, they finally arrived at the Dragon Court. Ahead rose a colossal mountain range, blocking their view.
The group flew upward. The mountains were extraordinarily high, with many shadowy recesses holding deep valleys that pooled with immensely dense baleful energy and dragon qi. They quickly veered away to avoid being harmed by these energies.
The baleful aura within these valleys was a hundred times fiercer than when the great rift had appeared earlier; ordinary people coming anywhere near would surely meet disaster.
The immortals who had entered through the other chasms of the Dragon Abyss did not appear nearby; evidently, different abysses led to different locations in the Dragon Court.
After a moment, they reached the summit, only to see two slender, soaring peaks rising straight from the mountain, several thousand zhang high.
The peaks were cylindrical, branching out at the top like the horns of a dragon.
Seeing this, Xu Ying, the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and the others felt their hearts leap. *The shape of this mountain...*
With tacit understanding, they flew higher and higher, looking down until the mountain's topography spread before them. Behind the peak lay an undulating mountain range that rose and fell without pattern. Branches diverged from the main ridge, each ending in five great spurs that gripped the earth like talons.
In places where the mountain had collapsed under the collision between the Longxing and Yuanshou worlds, chilling white structures were exposed inside—resembling the skeleton of a divine dragon!
Looking into the distance, across the vast and boundless expanse, they saw similar mountains everywhere!
"These were dragon race masters fleeing in panic during the great tribulation, collapsing and dying here of exhaustion!"
A fierce look crossed Wei Xu's face. Behind him, a gigantic primordial spirit suddenly manifested, reaching downward as he shouted, "This peerless baleful energy is also a treasure, fit to be used by me!"
Amid continuous thunderous roars, Wei Xu's primordial spirit reached down, seized the dragon head of the mountain ridge, and hoisted the ten-thousand-li mountain range straight into the air!
He shook it with immense force, sending the mountains collapsing in avalanches of shattering boulders that rained from the sky with earth-shattering clamor. When the rocks and dirt disintegrated completely, an unimaginably vast skeleton of a divine dragon was unveiled, shimmering with silver light and radiating sacred majesty.
This was no dragon vein—it was the actual skeleton of a divine dragon!
Possessing peerless brute strength, Wei Xu actually intended to consume and absorb the remaining power within this divine dragon skeleton!
Never before had anyone seen such an overwhelmingly fierce being, and their hearts could not help but tremble.
Yet the divine dragon skeleton suddenly twisted and shifted, coiling around the arm of Wei Xu's primordial spirit with a swoosh, gaping its cavernous, blood-pool maw to devour his primordial spirit—attempting to consume him in return!
In the instant the man and the skeleton clashed, distant mountains were disturbed by others entering the Dragon Court. Peaks tore themselves from the earth, shaking off stone and soil, and struck viciously at the intruders!
Yan Kongcheng's voice rang out, "Wei Xu was wrong! These divine dragons weren't trying to flee the Dragon Court; they were guarding it! Before the Dragon Court fell, they must have been warriors stationed here to defend its gateway!"
Even as he spoke, more mountain ranges exploded apart, and one ten-thousand-li divine dragon skeleton after another charged toward the intruders, inflicting heavy casualties in moments.
Battling the dragon skeleton, Wei Xu seized the upper hand within a few exchanges. Just then, another mountain ridge detonated, and a second divine dragon skeleton burst forth, hurtling toward him!
Wei Xu possessed supreme might; even fighting two divine dragon skeletons at once, he held the advantage, though he could not refine the two colossal skeletons in short order.
Suddenly, a third divine dragon skeleton pounced toward them. Liu Ruyi's expression changed, and she instantly took to the air at the head of the Central Palace maidens, calling out, "Senior Brother Zhou, wait here a moment! We sisters will be right back! Senior Brother Chen of Saint Luo's sect, aren't you coming to help?"
Her strength was formidable, and the fairy maidens under her command were exceptionally skilled, but holding off a divine dragon skeleton was beyond them alone; with Chen Chaosheng joining in, however, it would be far easier.
Chen Chaosheng immediately charged toward that divine dragon skeleton, saying in a low voice, "Sect Master Yan, remain calm; I shall assist the senior sister under the Nine Palaces Dao Lord first!"
Seeing this, Yan Kongcheng immediately flew toward Xu Ying.
At the same time, the Son of Heaven of Zhou soared up from the Central Palace, landing beside Xu Ying. Zulong Zhao Zheng strode quickly over as well. The Master of Mud Pill Palace was already in front of Xu Ying. Seeing that everyone was about to speak, he raised a finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.
No one uttered a sound.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace retrieved a branch from his bodhimanda and bowed deeply. "Master, your disciple is in peril. Please lend your aid!"
With a chant, he cast it out. The Dao tree branch danced through the air, its power surging as it flew to confront the divine dragon skeleton locked in battle with Chen Chaosheng, Liu Ruyi, and the others.
Looking on with an impassive expression, Zulong said, "We need a bodhimanda, and a supreme treasure to suppress it. Otherwise, there is nowhere safe to speak."
"I have them," Xu Ying said.
He manifested his Great Luo bodhimanda, sealing off the surrounding spacetime, and then summoned the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler within the bodhimanda. "Four friends, if you carry any magic treasures bestowed by your masters or sects, leave them all here in the bodhimanda. You cannot bring them inside!"
Hearing this, Yan Kongcheng hurriedly brought out all the protective treasures he had wheedled and extorted, tossing them into Xu Ying's bodhimanda.
Xu Ying activated the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler. A rectangular beam of light shone over them, drawing everyone into the ruler!
When they landed, they found themselves amidst the mountains and rivers inside the ruler, where a Taiyi Golden Bridge spanned the peaks. As they stood upon the golden bridge, Xu Ying said, "This golden bridge is a Supreme divine ability. With these three layers of protection, we can ensure our words remain secret from prying eyes."
The others exchanged glances, each marveling at the feat.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace spoke first. "Gentlemen, shortly after I smuggled myself into the Immortal Realm, I likely walked into a trap. I blundered into an immortal cave dwelling and obtained a cultivation manual called the Dao Turning Mind Sutra. Not long ago, the manual's true master tracked me down, called himself Daoist Taiyuan, and insisted on becoming my master."
Xu Ying shot him a sideways glance and sneered, "That is the exact method you used to harvest Zhou Qiyun."
The Master of Mud Pill Palace replied, "Now that someone is trying to use that method to harvest me, naturally I saw through it at a glance."
Zulong Zhao Zheng said, "My situation is quite similar to Fellow Daoist Xing's. I ascended to the Immortal Realm along the Heavenly Road. Once there, I was received into the Immortal Court and taken as a disciple by the current Immortal Emperor."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou said, "Just two days ago, the Nine Palaces Dao Lord sent these fairy maidens fair as flowers and jade, showering me with all manner of temptations. I suspect I too am ensnared in a scheme."
Yan Kongcheng said, "The same goes for me. 'When poor in a bustling market, no one asks; when rich in the deep mountains, distant kin flock.' Emei was the poor relation, yet today Saint Luo from the Nine Heavens came calling, sending someone to forge ties with us. Though from what I've seen, Chen Chaosheng doesn't seem all that bad."
Having finished speaking, all four turned their eyes toward Xu Ying in unison.
Xu Ying sighed. "I was designated as a leek probably earlier than the four of you. Six hundred thousand years ago, someone had already foreseen this day and prepared to harvest me."
Chapter 542