These small peaks corresponded to the organs within Xu Ying's body. They were what a Qi Refiner could see upon opening the Realm of Xiyi, known among Qi Refiners as the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains.
All cultivation began from the Five Sacred Mountains.
The reappearance of the mountain sprouts in Xu Ying's Qi Gathering realm showed that his condition was gradually improving.
Yuan Weiyang was thrilled by this development. She gathered all kinds of immortal herbs and medicines, concocting them into elixirs for him to ingest in the hopes that these five small peaks would grow faster.
This place was on the fringes of the original Immortal Realm. Ever since the Immortal Realm had connected with the myriad worlds and heavens, the Tide of the Minor Three Realms had reached its peak, turning the formerly desolate borderlands of the Immortal Realm exceptionally fertile.
There was no better place to try one's luck hunting for ownerless immortal herbs and medicines. Countless unidentified cave heavens and blessed lands had emerged in the wake of the Three Realms Tide, mostly cavern estates left behind by immortals from the Demon Court and Dragon Court eras.
However, these immortal mountains and grand rivers were heavily warded, making entry arduous. Fortunately, both Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang possessed extraordinary intellect, and breaking through restrictions was no difficult feat for them. Xu Ying in particular was a grandmaster when it came to warding techniques. As a result, their harvest was bountiful.
Yet even after consuming so many miraculous elixirs and medicines, Xu Ying's Five Sacred Immortal Mountains still grew at an agonizingly slow pace. Uncle Xiao, merely by taking the dregs of the medicine, had seen his cultivation leap forward substantially until he became an Earth Immortal—yet Xu Ying still had not fully entered the Qi Gathering realm.
*With this many miracle pills and medicines, even a pig could have cultivated its way to becoming an Immortal King or Immortal Monarch!* Uncle Xiao thought to himself.
Even if Xu Ying's progress had stalled, Yuan Weiyang continued to advance by leaps and bounds. Naturally gifted and possessed of keen comprehension, she received everything Xu Ying had learned from his own cultivation, as he could not cultivate himself and freely shared it all for her to ponder.
Her cultivation grew increasingly profound. The eighth realm of a Qi Refiner, the Six Paths realm, required mastering only six Great Daos. Yet she had comprehended ten distinct paths: vitality, divine consciousness, primordial qi, soul power, yin-yang, heart power, Wuji, Taiji, the void, and life-and-death.
She formed ten smaller cave abysses and was striving to harmonize them, seeking to fuse the abysses into a unified whole.
She wished to cross her tribulation, but Xu Ying held her back. He imparted to her the Emerald Rock Dao he had gleaned from the Emerald Rock, and guided her to comprehend the Heavenly Dao of the Three Realms so that she could accumulate an even deeper foundation.
And so the two lingered on the frontier, searching for immortal medicine while cultivating.
On this day, they broke through the wards of a demon immortal's cave heaven and took up residence inside.
When evening fell, Yuan Weiyang had Xu Ying soak in a wooden tub, using the immortal herbs gathered from the cave heaven to temper his physical body.
Every time, the young woman tirelessly massaged his body, gingerly kneading the startling wounds crisscrossing Xu Ying's flesh to keep the blood and qi flowing and prevent the muscle from withering.
Behind her, immortal spiritual qi flowed from her ten cave abysses and poured into Xu Ying's body, attempting to stimulate the vitality of his flesh.
All of Xu Ying's realms, cave abysses, and Dao scenes had been cleaved away, leaving wounds of all sizes across his body, wounds that still harbored the dreadful remnants of divine abilities.
Xu Ying was no longer able to purge these Dao injuries himself, and Yuan Weiyang's cultivation was still too shallow to dispel them. She could only do her utmost to ease his agony.
Throughout these days, Yuan Weiyang cared for him like a devoted wife, looking after him with tender diligence.
"Weiyang, do not undergo your tribulation for now. If you must cross it, it is best to brave the Four Realms Heavenly Tribulation. And the finest place to face that tribulation is the Mortal Realm."
Xu Ying pondered for a moment before continuing, "Entering the Mortal Realm is rather difficult, however. We would either have to ask the Ancestral God to intervene, or construct a ferry to cross the Long River of Spiritual Light."
As Yuan Weiyang rubbed his back to help the medicinal power sink into his body, she shook her head. "We don't have a ferry. How can we reach the Mortal Realm?"
Xu Ying's eyes gleamed, and he chuckled. "I know of a place that still has a ferry. The vessel is fraught with immense danger, and boarding it won't be easy. Though my strength is far from what it once was, my mastery over the Leakless Golden Body remains intact. So long as you can send me aboard, I should be able to claim the ship."
"Very well, but only after your body has recovered."
Yuan Weiyang's touch pressed slightly too hard, causing Xu Ying's wound to twitch. She quickly softened her hands, her fingertips delicately tracing the edge of his wound from top to bottom.
These wounds had never healed, the flesh still turned outward.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked softly.
"Not anymore," Xu Ying replied with a cheerful smile.
"Tonight, I will teach you the practice of Taiyi Enlightenment. You are still lacking in that regard; if you cannot master this method, comprehending the Emerald Rock Dao will prove far more arduous."
Xu Ying recited the principles of Taiyi Enlightenment word for word, explaining them from the beginning and detailing everything he had realized.
Yuan Weiyang listened in silence, speaking up only when she encountered something she did not understand or where Xu Ying's explanation left a gap. After teaching her several times, Xu Ying actually gained many fresh insights he had never grasped before.
Eventually, it became an exchange between the two, each sparking enlightenment in the other.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Xu Ying went blank for a moment before crying out in joyous realization, "Weiyang! Weiyang! Bring paper and brush!"
Yuan Weiyang stood, dried her hands, and brought over the paper and brush.
Leaning against the rim of the tub, Xu Ying painstakingly drew out the Emerald Rock inscriptions stroke by stroke. The Demon Ancestor had once given him a rubbing of the Emerald Rock inscriptions, which the Immortal Emperor and his cohort had later confiscated. Fortunately, its contents were already etched into Xu Ying's memory.
He stared at the drawings for a long time before murmuring, "So Taiji, Wuji, Yuxu, Taixiang, Taiyi, Taishang, and the rest... all these Dao methods are encompassed within the Emerald Rock inscriptions..."
Startled, Yuan Weiyang leaned close to examine the bamboo-joint patterns on the paper. A flash of realization struck her, and she exclaimed in delight, "Ah-Ying, do you mean to say that the Dao Ancestors of the major Daoist sects derived the origins of their techniques from these inscriptions? That these carvings record the Great Dao of Taiji, the Great Dao of Wuji, and the Great Dao of Yuxu?"
Xu Ying nodded excitedly and beamed. "With these inscriptions, one can deduce the method to summon cave abysses and comprehend even more profound Dao methods! Even if one cannot summon a Supreme cave abyss, one can still fathom the Dao realms of every Great Dao! If I were to cultivate according to this method..."
His voice grew more impassioned with every word, but at that thought, his expression dimmed.
He was already a cripple without a trace of primordial qi to his name; how could he speak of cultivating?
Yet Xu Ying quickly shook off his gloom and smiled. "If you can comprehend the contents of these inscriptions, Weiyang, you might just be able to summon several Supreme cave abysses and forge even more Dao scenes!"
Yuan Weiyang chuckled. "If our predecessors could summon them, why couldn't I? But it's late now. You should get some rest."
Xu Ying agreed and asked her to turn around so he could dress.
Yuan Weiyang complied and faced away. Xu Ying rose from the medicinal bath, wiped the moisture from his skin, and pulled on his garments. These clothes were not his old attire—those had long since been shredded to pieces; these were newly made for him by tailors Yuan Weiyang had sought out in Shendu.
Yuan Weiyang stole a sideways glance, her heart hammering against her ribs as she thought, *Back then, there was clearly only one...*
The two returned to their respective rooms to rest. In the dead of night, Yuan Weiyang heard sounds out in the courtyard. Rising to the window lattice, she saw Xu Ying standing beneath the moonlight, diligently practicing martial Dao techniques over and over again.
Her gaze softened, gentle as the moonbeams.
After practicing for a long time, Xu Ying was drenched in sweat. He paced slowly through the courtyard to calm his surging blood and qi.
"Too slow. It is simply too slow."
Though he put on an air of nonchalance before Yuan Weiyang, deep down, he yearned to return to the past, to reclaim the peak of his former strength, more desperately than ever before.
"Martial Dao alone won't suffice, and these immortal herbs are of no use!"
He clenched his fists tightly, longing to roar at the sky, yet unwilling to disturb the woman inside. In the end, he swallowed the frustration in his chest.
"The Emerald Rock Dao of the Mortal Realm destroyed the Dragon Court era and obliterated the Great Daos of heaven and earth, turning that land into a realm of pitch-black darkness. Yet even after the Heavenly Dao of the mortal realm was utterly annihilated, it was reborn through humanity, growing and flourishing once more!"
He thought to himself, *That is the strength of mortals, an unyielding spirit! Resilient, indomitable—that is the greatest Dao power of all! Human effort can achieve anything, and man can conquer heaven! I will certainly make my return!*
He continued silently practicing his martial arts, repeating each movement through dull, tedious drills, unwavering in his persistence.
Yuan Weiyang rested her chin on the windowsill, watching him until the break of dawn.
The following day, the two stripped the demon immortal's cave heaven bare of resources before departing to seek other blessed lands.
Without their noticing, two or three years drifted by. The miniature peaks in Xu Ying's Qi Gathering realm gradually grew larger, taking on the silhouette of the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains. Meanwhile, Yuan Weiyang's cultivation became increasingly profound, rivaling that of Immortal Kings and Immortal Monarchs.
She further refined her Dao methods, joining Xu Ying in contemplating Taiyi Enlightenment and the Emerald Rock inscriptions. Together, they forged the eight paths of vitality, divine consciousness, primordial qi, soul power, yin-yang, heart power, the void, and life-and-death into the Great Dao of Taiyi. In addition, she cultivated the five Great Daos of Taiji, Wuji, Taixiang, Taiying, and Taishang, making six Daos in total.
Naturally, her attainments in these six Great Daos were still in their infancy. That she had achieved so much was owed not only to her talent and comprehension, but also in equal measure to Xu Ying.
With the two of them studying and probing together, even though Xu Ying could not cultivate, his breadth of vision and insight remained. Their exchanges struck sparks of inspiration, fueling Yuan Weiyang's rapid ascent.
"Uncle Xiao, we set out for the Realm of Taixu!" Yuan Weiyang announced, having made up her mind.
Uncle Xiao acknowledged the order and promptly went to prepare the pleasure boat.
Just as the vessel was about to lift into the air, the sounds of fierce slaughter suddenly erupted across the sky. All manner of immortal artifacts crisscrossed the air, tearing through the clouds, while divine abilities launched from both sides collided with deafening booms that shook the heavens!
Yuan Weiyang swiftly activated her six great cave abysses, surging her cultivation to shield Xu Ying and Uncle Xiao.
The din of battle rose from either flank as two forces rushed in from over a thousand li to the left and right, charging toward each other while exchanging a barrage of treasures and divine abilities.
Yuan Weiyang breathed a sigh of relief. The spells and artifacts were not aimed at them; the two opposing factions were locked in combat with each other.
Judging by their garments, one side belonged to the Immortal Court, numbering three to five thousand immortals of relatively high cultivation. The other side was a group of less than a thousand immortal spirits whose cultivation was noticeably lower.
Yet when the melee commenced, the lower-cultivated immortal spirits fought with vastly greater ferocity and martial prowess, throwing their opponents into disarray and routing them completely.
These immortal spirits were actually cultivating the new Dao system! Though lower in realm, their strength was formidable, enough to sweep through their adversaries.
Seeing that his troops could not prevail, an Immortal Monarch among the Immortal Court forces let out a thunderous roar. Activating the manifestation of Heaven and Earth, his body ballooned to a colossal size. Braving the barrage of treasures and divine abilities, he charged into the fray, bent on slaughter.
Just then, a tall man crowned with a purple-gold headpiece swept onto the battlefield. His eyes bore double pupils that twisted heaven and earth, grinding the Immortal Monarch's body and primordial spirit to shreds in an instant, raining blood down from the sky!
Seeing this, the armored warriors of the Immortal Court lost all will to fight, abandoning hundreds of corpses as they fled in panic.
The immortal spirits gave chase, sweeping off like a howling gale. Before long, they returned victorious to salvage immortal artifacts and armor from the corpses, while others subdued immortal beasts in high spirits.
Suddenly, someone among the immortal spirits caught sight of Xu Ying. The warriors froze in place, overcome with excitement, and someone rushed off to report to the double-pupiled man.
The man started slightly, then gave a few quiet orders to a soldier.
The soldier flew over at once, bowing respectfully. "Benefactor, Emperor Chonghua requests your presence."
Xu Ying smiled. "You have the wrong person. I am not your benefactor."
At that moment, the Double-Pupiled Emperor Yao Chonghua walked over, sizing him up. Waving a hand to disperse the soldiers encircling Xu Ying, he said in a deep voice, "He is not your Benefactor Xu Ying. Disperse, all of you; do not crowd around here."
Doubtful yet compliant, the warriors stepped back. The current Xu Ying was neither a thirteen-or-fourteen-year-old youth nor a young man in his twenties; his features had gradually matured, differing somewhat from both his boyhood and his early adulthood.
The Double-Pupiled Emperor saluted Xu Ying and said, "This brother bears a striking resemblance to their benefactor. Years ago, they followed me in raising a rebellion against the Immortal Court on the fringes of the Immortal Realm. That benefactor of mine was the Celestial Venerable of the Dou Bureau, who led an army to encircle and capture me, ordering the execution of the soldiers who followed me as well. Yet he did not truly strike them down. Instead, he sent them to the lower realm, telling them to conceal their names and await the day I would rise again. Only after braving countless hardships to find them did I understand Xu Ying's painstaking intentions."
Xu Ying knew he was referring to what his first incarnation had done, and said, "The man who saved them never took such matters to heart..."
The Double-Pupiled Emperor replied solemnly, "Yet to us, it was the grace of salvation. What's more, this Xu Ying is the Dao Ancestor of the new Dao, who pioneered the path, transmitted the teachings to the Ancestral Court, and blessed countless generations."
Xu Ying replied, "This Xu Ying does not keep that in his heart either."
The Double-Pupiled Emperor said, "Mingzun Meng Shanming may have plotted to usurp the lineage, but justice resides in the hearts of the people. Ever since Dao Ancestor Xu saved us, these soldiers have cast golden statues for him and offered incense. After his passing, we revered him even more as the Dao Ancestor, the Patriarch of Myriad Daos, praying that he might return from death. Please follow me, friends. I will take you to pay homage to this Dao Ancestor."
Yuan Weiyang looked toward Xu Ying. After a momentary hesitation, Xu Ying nodded gently.
They followed the Double-Pupiled Emperor to Chonghua Immortal City. As the rebel army had no fixed abode, they had constructed an immortal city capable of taking flight at any moment to avoid being besieged.
Within Chonghua Immortal City stood a temple enshrining divine statues of Xu Ying: one of a boy, and one of a young man.
Seeing this, Uncle Xiao remarked, "They're different."
The Double-Pupiled Emperor replied, "In the eyes of others, the young man Xu Ying and the boy Xu Ying are one and the same. There is no difference."
Hearing this, Xu Ying felt a tremor in his heart.
Suddenly, vast and boundless divine power surged forth from those two divine statues, rushing toward Xu Ying and coiling around his form.
At that moment, across the universe, the incense smoke qi of countless Qi Refiners coalesced into a divine power, arriving in silence to wrap around Xu Ying, making the incense qi behind him ever denser as divinity gradually revealed itself!
The Double-Pupiled Emperor gazed at the divine statues and said, "Years ago, when I underwent my tribulation in Kunlun and ascended, Xu Qing, the patriarch of the Xu clan, had a new son and invited me to name him. I plucked the heavenly lightning from my tribulation, drew a thunderbolt mark between the child's brows, and gave him the name 'Ying'. Xu Ying—where there is a Xu, there must be an Ying! When a promise is made, it must be answered!"
"With this surging divine power, has Dao Ancestor Xu sensed the wishes of hundreds of millions of Qi Refiners?"
He asked the divine statues, "Their vows have been made—when will the Dao Ancestor come to answer them?"
Xu Ying stood quietly behind him. After a long silence, he said, "Your vows have been made; I shall surely answer!"
Chapter 630