Setting aside their past disagreements, Li Daoyan's demeanor was vastly different now. Karmic luck surged around him, and his divine abilities and arts far surpassed those of years past. For a time, Feng Hanzhou was completely suppressed; even when the immortal sword in his grip clashed against the golden, radiant imperial sovereign sword in Li Daoyan's hand, the blade trembled violently, forced onto the back foot.
Yet Feng Hanzhou was one who grew stronger the fiercer the opposition. Gritting his teeth, he fought desperately, each strike more ferocious than the last, unleashing the supreme techniques of the Sword Palace one after another.
Li Daoyan had originally intended to hold back at every turn, but seeing Feng Hanzhou actually fighting as if staking his very life, anger flared within him as well. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Feng Hanzhou would risk his life against him for Qingming!
Thus, the affection of their past gradually morphed into hatred—and the deeper that past affection had been, the sharper the hatred became.
The two battled with escalating brutality, tearing heaven and shattering earth until the Immortal Heaven itself shook.
By this point, Li Daoyan had no desire for further words, managing only a venomous curse: "You fickle, faithless wretch of a swordsman! I must have been blind back then to ever befriend you!"
Feng Hanzhou replied coldly, "They are better than you. Can you blame me for that?"
Li Daoyan never expected him to say something like that with such brazen self-righteousness. He spoke no more, pouring all his might into ruthlessly hacking and slashing Feng Hanzhou down.
Houtu's emergence roiled the Immortal Heaven in an instant, drawing the gaze of nearly every immortal down toward the Mountain Domain. Yet the moment they saw that burst of dark yellow light piercing straight into the Immortal Heaven, their divine souls twinged with agony. Hurriedly averting their eyes, none dared look directly upon Houtu.
None had expected that Wei Yuan, who had spent decades managing the Mountain Domain—whom everyone assumed had claimed so vast a territory out of insatiable greed—had actually summoned Houtu.
Doubts rose in the hearts of many veteran immortals. Houtu required karmic luck and merit above all else. To successfully summon Houtu, grand formations and spirituality were secondary; what was needed most was merit first, and karmic luck second.
When the immortals considered the horrifying amount of karmic luck needed for Houtu to manifest in the world, their first reaction was that it was impossible. That required karmic luck counted in the tens of billions!
Yet with Wei Yuan, miracles always seemed to occur where karmic luck was concerned. The immortals suddenly started in shock: Did Wei Yuan actually possess tens of billions in karmic luck? Since when?
The answer was self-evident—after all, Houtu was standing right there.
As for merit, that was even more terrifying. However, Wei Yuan had restarted a world beyond the heavens; such merit was second only to the creation of heaven and earth, and strictly speaking, surpassed even the merit of the ancient sacred physiques creating humanity. Thus, no matter how much merit Wei Yuan had in hand, it was not surprising—not to mention there was also Chuhe.
At this moment, Houtu was clearly only an illusory silhouette constructed of merit and karmic luck. It would take at least several days for her to fully condense into a physical form and truly descend into this realm.
If Houtu were truly allowed to descend—the immortals dared not think further. Many rose to their feet.
In the Mountain Domain, Wei Yuan suddenly raised his head, the crimson light in his eyes now too dense to conceal.
Gazing up at the Immortal Heaven, he sneered, "Houtu is an innate sacred physique deity of the human race. You mere immortals had best think carefully about what consequences await if you strike at her!"
The immortals shuddered at once, only now recalling the dreadful karmic repercussions of slaying an innate deity. However, all the human race's innate deities had fallen during the Yuangu era, while others were seemingly absent from this realm and could only be found in legends. It thus took a moment for the immortals to process and recall the various tales of the Yuangu era.
Slaying an innate deity incurred an exceptionally horrific backlash. There had even been an extraordinarily mighty innate deity who had slaughtered too many other innate deities, only to fall from the backlash.
The redness in Wei Yuan's eyes deepened further as an undisguised sneer surfaced. He continued, "To put it bluntly, once Houtu descends, even if she wants to kill people, it won't be your turn in the first few batches. The real targets haven't even taken the stage, so what are you all getting so agitated about? As dignified immortals, are you truly so easily led by others' karma?"
The immortals were startled once more. Many hurriedly examined their minds, only then discovering that their thoughts had indeed been abnormal.
Just then, an elderly man of otherworldly, daoist bearing materialized before Wei Yuan, offering a smiling greeting. Yet even as Wei Yuan searched his memory and records, he found no information on this old man.
After exchanging courtesies, the old man remarked, "Fellow Daoist, this avatar of yours is in harmony with your true self yet distinct, simultaneously separate and united. It truly plunders the supreme craftsmanship of heaven and earth; it must be foremost in the present age."
A broad smile visibly bloomed on Wei Yuan's face. "How did you tell I was an avatar?"
Stroking his beard, the old man replied, "Very simply: if the Realm Lord's true body were here, he would not speak thus. He would not point out the consequences; he would merely lay a trap and wait for us to strike first. Once everyone fell into the trap, only then would he emerge to stomp us ruthlessly underfoot, scattering shadow-recording orbs far and wide to capture our disgraceful states."
In the world beyond the heavens, Wei Yuan beneath the Tree of the Great Dao looked thoughtful. Was he really like that?
The shadow-recording orbs were true enough, but those were to record Wei Yuan himself, with no thought given to whatever was in the background. Still, the old man's interpretation was hardly surprising; Qingming's research had long pointed out that so long as people knew a shadow-recording orb was rolling, every insignificant nobody would convince themselves they were the main character.
The red-eyed Wei Yuan smiled. "Fellow Daoist, your read of people is indeed keen. However, you got one detail wrong."
"Where am I mistaken? I would gladly learn," the old man said earnestly.
Wei Yuan said, "If the true body were here, he indeed would not have warned you. But he wouldn't bother setting traps either; he would simply wait for you to descend from the Immortal Heaven and swat you dead on the spot. Back then, he never needed a second strike to kill miscellaneous immortals; slaying an immortal now would be like slaughtering a chicken—"
For reasons unknown, the moment those words left his mouth, a dense wave of malice radiated from somewhere within the void.
The old man noticed nothing, asking thoughtfully, "Then for an event of such magnitude, why has the Realm Lord not come?"
Wei Yuan said, "The true body? He cannot return to this realm right now."
A subtle gleam flickered deep within the old man's pupils as he pursued, "The Realm Lord wields heaven-reaching might. What matter could possibly prevent even him from returning?"
Wei Yuan said, "There are many reasons. In any case, the true body cannot return. But whether he returns or not makes no difference; once Houtu descends, miscellaneous immortals will still be swatted dead at a whim."
The old man said slowly, "Then it seems we truly cannot permit Houtu to descend."
Growing somewhat impatient at last, Wei Yuan said, "Fellow Daoist, you've coaxed out all the information you wanted. Isn't it time to make your move?"
The old man laughed heartily and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken. This old man came merely to forge a good affinity. Fighting and killing is business for the young."
With that, he actually turned around and truly walked away.
Crimson light swirled in Wei Yuan's eyes. Several times the thought of striking crossed his mind, but ultimately he stayed his hand.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch who had broken free was barreling forward at breakneck speed, now less than ten thousand li from the center of the grand formation. With an immortal's speed, such a distance was a matter of merely a few sticks of incense.
Yet a streak of azure sword light tore through the void, barring his way.
The Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch did not pause in the slightest. Relying on his colossal size, he plowed straight forward, attempting to barrel through the azure sword light. Sure enough, the sword light sent shattered rock flying in all directions, carving a gouge tens of zhang long and several zhang deep into the immortal physique. On a human immortal, the might of that strike would have sufficed to sever the immortal body in two, but the Mountain Folk immortal physique was simply too massive; the strike only amounted to a bruising injury to bone and sinew.
The Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch continued charging madly forward when suddenly Zhang Sheng stepped out from the void ahead. She pointed a finger, and countless immortal swords swept toward him like a deluge—tens of thousands of them!
Instantly, the Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch was engulfed as if trapped in a raging tempest. His immortal physique was sheared by countless immortal swords, sparks spraying in all directions and broken stone piercing the air! His forward momentum ground to a halt, forcing him to channel immortal power to protect himself.
Only after a considerable while did the barrage of tens of thousands of immortal swords subside. A full zhang of rock had been shaved cleanly off the front half of the Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch's body!
Her expression serene, Zhang Sheng pointed toward the sky, and once more countless immortal swords manifested in the air.
The Mountain Folk Immortal Monarch finally halted his stride, knowing that if he continued charging recklessly forward, he would be carved to death by this young girl's myriad swords before he even laid eyes on Houtu.
Chapter 1493