Five Elements Crown

What utter chaos! Standing atop the peak and taking in the sight behind the mountain, the exact same thought crossed everyone's minds simultaneously. Even from the highest vantage point, very little could be seen clearly. Within the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, not only did thick clouds and mist swirl, but within that sea of fog lay a riot of dazzling colors. The radiance of all manner of restrictions and spirit arrays flickered erratically, while countless flying swords drifted aimlessly through the void—the entire place was plunged into turmoil. Even channeling power into their eyes, the cultivators could only vaguely make out layered mountain silhouettes. This lent the Wuxiang Immortal Sect an even more enigmatic, impenetrable aura. The summit had been carved into a flat platform. Judging by the remaining traces, it had originally served as the entrance into the sect. Several teleportation arrays were built across the platform, likely leading to different locations within the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, once arranged in meticulous order. Behind each teleportation array stood an inscribed stone stele. However, these arrays had long been destroyed from the other side and were impossible to repair. Though the steles must have once been protected by restrictions as well, now only broken remnants remained. From the surviving characters carved into the broken steles, words such as "Valley," "Hall," and "Pavilion" could be discerned, but most were mere fragments, leaving them to only guess at the functions of those places. Near the center of the platform, several teleportation arrays clearly occupied critical positions. One of the steles happened to preserve intact characters—Earth Phase Hall! Four other teleportation arrays, together with the one for the Earth Phase Hall, flanked and guarded a single array at the center. Su Zinan pointed toward these arrays. "According to what you fellow Daoists said earlier, these should be the core of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. This nameless teleportation array is encircled by the Halls of the Five Elements, which shows how exalted its status is. The Wuxiang Immortal Sect's supreme treasure, the Five Elements Crown, must be kept here, yes?" As he spoke, he cast an inquiring gaze toward Zhu Wudao, the scar-faced man, and the others. The scar-faced man paid him no heed. Unwilling to fall out with Su Zinan just yet, Zhu Wudao observed the sect grounds while answering, "Back when the Wuxiang Immortal Sect met with disaster and was annihilated, its heritage was scattered. The Five Elements Crown vanished without a trace, and no one knows where it ended up. It might still be preserved somewhere within this immortal estate, gathering dust, or it might have already been taken outside..." "In that case, the Five Elements Crown is an unowned object; whoever obtains it owns it. When the time comes, I trust you will not claim it has belonged to you since ancient times and hassle me endlessly." Su Zinan paused, and seeing Zhu Wudao nod, he smiled with satisfaction. "When Foster Father told me the secrets of the cultivation world, he never mentioned a single word about the Five Elements Crown. Had you all not spoken with such certainty, I would hardly have believed that the sect-guarding treasure of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect was an item of so little renown." "If it were known to all, how would this old man have dared use the Five Elements Crown to rally the sect's descendants?" Zhu Wudao seemed to have spotted what he was looking for, staring intently in one direction. "The Five Elements Crown is merely one of the sect-guarding treasures of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, and the least known. Back then, only the true disciples of each lineage were aware of it..." As it turned out, the grotesque statue worshipped by the Gu God Cult wore a crown pieced together from five crude jade tablets, which was precisely the depiction of the Five Elements Crown. Zhu Wudao had propagated the Gu God Cult, using the image of the Five Elements Crown to summon the hidden heirs of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. While Zhu Wudao was scanning his surroundings, the others were also trying hard to distinguish the various sights within the sect and guess what kinds of secret grounds they were, though with little success. The only certainty was that to the northeast lay heavy immortal restrictions and towering layers of peaks. Even the surrounding chaos could not completely mask its ethereal, immortal aura; it was unquestionably an important area of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect! The Five Phases Halls were very likely in that direction. Having identified his objective, Zhu Wudao took the lead and dashed down the mountain. Judging from his performance along the way, no one present surpassed his understanding of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, so the others immediately followed close behind him down the mountain. "Eh? The flight-prohibiting restriction has weakened." Not far into their descent, Mo Xingdao was the first to notice the change. He leaped upward, rising two zhang off the ground before feeling pressure and the sensation of being locked onto by flying swords. The others tested it one after another and found it was indeed so. His gaze fixed ahead, the sword-bearer pondered and said, "The chaos of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect isn't merely on the surface. The restrictions and spirit arrays here cannot be judged by common sense either. In some places the restrictive force is weaker, allowing one to fly a bit higher, while in others it is stronger." "Indeed!" Zhu Wudao replied without slowing or looking back. "It is best for everyone to remain cautious. If an anomaly is triggered, it will affect the other fellow Daoists as well." Taking his advice, everyone continued flying low to the ground. They sped to the foot of the mountain. Below stretched a vast, desolate stony shoal that extended beyond sight, strewn with gravel and devoid of vegetation. Flying into the stony shoal, Zhu Wudao suddenly halted. Glancing down, he reached out and picked up a piece of pale-white gravel. How was this any mere stone? It was clearly a shard of some meticulously refined spiritual material, yet it did not resemble the fragment of a magic treasure. Across the boundless stony shoal, such shards lay everywhere, innumerable. The others also realized the true nature of the shoal. Right at that moment, the shards covering the shoal suddenly trembled slightly. A muffled rumbling sound came from underground, like the pulsing of the earth. "What is that sound?" Su Zinan's expression shifted slightly, a foreboding premonition rising within him. Though he was the successor of a Deity Transformation expert, he did not dare take things lightly in the Wuxiang Immortal Sect; this was far more perilous than a mere Deity Transformation cultivation ground, harboring far too many unknowns. The tremors from underground grew increasingly violent. *Bang!* The ground suddenly exploded. Dense explosions detonated across the stony shoal in rapid succession. Amidst the continuous bangs, shards flew in all directions as bizarre, misshapen shadows burst out. Before these shadows appeared, Zhu Wudao and the others had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of any living creature. Bursting from the stony shoal, the shadows uttered no sound and gave off no conspicuous aura. They all turned in unison toward Zhu Wudao and the others. "Battle array puppets!" Zhu Wudao recognized their origin, his expression sinking. The shadows were in fact puppets crafted by the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, built in various forms to achieve optimal coordination in battle arrays. Pure killing machines born for war arrays, the moment they sensed intruders, they would launch indiscriminate attacks against all foes. Although Zhu Wudao possessed the sect's inheritance, he could not control the immortal estate, and these battle array puppets could not possibly recognize him. The puppets' eyes were hollow and lifeless. Stared down by so many puppets, even cultivators of their formidable prowess could not help feeling a tightness in their chests. The next instant, an overwhelming barrage of whistling winds filled the air! *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* Darkness seemed to fall before everyone's eyes as the battle array puppets surged forward like a tide, blanketing the sky above the stony shoal in a black mass. With their sharp spiritual senses, they could tell that the individual strength of these puppets was not particularly great; many were missing limbs, battered and broken, unable to form a complete formation, and posed no fatal threat to their lives. However, there were simply too many puppets, and with their helpers lagging behind, each cultivator had to fight alone. "Charge!" Without needing Zhu Wudao to tell them, the others understood they had only one choice. In an instant, Su Zinan and the others summoned their respective magic treasures and unleashed their divine abilities, plunging into the stony shoal to carve a path through the puppets. They were all top-tier experts; a wave of a hand could annihilate a cluster of puppets, shattering them back into fragments. Yet the puppets in the shoal seemed endless and impossible to wipe out. Having lost any foundation for cooperation, they guarded against one another and fought individually, which required considerable effort to manage. Su Zinan moved neither too fast nor too slow, keeping his distance from everyone, including Mo Xingdao. Raising his right hand slightly, five dragon sinews twined around his fingertips, attached to a dragon sinew mesh. Like a butterfly fluttering through flowers, the mesh wrapped around batches of puppets; as the sinews snapped taut, the puppets were strangled into pieces. Su Zinan showed no sign of strain. His eyes flickered as he quietly swept his gaze across the backs of Zhu Wudao and the others, deep in thought. Just then, Su Zinan had a sudden premonition and abruptly looked up! The clouds and mist overhead rippled as specks of light appeared, flickering faintly within the fog. They had just seen this phenomenon earlier—it was the sign that the flying swords had been disturbed and were about to strike! Entering the stony shoal had not only awakened the puppets, but had also stirred the flying sword slaughter array into motion. Cursing under his breath, Su Zinan flicked his fingers repeatedly. Beams of bloody light shot out and converged overhead into a blood tally. With a sharp crack, the blood tally shattered, sending a visible ring of blood sweeping outward. Touched by the blood light, the puppets' joints seemed to rust over, their movements abruptly slowing down. Su Zinan flicked his right hand sharply, spreading the dragon sinew mesh overhead to form a defensive canopy. At the same time, fierce howling erupted from above. A forest of flying swords plummeted from the sky! In an instant, everyone's silhouettes vanished, swallowed by the sea of swords and puppets. With the Golden Light Mirror hovering above his head, Zhu Wudao withstood the impact of the flying swords. Golden light radiated from his body, blasting away any puppets that drew near as he pushed resolutely toward his chosen direction. His goal was not the sect's core grounds to the northeast that everyone had assumed earlier; instead, he veered toward the true north. Ever since entering the stony shoal, the sword-bearer had been following close behind Zhu Wudao, wielding a heavy sword through repeated maneuvers. He executed saber arts with a sword. The techniques were bizarre, yet their power was formidable, and using them prevented anyone from discerning his true identity. The heavy sword struck with immense weight and power, tearing through the puppets as though entering an uninhabited realm. When the flying swords descended, the sword-bearer remained calm amidst the chaos, slashing swiftly around himself. Flashes of saber light flickered continuously, cloaking his figure within a cage of blades as he kept his senses locked on Zhu Wudao. On the other side, the scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling had somehow come together. A red flower hovered above Cave Master Qiling's head. When this treasure radiated light, it blasted puppets away; when it generated suction, it swallowed flying swords—its wonders seemed boundless. Yet the one who appeared most at ease was the scar-faced man. His feet did not touch the ground; instead, he rode a vine as thick as a flood dragon. Both ends of the vine pierced deep into the earth, carrying him undulating forward. Whenever puppets approached, slender tendrils shot out from the vine, wrapping around them and dragging them straight underground. When the flying swords rained down, his reaction mirrored Su Zinan's: countless tendrils shot upward, weaving a canopy of vines overhead. Glancing toward Zhu Wudao's position, the scar-faced man sent a voice transmission: "I must trouble Cave Master to keep close behind Old Demon Zhu. I will make a trip to the Wood Phase Hall first to retrieve that secret technique, and then immediately rush to meet you." Cave Master Qiling showed displeasure at this. Sensing his reluctance, the scar-faced man could only explain further: "Old Demon Zhu hides daggers behind his smiles. We must be on guard against him tampering with the teleportation array leading to Tiantong Hall once it is activated, lest we fall into his trap. That secret technique is also something we must secure at all costs—its importance is no less than that of the immortal hall. The destination Old Demon Zhu is heading to is in a different direction from the Wood Phase Hall, so we can only split our forces. I have already sworn inner demon and karma oaths to Cave Master, so what remains for you to worry about? Old Demon Zhu's disciples and grand-disciples haven't arrived yet; as long as Cave Master stays vigilant, you will be completely safe." In the end, Cave Master Qiling took the scar-faced man's advice and pursued Zhu Wudao alone. The scar-faced man gazed after him for a moment, then tapped his foot down firmly; the vine immediately turned around and surged toward the true east. The white-robed man brought up the rear behind everyone else. Once surrounded by puppets and flying swords, he proved even more cautious than the rest, immediately slowing his pace. Steam billowed from his body, coalescing into a thick armor forged of water. Though the armor appeared soft and pliant, amidst continuous soft impacts, both puppets and flying swords could only shake it without penetrating, keeping the white-robed man firmly protected inside. He moved unhurriedly, showing no intention of speeding up even after losing sight of Zhu Wudao. Eventually, he even came to a halt, waited for a while, and quietly slipped away from the others. Mo Xingdao was likely the one among them who knew the least about the Wuxiang Immortal Sect; he had only begun gathering information on it recently, whereas Su Zinan could at least hear some secrets from Old Demon Lu. His pact of cooperation with Su Zinan had ended after braving Wuwang Hall, and although they had formed a temporary alliance again upon receiving Zhu Wudao's invitation, Su Zinan was hardly going to share those secrets with him. Beyond the Five Elements Crown, he had no idea what other treasures the Wuxiang Immortal Sect held. Nevertheless, Mo Xingdao was certain of one thing: sticking close to Zhu Wudao could not be wrong! After a fierce charge, Zhu Wudao finally broke out of the stony shoal. Ahead lay a canyon overgrown with wild weeds, which looked far from welcoming. Paying no mind to the pursuers behind him, Zhu Wudao kept moving and charged into the canyon without hesitation; soon, the sword-bearer and Cave Master Qiling entered one after the other. When Mo Xingdao broke out of the shoal, he was surprised to find that he had lost track of Su Zinan. That man had surprisingly not followed behind, vanishing to who knew where. After a moment's contemplation, Mo Xingdao decided not to worry about Su Zinan and proceed on his own. ... Two figures flashed onto the mountain summit—none other than Daoist Zilei and Yue Lingtian. The two gazed down from above. The stony shoal had turned into a sea of puppets and flying swords, far too chaotic to discern the movements of the others. While Yue Lingtian examined the steles, Daoist Zilei retrieved a jade talisman, held it in his palm, and sensed its guidance for a moment. Saying "Let's go," he darted into the stony shoal, with Yue Lingtian following close behind. Before leaving, Yue Lingtian cast a glance back, frowning slightly. The cloud dragons had suffered an unexpected collapse; he wondered whether Hua Chenzi would still be able to arrive in time. ... Not long after Daoist Zilei and Yue Lingtian entered the stony shoal, Qin Sang reached the mountain summit and similarly sighed, "What utter chaos." "A flight restriction, a flying sword slaughter array, a sea of puppets... The enemy must have assaulted the sect's mountain gates back then. Likely, during the war, the mountain gates were forcibly sealed, causing these restrictions to fall dormant. Now that they have been restarted and sensed living breath, they've been reawakened..." Qin Sang analyzed what had transpired back then based on these clues. That the seniors of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect had sealed the gates in a rush indicated that many of the treasures inside had not been moved out in time. Scanning his surroundings, Qin Sang was in no hurry to head down, instead inspecting the inscriptions on the steles. "Earth Phase Hall... Some Tea Pavilion... Eh? Langhuan..." Qin Sang's eyes lit up. Legend had it that Langhuan was the Heavenly Emperor's library of books. The Wuxiang Immortal Sect would certainly not have named it arbitrarily; this place called Langhuan must be where the sect kept its scriptures!