Rumble!
A blinding bolt of lightning struck Kunlun Nine Layered Islands, hitting a towering tree at the edge of the outermost island. Its entire emerald canopy, like a precious green parasol, was blasted into pieces and came fluttering down.
"It has already been several days, yet the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy is still in such unbearable chaos."
"That Yuan Tianyi truly is a once-in-an-age figure. We are already struggling just to repair these shattered formation eyes and withstand heaven and earth's might here, yet he alone casually broke our Great Sumeru Positive and Negative Nine Palaces Formation... It is said even Master was gravely wounded..."
Upon the scattered rocks of the shore, less than thirty meters from that giant tree, two Kunlun disciples could not help thinking this.
Both Kunlun disciples wore purple Daoist robes and had faces like polished jade. They appeared to be only in their twenties. The one on the left was named Chenshui, and the one on the right was Ding Yuan. Both were personal disciples of Jiuba.
Before them, the sea churned in a rapidly spinning vortex. Yet the racing currents frequently collided chaotically, throwing up monstrous waves as though some enormous beast beneath the sea were stirring wind and raising waves.
This place was one of the thirteen thousand formation eyes of Kunlun's Great Sumeru Positive and Negative Nine Palaces Formation.
Kunlun's mountain-protecting formation used its thirteen thousand formation eyes to communicate with heaven and earth's might, forming a formation of immense power. After Yuan Tianyi forcibly shattered it through overwhelming means that day, more than half of those formation eyes had been destroyed. Chenshui and Ding Yuan were now responsible for repairing this one.
A transparent rosy radiance stubbornly held back the crashing waves and the fierce energy surging up from the seabed. It also parted the seawater, revealing the dim depths below.
Calming wind and avoiding water—these two spells were not considered profound arts among Kunlun disciples. However, the farther one descended through the parted sea, the greater the pressure became. Moreover, the gale winds and monstrous waves caused by the wildly chaotic Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy possessed terrifying force. Chenshui had to exert his full strength merely to keep the transparent radiant barrier he had cast from being breached.
"Junior Brother Chenshui, I need the time it takes an incense stick to burn." Ding Yuan swept his Spiritual Sense over the area and discovered that the five-colored jade stones arranged upon the seabed formation diagram according to the Positive and Negative Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams had all shattered.
"I can hold on for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Senior Brother Ding Yuan, be careful."
"Good." Ding Yuan said no more. With a flicker of his body, he shot directly toward the shadowy seabed.
Chenshui moved as well. Rather than remaining on shore, he rode the wind to hover above the abyss he had opened, his expression grave as his gaze remained fixed upon Ding Yuan's purple figure rapidly descending.
Although Chenshui knew that with Ding Yuan's cultivation, Ding Yuan would have no trouble protecting himself even if Chenshui could not hold out for a while, the materials needed to set up a formation eye were precious. Furthermore, an improper arrangement could very likely trigger changes in the heavens.
Within the shadowy abyss, a hazy azure light suddenly flared. The moment Chenshui saw it, he knew Ding Yuan was being exceedingly cautious and had already released his personal treasure, the Azure Dragon Ring.
"Done!" Ding Yuan had said he needed the time it took an incense stick to burn, but after only about half that time, Chenshui saw five-colored radiance surging from the seabed. The pressure upon his barrier abruptly lessened, and the surrounding sea instantly calmed.
Chenshui's heart immediately relaxed, for he knew this formation eye had been fully repaired.
Ding Yuan, enveloped in hazy azure radiance, rushed up from the bottomless abyss. In the blink of an eye, he was only several dozen meters from Chenshui. Chenshui could even see the joy on Ding Yuan's face—but at that moment, disaster suddenly struck!
"Hee hee hee hee!"
An eerie, monstrous laugh seemed to ring directly within Chenshui's mind. Before either he or Ding Yuan could react, a stream of ink-black primordial energy burst from the wall-like seawater to one side. It merely pounced upon Ding Yuan and curled around him, and Ding Yuan's body immediately withered before falling into the abyss below.
"An evil fiend actually dared trespass into Kunlun?" Chenshui jolted awake, icy light exploding in his eyes. Without a second thought, clang! Sun fire roiled, and a streak of purple-red radiance slashed toward the black cloud that still spiraled in place.
That purple-red radiance was Chenshui's prized magic treasure, the Purple Gold Sun Fire Ruler. It had been forged from purple-gold metal essence tempered with True Sun Fire, and specialized in breaking mysterious yin and foul energies. Chenshui's Primordial Spirit had sensed profound yin fiendish aura within that black cloud, so he immediately released this treasure.
With a hiss, the Purple Gold Sun Fire Ruler sliced through the black cloud. It instantly made a sound like boiling oil splashed onto red-hot iron, splitting into two. "What kind of demonic art is this? It is actually unafraid of my Purple Gold Sun Fire Ruler!" Yet Chenshui's pupils abruptly contracted. After being cleaved in two, the black cloud did not disperse. Instead, it lunged at his face. This is bad! Chenshui's Primordial Spirit shuddered violently, and that thought became the last thought in his mind.
The two black clouds seemed to bore directly into the seven apertures of Chenshui's face and vanished.
Chenshui's eyes rolled white, and his body trembled. When his pupils returned to normal, his gaze was already filled with vigilance and smug satisfaction.
"The cultivation and magic treasures of Kunlun disciples are indeed quite formidable. They destroyed a third of my Yin Fiend Demonic Qi. Yet these two had far too little experience fighting enemies. Compared to Yan Yunming and the others, who have traveled the world more often, the difference is heaven and earth. It is like guarding mountains of gold and silver without knowing how to use them, only to starve to death in poverty!"
With a contemptuous snort, "Chenshui" swept his gaze around and spoke disdainfully.
In a single exchange, Ding Yuan, whose cultivation was not weak, had been killed, while Chenshui's body had been seized by the black cloud!
"So the ninth island at the center is the forbidden ground. There are thirteen restrictions set up there, and surely members of the Ten Great Golden Immortals are guarding it as well..." "Chenshui's" eyes rolled wildly while his limbs moved without pattern, as though the black cloud possessing Chenshui's body were adapting to it—or reading the thoughts within Chenshui's Sea of Consciousness.
"With my cultivation, I would certainly find it difficult to infiltrate Kunlun's forbidden ground. Fortunately, Yuan Tianyi has turned Kunlun into such a mess. At least I now know the methods for entering and leaving Kunlun. I should leave now and make long-term plans." After his eyes darted about for a while, "Chenshui" paused and made up his mind. But just as his gaze turned toward the sea and he intended to slip into the depths and quietly depart, a cold snort suddenly sounded in his mind. "Yin Mei Luo Tian Great Law. You are Old Ghost Yuanchen of Fengdu Mountain."
Though the voice was low, to "Chenshui," it was no different from a thunderbolt. "Who is it?!" His entire body stiffened as his gaze swept around in alarm and uncertainty. Yet no figure could be seen anywhere his eyes reached.
"A ruined wretch like you dares invade Kunlun and kill Kunlun disciples? If I do not make your body and spirit perish together, how can Kunlun continue to stand in this world?"
"Chenshui's" expression changed drastically. Seven streams of black Killing Intent suddenly rushed from the apertures of his face, fleeing for their lives in seven different directions!
The one who had instantly killed Ding Yuan, extinguished Chenshui's soul, and seized his body was Yuanchen of Fengdu Mountain.
Yuanchen's Yin Mei Luo Tian Great Law was refined from yin souls and separated Baleful Intent. The Primordial Spirit could attach itself to it, leaving it formless and bodiless, difficult for ordinary spells and magic treasures to harm. Once it pounced upon someone, its Yin Fiend Demonic Qi could dissolve the target's soul and seize their body. It was incomparably vicious. Yuanchen had some reputation in the cultivation world, but he was now within Kunlun. Though he did not know who had spoken, merely hearing that voice gave Yuanchen the feeling that he could not possibly contend with its owner. Thus, he immediately fled for his life.
With this Yin Mei Luo Tian Great Law, the Primordial Spirit could divide into seven, and being formless and bodiless, it fled with the speed of a Nascent Soul's escape—crossing a thousand miles in an instant.
So long as even one of the seven divided Primordial Spirits escaped, his body and spirit would not perish together.
Yet the seven black clouds had barely shot out in all directions when they seemed to strike invisible walls. With a bang, all of them exploded in midair and were instantly reduced to ash by white flames that flashed into existence without warning.
"Even ruined trash like this dares come to Kunlun to run wild."
The towering tree struck by lightning suddenly split open down the middle, and a young man stepped out.
This young man's clothes were already tattered, his hair disheveled and his face grimy. From afar, he looked every inch a beggar. Yet when he slightly raised his head and walked forward at an unhurried pace, each step seemed to bloom with white radiance beneath his feet, condensing into lotus platforms.
It was actually the legendary realm of lotus blossoms blooming beneath every step, a state only cultivators with peerless cultivation were said to be able to attain!
"So... even the Great Sumeru Positive and Negative Nine Palaces Formation was broken!" Seeing the towering waves and flashing lightning everywhere within his sight, the young man who had instantly slain Yuanchen sharply turned to look toward Kunlun's forbidden ground—the ninth island. Dazzling divine light burst from his eyes, impossible to meet directly!
"Martial uncle Xie Yue has emerged from seclusion!"
"...Oh no, martial uncle Xie Yue, he...!"
"..."
This young man was none other than Xie Yue, one of Kunlun's Ten Golden Immortals, who had Cultivated the Perfected Lotus Platform Dharma Flower Art and entered seclusion fifty years ago!
Just as Xie Yue instantly destroyed Yuanchen's seven divided Primordial Spirits, numerous streaks of radiance surged toward this place and waves of startled cries rose. Yet he had already shot like a meteor into Kunlun's ninth island—the forbidden ground of Kunlun!
"Huang Wushen, Sect Master! Since you are the Sect Master appointed by Master, I will not contend with you. But you have brought Kunlun to such a state. If you do not give me an explanation, I will never let this matter rest!"
Xie Yue charged straight toward the forbidden ground. Before he even descended, his sharp and awe-inspiring voice rolled down from the ninth heavens.
That unyielding bearing bore some resemblance to Yuan Tianyi's solitary arrogance.
"Senior Brother, fifty years have passed, yet your temper remains the same." Within the ninth island, Huang Wushen, who had been sitting motionlessly before a mountain wall, sighed softly and rose to his feet.
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