A Big Trouble Falling From the Sky

Kunlun Mountain, the Three Pure Ones' Dojo.

Chen Song was sprawled out on his specially made rocking chair... playing dead.

Just then--

"Chii la--!"

The void in front of him tore open with a subtle, unannounced slit! This tear wasn't from powerful magic forcefully ripping it open; it was more like a mysterious causal pull, manifesting naturally.

A purplish mist, exuding an enticing Dao Charm, like a tired bird returning to its nest, "whooshed" precisely into Chen Song's brow, instantly merging with his Primordial Spirit and disappearing! It even carried a hint of grievance and playfulness.

"Holy crap?! Again?!"

Chen Song jolted up from the rocking chair, feeling that familiar "trouble" he had gotten rid of was back in his mind! And this time, it seemed... more justified?

Before he could even curse, a crimson gourd flew out from the void rift. It spun and twirled, radiating an aura of sorrow, unwillingness, and a final trace of release, landing steadily in his arms. Faint spatial fluctuations, not yet fully settled, could even be felt on the gourd's surface.

The Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd!

Chen Song, holding this sudden "inheritance," was completely stunned.

"No... Dao Ancestor... Great Hongjun... Master! Is this 'seven-day no-reason return' service bugged?! How can it come with mandatory buybacks and free gifts?!" Chen Song's mind was in a frenzy of complaints, feeling that the Primordial Violet Qi had taken root even deeper in his Primordial Spirit, impossible to shake off.

Hongjun, in the Purple Heaven Palace, sneezed: "Achoo! I've already merged with the Dao, how could this happen?"

Chen Song's divine sense probed into the gourd. Sure enough, he felt an extremely faint residual soul aura filled with regret and unwillingness – it was Hongyun!

"Senior Hongyun... you... alas..." Chen Song's mood was complicated. He had a good impression of Senior Hongyun, and seeing him end up like this now, he couldn't help but sigh.

...I'm still a divider line...

Just as Chen Song was frantically dealing with the Primordial Violet Qi and the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd on Kunlun Mountain, while secretly nurturing Hongyun's residual soul, Zhenyuanzi, far away at the Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, felt a sudden jolt in his heart!

"Crack!"

A spiritual jade pendant he was fiddling with shattered without warning. At the same time, the Earth Book, connected to his mind, spontaneously emerged from his body. Its pages fluttered without wind, emitting a low, mournful hum. The usually thick Earthen Yellow light flickered unstably, as if mourning something.

Zhenyuanzi's face instantly turned deathly pale. He abruptly stood up, an unprecedented sense of panic and heartache gripping him.

"Hongyun... my friend..."

He didn't even dare to dwell on it. He immediately sat cross-legged, rapidly forming hand seals. Dao Charm surged around him, connecting with the earth veins of Longevity Mountain. He fully activated the Earth Book, pushing his heavenly secrets deduction to the limit, regardless of the cost!

"Earth Book! Manifest!"

The Earth Book erupted with brilliant light, and phantoms of countless mountains and earth veins flowed within it. Blurred images and fragments of chaotic energy surged into Zhenyuanzi's Primordial Spirit like a tide.

So what if heavenly secrets were obscured? What does that have to do with my Earth Book!

He saw Hongyun's cheerful back as he left Wuzhuang Temple... he saw the blinding golden light and the silhouette of the Chaos Bell suddenly appear in a desolate mountain range... he saw that venomous, chilling dark light... he saw the desperate outburst of the Soul Scattering Red Sand... and finally, Hongyun's roar filled with unwillingness and regret, and the heartbreaking void as his true spirit shattered and his causal lines snapped...

"Pfft--!"

Zhenyuanzi violently spat out a mouthful of vital blood, staining his daoist robe. His body trembled violently, his once ruddy face instantly turning ashen, as if he had aged ten thousand years in an instant.

It wasn't the backlash from deducing heavenly secrets, but the despair and pain of his closest friend's death, transmitted from the images, piercing his heart like countless steel needles.

"Di! Jun! Tai! Yi! Kun! Peng!"

Zhenyuanzi uttered each name, grinding them out through clenched teeth, each word containing bone-deep hatred and world-shattering killing intent.

The originally peaceful and gentle Earthen energy around him now felt like an erupting volcano, heavy and violent. The entire Wuzhuang Temple trembled slightly under his rage. The Ginseng Fruit Tree rustled, as if weeping for its eternally departed old friend.

Qingfeng and Mingyue, the two young attendants, were so frightened they prostrated themselves on the ground, having never seen their master so distraught, so... grief-stricken.

"My friend Hongyun... it's my fault... I was too weak... I couldn't protect you!" Zhenyuanzi's tears flowed freely, his voice choked with endless self-blame and sorrow.

He remembered his repeated warnings when Hongyun left, his carefree smile, and their countless eons of companionship, of shared trust and loyalty...

Now, it had all turned to dust.

Grief washed over him like a cold tide, but with it surged an even more fervent, more resolute fire of vengeance!

He slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes turning as cold and sharp as eternal ice. He raised his hand towards the void where Hongyun's aura had last dissipated, and with his own Great Dao, with the earth veins of Longevity Mountain, and in the name of the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, he made the most solemn oath:

"Heavenly Dao above, earth veins as witness! I, Zhenyuanzi, swear here today that in this life, I will not rest until I face Di Jun, Tai Yi, and Kun Peng! Even if I shatter the Heavenly Court and stain the North Sea with blood, I will slay these three villains and avenge my dear friend Hongyun! May heaven and earth bear witness to this oath!"

The oath echoed like thunder above Longevity Mountain, resonating with the earth veins. The Heavenly Dao seemed to sense it, descending a trace of killing intent.

After making his oath, Zhenyuanzi forcibly suppressed the churning blood essence and surging killing intent. He knew that the Heavenly Court was powerful, and the North Sea was perilous. Revenge would not be achieved in a day. He needed a plan, he needed strength.

He glanced at the mournful Earth Book, then at the swaying Ginseng Fruit Tree in the temple. His gaze became deep and resolute once more.

"Qingfeng, Mingyue."

"Your disciples are here!" the two attendants quickly responded.

"Seal the mountain gate tightly and activate the mountain protection formation! From this day forward, Wuzhuang Temple will refuse all outside guests! Your master is going into seclusion!"

"Yes, Master!"

Zhenyuanzi's sleeve swept out, and his figure vanished from the spot, entering the core of the earth veins deep within Wuzhuang Temple. He intended to use the power of the Earth Book to refine the earth veins of Longevity Mountain to a deeper level, enhance his strength, and simultaneously deduce how to deal with Tai Yi, who possessed the Chaos Bell, and the powerful Demon Race Heavenly Court.

Longevity Mountain, once a blessed land for immortals, was now shrouded in an atmosphere of killing intent and sorrow. The rage of the Ancestor of Earth Immortals had been ignited, waiting only for the opportune moment to engulf the heavens.

Meanwhile, on Kunlun Mountain, a certain slacker who had just "inherited" a huge problem was completely unaware. He was munching on Big White's freshly stir-fried five-spice pine nuts, muttering to the residual soul in the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd:

"Senior Hongyun, why did you have to go looking for trouble... Now look, your home's been robbed, hasn't it? Sigh, just stay here peacefully. Although the conditions here are average, it's all-inclusive... uh, inclusive of nurturing. It'll probably take a while for your old brother Zhenyuanzi to get revenge for you... Speaking of which, can you grow something in this gourd? It's a waste of space just nurturing souls..."

However, Chen Song still decided to make a trip to Wuzhuang Temple. He was afraid that Zhenyuanzi, blinded by rage, might do something irrational.

It absolutely wasn't because he was running out of Ginseng Fruits and wanted to restock at Wuzhuang Temple.