Kunlun Mountain, Three Pure Ones Dojo.
Chen Song lay sprawled on his specially made rocking chair... playing dead.
Just then—
"Riiip—!"
The space before him split open without warning, revealing a tiny crack! It had not been forcibly torn apart by powerful magic; it was more like some mysterious karmic pull that had naturally manifested.
A hazy violet aura, radiating an enticing Dao resonance, darted out like a weary bird returning to its nest. With a "whoosh," it accurately—almost with a hint of grievance and shameless clinginess—burrowed into Chen Song's brow, instantly merging into his primordial spirit and vanishing!
"Holy shit?! Again?!"
Chen Song jolted upright from the rocking chair, feeling that familiar "trouble" he had thrown away return to his head! And this time... it seemed even more justified about it?
Before he could curse, another object flew from the spatial crack—a crimson gourd. It spun through the air, giving off an aura of sorrow, unwillingness, and final release, before landing steadily in his arms. A trace of unsettled spatial ripples still lingered on its surface.
The Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd!
Holding this unexpected "inheritance," Chen Song went completely numb.
What the hell... Dao Ancestor... Lord Hongjun... Grandmaster! Is there a bug in this seven-day no-questions-asked return policy?! Why does it come with mandatory repurchase and a free gift?! Chen Song ranted inwardly, feeling the Primordial Violet Qi take even deeper root in his primordial spirit, as though it simply could not be shaken off.
Hongjun sneezed in the Purple Void Palace. "Achoo! I've already merged with the Dao. How could this happen?"
Chen Song sent his divine sense into the gourd and, sure enough, sensed an exceedingly faint remnant soul brimming with regret and unwillingness. It was Hong Yun!
"Senior Hong Yun... you... sigh..." Chen Song felt conflicted. He had always thought well of Hong Yun, and seeing the senior reduced to such a state could not help but leave him sighing.
...I am still the dividing line...
While Chen Song was scrambling about on Kunlun Mountain, stowing away the Primordial Violet Qi and the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd while secretly nurturing Hong Yun's remnant soul, Zhenyuanzi, far away at Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, suddenly felt his heart lurch!
"Crack!"
A spirit-warming jade pendant he had been idly turning in his hand shattered without warning. At the same time, the Earth Book, which was linked to his mind, emerged from within him of its own accord. Its pages flipped without wind, releasing a low, mournful hum. Its once-heavy yellow earth light flickered uncertainly, as if it were grieving for something.
Zhenyuanzi's face turned deathly pale. He shot to his feet as an unprecedented terror and heart-wrenching pain seized him.
"Hong Yun... my friend..."
He did not even dare think too deeply. He immediately sat cross-legged, his hands rapidly forming seals as the Dao resonance around him linked with Longevity Mountain's earth veins. He pushed the Earth Book to its limits, heedless of the cost, to divine the Heavenly Secrets!
"Earth Book! Reveal!"
The Earth Book erupted with brilliant radiance. Countless phantom images of mountains, rivers, and earth veins flowed within it, while hazy scenes and chaotic fragments of aura surged into Zhenyuanzi's primordial spirit like a flood.
So what if the Heavenly Secrets were obscured? What did that have to do with my Earth Book?!
He saw Hong Yun's cheerful departing figure as he left Wuzhuang Temple... He saw the blinding golden light and the phantom of the Chaos Bell suddenly appear amid desolate mountains... He saw that venomous, cold black radiance... He saw the desperate eruption of soul-scattering red sand... Finally, he saw Hong Yun's roar of unwillingness and regret, followed by the heart-shattering void when his True Spirit scattered and the threads of karma broke...
"Puh—!"
Zhenyuanzi suddenly spat out a mouthful of heart's blood, staining the Daoist robe before him red. His body shook violently, and his once-ruddy face instantly turned ashen, as though he had aged ten thousand years in an instant.
It was not due to the backlash from divining the Heavenly Secrets, but because the despair and pain of his closest friend's final moments, carried through those images, stabbed into his heart like billions of steel needles.
"Di! Jun! Tai! Yi! Kun! Peng!"
Zhenyuanzi forced out those four names through clenched teeth, each word containing bone-deep hatred and overwhelming killing intent.
The gentle, warm earth aura around him became like a volcano on the verge of eruption—heavy and violent. The entire Wuzhuang Temple trembled faintly beneath his rage, while the Ginseng Fruit tree rustled as though it too were weeping for its forever-departed old friend.
Qingfeng and Mingyue were so frightened that they fell to their knees. They had never seen their master so distraught, so... heartbroken.
"Hong Yun, my friend... It is this elder brother who was useless... This elder brother failed to protect you!" Zhenyuanzi's old tears streamed down his face, his voice choked with endless self-reproach and sorrow.
He recalled his repeated warnings when Hong Yun had departed, remembered that carefree smile, and thought of the countless eras they had spent together as true friends who trusted one another with their lives...
Now, it had all become an illusion.
Sorrow engulfed him like an icy tide, but what rose in its wake was an even fiercer, more unwavering fire of vengeance!
He slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes became like ancient ice—cold and sharp. Facing the direction in the void where Hong Yun's aura had last dissipated, he raised a hand and, in the name of his own Great Dao, the earth veins of Longevity Mountain, and the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, made the most solemn of vows:
"Heavenly Dao above, earth veins bear witness! I, Zhenyuanzi, swear here that for the rest of my life, I will not rest until Di Jun, Taiyi, and Kunpeng are dead! Even if I must shatter the Heavenly Court and dye the Northern Sea in blood, I will surely slay those three beasts and avenge my dear friend Hong Yun! Let Heaven and Earth bear witness to this oath!"
His oath rolled across the skies above Longevity Mountain like thunder, stirring resonance within the earth veins. Even the Heavenly Dao seemed to sense it, sending down a trace of solemn killing intent.
After making his vow, Zhenyuanzi forcibly suppressed his churning blood and surging killing intent. He knew the Heavenly Court was powerful and the Northern Sea perilous. Revenge would not be accomplished in a day. He needed plans, and he needed strength.
He glanced at the mourning 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 hurriedly answered.
"Seal the mountain gates and activate the mountain-protecting formation! From this day onward, Wuzhuang Temple will refuse all outside visitors! Your master will enter seclusion!"
"Yes, Master!"
With a sweep of his sleeve, Zhenyuanzi vanished from where he stood and entered the core of the earth veins in the deepest part of Wuzhuang Temple. He would use the power of the Earth Book to refine the earth veins of Longevity Mountain more deeply and raise his strength. At the same time, he would divine how to deal with Taiyi, who possessed the Chaos Bell, and the powerful Demon Race Heavenly Court.
Longevity Mountain, once a blessed immortal sanctuary, was now shrouded in an atmosphere of grim killing intent and grief. The fury of the Ancestor of Earth Immortals had been ignited, waiting only for the right moment to burn across the heavens and plains.
Meanwhile, on Kunlun Mountain, a certain salted fish who had just "inherited" an enormous pile of trouble knew nothing of this. As he cracked open five-spice pine nuts freshly fried by Big White, he muttered to the remnant soul inside the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd:
"Senior Hong Yun, seriously, why were you wandering around so recklessly... Well, look where that got you. Your home got raided, didn't it? Sigh, just stay here in peace. The conditions here may be average, but food and lodging are included... Uh, I mean, soul nourishment is included. You'll probably have to wait a while for your old brother Zhenyuanzi to avenge you... Say, can this gourd grow anything? It feels like a waste of space to only nurture souls in it..."
Still, Chen Song decided to visit Wuzhuang Temple. He was afraid Zhenyuanzi would be blinded by rage and do something irrational.
It was absolutely not because he was nearly out of Ginseng Fruit and wanted to go to Wuzhuang Temple to restock.
Before you continue