Empress Houtu laughed. "Why am I telling you all this?"
Bai Jin said, "Since Your Majesty was moved, perhaps Great God Pangu has entrusted you with a mission."
Empress Houtu was distracted for a moment, then frowned in thought and murmured, "A mission?! Perhaps!"
After a moment, Bai Jin could not help saying, "Empress, I came down the mountain to gain experience, but now I'm lost. I would like to ask you to point me in the right direction."
"Where do you wish to go?"
"Mount Wuyi!"
A pulse suddenly ran through the earth. In an instant, the world spun around him. Bai Jin cried out as his vision blurred, and he seemed to find himself within a yellow passageway. Yellow light streamed past all around him, but no matter how he struggled, it was futile.
The world abruptly cleared. Bai Jin stood in a forest, dizzy and disoriented. He shook his head hard and looked around again. The great sun had just risen, and heaven and earth were bright and clear. The surroundings had changed completely. He was no longer in that forest, but atop a mountain peak. Ranges stretched endlessly around him, shrouded in clouds and mist, while birds and beasts sang in chorus.
Bai Jin looked over the continuous mountain ranges and instinctively called out their name, "Mount Wuyi~"
The famous mountains and great rivers of the primordial world all had true names. Bai Jin could never mistake it.
Delight appeared on Bai Jin's face. He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed in all directions. "Many thanks to the merciful and compassionate Empress Houtu."
Light flashed around him. With a cry of "Kree~," a majestic Azure White Crane soared into the sky from within the radiance. Its elegant figure weaved through the sea of clouds, circling peak after peak.
After a long while, the Azure White Crane neared one mountain peak when a blood-red beam suddenly shot from the summit, like a sharp arrow aimed directly at him.
Light flashed around the Azure White Crane, revealing Bai Jin's human form. He reached out and seized the bloody light. A spear hummed and trembled in his hand, radiating astonishing killing intent.
Bai Jin turned and flung it. The spear reversed course and shot back. Boom! A tremendous impact rang out from the mountaintop. A figure was instantly hurled away by the spear, crashing into a distant peak like a falling meteor. Rocks rumbled down in a chaotic cascade.
Boom! Rubble exploded outward, and a figure shot from the flying stones. With a long spear in hand, he moved like lightning and viciously thrust at Bai Jin.
A pale azure longsword appeared in Bai Jin's hand. He swung it, and a fierce sword aura swept forth. Crack! With a crisp sound, then a spray of blood, the man and spear were instantly split in two, falling into the deep valley below.
"What a ruthless little brat~" an ethereal voice rang out.
Six figures appeared upon the mountain peak opposite him. Every one of them possessed deep, unfathomable auras, their bodies wrapped in lingering blood-fiendish energy.
Bai Jin looked at the elder in the middle and said coldly, "Aren't you the ruthless ones? You launched a killing attack before we even met. If I had been even a little weaker, he would have killed me already."
"Haha!" The six burst into laughter, and as they laughed, their figures instantly moved.
Six beast heads formed from black qi lunged at Bai Jin: wolves, tigers, snakes, eagles, and more. Their savage aura condensed into a blood-fiendish force that rushed toward him. A cultivator with insufficient mental cultivation would have their primordial spirit tremble and their mana freeze upon encountering such blood-fiendish qi.
The Demon Race? Bai Jin instinctively frowned. He loosened his grip, and the longsword in his palm flew out. Three more immortal swords instantly appeared beside him, each bearing two Rune Script characters: Qingming, Qingyu, Qingxiao, and Qingyun.
Bai Jin raised his hand in a sword gesture, then slashed it down and said calmly, "Immortal Slaying Myriad Sword Art, slay!"
The four immortal swords split into countless copies, forming four torrents of sword qi that surged forward. Boom! Boom! Boom! They scattered the six beast heads. The six figures charged through the four torrents of sword qi, and the sounds of impacts echoed through the valley. Blood flashed and sprayed amid the myriad swords. From the instant they clashed, they were completely suppressed.
Startled and furious cries rang out. "Stop! We're from the Demon Court!"
"Immortal, spare us! We were wrong!"
"His Majesty the Demon Emperor will not let you go!"
Voices of pleading and threats echoed amid the myriad swords.
"Blood fiendish qi fills the heavens, and resentment clings to your bodies. How can this poor Daoist spare you?" Bai Jin turned his hand, and the countless sword qi spiraled into a towering tornado pillar of sword qi, enveloping the six figures.
"Ah~ Damn it!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Spare us!"
A moment later, the tornado pillar of sword qi dispersed, leaving nothing within. The four dazzling immortal swords shot back and hovered before Bai Jin.
With a sweep of his hand, Bai Jin made the four immortal swords vanish.
A joyous, resounding dragon's roar came from the mountain ahead. "Roar~"
Surprise flashed through Bai Jin's eyes. Why was there a dragon's roar here? Since the Dragon-Han Calamity, most surviving dragons had followed the Azure Dragon Saint Venerable in guarding the eastern pole of heaven. Only a small number lived in the Four Seas, ruling the Water Tribe there. They rarely came ashore to avoid karma. Why would a dragon appear here? From the sound alone, it was undoubtedly a true dragon, not a dragon transformed from a flood dragon.
Bai Jin stepped onto a white cloud and drifted down to the mountaintop. He looked around. Strange rocks stood everywhere, and the pines and cypresses swayed in the strong wind, yet there was not the slightest sign of anyone.
Bai Jin called out, "May I ask which dragon clan fellow Daoist is here?"
A young, urgent voice answered, "Dragon clan member Ao Guang greets you, Senior."
Ao Guang? Bai Jin instinctively pictured an old Dragon King in a dragon robe with a white beard. Wasn't Ao Guang the Dragon King of the East Sea during Journey to the West?
The young voice impatiently cried, "Senior, save me! Please save me, Senior!"
Bai Jin released his divine sense to investigate, yet could not detect the slightest trace of him. Frowning, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Ao Guang, where are you?"
A ripple like a stream of light suddenly appeared atop the mountain. Runes flickered across it, and the urgent voice came from within the ripple. "Senior, I'm in here..."
Bai Jin's eyes lit up. He took one step, and his body instantly transformed into a streak of light that shot into the ripple.
"...You can save me from outside." Only then did the latter half of the sentence emerge.
A streak of clear light shot inside and landed before a young man with dragon horns, revealing Bai Jin's figure.
Bai Jin looked at Ao Guang and asked in confusion, "What did you say?"
Ao Guang stared wide-eyed, disbelief filling his eyes. He muttered, "He came in. He came in too." Squatting on the ground, he clutched his head in frustration. "It's over. Neither of us can get out now. Why is my life so miserable?!"
Bai Jin surveyed the surroundings. This was a karst cave. Dense clusters of fluorescent stones hung from its ceiling, illuminating the space. A great tree grew in the center of the cave, its leaves giving off a faint glow and looking exceptionally beautiful.
Bai Jin's eyes lit up. He stepped into the air and flew toward the great tree, hovering before it. Stroking its leaves, he said in delight, "The Big Red Robe Mother Tree."
This was one of his objectives in coming to Mount Wuyi. He had only intended to look for it along the way, but he had not expected to actually find it—and it did not seem to be an ordinary item.
A voice suddenly came from behind Bai Jin. "The Big Red Robe Mother Tree? Is it very precious?"
Without turning his head, Bai Jin said, "Very precious!"
Before you continue