Persuading the Devil Ancestor, Xuanwei's Absolute Peak

At the foot of Yin Mountain, Wrongful Death City, the Buddha's light, though dimmer than before, remained tenacious.

Lu Mo and the partially missing Sarira Relic complement each other, relentlessly permeating the Underworld.

His eyes gleamed with golden light as he kept looking around.

His expression showed a hint of doubt compared to before.

It's clear that he's somewhat wary of Zheng Fa making another move, and is even searching for Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa activated the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Transformation, transforming into a wisp of mist that blended into the surrounding fog.

After that sword strike, he dared not underestimate Lu Mo even more, knowing that if he exposed his whereabouts, he would likely suffer a severe punishment.

Lu Mo seemed not to have seen through Zheng Fa's disguise either, but refused to give up, instead muttering to himself:

"Form without form, a dream, an illusion, a bubble."

Amidst the chanting of sutras, the Buddha's light emanating from the Sarira Relic was lively and dynamic, disappearing into the mist.

The thick, liquid-like white mist, upon touching this Buddha's light, began to melt like snow meeting the blazing sun, dripping softly.

Not good.

Zheng Fa was anxious, because if the fog cleared, he would be easily spotted.

More importantly, he didn't know what this Buddha's light was or what Divine Ability possessed, so he dared not touch it lightly.

Before he could make a move, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor let out a cold laugh, "Lu Mo, you underestimate me far too much."

As soon as he finished speaking, in the Wrongful Death City, ten thousand ghosts cried out, their cries echoing across Yin Mountain, their voices piercing the heart.

Thick, deathly aura billowed from the city gate, and within the black smoke, countless wronged souls scrambled and fought, rushing toward the Sarira Relic.

These wronged souls were originally disciples of the Tianhe, most of whom perished in the internal strife of that year, essentially killed by Lu Mo. The resentment and hatred in their expressions at this moment were chilling.

Even though Lu Mo had experienced three lifetimes of tribulations, his expression was solemn at this moment, and he was chanting scriptures loudly.

Zhitong's Sarira Relic then began to shimmer with a faint white light.

The white light fell on the black smoke, and the hundreds of wronged souls above suddenly calmed down, clasped their hands together, and showed joy, as if they were about to be delivered from suffering.

A cold smile flashed across the face of the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor as he pointed his finger at the Sarira Relic.

Those spirits that had seemed to be turning to faith suddenly became ferocious and resentful again.

"Redeem me? The sins you committed in the Tianhe Sect," the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor roared, "Will never be forgiven!"

Lu Mo remained silent, continuing to chant Buddhist scriptures as he confronted the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor.

With the support of his faith in the Western Continent, he managed to regain his footing.

On the contrary, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, though seemingly having a chance to catch his breath, is like a rootless duckweed; if he drags on, he will eventually be defeated.

"You recover now. With me blocking your way, he won't be able to find you." The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor seemed to understand this as well, and secretly Biography of Zheng Fa, "Give him a few more sword strikes later."

Clearly, he placed his hopes for a comeback on Dharma Body.

But Zheng Fa did not do as he had said; instead, he said something that Zheng Fa had not expected:

"I want to go to the Myriad Swords Realm."

"The Myriad Swords Realm?" The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's tone turned cold. "You also want to find the Tianhe's treasure?"

"Yes."

A mocking glint flashed in the eyes of the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Seizing the sword formation, plotting against secret treasures—you and they are cut from the same cloth. The Jade Pendant is now in your hands..."

It's clear that he sees Zheng Fa and these cultivators from the Four Sects as the same kind of people.

Zheng Fa wasn't angry, after all, he had indeed stolen the formation diagram.

It's perfectly normal for the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor to have some opinions about himself.

"If you want to leave, then I can't guarantee whether Lu Mo will be able to find you."

Why did it come to this?

This is indeed a bit troublesome.

After various attempts, Zheng Fa now has more authority in the Immortal-Slayer Sword Formation than Sect Master Yan and others, but he is still no match for the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor.

If the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor wanted to sabotage him, it would indeed be very difficult for him to avoid Lu Mo.

The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor merely smiled, his expression conveying a clear meaning: You retreated, leaving me to cover your retreat, treating me, the Devil Ancestor, like a fool?

This is because they're afraid they'll slip away.

Zheng Fa truly understands the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor.

This man was not only terrified of being betrayed, but he also wanted to seize the Immortal-Slayer Formation Diagram. If he hadn't been wary of me, he wouldn't have been able to escape the pursuit of the Four Sects all these years.

Moreover, if he were to escape, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor would certainly not be able to withstand Lu Mo. Since it was a matter of life and death, he would inevitably become even more cautious.

"In the Myriad Swords Realm, there may be a next step for the Celestial River Method."

The smile on the face of the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor froze, his eyes filled with disbelief and excitement.

"Is the Celestial River Method... complete?"

"It's only possible."

"Are you confident?" the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor asked urgently.

"Without."

"..."

The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's lips curled into a straight line, and he stopped smiling.

Zheng Fa chuckled inwardly.

He refused to believe that the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor wouldn't take the bait.

"How did you know...?"

Sure enough, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor couldn't help but ask again.

"I previously created the Yellow Court Scripture..."

When Zheng Fa recounted the strange phenomenon that occurred to Venerable Tianhe during his tribulation, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's eyes flickered, as if he were pondering the matter.

"If Venerable Tianhe truly left behind something, the Myriad Swords Realm is highly suspicious."

The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor nodded slightly.

Zheng Fa added, "Even if there's no next step in the Celestial River Method inside, I still want to use the treasures within to recover as quickly as possible, and perhaps even advance further."

Seeing that the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's expression changed slightly, as if he had taken it to heart, he continued:

"His previous victory was due to the element of surprise, but Lu Mo can't possibly be completely unprepared again. He might even be planning to turn the tables on us..."

"We need more than just one sword; delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances."

A thoughtful look flashed across the eyes of the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, clearly indicating that he had been persuaded.

Zheng Fa has always been lenient in his assessment of his enemies, and he certainly wouldn't underestimate someone like Lu Mo.

He previously lacked martial ethics and ambushed the elderly.

But getting it again won't be so easy; who knows, an old monster Lu Mo might still be waiting for him.

Of course, for the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, the most important thing was the follow-up to the Celestial River Method.

The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's eyes flickered, as if hesitating, unsure whether he should trust Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa, however, remained completely unhurried.

"The Celestial River Method is the last hope of the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor."

Within the Purple Tenuity Enclosure of the Nine Mountains Realm, the Heavenly Emperor Body wore a confident smile.

"The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's current madness stems from two main reasons: hatred and, more importantly, despair."

Senior Sister Zhang agreed, "His cultivation of the Celestial River Method will make future progress extremely difficult."

Xie Qingxue nodded in agreement.

"I want to take it a step further, but that only comes when the Green Duckweed Sword advances. Right now, I have no direction at all; the Green Duckweed Sword is only at the Loose Immortal level."

"The Book of Life and Death is Immortal Method."

"Advancing this kind of Law Treasure... is a billion times more difficult than upgrading the Green Duckweed Sword."

"Therefore, the follow-up to the Celestial River Method is probably an irresistible temptation for the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor," the Heavenly Emperor Body said with a smile.

Looking at the struggling Nine Nether Devil Ancestor on the screen, everyone could predict his choice.

"Fairy Xie, fairy. I'll need your help to show me the way later."

The Heavenly Emperor Body, brimming with confidence, directly made a request to Xie Qingxue.

Xie Qingxue nodded immediately, her gaze still fixed on the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, and suddenly asked, "Sect Leader, you deliberately chose to go to the Myriad Swords Realm first, didn't you?"

"Hmm." In front of so many people from the Nine Mountains Sect, the Heavenly Emperor Body made no attempt to hide anything. "Although we joined forces because of Lu Mo, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor is not on our side."

He sympathized with the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, but was also very wary of him.

To be honest, even if Zheng Fa could kill Lu Mo with a single sword strike right now, he would hesitate: he was afraid that without Lu Mo, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor would turn against him.

This Devil Ancestor is not an easy person to deal with, and moreover, the conflict of interest between the two is obvious.

Even the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor probably saw through his thoughts, which is why he was unwilling to let Zheng Fa leave the formation.

Therefore, Zheng Fa wanted to use the follow-up to the Celestial River Method to lure the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor.

Zheng Fa's thinking was very simple:

If the Celestial River Method truly has a follow-up, then he'll have a better chance of persuading the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor again, or even discussing cooperation.

If not, he would have to make other plans, at least be prepared to turn against the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor.

On Yin Mountain, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor remained silent for a long time before finally speaking:

I'll trust you this once.

Zheng Fa was secretly delighted. To be honest, it was not easy to gain even a little bit of trust from the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor: this Devil Ancestor had been tricked terribly before.

I'm afraid we should thank Lu Mo.

Knowing the situation was urgent, he didn't delay and flew out of the sword formation.

The Spiritual Qi within the sword formation was as dense as water.

Countless talismans, like swimming fish, slid past his eyes.

A series of "bubbles" would occasionally block his view; the "bubbles" were deep and dark, seemingly leading to another space.

This is a spatial branch within the Immortal-Slayer Sword Formation. If you touch it, you will be immediately trapped within the formation and unable to escape.

But as he swam along, the little bubbles all avoided him, as if deliberately letting him go.

Zheng Fa himself wasn't actually afraid of these things—after all, he was now the second-in-command of the Immortal-Slayer Formation Diagram.

But this situation shows that the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor was indeed willing to let him leave.

He looked towards the sword formation, but the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor was not looking at him. Instead, he was completely focused on fighting against the Buddhist light, seemingly buying time for Zheng Fa.

"The Myriad Swords Realm is located eight hundred li northeast of the Tianhe Ancestral Peak."

Within the Nine Mountains Realm, Xie Qingxue pointed out the path.

Inside the Heavenly Palace Hall, another light screen appeared, and within it was Zheng Fa, who was flying away.

The two parties are having a video call.

In the blink of an eye, Zheng Fa landed and looked ahead.

Ahead lay a row of towering mountains, stretching endlessly, thousands of feet high, all sheer cliffs and precipices, like a wall blocking Zheng Fa's path.

"This is the Cloud-Severing Mountains, which, according to legend, is one of the most important regions of the Eastern Continent."

Xie Qingxue explained.

Zheng Fa couldn't help but look ahead.

The Tianhe Sect is located in the northeast corner of the Eastern Continent, and Yunduan Mountain is also located in the northeast corner of the Tianhe Sect.

Come to think of it, it really is the northeasternmost corner of the Eastern Continent.

"Myriad Swords Realm located within the Cloud-Severing Mountains?"

"The Myriad Swords Realm is outside the Eastern Continent, no, above the Eastern Continent, one must cross the Cloud-Severing Mountains."

After hearing Xie Qingxue's explanation, Zheng Dharma Body transformed into a rainbow of light and flew towards the Cloud-Severing Mountains.

But as soon as they reached the top of a mountain, a familiar membrane appeared before Zheng Fa.

"Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane?"

He felt as if he had hit a steel plate, and could no longer move forward.

Zheng Dharma Body turned around and landed at the foot of the mountain again, his brows furrowed.

Within the Nine Mountains Realm, Xie Qingxue couldn't help but laugh.

"It is indeed the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane," she explained. "My master said that the Myriad Swords Realm Myriad Swords Realm was not originally located here; it was only placed here by our Founder."

"Therefore, the Myriad Swords Realm is blocked by the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane, and no one except the Spirit Transformation of my Tianhe Sect can enter."

Zheng Fa understood somewhat.

Is the Myriad Swords Realm no longer within the Xuanwei Realm?

Back then, Venerable Tianhe somehow managed to get this thing outside the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane, and even gave the disciples of the Tianhe Sect a back door.

They also knew how the Four Sects had entered the Myriad Swords Realm before their preparations.

That seems like quite a hassle.

But for Zheng Fa, this matter was far too simple!

His internal Method Formula changed, operating according to the <Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon>. His spine became straight and his demeanor sharp, making him appear even more like a disciple of the Heavenly Tianhe Sect Tianhe Sect.

He was Vast Sun Tian Jiao at Vast Sun Mountain and a loyal disciple of Tianhe Sect, embodying the principle of adapting to local customs.

Sure enough, the Method Formula changed to the <Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon>, and the Cloud-Severing Mountains in front of them suddenly changed.

White clouds drifted down from the mountaintop to Zheng Fa's feet, forming a series of steps.

The steps lead to the end of the Cloud-Severing Mountains, disappearing into the void with no end in sight.

"Climb the steps, and you'll see the entrance to the Myriad Swords Realm."

Hearing Xie Qingxue say this, Zheng Fa lifted his foot and began to climb the steps one by one.

A fierce wind raged around me, with chaotic clouds dancing wildly and howling incessantly.

Then the weather became sunny and calm, without a single cloud in sight, and it was extremely quiet.

He climbed higher and higher, gradually placing the towering cliffs of the Cloud-Severing Mountains beneath his feet.

Looking ahead, one could vaguely see a two-person-high archway on the once impenetrable Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane.

Will this allow me to reach the outer reaches of the Xuanwei Realm?

Zheng Fa took a deep breath, his heart pounding with excitement.

He has always been very curious about what lies beyond the Xuanwei Realm.

However, he was troubled by his inability to leave the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane, and was also wary of the stars in the sky, so he gained nothing.

I came here today to search for the Tianhe Legacy Treasure, but who would have thought I would suddenly be able to step out of this Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane?

He composed himself, becoming somewhat wary, and stepped through the archway.

dark.

It was as if someone had suddenly covered his eyes.

For a moment, everything went black before his eyes, and he couldn't see anything.

The imagined stars, Ancient Immortals, and even various dangers did not appear.

He was nowhere to be found in the Myriad Swords Realm.

Staring at the complete darkness in the video call, Senior Sister Zhang was dumbfounded. "What is this?"

Xie Qingxue's expression was somewhat heavy. She didn't speak, but stared intently at the light screen, as if waiting.

Zheng Fa felt the spiritual power of the <Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon> within his body suddenly begin to circulate on its own.

As his spiritual energy fluctuated, a buzzing sound came from the darkness.

A light appeared.

Two beams of light appeared.

Three, four, thousands, tens of thousands of rays of light pierced the darkness.

Looking at the scene before me.

Zheng Fa, who stands here, is also good.

Even Senior Sister Zhang and the others in the Nine Mountains Realm.

They were all stunned and speechless.

Before Zheng Fa stood a colossal mountain, higher than any mountain he had ever seen.

The base of the mountain seems to extend deep into the womb, merging seamlessly with the Cloud-Severing Mountains.

The mountaintop, however, pierces straight into the darkness, making it impossible to see where it is.

But this wasn't enough to make Zheng Fa pause.

What left him speechless were the immortal Immortal Sword embedded in the mountain wall.

The blinding light just now was actually the sword radiance emitted by these immortal Immortal Sword themselves.

These flying swords varied in quality; some were merely Law Artifact artifacts, while others seemed to be Spirit Treasure.

They are embedded in the mountainside, row upon row, column upon column.

What's even more striking is that each of these Immortal Sword has a name inscribed on the blade near the hilt.

"Who are these people...?"

Xie Qingxue remained silent for a moment before speaking, "These are the disciples who died during the process of the Tianhe Sect unifying Xuanwei."

"..."

"No one knows when the Founder placed their flying swords here."

Looking at the flying swords before him, Zheng Fa seemed to see the vast and turbulent Previous Epoch once again.

Sometimes he would think that the atmosphere in the Tianhe Sect must have been quite good back then, otherwise the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor Devil Ancestor, who was not from the Tianhe Sect, would not have missed or even hated it so much.

"This peak's height should be the Xuanwei's Absolute Peak; within our Tianhe Sect, it is known as the Heaven-Piercing Sword Peak."

"In my opinion, this is a tombstone."

Xie Qingxue's voice was very low, but everyone listened quietly without making a sound.

"Founder, the tombstones erected for those predecessors."