Phantom (Part 2)

Zhao Yue'er gave Li Feng a few instructions before turning to walk back the way she came. "Pay attention, if you want to get out, just walk in any direction. As long as you cover a certain distance, you'll definitely be thrown out. There's no one at Qingyun Flat right now, and Master can't stay here with you. I have to go outside and check. Although we have the 'Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array' for cover, Master thinks it's better to activate the 'Ten Thousand Miles of Cloud and Smoke, Rivers and Mountains Painting.' That way, no one can sneak in while we're not looking. Neither of us is a match for them."

Zhao Yue'er's figure gradually disappeared into the darkness. Li Feng scratched his messy hair and said in a low voice, "Rivers and Mountains Painting? That sounds like a famous treasure from the Investiture of the Gods that I heard about in the teahouse... Damn, the Yiyuan Sect really has a lot of treasures."

He sighed and shook his head for a while, then casually walked into a room. He grabbed a scroll of golden bamboo slips and started to read. The first bamboo slip had a line of large characters written in ancient tadpole script: "Torrential World... A gift from the Gonggong Clan." Li Feng shivered all over. "Damn, Gonggong? Isn't that the legendary God of Water?" He quickly flipped through the slips, breaking out in a sweat as he read, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Water, the most yielding; water, the most yin; its utmost yielding allows it to penetrate any crevice, reaching everywhere; its utmost yin allows it to merge with the vastness, dissolving all things." This was the general principle of Torrential World.

Following this were a series of incantations, very straightforward ones. There were no methods for cultivating the body. It was entirely about how to better control water and unleash its greatest destructive power, assuming the user already possessed profound True Essence. If the 'Water Control Art' could only stir up small waves in a river if your cultivation wasn't deep enough, then 'Torrential World' would, regardless of your cultivation level, either be completely unusable or unleash tsunamis. Moreover, after you managed to activate it, this technique would drain the user's last ounce of energy, and it was entirely possible to be reduced to a dried corpse.

Li Feng screamed, "Damn it, is this Daoist Magic or demonic cultivation? What kind of perverted technique is this? Damn it, damn it." There were only thirteen hand seals and six lines of incantations. Li Feng now had a photographic memory, so he quickly memorized them.

He picked up another bamboo slip, which was the 'Thunderous World' that Zhao Yue'er had mentioned. Li Feng's heart grew cold again... The 'Lightning Control Art' could control the Heavenly Lightning he summoned at will, but this 'Thunderous World'... Li Feng swallowed and his eyes widened in fear. "Where can you find a technique like this? It's like charging into someone's house with a cannon and lighting the fuse. Lightning striking randomly within a ten-mile radius would definitely strike down the caster along with everything else. Are there any survivors?"

Li Feng shook his head and, after memorizing the incantations, carefully, as if discarding poison, threw the scroll away. He muttered to himself, "These are all suicide spells. If your cultivation isn't above Nascent Soul, you might kill yourself before you kill the enemy." However, Li Feng's eyes suddenly lit up. "Damn it, if I ever have money and power, I'll find a few fearless people to charge into Mount Emei and activate each spell once. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Li Feng leaped around the 'Purple Palace Abode' like a monkey, flipping through the immensely powerful Heavenly Mansion Daoist Scriptures. Spell after spell, incredibly powerful but with equally extreme requirements, were memorized into his head. Li Feng had only one regret: "As expected, there isn't a single word about my own cultivation. I was hoping to find a few Daoist scriptures that would allow me to reach Nascent Soul tomorrow... Sigh, Master and the others are too stingy. I'm in the early stage of Qi Condensation, and they haven't even taught me a single incantation on how to cultivate a Golden Core. They say aiming too high is detrimental to cultivation. Sigh, what does aiming too high even mean? I forgot."

While Li Feng was desperately reciting incantations in the 'Purple Palace Abode,' Zhao Yue'er had already arrived at Qingyun Flat. She flew into a cave on Lingtian Peak, which Li Feng had seen when he first arrived at Qingyun Flat. The cave emitted a faint purple light. Zhao Yue'er walked directly into the cave, removed eighteen layers of restrictions, revealing a small stone chamber. Inside, there was an incense table with several long-burning lamps, and three straw cushions were placed in front of the table. On the wall directly in front of the cushions hung a portrait of an old Daoist. In the painting, the old Daoist had a flowing beard, and in his right hand, he wielded a giant sword. His mount was a magnificent five-clawed yellow dragon.

Zhao Yue'er knelt on the middle cushion, bowed three times, and said respectfully, "Esteemed Ancestor, all the disciples of the Yiyuan Sect are currently injured. I, disciple Zhao Yue'er, in order to protect the peace of Qingyun Flat, humbly borrow the 'Ten Thousand Miles of Cloud and Smoke, Rivers and Mountains Painting.' I beg your forgiveness, Ancestor." After speaking, Zhao Yue'er stood up and respectfully extended her hands, reaching for the old man's waist in the painting. A scroll tucked into the old Daoist's waist in the painting immediately emitted a golden light and fell into Zhao Yue'er's hands.

Zhao Yue'er quickly prayed respectfully, "Thank you, Ancestor, for your compassion. I will use this magical treasure only to protect the foundation of the Yiyuan Sect. When my Senior Brothers emerge from seclusion, I will return it." After speaking, Zhao Yue'er turned to walk towards the entrance of the stone chamber. She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly slapped her forehead heavily, turning back with a look of astonishment. She stuck out her tongue, carefully bowed to the portrait, and said with some helplessness, "Forgive me, Ancestor. This new disciple of our sect, Li Fengzi, has not yet paid his respects to you. Once this matter is concluded, I will definitely bring him to pay his respects and have his name entered into the Yiyuan Sect's genealogy."

She glanced at the scroll on the incense table, shrugged, quickly restored the restrictions, and leaped down Lingtian Peak. She muttered to herself, "This is really unreasonable this time. Everyone has forgotten the most important thing. Fengzi has been on the mountain for over four years, almost five, and how could he forget to bring him to pay respects to the Ancestor? His name isn't even in the genealogy. Not only is it embarrassing if word gets out, but the Ancestor in the immortal realm would probably be so angry he'd spit blood?"

"Alas, we can't be blamed for this. It's the fault of those three old fellows who refuse to return to the mountain. If they were living at Qingyun Flat, we would definitely remember to pay respects to the Ancestor when we saw them. Now that none of them are here, who would remember this? ... Oh no, if that's the case, last year was the Ancestor's 8,000th birthday, and it seems we forgot to offer sacrifices. Father and the others were all in seclusion then... Oh no, oh no. When I go to the immortal realm in the future, the Ancestor will beat me to death."

Zhao Yue'er grumbled for a long time, then looked at the stone cave with the portrait of the Yellow Dragon True Man with a bitter expression, shook her head heavily, and whispered, "The Yiyuan Sect can't continue like this. We're all turning into a bunch of lazybones." With a sigh, she untied the golden ribbon on the scroll, tossed it into the air, then pointed at it and exhaled a stream of white True Essence, which sprayed directly onto the scroll.

A gentle breeze began to blow from somewhere, carrying faint, ethereal music. Gradually, it transformed into the sound of surging waves. Then, the fragrance of a hundred flowers, the scent of pine needles and fallen leaves, and various other strange aromas filled the air. The scroll unfurled in the air, revealing a vast and majestic landscape painting. A few wisps of clear wind intertwined with the painting, and the scroll instantly dissolved into a beam of clear light that enveloped the entire Qingyun Flat.

If one were to look from outside Qingyun Flat, they would see that Qingyun Flat had completely disappeared. In its place stood a tall, precipitous mountain peak, shrouded in swirling clouds and mist, with not a single tree growing on its bare surface. The surrounding peaks outside Qingyun Flat had also transformed in appearance and location, with rows of towering mountains standing tall, entwined with streaks of white smoke. Between the mountains, a great river surged and roared, dotted with fishing boats and adorned with flying river gulls. Within the forests, woodcutters sang and white apes fought. Occasionally, two large, scaled pythons would roll and fight with several giant tigers, crushing countless ancient trees...

In an instant, the landscape within a ten-mile radius was completely transformed. If it weren't for being deep within Mount Hua, Zhao Yue'er's move would have surely alerted the entire world.

Zhao Yue'er looked up at the faint illusion that appeared in the sky and couldn't help but smile. "On that day during the Investiture of the Gods, even that Monkey Great Sage of Meishan couldn't escape the power of the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting.' Although my magic power is shallow and I can only exert one or two percent of its strength, it should be enough to conceal the location of Qingyun Flat, right? Hmm... But if someone who knows the location of the Yiyuan Sect's entrance comes, it will be difficult to deceive them."

Zhao Yue'er bit her lip and pondered for a long time. Deciding to go all out, she rushed into her father's Alchemy Room and rummaged through everything, taking out a powerful magical treasure refined by True Man Qingquan, the 'True Water Realm.' This 'True Water Realm,' shaped like a bowl containing half a cup of sparkling liquid, was infused by Zhao Yue'er into the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting.' The illusory great river instantly gained immense spiritual energy, and its momentum became even more astonishing.

"Heh heh, as expected of an ancient exotic treasure, it's like another world. The magical treasure I infused can merge perfectly with its power. Not bad, not bad. Heh heh, next time I'll just ask the Ancestor for permission and give this 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' to Fengzi." As she spoke, Zhao Yue'er thought of a malicious idea. "Hmm, if Fengzi used this treasure to cover the entire Mount Emei and then activated it with the 'Remnant' and 'Deficient' incantations, wouldn't the entire Mount Emei be reduced to dust? ... Wow, cultivators shouldn't be too cruel. Infinite blessings, sins, sins."

Just as Zhao Yue'er infused the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting,' a phantom figure drifted towards the vicinity of the Mount Hua Sword Sect's encampment. This person was clad in a green robe, extremely thin and tall. His waist, about a foot wide, was paired with a height of about nine feet. His bamboo-stick-like body seemed as if it would be swept away by the fierce mountain wind. His face was like that of a hawk, sinister and shadowed by a faint black mist. He was like a ghost, standing there in broad daylight as if he didn't exist at all.

"Supreme Lord Lao, Hasten as the Law Commands..." The Mount Hua Sword Sect was holding another grand ritual. Incense smoke curled everywhere, and bald monks and crowned Daoists scurried about the courtyard. The reason for this was that half a month ago, Li Feng had secretly visited again. Wei Ziqun had even decided that if such strange occurrences continued, he would move the entire Mount Hua Sect into Xi'an Prefecture.

The man in green floated into the courtyard and frowned as he watched the yellow-robed old Daoists and red-robed monks chanting scriptures. He murmured, "Strange, the entrance to the Yiyuan Sect doesn't seem to be here. Considering the Yiyuan Sect is a renowned great sect of righteous cultivators, why would they invite these ignorant Daoists and bald monks with no cultivation to drive away ghosts? ... But that's not right either. Near the Yiyuan Sect's entrance, hehe, why would those minor demons and oddities dare to appear here?"

His eagle-like nose twitched as he inhaled deeply a few times. The man in green shook his head. "No, no, there's no trace of demons or monsters at all. This is bizarre. Do these people have too much money to spend, setting up a ritual for entertainment? Hmph..." A gust of wind blew, and his body floated away with the wind. Hundreds of people were active in the courtyard, but not a single one noticed the man in green entering or leaving.

The mountain wind howled, and the man in green circled Mount Hua several times in an instant. Then, he shot towards the direction of Qingyun Flat like lightning. He didn't ride a sword or use any magical treasures. He looked as if he were a bird, flying freely, and his speed was extremely fast, much faster than ordinary sword light. He muttered, "Good, good. There's a trace of magical energy fluctuation there. It seems to be here. I haven't heard of any other cultivation sects near the Yiyuan Sect."

The man in green seemed accustomed to talking to himself. He kept mumbling, "Lord Right Saint said that the 'Blazing Flame Archway' is an ancient exotic treasure and is currently in the Yiyuan Sect. Hmm, that must be right. The woman who used the archway to destroy a mountain must be from the Yiyuan Sect. But the entrance to the Yiyuan Sect is so hard to find. After killing a few people to force out the information that it was in Mount Hua, hmph."

"That damned Cat Demon, with only a hundred years of cultivation, dared to rob us. Hmph, in the end, its brains were eaten by Old Nine. Who knew that Old Nine would find a 'Chiyou Banner' from eating it? Hmm, the Cat Demon heard about the Chiyou Banner, could it really be that legendary thing? That would be wonderful. An ancient demonic divine artifact, hehe, if it falls into our hands, it would be marvelous, marvelous. With the 'Chiyou Banner' unleashed, as long as there are no ancient pure Yang treasures like the 'Xuanyuan Sword' to restrain it, who can be our opponent?"

"Hehe, 'Xuanyuan Sword,' 'Pangu Axe,' 'Nine Provinces Cauldron.' These divine artifacts of the Nine Provinces have become part of the Nine Provinces barrier. Hehe, where will they find such divine artifacts? Hehe, as long as we have the 'Chiyou Banner,' hehe... Master will be pleased... We're here."

The man in green hovered in the sky above Qingyun Flat, staring blankly at the scenery below. After a while, he suddenly transformed into over a hundred figures. Each figure seemed to have independent consciousness, circling an area of ten miles for a long time before rejoining. He said coldly, "Strange, what kind of magical treasure is this? The scenery before me is definitely fake, but I can't see through it, nor can I find any flaws. It seems everything is real, and even the fierce beasts will attack people."

After pondering for a moment, the man in green suddenly reached down towards the great river below and shouted, "Overturning Mountains and Seas... Ah, crack, rise up for me." A black light emanated from his hand, and the entire great river was pulled upwards. The man in green muttered, "Strange, it feels like real river water?" He looked at the overturned fishing boats on the river surface and the fishermen struggling and shouting desperately in the water, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Before he could react and decide whether to release the spell, streaks of emerald green light flashed out from the surging water. The entire world seemed to be enveloped in a giant bubble of water. The man in green, caught off guard, was swept into a watery world.

Everywhere there were crashing waves, towering icebergs, and biting cold winds. Below the water, myriad ancient beasts eyed the man in green greedily, as if they wouldn't rest until they devoured him.

The man in green suddenly realized, and he cried out, "Damn it, it must be the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting,' and the person who activated it is damned! He actually added another esoteric magical treasure inside." The man in green was momentarily flustered. Knowing the true nature of the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' well, he was intimidated by the formidable reputation of this treasure. As for the True Water Realm he was currently in, he didn't care much.

A monstrous wave surged towards him, and the man in green was completely engulfed. Several monstrous beasts immediately rushed towards him. The man in green sneered, unleashing rapid palm strikes. The moment the beasts touched his palms, they were instantly sucked dry, turning into mummified corpses. He sneered, "These things are not enough for this Divine Monarch to bother with. But I must escape quickly, otherwise, once the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' unfolds its changes, even the Three Sages would be in trouble."

He quickly pulled out a small, dark flag from his bosom and tossed it into the sky. A black smoke billowed out, blocking the furious impact of the countless ice mountains around him. The man in green closed his eyes and meditated, leading his spirit with Qi, comprehending the void with his spirit, and grasping the origin within the emptiness. He murmured, "All things before me are but illusions."

His body instantly reappeared above Qingyun Flat. The man in green wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Forget it, forget it. It's a pity to lose such a good magical treasure. Fortunately, my Master's 'Hundred Treasures Scroll of the Heavens' contains annotations for the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting,' otherwise, this Divine Monarch would have been annihilated today... Hmph, Yiyuan Sect, if you have a clear conscience, why seal your entrance with such a powerful magical treasure in broad daylight? But the cultivation of the person who activated this treasure is too weak! If the legendary Yellow Dragon True Man had activated it himself, this Divine Monarch would have long been reduced to pulp. Heh, heh..."

A cloud of black smoke enveloped the man in green. His body seemed weightless, trailing a wisp of black energy as he rapidly flew towards the southwest. His unpleasant laughter lingered in the air: "Heh heh, Yiyuan Sect... Heh heh... I have rendered such great service, I must surely be rewarded handsomely. The 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' should belong to this Divine Monarch now."

The wind blew, and the great river returned to its calm state, as if nothing had happened...

PS: Xie Feng Qu will be listed today, and some of the saved drafts will be released. I hope everyone will support it. Three free chapters will be released to thank the vast number of VIP readers for their long-term support :)