Zhou Yihang arrived at the foot of Mount Wu Wang and was just about to climb when he suddenly sensed danger. A Land God drilled out of the earth, a stone still perched atop the hat on his head.
"Now that a Land God has tracked us here, Xue Chenghuang and Stone Dragon Son can't be far behind!"
He was about to strike ruthlessly and kill the Land God, lest he return to report, when Stone Dragon Son and the others' voices suddenly reached him: "City God, the Land God has asked around about the Demon Gods and demon beasts nearby. They saw Xu Ying appearing in this area."
Xue Chenghuang's voice came from nearby. "Where's Old Zhou?"
"The Land God said Zhou Yihang has also arrived nearby. We followed him here the whole way. This old man's Grass and Tree Soldier Art is truly extraordinary—he actually managed to find Xu Ying's hiding place."
"We ought to thank him properly. Once we run into him, we'll send him on his way."
"Yes."
Zhou Yihang's heart turned cold. He quietly concealed himself and thought, My injuries haven't healed yet. It would be unwise to clash with them. Hiding in the shadows is the better choice.
After a short while, countless Land Gods drilled out of the ground and searched every inch of the mountains.
Zhou Yihang thought, Even if Xu Ying is hiding underground, these Land Gods will probably dig him out. Still, searching the entire mountain wilderness won't be easy.
Suddenly, one of the Land Gods shouted, "City God, look at the sky!"
Zhou Yihang hurriedly raised his head, his mind reeling. In the sky above Mount Wu Wang was a Light Field roughly half an acre in size. A Light Field was formed when Solar Essence condensed from sunlight. It was planted in the air like golden, glittering grain seedlings, absorbing the clear morning sunlight and dazzling the eye.
From a distance, it looked like a glowing field of grain.
The Light Field over Mount Wu Wang was a full half-acre in size. Zhou Yihang and Xue Chenghuang had never seen such a huge Light Field—not even heard of one!
"Xu Ying must be beneath this Light Field. He practices Demonic Arts and has made great strides in cultivation, giving rise to a phenomenon even a Demon God cannot display!"
Zhou Yihang said in a low voice, "This man truly is an unrivaled genius in the practice of Demonic Arts. What a pity to kill him. I'll leave him an intact corpse later."
He rushed toward the half-acre Light Field. At the same time, the City God Xue Lingfu led Stone Dragon Son and the other deities toward the area covered by it.
Beneath the Light Field, Xu Ying activated the Taiyi Guiding Technique. The qi in his body grew increasingly vigorous, then was tempered by the Pure Yang Strange Fire and transformed into pure yang.
As his cultivation rose, the darkness in the Realm of Serenity steadily retreated, revealing more territory.
The newly revealed regions were tempered by thunderous sound and illuminated by the great sun. Then rain formed from qi poured down upon them, filling them with vitality. Xu Ying felt his blood and qi growing more exuberant, while his body became stronger and stronger.
With every breath he took, fierce winds rose and sand and stones swirled. Half a foot of radiance flickered in and out of his eyes—that was his spiritual sense manifesting!
The Maiden in the Coffin had gifted him the Pure Yang Strange Fire, allowing his cultivation to advance with astonishing speed. Even his spiritual sense had been strengthened.
"What will happen when I open this Human Body Mystic Pass?"
Xu Ying's spiritual sense came before the darkness and looked up at the Human Body Mystic Pass.
The Mystic Pass stood between heaven and earth. On one side was a celestial river surging down from above; on the other were magnificent, towering mountain ranges, both descending from the heavens!
Only by opening this portal spanning heaven and earth could he explore the even vaster inner world beyond it!
"The Maiden in the Coffin said that the Nu Masters' method of concealing and transforming hidden landscapes was wrong, and that following her path was correct. Yet the Qi Refiners like her have all vanished, and the Qi Refiners' cultivation methods have been replaced by the Nu Masters' Nu Arts."
Xu Ying thought silently, "Then are the Nu Arts the orthodox path, or is Qi Refining the orthodox path?"
The Nu Arts had flourished, while the Qi Refiners' cultivation methods had become techniques for monsters to practice. What story had unfolded during that time?
He stirred his blood and qi and gathered his spirit. Just as he was about to push open the Mystic Pass, the earth suddenly shook violently. A heaven-shattering roar rang beside his ears. Xu Ying lost his footing and hurriedly stopped circulating his technique, steadying himself!
Yuan Qi was sent tumbling head over heels as well. He hurriedly wrapped his tail around a huge boulder, his heart filled with alarm and uncertainty.
"Doesn't the Underworld Invasion happen at night? How can it invade during the day too?" Great Bell asked in confusion.
Xu Ying regained his footing and looked toward the sound. He was dumbstruck. Ten li to the west, the earth shook and dust billowed. Amid the mountains, a sun leaped out of the dust!
Sunlight blazed down, flooding the world with radiance!
Amid the brilliance, a towering mountain rose from the earth and gradually floated into the sky. Its enormous bulk blotted out the heavens and sun, hanging high above the world!
Huge chunks of rock kept falling from the floating mountain. Some crashed toward the earth, while others drifted in the air.
Xu Ying stared blankly at the upheaval, then turned around in confusion. Behind him was the east, where another sun was rising. Two suns, one in the east and one in the west, shone against each other.
Great Bell's voice came from beside him. "A Ying, what did you do this time?"
Xu Ying murmured, "I didn't do anything. Is this something I could do?"
"That's hard to say."
Great Bell floated over and said, "I guarded Little Stone Mountain for three thousand years, always safe and sound, never encountering a single strange incident. Ever since I met you, something happened on the very first night. First the Nai River changed course, then there was the Black Coffin in the ancient well, and my temple was torn down! Then we whipped the Plague God, and people chased us down on the road. Now a sun has emerged from underground. You're at every crime scene, and you still claim it has nothing to do with you?"
Xu Ying snorted and set off.
Yuan Qi hurriedly followed him, calling, "A Ying, where are you going? Master Zhong is right—stop committing crimes!"
Xu Ying turned back with a smile. "This sun and this mountain peak are near our Mount Wu Wang. As the two great demon kings of Mount Wu Wang, how could we not go take a look?"
Yuan Qi looked around. "It seems to be in the direction of Shuikou Temple."
His huge body moved with astonishing speed as he swam through the air. He called, "Climb onto my back. I'll carry you there!"
Xu Ying lightly tapped the ground and landed on the giant serpent's back. Great Bell followed close behind, but it was too slow to keep up with the serpent, so it simply drilled into Xu Ying's mind.
Zhou Yihang, Xue Chenghuang, and the others were climbing the mountain when they too noticed the earth-shaking changes. They could not help but stare in shock.
Xue Chenghuang immediately said, "Capturing Xu Ying is secondary. This great sun and this immortal mountain are far more important! That brat Xu Ying will surely go there as well. We can capture him there!"
Zhou Yihang looked up and saw that the half-acre Light Field was also moving through the sky, heading straight toward the foot of the mountain. Judging by its direction, it was headed for Shuikou Temple.
"Shuikou Temple has nothing but a ruined temple. How could a sun and an immortal mountain emerge from there?"
He was bewildered. He immediately changed direction and hurried toward Shuikou Temple ahead of everyone else, thinking, Xu Ying is heading there too. I'll get there first and wait for him to walk right into the trap!
Shuikou Temple had originally been beneath Mount Wu Wang, but since the Underworld Invasion began, the earth had shaken without end, and the distance between the two places had steadily grown. By now, Shuikou Temple was more than ten li away.
Yuan Qi carried Xu Ying forward, moving hardly slower than Xu Ying at full speed. Many wild beasts and great demons ran toward them, while only they traveled against the flow.
In the sky, a stone the size of a small building plummeted down. Yuan Qi hurriedly dodged it. The stone smashed into the ground, creating a huge pit!
Xu Ying was startled as well. He looked up and saw the shadow of a massive mountain covering the sky. Suddenly, more light appeared—a sun had emerged from behind the mountain, illuminating its ancient and imposing body!
Huge stones kept falling from the mountain in the sky, spreading everywhere like raindrops.
The boulders floating in the air were one thing, but the falling ones were terrifying. If someone was struck by one through the slightest carelessness, they would be smashed into a puddle of flesh!
Another, even larger stone fell from the sky and landed in front of them, frightening Yuan Qi into a shriek.
Xu Ying leaped down and came beside the boulder that had just fallen. He examined it carefully and said in a low voice, "Strange. This stone actually has hair growing on it. Master Zhong, have you ever seen anything like this?"
The huge stone that had fallen from the sky was covered in things resembling both hair and tentacles. They looked like countless strands of hair twisted together into ropes, yet they were a tangled mess.
These things covered all four sides of the stone. Some had grown out from cracks in the rock, while others resembled moss covering the stone walls.
Great Bell flew out and examined it closely with its spiritual sense. "Strange. This stone seems like stone but isn't stone, like hair but isn't hair, like flesh but isn't flesh. What exactly is it?"
Well-traveled and knowledgeable as it was, it had never seen such a bizarre stone.
Yuan Qi had read the most books, but he did not recognize this kind of stone either.
Suddenly, the earth shook violently again. Ten li away, another towering mountain rose from the earth and gradually floated into the sky!
This mountain had its peak hanging upside down, and the disturbance was even greater than that of the previous mountain. As it rose from underground, fire and rosy light burst from within its body, dazzlingly bright!
At the same time, strange whooshing sounds came from underground, like the snap of a bowstring breaking, only much louder. Within those sounds, it felt as though one's entire body would be torn apart down the middle!
Xu Ying suddenly sensed a strange Sword Qi coming from underground. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly leaped away, shouting, "Yuan Qi, get over here!"
Yuan Qi hurriedly swam to his side. The earth beneath their feet suddenly split open. Strange currents of air gushed from below, as though Sword Qi were spraying from underground toward the sky, forming a Sword Qi wall stretching for dozens of li!
The Sword Qi grazed Yuan Qi's tail. Yuan Qi felt a sharp pain in its rear and looked back to find that its tail had been shaved much sharper. Tears immediately streamed from its eyes as it thought, The tip of my tail was slightly blunt because that made it easier to use the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist. Now that it's been sharpened, the power of my fist technique will probably be greatly reduced.
The Sword Qi wall grew wider and higher, almost reaching the same level as the two mountains in the sky.
Only after all the Sword Qi in the rift had been released did the Sword Qi wall gradually disappear.
Xu Ying and Yuan Qi were filled with alarm and uncertainty as they looked down the huge fissure. It was incredibly smooth, an utterly straight line, and its broken surface was as smooth as a mirror!
It was as though an unparalleled giant had wielded a sword that supported the heavens and cleaved the earth apart!
"This world must have gone mad," Yuan Qi muttered.
Xu Ying came to the edge of the fissure and looked down, only to find that he could not see how deep it went.
"This fissure contains the Sword Qi of a supreme master of the sword path. It was buried deep underground for countless years, pent up and unable to emerge. If not for this Underworld Invasion, with the land of the Underworld colliding against the land of the Mortal Realm, the fissure would never have been shaken open."
Xu Ying sensed the Sword Qi hidden underground. He could still feel fragments of Sword Qi leaping and clashing a thousand or so zhang below the fissure. "Unfortunately, the Sword Qi contained within the fissure has already dispersed completely. I can't carefully comprehend the marvelous sword technique hidden within it."
Yuan Qi was deeply shaken as well. "That sword was even stronger than Yuan Tian Gang's swordsmanship at the Hometown Gazing Platform!"
Xu Ying tried to sense the sword intent, but the age in which that peerless expert had wielded this sword was too distant. Moreover, as the Sword Qi in the great fissure dissipated, the sword intent contained within it had become extremely faint.
Suddenly, he sensed the Sword Box on his back trembling lightly, as if some living thing inside were joyfully leaping about.
Not only that, a faint Sword Qi and sword intent seeped from within the Sword Box and linked with his spiritual sense!
Joy filled his heart. This Sword Box belonged to Yuan Tian Gang and contained his Sword Qi, which had been refined into a treasure over the course of many years.
Xu Ying had carried the Sword Box on his back all this time, but it had never connected with him. He had never expected that today, the Sword Box would gain a spirit. Sensing the peerless Sword Qi flying out from underground, it had taken the initiative to resonate with him, helping him comprehend the sword intent and Sword Qi hidden in the great fissure!
Great Bell also sensed the Sword Qi and sword intent in the Sword Box. It gave a soft cry of surprise. "This junior has boundless prospects. He's about to awaken his intelligence just like me! Not bad, not bad!"
Its tone was proud. Clearly, its achievements far surpassed those of the Sword Box, and it considered itself the senior.
Xu Ying carefully sensed the sword intent in the great fissure while walking along it toward Shuikou Temple. The closer he got to Shuikou Temple, the stronger the sword intent hidden in the fissure became, making the Sword Qi within the Sword Box leap with excitement!
"Hurry to Shuikou Temple!"
In the distance, Xu Ying saw several brightly dressed officials carrying gourds and running along the great fissure. One of them shouted to the others, "This sun and these two immortal mountains burst out of that ruined temple at Shuikou Temple!"
"Have you notified the provincial governor?"
"I have. But the provincial governor should already have seen the phenomenon at Shuikou Temple!"
Xu Ying was deeply shocked when he heard this. "The sun and the immortal mountains burst out of the ruined temple? What's going on?"
He had been to Shuikou Temple. It was famous for the great temple beside the water, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years. No deity had ever taken residence there, and its incense had long since died out, leaving it dilapidated.
He had even entered the ruined temple. It looked little different from ordinary temples—in essence, it was merely a place where common people offered sacrifices to deities and prayed for protection. After falling into ruin, it had become a shelter for wild foxes, weasels, and the like.
Could this ruined temple really spout an immortal mountain and a sun?
Before you continue