Outside Lingling City, an Imperial Carriage departed amid an escort of guards, heading toward Shuikou Temple. The carriage was extraordinarily ornate, with a golden roof crowned by a golden phoenix, and Golden Bells hanging from its four eaves.
The carriage was lacquered red and adorned with gold. Its shafts were about a foot thick, and a guard sat on each side beneath the carriage, warily scanning their surroundings. Two Demon Kings pulled it from the front. They had ox heads and human bodies, stood nearly two zhang tall, and possessed grotesquely sinewed physiques and boundless strength. As they walked, demonic wind rolled around them, and smoke puffed from their nostrils.
They had traveled only a few li beyond the city when the carriage suddenly stopped. A guard bowed and said, "Governor, hungry refugees from Lingling are blocking the road to petition."
The man sitting inside the carriage was the Governor of Yongzhou, Zhou Heng. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, with a large belly and two wisps of beard drooping from the corners of his lips.
Governor Zhou Heng lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. He saw countless refugees with sallow faces kneeling along the roadside for more than ten li, all crying out, "Our noble, incorruptible lord!" They looked like a flock of ducks that had spotted their master.
Governor Zhou Heng asked, "What are they petitioning for? This official is upright and incorruptible. If their request isn't too excessive, I'll grant it."
A guard went to inquire and returned to report, "They say they can't afford their taxes or food. The River of Oblivion is also wreaking havoc, the new lands are encroaching on their fertile fields, and Ghost Souls are running rampant. They want Your Excellency to exempt them from this year's taxes."
"Rebellious commoners!"
Governor Zhou Heng flew into a rage. The veins on his forehead bulged as he slapped the table and shouted, "What a pack of rebellious commoners! They're farmers, and what do farmers grow? Grain! Yet they have the nerve to claim they can't afford to eat! It's nothing but an excuse to avoid paying taxes! The River of Oblivion is invading, Ghost Souls are running rampant—do Ghost Souls eat grain? Shameless!"
He rose and sneered, "Besides, if you have no money, can't you rent out your houses in the busy districts? Can't you bring out your carriages and earn money hauling passengers? This bunch of old farmers would rather leave houses in the busy districts unrented and their own horses idle, then kneel before an official's carriage begging for food. And they still have the nerve!"
The angrier he became, the more furiously he shouted. "Today they dare block the road to demand tax exemptions; tomorrow they'll dare demand that officials hand out money! Pass down my order. If they block my way again, confiscate every one of their households and turn their property over to the state!"
The guard hurried out and ordered the other guards to drive the people away. After a while, the hungry refugees stretching ten li had fled without a trace.
Governor Zhou Heng smiled. "I can't stand poor people. Much better now. Those rebellious commoners fled in panic as soon as they heard about confiscation. Clearly, they still have money at home. If they had none, why would they run so fast?"
"Your Excellency is wise!" all the guards exclaimed admiringly.
The carriage and horses continued on, charging straight through, clouds of dust billowing behind them as they headed directly for Shuikou Temple.
Inside Shuikou Temple, Zhou Yihang threw back his head and laughed. His voice rang out like thunder, shaking Xu Ying's blood and qi. "Send me on my way?"
Most of the other Nu Masters who had come to explore the new lands were also shaken until they could barely keep their footing. Some grew dizzy, missed their step, and fell straight from the immortal mountain, letting out long, miserable cries.
Zhou Yihang paid them no heed. Before his laughter had even faded, the old man bent and straightened his back, his body swelling explosively. He activated the Indestructible Diamond Body, transforming into a sixteen-foot-tall figure whose entire body shone with golden light.
His Indestructible Diamond Body had been cultivated to four arms, far surpassing Zhou Yang. Zhou Yang had not cultivated four arms and could only be considered to have made an initial foray into the Indestructible Diamond Body. Zhou Yihang, however, had already perfected it!
He used the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal. Beneath his palm seal, raging flames flowed.
His mastery of the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal also far exceeded his son Zhou Yang's. Xu Ying had once seen him clash head-on with the City God Xue Lingfu. With only one move, he had injured Xue Chenghuang's golden body!
At the time, Zhou Yihang had refined his soul and flesh into one, with body and soul as tightly joined as a single entity. It had truly astonished Xu Ying and given him the feeling that Zhou Yihang was invincible.
Now, as Xu Ying watched Zhou Yihang unleash the Indestructible Diamond Body and the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal, another feeling arose in his heart: He doesn't seem as strong as I remember.
He activated the Heavenly Eye passed down by the Maiden in the Coffin, observing Zhou Yihang's physical body and the techniques of the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal. Even Zhou Yihang's hidden scene was laid bare before him, vivid and crystal clear!
Within Zhou Yihang's body, a four-armed Vajra clung tightly to him as though they were one. This four-armed Vajra was his hidden scene, formed through visualization as he drew upon the power of the Ni Wan Secret Treasury.
Under the Heavenly Eye's gaze, Xu Ying could see Zhou Yihang's flaws.
Zhou Yihang stepped forward and struck out with four palms in succession. Cloud-fire followed his palm force, fluttering like banners. His palm force was nimble, yet concealed tremendous power.
He was like a four-armed sun god driving the cloud-fire before him!
This move was Cloud Banner Winding Serpent from the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal.
Xu Ying instantly pushed the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to its limit. Pure Yang essence qi gathered behind him into the Elephant King Divine Body, and he punched out with thunder booming, striking directly at the flaw in Zhou Yihang's technique!
At the same time, Yuan Qi turned the tip of his tail into a fist. The White Elephant swung its trunk, its enormous body whipping around like a pillar supporting the heavens as it swept toward Zhou Yihang with a howl.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Dull impacts rang out. Xu Ying and Zhou Yihang collided, and the Elephant King Divine Body behind Xu Ying took a heavy blow. Under the raging wind, his blood and qi scattered backward like dust and sand!
The Elephant King Divine Body was formed from blood and qi, essence qi, and transformed blood mist. When the blood and qi dispersed like dust and sand, it was a sign that the divine body had been shaken apart.
Xu Ying grunted. His limbs and bones trembled, and his blood and qi churned like boiling water in a pot. He staggered back several steps.
Yuan Qi's cultivation was still inferior to Xu Ying's, and the Elephant King Divine Body behind him shattered outright!
The giant serpent's bones rattled, while the dragon mane behind him swayed like waves. He nearly had his body shaken apart by the force contained in Zhou Yihang's strike!
Xu Ying's blood and qi cut off Zhou Yihang's flow, making Cloud Banner Winding Serpent impossible to sustain. His blood and qi churned once before he forcefully suppressed them.
Seeing this, Xu Ying immediately understood why the Elephant King Divine Body had been broken. "His martial cultivation technique is far more profound than ours! His technique contains a hidden scene, and when he attacks, it works in concert with the hidden scene of a four-armed deity! But the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist that Yuan Qi and I cultivate has no hidden scene to support it!"
A hidden scene was a Great Dao Manifestation. If a martial cultivation technique could be matched with its corresponding hidden scene, it could unleash astonishing power. With the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, for example, if one could comprehend the elephant god as a hidden scene, one could raise the might of this martial art to an even higher level.
Without an equivalent cultivation technique, even if Xu Ying could find his opponent's flaws, it would still be difficult to injure him.
"I may not have a hidden scene, but I've just refined a Great Dao Manifestation!"
Xu Ying retreated several steps, then suddenly stopped and shrugged. A strand of Sword Qi came from behind him and slashed down toward Zhou Yihang!
The sword came like a rainbow from beyond the heavens, arriving without warning and leaving no chance to defend. Its Sword Qi and sword intent invaded Zhou Yihang's consciousness!
Without thinking, Zhou Yihang brought two palms together and clamped down on the Sword Qi, while his other two palms continued striking toward Xu Ying.
The instant his hands caught the Sword Qi, he felt its force surge explosively. He had no time to kill Xu Ying, so he hurriedly brought his other two palms together as well, using all four palms to clamp down on the sword.
Xu Ying suddenly strode forward. Taking advantage of the opening at Zhou Yihang's center, he pointed at his chest, and Sword Qi erupted!
"Shhk!"
A strand of Sword Qi pierced through his Indestructible Diamond Body like a steel nail, stabbing into his heart!
Fortunately, the Sword Qi at Xu Ying's fingertip was far less terrifying than the Great Dao Manifestation. It entered only three inches before being stopped by the Indestructible Diamond Body.
Yet in the next instant, Xu Ying's ten fingers flew like a storm beating pear blossoms, each fingertip successively pressing against acupoints all over Zhou Yihang's body!
Yuan Qi had not yet steadied his scattered blood and qi. Seeing this, he felt as though every bone in his body had gone soft.
What Xu Ying was using was precisely the bone-disassembling technique of the Snake Catcher. Yuan Qi had been captured only after Xu Ying had disassembled all the bones in his body.
From Zhou Yihang's perspective, each finger that landed felt like a steel nail stabbing into his body and cutting off the circulation of his blood and qi.
He was terrified. "What kind of technique is this? How can he see the path through which my cultivation technique circulates?"
With his blood and qi severed, the strength in his four hands dropped sharply. The Sword Qi above his head broke through the clamp of his four palms, pressed down on his four arms, and slashed into the crown of his head!
This was the Great Dao Manifestation of swordsmanship that Xu Ying had comprehended before the ruined temple gate!
The great rift contained the Sword Qi and sword intent of an unparalleled sword master. Although Xu Ying had never seen such a master attack, he had comprehended the essence of this Flying Rainbow Sword from the remnants of that sword intent.
This sword grew stronger when faced with strength. If there had been nothing before it, it would never have possessed such overwhelming might.
To unleash the full power of this sword technique, there had to be something blocking its path.
It was precisely because a great mountain of the underworld had stood in its way that the unparalleled swordsman's intent had grown stronger against strength. It cleaved through the mountain, reaching an unprecedented limit when it severed the mountain's roots, surpassing the self that had existed before!
Xu Ying's battle with Zhou Yihang was the same. The Sword Qi encountered the obstruction of Zhou Yihang's four arms, its power surged explosively, and it crushed through Zhou Yihang's strength before cleaving into his forehead!
At the same time, Yuan Qi whipped his tail again. The tip moved faster than sound as he poured out all his blood and qi to unleash his strongest strike, striking Zhou Yihang with a resounding smack!
"Smack!"
The old man's clothes exploded. His Indestructible Diamond Body was beaten bloody, while the sword atop his head drove straight in, cutting all the way down to his brow!
Zhou Yihang's brain was injured. His eyes grew cloudy, and his mind became muddled and dazed.
Xu Ying exerted his strength and continued chopping downward, but the Sword Qi could no longer advance even a fraction of an inch. It had encountered immense resistance.
Suddenly, he sensed the Sword Qi in his hand tremble violently, splitting the web between his thumb and forefinger. He hurriedly released it and retreated.
The Sword Qi embedded in Zhou Yihang's head exploded with a smack, and the sword-qi nails Xu Ying had driven into his body burst one after another with repeated cracks.
Xu Ying's heart sank. He had completely overwhelmed Zhou Yihang in technique, but the disparity in cultivation was too great. Even with a superior technique, he still could not kill Zhou Yihang.
Xu Ying suddenly let out a long howl and activated the Taiyi Guiding Technique.
Great Bell sensed his intention and hurriedly said, "A Ying, opening a pass requires a powerful medicine to assist you. Otherwise, you won't have enough blood and qi to charge through it! Don't act recklessly!"
The moment it finished speaking, the sky suddenly brightened. Countless specks of light surged over from the sunlight of this ruined-temple world, their density more than ten times that of the outside world!
The specks of light formed a half-mu Light Field in an instant, its brightness also more than ten times that of the outside world!
Beneath the Light Field, Xu Ying's blood and qi surged explosively. Great Bell was astonished. Xu Ying seemed to have taken a powerful medicine for opening the pass, his blood and qi surging magnificently as he charged toward the Black Iron Profound Pass within the Realm of Serenity!
"The Solar Essence here is so dense—more than ten times that of the outside world. Could this truly be the immortal realm?" Great Bell wondered.
With the Solar Essence this dense, it no longer mattered whether Xu Ying had a medicine for opening the pass.
"A Ying, the key to opening a pass lies in the word 'opening.' You must knock on the mystic pass, comprehend the world's profound root, and only then can the mystic pass be opened."
Great Bell spoke rapidly. "There's a poem to prove it: 'Innate qi knocks upon the pass of origin; in the dim darkness, the great medicine abides. Reverse Heaven and Earth into the Tai image; as Li and Kan come and go, establish the profound root.' Your method of charging through isn't the proper method of a Qi Refiner... Hmm?"
The blood and qi within Xu Ying roared and surged. Under the impact, the Black Iron Profound Pass trembled and shook. The two doors creaked as they slowly parted to either side!
He had not comprehended the Tai image of Heaven and Earth, much less the profound root of Li and Kan. He was simply using brute force to charge through the Tail Gate Mystic Pass!
This mystic pass actually showed signs of being forced open.
Great Bell was dumbstruck. Thunder rumbled from within Xu Ying's body, and clusters of radiance about an inch long burst outward from him.
One could even see inside his body: a radiant great dragon was drawing water like a dragon sucking from a river, attacking downward from above toward the Tail Gate at the very bottom of his spine, attempting to conquer the mystic pass!
That mystic pass lay at the tailbone of the human body. It was called the Tail Gate!
Once this pass opened, life and death would connect, yin and yang would become clear, the Celestial River would open, the heavenly dew of the celestial court would be received, and the heavenly mountains within the body would be opened!
One heavenly mountain followed another, one heaven following another heaven. From then on, cultivation would have a path!
Great Bell was startled and thought, If I hadn't stolen half his blood and qi to heal my injuries, he might have opened the mystic pass in a single charge! This is my fault. I have to make it up to him.
It also activated its own breathing method. Great Bell inhaled and exhaled, its form growing and shrinking, and the half-mu Light Field in the sky instantly expanded to more than a mu in circumference!
Xu Ying's blood and qi surged even more violently. With a roar, his Pure Yang essence qi finally broke open the Black Iron Profound Pass!
The mighty waters of the Celestial River rolled eastward!
Within the Realm of Serenity, the waters of the Celestial River descending from Above the Nine Heavens burst through the mystic pass and surged magnificently into the realm. They flowed across the continent below, passed through mountains and rivers, formed waterfalls across the highlands, and became lakes upon the plains, causing the Realm of Serenity to suddenly grow incomparably vivid and colorful!
Xu Ying felt his internal organs nourished by the Celestial River. His essence qi flourished, and the limits that had once confined his cultivation vanished completely!
His cultivation rose rapidly, and his blood and qi became far more dense and refined than before!
Supported by this ever-strengthening blood and qi, the sword qi resembling a rainbow from beyond the heavens within his Realm of Serenity also grew increasingly distinct.
Xu Ying stabilized his retreating body and looked up at Zhou Yihang, whose wounds were healing. He regarded him like a pig or dog waiting to be slaughtered, eager for battle. "Master Zhong, let me fight him at full strength."
Great Bell hesitated before saying, "Be careful."
Xu Ying immediately felt his blood and qi continuing to rise. This was the first time since he had encountered Great Bell that his blood and qi had recovered to their peak!
Suddenly, a distant voice drifted over. "Yihang, why are you in such a sorry state?"
The fifth immortal mountain slowly rose and floated in the distance. Governor Zhou Heng's carriage had stopped at its foot. The carriage curtain opened, and the surrounding windows were removed. Zhou Heng sat inside with his large belly, smiling as he said, "So this is that demon Xu Ying? The Xu Ying who can decipher the cultivation techniques of the Demon Race?"
There had originally been many people watching the battle nearby. Upon hearing this, they all turned toward Xu Ying, their gazes somewhat strange.
When Zhou Yihang saw Governor Zhou Heng, his heart tightened. He feared that the governor would stop him from killing Xu Ying and avenging Zhou Yang. He immediately roared furiously, driving the Indestructible Diamond Body and Dong Jun Pingtian Seal to their limits as he charged toward Xu Ying!
He intended to complete the deed in one stroke, kill Xu Ying, and offer his head as a sacrifice to Zhou Yang!
Suddenly, a snow-bright Sword Qi illuminated the sky, causing even the shadows of the surrounding trees to vanish!
The Sword Qi broke through the sky with a sharp sword cry. With a whoosh, it flashed and disappeared without a trace!
In the nearby mountain forest, the leaves of countless trees now floated in midair!
All at once, those leaves split apart as though invisible Sword Qi had cleaved them neatly in two!
Every leaf was the same—perfectly even, without the slightest deviation!
The leaves danced in the wind before falling to the ground!
A cool breeze whispered by. Several spectators even felt a bone-piercing chill, as though an incomparably sharp sword were pointing at them, about to pierce their skin!
The hair beside someone's cheek, lifted by the wind, soundlessly parted down the middle, as if an invisible sword had cleaved it apart.
A youth stood amid the drifting leaves. Before him, Zhou Yihang's body, as mighty as a god or devil, split along the centerline and slowly toppled to either side!
Sorry, yesterday I suddenly found myself unable to feel any happiness at all. My mood sank, and I couldn't find any inspiration to write. I apologize to everyone. I adjusted my mindset, and I'm fine now.
Before you continue