Xi Yue pressed a hand to her forehead as she looked at the cave beside her, which was on the verge of collapsing. She felt rather helpless. She had only wanted to test its power, yet she had nearly blasted the whole place apart.
At the same time, she inwardly grumbled about that old bird. He had been utterly careless, not even bothering to set up a few powerful Magic Formations. Now she did not even have a place to cultivate in seclusion.
Ultimately, her cultivation was too shallow. She could not possibly comprehend this Peerless Heavenly Art completely in such a short time. For now, she could barely form its opening stance, and even that had required the aid of her astounding wisdom.
She sealed the beast hides back inside the bone, then hid the bone in a Divine Furnace. Only after applying several more seals did she feel reassured.
There was plenty of time ahead. She could leave the rest for another day and slowly work through it.
The commotion was enormous. The Old Deity who had delivered the news had not yet gone far, and upon hearing it, he hurried back, terrified that something might have happened to this little ancestor.
"I'm fine. I killed that old bird." Xi Yue waved a hand, casually took out a stalk of Saint Medicine as payment, and told him to return to the Heaven Mending Sect first.
Between one thing and another, a month had already passed. Recently, another frenzy had swept through the Desolate Region.
"The Hundred Broken Mountains, which appear only once every few centuries, are about to open. Who will pour into this Ancient Secret Realm this time to compete for Saint Medicine, Heavenly Bones, and All Saints' Inheritances?"
"They say all the great Primordial Divine Mountains are making major moves. Pureblood Vicious Beast cubs will be entering!"
"I heard the outstanding talents of the Deer-Chasing Academy, the Human Emperor's Daughter, and that Double-Pupiled One will all be coming to vie for opportunities!"
"The Double-Pupiled One is coming too?! Who in the Hundred Broken Mountains could possibly be his match? Who could stand against his edge?"
Double-pupiled beings had been undefeated since ancient times, becoming saints and deities in the ancient era. In recent years, the Double-Pupiled One had also repeatedly broken records in the Void God Realm. Everyone already regarded him as the future Desolate Region Overlord and held him in the highest esteem.
There were even rumors that a great sect in the Outer Realm had taken an interest in the Double-Pupiled One and wanted to bring him over, setting everyone abuzz.
The Outer Realm was a land whose spiritual richness nurtured outstanding talents, stronger than the Desolate Region by countless times. Its great sects could look down upon the world, with nothing able to stand in their way.
If the news was true, the entire Desolate Region would be shaken, and every faction would face a sweeping reshuffle.
At that moment, Xi Yue had transformed into a handsome, jade-faced young man. She sat sipping tea in a teahouse, her ears pricked up as she took in everyone's discussions.
"Miss, are we going in too?" Qing Shuang asked.
"How many times have I told you? Call me young master now." Xi Yue reached out and gave her a light tap, then said, "Of course we're going. Why wouldn't we? It's a perfect chance for you to go in and temper yourself too."
Although Qing Shuang was nominally a maid, she was still a First Generation. Even in the Three Thousand Provinces, she would rank among the very best.
She usually kept her mountains and waters hidden, but her fighting prowess was absolutely formidable enough to dominate the Nine Heavens. This was the perfect time to bring her out for some practice. Xi Yue could hardly be expected to handle everything herself.
After all, she had her own matters to attend to. Some things in the Hundred Broken Mountains interested her quite a bit.
"Let's go. To Broken Void City."
Xi Yue pulled Qing Shuang close. The hairpin holding up her lovely hair flew out on its own, expanding rapidly in midair into a great halberd. With a ripping sound, it tore open a void passage.
With her meager cultivation, she naturally could not wield this great halberd's power.
Fortunately, the magical power Third Granduncle had imbued into the War Halberd allowed her to open void passages freely in the Lower Realm, sparing her the misery of trudging from place to place.
At the thought, she inwardly gave Xu Tianheng a thumbs-up. Her own family really did think of everything.
Bone text interwove amid a multitude of symbols. The exit shone brilliantly, as though divine flame were burning there.
The two stepped out onto a plain without alerting anyone. Behind them, the passage gradually grew insubstantial, scattering a rain of light before vanishing.
There were no towering mountains here. Looking into the distance, they could see a magnificent ancient city standing on the horizon.
This was an ancient sacred land that had once enjoyed the height of glory, only to decline steadily because of war.
Once, an unrivaled talent had kindled divine flame and looked down upon the mortal world, ruling a realm stretching hundreds of millions of li and founding an Immortal Ancient Kingdom. In the end, however, it had vanished into the passage of time.
A city stood ahead, imposing in its grandeur. Its gate tower was magnificent, and its grayish-brown walls rose high, though time had still left indelible traces upon them.
People streamed endlessly through the city. Countless merchants and porters came and went, and it remained fairly prosperous.
The streets teemed with people. Primordial Vicious Beasts thundered along pulling carriages, their imposing presence startling everyone around them.
"How lively. Quite a lot of people have come."
Xi Yue offered her assessment while buying up goods along the street.
It was a habit of hers. Since she was already here, would the trip not be wasted if she neither left something behind nor took something away?
The Hundred Broken Mountains opened only once every few centuries, and each opening shook the world. Across the boundless lands, all the greatest powers escorted their clans' geniuses here.
There were many powerful cultivators. Old monsters of the Inscription Realm could often be seen, and even some Array Formation Realm Lords had personally come to escort their juniors.
As for Venerables, they were the sea-calming anchors of their respective traditions or clans. Unless some great upheaval occurred, they rarely emerged into the world.
"A great figure from Xiling Beast Mountain has arrived!" someone in the street called out softly.
A splendid carriage rolled forth, drawn by several vicious beasts. Its curtains were strung with jade beads, revealing the scene inside to everyone.
Within sat a white tiger with a savage gaze. Several beautiful women attended it, feeding it chunks of meat.
At that moment, it seemed to have come into conflict with another party. Its driver confronted them, but the opposing faction seemed equally extraordinary. In the end, they parted on bad terms.
Xi Yue raised her eyes, and her gaze soon settled on a chubby little boy in the crowd with a round, plump face. He looked every bit a mischievous brat, and his identity was all but obvious.
Who else could he be but Shi Hao?
Still, she did not approach him. Their paths would cross when the time came. There was no need to rush over and insert herself; she could simply let everything take its natural course.
"Another great figure has arrived. Who is that?"
Another carriage passed by, followed by a vast throng of guards. Their silver armor gleamed with a cold light.
"It seems to be the Fire Kingdom's Human Emperor's Daughter!"
Those words stirred a thousand waves. The entire street instantly erupted.
Everyone clamored to catch a glimpse of the Human Emperor's Daughter, but unfortunately, the person inside the carriage did not show herself, leaving them disappointed.
Xi Yue had arrived fairly early, before all the inns filled up. She and Qing Shuang took lodgings in a garden estate and waited for the Hundred Broken Mountains to open.
Half a month later, a bank of mist rose at the distant edge of the land, hazy and ethereal. Then a tremendous boom shook heaven and earth, and ten thousand streams of radiant light shot forth.
Everyone in Broken Void City was shaken. The spectacle was vast and incomparable, as though a dormant Primordial Vicious Beast had awakened and opened its eyes amid chaos.
At the edge of the land, chaos churned and purple lightning flashed, roiling-
-and rolling with a heaven-shaking roar. A vast whiteness filled the world, like great waves sweeping into the sky. The spectacle was terrifying beyond compare!
At the farthest edge of heaven and earth, indistinct shadows manifested, resembling rising mountain ranges, flickering in and out of sight.
Yet upon closer inspection, the land still seemed to be an unbroken plain. Those supposed shadows were in another realm, separated by endless void, and were only now manifesting here.