Slaying the Demon
In the distance, in the Ji Jie of flying mid-air, a sudden feeling arose within me. Sensing the movement in this direction, I stopped and looked back, only to see:
A bolt of pure purple lightning spread out from the Great Void, transforming into a purple lightning pillar that struck directly above Su Yao.
Su Yao, struck by the lightning, collapsed to the ground.
Ji Jie felt a pang of sadness, her eyes filled with envy, and she murmured:
"Purple Thunder Hammer, Yugu Drum."
After looking at it for a long time, he took out the token, his eyes filled with reluctance. He gently stroked it, tears welling in his eyes, then turned his head away, bowed, and held the token high in his hands, choking back sobs as he said:
"This disciple is unfortunate and has no chance to remain in Penglai today. I return your precious treasure. From this day forward, only the Chi Jie of the Yanjing Clan will exist in this world; the Penglai Ji Jie will never return."
After he finished speaking, the token slowly flew up and disappeared into the Great Void.
Chi Jie turned around and flew quickly towards Mount Ziyi. Soon, he arrived at the Mount Ziyi.
Ancient ceremonial music resounded, and a golden road appeared on Mount Ziyi. Chi Jie stepped onto the road and entered Mount Ziyi along it.
In the mountains, the Red Emperor's people were already waiting on both sides. Upon seeing Chi Jie:
"Welcome back to the mountain, Young Clan Chief."
Chi Jie waved his hand and looked at the leading elder:
"I will now go into seclusion in the grotto-heaven to await the arrival of the Purple Mansion. If any disciples of Qixia Temple come to the mountain in the future, please take the bottle of Penglai Immortal Wine that I sent back a few years ago from my storeroom as a token of my hospitality."
The old man nodded, but was interrupted before he could speak. Chi Jie continued:
"Then take a cup of wine from the Primordial Fire Brew made by our ancestors."
The old man's expression changed slightly, and he was about to refuse, but seeing Chi Jie's expression, he finally nodded and then tentatively asked:
"Now that the young clan leader has left Penglai... what will Penglai say about it?"
Chi Jie didn't stop walking, only replying calmly:
"Penglai has no Ji Jie; now only the Chi Jie remains in the world, and there is no more to say."
After speaking, he disappeared into the entrance to the cave ahead, and the golden light faded away, leaving the mountain gate silent once more.
As the gates of the grotto closed, the old man dismissed most of his clansmen. Only one woman in red asked after the crowd had dispersed:
"I observed that the Qixia Daozi was clearly lacking in Law Power, so why...?"
The old man shook his head:
"Qixia Temple is a branch of the Heavenly Venerable Venerable's lineage; how could you and I know this, just as no one could have predicted that the one who could attain the Rainbow Clouds in vain?"
The woman in red shook her head:
"The Dao Ancestor foresaw everything in the future; the very act of bestowing the name upon the child back then probably explained everything."
She paused, then looked into the distance:
"Aren't we all direct descendants of the Three Pure Ones? It's just that one of us entered the mortal world to become an emperor, while the other resides in the immortal mountains to cultivate mysteries. Back then, even Qixia came to our mountain gate to comprehend the profound meaning that His Red Emperor was concerned with. Although his family is currently on a closed mountain, there will eventually be a day when the mountain is reopened. They are much more at ease than us, who are trapped in this small space."
The old man shook his head in rebuttal:
"If we weren't confined to this small space, we would have long since lost our lives and property. How many people in the world fear these descendants of High Antiquity emperors emerging from the mountains to inherit the Mandate of Heaven?"
The woman in red did not reply, but instead said:
"The young clan leader is a descendant of True Lord. It was thought that by secretly sending him to Penglai to cultivate immortality, he could seek the Dao, but unexpectedly, the Chengzu still discovered it..."
The old man sighed:
"Although Chengzu has abdicated, he is about to attain enlightenment and will not allow such chaos. If it weren't for the young clan leader's admiration for Thunder Method and his insistence, I would have firmly opposed going to Penglai."
Upon hearing this, the woman in red prepared to leave.
After taking a few steps, he turned back and said:
"I certainly believe that the two young masters won't interfere in their fight, I'm just curious..."
The old man shook his head:
"When the Qixia Daozi was born, the sky was filled with rosy clouds. Even you and I, who are here, can see the rosy clouds over Qixia Mountain. At the time, we were so surprised that we thought True Lord had emerged from Qixia Temple."
He paused, then advised:
"Of course he has secrets. Back then, Chengzu and the Second Master both wanted to summon the Qizhen Master of Fate of Destiny to take him to see it, but they refused, even saying: 'Either the Qixia Mountain lineage is cut off, and the legacy left by the patriarch emerges from the Ask Amid the Clouds, allowing the radiant light to shine upon all living beings, or let Qixia Mountain cultivate in peace.' At that time, the Divine Core of the Hepu Witch Tribe tried to test him, but the Master of Destiny struck Master of Fate with that Turbid Qi Branch, leaving him with only his head, barely clinging to life in the blessed land, suffering daily from the erosion of turbid energy."
The woman in red shook her head, said nothing more, and headed straight for the mountain forest above.
In the Great Void, Mianning sat upright before an ancient carriage, its body exuding a faint, exotic fragrance. Three dragons, one golden, one white, and one red, pulled the carriage, their scales gleaming. Beneath the carriage, a white lotus floated in the air, its petals slightly open, shimmering with light.
Not far away, on a blue lotus, sat a young man in Qingyi robes. His hair and beard were as black as ink, but his face was extremely tense. His forehead was covered with cold sweat, and three shallow lines were furrowed between his brows.
A hammer and a drum floated in front of him, purple lightning surged from the hammer, the Yugu Drum resounded, and thunder fell like a waterfall downwards.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. The boy suddenly opened his eyes and shouted:
"Imperial Edict!"
With a thud of the purple hammer, the Yugu Drum resounded, and thunder surged forth, tearing through the Great Void like a towering purple pillar.
Amidst the thunder, a white lotus rose up, its heart enveloped in a wisp of dark energy. This dark energy slithered like a snake, dodging left and right amidst the lightning, attempting to escape.
Upon seeing this, Mianning's face darkened, and he raised his hand to lash the back of the three dragons with his whip.
The three dragons cried out in pain, and the carriage tilted violently, dragging it away into the distance.
Upon seeing this, the young man in Qingyi cursed inwardly, "Shameless!" but dared not hesitate. His figure suddenly transformed into a streak of blue light, following the carriage as it fled.
The black mist, enveloped by the white lotus, was about to pursue the two when it suddenly sensed a chilling pressure rising in front of it.
A jade ruyi appeared out of nowhere, its entire body lustrous and smooth. The three elements of heaven, earth, Three Powers rotated, sometimes the sun, moon, and stars shone brightly, sometimes the illusory shadows of mountains, rivers, and lakes floated and sank, and sometimes the essence, energy, and spirit condensed and returned to one.
The black aura paused slightly, attempting to retreat again, when a long, jet-black sword appeared behind it. The sword was three feet six and a half inches long, with blue lotus flowers entwined on its scabbard, swaying gently as if they were alive. The sword's aura spread out silently, blocking any escape route.
The black energy trembled violently, and a ring of dark red blood patterns suddenly appeared on its body, attempting to transform into blood lines and escape. Just as it was about to exert its power, the white lotus beneath it suddenly flashed, and a beam of light shot out without warning, cutting off its escape.
A furious roar came from within the black mist:
"Xicheng, you dare to plot against me? I'll eat you alive!"
From within the white lotus, Xicheng's laughter echoed:
"Senior, years ago you took advantage of my injury to defile my Dao body with your blood essence, attempting to use your Blood Qi to overcome my Rainbow Radiance. Having injured you some time ago, and now with this incident, your Blood Qi will never again be able to taint my Rainbow Clouds Dao."
At the same time, the purple hammer in front of the young man in Qingyi had appeared above the black mist without anyone noticing. The hammer was crackling with lightning, the Yugu Drum sounded on its own, and purple lightning bolts fell like pillars. A wonderfully mysterious sound came from the hammer:
"Imperial Edict!"
At a command, thunder crashed down.
The black mist had nowhere to escape. Surrounded and attacked by the white lotus glow, the jade ruyi, the green sword, and the purple hammer, it finally stopped struggling. Only a wisp of smoke remained, slowly dissipating in the lightning, disappearing into the depths of the Great Void along with the white lotus, as if it had never existed.