The Hopes of Immortals and Demons

Once the white lotus disappeared, the purple hammer, the Yugu Drum, the longsword, and the jade ruyi also vanished, leaving behind ripples in their wake.

A moment later, Mianning arrived first. The carriage he had been sitting in was gone, leaving only a white lotus at his feet.

Then a voice rang out:

"Brother Dao is still as shameless as ever, just like back in the days of the Investiture of the Gods. Your esteemed Dao is just as shameless in swindling people."

Upon hearing this, Mianning turned around and saw the young man in Qingyi reappear.

Then he laughed and said:

"Brother Jiangzhen, you are mistaken. The matter of the Investiture of the Gods has long been settled, so there is no need for us to discuss it further."

He paused and then said:

"After all, when your sect declined, it was only with the support of those few deities from the Investiture of the Gods that you were able to overcome the difficulties. If it weren't for the Investiture of the Gods, many of your sects would have been wiped out in the great war between immortals and demons, immortals and Buddhas at the end of the week."

Jiangzhen snorted coldly, offering no further reply, and then took out a wooden box, saying:

"I see many extraordinary qualities in this young man from Qixia, and the appearance of that Law Power earlier was quite strange."

Mianning frowned and explained:

"Don't ask me. The treasures of the Pure Qi are precious, and Heavenly Venerable Guangcheng hasn't passed down his lineage. If he hadn't designated the four realms of Jade Void, Eight Sceneries, Biyou, and Heavenly Court before leaving, the number of cultivators in the world would be at least 50% less. He wouldn't have bestowed such treasures unless absolutely necessary. Qixia Temple only has a few Pure Qi Spirit Treasure, all of which are recorded. Even Perfected Qizhen wouldn't bestow them casually."

Upon Jiangzhen remained silent, secretly pondering to himself:

He knew all about this, but the kid had won after all, and the descendant of the Red Emperor had returned to Mount Ziyi. He had done what he needed to do, and he was too lazy to care anymore. He tossed the wooden box in his hand toward Mianning.

"Here, take this calligraphy piece you were promised earlier."

Mianning took the wooden box and was about to speak again when he saw Jiangzhen vanish in a stream of light.

Seeing this, Mianning shook his head helplessly, and then flew towards Su Yao in the present world.

Mount Zhongnan.

The location of the Qixia Temple gate.

Unlike the usual tranquility and peace, today the entire Mount Zhongnan, below Qixia Mountain, seemed to be submerged in a sea of blood.

The sea of blood rose endlessly, and with each zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) it rose, the blood waves solidified a little more.

Amidst the sea of blood, countless afterimages floated and sank.

Sometimes it appears as half a distorted human face, as if the creatures devoured by this demon over thousands of years are still trapped within it, unable to escape; sometimes it transforms into the claws of a beast covered in scales, helplessly scratching towards the mountain gate; more often, it is just a blurry shadow, churning, surging, and piling up beneath the sea.

He roared, and the world darkened slightly.

However, every time the blood waves were about to reach the mountain gate, an invisible barrier would block them.

Then, furious demonic sounds echoed from within the waves of blood, sometimes like the roar of a blood beast amidst a storm of carnage, and sometimes like whispers from the depths of a nightmare:

"Xicheng, you've gone too far in bullying me."

But no one responded for a long time. He roared, and the blood wave rose even higher, pressing down on the gate of Qixia Temple.

Under the somber sky of Mount Zhongnan, the crimson hue rose and fell, fell and rose again.

After a long while, a very soft "click" sounded as the door opened.

The sea of blood instantly froze.

The mountain gate opened wide, and a figure dressed in a purple Daoist robe slowly stepped out half a step.

It is indeed True Lord Xicheng!

He looked down at the towering waves of blood, his lips curled in disdain:

"Senior, you've fallen for my trick this time too."

The moment the words fell, the demonic voice rose again:

"Xicheng, you're only fooling me because I'm trapped by the formation set up by Yun Zhongzi and can only barely exert the strength of the Peak Golden Core. If I were in my prime, I would eat any True Lord like you one by one."

Xicheng chuckled lightly upon hearing this, and said sarcastically:

"But our senior has been suppressed under Mount Zhongnan by the Ancestral Master, along with his Blood Qi Attainment, for ten thousand years, never seeing the light of day."

Upon hearing this, He calmed down and scoffed:

"It's all thanks to you, Xicheng, that I was able to escape more. Before your accident, I could only exert the power of the Divine Core at most. It was because of your accident that my strength has greatly increased."

Xicheng remained silent for a moment before finally speaking:

"I will repay my debt with my life in the future for my transgressions."

He sneered:

"You'd really give your life for me?"

Xicheng looked up at the main hall, which was faintly visible above the mountain gate, and spoke in a tone as faint as a sigh:

"If one can live, who would want to die?"

Before He could ask again, Xicheng turned around and slowly continued:

"I, Qixia Temple, am a pure and tranquil place of immortal cultivation. Because of my own mistake, I have broken the rules and forced our lineage to move away from our ancestral temple to the South Sea. Qizhenzi always thought that as long as that kid didn't come down the mountain, Qixia Temple wouldn't have to get involved in worldly affairs. But if they really come that day, and they bring the Pangu Banner, the Chaos Bell, the Taiji Diagram, or even the Xuanyuan Sword of the Human Sovereign, Qixia Temple will have no chance left."

"Years ago, I was already severely injured, but I managed to breathe my last and exhaled a stream of Golden Nature onto Qixia Mountain, hoping that Qizhenzi wouldn't be left isolated and helpless in the future, and that Qixia Temple would have someone to rely on. But heaven blessed Qixia Temple, and a person favored by the Rainbow Clouds appeared. What I didn't expect was that the boy was more eager to go down the mountain than anyone else, and he didn't even have time to use the backup plan I had prepared."

After he finished speaking, Xicheng burst into loud laughter.

Within the sea of blood, His rage surged once more, and waves of blood roared upwards like a tidal wave.

But at that moment, He realized something was wrong and immediately tried to retreat.

Xicheng had appeared before Him at some unknown time, the peach wood sword at His waist already in His hand, and he thrust it straight at Him.

Fast, too fast!

It was so fast that He didn't have time to dodge, and was stabbed in the left eye by the peach wood sword that Xicheng had stabbed him in last time.

Then, endless rays of light emanated from the peach wood sword!

The rosy light flowed, burst, and intertwined within His body. He roared in pain, his body trembling violently, as if the entire sea of blood was boiling with His agony.

Instead of retreating, He advanced, a blood-red blade materializing from his palm, which he thrust towards Xicheng's chest.

But Xicheng neither dodged nor evaded, letting the blood-stained blade approach, his peach wood sword remaining motionless, even forcefully piercing into His eyes.

Just as the blood-red blade was about to touch Xicheng, an apricot-yellow light emerged from Xicheng's body, deflecting the blood-red blade.

The force of the rebound was so great that he threw out the blood-stained blade in his hand and used the momentum to quickly move away from the peach wood sword.

He steadied himself and looked at Xicheng again:

"Jiansu's trick of deceiving everyone was quite effective; I hid this treasure inside that kid's body, and I'm giving it to you."

Xicheng remained silent, a sword box appeared in his left hand, and he threw it toward Blood Blade.

Seeing this, He wanted to take the blood-stained blade, but Xicheng blocked him with a peach wood sword.

The sword case successfully stored the Blood Blade.

Xicheng used the peach wood sword to force him back, and in a flash, he appeared inside the mountain gate.

Xicheng looked at Him:

"Senior, please take care and don't see me off."

After he finished speaking, the mountain gate closed.

The blood-red wave roared for a long time, but eventually it slowly receded and returned to the dilapidated temple below.

His form appeared, his gaze fixed on the direction of Mount Ziyi, and he whispered:

"It'll be soon, Su Yao, right? I hope you achieve the Golden Core stage soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter echoed through the dilapidated temple.