Chapter 3506: Ancient Daoist Sage
Ahead, the mist began to flow, revealing a hundred-zhang-wide passage.
Two ships sailed deeper into the black ocean.
"That Yu God is a deity of the Earthly Fiend Ghost City, just like the Six-Armed Divine Python. He has cultivated for over a hundred thousand years and is about to face his Eon Calamity," Wu Yue said.
About two hours later, the mist over the water turned dark red and gradually thinned, allowing them to see farther.
A landmass formed from piled bones and corpses emerged.
The mud was decayed flesh.
The stones were white bones of various shapes.
This landmass was vast beyond measure, growing a type of dark red tree. Their trunks were as thick as millstones, reaching a hundred zhang in height, bearing fruit shaped like human heads.
Besides the Six-Armed Divine Python and Yu God, some False Gods and Great Saints also drove sacred ships to the edge of the landmass.
There were as many as a hundred ships, large and small.
They all bowed in unison, saying, "We humbly invite the Wuji Heavenly Emperor!"
Hearing the word "Wuji," Zhang Ruochen felt a headache coming on. This title...
Wasn't it a bit of a clash?
From deep within the landmass, a deep voice rang out: "Present your gains from this trip, one by one! If the cultivation resources you offer are sufficient, I, the Master, will personally elevate your cultivation."
"Such arrogance. Can cultivation really be elevated just by saying so? Does he think he cultivates the Wuji Divine Dao?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Wu Yue smiled charmingly: "The Wuji Heavenly Emperor is no nobody. He was one of the two sages of the early Daoist period, back in the Primordial Era when the Three Paths first emerged. That era is so ancient that even I, having read eight billion volumes of books and thoroughly studied the official and unofficial histories of all clans across the ages, only know this one name."
"A remnant soul from the Primordial Era can still exist to this day?"
Zhang Ruochen was astonished.
Wu Yue said, "What's so surprising? Even flowers from the Primordial Era can bloom until now."
In the Primordial Era, Qi cultivators were the mainstream of cultivation.
The sages of the Three Paths, who pioneered new cultivation methods that have persisted to the present day, were undoubtedly extraordinary figures.
Yet now, one of the two Daoist sages had fallen to hiding in a forbidden domain, commanding a motley crew of demons and monsters to gather cultivation resources for him. It was truly lamentable.
No matter how glorious one's past life, in a new life, one must live a new way.
Yu God stepped forward first, gazing into the depths of the landmass, and declared loudly: "Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor, I have captured that Heavenly Maiden from the Death Divine Palace."
With a thought from Yu God, a ghostly Qi turned into chains, dragging out a block of ice several meters high, suspending it above the ship.
Mu Lingxi was frozen at the center of the ice, her silhouette beautiful, lost in slumber.
Gasps of surprise arose all around.
"Is it really the Death Heavenly Maiden? Legend says that Feng Tian's successful Nirvana used her physical body as a shell—she is practically the Heavenly Mother."
"I've heard that killing her would also severely wound Feng Tian."
"Why kill her? Controlling her is the way to check Feng Tian—that's her greatest value."
"Yu God has made a great contribution!"
"Feng Tian is too arrogant. A thousand years ago, she declared to the world that she would cut down all ancient powerhouses, restore order, and reorganize the order of fate. When the Heavenly Emperor recovers to his peak, she will learn the price she must pay!"
...
The cultivators present cast envious glances at Yu God.
The Six-Armed Divine Python was inwardly jealous, knowing that Yu God was about to receive a great opportunity.
For beings like them, Heaven-Repairing Realm gods with limited potential, even receiving guidance from a God King or God Venerable was a rare fortune, let alone a Divine Lord.
And what kind of figure was the Wuji Heavenly Emperor?
He was an existence far surpassing God Kings and God Venerables. Even as a remnant soul, he possessed unfathomable, heaven-reaching methods.
The Wuji Heavenly Emperor's voice drifted out: "Excellent! I can use a forbidden technique to elevate your cultivation to the point where you can withstand your first Eon-level calamity. However, this will damage your potential. Even if you live to a second Eon, your cultivation will never advance again. Are you willing?"
"To live an extra Eon is already the Heavenly Emperor's grace."
Yu God bowed deeply.
"Be loyal and work for me. When I recover to my peak, helping you live another Eon will be no difficult task," the Wuji Heavenly Emperor's voice rang out.
Zhang Ruochen's heart burned with anger. He finally understood why Feng Tian had always concealed Mu Lingxi's whereabouts.
So, all these years, she had been using Mu Lingxi as bait to lure these ancient powerhouses.
This was far too dangerous!
Just as he was about to act, the Corpse Clan old woman on the dragon-bone ship, who had been pretending to be unconscious, moved first. Her divine thought transformed into a divine voice, echoing through this forbidden domain: "A mere remnant soul dares to dream of restoring past glory? Are you not underestimating the Boundless ones of this era?"
Boundless divine might radiated from her, terrifying the cultivators on the ships by the water, forcing them all to kneel.
Some fell into the water with a "plop."
The Six-Armed Divine Python nearly lost its soul. How could it have imagined that among the Saint Realm cultivators it had captured, one was a Boundless?
The Corpse Clan old woman soared into the air, hovering midair. Her outer corpse shell cracked and burst open, releasing a domineering and powerful Death Divine Qi, with countless rule divine patterns spreading in all directions.
Her form underwent a drastic change, growing nine ferocious heads.
She was naturally not a Corpse Clan member—in fact, she couldn't even be called "she."
It was Nine Chi God King!
Nine Chi God King was a peak existence at the Qiankun Boundless level, one of the few figures beneath the Great Unbound Infinite.
In the Illusory Extinction Star Sea, he had once joined Bai Zun and Chimu God King in pursuing Zhang Ruochen and Qiangu Nüdi. Zhang Ruochen had only managed to severely wound him by activating the Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules within his Xuan Embryo.
Nine Chi God King was indeed formidable. Though reduced to a skeleton by the Ancestor Divine Qi, he had ultimately escaped.
"Today, I will borrow your Wuji Heavenly Emperor's lifelong cultivation to break through this Boundless shackle!"
Nine Chi God King's aura was extraordinary. One of his heads spat out divine fire, its temperature blazing, igniting the entire bone landmass. Then, with a long roar, he charged into the depths of the landmass.
The cultivators on the ships were crushed by the God King's might, unable to move, completely unable to escape.
"Crack!"
The ice suspended in midair shattered. Mu Lingxi spread a pair of dazzling wings from her back, flew out, and slowly descended onto the ship where Yu God stood.
"Aren't you supposed to be frozen?"
Yu God immediately activated his Divine Realm World, wary of Mu Lingxi.
Mu Lingxi smiled: "Yes, I was frozen! But whenever I wish, I can break free."
"You did this on purpose?"
Yu God sensed something was wrong, losing all desire to contend with her, and fled toward the black sea.
"Splash!"
From the sea, countless tentacles emerged, raising waves a hundred zhang high.
The waves sent Yu God flying, crashing into the bone landmass, carving a canyon dozens of miles long.
Xu Qiong's massive figure flickered in and out of sight within the black sea.
At the same time, a small green boat drifted in from the mist.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree stood at the bow, her posture proud, her gaze disdainful, carrying a hint of Feng Tian's authority.
Gong Nanfeng sat at the stern, eating something.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree shouted coldly: "Yu, how dare you abduct the Heavenly Maiden! Do you know what crime this is?"
Yu God was so furious he could vomit blood, wanting to retort that they were fishing!
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree's left hand reached into the void.
Her fingers turned into tree roots, sinking into the seawater.
"Boom!"
Dense roots extended from beneath the bone landmass, piercing Yu God's divine body.
His divine body exploded, turning into a cloud of ghostly mist.
The roots, stretching for a hundred miles, absorbed the nutrients from the mist, then slowly retracted, reverting to Blood Leaf Parasol Tree's slender jade hand.
"Too brutal!"
Gong Nanfeng lost his appetite and tossed the half-eaten fruit into the water.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree ignored the cultivators on the ships, clasping her hands behind her back, her gaze fixed on the depths of the bone landmass.
There, divine light was dazzling. Darkness, flames, lightning, time... various great divine abilities and techniques erupted in a concentrated burst.
"Boom!"
A terrifying corpse Qi surged from underground.
Immediately, thousands of Daoist sounds filled the heavens and earth.
Purple Qi gathered in the east, a divine bridge appeared in the west, flames raged in the south, and a cold moon rose in the north.
Nine Chi God King screamed in agony as one of his heads was severed, falling like a mountain to the ground near the sea. Divine blood turned into red rivers, flowing into the black ocean.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree frowned: "A mere remnant soul is this powerful? Even Nine Chi God King can't handle it?"
Nine Chi God King, now with seven heads, fled from the depths of the bone landmass, riding the Ghost King Vessel. Seeing Blood Leaf Parasol Tree, he was overjoyed: "Lord Blood Leaf, he's not a remnant soul! He found his own corpse buried here a thousand years ago, and his cultivation has recovered to a terrifying level. No, it must be more than a thousand years!"
The severed neck of one of Nine Chi God King's heads had a strange wound.
It didn't look like it had been cut off, but rather bitten off by some creature, the entire head devoured.
"This is my domain. Trespassers die!"
From deep within the bone landmass, a hand seal shot out, growing larger and larger, covering both Nine Chi God King and Blood Leaf Parasol Tree beneath it.
"Bang! Bang!"
The Saint Realm cultivators on the ships all exploded into blood mist.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree snorted, raising her right arm and swinging it out.
Her arm transformed into a blood-red parasol tree branch, with countless Death Rules flowing among the leaves and branches, colliding with the incoming hand seal.
"Boom!"
The sea surface exploded, space violently trembling.
The outer edge of the bone landmass cracked with countless fissures, each stretching a thousand miles.
Blood Leaf Parasol Tree flew up from the small green boat, landing on the bone landmass, and strode deeper. Her legs turned into dense tree roots, plunging into the ground, spreading thousands of miles away.
Nine Chi God King knew Blood Leaf Parasol Tree's power. His eyes darted around, but he didn't rush to leave.