Chapter 4128: There Is Still Yan Huanyu in This World
The stone army led by Lànshi Shén formed the "Ten Thousand Mysterious Mountains Formation," with layers of mountain ranges and perilous peaks standing tall, cutting across the void and blocking the powerful figures who sought to pursue the Soul Mother.
Shang Tian unleashed the Great Dao Desolate Seal, its radiant colors burning like blazing flames.
The seal landed within the formation, causing towering stone mountains ten thousand zhang high to collapse, some shattering into fragments, others turning to dust. Yet, only a few hundred were crushed, unable to break through the ten thousand mysterious mountains.
Wu Shi and Fan Chen each deployed their own methods, but trapped within the formation, they could not break out in a short time.
These mysterious mountains were manifestations of the stone cultivators' bodies, their surfaces covered with Ancestor-level order and formation inscriptions, as if protected by divine armor.
Only Huang Tian, before the "Ten Thousand Mysterious Mountains Formation" could fully activate, broke through layer after layer of obstruction, chasing the Soul Mother down Love Mountain.
The Soul Mother was grievously wounded. Fan Chen's Ten Thousand Buddhas Illuminating the Universe had shattered half her body, Shang Tian's Heaven's Desolation and Earth's Aging divine ability had struck her twice, and Huang Tian's stone axe had severed one of her arms. Even the Lamp of Life and Death had been snatched back by Huang Tian.
A Half-Ancestor, besieged to this point, felt nothing but humiliation, with fury festering in her heart.
"Who exactly are you? At this stage, you still dare not use your original power?"
Huang Tian held the stone axe in one hand and the Lamp of Life and Death in the other, leaping across the ground, each step spanning a world.
Pursuing a Half-Ancestor with the cultivation of a Heavenly Venerable rank, besides Zhang Ruochen, he was the first.
His eyes burned like two seas of fire, his battle intent boundless. The Soul Mother had no doubt about Huang Tian's determination to fight to the death, possibly even self-destructing his divine source to keep her here.
Moreover, even as a Half-Ancestor, she could not stop him.
This was the superposition of momentum, spirit, and will!
It was enough to instill fear in opponents stronger than him.
The Soul Mother was extremely weakened, barely able to maintain Half-Ancestor-level combat power. She was reluctant to engage in a prolonged struggle with Huang Tian in this state, and even more worried that Fan Chen, Shang Tian, and Wu Shi would break through the Ten Thousand Mysterious Mountains Formation and give chase.
Finally.
The Soul Mother joined forces with the Kinnara Corpse Army at the mountain's base, flying down to the center of the formation.
She turned to look at the pursuing Huang Tian, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes. She activated the formation, gathering the power of billions of Kinnara Corpse Army soldiers.
"Go!"
With a finger gesture, a surging river of corpse qi surged out from the formation.
Huang Tian, with the momentum of splitting heaven and earth, swung his axe straight down, intending to cleave the river of corpse qi in two.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the river of corpse qi sent Huang Tian flying backward, his body colliding with the mountain body of Love Mountain.
The Soul Mother's mind calmed completely, and she said flatly, "Did you really think I feared you? I just didn't want to fight to the death with you. Huang Tian, you paid the price of an eon of lifespan to break through, but in the end, you're only at the Heavenly Venerable rank."
While healing, the Soul Mother assessed the current situation.
The Garuda Bone Army had been crippled by Saint Si's techniques, their combat power greatly diminished. Together with the equally battered Yama Army, they were besieging the Compassionate Venerable.
The Compassionate Venerable, while using the Abyssal Ancient Sword to break through the forbidden layers, also used the Bodhi Silver Flower Tree to erect a silver-glowing Buddhist kingdom, resisting the two armies.
Within the Buddhist kingdom, hundreds of thousands of cultivators sat cross-legged, continuously channeling their power into the Bodhi Silver Flower Tree to sustain the kingdom's integrity.
But cultivators kept falling!
The two armies had countless cultivators, including multiple God Kings and God Venerables, far beyond their ability to withstand.
The four armies—Heavenly Beings, Ghosts, Asuras, and Gandharvas—lacked an Indestructible Infinite-level powerhouse to lead them and dared not enter Love Mountain. They could only attack from the periphery of the Silent Night, helping Lànshi Shén and the Stone Army block Fan Chen, Wu Shi, and Shang Tian.
"Just capture the Compassionate Venerable, and victory is sealed. None of these people will escape the Ancestor's order field."
With this thought, the Soul Mother's Half-Ancestor rules interwove, her divine soul merging with heaven and earth. She formed hand seals and cast a Blood Devouring Curse, crossing layers of space to land on the Compassionate Venerable.
With the Blood Devouring Curse upon her, the Compassionate Venerable's blood continuously drained away, forcing her to endure with difficulty.
She had full confidence in Zhang Ruochen, believing he would return in time.
"As expected of the ten-thousand-reincarnation body of the Kāśyapa Buddha! You can still hold on? How much blood do you have to shed?"
After stabilizing her injuries, the Soul Mother left the Kinnara Army and headed over in person.
No matter what, she had to reclaim the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Boom!"
Huang Tian flew up from the ground at the foot of Love Mountain.
"He's been severely wounded. Stop him!"
The Soul Mother's divine voice transmitted into the battle formation of the Kinnara Corpse Army.
"Roar!"
"Kill the Heavenly Venerable!"
...
The Corpse Army feared no death, each filled with murderous intent, roaring continuously.
Huang Tian hurled the Lamp of Life and Death. The lamp landed on the ground, creating a pit hundreds of miles wide in front of the Corpse Army. Two flames—one of life and one of death—turned into tidal waves, one front and one back, clashing with the army's battle formation.
"I haven't lost yet! Where do you think you're going?"
Huang Tian leaped over the battle formation of the Kinnara Corpse Army, descending from the sky. His stone axe carved a ten-thousand-mile-long fissure in front of the Soul Mother, cutting off her path.
Standing in the flying dust, Huang Tian exuded a majestic aura that could swallow mountains and rivers. His long hair was disheveled, his body massive, like an eternal, undying war god. He roared, "Come and fight! Step over my corpse, and you may pass."
...
At Love Mountain Inn, the lamp flickered.
Meng Huang'e took out a bowl of soup with a strong fragrance and placed it on the table. "Drink this bowl of love soup, and I'll return the Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha to you."
"Is this Seventh Sister's bathwater?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Didn't you throw her in there?" Meng Huang'e chided with a smile, then added, "So, will you drink the bathwater?"
Zhang Ruochen knew full well the dire situation—Huang Tian and the Compassionate Venerable were in grave danger, with life and death hanging by a thread.
But forcing his way through was impossible.
No matter how urgent, he had to steady his mind.
Zhang Ruochen put on a helpless expression and sighed, "If it were any other woman... for the sake of dignity, I, this humble Daoist, would never drink it. But Seventh Sister is different. You are a green lotus in the rolling red dust, a flawless immortal flower. Your bathwater is the morning dew, the nectar of jade liquid. If I had to describe it in four words, it would be 'sought after in vain.'"
San Yingtian frowned deeply, unable to stomach such nauseating words, feeling his ears were being tortured.
But since Meng Huang'e had saved him from trouble, he owed her a great favor. So, for her sake, he waited quietly without making a move.
Meng Ershiba and Meng Huangni also found it unbearable, staring at the ceiling as if their minds were wandering elsewhere.
Was this highly cultivated Daoist priest always so frivolous?
This trick was taught by Jie Zunzhe.
Back then, when Zhang Ruochen, Jie Zunzhe, and Chi Yao were captured by Yuan Suyin, they used it on Yuan Sheng.
Though dishonorable and unsightly, it was practical.
The beauty trap worked every time, and the handsome man trap worked even better.
Meng Huang'e laughed heartily. "I like that mouth of yours. Whether true or false, it sounds pleasant, so it's true. Please!"
She pointed to the bowl of love soup.
Zhang Ruochen casually threw the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha to the ground, shouldering the Thousand-Army War Banner, and walked over step by step. "Seventh Sister, why are you backing away?"
"I'm afraid you might suddenly attack me."
Meng Huang'e retreated behind Meng Huangni and Meng Ershiba, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. In an instant, she pulled them into her Divine Realm World.
Zhang Ruochen's earlier guess was correct—Meng Huang'e did care about the lives of Meng Huangni and Meng Ershiba.
But now, she had solved that problem.
"No trust at all?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Though Meng Huang'e appeared to be affected by the love soup, as a cultivator of her depth, her true thoughts were unfathomable.
Her guard against Zhang Ruochen was always high.
There was no way to get close!
In that case...
Zhang Ruochen stopped playing along. In three strides, he covered the distance, breaking countless Ancestor orders. Using the Thousand-Army War Banner as a spear, just as Meng Huang'e pulled Meng Huangni and Meng Ershiba into her Divine Realm World, he thrust forward.
"Boom! Boom!"
The table and the bowl of love soup on it exploded into gas.
Meng Huang'e was prepared. A bright light appeared on her brow, and deep within that light was a vast, boundless netherworld.
From the netherworld, seventy-two Nether River lightning bolts flew out, clashing with the Thousand-Army War Banner.
Countless lightning bolts flowed back along the banner pole toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen endured these lightning bolts, using the Golden Thread Binding Dragon Rope to roll up the Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha on the ground, slinging it onto his back, and retreating toward the gap in the wall created earlier by Er Juntian and Hao Tian.
"Where do you think you're going, Daoist?"
San Yingtian had been waiting in ambush. The sound of his voice reached Zhang Ruochen's ears just as his Heavenly Qin Palm Technique struck first.
Zhang Ruochen formed a palm seal, also using the Heavenly Qin Palm Technique, and clashed with San Yingtian's incoming palm.
In San Yingtian's view, Saint Si, who was already fending off seventy-two Nether River lightning bolts, could never withstand his full-power palm strike.
But the moment their palms met, San Yingtian sensed something was wrong.
Saint Si's palm force was immense, infused with rules and divine qi.
No.
Not divine qi—corpse qi.
And there was corpse poison and disease curse!
"You've absorbed all of Sick Lion Tuo's cultivation? Impossible! It can't be fully converted... Pfft!"
Just as San Yingtian was stunned, two fists struck heavily against his back, shattering his internal organs and causing blood to spray from his mouth and nose.
It was the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha.
Earlier, on the way up the mountain, Zhang Ruochen had already resolved the Stone Sutra Death Curse for the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha.
Deliberately throwing the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha to the ground was a calculated move, predicting San Yingtian's attack path. The spot where the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha fell was the perfect ambush point.
"Vajra Arhat!"
The Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha changed his technique, his body turning golden like forged metal, and punched the severely wounded San Yingtian flying.
"Don't linger! Let's go!"
Zhang Ruochen repelled Meng Huang'e, then leaped out with the Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha on his back, escaping the Love Mountain Inn.
The Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha followed closely.
Meng Huang'e chased out of the inn, standing atop a millstone, her robes fluttering. She looked down at the rapidly fleeing Zhang Ruochen and the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha. "What a Saint Si! You said you wouldn't save them, but when it came down to it, you were more decisive than anyone."
San Yingtian walked out of the inn. "This Saint Si Daoist might really be connected to the Life and Death Elder. He didn't spend much time climbing the mountain, yet he resolved the Stone Sutra Death Curse. That's definitely an Ancestor-level secret art. And he inherited all of Sick Lion Tuo's cultivation power. Such methods are unheard of!"
"His corpse poison and disease curse?" Meng Huang'e asked.
"Somewhat affected. We'll slowly refine them after this battle," San Yingtian said.
Meng Huang'e said, "First, return to the army and suppress them with the battle formation. Otherwise, if even one Heavenly Venerable-rank self-destructs their divine source, the Eight Divisions Followers will suffer devastating losses."
She saw more clearly than the Soul Mother—they couldn't push Zhang Ruochen and the others into a corner.
Because they lacked the ability to suppress a Heavenly Venerable-rank self-destructing their divine source.
If forced to mutual destruction, they would die too.
What they needed to do was not kill Saint Si, Shang Tian, Huang Tian, Wu Shi, and Fan Chen, but contain them, preventing their escape.
Once Gandharva and Azure Deer God King suppressed the Fourth Confucian Ancestor, they could easily deal with these people.
...
Zhang Ruochen hurried down the mountain, his hands supporting the Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha's back and legs.
Through the hand on her back, he continuously absorbed the corpse poison and disease curse from her body.
The corpse hair fell off, and her white hair turned green.
Her skin, covered in corpse spots, also began to recover.
The Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha, like a weak, sickly girl in his arms, whispered two words, "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. You need to recover quickly. The battle is critical," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha closed her eyes, her fingers gripping Zhang Ruochen's clothes tightly, and shook her head. "Let me sleep a little longer!"
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the corpse poison and disease curse in the Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha's body had been completely absorbed into Zhang Ruochen's hand, fully restoring her.
Her hair, black and flowing like a waterfall, spread across her cheeks, reaching her slender waist. Her skin glowed white. She smiled. "Still saying you weren't affected by the love soup? Daoist, you're even more duplicitous than Meng Huang'e!"
Zhang Ruochen was speechless. "Saving you means I was affected by the love soup?"
"With such a dangerous situation... I can't think of another reason you would save me!" The Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha was convinced that Zhang Ruochen was deeply in love, a rippling smile in her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I saved the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha too!"
"If I had died, would you really have followed me in death?" The Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha blinked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Venerable, let's stop talking about love. You and the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha need to go rescue the Compassionate Venerable immediately. She is the key to whether we can escape alive today."
"Fine, Daoist, keep being stubborn. After this battle, we'll discuss this matter slowly. Also, don't believe those rumors—I am a serious Buddhist cultivator!"
The Precious Pearl Kṣitigarbha, holding the Golden Thread Binding Dragon Rope, headed straight for the Garuda Bone Army and the Yama Army with the Sandalwood Kṣitigarbha.
"What is this all about?"
Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself. He had never flirted with her.
If anything, he had flirted with Meng Huang'e.
As for Buddhist cultivators, he always kept his distance.
"Blazing Corpse Sea!"
Zhang Ruochen used the divine ability that Sick Lion Tuo had employed, creating a scene of a sea of corpses and blood, blocking the path in front of Huang Tian and clashing with the Soul Mother.
"Boom!"
The sea of corpses and blood shattered, with fragments of fireballs scattering everywhere.
He and Huang Tian both retreated, carving out two thousand-mile-long ravines.
Earlier, when facing the Soul Mother alone, Huang Tian's stone body had been shattered five times.
Even with his unparalleled recovery ability, his stone body was now covered in countless finger-wide cracks, unable to perfectly reform.
The Lamp of Life and Death changed hands again, returning to the Soul Mother.
"Are you alright?"
Zhang Ruochen held the Thousand-Army War Banner in one hand and the Human Head Banner in the other, facing the Soul Mother like a formidable enemy.
"Can't die! Old Daoist, you're not bad." Huang Tian said.
Such a sudden compliment surprised Zhang Ruochen.
Huang Tian rarely praised others.
The Soul Mother activated the Lamp of Life and Death, splitting heaven and earth in two.
One side was black death light, the other white life light.
She stood on the boundary between life and death. "I now hold life in one hand and death in the other. Even if you two fight to the death, you have no chance of winning."
Zhang Ruochen looked up and smiled proudly. "I am the second life of the Life and Death Elder, cultivating both life and death. Do you think you can kill us with life and death qi?"
"Courting death! You can't see the battle within the formation world, but I can. The Fourth Confucian Ancestor is on the verge of defeat. Your time is running out!" the Soul Mother said.
As if to confirm the Soul Mother's words, the sky above Love Mountain seemed to bleed, gradually turning red.
Accompanying the wind and thunder, a rain of blood fell in profusion.
It was the blood of the Fourth Confucian Ancestor!
Absorbing this blood, the Mañjuśrī flowers on Love Mountain grew even more vibrant.
The Fourth Confucian Ancestor might not have been defeated yet, but his physical body had certainly been destroyed.
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Tian, one on the left and one on the right, took the initiative to attack the Soul Mother, engaging in close combat.
The light of the Lamp of Life and Death erected an independent small world of life and death. The three figures interwove, the Soul Mother using both hands to receive the stone axe, the Thousand-Army War Banner, and the Human Head Banner, the ground cracking zhang by zhang.
After Meng Huang'e and San Yingtian entered the army's battle formation, the situation deteriorated over time.
Wu Shi was the first to have his physical body blown apart by San Yingtian's Heavenly Beings Army. All his blood and qi were suppressed under the battle formation. The formation's array plate ground his spiritual will like a millstone.
Fan Chen's cultivation and power rapidly declined, and he was captured and sealed by Meng Huang'e.
Only Shang Tian managed to escape the encirclement of the six armies.
Shang Tian joined Zhang Ruochen and Huang Tian, but the six armies had already surrounded them.
Meng Huang'e stood within the Asura Army, holding a silver-white staff, and laughed. "Saint Si Daoist, you've lost! Do you still want to fight?"
San Yingtian glanced at the edge of the Ancestor's order field, seeing that the Garuda Bone Army and the Yama Army had yet to subdue the Compassionate Venerable. "I'll leave this to you!"
San Yingtian's figure flickered and disappeared into the Heavenly Beings Army.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. "Struggling bitterly, but ultimately hard to overcome. The Eight Divisions Followers, life and death both difficult—this saying is not false! But if we truly fight to the death, the Eight Divisions Followers army might all be buried here. Can you withstand Shang Tian's self-destruction of his divine source, accumulated over more than a million years?"
The six armies retreated a thousand miles in unison.
Seeing their fear of self-destructing the divine source, Huang Tian raised his voice. "Shang Tian has three divine sources. Self-destructing one won't cost him his life. Senior Shang Tian, today's breakthrough depends entirely on you!"
Zhang Ruochen whispered in Shang Tian's ear, "I and Hall Master Huang Tian will do our utmost to create an opportunity for you. When you self-destruct your divine source, it's best to get closer to the Nether Envoy. She is the greatest threat."
The six armies retreated another few thousand miles.
Shang Tian's brows were tightly furrowed, and he remained silent. Suddenly, he looked up at the sky. "Too late!"
The outline of the formation world appeared above Love Mountain.
Gandharva walked out of the formation world, looking down at the ant-like figures below. "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor has been severely wounded and trapped within the formation. If you surrender, you may live until the day of the sacrifice."
Although the Fourth Confucian Ancestor was severely wounded and trapped, he had also left the Azure Deer God King behind. Their divine souls, spiritual power, and the formation's inscriptions merged into a chaotic state.
In a short time, they could not reform.
Outside the Ancestor's order field shrouded by the Silent Night, another mass of life-and-death divine light appeared.
Yan Huanyu's voice came from above the Gray Sea. "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor is severely wounded, but there is still Yan Huanyu in this world."
"Tianhuang is decided by the Meng family. This old man also requests to fight."
Meng Naihe's voice followed, surging like a tide.
Lànshi Shén was greatly alarmed, finding it hard to believe. Er Juntian had clearly suppressed the "Book of Life and Death" into Tianhe. How did Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe escape the "Book of Life and Death" and Tianhe?
The battle between Er Juntian and Hao Tian was not yet over. Who could enter Tianhe to rescue them?
No!
Besides Er Juntian and Gandharva, no one in the entire Gray Sea could freely enter and leave Tianhe.
"Another powerful figure has come to the Gray Sea." This thought surfaced in the minds of Lànshi Shén, Gandharva, Meng Huang'e, and San Yingtian.
(Chapter End)