Volume 4 Chapter 8

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Volume 4 Chapter 8: Beyond the Mountain

If Xu Qingfan were conscious at this moment, he would find it hard to believe that this imposing elder was the carefree and unrestrained Liu Huaxiang Martial Uncle Liu he knew so well.

Though his appearance remained aged and his body frail, the terrifying aura he exuded was astonishing, making one feel that Liu Huaxiang was an extraordinary strong figure of the ages, rather than an old man on the brink of death with only a sliver of twilight glow remaining.

Perhaps, at this time, without Xu Qingfan and without Ting’er, he was no longer the reclusive and eccentric Liu Huaxiang, but the grandmaster Li Xuhan!

After scaring off Little Green, Liu Huaxiang looked at Xu Qingfan’s cottage and sighed softly, squinting his eyes, he whispered, "If heaven could grant me a bit more time, I wouldn’t have to rush and handle things hastily."

Only Liu Huaxiang knew that although he had used the "Soul Annihilation Technique" to forcefully stay in the mortal realm, his strength was quickly waning along with his life. During Xu Qingfan’s retreat, he went down the mountain to seek materials for the secret technique, not only to save time and in case of emergencies, but also because Liu Huaxiang knew his time was limited. In ten or twenty years, his power wouldn’t even match Xu Qingfan’s current state. That’s why he wanted to prepare everything while he still had the strength.

Sighing once more, Liu Huaxiang raised his hands, and a rainbow light appeared, surrounding Xu Qingfan’s cottage, forming a protective barrier. Then, turning towards a certain place on the peak of Jiuhua Mountain, he opened his eyes wide and shouted lightly, "Open!"

The voice, though not loud, carried immense might, causing the winds and clouds to change, and Little Green trembled uncontrollably beside him.

As he let out this gentle shout, the entire summit of Jiuhua Mountain began to tremble intensely. Then, at the spot Liu Huaxiang had just been watching, the ground cracked open and a mysterious tunnel suddenly appeared at the top of Jiuhua Mountain.

The tunnel was extremely deep and large. Despite the blazing sun above, the tunnel remained pitch black, leaving its true depth unknown. The entrance was so vast that even Little Green, with his towering height, could easily come and go.

This tunnel was exactly what Liu Huaxiang had told Xu Qingfan about as the way down the mountain. While the "Nine Pole Array" sealed off the surroundings and sky of Jiuhua Mountain, it couldn’t block the underground. Jiuhua’s founder had built this tunnel as an escape route for disciples in case of an attack.

Because this tunnel was so secretive and important, Liu Huaxiang had to use his powers to render Ting’er unconscious before revealing it. The secret of the tunnel was known only to him and Zhang Hualing on Jiuhua Mountain.

Jiuhua Mountain stands about two thousand feet high, with solid rock formations. Constructing such a concealed tunnel at the summit must have been a monumental effort.

After the tunnel appeared, Liu Huaxiang extended his hands, and Ting’er, who had fainted, floated into his arms. Without hesitation, Liu Huaxiang leaped into the tunnel, holding Ting’er.

Seeing Ting’er being taken away by Liu Huaxiang, Little Green grew anxious and, despite his fear of Liu Huaxiang, jumped into the tunnel as well.

As the figures of Liu Huaxiang, Ting’er, and Little Green disappeared into the tunnel, the ground shook again, and the large entrance rapidly closed, vanishing into the summit of Jiuhua Mountain.

The cold wind howled, stirring up snowflakes, and with Liu Huaxiang and the others gone, the summit of Jiuhua Mountain fell silent once more. Only an occasional phoenix cry came from the grass hut where Xu Qingfan stayed.

…

During Xu Qingfan’s retreat, several earth-shattering events occurred in the cultivation world.

First, the Newcomer Competition, held every sixty years, was disrupted by unknown cultivators. Elite disciples from over ten major sects were all killed, including those from the Holy Land sects "White Lady Palace" and "Jiuhua Mountain."

More terrifyingly, the six Holy Lands hosting the Newcomer Competition were completely unaware of the disruption.

Next, "Jiuhua Mountain," one of the six Holy Lands, was attacked by unknown cultivators. It is said that these unidentified individuals were responsible for the Newcomer Competition’s disruption and targeted Jiuhua Mountain specifically. It remains a mystery who this powerful cultivator is, capable of severely crippling Jiuhua Mountain, leading it to announce an indefinite closure until it recovers.

In response, many "wise figures" in the cultivation world declared that Jiuhua Mountain might permanently withdraw from the cultivation world, echoing sentiments from 800 years ago.

As for who exactly attacked Jiuhua Mountain, all those in the know remain silent, causing widespread speculation.

If these two pieces of news were shocking, then the next three are simply unbelievable.

After the severe damage suffered by Jiuhua Mountain, another Holy Land, "White Lady Palace," encountered a similar crisis three years later. Over forty elders were affected, with thirty suddenly losing their cultivation and soon dying due to exhaustion of life force. The palace master, Li Tianying, lost her sanity, killing over ten of her disciples and sisters. The damage to "White Lady Palace" surpassed that of Jiuhua Mountain, and before they could close their gates for recovery, another attack further weakened them.

After experiencing several setbacks, "White Lady Palace" became a third-rate power in the cultivation world, so the other Four Holy Lands only provided some help before reclaiming the "Xuanwu Token" from them. Faced with this loss of power, the "White Lady Palace" could only be silently angry and unable to protest.

Subsequently, after a discussion among the Four Holy Lands, the "Xuanwu Token" was given to the "Liuhe Gate," which was second only to the Six Holy Lands in terms of strength and reputation, officially recognizing it as the new Holy Land.

But a more surprising event occurred shortly after becoming the new Holy Land, when "Liuhe Gate" experienced an internal conflict. During this chaos, well-known figures like Taoist Jiuze were imprisoned unexpectedly, and the senior disciple Deng Tianao, with the backing of other Liuhe Gate elders, became the new sect leader.

At the same time, the sect leader of Qingxu Gate was also overthrown by a planned collaboration of elders within the sect. The new Sect Master turned out to be an unknown person, which became quite the curiosity in the cultivation world.

Moreover, during this time, the most attention-grabbing entity in the cultivation world was the "Eight Wilderness Hall," known for its great power. Due to its remote location, its disciples were rarely seen among other cultivators, but recently, "Eight Wilderness Hall" has inexplicably annihilated over ten cultivation sects, some of significant strength, yet they could not resist at all.

In these actions, the fame of the experts from "Eight Wilderness Hall" spread widely across the cultivation world. Previously obscure cultivators like the Flying Sixty-Four Generals and the Twelve Evil Immortals displayed astonishing strength. Coupled with the brilliance of the young disciple Huang Xie and the mysterious eight hall masters, the power displayed by Eight Wilderness Hall seemed to have surpassed the Six Holy Lands!

Meanwhile, as the cultivation world fell into chaos, the mortal realm was also in disarray. The most powerful countries in the prosperous Middle-earth were at war for various reasons, and the sand tribes of the Western Desert began invading Middle-earth, causing countless mortal deaths due to warfare. It felt as though the entire Shenzhou Continent had gone insane.

There is a saying in the cultivation world, "When the cultivation world is in chaos, the mortal world follows."

From the recent changes in the cultivation world to the successive wars in the mortal realm, and thinking about the ancient calamity legend passed down over tens of thousands of years, cultivators everywhere were filled with unease.

Could it be that the next great disaster in the cultivation world, as foretold in legends, is really about to happen soon?

At this moment, there are still exactly fifty years before the legendary next great disaster begins.

…

The sounds of battle, cries of pain, anguished screams, and roars resounded endlessly, echoing the darker side of humanity.

The glint of swords and knives reflecting sunlight, the spurting blood as blades and spears pierced bodies, eyes tinged red with the intent to kill or out of fear, this was a battlefield of the mortal world.

Even with Liu Huaxiang’s power at the Mahayana Stage, witnessing the chaotic battle below with hundreds of thousands involved and countless losing their lives every moment, seeing souls wandering the sky and hearing mournful cries, he couldn’t help but feel shocked and relieved that he hadn’t brought Ting’er along. With Ting’er’s soul and body altered by the magic orb, who knows what strange changes might have occurred upon seeing such a scene.

The reason Liu Huaxiang came to this battlefield was to collect the souls of the wronged and their blood essence.

Although Xu Qingfan, due to having the traits of a phoenix, no longer needed human souls and blood essence to enhance his vitality, performing the secret technique for Xu Qingfan required not just increased vitality but using these elements in many aspects.

For Liu Huaxiang, in executing this secret technique, other rare materials might be relatively easy to find, but sourcing a large amount of human souls and blood essence was not so simple. He was not like Zhang Xusheng, who would destroy a sect or a nation without hesitation to gather these resources.

Originally, Liu Huaxiang planned to seek out bandits in the mortal world to kill, collecting vengeful spirits and vital essence. Although it was a slow process, it was in harmony with the heavens. However, soon after, large-scale wars erupted everywhere, and the once scarce vengeful spirits and vital essence were abundant, saving Liu Huaxiang much trouble.

The war lasted an entire day. As daylight turned to darkness, both sides sounded the drums to retreat, preparing to continue the battle the next day.

The once noisy battlefield quieted down after both sides retreated, except for a few dying soldiers, left unattended, who occasionally groaned in pain and despair.

Although it was now night, with vengeful spirits most active and the blood in countless corpses still fresh, it was the best time to collect spirits and vital essence. Yet, Liu Huaxiang remained hidden, cloaking himself even more in the night, seemingly waiting for something.

Indeed, it wasn’t long before a group of more than ten people dressed in purple appeared on the battlefield. If Liu Huaxiang had seen Zhang Xusheng in another attire, he would have been shocked by their outfit. Apart from lacking the gold trim on the purple clothes and the rings on their fingers, they were dressed exactly like Zhang Xusheng!

The purple-clad figures arrived on the battlefield, each taking out a blood-red gourd, chanting under their breath. As their lips moved, a storm suddenly arose over the vast battlefield. The wounds on the fallen soldiers widened dramatically, and a torrent of blood surged forth, forming a sea of blood that flowed into the gourds. Despite their small size, the gourds easily absorbed the sea of blood.

After completing this task, the purple-clad figures then took out white gourds, chanting once more. A loud wailing of spirits filled the air as the vengeful souls hovering above were drawn into the white gourds.

Satisfied with their work, the purple-clad figures left.

Silently watching this supernatural event unfold, Liu Huaxiang sighed softly and began to gather the remaining vengeful spirits and vital essence on the battlefield.

This scene was the eighth time Liu Huaxiang had encountered it in the past four years.

At first, when Liu Huaxiang learned about the outbreak of war in the world, he was relieved he didn’t have to take action. But as the war spread, he finally realized something was wrong.

Among the countries involved in the war, there were some wise rulers. Why would they start endless wars over trivial matters? And why expand the scale of the war without any reason? There were no benefits other than exhausting resources and damaging their own nations, yet they continued to do so enthusiastically?

It’s not surprising to find one madman, but if all rulers in the world became mad, it would be very suspicious.

So while collecting vital essence and resentful souls, Liu Huaxiang also investigated openly and covertly. He was shocked to discover that the rulers of the empires involved in the war were influenced by an ancient, long-lost evil spell. Strangely, the sects responsible for protecting the royal families of these empires hadn’t informed the six Holy Lands of this.

Originally, Liu Huaxiang planned to personally inform the Holy Lands of his findings. However, he suddenly heard about the anomalies in sects like Liuhe Gate and Qingxu Gate. He keenly sensed something unusual. He felt that the changes in the Holy Lands over the years were not that simple, so he didn’t dare act rashly. Instead, he personally investigated the root causes of these changes.

Soon after, Liu Huaxiang discovered a mysterious group of people in purple clothing. They would quietly appear at battlefields and collect large amounts of vital essence and resentful souls, for reasons unknown.

More importantly, from their uniform dress and actions, it was clear these people were cultivators from the same sect or organization. So far, Liu Huaxiang had encountered over fifty different members, each with the power of the Condensed Core Stage, which was far beyond the Holy Lands. Despite their power, Liu Huaxiang had never heard of such an organization, and their mysterious actions concealed a terrifying conspiracy.

If Liu Huaxiang were at his peak, he would definitely capture all these people in purple to question them about their organization and actions. Unfortunately, his power had greatly diminished, leaving him unable to do so. Despite attempting to shadow them multiple times, their coordinated actions and expert assistance made it impossible for Liu Huaxiang to uncover any secrets over the years.

Finally, collecting what little life essence and restless souls remained in his hands, Liu Huaxiang gazed deeply at the ten or so purple-robed figures disappearing into the sky and silently sighed, his voice full of worry.

Then, his figure gradually vanished into the darkness.

…

Meanwhile, in the Xuan Ye Hall of the Eight Wilderness Hall, the lights were brightly lit, yet the interior was incredibly quiet. Upon closer inspection, two people were secretly discussing there.

One of them, tall with a head full of red hair, bare-chested with gold rings on his limbs, was the Great Hall Master of the Eight Wilderness Hall, Man Tian, sitting quietly in the main seat with a calm expression.

The other was much younger, with delicate features but an air of charm. He wore an Eight Trigrams robe and was none other than Deng Tianao, who had become the sect leader of Liuhe Gate!

Yet the usually arrogant Deng Tianao showed no trace of pride on his face at that moment, standing respectfully before Man Tian, as if he were not the sect leader of the Holy Land but merely a regular disciple of the Eight Wilderness Hall.

Man Tian softly asked, "Sect leader Deng, did your master reveal where the ‘Chaos Bell’ is hidden?"

Deng Tianao frowned and said, "That old man won’t reveal it no matter what punishment he faces, which leaves me quite troubled."

A glint of cunning flashed in Man Tian’s eyes, but his voice grew softer as he gently asked, "Leader Deng, you aren’t hesitant to part with the ‘Chaos Bell,’ are you? Or perhaps, seeing your former mentor, you find it difficult to act against him?"

A flicker of panic crossed Deng Tianao’s eyes, and he hurriedly replied, "I wouldn’t hesitate, for we made a vow at the beginning. You, senior, would help me secure the position of sect leader of the Liuhe Gate, and in return, I would exchange the ‘Chaos Bell.’ I would never break my promise."

He paused, and another glint of hatred flashed in Deng Tianao’s eyes as he fiercely said, "As for that old man Jiuze, how could I spare him? I have served him like a beast of burden for years, and yet he wanted to strip me of my status as the first disciple, just because I practiced ‘Purple Carriage.’ If it weren’t for your help, senior, he would have destroyed my cultivation. I could never be too fast in wanting to kill him, let alone holding back."

Man Tian nodded gently and said slowly, "In that case, it’s for the best. Remember, I made you the Liuhe Gate sect leader because you offered the ‘Chaos Bell’ in exchange. If you can’t hand over the ‘Chaos Bell,’ then you won’t be the sect leader. I can easily uplift you, and I can just as easily bring you down. Do you understand this?"

"I understand, senior," Deng Tianao replied quickly.

"Have you found your junior brother, Chou Xuan, yet? Even now, there are still many old members in Liuhe Gate who wish to make him the sect leader. And he knows a lot about this matter, which makes him a threat. We must get rid of him quickly," Man Tian softly instructed.

Hearing Chou Xuan’s name from Man Tian, a glimmer of murderous intent appeared in Deng Tianao’s eyes as he gravely stated, "Yes, I understand, senior."

Hearing Deng Tianao’s response, Man Tian nodded in satisfaction and casually waved his hand, saying, "Then you may go back."

Witnessing Man Tian’s dismissive manner, where he could summon and dismiss him at will, a trace of anger flickered in Deng Tianao’s eyes, but his expression grew increasingly respectful. He bowed deeply to Man Tian and then slowly retreated.