Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 11

Volume 6 Chapter 11: The Final Battle Begins, Journey to the Southern Wasteland, the Change of Ronghua (Part 1)

The moment Xu Qingfan took out the "Holy Spirit Stone," it suddenly erupted with a dazzling white light, so bright that even Xu Qingfan, with his strength, did not dare to look directly at it.

Then, the light of the "Holy Spirit Stone" rippled like flowing water, moving towards the relic in Xu Qingfan’s other hand. Xu Qingfan felt the pure energy within the "Holy Spirit Stone" quickly flowing away, while the energy in the relic was rapidly increasing.

In the air, faint sounds of Buddhist chants could be heard.

After an unknown amount of time, the dazzling light finally began to fade. When Xu Qingfan opened his eyes, he discovered that the "Holy Spirit Stone" had turned into a pile of white powder, continuously slipping from his fingers to the ground, while the Sharira in his other hand took on a transparent quality.

Could these two sacred objects really have merged into one?

Xu Qingfan found it hard to believe. Although the energies of the two objects were similar, one was formed from the essence of heaven and earth, and the other was cultivated by a human cultivator. How could they so easily become one?

The only explanation was that the relic contained Master Jiuhuan’s consciousness after death and the understanding he gained during his life. Before he died, he must have modified this relic to allow it to absorb similar energies from the world to strengthen itself.

"Could it be that Master Jiuhuan foresaw that I would become evil in the future, and so he wanted to use this relic to change that?"

Xu Qingfan looked at the growing energy of the shard in his left hand and the pile of powder in his right hand, silently guessing.

However, this thought quickly disappeared from Xu Qingfan’s mind. If Master Jiuhuan could predict everything in advance, he would have already become a god; such abilities are not meant for humans.

Shaking his head and not thinking any more about it, Xu Qingfan began to carefully observe the shard that had absorbed all the energy of the "Holy Spirit Stone." After all, besides the fact that the "Holy Spirit Stone" was Liu Huaxiang’s relic, which would be a pity to destroy, focusing all the energy on the shard didn’t pose a great loss to Xu Qingfan.

What surprised Xu Qingfan even more was that after absorbing the energy from the "Holy Spirit Stone," he found that he could barely summon the energy within the shard. However, although this mixed energy was powerful, holy, and full of life, Xu Qingfan was unsure of its purpose.

"If the Heavenly Way truly wants me to turn into a monster, then I will rely on you to resist the Heavenly Way," he thought.

Xu Qingfan looked at the shard in his hand, thinking quietly.

It’s somewhat amusing that Xu Qingfan had only just begun to learn about fate and destiny, and yet the first thing he encountered was resisting the fate that the Heavenly Way had arranged for him.

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Three days passed, and everything settled.

The group of masters finally left the top of "Ronghua Mountain," as if the important matter at the peak had been finished. At the same time, Taoist Crane and the others finally confessed their origins to the leaders of the Righteous Alliance and received acknowledgment and understanding from the masters. Meanwhile, the nine-tailed demon fox among the Southern Wasteland demon beasts was gaining the upper hand and was about to completely seize control of the Southern Wasteland demon beasts.

As time passed, the masters of the Righteous Alliance became busier. Many powerful cultivators began to gather together, and the final battle finally started.

Compared to others, Xu Qingfan did not have to take part in the battle between the Righteous Alliance and the Southern Wasteland demon beasts. As a newcomer, he didn’t have to involve himself too deeply in the decisions of the Righteous Alliance, making this a rare time of leisure for him. He spent his days discussing immortality and philosophy with Jin Qinghan and others or planning their journey to the Southern Wasteland.

A month later, the Righteous Alliance and Xu Qingfan were finally ready. Two masters stayed at the main camp of "Ronghua Mountain," while the other twelve masters took most of the Righteous Alliance’s elite and headed to the stronghold of the Southern Wasteland demon beasts to begin the final battle.

Outside "Ronghua Mountain," Xu Qingfan watched as the main force of the Righteous Alliance took to the clouds, thousands of clouds gathering together. In the sky, immortal lights shone, and celestial music echoed, as if countless immortals were departing. Xu Qingfan remained calm; he was not part of the final battle and had his own tasks to attend to.

After the figures of the Righteous Alliance’s main force disappeared completely, Xu Qingfan turned around. Behind him stood Jin Qinghan, Dongfang Qingling, Li Yuhan, Lv Qingshang, Wang Zegang, and a few others silently, watching the Righteous Alliance’s retreat together with Xu Qingfan.

Ting’er, Zhang Ningmei, and Bai Yu, being Xu Qingfan’s disciples, also did not have to participate in the battle against the Southern Wasteland demon beasts. Originally, they wanted to follow Xu Qingfan to the Southern Wasteland, but Xu Qingfan left them behind, saying they were too weak.

"This is the ‘Sky Escaping Talisman,’ it can randomly teleport you thousands of miles away. It is our lifesaving object for when we reach the Southern Wasteland, so take good care of it." After giving out two of the twenty "Sky Escaping Talismans" Mr. Liu gifted him to each person, Xu Qingfan showed them how to use it and then said, "Let’s go."

Saying this, Xu Qingfan flew ahead toward the Southern Wasteland, with Jin Qinghan and the others following closely. Moments later, their figures vanished into the distant sky. Everyone understood the dangers in the depths of the Southern Wasteland, so their expressions were heavy.

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Meanwhile, Zhang Xusheng, who had been hidden on "Ronghua Mountain" for an unknown amount of time, finally began to move.

At this moment, Zhang Xusheng was alone, walking toward the top of "Ronghua Mountain," slowly climbing the steps, looking calm. Most of the elite members of the Righteous Alliance who were allowed to live on "Ronghua Mountain" had already left, so no one noticed the outsider Zhang Xusheng.

His steps seemed slow but were actually quick. The tall "Ronghua Mountain" had tens of thousands of steps leading from the foot to the top, and Zhang Xusheng climbed them one by one, managing to reach the top in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

Besides the fourteen masters of the Righteous Alliance, Zhang Xusheng was the first cultivator to reach the top of "Ronghua Mountain" in many years.

At the top of Ronghua Mountain, there was a grand hall where the masters of the Righteous Alliance had been in seclusion for years.

As he approached the top, Zhang Xusheng felt a powerful Spirit Qi subtly vibrating somewhere at the summit. In the waves of Spirit Qi, there seemed to be faint sounds of dragon roars, tiger howls, phoenix cries, and turtle and snake noises, all filled with resentment, even though these sounds were very weak.

When he reached the top of Ronghua Mountain, the aura and the faint sounds became even more apparent, and Zhang Xusheng’s face was filled with admiration.

"They actually managed to successfully refine that item; my hard work was not in vain."

Zhang Xusheng murmured softly to himself.

As he spoke, Zhang Xusheng approached the great hall and pushed open the door.

"Creeeak…"

In the calm and empty hall, the sound of the door opening echoed.