A supreme being from before the primordial times — one whom Emperor Wushi himself had once suppressed with his own hand — had survived over a hundred thousand years of time, a single thread of his primordial spirit buried within an immortal source and still living.
This was an incomprehensible being, one capable of battling the ancient great emperors. Ye Fan, Li Heishui, and the Black Emperor were without exception filled with dread — shuddering continuously with chills.
The old Daoist was entirely serene. His whole person was ancient and worn, his Daoist robe nearly rotted away, as if he had just crawled out from a mound of earth long since returned to dust — walking step by step out of that ancient earth, an ancient aura emanating from him.
“Any one of the Nine Secrets, should it appear in the world, would drive people to madness for it. Each contains a supreme truth. The two I possess — I can pass them on to you without reservation.”
The old Daoist’s words could not but stir the heart. These were secret arts handed down from time immemorial. To say nothing of mastering all of them — even possessing one or two was enough to look down on the mortal world.
The Nine Secrets represent the ultimate extremes of nine different domains, incomparable and unsurpassable. They were originally assembled together in a single volume, but unfortunately were separated by someone.
From that time forward, they scattered throughout the world, never to be reunited. As the ages passed, several of them had completely vanished from the world.
This was a great regret for every peerless master of every generation. Even if one could stand supreme under heaven, the unbroken Nine Secrets could never again be seen in their entirety — once lost, impossible to recover.
Now, two of the Nine Secrets were about to be presented. No one could be unmoved. Yet Ye Fan and the others did not trust this old Daoist.
A peerless master personally suppressed by Emperor Wushi — he was certainly no ordinary good sort. Why would he pass on such a supreme secret art to them?
The Undying Daoren — his very name said nearly everything. There was a strong likelihood he was a supreme being originating from the Undying Mountain, and he was most probably not of the human race.
In the primordial darkness of the Undying Mountain before the ancient times, an untold number of outstanding figures had perished. The great earth had run red with rivers of blood. The ancient legacy of the human race could never forget that age.
“You do not trust me?” Seeing that they remained silent, the Undying Daoren continued along the mountain path, step by step, approaching further.
The Old Madman’s body had long since vanished. In his place was only an ancient diagram, covered in innate patterns, from which a voice came: “If you wish to fight, act.”
“This poor Daoist has never had any intention of attacking. I sincerely wish to form a bond with you, and to pass down the human race’s supreme immortal arts, so that the Nine Secrets will not be lost.” The old Daoist shook his head.
“This is a figure capable of contending with the ancient great emperors. His physical body was most likely truly obliterated long since by the Scroll of Divine Sealing. Yet a single thread of his primordial spirit survived through the aid of an immortal source — which is in itself extremely terrifying.”
“Wushi…” The Undying Daoren’s eyes flickered with a strange light.
The Great Black Dog deliberated for a long while, as if recalling something. It transmitted its voice to the group, saying, “Be careful — he may truly possess the Nine Secrets!”
“Clang!”
The ancient diagram formed by the Old Madman suddenly shuddered, emitting a ringing sound like a peerless divine weapon crying out, obliterating an imperceptible thread of killing light.
“You could not hold back after all.” The Old Madman said gravely.
“That was not my killing intent — it was a thread of murderous aura seeping out from the physical body that was obliterated within the mountain’s belly.” The Undying Daoren spoke calmly.
Then he continued ascending, step by step, the mountain path beneath his feet blurring. He climbed toward the summit.
“To dissolve the world of ease — you wish to reduce us all to nothingness?” The Old Madman was utterly unruffled, transforming into a slowly revolving fruit of the Dao, sweeping out a sweep of primordial chaos radiance.
He was like the extreme point of the creation of heaven and earth, dissolving a mysterious force, causing the Undying Daoren’s expression to stiffen.
“He may truly be a supreme being who possesses the Nine Secrets!” The Great Black Dog bared its teeth, backing away, feeling that things had taken a very bad turn.
“I did not expect that even as the heavens and earth have changed, a being such as yourself still exists.” The Undying Daoren finally dropped his pretense, his expression growing cold.
With those words, everyone was immediately on edge. Removing the mask meant this mysterious old Daoist was about to act — he would no longer hold back.
“He should not be able to exert his full power. After so many ages of struggle, he has most likely only managed to release this single thread of primordial spirit.” The Great Black Dog cried out.
“Hmph!”
The Undying Daoren was calm no longer. A cold snort broke from him, and throughout heaven and earth, countless divine weapons slashed downward — a million killing auras cutting through this realm.
“Clang!”
The ancient diagram formed by the Old Madman rotated, sealing off this expanse of the world and blocking all the killing sounds outside, preventing them from breaking through.
“Just as expected — Emperor Wushi nearly suppressed him to death. The power of his primordial spirit cannot begin to compare with a great emperor’s!” The Great Black Dog showed excitement.
“Wushi, that little wretch, has humiliated me too deeply!” The Undying Daoren seemed to harbor extreme hatred for Emperor Wushi, gnashing his teeth in fury. His gaze shot out, and within the void, a world began to take shape and manifested — pressing forward toward them.
“Boom!”
The ancient diagram formed by the Old Madman cascaded down ten thousand threads of mist — which upon close inspection proved to be primordial chaos breath — collapsing the world the Undying Daoren had manifested.
“Manifesting a world of ease — truly the method of a supreme powerhouse. Alas, he can no longer reproduce his former might. He has nearly been obliterated by the Scroll of Divine Sealing.” The Great Black Dog said.
“Is that what you said?!” The Undying Daoren let out a cold snort. His ancient Daoist robe flapped with a sharp sound. He was like a bottomless primordial abyss, swallowing all power.
In that moment, he was utterly terrifying — the aura of a heaven-and-earth-destroying force radiating from him. He reached out a great hand, clawing forward, seeking to reduce the Old Madman to pulp.
Even with the Old Madman’s protection, Li Heishui and the Great Black Dog were unable to bear it — their bodies began cracking, and they collapsed to the ground, their minds nearly shattered.
“A thread of an emperor’s aura…” The Black Emperor said in horror, unable to say anything more. Even this degree of aura alone was enough to obliterate them in body and soul.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the Scroll of Divine Sealing on the mountainside blazed with brilliant light, sending forth a sweep of golden radiance that struck the Undying Daoren squarely — causing him to stumble and fall headlong.
“Wushi, that little wretch!” The Undying Daoren rose to his feet, staring at that sweep of golden radiance in the void, his expression ferocious — no longer bearing any trace of serenity.
“Bang!”
The golden radiance in the sky manifested as a great golden hand that pressed downward, and with a bang knocked the Undying Daoren flat to the ground once more.
“I hate this…” The Undying Daoren roared with rage, forming seals with both hands and striking toward the sky.
“Boom!”
The great hand showed no change whatsoever. It pressed downward, sending him flying again, then crushed him into the mountain body, causing his form to crack all over.
“As soon as he lets out even a thread of his supreme aura, it triggers the Scroll of Divine Sealing. He cannot stir up any storm!” The Black Emperor burst into laughter. At that moment, they were free from that oppressive pressure.
“Could the supreme being from within the Undying Mountain actually be a holy spirit?” Ye Fan wondered within his heart.
“If he is suppressed, the other two secrets can be obtained!” Li Heishui’s courage grew as well, calling out boldly.
The ancient diagram formed by the Old Madman slashed forward, cascading down ten thousand threads of primordial chaos mist — devastating all in its path, crushing all things, with nothing capable of resisting.
The Undying Daoren, even as a mere thread of primordial spirit, was still an incomparably terrifying being. Yet at this moment he was helpless, firmly pressed down by the Scroll of Divine Sealing.
“The Nine Secrets can never be reunited. These two shall go with me to the grave!”
“Flash!”
His form flickered and vanished — time itself seemed nearly frozen around him as he disappeared from where he stood, submerging into the mountain’s belly.
“The Movement character secret — stepping into the divine domain of time!”
Everyone felt a chill run through their bodies. The other party truly did possess the Nine Secrets — those were not empty words.
“He should have obtained the Movement character secret on the Sacred Cliff just as we did. If he truly still possesses one other, it is very possible it will be lost forever.”
There was nothing any of them could do. Even the Old Madman, formidable as he was, could not venture into the mountain’s belly to pursue the other secret. No one knew what lay within the Sacred Cliff.
“The Scroll of Divine Sealing remains here. Even if his primordial spirit is buried within an immortal source, the day of its obliteration will eventually come…” They all frowned.
Unless an ancient great emperor were reborn, who today would dare lift the Scroll of Divine Sealing and enter the mountain’s belly to retrieve the secrets? After all, the other party was most likely the very existence that had brought regret to the Great Completion Holy Body in his final years.
“The Nine Secrets… now the whereabouts of yet another have become known, and yet it cannot be obtained…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
“Count your blessings. Do you truly wish for the Nine Secrets to be reunited? That would be a heaven-defying feat — virtually impossible to accomplish at this point, for several of the secrets have already completely disappeared!” The Great Black Dog sighed.
They made their way down the mountain, encountering no further obstruction. Everything went smoothly, and two hours later they had left the Sacred Cliff.
The fifty-plus great mountains standing side by side formed a black mountain range that was not immeasurably vast, yet every step within it was heart-stopping, and required a saint to guide the way.
In the end, before the sun had set, they emerged safely. Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
“Caw caw…”
At the edge of the black mountains, atop a withered and dead ancient tree, a strange bird with a human face and a crow’s body appeared again, its cry like a great wail, sending chills down the spine.
Its nest was built from human bones — snow-white and frightening, suffused with a chill, sinister aura — its color in absolute contrast to its jet-black body.
“Whoosh!”
The Old Madman pointed a finger, and the strange bird instantly turned to ash. A thread of black aura seeped out, taking the shape of the Undying Daoren, letting out a sharp cry before dissipating entirely.
“It was actually a thread of his aura that had taken form. And it could act from so far away — no wonder that once someone enters this area, they die without knowing how.”
The Old Madman said nothing. He looked at Ye Fan and the others, then gave a nod, and without looking back walked off into the distance — this was his farewell.
“Uncle…” Xiao Nannan was reluctant to part. She waved her small hand behind him, calling out softly.
“Flash!”
The Old Madman deployed the Nine Secrets’ Movement character secret. One stride took him to the edge of the sky. The second stride — and he had vanished completely into the void.
“Let’s go. We should leave this place quickly. It is not suitable to linger.”
Before the sunset could fade, Ye Fan and the others had also put great distance between themselves and the Sacred Cliff. They did not return to the human world, but instead took up residence in seclusion within a vast expanse of primordial mountain ranges, a million li away.
The gains from this journey were immense, and Ye Fan wished to enter seclusion — to first avoid the sharp edge of both the mortal world and the underworld.
Two months later, above the primordial mountain range, tens of thousands of lightning bolts descended from the sky — a sea of lightning, terrifyingly extreme.
Where originally the sky had been crystal clear, without a single cloud, lightning had abruptly and inexplicably struck.
A purple expanse of crackling electricity submerged the mountain range, and several great mountains were shattered on the spot.
“Damn it — this brat drawing heavenly lightning down on himself is one thing, but dragging us into it too — damn it all, nearly got this Emperor struck to death!”
A great black dog, as massive and robust as a large bull, wearing a pair of oversized floral shorts, stood upright on two legs, running at blinding speed — bolting and fleeing for dear life.
“Doggy, run faster! The lightning is catching up!” Xiao Nannan, seated on its shoulders, was very anxious.
“Relax — this Emperor is using the Nine Secrets’ Movement character secret. It can’t catch us!” The Great Black Dog pounded its hind legs and ran frantically, its fur somewhat scorched and blackened — clearly it had taken a lightning strike just earlier, though at last it had managed to escape from the sea of lightning.
Behind them, Li Heishui was absolutely furious, and said, “Damn it — this wretched dog has truly defied heaven. Running on two legs, it’s actually faster than it used to be on four!”
His entire body smoked with black fumes, his face twisted in a grimace — clearly he too had taken a strike of lightning, having not escaped as quickly as the Great Black Dog, and fared considerably worse, with parts of him now charred and blackened.
The Great Black Dog complained and cursed as it ran madly on two legs, its two great upper paws swinging back and forth like a dog paddling.
“Doggy, stop complaining. Will big brother be in danger?” Xiao Nannan was very worried.
“Don’t worry — he definitely won’t die. People like him just need a good lightning strike from time to time. If he doesn’t get struck, he’s not comfortable!” The Great Black Dog said furiously.
“Doggy, you are so awful!” Xiao Nannan tugged on the Great Black Dog’s ears.
“It’s not me who’s awful — it’s him who’s awful. Why else would he get struck by lightning every time he breaks through?”
“Wretched dog — haven’t you defied heaven? Carry me too!” Li Heishui called out. The lightning behind them was actually drawing near again, pursuing them.
“Terrible — we haven’t actually been caught up in his heavenly tribulation too, have we?!” The Great Black Dog’s face turned green in an instant. It tilted its head back, pushed off on both hind legs, and ran for its life again at full speed.
“You can just slowly jog at the back. Someone’s got to be the sacrifice!” The Great Black Dog howled in the most shameless manner imaginable as it fled.