“Husband, should we offer our help?” Meng Ying asked.
“With Zizhou’s people here, there’s no need for you to act in such a minor situation. Rest well,” her husband replied.
Meng Ying obediently sat cross-legged on the back of the ground-hating beast, her fingers tracing the jade ring hidden beneath her sleeve. The ring bore two black and two white engravings.
Before joining the people from Haizhou, she had already faced two assassination attempts. She had survived and even killed her attackers using skills honed from her struggles in the lower realms, managing to secure a couple of essence crystals. She had her plans but continued to feign weakness, even in front of her dao partner.
They were now traversing an area infested with flesh-eating ghouls. A bloody stench seeped from the cracks in the dark red rocks. Countless ghouls, their backs covered in spines, leaped from afar like agile apes. They crashed against the hastily constructed barrier, clinging to it despite being burned by spiritual energy. Their claws, wreathed in hellfire, frantically clawed at the shield.
Those seated at the front, especially Moxing Zheng and Song Zhu who appeared to be in deep discussion, noticed the barrier weakening under the ghouls’ assault. Moxing Zheng paused briefly, stopping a few cultivators who were about to act. He tossed out the sword at his waist and resumed his conversation with Song Zhu.
The sword transformed into a brilliant light, seemingly alive as it split into thousands of threads, spinning out like a web. The hundreds of ghouls that had climbed up, their faces twisted in ferocity, suddenly froze as if trapped in ice. As the ground-hating beast took a step forward, the ghouls shattered and fell off its back in pieces.
Moxing Zheng had made his move.
The crowd reacted with surprise. Meng Ying asked curiously, “Husband, although this Senior Brother Mo has been leading us, I’ve never seen him fight before. I didn’t expect him to be so extraordinary. I wonder how he compares to Song Zhu, the prince of Weizhou, in swordsmanship?”
The prince of Haizhou replied coolly, “Wearing a sword is a rule of Daosheng Tian. The old Daoist master values the nature of swords, making everyone in Daosheng Tian practice swordsmanship to discipline themselves. Although they have sword techniques, they can’t compare to orthodox sword cultivators in terms of expertise. However, Moxing Zheng and Song Zhu had already gained sufficient spiritual energy and dao insights during their last visit to the realm between mountains and seas. They’ve been suppressing their cultivation, and it’s unclear why they’ve returned this time.”
Meng Ying narrowed her eyes and said, “It must be related to the great hall of mountains and seas. Husband, I’ve noticed Senior Brother Mo is close to the orthodox cultivators. Perhaps we should choose a faction before entering the hall…”
The prince of Haizhou interrupted her, “I dislike noisy women. Your daily small tricks are one thing, but in a place like this, you need to follow your husband’s lead. Understand?”
Sensing his displeasure, Meng Ying, always perceptive, immediately put on a submissive smile. “I’ll obey your instructions, husband.”
Satisfied, the prince of Haizhou nodded and said, “After we leave, don’t rush to form your golden core. Take some time to drink the spirit-transforming medicine prepared by our clan. Most of the primordial spiritual energy you’ve gained is for our future child. When the child is born, they’ll have the potential for the Nascent Soul realm, which will also benefit my position. Do you understand?”
This was the price for cutting in line, and Meng Ying knew it well. Her smile grew sweeter as she replied, “Yes, our child will surely be the best.”
The ground-hating beast was neither small nor large. Nearby, Hu Rui, disguised as Mu Zhanting thanks to the silver silkworm larvae, sat rigidly among the crowd. Already nervous, he grew even more flustered when someone struck up a conversation.
“Friend Mu, let’s be frank,” said Li Chi, encouraged by Li Mian. He glanced at Nan Yan, who was controlling the ground-hating beast and continued, “We’ve had grievances in the past due to conflicts between our states. Now that we’ve been at peace for a while, we should separate public and private matters.”
Hu Rui noticed the four life-mark imprints on Li Chi’s ring, aware of the prince of Sizhou’s prowess. He cautiously replied, “What advice does Friend Li have?”
“Oh?” Li Chi looked at him in surprise. “It seems you’ve become more agreeable. I’ll get straight to the point then. I’ve confirmed that Zhengyuan is the illegitimate daughter of Lady Nan Fragrance. Judging by the Dragon Lord of Chenzhou’s attentiveness, if I’m not mistaken, she must be the bloodline of both Lady Nan Fragrance and the Dragon Lord of Chenzhou!”
Startled by Nan Yan’s shocking identity, Hu Rui decided to maintain his disguise as Mu Zhanting. Trembling, he asked, “What else do you know?”
Li Chi continued, “Chenzhou is a gathering place for clans, especially with the blood feud of Linglong Jing between Yinzhou and Chenzhou. This vendetta is irreconcilable, which is why the Dragon Lord doesn’t dare to let Zhengyuan acknowledge her ancestry. However, I can’t bear to see her wandering alone. Since you two are like siblings, and an elder brother is like a father, if you’re willing to let her leave the monastic life and become my dao partner, not only will I not compete with you for the Mountain River Sea Crown, but I’ll also help you smoothly become the emperor.”
Smoothly become… the emperor?
While fearful, Hu Rui’s heart raced with excitement. Nan Yan had nothing to do with him, and the Prohibition of Mountains and Seas was essentially a competition. The princes of various states were naturally the top priority, but that didn’t mean others who accompanied the crown prince had no chance.
Outsiders only recognized the final bearer of the Mountain River Sea Crown. Even if he wasn’t a prince, the Yun clan of Shenzhou wouldn’t reject him just because of that.
What did it matter if Yun Nian was a prince? Without enough strength to claim the emperor’s position, he was useless!
A gleam appeared in Hu Rui’s eyes, but he still cautiously glanced at Nan Yan and said, “She probably wouldn’t agree.”
“It is indeed difficult to persuade a monastic to agree. But don’t worry, with your word, I’d have a basis for proposing marriage. With her by my side, I could dismiss my concubines and certainly wouldn’t mistreat her. Moreover, our union as dao partners could help mend the relationship between our two states.”
With the prospect of a great opportunity before him, Hu Rui readily agreed.
However, their idle chat didn’t last long. As the ground-hating beast climbed to the mountainside, it suddenly stopped and retreated, refusing to move forward despite Nan Yan’s urging.
“What’s this…”
Everyone looked up from the beast’s back. The originally dark red mountain rocks had turned completely blood-red as they extended upwards. Their destination, the shape of the mountain peak, looked like a giant statue of a demon lord, arms folded, looking down on the world with disdain.
At the position of the demon lord’s crown stood a great hall, emitting a dazzling blood-red light.
The group could only look for a moment before averting their gaze, their faces etched with horror.
“Is this the Great Hall of Mountains and Seas? Why does it appear so sinister?” someone asked.
Moxing Zheng explained, “This demon lord statue depicts the original lord of the mountains and seas. Those favored by the Mountain River Sea Crown can control this statue before their death. The emperor is not only the ruler of the mortal realm but also the master of this Ten Karma Mountain.”
“Why can’t we look at it directly?” another inquired.
“Divine beings and holy demons possess the visage of all living creatures, formed by the karma of those they oversee,” Moxing Zheng replied. “With so many evil spirits here, our current level is insufficient to interpret this collective visage. Since the ground-hating beast refuses to proceed, we’ll climb on foot.”
As everyone dismounted, Song Zhu noticed Nan Yan still staring at the demon lord-like mountain peak. “Don’t look too closely,” he warned. “It could harm your soul.”
“No…” Nan Yan hesitated, pointing at the peak. “Doesn’t this mountain resemble someone?”
“Who?”
Nan Yan paused before answering, “I think it looks like the Dao Master statue in the Treasure Pavilion.”
Song Zhu’s expression changed slightly. He used his sword intent to protect his mind and glanced briefly. “I still see the asura form… The Dao Master is the most righteous cultivator in the mortal realm. He shouldn’t have any connection to these evil ways.”
Nan Yan pondered, “Perhaps I was mistaken.”
As they neared the summit, an ominous aura surrounded them. Even the experienced Moxing Zheng and Song Zhu looked grave, casting a massive concealment net over everyone.
“Let me be clear,” Moxing Zheng warned. “Even if evil spirits attack, do not leave the protection of this net, or you’ll alert the demon lord statue.”
Some heeded the warning, while others remained skeptical.
“This statue has stood for ten thousand years. How could it notice our insignificant spiritual fluctuations? My ancestors said they pushed towers close and flew up without any hindrance.”
“Yes, Friend Mo is being overly cautious… Oh look, there’s silver-hard sand over there!”
All the puppeteers and related cultivators turned to look. Fifty paces away, atop a protruding black rock, lay a patch of silver stone skin. Its luster differed from ordinary minerals, resembling moonlight shards scattered in the mortal world, captivating to behold.
Seeing their interest, Moxing Zheng warned again, “Dangers lurk everywhere on Ten Karma Mountain. If you insist on going, you’re on your own.”
Having encountered no major risks so far, some remained confident. “Silver-hard sand is a treasure for our puppet arts. It’s just fifty paces away. We can make a round trip in five breaths without any risk.”
“Wait—”
Before Moxing Zheng could stop them, a cultivator flashed out, his greedy gaze fixed on the silver-hard sand. With a burst of spiritual light, he swiftly cut off a piece and tucked it away.
“See? There’s no dan—” His voice vanished instantly, as if time had been suddenly cut. No one saw what happened. In the blink of an eye, a massive stone finger appeared where he had been, with only the crushed flesh beneath its tip indicating someone had been there.
No one saw how the stone finger appeared or how it detected him.
In the ensuing silence, Nan Yan saw the demon lord statue move slowly, retracting the finger that had crushed the ant-like cultivator, returning to its arms-folded stance overlooking the mountain.
Someone trembled, “Junior brother…”
In the silent crowd, only Nan Yan looked up again towards the demon lord mountain peak. This time, perhaps an illusion, she thought she glimpsed a solitary figure leaning against a railing at the crown—where the Great Hall of Mountains and Seas was said to be—gazing silently into the distance.
After another thunderous advance of battle lines below, they finally reached the summit of Ten Karma Mountain. It was an eerie place. The gloomy hall atop the demon lord’s crown was only in black, white, and gray, utterly silent, devoid even of the ghostly wails heard everywhere else on the mountain.
As the group hesitated, Moxing Zheng stepped into the hall’s plaza first. Strangely, while everything around was black and white, he retained his normal colors.
“Our primordial spiritual energy is essential for survival here,” he explained. “But ghostly energy will erode it. Once your color starts to fade, you must activate your jade ring to exit, or you’ll be trapped in the Great Hall of Mountains and Seas forever.”
Hu Rui, with his lesser spiritual energy, twitched slightly. “How do we find the Mountain River Sea Crown then?”
Moxing Zheng pointed to the hall behind him. “Inside is a maze where illusion and reality intertwine. Your heart’s flame will become a candlelight, and there are countless withered lamps inside—each a dead soul. You need to light them with your heart’s flame. One of these dead souls will give you the Mountain River Sea Crown directly.”
Someone complained, “I know, but there are countless soul lamps. How long will it take to light them all?”
“There’s a way, of course,” Li Chi suddenly sneered. “This Great Hall of Mountains and Seas ultimately needs to choose an owner. If you kill everyone else and you’re the only one left, it will choose you.”
Moxing Zheng, abandoning his previous peaceful demeanor, added coldly, “Moreover, each person you kill allows you to seize their heart’s flame lamp. The Mountain River Sea Crown will be attracted to the strongest flame.”
The atmosphere visibly chilled. Nan Yan realized that the true slaughter was about to begin.