“That is…” Since Ji Yang’s soul transmigration and rebirth, his first task wasn’t to recover his cultivation but to reconstruct a pair of Observing Micro-Way eyes.
These eyes could not only see through the true forms of cultivators at the same level and determine whether their cultivation was righteous or demonic, their appearance real or illusory but also penetrate through barriers. Now, they allowed him to see what was happening at the mountain peak beyond the layers of mysterious mist.
Behind the mist, the sky faintly reflected a blood-red glow on a mirror-smooth stone wall. Simultaneously, images emerged from the wall and projected onto the thick clouds above.
The images were blurry, but he could vaguely make out two figures—a man and a woman—standing near the Edge of Oblivion Cliff. The female cultivator was using her palms with great force, seemingly reinforcing a seal beneath the cliff. Suddenly, the man behind her hesitated before drawing his sword. In less than a breath, he plunged the cold blade through her heart. His fingers then transformed into claws, swiftly digging out her heart, which resembled a crystal of colored glass. As shock registered on the woman’s face, he struck her with his palm, sending her plummeting off the cliff. Afterward, the man collapsed to his knees at the cliff’s edge, seemingly drained.
Just as Ji Yang tried to get a clearer view, the image faded. A sword beam suddenly cut through the sky, dispersing the clouds that had projected the scene. The glow then receded.
“Mother?” Nan Yan snapped back to reality, her eyes no longer distant. She rubbed her head, thinking she had dozed off. “Did I fall asleep?” she asked Ji Yang confusedly.
As she looked up at him, Ji Yang covered her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Ah Yan,” Ji Yang’s voice trembled almost imperceptibly as he whispered in her ear, “Your surname is South. Did you take your mother’s name?”
Nan Yan felt inexplicably uneasy. “Yes… Didn’t I mention it before? My mother’s name is Nan Rao.”
Nan Rao, Nan Yan… He should have realized it sooner. He never imagined that the person who killed Nan Yan’s mother could be the same one who killed him.
If true, it explained why Nan Yan said her mother always had heart problems. It wasn’t a heart condition at all—her heart had been ripped out. After barely escaping from the Filthy Valley, she had clung to life for years with her remaining cultivation before finally succumbing.
As for the murderer… Ji Yang knew him all too well. One moment speaking gently, the next ripping out hearts and taking lives. It was the person he respected most, whose final lesson turned out to be the most chilling betrayal.
Ji Yang rarely hated anyone, but now he felt a twisted desire for revenge.
The sword beam that dispersed the clouds indicated someone had noticed the disturbance. If they could obtain evidence from the top of the Edge of Oblivion Cliff before the person arrived and bring it back to the Upper State, not only would the Yin State’s main sect learn of this, but even the Dragon Lord of Chen State and the Sword Champion of Wei State would know. How could that high-ranking cultivator remain calm at the peak and comprehend the void then?
“Ah Yan, I need to go to the cliff top. Please don’t follow me, alright?” he instructed gently.
“Why?” Nan Yan paled as she connected his words to his earlier question. “Is it related to my mother?”
Ji Yang paused briefly, considering his words. Suddenly, his eyes flickered, and he grabbed Nan Yan, leaping out from their hiding place in the rock crevice.
At that moment, the ground rumbled. The stone forest maze began to shift, closing the previous gaps tightly. As the surrounding stone forest rearranged itself, Ji Yang and Nan Yan had to keep moving to avoid being crushed between the mountains.
Nan Yan’s nerves were on edge. There were still Yin Sacrifices in this stone forest, and if they were unfortunate enough to be delivered to one’s mouth by the shifting maze, they would be finished.
As if affirming her fears, a Yin Sacrifice appeared at the edge of their spiritual sense range. Once the stone forest in front of them moved, the creature would discover them.
The Silver Shark Pearl could conceal their auras, but only if they remained perfectly still. In their current situation, staying motionless meant certain death by the moving stones.
“Go left. If you escape, use the Yan Armor Butterfly to find me,” Ji Yang decided swiftly, pushing Nan Yan away as he darted backward.
“Shao Cang!” Nan Yan’s voice was swallowed by the encroaching stone forest. She sensed the nearby Yin Sacrifice’s excitement as it detected its prey’s aura and began drifting toward Ji Yang’s escape route. Fortunately, Ji Yang was lucky—after floating for a moment, the Yin Sacrifice was blocked by another stone wall and reluctantly changed direction.
The stone forest’s changes were chaotic. Nan Yan witnessed two stone formations opening and closing like doors. She faintly heard cultivators’ cries of surprise in the distance. After half an hour, the stone forest’s movement finally ceased, leaving their original path completely transformed.
Nan Yan pressed her ear against the stone, hearing only silence return to the surroundings. Detecting no scent of blood, she rubbed her hands together and wished, “Heaven, please be kind. I hope Shao Cang hasn’t encountered any Yin Sacrifices or demonic cultivators, and that my brother made it out before the stone forest changed…”
As darkness fell, Nan Yan turned to face the pitch-black passage behind her. After a moment’s hesitation, she set off into the unknown.
Meanwhile, a quarter-hour earlier, Mu Zhanting had finally reached the edge of the stone forest when a powerful spiritual sense suddenly pressed down on him from behind. An old, enraged voice thundered in his mind.
“Stop right there, boy!”
A Qi Condensation stage cultivator’s spiritual sense could only cover a range of several zhangs, while a Foundation Establishment cultivator could extend their senses to detect even the slightest movement within a hundred zhangs.
The pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense made Mu Zhanting stagger. As he shook his head to clear it, he heard Fu Lang’s excited voice.
“Senior, the life tablet has reacted! That boy is just behind this stone forest! As agreed, once we find him, you’ll let me go!”
Mu Zhanting’s current position in the stone forest maze formed a rough “中” shape. He was only one turn away from the exit, but leaving now would likely mean a face-to-face encounter with Deng Ba and his companion emerging from the other side. Even if he made it out, they could easily pursue him in the open terrain of the Outer Sect, with their Foundation Establishment speed allowing them to catch up in moments.
He couldn’t leave yet!
Mu Zhanting was now fully exposed within Deng Ba’s spiritual sense range. In the narrow seven-step-wide passages of the stone forest maze, both parties quickly assessed each other. Deng Ba, realizing Mu Zhanting was alone, became furious.
“You Mu boy, where’s that fat girl who was with you?!”
Looking for Nan Yan?
Mu Zhanting shifted his position to maintain a diagonal alignment with Deng Ba while taunting, “Old man, you won’t even spare a child? You must have been childless and heirless throughout your cultivation career!”
“Insolent brat!” The other’s spiritual pressure nearly spat saliva in his face with rage. “I advise you to reveal that girl’s whereabouts quickly, lest you suffer the agony of having your soul extracted and refined!”
Mu Zhanting spat, “Bah! I’m already dead, so why fear soul extraction? Fu Lang, you useless wretch, tell me, who’s siding with demonic cultivators now? Old man, I’d say he has quite the talent for demonic cultivation. Why not take him in as a disciple to care for you in your old age?”
“Mu Zhanting!” Fu Lang’s voice came through, gritted with hatred. He then calmed himself and said, “Senior, the two who escaped are only at mid and early Qi Condensation stages. They’re not worth worrying about.”
The elder Deng Ba chuckled coldly. “In my view, those two must still be in this stone forest maze. I have a piece of Silver Shark Gauze that can barely hide us from Yin Sacrifices. Catching them will take but a moment. Fu Lang, I see you’re inclined towards our demonic path. I’ll give you a chance. I’ll send a Foundation Establishment corpse puppet to help you capture this Mu boy. Once you’ve got him, guard this entrance and let no one out. If I’m pleased, I might even take you back to the Upper State.”
Upper State!
Mortal State cultivators who hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment could hardly cross the vast sea to reach the Upper State’s holy land. Fu Lang’s mind raced, sensing an opportunity. After a brief internal struggle, he said, “Whether it’s orthodox or demonic cultivation, it’s all cultivation. This junior is willing to pledge allegiance to you, Senior, with this wretch’s life!”
Deng Ba smiled faintly. He pressed his palm on Fu Lang’s crown, infusing him with pure demonic energy. With a crisp sound, Fu Lang instantly advanced to a pseudo-Foundation Establishment realm, needing only one closed-door cultivation to break through.
“Heh, Mu boy, do you see? In this cultivation world, it’s always those who know how to adapt that become outstanding talents!” With that, Deng Ba put down the demonic coffin on his back. The lid sprang open, and a ferocious corpse puppet, even more terrifying than Butterfly Coil’s, lunged out. With its black armor and protruding fangs, the air instantly filled with the stench of blood.
“Thank you, Senior!” Fu Lang felt the surging demonic energy in his meridians and expressed his gratitude repeatedly, overjoyed. “Fu Lang is convinced. Senior, please pursue those two. I’ll take care of this place.”
“Fellow disciples turning on each other… If I weren’t in a hurry, I’d love to watch this battle. What a pity.” Deng Ba’s gaze flickered, looking meaningfully in Mu Zhanting’s direction before speaking loudly, “Fortunately, Butterfly Coil obtained a strand of that girl’s hair. The demonic butterfly can easily track them. Finding those two is just a matter of time. If they have other help, they might still have a slim chance of survival.”
Hearing this, Mu Zhanting’s side suddenly fell silent.
After Deng Ba left, Fu Lang couldn’t help but laugh wildly. He ordered the corpse puppet to guard the exit while he approached from another side. “Mu Zhanting, in the past, you always had the upper hand because of the Sect Leader’s favoritism. But now? What good is your Heavenly Spirit Root? You’re at my mercy! Oh, I remember that fat girl is your sister. Didn’t you always want to marry her off? Too bad she’s too ugly; even as a cauldron, no one would want her. How about I suggest to that demonic senior to find her a corpse puppet as a partner? Haha!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Zhanting’s aura suddenly surged within Fu Lang’s spiritual sense. In two breaths, he broke through to late Qi Condensation, bypassed the Qi Condensation Grand Perfection, and reached the pseudo-foundation Establishment realm.
“You!” Fu Lang exclaimed in shock. “When did you…?!”
“While you were busy running your mouth. That’s the power of a Heavenly Spirit Root. Can’t accept it?” Mu Zhanting brushed the dust off his clothes as he stood up from his meditation pose, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. “Idiot, I’ll tear that mouth of yours first!”
With those words, he shot toward Fu Lang as a meteor wreathed in flames.
“Corpse puppet, save me!” Fu Lang cried out repeatedly.
The corpse puppet whirled over like a gust of wind, displaying its full power at the Foundation Establishment middle stage. Mu Zhanting caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, knowing he couldn’t dodge this attack. He braced himself to take the hit, raised his Flame Blade, and struck down. Although Fu Lang’s demonic energy automatically protected him, it shattered instantly.
Fu Lang immediately began bleeding from his seven apertures and was sent flying back, crashing heavily into the rock wall. Mu Zhanting was also severely injured, with three deep, bone-deep bloody marks on his back. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Badly wounded, Fu Lang gasped, “Mu Zhanting, you’re indeed formidable. But no matter how strong you are, you can’t withstand the corpse puppet’s attack! In this cultivation world, luck is what matters in the end!”
Just as the corpse puppet’s fierce claws were about to tear Mu Zhanting apart, the stone forest suddenly rumbled. The rocks between Mu Zhanting and the puppet abruptly compressed, trapping the puppet between two mountains.
Although the corpse puppet had a brass head and iron arms, it was no match for the stone forest created by a powerful being. With just one miserable cry, the puppet was instantly crushed.
“…”
Fu Lang stared blankly at the scene before him. Mu Zhanting was also stunned. Looking at the puppet’s fluids oozing from the cracks, he said, “I’ve disliked you for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve felt you’re a man of your word.”
Fu Lang couldn’t believe it. He then shouted, “Mu Zhanting! Junior Brother Mu, do you want to turn on your fellow disciple? If you take me out of here to find the Yangyue Sect’s team, I can testify that you were coerced by demonic cultivators. You can still return to the sect!”
“I don’t have time for that,” Mu Zhanting suppressed his injuries and raised his Flame Blade, coldly looking at Fu Lang. “I need to find Ah Yan and the others. I’m doomed either way, but at least I can die with a clear conscience if I try to find them.”
“Are you an idiot?!” Fu Lang crawled towards the exit, his face contorted. “You’ve been poisoned by the corpse puppet. You’re already dying! There are two Foundation Establishment cultivators out there. Heaven’s given you a way out, but you insist on throwing your life away!”
Without another word, not giving Fu Lang time to argue, Mu Zhanting brought his blade down. The nearby rocks shifted, and the sound of Fu Lang’s flesh being seared by the Flame Blade was buried behind the stone forest.
As the stone forest’s movement ceased, Mu Zhanting stood silently for a moment. The corpse puppet’s strike on his back had allowed the corpse poison to quickly seep into his organs. He had no chance of stopping Deng Ba now. He could choose to run, and if he escaped, there might be a slim chance of survival. If he could just stay alive, in ten or twenty years, once he had cultivated to a high level, he could return for revenge.
He had been thinking this way ever since Deng Ba left to hunt down Nan Yan and the others. He took out all the explosive talismans from his storage bag and started moving deeper into the stone forest.
“It’s fine… Heaven favors fools. Even if it doesn’t, at least I’ll have company on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
He had been alone for too long. The path to hell was treacherous, but it was better than wandering alone in the future.
As he passed a fork in the path, the fading Mu Zhanting suddenly felt an old hand on his shoulder. Deng Ba, who had approached stealthily with his aura concealed, spoke coldly:
“You’re indeed lucky. But the corpse puppet was connected to my spirit. Since I’ve lost it, I must take something in return… Don’t worry, to do justice to your Spirit Root, I’ll do my utmost to cultivate you into a high-level corpse puppet!”
With those words, Deng Ba let out a shout, his Foundation Establishment late-stage spiritual power fully suppressing Mu Zhanting. The half-burned talismans on Mu Zhanting’s body shattered, unable to explode.
“I remember now… it should be ‘live and die together’… right.”
With a final, barely audible murmur, Mu Zhanting’s head was separated from his body, blood staining the stone forest.
“The great Dao is merciless. Fools should never have set foot on this path.” Deng Ba shook the blood from his hand and drew Mu Zhanting’s storage bag into his grasp. Just as he was about to open it to store Mu Zhanting’s corpse, a phoenix cry suddenly pierced the heavens. A crimson light burst from the bag, instantly blinding Deng Ba!
“Ahh!!!!”
Deng Ba immediately threw the storage bag far away, his treasures instinctively protecting him. Black smoke billowed, creating a defense capable of withstanding a full-force attack from an early Core Formation cultivator. However, the discarded storage bag exploded. Amidst a sea of red light, a blood-colored phoenix hairpin floated in mid-air. Then, a phoenix materialized from the hairpin’s head. Its feathers gleamed brilliantly as if a celestial being had descended. Though only the size of a palm, it fixed its gaze on the terrified elder, cried out once more, and flew through Deng Ba’s defenses.
“The sacred object of Chen State—!” Deng Ba’s expression of horror had barely formed when his demonic defenses melted away like snow under a scorching sun, along with his physical body.
The mighty Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator was no match for this phoenix.
After slaying Deng Ba, the small phoenix landed beside Mu Zhanting, crying mournfully. It then plucked one of its tail feathers and placed it on Mu Zhanting’s severed neck. In the next moment, a miracle occurred. The phoenix feather transformed into red light, drawing Mu Zhanting’s dispersed soul back into his body and reconnecting his head and body. In an instant, Mu Zhanting’s body was restored, with only a thin scar encircling his neck.
Once he was healed, the small phoenix spread its wings, grew in size, and grabbed the unconscious Mu Zhanting. It soared into the sky, disappearing into the clouds in a flash, flying towards Chen State of the Four Upper States beyond the vast sea…