Book 2: Chapter 272: Everything Serves Me, the Patriarch Reborn! |
Vol 2 Chapter 272 Everything Serves Me, the Patriarch Reborn!
The Demon Ancestor advanced with terrifying speed.
Great Sage Qingyun had fled from Mount Tongming earlier. He had once been a Soul Formation cultivator and was highly skilled in teleportation techniques, crossing tens of thousands of miles of sky in an instant. He could already see the peak of Mount Tongming on the horizon. Probing with his divine consciousness, he found calm winds behind him, the imposing presence of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor receding, and he allowed himself a momentary easing of mind. But he soon realized his relief had been premature.
The black moon reappeared!
That eerie moonlight reached everywhere, instantly bathing the vast earth for thousands upon thousands of miles.
Heaven and earth changed drastically!
The moonlight enveloped him. Great Sage Qingyun’s whole body surged with heat, illusions multiplied, and he began falling straight toward the ground.
“Out!”
Sensing disaster, he spat out a cloud-pattern jade pendant. Under the moonlight it transformed into a blue drifting cloud that supported him. He dared not look back, keeping his head down as he rushed toward Mount Tongming.
He never expected that when his birthright treasure appeared, it would catch the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s interest. Great Sage Qingyun felt his treasured birthright spirit treasure grow heavy, and a black-robed man landed on the cloud above him.
The next moment he felt his most precious birthright spirit treasure suddenly slip from his control!
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor!
The black-robed man wore plain ancient robes, and his face was such that no one could really look at it for long; no one could guess his true appearance.
Yet in the blink of an eye he had seized the spirit treasure. There was no one else Great Sage Qingyun could possibly suspect.
Even as his instinct to cling to life rose, the loss of his treasure seeded a bitterness in his heart and a flash of fierceness in his eyes.
But the thought of resistance had barely formed when a ripping agony came from the depths of his soul.
“Ah!”
Great Sage Qingyun could no longer maintain his human form. He spun in midair and transformed into a hundred-zhang-long skylark, flapping wildly.
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor didn’t even glance his way.
“Ancestor… Ancestor!”
The skylark cried out in a wretched voice, then collapsed onto the cloud, trembling all over, utterly subdued.
Both Netherworld Immortal and his fellow looked at him, shocked and fearful. The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had not even needed to strike—casually, he’d plucked away a Soul Formation cultivator’s artifact and, in a moment, subdued this wavering demon clan member.
The skylark pressed its large head against the Demon Ancestor’s boot, desperately fawning.
Despair filled him. Only now did he finally grasp a piece of what Head Seat Mingde had said about that immortal law—cultivators must not betray their own methods.
The secret technique they had all practiced seemed untouched on the surface, yet the instant rebellious thought rose in him, his spirit felt split in two, turning on itself as if driven to suicide.
Or rather—
After practicing that secret art, it seemed there was an inviolable, unassailable god within him!
One thought, and it meant death!
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor glanced at him without a word. Great Sage Qingyun spread his wings and charged toward Mount Tongming.
In a flash, his demeanor shifted from a timid demon to a demon-cult vanguard who feared neither life nor death!
This transformation chilled Netherworld Immortal—once Great Sage Qingyun left like this, there was little hope for his survival.
He knew of course that he himself differed from Great Sage Qingyun. Great Sage Qingyun had betrayed the Patriarch; Netherworld Immortal had long enjoyed the Patriarch’s favor and had done great service by bringing in Jieyin, so the Patriarch would probably not let him be cannon fodder.
But… a traitor who hasn’t revealed themselves is still a traitor!
…
Zheng Fa in the Jiushan Realm did not know that Great Sage Qingyun had returned unwillingly.
He and Senior Sister Zhang left the main hall of Mount Tongming and returned directly to the Jiushan Realm, entering the medicine garden together.
Senior Sister Zhang waved and the Tranquility Bamboo swayed its leaves, flying into her fingertips.
Zheng Fa glanced at the Sun-Moon Bell. According to Tongming’s words, would a Dao Fruit be—was the Sun-Moon Bell a kind of Dao Fruit?
But this thing lacked the Tranquility Bamboo’s growth properties. It seemed a bit weaker, perhaps even incomplete. It might be enough against ordinary Soul Formation cultivators, but against the Demon Ancestor it was wishful thinking.
At present in the Jiushan Realm, the only thing that might stand against the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was another heavenly spiritual root!
Zheng Fa looked toward a strange mulberry tree at the far end of the garden.
This tree had grown from the fusion of the spirit cell organ within Zheng Fa’s body and the Haori mulberry cell.
Compared to the earlier Haori mulberry, this tree’s spiritual energy was richer, its leaves redder, and the trunk imbued with a surging warmth.
Yet it still fell a little short of a true heavenly spiritual root.
Seeing Zheng Fa’s anxious expression, Zhenren Qian walked over and said, “I speculate that although this Haori mulberry has some relation to Fusang Wood, the gap remains vast… At least the fusion succeeded.”
Zheng Fa nodded lightly; this matched their observations.
In short, they were trying to bring this plant back toward its ancestral form, selecting the most suitable cells generation after generation and cultivating them upward.
“Is the incense-fire power still enough to sustain it?”
To revert to ancestral form required a rapid burst of nurturing, and in the Jiushan Realm that nurturing relied entirely on the Sun-Moon Bell and the mortal realm’s incense offerings.
“It was adequate at first, but as this spirit plant grows closer to Fusang Wood, the spiritual energy and incense-fire required become increasingly tremendous,” Zhenren Qian sighed. “The Sun-Moon Bell is already running short of power.”
He looked genuinely worried.
This was within Zheng Fa’s expectations. Heavenly spiritual roots were priceless; Fusang Wood was top-tier. Even nearby branches, though not true heavenly roots, were incredibly valuable.
Even a Haori mulberry with an impure bloodline was treated as a treasure by Haori Mountain.
That the Sun-Moon Bell—or rather, Jiushan Realm’s strength—was insufficient had long been anticipated by him and Senior Sister Zhang.
This was why Zheng Fa had been trying to accelerate development in the Jiushan mortal realm. He hadn’t expected things to move faster than he imagined!
He had wondered why he hadn’t seen Senior Sister Yuan recently; today he unexpectedly encountered that little bird.
Senior Sister Yuan had manifested as an Azure Luan, spread into a little hill and leaned against the spirit mulberry, lazily snoring away.
Not only her, but the little golden crow that had been wandering about also perched on a branch, leisurely grooming its feathers.
“These two?”
“They come by all the time recently,” Zhenren Qian replied.
Zheng Fa remembered how those two birds had once ogled him and now looked at the spirit mulberry, and his confidence rose a notch.
He watched Senior Sister Yuan sleeping without a care, thinking of his and Senior Sister Zhang’s tension, then went over and nudged Senior Sister Yuan’s round body with his foot.
Senior Sister Yuan squinted and glanced at him, a dreamy smile appearing on her face as she shifted her wing.
Zheng Fa leaned against her.
This bird made for a cozy sofa.
…
Great Sage Qingyun had already approached Mount Tongming.
“Qingyunzi!”
Inside the main hall of Mount Tongming came a sharp shout. A jade mirror rose from the mountain peak, its arcane light like a sword, stabbing toward the windborne Great Sage Qingyun.
Great Sage Qingyun did not dodge. He let out a piercing cry; the cloud that trailed behind him surged like a warhorse and struck the jade mirror, barely blocking Tongming’s birthright treasure.
He kept moving. The blue-quail form flickered and swelled to mountain size, its pointed beak gleaming coldly—appearing even three parts keener than the Qingping Sword. He nodded his head and parted his beak slightly.
Everyone in the Jiushan Realm who’d spotted Great Sage Qingyun’s attack gathered around the light screen to watch.
Many disciples on Mount Tongming—Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul cultivators—felt the heavens and earth shake. Uncontrollably, they flew toward Great Sage Qingyun’s mouth. In an instant dozens of disciples were swallowed!
“Wretched beast!”
The Yaochi Nascent Soul struck. A colored ribbon flew from her sleeve, streaking through the air and causing auroral light to descend, pinning the people on Mount Tongming. The ribbon then coiled around Great Sage Qingyun, wrapping him tightly.
Great Sage Qingyun still tried to struggle, but Tongming’s jade mirror came down above him and shone directly on him. The two Soul Formation cultivators combined their efforts and captured him.
Tongming and the others exchanged a glance and led him into the hall.
“Qingyunzi!” Tongming asked, “We have no malice toward you Seven Sages, why did you slaughter my disciples?”
“……”
Great Sage Qingyun did not speak. Suddenly Head Seat Mingde trembled all over and said, “You are not Great Sage Qingyun!”
As he spoke, auspicious clouds flashed above his head, and a Yang Spirit fell forth, holding a jade measuring rod to block the people.
He reacted swiftly.
But Great Sage Qingyun acted even faster—he detonated!
Even Head Seat Mingde could not have imagined that a Soul Formation cultivator—one who treasured life above all, who had danced between the righteous and demonic paths to survive—would be so utterly desperate to stake his life.
So desperate that everyone was caught off-guard.
The spiritual energy Great Sage Qingyun had accumulated for tens of thousands of years, the spirit soul he had tempered, transformed into the most dreadful magic.
Across heaven and earth, it was like the most grandiose fireworks display—but what scattered was not light alone, it was spiritual energy and blood.
This conflagration served as Mount Tongming’s final requiem!
Head Seat Mingde and the other Soul Formation cultivators had personal protective treasures and mostly suffered only unprepared injuries.
But the disciples left on the mountain had no defenses against such a catastrophe.
Those who had just survived the bird’s beak had no time to rejoice—their souls and spirits dissipated in the blink of an eye.
Tongming trembled all over, his heart torn like a blade. The majority on Mount Tongming were his disciples—Great Sage Qingyun’s self-sacrifice had nearly wiped Tongming’s sect clean!
Not to mention Mount Tongming’s spirit veins, which were now severed.
In short, Mount Tongming was finished!
He stared at the scene with an indescribable vacancy. Everything had happened so quickly—in a single thought it had transformed from a bustling mountain full of disciples to a living hell.
“Tongming…” Cheng Kong, knowing his feelings for the sect, murmured softly.
“…Who?” Tongming’s voice seemed to come from the abyss, “This is not Qingyunzi!”
“This is…” Head Seat Mingde sighed, but then denied his own thought, “This is Qingyunzi who practiced demonic secret arts.”
“I never expected the Demon Ancestor to treat Soul Formation cultivators like fodder in this way…”
…
Rarely did Netherworld Immortal and his master think alike.
He stood behind the Demon Ancestor, watching the grand conflagration on Mount Tongming, and felt a pang of sorrow—like mourning a hunted animal.
Although he resented the Seven Sages for their betrayal and had killed Yin-Yang Rakshasa before, watching a Soul Formation cultivator die without resistance and of his own will stirred sorrow in him.
“On Mount Tongming, there were indeed only a few Soul Formation cultivators.”
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor slowly manifested his form from the void. The black moon behind him brightened again. Between the broken peaks droplets of blood rose from the ground and slowly coalesced into a mass. From it a skylark emerged, gave a light cry, and dove into the black moon.
Netherworld Immortal keenly sensed that the Demon Ancestor’s aura felt a touch more solid than before.
He suddenly realized why Great Sage Qingyun had died—
The skylark’s blood and spirit had become nourishment for the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.
As for the violent strike against Mount Tongming, it was merely using things to their end, a casual probe to learn the true situation on the mountain.
Returning to a sea of blood…
Netherworld Immortal glanced at the black moon. Although he had suspected, he now knew what the blood sea truly was.
“Living as servants, dying as flesh and blood, everything serves me alone.”
Netherworld Immortal remembered a line from the Demon Ancestor’s secret classic, and only now could he again confirm this Demon Ancestor’s nature.
He looked at his former master, Head Seat Mingde of Taishang Dao. What difference did Taishang Dao make?
Head Seat Mingde had no time to dwell on his traitorous disciple now; he stared at the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor with restrained caution. “Great Freedom Demon Ancestor…”
“Since you know my name, why not kneel?”
The Demon Ancestor’s voice was calm and placid—brazen words rolled out as if stating a truth.
No one present found his arrogance excessive.
After Great Sage Qingyun had proved the iron rule that cultivators must not violate their own lineage, they now deeply understood another rule:
Only a Dao Fruit can counter a Dao Fruit!
Black moonlight draped the collapsing mountains.
Head Seat Mingde and Cheng Kong both sharply sensed a change in heaven and earth.
The black moon was devouring the realm’s spiritual energy!
In an instant the rules between heaven and earth altered!
Their internal spiritual power seemed sealed, compressed tightly in their dantians. Secret techniques, spirit treasures, talismans—all went inert!
Or rather, aside from a few Five Sects’ secret arts, most formation spells and spirit talismans lost effect under the black moon’s illumination—they finally understood the nature of the “unable to resist” they faced!
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor stood there without any movement, uttering but one sentence, and everyone understood: they were lambs awaiting slaughter!
The only thing still able to resist was the Qingping Sword!
The Qingping Sword flew from Xie Qingxue’s waist, pointing at the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor and faintly sheltering the Soul Formation cultivators present.
“Qingping Sword…” For the first time the Demon Ancestor’s tone showed a flicker of feeling. He seemed to recognize the Qingping Sword; his voice had a familiarity, as if greeting an old acquaintance. “If it were still in the hands of Heavenly River, I would leave right now…”
A resolute gleam crossed Xie Qingxue’s eyes. A river of stars suddenly appeared behind her, inverted, spiritual energy surging into the Qingping Sword like an incoming tide.
The sword’s might grew threefold. Its light shone like snow, outshining even the black moon.
“This method’s not bad,” the Demon Ancestor praised. “If you were three parts stronger, this newly born body of mine might truly not be able to overcome you.”
“If you hand over this method, I will only take the sword and spare your life.”
Xie Qingxue said nothing.
The Demon Ancestor shook his head and fell silent. The black moon above his head slowly rose, as if growing impatient.
Xie Qingxue glanced back at Yan Wushuang; she had barely protected this junior when Great Sage Qingyun detonated. But now…
A portal flashed in the void and Yan Wushuang was swept inside.
The Sun-Moon Bell!
Zheng Fa, holding the Sun-Moon Bell, landed above Xie Qingxue.
“Those who cannot stand firm, enter the Jiushan Realm!”
From Great Sage Qingyun’s detonation to the Demon Ancestor’s appearance, everything had happened so quickly that even Zheng Fa had only just grasped the situation.
There was no time to hesitate!
The Demon Ancestor’s power was unfathomable; if they waited until he battered Xie Qingxue, the risk would be too great.
After stabilizing the Jiushan Realm disciples, Zheng Fa immediately moved to rescue Yan Wushuang.
Cheng Kong was stunned, looked up at the Sun-Moon Bell, and recalled what Zheng Fa had once said about saving his life earlier.
Zheng Fa… truly a righteous man!
Alas, the Tongtian treasure was not omnipotent…
“A lone Tongtian treasure?” The Demon Ancestor’s tone remained casual. He actually asked, “Jiushan’s Zheng Fa?”
…No, why does this old fellow have his sights on me?
A mysterious ray from the black moon behind the Demon Ancestor struck the Sun-Moon Bell.
The next instant, the Jiushan Realm seemed to gain a black moon as well!
From that black moon a figure slowly stepped out—who else but the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?
“Jiushan has you…” His gaze swept over the trembling Ancestor of the Blood River, and over Jiao Wuji, but he paid them little mind, focusing on Zheng Fa. “And a Wuyi Zhang…”
Zheng Fa turned to look at Senior Sister Zhang.
The Demon Ancestor’s gaze followed, landing on Senior Sister Zhang’s hand!
In her hand, the Tranquility Bamboo flickered with light. A golden bamboo silhouette flashed across the Jiushan sky and struck toward the black moon.
Within the Jiushan Realm the Tranquility Bamboo and the black moon locked in combat.
But Senior Sister Zhang was inside the realm. The black moon came from without. In the span of three breaths, the Tranquility Bamboo gained the upper hand and struck the black moon out, banishing it from the Jiushan Realm.
Outside the realm, the Demon Ancestor snorted; the black moon behind him dimmed somewhat.
“Tranquility Bamboo!”
He spoke with rare discomposure.
Cheng Kong and the others turned in surprise and saw Senior Sister Zhang step out, yet not leave the Jiushan Realm—she stood in the breach holding the Tranquility Bamboo, her gaze icy.
One man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot open it.
“Enter!”
Who now doubted the security of the Jiushan Realm?
Cheng Kong and the others withdrew into the realm, and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor did not hinder them; his gaze wasn’t on them at all.
To him, dozens of Soul Formation cultivators meant nothing.
What had his attention were only the Qingping Sword and the Tranquility Bamboo.
Inside the Jiushan Realm Cheng Kong felt as if dreaming. He watched Senior Sister Zhang’s back and glanced at Zheng Fa with bewilderment.
Even Head Seat Mingde stared at the intact Tranquility Bamboo, his face somewhat stunned.
“Where did you get that Tranquility Bamboo?”
After a long while, Cheng Kong asked.
“You gave it to us…” Head Seat Mingde suddenly turned, glaring at Cheng Kong, looking as if he’d discovered another renegade.
“I…”
Cheng Kong widened his eyes, feeling wronged, and protested, “I don’t have an intact Tranquility Bamboo in Taishang Dao! Where would I have given it to you from?”
“The one you lent me. I borrowed it for the Jiushan Realm and saw it could be cultivated, so we grew a plant from it.”
Zheng Fa answered honestly, seeming not to think his explanation absurd.
“……”
Cheng Kong glanced at Senior Sister Zhang’s back, then at the Sun-Moon Bell overhead, then at the kindly Ancestor of the Blood River and Jiao Wuji beside him.
He gave Zheng Fa a tolerant smile that plainly read: whatever you say, I’ll agree!
…
Outside the realm the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor seemed hesitant.
He looked at the Qingping Sword, then at the Tranquility Bamboo, and found himself in a quandary.
Netherworld Immortal tried to gauge the Demon Ancestor’s state of mind—he had just been newly reborn and didn’t seem fully restored.
More importantly, earlier he had suffered a concealed loss under the Tranquility Bamboo. His strength now appeared a bit weaker than before Great Sage Qingyun’s death.
Faced with the Tranquility Bamboo and the Qingping Sword, he was understandably wary—if the Demon Ancestor died again, neither of those two would survive; their future connector would be gone!
But to retreat now would be humiliating, and the Demon Ancestor likely coveted the Tranquility Bamboo and the Qingping Sword. He might try to seize these two treasures before the immortal sects arrived.
The Demon Ancestor’s eyes lingered on the Qingping Sword. To him, the greatest threat was the immortal sword left by Heavenly River.
Xie Qingxue’s teeth slowly clenched. Her cultivation had not radically improved and her comprehension of the Qingping Sword had not undergone a qualitative leap. To face the Demon Ancestor she still had to risk her life!
She glanced at the Jiushan Realm, then at Yan Wushuang, giving a brief, slightly relieved look. Discarding all hesitation, she gripped the Qingping Sword and rose. She floated like an immortal, her aura tightly fused to the sword.
Inside the Jiushan Realm Yan Wushuang understood his senior’s look. He bowed his head and produced a Tongjian.
Zheng Fa’s creation jade slip trembled within him. He felt surprise and suspicion: this was not an ordinary message, but an encrypted urgent communication among the sect’s important figures. Only such urgent communications made the Slip vibrate.
But diving into his divine consciousness he saw the message was sent from the very Yan Wushuang behind him, and the content was strange:
“Try circulating the Jiushan Golden Core Method…”
What did that mean?
Though puzzled, Zheng Fa trusted Yan Wushuang. He guided the Golden Core through his nine orifices.
Outside the Jiushan Realm the Qingping Sword suddenly quivered, then pointed to the heavens.
The sky flashed murderous intent, constellations shifted!
The starry river reappeared, and the Big Dipper’s seven stars pointed at the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor. Even Netherworld Immortal felt a chill of horror.
The Demon Ancestor acted extremely fast.
The black moon swallowed him and he vanished from Mount Tongming—he fled!
…
This change happened so fast that even Head Seat Mingde and the others couldn’t make sense of it and assumed Xie Qingxue had launched a desperate attack that forced the Demon Ancestor to retreat.
But…
Xie Qingxue frowned, unable to explain.
She wanted to say…it seemed someone was using her Qingping Sword and her spiritual power to manipulate the celestial phenomena and scare off the Demon Ancestor.
This was not an issue of belief.
Rather… in all heaven and earth, who could do such a thing besides the Patriarch?
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