Chapter 260: Blood God Dharma, Tongming's Lament

Jiushan Sect.

Uncle-Master Pang stood at the peak of the Ninth Peak, beyond the mountains, and said softly:

"I've lived in Jiushan Sect for several tens of thousands of years, yet I can't recognize this place."

The Sect Master beside him was likewise speechless.

The world beyond the mountains had changed its appearance.

At the foot of the mountain, beside the dock, the great river no longer flowed with water—only thick, dark-red blood streamed in its place.

It should have been daytime, yet a Heavenly River had appeared in the sky—also the color of blood.

One above, one below, the two blood rivers mirrored each other, bathing the scenery for a hundred li around in a layer of ill-omened light.

"So this is Soul Transformation?" Uncle-Master Pang sighed. "The moment it emerges, even the heavens change."

"More than that."

The Sect Master said quietly, "Recently I've noticed that the power of some of my talisman arts has been weakening…"

Uncle-Master Pang was taken aback and could not help saying, "That sounds a bit like the Heavenly Stele Realm? Able to alter the power of various spells and spirit talismans?"

"Yes. Zhang-shizhi spoke with me about Soul Transformation a couple of days ago… this Soul Transformation, I'm afraid, truly can affect the Heavenly Dao." The Sect Master said one sentence, then said no more.

Junior-Master Pang's face had already turned very grim.

On the other hand, talking more now was useless.

"Speaking of Zhang-shizhi—where is she? Still at the Shanhe True Form Talisman?"

The Sect Master nodded and looked toward his junior brother: "I don't know why Xuehe Laozu is delaying so, but judging by how the baleful qi in that blood river grows day by day, I'm afraid Xuehe Laozu won't be able to wait much longer either."

Uncle-Master Pang nodded, seeming to understand the Sect Master's meaning.

"I'll have Zhang-shizhi come down the mountain. These past days she's spent a great deal of spiritual energy and divine soul trying to awaken the Ancestor. The situation is urgent now—she must rest for a while."

The Sect Master nodded, watching Uncle-Master Pang head up the mountain.

He turned back, looked once more at the blood river beyond the mountains, then took out a formation disk and gently stroked it.

……

Once Uncle-Master Pang went up the mountain, he saw Zhang Shijie sitting beneath the Shanhe True Form Talisman, the spiritual energy around her shifting in myriad ways like clouds and rosy dawn, as if she were trying to provoke a reaction from the talisman.

But the Shanhe True Form Talisman merely leaked a faint, flickering light—no other change.

Uncle-Master Pang waited a while, but Zhang Shijie showed no sign of waking. He could not help calling softly: "Zhang-shizhi."

Zhang Shijie gently opened her eyes; a trace of weariness showed in her gaze—she looked utterly exhausted.

Uncle-Master Pang knew in his heart that Zhang-shizhi had only just entered Nascent Soul, and was now essentially attempting to comprehend a Soul Transformation method. Weariness of mind and spirit was only natural.

Thinking of this, he could not help feeling a bit ashamed:

"We're here, yet we can't be of any help."

It wasn't that he hadn't read the few books Zheng Fa had given—truth be told, he could understand them, more or less. But to grasp the spiritual circuits of something as complex as the Shanhe True Form Talisman was simply too difficult.

The Sect Master was the same.

Zhang Shijie shook her head. She had never been one to complain; she only asked now, "Does Uncle-Master need something?"

"Xuehe Laozu…" Uncle-Master Pang seemed unsure how to explain. "There seem to be some changes beyond the mountains. I'm afraid it's not a good sign."

Zhang Shijie glanced beyond the mountain, as if she had long expected it: "This is probably Xuehe Laozu's Dao Fruit affecting this stretch of heaven and earth."

"Mm?"

"These past few days, while contemplating the Shanhe True Form Talisman, I've gained some insight," Zhang Shijie explained. "The struggle between Soul Transformation cultivators is probably not what we imagined. It's a contest of Dao…"

Uncle-Master Pang was a bit lost.

Zhang Shijie shook her head and said, "The fact that Xuehe Laozu is moving so slowly is probably not because he fears our Jiushan Sect, but… because he fears this stretch of heaven and earth."

Uncle-Master Pang listened, more and more bewildered, his eyes full of confusion.

In any case, he had not come to discuss these matters with Zhang-shizhi, but to get Zhang Wuyi to stop obsessing over the Jiushan Ancestor.

And to prepare properly, to deal with Xuehe Laozu.

……

"Xuehe actually came in person?"

In the distance, Tongming Shangren—who was confronting the Great Sage Qingyun—stared at the scene and could not help gaping.

The Great Sage Qingyun glanced at him with a smile and said, "Xuehe Laozu attained his Dao by borrowing the Dao-method of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor. You and I using our natal spirit treasures to have a go is one thing, but he can only obey the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor."

"What's more, with the decline of spiritual energy approaching, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor has merely made his first move."

"And besides, what does a mere Xuehe Laozu amount to?"

Tongming Shangren sighed at this: "The likes of us are nothing but chess pieces… But you clearly know that getting involved with the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor leads to nothing good—why then do you still act for them…"

In his heart, he did not believe the Great Sage Qingyun was standing up for the demon race.

The demon race was, in essence, a scattered heap of sand.

Moreover, though demon-race cultivators below Nascent Soul lived miserably, a Soul Transformation cultivator like the Great Sage Qingyun—few people dared to bully.

"Great Freedom Heaven."

The Great Sage Qingyun uttered four words.

Tongming Shangren, however, seemed to understand at once, and looked up in shock: "The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor is actually willing to give up Great Freedom Heaven? Isn't it by hiding within Great Freedom Heaven that one can evade the calamity of spiritual decline?"

At this moment he understood why the Great Sage Qingyun was cooperating with the Great Freedom Demon Sect.

And he understood even more clearly why the Great Sage Qingyun had said Xuehe Laozu amounted to nothing.

The fact that the demon sects could endure so long, and that the Demon Ancestor could survive two epochs, was inseparable from a Cave Heaven Secret Realm like Great Freedom Heaven.

"How would I know? Besides, what manner of being is the Demon Ancestor—could he deceive me?" The Great Sage Qingyun shook his head. "This price is offered to you; the cost is the entire Baixian Alliance…"

"You refuse?"

Tongming Shangren fell silent, unable to voice a rebuttal. He only looked toward Jiushan Sect with a gaze tinged by pity—

The Great Zizaimo Demon Ancestor's willingness to abandon the Great Zizaima Heaven is no small action.

The Jiushan Sect has likely met with great misfortune, blocking the exit of the Zizaimo Sect's secret realm...

Zheng Fa sat beside the Sun and Moon Bell, refining the spiritual materials he had obtained earlier while watching Xiao Xianzi sense various electromagnetic fluctuations in the herb garden.

From time to time, he had to activate the Sun and Moon Bell to move—

Controlling this thing required a tremendous amount of spiritual power.

Plus, with the Fusang Tree inside his dantian, which is a huge consumer of spiritual power, these spiritual materials seemed to be meant for the two of them to consume.

They were moving a bit slowly—according to Zheng Fa's estimation, returning to the Jiushan Sect would take several days.

It wasn't that the Sun and Moon Bell was weak; rather, its essence was not a treasure meant for travel.

Zheng Fa's spiritual power was too weak; he might not even be able to unleash one ten-thousandth of the Sun and Moon Bell's power.

This resulted in a slower speed.

Seeming to see his anxious look, Xiao Xianzi smiled: "Are you worried about the Jiushan Sect? Worried that the Zizaimo Sect will breach the Jiushan Sect's mountain gate?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"It is the Zizaimo Sect that should be worried about you..."

Xiao Xianzi thought for a moment, then suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"They are truly unlucky... to meet someone with such great fortune as you the moment they were born."

"..."

Zheng Fa vaguely understood why Xiao Xianzi's change towards him was so obvious.

"Great fortune?"

"This is a very ancient saying," Xiao Xianzi said. "One who can command a Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasure is a person of great fortune."

Zheng Fa realized; this matter probably had to be traced back to the Divine Dao Ma Jiyuan—

The great powers of that time all started by relying on Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasures.

"Actually... I previously thought that although you could defeat me in the Heavenly Stele Realm, you should not be able to command a Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasure for the time being."

"Hmm?"

"Even my master could not command one..."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

The information in those words was explosive—first, Xiao Xianzi's background was indeed formidable; her master was at least at the Soul Transformation realm, and possessed a Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasure?

Just not as lucky as himself.

Relying on the Positive and Negative Five-Colored Spiritual Light to usurp the nest.

Xiao Xianzi looked at Zheng Fa, her eyes revealing a gaze of—confusion mixed with envy.

"Xiao Xianzi, exactly how many of these Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasures are there?"

Having finally met someone who understood, Zheng Fa couldn't help but ask.

"How would I know?" Xiao Xianzi pouted. "My master only said that Cave Heaven Spiritual Treasures are not all the same—there are distinctions of high and low, seemingly differentiated by how many complete Treasure Texts and Law Seals they possess."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

He looked at the spiritual energy circuits on the Sun and Moon Bell; they called these things Law Seals?

Come to think of it, it made some sense—these spiritual energy circuits determined the spiritual energy rules within the Nine Mountains Realm; they were indeed a type of Law Seal.

"You can command this Sun and Moon Bell, yet you are only at the Foundation Establishment realm... I dare say, the Zizaimo Sect will surely regret it."

Xiao Xianzi looked at Zheng Fa and said softly.

Tongming Shangren remained silent for a long time, gazing at the distant blood-red Tianhe.

Qingyun Dasheng seemed to understand his thoughts: "Daoist friend wishes to leave?"

"Does Dasheng intend to stop me?"

"Daoist friend jokes... Although I covet that Great Zizaima Heaven, I am not a servant of the Great Zizaimo Demon Ancestor; I will simply do my duty," Qingyun Dasheng smiled.

"Great Zizaima Heaven..."

Tongming Shangren sighed; he had originally hoped to see if he could rescue one or two people from the Jiushan Sect.

Now he knew that a single Great Zizaima Heaven was enough to make Qingyun Dasheng risk his life.

Because he too would risk his life for such a Cave Heaven—this was an opportunity to survive during the decline of spiritual energy!

The Jiushan Sect was now surely doomed to destruction—Qingyun Dasheng not wanting to conflict with him was one thing, but fulfilling the Great Zizaimo Demon Ancestor's orders was another.

"Actually..." Qingyun Dasheng spoke again, "From what I heard from Xuehe Laozu, the Jiushan Sect Demon Ancestor is not actually highly valued. Blocking the gate with Lei Chi was merely a minor detail."

"But Zhang Wuyi, and a junior disciple named Zheng Fa... for some reason, the Demon Ancestor valued them extremely highly... At that time, he mentioned some theory of the Three Sons Talisman..."

Tongming Shangren frowned slightly, not quite understanding.

"Xuehe Laozu coming in his true form was solely to capture Zhang Wuyi..."

After thinking for a long time, Tongming Shangren spoke: "I have always heard of Zhang Wuyi's reputation as a genius, but who is this Zheng Fa?"

Qingyun Dasheng waved his hand, looking towards the Jiushan Sect.

Beside the Jiushan Sect, two rivers of blood, one above and one below, churned up massive waves; atop the waves, two strange, dead, and heart-shakingly dazzling Immortal Swords appeared.

A figure of a lean old man emerged from the void, grasping the two Immortal Swords; it was Xuehe Laozu.

He glanced at the Jiushan Sect's mountain-protecting formation, a sneer appearing on his lips; he raised his hand, and the Immortal Swords in his grip suddenly vanished.

(End of this chapter)