Chapter 267: Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map: Stepping Into the Depths

Above the cloud light, one could see the hateful gaze Zilan Fairy cast toward Huai River Dragon Lord.

That bone-deep hatred, as if she wished to drink his blood and eat his flesh, made Fang Longye feel embarrassed enough to rub his own nose.

However, the "as expected" tone in her words made him cast an inquiring look at Huai River Dragon Lord.

It seems there is a story between these two! Sensing the inquiry in Fang Longye's gaze, Huai River Dragon Lord could not help but smile bashfully and transmit his voice: "It was merely a case of youthful infatuation back then~"

Hearing this, Fang Longye examined Zilan Fairy once more, a look of realization appearing in his eyes.

He saw that the attire she wore was not the standard Han-style clothing common today, but rather the open palace robes typical of Tang dynasty court ladies, revealing half of her delicate, white-jade-like shoulders.

Combined with her voluptuous figure, her entire person appeared curvaceous, exquisite, and graceful.

Yet, such open palace robes did not appear lewd; instead, they possessed a sense of luxury and dignity, making her appear even more breathtakingly beautiful.

Furthermore, right in the center of her forehead, she kept a single, recurved, spiral-patterned black horn, which formed a sharp contrast with the elegant palace bun pinned to her head.

Not only did it not diminish her beauty in the slightest, but it actually added to it.

It gave her a kind of bewitching, wild beauty! It is the nature of men; faced with such a beauty, how many would not want to mount her and gallop to their heart's content?

But—

Fang Longye could not help but glance at Huai River Dragon Lord, whose eyes were filled with resentment toward Zilan Fairy.

It was obvious that even with his family background, as someone only at the Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment, trying to lay a hand on this gorgeous, bewitching flower had left him pricked and bleeding.

"What are you looking at?" Sensing Fang Longye's scrutiny, Zilan Fairy grew even more furious in her shame and anger, shouting sharply: "You lecherous members of the Dragon Clan, you wiped out my entire Zilan Palace! Today, I will fight you to the death!"

Especially upon seeing Fang Longye activate the Two Instruments Divine Gourd to collect the Golden Immortal True Spirits that had been fluttering about, lingering near Zilan Palace and unwilling to enter reincarnation, one by one into the gourd.

She could no longer hold back.

She cast aside her original plan to try her best to stall for time while waiting for her two allies, Jin Zhong Dasheng and the Divine Turtle.

With a wave of her jade hand, a treasure map appeared in the void. The map looked like cowhide, its edges uneven and somewhat tattered, with a winding, surging long river painted upon it.

Do not be fooled by the map's aged appearance; the long river on it, though drawn with only a few strokes, seemed truly alive, with turbid waves surging to the heavens, endless and ceaseless, as if it were about to burst forth at any moment.

This map was not simple; its origins were immense.

It was originally a strange treasure Zilan Fairy obtained from a ruined Secret Realm. Later, after her investigation, she discovered it came from the near-ancient Conferring of the Gods era and was precisely the array map of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array, which the Three Goddesses of the Calamity Sect had used to achieve their fame.

Although it had suffered during the great Calamity and was already damaged, it still possessed immense power. The Dao marks remaining within it even allowed her to obtain some of the Shangqing orthodox Dharma, and through practicing this, she was already considered an uninitiated disciple of the Shangqing Sect.

This was also the reason she founded her sect and painstakingly sought to educate the Water Tribe creatures.

She hoped that one day, when Zilan Palace developed and grew to a certain point, it could attract the attention of the higher-ups of the Shangqing Lineage.

For instance, to gain the recognition of the Three Goddesses whom she worshipped, so that she might be admitted into the fold and become a true member of the Shangqing Lineage.

Unfortunately, all of this had now been destroyed by Fang Longye and his group. Half a lifetime of effort, all washed away. How could she not hate them to the bone? "Behold my Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map!"

Carrying Zilan Fairy's overflowing rage, the treasure map was activated with all her might, emitting a dim yellow halo as it descended toward Fang Longye and his companion.

"Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map?" Fang Longye was stunned. "Isn't it the array map of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array?"

He immediately understood, thinking to himself: "It seems she hasn't been idle all these years! This Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map was likely refined using the Yellow Springs True Water from outside the Shuimu Yifu."

Fang Longye had not guessed wrong; Zilan Fairy had not spent her years guarding the Shuimu Yifu in vain.

The Nine-Bend Yellow River Array map she obtained was, after all, in a damaged state, and without an item like the "Hunyuan Golden Dipper" to anchor the array, it could not unleash its original divine might.

Outside the Shuimu Yifu, there happened to be Yellow Springs True Water that was quite compatible with this array map. She simply used such a treasure to re-refine the array map, forging it into a handy Spirit Treasure.

Thus, she spent all her effort to extract quite a bit of Yellow Springs True Water, drop by drop, from the protective array outside the Shuimu Yifu.

This process was extremely arduous.

After all, those five types of Innate True Water had already been refined by Shuimu Niangniang into a single mass using her great Dharma.

It could be said that whether it was Innate Weak Water or Yellow Springs True Water... and so on, these five types of Innate True Water no longer existed individually. What guarded the Water Mansion was now a brand-new divine water that combined the characteristics of these five Innate True Waters.

Fortunately, Zilan Fairy belonged to the Gudiao Clan, and as a Honghuang strange species with water attributes, she had also studied the Dao of Water quite deeply.

Only then did she have the ability to reverse this brand-new divine water back into the original five types of Innate True Water, obtaining the Yellow Springs True Water needed to re-refine the array map.

Such painstaking effort naturally yielded results. Using the Yellow Springs True Water to re-refine the array map, the Spirit Treasure she forged also possessed the capabilities of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array.

It looked tattered and old, but in reality, it was an intact Spirit Treasure, ranked at the peak of the high grade, containing a great Yellow Springs river that drifted in a dim yellow hue, winding as she willed.

Once one fell into the map, it was truly like falling into the Yellow Springs; getting out would be difficult.

Moreover, the erosion of the Yellow Springs True Water's red-dust Turbid Qi perfectly complemented the divine might of the "Nine-Bend Yellow River Array" to erode one's Dao cultivation.

It was truly a top-tier killing weapon.

Therefore, Zilan Fairy named this proud work of hers the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map."

Both sides had different thoughts, turning over a hundred times in their minds.

But in reality, it happened in a flash; the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" had already descended above Fang Longye and Huai River Dragon Lord.

Although it was not the "Nine-Bend Yellow River Array" he had expected, Fang Longye felt not a shred of panic; after all, he had long anticipated that trump cards would change with the passage of time.

Now it seemed that Zilan Fairy's trump card was still the same one, just with increased power; the change was not significant.

This result was much better than what he had anticipated before coming here.

The earlier surprise was just a momentary reaction~ when it came down to it, it was nothing major.

Fang Longye thought this to himself, while his hands did not delay in the slightest. Not bothering with any pretense of not bullying others with treasures, he took out the Zhanxian Gourd, ready to strike.

At the same time, his body was bolstered by Spirit Treasures and divine weapons, radiating a powerful Aura.

He unleashed the Five-Colored Divine Light from his hand, aiming it toward the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map."

No sooner said than done, the treasure map crashed down, and the two forces collided, stirring up countless ripples between them, causing the space to become distorted and shattered.

But no matter how the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" exerted its power, trying to wrap Fang Longye within it, he stood firm and unbroken.

Like a reef being washed over by thousands of tides, even if submerged time and again, he remained immovable and unyielding.

Such a feat meant that even Huai River Dragon Lord, who was beside him raising a brilliant Dragon Pearl, felt the pressure on him suddenly lift, becoming much more relaxed.

It was because the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" was targeting both of them, and Fang Longye had shouldered the majority of the force. Huai River Dragon Lord naturally felt relieved.

Of course, the scene Fang Longye had envisioned—where "the Five-Colored Divine Light comes out and the treasure map is immediately captured"—did not come to pass.

It is just that this "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" is somewhat special; it belongs to the category of array-and-treasure-in-one, being both a grand array and a Spirit Treasure. With his current level of attainment in the Five-Colored Divine Light, he still lacks the strength to handle it.

"An Innate Spiritual Treasure?"

Seeing that the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" had absolutely no effect on Fang Longye, Zilan Fairy focused her gaze and couldn't help but exclaim. Afterward, she gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and directed the full might of the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" entirely onto Huai River Dragon Lord, who was standing beside Fang Longye.

With a roll of the Treasure Map, he was swept into the Nine Bends Yellow Springs.

……

Huai River Dragon Lord had originally been resisting the pulling force of the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" with ease, using a rare treasure Dragon Pearl above his head.

Who would have expected that force to suddenly increase? In an instant, he lacked the strength to resist, and caught off guard, he was immediately swept into the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map."

His vision blurred, and when he focused again, only a great river appeared all around him.

This great river wound in nine bends, murky and yellow, without beginning or end, suddenly appearing in the void and rushing toward him.

Huai River Dragon Lord looked around; it was all endless darkness, with no end in sight.

A magnificent, vast river surged and rolled, as if it had traveled through ten thousand ages of time.

Placed before this great river, one could only feel one's own insignificance, like a single grain of sand in the vast sea, utterly trivial.

He couldn't help but exclaim in shock: "The River of Yellow Springs?!"

Above the nine-bending, winding great river, murky yellow waves rolled, majestic and vast.

Amidst the rolling waves, countless figures and corpses floated and sank, appearing both illusory and real, their truth indistinguishable.

Ferocious exotic beasts, withered giants, and ghostly, ethereal figures floated and drifted, roaring incessantly. But in the blink of an eye, they were submerged by the rolling, murky waves.

Huai River Dragon Lord was, after all, a Golden Immortal of Great Accomplishment, so he still possessed that much discernment; he could see clearly that these figures and corpses were not real, but rather illusions.

Yet this made him feel even more palpitations than if they were real.

If they were merely some ghost shadows or corpses, it would be fine.

The key was that these illusions were all products derived and manifested from the sins of the human world and the karma of the mortal realm carried within the True Water of the Yellow Springs.

If he were to be stained by the True Water of the Yellow Springs, even as a Golden Immortal of Great Accomplishment, he would not fare well.

He couldn't help but secretly curse himself for being too lax; now that he was inside someone else's Spirit Treasure, facing this River of Yellow Springs, he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

He drew a bright silver spear and, coordinating with all his own Spirit Treasures, attacked the surrounding void with all his might, hoping to break the Spirit Treasure and escape.

Unfortunately, he lacked the strength.

The foundation of this "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" was, after all, an array map refined by the Three Goddesses for the "Nine-Bend Yellow River Array," and its material was extraordinary.

Like Fang Longye's Panlong Spear, its material far exceeded its own Spirit Treasure grade, and it was far from comparable to other Post-Heaven Spirit Treasures of superior grade.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this Yellow Springs river already before his eyes in an instant, a single wave could engulf him.

In the nick of time, Huai River Dragon Lord immediately withdrew all his treasures, stopped using his Dharma power for other purposes, and fully activated the Dragon Pearl above his head.

This Dragon Pearl above his head was not something he had refined himself, but a treasure left behind by a predecessor—a relic of a Dragon Clan ancestor who was a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Although it had not yet reached the grade of a Supreme Spiritual Treasure, it still exceeded the power of a Superior Spiritual Treasure.

Even though it could not break the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map," using it to protect himself, he reckoned he could withstand the encroachment of the River of Yellow Springs for a long time.

Just as this Dragon Pearl emitted a bright yellow divine light to protect Huai River Dragon Lord's body, the rolling great river reached him; with a single wave, it swept him inside.

His vision went black, and then he saw space and time shift; he had already drifted with the current into the great river.

This River of Yellow Springs did not look small at first, winding in nine bends like the Heavenly River hanging upside down, and now that he was inside it, it was even more boundless.

He saw a great river spanning the void, its length and width unknown, with murky waves surging; no matter from which angle he looked, all was boundless and endless, like the Abyssal Sea.

"For now, it depends on the methods of that cheap uncle of mine!"

Huai River Dragon Lord looked at the Dragon Pearl above his head, which was constantly emitting divine light, his heart aching so much it felt like it was bleeding.

He secretly hoped that this cheap uncle he had acknowledged could rescue him soon.

There was no other reason; the predecessor of this "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" was the array map of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array. Although it lost its purity after being re-refined with the True Water of the Yellow Springs, it still possessed the original ability to erode one's cultivation and Dharma power.

One scouring by the Yellow Springs was equivalent to ten thousand years.

Even with the Dragon Pearl protecting him, how long could he hold out? Moreover, the Dragon Pearl, unique to the Dragon Clan, was itself a combination of a dragon's cultivation, Dharma power, origin, and so on.

The Dragon Pearl above his head, coming from a Taiyi Golden Immortal, was no exception.

Although, because this Dragon Pearl came from a Taiyi Golden Immortal, it would not lose ten thousand years of cultivation in a single instant under the scouring of the Yellow Springs, a single large wave still washed away hundreds of years of accumulation.

A Dragon Pearl left behind by a Taiyi Golden Immortal! Even within the entire Dragon Clan, there were not many left nowadays.

Yet in this situation, it was being whittled away bit by bit.

How could his heart not ache?

……

Time shifts backward.

Returning to the moment Huai River Dragon Lord was just swept into the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map."

After Huai River Dragon Lord fell into the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map," Fang Longye couldn't help but sigh.

He glanced back at Zilan Fairy, thinking to himself that she had succeeded by a stroke of luck.

This Zilan Fairy thought that the two of them took Huai River Dragon Lord as the leader, so she played the game of capturing the leader first to lure him deep.

Although it differed from the facts, this move had truly succeeded for her.

Regardless, Huai River Dragon Lord was nominally here to assist him; if something were to happen to him, it would truly be hard to justify.

"If I had known, I should have stuck to my initial idea and not brought this burden along!"

"He even swore to me beforehand that with that Dragon Pearl left by the Taiyi Golden Immortal, I didn't need to worry about the safety of a Golden Immortal of Great Accomplishment like him!"

Although Fang Longye was full of complaints in his heart, he felt no hesitation.

Having made up his mind, he first turned his head and glared fiercely at Zilan Fairy, revealing a cold sneer.

Then he turned around, took a step, and entered the "Nine Bends Yellow Springs Map" floating in the air with ease.

Since you wish to lure me into your trap, then I shall grant your wish.

Today, Fang Longye shall witness this legendary Nine-Bend Yellow River Array! (End of chapter)