Chapter 300: True Immortal

……

Near Black Wind Ridge.

After Xu Chen and the four of them, including True Monarch Ghost Spirit, left Heming Mountain, they did not immediately rush to Langya Mountain, but instead arrived first at the former site of the Taiyuan Sect.

The four of them plunged directly into the Black Wind that connected heaven and earth, investigating all the way until they reached Zhaoyang Peak.

Now, with the two Black Wind leakage points at Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley as the center, an area of several hundred thousand li in radius has been completely covered by the cold, dark Black Wind; all plants and animals inside have died out, leaving behind only a pitch-black, withered land.

The once lush Southern Border Mountains are now shrouded in an endless aura of death, with not a trace of vitality to be felt; only a large number of Nether Beasts live among them, and they have actually begun to build nests and breed, forming Nether Beast lairs of various sizes and chilling auras, spending their days hissing, roaring, and even fighting to compete for territory.

Xu Chen had stayed in Minghuang for half a year, so he was already almost immune to this situation and thus did not have much of a reaction.

True Monarch Ghost Spirit and Chen Yang, however, were much more shocked; although they had stayed at the Minghuang Boundary for a long time, they had never imagined that the Mortal World they were once so familiar with and missed so much would become so gloomy and terrifying after being shrouded in Underworld Qi.

As for Su Zhao, who was leaving the mountain for the first time, his face was pale and he was shivering.

To him, every Nether Beast here possessed almost irresistible lethality.

However, seeing Xu Chen and True Monarch Xuan Chen unscrupulously releasing their Divine Sense to observe while still having the leisure to discuss and laugh, the fear in his heart gradually calmed down a lot.

Soon, the four of them had reached the vicinity of the mountain gate, and Xu Chen had already seen Zhaoyang Peak standing amidst the rolling black fog.

Because it was close to the Spirit Fox Valley leakage point, the concentration of Black Mist near Zhaoyang Peak was much higher than elsewhere, and the suppression of Divine Sense was extremely severe; Xu Chen could only see about a hundred li, while Chen Yang was practically blind, able to see only a distance of ten-odd li.

However, compared to the suppression of Divine Sense by the Black Wind, the white fog at the Minghuang Boundary had suppressed Divine Sense even more.

After True Monarch Ghost Spirit carefully observed Zhaoyang Peak with his Divine Sense, he said, "The buildings on the mountain have all been abandoned, and there is no fluctuation of any aura, but I wonder what Daoist Friend Xu is looking for by coming here?"

Xu Chen pointed to the location of the cliff where he used to live, a few li away from Zhaoyang Peak, and said, "Before I fell into Minghuang that day, there were still some items left in the wooden house. In addition, there was a Spirit Beast left behind in the vicinity; although I don't know if it is alive or dead, since I am passing by, I still want to take a look. Furthermore, in the Medicine Garden behind the mountain, there are some strange plants... Eh, how did it become like this?"

As he was speaking, Xu Chen suddenly revealed a face full of incredulous surprise; his body flickered and turned into a phantom as he headed toward the cliff. By the time he stood on the open cliff space in front of the small wooden house, what was before his eyes was no longer the familiar appearance of the past.

The small wooden house had disappeared without a trace, and not a single normal tree or thorn bush could be seen in the surroundings; they had long since turned to dust and vanished under the impact of the Spirit Qi brought by that great array explosion.

However, replacing them were many colorful, strange plants, which were clearly those things that had grown out of the Medicine Garden back then.

Moreover, the number of these plants was not small; they had actually grown all the way from the direction of the Medicine Garden to the small wooden house area, intertwined and woven together into a large patch.

What surprised Xu Chen the most was that these plants seemed to be devouring and absorbing the Black Mist that filled the sky, wrapped in the dense black fog, looking as eerie as demonic objects.

True Monarch Ghost Spirit, carrying Chen Yang and Su Zhao, followed closely behind and landed by Xu Chen's side. After seeing this situation, their expressions also underwent drastic changes.

"These... what are these things?" True Monarch Ghost Spirit was incomparably surprised.

Xu Chen said with a bewildered face, "These are the types of plants I mentioned just now. They were all growing in the Medicine Garden behind; how did they suddenly grow here, and why are there so many?"

"Wu ya... wu ya..."

From within the black fog, a faint sound came.

"Xiaobai~"

Xu Chen was both surprised and happy; his body flashed and turned into a residual shadow as he headed toward the Medicine Garden behind the mountain.

"Daoist Friend Xu, be careful, there is someone..."

Suddenly, True Monarch Ghost Spirit's expression changed drastically. A terrifying aura exploded with a boom, and the violent Spirit Qi turned into the light and shadow of the sun, moon, and stars filling the sky, sweeping away the Black Mist within a radius of several tens of li, instantly revealing a large area of bare, pitch-black mountain ridges.

And among the rugged and steep mountain ridges, a continuous patch of colorful, strange plants was particularly eye-catching.

Seeming to sense this sudden, violent Spirit Qi, all the plants immediately had their leaves and branches roll and sway, moving like Demon Beasts.

Xu Chen hung in the air above the Medicine Garden as if he had been hit by a immobilization spell, a look of extreme shock on his face.

Because he saw a person, a woman, young and beautiful, wearing a moon-white long dress embroidered with cloud patterns, her jet-black hair tied behind her head with a red ribbon, a touch of vermilion at the center of her brow. She stood gracefully on the open ground in the Medicine Garden, holding a white fox in her arms, one snow-white hand still gently stroking the white fox's head, a faint trace of surprise on her face as she also looked at Xu Chen.

A woman is not scary.

And Xu Chen had seen plenty of women.

He had even seen women of completely different breeds like Feng Feiyi and Youtong.

But the feeling this woman gave him was full of eeriness.

Because he could not feel the slightest human aura from her, nor was there the slightest fluctuation of Spirit Qi. Although his eyes saw her, his Divine Sense was a blank slate, just like these strange plants; it was completely like an illusion.

"Daoist Friend Xu, do not get close; this woman is not simple!"

Following closely behind, True Monarch Ghost Spirit appeared out of thin air by Xu Chen's side, carrying a terrifying aura. He looked down at the woman, his voice filled with vigilance and majesty.

At this moment, his heart was pounding like thunder.

Having cultivated to his realm, there was almost nothing in the Mortal World that could make him feel vigilant or afraid.

But he had not discovered this woman at first; it was not until the fox's cry startled Xu Chen that he suddenly became aware of her existence.

Such a situation could only mean one thing: this woman's origin was extremely terrifying, and her cultivation realm was above his own.

And as for what level a human stronger than a Great Perfection Spirit Transformation would be, one could guess it with their heels.

Seeing Xu Chen and True Monarch Ghost Spirit looking like they were facing a great enemy, the woman bent down and put down the fox in her arms. Her voice sounded like a clear spring: "You don't need to be nervous. I have no malice toward you. If you have anything to say, come down and talk!"

Xu Chen and True Monarch Ghost Spirit looked at each other, then withdrew their aura and slowly landed in the Medicine Garden.

"Wu ya..." The Spirit Fox rushed over excitedly, diving straight into Xu Chen's arms, pushing its head hard against the lapels of his chest while emitting joyful cries.

Xu Chen stroked the Spirit Fox's head, but his eyes were fixed on the woman as he asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The woman, however, looked at True Monarch Ghost Spirit and said, "It seems Taibai Xianweng did not lie; you really are a cultivator about to reach Void Breaking. Your strength is quite good."

True Monarch Ghost Spirit's hair stood on end instantly; he almost could not control himself from releasing his Primordial Spirit Dharma Image. However, in the end, he forcibly suppressed this fear, cupped his hands, and said cautiously, "I wonder what Daoist Friend means by this?"

The woman smiled and said, "You need not be nervous; I was just curious after hearing about it, so I came to take a look."

After speaking, the woman turned to look at Xu Chen, watching the Spirit Fox nuzzling and acting spoiled in his arms, and actually pouted slightly: "So it has an owner; I thought it was a pet that no one wanted!"

"Wu ya~~"

The Spirit Fox poked its head out from Xu Chen's arms and let out a weak, aggrieved cry.

Xu Chen put down Xiaobai, hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and asked, "Senior, could it be that you came from Yueluntian? I wonder which Holy Gate you belong to?"

The woman was startled, then her expression became incomparably surprised. She looked at Xu Chen for a long time before saying, "You are just a small cultivator who has not yet reached Spirit Transformation, yet you actually know about Yueluntian and the Holy Gates?"

Xu Chen immediately gave a dry laugh: "This junior once luckily encountered an Immortal, so I heard some things about the Nine Heavens."

The woman's eyes brightened and she nodded slightly: "So that's how it is. Since you know some things about the Heavenly Realm, I will not hide it from you. I did indeed come from Yueluntian, but I am not from the four great Holy Gates; I am under the command of Doumu Xianjun of Yuchi Shengong. This time, I came to investigate the leakage of Underworld Qi in the human world. Passing by this place, I found the aura of these plants to be strange, so I stopped to check them out. I discovered that this white fox was quite cute and originally wanted to take it away, but I did not expect it to be attached to this place and unwilling to leave. So it turns out it has an owner; since that is the case, this Immortal will not force the issue."

After the woman finished speaking, she couldn't help but cast a reproachful glance at the white fox, saying with a hint of resentment: "Since you have waited for your master, I will no longer concern myself with you. We shall meet again!"

"Senior, wait a moment!" Seeing that the woman seemed about to leave, Xu Chen hurriedly called out.

The woman turned around, frowned slightly, and said: "What else do you have?"

Xu Chen cupped his hands and smiled: "Since Senior has descended to the Mortal World to investigate the leakage of Underworld Qi, it just so happens that we juniors are also heading to attend an Immortal Alliance Assembly, which I hear is aimed at addressing the Underworld Qi leakage and the Nether Beast Catastrophe. If Senior does not mind, you could travel with us; perhaps we might learn more useful information!"

Upon hearing this, the woman smiled charmingly: "You certainly have a clever plan. Could it be that you want to use my status to gain some face?"

Xu Chen laughed dryly: "How would I dare? It is merely on the way. Actually, it is because I am quite interested in matters of the Nine Heavens and would like to hear Senior speak more about things in the heavens."

The woman thought for a moment and said: "That is not impossible, but you must let me play with this white fox for a few days!"

Xu Chen was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly stuffed Xiaobai into the woman's arms, saying: "Naturally, naturally! Xiaobai is very well-behaved. If Senior likes it, you can hold and play with it every day!"

"Wuya~" Xiao Huli let out a cry that sounded somewhat aggrieved and helpless.

"Alright, it is clear that this master of yours is unreliable, leaving you here all alone without a care. Now that he has returned, you are still so clingy to him. This temper of yours must change; there are very few good men in this world!" the woman whispered while stroking the white fox's head.

(End of this chapter)