Chapter 302: Smoke and Clouds Passing Before the Eyes

Leaving the medicinal garden, Xu Chen led the way, Ghost Spirit True Monarch followed with Chen Yang and Su Zhao, and the woman followed while holding Xiaobai.

The three of them each used their own methods, teleporting forward through the black mist that connected heaven and earth; each flash covered at least a dozen miles.

The woman in the white dress moved at a pace neither fast nor slow, as if she were taking a leisurely stroll; regardless of where Xu Chen went, she appeared beside him almost simultaneously without any gap, as if she were stuck to his side.

Such ghostly, powerful speed and soul perception naturally left Xu Chen filled with emotion.

As for Ghost Spirit True Monarch, he was both excited and terrified.

Because his powerful soul could not sense the existence of this woman in the slightest; aside from observing with his normal eyes, this woman was like a shadow from beginning to end, unfathomable, her aura incomparably profound, and he could not even sense the white fox she held in her arms.

This is a True Immortal!

If this woman were hostile toward them, the two of them would have almost no power to resist.

Fortunately, although the woman's background was mysterious, she did not seem difficult to deal with, though he did not dare to communicate with her as freely as Xu Chen did.

In no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group stood at the original location of Black Wind Ridge.

However, the Black Wind Ridge seen at this moment was unrecognizable, bearing not the slightest resemblance to before; the entire core area of the great array had been completely blown into a massive black hole with a diameter of over ten miles, and the surrounding mountain ridges had all been blasted into nothingness, with several mountain ridges within a hundred-mile radius completely disappearing, turning into a huge funnel-shaped crater.

Within a diameter of three hundred miles, almost no mountain ridge could maintain its shape, having completely turned into an incomparably huge circular impact crater.

As for further away, the powerful impact force generated by the initial explosion swept across millions of miles, and even the plants and buildings covering the mountains and plains near the Taiyuan Sect, four hundred miles away, were destroyed, completely turning into bald mountains.

The entire Southern Border could feel the tremors of the explosion, and even a thousand miles away, geologically unstable mountain ridges collapsed.

This shows the powerful might contained in a fifth-grade spirit treasure like the Five Elements Great Array back then.

"Senior, this is the rift passage that originally led to the Underworld!"

The group stood at the edge of the large crater; in his Divine Sense, Xu Chen could only see the black wind still rolling and spewing out like thick ink, along with the terrifying, roaring momentum, and he explained.

The woman's consistently calm expression actually changed slightly; after observing carefully, she frowned slightly and said, "The power of the Underworld Qi leaking here is not small. I cannot suppress this rift; I can only wait until I return to report to Doumu Xianjun before dealing with it."

Xu Chen was incomparably surprised, and Ghost Spirit True Monarch's heart trembled a few times.

"You don't need to look at me like that. A True Immortal is not omnipotent. Besides, I was only ordered to descend to the Mortal World to investigate the situation and did not bring any powerful Immortal Treasure to suppress the Nether Rift. This rift leads deep into the Underworld; even if this gap is blocked temporarily, it will be broken through again before long. To completely resolve the Underworld Qi leak, one must go deep into the rift, find a stable area of the passage, and set up a powerful Immortal Array..."

Having said this, the woman turned her head and looked at Xu Chen curiously, asking, "You said you fell into the rift twice and even met an Immortal; can you tell me the title of the Immortal you met?"

Xu Chen cupped his hands and replied, "That senior claimed to be under the command of the Eastern Flower Emperor of Yuxu Palace, and his Daoist name is Wu Yazi!"

"Wu Yazi?!" The woman was stunned, and then an extremely strange expression appeared on her face.

Xu Chen hurriedly nodded and said, "That is correct, that senior did indeed say so. I wonder if you recognize him?"

The woman's jade hand, which was stroking Xiaobai's head, tightened involuntarily, but she shook her head and said, "I do not recognize him. Yuxu Palace is one of the four great holy sects of the Spirit World and is responsible for guarding the gateway to the Mortal World. There are many Immortals there. My Yuchi Shengong does not have much interaction with them. Tell me properly about the situation when you met Wu Yazi."

"Yes, Senior!"

Xu Chen then gave a rough account of what happened when he met Wu Yazi, though he omitted the matter of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, saying only that he had fallen into the rift passage together with a Daoist Friend from Yuqing Hall, then saw the Ancient Fierce Beast just breaking free from the array, and then Wu Yazi suddenly appeared and sent them out of the rift after some conversation.

In reality, he had learned about the four great holy sects from Youtong the Demon Monarch.

However, Xu Chen mixed truth and falsehood together and dumped it all on Wu Yazi.

After listening, the woman glanced at Xu Chen indifferently, seemingly aware of his nonsense, but she did not expose him, instead nodding and saying, "Your luck is indeed good to have met Wu Yazi. It seems that Yuxu Palace has also been monitoring the Nether Rift all along. It appears this matter does not require my Yuchi Shengong to worry."

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment and said, "But the Underworld Qi has been leaking for so long, and it is becoming more and more violent. Yuxu Palace does not seem to have suppressed it in time. If it is delayed any longer, I fear there will be no place in the Mortal World suitable for mortals to survive. If Senior could help, we cultivators of the Mortal World would be eternally grateful."

The woman's expression was somewhat strange as she said, "Your cultivation is shallow, but your heart is good. However, who would be willing to do something without any benefit? This is a thankless task. You want me to help you, but what benefit will you give me?"

Xu Chen was embarrassed for a long time, then blushed and said, "Although Immortals and mortals are on different paths, heaven and earth are one. If the Mortal World is completely covered by Underworld Qi and Nether Beasts run rampant, causing the suffering of all living things, I imagine this is not something Senior would wish to see. This junior is powerless and likely cannot produce anything Senior would want, but I still wish to ask Senior to help. If there is ever a place where this junior is of use, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

The woman looked Xu Chen up and down for a long time, curled her lips slightly, and said, "Your cultivation is only at Refining Essence into Qi, and your strength is weak to the point of being a mess. When would I ever have use for you? This place is only a small spot of Underworld Qi leakage in the Mortal World. Let's go to the Immortal Alliance Assembly you mentioned and see first. Let's go!"

"Daoist Friend Xu, Senior is right. Suppressing the Nether Rift is likely not a matter of a day or two; perhaps it involves some inside information between the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld that we do not know about. It is better to wait until we have rescued the people before discussing this matter," Ghost Spirit True Monarch reminded him from the side.

Xu Chen could only sigh and nod.

The woman looked at Ghost Spirit True Monarch with appreciation and said, "What you said is correct. Some things seem simple, but in reality, they are full of secrets. There are many entanglements and grievances between the three realms of the Heavenly Realm, the Mortal World, and the Underworld. What you see before you is only the Underworld Qi leaking and causing disaster to the Mortal World, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, but you must also understand that this is actually a huge opportunity for the living beings of the Mortal World. The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are closely connected and have never been in a state of incompatibility; rather, there is 'you in me and me in you,' which is why living beings flourish. Your realms are too low, and you probably cannot understand this now. If you truly have the strength to achieve Void Breaking and become an Immortal, and reach above the Nine Heavens, some things will naturally become clear over time. My time is limited, and I cannot stay in the Mortal World for too long. Let's go!"

Soon the five of them left, and when they appeared again, they were already above Wild Wolf Valley.

The once lively Wild Wolf Valley was now empty.

Back when Xuan Chen Zhenjun achieved Spirit Transformation, he was high-spirited and prepared to do something big, to carry forward the Taiyuan Sect and establish the brand of the third Immortal Sect of the Song Kingdom, so he recruited disciples extensively and renovated the mountain gates, with Wild Wolf Valley being the first choice.

In order to supervise the Five Elements Great Array at Black Wind Ridge and exterminate Soul Beasts nearby, all the famous Immortal Sects of the Song Kingdom divided up areas around Wild Wolf Valley and built Daoist temples. In less than two months, the entire Wild Wolf Valley was filled with palaces and Dao Courtyards, countless Immortal Arrays, and spirit light reflecting in the sky. Wild Wolf Valley also became a place for all Immortal Sects and rogue cultivators to gather and communicate, becoming exceptionally lively for a time.

But unexpectedly, good times did not last long; in little more than a year, all this prosperity turned into a dream-like bubble.

Now, the palaces and Daoist temples on all the hills around Wild Wolf Valley, along with the lush forest vegetation, had all been reduced to ashes under the impact of the Five Elements Great Array explosion, leaving only the crumbling walls and ruins left behind by the tremors and collapses within Wild Wolf Valley.

The Immortal Arrays were no more, the spirit light had vanished, and now Wild Wolf Valley had been shrouded by thick Underworld Qi into a pitch-black, cold, and dead place, and no familiar scenes could be seen anymore.

Inside the valley, it had now become a nest for Nether Beasts, with Nether Beasts of all shapes and sizes running back and forth and roaring, like a demon's den.

Xu Chen's Divine Sense swept across the valley, his face twitching, his mood helpless and bitter.

All prosperity had become nothing but smoke and clouds passing before the eyes.

And those rogue cultivators who had once made this their home were now missing, their lives unknown.

It was heard that the former master of Wild Wolf Valley, Song Qingshi, and Zhou Ding of the Five Thunder Sect and others had all disappeared into the Five Elements Great Array during the violent tremors caused by the appearance of that octopus Nether Beast.

Whether they survived or not, Xu Chen had no idea.

Because on that very day, he had fallen into the Nether Rift.

And returning this time, things were no longer what they used to be.

Chen Yang said with an incomparably surprised expression, "Before I went missing, I remember this place was just a place for rogue cultivators to gather and trade. I had even been here a few times with Eldest Senior Brother. I didn't expect that they would later join the Taiyuan Sect."

Xu Chen sighed, "Yes, after the Great Elder achieved Spirit Transformation, he took many small sects and rogue cultivators from Wild Wolf Valley and the nearby Southern Border into the sect, intending to expand the Taiyuan Sect's industries and influence. I didn't expect that just as things were starting to improve, the array suppressing Black Wind Ridge would lose control and explode."

Ghost Spirit True Monarch also sighed, "Such a disaster, it was truly hard to predict!"

The woman in white, holding Xiaobai, said with a calm expression, "It is merely the cycle of life and death; there is no need to sigh!"

"Let's go, let's go to Nanyang City and see!" Xu Chen could only sigh faintly in his heart once more.

Soon, the group of five flashed and appeared above Nanyang City again.

This place was no different from Wild Wolf Valley.

A prosperous small city where tens of thousands of commoners had gathered and lived, it was now almost impossible to recognize its original appearance.

The city walls and houses had all collapsed into a ruin, and the City Lord's Mansion, where he had once gone to eat a meal, no longer showed any familiar traces.

The entire city was as if it had been abandoned for a thousand or ten thousand years; not the slightest breath of any living creature could be felt.

Now, all that remained were the Black Wind shrouding the heavens and earth and the roars of Nether Beasts.

Su Zhao shed tears and choked with sobs, "Master must have already died!"

Xu Chen felt a bit of heartache as well, but he still consoled her, "Not necessarily. After the Five Elements Great Array had an accident back then, the Outer Sect was constantly relocating its assets. Your master was only a mortal; he should have been among the first batch to be moved away. As long as he left the range of the Black Wind, if we carefully inquire about the Disciples that the Taiyuan Sect left behind outside, we might be able to hear some news. Let's go!"

Thus, the group set off again. This time, they did not linger anywhere, but instead traveled all the way toward the northeast. However, they did not rush at full speed, but instead kept releasing their Divine Sense to scan a range of thousands of miles.

(End of this chapter)