Chapter 85: The Return of Danchenzi

Xu Chen was less than five zhang away from the nearest rift; he would have escaped in at most one breath's time.

But unfortunately, this one breath felt like an eternity to him.

A tremendous force imprisoned him in mid-air, making it impossible for him to take that final step.

The tentacle was still over ten zhang away, but the pressure it brought was already enough to lock space and time, while the terrifying aura it emitted threatened to grind him into powder.

Perhaps sensing the threat of death facing Xu Chen, the Blue Jade Bead, which had always refused to cooperate, suddenly exploded. A blinding blue light filled the entire treasure bottle, then permeated through it, erupting from every pore on Xu Chen's body.

In an instant, Xu Chen seemed to transform into a figure of blue light. Streams of blue starlight swirled and flickered around his body, helping him break free from the imprisonment, while a phantom of a blue light treasure bottle enveloped him and the Woman in black.

"Boom—"

The tentacle struck Xu Chen heavily, but this powerful blow did not injure him in the slightest; it was entirely blocked by the treasure bottle phantom. A cluster of deep blue starlight exploded across the sky, turning into a bright, churning nebula within the cave where boulders fell like rain.

A deafening roar erupted from the depths of the cave, and the massive tentacle wrapped around the illusory treasure bottle, dragging it into the depths of the earth.

And the moment the tentacle vanished, the entire cave collapsed completely, filling all the space.

The entire Black Wind Ridge shook and swayed violently, with large sections of the mountain crumbling.

The Black Wind Rift halfway up the mountain began to collapse as well, then was blown down to the foot of the ridge by the rolling Black Wind.

Looking from afar, it was as if the mountainside were spewing out massive amounts of rock, like a hurricane of hail.

Amidst the collapsing rift, a streak of green light, mixed with the sky-filling rubble, sprayed out. It then transformed into a stream of light that plummeted down the cliff. Only after a while did it shakily fly out from the valley floor, dozens of zhang deep, and flee desperately toward the wilderness shrouded in black mist.

Song Qingshi, Ma Xiuping, and the other two cultivators acting as witnesses had now moved more than ten li away from Black Wind Ridge.

Watching the earth-shaking, pot-boiling chaos of Black Wind Ridge, all of them were terrified, their hearts trembling and their faces pale.

Although Black Wind Ridge was dangerous, even if one could not come out after entering, there had never been such a terrifying catastrophe.

The three who went in were likely finished.

Just as the four were at a loss, a streak of green light suddenly tore through the air and landed. It was none other than the green-clad man from Yuqing Hall, his body covered in wounds and wrapped in rolling black smoke. However, his aura was in extreme disarray; the word "disheveled" could not even begin to describe him.

"Quick, go notify Yuqing Hall..."

Before the green-clad man could finish his sentence, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Song Qingshi was horrified. He helped the green-clad man up, only to find his Divine Sense scattered and his vital energy collapsed; he was already in a semi-comatose state.

"Daoist Friend Song, what should we do now?" Ma Xiuping and the other two were extremely panicked.

Song Qingshi was also at his wits' end.

The four had merely been invited to witness a wager, thinking they would receive a Great Origin Pill for free.

But they had not expected the outcome to become so impossible to resolve.

Just as the four were in a state of chaos, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the sky. Accompanied by a flash of spiritual light exploding in mid-air, a middle-aged cultivator wearing grey Daoist robes appeared out of thin air.

"What happened? Why is there such a great disturbance at Black Wind Ridge?"

The middle-aged cultivator landed beside the four in one step, his expression grave as he frowned and asked.

"Master~"

A weeping cry came from afar, and then a green Escape Light arrived rapidly, soon landing beside the middle-aged Daoist.

"Xuan'er, why are you here? What on earth happened?"

"Master, save Junior Brother quickly, he went into Black Wind Ridge." Zhao Xuan wailed loudly.

The middle-aged Daoist was none other than Danchenzi, who had been away for half a month visiting friends after reaching the Spirit Transformation Realm. He happened to be passing by Nanyang City on his way back to the sect and, sensing the tremors from Black Wind Ridge, had rushed over to take a look.

"Do not cry. How could Chen'er enter Black Wind Ridge alone? What exactly happened?"

Danchenzi's mind was still a mess, so he asked urgently.

Zhao Xuan then hurriedly sobbed out the story of how Yuqing Hall had come to deliver a greeting card, how the disciple of Yulong Zhenren had wanted to kill Xu Chen, and how Xu Chen had invited the two of them to enter Black Wind Ridge for a wager.

Danchenzi's face turned livid as he listened. Looking at the unconscious green-clad man, he raised his hand and pointed into the void. A moment later, the green-clad man's body spasmed violently, and he suddenly opened his eyes. After a brief moment of confusion, he rolled over and knelt on the ground, saying, "This junior is Xu Wen, a fourth-generation disciple of Yuqing Hall. I beg Senior Danchenzi to take action and save my Junior Sister Lan You. Yuqing Hall will be eternally grateful."

Danchenzi snorted coldly and said, "I already know the ins and outs of this matter. Your Yuqing Hall bullies others with power, implicating my sect's disciple Xu Chen, who is now trapped in the depths of Black Wind Ridge, dead or alive. You still have the face to ask me to save people!"

The green-clad man trembled in terror and replied in a shaky voice, "This junior never intended to harm Daoist Friend Xu. Although my Junior Sister did indeed act disrespectfully, I tried to stop her. In truth, the wager to enter Black Wind Ridge was only to collect some Soul Beads to save Uncle-Master Yulong. Today, I have caused a great disaster, but I only beg Senior to take action and save them. In the future, this junior will definitely bring my Junior Sister to Taiyuan Sect to plead guilty."

Danchenzi's expression softened slightly. He waved his hand with a grave look and said, "You should get up first. I last entered Black Wind Ridge several decades ago, but at that time, Black Wind Ridge did not have the current formation, and there was no great danger inside. Now that such a massive change has occurred, I know nothing of the situation inside. Since you have been inside, tell me about the situation within so I can consider how to handle this!"

"Yes!"

The green-clad man dared not hide anything and used the most concise language to quickly recount the situation he encountered after entering the rift.

Danchenzi's expression tightened even further after listening. He looked up at the now slowly calming Black Wind Ridge, frowned for a moment, and said, "The situation inside is unclear. I will go to the entrance of the rift to take a look. If they can be saved, I will save them; if not, I will have to think of another way!"

After speaking, Danchenzi took a step and vanished, turning into an afterimage. A moment later, he appeared before the rift on the mountainside.

At this time, the rift had mostly collapsed. Massive boulders had almost completely blocked the entrance, and Black Wind was blowing out from the gaps between the stones like thick smoke, emitting a piercing whistle.

Danchenzi's Spirit Qi surged out, transforming into countless light phantoms of flowers, birds, insects, and fish dancing in the sky. Under the suppression of his powerful aura, the whistling Black Wind immediately fell silent.

A powerful, peerless Divine Sense penetrated from the rift into the mountain's interior, but soon Danchenzi revealed an extremely ugly expression.

Even with his Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation, his Divine Sense could not penetrate very deep because the interior was too complex. The rifts and caves, large and small, were like a spiderweb maze. Once a powerful Divine Sense entered, it was like flowing water, constantly being divided and weakened, until finally, it turned completely pitch black, and nothing could be seen anymore.

After a full cup of hot tea's time, Danchenzi withdrew his Divine Sense, sweat actually beading on his forehead. As his Spirit Qi retracted, streams of smoke-like Black Wind erupted once again from the collapsed rift, and the surroundings were soon enveloped by black mist, returning to their original state.

Soon, Danchenzi returned to the place where he had been.

Zhao Xuan rushed over and asked tearfully, "Master, did you find Junior Brother?"

Danchenzi smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Easier said than done. My Divine Sense can at most penetrate two li. The situation inside is complex, and the collapse is severe; I cannot locate Chen'er's whereabouts."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuan wailed loudly.

Danchenzi reached out to stroke his disciple's hair and sighed deeply, "Chen'er has shown great kindness to me and the Taiyuan Sect. I am also very saddened by his misfortune. But rest assured, I will personally seek justice for him from Yuqing Hall!"

Having said this, Danchenzi raised his hand and grabbed; several green Wind Blades appeared out of thin air, instantly condensing into a small sword about five inches long in his palm. He then focused for a moment and released it. The small sword turned into a streak of green light and tore through the air, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

"Xu Wen, I have already sent a letter to True Monarch Baiyun of Yuqing Hall regarding today's events. After he arrives, we will join forces to enter Black Wind Ridge again to investigate, but I fear there will still be no results. Since you and your Junior Sister came to deliver a congratulatory greeting card but took it upon yourselves to provoke a conflict and threaten my disciple, leading to this disaster, I will not let this matter rest. Get out!"

"Yes, thank you for your mercy, Senior!"

The green-clad man dared not argue or show any disrespect. He prostrated himself, and only after hearing a gust of wind did he look up again, only to find that Danchenzi and Zhao Xuan had already disappeared. Only then did he turn pale and collapse to the ground, gasping for air.

Danchenzi was a person of immense strength and immense pride.

His Daoist name is a true reflection of himself.

Originally, he was of the Xuan generation of the Taiyuan Sect, with the Daoist name Xuanchenzi, but just after entering the Zhenyuan Realm, he arrogantly declared to the outside world that he would soon achieve Golden Core, which naturally drew the mockery of his peers in the Immortal World.

But soon, no one could laugh anymore; Danchenzi only took ten years to enter the True Essence Late Stage, and five years after that, he successfully achieved Golden Core, and then his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, stepping into the Danyuan Late Stage at the age of seventy.

Because his cultivation was high and his strength was formidable, his combat power exploded after achieving Golden Core, making him almost invincible within the same realm in Great Song; even some veteran seniors of the Danyuan Realm were no match for him, so he was called the strongest Golden Core cultivator below Spirit Transformation by the Immortal World, and thus his peers in the Immortal World respectfully addressed him as Danchenzi, causing them to forget his true Daoist name instead.

However, Danchenzi had bad luck; after entering the Danyuan Late Stage, he was unable to obtain the opportunity for Spirit Transformation, so he remained stuck at this realm for a full fifty-plus years, while his two peers from Yuqing Hall, Baiyunzi and Yuyangzi, both successively achieved Spirit Transformation, yet he still remained stagnant.

And just when everyone thought that Danchenzi had no hope of Spirit Transformation, the situation took another twist, and he actually succeeded in Spirit Transformation secretly without anyone in the outside world being aware, becoming a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator in one fell swoop.

After Danchenzi achieved Spirit Transformation, he visited Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain, and then the news naturally became clear quickly; it turned out that what Danchenzi used for Spirit Transformation was actually the Blood God Grass, which is even rarer and more precious than the Spirit Transformation Pill.

And Danchenzi, relying on the Blood God Grass to break through the Danyuan shackles, actually triggered the strongest Spirit Transformation Tribulation, successfully crossing the tribulation after enduring eight thunder strikes, and after his cultivation stabilized, his realm actually reached the state of Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, even stronger than the two Great Cultivators Baiyunzi and Yuyangzi, who had achieved Spirit Transformation thirty years earlier.

This further confirmed the strength of Danchenzi's cultivation talent, which no one in the entire Great Song could match.

In a few more years, the title of Danchenzi becoming the number one Spirit Transformation person in Great Song will not be far off.

Therefore, the current attitude of the upper echelons of the Immortal World toward Danchenzi and the Taiyuan Sect can be said to be very conflicted; they are envious, jealous, and hateful, yet they have to lower their status to express goodwill and respect.

The man in green had previously said with his mouth that he disdained Danchenzi's Spirit Transformation, but when he truly faced Danchenzi, he realized that all his lip service was vulnerable in the face of true strength.

"Daoist Friend Xu, with seniors Danchenzi and True Monarch Baiyun joining forces to investigate Black Wind Ridge, I believe Fairy Lan and Daoist Friend Xu Chen will surely be fine. We have other matters to attend to, so we shall take our leave first!" Song Qingshi and the other three were trembling with fear, yet they also felt a weight lifted from their hearts.

Whether Xu Chen and Lan You lived or died had little to do with them; as long as they were not targeted by the two major Immortal Sects, it would be fine.

At this time, Xu Wen was also in a state of extreme mental chaos and was seriously injured, so he stood up unsteadily and said: "Very well, the four Daoist Friends may go first. This poor Daoist must wait here for my sect elders to come and rescue the people!"

"Very well, we take our leave, we shall meet again!"

After Song Qingshi and the four finished speaking, they hurriedly released their Flying Swords and fled as if chased by dogs, quickly disappearing without a trace.

Xu Wen found a cave in the nearby mountains and began to meditate to heal his injuries.

(End of this chapter)