Chapter 594: The Four Directions Come to Block

In the mountains of Yishan, the broken Step-to-Immortal Bridge lay in ruins, the collapsed Rock Pavilion scattered with debris, and monkeys hid in the trees, their eyes still wide open, staring upward.

Yet above, besides the White Cloud Warships and divine soldiers, a new speck of fire suddenly appeared.

At first glance, it looked like a scattering of meteors, glittering brightly.

Soon, the meteors pierced through the White Clouds.

With a thunderous boom! A massive meteor, rivaling a mountain in size, reflected in their eyes—and it was rapidly drawing nearer, growing larger!

Even the White Cloud Warships and divine soldiers above swiftly scattered, making way for it.

The monkey’s pupils shrank in terror.

But immediately after, several more meteors of equal size emerged, also rushing closer with unstoppable force.

The ground’s temperature rose noticeably.

Even if they lacked such terrifying impact, blazing heavenly fire, or extreme heat, merely their sheer volume could flatten vast regions of Yishan.

At that moment, several streaks of light shot skyward, directly colliding with the meteors.

The monkey stared, frozen in awe.

Of course, compared to the colossal meteors above, the streaks of light were tiny, nearly negligible—but their momentum was undiminished, roaring forward.

Leading the charge was a five-colored auspicious cloud.

“Mountain God, aid me!”

With a soft cry, the White Clouds of Duoshan gathered once more, rising to form a giant hand that swiftly caught up to the five-colored cloud and thrust it upward with force.

The wind howling past their ears was deafening!

On the colorful cloud rode one person, sword in hand, dust whisk in hand, surging toward the heavens, while above them the meteor’s fiery mass grew ever—

ever larger, blotting out the sky.

The junior sister’s expression was grave, utterly fearless.

She directly rode the cloud through the flames, striking straight into the meteor.

“Boom…”

Everyone had expected it to be a gnat challenging a tree, a mantis blocking a cart—but instead, with a single divine impact, the colossal rock, larger than any human city and rivaling a mountain, cracked rapidly.

First came deep fissures, splitting the rock into chunks; in the next instant, every surface was covered in fine cracks, shattering into countless palm-sized fragments; in the next, even those small pieces turned to dust and powder, spreading across the sky as a blazing, fiery cloud.

The junior sister had shattered the entire rock.

She fixed her gaze—flicked her dust whisk. The white tail instantly split into two, stretching over dozens of miles, striking the two meteors to left and right.

More meteors followed in rapid succession.

Behind her, several senior brothers arrived on clouds, using the same method of pulverizing stone to strike the meteors.

Yet though the senior brothers had learned this technique, their mastery varied greatly.

Some could only crack the rocks, and though their size and speed were great, the stones held firm until cracks appeared—then they shattered quickly; others could smash the rocks into smaller fragments, which then burned away gradually in the falling heavenly fire, shrinking further.

Meanwhile, below, in the mountains, rolling mists and clouds surged upward, extending countless giant hands to strike at the True Lords and divine spirits approaching the True Immortals from all directions.

The Mountain God was also giving his all to aid them.

Columns of White Clouds rose, crashing with thunder, catching the falling giant meteors and guiding them gently to earth, sinking them into Yishan’s mist.

“Hmph! Some skill!”

Zi Di sat at the head of the golden palace, sneering, then casually lifted a wine cup from the table and poured it downward:

“Turn to floodwaters, drown Duoshan.”

The cup held nectar of the gods; as it left the cup, it was a transparent curtain of water—but as it flew beyond the table, it naturally transformed into countless beads and strings of clear droplets, falling downward.

As they sank into the ground’s mist and immortal qi, they were not blocked by the palace floor—as if no ground existed below, only empty, drifting white clouds.

“Boom…”

The droplets had barely passed the White Clouds when they instantly became a raging flood, merging into one vast torrent, like the Heavenly River bursting its banks.

In the mortal realm of Yishan, the junior sister had shattered several meteors and was catching her breath; her senior brothers nearby had blackened hands, burned clothing and skin, some even pierced by True Lords and divine generals—yet all shouted:

“Fifth brother, help me!”

“Fifth brother, restore my fair skin!”

In an instant, wounds sealed, charred skin peeled away, all restored as if new.

But Zi Di gave them no respite.

He looked up—the floodwaters had already descended from heaven.

“Such heavenly might—Zi Di himself must be acting!” Master Mo Yu’s expression hardened. “The Son of Heaven gives us not a single path to survive…”

Without hesitation, he transformed.

A giant bird, shaped like a crow, appeared out of thin air—its head bore ornate markings, its beak snow-white, its claws crimson as blood, its wingspan nearly a mile wide, blotting out the sky, stirring violent winds.

“This calamity I shall bear! Ah~”

Master Mo Yu let out a long cry and soared skyward.

“Master Mo Yu dwells on Fajiu Mountain, akin to Jingwei, possessing the power to fill seas and calm floods,” said Master Bai Luan. “Rest assured, brothers.”

No sooner had he spoken than a colossal bronze cauldron appeared in the sky, three-legged, four-sided, with two handles, standing firmly within the clouds of Duoshan.

The entire sky’s floodwaters poured down—and were all caught by the cauldron.

Though the heavenly waters surged endlessly, the cauldron did not overflow, nor did a single drop splash out.

“Hmm?”

The Son of Heaven frowned.

The Dao of the world cycles endlessly; arts and spells mutually generate and counteract. He was not troubled by this immortal beast who had achieved true cultivation—it was merely a casual act. But this scene stirred an uneasy premonition within him.

The Son of Heaven swept his sleeve again.

“Turn to heavenly fire, burn Yishan to ashes.”

A gust from his sleeve blew out a candle flame on the table; it pierced the White Clouds and became a vast, all-encompassing heavenly fire descending upon the mortal realm.

“Heavenly fire? Can Master Mo Yu pour out the water in the cauldron to extinguish it?”

“The cauldron holds mostly seawater; whether it can quench the Emperor’s heavenly fire is uncertain. And if we release the water, it will flood Duoshan entirely.”

“Leave it to me!”

Upon saying this, Master Bai Luan transformed as well.

He became his true form: a white phoenix, over ten zhang long, feathers gleaming white with ornate patterns, three ornamental plumes atop its head, a long, trailing tail.

The white phoenix perched atop Lianrui Peak beside Lianhuafeng, opened its mouth, and inhaled.

The surging, endless heavenly fire rushed toward it like a dragon drinking water, continuously drawn into its belly.

But the heavenly fire kept coming, wave after wave.

“Trouble! Master Bai Luan can’t hold on!”

Master Xuan Ming frowned, immediately swept his sleeve, drew water from Master Mo Yu’s cauldron, and turned it into water dragons that surged skyward.

A hiss! The sky erupted into endless mist.

The seventh senior brother, whose clothes and skin had been charred black but now shone white as new, stepped forward to the mountain’s peak, raised his hand, and said:

“Come!”

Another streak of heavenly fire was drawn into his sleeve.

This was mere illusion!

The fox transformed into its true form, splitting into eight bodies, walking through air, exhaling freezing breath toward the heavens.

Ice and fire met—and exploded.

Yet still, the heavenly fire kept pouring in.

“Hmph…”

Zi Di drank his wine and swiftly ordered: “Issue an edict: summon Buddhist Bodhisattvas and Vajras from the west; invite the Western Miao Ming Emperor, Eastern Qing Hua Emperor, and Southern Yu Jian Emperor to dispatch their True Lords and divine generals—hasten to quell this, no delays allowed before the next purge of demons and monsters!”

…

At that moment, in the dark mountains beyond the temple, beneath the pale purple, mist-like flowers of the chinaberry tree, the Daoist and the Divine Lord’s game of weiqi had come to an end.

The Divine Lord held a stone, frowning, scratching his head.

“I never expected your weiqi skill to be so strong—no wonder you trapped me here!”

“Your skill is also impressive.”

“Don’t flatter yourself!”

“If you lose this game, stay here permanently,” Lin Jue sipped his tea. “Consider yourself defeated.”

“Hmph…”

Divine Lord Fuchi snorted but said nothing.

“If you refuse to accept defeat, mortals often have masters who can play against heaven. Find one, learn from him. With your wisdom, ten years of study—and I won’t be your match.” As he spoke, Lin Jue couldn’t help asking, “Do you know Ming Di Tian Weng?”

“Ming Di Tian Weng? Why ask about him?”

“Just idle curiosity.”

“When he was Son of Heaven, the Northern Emperor was the former Tian Weng. But the former Tian Weng was lazy. Now, Zi Di’s fame in the north nearly rivals his. At that time, I was already serving under Zi Di, purging demons. Ming Di Tian Weng commanded all four Emperors to jointly crush Yao Hua; Zi Di replaced the former Tian Weng in battle. That was when I first saw him. I saw him a few more times after—he was a righteous Tian Weng, though stubborn.”

“I see…”

Perhaps the Divine Lord understood that Tian Weng—or perhaps understood the workings of heaven and earth because of him.

Yet surely he had heard of Yuanqiu Immortal Realm, and the legends of “one day in heaven, one year below” born from it.

Was he unaware? Had he forgotten? Or did he know full well that one day here meant a year outside—but chose to pretend ignorance?

Or perhaps he thought: even if I’m held here by you, the outside world could never oppose Zi Di and the Nine Heavens. So if you’ve trapped me here, I’ve trapped myself here too—and since I never intended to interfere, I might as well sit here and drink tea.

Almost simultaneously—

The Purple Emperor sent a divine official to the south.

The Jade Mirror Emperor of the South, without hesitation, accused the Purple Emperor of indiscriminately exterminating spirits without distinguishing good from evil, causing chaos among mortals; now he was even targeting virtuous nature spirits and true cultivators, endangering the mortal realm, and refused to lend aid.

Another divine official arrived in the west.

Under the Western Miao Ming Emperor were the Three True Lords: Qing Tian, Zhen Hai, and Zhao You. The Qing Tian True Lord had already arrived here. The Miao Ming Emperor originally had no intention of sending more troops, but as the Heavenly Emperor, after a moment’s thought, he still dispatched the Zhen Hai True Lord with three thousand heavenly soldiers—yet before they arrived, they were halted by a short, thin immortal claiming the surname Wan.

A divine official also arrived in the east.

Under the Eastern Qing Hua Emperor were also Three True Lords: Qing Miao, Jun Xiao, and Yin Yao. Qing Miao True Lord was already here; Yin Yao True Lord was hunting spirits. He intended to send Jun Xiao True Lord to assist, but before he could leave, he was stopped by the Southern Celestial Master and rebuked at length.

Bodhisattvas and Vajras from the Buddhist realm came from the Western Heaven, riding clouds past Mount Tian; immediately, a spirit emerged from the mountain to block them.

The Purple Emperor’s ominous premonition had come to pass.

It was not Mount Yishan alone that blocked him—it was all four directions of heaven and earth uniting to oppose him.