Chapter 301

Xiao Yu rushed into the Hall of Void Mirroring, but in the blink of an eye, he rushed back out from the hall entrance. Seeing the blank expression on his face, Tao Kan knew something was wrong.

Xiao Yu saw Qian Chen waving his sleeves to play the zither, the seven strings like swords, once again invoking several types of divine thunder to transform into thunder strikes, pinning the Green Ox to the ground and rubbing it against the floor. He was slightly stunned, then came to his senses and said to Tao Kan, "I just rushed into the hall, but I rushed back out from the entrance?"

"This is not the exit!"

Tao Kan saw that Lei Yu's mirror image had also broken free from the constraints of the Wood Spirit Light and was charging at him, so he could only offer up that cup of Tianhe once more, sweeping it toward Lei Yu. And this time, the magic treasure left behind by True Person Tao Qian was finally not broken by a single sword strike as it had been in Qian Chen's hands!

The Tianhe swept through, suppressing Lei Yu at the bottom of the river.

Countless thoughts flashed through Tao Kan's mind. He suddenly grasped certain clues, turned back to Xiao Yu, and said, "The only person who knows how to get out of here is that teacher of yours! Since he arranged for you to come down here to seek opportunities, he must have made arrangements!"

Xiao Yu was slightly stunned, then said, "Teacher only said that the Hall of Void Mirroring is a world of true and false duality transformed by the eyes of the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo. As long as one sees through the illusion, one can escape from the hall!"

"Supreme Supreme Tian Mo!" Tao Kan roared, "We all overlooked it. The Jin family and Lei family outside are just pawns, and even we are nothing more than pawns in your teacher's hands. The one truly playing this game against your teacher is the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo!"

Tao Kan drew out a willow branch; this treasure was a part of an Innate Spirit Treasure.

That Innate Spirit Treasure was a spirit root that called itself Master Five Willows. Because it was on good terms with his ancestor Tao Qian, it had broken off a branch of its spirit root and gifted it to the Tao family.

Previously, the various injuries the willow branch had suffered under Qian Chen—the scorch marks from lightning strikes and the sword marks from the Sentient Sword—had all healed by now. Like Qian Chen's Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the willow branch was a kind of unconventional magic treasure, and in Tao Kan's hands, its power was truly not weak.

Tao Qian waved his sleeve, and a green light leaped out from it, like a bolt of lightning in the darkness. The willow branch bent, winding like a dragon.

A green snake in the sleeve...

The willow branch served as a sword, truly like a green snake. The sword technique's variations were precise to the finest detail, and in an instant, it broke through several thunder rays on Lei Yu's body and lashed across Lei Yu's face.

Although this 'Lei Yu' was just like a phantom, it fluctuated slightly before recovering.

But Tao Kan still breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, it is still at the normal Core Formation realm. I thought that because I hadn't made a move in so long, I wouldn't even be able to deal with a Core Formation True Person anymore? At least monsters like Daoist Qian of the Supreme Louguan are rare!"

Xiao Yu, however, was over there thinking about the hint Tao Kan had provided.

"Supreme Supreme Tian Mo!"

"That's right. The one controlling these mirror images to deal with us is the consciousness of the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo. No, according to what Senior Green Ox said, the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's original consciousness should have been suppressed; what is causing trouble is merely its instinct."

"Instinct... that's it!"

Xiao Yu rushed toward a surviving Jin family disciple.

Seeing Xiao Yu coming toward him, the mirror image of that Jin family disciple suddenly raised his head and lifted his hand to fire a sheet of golden needles. It was a spell that collected the qi of acquired metal essence and refined it together with magic power.

The golden needles could break through protective true qi and spells; they were extremely insidious.

If it were the Xiao Yu of before, any spell cast by the little ghost on his back would have been broken by this move, leaving him at the mercy of others.

But now, a wisp of smoke emerged from Xiao Yu's body, like thousands of threads being cast out. The spirit in his heart pushed the golden wheel, and the vow power above the smoke was like a golden dragon shaking off its golden scales, with dots of golden light scattering to cut those golden needles to pieces.

Xiao Yu had already taken the opportunity to close in on the mirror image of that Jin family disciple, and he slapped the incense fire entwined in his hand onto the Jin family disciple.

Unexpectedly, a spiritual light rose up, blocking the space between them. The thin layer of spiritual light was incredibly tough; no matter how Xiao Yu channeled his divine power, he found it difficult to tear through.

This was that Jin family disciple's protective magic treasure...

At the critical moment, Xiao Yu suddenly remembered what the old Daoist had said before about the marvelous use of the Daoist Jin Guang Incantation. He gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "Since I've already apprenticed to a teacher from the Supreme Louguan, the Daoist gods should at least give me some face!"

"Heaven and Earth, Profound Sect, the root of ten thousand qi. Cultivate through ten thousand kalpas, verify my divine powers. Within and without the three realms, only the Dao is supreme..."

"The body has golden light, covering and reflecting my person. Looking at it, one cannot see; listening to it, one cannot hear!"

As Xiao Yu silently recited the Jin Guang Incantation, the vow power in his hand suddenly sparked with threads of gold—the very sign of the Jin Guang Incantation being activated. However, Xiao Yu's heart went cold; this was no different from before. This bit of incantation power, let alone breaking through this high-quality protective magic treasure, would struggle even to kill an evil ghost.

But the next moment, his entire body seemed to light up with golden light.

Thousands of rays of light, like golden needles, shone upon all directions like the sun.

That light gathered in his hand, and like tearing through a thin sheet of paper, it broke through the obstruction of the protective magic treasure. Xiao Yu tore off the clothes of the Jin family disciple's projection, and with a quick glance, he discovered two marks on that disciple's back that looked like blood-red eyes...

"So the words Teacher said before were meant to remind us!"

"Only when that demon takes action to bewitch you do you have the guts to strike!" Xiao Yu muttered to himself, "So, under that one glance, the Jin family ancestor was not only severely injured, but was also left with a mark by the demon's gaze. This mark can even pass through bloodlines and cover the descendants of other Jin family ancestors!"

"I just don't know if the Jin family disciples who didn't enter the demon cave will have this mark that looks like a pair of eyes on them..."

"If they do... then the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo is too terrifying!"

Tao Kan dragged a small wine cup and walked slowly toward Xiao Yu. He also saw the mark on the Jin family disciple's mirror image and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. He said solemnly, "So, in those few short breaths of time, the Jin family ancestor had already been invisibly controlled by the demon!"

"That's why he was so impatient to attack Teacher!" Xiao Yu said, "But why did he attack like that? What is the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's plot? Even if it only has instinct, the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo should target the things most important to itself!"

Tao Kan said gloomily, "The Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's true spirit!"

He and Xiao Yu turned their heads in unison to look at the alchemy furnace at the feet of Qian Chen's mirror image. Tao Kan shouted, "The Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's true spirit was long ago suppressed in the divine furnace by the predecessors of the Supreme Louguan, suppressed by the formation of these eight demon-suppressing halls and worn down by divine fire."

"Now that thousands of years have passed and the divine furnace has gone out, the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's true spirit has long been refined into spirit marrow, a divine object that can help people break through to the Yin Spirit and even the Yang Spirit realm. The Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's instinctive consciousness wants to reclaim its own true spirit!"

"And this world in the mirror, no matter how real it is, must have a fatal flaw." Xiao Yu also came to his senses and realized, "That is the true spirit! Because if it had the true spirit, these eyes would have long since regained consciousness and wouldn't be so muddled. Therefore, the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's eyes can reflect everything, but they cannot reflect the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's true spirit inside the alchemy furnace..."

"And where that true spirit is, that is the fatal flaw of this world!"

Xiao Yu loudly signaled the Green Ox, but the great green ox deep underground roared, "I know! But... I can't beat him!" Tao Kan smiled bitterly, "Spirit Venerable, not only must you be able to beat him, you must also force him to offer up the alchemy furnace at his feet!"

Under countless thunderbolts, it took a long time for the Green Ox to reply, "Easier said than done, you come and try it!"

Tao Kan sighed, "Didn't I already try? I can't beat him either! Spirit Venerable..."

Outside the Hall of Void Mirroring, in the real world!

Qian Chen began to search the items on the Jin family ancestor, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he stuffed a pocket that looked like a shadow into his own sleeve.

Qian Chen stood up calmly. There was silence among the eight demon-suppressing halls; no one spoke. Whether it was the shocked and stunned gazes of the Jin and Lei families, the suspicious, horrified, and incredulous eyes among the rogue cultivators, or even the terrified and desperate gaze of Lin Zhanglao of the Shenxiao Sect, all were gathered on Qian Chen.

Lei Yu's expression, however, was unexpectedly calm.

Lin Zhanglao was stunned for a long time before he suppressed his surprise and his expression returned to normal, though there was still a trace of solemnity in the depths of his eyes that he couldn't quite hide.

He formed a seal with both hands and performed a Daoist salute to Qian Chen, saying, "Shenxiao Sect Lin Zhanglao Buqi, greetings to Daoist Qian of the Supreme Louguan!"

Qian Chen also bowed slightly in return and smiled, "I do have some friendship with Daoist Gu of the Shenxiao Sect. I wonder if he has successfully formed his Core?"

Only then did a glimmer of understanding appear in Lin Zhanglao's eyes. He said, "So you are the Daoist Qian that Junior Nephew Gu once mentioned. Daoist Qian, here you condensed five thousand miles of thunder sea, swallowed eight hundred miles of meta-magnetic force, formed a Core that shook the Shenxiao thunder, and struck the Qian-Yuan Green Jade with thunder! You formed a Golden Core of the first rank, beyond the ranks of the Shenzhou Core—the Inner Scene True Thunder Core!"

"This matter has shaken the entire world! I have also heard of it! Junior Nephew Gu is in seclusion forming his Core; it should be successful within a few years."

Qian Chen smiled, "The opportunity to form the Core relies entirely on the legacy of the predecessors; I dare not take the credit!"

Lin Zhanglao felt that he had eased his relationship with Qian Chen and breathed a sigh of relief, smiling, "If we had known this place was the arrangement of the predecessors of the Supreme Louguan, how would we have dared to offend you. Since this place is a branch residence of the Supreme Louguan, it should belong to the Supreme Louguan. If we have offended you before, please do not take offense, Daoist!"

"You didn't know this was a branch residence of the Supreme Louguan?" Qian Chen sneered inwardly, "You weren't this polite before the Supreme Demon-Subduing Stele."

But the Shenxiao Sect was not a small family like the Jin and Lei families after all, and Qian Chen did not want to provoke them too much, so he let the matter slide. He still needed this Lin Zhanglao to spread the news that a successor of the Supreme Louguan had appeared in the world!

Otherwise, how would he test the attitudes of the cultivation world, the Daoist sects, and even the Supreme Dao toward the reconstruction of the Supreme Louguan's orthodoxy?

"Easily done, easily done!" Qian Chen agreed readily and added, "In the spirit cave, there is a next-generation disciple of my Supreme Louguan gestating, so it is not convenient to entertain you all. But this demon cave is an opportunity left by the predecessors of the Supreme Louguan for the vast number of cultivators; it is not the private property of my Supreme Louguan. As long as you do not release the demon suppressed here, whatever you gain is a good karmic connection. My Supreme Louguan will not pursue it!"

After saying this, he even hypocritically glanced at the Jin family ancestor and sighed, "If Daoist Jin hadn't been bewitched by that demon, why would I have needed to kill him?"

Qian Chen shook his head slightly and sighed, as if he weren't the same person who had said earlier that he had been waiting for a long time and that killing people on the road didn't violate the sect's rules and precepts.

After the two exchanged a few words, the Shenxiao Sect disciples behind Lin Zhanglao all breathed a sigh of relief. That female disciple even had tears glistening in her eyes; clearly, the ruthlessness Qian Chen had shown when killing the Jin family ancestor earlier had already made these young disciples somewhat fearful and terrified.

They didn't even want to mention the fact that Qian Chen had laid a trap in the demon cave and caused the deaths of several of their own fellow disciples.

They were afraid that this Supreme Louguan successor would wave his Daoist robe and shout angrily, "Bold monster! I saw at a glance that you are not human. I want you to reveal your true form! Great Might Heavenly Dragon! Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable! Supreme Dao Zangshan Laozu! Bing, Lin, Dou, Zhe..."

After Qian Chen and Lin Zhanglao exchanged a few words, he turned his head to look at Lei Yu and said with his hands behind his back, "Clan Master Lei..."

Lei Yu said expressionlessly, "I was also bewitched by the Jin family ancestor and offended you for a moment. I hope Daoist Qian will forgive me!"

Qian Chen smiled, "Is that so? Clan Master Lei, is the person behind you still unwilling to show their face?"

Ignoring the shocked gazes of the others, Qian Chen said calmly, "Isn't it because you saw the arrangements of the Supreme Louguan predecessors here and realized I was hard to deal with, so you wanted to wait until we left this demon cave to secretly make a move?"

"After all, the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo marrow that can allow the person behind you to break through to the Yang Spirit is only that one portion in the alchemy furnace at my feet!"

Lei Yu's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he remained expressionless and said, "Daoist Qian, I don't know what you are talking about?"

Qian Chen's clear and resonant voice spread far and wide.

"Since you want this alchemy furnace, then what if I let you have it?"

As soon as Qian Chen finished speaking, the divine furnace at his feet flew up. Eight-trigram symbols swirled, and two True Thunder-Fire Dragons darted from the bottom of the furnace. The thunder-fire was intense, and with just a shake of the furnace body, it shattered the Yin Thunder malevolent qi Lei Yu had condensed.

Between the two, the vital energy had been swallowed up by that alchemy furnace, and in an instant, it turned into boundless firelight, enveloping the Lei family members.

Before they could even make a sound, the alchemy furnace had already crashed down. Except for Lei Yu, the other Lei family disciples saw only boundless firelight beneath that alchemy furnace. Eight illusory worlds appeared outside the furnace. By comparison, the Lei family's thunder tripod only had the power of the Zhen trigram. With the eight phases rotating, it instantly suppressed the rest of the Lei family.

Suppression, shattering, refining, burning... the tyrannical suppressing power gathered the eight illusory worlds into a thick, heavy spiritual light.

Even with Lei Yu's abilities, it was difficult to struggle.

"Supreme Demon-Suppressing Treasure!"

"Top-tier magic treasure!"

Lin Zhanglao hadn't expected Qian Chen to turn hostile so quickly. This thought had only just flashed through his mind when he saw Lei Yu's protective magic treasure shattered, and the man himself suppressed into the lower layer of the alchemy furnace.

At this moment, a trace of grief flashed in Lei Yu's eyes. The boy who was being suppressed in the alchemy furnace's spiritual light, constantly screaming and wailing, suddenly froze, and in an instant, his entire body exploded into a mist of blood.

The blood mist condensed into a phantom.

Qian Chen sighed and said, "Using the essence blood and spirit of descendants to shift the Yin Spirit. This is the Demon Sect's Blood Sacrifice Spirit-Shifting Method, right!"

"Sacrificing your own direct descendants just like that! Truly ruthless enough..."

"Their wealth, glory, cultivation path, and lives were all bestowed by this old man; it is only right and proper for this old man to take them back!"

The Lei family ancestor opened his eyes.

"You are already Yang-transformed in your Yin Spirit, and you are only a short distance from the Pure Yang realm. You could say you have one foot in the Yang Spirit realm; no wonder you were plotting for the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo marrow."

Qian Chen had no intention of saying anything more to the Lei family ancestor, and the Heavenly Net Umbrella in his hand slowly opened...

The Green Ox spat out essence blood as if it were worthless, spitting out pure Innate Wood essence and Jia-Wood essence without restraint. Qian Chen's mirror image smashed it nineteen times with the alchemy furnace, smashing the Green Ox until its bones were about to shatter.

It wailed, "This kid is probably a monster!"

"My old bones are going to be smashed to pieces today! Among the Yang Spirit realm, although my offensive power isn't great, my life-saving and defensive abilities are top-notch. But this guy has smashed me nineteen times; no matter how much I can take, I can't take any more!"

Qian Chen's mirror image held the alchemy furnace, secretly collecting these Innate Jia-Wood and Wood essences. His Five-Viscera Prefecture, which suppressed his five internal organs, still needed these Innate energies to fill its lining!

Since the Green Ox wouldn't go in and be exploited obediently, he would just have to take it himself!

Originally, for this mirror-image body, Qian Chen had only intended to use half his strength to get by. But now, he would have to use at least five percent to beat this ox!

"This monster, it's nothing for a Core Formation cultivator to beat a Yin Spirit cultivator! But to beat a Yang Spirit cultivator too, isn't that being a bit too disrespectful?"

"Old Ox is angry!"

The Green Ox was angry. It stood up on its hind legs and pulled two large sabers from its back...

Xiao Yu saw the mountain-sized Green Ox reveal its true form, remove the two horns from its head, and after reversing its life force into death qi, the horns transformed into long sabers. Each strike carried a terrifying power that caused all things to wither, and it fought frantically with Qian Chen.

Yes... Qian Chen also pulled a long saber from that ancient zither.

One saber and one sword, peerless and unmatched. The saber light was like a bolt of silk, the sword light like a long rainbow. As the saber and sword crossed, the onlookers, including Tao Kan, were left sweating profusely, their hearts pounding.

The two fought to the top of the eight demon-suppressing halls, to the desolate edge of the entire demon cave's universe!

Fighting to the point of madness, Qian Chen saw that he had collected enough Innate Wood essence, so he reached out a finger. The alchemy furnace behind him opened its lid, and a darkness so profound and dim, like a black hole, flew out and poured down, encompassing the entire world.

Inside the alchemy furnace, it seemed to have turned into void chaos.

In the chaos, countless black and white whirlpools rotated incessantly, finally gathering into a huge Yin-Yang fish...

"Now is the time!" Tao Kan roared, and the Green Ox grabbed Xiao Yu and plummeted toward the alchemy furnace.

The location of the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's true spirit, the center of that Yin-Yang black and white whirlpool, was empty, save for a single ray of pure light.

This was the Heavenly Mirror Divine Light condensed from the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's gaze!

When Xiao Yu saw this light, he followed the method Qian Chen had taught him and channeled his Yin-Yang Eyes to look directly at the divine light. Instantly, the divine light seemed to be enraged and shot into Xiao Yu's eyes in a flash.

Xiao Yu felt his eyeballs melting and evaporating. He let out a miserable wail, but he stubbornly persisted in operating the Yin-Forming Refining Method to refine the divine light...

At this moment, having seen through the illusory world in the Supreme Supreme Tian Mo's eyes in the Hall of Void Mirroring, Xiao Yu, the Green Ox, and Tao Kan had already tumbled out of the Hall of Void Mirroring.

The Green Ox looked left and right and saw Qian Chen, who was holding the alchemy furnace as if he had just used it to crack open the head of some illusory Yin Spirit, and who had actually completely destroyed the divine split of a certain ancestor who was close to Yang Spirit manifestation. It couldn't help but tremble all over.

It took a long time to come to its senses, and the Green Ox patted its chest and said, "Finally escaped from that monster's hands!"

Tao Kan also climbed up, covered in dust, and tidied his appearance before releasing the Tao family disciples from a jade pot magic treasure. Only Xiao Yu remained, his eyes tightly shut, blood and tears seeping out from under his eyelids.

Seeing this, the Green Ox felt a bit guilty and said, "Little brother, how did your eyes go blind?"

Xiao Yu shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter!"

He turned his head to look at Qian Chen and said in a low voice, "Teacher, my two brothers..."

Qian Chen pointed to the front and smiled, "Look, aren't they back?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw a handsome young Daoist with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes stepping slowly out of the Five-Viscera Prefecture. He was very young, but his eyes were full of the vicissitudes of life.

The big one's body had already grown to a height of ten feet, like a giant spirit god, pushing open the gate of the Hall of Unchanging Bones...

A smile appeared on Xiao Yu's face. Although he couldn't see what was in front of him, he still wore a heartfelt smile.

"Big one!"

"Old Daoist!"

Qian Chen ignored their reunion and offered up the divine furnace, its eight-trigram runes swirling. Suddenly, Yin and Yang symbols flew out from the runes, lining up on both sides. Between the Yin and Yang runes, black and white rotated like fish, and the radiance of life and death reflected each other. The Yin and Yang energies flowed, covering the sky and earth, emitting a rumbling sound like a raging ocean, and like thunder echoing through the heavens and earth.

The Taiji was achieved, Yin and Yang rotated, and a portal suddenly opened wide.

A white deer with folded horns came from afar and ran to Qian Chen's feet. Tao Kan wasn't even surprised anymore! Everything was already within expectations.

Qian Chen touched the velvet antlers just sprouting on the white deer's head, turned around, mounted the white deer, and leisurely stepped into the portal.

Only the lingering echoes remained: "Supreme Louguan successor disciple Qian Chen, I have suppressed the demon cave here! Everyone, this path leads to the Lei Hai, so let us part ways here!... Green Ox, don't forget our agreement!"

The Green Ox trembled all over, thinking to itself, "You really are coveting our body!"

Behind him, Xiao Yu, who had simply covered his eyes with a cloth strip, shouted, "Teacher!"

"The road of the world is long, may we meet again if fate allows!"

Qian Chen's figure had already disappeared into the Yin-Yang portal.