Chapter 70: Vermilion Bird Appears

When the sound of the groan that appeared out of thin air exploded in her ears, Hua Changxi sensed a formless and terrifying force surging up from beneath the stone cave.

It instantly scattered the cloud beneath her feet, causing her to lose her balance and fall straight down from the high altitude, crashing heavily onto the ground.

"Ah~"

Ignoring the pain, Hua Changxi stared wide-eyed, her face filled with shock and horror as she watched golden spiritual light rapidly rising from the ground inside the stone cave at a visible speed.

The spiritual light grew more abundant and denser, swiftly converging toward the entrance at the top, carrying a terrifying force that shook the stone cave with its impact.

"Boom~"

When the concentration of spiritual light reached its peak, the stone cave could no longer withstand the formidable power carried by the light, began to tremble, and with a "crash," countless fragments of stone started to fall.

The stone cave was collapsing, disintegrating!

Suddenly, the surging spiritual light burst through the opening, and Hua Changxi saw the Buddha's hand that had been suppressing the Monkey King fall down, landing on the ground with a "thud." It did not shatter, but cracks appeared on it.

At the same time, outside the stone cave, Jiang Guanyun and Jiang Gaoheng both wore expressions of gravity and vigilance as they watched the cave suddenly shake violently.

The Mountain Spirit was so frightened it dared not struggle: "We're going to die, we're going to die. The immortal moved the Buddha's hand—the Monkey King is coming out."

Hearing the Mountain Spirit's words, Jiang Guanyun's brow furrowed; he had paid no attention to that wild girl's shouts earlier, not believing there was any Monkey King at all—even if there was, it would have long turned to ashes.

But now, feeling the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble, Jiang Guanyun hesitated and stopped his refining of the Mountain Spirit.

"Second, let's leave this place."

Not daring to linger, Jiang Guanyun lifted the Mountain Spirit, and just as he turned to leave, a loud "crack" rang out. The spiritual light, which had been accumulating more and more inside the cave, finally burst it open and leaked out.

Centered on the stone cave, the dense golden spiritual light exploded outward like a mushroom cloud, sweeping in all directions.

"Run!"

A terrifying wave of air rushed toward him. Jiang Guanyun had no power to resist and was sent flying by the blast.

If he, a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, was like this, then Jiang Gaoheng, only at the Qi Sea realm, didn't even have time to react before being killed instantly by the blast wave.

Carried by the force of the blast, Jiang Guanyun quickly flew away toward the periphery of the Five Fingers Mountain. Sensing that the aura of his second son had vanished, his Qi and blood churned, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, the Mountain Spirit, taking advantage of his unstable aura, desperately broke free from his grip and fled without looking back toward the Third Peak.

Seeing the Mountain Spirit escape, Jiang Guanyun was so enraged his hair stood on end and his eyes nearly split. Unwilling to lose the Mountain Spirit so easily, he wanted to give chase, but saw that at the stone cave, the spiritual light had gathered and was shooting straight into the sky, churning so violently that the entire Five Fingers Mountain seemed unstable.

Seeing this, Jiang Guanyun dared not hesitate. Gritting his teeth, he decisively turned around and flew outward.

The moment the spiritual light spread out of the stone cave, all the living creatures on the Five Fingers Mountain felt that chilling aura. Every cultivator on the periphery of the mountain fled beyond its boundaries simultaneously.

"What on earth is happening in the mountain?"

Outside the Five Fingers Mountain, various cultivators—some standing on flying swords, some riding clouds, some using flying artifacts—hovered high in the air, staring solemnly at the Third Peak.

"What is that surging and condensing spiritual light?"

At this moment, the Third Peak of the Five Fingers Mountain was filled with billowing spiritual light, which showed signs of spreading outward.

Soon, the spiritual light covered the entire Third Peak and began spreading toward the Second and Fourth Peaks.

"Immortal."

The stone cave had collapsed, but the original space inside it was intact. Hua Changxi lay on the ground, staring blankly at the scene unfolding before her.

She hadn't expected that her actions would cause such a commotion.

It was bigger than she could have imagined, and beyond her control.

She only wanted to save the Mountain Spirit and kill that old Taoist, but looking at the current situation, it seemed the entire Five Fingers Mountain would suffer.

"Immortal, run!"

Hua Changxi turned her head to look at the nearby Mountain Spirit, a bitter expression on her face.

Didn't she want to run?

Yes, desperately.

But she was locked in place by a formless force, unable to move at all.

"Fat Baby, run, don't worry about me."

Hua Changxi saw that the Mountain Spirit looked like he wanted to come over, so she quickly stopped him: "I seem to have been locked onto by the Monkey King. Don't come in."

Upon hearing this, the Mountain Spirit's face was filled with terror. At this moment, he was truly frantic; if he allowed the Monkey King's domain to continue spreading, Five Finger Mountain would be destroyed.

"Fairy, where is the Buddha's Palm?"

Hua Changxi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly looked around: "In the northeast direction, do you see it? A palm-sized golden handprint."

The Mountain Spirit looked in the direction Hua Changxi indicated and saw the Buddha's Palm. His expression was somewhat mournful, and his eyes were red: "I just barely formed my spirit body, just barely manifested a human form, *sob*..."

Seeing him still crying at a time like this, Hua Changxi angrily shouted: "Stop crying, run quickly!"

The Mountain Spirit looked at Hua Changxi with teary, glistening eyes: "Fairy, you must come back to Five Finger Mountain in the future. I'll still let you grant me recognition."

Hua Changxi felt something was off with his words and hastily asked: "What are you going to do?"

"I am the Mountain Spirit. I cannot let Five Finger Mountain be destroyed."

After saying this, the Mountain Spirit gave Hua Changxi no time to react. With a *whoosh*, he rushed toward the Buddha's Palm, transforming into a stream of five-colored spiritual light that plunged into the Buddha's Palm.

Next, the Buddha's Palm began to shine brilliantly, slowly floating up into midair.

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi's mind went somewhat blank.

The next moment, she saw five-colored spiritual light gushing out from underground, rising rapidly at a speed even faster than the golden spiritual light's convergence.

At this moment, the cultivators outside Five Finger Mountain were stunned by the sight before them.

All over Five Finger Mountain, countless streams of five-colored spiritual light continuously emerged from underground, spreading, rising, and expanding.

In no time, they surrounded the golden spiritual light that was still spreading outward.

"Roar~"

A roar filled with intense anger came from within the golden spiritual light. Then, the golden light began to twist, and in the blink of an eye, a colossal, upright figure condensed.

Seeing that colossal being, everyone was rendered speechless.

Hua Changxi, at the very center of the spiritual light, felt the strongest shock. It was a giant illusory monkey, larger than a mountain, condensed from spiritual energy.

The Monkey King...

She really had released the Monkey King!

But hadn't she been immune to the Monkey King's domain? Why was she locked onto by the Monkey King?

"Boom~"

An ancient, melodious sound of a Buddhist bell rang out above the clouds. Then, the sea of clouds churned, and five-colored spiritual light converged in the high sky. The next moment, a giant hand formed in the sky, large enough to cover mountains, condensed from the five elements' spiritual energy.

Seeing the giant hand appear, Hua Changxi breathed a sigh of relief. But when she glanced at the Buddha's Palm floating not far away, slowly rising, and saw the cracks on it, a strong sense of unease surged within her.

The Buddha's Palm had cracks. Could it still continue to suppress the Monkey King?

The giant monkey loomed above the sea of clouds, and the giant hand blotted out the sky.

This scene was reflected so far that not only people near Five Finger Mountain saw it, but also people from other prefectures and counties of Qingzhou Prefecture could see it as well.

"Roar~"

The moment the giant hand condensed, the giant monkey let out an angry roar that pierced through clouds and cracked stones. Then it lashed out with a fierce punch, viciously attacking the giant hand.

At the same time, the giant hand reached toward the giant monkey, its terrifying power seeming as if it would annihilate everything, chilling the hearts of all.

The cultivators watching from around Five Finger Mountain once again flew outward in unison to avoid being caught in the aftermath.

"Bang~"

The giant monkey and the giant hand collided violently. A strong wave of spiritual energy swept out, and the terrifying momentum forced everyone to continue retreating outward.

At that moment, a figure rushed out from Five Finger Mountain.

Everyone looked closely and saw that it was Jiang Guanyun, the old ancestor of the Jiang family.

As soon as Jiang Guanyun escaped the range of Five Finger Mountain, he could no longer suppress the chaotic spiritual energy. He spat out several mouthfuls of blood in succession and fell straight down from the sky.

Watching this, the eyes of various factions flickered, both assessing the danger level of Five Finger Mountain and secretly scheming to take over the Jiang family's assets.

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

The giant monkey and the giant hand clashed again, one trying to shatter the hand, the other trying to crush the monkey.

Perhaps because she was right under the giant monkey, at the very heart of the storm, Hua Changxi was surprisingly unaffected.

It was at this moment that Hua Changxi realized the force locking onto her had vanished. Without a second word, she scrambled to her feet, eager to flee this place.

Far from the stone cave, Hua Changxi dared not run recklessly through the Five Finger Mountain, where spiritual energy churned. She found a small hill to hide behind.

Watching the giant monkey and the giant hand grow more illusory with each strike, Hua Changxi prayed fervently in her heart that the giant hand would be the one to disperse the giant monkey first.

But things didn't go as she wished. After the fifth collision between the giant monkey and the giant hand, cracks appeared on the hand.

The cracks opened, and spiritual energy scattered.

The giant hand became unstable, growing more and more illusory under the giant monkey's bombardment.

"What should I do?"

Hua Changxi was getting anxious. If the giant hand were shattered, nothing would be left to suppress the Monkey King's domain from spreading. Though she didn't know the consequences, she had a bad feeling about it.

If the Monkey King's domain continued spreading beyond the Five Finger Mountain and harmed the common people, she truly couldn't bear to imagine what would happen.

"Mountain spirit, why didn't you tell me clearly that moving the Buddha's Hand would cause such a huge commotion?"

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Hua Changxi's gaze suddenly fixed on the location of the stone cave. There, the Buddha's Hand, which had shattered and cracked, was still slowly rising. The hand seemed to be suppressed, moving upward at a very slow pace.

"Is the Buddha's Hand trying to return to its original position?"

But the stone cave was already gone.

Hua Changxi was both frightened and anxious. She feared she had caused an irreparable disaster. After all, it was she who had moved the Buddha's Hand.

"Boom~"

Under the giant monkey's attack, the giant hand grew yet more illusory, while the cracks on the hand also grew larger and more unstable.

"Forget it. While the giant hand can still hold off the giant monkey, I'll help send the Buddha's Hand up and see."

Gritting her teeth, Hua Changxi flew back to the stone cave, grabbed the Buddha's Hand, and tried to soar upward. Unfortunately, she underestimated the Monkey King's oppressive pressure inside the cave; her speed was barely faster than the Buddha's Hand's.

"Roar~"

The giant monkey sensed what was happening in the stone cave and grew furious. One fist struck at the giant hand, while the other punched straight toward Hua Changxi.

The moment the monkey's fist came smashing down, Hua Changxi could no longer ascend on her cloud. She fell to the ground, with no chance to escape. Helpless, she watched the giant fist descend and instinctively unleashed fire lotuses to try to block it.

One fire lotus after another was unleashed continuously. Though each was easily shattered by the monkey's fist, they still managed to slow down the falling fist.

Seeing that the fire lotuses were effective at stalling, Hua Changxi could only keep unleashing them.

Fire lotuses consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. Feeling her internal spiritual energy draining rapidly, Hua Changxi gritted her teeth and imitated the Monkey King: one hand releasing fire lotuses, the other absorbing spiritual energy.

Fortunately, she had set up a spirit-gathering array in the stone cave earlier, and she herself was a spiritual energy black hole, able to absorb any amount of spiritual energy. At this moment, it was a huge help.

Outside the Five Finger Mountain, all the cultivators watched the battle inside with pounding hearts and trembling fear.

At first, it was only a confrontation between the giant monkey and the giant hand. But at some point, a massive amount of fire spiritual energy began to gather beneath the giant monkey, and wave after wave of fire lotuses continuously struck at it.

"Fire lotuses... the scoundrel who killed my Cui clan disciples and the Jiang family cultivators used these very fire lotuses."

"That person is nothing but a rat, an ant. All they know is sneak attacks. While the giant monkey was blocked by the giant hand, they ran off to stab it in the back. Why doesn't the giant monkey just finish them off quickly?"

Cui Cheng's angry rant was ignored by the other factions, whose expressions were all extremely grave.

Someone from the Shura Gate looked down on the Cui family and snorted: "Shut your mouth. You'd better pray that the giant monkey is suppressed, or else... Qingzhou is definitely finished."

Cui Cheng choked, then instinctively looked toward his clan head.

The Cui clan head hesitated for a moment, then flew to the front of the Taisu Palace formation: "Daoist Qingyun, what exactly did Shura Gate mean by that just now?"

Daoist Qingyun's expression was quite grim: "That giant monkey should be a demon beast that was once suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain. No matter what it was like in life, after being imprisoned for endless ages, it is absolutely filled with malice toward the outside world. If it breaks free, it will definitely become an evil spirit that brings calamity to all directions."

As soon as the words fell, a thunderous 'BOOM' rang out—the giant hand was shattered by the giant monkey.

At the sight, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Hua Changxi was also horrified. Seeing the giant monkey looking down at her upside down, she felt her heart stop beating.

"Am I going to die?"

Seeing the giant monkey's hand smashing toward her, Hua Changxi sensed the aura of death. Using all her strength, she poured all her spiritual energy into a fire lotus, then forcefully swung the fire lotus outward.

After the fire lotus charged at the giant monkey, Hua Changxi continued to absorb spiritual energy while steadily pouring it into the fire lotus.

Knowing she was no match for the giant monkey, Hua Changxi closed her eyes unwillingly, completely transforming herself into a conduit connecting the fire lotus and fire spiritual energy, maximizing the absorption and transmission of spiritual energy.

Outside the Five Finger Mountain, everyone only saw the giant monkey lowering its head to smash into the space between its own feet, and then a magnificent fire lotus soared up to block the giant monkey's fist.

The giant monkey quickly shattered the fire lotus. Just as it continued to smash downward, the third peak became enveloped in a sky-full of red fire spiritual energy.

The fire spiritual energy rapidly gathered and churned, as if something was about to condense and emerge.

"Li~"

A melodious and loud bird cry resounded through the sky.

The moment the bird cry sounded, for an instant, Hua Changxi felt herself transform into fire spiritual energy and rush toward the giant monkey.

While everyone watched in stunned amazement, a radiant fire bird flew out from the surging fire spiritual energy and charged at the giant monkey.

"Roar~"

The giant monkey let out an unwilling roar. Watching the fire bird disperse its body, it turned into specks of light in despair and dissipated into the air.

The fire bird easily dispelled the giant monkey, flashed across the sky, and then plunged back into the third peak of the Five Finger Mountain, disappearing from sight.

The moment the fire bird appeared, countless people were startled.

In the capital, at the Imperial Observatory, Star Observation Platform, Director Yuan looked with a shocked expression toward the southern direction; the Emperor Star appeared.

"How could this be?"

"Spiritual energy has only just begun to revive, and the Emperor Star has already appeared?"

In the Hanlin Academy, History Bureau, historian Shi Yishi looked emotionally at the white scroll formed by spiritual light on the table, and the white jade brush.

Shi Yishi carefully and cautiously examined the paper and brush, tears of excitement glistening in his eyes: "After so many years, the Shi family has finally waited for this day to once again write the legend of the Four Spirits."

Shi Yishi composed himself, quickly walked out of the room, and looked up toward the south.

"This time, is the plane opening being led by the south?"

In the Medicine Bureau, No. 1 Medical Hall on Second Street, Pharmacist Tong was explaining alchemy techniques. While everyone was focused on listening, Gu Jinfan suddenly stood up and ran out of the room.

"What's happening?"

Looking at the sky full of rosy clouds in the direction of Qingzhou, Gu Jinfan's face was full of disbelief.

The Jiang family carries the bloodline of external cultivators; after seizing the Five Finger Mountain, can they also receive the blessing of the Heavenly Dao?

No, that's not right. In the previous life, the Jiang family also obtained the Five Finger Mountain, but there were no such heavenly anomalies.

Did something happen over in Qingzhou?

She returned too late and also lacked powerful supporters; otherwise, she would have definitely made a move in this Five Finger Mountain contention.

The Jiang family ancestor is a Nascent Soul realm powerhouse, arguably the highest combat power in the current Four Spirit Realm. She couldn't compete and didn't want to see the Five Finger Mountain belong to the Jiang family, so she didn't go to Qingzhou.

But now, it seems something has changed.