Chapter 168: Soul-Severing Mountain

"The Demon Prison?"

Hearing the two people on the city wall mention the Demon Prison, Hua Changxi's expression changed slightly.

When she had previously unlocked Qihuang Hall No. 7, the stone walls of that hall had revealed the evolutionary history of the Four Spirit Realms, which included a mention of the Demon Prison.

However, the illustrations depicting the evolutionary history of the Four Spirit Realms were rather rough and not fully revealed; thus, she had only learned that a place called the 'Demon Prison' existed.

The task Eunuch Lin and his group intended to carry out would cause instability in the Demon Prison; could it be that the Demon Prison was located nearby?

Hua Changxi's eyes flashed with light; having followed them this far, she was certainly going to witness the Demon Prison for herself. Moreover, the divine hammer that Eunuch Lin and the others sought should be a fine magical artifact; if luck was on her side, she might even play the role of the oriole waiting to snatch the prize.

The mist around Qianmen Fortress was denser and more eerie than elsewhere; seeing that the figures of Eunuch Lin and his companions were nearly beyond her range of vision, Hua Changxi hurried to follow.

However, just as she moved toward the east of Qianmen Fortress, a sharp, yin wind suddenly attacked from behind.

The attack came suddenly and silently; Hua Changxi narrowly dodged it, and upon turning around, she discovered that the two people who had just been on the city wall were now hovering in the mist, launching another wave of attacks at the spot where she had stood moments before.

"General, there is no one there."

Liu Chengxiong ignored his Assistant Regional Commander's words, staring straight in the direction where Hua Changxi stood; although he could not see anyone, he had sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

Anyone capable of dodging his attack and quickly concealing their aura again must be at least a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Liu Chengxiong's mood fluctuated slightly; which family's ancient monster had come to Jiuyou?

Seeing that Liu Chengxiong remained silent, Assistant Regional Commander Wan Kun asked in confusion, "General, what is wrong?"

Liu Chengxiong considered his own situation; for someone to cultivate to the Nascent Soul realm, they must absolutely come from a top-tier cultivation clan. Coming to Qianmen Fortress at this time undoubtedly meant they were after the divine hammer; perhaps he could cooperate with this visitor.

"Tell me, of those people who just passed by, how many do you think will survive?"

Wan Kun was somewhat surprised that Liu Chengxiong would concern himself with this; among the nine great fortresses guarding the four array nodes of the Demon Prison, infiltrators had never ceased, yet in the past, the General had never paid them any heed.

"Recently is precisely the phase when the yin winds of Soul-Severing Mountain erupt; these winds shred souls, making the mountain path difficult to traverse; those people likely will not reach the array nodes."

Liu Chengxiong laughed dismissively, "Do not underestimate the methods of cultivators; however, the danger of Soul-Severing Mountain is indeed real. In truth, if one wishes to seize the divine hammer, rather than risking a crossing over Soul-Severing Mountain, it would be better to pass through Qianmen Fortress."

Hearing this, Wan Kun looked at Liu Chengxiong with a stunned expression; Qianmen Fortress was garrisoned by the Demon-Suppressing Guards precisely to guard the safety of the array nodes and strictly prevent any infiltrators from crossing.

What did the General mean by his words just now?

Without looking at his Assistant Regional Commander, Liu Chengxiong spoke to himself, "In a few more years, my term of office will end." Without the protection of Qianmen Fortress, his primordial spirit would dissipate into this world of heaven and earth.

Hearing these words, Wan Kun fell silent, saying with some sadness, "General, now that spiritual energy has fully recovered, there must be other ways."

Liu Chengxiong sighed, "This general merely wishes to look upon the human world once more."

Seeing that there was no response from within the mist, Liu Chengxiong's gaze darkened; after a moment of silence, he chose to withdraw voluntarily, "Let us return."

Although his primordial spirit was powerful, lacking a physical body, if he truly engaged in battle with that Nascent Soul ancient monster hiding in the shadows, and should that monster possess methods of soul attack, he would absolutely fare poorly.

Now that his soul form was already weakening, it was better not to create unnecessary complications.

"General, people from the Duke of Xin's Prefecture have arrived again."

Just as the two flew back to the city wall, new arrivals appeared outside Qianmen Fortress.

Upon seeing this, Liu Chengxiong's face lit up with joy; he quickly glanced in the direction where Hua Changxi was located, thinking to himself that letting the hidden Nascent Soul ancient monster know that people from the Duke of Xin's Prefecture were also eyeing the divine hammer might hasten cooperation between them.

With the help of a Nascent Soul cultivator, whether finding a suitable physical body or reshaping a new one, would become much easier.

"General Liu."

"Young Master Gu."

In the mist, Hua Changxi watched the newcomers fly into Qianmen Fortress, her expression shifting uncertainly.

The words of that General Liu just now were clearly meant for her to hear, seeming like an attempt to make a deal with her; yet, she found them somewhat confusing and unclear.

There was no help for it; she knew too little.

Hua Changxi glanced at the Young Master of the Duke of Xin's Prefecture on the city wall, who was already conversing with Liu Chengxiong; having no interest in their affairs, she looked toward the direction where Eunuch Lin and the others had disappeared and quietly pursued them.

On the city wall, Young Master Gu had intended to use this opportunity to enter the fortress and investigate, but unexpectedly, Liu Chengxiong remained standing on the wall, talking matters over with him.

Liu Chengxiong did not regard Young Master Gu with the same importance he had accorded the Nascent Soul cultivator who had just dodged his attack.

For no other reason than that although the Duke of Xin's Prefecture wielded great power, compared to old-line cultivation clans with long-standing heritage, it was not worth looking at.

What Liu Chengxiong had in mind was that the Duke of Xin's Prefecture sought him out also for the matter of the divine hammer, sharing the same objective as the hidden Nascent Soul cultivator; by discussing matters openly, he intended to make the Nascent Soul cultivator in the shadows anxious.

Unfortunately, what he did not know was that after Hua Changxi guessed he could detect spiritual energy fluctuations, she had already concealed her aura and departed; even less did he expect that Hua Changxi would be a complete novice who knew nothing.

According to Liu Chengxiong's reasoning, a Nascent Soul cultivator must surely understand this world better than others and would definitely know that the reason the Demon-Suppressing Guards guarding the nine great fortresses could continue to exist relied entirely on the protection of the fortresses, which prevented their soul forms from dissipating during their terms of office.

His words just now had already revealed that he wished to return to the human world, meaning he desired to possess a physical body; for this, he could open Qianmen Fortress and allow people to pass through.

Alas, this was merely a wishful thought on his part.

After speeding through the mist for some time, a black stone mountain resembling a horizon line appeared within Hua Changxi's sight.

"Hoo~"

Fierce yin winds constantly swept through the mountain, making one feel utterly cold; yet, precisely because of these yin winds, the mist in the air was blown away.

"This must be the Soul-Severing Mountain those two people just mentioned."

Hua Changxi condensed spiritual clouds and soared into the sky, intending to fly through Soul-Severing Mountain.

But as soon as she entered the high altitude, she shivered violently; then, to her horror, she discovered that her body was somewhat beyond her control.

To be precise, her soul form had been frozen, rendering her unable to control her physical body's actions.

What shocked her even more was her realization that her divine sense was decreasing rapidly.

The yin winds within this Soul-Severing Mountain could weaken divine sense!

Suppressing her fear, Hua Changxi quickly descended her spiritual clouds; after her feet touched the ground, a 'boom' sounded as flames ignited around her body to drive away the yin cold.

Alas, even with flames enveloping her body, she could not lessen the yin cold sensation on her soul form, until she condensed a Fire Lotus.

Standing at the center of the Fire Lotus, whenever a gust of yin wind blew in, a fire bird would fly out, spewing Zhu Que flames.

As soon as the Zhu Que flames collided with the yin wind, a hissing sound immediately erupted, as if something were being burned to ashes.