Chapter 515: Breaking the Prohibition

Before long, as the wind-blown sand settled, heaven and earth gradually revealed their clear nature once more, and several additional traces of heavy solemnity appeared in the depths of Yuan Yuan Fayan's eyes.

At the foot of Flowing Sand Mountain, a humanoid being eighteen feet tall, entirely bright and translucent as if cast from scalding red iron, lay prostrate.

His eyes stared straight up at the sky, his pupils' divine light scattered, motionless, clearly devoid of all vitality.

Surrounding that humanoid being was a sea of fire, blazing and brilliant, igniting the spiritual qi in the void, burning unextinguished for a long time.

Even though it had just been affected by the majestic power of the Five Old Celestial Officials' Great Hand Seal, much of this sea of fire had been forcibly extinguished.

But now, because Chen Heng had withdrawn his divine ability, the sea of fire gradually showed signs of returning, rising bit by bit, crackling with erratic flashes.

Even from a great distance, rolling waves of heat continuously surged forth, like tidal waves crashing, creating quite an imposing spectacle.

Even the flames leaking from the corpse could create such a spectacle.

Then, when this humanoid being was still alive, the strength of his methods naturally need not be mentioned!

Yet when Yuan Yuan Fayan fixed his gaze and looked, he saw that the humanoid being had only a single sword wound between his eyebrows, no more than half an inch in size, which was truly negligible compared to his eighteen-foot body.

Yet it was precisely such a minute wound that completely took his life and extinguished all vitality.

"Is this the Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet of Dharma Sage Heaven? Did Chen Heng just eliminate this thing?"

Given Yuan Yuan Fayan's status, he naturally recognized the origin of that eighteen-foot being, and regarding the situation at Flowing Sand Mountain, several thoughts surged in his heart.

The method for refining the Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet was created by Xia Ji, the master of Dharma Sage Heaven.

Besides Fire Virtue, there were also Water Virtue, Metal Virtue, Earth Virtue, and Wood Virtue, making five types of puppets in total, collectively known by Dharma Sage cultivators as the Five Virtues Heavenly Puppets.

During the reign of the ancient Great Zhao Emperor, Xia Ji was originally the supreme seal-holder of the Ministry of Heavenly Works, commanding the immortal gods and officials of the boundless Ministry of Heavenly Works, profoundly comprehending the supreme, possessing great wisdom and intelligence.

This person was heavily relied upon by the Great Zhao Emperor, a veritable heavy minister of the Dao Court!

Even those several immortal god lineages who now forcibly occupied the Longevity World and ruthlessly destroyed it, along with the Divine Infant Great Scholars who refined this region of Xudu Xudu Tianyu into an external incarnation, had once studied under Xia Ji in years past, following him to learn the Dao of Creation and Transformation, and to this day they still treat Xia Ji with great respect.

Thus, looking across the vast cosmos of the many heavens, the Five Virtues Heavenly Puppets of Dharma Sage Heaven were naturally among the strongest types of puppet dharma spirits, absolutely not to be underestimated!

And now, at Flowing Sand Mountain, a creation from Dharma Sage Heaven had actually appeared.

It seemed the opportunities for creation within Flowing Sand Mountain were not so easily obtained; one would have to undergo a battle...

"Five sand currents; Chen Heng just destroyed one—is this related to that?"

Yuan Yuan Fayan looked at the remaining four massive sand currents, still layered above and below, slowly circling around Flowing Sand Mountain, and thought silently.

And just as his thoughts raced, Shen Shen Xingcui scanned the seven Jin Dan True Persons present in the area, his eyes brightening as a sharp intent involuntarily rose within him.

Yu Yu Yuchen Chen Heng, Chiming Xie Tan, Xuanfeng Wang Xiu, Wenhuang Guo Guo Shaomi, Xiantianmo Sect Zhang Ping'a, Jiuzhen Pei Han Zhang, Shenyu Tian Fang...

If one added himself and Yuan Yuan Fayan to the count.

More than half of the talented elites from the prestigious Bapailiu Sect had gathered here, truly a gathering of phoenixes and luan birds, with seats filled by distinguished guests!

"Judging by the situation, it seems some change has occurred at Flowing Sand Mountain; now is not the time for everyone to start fighting?"

Shen Shen Xingcui murmured softly.

After exchanging a greeting with Yuan Yuan Fayan beside him, he quickly picked out a familiar face, launched his sword light, and headed straight for Guo Guo Shaomi of the Wenhuang Sect.

Although Shen Shen Xingcui was a sword cultivator from the Zhongyi lineage, he was somewhat different from his fellow disciples; this person was lively and unconstrained by nature, and loved making friends widely and touring mountains and seas.

Although he had contracted a common ailment of sword cultivators in this world, namely an enthusiasm for challenging others and debating the sword.

But unless facing those truly vicious and evil villains, Shen Shen Xingcui would not strike to kill during a duel, instead leaving the opponent some face so the scene would not become too unsightly.

And if he could not win, Shen Shen Xingcui would not be angry, smiling it off, at most coming to call again next time.

For this reason, among the forty-two Jin Dan True Persons present, there were indeed a few close friends of Shen Shen Xingcui.

Such as Guo Guo Shaomi of the Wenhuang Sect, who was one of them.

Now, after hearing the full story from Guo Guo Shaomi's mouth, Shen Shen Xingcui also fell silent for a moment, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Flowing Sand Mountain has five layers of seals, corresponding respectively to the five sand currents circling the mountain.

And each time one layer of the seal is triggered, a fierce creature will leap out to obstruct; only when all five layers of seals are completely resolved and all five sand currents fully collapse can the creation treasure buried at the mountain's base be seen."

At this moment, after thinking slightly, Shen Shen Xingcui became slightly serious and said to Yuan Yuan Fayan, who had rushed over:

"And just now, that figure, which was naturally a Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet captured from Dharma Sage Heaven, was the first fierce creature blocking the path.

True Person Chen of Yu Yu Yuchen suppressed and killed the Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet and destroyed the sand current corresponding to it; the first layer of sealing has now resolved itself, leaving four layers remaining."

Yuan Yuan Fayan nodded to indicate understanding, exchanged greetings with Guo Guo Shaomi, and spoke words of thanks.

"True Person Yuan need not be polite."

Wearing a green skirt and plain short jacket, with a clear and elegant demeanor, the beautiful woman Guo Guo Shaomi smiled brightly, then shook her head slightly and said:

"Actually, once one reaches the foot of Flowing Sand Mountain, the heart-field will generate a sensation, and one will naturally know this matter; it was merely a simple effort."

"Five layers of sealing; I wonder what exactly the arrangement is? Let's hope the remaining four fierce creatures aren't each more powerful than the last; if that is truly the case, then the creation treasure at the bottom of Flowing Sand Mountain will likely require everyone's combined strength to obtain." Shen Shen Xingcui shook his head.

"The Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet was already significant enough..."

Yuan Yuan Fayan interjected softly.

Following Yuan Yuan Fayan's line of sight, Shen Shen Xingcui and Guo Guo Shaomi saw Chen Heng holding a piece of Zhengyang Zhen Sha in his hand, currently refining the spiritual mechanism within the true sand.

It seemed that from that previous display of power, Chen Heng was not entirely without loss.

"..."

At this moment, Shen Shen Xingcui also felt the atmosphere was somewhat unusual and involuntarily shook his head inwardly.

Looking at the matter laid bare, in truth, all the cultivators present, regardless of whether from the Xue Xuan Sect or the Mo Sect, were each other's enemies.

The reason they had not yet completely started fighting was because the creation treasure lay ahead, and the Fire Bell Bronze Fish had not yet fully manifested.

However, since a confrontation was destined to happen in the future, those with powerful methods would inevitably attract the attention of the others.

And Chen Heng...

Shen Shen Xingcui suddenly shifted his gaze, looking toward Xie Tan and Wang Xiu.

These two, one a true disciple of Chiming and the other a true disciple of Xuanfeng, were both old-established Jin Dan cultivators famous for a long time, absolutely not easy to deal with!

In Shen Shen Xingcui's view, they should have all entered the realm of Supreme Great Divine Abilities, and even among the forty-two Jin Dan True Persons, they belonged to the upper echelon.

At this moment, as if sensing Shen Shen Xingcui's gaze, Xie Tan, who stood amidst the cloud carriage and feathered canopy with hemp robes and long hair, suddenly twisted his head; his eyes seemed to overflow with crimson mist, blazing with light, their imposing pressure overwhelming!

And Xie Tan seemed to have guessed what Shen Shen Xingcui was thinking, offering only a faint smile.

Suddenly, a plume of purple smoke surged upward, making a rushing sound like a tidal wave crashing against the sky, vast and sweeping!

Above the purple smoke, a dark and thin man wearing a black-gold Eight Trigrams Daoist robe smiled; he nodded slightly to Chen Heng and said:

"Trouble you, True Person Chen; for the next layer of the seal, let Zhang handle breaking it."

Seeing that Zhang Ping'a of the Xiantian Mo Zong intended to act, Chen Heng naturally would not contend over such a trivial matter or vie with him for the spotlight.

He merely waved his sleeve, flinging out a mass of clear qi to collect the remnant body of the Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet, then formed a sword-escape hand seal, arriving at a distant cloud peak to sit in meditation by himself.

Once Chen Heng departed, Zhang Ping'a did not delay either.

He exhaled lightly, and several wisps of smoky qi drifted from his nostrils; with just a flicker, the second sand stream inexplicably sank deeply in a large section, then immediately flashed with brilliance as a strange serpent with a thousand wings growing from its back materialized out of thin air.

The strange serpent's eyes were like blood jade, and a pair of huge ox horns grew from its head; staring fixedly at Zhang Ping'a, who had triggered the seal, it spoke no further words, but roared angrily and snapped its jaws fiercely.

Clearly, the two were still separated by nearly ten li, yet with this movement by the strange serpent, Zhang Ping'a was inexplicably teleported right to the serpent's maw.

Looking up, one could see rows of sharp teeth, with saliva rolling down, emitting a fishy stench that pressed upon people!

Puchi—

At the instant the sharp teeth descended, Zhang Ping'a shook his shoulders, and a whirl of black wind tightly wrapped him, actually rebounding those sharp teeth; no matter how the strange serpent exerted force, it found it difficult to bite solidly.

"Hit!"

Zhang Ping'a released his hand, and a dark iron chain shot out first, growing longer as it met the wind, constantly transforming and multiplying until it quickly wove into a stern iron cage, trapping him and the strange serpent in mid-air.

However, before the iron cage could contract inward, the thousand wings on the strange serpent's back fanned in unison, teleporting Zhang Ping'a along with the divine ability he had cast away, causing this killing move to strike empty air.

"A Preheaven Divine Beast, the Ran Jiao?"

With a single turn of thought in his heart, Chen Heng also arrived at this name.

……

……

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered thickly in the sky, the wind whistling sharply; it could be seen that Zhang Ping'a and that Ran Serpent were already fighting with extreme intensity.

Constantly, demonic shadows shot out, wrapped in flames, appearing both real and illusory, making it difficult for anyone to distinguish truth from falsehood; even though the Ran Serpent possessed the ability to move and teleport, it found it hard to employ them easily.

After roughly fifty exchanges, seeing that he still could not achieve victory after a prolonged battle, unlike how Chen Heng had cleanly and swiftly slain the Fire Virtue Heavenly Puppet,

Zhang Ping'a also felt somewhat loss of face and brought out his true methods.

He let out a deep shout, manipulating the spell incantation; first, a small bell flew out from his chest, shattering several mountain peaks that the Ran Jiao had drawn in from across the void, then he pointed with his finger, shooting out a beam of oily green spiritual light that resembled some kind of fat, extremely thick and heavy.

This strike approached with fierce momentum, but the Ran Jiao showed not the slightest fear, merely fanning the thousand wings on its back, intending to activate the teleportation method again to send this killing move far away.

Earlier during the magical combat, relying on his rich experience in life-and-death battles, Zhang Ping'a had already rushed before the Ran Jiao more than once, launching heavy attacks.

But whether it was magical treasures or divine abilities, just as they were about to touch his body, they would be teleported away by the Ran Jiao.

Thus, a magical duel that clearly could have been resolved quickly was forcibly dragged out into a war of attrition.

But this time, things were somewhat different...

Although the Ran Jiao easily teleported that oily green spiritual light away, a wisp of green radiance quietly appeared on its shell, spreading like water all the way to the Ran Jiao's skull, making its head inexplicably much heavier, as if an iron mountain were pressing down upon it.

Zhang Ping'a smiled inwardly and continued to cast spells and form incantations, still using this same divine ability.

After three or four repetitions, the Ran Jiao's body was already faintly glowing green, as if something was brewing and forming within.

By this point, the several Dan Yuan True Persons watching the battle knew the outcome was sealed, their expressions varying.

Xie Tan could not even be bothered to watch further; he inexplicably turned his body and exchanged a distant glance with Wang Xiu of the Xuanfeng Cave, both doing so simultaneously.

These two clearly held different positions and rarely interacted in ordinary times, yet at this moment they seemed to have tacitly reached an understanding, mutually aware without needing words.

"I thought these five layers of seals would become more powerful with each layer; it seems that is not the case."

Shen Shen Xingcui shook his head: "Since that is so, for the next round, I shall go down and play a bit."

"With everyone watching, aren't you afraid others will see through your methods?" Guo Guo Shaomi teased.

"Success or failure in magical combat is not entirely decided by this; while there is certainly a principle of winning through surprise, if one's skill is insufficient, no amount of concealment is useful, and it merely becomes a joke instead."

Shen Shen Xingcui spread his hands:

"Besides, I have traveled everywhere debating swords with others; those few sword-path divine abilities I learned have long been seen through by everyone, so what is there left to hide?"

"Could it be that you are able to mobilize the Dharma now?" Yuan Yuan Fayan suddenly said.

"If I could, then I truly would need to hide them slightly," Shen Shen Xingcui clapped his hands and laughed.

While these three were speaking, the Ran Jiao was already burdened as if carrying a heavy mountain, finding movement extremely difficult.

Facing Zhang Ping'a, who walked slowly forward, even if it wished to activate that movement and teleportation divine ability again, it was powerless to do so.

"In the end, it is merely a wild creature that does not cultivate fate; such an excellent innate divine ability has been used in such a manner."

Zhang Ping'a sighed inwardly, slowly drawing from his sleeve a short blade that was flawless throughout.

After slicing the Ran Jiao into two halves, he rushed toward the second sand stream; after several shuttles, the sand stream also exploded with a boom, shattering in mid-air.

Thus, the second layer of the seal was also broken.

Next to take the stage was Shen Shen Xingcui of the Zhongyi Sword Sect.

Chen Heng had heard of this person's reputation back when he was at the Changying Lower Academy, but his first actual meeting with this individual had only occurred here in Ying Ying Jichuan.

Chen Heng observed that this person's sword manipulation was unified, refined to the utmost and pure; even the few Zhongyi sword-path divine abilities he employed had long leaped beyond conventional patterns, not sticking to fixed forms and changes, proving his fame was well-deserved.

After Shen Shen Xingcui broke through the third layer of the seal, Xie Tan, within the cloud carriage and feathered canopy, slapped the carriage frame and also slowly drove forward.

"Since this gentleman intends to act, Junior Brother Tian, we should not go and join the fun."

Wang Xiu of the Xuanfeng Cave, whose pupils were cyan-green and who possessed unusual features, shook his head and transmitted a voice to Tian Fang of the Shenyu Sect standing nearby.

Tian Fang clearly shared a deep friendship with Wang Xiu.

Although he desired to go down to the arena, after pondering for a moment, he still nodded slightly, temporarily suppressing his intentions.

The moment Xie Tan made his move, the momentum was grand and astonishing, overwhelmingly unstoppable!

Countless flames, large and small, erupted in unison, brighter than lightning, shimmering with dazzling colors as they surged upward; their overwhelming momentum resembled a mountain collapse and tidal wave, deafening and piercing straight into the heavens!

The fourth ferocious creature had just leaped out from its seal when it was instantly suppressed from all six sides by the crimson flames, trapped squarely in the center.

Only a shrill, miserable scream was heard before the creature's flesh and blood scattered in all directions; dead before it could employ even a single technique, it could not be more dead.

"Go!"

After accomplishing this with casual ease, Xie Tan did not stop but instead emitted a cloud of fiery mist from his palm, continuing to strike at the fifth layer of the seal.

It seemed he intended to press the advantage in one continuous effort and break open the final seal of the Flowing Sand Mountain.

But this time, dark light blazed forth from the sky, suddenly whipping up a wild wind that sent sand flying and stones rolling, making it difficult for anyone to keep their eyes open.

Yet after Xie Tan acted to calm the turbulent celestial phenomena, a wisp of smoke was seen emerging from the Flowing Sand Mountain, leaping up into the clouds, straight as a pillar, fully a hundred zhang in length, a truly bizarre spectacle.

Boom!

The next instant, Xie Tan staggered as the red light protecting his body seemed struck by some object, sinking inward significantly.

Seeing that one strike had failed, the one who had attacked Xie Tan did not linger but shifted their gaze to stare at a distant spot instead.

"What is this?"

Shen Shen Xingcui, sensing something amiss at that moment, raised an eyebrow and activated his sword-flight, dodging a massive hand by a margin of mere millimeters.

Simultaneously, the Yi Yuan Zhong water released by Yuan Yuan Fayan shook violently, swaying left and right; fortunately, his defenses were so strict that his formation was not thrown into disarray.

"It is actually this thing?"

A sharp light shot from Wang Xiu's pupils.

【136】 Seeing that Pei Pei Hanzhang of the Jiuzhen Sect had also been suddenly attacked, with a golden awl he released being forcibly deflected, Wang Xiu's thoughts raced like lightning, and he understood clearly in his heart.

Seeing that Pei Han Zhang of the Jiuzhen Sect was also suddenly attacked, and that a golden awl he released was forcibly deflected, Wang Xiu's thoughts raced, and he understood clearly.

While most of the True Persons of the Dantian realm present deployed their various methods, Chen Heng, far away on the cloud tops, also opened his eyes, appearing lost in thought.

He joined his fingers and slashed, sending out a sword qi that actually emitted the sound of metal striking stone ten zhang before him!

The one attempting the sneak attack clearly understood the danger and, for now, had no intention of expending vital energy to fight head-on.

But since Chen Heng refused to let him go, twenty-four sword qi suddenly shot out, forming an encirclement and striking down in rapid succession.

Cold air shot forth, blinding and alarming; in the blink of an eye, they spun nearly a thousand times, allowing not even a moment to catch one's breath!

Finally, accompanied by a sharp sound like tearing silk, a gaunt figure was forcibly driven out, revealing its true form.