Chapter 138: 189, 190

Xiao Mo is like a porcelain doll, lying on her back on the couch, staring blankly at the sky, neither crying nor making a fuss; if not for the fact that her flawless, white-jade-like eyes would open from time to time, and that she would open her little mouth when her mother breastfed her, others might even mistake her for a stillborn baby.

"This child has an extremely heavy Yin energy," Su Mengzhen said, looking at Xiao Mo, then cast a strange glance at Song Cheng, because she knew Xiao Yu'er was normal, so the abnormal one could only be Song Cheng.

Song Cheng could not explain it either.

However, at the moment Xiao Mo was born, he had completely and utterly confirmed his guess, and at the same time, he knew that if he were to have another child, whether boy or girl, it should be a normal child.

Above Xiao Mo's head floated "0~0", the color was black, not strange.

Song Cheng picked up Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo opened her eyes and looked at him.

The jade-colored whites of her eyes were without a hint of turbidity; clearly, there was no focus in her pupils, yet it gave one the feeling that she was staring straight at you.

Song Cheng pressed his cheek against the little one's with a heart full of pity and said softly, "No matter how heavy the Yin energy is, she is still the little princess of our Song Prince Mansion."

Even though she was strange, Xiao Mo did not have a bad life.

The entire Song Prince Mansion doted on her to the heavens.

Song Cheng's nine daughters-in-law often came to visit this "little aunt," bringing a large amount of gifts, and sometimes they would bring their own children to call out to this "little aunt" who had just been born but held a high seniority.

Those children were very lively, yet Song Mo was as still as a rock and as cold as ice.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

News from A Ting's side also arrived rapidly.

"Dad, remember that ancient relic from last time? Don't even mention it, there was nothing inside, it had long been empty."

"Dad, Lu Yi found a mysterious relic in the family's ancient books. That relic is hidden in Sixian Mountain. Sixian Mountain is a desolate region where very few people go. This time, the relic will definitely have a big harvest."

"Dad, I didn't expect Sixian Mountain to be a place that harbors filth; human traffickers caught many children and women here to trade. Some are sold to brothels, some to powerful families, and there are quite a few buyers. We might have arrived at just the right time."

"Dad, we caused a huge scene and killed all those human traffickers. We also gave the children and women travel money and tokens. They will first go to the small country where Lu Yi's family is, and then return to their respective homes."

"Dad, we have entered the relic."

"Dad, there really is a harvest. There is a corpse here that looks very, very ancient. I took a small pinch of the remains as powder."

"Dad, success, success! I made a terrifying little bird, even more powerful than all my previous little animals."

A Ting's messages only involved two aspects: "acting with chivalry" and "exploring relics," though during this time, they also let Song Cheng know quite a bit about the customs and traditions of the West.

Song Cheng reminded A Ting a few words, saying that Song An had also arrived, and told her she could go to rendezvous with him soon.

A Ting agreed.

The children's exciting adventures filled Song Cheng with deep emotion.

What moved him even more was A Ting's ability.

A Ting was clearly just an ordinary person, yet she could exert her ability "without restriction," creating increasingly terrifying little animals.

One must know that "restrictions" always exist.

Martial Artists of the Yellow Grade can only consume Medicinal Human Secret Medicine of the Mysterious Grade.

"High-end goods" like the Flat Peach can only be consumed by those of the Pseudo-Mysterious Grade.

A scion of a Mysterious Grade Ding family can only create a Yellow Yi medicinal human.

Mysterious Grade Bing, on the other hand, is Yellow Jia.

But A Ting, with her mere ordinary human body, could create a "Saint Heavenly Buddha Rabbit" with strength comparable to a Mysterious Grade Yi, and this "Relic Bird" proved this point even further.

If A Ting's ability had no restrictions, then theoretically... she could give birth to infinitely powerful existences.

It was precisely for this reason that Song Cheng always felt that his eldest daughter could jump out of the lifespan constraints of an "ordinary person," only he did not yet know how to jump out of them.

On the other side, the Ghost Tide that appeared abruptly on the banks of the Yunhe also left the coastal people very bewildered; the Holy Children of the Xuanwu Temple and the Young Boys of the Xuan Nu Palace appeared frequently on the front lines.

Song Cheng was even busier, descending every few days.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

The strength of the Ghost Tide on the banks of the Yunhe had already far exceeded those in the North... in these Ghost Tides, almost the weakest were Qi Realm Ghost Servants.

Compared to the Qi Realm that humans cultivate themselves, Qi Realm Ghost Servants are certainly much weaker, and they can even be held back by Form Realm Martial Artists, but there are just too many of them.

Besides the Qi Realm, Pseudo-Mysterious Grade and even Mysterious Grade Ghost Servants were appearing in large numbers.

Every time they appeared, it was a scene of chaos.

The Holy Children rushed about, and the Xuanwu Emperor and Xuan Nu Niang Niang descended everywhere.

So, for the past half year, Song Cheng had also been extremely busy.

Although he did not go to distant places, he truly and solidly suppressed the Great Shang.

If not for him, just this one wave alone, the number of dead around the Yunhe would likely have been at least in the millions.

The terrifying Ghost Tide finally subsided after lasting for half a year.

However, although the Ghost Tide stopped, the anomalies around the Yunhe continued.

Even in villages and towns that were not affected by the Ghost Tide at the time, strange things began to happen frequently.

For instance, "someone saw their mother who had been dead for many years stepping through the moonlight in the middle of the night, standing outside the door knocking," "others saw a group of bandits covered in blood and struck by blades and spears fleeing in the moonlight," "and others saw a beauty in white gauze dancing under an old tree while walking at night; her back was extremely beautiful, but when they got closer, the beauty suddenly turned her head, only to see a skull in front of her dense, black hair"... and if one went deep into the areas originally affected by the Ghost Tide, it was no longer just strange things, but all kinds of "ominous events."

Sudden deaths, mental abnormalities, and sudden dementia and madness became the norm... the imperial court withdrew the laborers originally at the Yunhe and set up "forbidden zones" along the river.

But no one knew where the news started spreading that "although the surroundings of the Yunhe are dangerous, there are many treasures," and many people began to risk entering the forbidden zones; if they were lucky enough to dig up some small gems, they would really become wealthy... "Five Elements Crystal, Sun Nine-Pattern Gold, Taiyin Smoke Pattern Jade, these have all begun to appear in the world," Su Mengzhen said, wearing a snow-white summer dress, not revealing a single extra part of her body, appearing extremely dignified.

"This is too fast."

Su Ningyu was breastfeeding, but she subconsciously took over her sister's words, "I remember when these crystals appeared on the Qingque Continent, everything started to get worse."

"Very, very bad."

She seemed to have fallen into memories; those memories were filled with death, destruction, and evil.

Su Mengzhen did not say anything either.

Why it was fast, both sisters actually knew.

As those who shared Song Cheng's bed, they were both clear about the true function of the "Yunhe."

Now, it is merely accelerating the original process.

And the "Four Fierce Lands" that Song Cheng often spoke of may be about to form, or perhaps have already completely formed.

The two women chatted and laughed as they continued their conversation, but neither of them had much panic in their tone.

Even though Su Ningyu recalled the destruction of Qingque Continent, and even though Su Mengzhen recalled the ten-dead-no-life escape route of her chaotic journey, they were no longer panicked.

Because the sense of security that man gave was simply too sufficient.

He was like a giant protective umbrella, shielding the space above their heads, and also shielding this territory.

As long as he is there, the sky cannot collapse.

The quiet door was standing open, the sunlight outside was not intense, and the cicadas had not yet begun to chirp this year. Suddenly, a dark-robed figure hurried in from outside. Song Cheng was pondering the various news coming from the Yunhe, and by the time he reached Xiao Yu'er's bedside, he had made up his mind: everything should be done early rather than late; how many things in this world often turn into big problems because they are dragged out.

"Xiao Yu'er, Sister Su, I want to go to the Yunhe to take a look. Perhaps the Four Fierce Lands have already formed, and perhaps the opportunity for my breakthrough has arrived."

In fact, whether it was the "Buddha" realm described in the "Sun Phase Buddha Sutra" of the Jiangnan Xiao Family, or the "Separating Fire Kunpeng Skill" of the Yu Prefecture Zhao Family, the "Azure Dragon Transformation Art" of the East Sea Qi Family, or the "Wonderful Brush Book" of the Fengzhou Cui Family's cultivation method, none of them accurately recorded a "Mysterious Grade Jiappin" cultivation method.

Even for powerhouses like the Saint Heaven Buddha, Ji Tianzi, Yan Muyi, and the Demon-Subduing True Person who possessed and reincarnated from Qingque Continent, the highest level they reached in their past lives was only "Mysterious Grade Jiappin".

However, absolutely no one could have such a solid foundation as Song Cheng, having pushed several cultivation methods to Completion simultaneously, and harboring several souls within his body.

He believed that the "Four Fierce Lands" would give him the answer.

What's more, this "Four Fierce Lands" was headed by the "Drowned Ghost", which made it even safer.

"Then go," Su Ningyu said, "there is no need to worry about the child."

Song Cheng was silent for a while.

In fact, he had already had this kind of silence many times.

He first went to Tong Niangzi's place, then to An Jie's place, and those two places were met with the same silence.

Su Mengzhen said: "The Reappearance Tribulation alone can take a year; who knows how many years this Four Fierce Lands will take."

"Then go," Su Ningyu said again, looking at the baby girl in her arms with a mother's smile.

A child can truly make a young girl grow up quickly.

At this moment, her appearance had not changed, but her heart had.

Song Cheng looked at Xiao Mo'er, leaned over, gently pressed against her cheek, then lowered his eyes to calm himself for a moment, pursed his lips, and smiled again: "If that Flat Peach is indeed birthed by a powerhouse, one day, I will also be able to birth one... By then, I want you all to have a lifespan as long as the heavens."

The Su sisters covered their mouths and laughed.

Su Ningyu said: "Then Xiao Mo'er and I will both wait for you."

Song Cheng nodded, then turned and walked away.

He had to go, he had to become stronger.

Several days later, Donghai Zhou, by the banks of the Yunhe.

Song Cheng arrived with long strides; he could feel the distortion in the air, and he could feel the chaos in everything.

Ghost servants were everywhere, walking and killing by instinct.

Song Cheng casually dealt with the ghost servants that approached him and muttered: "Body Fierce."

Walking a few more steps, he felt gusts of wind blowing past. Those winds were filled with strange and abnormal power; on the surface, they were just blowing his hair and dark robe, but in reality, they were already blowing against his soul.

This was only because Song Cheng was fine; if it were an ordinary person, even a Qi Realm Martial Artist, their soul would be shaken by this wind, leading to a serious illness at best, or having their soul blown out of their body and dying at worst.

"Soul Fierce."

The daylight passed, and night arrived.

The strange aura in the air became even more intense.

Before Song Cheng's eyes, phantom scenes like smoke and clouds flickered: dancing skeletons wrapped in neon garments, piles of ten thousand corpses suddenly opening their eyes, raging flames, noisy human voices, vicious curses, and so on.

A faint sense of drowsiness struck.

Song Cheng just rubbed his forehead and dispersed it all. But if it were anyone else, they would have fallen asleep long ago, then died miserably in their dreams, or become foolish and insane... "Dream Fierce."

Song Cheng confirmed this environment.

He also understood that the "terrifying consequences" brought by the "fusion of eight ghosts" had already begun to take shape.

However, he waited for a night but did not feel the "Domain Fierce"... Clearly, the "Four Fierce Lands" were in the process of forming but had not yet completely settled.

Song Cheng tried to visualize, but in this area, after he ascended to the top of the Nine-Layer Nether Tower, he only saw a vast chaos outside... The land of "Soul Fierce" had already sealed off "visualization".

Song Cheng settled his mind and sat cross-legged, sometimes contemplating the "Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art", sometimes circulating the "Sun Phase Buddha Sutra", and at other times the "Separating Fire Kunpeng Skill", the "Azure Dragon Transformation Art", the "Wonderful Brush Book", and even the speculative parts of the "Nine-Tail Spirit Fox Sutra"... He was trying every possibility to make himself touch this "Four Fierce Lands".

This was a land that had completely lost the concept of time.

Fortunately, at least in Song Cheng's perception, it wasn't long before the "Domain Fierce" arrived.

Perhaps it was because he had been sitting still for too long.

One day, he opened his eyes, but what met his gaze was no longer the gray, misty riverbank, nor the phantom dreams that swept by like ghostly fog, but real changes.

He had returned to Tanghe Village.

The village was still at twilight, the bloody clouds were the flames rising in the distance... He was in the house, feeling the curses outside the door and the rapid knocking.

He was put into a pig cage by the villagers and thrown into the river.

Just as he entered the river, everything changed, and he was lying in a pile of firewood in a deep pit.

The flames ignited, and it changed again; he was dead, a skeleton that had rotted for a hundred years, buried deep in a tomb of death... "Drowned Ghost, Ghost Hair, Burned Ghost, Ghost Hand, Bone Ghost, Ghost Grave, Sword Ghost, Hanged Ghost"—the Reappearance Tribulation of these eight ghosts was completely mixed together, as if a person were constantly switching and changing within "eight parts of a plot".

No matter how strong a person is, their spirit would collapse because of this.

Song Cheng resisted with all his might.

I do not know how much time passed, but on his panel, a line finally appeared: "《Sun Phase Buddha Sutra》(Mysterious Grade Jiappin) Buddha (Not Yet Initiated (0/256))".

Scanning his points again, there were actually 32,019 points, more than 25,000 points more than when he entered this place.

Song Cheng felt dejected; he just made a rough calculation and knew that about ten years had passed outside.

"Max it out."

Without any hesitation.

Points dropped crazily, while the cultivation progress of the Sun Phase Buddha Sutra rose rapidly.

After deducting "7680 points," both the cultivation method and combat techniques of the Sun Phase Buddha Sutra reached Completion directly.

Perhaps the improvement of this cultivation method played some kind of promotional role; the parts of the other cultivation methods that were previously unknown were now fully understood, and all sorts of doubts were answered.

Before long, the four cultivation methods—Separating Fire Kunpeng Skill, Azure Dragon Transformation Art, and Wonderful Brush Book—also reached Completion at the "Mysterious Grade Jiappin" level.

And Song Cheng's points changed from "32019" to "1299."

On the panel, his realm also became "Mysterious Grade Jiappin," and his strength data increased from the original "2809~6143" to "3869~8263."

This already exceeded the strongest data seen back then on Jilei Mountain—3810~6170 (7620).

Song Cheng stood up quickly.

The "Four Fiends Domain" here was already nothing to him.

When a Ghost appeared, he just exhaled casually, and any Ghost that came into view would be blown to death by this breath, turning directly into powder. When night arrived, those smoky illusions seemed to be suppressed by some terrifying power and could no longer appear.

As for the chaotic "Chongxian," now, as long as he was unwilling, it could no longer pull him into it.

Song Cheng could not care about testing and hurried on his way, returning to the Imperial Capital.

Halfway there.

Asking about the time slightly, it had indeed been over ten years.

"Ten years" caused a bit of inexplicable pain in Song Cheng's heart.

In these ten years, he had left his wife and daughter behind; when he last saw her, Xiao Mo'er was still a baby girl, and now he did not know how she was. A Ting and Song An were in a foreign land, and he did not know how they were either.

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt a visualization.

In fact, ever since he went out, he had felt many, many visualizations.

But this one visualization made him feel exceptionally close and familiar; listening slightly, he actually heard Song An's voice.

"I invite the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

"I invite the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

"I invite the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

Song An repeated it incessantly, his voice weak and carrying a certain resentment.

But the resentment was not directed at the Xuanwu Emperor; clearly, he had encountered some kind of dead end where he had no choice but to summon the Xuanwu Emperor.

Song Cheng did not hesitate, casually found a place, sat cross-legged, and immediately sent his Soul out of his body, following the visualization channel toward Song An, who was somewhere unknown. Actually, hearing Song An's voice, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After all, when he had just left that Four Fiends land, he was still a bit worried that his son in the foreign domain might have already died in battle.

Now, Song An's prayer was, to him, no different from reporting that he was safe.

Song Cheng felt that no matter what the danger was, he had to help his son resolve it, because he was his son's greatest backing.

The familiar feeling came again: although I don't know where I am about to go, I know... I am going to slaughter them all. Speaking of Song An and A Ting on this side.

Ten years ago, A Ting dug through ruins all the way and made little animals all the way; as time passed, she rolled out a powerful army.

And Song An, outside that Hebei Kingdom, had originally succeeded in establishing diplomatic relations, but as he went deeper, he encountered a barbaric and unreasonable ruler. The contradictions between the two sides deepened, and a great war began. However, Song An was incomparably brave and won every battle.

Zhao Hua was not a pushover either; a support force was sent from the rear.

However, these Western countries were like one side finishing their act and another taking the stage; the roots were extremely deep, and Zhao Hua eventually faced the Wanling Empire.

The Wanling Empire, fighting on its home turf, was extremely powerful because the Prayer Spirit Masters could unleash all kinds of magical powers. Those powers made Song An feel like he was "punching cotton"; no matter where he went, he would be attacked and harassed. And some powerful beings among the Prayer Spirit Masters were even devouring the Great Shang army.

Fortunately, A Ting appeared.

The siblings joined forces and forcibly fought the battlefield to a draw.

Afterward, the two countries signed a peace agreement and even engaged in a political marriage.

After the Wanling Empire learned of A Ting's identity, they wanted the Imperial Prince to marry A Ting, but they were decisively refused, and subsequently, they could only let the Imperial Princess marry Song An.

Such peace lasted for several years.

However, when the Wanling Empire repelled the Molten Empire, they acted perfidiously, directly tore up all contracts with Great Shang, and dispatched the strongest batch of Prayer Spirit Masters in the country to plunder A Ting.

Song An, still in the West, saw that his eldest sister was in trouble and hurriedly led his troops to support her. The two sides fought battle after battle, and now they were having a decisive battle in a place called "Hanting Valley."

The result of the decisive battle was a pyrrhic victory.

Twenty-three Great Prayer Spirit Masters of the Wanling Empire died. These Great Prayer Spirit Masters might not be as good as ordinary Martial Artists when fighting abroad, but on their home turf, they were all powers at the level of "Clan Heads."

As for the Great Shang side, the fifty-thousand-strong army that had originally gone west now only had two thousand left, and half of A Ting's animal legion had also died, with the rest scattered everywhere. It was supposed to be settled, but just at this moment, another extremely terrifying aura rose from the earth. It was an aura full of hostility. The aura enveloped the two thousand remnants, as well as the blood-bathed Song An and A Ting, who was surrounded by her partners and looked weak.

The Wanling Empire was clearly determined to win. The Great Prayer Spirit Masters, as the peak power, were actually only the first layer. After being defeated at this layer, even stronger existences walked out from the shadows.

Song An was truly helpless and could only take out the portrait of the "Xuanwu Emperor" and begin to visualize with all his might.

His father had told him at the time that he could do this in a crisis.

But the whole world knew that the "Xuanwu Emperor" and even the "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" had all gone to who knows where; even the "Xuanwu Temple Holy Child" and "Xuan Nu Palace Young Boy" could not get a response from the two great beings.

But he really had no other way.

Looking at A Ting, whose face was like gold paper, and looking at the remnants in front, Song An gripped the scroll with trembling hands and prayed sentence after sentence: "I invite the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

"I invite the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

"Kill!"

Song An's personal guards erupted with a roar, commanding a cavalry of only a hundred men to charge forward.

The target of these hundred men's charge was just one man.

That man was not very old, wore an unknown Xuanhua, and had a tall and straight figure, moving forward with a vigorous posture. He was muttering words in his mouth, as if praying to some great being, borrowing divine power. And upon seeing the charging cavalry, he was not in the slightest bit flustered.

"Be careful!"

Although Song An's personal guards were sprinting, they warned their comrades beside them.

Although this army was a remnant force, it was indeed a remnant of a victorious army, having experienced who knows how many trials, plus the aura of "a defeated army is sure to win, a trapped beast fights" at this moment.

Even if there were only a hundred of them, they actually formed a formation, turning into a sharp spear, and fiercely stabbed toward the man in the Xuanhua.

When they got close, the personal guard erupted with another roar.

"Kill."

But the roar lasted for only a single sound before it came to an abrupt halt.

A wind blew from afar, yet this charging cavalry felt a bone-chilling cold; it was the cold of a Soul being stripped away from its body.

No matter how scalding a hot-blooded body might be, it could not retain its original Soul.

Boom!!

Boom, boom, boom!!

Before the cavalry and their horses could even reach the man in the Xuanhua, they completely collapsed, men and horses toppling over, each one dying in a bizarre fashion.

"I summon the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

"I summon the Xuanwu Emperor to descend!"

Song An's eyes turned red.

A Ting weakly raised her hand to beckon, yet there was not a single living creature left here.

The man in the Xuanhua opposite them was too invincible; he was an enemy they had never encountered before.

Both his strength and speed had already surpassed their level.

The man in the Xuanhua watched Song An with great interest, possessing a sense of leisure like a cat playing with a mouse, while simultaneously laughing and saying in somewhat clumsy Great Shang language: "The kind of god you worship, I have killed many on the Molten Battlefield."

(End of this chapter)