Chapter 332

Before the Wanshi Mountains, chaos was about to erupt.

Hundreds of Elders from the three immortal sects soared into the sky, their colliding immortal light weaving into a vast sea of radiance that crashed forward.

Scorching heavenly fire and boundless lightning instantly whipped up a furious gale, darkening the skies and churning the clouds.

Among the forests and hills, countless corrupted demon beasts surged forward, slashing their claws—first extending like razor-thin lines tearing through space, then slamming upright before the cliffs, crashing into the immortal sect Elders with a thunderous boom.

The six immortal sects had intended to encircle the enemy, but during the encirclement, they realized they had underestimated their foes and redirected to regroup.

Yet the location they chose to regroup was, in fact, already part of the campaign plan.

The seven ruins now opened, viewed from east to west, largely lay along a single band-like line.

The six immortal sects had gathered here precisely to push westward across this band, tear it open, and seize control of the seven ruins amid the tide of corpses.

But such a plan could not possibly escape notice—those ancient clans hiding within the ruins to sow chaos would need only a moment's thought to discern their intent, so the immortal sects' disciples encountering fierce resistance here was hardly surprising.

"I've never seen the ruins' locations on a map before—I had no idea they were arranged like this."

"It's the layout of the Yizu imperial tombs."

"?"

On the northern flank of the Wanshi Mountains, the Tian Shu Academy was advancing over the peaks.

There, Ji You held the map given by Qin Rong, studied it for a long while, and gained a clearer understanding of the spatial relationships between the ruins.

This evenly spaced, interconnected distribution was clearly no accident—and his intuition proved correct.

"The Yizu imperial palace was built between Qingzhou and Liangzhou, radiating outward to surround the five surrounding provinces."

"The largest of these ruins are in fact the Yizu imperial tombs, constructed during the time when the Yizu still ruled over the myriad clans, each one mutually reinforcing the others to suppress the five central provinces."

"After the Ancient War, when the Yizu's power collapsed, their dying nobles fled into these tombs—and thus came the ruins we see today."

Ji You turned to Qin Rong: "What about the smaller ones?"

Qin Rong swept his hand, summoning lightning to strike a charging demonic seed: "Those are the graves of the Yizu commoners. After the war ended, many human factions showed great interest in these tombs. The ruin remnants you saw in Qingyun were those forcibly breached by external forces—only the imperial tombs have remained inaccessible for a thousand years."

"So what they're doing is grave-robbing."

"You could say that."

As they spoke, the Tian Shu Academy came into view of the Wanshi Mountains—suddenly, the sky shattered in all directions, sandstorms swirling wildly.

Collapsed mountain peaks hung upside down; the earth was riddled with deep gashes and craters carved by violent energy blasts, causing the surrounding peaks to tremble and moan.

At this moment, the surging tide of corpses, like a prison, roared fiercely as it tightened its grip around the mountains.

Leading the tide were still those terrifyingly powerful death servants—and their numbers were greater than during the earlier ambush.

As the massive tide bore down, every clan member and disciple within the mountains felt an overwhelming pressure, forcing them to pour every ounce of strength into holding the corpses back.

For a time, sword qi and blade glimmers flashed incessantly.

But demonic seeds, being fearless and possessing hardened bodies, never dodged—when the front row fell, the rear immediately stepped over their remains and charged forward again.

In mere moments, countless immortal sect disciples were pushed back step by step in the chaotic clashes.

Then, a massive bronze cauldron with thick handles and four folded legs roared toward them, its overwhelming aura making every heart tremble.

The cauldron appeared as if cast whole, seamless on all sides, with raised flanges along its four corners, upper and lower rims, and legs—its form colossal, majestic, and solemn.

Around its body were engraved intricate divine patterns, through which flowed boundless immortal light, surging like tidal waves.

With a thunderous crash, the bronze cauldron slammed into the massive corpse tide, its fierce aura instantly grinding the front ranks of demonic seeds into a cloud of black ash.

A man with sharp eyebrows and starlike eyes descended from the sky, extending his hand to catch the colossal cauldron, standing proudly aloft—drawing wide-eyed stares from all.

He was Shang Xiyao, the direct disciple and holy son of the Wen Dao Sect, and the bronze cauldron in his hand was a replica of the Wen Dao Sect's sacred teaching cauldron.

Though a replica, it had been passed down through generations, nurtured for years by the sacred artifact's primordial essence, used by past abbots in their youth—its power far beyond ordinary.

One strike of the cauldron instantly shattered more than half the western corpse tide.

Yet Shang Xiyao showed no sign of fatigue, remaining coldly suspended in midair, his powerful aura roaring through the heavens.

The collapse of the western tide instantly relieved the pressure on the Ling Jian Mountain disciples beside the Wen Dao Sect—countless sword qis slashed upward, cleaving the azure heavens, causing the surrounding corpse tide to shudder violently.

On the other side, Huo Xingzhong, the holy son of the Shanhai Pavilion, leapt into the air, raising an eight-faceted heavenly bell that tore through the corpse tide with a thunderous crash.

Meanwhile, Chen Luo of the Chen Immortal Clan, aided by his elder sister Chen Xi, summoned a white jade Dao stele, its grand immortal intent slicing through the encirclement with overwhelming force.

"Brother Shang."

"Brother Huo, long time no see. How have you been?"

Huo Xingzhong, holding the heavenly bell, looked at him: "Didn't we just meet at the Youxian Gathering? How can you say 'long time'?"

Shang Xiyao raised an eyebrow with a faint smile: "I've been in seclusion for years—every time I see someone, I say that. It just slipped out naturally."

The Chen siblings also arrived, holding the white jade Dao stele, nodding to them—each gesture and movement radiated supreme immortal grace.

Witnessing this, many immortal sect disciples and clan heirs felt their hearts pound wildly, wishing desperately they could be among them, sharing even a nod at this moment.

Then the four advanced together, leading the disciples of the major immortal sects to cut straight through the corpse tide.

The bronze immortal cauldron struck several times, its immortal light like divine punishment—each impact obliterated entire ranks, its overwhelming assault descending like mountains crushing down, preventing the shattered corpse tide from regrouping.

"No wonder he's the Wen Dao Sect's holy son—his power rivals heaven, his bearing peerless."

"You've never seen him before?"

"I only knew he was particularly fond of our Mirror Master—thought he'd become our Ling Jian Mountain's son-in-law someday. Never met him in person, but now I see—he's truly a perfect match…"

Amid the collapsing corpse tide, Ling Jian Mountain disciples watched from afar, unconsciously beginning to murmur among themselves.

Their own sect was already not far from the Wen Dao Sect, and over the years, exchanges had been frequent—so for some Ling Jian Mountain disciples, the Wen Dao Sect wasn't truly foreign.

Especially since the peak master of Xuan Jian Peak had actively encouraged these ties—many Ling Jian Mountain disciples had even formed marital alliances with the Wen Dao Sect, growing intimately close.

Even Ding Yao, the Mirror Master's personal maid, had once been a staunch supporter of the marriage alliance between Ling Jian Mountain and Wen Dao Sect.

Yet now, hearing her fellow disciples lavish praise on Shang Xiyao as if he were already one of their own, Ding Yao fell silent.

You're still thinking about marriage alliances—the Mirror Master is already thinking about having babies.

Also silent were some of Ling Jian Mountain's core disciples.

While marital alliances in Qingyun's world emphasized social parity, the Mirror Master has always despised outside sects meddling in Ling Jian Mountain affairs—if she truly chose a son-in-law, she might not even pick from among the direct disciples.

More crucially, they had participated in the siege against the Bu family on Dongping Mountain, seen the Mirror Master take Ji You away, and heard her say "family matter"—they knew the complexity involved.

Sometimes, thoughts are summoned by mention—just as the direct disciples shattered the corpse tide, the three immortal sects soon spotted a group of white-robed figures landing swiftly.

Their immortal robes bore embroidered patterns of books, their fabric's subtle texture matching the design—clearly, the Tian Shu Academy.

After gazing for a long while, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes suddenly fixed, as if finding their anchor, their tension easing.

In times of chaos, the immortal sects feared most internal instability—spiritual symbols like their Mirror Master needed to remain at Ling Jian Mountain to hold the sect together, and thus had not joined the campaign.

Without their core, and having witnessed too much death along the way, they had been anxious and uneasy—until they saw another pillar of stability, and finally felt at ease.

"They've arrived…"

After traveling thousands of miles, enduring constant battles, the Tian Shu Academy disciples sighed in relief upon seeing the other immortal sect members.

Even Zhengxin Immortal and Yangshu Immortal Master relaxed slightly, their weary shoulders sagging involuntarily.

Ji You walked ahead, watching the corrupted beings battling the Elders amid the shattering sky—his gaze grew grave: "We're temporarily safe, but we must recover our energy quickly—we're not here to watch a show. We're here to push in."

The battle ahead continued; countless Elders were still locked in combat with the corrupted beings. All they could do was restore themselves to peak condition, waiting for the immortal sect's masters to tear open the front line before charging in.

In fact, the disciples of other immortal sects were also desperately drawing in spiritual energy from heaven and earth, filling their spiritual cores.

"Let's go west—quieter, and the view is open."

Cao Jingsong pointed to one side of the ridge, untouched by the furious battle.

Ji You nodded and followed them.

The Lu sisters swept away the sand with gentle winds; as they sat, both unconsciously rubbed their backsides, expressions tinged with hesitation.