Chapter 27

Houtu City.

A hummingbird flapped its wings, dodging everyone’s sight as it flew nimbly toward Daoist Yiyue’s shop.

The hummingbird squeezed into the shop, its black-bean eyes swiveling this way and that. It flew to a hidden corner and used its long beak to drag out a wooden person about the same size as itself. The hummingbird seized the wooden person in its claws and took off with all its might. The weight was apparently beyond its expectations, and the whole bird lurched crookedly into the wall. It shook its head, made sure its claws had a firm grip on the wooden person, fixed on a direction, and laboriously flew toward the City Lord’s Manor.

The City Lord’s Manor had already become a field of ruins.

The city lord’s wife, who had escaped death by a hair, found a place to settle the unconscious Yuan Shuo. Thirty-two Houtu City strongmen, each more than two meters tall, formed an array under her command. They cultivated the same system and had the same spirit root. They had been preparing every moment for this very day.

Daoist Yichen, Daoist Yiwen, Tanlang, and Pojun, the four elders, took up separate positions in the air, firmly stabilizing the seal.

Daoist Yiyue’s heavy sword stood in front, transforming into a massive barrier that continuously supplied energy support to Houtu City.

The black qi finally stopped spreading for the time being and began locking in stalemate with the golden array, neither side yielding.

One Houtu City strongman exhausted his strength, and the next immediately stepped in, striving to hold the black qi down.

The city lord’s wife wiped the dust from her face, her expression ugly. “If they break through the seal…”

A Sword Sect elder’s bonded spiritual sword had a corner corroded away. Sword cultivators and their swords were linked by fate, and the unique corrosiveness of demonic qi had left the Sword Sect elder badly injured. He clutched his chest and coughed twice. “Is there no other way?”

The city lord’s wife stared at the array without blinking and said, “Once the gate to the Demon Realm opens, no one can close it.”

This was the demons’ innate gift. Their demonic qi was naturally corrosive, and its offensive power was astonishing.

Houtu City’s seal had been laid down several thousand years ago by someone at the Great Ascension perfection stage, only one step away from ascension. In today’s cultivation world, there was simply no cultivator with such powerful cultivation who could redraw the array!

Unless the demons willingly closed the gate to the Demon Realm themselves.

But if the demons had been willing to stay properly in the Demon Realm, why would they have spent so much effort lying dormant for several thousand years, only to forcefully break through the array’s shackles today?

Another Houtu City strongman fell, and there was no one left behind him to rotate in.

The city lord’s wife stepped forward, preparing to personally fill the gap.

A hummingbird flew over crookedly, passing over the crowd and stopping above the City Lord’s Manor.

“That is…” Daoist Yichen narrowed his eyes and recognized this little bird as the one that had constantly circled Divine Creation Sect’s defensive grand array. “Bupo’s hummingbird?”

The hummingbird released its claws, and a little wooden person fell from high above. As expected, it was completely eroded away by the demonic qi.

Yet in the next instant, a rune suddenly unfurled!

Buzz.

When the golden rune first opened, it was so dazzling that it could not be looked at directly. Its strokes were intricate, as though carrying ancient pressure from time immemorial, and it descended heavily.

A miracle occurred. The rune fused with the seal, and the demonic qi seemed to sense some natural enemy. It fell silent, not daring to move wildly. The black qi slowly retreated underground, and in just an instant, it was actually completely suppressed.

Daoist Yichen freed one hand to form a hand seal and grabbed the hummingbird that wanted to sneak away. He looked straight into the hummingbird’s eyes and said, word by word, “Little Bupo, listen to Master this once. Stay properly in Medical Valley.”

“…Stay properly in Medical Valley.”

Lu Yan, of course, could hear those words. During his two days in Houtu City, he had observed the seal. In a last-minute effort, he had drawn a rune containing a trace of the law he had observed from the Heavenly Dao. It could only solve the immediate crisis. If Yuan Chi could not rush back in time, the seal would still shatter.

A Nascent Soul lightning tribulation had twenty-seven bolts in total. Lu Yan had endured twenty-five of them. Only the final two remained, and he needed to use their power to shatter his core and form his Nascent Soul.

Meng Ke, watching from the side, was stunned. “…Twenty-five bolts of tribulation lightning, and not a single one struck Junior Brother Bupo?”

Duan Tongfeng shook his head in disapproval. “Heterodox trickery.”

Yes. Not a single one had struck him.

Lu Yan was not stupid. For a Golden Core to forcibly withstand Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation was clearly seeking death. Lu Yan had plenty of good lightning-avoidance items on hand. Just the substitute puppets alone had been blasted apart, more than twenty of them, leaving Lu Yan surrounded by shattered puppet bodies. Two technically immature lightning rods had also snapped.

He could not dodge the final two.

Lu Yan sat down where he was, closed his eyes, and welcomed the lightning tribulation.

The lightning tinged with faint purple plunged downward at high speed, completely enveloping Lu Yan within it.

And that was not the end. The final bolt of Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation gave Lu Yan no chance to catch his breath at all. It followed immediately, crashing down with a roar.

Lu Yan only felt the lightning surging backward through his meridians. The berserk power almost burst his fragile human body apart. His internal organs let out agonized cries, and his skin seemed to split open inch by inch into tiny wounds. His dantian was like a tornado, desperately absorbing the power from the lightning tribulation. The small Golden Core shattered and healed again under the impact of that power. Lu Yan forcefully swallowed a mouthful of blood that had risen to his throat, gritted his teeth, and circulated his cultivation method. The golden light belonging to the Heavenly Dao firmly protected Lu Yan’s vital points and meridians, surging together toward the position of his dantian.

Crack.

It was as if that crisp sound rang through his divine sense. The round Golden Core vanished, replaced by a small Nascent Soul with complete limbs. Its appearance was identical to Lu Yan’s, and it was quietly sleeping inside his dantian.

The core had shattered, and the Nascent Soul had formed!

The black clouds in the sky dispersed unwillingly. The lingering might of the lightning tribulation slowly withdrew. Spiritual energy cheered and leaped, wantonly circling around Lu Yan and smoothing over the wounds caused by the tribulation.

Huaisheng had lived for several hundred years and had never seen such a sight.

All twenty-seven bolts of a Nascent Soul tribulation were Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation. It was unprecedented and unrepeatable. Even more shocking was that the tribulation-taker had actually dodged the first twenty-five bolts and successfully shattered his core to form a Nascent Soul with only the final two.

A sixteen-year-old Nascent Soul. Even if one went back several thousand years to the cultivation world’s most flourishing age, there had never been a sixteen-year-old Nascent Soul!

Lu Yan bathed in the post-tribulation flow of spiritual energy. The pain faded from his whole body, leaving only warmth behind. The tiny wounds on his skin could no longer be seen under the powerful self-healing ability of the Nascent Soul stage. His meridians and dantian, tormented by Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation, were directly purged of its lingering might under the Heavenly Dao’s protection. His meridians grew even tougher, and even his physique became purer.

Meng Ke’s heart, which had been beating faster ever since he learned Lu Yan was about to undergo tribulation, finally calmed down. Experiencing something like this on his first day as valley master was truly memorable. A bottle of Rejuvenation pills appeared in Meng Ke’s hand, ready to be given to Lu Yan for healing after he woke. At the same time, he sighed. “As expected of Junior Brother Bupo.”

It seemed only natural for any world-shaking event to happen to Junior Brother Bupo.

Duan Tongfeng gave a cold snort, once again firming up his own view. “He even dodged the lightning tribulation. His foundation is unstable. Heterodox trickery.”

Imitating Duan Tongfeng’s tone, Meng Ke retorted, “Fellow Daoist Duan, be careful your Dao heart does not become unstable. Your path may be worrying.”

Now Meng Ke was already the master of Medical Valley, naturally a head above Duan Tongfeng. In Meng Ke’s view, Junior Brother Bupo, who had taken two bolts of Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation and successfully shattered his core to form a Nascent Soul, was without question a heavenly genius. Just how far had the Sword Sect fallen? How could just anyone become its chief disciple?

Duan Tongfeng shut his mouth in frustration.

Lu Yan opened his eyes from meditation. His nose twitched, and he smelled blood. The power overflowing from Purple Abyss Lightning Tribulation had split open his skin, and his blood had soaked into his black Daoist robe, making it hard to see clearly. Fortunately, his spiritual power had finished repairing him. It was just that this black Daoist robe could no longer be worn.

He rarely wore the Daoist robe of a personal disciple in the first place. There had finally been a formal occasion where he could wear it, yet it had been soaked in blood. Still, this Daoist robe had completed its mission. When Lu Yan welcomed the final two bolts of lightning tribulation, the defensive runes within the robe had buffered the impact for him.

The feeling of advancing realms could be described as extremely nice. As expected, Golden Core to Nascent Soul was a qualitative change. His divine sense domain was vast. As long as Lu Yan wanted, he could effortlessly carve any array or rune, and he no longer needed to worry about running out of spiritual energy.

It was just that…

Lu Yan summoned a handful of water and washed his face clean. The cool water brought him a trace of clarity.

He would remember this grudge.

Houtu City.

The golden rune brought by the hummingbird did not hold out for long.

The black qi quietly devoured the area where the sealing array and the rune had fused. The array once again teetered on the verge of collapse. Even denser black qi shot into the sky, circling above the City Lord’s Manor in exultation. Gradually, it sketched out a huge outline, the shape of a gate.

“Heavens, what is that?”

Ying Sanliang’s lips had gone pale. Rushing to Houtu City at full speed in such a short time, and with Yuan Chi’s large build on top of that, was too much even for Ying Sanliang, a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Yuan Chi held a platinum-colored Extreme Element Space Ring in his palm. He saw his father unconscious, saw his city’s people step forward one after another to reinforce the array, then fall one after another from exhaustion. In a daze, he seemed to see the gate to the Demon Realm open, and bizarrely shaped demonic creatures spreading their claws and baring their fangs as they cheered for freedom, mercilessly devouring every living being on the earth until the whole Central Continent fell into darkness.

The direct bloodline of Houtu City was naturally close to the earth. Just imagining it was enough to make Yuan Chi’s heart ache unbearably.

Above the City Lord’s Manor, several patterns faintly appeared on the huge outline, as if a gate was taking on physical form.

“After you return to the city, if you see anything unusual around the City Lord’s Manor, do not hesitate…”

Yuan Chi jumped down from the Wenchen Sword and strode toward the City Lord’s Manor. The clothes on his body suddenly burst apart, silver-white lightning twining over him. He clenched the Extreme Element Space Ring in his hand and roared with all his strength, “Houtu City!”

Ying Sanliang withdrew the Wenchen Sword, his pupils flickering. “Damn, this idiot…”

The city lord’s wife abruptly turned around. When she saw Yuan Chi, tears suddenly fell. While making a gesture as if to embrace him, she could not stop herself from screaming, “Who told you to come back? Leave, now!”

A hummingbird stopped on top of Daoist Yichen’s head. Its long beak lifted slightly, and it spoke quickly. “Master, I’m transmitting sound to you remotely. Have everyone withdraw from the City Lord’s Manor immediately. The young city lord will crush the element space shortly. It is full of tribulation lightning!”

Daoist Yichen understood. Tribulation lightning was an extremely bright element and opposed demonic qi. He immediately said, “Everyone, follow my command. Withdraw your strength!”

Elder Tanlang asked in confusion, “Withdraw now?”

Daoist Yichen nodded. “Listen to me. Withdraw first. Madam City Lord, have the Houtu City disciples below evacuate immediately!”

The city lord’s wife knew Elder Yichen might have a solution. She raised her arm with a sweep. “All Houtu City members, retreat ten li!”

“Yes!”

Houtu City’s disciples obeyed orders without hesitation. In only two breaths of time, the central City Lord’s Manor was emptied out.

Without the elders and disciples restraining it, the demonic qi became even more unbridled. Amid its howling, one could even hear cackling laughter.

Yuan Chi hurled the Extreme Element Space toward the demonic qi–spilling outline in midair with all his strength. Then the lightning all over his body transformed into a lightning serpent, accurately striking the surface of the ring.

In the next instant, the Extreme Space Ring shattered into pieces, and the tribulation lightning stored within instantly burst out.

The entire world turned pure white. The falling lightning was deafening, and its pressure spread throughout all of Houtu City. The demonic qi seemed to have met its natural enemy. It scattered with wails, yet no matter what, it could not escape the range of the sealing array.

The Demon Realm gate, whose patterns had already been revealed, shrank back slightly. But just then, another surge of demonic qi so powerful it reached the extreme rippled out from within. The black qi scattered all around seemed to find its backbone and gathered in the gate, fiercely confronting the tribulation lightning.

Lu Yan had changed into a white Daoist robe. Holding a hummingbird in his hand, he sat quietly cross-legged on the back of a Hidden-Edge Crane.

In the ten years He Nian had followed Lu Yan, it had eaten plenty of spiritual medicines and spent every day crunching spirit rice. Though it was only just over five hundred years old, it had cultivation reserves close to a thousand years. Hidden-Edge Cranes were already known for speed, and when He Nian beat its wings with all its might, it was considerably faster than Ying Sanliang.

On the back of the other Hidden-Edge Crane was Huaisheng, the former Medical Valley Master. The little flower on his head had been blown flat and was desperately using its petals and leaves to cling to Huaisheng’s graying hair.

A Hidden-Edge Crane’s feathers could all be used as weapons. They were incomparably sharp, so sitting on one truly could not be called comfortable. It was even a little bumpy.

When Lu Yan first wanted to come to Houtu City, Meng Ke had originally wanted to come along. Huaisheng stopped him. After all, Meng Ke was already Medical Valley’s valley master and needed to remain behind to guard Medical Valley. As the former valley master, Huaisheng probably felt he could finally be willful for once, so with one slap to his backside, he followed Lu Yan over.

From far away, Huaisheng saw the direction of Houtu City, where black and white, two colors and two powers, were locked in a tug-of-war.

Huaisheng naturally recognized the power of tribulation lightning. What shocked him was that the demons could actually fight tribulation lightning to a standstill!

Lu Yan felt something was wrong. “He Nian, can you go any faster?”

He Nian’s bird head nodded. “I’ll try. Little Ancestor, sit tight!”

After all, the Extreme Element Space was only a space, and this space had also been used to wash away spirit roots. Lu Yan was worried that once the tribulation lightning inside the space was used up, there would be nothing left that could stop the gate to the Demon Realm from opening wide.

Lu Yan gently rubbed the hummingbird’s feathers. He did indeed have some trump cards in his hand, but they were still not enough.

He wondered whether Xuncang, over in Luoyan City, would bring him good news.

Luoyan City.

The bookseller rummaged through boxes and cabinets until he found a set of clothes that could barely be considered decent. He held out his hand. “Liang.”

Liang was like an ordinary child. The sharp horn on his forehead was gone, his red pupils had turned black, and no black qi coiled around him. He skipped over cheerfully, took the bookseller’s hand, lifted his head, and called, “Daddy?”

The bookseller held Liang’s small hand and walked from the narrow alley onto the bustling street, heading step by step in the direction of Guanglin Studio. “Liang, Daddy will take you to see Brother Bupo and Sister Luo, all right?”

Liang’s eyes lit up, and he nearly jumped. “Really? Okay!”

The bookseller walked unhurriedly and asked, “If Brother Bupo and Sister Luo start fighting, who will Liang help?”

The child furrowed his brows tightly. “Why would they fight?”

“Daddy is asking just in case.”

Liang clenched one small fist and thought hard for a long time. Then he made up his mind and said, “Sister Luo is really amazing. Could Brother Bupo lose to her? I have a plan! I’ll tell Sister Luo that Brother Bupo saved me and ask them not to fight anymore. If they absolutely have to fight, then I’ll play dirty and hug Sister Luo. That way, they won’t be able to fight!”

With his other free hand, the bookseller rubbed the child’s head and said softly, “Then Liang must be sure to remember.”

“Mhm, mhm. Don’t worry, Daddy. Liang has a really good memory!”

Guanglin Studio.

Xuncang crouched on the stairs with an indescribable expression, grinding his teeth.

Daoist Yizhu was combing the faceless puppet’s hair. Listening to the grinding beside him, he said, “You already delivered Bupo’s message, and I’ve already distributed the pills. You are the mighty wolf king. Why insist on squatting here with me like you’re suffering some great grievance?”

Xuncang continued grinding his teeth.

If Lu Bupo had not needed a favor from him, who would want to stay here?

A Spirit Transformation cultivator who ignored proper business and spent every day combing a puppet’s hair, worshiping the puppet like an ancestor, refusing to let the puppet lift a hand to clean even when Guanglin Studio was as messy as a dog’s den. And this puppet did not even have a face.

Xuncang had lived three thousand years and could be called experienced and immune to all poisons, but even he had never seen such behavior.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from downstairs.

Daoist Yizhu was busy combing hair and did not move at all. He said to Xuncang, “They’re definitely looking for you.”

Xuncang was too lazy to argue with him. With a dark face, he opened Guanglin Studio’s door, only to see one adult and one child standing outside. Xuncang’s wolf nose twitched as if he had smelled something unpleasant, and he could not help sneezing. He asked, “Who are you looking for?”

The bookseller cupped his hands in salute, the corners of his mouth pulling into a wide smile. “We wish to go to Houtu City to find Fellow Daoist Lu Bupo.”

Xuncang could not help sneezing again. “You know Lu Bupo?”

“Well, isn’t this a coincidence?” The bookseller slapped his thigh and said excitedly, “I am Lu Bupo’s old friend, separated from him for over thirty years!”

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