Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 378 Subtle Clues, Shocking Event (Part 2) (5.8K words presented, please support with monthly votes)
"Esteemed nuns, instead of staying in the mountains to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, what treasures have you brought to my Yin Sea?"

A streak of black light flew in from the north, accompanied by a deep, chilling voice.

The black light soared through the air, and before it even reached him, it split into more than a dozen black threads, which flew to the sky above Willow Leaf Island at an even faster speed, and then wrapped around the thin Taoist like silkworms making a cocoon.

"Om-"

At that moment, the four spiritual pearls struck the black silkworm cocoon. The Buddhist light and the demonic light clashed, producing a buzzing sound. The residual energy of the collision rippled outwards, splashing onto the sea and creating towering waves.

"The Buddhist beads left behind by the Dragon Girl are a valuable item, but unfortunately, the descendants are incompetent and unable to unleash the power of this magical treasure."

Another voice came from within the black light, and a beam of spiritual light shot out and struck the black silkworm cocoon. Immediately, the black silkworm cocoon suddenly glowed, then rapidly expanded, sending all four spiritual beads flying.

At this moment, the black light had already arrived beside the thin Taoist and transformed into a human form.

This was an extremely handsome man, his face as radiant as cold jade, his eyebrows like ink-painted distant mountains, and the corners of his eyes naturally holding a hint of lingering crimson. His nose was straight and his lips as thin as blades. At this moment, he wore a mocking expression, the corners of his lips turned up three-tenths, revealing a disdainful attitude.

After he stood still, the silkworm cocoon transformed back into black silk threads, which then clung to his thick, freely flowing hair.

The thin Taoist priest, freed from his predicament, saw Gu Chen by his side and felt greatly relieved. He knelt down in mid-air and shouted.

"Your disciple is incompetent, and has troubled your master to save you!"

Gu Chen helped his disciple up and smiled.
"I don't blame you. Don't look at Hidden Dragon Mountain now that it's declined. Back then, it was extremely powerful. They had six dragon pearls that guarded the mountain. If they were controlled by someone at the fifth level, even I wouldn't dare to test their strength lightly."

"but."

Gu Chen glanced at the four spirit orbs that had just been blasted away and smiled.

"This junior is incompetent, but quite bold, actually bringing four spirit pearls to the sea. If I don't accept them, wouldn't I be letting down the nuns' kindness?"

Having said that, Gu Chen made a hand seal in front of his chest and also summoned a bead. However, this bead was formed from a ball of dark purple light and emitted a strange, foul odor, clearly indicating that it was an extremely filthy and malevolent object.

This bead emitted a dark purple light and actively pursued the Zen spiritual bead.

"Are these the six beads the demon corpse was referring to?"

At this moment, another voice rang out between the sea and the sky; it was the voice of a compassionate old man.

As this sound rang out, two more Buddhist prayer beads flew out from Willow Leaf Island.

It was a crystal-clear, bone-white color, emitting a bright white light like the moon. Beyond this white light, there was a ring of subtle golden rays like the blazing sun, making it truly beautiful.

There was another bead, its body a golden-red, radiating a soft, multicolored Buddhist light that wasn't dazzling. It transformed into wisps of light mist that swirled around the bead. Furthermore, golden flowers and rain of light spontaneously appeared in the surrounding void, making the bead appear exceptionally sacred. This was the very bead that Aunt Hong had stolen, now returned to its rightful owner.

There were six prayer beads in total, radiating Buddhist light, which merged with each other, surrounding Gu Chen in the center, and striking him from all directions.

At this moment, the aura emanating from the six Buddhist beads was completely different from before, seemingly possessing the power to overturn mountains and seas and overturn heaven and earth. Seeing this, the thin Taoist priest couldn't help but tremble with fear. He knew that if the spiritual beads were this powerful, he wouldn't need four; just one would be enough to take his life.

At the same time, he also realized:
The righteous path involves setting up an ambush, but the ambush is not for oneself, but for the Master!
When Gu Chen heard the old man's voice and saw the six Buddhist beads, he instantly understood.
"Real monks, hahaha, so you've come for me after all. But don't you pride yourselves on being righteous? Why are you using juniors as bait and doing such despicable things?"

Gu Chen laughed loudly, then summoned a banner and gently waved it, capturing the entire demonic sect, including the thin Taoist. With another wave, countless ape-bear souls wrapped in the Xuanhuang Qi of the Earth's core flew out.

In addition, he also brought out a magical artifact. This artifact was even more special. The hand-held part was a bamboo pole-shaped object, three feet long, seemingly made of purple jade, and then a long rope was tied to the top. This long rope was made of fine black silk, and the whole thing looked like a sheep-herding whip.

Gu Chen flicked his whip, and the tip struck a flying spirit pearl.

A burst of white light erupted, accompanied by thunderous roars, cracking even the void itself.

"Come out, all of you! You monk Zhenxi, you can't stop me by yourself!"

Gu Chen said proudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man who had spoken earlier appeared and walked out of the void.

The old monk's beard was snow-white, his face was gaunt, his cheekbones were slightly prominent, his eyebrows were sparse, his eye sockets were slightly deep, and his gaze was calm as water, showing no emotion when he looked at people. His nose was straight and thin, and his lips were pale, often slightly closed, showing no sign of joy or anger.

The old monk wore only a simple black robe and a light brown kasaya, with a cloth belt around his waist, and no other adornments.

This man, who looked like a hermit monk practicing asceticism in a small mountain temple, was a formidable opponent that Gu Chen greatly feared. He was none other than the current abbot of Mount Putuo, the leader of the Chan school, a highly respected monk of the Five Realms, Zen Master Zhenxie.

The Zen master brought out a wooden alms bowl, first hiding the nuns from Hidden Dragon Mountain on Willow Leaf Island to prevent them from being affected in the battle. Then, he used six Buddhist beads borrowed from Hidden Dragon Mountain to fight Gu Chen.

Although Hidden Dragon Mountain has declined and is not as prosperous as Mount Putuo, treasures like the Dragon Girl's Six Pearls are rare even in Mount Putuo and throughout the entire Buddhist community. Now that Hidden Dragon Mountain is willing to lend its resources, Zen Master Zhenxie cherishes them greatly, using them to fight enemies while also comprehending the true Buddhist meaning on the pearls.

The Zen master calmly replied,

"With the help of the Buddhist beads, I am content to leave your demonic corpse behind."

Gu Chen laughed loudly upon hearing this.

"Isn't it said that monks don't lie? You old monk, you brag without batting an eye or blushing!"

The Zen master simply smiled and offered no explanation.

The great demon and the eminent monk clashed, their battle causing the seas to churn and the heavens to resound. Both considered the coastline their territory and were unwilling to harm the creatures of the sea or damage the islands, so they fought higher and higher, soaring into the sky.

After exchanging seven or eight blows, the two reached the clouds. Just then, in the midst of the battle, the demon corpse, which had maintained an arrogant and disdainful demeanor since its appearance, suddenly changed its expression.

"Where did this thief come from! Pfft!"

Gu Chen let out a painful curse. His thoughts were connected to the ten thousand demonic eyes on the "Azure Eyes Heavenly Net" beneath the Earthly Yin Island. At this moment, he only saw a dazzling golden light, and then the thought entrusted to the ten thousand eyes lost contact. Immediately afterward, a sudden surge of blood and qi made him spit out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, he also realized that the "Azure Eyes Heavenly Net" was destroyed.

"The Corpse of an Emperor!"

Someone was trying to steal the Emperor's corpse. Gu Chen immediately realized this and tried to escape. The Emperor's corpse was the key link between the Earth Yin Island's grand formation and the earth's veins, sea veins, and the Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner. It absolutely could not be lost! If he lost this one, where would he find another one?

However, even if he wanted to leave, others wouldn't let him go easily. Zen Master Zhenxie channeled his magic power, fully activating the spiritual pearl. The hazy blue transparent pearl emitted a burst of Buddhist light. At this moment, under the impetus of the Five Realms Buddhist power, the pearl froze the entire void, preventing even Gu Chen from escaping.

"With the help of the Buddhist beads, I am content to leave your demonic corpse behind."

The Zen master smiled and repeated what he had just said.

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's face stiffened. He understood that the monk's "stay" did not mean he would die here, but rather that he wanted to delay him! At the same time, he also realized that the monk and nun's ambush of their disciple was not intended to lure the snake out of its hole, but rather to lure the tiger away from the mountain!

"A brilliant plan, indeed a brilliant plan!"

Gu Chen, enraged, laughed and was about to unleash a torrent of curses, but then, a change occurred:

"Rumble--"

A deafening roar came from the north, shaking the sea and mountains. From the air, the entire Diyin Island could be seen shaking violently. Then, giant tsunami waves surged around the island and spread outwards.

Gu Chen stared at the Yin Island, his heart filled with anger and shock. Who was that? How could they act so quickly? His "Azure-Eyed Heavenly Net" and "Nine Heavens Capital Yin Demon" were not so easy to deal with. How could the great formation have broken down so quickly?

A long-forgotten sense of panic welled up in Gu Chen's heart. That was the place he had chosen for achieving Dao! He absolutely could not afford to lose it!

He immediately sent a telepathic message to Wu Lao and Cui Ying, ordering them to quickly reinforce Di Yin Island and retrieve the Emperor's corpse. Furthermore, Di Yin Island was too close to Shenzhou, and the attacks from Putuo Mountain and Juqu Mountain on Di Yin Island had not ceased for a single day. If the great formation were to fail now, the entire Di Yin Island might be in danger of collapse!

After sending a message of rescue, he picked up his whip and approached the Zen master, his face as calm as still water, and said,
"It won't be so easy to keep me, Gu Chen. I wonder if the monk can bear the price!"

The Zen master responded with a smile, showing neither anger nor annoyance.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Thirty breaths ago.

The underground cavern of Diyin Island.

Zhu Shen gazed at Willow Leaf Island from Red Cloud Island and confirmed that Gu Chen had already started fighting with Zen Master Zhenxie.

Without further hesitation, the cicada, its physical form stirred, released a barely perceptible golden glint from its eye. The golden light streaked swiftly through the air, like a fleeting glimpse of a startled swan, leaving a faint golden trail in its wake.

After flying a certain distance, golden light suddenly burst forth, earth-shattering, exploding into a dazzling sun, allowing the yang fire to shine into the dark underground cave for the first time.

"Golden threads and shimmering light!"

Cheng Xinzhan's shout rang out.

Then, the dazzling sun exploded once more, scattering into countless sword threads, each one gleaming with golden light, dazzling and brilliant, each one as straight as a foot and as fine as a hair, resembling beams of intense midday sunlight. He had practiced controlling these tens of thousands of sword threads countless times in his mind and hands during his seventeen years of underground transformation and thirteen years of walking on the surface. And in the past half-month, he had memorized the distribution of the eleven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine demonic eyes of the Azure-Eyed Heavenly Net perfectly.

At this moment, the myriad sword threads seemed to pierce through the Earthly Yin Island like sunlight, reaching underground and shooting onto the Azure Eye Heavenly Net. Each sword thread corresponded to a demonic eye, piercing into 11,999 demonic eyes at the same instant.

"Kakaka-"

A series of crisp sounds rang out. Those emerald-green demonic eyes, as if made of ceramic, cracked and shattered into countless fragments of spiritual light after being struck by the extremely yang sword threads. This rained down a green fragment of light in the cave.

Seeing that the magic weapon had been destroyed, Cheng Xinzhan transformed back into human form, flew down, and headed straight for the altar.

Upon reaching the altar, Cheng Xinzhan opened the body bag at his waist, intending to retrieve the emperor's corpse and place it inside. However, just as the emperor's corpse's back had barely left the altar, as if some mechanism had been activated, a wisp of black mist emerged from the emperor's corpse's back.

Suddenly, a strange change occurred. With a series of ghostly wails and howls, nine ghostly figures appeared out of thin air from the black mist!
These ghostly figures were all skeletons, their white bones gleaming, about the size of a human, with crimson will-o'-the-wisps flickering in their eye sockets, and emerald green hairs growing on their skeletal skulls, swaying like seaweed. The rest of the area was shrouded in thick black smoke, seemingly floating and suspended in mid-air.

Nine skeletal ghostly figures pounced towards Cheng Xinzhan. Cheng Xinzhan had actually guessed that Gu Chen's protection of the Emperor's Corpse wouldn't be limited to just the obvious Azure-Eyed Heavenly Net, so he wasn't too surprised by the sudden appearance of nine skeletal ghostly figures. However, he was still somewhat surprised, because this thing, like the Azure-Eyed Heavenly Net, was something he had never seen or heard of before.

As for dealing with these unknown things, especially those from the Fifth Realm, Cheng Xinzhan had previously considered contingency plans—since he didn't know how to restrain them, he would simply use his strongest available methods to ensure that he could escape danger and leave Diyin Island in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, Cheng Xinzhan continued collecting the Emperor's corpse with the corpse bag without stopping. At the same time, he formed a hand seal, pointed at the approaching Yin Demon, and chanted a mantra.
"burn!"

This time, the "Burning" technique did not unleash the usual golden solar fire, but rather pure white Samadhi fire!

The pure white immortal fire fell on the Yin Demon. Only one or two urgent screams were heard, which stopped abruptly. The nine skeletal ghost shadows were burned to ashes, leaving not a trace of Yin residue.

Cheng Xinzhan breathed a sigh of relief, then leaped into the air, about to escape this place. When he was in mid-air, he looked back and looked down at the altar rooted in the junction of the earth veins and sea veins.

At this moment, the altar was still drawing upon the earth's energy, transforming it into a damp and foul aura. Now that the emperor's corpse was no longer on the altar, this dark demonic energy rose straight up like smoke, flowing directly above the altar into the main banner of the Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner in Gu Chen's sleeping quarters.

This is a demonic altar, an altar of evil and wickedness that uses the spirit of the earth to do sinister things.

If the righteous path cannot conquer the Earthly Yin Island today, Gu Chen will inevitably need to use this altar to refine other evil artifacts in the future. And such a demonic altar, which is intertwined with the earth's veins and sea veins, must have been extremely difficult to build.

Isn't this the perfect opportunity to destroy this altar?

Cheng Xinzhan's eyes flickered. He stopped, immediately formed a lightning seal with his hands, and chanted a secret incantation, saying:
"The God of Thunder commands the Jade Palace with divine might."

Breathe in the wind and rain, and command spirits and gods.

From the highest heavens to the deepest netherworld.

Thunder and lightning struck, and the relocation was strictly enforced.

Acting on behalf of Heaven, punishing evil and carrying out punishments.

He was awe-inspiring and virtuous man who did good deeds and saved the people.

Now I see this evil altar erected, corrupting the virtue of this fertile land. By my command, swiftly unleash thunder! So be it!

It is the She Lei of the Five Thunder Techniques, which is mainly used to kill ancient artifact spirits and destroy altars and temples!

"Crack!"

As the words were spoken, thunder arose out of nowhere in this underground cavern, its roar echoing, before striking the altar with deafening force.

"boom!"

Dust and smoke billowed, rocks flew everywhere, and the earth shook.

After casting the spell, Cheng Xinzhan did not linger to examine it closely. He immediately flew away, and when he touched the ground, he cast the "Hidden Wind Corpse Cicada Curse" again, transforming into a gust of yin wind that rapidly traveled underground.

At this moment, the eerie light barrier emanating from the Azure-Eyed Heavenly Net was no longer present underground, and he no longer needed to transform into a cicada to evade surveillance. He simply used wind escape to speed through the crevices in the soil.

Moreover, whether it was just his imagination or not, Cheng Xinzhan felt that he was moving exceptionally fast through the soil this time, as if he were a fish in water. Could it be that the Demon Altar had been destroyed, and the earth possessed a spirit, making this land particularly fond of him?

While he was pondering, Cheng Xinzhan suddenly sensed a strong aura of Ding fire also traveling through the earth at great speed, but in the opposite direction to his own; that aura of Ding fire was heading downwards.

He immediately activated his Azure Eyes and looked through the soil and stones.

"Red Corpse!"

Cheng Xinzhan recognized the person who had arrived and thought to himself, "They've come so fast!"

With just a fleeting glance, Cheng Xinzhan averted his gaze and fled with all his might.

They quickly reached the ground, where the Earthly Yin Island was in complete chaos. By this time, the altar that served as the core of the formation, connecting the Profound Yin Beast Gathering Banner to the earth veins, had been destroyed, and the Emperor's corpse had been taken away. The power of the island's protective formation was far less than before, and the black and yellow ghostly mist had thinned considerably.

Through the ghostly mist, Cheng Xinzhan could see that the righteous experts, who had received advance warning, had arrived and were bombarding the great formation. Among them, the most conspicuous was naturally the hundreds-of-zhang-tall Bixia Yuanjun Dharma Image of Cheng Chu Zhenren.

The Yuanjun Dharma Image, wielding a yellow jade tablet, smashed it fiercely against the great formation, creating a large hole in it. There, the beautiful corpse Cui Ying was twirling a silk ribbon as she fought against it.

Cheng Xinzhan vanished into the void, soaring upwards towards Cui Ying's back.

As he drew nearer, a beam of light shot out from each of his Yin-Yang Palaces, his left eye a crimson gold and his right eye a vermilion purple.

First, a barely perceptible speck rapidly approached Cui Ying. By the time Cui Ying noticed it, two sword lights suddenly burst forth, one transforming into a golden sun and the other into a purple moon. The two sword lights raced through the air, simultaneously attracting each other, swirling, entwining, and chasing one another.

In the blink of an eye, the gold and purple had merged into one, transforming into a spinning and soaring purple-gold Tai Chi light, radiating profound and obscure Yin-Yang principles and supreme sword energy capable of destroying everything.

The purple-gold Tai Chi sword light vanished at extreme speed, tearing through the void, appearing and disappearing, difficult to detect with the naked eye.

It is the combined sword technique of the Yin and Yang swords, "Sun and Moon Destroy Longevity".

Even when attacking a fourth-level opponent, Cheng Xinzhan used his strongest killing move, which, like the Samadhi True Fire, was a proven technique capable of injuring a fourth-level opponent.

From the moment Cui Ying sensed the killing intent and sword intent behind her to the moment the purple-gold Tai Chi sword light took shape and flew over, only a blink of an eye had passed. Cui Ying had not been on guard beforehand—she had not expected such a treacherous killing move to appear behind her inside the great formation.

In haste, Cui Ying produced a jade mirror.

The mirror was carved entirely from a single piece of deep blue, cold jade, perfectly round and twelve inches in diameter. Its surface was polished to an extremely smooth finish, yet it did not reflect any image, only emitting a chilling glow, like the moon. Twelve ice dragons were carved on the frame, their heads and tails intertwined, like divine dragons coiling around the moon.

A beam of azure light shone from the mirror, illuminating the purple-gold Tai Chi sword light.

This truly lives up to its reputation as a protective treasure of the Fourth Realm Corpse Demon; it is indeed incredibly effective. Wherever the cold light passes, icy mist rises, and ice shards even crystallize in the void. The mirror light shines on the purple-gold Tai Chi sword light, and the speed of the sword light slows down slightly.

However, the sword light itself was too fast, and they were so close together. In addition, what was the origin of these two flying swords? They were flying swords forged from more than forty Yin-Yang Qi Sha from Cheng Xinzhan's eyes. How could they be afraid of any cold light?
The purple-gold Tai Chi sword light was only slightly slower, but it was still extremely fast, like a shooting star chasing the moon, and it struck the cold jade mirror directly.

"Ding!"

With a sharp crack, the mirror's surface was immediately covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and its magical light dimmed. The precious mirror, possessing its own spirit, emitted a mournful wail upon being struck.

The "Frosty Soul Condensing Mirror," forged from ten-thousand-year-old cold jade, was a treasure that Cui Ying had refined with her blood over many years. Suffering such a severe injury, she herself was also in great pain. With her blood surging, her already fair and delicate face suddenly turned crimson, and blood spilled from her throat, making her vermilion lips even more vibrant.

This enchantress was so beautiful even when injured. Many who witnessed her, regardless of whether they were righteous or evil, were completely captivated and utterly bewitched. Some with lower cultivation levels, after only a glimpse from afar, fell from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

However, Cheng Chu Zhenren, who was facing off against her, was unaffected. Seizing the opportunity, he lashed out with a scepter that resembled a ruler, striking the demoness squarely on the forehead, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

The demoness screamed in pain and flew backward.

The mirror, being sentient, even after being so badly injured by the purple-gold Taiji sword light, still grew larger on its own, emitting a soft light that supported the demoness and helped her retreat quickly.

"Damn jailer! He insisted on making me take the blame, I can't take it anymore!"

Cui Ying lay on the jade mirror, howling loudly.

Taking advantage of this moment, Cheng Xinzhan flew out through the gap in the formation. He knew in his heart that with his current level of cultivation, it would not be good to stay in the demon formation for too long.

He stood beside Master Chengchu, surrounded by two sword lights.

"Sir, you have done a great thing."

Master Chengchu said with a smile.

Cheng Xinzhan smiled upon hearing this, looked southeast—the direction of Fire Dragon Island—and said,
"The best is yet to come."

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(End of this chapter)