From a martial arts disciple to a god through countless trials and tribulations

Chapter 201 The Great Battle of the Human Emperor's Banner

The three-legged golden raven moved forward like a hurricane, or like a golden sun, its divine power vast and boundless.

The Southern Crown is a gentle sun, while this descendant of the Golden Crow God is also a sun, but a blazing one.

According to legend, the three-legged golden crow is an ancient mythical beast of the solar lineage.

The Golden Crow God of the Southern Wilderness is said to have originally been a fire-elemental crow who attained enlightenment. However, after becoming a god, his bloodline reverted to its ancestral form, and he gained the boundless power of the solar lineage.

Having learned this information from Hua Liuli, Chen Xuan locked onto the leading golden raven and, like a ghost, silently approached it.

"Stop!"

The golden raven suddenly stopped, its two bright green eyes staring ahead, golden light flashing in its pupils, as if it had sensed something was wrong.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Your Highness, Raven Saint, could it be that the two realm masters of the Heavenly Destiny Cauldron from another region have led human cultivators to attack?" a large winged ghost asked nervously. They were very close to the two realm masters who were most skilled in warfare, and all the ghosts were extremely vigilant.

"My ancestor has reached an agreement with [Little Qingtian] that Nanmian Daozi will lend a hand and stop the two realm lords."

The golden raven, known as the Raven Saint, stood suspended in mid-air, its eyes scanning the sky warily. Its ancestor was the Golden Crow God, who resided in the southern part of the Southern Wilderness.

"The remaining Chen Xuan is not a threat... We shall wait here for Nanmian Daozi to arrive and join us." It commanded in a deep voice, but a faint sense of crisis arose in its heart, as if some inexplicable danger was about to arrive.

"It's been sensed..." Chen Xuan thought to himself. His soul body drifted, changed direction, and circled in a semi-circle, like a shark in the deep sea that had smelled blood, swimming toward its prey.

The power of the sun is all-pervasive, and its perception of the outside world far surpasses that of other immortal cultivators.

Moreover, the group of great demons led by the Raven Saint went straight to the Two Realms Camp as soon as they entered Guyao Mountain. Their goal was clear: they might be carrying some kind of treasure for investigation.

“The Crow Saint, the Golden-Winged Roc, the Azure-Feathered Luan Bird…” Chen Xuan’s gaze was calm as he swept over the large feathered monsters one by one. The Golden Crow God’s scale was indeed impressive, with more than fifty mountain lord monsters, among which the top-tier cauldrons could not be counted on one hand.

The sheer number of cauldrons gathered here, among the various kingdoms beyond the Southern Wilderness, is enough to ignite a large-scale national war.

"Hiss... It's chilly." At the edge, the Golden-Winged Roc and the Azure-Feathered Luan Bird suddenly shivered.

"A familiar feeling, something floated past me," the blue phoenix muttered, its eyes flashing and a chill emanating from its body.

"Rumor has it that the Holy Son of the Southern Wilderness in the north has cultivated a divine soul body, and should not be underestimated..." the Golden-Winged Roc said in a low voice, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Then, with a solemn gaze, he secretly observed the three-legged golden crow in the very center.

Chen Xuan passed in front of the Golden-Winged Roc and the Azure-Feathered Luan Bird, moving at lightning speed like flowing air, and approached the Crow Saint.

A flock of divine and ferocious birds floated uncertainly in the sky, creating a noisy and chaotic scene that filled the entire expanse.

"Peng Bird, do you think this can succeed?"

The Azure Feathered Phoenix whispered, "The Little Dragon Palace, which controls the Heavenly Tribulation, has issued a decree in the Southern Wilderness to question the Holy Son of Man. He has suppressed the Heavenly Tribulation three times, defying the will of Heaven... The Mountain God sensed something was wrong and summoned us. We must either forcibly bring back the Holy Son of Man, or... immediately force him to advance to the Cauldron stage ahead of schedule!"

Of all the thunder and lightning in the world, dragons account for eight or nine out of ten. As long as someone advances to the next level, they cannot escape the watchful eye of the [Little Dragon Palace], which controls the clouds and rain and wields the laws of heavenly tribulation.

The Golden-Winged Roc sighed softly, "Cultivation is no easy feat."

The Azure Feathered Luan Bird muttered, "Anyway, this Luan Bird is a little scared. After all, Chen Xuan is something left behind by the Mountain Spirit Goddess."

Although he loathed Chen Xuan, the holy son of the northern human race in the southern wilderness.

But when it came down to a life-or-death struggle, every bird felt a strange sense of panic...

After all, the Mountain Spirit Goddess is of a very high level. She is one of the few True Lords in the world within ten thousand years. Anything related to her should be treated with utmost care, let alone if Chen Xuan wants to advance to the next level. Even if he were just an ant-like mortal, he would have to treat it with utmost care.

"By consuming the Heavenly Mandate Elixir from the Cauldron, one can [transcend the mortal world]."

"After consuming Tao Hongchen's Heavenly Mandate Elixir, he ascended to the status of a True Monarch in his divine journey."

"By consuming a celestial pill of True Monarch caliber, a path to immortality will be right before your eyes."

"The god of Jinwu Mountain has a grand ambition for immortality and will use Chen Xuan, the chosen one, to become the true ruler of this era."

The Golden-Winged Roc sighed:
"But the Holy Son is indeed worthy of being the chosen one. In the past six months, he has secretly accomplished a great deal. His path of cultivation has been too steady... causing the gods of Golden Crow Mountain to feel uneasy and fear that they will be unable to suppress the Holy Son when he ascends to godhood in the future."

These great demons from the south have no choice but to follow the god of Jinwu Mountain down this dark path.

"Peng Bird, why are you suddenly talking so much, revealing all the mountain god's plans... Are you trying to desert your post?" The Azure Feather Luan Bird asked with a deep gaze. The Golden-Winged Roc had previously been secretly "passing intelligence" to Chen Xuan, acting against his will.

"Today is different from the past!"

The Golden-Winged Roc flew into a rage, righteously rebuking, "We followed the Crow Saint into Mount Guyao, and regardless of whether we fought or not, we have already forged a blood feud with Chen Xuan! A great battle is imminent; do not harbor any illusions!"

They came at the most crucial moment of Chen Xuan's advancement to the next cultivation stage, storming into Guyao Mountain with great force. This act of taking sides represents the greatest malice. If anything goes wrong in Chen Xuan's cultivation, they will be his accomplices.

The Azure-feathered Luan bird looked surprised as it listened to the Peng bird's rebuke, seemingly lost in thought.

A cool, human-shaped aura brushed past them, seemingly carrying away their conversation, and blew towards the Raven Saint.

"Wow!"

Chen Xuan's divine soul body moved forward, and within a few breaths, he was several hundred meters away from the Crow Saint. Without any words or hesitation, he shook the Human Emperor Banner, which was wrapped in divine soul power. The banner unfolded like a long black river, covering the sky and the sun.

"brush!"

Suddenly, the Raven Saint's head turned, and a pair of eerie green eyes looked excitedly in Chen Xuan's direction, their eyes gleaming with the light of the sun:

"I saw you a while ago, Chen..."

"boom!"

In an instant, Chen Xuan directly used the Emperor's Banner. The moment the banner unfolded, the flagpole in his hand materialized, and then the banner took shape, with the pattern of the Twenty-Eight Constellations appearing, covering the entire sky as if a pitch-black night had arrived.

He only had one chance to launch an attack. Centered on him, profound energy surged into the sky, and countless ghost-face-like shadows emerged, surging forward along the banner like a raging storm, one layer after another.

"Human Emperor Banner!"

The Raven Prince was overjoyed. His golden feathers stood up like sharp swords, and an incredibly powerful solar fire surged forth, raising the temperature of the entire sky.

It countered with its golden divine fire, imbued with the power of the sun, to resist the might of the Emperor's Banner. Both the fire element and the sun's power had a slight effect on suppressing the divine soul. But in an instant, it regretted it. Upon truly experiencing the vast divine might of the Emperor's Banner, it immediately realized that its own level was too low to withstand it!

At the very least, one must possess the true power of Tao Hongchen to directly confront the Human Emperor Banner, a weapon of destiny!

The Raven Saint opened its mouth and roared, spitting out a beam of golden sunlight. However, all the divine fire it unleashed only destroyed less than half the power of the Human Emperor Banner. A large number of ghostly shadows, resembling Yin soldiers, passed directly through the golden divine fire and swarmed onto the Raven Saint's massive body.

Chen Xuan frowned. This Raven Saint was truly extraordinary, managing to block most of the power of the Human Emperor Banner that Chen Xuan had unleashed after risking great danger to infiltrate the area.

However, he was truly audacious. Even the swift and battle-hardened Heavenly Destiny Cauldron, Wu Taotie, dared not make any contact with Chen Xuan's soul body... Instead of fleeing, the Raven Saint launched a direct attack.

"laugh!"

The Raven Saint's body began to tremble, and cold sweat broke out on its face. It had underestimated the Human Emperor's Banner. Even a top-tier cauldron could not withstand it. Once hit, it would be difficult to escape death.

"Slash!" The Raven Saint unleashed his full power, waving his enormous wings like a golden celestial blade, severing the left wing that had been struck by the Human Emperor's Banner. Golden blood rained down like a waterfall, and a section of the golden crow's wing, as large as a mountain, plummeted from the sky, emitting thick smoke-like mystic energy.

Chen Xuan remained unmoved, brandishing the Emperor's Banner in his hand and seizing the opportunity to charge forward, sweeping out with the force of a thousand armies. In an instant, the sky was filled with soaring black smoke and mysterious energy, countless ghosts bared their fangs and claws, emitting howls that sounded like those from the deepest hell, while the Raven Saint Son, his entire body radiating golden divine fire, clashed with the black tornado-like Emperor's Banner.

"puff!"

The Raven Saint began to retreat, gritting its teeth as it severed one of its bird legs. Blood rained down like a torrential downpour, reducing its three legs to two, thus damaging its very essence.

But it was still a step too slow. The remaining ghostly soldiers squeezed along its waist and abdomen, into its internal organs, devouring the flesh and blood in its way, and attacking the soul deep within its body.

"boom!"

The Raven Saint screamed in agony, desperately flapping one wing against the ghostly Yin soldier in front of its chest. It was filled with regret and utter terror, and fled backward at top speed, shouting at the same time, "Mountain Lords, save this Saint!"

Chen Xuan remained silent, the Emperor's Banner billowing across the sky as he charged forward with all his might. This was the best opportunity to attack; if it escaped, his soul and body would find it difficult to keep up with the escape speed of a top-tier cauldron.

After a brief clash, the entire sky descended into chaos, and all the great monsters trembled.

"The Holy Son from the North has come alone; he's really courting death!" A fierce firebird nearby roared. This was a great demon of the Fire element, whose realm was at least four or five levels high.

The fiery bird immediately protected the king, rushing towards Chen Xuan's divine soul body that was reflecting the world, like a brilliant red sunset, to interfere and prevent him from continuing to use the Emperor's Banner to pursue the Raven Saint!
The Golden Crow God Fire Technique attained godhood, and among the great demons in the south, the Fire Virtue Demon was the most devoted to him.

"roll!"

Chen Xuan suddenly turned his head, his eyes filled with overwhelming ferocity, instantly engulfing the fiery bird. The fiery bird was terrified. The next instant, the Human Emperor Banner abandoned its pursuit of the Raven Saint, and with a whoosh, the banner reversed, like a net covering the sky, engulfing the fiery bird.

"Crow Saint, save me!" the ferocious firebird cried out in terror. In an instant, thousands of ghostly soldiers swarmed into its mouth, nose, and seven orifices like locusts, and excruciating pain, like being swallowed by the heart and bones, pierced its mind.

"..." How could the Crow Saint dare to save him? He didn't even dare to look back, and fled even faster!
Chen Xuan shook the Emperor's Banner, which tightly wrapped around the Firebird. The banner resembled a large, bright red package. The Firebird struggled violently, but after only a few breaths, the struggle ceased.

"Wow!"

The banner of the Human Emperor slid open, and the corpse of a ferocious firebird, its face ashen and its body pale, tumbled out and fell from the sky.

"The Emperor's Banner is no match for our strength, get away quickly!" The surrounding monsters were horrified and, as if avoiding snakes and scorpions, transformed into countless rays of divine light of various colors, frantically fleeing from Chen Xuan.

"Wow!"

Chen Xuan stood tall in the sky, like a celestial being in the clouds. Various kinds of immortal energy flowed within his body, outlining strands of dazzling golden light. His expression was cold as he glared at the great ghosts that had scattered in panic.

Immediately, the corners of the Emperor's Banner stretched out like a giant black hand, sweeping up the golden crow's wings, bird feet, and the corpse of the firebird on the ground, and throwing them into the Mountain and River Scroll treasure that was unfolded in front of him.

"The body of the Holy Son of Man is wrapped in the banner of the Human Emperor. I have seen it!" a great demon roared, his eyes shining with divine light as he saw the withered body wrapped in a corner of the banner of the Human Emperor.

"kill!"

The Raven Saint gave a cold command. Having just escaped, its eyes were bloodshot and it was furious. Chen Xuan had taken its hands and feet right in front of it. Was this meant to be used as food for cultivation? This was too much bullying!
"boom!"

Instantly, dozens of powerful demons unleashed extremely powerful attacks: a vast ocean of sword energy as sharp as frost and snow, immortal lotuses swirling with azure sky energy, flames shaped like unicorns... countless earth-shattering attacks engulfed Chen Xuan.

"rumble…"

The sky collapsed and the earth cracked, mountains and rivers lost their color, and within a radius of dozens of miles, divine light soared into the sky, and violent energy fluctuations surged like a vast ocean. Even the most powerful cultivators could not survive such an attack.

After a full cup of tea, the area gradually calmed down, leaving behind a huge hemispherical crater, as the mountain had been leveled.

"Is the Holy Son of Man dead?" In the distance, a large ghost looked down into the pit.

"Not necessarily. He has a divine soul body, which is almost immune to all magic."

"The fire magic technique I'm using is specifically designed to counter the soul..."

"They must have sensed something was wrong and fled..."

Dozens of large ghosts were discussing among themselves, their gazes all solemn. After all, Chen Xuan possessed a divine soul body, which was a transcendent power belonging to the Tao Hongchen level.

He can't escape!

The Raven Prince spoke coldly, its body covered in blood and mangled, but from its pair of bright green eyes flew a pure golden feather, radiating pure solar energy, illuminating the mortal world:

"This Holy Son possesses the Golden Crow Feather bestowed upon me by my ancestor, a treasure of the same level as the Primordial Chaos, capable of being traced through all things. Let this Holy Son see where he has fled to."

This is the most precious treasure it brought into Guyao Mountain. It can see the location of Chen Xuan's soul body. As long as it gets close to Chen Xuan, it has many ways to entangle him, making it impossible for him to cultivate in peace and forcing him to advance to the next level.

"I have assessed his strength. Heh, from now on, I will not linger in a fight with him!"

As the Raven Saint spoke, he suddenly turned his head and saw a faint dragon's roar rising from the distant sky. In the distance, a white dragon-shaped silhouette stood between heaven and earth, accompanied by the metallic sound of a bowstring being drawn.

"Keng..."

The Raven Saint heard the sound of a bowstring vibrating, accompanied by the ripples of immortal energy. A divine black dragon stood between heaven and earth, its golden vertical pupils shining, and its dragon claws drew back the Thunder God Bow.

The Emperor's Banner, like a divine arrow, emitted black lightning at its tip, locking onto the divine soul orb within the Crow Saint's body.

"I don't understand, what qualifications does a mere mountain deity have to refine immortal pills..."

In its daze, Raven Saint heard such a questioning voice, like Chen Xuan's soliloquy. Panic gripped its heart, and only one thought remained: "Escape!"

"boom!"

The Emperor's Banner shot off the bowstring, piercing the center of the sky, and a dark bolt of lightning illuminated the vision of all the great demons.

"Buzz!"

The Raven Saint unleashed the Golden Crow Feather, which struck the Human Emperor Banner like a sun. At the same time, it turned and fled towards the sky like a golden divine fire. However, the Human Emperor Banner was as fast as black lightning, instantly breaking through the Golden Crow Feather and catching up with the golden divine fire.

"thump!"

The Raven Prince landed on the ground, the Emperor's Banner piercing its spine and embedding itself in its body. Terrified, its wings, like celestial blades, tore open its chest, attempting to tear out the Emperor's Banner. But it was too late; its face quickly turned ashen, and its blood-stained wings slid limply to the ground.

The Emperor's Banner strangles and destroys the souls of gods and spirits.

The Crow Saint has fallen.

Thick black smoke billowed from the wounds on the body of the Raven Saint, creating a sinister and terrifying sight.

The group of great demons were horrified and stared blankly at the scene.

"With the death of the Raven Saint, does the Mountain God's mission count as a failure?"

"No! Quick, go and snatch the Emperor's Banner!" A great demon reacted and immediately rushed towards the corpse of the Raven Saint... The Raven Saint had fallen, but the will of the Mountain God could not be changed, and these great demons had to continue their mission.

"You can't take it away!" A ferocious bird rapidly approached the Emperor's Banner, attempting to forcibly seize it, but thick black smoke, like flames, immediately erupted from its palm, burning its soul. For the time being, it was unable to forcibly take the Emperor's Banner away.

Chen Xuan's divine soul emerged from the void, grasped the banner pole, and easily pulled out the Human Emperor Banner. The banner was like dark clouds, with a star map shining, and swept the peerless ferocious bird to the ground.

"I'm not afraid of your fight to the death, I'm only afraid that you... will avoid the battle."

Chen Xuan sighed inwardly. Had the mountain god come to deliver cultivation resources to him? He turned around, his dazzling golden eyes gazing at the distant sky, and said expressionlessly to the group of panicked demons:
"This Raven Saint is gone. Let the Mountain God replace him with a new Saint and send him to Guyao Mountain."

(End of this chapter)