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

Chapter 220 Corpse

A cold wind blew, and the river flowed silently, like black shadows moving forward.

Chen Xuan stood on the underground river, which was dozens of meters wide, completely bewildered.

Two months ago, he began cultivating the Earth Virtue "Two Realms True Scripture". Immediately, Earth Virtue Immortal Qi appeared in Guyao. Outside the cave where he was in seclusion, he had the "Immortal Ghost" carve four exclusive characters on it.

It would be hard to believe that there is no causal relationship between these two events.

"The wandering, somewhat delirious soul of the True Lord Tai Xuan discovered that I was cultivating the Earth Virtue True Scripture, and thus offered his assistance..." Chen Xuan thought to himself.

He suspected that the immortal ghost was none other than Tai Xuan Zhenjun, which was a very reasonable speculation.

Before leaving, the Mountain Spirit Goddess made a special trip to Guyao Mountain. Wasn't her purpose to ask the True Lord Taixuan to take care of the Southern Wilderness?
Not only Shan Jun thought this way, but Chen Xuan thought the same way.

"But why is True Lord Tai Xuan hiding his face and carving words on the mountain lord's head? He should just come out and meet us openly!" Hua Liuli asked in confusion. It was meaningless for a True Lord to play such tricks.

Unless he's really crazy.

"This ghost seems to be reminding us not to go any further."

Shan Jun said in a low voice, and at this moment, a slight stinging sensation gradually came from the wound on his forehead.

The demon who takes action is very powerful; it can silently carve words on the mountain king's head and then silently remove the mountain king's head.

It should be noted that the Mountain Lord is ridiculously strong, among the most powerful beings in the cauldrons, no weaker than the Two Realms Lords and the Martial Glutton, who are destined cauldrons. Calling him "half-step into the Divine Realm" is not an exaggeration.

Even a young and powerful being like the White Fox Spirit, caught off guard, suffered a great loss at the hands of the Mountain Lord. Yet, at this moment, the Mountain Lord hadn't even sensed who had made the move.

"We'd better retreat. We don't even know if Tai Xuan Zhenjun is a human or a ghost. If he sneezes, we'll all be annihilated," the white fox said in horror.

She had personally witnessed Chen Xuan undergo the Five Elements Heavenly Tribulation and the news of the revival of the Earth element, which she knew would not be kept secret and would soon spread like wildfire.

Even if the True Lord of Qingqiu is in a deep slumber, he will quickly sense that something is wrong.

Previously, only when the White Fox Goddess or the True Lord's youngest son, Zhao Shenhu, died unexpectedly would the True Lord of Qingqiu be able to sense the accident at Guyao Mountain.

But now the situation is completely different; the roles of offense and defense have shifted.

If the White Fox Goddess can get through the next period of time safely, she may be successfully saved.

"Don't be alarmist! If you're so cowardly, why did you come to Guyao Mountain?" Chen Xuan scolded, and at the same time, he exerted force with his five fingers, unleashing his divine soul power to tightly squeeze the body of the white fox.

The White Fox is up to no good; she's deliberately saying these things to demoralize people. She needs to be taught a lesson.

"Ugh!" The white fox's eyes widened, her chest felt like it was about to burst, and her bones felt like they were about to crack. She gasped for breath, her face pale, and said:
“Be gentle… Who would have thought that Tai Xuan Zhenjun is still alive? Mountain Spirit Lady is a born deity with a blood feud with humans, yet she helped Tai Xuan Zhenjun. This is utterly unbelievable.”

Many of the ancient mountain gods from the Shan Hai era were born deities and were of the same kind as the Mountain Spirit Goddess.

That was a barbaric era in which innate gods and strange beasts looked down upon the mortal world and enslaved all races.

Later, however, the human race united with some demons to fight back, almost wiping out all the gods and ancient beasts, thus ending the era of mountains and seas.

"The Mountain Spirit Goddess is kind and gentle, and will not blame the present human race for ancestral grudges from thousands of years ago," the Mountain Lord rebuked. The current Holy Son of the Southern Wilderness is a human of pure blood!

Moreover, during the years that the Mountain Spirit has been stationed in the Southern Wilderness, he has restrained the violent ghosts and monsters, and has not harmed the Chu people in the slightest.

"You ignorant barbarians, what do you know about being born a god!"

The white fox spirit snorted coldly, and with her delicate hands, she pushed Chen Xuan's fingers outwards from her chest while continuing:

"The ability to travel to a realm in spirit originates from innate deities. These innate deities can live for at least nine lifetimes. Who knows if the mountain spirit of ancient times is not the same mountain spirit of today!"

“This…” Chen Xuan was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Hua Liuli.

When they first met at the Yunmeng Market, they discussed this matter and both thought that the title of Mountain Spirit Goddess was a bit too bold.

Because the Mountain Spirit is a well-known mythological figure, and is associated with the Yunmengze pantheon and the Guyao Mountain mythology.

The ancient mountain spirits were at least at the level of immortals.

Moreover, they must be top-tier immortals, and may even be close to the Supreme Heaven.

After all, the Yunmengze clan of gods, which has an inextricable connection with the Classic of Mountains and Seas, produced beings of the [Supreme Heaven] level in ancient times.

"If the Mountain Spirit Goddess is truly the one from ancient times, why would she need to seek immortality at Shangyang Cave Heaven?" Chen Xuan said coldly.

In ancient times, they were among the immortals; now, how could they possibly fall so low as to risk their lives to become immortals?

"What if the Mountain Spirit Goddess's path to the Great Dao cannot reach the Supreme Heaven, and she can only search for a new path life after life? She does not seek to become an immortal, but rather seeks the path of a sage."

The white fox chuckled, then launched into a long, rambling speech:

“In the past, demons ran rampant. The human race’s Xinzhai shattered the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which became the fuse that ignited the war between the mountains and seas. As a result, a large number of ancient mountain gods died in the war and could no longer be revived by the Classic of Mountains and Seas.”

"The era of mountains and seas has come to an end."

The white fox glanced at Chen Xuan subtly.

Although she had never heard Nan Mian speculate about Chen Xuan's abilities, she came from Qingqiu and knew many secrets.

At this moment, the White Fox God witnessed Chen Xuan's ability to find his way. While shocked, she, like Nan Mian, also began to have some doubts.

"Chen Xuan, do you really think that a natural-born deity like the Mountain Spirit Goddess has any reason to help the human race... the Tai Xuan True Lord?"

The white fox continued, seemingly alluding to the myth, "Our demon race simply doesn't want humanity to rise, but the innate gods, as remnants of the Mountain and Sea Era, wish they could grind the entire human race to dust and slaughter them all."

The ancient mountain spirit is said to be the mountain god of Guyao Mountain.

But later, the immortals and sages of the human race knocked down Mount Guyao, and it fell into the southern wilderness of Yaoguang Prefecture.

"These are all just your guesses. If you continue to spout nonsense, don't blame me for punishing you with the Emperor's Banner." Chen Xuan's heart sank slightly, but he still said firmly, "Continue forward."

He had just seen what appeared to be a page from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Guyao".

It's impossible to give up the pursuit just because of a few words from the White Fox God.

The underground river flowed silently as the group continued their journey. After traveling for more than ten miles, Chen Xuan once again saw a golden light appear at the end of the river.

"Chase!" Chen Xuan immediately accelerated, even using the power of the Five Hidden Martial Immortal Body, transforming into a five-colored divine light, its speed frightening.

Hua Liuli and Shan Jun quickly followed. Although they did not see the golden light, Chen Xuan said there was something, so there must be something.

"Wow!"

Chen Xuan moved like lightning, sweeping through the winding and narrow underground cavern, creating sonic booms in his wake. His pursuit speed was in no way inferior to the full-force burst of a top-tier cauldron.

Even so, he still couldn't catch up with that incredibly fast golden light.

Soon after, the golden light, like a shooting star, disappeared from sight.

"Too fast." Chen Xuan had no choice but to stop and rest for a while.

But during this pursuit, he finally saw clearly what was in the golden light: a yellowed piece of paper with landscape paintings and ink seal script on it, exuding a sense of desolation.

This is undoubtedly the legendary page from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Guyao".

"Huff! Slow down." Hua Liuli gasped for breath, supporting her slender waist. Her heavy chest heaved violently like a pair of lively white rabbits. Chen Xuan's movements were too fast, incredibly swift.

Even as a top-tier furnace, Hua Liuli had to use some earth-elemental travel techniques to keep up with Chen Xuan's pace.

“You…” Chen Xuan turned around and glanced at Hua Liuli, about to speak, when his heart sank.

His eyes were fixed on the dark path he had come from, like the gaping maw of an ancient, black beast, as he slowly spoke:
"Where is Lord Mountain Lord?"

Chen Xuan instantly unleashed his divine soul power to its fullest extent, covering an area of ​​forty to fifty miles in radius, surveying all directions.

No tigers were found.

"We've fallen behind?" Hua Liuli looked back and frowned. "That shouldn't be the case. We've only been chasing for about a hundred miles."

The distance wasn't too far; even if the second incarnation of the Mountain Lord had flaws, he shouldn't have been left completely out of sight.

But at this moment, the mountain king has mysteriously disappeared, and his fate is unknown.

"Woo..."

A cold breeze flows through the underground river, chilling one to the bone.

Chen Xuan frowned, turned to look at Hua Liuli, his pupils suddenly contracted, and said:
"Lift up your sleeve, what's written on it?"

Hua Liuli was startled and quickly raised her sleeve to look. She saw four large characters outlined in black and red blood with a platinum sheen on the cuff.

Don't come in!

"This..." Hua Liuli was horrified, and instinctively moved closer to Chen Xuan.

Just as they were in the high-speed chase, someone dipped their finger in the mountain king's blood and wrote four large characters on Hua Liuli's sleeve.

The warning was self-evident. Hua Liuli was not easily frightened, but at this moment, she was still a little frightened, as she was experiencing incomprehensible ghostly events.

"There really is something supernatural at work!" White Fox was terrified. She quickly checked herself for writing while advising, "Let's be careful, Chen Xuan, don't keep chasing."

Four characters were carved on the forehead of the mountain tiger, and then mysteriously disappeared.

If we continue to chase that golden light, something unexpected will surely happen.

Perhaps the next one to disappear will be Hua Liuli, the master of the two realms, and then it will be the turn of the White Fox Goddess.

"Summon Zhang Dongxuan," Chen Xuan said, a hint of anger rising in his heart at the unexpected turn of events involving the Mountain Lord.

"Alright!" Hua Liuli immediately used her destiny.

"Whoosh!" Space rippled, and the power of destiny of the two realm lords spread.

An elderly man's head, with thinning white hair, cautiously peeked out from the void, exclaiming in surprise, "Eh? Earth Deity has indeed perished. Flower Goddess, why have you summoned this old man..."

Some of Hua Liuli's subordinates had witnessed Chen Xuan's advancement to the Cauldron Realm and brought the news back to the Blessed Land of the Two Realms.

"brush!"

Chen Xuan's hand suddenly shot out like lightning, grabbed Zhang Dongxuan by the neck, and pulled him down.

"Little brat, what are you doing? Don't be rude!" Zhang Dongxuan shouted in alarm, quickly grabbing Chen Xuan's strong, bony hand.

He had been beaten twice by Chen Xuan and almost died, so he was quite afraid of Chen Xuan.

"Who wrote this?" Chen Xuan pointed to the words on Hua Liuli's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Is it the handwriting of True Lord Tai Xuan?"

"I don't know!" Zhang Dongxuan quickly replied, having already answered this question before.

Chen Xuan's face darkened, and he tightened his grip on his fingers, slowly speaking:

“Zhang Dongxuan, you are merely a pageboy under the command of True Lord Taixuan, yet you do not recognize True Lord Taixuan's handwriting…”

Zhang Dongxuan was having difficulty breathing, his face flushed a deep liver color, and he shouted an explanation:
"I'm just a mere page, cleaning the temple every day. I hardly ever see my master, the True Lord... If you don't believe me, ask the Southern Wilderness Mountain Lord. In its entire life, how many times has it seen a Mountain Spirit Lady of the True Lord level? It can probably be counted on two hands!"

"..." Chen Xuan frowned. He had always felt that Zhang Dongxuan was very strange.

However, what he said at this moment is not flawed and is a reasonable explanation.

Because Chen Xuan knew that not only the Mountain Lord, but even the old tortoise that had lived for nearly a thousand years had never seen the Mountain Goddess more than a few times.

Moreover, in many cases, even if a True Lord is present, lower-level cultivators cannot observe him.

Furthermore, there is one thing that can indirectly verify that the ghost who wrote these four characters was not Tai Xuan Zhenjun.

Chen Xuan possesses a high-grade treasure-level purple-gold jade bracelet, which was owned by a near-immortal True Lord from Yaoguang Prefecture, named True Lady Zifei.

The Purple Consort Zhenren wore the jade bracelet for a period of time.

Later, Chen Xuan brought the jade bracelet out of the Peach Blossom Spring Secret Realm. After being washed by the power of time and baptized by the traces of the True Lord, it was transformed from an ordinary object into a superior treasure.

Unless a powerful being deliberately suppresses them, a single word they utter or write can crush a region and cause immense disaster.

Tai Xuan Zhenjun is also a powerful figure who is close to immortality.

However, the four characters "Do not come in" were rather ordinary, lacking any divine power beyond being eerie and terrifying.

“The old monster doesn’t seem to be lying,” Hua Liuli whispered. During her months in the Blessed Land of Two Realms, she had interrogated Zhang Dongxuan using various methods.

This is indeed a... good-for-nothing fool who has no talent for cultivation.

"..." Chen Xuan remained silent.

The chill around his neck intensified, like gusts of cold wind blowing. Chen Xuan could even hear rapid breathing.

This underground area grew increasingly cold, as chilling as an ice cellar.

"Release this old man, or your neck will break!" Zhang Dongxuan struggled to breathe, desperately slapping Chen Xuan's arm. The young man showed no respect for his elders and was utterly disrespectful.

"Splash!" Chen Xuan released his fingers, and the small and thin Zhang Dongxuan fell onto the water with a thud.

Zhang Dongxuan scrambled to his feet, his eyes blazing with anger. He ran a short distance, then, glaring at Chen Xuan with his cloudy eyes, pointed at him and roared:

"Chen Xuan! You have no manners. You learned the 'Two Realms True Scripture' and secretly tricked the Flower Goddess into reading the Qingnang Secret Manual. You are practically a member of the Qingnang Dojo. I am your senior from the sect, and you should show me some respect!"

"This is Zhang Dongxuan, he's aged beyond recognition." Bai Hu'er Shen murmured upon seeing this, a hint of curiosity flashing across her exquisite and flawless face.

In Chen Xuan's other hand, she secretly observed the only remaining remnant of the Qingnang Daoist sect.

At first.

The White Fox Goddess led a group of young Qingqiu foxes into Guyao Mountain for training and treasure hunting. They heard some noises, which must have come from the Dongxuan Cave in front of them.

"So many outstanding talents from the Qingnang Dojo have died tragically in this dark underground river where the sun never shines, yet only this useless old fellow who relies on his age has survived." The White Fox sighed.

Along the way, every corpse encountered was proud and dignified, maintaining great majesty even in death, inspiring longing in those who looked upon them from afar.

Although Qingqiu and Qingnang Dojo are sworn enemies.

But this doesn't stop the young fox deity, White Fox God, from appreciating some of humanity's heroes.

Foxes are naturally drawn to strength; this is their nature. Some fox spirits in the Southern Wilderness are also like this.

But the Zhang Dongxuan who appeared at this moment was truly astonishing. His demeanor and temperament were far superior to even ordinary cauldrons, let alone those of a divine traveler.

White Fox felt that Zhang Dongxuan had completely disgraced the world of spiritual travel... he was far inferior to her, a newcomer to spiritual travel with only a few decades of experience.

"Shut up." Chen Xuan glanced at the incessantly chattering Zhang Dongxuan.

He respected this old man who was like a mischievous child enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have so easily spared Zhang Dongxuan's life.

After all, the Mountain Spirit Goddess had once saved this old man.

Moreover, Chen Xuan had memorized the Secret Manual of the Green Bag, which he would study in the future. Besides, his ability to master the True Scripture of Two Realms was likely due to the help of True Lord Tai Xuan, who risked exposing his identity...

For various reasons, Chen Xuan was bound to be more lenient towards the old man who remained at the Qingnang Daoist Temple.

"How could you do this? Treating an old man like this is utterly despicable." Zhang Dongxuan still pointed at Chen Xuan, stammering.

"Old man, do you want me to break your fingers one by one?" Chen Xuan glanced at Zhang Dongxuan and said unhappily.

"You...you've gone too far! You want to kill this old man!" Zhang Dongxuan subconsciously took a step back.

"No……"

"Then why are you carrying this old, frail body on your back!"

Zhang Dongxuan questioned sharply, pointing behind Chen Xuan, he was so angry he almost jumped up on the spot: "You still dare to argue!"

Before the words had even finished, an eerie silence fell over the surroundings, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"..."

Chen Xuan remained expressionless.

Hua Liuli slightly parted her rosy lips and paused for a moment.

The white fox spirit subconsciously looked up, trying to see behind Chen Xuan, but saw nothing.

next moment.

The thunderous sound of punches pierced the air, a deafening roar that shattered the very fabric of the atmosphere.

"boom!"

A burst of five-colored divine light suddenly shone brightly. Chen Xuan's face was ashen, and he clenched his fist, striking the back of his shoulder with a thunderous roar. The divine light was dazzling, illuminating the entire dark cave space.

A punch landed with a bang.

The fist imprint formed by Chen Xuan, which circulated the power of the five elements, was surrounded by various immortal energies. After being unleashed, it formed a huge fist imprint that filled the entire river channel.

"clang!"

The sound of the collision was like the resounding tolling of a bronze bell, and ripples of energy spread continuously, causing the underground river beneath their feet to ripple and surge with huge waves, making the entire cave wall tremble as if it were about to collapse.

"Long..."

A corpse-like object flew out like a cannonball, bounced on the water's surface a dozen times, and then pierced and embedded itself in the mountain wall.

It smashed a big hole.

(End of this chapter)