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

Chapter 246 Severing the Afterlife
The sun was shining brightly, and although it should have been the darkest time of night, the world was as bright as day.

Chen Xuan was like a celestial demon, his halberd tip piercing the skull of the Golden Crow God, golden blood splattering like rain of light, illuminating the sky.

The Golden Crow roared, but its soul and body were not yet dead. It had not completely stopped breathing and continued to use its bloodline powers, causing its dim spiritual light to surge forth.

"boom……"

The sky trembled, and Chen Xuan, like a ghost, swept aside a three-legged golden crow that held the sun in its mouth with the Emperor's Banner. Immediately afterwards, the Chilong Halberd, wrapped in divine soul power, swept fiercely, and the phoenix fire, carrying black rain streaks, completely shattered the head of the golden crow's divine soul body.

"Whoosh!"

The other eight figures instantly surrounded and attacked, some unleashing snow-white True Martial Sword Qi, some waving the Human Emperor Banner with all their might, and some using the Eight Gates Spirit Locking Technique. All sorts of extremely powerful offensive techniques overwhelmed the Golden Crow God, shattering his body into pieces.

It was as if a brilliant golden rain had fallen from the sky.

"rumble!"

This level of combat was terrifying; the divine light that emanated from it stung the eyes of many of the cauldron-forming monsters, making it impossible for them to look at it for long.

The ghosts in the south were completely silent, feeling as if they were suffocating.

The once glorious god of Jinwu Mountain, who had reigned supreme for a thousand or two thousand years, was now being overwhelmed by a young human saint and was on the verge of falling. This was something that all the ghosts and monsters could not accept.

A thousand years of time cannot compare to three years of cultivation!
Undoubtedly, everything happening overhead at this moment appears tragic. The will of the Golden Crow God is actually a microcosm of the thoughts of all ghosts and monsters, but the Golden Crow God is no match for the rising humanity and is about to fade into obscurity.

In the ancient era of the mountains and seas, ghosts and monsters roared across the heavens, and humans and demons were both food and enslaved by them. However, humans and demons eventually rose to power.

Now, even the Southern Wilderness, one of the last pure lands for ghosts and monsters, is about to succumb to human control?
"How tragic!"

In the mountains, some ghostly mountain lords wept in sorrow. The Golden Crow God was cruel and indifferent, yet he was a ghost of the same origin. The Mountain Ghost Goddess, however, was a born deity, able to endure being suppressed. But this Holy Son of Man was merely a two-legged human!
"Heh, if it weren't for the Mountain Demon Goddess residing in the Southern Wilderness for so long, the Southern Wilderness would have long become the demon race's backyard, and you would all have become domesticated spirit beasts and mounts!" In the distance, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Woman sneered to herself.

Although Yaoguang Prefecture is remote, the dozens of ancient kingdoms outside the Southern Wilderness, except for the human Chu Kingdom, are all ancient kingdoms established by demons! Behind each ancient kingdom, there are countless connections with True Monarchs and the inheritance of the demon race!
The nine-tailed celestial fox listened intently, then muttered to herself, "This Chen Xuan's achievements in the path of the divine soul are even more outstanding than those of the Qingqiu orthodox lineage... However, if this is all he can achieve, he will be defeated by the Mountain God."

She was astonished by the battle unfolding before her and amazed by Chen Xuan's displayed prowess. But ultimately, there was an insurmountable chasm between the realm of divine travel and the realm of the cauldron.

The secrets of immortals, divinely ordained weapons, and other powerful methods can infinitely narrow the gap with those who have transcended the realm of gods. But the mountain god's thousand years of life have not been in vain; his methods have only grown stronger.

In the southern wilderness, sunlight and rain fell, and a heavy stench of blood filled the air.

"Huh?" Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and all nine pairs of eyes turned to the ground. His expression changed: "They still can't kill them?"

On the rolling mountains, the silhouette of an ancient hibiscus tree rises abruptly from the mountaintop, stretching as far as the eye can see, like a lighthouse illuminating the night, its golden glow hazy yet radiant.

Within the Golden Crow's Nest, a simple and ancient-looking temple emerges from the ground, resounding with ancient sounds like chimes, exuding an aura of time.

Could it be that one's spirit travels to the Land of Ascension, truly impervious to death?

"The old crow's golden crow bloodline has been revived. Who forced it into this predicament? It was... Chen Xuan." In the central part of the Southern Wilderness, towering waves surged in the dark abyss. A small black dragon awoke on the reef, its belly exposed. It turned its head to look south, a mocking smile in its eyes:

"We can't summon the Lingyang True Lord of Little Blue Sky. Human True Lords are never reliable... The old crow is forced to summon the ancient god."

Chen Xuan looked down at the temple rising from the earth, his gaze solemn.

"Hahaha……"

Laughter rang out from inside the temple, initially as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but quickly grew louder. A three-legged crow the size of a palm flew out of the temple and landed on the eaves.

It looked up at Chen Xuan, laughing so hard it bent over, its eyes red and tears streaming down its face. It lay down on the roof tiles without a care, golden saliva dripping from its mouth, yet it still couldn't stop laughing.

"For nearly two thousand years, I have been dutifully performing my duties, suppressing the ferocity of the ghosts and monsters in the south, and never overstepping the boundaries."

"This crow was ten thousand times more loyal than the mountain king!"

"What was the result? The Mountain Demon Goddess left without a word, so cold-hearted... The Southern Wilderness is surrounded by demons, and within a thousand years, it will surely become a wasteland. We ghosts and monsters have no way out!!"

The Golden Crow God laughed until tears of blood streamed from its eyes. It was old and frail; after its death, what would become of the ghosts and monsters of the Southern Wilderness? The ghosts and monsters were gradually losing their ghostly nature, and the Golden Crow God was powerless to stop it, only able to sigh:
"The True Lords look up and down at Heaven and Earth; thunder and rain are all divine grace."

"But in the Southern Wilderness, which relies on the True Lord's breath, not a single Ghostly True Lord has emerged in hundreds of thousands of years!!"

"How can one not feel deep resentment at all that has happened here!"

The Golden Crow God wiped away the blood and tears from the corners of its eyes and stood up. The golden radiance between its wings dissipated, and its aura became more restrained, but an even more powerful energy emanated from its body. Just as it had said before, the divine journey in the Divine Land would become stronger and stronger, and eventually, the power of heaven and earth would be united across tens of thousands of miles.

The sky was bright and clear, and the sunlight shone on the Golden Crow God, making him appear as if he were bathed in golden celestial clouds.

"I am dull-witted and have been fortunate enough to enter the mortal world, but I have not made any progress. However, I have lived for too long. Over the past thousand years, I have been watching the ghosts and monsters of the Southern Wilderness day and night. My heart has become increasingly restless, and I have finally become greedy."

"Before I die, I wish to refine a Heavenly Mandate Elixir to become a True Lord of Ghosts and Monsters, so that the ghosts and monsters of the Southern Wilderness may enjoy a bright and prosperous world for ten thousand years."

"If the mountain spirit won't give it to me, I'll take it myself... But in the end, I overestimated myself."

"Thinking about it is a capital offense..."

The sun lineage of Yaoguang Prefecture belongs to the Lingyang Zhenjun of Xiaoqingtian.

But at this moment, for some unknown reason, Lingyang Zhenjun could not be summoned and remained on the sidelines.

The Golden Crow God then realized that Little Azure Sky had probably always regarded its intention to refine immortal pills as a joke... In this world, the remnants of ghosts and monsters can't rely on anyone.

"A dying wish? Or just stalling for time?" Chen Xuan observed the energy trajectory of the Ascension Ground, searching for weaknesses. Ten thousand Fusang trees bloomed on the earth, absorbing the power of immortal energy, transforming into beams of sunlight like golden crows, flying across the sky like rivers flowing into the sea, and converging into the temple.

The entire temple was bathed in the brilliant sunlight, and even Chen Xuan could only barely make out the temple's appearance.

Chen Xuan realized that the most dangerous moment had arrived.

He suddenly emerged from the void and then, with near-overwhelming force, defeated the Golden Crow God's physical body and divine soul twice in succession.

However, the Divine Travel ability is too powerful, exceeding the cauldron by a dimension. Once it reacts, all sorts of mysterious abilities emerge endlessly, making it impossible to kill.

In a short while.

Chen Xuan then had to go all out to fight the Golden Crow God, who was "evenly matched" with him. Moreover, with the blessing of the Ascension Land, the Golden Crow God continued to grow stronger, seemingly without end.

No wonder, despite the devastation and suffering of the border regions caused by the Chu, Yu, and Zhi kingdoms, their respective divine realms remained steadfast, entrenched in the Land of Ascension.

The divine journey within the Divine Land is invincible.

No vessel or furnace can rival it!
"No one cares about your last words! Come on!"

Chen Xuan would not give the Golden Crow God any more time to absorb the power of heaven and earth. He wanted to immediately flatten the Golden Crow God's temple and destroy this place of ascension to godhood, "Fusang Pure Land"!

"Buzz!"

Chen Xuan's eyes shone with golden light, accompanied by a vibrant green hue. A page from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Guyao" flew out. Chen Xuan summoned the fragment of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and in an instant, the ancient power of Guyao descended upon the Southern Wilderness!
"Rumble..." Clouds and mist swirled around, and an ancient sacred mountain appeared and disappeared above Chen Xuan's head.

The earth trembled violently, and the shadows of the Fusang trees on the mountain peaks shook wildly, but at this moment, they could no longer draw upon the celestial energy of the Southern Wilderness. Furthermore, the temple began to dim, losing its luster and falling into silence.

"This!" The Golden Crow God's pupils shrank, the long feathers between its brows furrowed slightly, and its eyes became somewhat dazed as it exclaimed in shock, "The Mountain Spirit has given you the only means to restrain this Crow God's Land!" The Hundred Thousand Mountains to the south are its God's Land.

The entire Southern Wilderness was once formed from the power of Guyao Mountain. In terms of control over the 100,000 mountains of the Southern Wilderness, even if the mountain spirit himself came, he might not be able to compare with the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Guyao"!
"So that's where you got the audacity to come to me, you're relying on Gu Yao!" At this moment, the Golden Crow God was filled with extreme hatred, his eyes seemingly spitting fire. His source of power had been severed with a single strike. The entire Ascension Ground was sealed off, and his divine travel power was almost entirely gone... He had essentially become a furnace!
"Guyao... the spiritual realm of the Guyao lineage is no different from a furnace in front of Chen Xuan!" In the distance, the nine-tailed celestial fox woman's delicate body trembled, but then, she thought to herself in disbelief:

"How could this be? Guyao Mountain is also the place where the Mountain Goddess ascended to godhood. How could such an important artifact as the fragment of the Classic of Mountains and Seas be passed on to outsiders!"

"Buzz!" Above Chen Xuan's head, a golden fragment of the Classic of Mountains and Seas hung. He descended from the sky, and nine ferocious figures, resembling gods and demons, surrounded and killed the Golden Crow God. Suddenly bright halberd light, banner light, sword light, and arrow light fell on the temple like a storm.

With a deafening crash, the temple collapsed, the golden bricks shattered, the statues crumbled, rocks flew through the air, and dust billowed into the sky.

"No!" The Golden Crow roared, its palm-sized body instantly transforming into a golden divine shuttle, piercing towards Chen Xuan. At this moment, the speed it unleashed was no less than that of Chen Xuan, who was empowered by two Immortal Secret Techniques!

An extremely dangerous battle erupted, with a golden light and nine black shadows constantly clashing and fighting. Wherever they went, energy surged and shattered mountains.

Chen Xuan separated a wisp of a demonic afterimage and smashed it up inside the temple of the Golden Crow God. He severed the illusory image of the Fuyou Ancient Tree and, in just a few breaths, reduced the temple to dust, vanishing without a trace, leaving not even a single tile behind.

"what!"

The Golden Crow God's eyes were bloodshot. Its temple was destroyed, and its ascension site was sealed by Gu Yao. It was also constantly injured in the battle, its body covered in wounds, and its strength exhausted.

"boom!"

The Golden Crow God was finally struck by Chen Xuan. Its palm-sized body was severed at the waist, its blood splattering across the sky as it fell to the ground. Its upper body was immediately pierced and lifted up by the black and gold dragon halberd.

But the last glimmer of light in its eyes was gathering, and a hoarse voice rang out from its bloodline. This was not the language of humans, but the ancient language exclusive to the Golden Crow race during the Age of Mountains and Seas.

The ethereal, howling sounds seemed to be summoning some ancient power.

Chen Xuan, not understanding his intention, used the Chilong Halberd to pierce the chest of the Golden Crow God. Blood flowed from the seven orifices of the Golden Crow God. This time, it was completely exhausted, and there was no other result.

But the Golden Crow God wore a relieved smile, his head slowly tilting as he murmured, "In ancient times... the magnificent sight of nine crows soaring across the sky... is gone forever..."

Chen Xuan slowly turned around in the air, and a soft glow appeared at the end of the horizon.

Dawn breaks ahead of schedule!

A real sun rises, but not the Eye of the Candle Dragon!

In that instant, an indescribable sense of crisis enveloped Chen Xuan.

"The awakened bloodline inherits countless supernatural powers, but there is one power that I dare not use..."

The Golden Crow God gazed at the distant radiance of the sun, his body melting into a wisp of solar essence, which rushed towards the sun: "Ancient God Golden Crow... Mountain Spirit Heartless, please bless your descendants once more!"

This is the strongest divine power that Golden Crow God awakened in its bloodline after advancing to the Divine Realm. In this last moment when it was trapped in a desperate situation, it finally used it.

"Long!"

The sun, rising in the distance, appeared above Chen Xuan's head in an instant, hovering in the sky. The illusory images of ten thousand ancient Fusang trees on the ground swayed and then vanished. But within the sun, a tree that seemed to be a real ancient Fusang tree appeared, its crows cawing coldly.

The Classic of the Great Wilderness, Eastern Section, states: There is a Fusang tree, which arrives one day and departs the next, both carried by crows!

Chen Xuan's heart sank. This was Shen You's strongest attack before his death, terrifying beyond compare.

In the past, when the forbidden beings in the Great Void were refining the Heavenly Evolution Dao Immortal Pill, one of them captured a true Taiyin Ancient Moon. Now, the Golden Crow God has also mastered a trace of the power to summon the ancient sun!

At this moment, the entire southern wilderness was enveloped in the bright sunlight!

"The old crow truly summons an ancient god?" In the abyss, the Chilong God stared at the distant sky, his dragon pupils shrinking: "But we demons and monsters would rather die than recklessly use this life-saving divine power!!"

"If the Holy Son uses the secrets of the Azure Bag and escapes immediately, there's only a sliver of hope," the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox muttered to herself. She admitted that it was astonishing that Chen Xuan, a mere vessel, could push Shen You to the brink of despair. But what unexpected events could occur when Shen You, who had lived for a thousand years, unleashed his strongest killing move?

The divine powers of ancient beasts from mountains and seas inherited in the bloodline of ghosts and monsters are comparable to the immortal techniques of humans and demons.

The Mountain God's Leap is a special technique that involves losing most of one's spiritual abilities, essentially falling into the cauldron of cultivation. However, having mastered supernatural powers for over a thousand years, this level of experience and proficiency is far beyond what a young, decades-old cauldron could ever hope to match!

"boom!"

The Golden Crow God rushed into the Great Sun, as if it were born from fire. It turned around and charged towards Chen Xuan, carrying the Great Sun with it. An indescribable heat wave swept over, the air boiled, and cracks appeared in the Primordial Ruins. The mortal world could hardly bear such a power!

Chen Xuan was under indescribable pressure, and all his escape routes were blocked by a strong energy field.

"Om!!"

At this moment, all the meridians in Chen Xuan's body trembled together. The Phoenix True Scripture controlled the Mountain and Sea True Scripture to operate at high speed. Not only that, the Six Desires True Scripture and six other Heavenly Mandate True Scriptures also started operating at the same time. The two completely different Heavenly Mandate and Mountain and Sea powers merged into one.

The scales on Chen Xuan's face receded, and the fiery wings on his back disappeared, but his internal organs resonated, and the five resurrected deities chanted scriptures, bursting forth with brilliant light.

At the same time, a small martial arts sun rose from behind his head.

The Mountain and Sea Immortal Body and the Heavenly Fate Immortal Body were activated simultaneously and briefly merged into one.

"laugh!"

Six-colored immortal light flowed across Chen Xuan's body, and eleven kinds of orthodox precious bodies were forcibly suppressed and entered his body. His skin was like divine jade, crystal clear, and he seemed to have a real immortal body.

But within his body, amidst the chaotic mixture of various sacred scriptures and immortal energy, he was rapidly collapsing; his heart was ablaze, his lungs were covered in moss, and his spleen was turning into quicksand…

With a fragment of the Classic of Mountains and Seas hanging from his head, Chen Xuan's nine immortal figures put away their treasures, leaving only the Human Emperor Banner. Immediately afterward, the nine figures simultaneously soared into the sky, meeting the final divine power of the Golden Crow God in their strongest immortal forms!
"boom!"

The mountains trembled, and the energy ripples from the impact reached the heavens and the earth, directly crushing the affected mountains.

At this moment, the ghosts and monsters in the mountains and forests were all fleeing frantically, trying to avoid the aftershocks of the battle in the central battlefield. Even the Mountain Lord joined the fleeing ranks. The little earth dog felt heavy-hearted: "I wonder if Chen Xuan's immortal body can withstand the energy impact of Tao Hongchen's level of divine power..."

"He...he's incredibly foolish! He thinks he can travel the world just because he has the body of a Shangyang immortal!" The nine-tailed celestial fox girl screamed in horror, lifting her skirt and jumping up on the spot.

The group of Qingqiu foxes around her were astonished at the sight and quickly asked questions, as they did not have the ability to hear the wind from hundreds of thousands of miles away.

"A fool, a fool! He's going to kill the White Fox Goddess!" the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Woman cursed, but the next moment, her ears twitched, her panicked expression froze, and she exclaimed, "This is impossible!"

In the midst of the blazing sun, Chen Xuan directly shattered the Golden Crow God's life-saving divine power.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Xuan's flawless immortal body, radiant with immortal light, withstood the golden crow's light that could melt all things, and in a very short time, he crushed everything in his path and killed the golden crow god.

“Reincarnation…that’s it…” The sunlight scattered, accompanied by a desolate sigh. The “Classic of Mountains and Seas: Guyao” suppressed the Ascension Land in the Southern Wilderness, preventing it from continuing its rebirth in the same place…The Mountain Spirit Goddess also wanted it dead.

"Swoosh!" A golden glint flashed in Chen Xuan's eyes, and the Golden Crow God's last sigh vanished completely.

Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of miles away.

A pale white sleeve flicked gently, flipping open the small underworld book of life and death in front of her. A golden name flashed briefly before turning into a glaring stain of blood, slowly dripping down and fading away.

“Xin Zhai…ha…very fierce…” An androgynous voice faintly rang out in the darkness.

(End of this chapter)