Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 935 Bloodstained Stone Central

The Five Elements Nightmare departed through the air, and the blue halo between its foreheads drifted down, rippling like water, before turning into wisps of smoke and mist. Lan Yan stepped out from within.

Everyone stared intently, and each felt a slight tremor in their heart.

At this moment, the blue-faced man's spiritual light was scattered, and his physical body was like smoke and mist gathering and dispersing, clearly indicating that his soul was unable to continue.

"Holy Envoy..."

Shi Yangzongtian's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but take a step forward.

Lan Yan raised her sleeve and pressed down lightly, her slender hand shimmering with moonlight, her clear voice like the gentle chime of a jade chime: "It's alright."

She lowered her eyes to look at the fading spiritual patterns on her palm. How could the sealing spell formed from her soul's thoughts be unaffected? The soul power she had expended while fighting the Nightmare had already left this spiritual body as fragile as a candle in the wind.

At this moment, the Yin-Yang Heavenly Net Umbrella floated down from the sky, its surface swirling with the Yin and Yang energies like a dragon.

The Taoist's true spirit manifested from between the umbrella ribs, looked at Lan Yan, stroked his beard, and sighed, "If Fellow Daoist Lan continues to force himself, this wisp of remnant soul will likely scatter into the Three Realms and Six Paths..."

"It's really time to leave..."

Lan Yan gently touched the frost at his temples, then suddenly turned his head and asked, "Has Lingzhen found a successor?"

At this point, her eyes dimmed slightly: "Years ago, I promised to find a talented person for you, but instead, I've caused you to remain in seclusion for ten thousand years..."

The Taoist Zhenling laughed loudly, and the pure energy of the Xuanmen reverberated through the void: "The arising and ceasing of all things are predetermined. How can we know that this ten thousand years of waiting was not a preordained secret?"

After speaking, he lightly swept the dust off the umbrella, and countless starlight cascaded down its surface.

Seeing his carefree attitude, Lan Yan couldn't help but smile, then turned to look at Chen Mu and the others: "I must thank you all for this trip. If it weren't for your restraint, Lingzhen wouldn't have been able to succeed in one fell swoop."

"Senior, you flatter me. I was just fortunate to be here."

Yu Chengkong bowed respectfully. What he said was quite true. With the Blue Beauty sealing the way and the Immortal Artifacts finishing the job, even if it were any other people, the result would probably be the same.

However, fate is such that the blue-faced men lacked a powerful True Lord to restrain them, and they just happened to arrive here, so it is their turn to bear this karma.

Lan Yan pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, summoning three blue and white feathers, each landing before one of the three: "If one day you ascend to the ranks of immortals, you may take this token to Lan Hua Tian to find me..."

Yu Chengkong's brow twitched slightly, pondering how elusive the promise of ascending to immortality truly was. "Of the three of us, only Fellow Daoist Chen has a chance..."

He turned his head and saw Chen Mu accepting the gift calmly. Then he turned his head and saw that Hong Wuyai had also calmly accepted the token...

Compared to this, he felt somewhat out of place, and a slight chill ran through him. He quickly reached out and grabbed the feather.

The moment it touched it, one felt a chill that pierced the soul. Upon closer inspection, the surface of the feathers shimmered with a dark blue light, appearing both ethereal and dreamlike.

Lan Yan then looked at Chen Mu separately: "This young friend has done a great deal of work and has taken on the responsibility of finding a successor for Lingzhen on my behalf. This cannot be repaid with a mere promise. I wonder what you seek on this trip? Please feel free to speak."

Chen Mu was initially hesitant to ask for the favor directly, but unexpectedly, Lan Yan took the initiative to speak.

Judging from the gleaming eyes of the other party, one can tell that they must have already guessed something.

After sighing inwardly, Chen Mu no longer hesitated, cupped his hands and said, "Your esteemed lineage inherits the bloodline of the Five Divine Birds. I humbly request to join you on the path to enlightenment..."

With his confidant in front of him, he couldn't directly say that he wanted to find a blue duck as a spirit pet; he had to make it believable on the surface.

However, everyone understood the reasoning, and Lan Yan did not feel offended. He smiled slightly and said, "There is indeed a descendant's egg deep in the Taiyin Xuan Pool. It should have appeared in the world ten thousand years ago, but Xu Chentie disrupted my Daoist temple, causing it to slumber until now."

"Now that Xu Chentie has departed, it is time for him to be reborn. Fellow Daoist, you bear a great burden of karma. I, as your junior, will follow you. Perhaps one day we can trace our ancestry back to the ancestral realm..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu's eyes lit up with a strange light.

The primordial embryo from ten thousand years ago was nurtured in the Taiyin Mysterious Pool for ten thousand years. Just how astonishing will this bloodline be?

"I am very grateful to you, senior. I will definitely do my best to support you..."

Lan Yanzhen nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Shi Yangzongtian, where a ripple of emotion appeared: "Your clan has served my clan for over twenty thousand years. Now that you have returned, I fear we will never meet again. In the future, if any of your direct descendants possess exceptional talent, they may also seek me out in Lan Huatian, and I will personally grant them the opportunity to break through their barriers."

After saying that, she reached out and pointed, and a ray of blue light flew into Shi Yangzongtian's brow.

The elderly man trembled violently, touching his forehead to the ground in a deep bowing ceremony, his aged voice choked with emotion: "The entire Shiyang clan... respectfully sees off the Holy Envoy..."

Lan Yan seemed to have a soft heart and couldn't bear to witness this scene of parting. He said nothing more, nodded to everyone, and then transformed into a stream of light and broke through the boundary, leaving only a faint, clear sound echoing in the void...

Even as the sky returned to its clear state, Shi Yangzongtian remained kneeling, unable to rise.

Reflecting on the tribe's 20,000 years of worship, and recalling the time when I reached a bottleneck in my spiritual practice, if it weren't for the holy messenger's three words of truth that enlightened me, I would probably have long since turned into a skeleton in a tomb...

The Taoist spirit within the Heavenly Net Umbrella marveled at the sight, then transformed into wisps of green smoke and disappeared into Chen Mu's personal cave.

Yu Chengkong gazed at the ice palace shrouded in cold mist and stepped forward to gently comfort her: "Now that you have returned successfully, Senior, the leader should be happy."

Shi Yangzongtian sighed deeply, slowly rose, and finally calmed down. After glancing at Yu Chengkong and the others, he understood their intentions, wiped away the tears from his temples, and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Please feel free to do as you please, Clan Chief Yu Xuan. I still need to return to my tribe to make some arrangements, so I won't accompany you to explore the Ice Palace any further..."

Yu Chengkong nodded in acknowledgment, exchanged a knowing glance with Chen Mu and Hong Wuyai, and the three of them, their robes billowing in the wind, headed straight for the Ice Palace.

Shi Yangzongtian stepped through the void and walked further and further away, his robes fluttering in the wind.

He had no interest in the treasures of the Ice Palace; his only thoughts were of his tribe and the Holy Envoy. The faith passed down for twenty thousand years was like the unyielding ice deep within the icy plains, unchanging even if the heavens and earth were to crumble...

Upon reaching within a hundred paces of the Ice Palace, all three shivered.

The chill penetrated straight to the heavens, yet it cleared the mind, even causing a layer of fine frost to form on the eyelashes.

Yu Chengkong lightly fluttered his wide sleeves, and frost flowers fell in a flurry: "This demon's lair has been entrenched for ten thousand years, and it's hard to guarantee that there aren't any sinister arrangements. You two must be careful."

Before he finished speaking, he had already transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the palace gate.

Chen Mu shook his head and chuckled, then entered side by side with Hong Wuyai.

The anticipated danger did not occur. Instead, the entire palace was bright and clear, with little trace of evil spirits. Only the southeast corner of the sleeping quarters was shrouded in a solidified black mist, like ink splashed in the air, clearly caused by the Five Elements Nightmare's long-standing presence.

Yu Chengkong rolled his eyes and took the initiative to look towards the sleeping quarters.

Chen Mu stopped and did not follow, but slowly went deeper following the guidance of his spiritual sense.

After passing through the seven layers of ice-carved moon gate, the sound of flowing water suddenly broke the deathly silence.

He was overjoyed and took a few steps forward. He saw wisps of white mist rising from the surface of the ten-zhang-square-meter cold pool, and the clear water revealed a deep blue embryo lying at the bottom.

Upon closer inspection, cloud-like patterns float on the eggshell, as if a corner of the heavens had been cut off and sealed here, adding a touch of mystery compared to the one obtained before.

Upon seeing what he sought on this journey, Chen Mu calmed his mind.

He first took out the flawed embryo and placed it in the cold pool. Then, he saw the misty cold fog suddenly surge and a stream of spiritual energy flow into it.

The blue patterns on the surface of the egg gradually lit up, and the power of origin was as full as the moon. Then, suddenly, the sound of glass shattering broke the silence, and the cracks meandered down from the top, turning into a gap of about an inch.

A clear, melodious chirping sound came from inside the egg. Chen Mu gazed intently and saw a ray of light, like ice crystals, burst forth from the shell, its sound like jade shattering in Kunlun Mountains, lingering endlessly.

The blue light hovered in mid-air, gradually fading its brilliance, revealing itself as a divine bird in the shape of a wild goose, but with icy, crystalline feathers. As its wings fluttered lightly, shimmering water patterns appeared out of thin air, like a clear spring under the moon protecting its body.

Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately sensed that the millennia-old chill of the Taiyin Profound Pool had tempered the Blue Duck bloodline to the point of near-reversion. If it had become so powerful with just a slight purification, what would it be like after sleeping here for millennia?
Chen Mu was filled with anticipation, but he also knew that the ten-thousand-year-old embryo had been dormant for too long and could not be awakened rashly at this time. After thinking for a while, he waved his hand and summoned the embryo. Nearly half of the cold pool instantly gathered into a stream, carrying the embryo into his personal cave.

The newly hatched blue duck was overjoyed and, without needing to be urged, went in with the current, seemingly quite fond of the cold pond water.

With the mission successfully completed, even Chen Mu couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Since the spirit pet was born, it has been carefully nurtured. The power of cause and effect it has gained this time must be vast and boundless. Not to mention breaking through two levels of the profound barrier, it is even possible to break through three levels in a row!

While pondering, Chen Mu returned the way he came. Before he even reached the palace gate, he heard a loud shout from afar: "Brother Yu, Fellow Daoist Chen, come and take a look!"

Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he had made a discovery?

He took a step forward, and his figure vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he had already entered an exceptionally magnificent palace.

The dome is covered with star patterns, and the four walls are thousands of feet apart. In the center of the vast palace, broken steles and fragments are piled up into a mound, fragmented and broken, but one can still glimpse the magnificent structure that once stood tall and supported the sky.

Even more eye-catching is the eternal, flowing jade pillar on the side, within which floats a figure in a pure white feather robe.

Its entire body is as white as frost and snow, yet it is shrouded in a seven-colored halo, as if it has gathered all the rainbows of the heavens into the white silk.

Yu Chengkong's pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light. This was the Holy Spirit Feather Robe passed down through generations of the Feather Clan, which could only be inherited by the clan's holy maiden.

However, when Yu Nie took it away in despair, her clansmen thought she would destroy it, but it turned out to be intact.

Legend has it that this feathered robe contains the path to becoming a true immortal, and is the supreme treasure of his Feather Clan.

Yu Chengkong felt a surge of excitement and instinctively reached out to investigate, but was unexpectedly stopped by Hong Wuyai: "Wait."

Yu Chengkong was startled for a moment, then came to his senses and saw that there was a restriction outside the pillar of light, with a faint demonic aura remaining on it. It was clear that the Five Elements Nightmare had also been interested in it for thousands of years, but had failed to break it.

"They didn't even manage to get their hands on a sixth-tier demon..."

Yu Chengkong pondered to himself, "I wonder if the ancestral restrictions will make an exception for those of the same bloodline?"

However, he also knew that no matter how Yu Nie arranged things, he could not obtain this feather robe in a short period of time.

Compared to that, the method of merging the bloodlines of all races is more important.

Thinking of this, he turned his head and saw that Chen Mu and the other person had already gathered in front of the rubble to examine it.

On a whim, he quickly moved closer.

Chen Mu's gaze swept across the surface and saw that the gravel was covered with densely packed mystical patterns, mixed with many seal script characters, making it look extremely chaotic.

"Fellow Daoists, have you discovered anything?"

Yu Chengkong glanced at it a few times, and was equally troubled and confused.

Chen Mu shook his head: "If my guess is correct, this should be the method for fusing the bloodlines of all races that you are looking for. However, it is currently in a state of chaos, and some deduction is still needed..."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and several pieces of rubble flew up and pieced together.

Upon hearing this, Yu Chengkong slowly nodded and channeled his divine sense into the process.

Unaware that Hong Wuyai, who should have been detached from the situation, looked even more anxious than Yu Chengkong, his expression was grave...

……

Outside of the Shiyang tribe.

Shi Yang descended from the sky on clouds, but a thought struck him and he sensed something was amiss.

The clansman who used to love leaning against the bluestone in the sun, spitting as he boasted about the past, was nowhere to be seen. The cheerful laughter of the children chasing and playing had also vanished. The entire tribe was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere as silent as a dark pool.

The old man's withered fingers had just formed a hand seal when suddenly the light of day burst open.

A steel fork, gleaming with a cold, dark blue light, pierced through the air, its killing intent solidifying into a tangible form, crushing all the vegetation within a ten-foot radius into dust.

His expression changed, and his reaction was incredibly swift. He opened his mouth and exhaled a gust of wind, attempting to slightly obstruct the flow.

Unexpectedly, the steel fork moved like a dragon entering the sea, tearing through layers of wind barriers with unstoppable force.

Shi Yangzongtian was now completely panicked; it was clear that the person who made the move was no less powerful than him.

But the Yu Xuan Realm is only so big, where is there anyone with a higher realm than him?
"They're from outside!"

Before he could think it through, the steel fork was already close by. He staggered back, his withered face cut by the sharp force, leaving several bloody marks. His white jade hair ornament shattered, and his three thousand silver hairs danced wildly like snakes in the strong wind.

"Why did you make a move...?"

He hissed as if to ask a question, but the steel fork suddenly spun in mid-air, forming a three-element killing formation with two streaks of crimson gold, sealing off all the gates of life.

He was already weak, and with his lifespan nearing its end, his encounter with the Five Elements Nightmare only made him more vulnerable. He thought he could rest after returning to his tribe, but instead he was ambushed and was about to die in a daze.

Just as his eyes widened in fury, a deep voice reverberated from the obsidian hall in front of him: "Sheathe your sword! Take him into the hall!"

The crimson sword light froze instantly, and two figures with snow-white wings on their backs broke through the light barrier.

Shi Yangzongtian's pupils suddenly contracted, and a hoarse hiss escaped his throat: "Yu... Clan Master... What are you all doing here?"

"Noisy."

The Feather Clan True Lord on the left scoffed coldly. With a flick of his sleeves, a gilded Immortal Binding Rope transformed into a dragon, instantly binding the old man into a golden cocoon.

Shi Yangzongtian tried to struggle, but was swept away by the gale and dragged into the tribe's barrier.

He was completely bewildered, initially thinking there was some misunderstanding, but as he ventured deeper into the tribe's territory, he was suddenly jolted violently.

He saw his cousin, who always boasted about his swordsmanship, beheaded; the younger generation, covered in wounds, huddled in pools of blood; and the children who used to play around his knees, now floating like withered leaves on the frozen lake…

The old man's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot: "Beasts! You are worse than beasts!"

He roared, unleashing a burst of spiritual energy that consumed him without regard for the cost. The golden rope snapped instantly, but the Feather Clan True Monarch beside him remained calm and sneered, "Overestimating yourself."

With a combined effort, the surging Shi Yangzongtian instantly weakened, and upon examining the spiritual energy behind him, it became clear that even his Dharma form had been shattered...

When he was thrown into the council chamber like a tattered leather bag, twelve eternal lamps illuminated the congealed bloodstains on the floor beneath the dome, which was once adorned with a tapestry of a hundred beasts.

He forced himself to look up and saw several winged figures standing with their hands behind their backs, quietly waiting for someone to interrogate a short-bearded, burly man.

"Tell me, where did those three go?!"

The short-bearded, burly man was none other than Gu Ji. At this moment, he was in a daze, or perhaps he sensed the return of his leader. His expression, which had remained unchanged until now, finally shifted.

The once iron-willed man let out a whimper like a cub: "Chief...they...their people are all dead!"

……

(End of this chapter)