Chapter 62: Battle in the Wilderness

What should I learn?

Chen Xuan heard the voice of the True Person Zi Fei echoing by his ear. He gazed at the fairy with her flawless, snow-white face, feeling a trace of doubt.

That ethereal voice faintly continued to resound within the music of the zither.

"I have walked this path to its very end, yet I can see neither where the immortals dwell nor the place where the sages reside..."

Chen Xuan was stunned. Listening to this voice of despair, sounding akin to a sorrowful cry, he found it hard to imagine that it came from a towering figure who had founded her own Daoist orthodoxy. She seemed as though she were weeping, causing anyone who heard it to feel a deep, lingering sorrow.

"Later generations, the mad Daoists of Little Azure Heaven are walking the right path. In this world, only the shortcut of the immortal pill can truly be traversed. Swallow a single immortal pill into your belly, and you shall finally know that my fate is not determined by the heavens!!"

Chen Xuan shuddered with shock. The True Person Zi Fei, who stood at the absolute pinnacle of this mortal world, had left behind a wisp of her presence, only to lament that she had taken the wrong path throughout her lifelong cultivation of the Dao! Could it be that she harbored regret and also wished to refine immortal pills?

Listening to the words of True Person Zi Fei, Chen Xuan pondered inwardly: "What kind of faction is Little Azure Heaven? Is it something similar to the existence of the Lesser Netherworld? Does this faction specifically target those favored by destiny?"

The streak of purple radiance that had spanned across the sky moved with astonishing speed, and within a mere few breaths, it closed in right before his eyes.

"Hum!"

The next moment, that wisp of True Person Zi Fei's presence, carrying the purple radiance, crashed like a shooting river-star into the jade bracelet suspended in mid-air. Immediately, a series of purple-gold runes were engraved upon the surface of the jade bracelet, and all its brilliance retracted inward.

"The precious artifact is formed!" A look of joy crossed Chen Xuan's face.

"Clang!"

The purple-gold jade bracelet plummeted from the sky, weighing as though it were tens of thousands of catties. It landed upon a boulder, shattering it completely into powder, accompanied by the outward ripples of a resounding shockwave.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Trembling the heavens and earth, the sound soared into the clouds. Within a radius of a hundred meters, a vast number of fish in the lake turned belly-up and floated to the surface, shaken to death. Small birds dropped down from the treetops with fluttering feathers, and wild beasts deep in the forest bled from their seven orifices before collapsing onto the ground.

"Hah! This bracelet..."

Chen Xuan's mind spun with dizziness, and his vision darkened. Given the sheer strength of his physical constitution, he was still immensely affected by this gentle collision of the purple-gold jade bracelet. His internal organs roared and vibrated, seemingly on the verge of cracking to the point of bleeding, which fully demonstrated its terrifying might.

"Is this the power of a precious artifact? Its might is terrifyingly formidable!" Shocked, Chen Xuan picked up the purple-gold jade bracelet and cupped it in his palms to examine it closely.

"Precious artifacts can inflict fatal wounds upon cultivators of the Dao Repository realm, but the power of this bracelet of yours truly exceeds all imagination."

The old tortoise was equally astonished, for just a moment ago, even he had been slightly affected by the purple-gold jade bracelet, his ears producing a mild tingling sensation. This was enough to be called astounding.

He sighed with emotion: "During her lifetime, this purple-robed fairy possessed an unfathomable realm of cultivation, roaming through the great void and looking down upon the heavens and earth. Any object she casually touched, once exposed to the light of heaven, would instantly transform into a rare and peerless precious artifact."

The phantom trace could not even manifest one-ten-thousandth of True Person Zi Fei's might.

The old tortoise told Chen Xuan that if a grand figure of this caliber were to truly descend, the entire Southern Wilderness would find it difficult to bear her weight. Every single word she uttered would be enough to cause a ten-thousand-zhang-tall majestic mountain to collapse, and a single breath from her could scatter millions of lower-tier cultivators until their souls withered and their flesh turned to ash.

Right at that moment.

"The descent of divine light carried such a massive commotion; a rare and peerless precious artifact must have appeared!" A baring-fangs-and-claws ghost from the Southern Wilderness rushed out from the forest. It was an upright-walking weasel that had reached the peak of the Apotheosis realm.

Holding the purple-gold jade bracelet, Chen Xuan heard the sound and looked over, gently stroking the runes on the jade bracelet with his fingertips.

The old tortoise looked over as well.

The weasel demon froze for an instant, its ferocious expression instantly stiffening. Its legs trembled as it began to back away while muttering to itself: "Huh? What is this place? Why did I appear here? Am I caught in a nightmare? The weather today is truly pleasant..."

The bushes rustled as the weasel demon retreated back into the forest, scared out of its wits, and fled with all its might.

It had seen both of these figures before!

One figure had turned Taoyuan upside down with slaughter, while the other represented the Southern Wilderness and had driven away the top-tier mighty figures of the human race! It would not dare to act presumptuously in front of such existences, even if it were given ten guts of a bear and a leopard!

Shortly after, Chen Xuan and the old tortoise parted ways.

***

Chen Xuan decided to temporarily remain in the Southern Wilderness and wait until things quieted down outside. The outside world was simply too dangerous.

When the old tortoise left, he told Chen Xuan that areas outside the Southern Wilderness were perilous. Although the major events concerning Taoyuan had settled and the hidden top-tier mighty figures had all departed, many factions were still lingering about, seizing ancient artifacts from the hands of the weak and vulnerable. It would take at least a few more days before true peace returned.

"Black Cat, you've been very busy these past few days."

Chen Xuan murmured inwardly. Within his field of vision, the white light point representing Lady Black Cat was leaping about at extreme speed, so busy she didn't even have a moment to rest.

Upon entering the destiny of the longevity-species Willow Flood-Dragon, the coverage of his Heart Studio reached over eighty miles, which was absurdly vast and even encompassed the Small River Village outside the Southern Wilderness.

At the very beginning, every time the Black Cat summoned the descent of the Lesser Netherworld, Chen Xuan would definitely show up to collect the parlor tricks and investigate the murder cases.

However, after a few hours, this enthusiasm faded because the Black Cat's work was always dry and tedious. Yet, the Black Cat herself enjoyed it tirelessly, remaining full of energy at all times.

From this, he had learned several types of parlor tricks, recording them one by one in his mind.

Earth Virtue: Little Bear-Grizzly Trick.
Fire Virtue: Little Crimson-Dog Trick.
Water Virtue: Little Water-Snake Trick.

"The types of parlor tricks circulating within the territory of Crimson Crow City are not numerous; you can count them on two hands."

Chen Xuan noticed something peculiar. He knew that behind these parlor tricks, they actually corresponded to certain genuine scriptures. For instance, the little fire bird corresponded to the Scops Owl True Scripture, the little water snake corresponded to the Singing Serpent True Scripture, and the little red dog corresponded to the Cunning Dog True Scripture...

Moreover, he discovered an extremely bizarre matter.

"Within the entire territory of Crimson Crow City, whether cultivators or ghosts, not a single cultivator refining the Earth Virtue Yellow Qi can be found."

Chen Xuan found this astonishing. It seemed he was the only person practicing the Earth Virtue Yellow Qi.

In other words, assuming he had not acquired the Little Wildboar Trick through Yan Yushu, it would have been extremely difficult for him to successfully practice the Five Elements Qi in a short period of time.

Chen Xuan shared this matter with Yan Yushu, and after some discussion, they concluded that this was indeed a coincidence.

"The various parlor tricks were things I proactively asked Lu Zhuan to help me find and study," Yan Yushu told Chen Xuan.

At this moment, she was leaving the Southern Wilderness and was on her way to Crimson Crow City.

Yan Yushu would stay in Crimson Crow City for a period of time, waiting for Lu Zhuan to step down from his position as city lord, and then she would head to the sect where Lu Zhuan belonged to officially enroll... It was said to be a very mysterious ancient Daoist orthodoxy with a brilliant future ahead.

Everyone had their own future, and Yan Yushu's future was clearly exceptionally bright.

"Crimson Crow City is nearly two thousand li away from here in a straight line."

Chen Xuan estimated his physical stamina. Traveling normally, covering a thousand li in a single day would be effortless.

"This is somewhat troublesome. If I want to practice with Yan Yushu in a few days, I'll have to set off for Crimson Crow City two days in advance... Or I could just have her come find me."

Countless factions were moving away from the Southern Wilderness. Within three to five days, once the rain washed away the bloodstains on the earth, this place would return to its usual peace, repeating in a twenty-year cycle, over and over again.

At night, Chen Xuan sat alone among the forest lands, officially practicing the second chapter of the Yellow Millet True Scripture while admiring the bright moonlight.

Shortly after.

His talisman received a message from Yan Yushu.

While on her way back to the city with some aristocratic families, Yan Yushu had been ambushed by a group of mad Daoists who had appeared from nowhere, sustaining heavy injuries.

Daoists of the Dao Repository realm had intervened.

And there was more than one.

***

Under a crimson canopy of heaven, withered trees and night ravens.

"Hah!"

A blood-covered young man stumbled and walked across the wasteland. The saber and sword at his waist had long since vanished, and his long hair hung in disarray, matted with the sticky blood and flesh of unknown origins.

Ye Kui's lips were chapped, and his eyes were bloodshot. Catching sight of an abandoned dilapidated temple in the distance, he walked inside to rest for a moment.

A few breaths later.

"Bang!"

The temple wall shook as a fist the size of a sandbag pierced through the wall, punching a hole right through a Daoist's head and shattering his skull. With another punch, the temple wall collapsed, sending the Daoist's entire body spinning as he was blasted flying outward.

Inside the collapsed temple wall, Ye Kui withdrew his fist and turned around. Over a dozen Daoists were surrounding him.

"Supreme, Dao, Divine—"

A middle-aged Daoist with the hair of an old crane and the complexion of a youth, radiating an immortal and transcendent aura, wore an expression devoid of joy or sorrow. Holding what looked like a miniature burning golden sun, he struck out lightly with his palm, and the dazzling sunlight illuminated the entire night sky.

"You cannot escape from the grasp of us Daoist masters!"

"Boom!"

Ye Kui was sent flying backward for a hundred meters, plowing a deep trench into the ground as dust and smoke soared into the sky.

"Little Azure Heaven, a bunch of mad Daoists..."

He rolled over and coughed up a mouthful of blood, his chest nearly caved in. A terrifying, ferocious smile bloomed on his handsome yet emaciated face as bloody froth dripped down his pearly-white teeth.

"You forced me, you insisted on forcing me... Then come on!"

Boundless darkness, akin to pitch-black ink, rapidly spread.

"Clank!"

It was as if a bronze hall cast from tens of millions of catties of bronze had risen, and from within the hall stretched out a withered, rotting, pale hand the size of a mountain, with long, sharp fingernails, bound with countless heavy iron chains...

The pale hand reached out, pinched a wisp of red light with two fingers from a dead Daoist, and cast it into Ye Kui's body.

"Max it out!"

Ye Kui roared fiercely, his voice resembling the lament of a wild beast, piercing the canopy of heaven and tearing apart the dark clouds.

Surging and majestic crimson power burned from within his body, pushing straight forward and breaking through another layer of limits...

If Chen Xuan had been present here.

He would have been able to witness this scene.

***

Meanwhile, Chen Xuan gripped the jade bracelet and prepared to set off.