Chapter 104: Veil of Ten Directions’ Mist and Clouds [Fourth Watch]

The divine treasure, the Heavenly River, shattered completely.

Qingyuan withdrew the divine treasure of the Heavenly River and directed the ancient mirror above his head, suspending it in mid-air where its mirror light shone downward, protecting his entire body. He gripped the iron staff tightly in his right hand, lightning patterns surging across it, while the five fingers of his left hand separated, each fingertip giving birth to a wisp of light, each of a different hue, differentiating according to the five elements.

The scene fell into a brief, dead silence. The wind howled and the leaves swayed, leaving no other sound.

No one could have imagined that a cultivator in the Third Heavenly Layer could withstand a Superior, let alone one who had attained the Fifth Heavenly Layer.

Jin Lan took a deep breath, dropped an object from his hand, and paced a few steps to the left and right. With his left hand forming an incantation seal, his lips moved in a silent murmur; though voiceless, it carried a profound and abstruse intent.

Zheng Xing sat high above, looking down from his vantage point. Even as a disciple hailing from the righteous Shouzheng Sect, he could not help but feel astonished by this young man. At the same time, he had already sensed an anomaly arising among the crowd, and his gaze landed squarely upon Jin Lan.

Meanwhile, before Qingyuan, the Old Patriarch of the Sun family was breathing heavily, his mind unable to dwell on anything else as all other stray thoughts were cast completely to the back of his mind.

A legacy treasure of the ancient immortals?
The treasure hidden within the Liyue Abyssal Valley?
The underlying confidence that allowed this young man of the Third Heavenly Layer to contend against the Fifth Heavenly Layer?
Just what kind of immortal treasure could that possibly be?

The Old Patriarch of the Sun family was not certain whether the ancient mirror in this young man's hand was the destined opportunity he himself was seeking, but he recognized the Dharma artifact that should have originally belonged to Sun Yu.

Sun Yu was already dead, having perished in the Liyue Abyssal Valley, yet this young man possessed Sun Yu's Dharma artifact and wielded abilities even more formidable than those of an ordinary cultivator of the Fourth Heavenly Layer.

Even if it were not an ancient immortal legacy, at least some unknown mystery was concealed within this young man.

"It should be... perhaps... possibly... an ancient immortal legacy..."

The Old Patriarch of the Sun family took a deep breath, countless rays of piercing light flashing in his eyes.

The reason he had wanted to kill Jin Lan was because the latter had stumbled upon the affair of the Liyue Abyssal Valley, necessitating his silencing. Yet, in the end, a Sun family Superior had been lost at Jin Lan's hands. Now, coming after him was not only to avenge the fallen Sun family Superior, but also to vent the frustration of the Liyue Abyssal Valley secret being exposed, and above all, to ensure complete silence.

Yet the treasure was right before his eyes.

What Jin Lan? What face? What vengeance? None of that mattered anymore.
Through a stroke of blind luck, the true master of the opportunity might well be right before him.

His gaze swept swiftly past Zheng Xing, a flicker of apprehension toward this disciple of the Shouzheng Sect lingering in his heart, coupled with an even greater fear that Qingyuan might speak up and cause the treasure to ultimately fall into the hands of the Shouzheng Sect.

"I cannot give him a chance to catch his breath."

The thought flashed through the Old Patriarch's mind in an instant. With a fierce stomp of his foot, billows of dust and churning earth rose behind him like a wave of yellow water, within which a yellow dragon seemed to coil and roll.

"The Fifth Heavenly Layer." Qingyuan's pupils constricted. With a slight shift of his intent, lightning patterns instantly surfaced on his arm. As he swung the iron staff, a lightning divine ability was instantly unleashed, transforming into a crimson divine thunder.

This crimson divine thunder, burning red like molten magma, struck forth in an instant, moving too swiftly for the naked eye to perceive. It was the absolute maximum might he could manifest with his current level of cultivation.

Facing the incoming crimson thunder, the Old Patriarch of the Sun family did not change his expression. Reaching his hand forward, he actually caught the lightning barehanded, and then gave it a fierce squeeze, causing the thunder to dissipate into nothingness.

"You cannot escape!"

Following the Old Patriarch's commanding shout, the yellow wave behind him lunged forward.
Countless grains of yellow earth condensed into the shape of a vortex, enveloping Qingyuan right in the center.

...

"Fellow Daoist, hold your ground..."

Jin Lan, standing among the crowd and witnessing this scene, felt his breath catch, and his incantation almost faltered. Fortunately, his reaction was nimble enough that he managed to keep it going. His mind was in turmoil, knowing that if the young man died, he himself would undoubtedly find it hard to escape a similar fate.

"Fellow Daoist, hold on for just a moment longer."

...

From his high vantage point, Zheng Xing looked down.

"When this poor Daoist was in the Third Heavenly Layer, I doubt I possessed such capability in battle, would I?"

Zheng Xing frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "Whose lineage does this person belong to? Or did he stumble upon some fortuitous encounter? Is he truly just going to die like this..."

...

"Has it come to an end?"

Hua Mei felt a faint sense of regret.
Such a young man should have had boundless prospects.
He was already exceptionally outstanding, and now having obtained an ancient immortal legacy, whether blessed by fortune or bearing the treasure, he would undoubtedly have achieved great accomplishments in the days to come.

It was simply a pity that while still in the Third Heavenly Layer, he had encountered such a formidable enemy and was forced to perish on the spot.

...

In the distance, Gucang was turning back toward Fuzhong Mountain. Only halfway through its journey, it sensed an anomaly.
A sudden intuition stirred in its heart, accompanied by a vague premonition of dread.
It had long since sworn an oath to act as its master's protector on the Dao.

"Something has gone wrong..."

...

The various rogue cultivators all fell into a heavy silence.

A blazing light flashed in the eyes of the Old Patriarch of the Sun family. He brought his palms together in front of his chest and gradually drew them inward.
Meanwhile, the yellow vortex before him also continuously contracted inward.

Even a Superior of the Fourth Heavenly Layer would find it difficult to survive this.

"Regardless of whether it is an ancient immortal legacy, that treasured mirror is... extraordinary..."

With this thought taking root in his heart, the Old Patriarch grew even more excited, stepping gradually forward, waiting only for the young man inside to be crushed to death so he could reach out and seize the treasured mirror for himself.

Yet at that very moment, a hand suddenly thrust out from within the vortex.
That palm was marked by five distinct colors, transforming in accordance with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

"Break!"

The earth shuddered, and the Old Patriarch of the Sun family abruptly halted his steps.

There, a corner of the vortex was shattered.
Then, a figure leaped out from within.

The figure was in a disheveled state, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.
Yet he had escaped from the vortex.

"How is that possible?"

At this moment, whether it was Hua Mei in the distance or Zheng Xing and Jin Lan close by, all of them wore expressions of extreme astonishment.

Even with the Old Patriarch's vast experience, he could not help but feel his mind shaken. His eyes swept over and landed upon the ancient mirror resting atop Qingyuan's head.

That ancient mirror hovered above, its light shining down to protect his entire body.

Qingyuan was still panting, his hand gripping the iron staff trembling slightly.

Just then, a roar echoed from the distance.
Lightning flashed as a massive thunder-stone came hurtling through the air, smashing downward.

"The prototype of a Dharma treasure?"

A cultivator with discerning eyes among the crowd recognized the thunder-stone and cried out in immediate shock.

With a muffled *bang*, the thunder-stone struck. The Old Patriarch of the Sun family, forced to meet it in a hasty counter, was actually beaten back three or four steps by the impact.

Seeing this, Qingyuan knew that Gucang had arrived. He turned his head and shook it at the beast, signaling for it to retreat back into the mountain.

Gucang paused in its steps, then shook its head. Fixing its fierce golden gaze upon the Old Patriarch of the Sun family with chilling intent, it stepped forward once more. Ignoring Qingyuan's warning, it grasped the thunder-stone and charged toward the Old Patriarch.

Upon seeing Gucang, Zheng Xing immediately grasped the treasured sword at his back and shouted, "What kind of demonic entity is this?"

Qingyuan's heart sank, a dark sense of dread washing over him.

However, at that very moment, an object flew out from the crowd, pitch-black in color, and exploded in the sky.

The moment it detonated, it immediately burst forth into boundless gray mist, sweeping across all directions with the force of a violent gale.

Within a radius of dozens of miles, everything was shrouded in a thick fog.
To the naked eye, visibility was reduced to a mere ten feet, and even spiritual perception could not penetrate to sense the surroundings.

From within the dense fog, the Old Patriarch of the Sun family's stern roar rang out.

"The Ten Directions Smoke and Cloud Hood!"
"Jin Lan!"
"You are courting death!"