On the Path to the Great Dao

Qiu Ning the Fairy Maiden hesitated for a moment, then said, “The Celestial Venerable is still in seclusion, and the heavenly soldiers haven't been forged yet. Most of Despair Slope's strength is focused on forging them. Feng, Ping, Xi, and the other five immortals are away, leaving only us to guard the place. If we rashly intervene in the mortal world and something goes wrong, there'll be no one to rescue us.”

Civil Officer Wen smiled and said, “Fairy Maiden Qiu worries too much. Despair Slope's strength is extraordinary. Setting aside us Celestial Way Immortals, even the mere Celestial Way Walkers possess cultivation and power far superior to mortal experts. Immortal Feng single-handedly destroyed the Upper Realm. If Chen Shi is struggling so hard against the Thirteen Great Clans without the Upper Realm, how can he possibly match us?”

The other two immortals deeply agreed.

Immortal Lu Dingbo said, “If the Upper Realm were still around, do you think Chen Shi would dare proclaim himself the True King? It's precisely because Immortal Feng eliminated the Upper Realm that he dared to jump out, revive the false gods of China, and revive Houtu. Chen Shi doesn't have a single true immortal under his command. Even if he has immortals, they're only false ones.”

Immortal Shen Liujun said seriously, “The Thirteen Great Clans are mere skin ailments. Chen Shi and Houtu are the real threat to Despair Slope's foundation. One of them stirs up the people's hearts, and the other disrupts the state order. Both must be eliminated. Brother Kou fell at the Demon Emperor's hands, and the Celestial Venerable still needs to remain in seclusion to adjust his state to deal with the Demon Emperor. We are Celestial Way Immortals too—why can't we share the Celestial Venerable's burden?”

Qiu Ning the Fairy Maiden pondered for a moment, then said, “Chen Shi has already grown powerful. He has many experts under his command. If you go out, it's better to find Immortal Feng and the others first, so you can support each other.”

She paused, then added, “These are no ordinary times. Even an existence like Immortal Kou met with misfortune. Better to be cautious.”

Civil Officer Wen acknowledged, saying, “Then please let Fairy Maiden Qiu guard this place. We three will go down the mountain and find Senior Brother Feng.”

Just as the three were about to leave, Qiu Ning the Fairy Maiden called them back and said, “After much thought, I believe the Demon Capital is keeping a close watch on Despair Slope. This journey of yours is still dangerous. How about this: go to the Eternal Immortal Pavilion and each choose an immortal artifact. Civil Officer Wen, you take the Yin Yang Qi Bottle.”

Qiu Ning the Fairy Maiden said, “Chen Shi wields the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, which is extremely dangerous. Nothing but the Yin Yang Qi Bottle can withstand it. Just take the bottle. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame.”

Knowing she meant well, the three thanked her.

Qiu Ning the Fairy Maiden watched them leave, feeling uneasy. She thought to herself, “Despair Slope originally had eighteen immortals. Immortal Kou has passed away, and Zhong Wuwang has been added to replace him. Feng, Ping, Xi, and three other immortals are still out and haven't returned. Now Civil Officer Wen, Immortal Lu, and Immortal Shen have also left. Junior Sister Gong and six other immortals are busy forging the heavenly soldiers. That leaves only me and Zhong Wuwang to guard the place. And Wuwang is still muddle-headed, unable to remember many things from before. If something goes wrong now...”

She felt immense pressure.

In the Ten Thousand Mountains, the water of the Heavenly Pool flowed past Boundless Cliff and cascaded down into the Little Heavenly Sea below. From the southern side of the Little Heavenly Sea, a great river branched off, winding through the Ten Thousand Mountains.

This river was called Heavenly Water. Many ghost clans lived along its banks, and the river flowed through the capitals of the ghost clans, like the Yu Kingdom and the Feng Kingdom. Twenty thousand li to the southwest, there was a small ghost clan town called Yuji, built along the river. A few ghost clan women were weaving fishing nets by the riverbank. A few steps further, there was a crude dock where several ghost clan women washed clothes by the water.

A dozen or so paces ahead, several ghost clan men were painting a fishing boat for preservation.

They all turned their heads to look at the surface of the Heavenly Water River. A cloud was sailing down the river, skimming the surface, more stable than any boat.

On this cloud stood four humans, some in Daoist robes, some in secular clothes. The Daoist in the lead held a white fly-whisk, its strands draped over his elbow.

The white cloud reached the shore, and the four stepped off. The cloud behind them turned into a single strand of whisk hair, which was absorbed back into the fly-whisk.

The ghost clans of Yuji Town all stared, very surprised.

This place was extremely remote. Even ghost clan children rarely left to work elsewhere, and it was very rare to see strangers here. Ghosts of humans were even rarer.

The four walked through the alleys of Yuji Town. The ground was wet, covered with beads of moisture from the fog.

It was too damp here, somewhat uncomfortable.

They arrived at a house by the water's edge. The door was open, and Feng Ruotong was doing woodwork in the courtyard. Suddenly feeling a sensation, he looked up and saw the four walking in.

“Senior Brother Feng, you're hard to find.”

The leading Daoist was short, thin, and dark, with a blackish complexion. He stepped forward first, his voice somewhat sharp and high-pitched. “Senior Brother Feng, weren't you supposed to be looking for the Demon Capital and the Demon Emperor? Could it be that the Demon Capital and the Demon Emperor are hiding in this unremarkable ghost clan town?”

A faint smile gradually appeared on Feng Ruotong's face as he said, “Brother Ping, Brother Xi, how did you find your way here?”

That short, thin, dark Daoist was Immortal Ping. He sneered and said, “Immortal Kou was worried that you'd be isolated and helpless out here, so he sent us to find you. That way, even if we face the Demon Emperor, we'd have a fighting chance. We thought you'd be out here battling demons tirelessly, Senior Brother, but who knew you'd be doing woodwork here.”

Immortal Xi and the other two immortals were also quite dissatisfied with him. Immortal Xi said, “Senior Brother, you've been hiding here. There are no Heaven's Listeners in this place. It was extremely difficult for us to find your tracks! Many things have happened while you were away.”

Feng Ruotong was surprised and quickly asked.

Immortal Xi said, “The Celestial Venerable was originally following right behind you, waiting for the moment the Demon Emperor would make a move. But the Celestial Venerable has already returned to Despair Slope. The Celestial Venerable was injured.”

Feng Ruotong frowned slightly and asked, “When was the Celestial Venerable injured? Where is the injury? Who could have injured the Celestial Venerable?”

Immortal Xi said, “It happened when Chen Shi's skeleton body was undergoing tribulation in the underworld. As for who caused the injury and where it is, that's not something we could know.”

Feng Ruotong's expression turned strange as he murmured, “He was injured on the day Chen Shi's skeleton body crossed the tribulation? In that case, the Celestial Venerable was injured on his brow, wasn't he?”

Immortal Xi said, “We sensed that the Celestial Venerable's aura was unstable, clearly indicating he was injured. But we don't know where the injury is. Senior Brother, how did you know the Celestial Venerable was injured on his brow? Was he injured in a battle with the Demon Emperor?”

“The Demon Emperor? How could it be... Right, it was the Demon Emperor! Hahahaha! Indeed, the Demon Emperor slashed out one of the Celestial Venerable's eyes!”

Feng Ruotong burst into laughter, as if he had thought of something extremely funny. He laughed so hard he could barely breathe.

The four of them frowned, unsure why he had suddenly laughed.

When his laughter finally subsided, Immortal Ping quickly asked, “Senior Brother, do you know the details of the Celestial Venerable's injury?”

Feng Ruotong suppressed his laughter and said, “I know a little about it. This matter is actually somewhat related to me. Heh, the Celestial Venerable... hehe...”

Immortal Ping asked, “Could it be that you lured out the Demon Emperor, and both the Celestial Venerable and the Demon Emperor suffered losses?”

Feng Ruotong shook his head and laughed, saying, “It's not related to that. I didn't lure out the Demon Emperor. But the Celestial Venerable's injury is indeed related to the Demon Emperor.”

He thought of the scene where Chen Shi's skeleton body used the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade to slash into the Fog Moon and injure the Celestial Venerable's vertical brow-eye, and his expression couldn't help but turn strange. Even after Chen Shi's skeleton body had crossed the heavenly tribulation, it shouldn't have been able to harm the Celestial Venerable. But the power of that slash was truly terrifying; it had finally wounded the Celestial Venerable!

He even suspected that someone had secretly helped Chen Shi activate the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade to ambush the Celestial Venerable!

Seeing that he was being evasive, Immortal Xi became even angrier and shouted, “Senior Brother, Immortal Kou and Zhong Wuwang—one is dead, one is injured.”

“What?”

Feng Ruotong's aura exploded violently. He grabbed Immortal Xi's hand and demanded harshly, “Who died? Who was injured? Who was the one who struck? Was it the Celestial Venerable?”

He was the senior senior brother among the Celestial Way Immortals of Despair Slope, the very first one. All the subsequent Celestial Way Immortals had entered later than him. Still, everyone had achieved Dao Unification in the True God Dao Field, and their unified Dao realms were roughly equal. Immortal Xi and the others originally thought everyone's cultivation was about the same. But now, with his wrist caught by Feng Ruotong, he couldn't mobilize even a bit of his cultivation, and he was terrified. “Senior Brother Feng's strength is far above mine! Could he have already entered the next realm?”

He thought in panic, “Can we Celestial Way Immortals also enter the next realm? What is the next realm?”

Even for a Celestial Way Immortal like him, he didn't know what the realm after Dao Unification was. The Celestial Venerable had never mentioned it, only saying that after they achieved Dao Unification in the True God Dao Field, being a heavenly immortal was the absolute peak, and no further progress was possible.

Enduring the pain, Immortal Xi said, “The immortals left to guard Despair Slope sent us a message through the Heaven's Listeners, saying that Immortal Kou and Wuwang went down the mountain to find you. They encountered the Demon Emperor. Immortal Kou was killed on the spot, and Wuwang became a fool!”

“Impossible!”

Feng Ruotong threw off his hand and said coldly, “The Demon Emperor couldn't have killed Immortal Kou. There's someone else who did it!”

His mind raced, and he quickly figured out the key point. His face as cold as frost, his voice hoarse, he asked, “Did Wuwang achieve Dao Unification?”

The four immortals were startled. Immortal Ping asked, “How did you know?”

Feng Ruotong's face was ashen as he said coldly, “I already know who the killer is. This person's target wasn't Immortal Kou, but Wuwang. He wanted to kill Wuwang, destroy the Innate Dao Embryo, and prevent Wuwang from having the strength to threaten him. Immortal Kou died protecting Wuwang.”

Immortal Kou was his disciple, brought into the sect by him. Their bond was deep. Later, Immortal Kou achieved success in his cultivation and established his own foundation, becoming the second Celestial Way Immortal. They had since addressed each other as fellow Daoists.

Now, Immortal Kou was dead. The grief in his heart was immense, as was his fury.

“Senior Brother, who is the killer?” Immortal Ping pressed.

Feng Ruotong's gaze fell on his face, then shifted away, sweeping across the other three immortals. He said solemnly, “The Celestial Venerable.”

The four were shocked and said in unison, “Impossible!”

“The Celestial Venerable is the culprit who destroyed the Great Shang era, the source of the demonic corruption.”

Feng Ruotong sneered, “The Fog Moon in the Ten Thousand Mountains is the eye on his brow. When Chen Shi's skeleton body was crossing the tribulation, the Celestial Venerable used the Fog Moon to kill him, but Chen Shi wounded him with the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. I was there at the scene!”

The four immortals exchanged glances, thinking to themselves, “Senior Brother Feng has probably gone mad.”

Feng Ruotong continued, “After being injured, the Celestial Venerable returned to Despair Slope to heal. He was afraid the Demon Emperor would take the opportunity to strike at him. Heh, his courage is much smaller than I expected.”

Immortal Ping coughed and said, “Senior Brother Feng, you've been away from Despair Slope too long. Come back with us.”

The other three immortals nodded.

Feng Ruotong muttered to himself, “Zhong Wuwang cultivated the new method and achieved Dao Unification to become an immortal. He definitely didn't use the True God Dao Field for unification; he took a different path. The Celestial Venerable was afraid, so when Immortal Kou brought Wuwang to find me, he struck on the road and killed them both!”

He frowned slightly, pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath, “But why did Wuwang survive? Logically, the Celestial Venerable wouldn't leave such a loose end...”

He couldn't figure it out, unaware that Zhong Wuwang had also been killed by the Celestial Venerable at the time and had only come back to life thanks to the Immortal Art of Immortality.

The Immortal Art of Immortality was truly peculiar, surpassing his understanding.

Seeing that he was getting more and more outrageous, the four exchanged glances and quietly dispersed, standing around Feng Ruotong.

Immortal Xi said, “Senior Brother Feng, you've been in contact with the Grand Sacrificial Officer of the Demon Capital for too long, and his demonic path has affected your mind. Come back to Despair Slope with us and ask the Celestial Venerable to dissolve your demonic nature.”

The four of them pushed their magical power to the limit. A flying immortal sword rose behind each of them, stabilizing the surrounding space so that Feng Ruotong had no way to escape.

Immortal Ping said, “Senior Brother, don't resist. We just want you to come back to Despair Slope with us!”

Just as the four were about to make their move, Feng Ruotong suddenly shifted his body slightly, his shoulder pressing against Immortal Ping's chest.

Immortal Ping grunted. With a loud crash, his body smashed through the wall. Then, two huge waves rose on the surface of the Heavenly Water River. A mountain peak a hundred li away trembled as Immortal Ping was slammed into its body!

While Immortal Ping was flying out, Feng Ruotong's other hand had already pressed against another immortal's face, smashing him heavily to the ground. The earth rumbled and sank!

Without a second thought, Immortal Xi sacrificed his immortal sword and was about to strike when he heard another loud crash. A third immortal was sent flying with tremendous force. Only he remained standing in front of Feng Ruotong.

“Senior Brother, stop!”

Immortal Xi held back his urge to attack and said solemnly, “Senior Brother, say what you're thinking. Maybe you can convince me!”

Feng Ruotong slapped him, shaking his Primordial Spirit. Then, he rapidly tapped a few points on his body, sealing his physical body and Primordial Spirit, making it impossible for him to mobilize his magical power.

Immortal Xi was both shocked and furious. “Senior Brother, you really have gone mad!”

Just then, several Celestial Way Walkers living next door rushed in upon hearing the commotion. Seeing this, Immortal Xi quickly shouted, “You few, Senior Brother Feng has gone mad! Get out of here!”

Those Celestial Way Walkers saluted Feng Ruotong and said, “Senior Uncle, what happened?”

Feng Ruotong lifted Immortal Xi and threw him to them, saying, “The Celestial Venerable is the master of the Fog Moon. His vertical brow-eye was blinded by us. He doesn't believe it, so I captured him.”

Immortal Xi laughed in fury and said to the Celestial Way Walkers, “Listen to him! Senior Brother Feng has already gone mad...”

“The master of the Fog Moon is the Celestial Venerable?”

Those Celestial Way Walkers were only slightly surprised before accepting this fact. One of them quickly said, “Uncle Xi has been deceived by the Celestial Venerable and is stubbornly refusing to see reason. How should we deal with him?”

Even though he was usually good-natured, Immortal Xi was furious enough to yell, “Deal with your grandmother's leg!”

Feng Ruotong flew off, shouting, “There are three more! Handle them together!”

From afar came the ripples of magical techniques clashing, shifting left and right. After a while, Immortal Ping and the other two immortals were thrown down.

The Celestial Way Walkers took out the Immortal-Binding Rope and tied up the four immortals securely.

A woman said, “Since these several uncles are so stubborn, why don't we just send them on their way!”

“Send us where?”

Immortal Ping was so furious he almost vomited blood. He shouted, “You've all gone mad along with Feng Ruotong! You've been corrupted by the Demon Emperor! You're harming your fellow sect members!”

Feng Ruotong said, “Fighting them will inevitably attract the Heaven's Listeners. Take them with us. We're going back to the mortal world to see the Demon Emperor.”

Immortal Xi was so angry he started cursing loudly, “Feng Ruotong, so you really are in league with the Demon Emperor! You son of a bitch! I'll fight you to the death today!”

Feng Ruotong pointed, and Immortal Xi's flying immortal sword rose, turning as soft as a thread and wrapping around his neck.

“Curse me again, and I'll cut your head off,” Feng Ruotong said.

Immortal Xi dared not say another word.

Feng Ruotong brought everyone back to the mortal world. The corresponding location was Qianyang Mountain in the mortal realm. Feng Ruotong immediately rose into the air and headed toward the nearby Imperial Capital, Xinxiang.

The four immortals were stunned. “The Demon Emperor... isn't in the underworld?”

Soon after, they saw Chen Shi. Their minds went blank.

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