Fengyunlu

"Hey, Master Lei!" In this ethereal environment, Fairy Ji Yao extended a sincere invitation with a beaming smile. Her slender finger gently pointed to the bridge, as white as jade, shimmering softly in the sunlight. Her eyes were full of trust and encouragement, her gaze seemingly containing boundless power, as if gently saying, "Don't worry, just follow me! This place is absolutely safe and wondrous. You just need to follow my footsteps with peace of mind."

Lei Gong nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a calm and composed demeanor, as if no difficulty could faze him. He waited quietly for Fairy Ji Yao to turn around, and as she moved gracefully, he quickly followed, his steps firm and powerful, each one steady and firm. Then, one by one, the Nine Heavenly Sovereigns entered the mysterious area in an orderly fashion, their figures gradually blurring in the enigmatic atmosphere.

Once everyone had gone far away, Fairy Jade Hairpin gently waved her magical artifact, and the jade ribbon seemed to come alive, floating gracefully in the air. The surrounding celestial clouds began to churn, as if propelled by a mysterious force. The enchanting Jade Pool Wonderland, which had just been breathtakingly beautiful, like a paradise on earth, vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, as if it had never existed. If anyone were standing here now, they would certainly have no idea where the Jade Pool Wonderland was. However, Fairy Ji Yao had already ordered the mountain gates to be opened, so whether it was a visitor from the Xuanmen sect or an ordinary mortal seeking help or becoming a disciple, as long as they silently recited and quietly called out, Fairy Jade Hairpin and the other gatekeeper fairies would immediately appear. They would patiently inquire about the purpose of the visit before deciding on the next step.

After the Jade Hairpin Fairy finished her work, her figure slowly disappeared, as if merging into the surrounding air. The other fairies also dispersed, their whereabouts unknown. The bridge slowly faded into the afterglow of the setting sun, as if swallowed up bit by bit by time. But in this silence, a celestial cloud seemed to tremble slightly, though no one noticed this subtle change, nor did anyone see a figure flash by like a ghost, quickly disappearing into the western horizon.

Deep within Yaochi Mountain lies an unnamed ancient cave. Inside, a pair of eyes slowly open, their gaze filled with wariness and confusion, as if alert to any potential danger. Then, a voice murmurs with surprise and anger: "Huh? This is...it's him!! How could he be here?"

Suddenly, the cave was illuminated. The flickering candlelight seemed to sense its owner's anger, its glow tinged with a chilling rage. The owner of those eyes abruptly stood up. Though her face was veiled, the fierceness in her eyes, contrasting with the dim light in the cave, made her appear like a volcano about to erupt, her anger steadily rising.

But the next moment, her eyes flickered, and her brows furrowed slightly, as if she had sensed something amiss. She turned her head to look in a certain direction, a piercing light flashing in her eyes, sharp and profound, as if it could see through all the secrets of the world. She spoke to herself, yet also as if to someone else: "You always come to my Yaochi Mountain to cause trouble. Do you really think I, Gu Yuan, am easy to bully? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because of this?"

Having said that, she vanished in a flash, like a ghost. When she reappeared, she was already outside the Jade Pool, standing on a pure white cloud. She raised her hand and slapped it down sharply, miraculously drawing the power of Yin from the Jade Pool into her hand through a mysterious means. She skillfully used her immortal arts to strike the seemingly ordinary yet subtly mysterious clouds, causing them to instantly churn and tremble.

With a loud bang, the clouds trembled violently three times, as if they had been subjected to a tremendous impact. However, no figure appeared within the clouds; it was only a fleeting moment that something seemed to have been struck by Gu Yuan. After the trembling, the clouds fell still, as if frozen in place, no longer moving. Master Gu Yuan did not make another move, standing quietly atop the clouds, a hint of wariness in his eyes.

"Hmph!!" Master Gu Yuan snorted coldly, his voice full of anger and disdain. He then turned and left, his figure slowly blurring in the clouds and eventually disappearing into the distance, leaving only a silent expanse of mist.

South China Sea, Cangyun Sect. At the entrance of the main hall of the Baiyun Palace of the Nine Manifestations Divine Hall, Bai Xiyuan, along with Bai Xide and more than a dozen others, hurriedly landed. Their steps were somewhat rushed, and their expressions were filled with fatigue and worry, as if they had gone through a difficult ordeal.

One of the men, with a slightly sallow complexion, twitched his beard and asked with a puzzled expression, "Third Senior Brother, this time when we went to Thunder Mountain, the Spring and Autumn Emperor deliberately let the enemy go. Was this secretly instructed by Master? Does Master have some plan that we don't know about?"

Bai Xiyuan paused, seemingly considering how to answer the question, then walked into the main hall unhurriedly, saying as he went, "There are some things we shouldn't discuss casually. As the Emperor, Old Master Luo naturally has his considerations and plans, and there must be some deeper meaning behind them. Just tell my father about this; there's no need to say anything more in private, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble."

After Bai Xiyuan finished speaking, he entered the main hall, followed closely by the dozen or so people behind him. Upon entering, they found only disciples on duty and immediately realized that Emperor Cangyun had gone to Fuyun Cave. Thinking about how long the Holy Maiden of the Holy Cloud Sect could hold on, many shook their heads helplessly, their faces filled with sorrow and worry, as if they had already foreseen something bad about to happen.

On the surface, the Cangyun Sect appears infinitely glorious, but in reality, it is riddled with internal problems and harbors many hidden dangers. The Holy Maiden bears the heavy responsibility of inheriting the Yunhuang bloodline and the Cangyun lineage. The Nine Manifestations Divine Oracle records all the mysteries and is the foundation for the Cangyun lineage's enlightenment. Every newcomer must obtain the approval of the Nine Manifestations Divine Oracle. This is not intentionally making things difficult for them, but because all the Cangyun Sect's techniques and cultivation methods originate from the Nine Manifestations Divine Oracle. The more one comprehends, the higher one's realm and the deeper one's cultivation.

Bai Qianyi was able to suppress the Xuanmen sects for centuries single-handedly because of his profound understanding of the Nine Manifestations of the Divine Decree. In the ten-thousand-year history of the Cangyun Sect, he was the one with the deepest understanding. Ten thousand years ago, the Great Dao struggle caused turmoil, and immortals and gods frequently descended to the mortal realm. Now that the great chaos has passed, traces of immortals and gods are rarely seen, and the workings of fate and the Dao are elusive. Without corresponding insights, one cannot reach the corresponding realm. This also means that nowadays, various Xuanmen sects have essentially lost the opportunity to comprehend the Cangxuan Dao. This is the helplessness of the end of the Dao, a truly regrettable situation.

In this world, all beings strive to understand profound truths, but the vast gap between heaven and humanity, like an insurmountable mountain, blocks the path for cultivators to reach higher realms. Only those with exceptional talent and extraordinary comprehension can unlock its secrets, slightly loosening the seemingly unbreakable shackles between heaven and humanity. Once someone succeeds, it's like opening a door of hope for those who follow, allowing them a glimpse into that mysterious realm. Those with ability and perseverance can then build upon this foundation, breaking through layer by layer, ultimately shattering this barrier between heaven and earth. At that time, the Xuanmen (mystical sect) will have hope for revival, and the glory of the Xuanmen in ancient times will once again illuminate the world.

However, such a beautiful vision has consumed the life's blood of countless people. Generation after generation of cultivators have followed one after another, striving tirelessly, yet even so, it is difficult to touch the edge of that truth. Even Feng Wanlin, considered by the Xuanmen to be the most promising to lead the Xuanmen to glory, suffered a great misfortune at the height of his power and tragically perished. His tragedy indirectly proves that the Xuanmen, under the guise of destiny, cannot break the unparalleled curse of the heavens, as if a mysterious force in the dark is preventing the Xuanmen from reaching a higher realm.

In the final years of the Great Dao War, at the beginning of the gradual decline of the Xuanmen (Mystic Sect), a person of extraordinary talent, a veritable genius, accidentally discovered a perplexing key. It turned out that the Great Dao of this world was not complete and unified; it also had incomplete parts. Most cultivators diligently cultivated within the realm of their own comprehension of the Dao. However, under the workings of the Heavenly Dao, as the Great Dao War was about to end, a mysterious upheaval occurred. The cause of this upheaval was shrouded in mystery, seemingly a test from Heaven for the cultivators of the world.

That upheaval was like a terrifying storm, sweeping across the entire world with overwhelming force. Its reach was vast, encompassing not only cultivators of the Xuanmen (Taoist sects) but also demons, monsters, and all sorts of other beings. In this chaos, almost all living beings involved perished; its devastation resembled the ancient calamities of legend. The battlefield was located in a vast area in the heart of the Northern Frontier, bordering the Blood Sea. Heavenly lightning, like silver serpents, frequently struck the sky with deafening roars. Almost all living beings present, whether Xuanmen disciples or demons and monsters, perished in this catastrophe. Only a few highly skilled and unyielding Xuanmen cultivators, and some cowardly and hesitant demons and monsters, managed to escape. The former battlefield was now deathly silent; all life had vanished. The once fertile and idyllic Northern Frontier Sea Temple had become a desolate wasteland filled with swirling sand, thus forming the Northern Frontier Desert. The far northern sea was also stained red with blood, and the blood color lingered for a long time, turning it into the now eerily cold and malevolent Netherworld Blood Sea, as if it were a cursed land of death.

After that, the Northern Desert was filled with demonic energy, and the sky was filled with blood-red clouds that churned endlessly like raging waves, exuding an ominous aura. As it swept across, that evil power subtly permeated every corner of heaven and earth, as if to shroud the entire world in darkness. Among the surviving masters of the Xuanmen sect were those who sensed the anomaly in the Northern Desert, and together they went to investigate. It turned out that the great battle had created a massive array—the incredibly powerful Demon-Slaying Array. Within the array were array tablets and steles, the inscriptions on which were obscure and difficult to understand, seemingly written in an ancient and mysterious language. The Xuanmen ancestors spent a great deal of time and effort, repeatedly studying and calculating, before finally managing to decipher the meaning of the inscriptions.

It turns out that an ancient demon, known as Jiuyou, was suppressed within this demon-slaying formation. A descendant of an ancient lineage, this demon was now imprisoned here, its true form constantly being eroded by the power of the formation, preventing it from wreaking havoc on the world. The inscription also specifically warned that if future generations were to inadvertently enter this place, they must not damage the very foundation of this formation, otherwise all living beings in the world would suffer annihilation and cease to exist! The blood-red inscription was vividly clear, as if recounting the ferocity of that great battle and the terrifying nature of this ancient demon. Seeing such a warning, the ancestors naturally dared not act rashly and could only proceed with extreme caution.

However, on the other side of the stele, after the inscription, there were also words. It stated that if a great calamity were to befall future generations, causing widespread suffering and making survival difficult, the solution lay within the deepest part of the array's core. This seemed like Heaven leaving a glimmer of hope for future generations, giving people a chance to survive in the face of dire circumstances. Upon hearing this, the crowd dared not delay and rushed to the array's core. There, only a command arrow lay quietly on the ground, each side inscribed with the character "镇" (zhen, meaning "to suppress"), the characters ancient and powerful, seemingly containing boundless power. A particularly astute individual realized the key: this "镇" could suppress and even eliminate ancient remnants of the lineage, naturally also capable of suppressing all evil spirits. Immediately, the crowd cast spells, and the Demon-Slaying Array began to emit a powerful suction force, drawing in countless demonic energies. The northern desert gradually returned to peace, allowing entry into the mortal realm. Afterwards, the Xuanmen (mystical sect) sent people to guard the area, preventing any malicious individuals from secretly causing trouble and disrupting this hard-won peace.

As expected, the culprit who stirred up the Great Dao conflict, the so-called Minister Emperor Mo Yuan, survived the great battle. It's truly infuriating; he caused all this trouble, yet he hid on the sidelines instead of participating, and even plotted this Demon-Slaying Formation behind the scenes. When this news spread, the elders of the Xuanmen sects held him in utter contempt and looked down on him; while the high-ranking cultivators of other races also harbored deep resentment towards him, after all, his actions had brought immense disaster to the entire world.

The Xuanmen ancestors decided to kill Chen Di Moyuan to eliminate future troubles; while the high-ranking cultivators of the alien races adopted an indifferent attitude, hoping only that he would stop causing trouble. Ultimately, the ancestors jointly destroyed Chen Di Moyuan's demonic body, but after his death, he did not decay. His body, through some unknown means, coalesced into a malevolent resentment, as if sustained by an obsession. No matter how the ancestors tried to drive it away, this malevolent resentment would not dissipate, as if it had merged with the world. In desperation, the ancestors tried every method imaginable, but to no avail. Finally, someone suggested suppressing him, like demonic energy, within a demon-slaying formation, believing that in time, this malevolent resentment would be eradicated.