“Before the ancient demon Heavenly Courts, just when the Chaos first developed, the demons were also very weak.” Perfect Sovereign Erlang, Yang Jian, stealthily watched this scene as he held his breath. “Back then, the Chaos Godfiends ruled over the Three Realms. The strongest among them were Zhurong and Gonggong. Gonggong was the one who smashed through Mt. Buzhou. Zhurong had even defeated Gonggong… Legends say that the both of them had one foot into the Heavenly Dao realm.”
“Mt. Three Blades had been sealing this bunch of Chaos Godfiends?” Many thoughts came to Yang Jian’s mind. Following that, he took another furtive look at the famous God King Zhurong. “The source that I sensed came from God King Zhurong. No matter what treasure it is, it’s not something I can take for myself.
“I have to leave now, if not there will not be another opportunity.”
Without any hesitation, Yang Jian carefully retreated.
…
And inside the ancient hall at Mt. Three Blades’ core.
Zhurong and his Chaos Godfiend subordinates made up one party. The other party was naturally Patriarch Blood Sea.
“Blood Sea, tell me. I owe you huge karma since you released me.” Zhurong smiled as he calmly looked at Patriarch Blood Sea. “What help do you need from me?”
Patriarch Blood Sea smiled. “Brother Zhurong, you do not owe me. Instead, you owe the Fiend Ancestor. I rescued you under Fiend Ancestor’s orders.”
“I owe the Fiend Ancestor? Who is he?”
Zhurong frowned slightly when he heard the name, feeling somewhat suspicious. He did an inference and exclaimed, “So the Fiend Ancestor is Black Lotus… He has actually reached the Heavenly Dao realm? How many in the Three Realms have reached the Heavenly Dao realm at present?”
“That is no secret. I believe you will know simply from doing an inference, Brother Zhurong,” said Patriarch Blood Sea.
“Back when I ruled over the Three Realms, the Chaos had only recently developed.” Zhurong did a simple inference before learning of past and recent developments. He could not help but shake his head and sigh. “We wanted to dominate the Three Realms in order to rule over it. There were also Elderly Lord, Primordial Beginning, and company who secluded themselves in cultivation to probe the various schools of thought. All of them wished to take their own paths.
“In that battle, Gonggong stirred big trouble when he slammed through the heavenly column. It invited a cataclysmic event onto the Three Realms. Back then, Nüwa was suddenly enlightened, reaching the Heavenly Dao realm and managed to mend the sky to save the Three Realms,” said Zhurong. “Although Nüwa was stronger than all of us, I didn’t feel aggrieved about it. Back then, only Nüwa had reached the Heavenly Dao realm.
“Yet in a blink of an eye, there are six at the Heavenly Dao realm.”
Zhurong sighed. “Instead, I remain shunned outside that door.”
Patriarch Blood Sea smiled. “Isn’t it the same for me? However, Brother Zhurong, you are still much stronger than us all.”
“What does Black Lotus want from me?” said Zhurong with a chuckle. “Although it was thanks to you fiends that I was able to escape, it’s ultimately because Nüwa was willing to release me. She said back then that sealing us was a punishment. She said that once the time was up, she would release the three Seal Presiding Tokens to the mortal world of the Three Realms. If the three Seal Presiding Tokens could be gathered, the array would be opened. The fact that they could be gathered means the Heavenly Dao has permitted my release. Therefore, the root reason is because Nüwa had approved of it. Without the release of the Seal Presiding Tokens, none of you would have been able to enter.”
“Yes, yes,” said Patriarch Blood Sea with a faint smile. “Nüwa approved of it, and all we did was give it a nudge. Fiend Ancestor wishes to meet you.”
“I need to familiarize myself with the Three Realms,” said Zhurong. “I’ll chat with him again in a thousand years.”
Patriarch Blood Sea hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”
Huge karma.
Did it matter? If one was bent on raising one’s strength, one naturally had to sever any outstanding karmic issues, or karma would affect their cultivation.
But if a breakthrough in strength seemed impossible, an existence like Zhurong could ignore the huge karma that bound him! So what if he owed someone karma? So what if decorum was lost?
As for cultivation?
Patriarch Blood Sea knew very well that Zhurong, Gonggong, and three others came from illustrious backgrounds. They were only second to Pangu who had split the heaven from the earth. Therefore, they were extremely formidable. Their births gave them remarkable strength but it bound them. Among the five, Gonggong was dead. The other four were still alive, in seclusion, or lording over an area. However, none of them had attained the Heavenly Dao realm.
******
“Zhurong actually chose not pursue us?”
“As expected of God King Zhurong who had a chance of ruling over the Three Realms.”
The group of Chaos Godfiends, who had Xiangliu has their leader, looked back through a stone-walled tunnel and heaved a sigh of relief. Most of them were Gonggong’s subordinates back then and were enemies that opposed Zhurong.
They met with a fork up ahead, and so these Chaos Godfiends began separating.
“Brother Xiangliu, let’s part here.”
“We shall part here.”
“Brother Wu Zhiqi, I bid you farewell.”
They soon separated and formed nine groups and proceeded down the different paths they chose.
Although they were all Gonggong’s subordinates in the past, Gonggong was now dead. No one acknowledged the other to be their superior. Even the best combat general under Gonggong, Xiangliu, was unable to unite the masses. Therefore, it was natural for the former troops to splinter into different divisions.
…
“I’m finally out. Goddess Nüwa was true to her word. She did not forever seal us.” Three Chaos Godfiends traveled alongside each other as they happily chatted.
A gray-furred monkey with a protruded mouth said with a laugh, “After holding back for so long, I am definitely going to have a good time once I’m out.”
“Treasure-seeking Rat, you have to find us good wine. I haven’t had wine in a long time.” A furry ape draped in armor bared his teeth in a grin.
“Brother Wu Zhiqi, don’t worry. Don’t you know the capabilities of Treasure-seeking Rat? He can find the best wine in the Three Realms,” said a single-horned Godfiend to the side with a laugh. “Treasure-seeking Rat, you are good at inferring the heavenly secrets. Once we are out, quickly search for beautiful women. I haven’t had a taste of that in a very long time.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” The gray-furred Godfiend chuckled.
The three of them proceeded through a fork without stopping.
“Why are we going in circles?” The furry ape, Wu Zhiqi frowned. He had a white-furred head and green furred body. His ferocious golden eyes swept towards the gray-furred Godfiend. “Treasure-seeking Rat, quickly find us a way out.”
“Brother Wu Zhiqi, don’t be anxious. This is a sealing array set up by Goddess Nüwa. These veins were formed naturally which is why it’s so complicated. Although I’m good at inferring the heavenly secrets, I’m still unable to crack Goddess Nüwa’s array,” said the gray-furred Godfiend with a smile. “But don’t worry. We would definitely leave this place. We will just spend a little more time at worst.”
“Oh?” The gray-furred Godfiend’s pupils contracted suddenly as he looked ahead. “It seems there’s a cultivator up ahead. If I did not sense it wrong, it’s likely an Itinerant Immortal.”
“An Itinerant Immortal?”
Wu Zhiqi exclaimed, “Before we were sealed, the Chaos Godfiends had researched many cultivation schools of thought. There was a branch among the Daoists who attempted the path of the Itinerant Immortal… But it seems the Itinerant Immortals experience a tribulation every thousand years, with each tribulation more powerful than the last. Back then, the Three Realms had quickly abandoned this school of thought, right?”
“Treasure-seeking Rat, did you make a mistake?” asked the single-horned Godfiend.
“Would my eyes make a mistake?” said the gray-furred Godfiend confidently. “Although he can hide his aura well, he is definitely an Itinerant Immortal. Also, I can see more!”
Wu Zhiqi and the single-horned Godfiend looked at him.
Treasure-seeking Rat chuckled weirdly and said, “I discovered huge treasures on him. My nose can smell… a thick treasure aura on him. He probably has more than even you, Brother Wu Zhiqi!”
“More than me?” Wu Zhiqi’s golden eyes lit up. “How strong is he?”
“I can tell that he’s an Itinerant Immortal and I can tell that his Dharmic powers are at the pinnacle Golden Immortal level,” said Treasure-seeking Rat confidently.
“Pinnacle Golden Immortal?” Wu Zhiqi scoffed. “That’s quite impressive strength, but Itinerant Immortals who do not cultivate their bodies have very frail bodies. They perish with a simple squeeze.”
Wu Zhiqi was one of the vanguard generals under Gonggong back then.
“Let’s secretly go over and kill him,” said Wu Zhiqi with a strange chuckle as he sent a voice transmission. “As an Itinerant Immortal, he won’t survive the Heavenly Tribulations anyway. Let’s just send him off to Samsara ahead of time. I’ll take half the treasures we obtain. The rest can be split by the both of you equally.”
“Yea.” The single-horned Godfiend was also a little excited.
The gray-furred Godfiend laughed strangely as well. However, he clearly retreated to the back. He was the weakest, but he was very good at treasure seeking and hiding from the heavenly secrets. Therefore, Wu Zhiqi had always protected him.
The trio silently proceeded.
Soon, they saw their target.
Far away in the tunnel was a youth sitting cross-legged in midair. There was a blob of pure aura swishing above his head while a tainted aura sank beneath him.
“A Daoist Itinerant Immortal,” scoffed the single-horned Godfiend with a voice transmission. “Daoists are a school of thought that recluse themselves, while Itinerant Immortals are a dead end! Brother Wu Zhiqi, I’ll attack first and destroy his Essence Soul by catching him by surprise.”
…
Qin Yun was indeed cultivating.
He was aloof from all worldly things as various insights surfaced in his mind.
Suddenly, the Intrinsic Flying Sword which was being nurtured in his body trembled as a warning. Similarly, the Qingping Sword in his sleeve trembled to warn him.
“The flying swords are warning me? It seems they have sensed animosity?” Qin Yun suddenly turned alert.