In the peach grove.
After hearing what Ye Tuo had to say, Yaoshu smiled charmingly and chuckled. “Brother Ye, I’ve already met this person. He’s incredibly bloodthirsty. We joined forces to kill the Three Elders of Longyuan from Beiming Heaven. After taking their Immortal Peaches, he swaggered off.”
“The Three Elders of Longyuan…” Ye Tuo sighed softly. “What a character, this Ascendant Pu Hua!”
Just then, another ray of spiritual light rose from the Jade Pendant, revealing a young Nun.
When Yaoshu and Ye Tuo saw this woman, they both showed expressions of deep respect and bowed in greeting.
The young Nun was already a stunning beauty, as if carved from fine jade, with otherworldly looks. Now, under the glow of her Divine Techniques, she appeared even more solemn and dignified, her every move filled with grace as she radiated a divine light.
She spoke in a cold voice, “Yaoshu, I am about to enter the Immortal Hall and have no time to deal with that Daoist Pu Hua. However, I have left a few arrangements along the way. Follow my instructions and eliminate this person and Beiming Long for me.”
Yaoshu’s expression became solemn and serious as she nodded in agreement.
The young Nun then explained, one by one, the arrangements she had made before entering the Immortal Hall.
Then, she said to Ye Tuo, “This place is fraught with danger. It is no ordinary Spirit Immortal’s Abandoned Mansion. Even I, your master, must be extremely cautious. After you finish collecting the Immortal Lotuses on the Immortal Lake, there is no need for you to come in and risk your life.”
A flash of unwillingness flickered in Ye Tuo’s eyes, but his master’s command was not to be defied, so he could only obey.
After giving her instructions to the two, the young Nun vanished into thin air.
Yaoshu and Ye Tuo glanced at each other. The spiritual light in the void flickered and died, and the connection was severed.
Yaoshu summoned her Treasure Bead. A sheet of Zen Light enveloped her graceful figure as she headed straight for the depths of the peach grove.
*
*
*
Fang Cheng searched the remaining eight peach trees along the way but only managed to harvest a single Immortal Peach.
The other five Immortal Peaches must have been picked by the Beiming Immortal Race or that Spirit Immortal Incarnation.
These Immortal Peaches contained boundless Immortal Spirit Qi and all sorts of profound mysteries. As for their exact use, he would have to investigate that in detail after he got out.
By his estimation, the peach trees in this grove did not all bear fruit at the same time. These nine Immortal Peach trees had simply happened to be ripe.
He passed through the peach grove and arrived at the plaza in front of the Immortal Hall.
By the time he arrived, the Spiritual Pressure in the Immortal Mansion had reached a terrifying level. Although he did his utmost to resist the Spiritual Pressure, his body was still compressed to an extremely small size.
To him, the entire plaza before the Immortal Hall was like a vast world of white jade, with a towering palace at the edge of his vision.
Given the Spiritual Pressure here, it was impossible for him to cross the plaza and reach the Immortal Hall.
The closer he got to the Immortal Hall, the heavier the Spiritual Pressure became and the smaller his body grew. From his perspective, it felt as if he were getting farther and farther away from the Immortal Hall.
This was the terror of a Spirit Immortal’s restrictive spell. For anyone not a Spirit Immortal, the gap was as insurmountable as a chasm between heaven and earth.
Fang Cheng gazed into the distance and saw a straight Sword Mark that stretched from the peach grove, across the plaza, and cut straight into the Immortal Hall.
This Spirit Immortal’s Abandoned Mansion had also been affected by the great battle back then. An opponent had shattered the Immortal Mansion’s restrictive spells with a single sword strike, fighting their way into the Immortal Hall. The remnants of that Divine Technique lingered for over a hundred thousand years, its power still formidable and undissipated.
Fang Cheng had a sudden realization. ‘Beiming Cang Xue and the others must have used that Sword Mark to enter the Immortal Hall!’
At this thought, he immediately rushed toward the Sword Mark.
About half a day later, he reached the Sword Mark. To him in his current state, the Sword Mark was like an immense abyss stretching out before him.
The Sword Mark Abyss was bottomless, extending in a straight line across the plaza before the hall, all the way to the Immortal Hall.
The lingering might of that single sword strike still remained within the abyss. Endless Sword Qi filled the air, with each strand of Sword Qi like a storm, howling through the abyss with tremendous force.
Having arrived, Fang Cheng didn’t dare to be careless. He directly summoned an ancient bell to protect himself before entering the Sword Mark Abyss.
Sure enough, the moment he entered the Sword Mark Abyss, the Spiritual Pressure of the Immortal Mansion dissipated by seventy to eighty percent. A wave of relief washed over him, and he felt a great sense of ease.
He cautiously urged the ancient bell to fly forward, relying on his Sword Heart’s perception to dodge the ubiquitous Sword Qi in the abyss.
Strangely, this Sword Qi felt familiar to him. Upon closer observation, he discovered that the Sword Qi within this Sword Mark Abyss was actually of the same lineage as Taixu Sword Qi.
The Taixu Sword Manual was a Spirit Immortal legacy of the Dongyang Immortal Alliance, and the Lingkong Celestial Ruins had fallen near a World Heaven under the Dongyang Immortal Alliance’s jurisdiction. The connection between these facts was quite thought-provoking.
Within the Sword Mark Abyss, a battered ancient bell flew forward, periodically dodging the Sword Qi that appeared from all directions. Occasionally, it failed to dodge in time and was struck by a strand of Sword Qi. A loud CLANG! would ring out as it flared with brilliant light and was sent tumbling away.
Only after a long while would the ancient bell stabilize and continue its journey forward.
Fang Cheng sat cross-legged on the inner edge of the ancient bell, concentrating on comprehending the Taixu Sword Intent within the Sword Mark Abyss. He gradually got the hang of it, becoming able to sense and react in advance, and the number of times he was struck by Sword Qi decreased.
In the vast Sword Mark Abyss, the ancient bell was like a speck of metallic dust, slowly advancing through the dark, deep chasm.
Not far ahead, Fang Cheng saw a familiar ball of Zen Light. It was none other than the Great Demon from Yuelang Heaven, Yaoshu.
At that moment, the ball of Zen Light was engulfed by a vortex of Sword Qi that surrounded and relentlessly shredded it like a tornado. Yaoshu was having a very difficult time fending it off.
If not for the fact that her Treasure Bead was a Tier Six Fragmented Artifact, she likely would have already perished.
The ancient bell drifted leisurely past the ball of Zen Light.
Fang Cheng saw the Treasure Bead hovering above Yaoshu’s head. Her stunningly beautiful face was filled with exhaustion.
Yaoshu saw Fang Cheng as well. She bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes hinting at a plea for help, and a subtle, alluring charm naturally emanated from her.