Chu Mo Formation·Demon Phase
Kunlun Divine Tree
Author's Note: A reader previously mentioned the issues surrounding Ketu and Shura, so here's a brief introduction:
The Nine Luminaries: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu, Ziqi, and Luna.
Most of the gods in the Taoist Shenxiao sect are fictional. The official version features the Nine Great Emperors of Shenxiao (a total of nine people!), so someone created the Nine Emperors of Shenxiao, reducing the number to three... which really saved them a lot of names TT
Asuras are warlike gods in Indian mythology. The eight classes of beings—Devas, Nagas, Asuras, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Mahoragas, Kinnaras, and Garudas—are collectively known as the "Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas" (which is also the title of one of Jin Yong's novels). I was quite interested in this for a while and even wrote a short story about it, but looking at it now, it's really terrible…
Yan Dan felt herself falling continuously, surrounded by chaos, like a dark, endless tunnel. Then, in the next instant, her vision suddenly brightened, the light even slightly stinging her eyes. She felt a pain that came from the depths of her bones, as if something had been forcibly torn away from her body.
A sharp whistling sound rang out, and a rough yet supple branch reached out from the side, instantly wrapping around her waist. Yan Dan was startled and instinctively struggled, only to see vines clinging to the towering ancient tree before her slowly but powerfully binding her hands and feet. Chunks of earth on the ground cracked open, and rough branches continued to emerge from the ground.
Her mind raced, and with a slight movement of her lips, she quickly began chanting an incantation. A thin flame spread along the vines binding her hands, crackling and burning the branches and leaves, yet the flame consistently avoided Yan Dan.
If she remembered correctly, this was the Kunlun Divine Tree. Apart from the one at the southernmost tip of Heaven, there was no other tree like it in the entire world. Could it be that they had already arrived at Heaven?
Before she could figure it out, the branch binding her suddenly jolted, slamming her heavily to the ground and extinguishing the flames instantly. Immediately, another branch tightened around her, binding her so tightly she could barely breathe. She watched helplessly as Tang Zhou and Yu Mo fell one after the other, wanting to shout that the Kunlun Divine Tree feared fire, but she couldn't utter a sound.
Tang Zhou was just an ordinary person, so she couldn't possibly imagine that even a tree could threaten their lives. Therefore, she could only place her hopes on Yu Mo.
Yu Mo steadied himself in mid-air, sparks flying from his fingertips. Before he could even finish chanting a complete incantation, a thick, supple branch lashed out at him with a whooshing sound! Yu Mo tried to block it with his arm, but the branch, as if possessed, suddenly twisted and coiled around his wrist. In the nick of time, he drew his short sword and cleanly severed the branch binding his wrist. A long, angry roar echoed from the ground, dust billowed, and the soil above ground leaped up as more than a dozen branches emerged from the earth, tightly binding him within.
Yu Mo lost his grip, and the short sword slipped from his hand, sticking into the ground with its hilt trembling slightly.
Yan Dan couldn't help but sigh softly, "What a pity..."
In the blink of an eye, all three of them were trapped by the Kunlun Divine Tree and unable to move.
Yan Dan watched as a thick tree trunk slowly rose halfway up from the ground. Although the trunk looked just like any other tree, she felt like she was being watched closely.
"Yan Dan." She heard Yu Mo call her name in an extremely calm voice not far away. She slowly turned her head and saw Yu Mo smiling faintly at her, as gentle as a breeze. It is said that only on one's deathbed can one understand one's true feelings. Yan Dan suddenly wondered, what were her feelings?
"It seems like someone else is coming down from up there," Tang Zhou said softly, looking up at the ceiling.
Yan Dan slowly looked up and saw a person jumping down, getting closer and closer. That person was clearly prepared, because unlike them, he wasn't thrown down almost headfirst. When she saw the person's face clearly, she couldn't help but mutter something under her breath.
It doesn't matter who comes down, as long as it's not the Lord of Shenxiao Palace, but reality is often cruel.
Yan Dan couldn't help but wonder, if the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace had tricked them into coming here, why did she follow him down? This was too strange.
The dozen or so branches stretching upwards towards the sky suddenly moved, lashing out swiftly at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace. Yet, he remained calm and composed, his robes fluttering, exuding an air of unwavering composure. Without any apparent swordplay, the branches snapped in two with a series of soft hissing sounds, scattering across the ground with a crackling sound.
Suddenly, a sharp, painful roar came from underground, like the despair and rage of a wounded wild beast.
Yan Dan could no longer see what was happening above, and could only listen quietly to the sounds around her. The Kunlun Divine Tree was still roaring, but there was still no significant movement from the Divine Firmament Palace Master.
Suddenly, with a whoosh, a ball of flame crashed down beside her, its tongues of fire blazing towards her. Yan Dan felt the branches binding her loosen slightly, and she quickly struggled free. However, the ends of her hair and the hem of her clothes were still burned.
Suddenly, the Kunlun Divine Tree shrank upwards, uprooting itself in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames on its branches. However, the fire spread too quickly, and it could only roll a few times on the ground before leaping and bounding away into the distance, billowing flames and puffs of black smoke. From afar, it looked like a giant fireball.
Yan Dan forcefully extinguished the remaining sparks on her body, feeling a surge of anger burning from head to toe. She was furious, pointing at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace and saying viciously, "Do I have a blood feud with you?! You're doing this on purpose, deliberately causing me trouble time and time again!"
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace dusted off the soot on his pale white sleeves, glanced at her indifferently, and said, "You're overthinking it."
Yan Dan trembled with rage, wanting to pounce on him and strangle him, but Yu Mo immediately hugged her from behind. Yu Mo quickly covered her eyes with his hand, gently soothing her, "Even if you pounce on him, you can't kill him. Just behave yourself." Upon hearing this, Yan Dan immediately obediently let him hold her, "My lord..."
Yu Mo slowly released his arms and smiled slightly, "Calm down, after all, he saved us." He looked at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace and said calmly, "Although, I don't know why the Palace Master came down here out of the blue?"
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace was silent for a moment, then said briefly, "Tao Ziqi harbored treacherous intentions. I was thus forced into the Demonic Form."
Yan Dan looked at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace with disdain. It would be strange if Tao Ziqi's meager skills could force him: "...If you're going to lie, at least make it believable, okay?"
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace slowly glanced at them: "It's fine if you don't believe me."
Tang Zhou looked at the other person and quietly asked, "Where exactly are we? Now that we're all together, there's no point in pretending to be mysterious about things anymore."
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace frowned slightly, his tone calm: "This is the demonic phenomenon caused by the ancient artifact, Chumo."
Upon hearing this, Yu Mo looked down at the ground and saw that they were standing there without casting any shadows behind them. The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace paused for a moment, then continued, "Indeed, there will be no shadows, because we are in our own consciousness."
Tang Zhou suddenly felt it was absurd, and involuntarily frowned, looking at Yu Mo and Yan Dan. Yu Mo lowered his head slightly, remaining silent. Yan Dan, on the other hand, tapped her chin with her fingers, as if deep in thought. After a moment, she smiled broadly: "Are you saying that the divine artifact, the Paper Ink, is engraved with many traces of immortal techniques, and these traces have become memories like those of people? Rather than saying we exist within our own thoughts, it's more accurate to say that our consciousness and memories are connected to the Paper Ink?"
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace nodded slightly: "More or less."
After listening to her explanation, Tang Zhou drew inferences from it: "So, the tree spirit appeared in the demonic realm because one of us had seen it before?"
Yan Dan sighed: "Tree demon? Why do you think it's a tree demon? This is clearly a divine tree."
“I have indeed seen the Kunlun Divine Tree,” Yu Mo said calmly. “Yan Dan should have seen it as well, otherwise she wouldn’t know that fire could be used to deal with it.”
Yan Dan looked at him in surprise and said, "How could you have seen it before? I remember that apart from the one in the Heavenly Court, there are no other places with it."
Yu Mo did not answer, but instead looked at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace: "You need someone with a pure soul to unlock Chu Mo's seal for you, because in this way, the dangers that may appear in the demonic form will be much less."
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace nodded: "The things that appeared in the Demon Realm are things that at least half of us have seen before. I originally wanted to wait until you reached the end of the Demon Realm before coming in, but I didn't expect that you couldn't even deal with the mere Kunlun Divine Tree." He wasn't being arrogant; his tone and expression were more like stating a fact objectively.
Yan Dan muttered, "In that case, why do you need to find someone with a pure soul? Can't you just get through the demon array yourself?"
"I have seen too many things, and the journey will only be more arduous," the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace said casually. "If it were just the three of you, the Kunlun Divine Tree might be the most difficult obstacle, but with me in tow, it's probably nothing."
Yan Dan was immediately horrified.
This was a vast, boundless land, devoid of any human presence; everywhere they went, there were only thistles and sand, a desolate wasteland. The group lit a campfire among the stone forest; the flickering flames were the only source of light in this desolate, dark night.
Tang Zhou used his sword to prop himself up and sat down against a rock. Having walked for most of the day, he felt only slight fatigue and surprisingly no hunger. Finding this strange, he asked. Yan Dan shrugged, quite helplessly: "If we were in Chu Mo's consciousness, naturally we wouldn't be hungry. How could a divine artifact be hungry? I suspect that although we've walked for most of the day, we've only been outside for a little over half an hour. With only that much time gone, we certainly won't be hungry."
Tang Zhou pondered for a moment, then said, "According to you, none of what we see here is real?"
Yan Dan poked the fire with thistle, then turned her head and thought for a while: "To put it more clearly, everything here is real, it's just how it looked a long time ago. The thistle, the Gobi Desert, and the rocks we see are all things from a long time ago. But if we unfortunately get trapped here and die, we can just consider it as if we've died."
"As long as you keep your own life, you'll naturally be able to get out," the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace said casually.
Yan Dan sighed softly, muttering, "Who caused all this..." Knowing the road ahead was fraught with danger and that she needed to be well-rested to cope, she slowly leaned back against the rock, trying to find a more comfortable position. However, the sharp edges of the rock were causing her considerable discomfort. Suddenly, she heard Yu Mo softly call out, "Yan Dan."
She turned her head and saw Yu Mo with his hands on his knees, smiling slightly, "Come here with me."
Yan Dan immediately rushed over happily, resting her head on his lap. Yu Mo shifted his position to make her more comfortable. Yan Dan suddenly remembered being trapped in the Kunlun Divine Tree, his smile reflecting the feelings she had always been afraid to confront. Thinking this, she subconsciously looked up at him, then suddenly chuckled, "Yu Mo, you're blushing..."
"I don't."
“But I saw it,” Yan Dan found it amusing and couldn’t help but reach out to touch his face, “here, and there…”
"I already said no, stop fooling around, go to sleep!"
Yan Dan was about to press her advantage when suddenly a flash of sword light streaked past her, making her dizzy. She turned to see who the culprit was. She saw Tang Zhou draw his sword and slowly polish it over the fire, from the grooves on the hilt to the blade. The firelight reflected on the dark green blade, making it truly gleam like autumn water.
This is a rare and excellent sword. Look at it, its killing intent is contained yet not revealed, and its light is as clear as water. What a rare and excellent sword!
When Tang Zhou's master gave him the sword, he said this.
Dazzled by the sword light, Yan Dan propped herself up on one side, her killing intent palpable. Suddenly, everything went dark. Yu Mo reached out and covered her eyes, whispering in her ear, "Go to sleep. We still have a long journey ahead tomorrow."
His fingers carried a cool scent, calming Yan Dan's mind. She rested her head on his knees and slowly closed her eyes. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, she was already drowsy, only vaguely hearing Yu Mo's deep, pleasant voice: "...Haven't you noticed? Since arriving at the Demon Realm, you've become very irritable, even Yan Dan's temper has worsened considerably..."
Yan Dan gradually drifted into sleep. In her dream, behind layers of white mist stood a tall and elegant figure. She could vaguely make out that this person wore a blue robe with flowing sleeves. The person held a dagger and cut a long gash in his hand. Blood dripped down his wrist, each drop transforming into a blood eagle, flapping its crimson wings in the sky, and suddenly swooping towards her!
Yan Dan suddenly woke up with a start, only to see Yu Mo looking down at her, his dark eyes unfathomable. He suddenly said in a low voice, "You heard that too?"
"What did you hear?" Yan Dan was immediately terrified. She looked to the side and saw that Tang Zhou and the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace were both awake, especially the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace, whose expression was strange for some reason.
“We all heard a muffled voice speaking in our ears just now, but apart from the sound of the wind, there is no other sound here,” Yu Mo said calmly.
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace slowly said, "There are four ancient artifacts: the Seven Luminaries, the Paper Ink, the Earth Stop, and the Dust Regulator." He wrote a name on the ground for each artifact he mentioned. "These four artifacts were left behind when Pangu created the world. They later belonged to the Nine Heavens Emperor of the Heavenly Court, but they were all lost in the war between immortals and demons. This is one version of the story, but I feel there must be something wrong with it."
He paused, then continued, "Everyone knows the legend of Pangu creating the world, but the strange thing is the part that we don't know about."
Yan Dan thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she nodded.
“There are three Emperors of the Nine Heavens: the Heavenly Extreme Purple Void Sage Emperor, the Eastern Extreme Azure Departure Abyss Emperor, and the Primordial Longevity Emperor. If there are truly four divine artifacts, then one person would possess two, thus disrupting the balance among the three Emperors of the Nine Heavens.” The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace spoke solemnly, “If there are only three divine artifacts, what is the fourth one mixed in?”
Yu Mo said calmly, "If that's really the case, then the three divine artifacts came from the Heavenly Court, and the fourth one came from the demons who were wiped out in the war between immortals and demons. Chu Mo is very likely something from the Demon Realm."
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace said casually, "If that's the case, then I've made a mistake."
Yan Dan was distracted by other thoughts when she suddenly heard his words, and a surge of anger instantly rose from her head to her toes. They had been tricked into the Demon Realm by the Divine Firmament Palace Master, and they didn't even know if they would get out alive, yet he dismissed them with a single, nonchalant remark. Seeing her like this, Yu Mo said softly, "It's easy to become agitated in the Demon Realm, Yan Dan, you must calm down."
Yan Dan thought about it and realized that she was indeed easily agitated once she entered the Demon Realm. Outside, she would never dare to provoke the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace, but after entering, she often got so angry that she lost her mind.
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace glanced at the pale sky and said in a low voice, "The ancient seal script on the inkstone only says that demons arise from the heart, and everything inside is born from the heart. And what appears here are all things I remember. I need to use it to recall the past, which is why I brought you into the Demon Realm."
Upon hearing this, Yan Dan couldn't help but ask, "You don't remember the past?"
The first time she saw the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace smile, it was a smile tinged with a faint sadness: "If I could remember the past, I would go through fire and water."
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