57. Junxing Mountain · 7 · Poison Vein
Tang Xichun caught a glimpse of something unusual outside the barrier out of the corner of her eye.
A gigantic, grotesque fish was seen frantically thrashing its tail fin through the air in a comical manner, hurtling towards her. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the fish's head was pieced together from stark white fish bones, and its scales were actually countless ghostly faces of varying sizes!
The scene was so bizarre that Tang Xichun froze for a moment, unable to even hear the beeping of Tianmen Tongkuang in her mind.
On the skeletal back of the fish stood a human and a demon. Ahead stood Gui Fang, his face deathly pale, clutching the fish skeleton tightly. The wind whipped his hair back, his features flying wildly, and his eerie robes fluttering in the air. Behind Gui Fang stood an octopus monster twice his height. Only a few hours had passed since Bei Chen and the Nine-Headed Octopus separated, yet the Nine-Headed Octopus had already grown three heads.
The central head of the nine-headed creature had a serious expression, its gaze fixed on the interior of Junxing Mountain. The two new heads on either side, one excitedly looking left and right, and the other uneasily glancing sideways towards the barrier.
"Faster! Ram it!" the leader shouted.
The skeleton fish let out a bark and suddenly accelerated, like an arrow released from a bow, crashing headlong into the solid barrier wall without hesitation.
Bang--!
Tang Xichun: "..."
Bei Chen: "..."
No wonder this skeleton fish is named Dog.
The barrier remained completely unmoved, and Tang Xichun was secretly disappointed. This barrier could even keep Tianmen Tongkuang out, and Beichen couldn't summon a celestial lord, let alone a demon?
Tang Xichun instinctively tried to find her brother's figure. In her mind's eye, Tianmen Tongkuang shouted sternly, "Listen carefully! Don't get distracted!"
"I can suppress it for now; the outcome is in your hands!"
Tang Xichun's expression hardened, and she continued to listen to the teachings in her sea of consciousness.
Two swirling stars instantly appeared in the skullfish's eye sockets, as if it were drunk, zigzing crookedly in the air. The nine-headed octopus's tentacles clung tightly to the fish's back, barely managing not to fall, but Gui Fang, standing on the fish's back, was thrown off by inertia, slamming into the barrier wall, his face flattened.
It was during this almost direct contact that Gui Fang clearly saw Junxing Mountain filled with poisonous fog.
If there truly is a purgatory in the human world, would it be like this? Perhaps, purgatory is not quite this bad.
The place was a chaotic mess, a scene of devastation. Centered around a writhing mountain of flesh, numerous sores swelled and burst, oozing pus that seeped into the ground and corroded everything in their path. Pieces of flesh lay scattered on the ground, wriggling like living creatures...
"Ugh—I can't take it anymore!"
Gui Fang quickly pushed against the barrier wall and rolled backward in mid-air, shouting, "Thank you for your hard work! Goodbye!"
Bei Chen's nerves, which had finally relaxed a little, tensed up again: "Come back! Hey!"
"stop!"
The three heads of the Nine-Headed Octopus roared simultaneously, and a thick tentacle shot out with lightning speed as if it had been anticipated, precisely wrapping around Gui Fang's waist and pulling him back like a chick.
"Why are you running? Watch this, the correct way to use the Poison Vein!"
The nine-headed octopus leaped high into the air, its anemone-shaped mouthparts baring their fangs and claws. With a puff from its three mouths, it spewed out a rich, silky mist.
"You can spray ink?" Gui Fang exclaimed. "I thought you only ate and never spat it out!"
It subtly accuses the Nine-Headed Chapter of absorbing evil energy without restraint.
"See that?"
After exhaling three puffs of thick fog, the Nine-Headed Octopus said smugly, "This barrier is called 'Forbidden Passage for Gods and Buddhas,' and I only saw it once six hundred years ago!"
"The divine and Buddhist prohibitions target all immortals, only taking in and never giving out. Its only weakness is your poisonous veins."
This was the first time Bei Chen had ever heard of such a barrier. Forbidden for gods and Buddhas? No wonder he couldn't summon Po Jun and Wu Qu.
The mist exhaled by the Nine-Headed Octopus was pure and thick, like a living cloud, drifting towards the barrier little by little. Beneath the purplish-black mist, dark gold and ghostly blue intertwined faintly, making a "sizzling" sound when they touched the barrier wall.
The barrier has been broken!
Everyone was overjoyed. Bei Chen turned around to call Tang Xihe, but found that the poisonous fog emanating from the mountain of flesh was too heavy and blocked their vision. They couldn't see where Tang Xihe and the other person were at all.
Using the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, Bei Chen sensed that the two people were getting further and further away from the ground.
What's going on?
Bei Chen felt uneasy. He picked up his thunder mace and focused his attention on the mountain of flesh.
"The poisonous gas on Junxing Mountain is too strong; it must be dispersed as soon as possible!" Nine-Headed Octopus swept away Gui Fang, jumped onto the Skull Fish, and said to Bei Chen and the other, "Let's find other weak points in the barrier!"
The barrier shattered, and the mountain of flesh seemed to sense it, slowly wriggling.
Yan Youzu said helplessly, "Why bother?"
Tianmentong sneered, "Not feeling well?"
Yan Youzu's face was expressionless; he had never imagined that he would stumble over the very world rules he had designed.
He was so controlled by Tianmen Tongkuang's oppressive aura that he couldn't move, but he glanced in two directions out of the corner of his eye.
On one side were the noisy octopuses eroding the barrier, and on the other side were pure inner cores searching for something on the ground.
Inner alchemy.
Yan Youzu's gaze followed Tang Xihe's direction. Behind the fleshy mountain was the gradually collapsing barrier wall, which crumbled into light fragments.
Tang Xi looked up at the sky, where the escaping poisonous gas was drifting outwards. "Gui Fang and the others have broken the barrier."
"Then we need to find it quickly!"
Zhang Benyi said anxiously, "I don't know if the barrier will close! Hey! Fu Guanhong! Shout if you hear me!"
There was no response, only a mess on the ground.
"Are you sure you didn't see wrong?" Tangxi asked doubtfully.
"You really didn't see it wrong!"
Zhang Benyi said urgently, "That woman looks exactly like Fu Guanhong! Fu Guanhong is also in the investigation team, I can't be mistaken!"
On one side is the mountain of flesh temporarily suppressed by Tianmen Tongkuang, and on the other side is Fu Ningjing, whose fate is unknown.
Tangxi and Yaoyao looked up at the sky. Tangxi stood still for some reason, as if she was gathering her strength or thinking about something.
Just a lifeless puppet... Should we save it?
He gritted his teeth and said to Zhang Benyi, "It'll be faster if we split up. I'll search this side, you search that side! Hurry up!"
From Tangxi and Beichen's perspective, Tangxi Chun seemed to be brewing something, foolishly suspended in mid-air, her body enveloped by a faint spiritual energy that protected her from the poisonous gas.
The previous bombardment by Beichen, the strange black fire constantly gushing from the flesh mountain's body, and the increasing number of falling sores made the "structure" of the entire flesh mountain increasingly clear in Tang Xichun's eyes.
Tang Xichun slowly closed her eyes.
Tianmen Tongkuang said a lot, but Tangxi Chun distilled it into three words: coordinate method.
It was an old method; she remembered seeing it in a history book before. Unfortunately, she always got sleepy when it came to math and didn't pay much attention. However, it was indeed a very simple and direct "point-finding method," capable of precisely dividing a chaotic target into blocks.
The rambling yet sharp guidance of a certain ghost immortal echoed in her mind. The simple long sword, as tall as her, hung in front of her, and all her distracting thoughts, fears, and anxieties were completely "smoothed out".
Tang Xichun felt that her state of mind was like the surface of water gradually calming down, the ripples were forcibly suppressed by her, and all emotions were left behind.
Stay calm, observe, and observe meticulously.
When she opened her eyes again, her vision had changed—the gas was so thick that she couldn't see anything clearly except for the constantly writhing mountain of flesh, which became a live target. Every little thing in her field of vision was marked with coordinates, and the thick, fog-like gas in front of her was imagined as a grid.
Tang Xichun confirmed the "coordinates" with Tianmen Tongkuang again: "I'll chop wherever you point, and I don't care how it ends up."
"Chop!" Tianmentong urged frantically, "He's about to unleash his power! Attack now!"
Tang Xichun gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands, her knuckles turning white from the force, yet she remained as steady as a rock, all her spirit, will, and strength concentrated in the long sword in her hands.
"cut!"
The long sword swung down with a simple, unadorned motion.
Under the horrified gazes of Bei Chen and the others, the blade sliced through the air without making a sound, and Bei Chen's vision failed to capture Tang Xi Chun's swift, accurate, and ruthless strike.
A very thin, faint silver line, following the "coordinates" she had locked onto, disappeared into the body of the mountain of flesh.
"laugh--"
Starting from that silver line, a crack suddenly burst open on the surface of the mountain of flesh.
The crack triggered a chain reaction of collapses. The burning flames accumulated in the mountain of flesh, countless violent energies, numerous demonic spirits, and the incarnations of monsters... resentment, fear, anxiety, anger, grief, and many other complex energies found their greatest outlet, transforming into pillars of turbid demonic power that erupted from the crack.
"Um?"
Yan Youzu felt something was wrong with his body. "What did you say to that little girl?"
You'll find out soon enough!
Tianmen Tongkuang's voice drifted away, "Farewell!"
They've left?
Yan Youzu was startled. The departure of the Eight Great Ghost Immortals, who were responsible for maintaining order such as investigating bandits and constables, was actually an ominous sign.
The next moment, Yan Youzu immediately felt that as the pressure of Tianmen Tongkuang gradually subsided, the Burning Calamity Fire that it could temporarily suppress within its body cunningly ignited all its vital points.
!!
Yan Youzu roared, "Heavenly Gate Madman!"
From Bei Chen's perspective, the entire mountain of flesh was like a punctured balloon, slowly and irreversibly collapsing and disintegrating, with poisonous gas bursting out, accompanied by the screams of thousands of demons.
Bei Chen frowned deeply. "Hurry, the poisonous gas is getting stronger and stronger, it will erode the protective spiritual energy!"
Tang Xichun slowly sheathed her sword, appearing composed, but in reality, that slash had instantly drained all her spiritual power, leaving her barely able to fly.
"Let's go."
Seeing that she was swaying precariously, Bei Chen stepped forward to support her and led her out of the barrier. Only when they flew to the highest point of the land did he dare to remove his protective spiritual energy.
He couldn't wait to take a deep breath of fresh air—
"Cough cough cough..."
Gui Fang flew back riding the skeleton fish. Seeing Bei Chen coughing from the lingering smoke in the air, he couldn't help but gloat, "Does it smell good?"
Bei Chen said quietly, "All that effort in practicing the Ghost Formula, all that spitting and spitting, is no match for a single strike from someone else."
Gui Fang angrily retorted, "It was it that spat! Not me!"
Nine-Headed Chapter was even angrier: "What spit? It's poisonous veins!"
Tang Xichun paused for a moment, gazing at the poisonous smoke billowing from within the barrier, and said smugly, "I did a good job!"
Immediately, the smile on her face disappeared, and she gradually became somewhat serious.
"Wait! Where's my brother?"
Bei Chen's smile froze, and he suddenly looked towards Junxing Mountain.
The forbidden barrier between gods and Buddhas, which had been ravaged by the demons, was now completely black, and nothing could be seen. Poisonous gas was also seeping out through the holes in the barrier.
Everything was understood without words. The others' expressions changed drastically, and they suddenly looked towards Junxing Mountain. The black flames burned brighter and brighter, spreading outwards through the holes in the barrier wall. Upon contact with the outside air, the flames suddenly increased several times in size, exploding into a dazzling display of flames and burning several holes in the barrier wall.
The Flames of Calamity? Has the Vermilion Bird ever been here?
Nine-Headed Octopus felt something was amiss and gestured for everyone to ride the Skull Fish. "Junxing Mountain is dangerous. You all go back to the Wandering Inn first. I'll go!"
"Wait! There are other people besides my brother!"
Tang Xichun was tossed onto the fish's back by the tentacles. Struggling to no avail, she hurriedly said, "There are others! Zhang Benyi, the petrified Junxingzi, and a fox demon named Hu Xiaoyun!"
Gui Fang turned his head and pretended to ask Bei Chen, then quietly left the Skull Fish and turned back towards Junxing Mountain. "Why did I run into Zhang Benyi again? And what's with Junxingzi's petrification?"
"The flames of calamity are burning ever brighter! Ahhh, no!"
Nine-Headed Octopus was about to scream in desperation when he slapped Ghost Fang onto the fish's back. "You guys ride the dog back first! Bomb the hotel by any means necessary!"
"Wait! I'm going too!"
Bei Chen made a move to follow, "It's my fault, I didn't notice them..."
"It's not a matter of responsibility! Go back! Destroy the hotel!"
The Nine-Headed Octopus swept up Beichen, tossed him onto the Skull Fish, and lashed the Skull Fish hard. "Xuanwu specifically instructed me to keep a close eye on him! Tangxi has a demon in her heart! She can't stay in places where the auras are mixed!"
The three people who had been thrown onto the skeleton fish felt a sinking feeling in their hearts upon hearing this.
Inner demons? How could that be?
Before the three could think it through, the skullfish was already flying away in pain, and the roar of the nine-headed octopus followed on the wind, "Destroy the inn by any means necessary! This is the secret signal that Xuanwu and I agreed on! Xuanwu will come!"
Seeing the skull fish fly towards Wandering Mountain like an arrow, Nine-Headed Octopus gritted his teeth, muttered "May the gods protect me," and bravely rushed into the barrier.
The raging flames gradually burned toward the barrier wall. With the screams of thousands of demons, billowing black smoke billowed out of the hole in the barrier wall and spiraled upwards.
·
A realm of immortals.
Beneath the misty Senluo Terrace, a woman carrying a long-handled lantern swiftly flew upwards.
Two long swords were placed in front of her. The woman quietly took out her token and said, "Please report that there is an anomaly in the secret realm. Executor Zhu Danqing requests an audience."
Upon seeing the token, the guard immediately sheathed his sword and respectfully stepped aside, saying, "Lord Zhu? Please."
Zhu Danqing teleported to the chief's desk in a few steps.
Chief Engineer Liang noticed a slight fluctuation in the air, so he looked up from the mountain of documents and saw a woman dressed in white, carrying a red lantern with a long handle, staring at him silently without expression. Startled, he almost made an extra mark on the document with his brush. He quickly clutched his heart, sighed deeply, put down the brush, and rubbed his forehead until it turned red.
"Manager Zhu? What brings you here? Haven't you been looking for your friend?"
"Found it."
Chief Manager Liang was taken aback, then opened his eyes. "Where?"
Zhu Danqing answered in a flat, emotionless voice, "The human realm."
"..."
Chief Liang was silent for a moment, then became somewhat angry, "Why did Qin Xiuluo go to the mortal realm instead of doing his job properly as the head of the department!"
"This is the important matter I have to report."
Zhu Danqing flipped his hand and took out a recording stone. "Qin Xiuluo descended to the secret realm and discovered that the legend of the immortals was different. This is the code she left behind. I recently received a code from Qin Xiuluo from the mortal world, and that's when I understood its meaning. Please take a look, Master."
"I know! The entire Immortal Realm knows! Just a legend, yet he dares to challenge the entire Senluo Platform! He's clearly such a promising young man..."
Chief Liang snorted dismissively, his tone quite resentful, and took the photo stone with one hand while resting his chin on his hand.
The recording stone twirled in his hand. Chief Judge Liang didn't even probe it with spiritual energy. After looking at it for a while, he became increasingly angry. So he impatiently waved his hand at Zhu Danqing: "Please be brief!"
"I cannot give a brief explanation; please listen patiently as I present my report."
Zhu Danqing gently swayed the lantern in her hand, a chilling smile appearing on her beautiful face.
"..."
How could I forget? This ancestor was the strongest executor of Senluotai, and behind him was the Yellow Springs.
Chief Judge Liang straightened up slightly, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.
Zhu Danqing calmly said, "Qin Xiuluo compared the versions of the legends of immortals circulating in the Three Realms and found many anomalies."
"Firstly, different versions of the legend all intentionally or unintentionally undermine the cohesion of the Eight Great Families."
"Secondly, Qin Xiuluo discovered an anomaly in the Three Realms Passage. There is no clear evidence yet, but the subtle clues all point directly to the anomaly being related to the Immortal Alliance in the Secret Realm. The evidence is here; please review it, Chief."
Another photographic stone floated towards the high platform.
Chief Liang finally looked at the two recording stones properly, but still didn't probe them with spiritual power. He held the recording stones in his palm and played with them, looking Zhu Danqing up and down with a suspicious gaze.
"Wasn't the Immortal Alliance managed by those five immortals? How could there be anything unusual?"
"This is the last thing I want to report."
Zhu Danqing said, "The passage is abnormal. Cultivators in the Secret Realm cannot return to the Immortal Realm. The organization established in the Secret Realm to deal with evil monsters has been eliminated for unknown reasons. This matter is related to the five elders of the Immortal Alliance. The evidence is in your hands."
Chief Manager Liang froze, then jumped to his feet. "You mean the Monster Management Bureau?"
"yes."
"How could that be!" Chief Judge Liang's thick eyebrows shot up. "I personally removed the plaque!"
Zhu Danqing's lips twitched slightly: "It seems the chief has never received any news either? That proves the next thing."
"Can you speak faster?"
In his haste, Chief Liang slammed his hand on the table, his palm stinging from the impact of the crystal. He immediately channeled his spiritual energy into the recording stone.
A moment of silence fell over the room.
Seeing that Chief Liang's face was gradually turning ashen, Zhu Danqing slowly spoke.
"The passage between the three realms is blocked, and information transmission is slow. In the secret realm, there are many people impersonating the Monster Management Bureau and plundering demon cores. Currently, there are forty-eight areas that have been massacred."
"They've established a new Monster Management Bureau, backed by five immortal elders from the Immortal Alliance. The evidence is in the red-bordered document on your left at the very bottom."
"..."
Chief Engineer Liang's knees buckled, and he slumped back into his seat. Zhu Danqing continued to provoke him slowly, "I told you long ago to be more careful and finish what you started on the same day. You didn't even notice when the documents were replaced, did you? The evidence is—"
"Stop! No! I have no choice! So many adults keep cutting in line and asking me for autographs! I can't fight back against them!"
Chief Judge Liang wiped his face, coughed lightly, and asked softly, "Is there any more evidence?"
With a flick of his finger, Zhu Danqing sent dozens of memory stones fluttering lightly toward the high platform.
"..."
Chief Inspector Liang's vision blurred; seeing the recording stone now felt like seeing a knife to his throat. No wonder he was Tianmen Tongkuang's disciple—always feigning nonchalance and silence, then piling up all the evidence and smashing it against people's heads like a brick. His personality was just as detestable!
"Someone come here!"
Chief Liang gathered his energy in his dantian and ordered, "Go and invite the eight Ghost Immortals! They will come with me to the Heavenly Constitution Platform! Please have the Enforcer descend to the secret realm to conduct an inspection!"
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