59. Melee
The teleportation array shone brightly.
After a flash of white light, a person ascended to the realm of immortals and swiftly flew into the Heavenly Constitution Platform.
The priests of Tianxiantai were arguing heatedly, their faces flushed. Someone glanced at the newcomer, thinking the woman looked familiar, and quickly looked away to join the argument.
"Such a desecration of a blessed land, such a treacherous act of burning the zither and boiling the crane, and yet no one knew about it! I told you long ago, there are problems within our ranks!"
"Forget internal issues, solve the problem first! Send people down here immediately!"
"No! That's a true immortal! Yan Youzu is hiding in a secret realm, and so close, right beneath Junxing Mountain! Nobody has noticed! Who will come down with me?"
"No, how many lives do you have to fight him? Who knows how strong he is now?"
"Moreover... the other Three Realms Teleportation Arrays have been destroyed, the whereabouts of the Qilin are unknown, and the other Star Emperors' divine abilities are insufficient to repair the teleportation arrays... Once they descend into the secret realm, they may never be able to return..."
The priests gradually fell silent. The intruder opened his mouth, about to speak, when another priest suddenly let out an excited shout:
"Wait! The immortals! The immortals are not without weaknesses! There is an executive whose supernatural power is naturally able to counter them!"
Once reminded, the other priests also remembered and excitedly shouted, "That's right! Zhu Danqing! Go and invite Zhu Danqing!"
It was immediately opposed by the other priests.
"No way! She's the executive officer of Senluotai! Let her go? What will become of the reputation of Tianxiantai!"
"What kind of shame do you have now? Get off here too!"
"Why should I go!"
"..."
Having been inside the Heavenly Constitution Platform for a long time without being noticed, the intruder's face darkened, his thick eyebrows lowered, and he focused his energy in his dantian.
"disturb!"
The shout was clearly filled with resentment, and all the officials of the Heavenly Court immediately fell silent and looked at the newcomer.
The intruder scanned the numerous gazes and announced loudly, "Zhu Danqing has already led the thirty-six team officers down."
"Qin Xiuluo? What were you busy with all this time? Why are you only arriving now!"
A priest excitedly stepped forward to shake her hand and hurriedly asked, "When did she go? Who else went down? Hey, did you hear that? The Yama's Platform has been activated! What are you all standing around for? If they can't come back, they can't come back! They'll be heroes again in five thousand years!"
"The Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird, which has not yet taken human form, are all in the secret realm searching for the Qilin's whereabouts."
Qin Xiuluo withdrew his hands, took out his token, and searched among the strange-looking officials: "The secret realm is in chaos. The Immortal Alliance's Yun Ting is highly suspicious for concealing the anomalies in the secret realm. I have come to borrow a magic artifact to interrogate the five elders of the Immortal Alliance. May I ask, where is the armory officer?"
Immediately, a junior priest led Qin Xiuluo to the location of the Armory, "This way!"
Hearing this, the onlookers argued even louder, pushing and shoving, and hesitated, no one daring to go down.
"Are all four Star Emperors in the secret realm?"
"We're doomed. The Azure Dragon and White Tiger have the worst tempers, and now we have Zhu Danqing to deal with..."
"Just a disciple of a mere ghost immortal... sigh... it should be fine, right?"
"What happened to Qilin? When did it happen? Why didn't we know about it?"
"Hey...wait!"
Finally, a priest reacted, slapping his colleague who had just finished arguing hard. "Qin Xiuluo? Was that Qin Xiuluo just now? When did she return to the Immortal Realm? How did she get up here?"
"Yeah, isn't it good to stay at the University of Magic? Why do you have to meddle in other people's business?"
Someone muttered something.
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of eyes turned toward him.
The speaker paused for a moment, wondering why the surroundings had suddenly fallen silent. When he looked up, he found his colleagues staring at him with strange looks. He immediately realized that he had given himself away, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. He forced a smile and raised his hands to indicate his innocence.
"No, I wasn't spying on her! I... I heard! I heard she's thriving at the magic academy in the secret realm!"
"A university of magic?"
A priest questioned him.
"Article 81 of the Celestial Laws states that the reasons for the departure of a Celestial Officer who leaves office for any reason, as well as his or her merits and demerits, are all private matters. Except for the high-ranking officials and chief priests of his or her former office who have the right to access them, all other departments have the obligation to keep them confidential and shall not inquire about, discuss or disseminate them in any form."
“Even if she is an executive officer who was removed from the Senluo Platform, our Tianxian Platform is not allowed to know any of her private matters. This is a world law of the Immortal Realm—how are you able to bypass this law and learn about Qin Xiuluo?”
As his former colleagues continued to approach, the man was forced to retreat.
"I...I found out by accident..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was immediately interrupted by the other officials, "Since you found out unintentionally, why doesn't your jade token have the mark of a 'secret covenant'?"
"Article 82 of the Celestial Laws states that if a Celestial Official accidentally learns of the details of another department's departure from office, he must report the facts truthfully to the chief priest of the original department within three days. Those who know but fail to report or spread the information privately will be punished for dereliction of duty and leaking secrets."
The other priests approached step by step, glancing at the flawless jade token at the waist of the retreating person, and added.
"As a warning, the celestial register of the one who reports must be stamped with a 'secret covenant' by the original presiding priest. This stamp is both a mark of obedience to the law and a warning that during its duration, the priest may not participate in any duties involving intelligence or confidential matters. The 'secret covenant' can only be lifted when the person leaves office and is transferred to a safer place."
"In other words, you are someone who knew about Qin Xiuluo's departure, yet there is no 'secret agreement' on the jade token. Furthermore, you revealed Qin Xiuluo's transfer location here, and there is no 'secret agreement' on our jade token..."
Under the watchful eyes of the assembled officials, the man gradually retreated to the edge of the entrance to the Heavenly Court, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his expression growing increasingly panicked.
He suddenly lowered his head, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Of course it's because... everything that happens in the Three Realms is under the watchful eyes of us, the Eternal Elders!"
Immediately, he ripped the token from his hand, threw it away, and made a hand gesture.
"burst!"
With a few clangs, the jade pendant quietly fell to the ground.
The man's face turned deathly pale. He instinctively tried to run, but nearly bumped into a magic staff as he turned around.
Behind him was Qin Xiuluo, who had appeared out of nowhere, holding a staff pointed at him. The crystals on the staff were already condensing spiritual power, and the purple-blue spiritual power flickered, about to erupt.
Qin Xiuluo asked, "Where are you going?"
Still shaken, the priests kicked the fake jade tablet off the ground and rushed forward, rolling up their sleeves.
"beat!"
"Don't actually kill him! We still need to interrogate him!"
·
A dense gust of wind from the punches swept past, followed by several loud bangs.
The Wandering Inn remained completely still.
Bei Chen, panting heavily, hastily wiped the sweat from his face. "What's going on? This inn looks dilapidated, but it won't break no matter how hard you hit it!"
The three people stood around the tiny temple on the ground, which looked like a fish tank ornament, somewhat at a loss.
Not long ago, Tang Xichun, Beichen, and Guifang were thrown onto a skullfish by the Nine-Headed Octopus and carried like an arrow to Wandering Mountain. The three of them thought that destroying a mere inn wouldn't be difficult at all.
But now, half an incense stick's time has passed, and this "mini toy" remains completely still. The area around it is covered with traces left by the three people's spells, and the ground is riddled with holes. Fist marks, corrosion, threads scraping against it, and slight knife marks—the three of them, working together, are unable to do anything to this inn.
Bei Chen rubbed his fist. "Gui Fang, why don't you ask Fang Shengzai for a favor?"
"Help you my foot! I don't know how!"
Gui Fang, enraged and embarrassed, retorted, "Do you think everyone is as talented as you? Coming just because you're invited!"
Bei Chen was stunned, seemingly gleaning some inspiration from those words, and summoned his Thunderclap Mace, "Then I'll give it a try!"
Within the boundaries of Langji Mountain, it may not be affected by the "forbidden passage of gods and Buddhas" barrier.
"I'll give it a try." Bei Chen took a deep breath, focused his mind, and his body was surrounded by a burst of tiny starlight.
"May the immortals descend to aid us, their divine power as law, and may the Breaking Army be summoned!"
Gui Fang and Tang Xichun's expressions changed slightly, and they simultaneously jumped onto the skeleton fish, signaling to stay away.
So fast?
"Has his spiritual power increased again?" Tang Xichun asked softly. "I remember when he was in school, summoning the Star Lord wasn't this fast." Now it only takes a few tens of seconds?
Before he could finish speaking, the Thunder Mace, which was positioned in front of Beichen, began to flash with a bright silver-green light, resonating with the starlight beside Beichen.
With his eyes closed, Bei Chen spoke again, "Immortals, descend to assist me, divine power is as lawful, summon the Martial Melody!"
"And he even wants to summon two star deities!" Gui Fang slapped the skeleton fish beneath him in horror. "Idiot! Run!"
The skeleton fish was both curious and afraid. It carried Gui Fang and Tang Xichun to the edge of the Wandering Mountain area, turning back every ten meters or so.
boom--
Two beams of light, crackling with slender, silvery-green lightning, crashed down, striking the spot where Beichen was. Guifang was secretly alarmed. He clearly sensed that Beichen's control over the output of spiritual energy was more precise. He could precisely time the use of the Star Lord's divine power without causing too much damage or harming the other uninformed spirits.
“I’ve just realized something strange,” Tang Xichun turned and asked, “Are there any other monsters in the Wandering Mountains?”
"Yes, not only in Wandering Mountain, but also in other places, there are fewer and fewer monsters."
Gui Fang glanced at the direction of Junxing Mountain in the distance.
In fact, within the range of Langji Mountain, the territory of Junxing Mountain could not be seen at all, but Gui Fang was vaguely worried, always feeling that Jiu Tou Zhang had been gone for too long.
At Beichen's summons, he was overjoyed to see that the toy temple on the ground, which the three of them had been unable to destroy even with their combined efforts, had finally crumbled into dust.
After the star emblems of Wuqu and Pojun disappeared, another ancient emblem appeared in mid-air above Langji Mountain.
The pattern on this emblem looked very familiar, with horizontal and vertical lines resembling a grid. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the emblem of Xuanwu (Black Tortoise). Centered on the Wandering Inn, a layer of soft, azure spiritual energy quickly spread throughout the entire area.
Everyone felt themselves instantly enveloped by "water." Where the "water" had wiped away the filthy demonic energy, it was all pushed away and gradually pushed outwards until this thick layer of spiritual power condensed into a barrier wall.
Within a few breaths, everyone was enveloped in the barrier.
Time seemed to stand still here, and my hearing suddenly dropped...
No, that's not right. It's not a problem with my hearing. This feeling is like being underwater.
"What's this?"
Tang Xichun gently raised her hand, wanting to touch the barrier wall, but suddenly discovered that any movement would cause ripples. From the shimmering, illusory water ripples, many translucent marine creatures swam out from who-knows-where.
The two exchanged a glance and once again urged the skeleton fish toward the direction of Beichen.
The closer you get to Beichen, the more spirits there are. Some bold jellyfish dare to stick to Beichen, schools of phosphorescent fish swim freely in the air, a huge blue whale yawns and slowly sinks to the ground, and brachiopod snails slowly paddle and secretly bury themselves in the mud...
The meaning of this move is self-evident; all three of them had their eyes on Xuanwu.
"Are we safe for now?" Tang Xichun asked. "Where's the jellyfish? Where's my brother?"
"..."
Beichen looked outwards.
Gui Fang glanced left and right, struggling with who to comfort first, then grinned at Tang Xichun, "It's okay, Tang Xi is known as a mission master at school, she's definitely quick-witted and will be able to escape."
Tang Xichun became even more uneasy: "But the tasks assigned by the school are all about finding spirit plants and crystals, and dismantling demon bones. The most difficult tasks are just helping some monsters who are in trouble. Where have we ever encountered such a difficult task?"
Guifang: "..."
Gui Fang turned to ask Bei Chen, but Bei Chen's eyes lit up. "You're back!"
The barrier also covered the sky above Wandering Mountain. A huge three-headed octopus rushed into the barrier with a "plop" and crashed heavily onto the open ground next to the three people with a "squeak".
"Ouch! Do I need to summon the Star God to smash up an inn? You've loosened all the mud! I painstakingly tamped it down!"
While rubbing the sore mainframe, Nine-Headed Chapter quickly got up and said, "Sorry, I couldn't find Tang Xihe."
Tang Xichun's eyes reddened. "Then he will die."
Whether human or demon, death is inevitable. Tang Xichun never expected that the lesson of death would come so soon, especially from her own brother who raised her.
"but!"
Nine-Headed Zhang frantically searched for his handkerchief, then whispered to Tang Xichun in a flustered manner, "But! But! I saw many soldiers from the Heavenly Court coming down! It's alright!"
"Tianxiantai?"
Tang Xichun had never heard of this organization, but judging from the name, it must be a very powerful organization in the Immortal Realm. She forced a smile and changed the subject, "Okay, with them around, everything should be fine."
"However, can this barrier always guarantee safety?"
Seeing that the little girl quickly wiped away her tears, the two humans and the demon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The toxic smoke from Junxing Mountain gradually spread outwards, even covering Langji Mountain with a layer of black clouds, like ink spreading across the sky. At this moment, everyone suddenly had the same illusion that Langji Mountain was truly underwater.
“This is a grand and silent guardianship that has spanned millions of years,” the Nine-Headed Octopus said proudly. “Nine thousand years ago, Wandering Mountain was not a mountain, but the seabed.”
"You've lived for nine thousand years!"
Bei Chen couldn't help but shout, and was immediately rewarded with a blow from a hammer.
"All living beings that die here and whose souls return to the sea will be drawn here and become an absolute barrier. This is Xuanwu's special barrier, a place of cessation of war and return to the source."
Nine-Headed Chapter sighed deeply, "Home is still the best. The sounds of battle from the outside world have become distant and indistinct. The deep sea is the best place."
Were there sounds of fighting?
The three of them looked up at the sky at the same time. The sky was rapidly turning dark. Even though their vision was limited, they all knew that the area within the barrier was peaceful and gentle, but the Junxing Mountain region not far away was a chaotic battlefield filled with smoke and carnage.
Bei Chen took a deep breath, and the slightly salty air, carrying the scent of the ancient ocean, gradually calmed his boiling spiritual energy and anxious heart.
He couldn't help but feel guilty again. "Tangxi and...he must have a way, right?"
"Anyway, I couldn't find him. Not to mention other people, there wasn't even the slightest trace of spiritual energy! I'm exhausted. I searched for so long, and all I found was a wooden head melted by poison gas!"
Nine-Headed Zhang collapsed to the ground. "Don't worry, Zhige Guizang can deflect attacks. As long as we don't run around, we won't die."
It's war again.
Injuries, sacrifices, separations and deaths, mental anguish, displacement, rebuilding order on scorched earth, settling old scores... After hundreds of years of peace, the same cycle begins again.
The Nine-Headed Seal closed all its eyes. It hated this rotten world.
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