BOOK 2: CHAPTER 433: THE FALL OF THE HEAVENLY RIVER, AZURE VOID AND YELLOW SPRINGS

Vol 2 Chapter 433 The Fall of the Heavenly River, Azure Void and Yellow Springs

The stars rotated, casting a faint clear radiance that fell upon the Reincarnation Compass.

Perhaps it was Zheng Fa's psychological effect, but at this moment, as he looked at the Reincarnation Compass, he felt that the runes on it flickered uncertainly, seemingly devouring the starlight.

The twinkling of those stars looked more like fear.

The Heavenly River Venerable saw him staring at the Reincarnation Compass and stretched out his hand, placing the treasure right before Zheng Fa's eyes.

He said nothing, but the Reincarnation Compass spoke louder than a thousand words.

Zheng Fa did not speak either;

he simply accepted the compass.

The Heavenly River Venerable stepped past Zheng Fa and walked to the railing, lowering his gaze to watch the Xuanyi Realm.

On the steps above and below, the Heavenly River disciples were also silent, looking back at their homeland together with their sect leader.

It seemed like a farewell.

“Aren’t you disappointed?”

It was unclear how long it had been before the Heavenly River Venerable finally turned back and asked Zheng Fa,

“Disappointed?”

“The accumulation of an entire era of the Heavenly River Sect is now reduced to just a Reincarnation Compass. You won’t be able to use this.”

Indeed, he could not use it.

The Reincarnation Compass was incomplete;

only by falling into the hands of the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor and merging with the Life and Death Register could its power be unleashed.

Zheng Fa was merely the courier.

As for the wealth accumulated by the Heavenly River Sect, he certainly had coveted it, but forging a treasure like the Reincarnation Compass, which could alter the laws of heaven and earth, was never easy.

The Heavenly River Sect had cultivated for an entire era, yet it was probably still insufficient;

otherwise, the Heavenly River Venerable would not have had to personally forge the treasure one by one—who wouldn’t want to survive? ɽÃɴꝊ𝐛ËŠ

“I have already obtained the Heavenly River Method,” Zheng Fa thought for a moment and replied, “Besides, the changes to the Xuanyi Realm’s laws brought about by this treasure have already benefited me.”

The fact that the Dao Fruit could die was particularly useful to Zheng Fa.

After all, he had truly inherited the Heavenly River Method. If all the Dao Fruits were still solid as iron plates, Zheng Fa would really have no way to break the deadlock.

It was only because the Heavenly River Venerable had changed the laws of heaven and earth that Zheng Fa had some room to maneuver.

“Beneficial to you? That’s not necessarily so. Even I am not confident about the changes in Xuanyi.”

“Hm?”

“The birth of reincarnation is a major event for all the heavenly and earthly realms, especially for Xuanyi,” the Heavenly River Venerable said solemnly. “According to my calculations, those ancient worlds created by Golden Immortals will merge with Xuanyi.”

“Merge?”

“They perished before, but their spirits remain, so they still drift in the chaos. But once forged into reincarnation, it might not be so.”

Zheng Fa looked toward the stars in the chaos: “Venerable means that reincarnation will cause those worlds created by the dead Golden Immortals to manifest in Xuanyi?”

“Exactly.”

As the creator of the Reincarnation Compass, the Heavenly River Venerable’s words were naturally truthful.

This was good news for Xuanyi, as it could enhance its foundation.

It was no harm to himself either, right?

Perhaps noticing his doubt, the Heavenly River Venerable added:

“Not only that, the Heaven-Earth Membrane’s restrictions on Golden Immortals will soon lose effect.”

“Why is that?”

“Reincarnation connects the myriad heavenly worlds, naturally becoming a passage into Xuanyi, not to mention the expansion of the Xuanyi realm itself.”

Zheng Fa furrowed his brows slightly.

“So, the Golden Immortals from the Four Sects or the Ancient Immortals will enter Xuanyi earlier?”

The Heavenly River Venerable nodded softly.

This matter was hard to say whether it was good or bad.

The expansion of the Xuanyi world had many benefits;

the simplest was helping to strengthen Xuanyi’s foundation.

But in the future, the struggles among Xuanyi’s major powers would likely intensify.

Between the Four Sects, between the immortal sects and the Demon Ancestor, and even the Ancient Immortals...

They would fight for new territory and life or death, naturally holding no mercy.

Zheng Fa imagined it as a tangled mess.

Such a chaotic era had probably never occurred in Xuanyi in these past few eras.

For Zheng Fa, it was hard to judge good or bad:

Having the Dao Fruit was obviously advantageous.

But the strength of the Jiushan Realm was still lacking;

in such turmoil, it would be difficult to stay safe and sound.

Thinking this through, Zheng Fa looked back at the chaos and asked the Heavenly River Venerable, “Venerable, do you know how many Golden Immortals have existed in Xuanyi since ancient times?”

“I don’t know. From the observations on this Astronomical Observation Platform, there are at least over a hundred.”

Then it was over.

That number of Golden Immortals was overwhelming. Zheng Fa thought it better to continue supporting the Jiushan Realm and join the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s underworld.

“However, not many are still alive. I estimate less than forty.”

“Huh?”

“The Four Sects probably have fewer than ten Golden Immortals combined,” the Heavenly River Venerable smiled and said, “Those Ancient Immortals are all failures.”

That made sense.

From Lu Mo’s proving of the Dao, Haori Mountain had nearly exhausted its foundation but only produced three Golden Immortals.

Taishang Dao and Leiyin Temple were older but probably not very different in scale—Xuanyi Realm simply didn’t have that many resources.

Of course, these people could become enlightened through the myriad heavenly worlds.

But the numbers should not be high.

“So many stars…”

Zheng Fa looked at the countless stars in the chaos, puzzled.

“They are probably remnants of the First Era,” the Heavenly River Venerable pointed to the holes, “Most of the stars are dead, even lacking spiritual energy.”

The First Era was something Zheng Fa was completely unable to explore now.

If the number of Golden Immortals the Heavenly River Venerable mentioned was accurate, it was not so terrifying after all.

Suddenly, Zheng Fa recalled that when Tang Lingwu was studying the Divine Name Sub-Talismans, she found data:

Though there were thousands of Divine Name Sub-Talismans, about a dozen accounted for eighty percent of all talismanic diagrams.

Judging by the scale, those dozen Divine Name Sub-Talismans probably corresponded to Golden Immortals.

If you included those they hadn’t discovered or those who hid themselves, the number was roughly consistent with what the Heavenly River Venerable mentioned.

“What about Taiyi?”

“The only Taiyi I know of are the Taishang Dao Venerable and the Leiyin Buddha Ancestor.”

“Lu Mo could have naturally proved Taiyi but had too much ambition.”

“As for Yaochi, I don’t know much about Shui Mu’s situation.”

This probably explained why the Four Sects could dominate Xuanyi.

Adding the Heavenly River Sect, these five sects all had the possibility of cultivating Taiyi.

Only Lu Mo wanted to achieve Da Luo but was struck down by the Heavenly River Venerable’s sword.

And the Heavenly River Venerable transformed into the Reincarnation Compass.

Dao Venerable Zheng Fa had heard of, but the title Leiyin Buddha Ancestor was truly new to him.

“Venerable, when did the Leiyin Buddha Ancestor prove the Dao?”

“The Buddha Ancestor’s origins are mysterious,” the Heavenly River Venerable frowned, “I don’t know when he proved the Dao.”

“Leiyin Temple seemed to exist during the Era of Lawlessness. I’ve even heard it is older than Taishang Dao. I suspect that the Divine Path cultivation method has some connection with Leiyin Temple.”

Divine Path?

Indeed, Leiyin Temple was the most skilled at incense worship among all Xuanyi sects.

Even the transformations of the Hundred Flowers Lady Celestial from Yaochi were hard to fathom.

If Leiyin Temple was related to the Divine Path, that would explain a lot.

The methods of Leiyin Temple were also different from the Xuanyi mainstream—its Dharma manifestations weren’t quite Dharma manifestations, its Yang Spirits weren’t quite Yang Spirits, very unorthodox.

Seeing Zheng Fa fall silent, the Heavenly River Venerable looked at him and smiled again, “Really not disappointed?”

Zheng Fa understood the meaning behind the words.

The future situation in Xuanyi was far from optimistic.

Even if the number of Golden Immortals was conservatively estimated using the Divine Name Sub-Talismans to be fewer than twenty, the pressure from the Jiushan Sect was still immense.

Currently, Zheng Fa’s strength was at most that of a True Immortal.

Zheng Fa exhaled softly, “It’s still better than when you were young, Venerable.”

If worst came to worst, he could rely on the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor. Unlike the Heavenly River Venerable, who had the world against him and had to carry everything alone.

Even this bit of goodwill was left to him by the Heavenly River Venerable—

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was inscrutable and had experienced countless conspiracies, definitely not an easy person to deal with. If it weren’t for the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant in his mind and the Reincarnation Compass in his hand, how could he be so reckless before the Demon Ancestor... and now he didn’t even bring back the Spirit Message.

The Heavenly River Venerable chuckled softly and lowered his head to look at Xuanyi again.

“My path is complete;

I shall await those who come after.”

Zheng Fa silently cupped his hands.

“Heavenly River disciples!”

“Present!”

The myriad swords rose again, dazzling sword light surpassing the starry sky.

Over ten thousand Heavenly River disciples merged with the sword light, surging into the Reincarnation Compass.

They were just like when they followed the Heavenly River Venerable into battle tens of thousands of years ago—silent, unwavering.

Even if this was their end.

In Zheng Fa’s ear rang the Heavenly River Venerable’s final words:

“This Astronomical Observation Platform is yours.”

A beam of spiritual light shot from the sun and moon into Zheng Fa’s forehead, and in his sea of consciousness appeared a formation spell that opened the Heaven-Earth Membrane, leading to this place.

At the same time, on the jade railings around, several new carvings appeared.

They depicted Heavenly River disciples dining and listening to the Dao.

Among them was even his own face.

Zheng Fa lowered his head to look at the Reincarnation Compass in his hand;

it grew brighter and brighter, its runes profound and intricate, densely packed. He knew this was the Heavenly River Venerable’s last treasure forging.

The sword light dissipated, leaving only melancholy behind.

He stood atop the Astronomical Observation Platform, looking up at those holes.

Previously, Zheng Fa had wondered why there were only a few dozen holes. Now he understood: one hole probably corresponded to one Golden Immortal.

He looked at those stars one by one.

These Golden Immortals hung high day and night in the azure sky, above all living beings, worshipped by all.

But the one who should be highest above all was not among them, destined to fall into the Yellow Springs.

Zheng Fa stretched out a finger, carefully tracing the faces of those Heavenly River disciples, then raised his head again and looked around.

The vast chaos was like the future of him and the Jiushan Realm—dark and distant. Only the all-reaching sword’s edge and this Astronomical Observation Platform could bring some light to him and all of Xuanyi.

What the Heavenly River Venerable wished to leave behind might be this ideal—tearing through the darkness and leading the way forward.

Gathering his mind, Zheng Fa looked at the Creation Jade.

Many people had sent Spirit Messages.

Some were from Senior Sister Zhang and the others, but most were from the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

He had previously closed the video call with the Jiushan Realm—mainly out of respect for the Heavenly River Venerable.

He kept an eye on the live broadcast;

the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was still holding on.

But the Demon Ancestor’s Spirit Messages were very terse:

Zheng Fa was shocked by the secrets the Heavenly River Venerable had revealed but did not know how to reply, so he ignored them.

The Demon Ancestor’s tone grew more agitated—probably anxious.

He pocketed the Reincarnation Compass and glanced once more at the Astronomical Observation Platform before leaping into a rainbow, heading straight toward Xuanyi.

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor probably could no longer wait.

...

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was indeed very anxious.

Having suffered heavenly injustice, he was naturally suspicious and distrusted Zheng Fa.

Seeing that Zheng Fa no longer replied to messages, he became even more afraid that he wouldn’t return.

If he hadn’t vaguely sensed the location of the Nine Nether Talisman Edict and known Zheng Fa was still beyond the heavens, he could not have suppressed the unease in his heart.

Still, he was not feeling well.

The incense worship on the Western Continent flowed endlessly;

Lu Xuan was completely unrestrained.

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor lacked such a foundation and was always worried about Zheng Fa on the other side, distracted and exhausted in mind and spirit.

In contrast, Lu Mo, seeing that the mysterious person controlling the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation had not acted yet, though unclear why, gathered his mind and focused fully on dealing with the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

With this, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor found it even harder to cope.

He thought for a moment and sent a secret message to Sect Master Yan: “You go.”

Sect Master Yan used the cover of the mist to sneak beside the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

His face showed some worry.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that the Demon Ancestor was not doing well now.

“You go and strike Lu Mo with a sword.”

Sect Master Yan hesitated, as if his tongue was tied, and after a long moment said, “My cultivation is low...”

“I know you are low,” the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor said bluntly, “Go scare him. You four together.”

He knew very well that even combined, these four could not match the power of Zheng Fa controlling the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation.

But what he wanted was to distract Lu Mo and ease some pressure.

Sect Master Yan seemed to understand.

His figure flickered and vanished into the mist.

Lu Mo chanted Buddha’s name like a great bell ringing throughout the underworld.

He lowered his eyes, seemingly focused on reciting sutras to save the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

Lady Nishang and the others hid nearby, both searching for an exit and observing the changes in the battle.

Within the underworld, the mist surged like waves.

Four sword shadows broke through layers of void and condensed into a sword qi slashing at Lu Mo.

This scene was familiar, causing all cultivators present to hold their breath.

Lu Mo laughed loudly: “I have awaited your arrival, benefactor!”

After speaking, the compassion on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a fierce vajra glare. His palm was so huge it covered half the sky as it collided with the sword qi.

Everyone saw clearly that although Lu Mo appeared focused on the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, he had kept a trick up his sleeve and was already prepared for the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation.

The collision of sword and palm produced no sound.

The sword qi seemed made of paper, shattering on contact, losing all its previous sharpness.

Lu Mo’s massive palm swept across the sky without any obstruction.

His face went blank, and then the golden Buddha mask showed a trace of blood color.

“Good thing!”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor laughed loudly, taking advantage of the brief respite to recover and curse.

Lu Mo quickly calmed down and smiled instead: “I observe that Nine Nether benefactor, you are the one truly at the end of your rope, or you wouldn’t resort to such petty tricks.”

The smile on the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s face gradually faded.

“Among those four swords just now, the benefactor from before was not there?” Lu Mo said leisurely, “Is his cultivation insufficient? Or is he not here?”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s face grew cold, but Lu Mo’s tone grew more confident:

“From what I saw just now, even if he’s still here, he wouldn’t be stronger than that previous sword.”

“That sword allowed me to understand the true and false nature of the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation.”

“Nine Nether benefactor, how much longer can you hold on?”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor remained silent for a long time, seemingly at a loss for words.

After all, even the sudden sword strike before had not dealt him a fatal blow.

“Nine Nether benefactor, you and the Heavenly River benefactor both fail to understand that these petty tricks cannot resist this raging tide.”