CHAPTER 166: BLACK IMPERMANENCE

Inside the room, Chen Yang seemed to sense something. He looked up toward the air, as though peering through space, then smiled gently.

He, too, was quite intrigued by Li Yanchu.

The Celestial Master was even willing to part with a treasure like the Clearheart Jade Pendant... This Daoist Master Li must have a rather interesting background.

A thoughtful glint flickered in Chen Yang’s eyes.

The Court of Judicial Review was one of the Three Judicial Offices, but more often, it handled cases involving wandering cultivators, demons, and monsters of the jianghu.

So naturally, he was well aware of how weighty a figure a Celestial Master of Mount Longhu truly was.

For a person of such stature and cultivation to show this kind of favor... It certainly wasn’t simply because of Li Yanchu’s current strength.

***

After returning to Qingyun Temple, Li Yanchu immediately mounted Blackie and sped off toward the remote mountains outside Wei City.

Blackie had grown even more formidable. Its speed was blinding, and its steps were as steady as iron.

There wasn’t the slightest jolt or bump. Its endurance outstripped that of even famed steeds, and its velocity left them in the dust.

Once they left the city limits and Blackie unleashed its full pace, it truly became like a howling gale, streaking across the countryside.

The landscape blurred, rapidly pulling away behind them. A group of traveling merchants on the road suddenly felt a rush of wind sweep past them.

Eyes wide, one blurted in confusion, “What was that just now!?”

Another stammered, “Looked like... a Daoist riding a donkey?”

Someone immediately cursed, “Bullshit! What kind of donkey runs that fast!?”

Li Yanchu held the Clearheart Jade Pendant in his hand, sensing the lingering aura it carried, and steered Blackie in the right direction.

Since his own donkey could run this fast, why would he bother walking?

Better to save his energy for any danger that might arise in the deep mountains.

And so, riding atop Blackie, he made his way into the rugged mountains surrounding Wei City.

Blackie wanted to keep charging deeper in, but Li Yanchu reined him in. “You crazy or what? There’s no path ahead! You’re a donkey, not a monkey.”

He scolded Blackie sternly.

Blackie turned back and gave him a mischievous, cocky grin. It glanced up at the treacherous mountains ahead and didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

It even bounced on the spot a few times, like it was playing around, lightly leaping more than a full zhang off the ground.

“Go on, go home!” Li Yanchu waved his hand.

In his mind, Blackie had some intelligence, sure, but at the end of the day, it was still just a donkey. It was strong and enduring, yes, but it was best used as a mount and nothing more.

Blackie lingered where it stood, staring at Li Yanchu and reluctant to leave. But in the end, it turned and trotted back in the direction of Wei City.

Clearly, Li Yanchu had some affection for the black donkey, though not much. He didn’t stop to think what might happen if something unfortunate befell Blackie on the road.

Gazing at the steep and perilous mountain terrain ahead, Li Yanchu focused his senses on the jade pendant in his hand.

Then, in a flash, he moved, vanishing into the mountains. These towering ranges stretched across multiple regions, Wei City, Qi City, Dongyang County, and more.

Inside, there weren’t just wolves, tigers, and leopards, but also poisonous miasma, venomous insects, and treacherous terrain. In truth, wild beasts were the least of one’s worries when venturing into these mountains...

An experienced person could judge from tracks and signs whether there were fierce beasts nearby, but miasma and poisonous insects were another matter entirely.

In the mountains, those two were actually far more deadly. Many highly skilled martial artists, or deeply cultivated Daoist practitioners, had perished from such seemingly minor threats.

But, for Li Yanchu, these so-called forbidden zones where “no man dared tread” were places he entered freely.

His figure flitted through the mountain ridges, so fast his shadow could barely be seen.

And on his body was a Plague-Dispelling Talisman, the nemesis of toxic insects and poisonous vapors. Thus, nothing could get close to him.

The aura from the old Daoist of Mount Longhu was leading northward. This mountain range was vast and undulating. As Li Yanchu flew from peak to ridge, the towering terrain stretched endlessly before him, a sobering reminder of just how small a person could feel in the face of nature.

His Art of Pursuit, recorded in the Yellow Court Daoist Canon, was incredibly profound.

Relying on the residual aura left behind in the Clearheart Jade Pendant, Li Yanchu finally reached a valley nestled deep within the mountains.

He could feel it; the Celestial Master was inside.

But before he could go in...

Boom! A deafening roar echoed from the valley. Half the sky was suddenly dyed crimson. Flocks of startled birds erupted from the forest like a black wave, while wild beasts fled in every direction.

Li Yanchu turned to look and was startled as a towering, colossal figure came into view. Up until now, the tallest person he’d encountered was Yan Chixiao, the demon-hunter who was built like a steel tower of a man.

But this figure? It was absurdly large. It was at least three zhang tall.

Its entire body was shrouded in a thick black mist, making it impossible to see its face.

Li Yanchu activated his spirit qi, his eyes glowing with divine clarity.

Only then did he see clearly what this monstrous giant looked like. It had a high black hat on its head, manacles in one hand, and a mourning staff in the other. It was none other than... Black Impermanence[1]. The words “Peace Under Heaven” were written on the tall black hat.

Li Yanchu's eyes narrowed sharply, and he couldn't help but take in a cold breath.

“Black Impermanence!?”

The towering figure before him was unmistakably the very image of the legendary soul-reaping envoy from myth and folklore, Black Impermanence himself!

Across from this giant stood an enormous blue-green crane. Its body was etched with fiery red patterns, and it had a long white beak and most notably a single leg. Its form was wreathed in blazing flames, exuding an overwhelming and savage aura.

That thunderous explosion from earlier had come from the clash between this blue flame-bird and the Black Impermanence!

Now, the man and bird were locked in a deadly standoff, the air between them crackling with tension. At any moment, it could erupt into a full-blown battle.

Li Yanchu furrowed his brow.

Suddenly, the Bifang, a strange beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas came to mind. The creature's description matched this flame-shrouded, blue-feathered, one-legged bird exactly.

First he encountered a mythical soul-reaper, then a legendary beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Li Yanchu’s expression turned solemn, and he did not reveal himself.

Instead, using his Sun Veil, along with a Daoist aura-concealment technique, he all but erased his presence from the battlefield. He watched, hidden, as these two mythical forces prepared to clash.

Rumble!

Rumble!

From the distance came another earth-shattering explosion, like the heavens collapsing and the earth cracking open.

Both Black Impermanence and the Bifang instinctively turned toward the direction of the blast, glared at each other with hatred, then simultaneously sped off toward the source.

Li Yanchu followed close behind. When he arrived, he saw a massive crater gouged into the ground. The surrounding trees and rocks had been shorn clean.

There, in the middle of it all, stood a solitary and ancient figure. It was the Baxia stone statue that had once rested silently by the riverside!

Now, not only had the legendary statue said to have emerged from a Blissful Land come to life, it had also crushed a massive azure serpent to death beneath its foot!

That serpent was at least twelve or thirteen zhang long, and its body was overflowing with demonic qi. It was clearly a formidable great demon in its own right.

But now, all signs of life were gone, and its colossal body was pinned lifeless under the foot of the stone beast.

Around the statue, several figures surrounded it, each one cloaked in radiant light. Their mere presence exuded tremendous pressure.

Among them, Li Yanchu instantly spotted the old Daoist from Mount Longhu. He also recognized two other beings from earlier, the legendary Black Impermanence, and the mythical beast the Bifang.

Black and White Impermanence were not mere folklore; they were true ghost envoys of the Underworld itself, holding extremely high status among the ghost officials.

White Impermanence bore a hat inscribed with “Good Fortune at First Sight.”

Black Impermanence, on the other hand, wore a hat that read: Peace Under Heaven.

1. "Black Impermanence" in Chinese folklore refers to Heibai Wuchang (黑白無常), also known as Black and White Impermanence, a pair of deities who escort the spirits of the dead to the underworld. They are depicted as a black-clad and a white-clad figure, respectively, embodying the concept of impermanence in life and death. ☜