Chapter 145: The Rise of the Demonic Path-Immortal of the Mortal World in Shushan(Guardian of the Eastern Sea)

"Roar—"

An answering dragon roar echoed back to Guchen.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, only to see an azure-red dragon stepping across the waves from the East Sea.

Clouds follow the dragon; before the red dragon had even arrived, mist and vapors were already brewing along the shore.

Shielded by the gathering mists now, Guchen drove his black smoke and fled even faster.

The green phoenix beat its wings, stirring up a gale that sought to tear the clouds and mists apart.

As the mists parted, the red dragon arrived.

Staring at that red dragon, Cheng Xinzhan was too stunned to speak.

The red dragon was several hundred zhang long, with crimson scales and fiery horns, but along its spine were not dorsal fins, but dense, fiery red fur. Furthermore, its mane and tail hair were thick, silky, and extraordinarily long, resembling flowing flames.

This was a brocade dragon.

A red-haired brocade dragon.

Upon the appearance of the red-haired brocade dragon, Cheng Xinzhan's heart skipped a beat, and the blood river within his heart-palace churned violently, as if sensing an old acquaintance.

"Is this the Old Ancestor of Red Hair?"

Watching the red dragon directly pounce upon the green phoenix, Cheng Xinzhan found it hard to believe. Had the Old Ancestor of Red Hair fallen into demonic corruption?

However, when he looked closer, his heart suffered yet another shock.

The red dragon had been gouged of its eyes.

Employing his Dharma Eye and Qi-observing technique, he perceived that while the dragon's might was towering and boundless, its entire body possessed not a shred of vitality—only dense, stagnant death energy.

This was a dragon corpse!

***

Western Shu, Mount Emei, Taiyuan Cave.

A striking, transcendent middle-aged man and a frowning elder sat facing each other.

"Bingru, you have guarded the Western Kunlun for nearly ten years. You have had a hard time," the middle-aged man said.

Jian Bingru raised his hands in a salute. "You flatter me, Sect Master Brother. I would gladly go through fire and water for Emei without a second thought, let alone for such minor matters."

Master Miaoyi nodded and asked again,

"The Western Kunlun is a place of bitter cold; you have indeed suffered. In all these years, have you discovered anything? Back then, the demon Deng Yin was sealed beneath the Western Sea by our Master using the Water, Fire, Wind, and Thunder Formation. He was forced to swear a venomous oath to cast aside his evil thoughts, abolish his demonic cultivation, and painstakingly refine the orthodox mysterious arts for six hundred years before the seal would naturally dissolve. Only upon emerging would he be required to perform one hundred thousand good deeds before being permitted to ascend.

"Scarcely three hundred years have passed. Why has the seal broken so quickly? Moreover, it broke without the slightest ripple of commotion, wiping out the Western Kunlun overnight and even teaching our enemies the Emei flying sword techniques, leaving us quite passive!"

Jian Bingru replied,

"I descended beneath the Western Sea to conduct a thorough investigation. The entire ocean floor remains as calm as ever, and Master's seal is still intact, without the slightest trace of tampering. The interior is completely empty. Coupled with the fact that the Western Kunlun was obliterated overnight without a sound, the Junior Uncle must have—"

"What Junior Uncle! A demon is a demon!"

Master Miaoyi slammed his palm onto the table.

The bitter expression on Jian Bingru's face deepened. He nodded and continued,

"I suspect that after being sealed by Master, the demon not only failed to abolish his demonic arts, but instead intensified his cultivation of the *Blood Classic*. He must have mastered the legendary divine art that no one had ever successfully practiced before—the Blood Shadow Divine Light.

"The Blood Shadow Divine Light can traverse the azure firmament and roam the boundless void, which is why the demon was able to escape the seal and ignore the Western Kunlun's grand guardian formation. With the demon's millennium of cultivation and formidable demonic arts, gathering an army of fiends to annihilate the Western Kunlun is by no means impossible. Sect Master Brother, the demon hates Emei to the bone; we must guard against him!"

Master Miaoyi nodded and said, "Rest assured, Bingru. The Two Instruments Microdust Formation is an ancient immortal array; even if that demon has perfected the Blood Shadow Divine Light, he certainly cannot break into Emei. That said, the *Blood Classic* is an ancient arcane book, and the Blood Shadow Divine Light is a legendary miraculous technique. Whether it possesses other wondrous capabilities beyond traversing the azure firmament remains unknown. As you watch over the Blood Child in the Western Kunlun, you must exercise utmost caution yourself."

Jian Bingru acknowledged the instruction.

"Has there been any movement from the Blood God Cult recently? Has the demon ventured out into the world again?"

Master Miaoyi asked further.

"No. Since the orthodox sects besieged the mountain, the middle and lower-tier disciples of the Blood God Cult were nearly wiped out, and those in the third and fourth realms were also injured. Currently, the entire sect is dormant within the guardian formation, and the demon has never been seen leaving the mountain."

"Mm, I must still trouble Bingru to keep watch. The demon was sealed by Master, and now that he has escaped, it falls upon us as his disciples to capture and eradicate him."

Jian Bingru nodded once more in assent.

"Roar—"

A dragon roar that shook heaven and earth interrupted their conversation.

***

Master Miaoyi and Jian Bingru exchanged glances, their expressions changing simultaneously. Without another word, they soared into the sky together.

The two ascended to the peak of Mount Emei, above the sea of clouds. At this moment, countless sword immortals within Mount Emei were rising into the air in succession, and Madam Miaoyi also arrived by Master Miaoyi's side.

Everyone looked toward the south, following the sound.

It was already late in the evening. They saw that starting from the Tao River in the Southern Wilderness, a continuous chain of watercourses—the Qian River, Xun River, Xi River, and Pearl River—spanning several thousand li, were simultaneously emitting a hazy, shimmering radiance that connected straight to the South China Sea.

And at that very moment, at the estuary where the river of light met the sea, eight illusory gateways abruptly appeared.

The gateways stood tall in the shallow sea, several li wide and towering into the clouds. The bases of the four gate pillars were carved with churning blue and white wave patterns that seemed seamlessly integrated with the South China Sea. Above the wave patterns were coiled dragon patterns; each of the four pillars bore nine dragons in reddish gold, vividly lifelike. Above the coiling dragon patterns were golden cloud patterns connecting to the lintel, half-hidden in the clouds and impossible to fully discern.

Before the gateways, everyone saw an ink-green flood dragon leaping out from the river of light, striving desperately to climb toward one of the gateways amid endless dragon roars.

At this sight, Master Miaoyi's eyes split open in fury. He wanted to intervene, but separated by a thousand li, it was already too late to turn the tides.

"Miexianzi! Li Yuanhua! Where are both of you?!"

The furious roar of a fifth-realm true immortal reverberated across all directions from the clouds like thunderous wrath. At this moment, not only Mount Emei, but the entire region of Western Shu heard it.

Scarcely had the words fallen when a streak of escape light immediately flew out from a location on the southern side of Western Shu, heading straight for Emei. It descended before Master Miaoyi and bowed to await commands—it was none other than the Bearded Immortal, Li Yuanhua.

"I greet the Sect Master."

A few breaths later, yet another streak of escape light soared from the east of Western Shu. Its speed eclipsed even that of Li Yuanhua. It landed before Li Yuanhua, bowed with cupped hands toward Master Miaoyi, and addressed him as Sect Master.

Faintly discernible, the famously uninhibited Bearded Immortal Li Yuanhua was actually trembling as he faced the wrath of the fifth-realm true immortal. As for the latecomer, clad in wide-sleeved white robes that snapped loudly in the wind, his expression and demeanor appeared far more composed than the Bearded Immortal.

However, this person's composure was certainly not what Master Miaoyi wished to see at this moment. Pointing toward the south, Master Miaoyi shouted sternly,

"I tasked both of you with watching the Southern Wilderness. Is this how you watch it?! Tell me what that is?! The Green-Robed Old Fiend has journeyed a thousand li down the river and is transforming into a dragon!"

The white-robed figure made no immediate reply, while Li Yuanhua answered with a trembling voice,

"Reporting to the Sect Master, this disciple truly did not know. Baimang Mountain showed no movement at all."

Clearly dissatisfied with this answer, Master Miaoyi shifted his gaze to the white-robed man. This white-robed man was none other than Miexianzi, as called by Master Miaoyi. He said, "It is not that Yuanhua and I were negligent; the Southern Wilderness was indeed tranquil. Furthermore, the one who should have sensed the Green-Robed One's river journey and transformation first is none other than the Old Ancestor of Red Hair, and he should have been the most anxious, yet Red Wood Ridge showed no movement either. Moreover, the flood dragon journeyed a thousand li down the river without us hearing even a shred of the sound of water. There must have been an expert escorting him all the way, masking the dragon's path and the river journey until the very final moment when he leaped over the ancient Dragon Gate, exposing the illusory manifestation of the Dragon Gate and the traces of the flood dragon's journey, which was why we finally caught sight of it."

Hearing this, Master Miaoyi slightly tempered his anger and looked toward the South China Sea, his voice colder than the winds of the Western Kunlun.

"An expert? Where would an expert come from with such audacity?"

As the words left his lips, he seemed to suddenly think of something and abruptly stared at Jian Bingru beside him.

"You said that the Blood Shadow Divine Light traverses the azure firmament, traceless and formless. If the demon wanted to leave the Western Kunlun, could you have discovered it?"

Jian Bingru's face turned pale. "This, this..."

Master Miaoyi's expression grew gloomy. If there was one demon in this world whose cultivation surpassed the Green-Robed Old Fiend, capable of masking the momentum of his river journey and deceiving the Old Ancestor of Red Hair, it could only be him.

The Blood Fiend, Deng Yin, his former Junior Uncle.

His heart grew heavier than ever before.

No matter how transcendent that demon's strength might be, he was not truly afraid.

For this era was no longer ancient times; the immortal realm was the absolute ceiling of cultivation, and how could the might of a single individual ever contend against an entire sect? This was the fundamental reason why he had tirelessly strived to strengthen Emei—swallowing rivals like a whale and gnawing at them like a silkworm; methods mattered not, only results did.

Yet many people still clung to the antiquated ways, locking away the lineage classics while keeping their circle of disciples pitifully small. How could such an approach accomplish great things?

He had never imagined that the notoriously short-sighted demon's very first action upon breaking free would not be to attack Emei, but rather to annihilate the Western Kunlun and establish a sect under the banner of the Blood God Cult.

Nor had he imagined that the Blood Fiend would begin gathering allies and colluding with other demons!

A thousand thoughts churned within Master Miaoyi's mind, yet thousands of li away, he ultimately could not interfere with that li-dragon leaping across the Dragon Gate.

They saw the li-dragon finally cross the Dragon Gate from head to tail, its hundred-zhang dragon body radiating dazzling treasures of light that illuminated the coastal waters of the South China Sea in a deep, verdant glow.

Amidst the treasure-light, the dragon claws beneath the li-dragon's belly simultaneously grew a fifth toe, while the rough, stubby, rhinoceros-like horn upon its head continuously grew, elongated, and branched, eventually transforming into true dragon horns.

As was well known, the difference between scaled dragon-kinds and true dragons lay precisely in their claws and horns.

This li-dragon had transformed into a true dragon!

At this moment, the continuous, rising-higher-than-ever dragon roars transformed into human speech:

"I, Li Mizhen of Baimang Mountain in the Southern Wilderness, hereby proclaim to the world: I am a dragon-kind li-dragon who has attained the Dao. Today, following the ancient Pan River channel, I journeyed down the river into the South China Sea, leaped over the Dragon Gate to become a true dragon, harmonized with the water veins of the Southern Wilderness, and entered the fifth realm. Anyone with the ambition to transform into a dragon and a heart untethered by convention may enter my sect!"

His voice was like thunder, spreading far and wide.

Hearing this, Master Miaoyi clenched his fists. The fifth realm! The Green-Robed Old Fiend had actually entered the fifth realm through dragon transformation!

The fifth realm of true dragons was the equivalent of an immortal!

Yet Master Miaoyi was, after all, Master Miaoyi. He rapidly calmed down and immediately instructed Jian Bingru:

"Bingru, you need not return to the Western Kunlun for now; you can no longer keep watch over the Blood Fiend. Go immediately to Mount Mangcang and see if that corpse-monster is still there! Quickly!"

"By your decree!"

Knowing the gravity of the situation, Jian Bingru prepared to transform into an escape light and depart. But just as he was about to leave, three voices that similarly shook heaven and earth echoed from the east:

"I, Guchen / Wu Lao / Cui Ying, hereby proclaim to the world: We have all attained the Dao through anomalous corpses, and today we establish the Bare-Body Cult at Three-Corpse Island in the East Sea. Anyone with the aspiration to seek life through a dead body and a heart untethered by convention may enter our sect!"

Jian Bingru's form stalled, abruptly dissolving his escape light. He turned with immense difficulty to look toward the Sect Master.

Sure enough, he saw that Master Miaoyi's expression had turned hideously grim.

After a long pause, he used a secret mental transmission technique to speak privately to Madam Miaoyi by his side:

"Lanyin, since the Blood Fiend has released the corpse-monster, the place where the twin swords are hidden cannot be far off. However, I can still sense that the twin swords remain within the sword cave, which means the demon has not yet found them. Take Yingqiong and Qingyun to retrieve the twin swords right now—go immediately."

Madam Miaoyi glanced at her husband, nodded, and her figure slowly faded into nothingness.

***

Kuaiji, near the coast of the East Sea.

A crimson dragon corpse lunged at the green phoenix, the dense stench of death causing the elegant green phoenix to instinctively back away.

Atop the dragon corpse sat a barefoot, bald child who looked to be only five or six years old. He wore only a strip of red cloth wrapped around his waist, leaving the rest of his body bare, painted all over with fiery talismanic markings.

The child steadied one of the dragon horns with one hand while toying with a crimson elixir-pearl in the other, laughing aloud:

"Old Fiend Gu, your Profound Yin Gathering Beasts Banner has already been successfully refined; did you really need the likes of us to come pick you up?"

Watching from afar, Cheng Xinzhan circulated his Dharma Eye. Not only was it a dragon corpse, but the child atop the dragon corpse also appeared to be a corpse. As for the elixir-pearl in the child's hand, feeling the dragon might emanating from it, that must have been the red dragon's inner core.

"Exactly, exactly! You kept boasting to us about how formidable the Profound Yin Gathering Beasts Banner was. It was a waste for the Blood Lord to rescue you and send you into Lung-Vent Mountain; in this concubine's eyes, it's nothing much after all."

As the child finished speaking, another bewitching and enchanting voice rang out. Just hearing it made one feel as though one's soul was floating away and one's bones had grown lighter by a third.

Looking over, Cheng Xinzhan saw a woman materialize out of thin air right behind the dragon corpse.

Her hair was neatly pinned up, framing a delicate face with powdered cheeks and vermilion lips, skin so tender it seemed it would break at a blow.

The woman's attire was quite peculiar; neither robe nor skirt, it looked as though a length of pliable white silk had been tightly wrapped round and round about her slender form, exposing her fair shoulders and arms on top, and her sleek calves below.

The woman was barefoot, walking upon the void. As she moved, her tightly wrapped waist swayed with a thousand enchanting charms, breathtakingly beautiful to the extreme.

Guchen laughed heartily upon hearing this, "It is not that my treasure lacks might, but rather that I wished to give you two an opportunity to make a name for yourselves."

The child laughed loudly at those words, and the red dragon beneath his feet whipped its tail, striking a dharma avatar and sending sparks flying in all directions. At the same time, he brought the elixir-pearl to his lips and blew gently upon it.

"Boom!"

A surging sea of flames instantly engulfed everyone from Mount Juqu.

"Let all you high Daoists know: Wu Lao, the Red Corpse Divine Lord, is here!"

The child laughed wildly.

The woman chuckled lightly, "This minor female, Cui Ying, greets all Daoist priests."

Seemingly exerting no effort at all, the female's laughter alone caused several Daoist priests of Mount Juqu to feel as though their primordial spirits were being forcibly summoned away!

The three of them joining forces instantly repelled the people of Mount Juqu. Afterward, lingering no further, they flew straight toward the depths of the East Sea, and no one dared to block their path again.

The three flew all the way to the outer reaches of the East Sea, finally halting atop an island adjacent to Kuaiji.

Thereupon, the corpse-monster Guchen rapidly cast several dharma seals, and from his sleeves flew banner after banner. Judging by their form and inner Daoist essence, they were identical in every way to the Profound Yin Gathering Beasts Banner in his hand.

The corpse-monster had indeed been holding back his true strength earlier!

He had actually refined a full eighty-one Profound Yin Gathering Beasts Banners!

Only now did Guchen display his full strength. The eighty-one Profound Yin Gathering Beasts Banners formed a circle, shrouding the island within. The black smoke and yellow vapor emanating from the banners soared straight into the firmament, forming a vast and formidable array.

Then, the three of them spoke in unison:

(End of this chapter)