Volume 2 Chapter 14 Mysterious Master
A dark, eerie glow floated on the surface of the sea. On the water's surface, a gigantic ghostly face pattern was clearly visible. Above the ghostly face, a black aura spread out within a radius of ten zhang, emitting an ominous and terrifying atmosphere, like the howling winds of hell.
Looking at the three silhouettes, the ghostly messenger smiled gloomily, and the black shadow instantly transformed into countless figures, forming a black air wall that seemed like a real entity, beginning to shrink inward. Accompanied by the mournful wailing of the evil spirits, everything seemed so eerie, filling people's hearts with fear. Feeling the increased pressure around them, countless soul-devouring auras were frantically devouring their bodies, and Liu Xingyun and the other two had faces as pale as death, their desperate expressions evident.
Li Xinghun gritted his teeth and said, "The final battle, we'll fight it out with all our might. Now that the three of us are united as one, let's use the Reverse Yin-Yang Technique and fight to the death!" Leng Jiahao's eyes flashed with determination, he straightened up and began to prepare. As for Jian Wucheng, his expression changed, a hint of a sigh hidden between his eyebrows. Without saying a word, Jian Wucheng nodded lightly, mustering his remaining true energy to launch this final, desperate battle.
In the black light cover, Liu Xingyuan's three people held six hands tightly, and the Tianling Divine Sword revolved around the top of their heads. As the light cover around them continued to shrink, Liu Xingyuan smiled with a hint of sadness, and shouted softly. The three people's bodies suddenly rotated in reverse. A colorful glow stretched out, and a powerful aura carrying a destructive breath grew stronger as they accelerated their rotation. Above, the Tianling Divine Sword seemed to have received divine assistance, and with a long dragon's roar, a dazzling five-colored light burst into the sky.
The outer circle, the ghostly messenger sneered, a dark red light suddenly appeared in the inner layer of the black light shield, looking extremely mysterious and eerie. With the appearance of this dark red light, a powerful aura that devoured everything burst out with five times its original power, shrinking violently. The light flickered, and the sudden contraction of the powerful pressure brought a momentum that could split mountains and oceans, directly attacking the bodies of Liu Xingyun and the other two.
In an instant, the five-colored radiance formed by Liu Xingyuan and his two companions collided with the powerful force of the ghostly messenger. The sound of dense explosions filled the air, countless flashes of light flickered and disappeared, layer upon layer, shattering and re-forming. Two powerful forces clashed, each side rising and falling in a seesaw battle, momentarily locked in a stalemate.
Inside the light shield, the three people's spinning speed suddenly slowed down. Feeling the powerful attack of the ghost messenger, the three people shouted in unison, and all their remaining strength burst out instantly. A magnificent five-colored glow was seen, and in an instant, it suppressed the dark red light. Immediately afterwards, the three people's spinning speed accelerated again, and the divine sword's light became even more brilliant.
The ghost messenger let out a furious roar, and the dark red light was forced back for an instant before suddenly shrinking again. In the blink of an eye, the force of the repeated attacks stacked together, forcing Liu Xingyun and the other two to retreat with all their might. However, just as it attacked again, the three people who were rotating had already transformed into a column of light, disappearing from sight. Only the light column was seen shooting up into the sky, instantly illuminating the heavens and earth. At the top, the Tianling Sword spun wildly, unleashing a shocking sword pillar that pierced through the heavens and earth, accompanied by dazzling five-colored lights.
A loud roar, the five-colored sword pillar sandwiched the souls of Liu Xing, Leng Jia Hao, and Jian Wu Chen's unyielding wills, using the Reverse Yin-Yang Technique to explosively increase their power threefold, unleashing a final blow before death. A long rainbow shocked the sky, as the rotating five-colored sword pillar met the dark red light shield in an instant. Only to see colorful lights dancing across the sky, fragments of residual shadows sandwiched between the five-colored glows, spreading around, looking mysterious and beautiful. Thunderous explosions shook the air, with intense tremors of light radiating from the trio's surroundings, releasing a heaven-shaking blast.
Flowing light, eerie and ominous, the ghostly messenger's angry howl, the figure rapidly spinning, layers of dark shadows like a real entity, constantly overlapping, fiercely confronting that colorful divine sword. Only to see both sides rising and falling, the five-colored light and dark red glow alternating, full-force confrontation. Time, at this moment, seems particularly long, yet somehow extremely short. A very strange feeling, permeating all around.
A deafening crash shook the sky, and the brilliant light flickered. The two powerful forces clashed with each other for a long time before the light began to dim and the power started to weaken. In the end, only a flash of colorful light was seen, and the ghostly messenger's powerful light shield finally shattered. In mid-air, a blood column shot up into the sky, and Liu Xingyun, Leng Jiahao, and Jian Wuchen fell in three different directions. Fresh blood spurted out from their mouths, and on their pale faces, there was a hint of desolation as they fell towards the sea surface. At this moment, the three had already exhausted their mental and physical strength, their true yuan depleted, and began to enter their final moments.
On the water's surface, the ghostly face's eyes flickered with a black, enchanting glow, quietly gazing at the five people in mid-air. At this moment, Bi Tian's entire body emitted an extremely weak red aura, his right hand grasping Du Li with all his might, desperately struggling to prevent his body from falling. Unfortunately, with his true energy depleted, he could only sigh and feel regret. Watching the two bodies slowly fall, a hint of loss flashed across Bi Tian's eyes, that unexpressed emotion ending without even beginning. Thinking of that captivating figure, that clear and cold demeanor, a faint smile appeared on Bi Tian's lips. Having loved, what does death matter?
His gaze shifted slightly, and he glanced at the three people above him. Bi Tian understood that this time, the five of them were completely defeated. With a reluctant glance at Du Li, he found that his eyes had already lost their luster and were slowly closing. Without saying a word. Bi Tian only whispered in his heart, Don't be afraid, I'll be on the road with you, so it won't be lonely!
In mid-air, the ghostly messenger gazed at the five people drifting down, issuing a chilling, ghostly laugh from its mouth, with sinister glints flashing in its eyes. At this moment, the ghostly messenger ceased attacking and simply watched the five people, watching them sink into the sea of ghosts. It understood that these five had reached their limit, and there was no need to take action; the ghostly minions below would naturally devour them, making them disappear forever.
Slowly falling, the distance of several zhang was instantly reached. Just as the five were about to fall into the mouth of Gui Wuyan, a strong light suddenly shot out from afar, and a red halo instantly appeared above Gui Wuyan, holding up the falling five people. Immediately after, the red light flashed, and carrying the bodies of the five, it reappeared a hundred zhang away, quietly suspended in mid-air. Upon closer inspection, the so-called red halo turned out to be a red blood flag, with strange flowing lights flashing all over its body, and countless spells densely covering its surface, looking mysterious and unfathomable. At the same time as the appearance of the red halo, the space beside the ghostly messenger suddenly fluctuated violently, and a spatial gate suddenly opened, revealing a figure surrounded by flowing light, appearing out of thin air.
The Phantom Envoy's shadowy figure suddenly appeared ten feet away, cautiously watching the person who had just emerged. Upon closer inspection, it saw that this person was about fifty years old, with an extraordinary appearance and eyes that shone with a faint light, his entire body radiating a sacred aura. What startled the Phantom Envoy most was that it found itself completely unable to see through this person; when the man's eyes looked at it, its heart couldn't help but violently tremble, a sense of foreboding rising up within.
He gave the ghost messenger a cold glance, and the mysterious person said indifferently: "So you're the ghost messenger from one of the three major forbidden lands in the Ghost Domain, the Phantom Island. No wonder you have such powerful cultivation. Your methods are quite good, I'll try it out too, and see if I can eliminate you, which would be a small price to pay for them." After finishing speaking, his right hand swung, and the Heaven's Spirit Sword floating in mid-air automatically flew into his hand.
A dragon's roar, the Heavenly Spirit Sword suddenly emitted an incomparably joyful aura, its entire body bursting forth with dazzling light, instantly illuminating everything within a radius of several miles. The mysterious person gazed at the Heavenly Spirit Sword, their eyes revealing a hint of strangeness, as if hiding something. With a flip and a turn of their right hand, a Heaven-rending power suddenly erupted, causing the seawater on the entire surface to instantly shoot up into five columns of water that pierced the sky. The five columns of water flashed with different colors, surrounding the mysterious person like pillars supporting the heavens, a layer of mystical seals trapping the ghostly messenger within.
Darkness flickered, countless streams of light moved in the rolling black fog. Only a cry was heard, and the ghostly messenger asked in shock: "Who are you, why do you have such powerful cultivation? With your cultivation, you're absolutely not a master from the mortal world. Speak quickly, where did you come from?"
The mysterious man sneered, "Where I come from is of no use to you. Because no matter where I come from, today you are destined to die. Now, accept my punishment!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Tianling Sword shone brightly and a wave of light burst out from it. The powerful wave of light attacked the ghostly messenger with an overwhelming force.
"Whoever you are, this is my domain and you absolutely can't kill me! Take it, Ghostly Phantom Dance!" As soon as the words fell, the ghost messenger's figure flickered, and in an instant, nine figures emerged to charge at the mysterious person. In mid-air, each of the nine figures transformed again into nine ghostly shadows, filling the entire space with countless ghostly shadows in the blink of an eye. The surrounding air howled with dark winds, wailing spirits, and layers of malevolent energy formed a dense black light ball that enveloped the mysterious person within.
With a proud smile, the mysterious person didn't mind the attacks from all around, but instead sneered at the foolish ghost messenger. When the surrounding shadows were dense and the attack reached its strongest point, the mysterious person swung his right hand, and five divine dragons suddenly rose from the divine sword, dividing into five directions, each aiming at one of the five water pillars. The light flashed, and the five water pillars instantly burst out with a strong glow, simultaneously pouring into the bodies of the five divine dragons. Next, the five divine dragons surrounded the five water pillars, swirling and dancing in flight, while the five glows shot out from the pillars, forming a heavenly net above, flashing with dazzling five-colored light, beginning to descend.
The specter messenger launched a full-scale attack, but was repeatedly dispersed by the mysterious outer light shield, making it gradually realize that there was a huge gap between itself and this mysterious person. Feeling the crisis at hand, the specter messenger let out a series of ghostly roars from its mouth, and its body instantly transformed into a black gas mass, with the surrounding ghost energy rotating at a high frequency of tens of thousands of times per second.
Mysteriously indifferent, he glanced at it and said in a low voice: "Everything should be over, I don't have much time to dawdle with you, resign yourself." After finishing speaking, his eyes flashed coldly, and his whole body suddenly burst out with ten times the momentum. In an instant, that dazzling heavenly net covered the ghost messenger's body, devouring the evil spirit outside its body. Terrified wails were unceasing, and the heart-rending, furious roars on the gloomy sea surface appeared extremely terrifying. A flash of light, a cluster of black light suddenly shook, but was instantly suppressed, and in the blink of an eye turned into wisps of smoke, disappearing into the air.
The mysterious man smiled calmly, and with a flick of his wrist, the long sword in his hand was sheathed. The strange sights surrounding him instantly vanished without a trace. Only the radiant lights flashed, and the five colored lights automatically returned to the body of the Tianling Sword. The water pillars around also fell back, and everything seemed as if nothing had happened. His figure flashed, and the mysterious man shot towards the distance, with the red glow of the setting sun supporting the five unconscious people, closely following behind him.
On a flat little hill, the mysterious person stopped and looked at the five people behind him. With a flip of his right hand, a five-colored light suddenly formed a colorful light shield, covering the five people inside. Only countless colorful lights were seen, crazily drilling into the bodies of the five people, nourishing their dry bodies. Time passed unknowingly, when the five people began to wake up, the mysterious person suddenly withdrew his right hand and held down the acupuncture points of the five people with a slight movement of his fingers. After glancing at Swordless Dust, the mysterious person thought for a moment, then reached out with his right hand, grabbed Swordless Dust's body, and threw him far away.
He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thought that came to Sword Without Dust's mind was whether he had died. Where was this place? He carefully looked around and saw a figure with their back to him, which made him feel like he hadn't died after all. After circulating his internal energy to check on his body's condition, he discovered that his originally severely injured body had recovered by 70-80%. This was truly strange. His gaze stayed on the figure as Sword Without Dust asked, "Excuse me, did you save me? Who are you and why did you save me?"
The mysterious man did not turn around, but with his back to him, said in a low voice: "I saved you because of an old friend's reason. As for who I am, you may know that in the future."
Jian Wuchen's face was puzzled, and he asked: "Thank you for saving me, but I don't know about the other four people who were with me. How are they now? Did you save them too?"
The mysterious man said, "Don't worry, they're all fine, just not far from here. This time I came to find you alone, there's something I want to ask you, and you'd better answer honestly. I've taken a look at your cultivation, it's very good. At such a young age, you've already entered the Realm of Returning to Immortality, which is truly rare in the world. What I want to ask is, were you able to enter this Realm of Returning to Immortality because of some kind of extraordinary encounter? Tell me honestly."
Jian Wuchen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he fell into thought before speaking: "You're right, I did have some strange encounters. Not long ago, on our Taixuan Mountain, the legendary Five-Colored Immortal Orchid appeared. A gigantic three-headed serpent suddenly emerged to compete for it, directly threatening the survival of our Tiandao Academy. At that moment, our headmaster, Shi Bo, activated the Xuantian Sword Formation to attack the serpent. Unfortunately, we were still no match and suffered heavy injuries. Just as all hope seemed lost, our academy's legendary divine bird, the Great Peng, suddenly appeared and fought valiantly against the three-headed serpent. Initially, the Great Peng was at a disadvantage without the aid of the Tianling Sword, so I assisted it with my sword, and together we drove away the serpent. I recall that at the time, I was severely injured, but the Great Peng used its Five-Colored Danhua, which it had cultivated over thousands of years, to heal me when I returned to the summit of Taixuan Mountain. Afterward, not only did my injuries recover, but my abilities also unknowingly transcended a level and entered the realm of Returning to Immortality."
The mysterious person heard this, and a strange light flashed in his eyes. He continued to ask: "Has the Sixth Institute's Wuji ceremony been held?" Jian Wuchen's face changed slightly, and he replied softly: "It has been held, less than ten days ago."
No turning back, but the mysterious person detected that Jian Wucheng's tone was different and couldn't help asking: "With your cultivation, in this Six Institutes' Martial Assembly, you should be steadily in first place. I suppose the champion of this time will still be the Tianjian Institute, right?"
His expression changed slightly, Jian Wucheng's eyes were very strange, but soon became gloomy. Looking at the mysterious person's back, Jian Wucheng sighed: "No, I only got second place, first place was taken by Yiyuan's Lu Yun."
The mysterious man's body shook, and he exclaimed in surprise: "Yi Yuan, how is this possible? Tell me, what technique did Lu Yun use to surpass your Tianjian Jiujie? With your cultivation level, I believe you have already cultivated the Mietian Jue. Is it that Yi Yuan still has a technique that can surpass the Mietian Jue?"
Jian Wuchen let out a light sigh and said, "Indeed, there is a powerful technique in the Easy Garden, but that was also Lu Yun's clever trick. Beforehand, he had been hiding without revealing himself, and only at the last moment did he suddenly launch an attack, causing me to lose. As for the technique he used, it was the untransmitted secret of the Yangyuan in the Easy Garden - the Five Thunder Heavenly Technique that has never been successfully cultivated by anyone since ancient times."
The mysterious man's body shook slightly as he spoke in a low voice, "The Five Thunder Heavenly Key, it turns out that the Thunder God Key has reappeared in the mortal world. I didn't expect this thousand-year-old Thunder God Key to appear again, this is indeed the most supreme and powerful technique in the world, you must be careful when encountering it. Your defeat at the hands of this technique isn't unjustified. This time I'm saving you, but there's actually something else I need to tell you. Now, I'll give you something, this thing was once owned by a deceased friend, and now I'm giving it to you, remember to keep it safe and don't show it to anyone easily." As he finished speaking, a red blood flag suddenly appeared in his hand and gently fell into Swordless Dust's hands.
Looking at the blood flag in his hand, he saw that it was flashing with light, and countless talismans on the blood flag formed a yin-yang bagua diagram. Various lights flashed, layer upon layer of red light circulating and flowing, extremely mysterious. The mysterious person said softly: "This flag is called the Blood River Map, exceptionally overbearing and mysterious. As for how to use it, we will naturally teach you later. Now listen carefully as I tell you about the origin of this Blood River Map. Legend has it that this Blood River Map was created by the Blood River True Lord after 99 years of cultivation three thousand years ago. On the day the divine artifact was first formed, the entire sky and earth were a deep red color, with a yin-yang bagua diagram spinning in mid-air, capable of killing gods and destroying demons, one of the eight most mysterious and overbearing divine artifacts in the world. Legend has it that there are 24 divine artifacts in the three realms and seven domains, among which only eight are the most overbearing, with this Blood River Map ranking fourth. And on the Divine Soldiers' List, the Heavenly Spirit Sword ranked fifth, but among all the divine artifacts, it was only ranked thirteenth. It can be imagined how powerful this Blood River Map is.
As for why the Blood River Chart has such power, it is said that when Xuehe Zhenjun was cultivating it, he coincidentally encountered a rare confrontation between the Weeping Blood Demon and the Heavenly Yao. At the time, Xuehe Zhenjun hid to one side and waited until these two extremely powerful evil spirits were both severely injured before suddenly releasing the Blood River Chart and absorbing them into it. After that, through decades of cultivation, countless spiritual objects and energies were added, attempting to refine the blood evil energy of these two evil spirits, but unfortunately, it was never successful. Therefore, after the Blood River Chart was finally cultivated, its entire body turned blood red, containing hidden dark and evil energy, capable of beheading immortals and slaying demons.
Jian Wuchen's face was filled with shock and he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He stared at the blood flag, wondering why someone would give him such a powerful artifact. Earlier, he had said it was because of an old friend that he had saved Jian Wuchen, but who was this person? Jian Wuchen couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.
Looking at the mysterious figure's back, Jian Wucheng asked: "Since this divine artifact is so powerful, why did you want to give it to me for no reason? We shouldn't know each other, and it seems unreasonable that you would give me such a thing for free. Can you tell me, what's the reason behind this?"
The mysterious man, still with his back to him, sighed and said: "You don't need to ask too much about this. Just understand that everything I'm doing today is for the sake of an old friend. Now, I'll teach you the technique of using the Blood River Map. But before that, you must first learn a certain mantra. Come, listen carefully, I'll teach you the 'Purple Flower Swallows the Sun' mantra. You must master this mantra before you can use the Blood River Map, or else you'll be counterattacked by its dark energy." As soon as he finished speaking, the mysterious man slapped his right hand out, and a purple light enveloped Swordless Dust in an instant. Countless heart mantras and incantations appeared clearly in his mind, and were quickly etched into his memory.
Without looking back, the mysterious person said: "This Purple Flower Swallowing Sun Technique is mysterious and unpredictable, with boundless power. As long as you cultivate it well, you can naturally surpass Lu Yun's Thunder God Technique. When you cultivate this technique to the Great Completion Realm, at that time, you will be able to dominate the Seven Realms and roam freely in the mortal world. Work hard, now I'll teach you the Blood River Map's deployment method, remember it." After finishing speaking, a cluster of crimson light appeared silently around Jian Wucheng, enveloping him in that mysterious light cover.
Gazing faintly at the horizon, a mysterious glint flickered in his eyes. At this moment, he seemed to be bewildered by what he had done today, perhaps it shouldn't have been like that, but unfortunately, it was now irreversible. With a soft sigh, the mysterious figure slowly rose into the air. In the night sky, the silhouette looked somewhat worn and lost, with an eerie aura drifting through the air.
"Take care of yourself, I hope that next time I see you, you will have changed for the better. Otherwise, it would be a waste for me to save you this time. Zihua appears, Xuehe emerges, Taixu transforms, Mosou exterminates! Take good care of yourself, from now on everything depends on how you handle it. Fate and destiny are all predetermined, three lifetimes of entanglement is a curse!" A soft sigh floated in the night sky, those faint whispers hiding implications that Jian Wucheng couldn't understand.
Looking at the figure in the distance, Jian Wucheng's heart was filled with confusion. This mysterious person neither met him face to face nor told him his name, making it impossible for Jian Wucheng to guess his intentions. Thinking of the man's words, Jian Wucheng said loudly: "Don't worry, next time we meet, I will let you see my achievements. I will make the whole world know the name of Jian Wucheng, and I will defeat Lu Yun again to regain honor for the Tianjian Institute."
In the night wind, there was no response, and that mysterious person left like that. Jian Wucheng put away the Blood River Map, took a look around, and flashed back to where he came from. Returning to the side of Liu Xinghun and the other three, Jian Wucheng glanced at the four of them, his eyes flickering as he secretly untied their acupoints. At the same time, he sat down beside the four of them, pretending to be unconscious.
Liu Xinghun was the first to wake up. Seeing the appearance of the five people, he was stunned at first, but soon guessed a few points. He woke up the four people and said: "Everyone wake up, we have been rescued by someone, but I don't know who it is. They rescued us without saying goodbye. Everyone check their bodies now, are the internal injuries much better?"
Bi Tian, Du Li, and Leng Jiahao were overjoyed upon hearing this. After trying it out, they found that their internal injuries had indeed improved significantly. The three of them were ecstatic. Everyone then analyzed the situation together for a while, but unfortunately, each had different opinions, and they still couldn't figure out what exactly was going on. Looking at everyone, Jian Wucheng said: "No matter what, now that we've been saved, everyone should cherish their hard-won bodies. Once everyone's strength has recovered, we'll continue onward, striving to find the Huanhun Pool before the other group and retrieve the Fenshou Symbol."
The four of them heard this and thought it was reasonable, so they stopped talking and each began to cultivate their energy and breathe, fully recovering the exhausted energy.
