Chapter 61: Gathering
Chapter 61: Gathering
Five Yin Patriarch’s fury was beyond words. After exchanging several fierce strikes with Old Daoist Danhuo, his Primordial Spirit quivered. Yet he finally reacted after being ambushed. His powerful physique sprang into action. Countless Talismanic Seals flew out, flickering continuously. His Yin Soul-Snaring Net blanketed down like an overwhelming tide. Simultaneously, he shot out peach-red venomous miasma. As his eyes snapped open and shut, boundless thunder erupted, tearing at the void, crackling and roaring with immense force!
Even a minor Cultivator like Mu Yuan possessed multiple tricks; these mighty experts of the Nascent Soul Level naturally had far more. They usually relied on their strongest Divine Abilities, but Five Yin Patriarch, lost in rage, unleashed countless Thunder Methods, Sword Qi, blade radiance, and shattering streams of light raining down, forcing Old Daoist Danhuo to retreat momentarily and dart out of the stone chamber!
Five Yin Patriarch was not one to let things rest. What kind of person was he, to let someone ambush him for no reason and just allow the enemy to flee? Confident in his Demon Refining Gourd physique’s toughness, he charged headlong out of the stone chamber!
Old Daoist Danhuo’s fiery flying sword pointed skyward and earthward. He let out a great shout, immediately scattering flames into the sky. Fierce Raging Flames surrounded him. Eight Soul Banners manifested, their light exploding outwards, instantly forming a sky-covering Fire Cloud. Countless fire rats, fire foxes, fire birds, fire wolves, and fire serpents surged forth wildly. Fire blades, Fire Swords, fire spears, and fire tridents rained down from the hanging Fire Cloud, assailing Five Yin Patriarch!
The peach blossom miasma venom sizzled and steamed away when touched by the rolling Fire Cloud. Five Yin Patriarch hollered in fury, rolling waves of radiant energy erupting from his entire body as his Zhenqi roared through his channels. His Yin Soul-Snaring Net shielded him as his energy blades fiercely expanded in his hands, deflecting the incoming fiery weapons.
Five Yin Patriarch’s movements immediately triggered layers of Restriction Secret Arts within the Demon Refining Gourd itself. As Mu Yuan and Xiao Tian Yun walked, dark clouds instantly covered the sky overhead. The heavens boomed with successive, startling peals of thunder. In moments, mountains collapsed, tsunamis roared, the earth cracked open, and rivers reversed their flow. That suctioning, refining power surged violently upward. For Xiao Tianyu, it went without saying. As for Mu Yuan, he felt his protective Six Harmonies Coldwood Sword Pills violently tremble, seemingly ready to tear free from his grasp! Flustered, he waved his hand, casting a Longevity Sword light ring to envelop the Sword Pills. Immediately, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning descended together, encasing Mu Yuan. His entire body shook, his blood and qi stirred violently. Focusing solely on circulating the Longevity Sword method, the Sword Pills spun rapidly around him, like Stars revolving around the sun, resisting wave after wave of force!
The escaping yellow-earth-colored rays from Xiao Tianyun were now almost visible to the naked eye. Orange-yellow light arcs stretched out from his whole body, continuously dissipating. He seemed unable to stand firmly, as if wanting to soar into the sky!
Instantly, mountains and forests trembled. Beast roars and bird screeches filled the air as countless creatures hidden within erupted in clamor. Magnificent streams of dazzling light shot heavenward from across the land. Mu Yuan and Xiao Tian Yun stared, stunned by this earth-shattering, grand scene, bewildered at what it meant.
The light emanating from Xiao Tianyu’s body grew increasingly intense. His form gradually turned transparent. Mu Yuan’s gaze pierced through to see his veins and qi pathways clearly visible. Inside his Mud Pill Palace, a roiling yellow light sphere seemed poised to burst out forcibly, sending chills down Mu Yuan’s spine!
“This demon gourd is terrifying, it doesn’t even spare our vital essence! If pulled out and that was the end, fine. But being turned into mindless, instinct-driven walking corpses? That would be true agony!”
Even under the protection of the Longevity Sword, Mu Yuan felt the devouring force around him had grown much stronger during this time. His inner Zhenqi was slowly leaking out through the Sword Pills. He naturally didn’t know that this was only because Five Yin Patriarch hadn’t fully merged his Primordial Spirit with the Demon Refining Gourd yet. Otherwise, draining the two of them completely would have taken merely a moment, not all this effort!
“Enough! You steal my Primordial Qi? Then I’ll snatch yours too!” Mu Yuan hardened his heart, left with no alternative. He summoned the sixfold Brilliant Salvation Curse! Four spheres of green light, one purple, one black, soared skyward. Instantly, brilliant light radiated outward. Wherever it touched, the dazzling uprushing columns of light were immediately pulled over, merging into the spherical Runes. Mu Yuan threw himself forward. The six Talismanic Seals circled him, Zhenqi resonating with the curse’s power. The Longevity Sword was pushed to its limit, threads of electrical force pulsing as he fought desperately against the gourd’s pull.
In Xiao Tianyu’s eyes, Mu Yuan seemed connected to heaven and earth. Light pulsed back and forth between him and the world; it was impossible to tell the direction of flow. The radiance from the Sword Pills around Mu Yuan grew strong and then weak in turns. Xiao Tianyu felt his own Spiritual Sense fluctuate, threatening to follow his Zhenqi. Waves of dizziness assaulted him. Driven by urgency, he abandoned all caution and shouted, “Young friend Bing Chengzi! I offer to trade my Forge Furnace Art for those six Talismanic Seals! Please, quickly!”
While battling the Demon Refining Gourd for Primordial Qi, Mu Yuan felt the Magical Power flowing back from the Talismanic Seals surging unpredictably. At its peak, it felt like a tsunami or mountain avalanche; at its weakest, like a single drop of water. His own meridians alternately swelled and constricted unbearably. His body felt simultaneously drained and ready to burst. Only sheer willpower kept him going; it was better than a slow death by draining! Hearing Xiao Tianyu’s shout brought Mu Yuan a surge of hope. That momentary lapse cost him, however. His Zhenqi surged out uncontrollably! He hastily refocused, but Xiao Tianyu had already flung over a dazzling stream of light. Mu Yuan frantically circulated Longevity Sword Qi throughout his body and reached out to catch it. Instantly, countless Runes flooded into his Sea of Consciousness. A quick scan revealed their profound intricacy. He casually tossed the Six Talismanic Seals towards Xiao Tianyu, leaving him to manage, while focusing entirely on his own struggle.
Securing the Six Talismanic Seals, Xiao Tianyu immediately gathered his Zhenqi, projecting his own Six Runes. Bright yellow Sigils drifted skyward before plunging into the land. Like frenzied monsters, they snatched at any trace of life force, absorbing vital energy and soul power. Yet, he struggled to replenish his own depleted Primordial Qi.
Xiao Tianyu understood: the Demon Refining Gourd had already siphoned the immense vital energy from these Demon Beasts out. The dazzling streams of light crisscrossing the sky like rainbows were the real concentration of Primordial Qi. But he dared not approach! Mu Yuan’s Brilliant Salvation Curse radiance shot skyward, yet he was barely hanging on; climbing closer would be suicide! That concentrated zone of Primordial Qi was precisely where the Demon Refining Gourd’s suction force was fiercest. Mu Yuan wasn’t waiting passively to die; this was his risky last effort. Xiao Tianyu was likewise fighting a desperate holding action, merely slowing the hemorrhage of his Zhenqi.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Firmament itself seemed to vibrate! Sea water surged upward into the sky. The earth flipped over. Space cracked open with sharp snaps and fissures! Two figures tumbled out through a fracture, plummeting directly into the churning dust cloud below. Mu Yuan reached out and caught them – Hua Xin and Jin Yun!
A crashing sound followed almost immediately as more figures spilled out. Their auras were dim, their energy weak. The ten were all now gathered together.
“So we were each sealed in separate spaces? No wonder we couldn’t find them. But why such upheaval within the gourd?” Mu Yuan pondered, bewildered. Paying the others little mind, he guided Hua Xin and Jin Yun downwards. The surrounding space fragmented further, abruptly revealing the Demon Refining Gourd’s crystalline inner walls – transparent and clear. They could actually see the outside world!
Fierce, towering flames, like terrifying waves, ceaselessly surged and curled upwards. Tongues of fire licked at the body of the gourd. The group felt like they were trapped inside a furnace crucible. Though their own energy was faint, Jin Yun and Jin Xin’s expressions lit up with wild joy upon seeing the blaze. Jin Yun whispered, barely audible, “It’s Master’s Capital Heaven Fire!”
Mu Yuan’s heart surged with hope too. Old Daoist Danhuo was also a Nascent Soul Level Cultivator. There might be a chance to escape! He immediately stopped contesting for the airborne Primordial Qi within the gourd. Instead, amidst the roiling smoke and dust waves, he sought out Demon Beasts with some residual demonic power to replenish himself.
Fights between Nascent Soul experts could last an indeterminable length of time. Along the way, Mu Yuan practically scraped the ground bare. Any being with a hint of Divine Ability was sucked in by his curse’s power. His Sword light faintly encircled Hua Xin and Jin Yun. Since their master was risking his life fighting outside—Mu Yuan’s greatest hope—it felt like repaying kindness with kindness (“casting pearls before swine” adjusted to concept). Besides, his friendship with Jin Yun had grown along the journey. He wouldn’t just stand by!
The halos behind the monks Yuan Neng and Yuan Jue had vanished long ago. They were the first consumed by the Demon Refining Gourd. Tendrils of fiery red energy, their cultivated Great Sun True Fire, now drifted faintly from their forms.
Ling Siyuan, Huan Chen, and the other two were also near death, gasping faintly. Waves of water, earth, and thunder clashed and roared around them, a cacophony like the end of the world!
This cataclysmic shift resulted directly from Five Yin Patriarch and Old Daoist Danhuo’s battle outside. The raging Capital Heaven Fire gave Old Daoist Danhuo an edge; he’d prepared meticulously. Five Yin Patriarch’s Primordial Spirit was still imperfectly fused with the Demon Refining Gourd’s body. Within half an hour, Five Yin Patriarch found himself trapped within dense Fire Clouds, pinned at the core of the fire formation. His physical form endured the roasting assault of the true fire, yet held firm for the moment. He spread the Yin Soul-Snaring Net to protect himself and cursed violently, “You thieving Taoist! How dare you invade my cave dwelling, disrupt my cultivation, ambush me!”
Old Daoist Danhuo chuckled coldly. “This humble Daoist passed by here just now and witnessed, dear friend, your cruel tormenting of juniors. Indignation moved me. Vanquishing demons and wicked spirits is the inherent duty of us practitioners! What other reason could there be?”
Five Yin Patriarch swallowed the explanation. The ten arrivals practiced vastly differing techniques; the Elixir Sun True Fire and Capital Heaven Fire were worlds apart. Naturally, he didn’t suspect two among them were this detestable monk’s disciples. He bellowed, “I do as I please! What is it to you? Don’t think you can truly trap me! This physique of mine is indestructible through all calamity, enduring across eternities! What can you possibly do to me?”
“Even so,” Old Daoist Danhuo replied with a laugh, “you still won’t escape your predicament. Spend the endless years of what remains of your life locked within this Capital Heaven Fire Formation!”