After receiving the news, Wang Ding immediately dispatched a formation master well-versed in geomancy. The formation master was to first set up an array to seal the blood river, preventing any sudden change that could cause an unimaginable catastrophe.
After the Demon Saint received Yu Mi’s voice-transmission jade talisman, she pondered for a long while and asked:
“How many people from the Kan Gang are over there?”
Yu Mi replied:
“The Kan Gang has a hundred thousand troops and a million rogue cultivators on this side. Right Envoy Mad Demon is overseeing things, and there are also two guest elders at the Void Tearing stage.”
The Demon Saint said:
“That’s not enough power. Find a quiet place. I’ll talk to you more then.”
Yu Mi returned to the warship prepared for her to rest on and retreat from battle. She dismissed all the maids and attendants, set up an array to block any prying senses, and then used a voice-transmission jade talisman to contact the Demon Saint again.
The Demon Saint asked:
“Is the Duobao Spirit Monkey with you?”
Yu Mi answered:
“You know how that little monkey is. Monkeys can’t sit still. It runs all over the place all day long. But it hasn’t gone far. I can call it back anytime.”
The Demon Saint said:
“That monkey is an immortal beast with extremely high attainments in feng shui and formations. If you ask it, it will definitely tell you what’s in the Archaic Mountain Range. I’d guess that by now it’s already mapped that mountain range like the back of its hand.”
Yu Mi said gloomily:
“Saint Aunt, you know I’m not as smart as Bao Gu. When it comes to feng shui and formations, I don’t even count as half a bucket of water. Stop talking in riddles with me.”
Thinking of Bao Gu, the Demon Saint couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
She said:
“A Ba is born when a wisp of life emerges from dead matter. Her cultivation path is to use endless death qi to nourish life.
The Archaic Mountain Range gathers the feng shui trend of nine great dragon veins. It’s one of the greatest geomantic treasure lands in the world. There’s no way Ba wouldn’t make use of it.
The reason she stayed in the Archaic Mountain Range and made it her lair even after breaking free is most likely this.”
Yu Mi was still a bit confused.
“And then? What’s the deal with these nine reversed-flow dragon veins?”
The Demon Saint asked:
“Did you not notice that all nine blood rivers flow in the same direction?”
Yu Mi let out an “uh.”
“I only saw one blood river before I contacted you.”
A thought flashed through her mind. She asked in a low voice:
“Saint Aunt, are you saying that the nine blood rivers all converge together…”
Yu Mi thought of how dense the earth-fiend death qi in a single blood river already was. If nine such rivers converged, and on top of that occupied the feng shui trend of the Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation… that would be calamity among calamities, the number-one ominous land in the world.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her brows knitting tightly.
She asked:
“Saint Aunt, if the nine blood rivers converge and form an ominous land that sits on the feng shui trend of the Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation, how are we supposed to seal it?”
Seal it?
When the Demon Saint heard Yu Mi say “seal,” she froze for a moment. Then she understood that Yu Mi had gone down the wrong path in her thinking.
“There’s no need to seal it.”
Yu Mi also blanked for a second.
“Does Saint Aunt have a way to eliminate this disaster, then?”
The Demon Saint felt Yu Mi was stuck in a dead end.
“Ba may be a calamity, but that doesn’t mean everything she creates must be sealed away or destroyed.
All things in heaven and earth mutually generate and restrain. When yang reaches its peak, it turns to yin; when yin reaches its peak, it turns to yang.
Ba wants to use endless death qi to nurture life. She’s taken the feng shui trend of the Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation and set up nine earth-fiend blood dragons. Inevitably, she’s gathering the death qi of these nine earth-fiend blood dragons in order to breed boundless life force.
Back then, the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Domain that imprisoned Ba sat at the ‘Nine Dragons Arching the Pearl’ node of the Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation. The entire feng shui trend of the formation gathered there.
That place is certainly extremely dangerous, but it also contains a spirit nexus formed by monopolizing all the momentum of the Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation.
I don’t know exactly what’s inside, but I can tell you clearly: that place is good enough to bury immortals.”
Yu Mi asked:
“Bury immortals?”
The Demon Saint slowly spat out six words:
“Bury immortals, ascend in broad daylight.”
She had already said it that plainly. If Yu Mi still didn’t get it, she really wanted to hit someone.
Yu Mi’s heart skipped a beat.
“Saint Aunt, are you coming in person?”
Without the Demon Saint sitting in town here, she felt no sense of security.
The Demon Saint rejected her firmly:
“No. With the little monkey helping you, that’s enough.”
If Ba hadn’t actually been tricked away by Bao Gu, wouldn’t she be walking into the tiger’s jaws by going over herself?
Even if she felt the possibility was extremely low, as long as there was even a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she was not willing to risk being grabbed, eaten, and refined by Ba.
After the Demon Saint cut off contact with Yu Mi, Zi Yunshu said:
“A Sheng, Yu Mi seems to have gotten more cautious than before.”
If it were the old Yu Mi, she would definitely have pulled the little monkey along without another word, and the two of them would have snuck into the Nine Dragons Arching the Pearl treasure nexus first to scout it out.
If there were benefits, they’d grab them first.
If there was danger—before anyone else even entered, she and the little monkey would already have slipped away.
The Demon Saint smiled faintly.
“Her position is different now. Naturally, the way she handles things is different.”
Her tone shifted.
“Shu’er, go call Sect Master Zi over, and invite Senior Nanshan to bring the Xuantian Sect elites for a trip.”
Zi Yunshu looked at her curiously.
“You’re not going, but I am?”
The Demon Saint nodded vigorously.
“I’m not going because I don’t want to risk that one-in-ten-thousand chance. You’re going because there’s an opportunity there to help you transform into a true dragon.”
Zi Yunshu’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“Huh? Transform into a true dragon… opportunity?”
She had already obtained dragon marrow and cultivated dragon intent. As long as she continued cultivating without accident, she had a very good chance of becoming a true dragon in the future. Why would she still need some special opportunity?
Seeing Zi Yunshu’s dumbfounded look, the Demon Saint flicked her finger against Zi Yunshu’s forehead.
“If I’m not mistaken, this one trip can equal several hundred or even a thousand years of bitter cultivation for you.
Strictly speaking, it has been less than three years since Ba escaped. That’s too short. The thing nurtured in the Nine Dragons Arching the Pearl node hasn’t had enough time to grow into a full climate. But…”
Zi Yunshu was completely lost.
The Demon Saint laughed.
“Don’t just stand there in a daze. Go tell your father first. Arranging manpower and warship deployments takes time.”
Zi Yunshu eyed the Demon Saint suspiciously, then drew out a long, heavy-sounding “Mm?”
The Demon Saint urged:
“Stop lazing around and hurry up.”
As Zi Yunshu’s cultivation realm grew higher and higher, as a “person” she was getting lazier and lazier.
Zi Yunshu let out an “Oh,” transformed into her flood dragon form, flicked her tail, and tore open the void to appear outside the Xuantian Hall in an instant.
She was a flood dragon by blood, had taken dragon marrow, and received refinement from Xueqing’s Myriad Spirits True Cauldron. On top of that, she cultivated the orthodox dragon-cultivation technique she had comprehended from that cauldron.
Though her realm was still short of true-dragon transformation, she already possessed the manifestation of dragon qi.
On her own turf, she naturally didn’t bother to conceal her aura. The moment she appeared over Xuantian Square, that vast dragon might surged out, making the weaker Xuantian Sect disciples in Foundation Establishment and Golden Core realms tremble from the depths of their hearts.
The Golden Core disciples standing guard at the Xuantian Hall doors were extremely close to Zi Yunshu. Under the pressure of her aura, their knees buckled and they all knelt with a thump.
“Greetings, Elder Yunshu.”
Zi Yunshu let out a doubtful “Hm?” and lowered her head to look at the row of inner disciples kneeling by the doors.
“Such a big ceremony?”
“Get up.”
Her flood dragon body drifted leisurely into the Xuantian Hall. Her divine sense noticed that the disciples still hadn’t moved, so she spoke again.
“Get up.”
They still didn’t move.
Amused, she twisted her head around. Her flood dragon head, about the size of a young dragon’s, swung down in front of the inner disciples.
“Kneeling there plastered to the floor—fun for you? Why aren’t you getting up?”
The Xuantian Sect inner disciple kneeling closest to her rolled his eyes back and fainted on the spot.
The disciple kneeling furthest away stammered:
“Elder Yunshu, our cultivation is too low. We can’t withstand your dragon might.”
It’s not that we don’t want to get up, but with you flying past as such an imposing flood dragon, who can stand that?
Everyone knew this elder could slap over a Void Tearing stage cultivator.
If you asked who had the brightest future in the Xuantian Sect—Bao Gu was first, this one was second, and the Young Sect Master had to rank third.
Zi Tianjun’s voice came from inside the hall.
“Shu’er, what brings you here? Stop making things hard for these youngsters and rein in that flood dragon aura.”
Zi Yunshu looked down at herself and suddenly remembered she’d reverted to her original form.
To be honest, she’d been in flood dragon form for so many years she was completely used to it. It was just so convenient.
In human form, she needed a teleportation array to tear open the void; in flood dragon form, one swipe of a claw and a thought, and she arrived in an instant.
She stepped into the hall and asked Zi Tianjun, who was walking out from the rear hall:
“Dad, have you received the news from the Archaic Mountain Range?”
Zi Tianjun said:
“What did the Demon Saint say?”
Zi Yunshu replied:
“A Sheng said there’s an opportunity in the Archaic Mountain Range for me to transform into a true dragon. She told us to bring people and warships and go take a trip.”
Zi Tianjun’s eyes lit up at the words “opportunity to transform into a true dragon.”
Since it came from the Demon Saint’s mouth, it couldn’t be false.
“All right. I’ll make arrangements immediately. We’ll depart in one hour.”
He coughed.
“Er, Shu’er, you know the Archaic Mountain Range is filled either with blood fiend death qi or earth fiend death qi. This time we’ll definitely run into that. The sect disciples have low realms and weak strength, and without some defensive items…”
Before he finished, he saw his daughter wave her slender hand.
“It’s just a few evil-warding treasures, isn’t it? You think A Sheng wouldn’t have considered that?”
In fact, when it came to anything involving her, A Sheng was always unbelievably thorough—practically flawless.
This time the Xuantian Sect was sending out almost all its elites. She, Yu Mi, and her father were all going. Even if her father hadn’t mentioned it, A Sheng would have prepared something.
An hour later, the fully prepared Xuantian Sect passed through a domain gate and headed straight for the Archaic Mountain Range to rendezvous with Yu Mi.
After getting Yu Mi’s message, Wang Ding added another hundred thousand elites and rushed over to join her.
When Empress Si Ruo of the Yue Kingdom learned of the existence of the blood rivers, she personally led a hundred thousand troops to find Yu Mi for a discussion.
Although Si Ruo greatly disliked Yu Mi because of Bao Gu, she never mixed personal feelings into major matters of principle.
She went straight to Yu Mi and said:
“The Archaic Mountain Range’s nine dragon veins, nine blood rivers—each blood river clings to a vein and forms a blood dragon.
The Nine-Dragon Ascension Formation of the Archaic Mountain Range has turned into a ‘Nine Blood Dragons Arching the Pearl’ setup. This is something Ba arranged.
With Ba’s cultivation path of using endless death qi to nourish life, there’s definitely more than meets the eye in that Nine Dragons Arching the Pearl array.”
As she spoke, Wang Ding arrived from outside with his people.
“Your Majesty has sharp insight.”
He walked up to the Empress of Yue, cupped his fists politely, and bowed.
“I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”
Then he bent even lower toward Yu Mi and gave a deep, formal bow.
“Wang Ding pays respects to the Arrow Envoy.”
The Empress of Yue returned Wang Ding’s courtesy with equal politeness. She smiled and asked:
“What does Left Envoy think of this matter?”
She glanced at Yu Mi.
With Bao Gu gone, she wondered if Yu Mi would be able to hold the Kan Gang tightly in her hand.
With Yu Mi’s straightforward personality, she might not be able to outplay Wang Ding’s twists and turns.
Wang Ding smiled.
“It was the Arrow Envoy who ordered the excavation of the Archaic Mountain Range. The blood rivers were also dug out under the Arrow Envoy’s arrangement.
The Arrow Envoy must already have a plan in mind. I will follow the Arrow Envoy’s command.”
Yu Mi invited Wang Ding and Si Ruo to take seats.
She saw the Duobao Spirit Monkey tear open the void and float in front of her, scratching its head with a confused look, as if asking:
“Why’d you call me back?”
She said to Wang Ding and Si Ruo:
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Then she crooked her finger at the Duobao Spirit Monkey.
“Little Monkey, come with me.”
She circled into the inner lounge, set up an array to block divine sense from spying, and carefully questioned the Duobao Spirit Monkey about everything it had found in the Archaic Mountain Range.
By the time Yu Mi finished asking about the results of the monkey’s half month of scouting and came back out into the main hall, Qu Yirou and Jade Shura were already sitting there drinking tea. Zi Yunshu, Zi Tianjun, and Nanshan Yijian had also arrived with their people.
Yu Mi stepped forward and greeted them respectfully.
The Xuantian Sect, the Kan Gang, the Yue Kingdom, and the Soul Chasing Pavilion all had good relations, but in the end they were four separate powers.
From what they already knew, it was obvious that there was a great opportunity hidden in the Archaic Mountain Range.
This chance was not something any single faction could monopolize. They had to settle distribution before going in, or they’d easily end up fighting once inside.
If Bao Gu were here, she had final say in both the Kan Gang and the Xuantian Sect, and she also had plenty of influence with the Soul Chasing Pavilion and the Yue Kingdom. One proposal from her could basically decide everything.
But the one sitting here now was Yu Mi.
In the Xuantian Sect, Yu Mi absolutely did not have the kind of authority where not even the sect master could argue.
In the Kan Gang, she was practically blind to internal affairs—Jade Shura probably knew more than she did. She was only able to move people because of Bao Gu’s lingering prestige and Wang Ding’s support.
As for the Soul Chasing Pavilion, no matter how good the personal relations, business was business; there was no such thing as sentiment when it came to profit.
And the Yue Kingdom—there was absolutely no favor to be had there.
In the past, Yu Mi would definitely have said, “Each relies on their own fortune.”
But if she dared to say that now, even if they agreed verbally, once they went in they would absolutely fight to the death for that “fortune.”
Because the little monkey had told her there was only one thing inside.
From the very beginning, the Kan Gang, the Yue Kingdom, and the Soul Chasing Pavilion had all invested heavily. It was impossible for any one side to swallow everything.
But inside there was only a single item—and it was a supreme treasure.
How were they supposed to split that?
If this were before, Yu Mi would have quietly taken the little monkey, secretly called Xuantian Sect reinforcements, snuck in, and fished the thing out first. End of story.
But if she tried to eat alone now, even if the Kan Gang, the Yue Kingdom, and the Soul Chasing Pavilion said nothing on the surface, all their alliances, goodwill, and Yu Mi’s own reputation would be completely ruined.
Yu Mi pondered in silence, hesitating.
Wang Ding’s expression did not betray the slightest emotion. He kept his head down, drinking tea. Since the Arrow Envoy hadn’t spoken, he wouldn’t open his mouth.
The Empress Si Ruo and the Pavilion Master of the Soul Chasing Pavilion both waited quietly. They had plenty of patience.
Zi Tianjun, on the one hand, felt that with Yu Mi making the decision, the Xuantian Sect would definitely not suffer. On the other hand, he worried Yu Mi wouldn’t be able to hold the situation down.
Zi Yunshu watched them drink tea for an entire stick of incense without anyone saying a fart, and finally spoke up:
“Why is nobody saying anything or moving? If you don’t move, I’m taking the little monkey and going on my own.”
Zi Tianjun gave a light scolding:
“Shu’er, don’t be rash.”
After thinking it over for a long time, Yu Mi realized there was no way to be clever or gain advantages here.
She gritted her teeth.
“There’s only one thing inside the Archaic Mountain Range. That’s… not easy to divide.”
Si Ruo raised a brow.
“Then tell us what it is first. As long as it’s a thing, it has a value. How can it be impossible to divide?”
Qu Yirou chuckled softly.
“What kind of thing has you tangled up for so long? This really isn’t like you.”
Yu Mi forced out four words:
“An archaic ruin.”
She added:
“The archaic ruin the Xuantian Sect searched for at Two Realms Mountain for more than ten years without finding.”
Qu Yirou shot to her feet in shock.
“What?”
Zi Tianjun’s eyes went wide as bells.
“How did the archaic ruin end up in the Archaic Mountain Range?”
