The three Impermanences and the serpent-faced Impermanence were none other than Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, Xiao Bo, and Yuan Qi. Yuan Qi's physique was too large—even transformed into an Impermanence, he had crawled for a hundred and twenty years and felt awkward standing upright, preferring the comfort of slithering along the ground.
These Nuo masters had disguised themselves as Impermanences to infiltrate the Underworld and harvest yang qi. Having entered, they naturally had a way out.
The false Impermanence trembled as they forced him to lead the way. "You cannot leave like this!" he stammered. "The Great Bell and that enormous fellow behind us are far too conspicuous. The moment we emerge, my sect will detect us—and we will all die!"
Xu Ying knew he spoke the truth. Moments earlier, several of them had been killed by their own companions the instant their masks were torn away. This confirmed that infiltrating the Underworld to harvest yang qi was an absolutely covert operation.
Xu Ying's group was impossible to miss. Exiting like this would guarantee detection.
Xiao Bo said proudly, "Martial sects—surely they cannot be that formidable. A few Great Nuo Masters at most. Once we leave, simply announcing the Yuan family name will likely have their sect master kneeling in welcome."
Xu Ying asked, "Who are you people?"
The false Impermanence hesitated, then confessed, "We are the Cangwu Sect of southern Hunan. We were commissioned to enter the Underworld and gather yang qi."
Xiao Bo was well-versed in the affairs of martial sects. Hearing this, he frowned slightly. "The Cangwu Sect is a Nuo master sect based on Mount Jiuyi. They possess no particularly refined Nuo techniques—a minor local faction. We need only go there and announce our names."
Yuan Weiyang shook her head. "Xiao Bo—if they are merely a minor local sect, how could they possess so many Impermanence masks?"
Each Impermanence mask required venturing into the Underworld to slay an Impermanence ghost god. This time, the Cangwu Sect had dispatched two to three hundred Nuo masters, each wearing a mask. A minor local sect simply could not command such immense resources and wealth!
The false Impermanence said through trembling tears, "These masks were sent from the capital—not ours! A great figure from the capital ordered us into the Underworld to harvest yang qi. Refusal would mean the extermination of our entire sect!"
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang exchanged glances, both showing surprise.
A great figure from the capital had come to Mount Jiuyi in Yongzhou, found the Cangwu Sect—a minor faction—and ordered them to infiltrate the Underworld and harvest yang qi from ghost children?
The entire affair reeked of strangeness.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind Xu Ying: "Why would a great figure from the capital seek yang qi from you?"
Xu Ying's scalp tingled. Yuan Weiyang shuddered and whispered, "Is it the Zhou family ancestor?"
Xu Ying turned to find a white-browed youth who had appeared behind them without warning—none other than Zhou Qiyun, the Zhou family ancestor.
Yuan Weiyang turned around, cold sweat instantly drenching her back.
Xiao Bo clenched his fists, thinking, *The old Zhou ghost has tracked us here! Even if it costs my life, I must protect the young master!*
Yet he knew that even his death would likely fail to protect Yuan Weiyang.
Before the Zhou family ancestor, his life held no sacrificial value whatsoever.
Xu Ying, overjoyed, exclaimed with emotion, "Ancestor Zhou! I have been waiting for you! We were knocked here by the aftershock of your divine technique. We waited so long you didn't come—we thought something had happened! Another moment and we would have been lost in the Underworld!"
The white-browed youth, Zhou Qiyun, said flatly, "I followed the trail left by the Great Bell. It took some time. If you had remained in place, finding you would have been far simpler."
Xu Ying replied without a trace of embarrassment, his face still deathly pale, "I was worried you wouldn't find us, so I had the Great Bell leave a trail on the ground."
The Zhou family ancestor was silent for a moment, then asked, "Does wearing a Nuo master mask also thicken one's skin?"
Xu Ying laughed and turned back to question the false Impermanence. "What purpose brings this great figure from the capital?"
The false Impermanence answered, "I heard from senior brothers in the sect that the great figure came to extend their lifespan."
"Extend their lifespan?"
Even Zhou Qiyun was taken aback. He set aside his pursuit of Xu Ying's earlier escape and asked, "A great figure from the capital came to Yongzhou to extend their life? How?"
The false Impermanence said, "I heard from a senior sister that when she delivered the yang qi, she saw the great figure consume it, and their complexion improved greatly. The figure also practiced some technique that required massive amounts of yang qi every day."
Zhou Qiyun murmured, "How interesting... How interesting... Which old friend from the capital has come to Cangwu? I intended to undergo my tribulation here in Yongzhou—why rush over without so much as a courtesy call?"
A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes.
For his tribulation, he would stop at nothing. Any expert who had come to Yongzhou at this time would be his enemy, his hidden threat—and must be eliminated.
"Xu Ying," Zhou Qiyun asked, "do you have another Nuo master mask? Lend me one."
Xu Ying produced an Impermanence mask. Zhou Qiyun placed it on his face, and his appearance instantly transformed into that of an Impermanence.
He flicked his finger, and Nuo art struck Yuan Qi. The great serpent's massive form shrank immediately to the size of a standard Impermanence.
Zhou Qiyun saw Yuan Qi still crawling on the ground and frowned. "Stand up. Do not crawl."
Yuan Qi stood, took two steps, then collapsed again and resumed crawling.
Zhou Qiyun inhaled deeply, suppressing his irritation. *If I did not indeed share a bond with this fellow's grandfather, I would strike him dead!*
Having once framed Yuan Qi's grandfather, he felt a twinge of guilt. He reached out and removed Yuan Qi's mask, restoring him to his natural size. "You cannot change your size because your magical power is insufficient for such a massive form. I will help you—grant you the ability to shift."
Before Yuan Qi could respond, Zhou Qiyun's soul flew forth, his palm resting atop Yuan Qi's head.
Yuan Qi felt a torrent of power flood into his body, his cultivation surging upward—increasing two to threefold in an instant!
Zhou Qiyun withdrew his soul. "Now try activating your technique."
Yuan Qi activated the True Cultivation of the Ba Snake. His body swelled to a hundred-zhang serpent, swallowing clouds and exhaling mist—then suddenly contracted, shrinking to barely a foot long, exquisitely tiny!
Yuan Qi was both amazed and delighted, thanking him profusely.
Zhou Qiyun said coolly, "It is the merit your ancestor accumulated. Do not thank me."
Xu Ying looked on with envy and was about to speak when Zhou Qiyun shook his head. "Your ancestors accumulated no merit."
Xu Ying let the matter drop.
Yuan Qi leaped onto Xu Ying's shoulder and tucked himself into his collar.
Zhou Qiyun approached the Great Bell. Xu Ying's heart clenched. Zhou Qiyun said, "This bell has suffered severe damage. That it was not shattered to pieces is remarkable."
His palm gently struck the bell—precisely at the spot where the girl from the coffin had left her handprint. But that print had been filled by the copper pillar of the Pagoda Tree Palace, invisible to the naked eye.
Zhou Qiyun's palm recoiled as if struck. Startled, he murmured, "What a singular divine technique!"
The Great Bell suddenly shrank, spinning rapidly, and flew into the back of Xu Ying's head. It called out, "A-Ying! That miser Zhou Qiyun actually helped me refine away part of my injuries!"
Zhou Qiyun raised his palm. Strange patterns flickered across his palm—the lingering divine technique from the handprint had invaded his flesh!
"A handprint left by a supreme Qi cultivator!"
Zhou Qiyun was inwardly alarmed. He glanced at Xu Ying. Xu Ying excelled at deciphering Qi cultivator techniques, possessed such a remarkable Great Bell, and bore a handprint from a supreme Qi cultivator. Zhou Qiyun began to wonder whether Xu Ying was truly a snake catcher from Lingling in Yongzhou.
He clenched his fist, eradicating the residual divine technique from his palm. "Now we can enter Cangwu without drawing attention. Let us go."
The false Impermanence hurried ahead to lead the way.
Xu Ying was surprised that Zhou Qiyun had not seized the Great Bell for himself.
After all, Zhou Qiyun had plundered wealth at every turn—stripping even the Water Mouth Temple and the Pagoda Tree Palace bare. The Great Bell was worth far more than either, yet Zhou Qiyun had not been tempted.
"Xu Ying," Zhou Qiyun said, raising two fingers, "I can tolerate your escaping twice. But if there is a third time, I will kill you and take the treasure. I am quite fond of your bell."
Xu Ying smiled. "This is not my bell. This is my friend."
"Friends with an artifact?"
Zhou Qiyun was surprised, then shook his head. "If it were me, I would wipe its spiritual consciousness immediately. An artifact is an artifact—a tool. Spiritual consciousness only gets in the way!"
Along the way they encountered more false Impermanences, all members of the Cangwu Sect, looking thoroughly dejected. They had been ordered into the Underworld to harvest yang qi from ghost children, but Xu Ying's interference had ruined their task. With so little to show, they feared punishment upon return.
Xu Ying and his group blended into the crowd, following them to a canyon. Looking up, they saw only a sliver of sky overhead—the canyon's height was impossible to gauge.
As Xu Ying gazed upward, a thought surfaced unbidden: *Cangwu Abyss? This is the Cangwu Abyss?*
Ahead, the masked Nuo masters pressed against the canyon walls, traversing a narrow goat path. Below them yawned an abyss of unfathomable depth.
The cliff face above was equally unscalable. Even Xu Ying, who had mastered the Sword-Flying Art, felt his heart racing as they walked.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from below, deafening. Xu Ying looked down and saw the canyon walls glowing with searing golden-red heat. When his gaze fell into the abyss, his pupils contracted involuntarily.
On the narrow path, everyone's faces were bathed in the crimson glow.
Deep within the abyss, the world-seam where Underworld and mortal realm collided continued to thunder and churn, sending waves of heat upward with terrifying force.
Xu Ying's mind stirred. He had seen this before—when he first cultivated the Celestial Eye, he had witnessed the abyss formed by the collision of worlds along the banks of the Nether River.
"Back then I thought I saw rock-like bodies moving in the depths, but they were too far to discern clearly. Now that I am within the Cangwu Abyss, I should see more clearly."
At this thought, he instinctively activated his Celestial Eye and peered into the abyss.
Suddenly, he saw them again—those colossal bodies at the very bottom, perpetually writhing like living stone!
This time he saw more detail: the writhing rock was not quite rock, but something resembling rock-textured muscle fibers!
At that moment, layer upon layer of muscle parted, revealing a single enormous eye.
Xu Ying's vision spun, his sight going black. When he came to, his body was leaning over the cliff edge—he had nearly fallen!
Yuan Weiyang had caught his back, preventing him from plummeting into the abyss.
Cold sweat beaded Xu Ying's forehead. He thanked Yuan Weiyang.
He looked into the abyss again. The rock was merely rock. No eye.
"To gaze upon that which should not be seen, or hear that which should not be heard, invites disaster," Zhou Qiyun said, passing beside him.
Xu Ying followed and asked, "Has Ancestor Zhou also heard, also seen?"
Zhou Qiyun was silent for a moment. "Qi cultivation requires comprehending the images of the Great Dao. Hidden Vision also demands understanding of Dao Manifestation. When I sensed the Great Dao permeating heaven and earth and entered too deeply, strange whispers filled my ears—as though calling to me. I also sensed unfathomably powerful presences. Every time I tried to listen more closely, to feel more intently, I would be struck by great terror."
Xu Ying's heart skipped. "Great terror?"
Zhou Qiyun did not elaborate. "After you Enter the Dao, you will understand."
Yuan Weiyang approached and said quietly, "Ancestor Zhou speaks truly. When one Enters the Dao, strange whispers can be heard."
Xu Ying asked, "Have you Entered the Dao?"
Yuan Weiyang replied, "Once, while cultivating the Yuan Dao Celestial Resonance technique at home. How many times have you Entered the Dao, Demon King Xu?"
Xu Ying replied somewhat sheepishly, "Only once. Ha ha—what is the weather like outside?"
In his mind, the Great Bell yawned lazily. "Last time you broke through the Gate-Knocking stage, if you had focused on comprehending the Heavenly Mysterious Root, you likely would have Entered the Dao once."
Then, from above the canyon, numerous silk threads descended. The Nuo masters seized them and were pulled upward, vanishing into the sky.
Zhou Qiyun looked up, his eyes flashing. "I never expected that within Mount Jiuyi, there exists a direct passage to the Underworld. Come—let us ascend!"
Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Xiao Bo each grabbed a silk thread. A sudden pull seized them, gently flicking them upward into the canyon!
Wind howled in their ears as they flew upward for an unknown distance. Then, as though piercing an invisible barrier, brilliant light flooded their vision.
The sound of whistling filled the air as Xu Ying touched down. Green mountains and clear waters filled his eyes.
Zhou Qiyun landed as well. Before he could survey their surroundings, a voice filled with authority echoed from a distant hall: "Why did you fail to gather yang qi this time? Do you of the Cangwu Sect want your heads chopped off as offerings to Heaven?"
Hearing this voice, Zhou Qiyun's heart pounded wildly. Disbelief flooded his face.
"The—the Emperor!"
He nearly cried out in shock. "The one who came to the Cangwu Sect to extend his life—his Majesty, the Sacred and Martial Emperor!"