The Holy Spirit Emperor and Zhou Qiyun stood far apart, their postures tense yet composed. The Emperor's expression was irritable, but his tone remained mild: "Ancient Qi Refiners? They're nothing but demon cultivators—hardly the orthodox path. Lord Zhou, Nuo Sorcery is the true way. Do not stray into error."
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang's hearts skipped a beat. They exchanged a glance. "From the sound of it, the Emperor and Zhou Qiyun seem to be at odds."
Zhou Qiyun stared at the Qi Refiner's corpse enshrined in the niche, lifting his white brows. "Your Majesty's wounds haven't healed?"
The Holy Spirit Emperor replied evenly, "I rule all under heaven, with ten thousand hearts turned toward me. Who could wound me? Who would dare?"
Zhou Qiyun frowned, then relaxed. "Good to know Your Majesty wasn't injured. I feared the wounds I inflicted upon you back then still troubled you. It seems I worried for nothing."
The incense-offering qi swirling around the Holy Spirit Emperor surged violently. The atmosphere in the great hall grew oppressively heavy. Even Guo Xiaodie sensed something wrong and fell silent.
Yuan Weiyang broke the tension: "Why is this ancient Qi Refiner sitting in the shrine? He's no deity. Sitting there—could he be attempting to absorb the incense-offering qi and ascend to godhood through his physical body?"
She was quick-witted. Seeing that the Emperor had been backed into a corner by Zhou Qiyun's words, she understood that without a concession, the two would fight to the death. She deliberately raised a topic that might interest both, offering them a way to save face.
Zhou Qiyun's aura softened. "This Qi Refiner likely reached the end of his lifespan and lacked confidence in surviving his tribulation, so he chose another path to prolong his life."
The Holy Spirit Emperor said, "Even Qi Refiners have lifespans that end. But deities do not—as long as incense-offering qi persists, they are immortal."
Both were supremely gifted individuals. Seeing the ancient Qi Refiner's posture, they immediately understood the cultivation method he had pursued.
Zhou Qiyun murmured, "But this is the wrong path. If incense-offering qi granted eternal life, wouldn't every emperor throughout history have achieved it?"
He chanted: "Where are the emperors and generals of old? Only ghosts weep upon their graves. Achieving godhood through incense-offering—that is a dead-end deviation!"
The Holy Spirit Emperor's eye twitched. His voice carried imperial authority: "Which path isn't a dead end? Even a powerhouse like this Qi Refiner saw his lifespan exhausted and was forced to seek divinity through incense-offering! Some refuse to see this, blindly following the Qi Refiner's path, believing themselves unparalleled—when in truth they are fools beyond measure!"
Zhou Qiyun's eye twitched violently as well.
The Zhou family's efforts to decode demonic cultivation techniques and excavate ancient Qi Refiner tombs and abodes were hardly a secret!
The Holy Spirit Emperor had clearly known of the Zhou family's activities for some time. His barb was meant to mock their futile pursuit of immortality.
Yuan Weiyang's head throbbed. She had just offered both men a way to back down, yet here they were clashing again.
"Brother Yuan, there's an enormous water jar here! Come look!" Xu Ying's voice called out in surprise.
Yuan Weiyang turned to see Xu Ying staring at the large water jar beneath the eaves outside the hall. She thought, *We just jumped out of that jar. Why is he acting as if he's seeing it for the first time?*
She immediately caught on and walked over to examine the jar with him.
The two circled the jar, critiquing it. Yuan Weiyang bent down, studying the jar's texture, while Xu Ying stood with one hand on his hip and the other stroking his chin, as if calculating the jar's value.
"Will they fight?" Yuan Weiyang whispered, her voice no louder than a mosquito's hum.
"I don't know."
Xu Ying continued examining the jar, his eyes flickering. He lowered his voice: "But Master Bell said there are three powerful presences in the hall. The Emperor is one. Old Ancestor Zhou is another. So who is the third?"
Yuan Weiyang shivered and glanced back at the ancient Qi Refiner seated in the shrine.
The ancient Qi Refiner's face wore a broad smile, but the flesh between his brows had gone rigid.
Yuan Weiyang withdrew her gaze and whispered, "You mean he's not actually dead? But he's clearly a corpse! If he were alive, wouldn't the Emperor and Old Ancestor Zhou have noticed?"
Xu Ying continued studying the jar. "They might already know."
Inside the hall, cold sweat streamed down Xiao Bo's forehead. The pressure was now on him. If he didn't do something soon, the two supreme powerhouses would likely come to blows.
If they fought, they might survive—but he certainly wouldn't!
He thought rapidly, searching for a topic, and blurted out: "How strange! If this ancient Qi Refiner pursued the path of achieving divinity through incense-offering, why is there no incense-offering qi on his body?"
Zhou Qiyun and the Holy Spirit Emperor both realized that without a graceful exit, they would be forced to test their strength. They accepted the off-ramp.
The Holy Spirit Emperor stepped forward. "When a man dies, his lamp goes out. So too with deities. After death, incense-offering qi fades. This man feared tribulation and craved divinity to attain immortality. A pitiful creature indeed."
His words carried a double meaning, clearly alluding to Zhou Qiyun's own tribulation!
Zhou Qiyun's pupils contracted sharply. "Your Majesty seems well-informed about Qi Refiners. It appears you haven't merely cultivated incense-offering qi—you've also acquired a great many Qi Refiner techniques. Your Majesty refines with yang qi. That hardly seems orthodox. Your Majesty, have you strayed from the proper path?"
The Holy Spirit Emperor replied coolly, "What the barbarians can do, so can I. When someone scours the land for demonic techniques for all to see, can I not seek out a few myself?"
Zhou Qiyun's forehead vein pulsed.
Xiao Bo turned and walked to the water jar, bending to peer at the surface. "What a magnificent jar! Could it be a treasure?"
He lowered his voice: "Young Master, Demon King Xu—what do we do now?"
Their situation was perhaps even more perilous than when the celestial gods had besieged the Paulownia tree. Then, they could have fled. Now, escape might be impossible.
Xu Ying whispered, "The moment they fight, we jump into the jar and return to the Cangwu Abyss!"
Inside the hall, Guo Xiaodie summoned her courage. "Why are there so many talismans on this Qi Refiner's body? What do they mean?"
"An excellent question. Lord Zhou must know, surely?" The Holy Spirit Emperor turned to Zhou Qiyun.
Zhou Qiyun shook his head. "I am humbled. Your Majesty, being learned in all things, surely has insight."
Tensions flared once more.
Guo Xiaodie slunk out of the hall and exclaimed in surprise: "There's actually a water jar here! What a beautiful jar—how did it get here?"
She lowered her voice, excited: "Will there be a change of dynasty today?"
Yuan Weiyang and Xiao Bo each frowned. If they failed to ease the rift between the Emperor and Zhou Qiyun today, a change of dynasty might truly come to pass.
And such a change would matter little to them—for whether the Emperor or Zhou Qiyun survived, neither would leave them alive.
The victor, to maintain an image of magnanimity, would have to silence all witnesses.
Xu Ying frowned, then suddenly noticed the plaque above the great hall carved into the mountainside. He stared for a moment. The plaque bore archaic bird-seal and worm-script characters, their meanings unclear.
Suddenly, Xu Ying stretched and laughed: "I know what the talismans on the ancient Qi Refiner's body mean."
The Holy Spirit Emperor and Zhou Qiyun both looked at him.
Xu Ying stood outside the hall and smiled. "The talismans are seals."
The Holy Spirit Emperor said, "Even a three-year-old could see that much."
Xu Ying replied, "But neither a three-year-old nor Your Majesty noticed that these talismans separately seal his primordial spirit, vital essence, and physical body—rendering him utterly flawless."
Zhou Qiyun regarded him with interest. "Go on."
Xu Ying said, "He cultivated a flawless technique, but the method was imperfect and required talismanic reinforcement. These talismans were, in fact, seals he placed upon himself."
The Holy Spirit Emperor mused, "He used talismans to compensate for flaws in his technique, sealing his own apertures to achieve immortality? Such a peculiar cultivation method exists in this world!"
Xu Ying shook his head. "Your Majesty guesses wrong again."
The Holy Spirit Emperor looked at him, his presence commanding without anger: "You mock me?"
Xu Ying continued, "His purpose in sealing himself wasn't to prevent the vital essence within from leaking outward—it was to prevent something outside from entering."
The Holy Spirit Emperor and Zhou Qiyun froze. Outside the hall, Yuan Weiyang, Guo Xiaodie, and Xiao Bo were equally stunned. The ancient Qi Refiner had sealed himself to prevent something outside from entering his body?
What was that something?
"Impossible!" the Holy Spirit Emperor declared flatly. "You're wrong! There's clearly a hole between his brows, with flesh still pouring out, transforming into giant serpents! If he had sealed himself, how could such a thing occur? I shall punish you for deceiving the sovereign!"
Xu Ying replied, "The hole between his brows was undoubtedly opened by whatever is outside. That outside force entered through the hole and took residence within his body."
A chill crept up everyone's spine. They all turned to stare at the ancient Qi Refiner's corpse in the shrine.
Xu Ying continued: "Qi Refiners have an inner world called the Domain of the Ineffable. That thing parasitized it, devouring his primordial spirit completely and seizing control of his physical body."
Zhou Qiyun frowned. "Xu Ying, this is all speculation."
Xu Ying grasped both door knockers on the great hall's entrance and pulled them shut, leaving only a sliver of a gap. "If you don't believe me, there's a talisman on the floor. Pick it up and press it to his forehead. If he doesn't want to be sealed, he'll react."
Inside the hall, the Holy Spirit Emperor and Zhou Qiyun exchanged a glance, then looked at the talisman on the floor.
Zhou Qiyun bent down, picked up the fallen talisman, and moved toward the ancient Qi Refiner's forehead. Just as his hand was about to touch it, the ancient Qi Refiner's mouth split into a grin.
The grin stretched to his ears.
His teeth were all fangs.
His eyes were almost entirely whites, with only a vertical slit of a pupil at the center!
With a heavy slam, Xu Ying shut the hall doors.
Inside, thunder rumbled, dragons roared, and tigers howled. The entire hall shook violently. Blinding light erupted from within, streaming through the gap in the doors.
Sharp hissing sounds filled the air as beams of light shot outward, striking mountains dozens of li away. Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Guo Xiaodie watched in stunned silence as the mountain peak was sliced as if by a dozen knife strokes—though it did not split apart.
The turmoil inside the hall grew more terrifying, as though primordial beasts were battling, their struggle shaking the very mountain!
"Demon King Xu—what entered that Qi Refiner's body?" Guo Xiaodie shouted.
Xu Ying looked up at the plaque above the doors. The archaic bird-seal and worm-script characters were complex and obscure, but he could read them.
*"True Worship of the Void Grotto-Heaven—Demon Suppression Hall!"*
"Celestial Demons," he told Guo Xiaodie.
The Qi Refiner in the shrine was a demon-suppression Qi Refiner who had ultimately been infiltrated by a Celestial Demon. The demon devoured his primordial spirit and seized his corpse, sitting upon the shrine like a deity, receiving the worship of mortals, seeking to become a god.
**BOOM!**
Another violent tremor shook the Demon Suppression Hall. Beneath Xu Ying and the others' feet, the worm-like flesh tendril connected to the water jar suddenly convulsed, then went still.
Their hearts pounded as they stared at the hall's entrance.
Silence fell.
Then, from beneath the door, dark blood began to flow out in thick rivulets, the stench overwhelming.
Guo Xiaodie and Yuan Weiyang covered their noses and mouths. At that moment, the doors were pulled open from inside. Zhou Qiyun stumbled out, drenched in blood, his appearance wretched. Wounds still gaped across his face and body, unhealed.
Blood stained the corners of his mouth and his white brows. He limped from the Demon Suppression Hall, and through a gash on his thigh, the jagged end of a broken bone protruded, stark white.
The illustrious White-Browed Ancestor of the Zhou family—when had he ever looked so wretched?
He seized Xu Ying by the collar and hoisted him up. "You tried to kill me?"
Xu Ying hung limp as a salted fish, making no effort to struggle. "I thought that as a Nuo Immortal willing to brave tribulation and ascend to immortality, Old Ancestor Zhou would surely be able to handle an ancient Qi Refiner. If you lack the means to subdue demons, how can you speak of tribulation?"
Zhou Qiyun stared at him with cold eyes for a moment before setting him down.
"There will be no next time," he said, his expression calm.
Xu Ying rubbed his neck and looked past him. The Holy Spirit Emperor was emerging from the hall, his face equally dark, his condition no better than Zhou Qiyun's.
These two supreme powerhouses had nearly perished inside the Demon Suppression Hall!
The Holy Spirit Emperor regarded Xu Ying, divine light flickering in his eyes. In no hurry, he said, "My gaze can kill. But today, I will spare you."
He coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He braced himself against the doorframe, his legs still trembling.
Leaning against the door, he panted heavily and glared at Xu Ying. "You have a rebellious bone!"
Xu Ying whispered, "Master Bell, with your current strength, could you take them both out?"
The Great Bell replied, "No."
Xu Ying smiled. "Your Majesty, this was all a misunderstanding."
Yuan Weiyang interrupted: "Then why do the Celestial Demons and Celestial Gods join forces to attack the Phoenix?"