Chapter 753
In the shimmering screen, there was no sign of the Jiu You Mo Zu (Nine Nether Demon Ancestor). Instead, it was divided into four sections, each containing a group of cultivators.
As Zheng Fa had anticipated, there was only one true immortal Dao fruit in each section.
Xuan Ding Zhen Xian (True Immortal Xuan Ding) occupied the upper left corner, while Ni Chang Yuan Jun (Yuan Jun of Rainbow Garments) was in the upper right.
Zhi Tong and Yun Zhen Xian (True Immortal Yun) were positioned on the lower left and right sides, respectively.
What Zheng Fa hadn’t expected was that their Tong Jian (Communication Mirror) seemed to have malfunctioned again—it appeared they couldn’t see the live broadcast.
However, Zheng Fa’s Zao Hua Yu Tie (Book of Creation) was able to display the live images.
His confusion eased somewhat:
The communication ability of the Tong Jian was akin to that of a messaging talisman.
This device couldn’t transcend time and space.
Previously, when the messaging talisman was unusable, the Tong Jian had worked, which had puzzled him.
Now it seemed that it was indeed the Jiu You Mo Zu’s deliberate doing.
The four Dao fruits in the images seemed oblivious to what was happening when suddenly, the voice of the Jiu You Mo Zu echoed through the sky:
“Do you want to get out?”
Zheng Fa saw Zhi Tong rise abruptly, his expression alert, his eyes shooting out beams of golden light as he scanned the surroundings.
Not finding the source of the voice, Zhi Tong shouted, “Jiu You Mo Zu!”
The others in the live broadcast, including Xuan Ding, also looked around, trying to locate the Jiu You Mo Zu.
Ignoring them, the Jiu You Mo Zu continued, “I’m giving you a chance to leave.”
As soon as the words fell, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the darkness before Zheng Fa and the others, growing brighter until it coalesced into a narrow path wide enough for three people.
The other three sections mirrored this phenomenon.
It seemed the Jiu You Mo Zu wanted them to walk forward along the path.
Yet, Zhi Tong remained motionless, his body tense, still scanning the area.
Not just him; Xuan Ding and the others exhibited the same reluctance, clearly unwilling to comply with the Jiu You Mo Zu.
“Can’t bear to leave this place?” The Jiu You Mo Zu’s tone was unhurried, laced with amusement. “You four sects are still the same, timid as mice.”
“…”
“Once you’re here, you have no choice.”
A pale finger suddenly emerged from the darkness, pointing directly at Zhi Tong and the others.
Zhi Tong was already on guard; the Buddha behind him reappeared, the radiance of his Dharma form shining even brighter than before, as he thrust his wisdom sword toward that finger.
The tip of the sword met the fingertip, but despite Zhi Tong’s full strength, the sword shattered like paper in an instant.
In the live broadcast, Xuan Ding and the others’ attempts to counter or defend were similarly crushed, just like Zhi Tong’s wisdom sword.
With a single finger, the Jiu You Mo Zu had defeated all four true immortals!
“Golden Immortal!” Zhi Tong exclaimed in shock.
Zheng Fa was equally stunned.
Was the Jiu You Mo Zu really that powerful?
But he was a Golden Immortal—how could he be so unsteady in the Xuan Wei realm?
No wonder this person was confident in annihilating the immortal path—there truly were no Golden Immortal cultivators in Xuan Wei now.
Zhi Tong seemed to have realized something:
“You deliberately lured us in here because you can’t exert your Golden Immortal power in the outside world!”
The Jiu You Mo Zu didn’t respond to him but coldly stated, “If you don’t want to die, walk forward.”
Zhi Tong’s face paled slightly; it seemed the Jiu You Mo Zu’s casual strike had already injured him.
After a moment’s thought, he seemed to recognize the strength of the situation and, unwilling to lose his life, began to walk down the narrow path.
The other three true immortals in the live broadcast made the same choice.
Zheng Fa, along with the disciples of Haori Mountain, followed closely behind Zhi Tong.
The group walked forward in anxious silence.
The path wasn’t long, only about eighteen or nineteen miles.
As they neared the end, the sound of flowing water suddenly reached their ears. Looking up, they found themselves at the edge of a river, with a stone bridge spanning across it.
Beside the bridge stood a large stone.
The stone wall facing them was smooth and delicate, resembling beautiful jade, reflecting light like a mirror.
What surprised Zheng Fa was that the Xuan Ding group in the live broadcast had also arrived at a river, encountering the same bridge and a similar massive stone.
Yet, the four groups had not crossed paths at all.
It was as if they were still in different spaces.
The voice of the Jiu You Mo Zu echoed in their ears again: “Cross this bridge, and you will be able to exit this sword formation.”
Zhi Tong frowned, not showing any sign of relief, but rather a grave expression.
“What do we need to do?”
The Jiu You Mo Zu chuckled, “You, stand before the San Sheng Shi (Three Lives Stone).”
“San Sheng Shi?” Zhi Tong looked at the massive stone, hesitating to step forward, seemingly wary.
“If I wanted to kill you, why would I need to use this stone?”
Zhi Tong fell silent for a moment before asking, “What is the purpose of the San Sheng Shi?”
“The San Sheng Shi can reflect the past, present, and future for mortals,” the Jiu You Mo Zu replied candidly, “But you are already Dao fruits, having transcended the three realms; you have no past or future.”
Zhi Tong frowned, appearing skeptical.
“You only need to stand before it and answer me a few questions,” the Jiu You Mo Zu continued, “It will reveal whether your answers are true or false.”
“What questions?”
“I want to know what your four sects did during the Tian He Zhi Luan (Heavenly River Chaos).”
Zhi Tong remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, “I’m afraid I cannot disclose that matter.”
“Then you must die.”
Zhi Tong fell silent again.
The Xuan Ding group in the live broadcast made the same choice.
The Tian He Zhi Luan seemed to be a secret that the four sects were unwilling to discuss.
At this point, Zheng Fa understood why the Jiu You Mo Zu had waited for the four true immortals to arrive:
It seemed that anyone who had experienced the Tian He Zhi Luan among the four sects was at least a true immortal.
For instance, Li San Xian (Li the Scatter Immortal) was a Dao achiever of this era and might not even be aware of the Tian He Zhi Luan.
The live broadcast fell into a silence, as if muted.
…
In the Jiu Shan Realm, the Tian Di (Heavenly Emperor) gazed at the San Yuan and Si Xiang, observing that each disciple of Jiu Shan was watching the Tong Jian intently.
He turned to Xie Qingxue and Yan Wushuang.
Yan Wushuang was deeply focused, her head bowed as if searching for a particular figure in the live broadcast.
Xie Qingxue, however, raised her head, frowning, “Are they really willing to die rather than speak?”
Sister Zhang also frowned, looking at the Tian Di, “What if the Jiu You Mo Zu truly intends to annihilate the immortals?”
The Tian Di slowly shook his head, “The Demon Ancestor seems to be seeking revenge. Our strength is insufficient to stop him; the only solution is to uncover the truth of that year.”
“The truth?”
“What exactly happened during the Tian He Zhi Luan?” the Tian Di explained, “And why did the Tian He Zun Zhe (Heavenly River Venerable) perish? What did he do before his demise?”
In short.
The Jiu You Mo Zu had been plotting for so long that he wouldn’t back down just because Zheng Fa refused to cooperate.
To stop him, either the four sects had a backup plan, or it was… the Tian He Zun Zhe.
Sister Zhang nodded slightly and asked, “Are you trying to find the relics of the Tian He Zun Zhe?”
“Indeed.” The Tian Di glanced at Xie Qingxue, “I suspect that the Tian He Zun Zhe intentionally left behind information about the next step of the Tian He Fa (Heavenly River Technique) to lure me in.”
“If the Tian He Zun Zhe had any arrangements, they might be within the relics of the Heavenly River.”
Xie Qingxue sighed, “I can only hope so.”
The Tian Di smiled, “If the Tian He Sect hadn’t left any information, we might still have time. The first target of the Jiu You Mo Zu is clearly the instigator of the Tian He Zhi Luan.”
Xie Qingxue looked at the shimmering screen and sighed, “But no one is speaking.”
“They will speak.”
The Tian Di smiled.
He had already discerned what the Jiu You Mo Zu intended to do.
…
“Indeed, you are willing to risk death to protect your sect.” The voice of the Jiu You Mo Zu rang out again in Zhi Tong and the others’ ears.
Zhi Tong sat cross-legged on the ground, softly chanting Buddhist scriptures, seemingly oblivious to the murderous intent in the Jiu You Mo Zu’s tone, wearing an expression of defiance unto death.
“Then let me ask in another way.” The Jiu You Mo Zu’s tone suddenly turned mocking, “During the Tian He Zhi Luan, do you know what the other three sects did?”
Zhi Tong’s face changed dramatically.
Zheng Fa, standing behind him, thought to himself that the Jiu You Mo Zu had isolated Zhi Tong and the others, even severing their connections, ultimately creating a prisoner’s dilemma.
In truth, this scheme was not difficult to unravel.
As long as the four sects united and trusted each other, they could overcome it.
But trust each other?
Zheng Fa looked at Zhi Tong’s grim face, silently mocking in his mind:
You want me to believe in the unity of the four sects?
Then I choose to believe that all four sects are innocent.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 512: The Events of the Era, Causes of the Chaos
In the Jiu Shan Realm, the Tian Di listened to the discussions echoing from the San Yuan and Si Xiang:
“The Tian He Zhi Luan? What is this Tian He Zhi Luan? Wasn’t the Tian He Sect destroyed by the Jiu You Mo Zu?”
“What does this have to do with the four sects?”
“Yeah, the Tian He Sect was doing just fine before.”
Their confusion was entirely understandable.
The betrayal of the Tian He Zun Zhe was known only to a select few, a veritable taboo in Xuan Wei.
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