The Sorrowful Elder hurriedly descended from the Wutong tree and headed down Mount Jiuyi, his heart a mix of shock and panic: "Something terrible has happened—the Broth of Oblivion has failed!"
Ten bowls of the Broth of Oblivion, downed by Xu Ying in one gulp. Yet the broth hadn't made him sleep like an infant as before. Instead, he still remembered that Great Bell!
He should have forgotten all memories since the age of six, just like before. He should have only remembered the great fire at the Xu family village, and that he was an orphan who escaped the blaze. The seal in his mind should have quickly generated new memories for him,开启 another life.
But this time, the Broth of Oblivion was nothing more than colored water—it had failed!
"I must report this immediately. There's no time to waste!"
Just then, the Sorrowful Elder saw Zhou Qiyun. The white-browed youth stood with his hands behind his back, watching him coldly.
The Sorrowful Elder's heart skipped a beat. He slowed his steps, his brows knitted with worry. "We meet again," he said.
Zhou Qiyun's expression remained icy, his voice equally cold: "I chose to undergo my tribulation here in Yongzhou not only because it's my hometown, but also because this is New Land. New Land has fewer entanglements, fewer connections, and thus fewer experts."
The Sorrowful Elder listened quietly without interrupting.
Zhou Qiyun continued: "By undergoing my tribulation here, I can focus without distraction, without worrying about some expert appearing behind my back to stab me. To prepare for this tribulation, I raided twenty-six ancient tombs and opened thirty-four immortal mountains, gathering all their treasures. The old fossils of the other families have been mocking me as a tomb raider, a grave robber."
The Sorrowful Elder said: "You bear such infamy—you must have grand designs. Ascension has become your obsession."
Zhou Qiyun replied: "Anyone who threatens my Ascension will face my strike. It doesn't matter who they are or what background they come from."
The Sorrowful Elder sighed: "And yet I've appeared beside you twice. The first time you could tolerate me, but the second time—you won't."
A faint smile crossed Zhou Qiyun's face: "You're clever, but you shouldn't have gotten so close to me, or so close to Xu Ying. Xu Ying is a key link in my Ascension—I need him to decipher and complete the cultivation methods of the Qi Refiners. Whoever dares to interfere with my plans, I will kill!"
The Sorrowful Elder sensed danger. He retreated step by step, then suddenly leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of azure light and shooting toward the heavens. He thought: "My retreat just now was flawless—Zhou Qiyun had no opening to strike!"
But even as the thought formed, the world suddenly spun. His flight reversed direction—he was heading straight back toward Zhou Qiyun!
The Sorrowful Elder was shocked: "When I met him at the Nostalgia Terrace, he was weaker than me! When we met again at Mount Wuwang, he already posed immense pressure, equal to me! Now his strength seems even greater!"
The two drew closer. Behind the Sorrowful Elder, his Primordial Spirit manifested—vast and boundless. Gathering all his strength, he thrust a single finger forward!
His true essence vibrated as he poured everything into the strike. He thought: "In such a short time, I don't believe you could have merged the Qi Refiner's techniques and created a new divine art! Witness my Immortal-Slaying Finger!"
The finger carried breathtaking immortal light, with immortal energy swirling around it. The fingertip trembled as afterimages materialized—some fast, some slow—attacking Zhou Qiyun as if from different times and spaces!
Zhou Qiyun thrust out a finger in kind. The Sorrowful Elder's pupils contracted in horror: "The Immortal-Slaying Finger? Where did he get the Immortal-Slaying Finger technique? Of course—he became a tomb raider and dug up so many graves. He must have dug up my master's tomb too!"
A series of dull thuds rang out. All the immortal light and phantoms vanished, leaving only two fingers colliding.
With a crack, the Sorrowful Elder's finger snapped. He cried out in pain and turned to flee, thinking: "He's refined all the vitality of the Mud Pill Secret into his physical body. This body is nearly that of an immortal—above mine!"
He leaped away, but the world inverted again—he was rushing toward Zhou Qiyun once more!
"He already possesses divine abilities!"
Heart racing with a mix of fury and dread, he had no choice but to attack again. The two exchanged blows, and the Sorrowful Elder took another hit. He retreated again, but the world twisted and turned, leaving him upside down as he hurtled toward Zhou Qiyun for a third time!
They exchanged another strike. The Sorrowful Elder's injuries compounded. He leaped into the air and fled once more.
This time, Zhou Qiyun's technique faltered for a split second, allowing his escape!
The Sorrowful Elder spat blood and vanished through the air, his mind in turmoil: "Zhou Qiyun is advancing at an incredible pace! Xu Ying must have given him the true teachings, not deceived him! He's cultivating the Qi Refiner's methods now, combined with the nine heavens of the Mud Pill Secret—his strength is already above mine!"
He fled frantically, passing over the mountains of New Land. Suddenly, he saw two people playing chess on a peak ahead—an old man in white and a woman in red. The Sorrowful Elder's spirits lifted, and he landed hastily.
Those two were the ones who had intercepted Little Phoenix. Seeing him injured, they were startled and came to check.
The woman in red asked urgently: "Who hurt you?"
The Sorrowful Elder coughed up blood and shouted: "Zhou Qiyun!"
Before his words faded, both of them sensed danger approaching. The old man in white didn't bother turning around—his Primordial Spirit surged upward, placing his palm behind his back just in time to meet Zhou Qiyun's Immortal-Slaying Finger.
Though it was just one finger, the force gathered Zhou Qiyun's entire power. Even the Primordial Spirit couldn't withstand it—his palm was pierced, the blow entering through his back and erupting from his chest!
The old man in white coughed up blood, staining his white robes red.
His strength shouldn't have been so vulnerable—but Zhou Qiyun had launched a surprise attack, catching him completely off guard, resulting in the devastating blow!
Zhou Qiyun's voice echoed: "Two more experts? But what does that matter to me?"
The woman in red leaped away, but the world spun, and in the next instant she was pulled back. She flipped and jumped, but it was as if she were tied to an elastic rope—each time she was yanked back, forced to clash directly with Zhou Qiyun.
After more than a dozen such exchanges, the woman in red was vomiting blood and utterly wretched.
The Sorrowful Elder mustered every ounce of strength and attacked Zhou Qiyun, finally forcing an opening. The three seized the chance and escaped as streaks of light.
Zhou Qiyun didn't pursue. His surging aura gradually calmed, and a trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He stood silently on the mountaintop for a long time before his qi and blood finally settled.
"It's still not enough. The immortal techniques can't fully connect with the Secret. There are still flaws when I circulate them."
He swallowed the blood rising in his throat and thought silently: "Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang must decipher the Immortal Scripture as soon as possible! I can't wait any longer!"
He sat before the chess table, looking at the half-finished game. He idly moved a piece, his eyes fierce: "Ever since I found Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang, I've encountered one obstacle after another. Before, I might not have met this many experts in ten or a hundred years—but now they're appearing like fish crossing the river!"
He looked up at the heavens and murmured: "Could it be that the heavens have sensed my impending tribulation and sent human calamities in advance to destroy my chance of Ascension? Even if the heavens send down tribulation, I fear nothing!"
Zhou Qiyun stood, gathered the chessboard, and scooped all the pieces into his arms. Once everything was packed, he headed toward Mount Jiuyi, thinking: "This chessboard and these pieces are all treasures—I can't waste them."
Meanwhile, the Sorrowful Elder and the other two fled ten thousand li before they could no longer continue. They stopped to rest. Looking back, they saw Zhou Qiyun wasn't pursuing, and only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
They exchanged glances, all shaken.
"To reach Zhou Qiyun's level, his Secret must be developed to its utmost limit, right?"
The old man in white frowned: "When the Unfolding Art system was developed to replace Qi Refining, I doubt they imagined it could be this formidable."
The Sorrowful Elder shook his head: "The Secret is indeed powerful, but what's more powerful is Zhou Qiyun himself. He's cultivated the Unfolding Art to our level, then switched to Qi Refining. Now both paths advance in tandem, and he's already achieved early success."
The woman in red carefully wiped the blood from her lips: "The key point is that he learned the highest-level Qi Refining techniques. He's dug up too many graves."
The old man in white suddenly exclaimed: "My Azure Cloud Chessboard is still on that mountain!"
The Sorrowful Elder said dismissively: "Leave it there. We can retrieve it later—who would steal it? There's something more important now."
He sighed: "Ten bowls of the Broth of Oblivion, only to trade for a brief dream. Everyone—the Broth of Oblivion has failed."
The old man in white and the woman in red were shaken. The woman blurted: "Could it be that Mengpo diluted the broth with water?"
The Sorrowful Elder said: "Even if she diluted water with broth, ten bowls should have knocked him out. The Broth of Oblivion is no longer effective on him—it can no longer reinforce his seal. At the current rate of deterioration, he'll likely break through the seal before long!"
The faces of the other two changed drastically, even showing fear.
The three fell silent for a long while.
After a moment, the woman in red said hoarsely: "If that's the case, then Zhou Qiyun has become his guardian? No wonder Zhou Qiyun kept blocking you. What exactly is Zhou Qiyun's goal?"
The old man in white's expression grew grave. Based on Zhou Qiyun's behavior so far, it did seem like he was Xu Ying's guardian, protecting him from being slain by powerful enemies!
If a genius powerhouse like Zhou Qiyun was protecting Xu Ying, it would be nearly impossible for them to make a move.
"What should we do now?" he murmured.
The Sorrowful Elder said: "There's no choice—we must report it. Come with me!"
The old man in white and the woman in red exchanged a glance. The old man in white said reluctantly: "My Azure Cloud Chessboard... fine, this matter is urgent. We'll go with you first and retrieve the chessboard later!"
The three traveled at great speed and soon arrived in Daozhou.
Daozhou had also been affected by New Land, with many new mountains and rivers reshaping the geography. They came to an unremarkable rocky hill, not tall—less than twenty zhang. At its base stood a small Earth God temple, barely half a person high.
On either side of the temple door was a couplet that read:
*A small temple, great powers;* *The sky vast, sun and moon bright.*
The Sorrowful Elder wrote about the Broth of Oblivion's failure on paper, rolled it into an incense stick, and lit it before the temple. The three bowed and stood respectfully, awaiting a response.
This humble little Earth God temple was actually an Ascension point. As the incense burned, its smoke curled upward to the temple roof, which connected to another time-space. The smoke drifted along the thin barrier into that other dimension.
When the incense paper finished burning, an Earth God jumped out from the temple. Unlike other Earth Gods, this one carried no scent of incense offerings.
"You may go back."
The Earth God held a yellow paper slip—the reply. "It has been received. Keep this reply. When the orders from above arrive, words will appear on the yellow paper. Then you'll know what to do."
The Sorrowful Elder said: "This matter is of great importance. May we ask how the higher-ups plan to proceed? So we can prepare."
The Earth God said impatiently: "So much talk. When the higher-ups handle things, mustn't they go through proper procedures? You think you hand in a slip and everything gets done instantly? And who knows if your materials are sufficient. If not, you'll need to make more trips. Go back and wait for the higher-ups to process this through every level—could take a few years!"
"A few years?" The three exchanged glances, despair filling their hearts.
The woman in red said: "This is an urgent matter. Special handling is required. Please expedite it!"
The Earth God sneered: "So many cases to handle—which one should I rush? Which one am I even authorized to rush? Get out, get out!"
The three had no choice but to leave quickly, saying: "We'll wait for now."
The old man in white said: "Let's go back to the mountain first to get my Azure Cloud Chessboard."
They rushed back to the mountain, but where was the Azure Cloud Chessboard? Not even a single chess piece remained.
The three stood there as a cool breeze blew. The old man in white's mouth twitched, his robes still stained with blood.
The Sorrowful Elder consoled him: "My blue paper umbrella was also taken by someone—I had nowhere to complain. You lost the Azure Cloud Chessboard? Just forge another one."
At Wutong Palace on Mount Jiuyi, Xu Ying was still feeling groggy. It felt like he hadn't drunk tea but strong liquor. He thought: "Did that Sorrowful Elder drug the tea?"
The Great Bell, noticing his off appearance, said: "Perhaps it was liquor with tea. What happened?"
Xu Ying recounted the series of events from the previous night. The Great Bell and Seven, coiled on the bell, were utterly astonished—they hadn't expected so much to happen during their brief absence.
Every event sounded quite fascinating.
The Great Bell asked: "You really saw that black mole on Little Butterfly? Left side or right? Left side, huh..."
It pondered: "So the vision you had when you entered the Dao was real, and the stupid snake saving you while asleep was also real. That's strange—why would entering the Dao involve such terror?"
Xu Ying recalled his experience of entering the Dao and offered his guess: "I believe the great terror in the abyss is meant to prevent people from entering the Dao. If one enters too deeply, the terror devours them, causing their death!"
Seven was startled: "Good thing I can't enter the Dao. Ah Ying, why was Guo Xiaodie on your bed—and without clothes? Something's off about that."
"That's not important!" Xu Ying's expression grew serious. "What's important is the second matter—Little Phoenix couldn't break the seal inside me either. She said my seal has loosened, but I feel nothing. We should shake off Zhou Qiyun as soon as possible!"
The Great Bell said nothing, and Seven was silent too, blinking at him repeatedly.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. He continued: "Therefore, we must decipher the Tuoyu Immortal Scripture as quickly as possible! Translate it accurately and completely, and help Ancestor Zhou achieve Dao and immortality. Once he ascends, we'll be free!"
He turned around, only to find Zhou Qiyun had appeared behind him at Wutong Palace without him noticing.
Xu Ying said in surprise: "Ancestor Zhou, when did you arrive?"