With a flick of his sleeve, Li Taiji released the Black-and-White Taiji Map, which wrapped around the two of them.
“Black-and-White, take us to Brother Hunyuan.”
Upon receiving the command, the Black-and-White Taiji Map tore through space and dove inside.
Before long, the Taiji domain dispersed, and the map released them before transforming into a streak of light and flying into the distance, rather than returning to Li Taiji’s sleeve.
Chen Xu surveyed his surroundings. They were atop a mountain peak where the spiritual qi had condensed into a mist. It was of exceptionally high quality, feeling as heavy as a thousand catties, making even walking and breathing somewhat difficult.
Chen Xu reached out, swiping his hand through the air to catch some of the spiritual qi. He rubbed it between his fingers, carefully sensing its nature.
Seeing this, Li Taiji began to explain.
“Fellow Daoist, the surrounding area is filled with Pure Void Celestial Qi refined by Fellow Daoist Hunyuan. It does not belong to the Five Elements, yet it can transform into any of them. It is considered an extremely rare form of Heaven-Earth spiritual qi.”
Chen Xu nodded. Just as Li Taiji said, this Pure Void Celestial Qi was incredibly pure. It lacked any specific attributes, making it a form of high-quality energy.
The benefit of such spiritual qi was that anyone could absorb it without the need for conversion, saving a vast amount of cultivation time.
Typically, when cultivators breathed in spiritual qi, they had to filter and purify it within their bodies, sifting out the elements that didn’t match their spiritual roots or cultivation techniques and expelling them.
This was why the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands of the cultivation world usually provided a single type of spiritual qi or qi with low impurities for cultivators to use during breakthroughs.
Chen Xu channeled his mental strength to refine the Pure Void Celestial Qi in his hand. After experiencing it for a moment, he looked at Li Taiji with a questioning gaze.
Understanding the look, Li Taiji explained further.
“Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Chen. Fellow Daoist Hunyuan is currently discussing matters with several other immortal Dao Lords within the dojo. It would be inappropriate for us to barge in. Black-and-White has already gone to notify them...”
Before he could finish, the Black-and-White Taiji Map returned, bringing a wisp of spiritual intent with it.
Upon sensing Li Taiji’s aura, the spiritual intent burst open, and the voice of the Hunyuan Dao Lord echoed out.
“The Lord of the Undead and Brother Li have arrived. Please, come in quickly.”
“Fellow Daoist Chen, let us go.”
Li Taiji was the first to step into the spiritual intent, and Chen Xu followed close behind. As they settled into their positions, the surrounding Pure Void Celestial Qi converged into a whisk, which swept across the sky.
A clear breeze arose out of nowhere, carrying Chen Xu and Li Taiji forward.
The whisk then burst apart, returning to its original form as a cloud of Pure Void Celestial Qi.
The Black-and-White Taiji Map circled the two of them continuously, appearing as if it were playing. However, Li Taiji was currently preoccupied with worry. Watching the rapidly repeating flickers of light and shadow, he felt a sense of annoyance and raised his hand to pull the map back into his sleeve.
Having done so, he looked at Chen Xu and offered a slight, apologetic smile.
“I apologize for the display, Fellow Daoist.”
Chen Xu nodded without further comment, but he made a mental note. In the future, when Ghost Axe crafted Dao artifacts, he would have to put more thought into the personalities of the artifact spirits.
The clear breeze moved with incredible speed, bringing the two of them directly into a simple, modest courtyard.
The Hunyuan Dao Lord stepped out to greet them.
“Lord of the Undead, Brother Li, please enter.”
“Fellow Daoist Hunyuan, if you don’t mind, we can simply address each other as fellow daoists.”
“Hahaha, I would be honored. Fellow Daoist Chen, please come in.”
Chen Xu followed the Hunyuan Dao Lord into his dojo.
Inside the dojo, besides two Eternal-rank acolytes serving tea, there were seven other Unique-tier Dao Lords. Judging by the auras they radiated, they were all immortal Dao Lords.
However, the aura of one among them was somewhat complex, seeming to belong to both the immortal and martial paths, making it difficult for Chen Xu to judge for a moment.
When this Dao Lord, who seemed both immortal and martial, saw Li Taiji enter, he immediately stood up and walked over. He cupped his hands and bowed deeply.
“Master.”
“Hmph.”
Li Taiji neither dodged nor responded. He simply stroked his beard and walked past him.
Seeing Li Taiji’s reaction, that Dao Lord let out a sigh, looking quite helpless.
Suddenly, a burst of hearty laughter erupted from ahead. Chen Xu looked toward the source and saw a Dao Lord with an elderly, kind face and eyes that shone with brilliant light.
“Hahaha! Little Wuji, what did I tell you? This Li Taiji is as stubborn and foul as they come. You’re trying to show him respect, but you’ve picked the wrong man!”
“Hmph! Taihao, you old fool! If not for Fellow Daoist Hunyuan’s sake, I would have a showdown with you this very day!”
Li Taiji looked annoyed, seemingly quite displeased with this Dao Lord named Taihao.
“Taihao? Both immortal and martial?”
Chen Xu thought to himself. Could this be the disciple Li Taiji had mentioned—the one who made a deal with the previous Lord of the Undead to trade his Supreme Bone for a Heavenly Spirit Root and switched from the martial path to the immortal path?
But when Li Taiji spoke of this before, hadn't he said this disciple was only at the Eternal-rank? Why did he appear to be at the Unique-tier today?
The Hunyuan Dao Lord shook his head and gestured with his whisk. Two futons appeared on the ground, and two small stone tables rose before them.
“Brother Li, we have major matters to discuss today. Please, give me some face and settle your grievances with Brother Taihao later.”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord then turned to Chen Xu.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, please sit.”
After Chen Xu sat down, one of the acolytes brought a teapot while the other carried a white jade tray filled with various pastries, placing them on his table.
Then, the Hunyuan Dao Lord began to introduce the others.
He first pointed toward the Dao Lord named Taihao.
“This is the Taihao Dao Lord, the ruler of the Haotian Immortal Realm.”
Taihao nodded to Chen Xu with a smile, and Chen Xu returned the gesture.
“This is the Zilei Dao Lord. His mastery over the Dao principles of thunder is transcendent. The Lightning Tribulation system he created directly rewrote the underlying rules of the immortal worlds.”
The Zilei Dao Lord wore a purple-gold robe and had a solemn, dignified expression, looking like an emperor of an immortal dynasty.
He looked at Chen Xu and gave a slight nod and a bow of greeting.
Chen Xu returned the bow.
“This is Wuji; his Daoist title has yet to be finalized. Young friend Wuji is a man of no taboos, practicing both the immortal and martial paths. He is a great talent of this age.”
Wuji cupped his hands and bowed to Chen Xu using a martial artist’s etiquette. Seeing this, the corners of Li Taiji’s mouth, which had been set in a grim line, twitched upward slightly before he quickly suppressed the expression.
“These two are the Qingming Dao Lord and the Huangtian Dao Lord. They are blood-related siblings. Such a situation is extremely rare; in all my years from the ancient times until now, I have only ever seen this one pair.”
The Qingming Dao Lord wore a plain silk robe with a green bamboo hairpin in her hair. An azure-clad precious sword rested on the table before her. Judging by the aura it emitted, it was a Unique-tier Dao artifact.
The Huangtian Dao Lord was dressed similarly to his sister, though his attire was even simpler. Aside from his robes, he wore no other ornaments. A yellow-and-white precious sword artifact lay before him as well.
The two of them looked over simultaneously. The Qingming Dao Lord parted her red lips, her voice carrying a spirited, heroic quality.
“I have long heard of the Lord of the Undead’s great name. Meeting you today, you are indeed extraordinary. If you have time in the future, you must visit the Double Heart Realm.”
“You flatter me.”
“This is the Kunong Dao Lord. Brother Kunong dislikes conflict and only loves plants and painting. The Agriculture Realm he manages produces countless medicinal herbs, accounting for nearly seventy percent of the immortal civilization’s supply.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, if you ever seek rare treasures or exotic items, you can look for the Kunong Dao Lord.”
“Hoho, Fellow Daoist Hunyuan overstates my importance. I am but a farmer who simply loves flowers and trees a bit more than others.”
“And finally, this is the Tianta Dao Lord. With his Nine Heavens Linglong Treasure Tower, he guards the south. A single man and a single tower have held back hundreds of millions of demons.
“Our gathering today was also initiated by Fellow Daoist Tianta.”
After the introductions, the Hunyuan Dao Lord turned to the Tianta Dao Lord and flicked his whisk with an apologetic expression.
“Brother Tianta, I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Chen about a few things first. Our discussion will be paused for a moment. What do you think?”
The Tianta Dao Lord gave a slight nod. When he spoke, his voice was like a thunderclap.
“Demons are demons regardless. Please proceed, Brother Hunyuan.”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord looked at Chen Xu and asked the question on his mind.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, according to Brother Li, you previously faced the Mother of Hell alongside the Lord of Heaven and several martial Dao Lords?
“Furthermore, you were carrying the relic of that ancient Sage—the Truth Monocle that is said to discern all things in the world?”
“That is correct.”
“Fellow Daoist, I wonder what you saw. Did the Mother of Hell show any abnormalities?”
Chen Xu nodded and spoke.
“Cracks appeared in the soul of the Mother of Hell—many cracks. Furthermore, five holes have appeared upon her soul.”
“Cracks? And holes? The soul is the origin of a living being, the most critical part. Could such a dire condition mean the Mother of Hell’s time is nearly up, prompting such movements?”
The Qingming Dao Lord asked.
The Hunyuan Dao Lord shook his head.
“I suspect the matter is not that simple.”
“Fellow Daoist Hunyuan is correct. Based on the current information, the Lord of Heaven and I have reached two conclusions. The Mother of Hell is conducting a grand ritual, and the five holes in her soul represent the five targets of that ritual.”
The Zilei Dao Lord spoke thoughtfully.
“Five... Could that refer to the five special worlds besides Hell?”
“It is highly likely.”
“Fellow Daoist Chen, you said there were two conclusions. One is the special worlds, but what about the other?”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord asked. A sense of realization and worry had already settled between his brows, as if he already knew the answer.
Chen Xu glanced at him before speaking those five words.
“Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, Yokai.”
Upon hearing this, the worry on the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s face deepened. As a witness to the previous battle against the demons, he immediately thought of those five lineages the moment he heard the number five.
“Calamity is upon us.”
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