174: Chapter 133

Master Liu Yun did not answer. He raised his hand, his white hair drifting in the firelight like a silver arc. His Life Sword Talisman flew from his palm and hovered in mid-air, the Sword Intent sealed within it lighting up one by one, like five stars ignited simultaneously.

Shen Du's brows twitched slightly, but he did not retreat. The other four Cultivators of the Ministry of Justice behind him had already spread out; two wielded sabers, one held a short staff, and one was empty-handed. They pressed toward the position of Master Liu Yun, Master Qingmu, and Chen Xuan in a wild goose formation.

Immortal Master Kumu did not wait for them to complete their encirclement. At that moment, his dark green core suddenly expanded from the size of a walnut to the size of a fist, and the red light winding across its surface multiplied from a single thread into several, like blood vessels spreading inside jade. He pushed both hands forward, and the core transformed into a beam of dark green light, shooting straight at the collapsing skeletal remains in the center of the magma lake.

The moment the beam struck the skeleton, the dark red hard shell of the remains shattered completely. The off-white bones were exposed to the air and then covered by the dark green light, like vines wrapping around withered branches, wrapping layer by layer, tightening layer by layer. Golden patterns began to emerge on the surface of the bones, echoing the golden formation patterns of the Heaven-Shifting Array, like two independent Systems slowly docking.

He was forcibly using the Maitreya remains to replace the position of the Golden Essence, completing the final step of the Heaven-Shifting.

In that instant, Chen Xuan made his judgment. He turned and slammed the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence in his palm into his Dantian. The moment the Metal Essence entered his body and collided with the City Wall Earth Golden Essence in his Purple Mansion, his entire Dantian lit up with an unprecedented brilliance, with dim yellow and dark gold intertwining into a spinning vortex of light. But he had no time to examine it closely; he drew his sword and rose, the three bright moon sword, carrying the lingering echo of the newly absorbed Metal Essence, slashing toward the back of Immortal Master Kumu's neck.

The moment the sword light exploded, the dark green vine barrier around Immortal Master Kumu tightened abruptly. The blade cut three-tenths of an inch into the surface of the barrier before being deflected.

Shen Du had already made his move. His right hand's fingers were pressed together, and a dark cyan palm print condensed in his palm, within which countless tiny runes could be vaguely seen flowing, carrying that sharp and overbearing aura unique to the Central Plains Ministry of Justice. The palm print struck toward Master Liu Yun, colliding head-on with Master Liu Yun's Sword Qi; the shockwave peeled off a thick layer of the rock beneath their feet, sending debris flying in all directions.

Master Qingmu was entangled by two Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivators from the Ministry of Justice. The Purple Bamboo Staff in his hand transformed into a jade-green screen of light, blocking all their attacks, but he could not break away to support other directions. Fire Fox was locked in combat with two other Early Stage Golden Core Cultivators; the trident flames at the tip of her tail traced arc after arc of dark red in the air, but her opponents were clearly skilled in coordination, one attacking and one defending, advancing and retreating with measure, pinning her tightly to the edge of the fissure on the west side of the magma lake.

Chen Xuan swung his sword again. The second strike was faster than the first, and the layer of dark golden light on the blade was thicker than before. Immortal Master Kumu finally turned around, the dark green core rotating before his chest, the red patterns on its surface growing brighter and brighter, like a blood-colored flower in bloom. He raised his hand and struck out with a palm toward Chen Xuan's blade.

The moment palm and sword met, Chen Xuan felt a recoil force stronger than he had anticipated travel along the blade and into his arm. The web between his thumb and index finger split, and blood dripped down the hilt, but at the same time, the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence he had just absorbed into his palm released a scorching aura that surged back along the blade, leaving a scorched mark on Immortal Master Kumu's palm.

Immortal Master Kumu looked down at the scorched mark on his palm, his brows finally furrowing tightly.

"Fire overcomes Wood." He said, "Your Metal Essence happens to counter my cultivation body."

He withdrew his hand and took a step back. The dark green core rotated faster in his palm, and the red patterns on its surface pulsed slightly like irritated blood vessels. He turned his head to look at Shen Du, who nodded in understanding, moved, cut in from the side, and attacked Chen Xuan.

A pincer attack. Master Liu Yun's Sword Qi was held back for a few breaths by the other Ministry of Justice Cultivators brought by Shen Du, and it was precisely in those few breaths that Immortal Master Kumu's dark green core completed its final round of expansion. All the red patterns on the surface of the core lit up, transforming into a beam of dark red light that shot into the sky, piercing the heavens. The golden patterns of the Heaven-Shifting Array were fully activated at this moment, and the skeletal remains wrapped in vines at the center of the formation eye shook violently, as if being pushed open from the inside by something.

An extremely ancient and heavy aura spread from the center of the formation eye. That aura was not Immortal Master Kumu's, not the Fire Phoenix's, nor was it any kind of spiritual power fluctuation Chen Xuan had ever encountered. It was like a Buddha statue buried underground for a thousand years that had finally lifted the stone slab above its head and was slowly standing up.

The Maitreya remains.

It rose from the core of the Heaven-Shifting Array. It was only half a body, the lower half missing, the upper body off-white, like a stone statue that had been weathered and eroded for too long. Its face was compassionate, the corners of its mouth held a smile, and its eyes were lowered; even though it was only a remnant, the pressure it emitted was suffocatingly strong. The intensity of its aura had already surpassed the limit of the Late Stage Golden Core, and Chen Xuan had once sensed its shadow in that Buddha statue Clone at the White Lotus Temple, but this time, it was the real body.

The moment Master Liu Yun saw the remains, a flash of extremely rare, sharp light crossed his eyes. He abruptly retracted his Life Sword Talisman, formed a Seal with his five fingers, and a wisp of silver-white Sword Intent overflowed from his fingertips. That Sword Intent was extremely thin, like a spider silk stretched to its limit, yet it carried an aura as ancient and biting as his white hair. He raised his finger and flicked that wisp of Sword Intent toward the sky.

The Sword Intent shot straight into the clouds, exploding above the Nanming Volcano, transforming into the phantom of a giant silver-white sword. The phantom spanned the horizon like solidified thunder, tearing the clouds above the entire volcano into two.

Far away in the direction of the Liuyang Sword Sect in the Central Plains, tens of thousands of miles away, an even more profound Sword Intent soared into the sky at the same instant. That Sword Intent was more than ten times larger than Master Liu Yun's phantom, like a mountain hanging in the sky, crossing the long distance and slashing down at an incredible speed, the blade pointing directly at the position of the Maitreya remains above the Nanming Volcano.

The Ancestral Master of Hidden Sword had made his move.

The phantom of the giant silver-white sword landed above the magma lake, its edge colliding with the golden protective light of the Maitreya remains. The entire Nanming Volcano shook for a moment, and then all sound vanished, leaving only the humming sound produced by the confrontation between the silver-white sword light and the golden Buddha light, low and long, like the earth itself was groaning.

The shockwave erupted only a moment later. The surface of the magma lake was forced down by three zhang, revealing the off-white rock layers at the bottom of the lake and the traces of mineral veins that had been soaked in magma for who knows how many years. The ridge line on the east side of the volcano was leveled, and debris fell from the sky like rain, crashing onto the scorched ground with dull thuds. The few low peaks on the west side vanished entirely, leaving only a huge sunken crater in their place, with boiling heat surging at the bottom of the pit.

Chen Xuan had retreated to the side of Fire Fox before the shockwave spread. He knelt on one knee, the three bright moon sword thrust into the rock crevice before him, the blade still vibrating slightly. After that wisp of silver-white Sword Intent dispersed, the horizon returned to its dark red hue, but the lingering echo left by the giant silver-white sword phantom still reverberated in the air, like the residual sound of a bell gradually fading after bouncing repeatedly in a valley.

Immortal Master Kumu stood at the center of the formation eye of the Heaven-Shifting Array, the light shield of the Maitreya remains shattering into countless golden fragments before him, like a broken mirror. His complexion was paler than before, and a trace of extremely faint blood was slowly seeping from the corner of his mouth. The core of the Wood Element Metal Essence flickered with dim light, its surface covered in fine cracks, like a porcelain vase about to fall apart.

He looked down at the scorched mark on his palm caused by Chen Xuan's flames and remained silent for a long time.

"Withdraw." He said.

He turned, the dark green core wrapping around him and transforming into a streak of light that shot toward the northwest. Shen Du followed closely behind with the five Cultivators from the Ministry of Justice, six streaks of light cutting across the dark red horizon, soon disappearing beyond the horizon. The two Cultivators of the Vajra Division were the last to leave; when they left, they deliberately took a detour, avoiding the position where Master Liu Yun and Master Qingmu were located.

The heat waves of the magma lake surged back up. The depressed lake surface was slowly rising, and the off-white lake bottom rock layers were covered again by the dark red magma. The skeletal remains that had been wrapped in vines were completely shattered in the recent impact, the bone fragments scattered in the crevices of the rocks at the bottom of the lake, slowly sinking into the depths of the molten lava.

Chen Xuan pulled the three bright moon sword from the rock crevice. A new crack had appeared on the blade, running across the spine from the hilt to near the tip. He looked down at it, said nothing, and sheathed the sword. The Heavenly Fire Metal Essence in his palm was still pulsing slowly, like an iron block taken from a furnace, emitting residual heat as it cooled.

Fire Fox stood up from the edge of the fissure and brushed the dust from her skirt. Only one prong of her tail was still burning; the other two had been extinguished in the recent impact, like candle flames blown out by the wind. She glanced at Chen Xuan, then at the direction where Immortal Master Kumu had fled, and snorted, her voice carrying an indescribable tone.

"That old thing at the Late Stage Golden Core sure runs fast."

Master Liu Yun withdrew his life-bound sword talisman, and the silvery sword light slowly dissipated in his palm.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, and his left sleeve hung empty at his side.

He turned to look at Chen Xuan, his gaze lingering for a moment on the hand gripping the sword hilt, before he gave a slight nod.

"The sword strike from the Ancestral Master of Hidden Sword can be maintained for at most three more times. Time is short; you must complete the Fusion of the Metal Essence as soon as possible."

Chen Xuan looked down at his palm.

The warm golden orb of light was pulsing slowly, like a sleeping heart waiting to be infused with true life.

The City Wall Earth Golden Essence rotated slowly within his Dantian, forming a faint arc of resonance with the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence, like a bridge finally built between two distant mountains.

He looked up at the horizon.

The dark red clouds were slowly closing in, and the rift left by the Ancestral Master of Hidden Sword resembled a stitched-up wound, its edges still faintly shimmering with silvery light.

He turned and walked toward the fissure on the eastern side of the volcano.

The Fire Fox stepped forward behind him: "What are you going to do?"

"Fusion," he said, "Now."

Zhang Lin fled.

The depths of the mine were as quiet as a well sealed for a thousand years.

Chen Xuan had been sitting cross-legged inside for a full day.

The three-layered Formation Plate around him emitted a faint spiritual light, blocking the moisture seeping from the cave walls.

With his eyes closed, he sank his entire Divine Sense into his Dantian, guiding the City Wall Earth Golden Essence to probe outward, spreading it along the floor of the mine, slowly and patiently infiltrating the surrounding earth.

There was no response.

The City Wall Earth Golden Essence was like a drop of ink falling into a basin of clear water; it vanished after dispersing, without even stirring a ripple.

He waited for two hours, but the aura never resonated with any earth veins, nor did it encounter any homing aura rising to meet it.

It was as if the City Wall Earth Golden Essence did not exist in the land beneath his feet.

He switched to the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence and probed upward.

This time it was even quieter; the aura rose into the air like a wisp of heat swallowed by a cold wind, vanishing completely into the Void Realm.

There was no response from any Metal Essence fragments, no resonance of imagery, not even the faintest fluctuation of spiritual power.

He waited for three hours, but the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence gave no reply.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes; the water droplets on the cave walls shimmered with damp light under the glow of the Formation Plate.

He looked down at his open palm.

The two Metal Essences hovered quietly in his Dantian, separated by a fissure, without vibration or humming, like two pieces of old porcelain placed in an empty room, covered in dust.

He did not panic.

He put away the Formation Plate and switched to another cultivation site.

Three days later, he set up the Formation Plate again in the center of the Ancient Battlefield ruins deep in the Southern Border.

The City Wall Earth Golden Essence probed out again; this time, he let the aura penetrate deep into the ground along the cracks in the altar's base, slowly advancing along the ancient stone crevices polished smooth by the passage of time.

Still no response.

He waited for another two hours.

The dilapidated altar cast long, thin shadows in the twilight, and the wind blew in through the gaps in the ruins, fluttering the hem of his robes.

He kept his eyes closed, his Divine Sense searching inch by inch deep within the rock strata like an oar dipped into deep water, yet he never touched anything.

On the fifth day, he tried again in the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, at the place where he had once slain the descendant of the Earth Dragon.

This time, he used seven City Wall Earth images to assist in guiding the aura, raising the specifications of the fishing site to the limit of what he could deploy.

Still nothing.

He waited from morning until evening, and from evening until midnight.

The aura of the City Wall Earth Golden Essence was like seeds scattered into a dried-up riverbed, not a single one sprouting.

At three quarters past midnight, he finally confirmed something; he withdrew his Divine Sense, stood up, and collected the Formation Plates one by one into his Storage Pouch.

On the seventh day, at the exit of the underground river by the Long Sea coast.

He stood on the reef exposed after the tide receded, sending the aura of the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence high into the sky, waiting for it to settle down.

The sea breeze blew from the southeast, carrying the salty, fishy moisture.

He stood there for an entire ebb tide cycle, until the tide rose again and covered the edges of the reef, but the Heavenly Fire Metal Essence gave no response.

On the ninth day, at the ruins of the ancient altar at Red Sand Ridge.

He sat cross-legged on the gray-white stone steps for an entire day and waited for an entire night.

The City Wall Earth Golden Essence traveled through the arid gravel layer like an underground river slipping into the depths of the desert, failing to merge into any tributaries, with no sound of flowing water coming back.

On the twelfth day, deep within that fissure on the eastern side of the Nanming Volcano.

The residual heat from the magma lake seeped in through the cracks in the rock wall.

He sat in the narrow cave where he had once taken the Heavenly Fire imagery, probing both Metal Essences out simultaneously—one upward, one downward—allowing them to form a complete fishing circuit between the high sky and the earth veins.

After the circuit closed, no spiritual fluctuation was transmitted back.

It was like sending a signal, but the recipient was powered off.

He kept watch in that fissure for a full forty-eight hours.

When he finally confirmed there was no response, he opened his eyes and sat in the shadows of the cave for a moment.

Then he stood up, collected the Formation Plates one by one, and followed the fissure back to the rocky ledge on the edge of the volcano crater.

He stood on the rocky ledge, watching the horizon gradually darken in the distance.

The smoke pillar of the Nanming Volcano shimmered with a grayish-white light in the twilight, rising slowly into the high sky before being scattered by the wind.

In his hand, he held a blank Jade Slip, with not a single character carved upon it.

Twelve days.

Seven cultivation sites.

Two complete Metal Essences, with over twenty images used as assistance in total.

Every time, he had set it up according to the records in the diary of Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji, and every time, he had waited for a sufficient amount of time.

But the Metal Essence did not respond, not even once.

It was as if someone had closed off all the channels for Metal Essence response across this entire land.

When this thought surfaced, his fingers gripping the Jade Slip tightened slightly.

It was not a guess, not an assumption, but a conviction bordering on intuition.

He had sensed that feeling of being calculated in advance when he confronted the Fire Fox deep in the Nanming Volcano, and he had the same intuition when he discovered the hidden stake of Immortal Master Kumu at Red Sand Ridge—someone had laid out the chessboard long ago, and he had merely walked into a game that was already half-played.

He put away the Jade Slip and walked down from the rocky ledge.

The flying boat was parked on a relatively flat clearing at the foot of the mountain, with a thin layer of volcanic ash on the deck.

He did not board the ship, but sat down on the ground beside it.

The sky turned dark, the sea breeze ceased, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the dull rumbling from deep beneath the earth could be heard, like a giant beast turning over in the far distance.

He drew both Metal Essences out from his Dantian, letting them hover in the Void Realm before him.

The dim yellow light of the City Wall Earth and the dark golden light of the Heavenly Fire overlapped, illuminating his face with flickering light and shadow.

He reached out, letting his Divine Sense touch both streams of Metal Essence simultaneously, trying to guide them to produce some kind of resonance—even the faintest response would do.

Nothing.

The two streams of Metal Essence hovered quietly before him, like two artifacts placed in a display cabinet.

There was no repulsion between them, nor any attraction; they maintained a constant distance, as if the string that should have existed between them had been cut by someone.

He withdrew the two Metal Essences, stood up, and stood in the darkness for a long time.

The wind blew from the south, bringing the scent of volcanic ash and the low rumbling from the churning magma deep underground.

Twelve days of attempts, and not a single success.

The Metal Essence on this land of the Southern Territory—refused to respond.

He boarded the flying boat without setting a specific destination, just letting the ship drift northward at will.

As it passed through the clouds, moonlight leaked through the gaps and fell onto the deck.

He leaned against the ship's railing, watching the charred plains and fractured mountain ridges passing by below.

He had been to all of these places: Nanming Volcano, Ancient Battlefield, Red Sand Ridge, Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, and the Long Sea coast.

Every single one was a region of active Metal Essence recorded in the diary of Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji.

Yet, not a single one gave a response.

The boat drifted in the night sky for about two hours, and the landscape below gradually transitioned from charred volcanic ash plains to grayish-brown hilly belts.

He suddenly recalled a volume of miscellaneous notes he had read in the Scripture Pavilion at Qingming Peak, which mentioned a extremely rare Heavenly Dao phenomenon—regional blockage.

Some spiritual objects of heaven and earth would completely lose their vitality within certain specific areas; it was not that they themselves had problems, but that the Laws of Heaven and Earth in that region had been modified by some power.

A change in the rules at the level of the Heavenly Dao would be like tightening a valve, completely cutting off channels that were originally clear.

He sat up straight, sat cross-legged on the deck, closed his eyes, and went through the contents of those notes in his mind again.

Regional blockage.

Modifying the Laws of the Heavenly Dao.

If the Laws of Heaven and Earth of the Southern Territory had been tampered with, then the lack of response from the Metal Essence was no longer a problem of the Metal Essence, nor was it a problem with the fishing method.

It was that the Laws of Heaven and Earth themselves refused to let the Metal Essence respond to the fishing of Cultivators in the Southern Territory.

He opened his eyes; the moonlight on the deck was obscured by clouds for a moment, and the surroundings fell into brief darkness.

He lowered his head in the darkness, looking at his open palm.

The two Metal Essences hovered quietly in his Dantian, like two lamps placed behind a tightly closed door.

Someone had, a long time ago, locked this door to the Southern Territory.