249: Chapter 249: Chen Yuan: Go and catch and kill him! (ask for monthly ticket)

Fulong Ridge.

One thousand six hundred li southeast of Weiyuan Pass, this place is only six hundred li from the Misty Sea, a natural barrier in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Misty Sea is a Forbidden Ground for the living, separating the Ten Thousand Mountains from Shu Land. It stretches for ten thousand li and was formed by the Restrictions used by many Heavenly Dao Divine Ability users to seal the Ten Fiends. This mist can seal a person's five senses and six consciousnesses; once entered, one will be completely lost within it. Moreover, there are constant strong winds that scrape bones and consume souls, incredibly overbearing, making it impossible for even Human Martial Realm experts to cross.

Thus, this forbidden barrier was constructed, confining the Ten Fiends and demons to one side. Legend has it that the most terrifying thing in the Misty Sea is not the loss of the five senses or the endless strong winds, but a monster hidden within called the Xi Yi Monster.

Legend says, when a person dies, they become a ghost; when a ghost dies, they become a 'nie'; when a 'nie' dies, they become a 'xi'; when a 'xi' dies, they become an 'yi'. To see it but not perceive it is called 'yi'; to hear it but not perceive it is called 'xi'.

Over the past thousand years, countless lost humans and demons trying to escape have died in this Misty Sea. Their Resentment lingers, some dying repeatedly, transforming into monsters that do not enter Reincarnation, difficult to eradicate, and extremely malevolent.

As the Restrictions of the Ten Thousand Mountains gradually dissipated, the Misty Sea, peaceful for a thousand years, began to erupt like a boiling volcano, spewing out mist and spreading outwards.

At this moment, outside Fulong Ridge, the setting sun was like blood, and there was a magnificent landscape between heaven and earth.

Looking south, dozens of li away, heaven and earth merged into one, with mist like giant waves crashing against the sky. Roaring winds surged out from within, and wherever they passed, yellow sand filled the sky, and mountains and land were scoured into a desolate desert.

In the distance, amidst the rolling yellow sand, a horse neighed, and then a large yellow horse burst forth, its mane flying. On its back was a figure in common clothes, with twin sabers at his waist, his brows stern, heading towards Fulong Ridge.

When he reached a hidden valley ten li away, the figure looked up, through the hazy twilight sky filled with yellow sand. His gaze was like an eagle's, scanning the sky, then the surroundings, before he raised his hands, placing two fingers to his mouth, emitting a crisp, bird-like chirping sound.

After this imitative bird call, the surrounding mountain forests seemed to receive a signal. A few breaths later, several roars and calls of birds and beasts sounded one after another.

Having done all this, the man spurred his horse, continuing several li deeper into the valley until he disappeared from sight amidst some scattered rocks.

When he reappeared, he was in a large natural cave. Dripping water sounds fell from the stalactites above, forming fine water droplets. Inside, a faint firelight flickered, and torches were stuck into the stone walls, extending inwards along the cave entrance.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

As the man appeared, iron armor clanged on both sides of the cave entrance. Under the goose-yellow firelight, faces mixed with blood and mud appeared, their hair disheveled, their eyes shining brightly in the darkness, their iron armor reflecting a cold gleam, and Evil Qi assailing the senses.

"Captain!"

"Captain Yun!"

"..."

Along the extended part of the cave, on both sides, armored soldiers whispered as the man passed through.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from deeper within the cave, shaking the firelight reflected on the cave walls.

"Thump, thump!"

"Thump, thump!"

Two sets of footsteps approached quickly, and soon two burly figures in green armor emerged from within.

"Old Yun, how's the situation outside?"

One of them, with thick eyebrows and a broad face, looked grave. His shoulder was bandaged. He was Liu Qing, the commanding captain. Beside him was Lu Ming.

The one who had just returned from outside, covered in dust, was Cloud Skyborn. His clothes, eyebrows, and hair were all dusty.

Cloud Skyborn ignored these things, his brows tightly furrowed, and he spoke quickly: "The mist from the Misty Sea is spreading very fast. The strong winds blowing from the outer perimeter make it difficult for even my cultivation, which has just broken through to the Heavenly Gate, to last for an hour. It will probably reach here within a day. We need to move. How is This General now?"

Just the day before, Cloud Skyborn had already broken through to the Fourth Heavenly Gate Realm. The accumulation from life-and-death struggles allowed him to break through to the Fourth Heavenly Gate in one go.

Liu Qing, however, shook his head resolutely and said sternly: "No, Mr. Gongsun and the seven Seniors are casting spells to help This General overcome this difficult period. It's a critical moment, and we cannot disturb them!"

"There's still time!"

"This place is close to the mist, which can effectively conceal our Qi and whereabouts. This General was severely wounded protecting us, so we must guard him well. The Six Mountains demons outside will absolutely not give up. If we move, we might expose ourselves, and then all will be lost. This is a critical moment; there is no room for error!"

"Old Yun, Old Liu is right. We cannot move easily until the very last moment." Lu Ming, standing nearby, nodded, his eyes sharp.

"Old Yun, when you went out just now, did you notice anything unusual?" Liu Qing asked carefully, his expression serious.

Cloud Skyborn's eyes flickered, and after carefully replaying the events, he said with certainty, "No, I was very careful. I released the Contracted Demons to keep an eye on any disturbances outside, and I circled half the valley to confirm before coming in."

"Good."

"Everyone, quickly rest and maintain vigilance. All we can do now is wait. I don't know how the evacuation of Guangan Prefecture went. It's been six days since they left Guangan Prefecture, so they should have reached the next pass, Jiaxing Pass. As for the reserve troops of the prefecture army, I had them evacuate separately, precisely because I feared the Six Mountains demons would pursue them. I hope they are alright."

As Liu Qing said this, he seemed preoccupied, bearing immense pressure in his heart.

The This General was gravely wounded. To protect the This General and escape the subsequent pursuit of the demons, they chose to do the opposite, retreating southeast to the border area of the Misty Sea, then hiding in this cave, with everyone maintaining silence.

Currently, they had lost contact with the outside world, fearing exposure and any mistakes. After all, once exposed, it would mean the lives of so many people.

As his words fell, a rumble suddenly echoed from within the cave, and it shook.

The three immediately reacted, exchanged glances, and quickly rushed towards the depths of the cave.

After passing through several branching paths, the three arrived at an underground cave inside, covering an area of several mu. At this time, spiritual light was dazzling, and the ground was shaking. In the center, seven luminous figures sat cross-legged and floated in a triangular Formation. Seven beams of light shot out simultaneously, pouring into an old man wearing a faded scholar's robe and with a goatee, who was sitting in front of them.

This person was Gongsun Yang.

Gongsun Yang's eyes were closed at this moment, his lips moving slightly as he chanted. In front of him, golden tadpole-sized characters floated, enveloping a six-zhang tall golden phantom, sitting cross-legged.

The golden phantom, like a Bodhisattva with lowered brows, held its hands together, and within its palms sat a grayish-green figure.

More precisely, it was an eight-chi tall stone statue!

After Chen Yuan's Primordial Spirit shattered, a protective mechanism was triggered, and his entire body was encased in stone.

At this moment, on the forehead of the stone statue, between its eyebrows, a golden vertical eye slowly opened.

Immediately, the entire cave shook violently. The golden tadpole-shaped characters around the center of the golden phantom instantly surged into this golden vertical eye like a mountain roaring and a sea raging.

The stalactites above crumbled, falling onto a yellowish light shield below. A terrifying aura seemed to revive with a boom, threatening to collapse the cave, and the Formation encompassing it instantly became precarious.

"Quick!"

"Call everyone."

"Protect the Grand Formation, don't let the commotion leak out. This General seems to be waking up."

Liu Qing was both surprised and delighted. He shouted, and outside the cave, the clanging of iron armor began, as soldiers poured into this cave. Then shouts arose, and Formation Flags were thrown out one by one, stabilizing the precarious Grand Formation.

At this moment, Gongsun Yang, within the Formation, had a look of great alarm because he saw the Luck Incense Golden Body that was born from This General. It originally had no facial features, but now it was as if brushstrokes were carving on that indistinct face. Slowly, the mouth, nose, ears, eyes, and eyebrows quickly appeared, and in an instant, it completely lost his control.

Then, with a golden chime, two points of golden paint suddenly condensed in the large eyes that had appeared.

At this instant, the Divine appeared!

A sacred incense aura instantly permeated this Void Realm. With a bang, the Grand Formation exploded.

The golden phantom suddenly swayed, its body rapidly expanding, directly shattering the cave ceiling. The cave rumbled and collapsed, and rubble crashed down, but as it fell mid-air, in the next second, time seemed to be paused, and the falling rocks solidified in the Void Realm.

The rapidly expanding golden phantom suddenly stopped, growing to thirty zhang in height. Its enormous head lowered, and a pair of golden eyes shone brightly, carrying a hint of divine indifference and coldness that inspired awe and compelled people to prostrate themselves.

"This General!"

"This General!"

"You're finally awake."

Exclamations rang out one after another, and then with a clatter, rows of armored soldiers, with excited expressions, knelt on one knee in unison.

However, the golden phantom spoke, and its large golden eyes suddenly narrowed into a slit, filled with monstrous killing intent.

"I am not yet awake; I am still reshaping my Primordial Spirit and cannot spare myself. Someone is killing our people. Go quickly and capture and kill them!"

As he spoke, two dazzling rays of light shot out from the golden eyes, striking the Void Realm, and a scene materialized in the Void Realm.

In a forest, horses were dismembered, their blood staining the forest. Armored soldiers knelt on the ground, their necks twisted in humiliation. In one part of the scene, beside a bloody corpse, lay a wooden carving full of cracks.

The wooden carving was only a chi in size, depicting a figure in silver armor, holding a black Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear.

Although crudely made, this scene now made everyone's eyes split with rage.

Because, in the scene, the Ninth Mountain soldiers saw a white-robed young man wiping blood from his face with a handkerchief, his expression blank.

These soldiers did not die on the battlefield fighting demons but died ignominiously at the hands of their own people.

They must be killed!

Cut into ten thousand pieces!

The Ninth Mountain armored soldiers roared.

And Chen Yuan's Luck Incense Golden Body spoke with a voice like frost,

"You all go and capture and kill them. When you encounter irresistible force, you shall recite:"

"Heaven and Earth Profound Sect, Slaying Demons and Binding Evil, Eight Directions Mighty Divine Power, Make Me Natural."

"This Luck Golden Body of This General will protect you all!"

"Go quickly!"

"Yes!"

"Your subordinate is willing to accept the command!"