449: Chapter 449 Slaves

Chen Xuan slowly stood up and rubbed the Little Girl's head. "Don't worry, even if your Senior Brother isn't here, isn't your Revered Master still around?"

"Besides, there are other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters to keep you company. It certainly won't be lonely anymore."

Shen Mutao then nodded heavily and responded with a crisp, "Mm!"

Seeing this, Chen Xuan took the opportunity to continue coaxing the child. "Then, how about telling Revered Master more about your Senior Brother? For example, what does he usually like to do? Has he ever mentioned any secrets about this flying boat?"

...

While the Revered Master and disciple were conversing...

Xu Muchen was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, his expression grave. The soles of his boots ground against the ink-colored floor, leaving faint trails that rippled outward like water patterns.

He suddenly raised a hand and slapped his forehead.

"Something's not right, something is very wrong!"

"Previously, I was only focused on searching for external clues, yet I neglected the anomalies of the flying boat itself! This space, with its distinct line between black and white, is no coincidence. This must be the key to reaching the third floor!"

The Dao is the body of Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang are the application of the Dao; the movement of Yin and Yang is the Dao itself.

This sentence exploded in his mind like a thunderclap, bringing him instant enlightenment.

"So that's how it is!"

A flash of wild joy crossed Xu Muchen's eyes as he continued to deduce along this line of thought. The black and white line of the flying boat was the physical manifestation of Yin and Yang. He slowly looked up toward the Void Realm above, where countless light-patterned runes drifted down like willow catkins, dense and scattered, covering the entire world.

"Ten thousand techniques return to one Dao!"

A bold guess suddenly took shape in his heart, causing his breathing to quicken slightly.

This space was black and white, corresponding to the two poles of Yin and Yang. If one person performed an extremely Yang and rigid Bing Fire Cultivation Technique to draw the power of the blazing sun, and another person controlled an extremely Yin and cold Kui Water Divine Ability, and the two achieved Daoist Magic Fusion and shared a common intent, echoing each other, they would perfectly fit this path of Yin and Yang movement. In this way, they should be able to break the flying boat's Restriction and open the path to the third floor!

With a thought, Xu Muchen abruptly stopped pacing, and the airflow around him suddenly froze.

He pressed his right index and middle fingers together, and a ball of blazing golden-red flame ignited in his palm, its light burning brightly.

"Let me give it a try!"

With a low shout, Xu Muchen flicked his wrist, and the ball of Bing Fire in his palm transformed into a ten-foot-long rainbow of fire, shooting straight into the sky!

Immediately after, two streaks of pure silver-white light seemed to respond, rushing like long snakes and plunging directly into the ink-black ground below.

However, these two streaks of white light still failed to cause even a ripple, as if they were merely a 'snack' for the dark earth. They were swallowed whole in the blink of an eye, leaving not a single trace.

The world remained in that distinct black-and-white silence, without the slightest change.

"As expected, it matches my hypothesis."

Xu Muchen slowly withdrew his hand, his mind now clear.

But in that case, it was clearly impossible for one person alone to reach the third floor. It seemed he could only go and seek the assistance of that Dao Seeking Sect Senior.

Just as he turned around, preparing to set off to find Chen Xuan!

This space, which had been silent for so long, suddenly gave a slight tremor.

Xu Muchen's expression changed drastically. He looked up sharply to see that among the sky full of light patterns, countless silver-white lights were cascading down like waterfalls, dense as a curtain; meanwhile, the ink-black ground below seemed like a group of dormant black snakes suddenly leaping out, as streaks of pitch-black Qi broke through the earth to echo the white light.

One black and one white, one Yin and one Yang—the two torrents rapidly intertwined and spiraled in the air. The silver-white and pitch-black permeated each other, swirling in mid-air like the Chaos Qi at the dawn of creation.

The originally distinct boundary of Yin and Yang actually began to melt and undergo Fusion...

"Not good!"

Xu Muchen's heart skipped a beat as he instantly realized something was wrong.

In a flash of thought, he didn't dare hesitate. He tapped his toe on the ground and his figure turned into a blurred shadow, sprinting toward the location of the white-robed Revered Master and disciple.

As the black and white air currents along the way continued to merge, a staircase condensed from the intertwined black and white light patterns suddenly emerged in the previously empty air.

It was precisely the path to the third floor!

And Chen Xuan was holding Shen Mutao's small hand, stepping steadily onto the stairs, looking as if he were about to reach the third floor!

"Senior, wait!"

In his urgency, Xu Muchen shouted out loud.

He was just one sentence away from saying, 'I haven't boarded yet.'

...

At the same time, in the skies over the sea of the Heavenly Tribulation Continent, dark clouds gathered and sea winds howled.

A magnificent, pitch-black flying boat was suspended there. On the cabin pavilion of the top deck, a Black-robed Person stood with hands behind his back, his robe fluttering in the wind. He was gazing into the distance at a giant Formation that had inverted the mountains and rivers.

Within the Formation, mountains and rivers were upside down, the sun and moon were without light, and a terrifying spatial power permeated the area.

Just then, a grey-robed figure appeared silently beside the Black-robed Person.

He bowed respectfully with hands cupped, his tone humble: "Reporting to Immortal Venerable, the plan is proceeding smoothly. The Ten Thousand Formations Sect, Red Immortal Pavilion, Wan Chen Sect, Tianyan Valley, Xingluo Sect, and other forces have all been wiped out, with no survivors. Only Tiangong Pavilion, the Medicine Hut, Demon Abyss Pavilion, and a few other forces are still putting up a desperate resistance, but they are at the end of their ropes and will be completely purged in a few days."

"I see."

Great Love Immortal Venerable waved his hand, his tone so flat that no emotion could be heard. "You may leave."

"Yes!"

The Fifth Elder did not dare say more. After a bow, his figure dissipated like smoke.

Only Great Love Immortal Venerable remained on the pavilion. He slowly turned around, looking at the vast sea of clouds, and let out a heavy sigh, muttering to himself, "My actions over these years—slaughtering fellow Daoists and destroying Sects—I must already be considered a sinner of the Human Race for all eternity."

"Is the Great Immortal Venerable regretting it?"

A voice, soft and charming to the bone, suddenly rang out. As the words fell, a woman in a purple gauze dress walked out from the shadows of the pavilion with graceful steps.

The gauze dress was thin as mist, outlining her exquisite figure. Her porcelain-white legs were faintly visible beneath the hem; her eyes were filled with spring-like warmth, exuding an air of seduction.

Great Love Immortal Venerable glanced at her, his eyes showing no ripples, only deep helplessness. "From the day I began cooperating with you and personally destroyed the first Sect, I have lived in regret every single moment."

He paused. "I hope you keep your word. After you rule the Nine Provinces, give the Human Race a way to survive."

Purple Sandalwood covered her mouth and giggled, laughing softly, "That will depend on the wishes of my Revered Master and the other lords."

Great Love Immortal Venerable's expression changed abruptly, and the aura around him instantly became sharp. "You never intended to fulfill the agreement from the very beginning?"

As he spoke, a majestic and vast pressure suddenly erupted from his body, rushing toward Purple Sandalwood like a tsunami. This pressure was strong enough to cause an ordinary Mahayana Stage cultivator's Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering instantly.

But in the next moment, a shocking scene occurred—

The famously powerful Great Love Immortal Venerable, who held sway over a region, suddenly turned pale. His body staggered back uncontrollably, and he only managed to stay upright by gripping the nearby wall tightly.

A mouthful of dark blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the stone slabs of the pavilion.

On his forehead, a strange mark flickered in and out of view. It was precisely this mark that had backfired on him the moment he erupted with pressure.

Purple Sandalwood laughed lazily, "No one would have thought that the widely respected Great Love Immortal Venerable would actually be a pitiful man bound by a Slave Seal."