Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 54: The Sunken Western Continent
The Profound Yellow World was a vast realm, once home to the four great continents of Dongsheng, Nanzhan, West Su, and Beiming. Of these, Dongsheng was the most expansive, its fortune the most flourishing.
Yet, back in ancient times, the West Su Continent had also known a period of great prosperity. It was home to countless Daoist and Demon sects of all sizes, with no shortage of major sects on par with the Three Sects and Six Schools of the present-day Dongsheng Continent.
But perhaps it is true that what flourishes must eventually decline. A great calamity between the Daoist and Demon sects triggered battles among Primordial Spirit True Men, fought with such intensity that the sun and moon were blotted from the sky. The conflict shattered the continental shelf of West Su, causing the land to subside and the South Sea to pour in, thus creating the West Sinking Continent we know today.
A magnificent Traveling Palace sliced through the heavy clouds. Once it passed over the sprawling Jianxia Mountain Range, it had officially entered the domain of the West Sinking Continent.
Most of the present-day West Sinking Continent was submerged beneath the sea. Only occasionally did towering peaks break the surface. The few remaining highlands had formed a swampy terrain, but no matter where one looked, the scene was one of deep, desolate silence.
"So this is the West Sinking Continent. For such a vast land to be turned into a place of death... how many lives must have been lost?"
Xuzhuang’s Spiritual Sense swept across the deathly still surface of the water, where not even a single wave stirred, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes.
"A single great calamity caused the Western Continent to sink, and it also shattered tens of thousands of years of fortune for its Daoist Sects."
Sun Suzhen continued, "According to my sect’s records, after that great calamity, a few of the major sects simply left this realm and traveled beyond the heavens. Their fate is unknown. As for the other Daoist and Demon sects that remained in the Profound Yellow World, they all gradually declined until their Dao Lineages were extinguished."
"Primordial Spirit True Men have achieved profound enlightenment and seen their true nature. How could they do something so foolish?" Xuzhuang asked, puzzled.
Yue Junyang asked, "The Dharma Origin Sect was also a major sect in ancient West Su. Did it participate in that great calamity? Are there any records of it?"
Sun Suzhen shook her head. "The legacy I inherited has no mention of it."
A middle-aged, long-bearded Daoist to the side gave a bitter smile and answered, "The teachings I inherited aren’t even orthodox, so they certainly wouldn’t contain such records."
This man was named Yan Renhe, the other Commander who had been subdued by Sun Suzhen. Shortly after piloting the Flying Palace away from Yunmeng, Sun Suzhen had picked him up, and they had journeyed all the way to the Western Continent. The group had discussed the Dao and its mysteries on the way, growing more familiar with each other.
Sun Suzhen mused, "The Dharma Origin Dao Lineage, if not quite on par with the Three Sects, was still more than a match for the Six Schools. Yet now it has fallen to the brink of extinction. Of the five Commanders who hold its legacy, I wonder if a single one of us even truly wants to inherit the Dharma Origin Dao Lineage..."
At this, she shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.
Yue Junyang laughed heartily and changed the subject, starting to talk about various rumors from the Daoist Sects. The mood among the group grew lively again. Xuzhuang listened intently, chiming in from time to time. Only the cool and detached Yue Junlan, the Sword Step Master, rarely took part in the conversation.
After a little more than ten days had passed, Sun Suzhen suddenly announced, "We’re here!"
The Flying Palace descended from the clouds. Xuzhuang sent out his Spiritual Sense to probe the area. He saw five pillar-like peaks of varying heights rising from the dead sea. Four stood in a row, with the fifth set apart, resembling a hand resting palm-up on the seabed, with only its five fingers breaking the surface of the water.
Just then, Sun Suzhen laughed. "Looks like we weren’t the most eager ones, after all."
The group looked over and saw three figures already standing on the lowest of the peaks.
The leader of the three was dressed somewhat like Yue Junyang. He wore a Lotus Crown and a Black Gold Crane Cloak, and his wide robes and long sleeves gave him an extraordinary air.
To his left stood a person in a black Daoist Robe, carrying a large banner emblazoned with a peculiar pattern of six black suns. To his right was a man with well-defined features and hair tied up in a tall crown, wearing a large, open-chested robe.
Xuzhuang froze for a moment. ’Jiri Lie?’ he thought.
Just then, Yan Renhe cried out, "Si Xuan!"
Sun Suzhen snorted softly. "Fellow Daoist Yan, rest assured. Once the Dao Treasury is opened, there will be no shortage of opportunities for revenge."
"Si Xuan?" Xuzhuang said. "Don’t tell me he’s the one who attacked Fellow Daoist Yan."
"The very same," Yan Renhe confirmed.
Xuzhuang had heard of Si Xuan before. He was one of the few Top-Grade Golden Core Cultivators on the Divine Continent who lacked the backing of a major sect, and was hailed as a paragon among Loose Cultivators. Now, it seemed... he was no saint.
Sun Suzhen then asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you recognize the two men with Si Xuan?"
Yan Renhe thought for a moment before shaking his head. "They’re likely not any of the famous Loose Cultivators from the Divine Continent."
"I do know a little something about one of them," Xuzhuang said after a moment of thought. "The Daoist in the tall crown next to Si Xuan is named Jiri Lie. His Swordsmanship is excellent, and he wields a rather formidable technique called Sunflower Water Yin Thunder."
"Hm?" Hearing this, Yue Junlan’s interest was piqued—a rare occurrence. He asked, a note of doubt in his voice, "So that’s Jiri Lie?"
Xuzhuang replied, "I believe so. Does Senior Brother Yue know of his origins?"
Yue Junlan’s gaze penetrated the walls of the palace, fixing on Jiri Lie outside. After a moment of silence, he said, "I have a good friend who is the current First Seat of the Beiming Sword Sect. It was from him that I learned that among the current generation of direct disciples, there was one named Jiri Lie. But according to what I know, that man has been missing for a very long time."
Xuzhuang frowned. ’So he comes from a major sect on the Beiming Continent. No wonder his Swordsmanship is so orthodox. But for a direct disciple of a major sect to simply go missing... that’s incredibly strange.’
As for the last person, no one knew his background.
Without further discussion, Sun Suzhen steered the Flying Palace to land on one of the peaks. The structure shuddered slightly, and before it had even settled, the already dreary sky over the Western Continent suddenly grew dark.
A mountain, pitch-black all over, descended from the heavens, the winds from its passage scattering the clouds. As it fell, the mountain gradually shrank until it was the same size as Sun Suzhen’s Traveling Palace, settling steadily onto another peak.
"Well, now. So it’s the fiends from the Yinji Sect," Sun Suzhen said with a cold laugh.
"The Yinji Sect?" Yan Renhe asked. "I’ve heard of them. Aren’t they a major Demon Sect?"
Yue Junlan said coolly, "Major Demon Sect? Please. They’re just a pack of rats who can only hide their gates and practice their cultivation in some unknown corner of the void."
Sun Suzhen laughed. "After we open the Dao Treasury, if the opportunity arises, it might not be a bad idea to tangle with these fiends." Then she added, "Now, only Tan Chong of the Upper Profound Sect is missing. But we still have a few days before the appointed time. Everyone should rest and meditate for now."
"Very well," everyone agreed.
The hall fell silent. The occupants of the other two peaks seemed to have no desire for contact before the Dao Treasury was opened, so the Five-Pillar Peaks returned to their deathly quiet. Silence reigned as the great sun sank below the sea’s horizon, rose once more from behind the distant Jianxia Mountains, and gradually climbed to its zenith. Only then was the stillness broken by the cry of a crane.
"Zhong Shenxiu! So he really came." Yue Junlan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A brilliant light flashed in his pupils, so sharp it seemed to dim the very air in the hall.
"Zhong Shenxiu?" Xuzhuang felt a jolt of anticipation and looked up.
Three figures were descending from the clouds. The one in the lead instantly commanded all attention.
He had a noble brow and eyes like brilliant stars, his bearing otherworldly. Descending from the sky with his great sleeves billowing, he looked like an Immortal banished to the mortal realm. He rode a strange, single-horned beast with six legs, the body of a great cat, the head and tail of a dragon, and a pair of feathered wings folded at its shoulders. The creature was the color of pure jade and possessed an extraordinary, divine air.
The two people behind him arrived riding on immortal cranes. Their own poise and presence were far from ordinary, but compared to their leader, they were like candlelight in the bright sun.
Xuzhuang narrowed his eyes. He suddenly formed a Magic Formula, and a formless divine light flared in his pupils. He looked toward Zhong Shenxiu again, but before he could even begin to probe the man’s cultivation, his heart lurched violently.
