Free Web NovelChapter 182: Chapter 175: Black Mountain Master
Inside the meditation chamber, Qi Yun’s brow was furrowed, his hands tightly formed in a Seal Technique to guard his Heart and Spirit.
Within his Ancestral Acupoint Sea of Consciousness, chaos reigned and disaster was brewing!
The various Heart Demons and distracting thoughts were no longer a silent erosion. Instead, they had materialized into surging torrents—demonic shadows baring fangs and claws, shrill and piercing howls, and twisted, chaotic illusions...
They frantically assaulted the three clusters of soul light attempting to merge, throwing them into utter disarray.
Never mind uniting, the Three Souls were in imminent peril just trying to keep from dissipating amidst the violent storm in his Sea of Consciousness.
They were like three small boats in a raging storm, liable to capsize at any moment.
’Fuck, someone’s trying to sabotage me!’
By now, no matter how slow Qi Yun was, he had finally put two and two together.
In all his daily cultivation, he had never encountered a Heart Demon backlash this ferocious, this strange.
For this disaster to strike at the most critical juncture—his attempt to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and achieve Three Souls Unite—was surely no coincidence.
You didn’t need a brain to figure it out; someone had to be behind this, using some vile Magic to attack him from afar.
A cold fury flared in his heart, mixed with the dread of his cultivation path being severed. His expression turned so dark it looked like it could drip ink.
’You son of a bitch. Don’t let me find out who you are!’
As he watched his Sea of Consciousness verge on collapse under the Heart Demon’s assault, the light of his Three Souls dimming and flickering, a cold glint flashed in Qi Yun’s eyes.
He was about to activate the Bone Rebirth Technique from the Nether Spring Bone Technique!
Yet, just as he prepared to activate the Dharma Gate...
A warm, heavy hand gently and without warning came to rest upon his left shoulder.
The hand seemed to possess a world-stabilizing power.
With just a light touch, Qi Yun’s roiling Sea of Consciousness, which had been on the brink of exploding, inexplicably stilled for a moment.
Immediately after, a vast aura—cold, brutal, and carrying an air of utmost viciousness and sinister deceit—surged from the palm and brazenly forced its way into his chaotic Sea of Consciousness!
The moment this aura entered, it split into countless crimson lights, each as fine as an ox hair yet piercingly bright, like the afterimages of living things.
These crimson lights moved with incredible speed, emitting a faint hiss that made one’s Divine Soul tremble as they pounced with unerring precision on the rampaging Heart Demons, illusions, and delusions in his Sea of Consciousness.
"Stabilize your spirit and guard your heart. Continue with the Three Souls Unite." A calm, aged voice resounded directly in the depths of Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit, carrying a power that brooked no argument.
"My Blood God Children will deal with these external demonic intrusions and mental impurities. They will cleanse your Sea of Consciousness."
’It’s Master!’
Hearing that familiar voice and feeling the firm, steady touch on his shoulder, Qi Yun’s heart instantly settled.
He gave a slight nod. Without further hesitation, he focused his entire Heart and Spirit, once again visualizing the bright lamp to stabilize the core of his consciousness.
He poured all his effort into manipulating the three clusters of soul light, guiding them to continue their unfinished fusion.
Meanwhile...
The countless fleeting crimson Blood God Children moved with agile, ferocious speed. Wherever they passed, the hideous demonic shadows and chaotic illusions—manifestations of distracting thoughts, malicious obsessions, and external demonic power—melted away like snow in boiling water, letting out shrill wails.
With a single pounce, a Blood God Child would devour them, sucking them completely dry.
As they greedily absorbed these impurities, their crimson glow became even more dazzling and bewitching.
As the last trace of the Heart Demon’s impurities was devoured by the ferocious Blood God Children, Qi Yun’s Ancestral Acupoint Sea of Consciousness was restored to perfect clarity. It was even purer and more stable than before.
There were no more obstacles!
Freed from the interference and amplification of the external demons, Qi Yun’s own state of mind quickly stabilized.
Under the illumination of the Three-Life Glazed Treasure Mirror, he precisely grasped every subtle change in the fusion of his Three Souls. He guided the three brilliant clusters of soul light—Fetal Light, Shuang Ling, and Ghost Spirit—to slowly draw together, finally reaching the perfect moment for fusion.
’Unite!’
Qi Yun chanted silently in his heart, his consciousness like the most precise carving knife, guiding the final step to its completion.
HUMMM—!
A grand hum, perceptible only on the level of the Divine Soul, resounded from the very depths of his Ancestral Acupoint.
The three clusters of soul light completely shed their independent forms, transforming into a pure, majestic torrent of light that contained all of Qi Yun’s spiritual imprints. Then, it all converged with a thunderous roar.
The light contracted, condensed, and underwent a qualitative change... In the end, a faint, translucent humanoid figure with a pale platinum sheen floated quietly in the center of his Ancestral Acupoint.
This illusory figure, identical to Qi Yun’s physical body, was the Divine Soul!
The moment the Divine Soul formed, Qi Yun felt the entire "world" change.
His perception instantly expanded in an unbelievable way.
Within the meditation chamber, the drift of dust motes, the faint circulation of Primordial Qi...
Every detail was clearer than ever before.
The range and precision of his Divine Sense were now many times greater than before!
His thoughts moved with greater speed and clarity. He even found he had a budding new understanding of obscure points from his past cultivation.
A profound sense of Freedom and elation, born from breaking some unseen shackles and achieving a higher state of being, filled his heart.
Qi Refining Ninth Layer, the Realm of Divine Soul, was achieved!
At that moment, the Blood God Children in his Sea of Consciousness, having completed their "cleanup" mission, seemed to answer a summons. They transformed back into streaks of crimson light and, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, silently withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness.
They flowed back through the warm, large hand that was still resting on his shoulder.
The hand patted his shoulder gently, a gesture of approval.
Then, as silently as it had appeared, it vanished.
Qi Yun breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing the Elder Master had departed.
He focused his Heart and Spirit and began to carefully experience and stabilize his newborn Divine Soul, acquainting himself with this new tier of power.
...
「Meanwhile, in a cold, empty, and deathly-silent hidden place.」
The black-robed figure sitting cross-legged before the Magic Altar was just about to shake the crimson Command Flag in his hand again, attempting to intensify the calamity from afar.
But at the very instant he raised his arm...
BOOM!!!
The entire world shook violently!
On the Magic Altar, the flame of the flickering green oil lamp abruptly went out.
The void before the black-robed figure was ripped open like a stage curtain!
An endless, viscous, crimson Blood Sea, reeking of monstrous ferocity and resentment, poured in like a celestial river bursting its dams. It was filled with countless pained, twisted phantoms, and it roared as it flooded the space!
Waves of blood surged, instantly submerging most of the area. The pungent stench of gore was so thick it was almost tangible.
In the center of the roiling Blood Sea stood a silent figure—old and withered, yet radiating an aura even more profound and terrifying than the sea itself.
It was none other than the Elder Master, Deng Yin!
And it was his true body!
His turbid, dark eyes pierced through the surging waves of blood, locking onto the black-robed figure before the Magic Altar.
An old, cold voice, like a wind from the Nine Netherworld, echoed through the blood-filled space. Every word carried immense pressure and chilling killing intent:
"Black Mountain..."
"Are you really so determined..."
"...to make things difficult for a junior?"
The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding Blood Sea roared with even greater fury.
Countless waves of blood formed into monstrous hands and sharp fangs, looking as if they might, at any moment, completely devour and shred the Magic Altar and the figure upon it.
Faced with a monstrous Blood Sea and killing intent that would shatter the Heart and Spirit of any ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the black-robed Daoist remained utterly fearless.
He slowly turned, revealing the utterly unremarkable face of a middle-aged man.
His eyes were as placid as the depths of an ancient well, utterly indifferent, as if the roiling, roaring, soul-devouring Blood Sea before him were no different from a gentle breeze or a flowing stream.
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He spoke, his voice flat and without a single ripple, yet it carried an air of absolute certainty.
"And what can you do about it?"
He looked at the Elder Master, whose aura was as profound as the sea itself, and a faint, almost pitying smile touched his lips.
"You’re a dying man. You should have stayed put and waited peacefully for the end.
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Hm?"
That final, soft "hm" instantly triggered a response from the very space around them.
BOOM—!!!
The entire bizarre space, now invaded by the Blood Sea, trembled violently!
In the void above, Daoist Intent interwove.
Enormous stone pillars, inscribed with ancient markings and wreathed in a heavy, dark magical light, condensed from thin air like falling stars. Then, with the force of a collapsing mountain, they came crashing down!
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The pillars plunged with unerring precision into the churning Blood Sea, acting as both Stabilizing Needles and the bars of a cage.
The Magic Patterns on the pillars flared to life, unleashing a tremendous power of suppression and confinement.
Under the suppression of these dozens of ancient pillars, the once-roaring, rampaging Blood Sea could only churn in place, its waves unable to expand any further.
The waves crashed violently against the pillars, sending up curtains of bloody rain.
But the entire Blood Sea had been forcefully pinned in place, its advance halted!
"Heh..." Seeing his Blood Sea constrained by his opponent, Elder Master Deng Yin let out a short laugh. But it was a laugh devoid of warmth, filled only with cold, murderous intent.
"The new generation truly surpasses the old. How formidable.
I never expected you to have quietly advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
You hid it well."
Though his words were of praise, the sinister, brutal, and utterly vicious aura radiating from him only intensified.
It was as if a slumbering beast had finally opened its crimson eyes.
HUMMM—!
The stone pillars plunged into the Blood Sea began to tremble violently, the light on their surfaces flickering.
Immediately after, a series of sharp, distinct cracking sounds emanated from within the pillars! CRACK... CRACKLE...
The Black Mountain Master’s perpetually calm and indifferent gaze finally shifted, a flicker of barely perceptible surprise passing through his eyes.
The next second—
CRACK! SNAP! BOOM!
A series of explosive sounds erupted!
The dozens of ancient pillars—strong enough to suppress mountains and rivers, to seal away Spiritual Mechanisms—were all simultaneously shattered from within by a more tyrannical and ferocious power.
They exploded into countless fragments of stone that scattered in all directions!
Freed from its restraints, the Blood Sea let out a furious roar. Its waves surged toward the heavens, even more tumultuous than before.
Within the viscous crimson depths, the faint wails of countless pained and twisted faces could be heard, emitting a terrifying aura that could corrode all things and defile the Divine Soul.
Deep within the Blood Sea, two baleful glints of light flickered.
Surprised that the Elder Master could so quickly shatter his Mountain-Suppressing Stone Prison, the Black Mountain Master’s eyes revealed a flicker of keen interest.
His left hand, which had been hanging at his side, rose quietly. His five fingers shifted like a blooming lotus, about to form a Spell.
Clearly, the verbal sparring and the initial clash of Divine Techniques were over.
What came next would be a more direct confrontation of Daoist Skills between the two Foundation Establishment Masters.
In this bizarre space, now tainted by the Blood Sea, the atmosphere instantly grew taut to the breaking point.
A great battle was imminent!
...
