In the Jade Dragon Daoist Temple, Chen Taichu's thoughts stirred, and the Ten Directions Divine Fiends were instantly roused.
"Hmm, demonic energy?"
The demonic energy had vanished, and there was no way to know how it was eliminated, as if all traces of its existence had been erased. He used immortal-level spells to trace it, but all he received was a vast expanse of azure sky.
This azure sky was boundless, blocking anyone who wished to peer further into the other shore.
"Who can block my scrutiny?"
Chen Taichu was slightly surprised. No one in the mortal realm should be able to resist the power of an immortal like him, unless the other party was also in the Ascension Realm.
But this was unlikely. According to the news from the Song court, the number of ascensions in the mortal realm was limited, approximately three. And for some reason, their strength was not high.
"An immortal who ascended in a single day, having been in the mortal realm for less than two months; this is a Ranked Immortal."
"An immortal who returned to life upon awakening during the Han Dynasty; this is a Corpse-Detached Immortal."
"And one who reincarnated and cultivated, possessing the divine abilities of ascension but being the weakest among the three immortals, perhaps only comparable to those in the Spirit Refining or Pure Yang realms; this is a Crippled Immortal."
"Whether it's an immortal who has just ascended or one who revived through corpse detachment, their cultivation is of the lower grade. Those who have just ascended have not yet stabilized their realms. Although they possess immortal power, they are far from touching the true power of the Ascension Realm."
"As for Corpse-Detached Immortals, they are among the lowest grades of immortal methods. Immortals achieved in this manner, by separating their souls from their bodies, with the bodies absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and the souls ascending to the Great Floating Jade Land, using their forms and spirits as beacons for their return. Such Corpse-Detached Immortals lack foundational strength."
"As for the last one... heh, it certainly won't be him. That's just a Crippled Immortal."
"Ranked Immortal, Corpse-Detached Immortal, Crippled Immortal."
"None are to be feared."
"Half of my blood has transformed into azure energy, and I am only half a step away from the peak of ascension, after which I will enter the Heavenly Immortal realm. The peak of ascension is called Flying Immortal."
"However, among Heavenly Immortals, these Ranked, Corpse-Detached, and Crippled Immortals are all of the lower grades. Even in the ancient Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties, these three immortals were only considered of the lower-to-mid tier among Heavenly Immortals."
"As for me, after accumulating thirteen hundred great merits and then actively retreating my realm three times in the Pure Yang realm before ascending again, I gained the power of three daytime ascensions, thus achieving the Taiyi Scattered Number. When the world perishes, I shall not perish."
"Therefore, the one who could eliminate my demonic energy and also block my pursuit is likely a fourth existence at the immortal level in the mortal realm, outside of those three, and perhaps not much different in strength from me."
"Half a step to the peak of ascension, although not yet truly at the 'Flying Immortal' level, can still be called so."
Chen Taichu estimated the opponent's strength and accurately suspected the Silver Bottle Maiden.
"Miss Yue has found a patron. This is truly heavenly fortune. The great upheaval in the world has not yet arrived, and there are only so many existences in the Ascension Realm in the mortal world. Yet she has encountered one..."
"Having obtained the other party's techniques, Miss Yue must surely be heading to Phoenix Mountain to showcase her skills. Fortunately, the arrangements have been made. The moment she enters the Phoenix Mountain territory, her fate is sealed."
"Phoenix Mountain tests demons. Even ascendant immortals will face trials there for a long time. The demons within may not be as powerful as immortals, but they are all half-test demons. Killing them rashly is an act against heaven. The accumulated demonic tribulations will affect even those in the Ascension Realm."
"If that immortal enters Phoenix Mountain, then my 'Unwished Medicine' will yield even stronger medicinal power. When the immortals of the Longevity Palace transform into true test demons, opening the gate to ascension for the cultivators who plant demonic seeds in this place, dozens of half-immortals will be born immediately."
"Half-immortals are not strong before Heavenly Immortals, but dozens of half-immortals, coupled with my intervention, would give a nine-tenths chance of victory against a Heavenly Immortal burdened by demonic tribulations. The remaining tenth is due to his potential遁术 (escape techniques)."
"For me, this is a great thing."
Chen Taichu relaxed his expression. He was waiting for merchants like Sima Shen to deliver the crucial treasure, the formed Unwished Medicine. There was still one day left.
Just one day.
If Sima Shen's master, the Qin Dynasty alchemist Xu Fu, dared to break his word, Chen Taichu would be finished in this mortal realm.
"Go, Silver Bottle Maiden. Kill to your heart's content. The more you kill, the heavier your demonic tribulations will be. The Divine Fire Array has been set up for you and that immortal. You don't know what that immortal will refine, but you can refine Green Liver and Jade Blood."
.......
Within the Phoenix Mountain territory, a wisp of flame was born from the void, appearing abruptly.
The Silver Bottle Maiden manifested through the Fire Escape technique.
Although the Fire Virtue Star Lord was not the strongest among fire gods, he was one of the Five Star Lords of the Heavens. His ability to generate flames from afar was feasible. Thus, among the thirteen great escape techniques, the Fire Escape, which was criticized as a "technique for seeking death," only a level higher than the Metal Escape, was instantly transformed into a superior escape technique comparable to the Heaven, Human, Water, and Earth escapes!
Cultivators of the fire element in the mortal realm possessed the Fire Escape technique, using flames to travel between places. This required flames to be ignited at both ends. If one side suddenly extinguished, one would be trapped in the fire, and upon exhaustion of their magical power, they would be consumed by the fierce flames, their forms and spirits burning, their lives turned to charcoal.
Her eyes opened to see a magnificent temple, enveloped in incense smoke.
"Where is this!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden was greatly surprised. She had merely manifested in the Phoenix Mountain territory using the Fire Escape technique, not directly arriving at the place where the demons were gathered. Yet, the scenery that appeared was vastly different from her intended destination!
Gleaming with gold and jade, it was extremely luxuriously decorated. Fifty divine statues lined both sides, and at the head of the deities was a benevolent-looking giant Bodhisattva.
However, the moment the Silver Bottle Maiden entered the temple, the fifty surrounding divine statues suddenly contorted their faces in ferocity. They leaped down from their platforms, and the benevolent Bodhisattva also opened its small mouth, splitting into a ferocious maw, filled with dense teeth, spewing foul air.
"Phoenix Mountain is sealed. All who enter will be brought into the Holy Mother Temple."
"We know you are coming."
"We are prepared."
The Silver Bottle Maiden's pupils contracted!
"Jizhituo Demon Mother!"
There was a Demon Mother in Phoenix Mountain, from whose demonic energy the demons were born. Her divine position was of unknown origin and deeply hidden. When demons ate people, they would bring flesh and blood as offerings to her.
It now seemed that someone had instructed her to create these demons here.
Jizhituo Demon Mother's mouth split open, her jaw moving as if to devour flesh and blood. She clasped her hands together and spoke with false compassion: "Indeed, I am Jizhituo Holy Mother, the mother of Emperor Huaguang."
Silver Bottle Maiden: "I know your divine position. You, Demon Mother God, were cast into hell by the Buddha for devouring people alive, but you were rescued by Emperor Huaguang's rampage in hell. This divine position is that of a Granary God."
"Because you are Huaguang's mother, and Huaguang possesses the power of arson, you are enshrined in the granary to avoid fire disasters."
Jizhituo Demon Mother grinned: "I know you have the art of absorbing fire, so I specifically waited for you here."
The Silver Bottle Maiden also smiled: "I know you have the art of fire avoidance, so I found a divine lord of fire to deal with you."
"Fire?"
Jizhituo Demon Mother smiled strangely: "I heard from the demons under my command that your technique to subdue me is the True Martial Incantation? Now, instead of using the Water Incantation, you use fire to counter the fire-avoidance technique. Isn't that like throwing an egg against a rock?"
"That's not necessarily true!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden glanced around and casually touched the gold ornaments on her body.
Then, she raised one hand in a void gesture!
"Heavenly Fire Tribulation!"
Emperor Huaguang's flames before the Buddha dared not burn you, but the Heavenly Fire Tribulation of the Fire Virtue Star Lord will not indulge you!
In terms of orthodoxy and antiquity, the Thirteen Star Lords of the Heavens are far superior to the divine position of "Emperor Huaguang"!
Jizhituo Demon Mother suddenly spewed azure-blue ghost fire from all seven orifices!
She let out a painful howl, and the fifty surrounding demons lunged forward, but were all repelled by a golden spear in the Silver Bottle Maiden's hand!
Jizhituo Demon Mother retreated several steps, covering the raging flames in her mouth, speaking indistinctly, and shouting:
"Thirteen of the Heavenly Department, Fire Virtue Star Lord!"
"How could you have bypassed the imperial blockade!"
But her only response was the golden spear from the Silver Bottle Maiden, piercing through the flames:
"This Heavenly Fire Tribulation burns from the Yongquan acupoint, piercing directly to the Niwan Palace, turning the five viscera to ash and the four limbs to decay, burning all your millennia of cultivation to nothingness!"
Humph!
The golden spear pierced the sky like a rainbow, emitting a piercing hum. Its power penetrated the refined gold and divine iron, its might unparalleled! But Jizhituo Demon Mother did not evade it. Instead, she actively met the fierce spear. Only when the golden spear penetrated her chest did she burst into laughter, mocking Yue Yinping:
"You have accepted an overly powerful divine position, but it has made you reckless. I am the mother of the Fire God, yet you attack me with gold. Isn't that utterly ridiculous! Fire conquers gold; you have committed a great taboo of the five elements!"
As the azure-blue ghost fire flickered, the Silver Bottle Maiden also laughed!
"I return your words to you!"
"Gold generates water; you have committed a greater taboo of the five elements' generation!"
With that, a divine sound suddenly erupted from her mouth!
True Martial Subduing Demon Incantation!
Jizhituo Demon Mother was impacted by the Subduing Demon Incantation. Following the azure-blue ghost fire was the Subduing Demon Water Incantation. Her fire energy decreased, and her demonic energy was about to be shattered, but she immediately adjusted her state and began to devour this True Martial Incantation!
"Foolish! After fighting with so many demons around me, don't you know we feed on righteous laws!"
"You are truly seeking your own destruction!"
However, when the Silver Bottle Maiden saw Jizhituo Demon Mother begin to devour the True Martial Incantation, she did not panic but instead smiled.
"You are already dead."
"?"
Jizhituo Demon Mother's brows and eyes showed complete confusion.
In the Silver Bottle Maiden's heart, she remembered the command of the "True Martial Emperor"!
While she came here to slay demons and eliminate evil, she was also guided by the Emperor.
The Emperor had specifically mentioned gold ornaments, and combined with the strange occurrences at Lingyin Temple and Jade Dragon Daoist Temple, and the fact that Jizhituo Demon Mother was lying in wait here, it was clear that someone was secretly preparing to deal with her.
And the Emperor's words, the Silver Bottle Maiden guessed... perhaps the Emperor intended to use her as bait. When the mastermind behind the scenes truly appeared, he would intervene from across time and space, using divine power to utterly crush that mastermind!
Truly far-sighted.
Therefore, she only needed to fight fiercely, to slay demons until Phoenix Mountain was empty, and the demonic leader would naturally be unable to restrain himself and reveal himself!
This was her duty!
.......
It's a fight!
Ji Xiang sensed the emission of the True Martial Subduing Demon Incantation. However, the demons faced by the Subduing Demon Incantation, although powerful, were only so powerful. If it were the Silver Bottle Maiden without the divine position of the Fire Virtue Star Lord, she would certainly not be able to defeat them, and her chances of victory would be slim.
But after receiving the blessings of the Fire Virtue Star Lord's divine position, her chances were now four to six.
"The Thirteen of the Heavenly Department correspond to the Innate Realm. With the Silver Bottle Maiden's original strength, she received it at the Nascent Soul level. Although she cannot directly obtain Innate Realm strength, having the peak strength of the Yellow Court Realm is not a problem."
"Of course, if she wants to fully obtain Innate strength, she still needs to undergo twelve years of cultivation, which no one can avoid. They can only shorten this process with treasures like the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus."
"Moreover, she herself is a military general. Among the common gods, the strength of military generals is the highest, often more formidable than other common gods. She has been slaying demons and eliminating evil for over a decade, and her rich combat experience, when the strength difference is not too large, is enough to turn the tide of battle."
"The demon she is fighting should be in the early Innate Realm."
"It seems to be no major character, merely a gatekeeper."
Ji Xiang sensed through the True Martial Subduing Demon Incantation, and as expected, the previous situations reappeared.
The first time the True Martial Incantation was summoned by Yue Yinping, the demon on the other side seemed to possess the power to devour righteous laws.
And Ji Xiang had also seen similar abilities from the three demonic Buddhas before.
It seemed that not only the Pursuing Demon had this power, but these demons also possessed similar attributes. However, this was irrelevant to Ji Xiang.
Righteous laws could be devoured, but they only consumed the incantations.
"Heavenly Cave Scripture, Three Capital Seal!"
Ji Xiang struck from across time and space!
.......
Bang!
"Miss Yue, after entering the Granary God Temple, she had a great time killing."
Jizhituo Demon Mother was killed. Chen Taichu sensed this. As his first line of defense placed in Phoenix Mountain, Jizhituo Demon Mother's strength was not the strongest, but she was at least a demon in the Innate Realm. It was impossible for her to be killed so easily by the Silver Bottle Maiden.
"I didn't expect her to die just like that. One of the surprises from planting demonic seeds in the Dao Heart was this female cultivator. She could resonate with Jizhituo Demon Mother's divine position and continuously replicate various demonic energies. It can be said that she is the mother of all demons. Without her, my demonic corruption of cultivators here would have taken some time."
"Unfortunately, she did not live to become a test demon. At that time, she would become the mother of ten thousand demons, and when cultivators from all over the world underwent their promotion assessments, they would see her beauty and gradually have their hearts corrupted by her."
"This was the originally planned beautiful ending."
Chen Taichu again attempted to trace the details of Jizhituo's death, but unexpectedly, he could only see a vast expanse of azure sky.
This completely severed his immortal path of tracing.
"Not good, but still manageable."
"After killing the Demon Mother, a demonic tribulation should have descended."
"Let's see how many mountains you can breach and how many temples you can clear."
"The more fiercely you kill, the heavier the demonic tribulation."
.......
The Silver Bottle Maiden, seeing Jizhituo Demon Mother turn to dust under the strike of the Three Capital Seal, let out a triumphant laugh. However, in the next moment, a demonic tribulation descended from nowhere, about to entangle her body like a curse, invading the depths of her Nascent Soul, binding itself to her life, never to separate until death.
But as soon as this demonic tribulation descended, it instantly melted away like ice and snow, as if guided away by something more attractive to it, and vanished!
"What was that feeling, a tribulation?"
"It was ineffective on me?"
"Great Emperor! It must be the Great Emperor's protection! As expected, the Great Emperor was prepared!"
A flash of inspiration struck the Silver Bottle Maiden.
She understood everything.
Everything was the Great Emperor's arrangement!
.......
Ji Xiang's heart stirred, and he reached into the void!
Jade Purity Hidden Book, Lesson Four, Heavenly Demon Back Yin!
Capturing formless demonic tribulations, formless demonic energy, formless demonic shapes!
A demonic tribulation was captured and held in Ji Xiang's hand, but it emitted a joyful will.
"This is..."
"A Test Demon Tribulation???"