Chapter 1056 - A Scroll Painting, a Golden Toad, Fei Yun

The atmosphere within the grand hall was suffocating.

When Pi Mo saw that the elderly servant was so frightened that his soul had practically left his body, he furrowed his brow and withdrew his imposing aura.

He smiled self-deprecatingly and said, “They speak of remaining calm even when a mountain crumbles before you or an axe cleaves into your flesh, but ultimately, the more you care, the more your heart is in turmoil.”

A moment later, he was calm, composed, and reserved once more, with the bearing of a stagnant pool or solitary mountain.

“Tell me: what exactly happened?” Pi Mo sat there, his finger pressed to his forehead.

The elderly servant dared not be negligent. He said in a low voice, “According to our informants in Parasol Tree City, early in the morning three days ago, something unexpected happened on Phoenix Perch Mountain. Someone broke Elder Feng’s Flying Serpent Heaven-Sealing Formation, and a bloody battle unfolded in Profound Sky Academy.

“By the time our informants sent their reports, the curtains had already fallen on this grand battle. Dean Yu Changming of Profound Sky Academy sealed off Phoenix Perch Mountain, but neither Elder Feng nor High Elder Wang Tingyun or his subordinates have returned. We’re certain all of them are already dead.”

Pi Mo couldn’t help but frown and sink into thought.

Prior to this operation, he’d sent someone to gather information on Profound Sky Academy, everything they could find. He was well aware that with the power at Profound Sky Academy’s disposal, there was no way they’d be a match for Elder Feng and company.

Thus, Pi Mo had disregarded this matter. He’d assumed that Elder Feng and company were sure to return triumphant.

Who’d have thought this would happen?

“A trivial Confucian orthodoxy powerful only by the standards of the Profound Sky Realm, that’s all. Don’t tell me their ranks include a terrifying hidden expert?” Pi Mo didn’t understand it.

“My lord, Elder Feng set his sights on their Dark and Gold Ruler. Profound Sky Academy might well be nowhere near as simple as we imagined,” said the elderly servant.

Pi Mo’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded. “You can leave.”

The elderly servant rushed off.

Pi Mo sat in silence for a long time, then rose, took out a scroll painting, and gradually unfurled it.

A vision of hell soon appeared before him: a mountain of corpses, a sea of blood, and bones as numerous as trees in a forest. It was like a primordial demonic realm. Monstrous entities scuttled about, and all manner of demonic gods galloped past.

A painting, that’s all, but it was as if Pi Mo had opened the door to a demonic realm. The aura emanating from it was strange and unsettling.

This wasn’t Pi Mo’s first time seeing it, but even so, this vision of hell left him feeling stifled and oppressed.

The demonic gods within the painting plucked the moon and stars, devoured the skies, or blotted out the heavens with a wave of their hands. They could destroy entire worlds, and each was more terrifying than the one before.

These are World Kings, existences that transcend the Profound Dao! Pi Mo couldn’t help but sigh.

The depths of his outwardly calm, inscrutable gaze blazed with desire.

But a moment later, he held his breath, focused his gaze, and said solemnly, ”Emissary, please inform the young mistress that Pi Mo requests an audience.”

As his voice spread out, the blood-soaked vision of hell within the painting rippled.

Suddenly, a path of illusory, ethereal mist surged in the corner of the painting, spreading like ink dropped in water. It outlined an immortal cave.

The cave was shrouded in auspicious, flowing light, and it looked holy. It seemed entirely out of place in this blood-soaked hellscape.

A golden toad crouched in the corner. It had three eyes, and it looked as if it had been forged out of immortal gold. Its third, vertical eye was a strange and unsettling silver.

A Three-Eyed Golden Toad! An utterly terrifying yao!

When he saw it, Pi Mo’s expression was instantly solemn.

“The young mistress has gone into seclusion. I’m afraid we’ll see no trace of her for at least three to five years. If something happened, tell me instead.” The toad’s cheeks jiggled as its voice boomed like thunder.

“Seclusion? Don’t tell me the young mistress figured out that bronze jade pendant?” Pi Mo couldn’t help but ask.

A few months ago, Elder Feng brought a bronze jade pendant back after an expedition, and he gave it to the young mistress.

According to Elder Feng, it was a treasure that had survived since before antiquity, and it contained Dark and Gold Essence. Its value was inestimable!

In truth, a long time ago, Pi Mo had worked with Elder Feng, rallying the forces of the Abstruse Force Alliance to search the Wilds for similar relics of the ancient past.

But although they’d found numerous similar treasures, only the bronze jade pendant contained Dark and Gold Essence!

A few days ago, Elder Feng and the experts of the Levitating Sword Hall went to Profound Sky Academy to seize the Dark and Gold Ruler because Elder Feng suspected that it too contained Dark and Gold Essence.

“Who are you to inquire about the young mistress’s affairs?” The Three-Eyed Golden Toad snorted coldly, its gaze icy.

Pi Mo lowered his head. “Please forgive me if I overstepped my bounds, Emissary.”

“Quick, tell me: what have you come for?” The Three-Eyed Golden Toad was a bit impatient.

Pi Mo lowered his head. “Elder Feng is dead.”

The Three-Eyed Golden Toad was stunned, as if it couldn’t quite believe it. “Don’t tell me a Profound Unity cultivator was involved?”

Pi Mo shook his head. “I don’t know who was responsible.”

The toad suddenly roared like thunder. “You’re the leader of the Abstruse Force Alliance! How could something happen in the Wilds without you finding out about it!?”

Pi Mo sighed. “Emissary, honestly, it happened so suddenly. I didn’t expect this at all either. After all, to the best of my knowledge, Elder Feng could at least hold his own against a Profound Unity cultivator. I truly cannot imagine who could have killed him.”

He paused, then continued, “It’s due to this matter’s importance that I felt I had no choice but to report right away. I hope the young mistress can instruct me.”

The Three-Eyed Golden Toad fell silent. “True enough. Someone capable of killing Elder Feng has to be in the Profound Unity Realm at the very least. No wonder you were so scared that you came to beg for the young mistress’s help.”

A nigh imperceptible hint of cold light flashed across Pi Mo’s face, but his head remained lowered. “You’re absolutely right, Emissary.”

“We cannot let the Dark and Gold Ruler slip through our fingers. I suspect that the ruler is a treasure that has existed since the early days of the Dark and Gold Star Realm, and that it contains Dark and Gold Essence! Otherwise, how could a faction as paltry as Profound Sky Academy dare kill Elder Feng over a treasure?” the toad muttered. “Very well. Wait here.”

It then opened its mouth and spat out a pitch-black writing brush. It was nine inches long and covered with strange, contorted cloud markings and totems.

Kcch!

The brush lit up and swung through the air.

The mountainous pile of corpses within the painting suddenly split, and a bronze coffin floated into the air. Its surface was covered in the mysterious, blood-colored power of a seal.

As the brush waved through the air, the blood-colored seal suddenly disappeared, and the coffin suddenly opened.

“Old toad, what did you wake me for?” A listless, hoarse voice rang out, and a figure slowly sat up within the coffin and stretched.

He was a pallid, unearthly man in green robes. His lips were as red as blood, and as he looked around, his eyes shone with wisps of gold. He was unsettling to the extreme.

“Take a trip outside and investigate the cause of Elder Feng’s death. While you’re at it, bring back the Dark and Gold Ruler. The young mistress has use for it,” ordered the Three-Eyed Golden Toad.

The unearthly man in green exclaimed, “That little worm died? Hah? He was a pure-blooded descendant of the flying serpent lineage. Even the founder said his potential was inestimable. To think he’d die here in the Celestial Ruin… Hah! If our sectmates find out about this, I’m afraid they’ll bust their guts laughing.”

Having said this, he then burst into laughter himself. His grin was unearthly, unrestrained, and full of glee.

The Three-Eyed Golden Toad snorted coldly. “What’s with all the nonsense? Let me tell you, if you don’t complete this mission, the young mistress might well have your head after she leaves seclusion!”

At the mention of the young mistress, the unearthly man in green suppressed his laughter and stood up.

With a swoosh of his sleeves, the coffin beneath his feet boomed and transformed into a blood-colored Dao Sword, which then shot into the man’s sleeves.

Meanwhile, he let out a deep breath, his eyes flashing with imposing light. “Rest assured: when it comes to the young mistress, I’ve never dared be the least bit negligent!”

Boom!

Monstrous yao qi surged around the unearthly man in green. It was like the descent of a yao god, and his vicious majesty was beyond measure!

Pi Mo’s heart shook.

He saw everything that just happened in the scroll painting. When he saw eyes on the man in green, he couldn’t help but feel stunned.

There was no doubt about it! This was someone even stronger than Elder Feng!

“Pi Mo, this is Feng Ji’s senior apprentice brother. His Daoist Title is Fei Yun, or ‘Crimson Cloud.’ I’ll send him out of the Primordial Hellscape Painting momentarily. All you need to do is tell him what happened in Profound Sky Academy,” the toad said gravely.

Pi Mo clasped his fist. “Many thanks, Emissary!”

The Three-Eyed Golden Toad didn’t delay any further. It waved its black brush, and…

Boom!

The demonic realm seemed to boil over. The unearthly man in green was shrouded in a blood-colored curtain, and he disappeared in a flash.

A moment later, the painting rolled back shut, and all disturbances came to an abrupt end.

The man the toad called Fei Yun appeared in front of Pi Mo out of nowhere.

“With your early-stage Profound Unity cultivation, how do you rank amongst the Wilds’ cultivators?” Fei Yun looked Pi Mo up and down with great interest.

Pi Mo’s expression didn’t so much as waver. “My paltry cultivation base is surely unworthy of your young mistress’s notice.”

Fei Yun snickered. “Disingenuous. I’ve heard about you, and I know your master was an extraordinary figure here in the Wilds. How would he feel if he were still alive to see that his eldest disciple had become a subordinate of the Studio of the Heart?”

Pi Mo sank into silence.

Fei Yun instantly lost interest. “Tell me what you know about Profound Sky Academy.”

Pi Mo took out a jade slip he’d prepared in advance. “Your Excellency, everything you want to know lies within this jade slip.”

Fei Yun accepted it, then took a deep look at Pi Mo. “You’d best extinguish any untoward thoughts. An existence like the young mistress isn’t someone you can covet.”

With that, he shook his head and walked off.

Pi Mo watched Fei Yun fade from view before he silently put away the scroll painting and straightened his back. A subtle, almost indiscernible chill flickered in the depths of his inscrutable gaze.