Chapter 2658 - Those Who Violate the Rules

The Central Divine Continent returned to stillness. All of the strange phenomena had completely vanished.

As Red Pine Mountain appeared, the God Domain’s source power dried up completely.

The God Domain peaked, then declined. The sky was dark and sunless.

The Battle for Order would soon begin. Its outcome would truly determine the fate of the God Domain.

Meanwhile, before the gates of Red Pine Mountain, chaos qi permeated the air as two Mountain Guardian Beasts appeared.

One looked like a Kui Ox. It was the size of a house and covered in purple lightning.

The other had a snake head on a human body, and it looked like a mosquito, except it was ten thousand feet tall, with bright red, imposing eyes.

The former was called Cang Ji, the latter, Fei Hong.

When the two Mountain Guardian Beasts appeared, the gathered experts were instantly solemn.

Some of those older-generation experts who’d visited Red Pine Mountain long ago recognized the two of them. They were even more solemn than the rest.

The Mountain Guardian Beasts of Red Pine Mountain were unique. They were born of the mountain’s chaos source, with innate mastery over its Laws. They were utterly terrifying.

Even Eternals wouldn’t dare to face the Mountain Guardian Beasts lightly.

The ox-like Cang Ji announced, “Listen up, all of you. Those who wish to enter Red Pine Mountain must first rely on their own strength to pass through its gates! The gates contain three obstacles formed of the Laws of Chaos. They target the body, powers of the Grand Dao, and the heart.

“If you cannot pass through the gates in the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, it means you are not fated to enter Red Pine Mountain!

“Those who dare to cause trouble while challenging the gates shall be executed without mercy!” Cang Ji swept its gaze across the crowd and said coldly, “Those who’d already stepped into Eternity are no exception!”

It spoke firmly and confidently. It treated everyone with equal disdain, even those from the River of Destiny.

Quite a few people were surprised. They couldn’t even imagine where a mere Mountain Guardian Beast got the courage to talk to experts of the River of Destiny like that.

“I understand,” said Lu Shi. He was the first to step forth, and in the blink of an eye, he’d vanished through the gates.

When the others saw this, they took action, one after another. All of them hurtled toward the mountain gates.

Light fell like rain. It was quite the lively spectacle.

But within moments, the gates rumbled and boomed, and one of the challengers was flung ruthlessly backward, scalp bleeding and body covered in wounds.

Startled cries arose as they recognized the one who’d washed out. He was a False Eternal!

Many of those experts yet to attempt the challenge couldn’t help but look solemn.

From the outside, they couldn’t discern any of the three trials’ mysteries, nor could they tell what the challengers were experiencing.

Still, when they saw that even a False Eternal had washed out, how could they fail to realize that reaching Red Pine Mountain was no simple feat?

As time passed, more and more challengers washed out. Their ranks included False Eternals, Half-Step Eternals, and Nine-Tribulation Master Gods.

Some of them were unwilling to accept their failure, and they tried again. Alas, no matter how many times they tried, they didn’t succeed.

“How is this possible?” someone cried out despondently, his expression bleak. “All I want is an opportunity to prove my Dao and achieve Eternity, but I can’t even make it through the gates...”

“I can’t accept this!” A badly injured False Eternal roared and tried again, risking it all.

Su Yi watched it all in silence. He shook his head.

If you can’t even make it through the gate, how can you speak of acquiring that good fortune? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get yourself killed if you keep pushing it?

But he understood. This was obsession. They longed to prove their Daos and seize good fortune. There was no way they’d give up now; they’d rather die than fail.

“Brother Su, I’ll go on ahead.” Wang Zhiwu waved, then shot toward the gate.

Thus far, none of the Eternals or Eternal clones had washed out.

Su Yi couldn’t help but wonder,

Does this mean that those yet to achieve Eternity aren’t even qualified to challenge Red Pine Mountain?

“Shall we travel together, Su Yi?” Xiao Jian appeared beside him, book in hand, and smiled.

Su Yi shook his head slightly. “I’m going to wait a while longer.”

Xiao Jian didn’t push. He just proceeded through the gate.

Gradually, the Dipankara Buddha, Di E, and the others took action, too. All of them vanished through the gates.

Su Yi stood there for a long time before finally taking action.

But when he reached the gate, one of the Mountain Guardian Beasts, Cang Ji, suddenly called out. “Stop right there!”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. He turned to look at Cang Ji, then asked, “What is it?”

Whoosh!

Those yet to take action all instantly looked over.

“I can sense someone else’s presence on you,” Cang Ji said icily. “If you attempt to bring anyone else onto Red Pine Mountain, its Laws will obliterate you!”

The crowd stirred.

Su Yi is hiding someone else on his person?

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Try checking again.”

Cang Ji snorted coldly. “Are you doubting my senses?”

“DIdn’t you say that if there was a problem with me, the Laws of the gate would strike me dead?” asked Su Yi. “Then this shall serve as proof.”

With that, he took a step forward and passed through the gate.

The crowd watched with bated breath, but against all expectations, nothing unusual happened. Su Yi passed through the mountain gates without the slightest disturbance.

Cang Ji couldn’t help but be stunned. It murmured in apparent disbelief, “Don’t tell me my senses were really playing tricks on me?”

The enormous mosquito, Fei Hong, said, “You must have been imagining things. The Laws of Red Pine Mountain cannot possibly be mistaken. Had something gone wrong, the Patrolling Spirit would have reacted immediately.”

Cang Ji instantly fell silent.

Earlier, it had indeed sensed that something wasn’t quite right. There was a strange, inscrutable presence on Su Yi’s person.

But when Cang Ji tried to examine it further, it could no longer detect anything.

Next, the remaining cultivators got to work.

After Su Yi passed through the gate, the black sheep hesitated, but in the end, she entered Red Pine Mountain, too.

Enough time to burn a stick of incense later, and those who’d washed out stood there glumly.

Cang Ji and Fei Hong, the two Mountain Guardian Beasts watching over the gates, visibly sighed in relief. Nothing had gone wrong.

“All of you had best leave quickly!” Cang Ji swept its gaze across those who’d failed the test. Then, both Mountain Guardian Beasts passed through the gate.

Kaboom!

Once the two Mountain Guardian Beasts had faded from view, chaos mist enveloped the gate, and it vanished completely.

Soon, the entire mountain was covered in roiling chaos mist. No one could see anything on its slopes clearly.

Those who’d failed the trial completely lost hope when they saw this.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

But although no one saw it, a delicate figure shrouded in chaos power was headed toward them. Her clothes were as white as snow, and her hair was as red as fire. Her features were beautiful and ethereal.

The Heaven-Combating Ancient Fiend!

She strolled through the air, silently walking through the chaos covering Red Pine Mountain. All the while, she didn’t cause the slightest disturbance, and no one noticed her.

The Heaven-Combating Ancient Fiend had only just vanished when two additional figures silently appeared in the distance.

One was a woman in simple hemp clothing. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail and held in place with a red string, while a bronze mask obscured her face, revealing only her pale purple eyes. She carried a dark blue spear.

The other was a movingly beautiful young woman with skin as fair as snow, bright eyes, and pearly teeth. The bright-red, fiery natural marking on her forehead depicted a snake devouring its own tail.

“A’Cai, it’s up to you to guide us into Red Pine Mountain. I’ll shield you,” ordered the spearwoman. Gray sparks surged around her, their faint glow enough to obscure the two of them completely.

“With the All-Wonder Dao Fire my father gave me, not even the old-timers of the River of Destiny can sense our existence, let alone the others!” the spearwoman said with confidence.

A’Cai glanced skeptically at the murky gray sparks and whispered, “You’re sure that no one can hear us talking?”

“Of course!” said the spearwoman, not even pausing to think. “Come on, I can barely wait!”

Her purple eyes sparkled with anticipation. “How could we miss such a grand occasion?”

“Big Sister Lin, you really won’t help Daoist Brother Su if he’s in danger?” A’Cai couldn’t help but ask.

The spearwoman laughed and pinched A’Cai on the cheek. “He has to overcome this tribulation for himself. If he can’t, he’ll just have to die and reincarnate again. But if he succeeds... that would be quite something."

A’Cai sighed. “But I don’t want to see Daoist Brother Su bullied, and so many of those people are from the River of Destiny. It’s just too much.”

The spearwoman gazed into the firmament. “The future is not yet settled, and there are countless variables in play. Just wait and see what happens.”

As they conversed, the two of them walked shoulder-to-shoulder, making no obvious effort to hide themselves. They passed right through the group of those who’d washed out, but no one noticed them.

Before long, both women stepped onto Red Pine Mountain and vanished.

Ah? Two little girls think that a few impressive treasures are enough to let them pilfer fish in turbid waters?

In the endless void outside the God Domain, a figure with youthful features but graying temples silently appeared in the shadows.

He wore long black robes and an old-fashioned lotus crown on his head. His eyes were like celestial whirlpools, deep and surging with profound, inscrutable light, as if he could peer into the deepest recesses of the soul.

He carried a jade record, its surface as smooth as a mirror. It reflected Lin Jinghong and A’Cai entering Red Pine Mountain.

A moment later, the jade record shook, and the scene reflected on its surface vanished.

The young man’s expression shifted. He immediately surveyed his surroundings.

Who did that? Who would dare to prevent me from watching events on Red Pine Mountain?