Chapter 503: Esteemed Senior?

Fengya Mountain was located amid the Northern Regions' glaciers. One side of the mountain was rugged and rocky, while the other was an incredibly smooth, vertical cliff.

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred.

Rumble.

There was a loud sound like that of rumbling thunder, and the whole mountain shook violently. The tremor caused large amounts of snow, ice, and rocks to fall, forming an avalanche in the blink of an eye.

Amid the vibrations, a curtain of light descended between the heavens and the earth, looking as if the sky had been sliced open. The gleaming light curtain dropped next to the flat and smooth side of the mountain, resembling a mirror. The reflection of Fengya Mountain instantly appeared on that mirror-like light curtain.

Fengya Mountain had always seemed like one half of a mountain, but after merging with its reflection, it was finally whole. It now looked like a proper majestic snow-capped mountain.

"So, that's how it is..."

Chu Liang, who was babysitting, watched the whole thing happen from an icy mountain nearby. As he observed the phenomenon from the external perspective of an uninvolved party, he suddenly thought that the world was intriguing and unpredictable.

"That seems to be the entrance to a hidden realm!"

The smooth mountain wall of Fengya Mountain had not been split in half by a sword but by a hidden realm. Once the hidden realm was opened, the two sides of the mountain wall merged, forming a complete Fengya Mountain.

He immediately figured out why the Dark King Sect had been unable to find the corpse of Granny Meng's son despite having sealed off the mountain for so long. It was because the corpse had been hidden in the hidden half of Fengya Mountain!

And now, has it finally been found?

Beside him, little Jiang Guo didn't care about any of this. She languidly watched the shaking snow-capped mountain transform, probably thinking...

That thing doesn't look yummy.

Initially, Chu Liang didn't want to get involved. As long as the Dark King Sect found the corpse, Granny Meng would have to show up. Once she did, the three sects and the Imperial Supervisory Bureau monitoring the situation would strike like lightning, ruining the Dark Long Sect's plan. None of that required Chu Liang to take action.

Nonetheless, a Buddhist chant suddenly rang out behind him. "Amitabha..."

The voice of the speaker was melodious yet heavy. As it echoed in his mind, Chu Liang suddenly found himself unable to move.

"Benefactor Jiang has indeed opened Fengya Mountain. We must hurry now."

"I only hope that the Noble Dharma keeps his word."

"Please rest assured, Benefactor Meng. My esteemed teacher does not give false promises."

As the two people spoke, they appeared before Chu Liang.

One of them was a short, chubby monk wearing a loose red and yellow robe. This person had not shaved his head; he had sparse short hair. There was a bald patch at the top of his head, in the middle of his sparse hair. It was a smooth, reflective surface—comparable to the smooth cliff wall of Fengya Mountain before the transformation.

The monk had a very kind and honest-looking face. When sunlight fell on his head, it looked as though he was crowned with a halo, emanating the aura of Buddha.

The other person had a totally different vibe. She was a thin old lady with wrinkly skin and white hair. Nevertheless, her hair was meticulously styled, and her clothes were exquisite, giving some semblance of the beautiful woman she had likely been in her youth. Her gaze, however, was grim and fierce. She was shrouded in a dense aura of death, resembling a malicious ghost.

After hearing the monk's way of addressing her and then seeing her appearance, Chu Liang quickly realized that the main character of this whole affair had appeared!

Granny Meng...

Chu Liang wanted to send a message to his sect right away, but he found that he was frozen, unable to budge at all. That Buddhist chant seemed to have taken control of his soul, leaving him unable to move even a little.

The monk walked straight up to Chu Liang and picked up little Jiang Guo.

Surprisingly, the usually short-tempered little girl didn't resist. She just looked at Chu Liang and pointed at him.

"He'll be fine. He'll recover in a while," the monk said softly, patting the little girl's head to soothe her.

Without sparing another glance at Chu Liang, the monk lifted his foot to take a step. It landed on the ground when he reappeared several hundred zhang away. After a few more steps like that, the monk and the old lady headed toward Fengya Mountain, disappearing from Chu Liang's line of sight.

...

A while later, Chu Liang finally let out a long breath, collapsing onto the snow.

"

Haaah...

"

That monk's cultivation level was terrifyingly high. He had cast a divine skill so casually, yet it had left Chu Liang unable to move for such a long time.

He immediately sent the news back to his sect:

It's highly likely that Granny Meng has entered the mountain with a strange and very powerful monk.

The three major sects sprang into action.

Naturally, they were not rushing over from where their sects were based. Long before this operation began, the cultivators from the three sects had already gathered at a secret location in the Northern Regions.

Just a short time later, beams of light filled the sky, flying in all directions. However, by the time they came looking for him, Chu Liang had already left the area.

The Whale-Riding Immortal had entrusted little Jiang Guo to Chu Liang, but he had let the child get taken. That meant he would have to give an explanation to the Whale-Riding Immortal. So, even if Chu Liang didn't have the power to get her back, he had to find out where she had been taken.

Meanwhile, Fengya Mountain was undergoing dramatic changes. The one who had opened the hidden realm was, of course, the Whale-Riding Immortal.

After pulling out the copper sword, he said to Luo Yao and Pushan, "It's going to get dangerous here soon. You two should leave first."

Then the Whale-Riding Immortal leaped out of the cave entrance. When Luo Yao and Pushan followed him out, they saw that the hidden realm had been opened, revealing the scene reflected in the mirror-like light curtain. It was then that they understood the Whale-Riding Immortal's intention.

They watched as the Whale-Riding Immortal stepped into the light curtain, sending a wave of ripples across it. Then he reappeared on the other half of the mountain.

Moments later, all of the Dark King Sect disciples who could move freely again sprang into action. Under their sect leader's orders, they rushed into the hidden realm.

A man appeared high on the mountain peak of Fengya Mountain. He was dressed in a black robe, and his hair was flying about in the wind, obscuring his face. Nevertheless, the overwhelming pressure he gave off was unmistakable.

The imposing figure of the Dark King Sect's leader stood up high.

...

Lu Chengchou had paid a great price to have the Dark King Sect attack the Mount Shu Sect. The most important part of that price was the Jiuli Hidden Realm, which contained the Breath of the Yellow Springs.

The Breath of the Yellow Springs could revive an ordinary person with an intact corporeal body for a thousand years and revive a cultivator for a hundred years. The higher the person's cultivation level was, the faster the spiritual qi from the Breath of the Yellow Springs would run out... It would not be wrong to call this effect of bringing the dead back to life a miracle, but that was it.

However, in the hands of the Dark King Sect's leader, the Breath of the Yellow Springs could do much more than that. He could use it to revive the True Form of Ksitigarbha from the dead!

Even if he would only be able to control the True From of Ksitigarbha for a moment, that meant he could use the power of a ninth-realm cultivator for a moment! He could destroy the mortal realm in an instant!

Once he obtained the Breath of the Yellow Springs, the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten would fear the Dark King Sect. He could then take over the mortal realm and reform its power structure.

When the Dark King Sect raided the Mount Shu Sect, they lost the battle and suffered major losses. It did not matter to him though, as that had been within his expectations.

Moreover, compared to obtaining the Breath of the Yellow Springs, the loss of those low-level disciples was insignificant. As long as the top figures in the Dark King Sect remained formidable, there would never be a shortage of evildoers willing to join the sect.

However, when the Dark King Sect's leader allowed Granny Meng to examine the Breath of the Yellow Springs, she stole it.

...

The Dark King Sect's leader was truly furious this time. He was determined to use all the sect's manpower to retrieve the Breath of the Yellow Springs.

After his sect members entered the hidden realm, he waved his hand, and a black barrier covered the light curtain, preventing anyone else from entering.

He knew that Granny Meng's child was her only weakness. She had stolen the Breath of the Yellow Springs to revive her son. As long as he had control over the child, he could control Granny Meng.

By the time Chu Liang arrived at Fengya Mountain, the members of the Dark King Sect had already rushed inside. He was one step late; the Dark King Sect's leader had already sealed off the hidden realm.

If he did not use force to break through the black barrier, even Dimension Compression couldn't help him enter the hidden realm. However, using force would alert the Dark King Sect disciples on the other side.

Just as he was worrying about what to do to the barrier, a familiar figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the light curtain, with a flash of bright red clothing.

She looked out the mirror and called out to Chu Liang, "Esteemed Senior?"