Chapter 818: The Women of Mount Shu

Whoosh.

The numerous cultivators on Red Cotton Peak witnessed a shocking scene that day. A massive, bright ring of white light descended from the sky, separating the peaks of Mount Shu from Red Cotton Peak. The peaks of Mount Shu were instantly split from the rest of the world, and not even a wisp of qi could pass through.

Except for Red Cotton Peak, all of Mount Shu had been isolated into another realm. This was no different from forming a hidden realm.

"It's the Celestial Cosmic Ring!"

Among those present, some knowledgeable cultivators immediately recognized the legendary artifact that had achieved that feat. Hovering in the sky was the Celestial Cosmic Ring, which had been renowned in the past as the Cataclysmic Chrono Wheel!

After the pair of legendary artifacts known together as the Cosmic Ring and the Chrono Wheel split, the Celestial Cosmic Ring was damaged, and the imperial court took possession of it. The Penglai Supreme Sect then bought it back at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery's charity auction.

However, since the imperial court had dared to hand it back to the Penglai Supreme Sect, it meant the Celestial Cosmic Ring was likely beyond repair. Yet, the Celestial Cosmic Ring was now before them fully restored!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the Celestial Cosmic Ring separating space, none of the battles within the hidden realm would spill over to Red Cotton Peak. It appeared that the Penglai Supreme Sect did not want to stir up unnecessary trouble with the complicated mix of people on Red Cotton Peak.

Feeling perfectly safe, the cultivators on Red Cotton Peak hung around to watch the spectacle unfold. They could not be blamed for their curiosity; an incredibly shocking event was occurring at Mount Shu.

At a moment when no one had expected it, the Penglai Supreme Sect had declared war on the Mount Shu Sect!

"The Celestial Cosmic Ring?" Baize muttered.

She had sensed the Great Dao of the World's power descend from another realm and pull Mount Shu into it. Naturally, she also recognized the legendary artifact channeling that power.

Baize wondered, "Penglai restored it?"

"

Haha

, no restoration was needed." The Elder of Mount Lu chuckled. "The world had underestimated the power of the East Sea Chrono Wheel."

Hearing that, Baize immediately understood what had happened.

The Penglai Supreme Sect rarely used its legendary artifact, so the world did not fully understand its power. All that was known was that it could control time. This led to the conclusion that the Penglai Supreme Sect had used the East Sea Chrono Wheel to activate the Great Dao of Years, reversing time and restoring the Celestial Cosmic Ring to its pristine state from thousands of years ago!

It sounded like an impossible feat, but it was feasible with the power of a legendary artifact.

Baize thought back to what had happened in the lead-up to this event. The Penglai Supreme Sect had forced Taotie City to overspend just so it could possess the damaged Celestial Cosmic Ring. Later, in an effort to assist Taotie City and seek revenge for their personal grievances, Qi Lin'er ambushed and killed groups of Red Cotton Peak's workers. That enraged Chu Liang, and he slayed Qi Lin'er in fury, resulting in Daoist Cangsheng striking down Chu Liang…

The Penglai Supreme Sect and the Mount Shu Sect had been in a long-running conflict with each other, but it was the Penglai Supreme Sect's acquisition of the Celestial Cosmic Ring that ultimately escalated the conflict to this point.

The Penglai Supreme Sect had paid a heavy price for it, but the sect had also gained tremendous returns. It now had several eight-realm Eminent Ones and two legendary artifacts in its possession.

The Penglai Supreme Sect would undoubtedly leave one of its two legendary artifacts to guard their sect. Since the group from Penglai had brought the Celestial Cosmic Ring to Mount Shu, that meant they had left the East Sea Chrono Wheel behind.

A cold gleam flashed in Baize's eyes. It was clear the Penglai Supreme Sect had planned this attack well in advance. They were fully committed to waging war on the Mount Shu Sect. There was no room for her to hesitate; the Mount Shu Sect's survival was at stake.

The aged Elder of Mount Lu on the opposing side looked as fragile as a candle flame flickering in the wind. Yet, the moment he activated his cultivation power, a vast and chilling aura rose from him with overwhelming force.

He wielded the Great Dao of Yin Earth, also known as the Great Dao of the Black Tomb.

The Great Dao of Yang Earth was also known by another name Dense Earth. It represented fertile soil and high mountain ranges—the positive aspects of earth. Meanwhile, the Black Tomb represented decay, decomposition, and burial grounds—the negative aspects of earth.

As the Elder of Mount Lu activated his Great Dao, the ground beneath Baize instantly turned pitch-black, creeping upward to engulf her. At the same time, a potent corrosive force spread through every inch of soil it touched. If his opponent had been an ordinary Eminent One, they would not have lasted even a moment before being completely dissolved into pus.

Baize was swallowed in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a raised mound of black earth akin to a grave.

Despite that, the Elder of Mount Lu did not lower his guard. With a flick of his fingers, a ball of silver light shot out from his sleeve. It expanded in the wind into a massive white stone tablet and stuck itself in the grave.

He furrowed his brows in deep concentration. As he moved his fingers, a beam of darkness shot out and engraved characters onto the stone tablet.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Bai…ze…'s…"

That was as far as he got, only managing to engrave "Baize's". The beam of darkness engraving the tablet was suddenly met with an invisible resistance.

Gripping his right arm with his left hand, the Elder of Mount Lu let out a deep roar. "

Aaaaarrrrrh!!!

"

He was exerting all his strength to write the last word. If he could finish writing it, this fight would be over. He would have defeated Mount Shu's strongest guardian celestial beast! It was a result no one had ever dared to even imagine achieving.

After a brief stalemate, the immense pressure stopping him from writing the last word suddenly vanished, and the word "Tomb" appeared on the tablet.

However, the Elder of Mount Lu never got the chance to see that. The moment he completed the gravestone inscription, an overwhelming force dragged him out from the boundary between reality and illusion.

Whoosh.

When he steadied himself, he realized he was trapped in a dark, cramped space. He was surrounded by soil infused with powerful corrosive spiritual energy. It attacked him madly, trying to devour his flesh and soul.

The corrosive soil was his very own Black Tomb Burial Soil.

The Elder of Mount Lu quickly withdrew his spiritual energy, halting the devouring force of the soil. Otherwise, he would have ended up killing himself. As for where he was, the answer to that was obvious.

He was inside the very grave he had prepared for Baize.

Boom!

The Elder of Mount Lu burst out of the grave. In just a few breaths' worth of time, he had become riddled with wounds caused by his own divine skill. Blood oozed from the gaping holes in his flesh, which squirmed as they slowly began to heal.

The shattered tablet lying beside the grave bore the unmistakable inscription:

The Elder of Mount Lu's Tomb.

The Elder of Mount Lu had thought he had subdued Baize, but it turned out he had been nothing more than a fool. Unbeknownst to him, he had been dragged into Baize's Yin-Yang Realm—where reality and illusion were reversed, where yin and yang were flipped. He had believed he was killing her, but in truth, he had been killing himself.

Thankfully, the divine skill he used had been the Black Tomb Burial Soil. Had it been any other divine skill, he might not have been able to stop it in time.

The Elder of Mount Lu looked around and found there was no sign of Baize anywhere.

Nevertheless, that was actually a blessing for him. If Baize hadn't been in a hurry to assist elsewhere… If she had spent just a little more time there… this place might just be his deathbed.

The Elder of Mount Lu let out a weary sigh. "

Haaa...

"

Baize truly lived up to her title as the strongest celestial beast.

He stood no chance against her. It had been a very difficult task just to hold her back and stall for time.

…

Boom!

On Azure Falling Peak, the battle between Daoist Yan and Jing Yuanzi was incredibly intense from the moment it began.

Daoist Yan's vast and mighty Cloud of Determination sword qi filled the sky, encircling Jing Yuanzi completely. Even the slightest touch of the sword qi would instantly pierce through flesh.

Jing Yuanzi drew the wooden sword from his back and formed a hand seal. Then there was a burst of divine light covered the wooden sword.

Whoosh!

The countless beams of Daoist Yan's sword qi converged toward Jing Yuanzi's position, but by then, he was gone. He had already made his way over to Daoist Yan and stabbed her with the glowing wooden sword.

Jing Yuanzi had moved across the sky without leaving even the faintest afterimage. If he had used Dimension Compression, the Dao essence of Reality and Illusion should have fluctuated. Yet, Daoist Yan had not noticed anything right up to the moment she was struck.

"Shadow Glide…" Daoist Yan muttered.

"That's right." Jing Yuanzi withdrew his sword. He showed no joy, only a calm expression. "I control the Great Dao of Shadow Glide."

The Great Dao of Shadow Glide was the pinnacle of speed.

The Great Dao of Distancelessness and the Great Dao of Reality and Illusion appeared to allow a cultivator to travel thousands of li in a single step, but that was done without relying on pure speed. Instead, they achieved such effects by shortening the distance itself. If the Great Daos were to be ranked according to true speed, Shadow Glide stood at the very top. It was so fast that it could even surpass time itself.

Its counterpart was the Great Dao of Holding Up the Sky—the pinnacle of strength. The Dao Master of this Great Dao was the Great Astral Sect's sect leader.

Jing Yuanzi had once been a sword cultivator. However, upon reaching the seventh realm, he realized that there was no path he could take. The three powerful Great Daos of the Sword had already been taken. Thus, he shifted his focus to mastering the Great Dao of Shadow Glide. By combining the pinnacle of speed with his sword cultivation, he achieved astonishingly brilliant results.

Poof!

Daoist Yan suddenly burst and transformed into a tattered leaf of the Azure Falling Peak's ancient tree, floating down slowly. At the moment Jing Yuanzi stabbed Daoist Yan, he had already sensed—it was not her true body.

However, it wasn't that Daoist Yan had used External Manifestation long in advance and appeared as a clone. Instead, she had used Sacrificial Substitute right before Jing Yuanzi made his killing move.

Jing Yuanzi narrowed his eyes. "I've already surpassed time itself, yet you are still faster than me."

The Great Dao of the Shadow Glide was the pinnacle of speed. Even if his opponent had already set up a defensive measure, he could strike in the instant before that defensive measure was activated. It wasn't merely an exaggeration that he could surpass time.

Fighting against Daoist Yan, Jing Yuanzi had not held back in the slightest. He had unleashed his full strength from the very start.

Yet, somehow, Daoist Yan had been fully prepared for it.

Daoist Yan reappeared on the branches of Azure Falling Peak's ancient tree. She looked apathetically at Jing Yuanzi and said, "The sword heart is always faster than the sword. With your level of sword cultivation, you will never be able to pierce me."

Jing Yuanzi fell silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "The Omniscient Sword State…?"

During the Mount Shu Summit, Jiang Yuebai had once demonstrated the Omniscient Sword State. Entering this sword state allowed the sword cultivator to anticipate the opponent's attack before they even made a move. Daoist Yan had developed this technique, so it was even more amazing and profound when she used it.

That meant it was extremely difficult for any attack to bypass her Omniscient Sword State. The exception was if the opponent was so overwhelmingly powerful that even having foresight of their attack was useless. Furthermore, she was now in control of the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, so her sword heart had ascended to an even higher level!

Explosions echoed from Heaven-Reaching Peak.

Hearing that, Daoist Yan wasted no time on useless words. Her Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword moved into action, sending forth another mighty torrent of sword qi!

Whoosh.

Jing Yuanzi's figure flickered and vanished once more.

It was difficult for him to harm Daoist Yan, but she couldn't wound him easily either. Even when faced with an attack that was seemingly impossible to evade, he always somehow found a way to escape right before the attack landed. Both of them were nearly invincible in this battle!

They would likely have to fight until they were both too drained to use their Great Daos and then staked everything on one final clash to the death. Otherwise, there would be no clear victor.

But right then, a blazing fireball whizzed through the sky, like a meteor streaking across the horizon.

Jing Yuanzi was an eighth-realm Eminent One, so normally, only another cultivator at the eighth realm could pose a threat to him. Yet, Jing Yuanzi felt that this blazing fireball was an immense threat!

He could tell straight away who had arrived. After all, they were all part of the same peer group.

Among the Mount Shu Sect's golden generation, Daoist Yan was actually the least detestable. As for the most infuriating one was… well, everyone knew who that was.

With Daoist Yan present, Jing Yuanzi did not dare to face the blazing fireball head-on and give her an opening to attack him. Instead, he chose to evade once more, retreating a hundred zhang away in a flash. Even though the blazing fireball shot toward him like a meteor, it failed to even brush his robes.

However, an overwhelming wave of sword qi surged toward him right then!

If Daoist Yan had been the one attacking, Jing Yuanzi would have had enough time to dodge. But this time, the strike had come from a second opponent, and Daoist Yan had already predicted where he would move to evade the blazing strike.

Boom!

Di Nufeng crashed into Azure Falling Peak, blazing across the peak and burning down half of the mountainside.

She stood up amidst the swirling smoke and shouted, "You dare attack Yan Zi? Did you even ask me, your grandauntie, for permission?"

When Jing Yuanzi reappeared, half of his body was drenched in blood. Wanting to avoid a pincer attack, he had moved to evade Di Nufeng. However, Daoist Yan had accurately predicted his landing point and struck him with a beam of sword qi, piercing straight through his right shoulder. Unfortunately, Jing Yuanzi's Shadow Glide could only outpace time for an instant. It was not enough to evade an attack that had been launched in advance.

Seeing Di Nufeng's aggressive stance, Jing Yuanzi let out a wry smile.

Did you not see who was attacking whom?

He felt utterly helpless.

Why are the women of Mount Shu all so ridiculously good at fighting?

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD