Chapter 326: Moving Mountains, Shaking Heaven and Earth
Youluo twirled a strand of hair around her finger, tilted her head slightly, and asked with interest, “What is your suggestion, Master Lin?”
Lin Tianlu didn’t answer directly, but instead looked outside and cupped his hands, saying, “Mountain Spirit Miss, could you show yourself again?”
“…What is it?”
The snow-white woman appeared inside the house, carried by a cool breeze, her hands clasped calmly before her.
Lin Tianlu’s expression turned serious, and he murmured: “Are you injured, Miss?”
The snow-white woman’s eyes widened slightly, and she was momentarily speechless.
But Chi Lingyuan seemed to understand, and she mused thoughtfully: “When the gate to the secret realm suddenly opened, countless vengeful spirits poured out, could that have also impacted this mountain?”
As the mountain spirit born from Immortal Phoenix Mountain over millions of years, she naturally bore the brunt of the impact, suffering serious injuries.
But because of her aloof and indifferent nature, and her dislike of interacting with others, she had remained silent, quietly recuperating.
“No wonder she disappeared after bringing us here.”
Youluo chuckled softly: “If you’re injured, just say so, we won’t harm you.”
“…It’s nothing.”
The snow-white woman lowered her eyes, her voice still indifferent.
Chi Lingyuan sighed softly and gently took the snow-white woman’s arm, whispering to her like a close friend.
Seeing their warm and intimate interaction, it seemed that their relationship, developed over hundreds of years, was quite good.
After they finished talking, Lin Tianlu continued: “Since you’re a mountain spirit, Miss, and connected to Immortal Phoenix Mountain, unable to leave this place, how about moving somewhere else?”
“Moving?”
Chi Lingyuan looked slightly surprised: “But Xian’er was born from the spirit of this mountain, with her current cultivation, she can’t leave its foundation. What do you mean by ‘moving’…?”
Lin Tianlu smiled faintly: “I obtained a unique opportunity by chance and possess some… special abilities.”
“Tianlu has the power to move mountains and seas, naturally, he can take Immortal Phoenix Mountain with him.”
Just then, Yun Yue quietly walked in from outside, saying softly: “Since this young lady is a mountain spirit, we can naturally take her with us as well. Nourished by Tianlu’s spiritual energy, her injuries will surely heal quickly, it will be greatly beneficial to her soul.”
Then, she nodded at Lin Tianlu:
“I’ve already concealed the remnants of the battle around the mountain peak, and the villagers below have been calmed down with a technique. I’ve also set up some early warning systems. If any demons, ghosts, or practitioners intrude, we’ll be prepared.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Yue’er.”
Lin Tianlu took Yun Yue’s hand and said gently: “Sit down and rest for a bit.”
“I’m not tired.” Yun Yue smiled gently, standing beside him, and looked at Chi Lingyuan and the mountain spirit: “What do you two think of this suggestion?”
“Master Lin’s abilities are astonishing, I’m certain of that. But…”
Chi Lingyuan’s face was full of surprise: “To be able to take away an entire mountain range…?”
Such an incredible feat seemed impossible, even in ancient times. Even with profound techniques that could create separate realms, those were just illusions, unable to affect the real world.
“It’s natural for you to be skeptical, Miss.”
Yun Yue’s voice was gentle, and she said slowly: “But you’ll understand after Tianlu demonstrates it. But before taking the mountain, we naturally have to ask the Mountain Spirit Miss for her opinion.
And you, Miss Chi, you’ve stayed on this mountain for four thousand years, never setting foot in the human world. Now that your mission is complete, and your past grievances settled, what are your plans for the future?”
“This…”
Chi Lingyuan hesitated slightly, exchanging glances with the snow-white woman beside her.
“Xian’er, what do you think?”
“As long as there’s a peaceful place, I have no objections, no matter where it is.”
The snow-white woman, called Xian’er, lowered her eyes, her voice ethereal and calm: “And since it’s your kind offer, sir, I wouldn’t refuse it casually.”
Lin Tianlu chuckled: “Although you seem cold, Miss, you’re actually quite gentle and agreeable.
But I wonder what your plans are for the future, Miss Chi?”
“I’ve lived on this mountaintop for four thousand years, I know every tree and every rock. Now that my promise is fulfilled, and you want me to leave, I actually feel quite reluctant.”
Chi Lingyuan smiled brightly: “Since you truly have the ability to take this mountain away, sir, I’ll just continue living here, and you can take me wherever you go. Perhaps I can see more of the scenery in this demon and ghost world.”
“Since you agree, Miss, that would be wonderful.”
Lin Tianlu smiled, waved his sleeve, and a scene of misty mountains, like a painting, appeared around him. The simple and elegant bamboo house seemed to be filled with immortal energy, as if they were standing amidst a vast and boundless world, majestic immortal mountains stretching before them.
This strange sight mesmerized Chi Lingyuan and the mountain spirit, leaving them in a daze.
Even Youluo, who had been wanting to join in the fun, widened her eyes in shock.
“This, this is actually—”
If ordinary demons and ghosts were to face this scene, they would surely feel an immense pressure, but in her eyes…
…everything she saw was real!
This person truly had the power to change the world!
“I’ve only done this once before, I might not be very proficient yet.” Lin Tianlu said softly: “Please don’t resist later, ladies, I’ll be careful.”
Chi Lingyuan quickly came back to her senses, took the mountain spirit’s hand, and nodded: “I’ll make sure Xian’er stays calm, there’s no need to worry.”
“That’s good.”
Lin Tianlu focused his mind, raised his right hand slightly, and pondered.
The next moment, countless emerald green spiritual chains emerged from the mountain scenery surrounding the bamboo house, twisting and intertwining under his control, until they burrowed into the ground beneath their feet.
And this time, it didn’t tear apart the earth or pierce through the mountains, but instead, it seemed to seep into the ground like water, creating only faint ripples.
Whoosh—
The next moment, a large number of emerald green spiritual chains spread out from above, quickly passing through the bamboo forest, trees, cliffs, and mountain paths, like a giant net, enveloping the entire Immortal Phoenix Mountain.
“…”
Youluo, who had stood up at some point, stared blankly at the countless spiritual chains intertwining in the sky outside the bamboo house, her heart filled with shock.
…
In Fengtai County.
The fires of war continued to rage, the sounds of fighting and shouting echoing continuously, flames rising into the sky, sinister laughter and furious roars intertwining. The once lively ghost town had now become a bloody battlefield.
And inside an old and simple mansion, a fierce battle was also taking place.
The place was now filled with countless transparent silver threads, like a spider’s web, emanating a strange and chilling aura.
And within this web of sticky yet strong silver threads, a small, dark figure was flickering and moving swiftly, wielding a disproportionately large broadsword, cutting through the silver threads with swift and powerful strikes, silently swinging and slashing, creating blurry and profound sword shadows. As it darted and moved, it was like a blooming black lotus, a faint fragrance lingering.
However—
“Her martial arts skills are quite astonishing. With the power of the ‘Possessor,’ she can unleash such power even with a child’s body.”
Qiu Shuihan, sitting seductively in a hanging chair woven from silver threads, rested her chin on her hand and chuckled: “I’m becoming more and more curious, what kind of interesting thing is inside your body, Possessor, that gives you such incredible power?”
Clang, clang, clang!
The young woman surnamed Mo charged forward, her giant sword dancing, breaking through the surrounding silver threads. Holding her breath and focusing her mind, her sword intent surged, as if she had transformed into a blade.
A single strike, aiming for the head, a life-or-death battle!
But facing this intimidating sword intent, Qiu Shuihan just smiled seductively and raised her hand, lightly tapping her finger.
—Clang!
The deadly sword strike was steadily blocked by her delicate fingertip, creating only faint ripples that quickly dissipated.
“Ugh!”
The young woman seemed surprised and was about to change her tactics when she suddenly realized that her entire body was once again entangled in countless silver threads, suspended helplessly in mid-air, unable to move.
“D-Damn it… these threads…”
“Your strength is quite impressive, little girl, but I was prepared.”
Qiu Shuihan smiled charmingly, twisting her finger slightly. The young woman’s fingers, gripping the giant sword, were forcibly pried open by the silver threads, and the sword, now wrapped in countless silver threads, fell to the ground with a thud.
“This weapon is truly strange, becoming sharper and heavier by feeding on Yin energy. It makes me curious about where you got it from.”
She reached out casually, and the bamboo hat covering the young woman’s face was snatched away.
“You—”
Her face revealed, the young woman surnamed Mo couldn’t help but bite her lip, a look of annoyance on her face.
“It’s a pity to hide such a pretty face behind a veil.” Qiu Shuihan rubbed her chin, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she examined the young woman’s face and expression, and mused: “But you seem different from ordinary Possessors, you still have your own consciousness, and your appearance is almost like a normal person’s, just with these strange patterns on your face and between your eyebrows… And these ominous and grotesque horns, like a demon or oni.”
“It seems I’ll have to dissect you to find out.”
Qiu Shuihan’s fingertip moved, and strands of silver thread, like a sharp knife, approached the young woman’s chest.
Facing imminent death, the young woman’s pupils constricted, but then she gradually relaxed, as if she had given up, lowering her eyes and remaining silent.
“Stop!”
A slightly urgent shout suddenly echoed.
Qiu Shuihan, who had been surprised by the young woman’s indifference in the face of death, looked towards Tang Qianmen, who was bound and unable to move in the courtyard, and chuckled: “What? Is this little girl so precious to you that you can’t bear to see me dissect her?”
“Don’t hurt her!”
Tang Qianmen’s face was filled with anxiety, and she quickly said: “She… has a close relationship with Lin Tianlu. If you harm her, along with the grudge you incurred with your disciple before, you might bring endless trouble upon yourself!”
“Hmm?”
Qiu Shuihan exclaimed softly.
This girl had a connection with that man?
“I-I’m not… I have no relationship with him!”
But the previously silent young woman suddenly became agitated, struggling violently as if ignoring the bloodstains caused by the silver threads: “Don’t listen to this demoness’s nonsense!”
Qiu Shuihan narrowed her eyes slightly: “It seems there’s some truth to it.”
The young woman surnamed Mo’s expression turned anxious: “You—!”
“Fine, I was just joking, there’s no need to take it so seriously.”
Qiu Shuihan suddenly smiled seductively again, her fingertip trembling slightly, and she said softly: “Little girl, why are you so agitated? If these threads truly injure you, that old woman over there will tear me apart.”
Feeling the silver threads around her limbs loosen slightly, the young woman surnamed Mo struggled again, but she still couldn’t break free.
“However, seeing how crude and impulsive you are, it’s better for you to calm down first.”
Qiu Shuihan narrowed her eyes and chuckled, lifting the young woman’s chin with her finger, and whispered: “Little girl, we’ve met through combat, it’s also a kind of fate. Tell me your name, so I can remember you.”
The young woman turned her head away with a grim expression.
After a moment of silence, she murmured almost inaudibly:
“…Mo Duanyan.”
“A good name.”
Qiu Shuihan clapped her hands and smiled, her figure floating gracefully into the courtyard, and she approached Tang Qianmen with her hands behind her back, a playful smile on her face: “I’ll listen to you for now and not be rough with this girl. But from your words just now, Incense Master Tang, it seems you know quite a bit about Lin Tianlu.”
Tang Qianmen’s eyes flickered, and she murmured: “If you’re planning anything against Lin Tianlu, I advise you to give up. If you insist, your fate will be no different from your unfortunate disciple.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not as foolish as that girl.”
Qiu Shuihan said meaningfully: “And looking at your current state, you clearly have some connection with Lin Tianlu. Your cultivation is similar to mine, if I were to provoke him, I would probably end up like you in a couple of days, hanging in this courtyard at someone’s mercy~”
“Since you know, then quickly release that child, don’t make a mistake.”
Tang Qianmen turned her head away with a hint of displeasure and snorted softly: “If you leave peacefully now, I’ll pretend nothing happened.”
“Hu~”
Qiu Shuihan chuckled softly and poked Tang Qianmen’s chest with her finger: “Hearing your tone, you’re actually threatening me now? You clearly suffered a loss at Lin Tianlu’s hands, and now you’re trying to use his name to intimidate me.”
This frivolous and casual gesture made Tang Qianmen’s eyelashes tremble, her lips pressed together tightly, feeling a strange itch in her chest.
“Oh my~ It’s been a while, Incense Master Tang, but it seems your… assets have become even more ample and round. Could it be that your heart is filled with longing, even your body becoming more seductive and alluring?”
“You…”
“I really shouldn’t touch that Mo girl, but your mouth, Incense Master Tang, whether it’s as stubborn… remains to be seen.”
Qiu Shuihan chuckled and drew circles on Tang Qianmen’s chest, her fingertips gently tracing and teasing.
“Although I’m reluctant to harm your body or take your life, you know my Lingluo Valley has many secret techniques. If I make you lose yourself in pleasure, perhaps you’ll tell me many interesting things.”
Tang Qianmen looked down with a displeased expression, biting her lip tightly, her heart filled with humiliation and resentment.
She had held a high position in the Zhaoxiao Court for so many years, her cultivation among the top in the world, when had she ever suffered such humiliation, trembling before her nemesis, without even the slightest power to resist?
Could this be…
…retribution for her past misdeeds?
“You look like you’re about to cry, and I haven’t even done anything yet.”
The ambiguous smile on Qiu Shuihan’s face widened, her fingertips trembling slightly, as strands of silver thread, like coiling snakes, moved along Tang Qianmen’s clothes and skin, tightening around her curves, making her ample breasts swell, their tips a dark red beneath the gauze, almost bursting out of her clothes.
Dong——!
A sudden boom, like a tremor from the depths of their souls.
Qiu Shuihan’s playful smile instantly vanished, and she looked towards the distance with shock and uncertainty, her pupils constricting: “This is—”
This strange aura was too sudden and too terrifyingly powerful!
In just an instant, the sounds of battle and explosions throughout Fengtai County ceased, as if the world had fallen silent.
“Ugh…”
Hearing a pained moan from beside her, Qiu Shuihan quickly composed herself, loosened the silver threads around Tang Qianmen’s chest, and pressed her hand on Tang Qianmen’s shoulder, her expression serious, shouting: “Hold your breath and focus your mind! With your injuries, if your consciousness is tainted, you might suffer irreversible damage!”
“…Thank you.”
Tang Qianmen gasped slightly, her face pale as she looked towards the distance: “Wh-What is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Qiu Shuihan’s expression turned incredibly serious, and she bit her lip, clicking her tongue softly: “Although I know that many factions are fighting here, I’ve never heard… of such a terrifying existence appearing near this town!”
Even from dozens of miles away, that terrifying aura, enough to disperse the clouds and mist…
…even made her feel a chill!
And that blood mist rising into the sky was still expanding, as if trying to devour heaven and earth, an incredibly shocking sight.
“Blood mist filling the sky, baleful energy surging, could it be that another powerful demon has appeared? But such power, could it truly be possessed by a single demon or ghost?”
Qiu Shuihan frowned, a sense of unease rising in her heart as she pondered warily.
Now, this Fengtai County was filled with strangeness, like a hunting ground, constantly devouring those who strayed inside.
But the time for the secret realm to open was almost upon them, yet there were no signs of it in Fengtai County, only chaotic battles everywhere. Instead, such an earth-shattering event was occurring dozens of miles away.
Could it be…
“A diversion?”
Qiu Shuihan murmured, resting her chin on her hand, pondering, her eyes flickering.
Or perhaps, the place where the blood mist was spreading was the real trap? Trying to lure those lurking inside and outside the city to investigate, so they could take the opportunity to open the true secret realm within the city?
“However, this situation is becoming more and more suspicious.”
Qiu Shuihan sighed softly, looked at Tang Qianmen for a moment, and then suddenly leaned closer and whispered: “If you and this girl don’t want to get involved in this danger, tell me everything you know about Lin Tianlu, and I’ll guarantee your safe departure from this place.”
Tang Qianmen’s eyes flickered: “What about you?”
“The treasures of the secret realm are indeed tempting, and the opportunity to break through the Savage Realm is incredibly rare.” Qiu Shuihan whispered with a smile: “But if I lose my life here, even if I obtain some rare treasure, it will just be taken by someone else.”
“You… are quite self-aware.”
“Since I understand that, you should tell me about Lin Tianlu now. I’m more interested in this man.”
Qiu Shuihan’s eyes glinted slightly, and with a casual gesture, Mo Duanyan, who had been suspended in mid-air, was quickly bound into a ball by countless silver threads, as if completely sealed.
“So this little girl won’t hear us and cause trouble later.”
Tang Qianmen’s heart eased slightly, and she mused: “I don’t know much, but there’s one thing—”
But at that moment, Qiu Shuihan’s pupils constricted abruptly, and she looked towards the distance with a look of utter horror.
This time, a boundless sea of blood, as if trying to devour the heavens, had erupted, a raging tide carrying the power to destroy the world, sweeping across the land, making the entire Fengtai County feel a deathly chill!
“Such baleful energy… such terrifying power… what kind of monster is that?!”
But before Qiu Shuihan could even think, a world-shaking sword strike, seemingly severing the sea of blood, followed closely behind. The vast sword energy seemed to cleave mountains and split the sea, only a brilliant light piercing through the sky, parting the clouds and revealing the moon. The terrifying sea of blood that had even made Qiu Shuihan tremble…
…was annihilated with a single sword strike!
“…”
Qiu Shuihan was speechless, stunned and dumbfounded.
She had lived in this world for nearly three hundred years, but she had never seen anything so incredible— “It’s truly him…”
The incredibly complex murmur beside her ear snapped Qiu Shuihan out of her daze, and she asked in shock and uncertainty: “Y-You know who unleashed that heaven-cleaving sword energy?!”
“Of course I know… I’ll never forget it.”
Tang Qianmen looked towards the dissipating sword light in the sky with a melancholic gaze and sighed: “Weren’t you just asking me about him?”
Qiu Shuihan was startled: “You… could it be that the one who unleashed that heaven-cleaving sword strike is—”
“Lin Tianlu. Only he possesses such abilities in this world.” Tang Qianmen’s voice lowered: “That sword energy… I’ll never forget it for as long as I live.”
“…”
Qiu Shuihan’s expression changed drastically, and she was completely speechless.
That was… the man named Lin Tianlu!?
