Mahayana 111
BGM: Punishing Grey Raven - Endless Path
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Chapter 111: Feint to the East, Strike to the West. A Bluff white Empty Thunder
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
Liu Yue exchanged looks with the others, each of them recognising the same thought in the others’ eyes. A single nod passed between them, and Xiao Yifeng added his own slight nod, quietly sealing their unspoken plan.
Several figures moved in unison, streaking towards the Bridge of Meng Po like bolts of lightning.
Su Miaoqing was just about to follow when Xiao Yifeng caught her arm and stopped her. He shook his head slowly, calm and unwavering.
Mo Shuiyao remained behind as well. She had already noticed that Xiao Yifeng hadn’t made the slightest move.
Ever since entering this immortal palace, he had acted as though the future was already laid out before him. Seeing his lack of urgency, Mo Shuiyao’s sharp instincts immediately warned her of danger. Something about this felt wrong.
“Fairy Mo,” Xiao Yifeng asked quietly, “why do you not join them in testing the Naihe Bridge?”
“Isn’t Fellow Daoist Wu Chen much the same, calmly watching from the safety of the shore?” Mo Shuiyao said, her lips curved in a half-smile as she glanced at Xiao Yifeng.
Meanwhile, the others rushed onto the Naihe Bridge, only to be met by the sudden appearance of Meng Po. Startled, they watched as the white-robed figure swept her green lantern through the air.
A colossal wave of emerald light surged towards them. Liu Yue swung his golden sabre, cleaving straight at it, while Luo Yun flicked the strings of her jade zither, sending sharp currents of energy crashing into the glow.
Every cultivator unleashed their powers, yet the green radiance remained unmoved, solid and relentless, pressing forward like an unyielding wall. The group had no choice but to leap back, narrowly escaping the devastating blow.
Meng Po stood firm at the bridge’s head, green lantern held aloft. The bridge shook violently beneath her feet, the river below roaring as two massive bone dragons erupted from the water, flanking her like guardians of death.
The two gigantic bone dragons were formed from countless skeletons, vast beyond belief, their bodies flooded with the roaring waters of the River of Forgetfulness. Each one radiated power well beyond the Nascent Soul realm.
The presence of the white-robed Meng Po grew ever stronger. From the moment her foot touched the bridgehead, it was as though she had become one with the Naihe Bridge. A primitive, ancient aura poured from her, heavy with the weight of ages long buried.
“If you refuse the Meng Po Soup, then I cannot allow you to pass,” she said unhurriedly. “And if you insist on forcing your way through, you must first seek my permission.”
The would-be intruders looked at one another in silence. The bone dragons alone were already an insurmountable obstacle. As for Meng Po herself, her cultivation was unfathomable.
They stood frozen, neither advancing nor retreating, until Meng Po’s expression suddenly shifted. Her voice rang out, sharp with fury. “How dare you!”
Meng Po suddenly drifted into the air, abandoning the bridge as she flew towards Xiao Yifeng’s position.
The others turned sharply, only to see Xiao Yifeng extending one hand, pressing it firmly against the stone stele before the Naihe Bridge.
As Meng Po closed in, he braced himself, wrenched the stele free with both hands, and without hesitation seized Su Miaoqing, bolting off in another direction.
The truth hit the others like a slap to the face. They had been nothing more than bait. Fury burned in their eyes as they ground their teeth in rage.
Liu Yue saw Meng Po leave and thought, “Now’s my chance!” He rushed the bridge, only for one of the bone dragons to blast him with a breath full of Yellow Springs water and send him scrambling back.
“Go! That brat definitely knows a way to cross the River of Forgetfulness!” The Old Demon King shouted, immediately giving chase after Xiao Yifeng.
Xiao Yifeng skimmed the ground at high speed, one hand tightly gripping Su Miaoqing. She was dragged along, completely dazed. At their side, Mo Shuiyao followed closely, while behind them Meng Po gave furious chase.
Further back, Liu Yue and the others pursued relentlessly, refusing to let Xiao Yifeng out of their sight.
“What exactly is this stone stele? What good is it to us?” Su Miaoqing asked, still bewildered.
Xiao Yifeng pressed the stone stele into her hands and spoke urgently. “This stele is strange. Bind it with your blood and leave part of your divine sense inside.”
Su Miaoqing trusted Xiao Yifeng completely. She bit her finger, smeared the blood onto the stone stele, and planted her divine sense into it.
The stele flared with crimson light, and she felt a faint yet unmistakable connection take hold.
A chill, death-laden aura unfurled around her, mirroring the very breath of the Immortal Palace.
The oppressive force that had weighed upon them since their arrival suddenly dissipated, as if the estate itself had accepted her.
Most disturbingly, her divine sense broke free of its shackles, spilling outward into the world, though only for a short distance.
Xiao Yifeng produced the River of Forgetfulness stele he had obtained and swiftly bound it with a drop of his blood. In an instant, the cold, deathly stillness of the underworld wrapped itself around him.
With part of the suppression gone, his speed exploded. In the blink of an eye, Mo Shuiyao was left far behind.
Every move was seen clearly by Mo Shuiyao. A sharp chill flashed through her eyes. So the stele really was hiding something.
As if she would let the two of them escape so easily, she clenched her teeth and unleashed a secret technique, her speed surging just as violently.
They were fast, but compared to Meng Po, it was laughable. Meng Po became a streak of blue light, shooting straight towards Xiao Yifeng, almost within grasp.
Just as Meng Po was about to seize him, Xiao Yifeng did not panic. He turned calmly, drew forth a fistful of talismans, and hurled them forward with a thunderous shout, “Behold my Yellow Springs Ghost-Suppressing Talismans!”
A terrifying killing intent erupted from his body, sharp enough to rend the soul itself.
Warning bells clanged violently in Meng Po’s heart. For an instant, she felt as though she had encountered her sworn nemesis. Something within Xiao Yifeng restrained her very being, startling her into a momentary freeze.
But it was all a bluff. The talismans, no more than Foundation Establishment realm level, detonated like fireworks, dazzling and hollow.
In that single heartbeat of delay, Xiao Yifeng spat blood onto his immortal sword, igniting a secret art that burned away his own vital blood.
Throwing caution aside, Xiao Yifeng exposed the Immortal-Slayer Sword, allowing its spirit to merge with Luo Hong in his hand. In that instant, Luo Hong became a crimson shadow, carrying him and Su Miaoqing away like a flash of blood-red lightning.
With the Immortal Palace’s suppression gone and the blood-escape technique burning within him, his speed became monstrous. One blink, and he was gone, swallowed by the distance.
Meng Po ground her teeth in helpless rage. She could go no further. Xiao Yifeng had already escaped her domain.
And the aura he had released moments earlier was no bluff. It had chilled her to the bone. She did not know that it was the presence of the Immortal-Sler Sword itself, a terror crafted to reap souls.
Only after crossing beyond her territory did Xiao Yifeng, for the first time since entering the Immortal Palace, released Little Snow.
With a thunderous roar, Little Snow returned to its' true form. Xiao Yifeng dragged Su Miaoqing onto its' head, and without waiting for orders, Little Snow lifted itself just half a foot off the ground and burst forward.
The Immortal Palace weighed heavily upon him, shackling his speed. Unable to fly freely, Little Snow relied purely on the ferocious strength of its's demonic body, tearing through the air by sheer force of will.
Xiao Yifeng had released it for one reason only: to buy precious moments to recover.
The blood ignition technique had nearly emptied him. Within the Immortal Palace, even the act of hovering was a brutal drain on spiritual energy, let alone exploding forward at such frightening speed.
Behind them, Mo Shuiyao followed in hot pursuit, grinding her teeth in rage. After all, they were riding a mount while she chased on foot.
With no mount to rely on, Mo Shuiyao could only chase after them by forcibly expending her spiritual energy through a secret art. Anger simmered in her chest as she resolved to secure a spirit beast of her own once this ordeal ended.
Her technique was not one that of blood ignition technique. Though slower, it spared her from the devastating cost Xiao Yifeng had paid, allowing her to remain a distant shadow on their trail.
They flew on for another half hour. Bit by bit, colour returned to Xiao Yifeng’s face.
“Xiaofeng… Are you really alright? How could you use blood ignition technique that burns your vital blood?” Su Miaoqing asked softly, her voice trembling as she took in his deathly pale face.
“It’s alright. I only used it for a moment,” Xiao Yifeng replied, shaking his head gently. “The damage isn’t as bad as it looks.”
“Where are we heading now?” Su Miaoqing asked softly.
“Up ahead on the River of Forgetfulness lies a place called the Yellow Springs Ferry,” Xiao Yifeng said. “That is where we’ll find a way to cross.”