https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-327-As-Long-As-I-Live-You-Will-Always-Lose-Part-2-/12588751/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-328-327-A-Second-Rank-Opportunity-with-Potential-Part-2-/12588753/
Chapter 328: 327. A Second-Rank Opportunity with Potential (Part 1)
Chapter 328: 327. A Second-Rank Opportunity with Potential (Part 1)
The Soul Banner still fluttered, but the black aura that enveloped it had dissipated by more than half.
Zhou Zheng, who had been wielding this treasure earlier, was already dead and gone, his body reduced to nothingness.
Standing by, An Zhiyu was stunned.
Li Yuanyuan and Mu Sheng were equally dumbfounded.
Before this trip to plunder the underworld, the truth about the Li Shu Mountain's inheritance of Taoism and artifact refining was not yet known to the Great Tang people. Thus, during their conversation, An Zhiyu and the others subtly extracted some information, gaining an understanding of the current situation of the Great Tang human realm and the Shu Mountain Sect.
So, when Ye Dongming discovered the secrets of the other Shu Mountain, Zhou Zheng, An Zhiyu, and the others made a decisive move, confident that they had a certain grasp of the situation.
Even after Zhang Dongyuan returned with the Qingming Sword, Zhou Zheng and An Zhiyu were equally prepared.
But now, the sudden appearance of "Chen Donglou" caught them completely off guard.
Not only the people from the other Shu Mountain, but even those from the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect were attracted to this sudden development, as many had never witnessed the legendary Elder Chen in action.
"Chen Donglou" coldly glanced downward and casually waved his hand.
The mountain rocks trembled, and the light of the Seven Star Sword once again began to flicker.
An Zhiyu, Li Yuanyuan, and Mu Sheng felt a chill run through their bodies, and realizing the danger, they immediately fled towards the entrance to the underworld below the summit.
Mu Sheng reached for the Soul Banner, but a buzzing sound rang in his ears.
From the depths of his immortal soul, he felt a sense of dread.
Without hesitation, Mu Sheng's immortal soul wavered where he stood.
He had not yet reached the third layer of the Eightfold Heaven, the Sea of Divine Travel, of the Taoist artifact refining sect, and so his immortal soul could not directly traverse through the void.
But just as the Heaven's Authority Sword, one of the Seven Star Swords, instantly flew towards him and pierced through his body, Mu Sheng's physical body was no longer in its original position.
In its place was a huge white-boned demon head.
The white-boned demon head was tall and ferocious, but at this moment, it seemed as flimsy as paper. It was instantly pierced through by the terrifying sword light, and the thunder fire that erupted and expanded immediately reduced it to smithereens.
In this critical moment, Mu Sheng had exchanged positions with a white-boned demon head, barely escaping calamity.
The intricacies of this technique bore some resemblance to certain methods passed down in the lineage of the Wu Clan's Ghostly Path.
Mu Sheng's Eight Desolates White Bone Bead had a similar essence to Chen Donglou's Seven Star Sword. After reaching the Eightfold Heaven cultivation base, they both refined their six original natal artifacts, along with the two natal treasures cultivated in the Upper Three Heavens, into a single entity. It was like an eight-in-one, seamlessly integrated yet capable of dispersing and gathering at will.
Although the refining process was tainted with bloodshed and exuded a fierce and sinister aura, it had its unique advantages.
However, without even a moment to catch his breath after sacrificing one white-boned demon head, Mu Sheng found himself facing another flashing sword light.
The Yaoguang Sword, one of the Seven Star Swords, shot towards him in an instant!
Mu Sheng's immortal soul trembled as he once again swapped positions with another white-boned demon head.
But the sword light flashed repeatedly, moving at an incredible speed.
Without needing to fixate on the remaining six white-boned demon heads, the Seven Star Swords rapidly fired in quick succession, closely pursuing Mu Sheng himself.
After evading two more swords, when the fifth sword light flew towards him, Mu Sheng did not have time to replace it with another demon head.
His immortal soul itself was instantly pierced by the flying sword! Mu Sheng let out a painful cry as his immortal soul could no longer maintain its human form, twisting and burning.
Then, without any strength left to dodge, the sixth and seventh swords flew by, instantly slaying another high-achieving elder from the other Shu Mountain.
With Mu Sheng's death, the remaining few white-boned demon heads under his control were also affected, howling madly as they burned and destroyed themselves along with their master.
As "Chen Donglou" focused on Mu Sheng, the others from the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect also took action, surrounding An Zhiyu and Li Yuanyuan.
An Zhiyu dared not hesitate, and his immortal soul merged with his natal treasure, the Forgetting River Water Smoke Net.
The sinister water waves rippled, and within the underground mountain belly, the yellow spring waters that surged upwards towards the sky originally had two-colored radiance entwined with the Qingming Sword. Now, the radiance was stimulated by An Zhiyu and began to flash rapidly.
The eerie two-colored radiance flickered alternately, flashing nine times.
Then, it suddenly exploded, expanding in all four directions.
Seeing this, "Chen Donglou" frowned slightly.
The Seven Star Sword flew into the soaring nine springs along with him.
Although the nine springs continued to surge upwards, their momentum no longer increased.
His Yuan Magnet Flying Sword was powerful, but it was undoubtedly not suitable for controlling the raging yellow spring waters.
Fortunately, he had other divine abilities at his disposal.
And with the overflowing water waves as a cover, he didn't have to worry about being detected by others from the outside.
In fact, at this moment, regardless of their allegiance, everyone else was too preoccupied to pay attention to "Chen Donglou," who had entered the flowing springs.
With Elder Chen suppressing the nine springs, the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect disciples breathed a collective sigh of relief. They could now pursue the intruders from the other Shu Mountain without any reservations.
After Zhang Dongyuan freed the Qingming Sword from the entanglement of the two-colored eerie radiance, he immediately slashed at the Soul Banner with his sword.
Undoubtedly, this treasure, whether in terms of quality, power, or significance to the other Shu Mountain lineage, surpassed artifacts like the Forgetting River Water Smoke Net, the Eight Desolates White Bone Bead, and the Soul Capturing Bell.
The azure light was sharp, cleaving through the heavens and splitting the earth, instantly tearing apart the remaining black clouds on the Soul Banner.
But just as the sword light came into contact with the black banner, the banner suddenly moved on its own without any wind.
Countless talismans appeared on the surface of the banner.
The Qingming Sword slashed fiercely, breaking through the talismans, and even cutting a gap in the Soul Banner.
However, the sword light also trembled violently, being shaken backward by an invisible force.
A thicker black fog than before suddenly spread out, obscuring the vision of Xu Duan and the other Shu Mountain cultivators, as well as Zhang Taogang, who had just regained the North Sea God Spear.
Li Yuanyuan quickly seized the opportunity to rush forward, picking up the Soul Banner and charging into the underground entrance to the underworld with An Zhiyu.
The Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect disciples dispersed the black fog and continued the pursuit, but a chill ran through their hearts.
It was clear that neither Zhou Zheng, Li Yuanyuan, nor An Zhiyu were the true controllers of the Soul Banner; they were merely temporary borrowers.
The one who truly wielded the Soul Banner was someone else.
The restrictions left by the owner on the treasure were extremely powerful, and even without their presence, the Soul Banner could still exert a tremendous effect.
Such cultivation and strength definitely belonged to a Grand Virtuous Master of the Ninth Heaven realm from the Taoist Artifact Refining Sect.
Although they didn't know why the owner hadn't shown up this time, the people of the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect were all solemn-faced, and didn't rashly pursue the intruders into the Underworld.
Zhang Dongyuan paused and looked towards the mountain's exterior.
There, an ancient and simple sword, sparkling like stars and surrounded by purple light, was quietly embedded in the ground.
He looked up again towards the gradually descending Nine Springs of Chongxiao.
"Donglou has returned, and he's brought back the Ziwei Sword," Xu Duan exhaled deeply.
Zhang Taogang asked, "Has Elder Chen already reached the Ninth Heaven realm and become a Grand Virtuous Master?"
Without the infusion of a celestial soul, the flying sword's power was so fast that it was difficult to see with the naked eye. It was truly unimaginable that a sword cultivator at the Eighth Heaven realm could possess such divine powers.
"It's hard to fathom, hard to fathom..." Zhang Dongyuan shook his head.
Just as everyone was about to step forward to help, they saw the surging Nine Springs of Chongxiao beginning to dissipate, and the raging waters of the River of Oblivion, as if tamed, lost their wildness and no longer raged.
In the water waves, Lei Jun, who had transformed into Chen Donglou, was gathering the two-colored bizarre radiance that had wreaked havoc earlier.
This radiance was supposed to be consumed due to the explosion of the Nine Springs of Chongxiao, but because Lei Jun took action in time, it was preserved.
The two-colored radiance gradually condensed into two matching gems.
One jade was black, and the other was white, flashing with different colors, yet they were perfectly integrated.
Nine Springs Spirit Jade
The name suddenly appeared in Lei Jun's mind.
This should be the second-rank opportunity with potential mentioned in the upper-middle sign... Lei Jun thought to himself.
Without further examination, he first confirmed that there were no issues with the treasure and kept it away. He planned to explore and study it slowly later when the time and place were more convenient.
For now, Lei Jun's appearance still maintained Chen Donglou's form, and after the Nine Springs waters completely dissipated, he reappeared in front of the Shu Mountain Sect disciples.
"Oh? Is there a Grand Virtuous Master of the Ninth Heaven realm in the Underworld?"
"Chen Donglou" was unfazed by this information and instead, a faint smile appeared on his face as he looked down at the entrance to the Underworld beneath them.
Although he didn't say anything further, his meaning was very clear.
However, Zhang Dongyuan advised from the side, "Elder Chen, don't be hasty. Please hear me out."
"Chen Donglou" looked up.
Zhang Dongyuan continued, "I also left the mountain to search for the Ziwei Sword earlier, although I didn't go to the right place. But I made some other discoveries.
I met two people, two Taoist cultivators at the Eighth Heaven realm. One of them seemed to have the cultivation of the Dan Ding Sect, but not from the Pure Yang Palace.
The other one practiced the Artifact Refining Sect, and from what I observed, their cultivation was indeed from our Shu Mountain lineage."
Were they the ones who were misled by Fu Dongsen to search for the Ziwei Sword in the southern wilderness? "Chen Donglou" thought to himself, his expression unchanged.
"Chen Donglou" asked, "From what you're saying, they don't seem to be from the same group as the ones in the Underworld."
Zhang Dongyuan replied, "That's right. Now that the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths have reappeared, there are other human worlds as well. According to my speculation, they are another branch of our sect that has spread externally."
Another Shu Mountain Sect.
Xu Duan asked, "We still don't know their specific origins or details?"
Zhang Dongyuan shook his head, "I can only speculate. They were probably also searching for the Ziwei Sword, but both our groups were looking in the wrong places. I intended to make contact with them, but then I received the urgent news about the attack on Xioting, so I had to rush back to the mountain. At that time, I had no way to reach out to them."
"Chen Donglou" scanned the crowd, "So?"
Zhang Dongyuan said, "The situation is unclear, and variables are constantly emerging. I think we should just seal the entrance to the Underworld for now and not pursue any further, to avoid any unforeseen accidents."
He looked around.
After the big battle, Xioting was in ruins, with collapsed walls and a huge crater in the ground, the situation only slightly better than when the Taiyi Xiantian Tower and Qingxiaofu had left.
At the moment, the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect truly had no strength left to fight again.
"Very well, do as you wish."
"Chen Donglou" turned calmly and said, "I'm leaving. If there's any news about the Taiyi Xiantian Tower, Qingxiaofu, or Hong Jie, send me a message."
The lower-level Shu Mountain disciples were all startled by this.
Zhang Taogang, Xu Duan, and Zhang Dongyuan sighed inwardly.
They didn't know how many times they had invited Chen Donglou to return to Shu Mountain, but they had never succeeded.
Zhang Taogang waved his hand, and purple light rose as the ancient sword floated in front of him. He held it with both hands and presented it to "Chen Donglou's" departing figure:
"Elder Chen, among all of us in the Shu Mountain Sect, no one is more suitable to be the master of the Ziwei Sword than you."
"The Ziwei Sword is indeed a treasure of our Shu Mountain, and I am a descendant of Shu Mountain, so I retrieved it. But I don't need it."
"Chen Donglou" didn't turn back and continued walking, "The Ziwei Sword is indeed our sect's most precious treasure, but given time, who knows if my Seven Star Sword won't surpass the treasures of our ancestors?
As for you, take good care of your treasures and stop losing them all the time."
His voice faded, and he was gone.
The Shu Mountain Sect disciples looked at each other and sighed, smiling bitterly.
He Dongxing and Ji Dongquan then narrated how "Chen Donglou" had retrieved the Ziwei Sword and killed Fu Dongsen in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi mountainous area.
The hearts of the few high-ranking members of the Shu Mountain Sect were filled with mixed emotions.
After a long while, Zhang Dongyuan spoke, "Even now, I don't think Elder Chen is a suitable candidate for the sect leader. But choosing Fu Dongsen was undoubtedly an even bigger mistake."
"It can't always be peaceful when Fu Dongsen is around and chaotic when Elder Chen is needed, can it?"
Xu Duan shook his head, "Many things happened because of Fu Dongsen.
He Dongxing sighed, "Yes, back then, we were all wrong."
Xu Duan said, "Once we've made a mistake, it's hard to turn back. Given Donglou's temperament, the most we can expect is for him to show up like he did today. He came for Shu Mountain, not for us, but even if it's out of loyalty to Shu Mountain, there will come a day when that loyalty runs out..."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
As they spoke, others approached the mountain gate of the Azure Summit Sect.
They were members of the Tang court, led by Wei Yang King Zhang Zhen, who was in charge of the Guanlong region. Having received news about the situation at the Celestial Summit, he had come to offer support.
Seeing that the dust had settled and hearing the account of what had transpired from the Shu Mountain Sect members, King Zhang Zhen was equally astonished.
At that moment, he quickly compiled a report to be sent to Empress Zhang Wantong, while also assisting the Shu Mountain Sect members in sealing the underground portal to the Yellow Springs.
The Yellow Springs was a unique place, similar in some ways to the Earthly Sea.
Although the changes in the realm were not as violent as those in the Earthly Sea, sealing it was no easy task.
This time, the Shu Mountain Sect was determined to eliminate any potential future troubles.
So, apart from Ye Dongming and the others who were resting, the remaining high-achieving elders joined forces with the sect leader, Zhang Taogang, to wield the North Sea God Spear together.
The North Sea God Spear was left directly in the earth vein, giving birth to a large amount of North Sea Divine Ice, which helped to seal the entrance to the Yellow Springs, finally closing it off completely.
However, Zhang Taogang, Xu Duan, and Zhang Dongyuan's minds were still not at ease.
As long as a new passage was formed between the Yellow Springs and the human realm of the Great Tang, even if it was elsewhere, the Shu Mountain people from the Yellow Springs could still make a comeback and take revenge on the Great Tang Shu Mountain Sect.
............................................
At the same time, in the Yellow Springs.
An Zhiyu and Li Yuanyuan fled back.
The pale and lifeless world somehow brought a sense of relief to their minds.
As the Soul Banner was unfurled, it attracted a large amount of Yin energy, which gathered and formed a thick black fog.
The black fog continuously nourished the damaged artifacts.
In the distance, in this lifeless world, there were piles of white bones as far as the eye could see.
Several cultivators sat together on a mountain of bones, refining their magical artifacts.
These cultivators were dressed in plain cloth and straw sandals, resembling Shu Mountain disciples.
Greenish-black essence continuously seeped out from the white bones, which the cultivators then refined into their respective artifacts.
However, at that moment, a powerful suction force emerged from above.
All of the greenish-black essence was sucked away.
Some of the essence that was originally meant to be sealed into the artifacts changed direction mid-air and flew upwards as well.
One of the cultivators, who had been focusing intently on refining, couldn't help but curse when the sudden change occurred: "Who's being so greedy?"
He looked up, and his voice abruptly stopped.
Above them, the Soul Banner was drifting along with An Zhiyu and Li Yuanyuan.
(End of Chapter)
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