Chapter 352: "Why Does the Official Road Ahead Detour by Thirty Zhang?"

Chapter 352: "Why Does the Official Road Ahead Detour by Thirty Zhang?"

Chen Qiu heaved a soft sigh. He had no time to feel regret for the deaths of the Xuan Tian Sect's Saintess and the others, as indeed, quite some time had passed. If they had been banished to a small world together, perhaps they could have survived.

At least it wouldn't have been so boring.

Perhaps they could have endured; after all, White Crane Taoist had just broken through, and his lifespan should have been sufficient.

A hundred breaths later.

Chen Qiu appeared in Daxia Kingdom, accompanied only by Fat Dragon.

"Hmm?"

On the Boundless Snow Mountain, Fat Dragon gazed down at the kingdom below, his eyes distant as he looked towards the direction of Fufeng City, feeling a sense of wonder. "Qiu-ge, don't you feel that time has passed by so quickly? We started from Fufeng City, and now we're back here, just the two of us."

"Is the Heavenly Dao really beneath the Boundless Snow Mountain?"

"Perhaps."

Chen Qiu spoke softly, "I'm not entirely sure, it's just a guess. Over the years, the Heavenly Dao has remained dormant, which means there must be a reason it hasn't awakened."

Too much time had passed.

Over a thousand years had gone by, yet his old friends from Daxia Kingdom were still alive. With the cultivation limit in the kingdom raised, his friends had also broken through and extended their lifespans.

"Let's begin."

He didn't linger.

In a moment, his divine sense completely enveloped the Boundless Snow Mountain before him, and the next instant—

The entire mountain rose into the air, roots and all.

The soil that had been buried under the mountain for tens of thousands of years was now exposed to the sky, layer by layer, as the dirt, infused with spiritual energy, floated in mid-air. A deep pit gradually emerged.

After an incense stick's worth of time.

".

Chen Qiu silently gazed into the pit before him, not speaking. He had dug to the edge; he had reached the boundary of this small world. If he dug any further, he would end up in the Xuan Tian Continent. Yet, he still hadn't found anything.

In other words.

The Heavenly Dao wasn't beneath the Boundless Snow Mountain; his judgment was wrong.

"Could it be beneath the Endless Ice Plain, the Endless Desert, or the Endless Sea?"

"Let's go and see."

Above the Endless Sea, in the archipelago.

Chen Qiu looked down at the islands below, scattered like chocolate chips on a board. There were signs of human habitation on the islands. He had once sent people to explore this archipelago, but they had retreated upon detecting the presence of Nascent Soul cultivators.

On one of the islands stood a puppet.

Like the one on the Boundless Snow Mountain, it was left behind by the Mock Heaven Sect.

However, this puppet's cultivation was no longer at the early Nascent Soul stage; it had reached the Body Fusion stage.

His divine sense swept across, and beneath the towering waves, the entire seabed was exposed for the first time, suspended in mid-air. Countless fish and sea monsters, enveloped in seawater, stared up in fear, unsure of what was happening.

Chen Qiu didn't just rely on his divine sense; he felt that the Heavenly Dao must have some means to conceal itself from spiritual awareness. So, he used his own two feet to measure and carefully searched the area.

He also visited the Endless Desert and the Endless Ice Plain.

However.

He still found nothing in any of the four directions.

At this point, Chen Qiu had to admit that the Heavenly Dao's resting place was indeed not in Daxia Kingdom; he had assumed it too readily.

"Qiu-ge."

Fat Dragon hesitated, "I've always trusted you. Since you said the Heavenly Dao might be sleeping in Daxia Kingdom, it's highly likely that it's here. We've searched in all four directions, but we haven't looked in the core area of Daxia Kingdom. Maybe it's in the middle?"

"Impossible."

Chen Qiu shook his head calmly, "In the four directions of east, south, west, and north, there are existences capable of suppression. Whether it's the Boundless Snow Mountain or the Endless Sea, they are like arrays that can trap the Heavenly Dao beneath. But what does Daxia Kingdom have?"

"Daxia Kingdom has nothing."

"If the Heavenly Dao were truly beneath the core area of Daxia Kingdom, it should have awakened hundreds of years ago."

"That's true. If we could find the sleeping Heavenly Dao, we wouldn't need a grand battle. I could easily crush it, and the Heavenly Dao wouldn't have died so easily."

"But..."

"Since we're here, let's take a look. However, if we uproot the entire Daxia Kingdom to investigate, it will cause quite a panic. Let's go to the royal palace and have them notify the residents of the various cities."

"Okay."

In the royal palace of Daxia Kingdom.

At this time, the former emperor of Daxia Kingdom had abdicated and was focusing on cultivation. The new ruler was the Crown Prince, who was supposed to be the Second Prince due to his superior governing skills. However, the Second Prince was devoted to cultivation, so the Crown Prince took the throne.

The former Second Prince was no longer the young man who had shouted at the rain, calling out to the royal servant Xia Dexin and seeking an audience with the National Teacher.

Indeed, many years had passed since then.

He had matured significantly.

Daxia Kingdom, as Chen Qiu's base and hometown, had reached a level of fanaticism for Chen Qiu that bordered on madness, especially after a millennium of his absence. Chen Qiu had become a mythical figure.

And on this day, in the court—

There was an ongoing debate about whether to maintain the array that enveloped the entire kingdom.

"Your Majesty."

An elderly man, clad in court robes, slowly stood up and knelt on the ground. His voice was hoarse and trembling as he said, "I can understand everyone's feelings. Emperor Chen Qiu is the pride of Daxia Kingdom and an existence that no one in Daxia dares to offend."

"There are over a thousand temples in Daxia Kingdom with statues of Emperor Chen Qiu."

"From the elderly to the young, everyone reveres Emperor Chen Qiu."

"I was even fortunate enough to witness Emperor Chen Qiu's methods in Fucheng back then. But there's one thing we must face: this array is no longer useful.

"During Chen Qiu's reign as the National Master, he exhausted his energy and resources to set up this Golden Core Apex Great Formation, capable of slaying early-stage Primordial Souls at its peak. Its sole purpose was to protect Daxia from the humiliation of the surrounding Primordial Souls."

"However, as time passed, we also learned that the Primordial Souls in the four directions were merely puppets. Only after defeating these puppets could one venture to the Xuan Tian Continent. Moreover, in the present day, each city in Daxia has seven or eight Spirit Transformation cultivators, not to mention the abundance of Primordial Souls. Your Majesty's cultivation has even reached the Body Fusion stage."

"In this situation..."

"Is it truly necessary to spend vast amounts of resources and energy every year to maintain a formation that has existed for over a thousand years, yet can only kill early-stage Primordial Souls at its strongest?"

"What's more, there's something we must admit."

"When this formation was constructed, the cultivation limit in Daxia was at the Golden Core Apex. The process of building it was filled with detours, and as time went by, the cost of maintenance and upkeep has increased to several dozen times the initial cost!"

"None of us here would dare to show disrespect to Chen Qiu, but this formation is indeed useless now."

"For the sake of the country's future, please order the dismantling of this formation, Your Majesty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an elderly man behind him stood up, his hair standing on end as he roared angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting, old man? I was Chen Qiu's personal guard back in the day, and my words carry more weight than yours!"

"When I was the Lord of Fucheng, do you know how close I was to Chen Qiu?"

"Do you know that I even drank, ate, and recited poetry with Chen Qiu?"

"How much could it possibly cost to maintain a formation every year? I think you're just a new official trying to make a name for yourself. Listen, this formation cannot be dismantled!"

"This formation was created by Chen Qiu when he was the National Master, with the top formation masters of Daxia. Look at the conditions back then, and look at them now!"

"This is a historical legacy!"

"In ten thousand years, this formation will be a miracle of Daxia, a miracle that our children will speak of!"

"If you destroy this formation, you're destroying the miracle Chen Qiu left behind!"

"Listen to me!"

"If you dare to say another word, do you think I won't personally report this to Chen Qiu?"

As he spoke, the old man took out a high-grade Sound Transmission Talisman from his bosom, with the character 'Mock' engraved on it. The moment it appeared, everyone on the court took a step back, even the Emperor on the dragon throne couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Your Excellency, please put that away. There's no need to trouble Chen Qiu about this matter."

"Besides, no one said anything about dismantling it, right?"

"We're just discussing it, aren't we?"

"You..."

The elderly man who initially proposed dismantling the formation stared at the Sound Transmission Talisman in the Fucheng Lord's hand, his face turning red with anger and reluctance. But in the end, he took a step back.

Over the years, the Fucheng Lord had often brandished this Sound Transmission Talisman.

Although it might seem like he was borrowing Chen Qiu's authority, the effect was undeniable.

However, the Fucheng Lord had never actually used it; he only took it out to intimidate others.

This talisman was like a direct line to destiny; holding it, who would dare provoke you? Not just in Daxia, but even in the Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm, you could walk with absolute authority. With just a word from you, the Emperor of Daxia would yield their throne.

"Hmph."

Seeing everyone's compliance, the Fucheng Lord also stepped back and put away his Sound Transmission Talisman, muttering, "This formation cannot be dismantled. If you dare to touch it, I'll go to Chen Qiu. Go ahead and see what happens."

Although he had the Sound Transmission Talisman, he had never contacted Chen Qiu.

He knew.

Despite being Chen Qiu's confidant in the past, many years had passed, and it was uncertain if Chen Qiu would even remember him. If he sought Chen Qiu's help, Chen Qiu would likely not refuse, but it would be a one-time opportunity.

He wanted to save this chance for when his child wanted to venture out.

Using this opportunity then.

With Chen Qiu's backing, his child's future achievements would be guaranteed.

Just then—

"Who wants to dismantle the formation? Are you talking about that formation?"

A calm voice echoed slowly from the entrance of the court.

Everyone instinctively looked in that direction, and the next moment, their bodies stiffened, including the Emperor on the dragon throne. They all knelt on the ground, their faces filled with fear as they cried out.

"Your Majesty Chen Qiu!"

No one had expected Chen Qiu to return!

Chen Qiu hadn't returned to Daxia for hundreds of years. Could it be that the Fucheng Lord had already contacted him?

"Your Majesty Chen Qiu..."

The elderly man who initially proposed dismantling the formation was now trembling like a sieve, his body weak as he knelt, his voice quivering with fear, "One man's actions, one man's responsibility. I only ask that Your Majesty Chen Qiu spare my entire family."

He had never imagined that Chen Qiu would return personally to address this matter, let alone hold him accountable.

He had even envisioned his entire family being led to the execution platform.

Upon seeing this, the Fucheng Lord immediately spoke up, "Your Majesty Chen Qiu, it's the formation you set up as the National Master, covering the entire Daxia. They want to dismantle that formation?"

"Yes."

Chen Qiu nodded slightly, leaning on Heaven's Wisdom Umbrella as he walked past the kneeling crowd and sat on the dragon throne. With a calm expression, he said after a moment, "So, you mean this formation, capable of killing early-stage Primordial Souls at its strongest, has been operating all these years?"

"Yes!"

The Fucheng Lord quickly added, "It has never stopped. A thousand years ago, the former Emperor established a 'National Protection Department' filled with formation cultivators dedicated to maintaining and repairing this formation."

"It's good."

Chen Qiu paused for a moment before chuckling, "When this formation was first created, my cultivation was limited to the Golden Core Apex. I had to gather a vast amount of treasures and spirit stones to give it the power to slay early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Maintaining this formation requires a significant amount of spirit stones and energy, and you've been maintaining it all these years?"

"Who has been insisting on maintaining this formation all these years?"

The City Lord of Fucheng stepped forward without hesitation, "Me."

Many others behind him also stood up.

"Reward!"

"A full reward!"

Chen Qiu waved his hand, and thousands of spiritual fruits from the World Tree flew down, landing in everyone's laps. Only then did he turn to the former Emperor with a cheerful smile, "Pass the word, there might be an earthquake soon. Let everyone be prepared to avoid any chaos."

Perhaps it was time for fate's boomerang to strike him.

Although this formation was only a Golden Core formation, the slumbering Heavenly Dao had almost no power, and if the Heavenly Dao was truly sleeping beneath Daxia Kingdom, this formation that covered the entire kingdom would be able to suppress it completely!

Of course, this was the best-case scenario.

To confirm if the Heavenly Dao was indeed beneath the kingdom, he would have to uncover Daxia Kingdom and take a look.

One hour later.

Chen Qiu's divine sense instantly enveloped the entire Daxia Kingdom. Spiritual energy surged, lifting the entire kingdom from the ground and suspending it in mid-air. He carefully inspected every inch of the kingdom's underground soil.

Finally—

His divine sense detected something unusual deep beneath the ground. The surrounding stones were the kind that could block divine sense, preventing his divine sense from penetrating through.

He had seen these stones before.

In the ruins of Cao Tian Sect at the edge of the Boundless Snow Mountain, the underground passage was made of these very stones.

And among these stones was a black cloak, identical to the one described in the message from July Cat.

This was the place where the Heavenly Dao lay dormant!

"Hahahahaha!"

Chen Qiu couldn't help but laugh heartily, "It's like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was right under my nose all along!"

He was truly happy, genuinely happy.

Moreover, he had been to this place before, not just once, but several times.

It was located deep beneath the ground between Fufeng City and Wentian Market, and Wentian Market was the first market he had visited during his rise to prominence in this life.

The formation covering Daxia Kingdom was constructed along the official roads as its network.

In this life, when he and Fat Dragon escaped from the first mystic realm and headed to Wentian Market, he had asked Fat Dragon a question about the official road ahead.

"Why does the official road make a nearly sixty-degree right turn for over thirty zhang?"

The reason was that ahead of the road, there were no mountains, villages, or lakes, nothing at all, yet the road mysteriously made a detour of over thirty zhang before continuing straight again.

At the time, Fat Dragon had replied that he didn't know, and Chen Qiu hadn't thought much of it either.

But from the memories of his previous life as the National Teacher, he knew that for some unknown reason, the formation's network couldn't be established in this area, and it would fail whenever they passed through it, forcing them to take a detour.

Now he understood why. With a pile of stones capable of blocking divine sense beneath the area, it was a miracle that the formation's network could even function.

And deep beneath this area was the very place where the Heavenly Dao lay dormant!

All this time.

The Heavenly Dao had been beneath Daxia Kingdom, perhaps even directly below Fufeng City, and it had been unable to awaken all these years due to this formation constantly suppressing it.

"It's true..."

Chen Qiu felt a joy he had never experienced before. Who could have imagined that the Heavenly Dao, which had once destroyed the Nanong Continent, had been hiding beneath Daxia Kingdom all along?

And who could have guessed that it would be suppressed by a Golden Core formation, unable to awaken?

It made sense.

Logically, there shouldn't be any formations in the Celestial Prison, and even if there were, as long as the area wasn't too large, there would still be a chance to escape. But this formation covered the entire kingdom.

This formation had consumed a significant amount of national fortune when it was first established, but it had never been activated, rendering it almost completely useless.

Now it seemed

He wondered why he had decided to use the nation's fortune to set up this formation, and if it weren't for the City Lord of Fucheng's insistence on keeping the formation intact, perhaps none of this would have happened.

"This is great."

Chen Qiu didn't act rashly; instead, he used a Sound Transmission Talisman to contact July Cat and Jiang Buying, asking them to come over.

"You've found the place where the Heavenly Dao is dormant?"

July Cat looked at the floating Daxia Kingdom in front of her with disbelief, seeing through the soil to the familiar yet terrifying "Black Cloak" among the stones.

"How is this possible?!"

"The place where the Heavenly Dao is dormant should be well-hidden. How could it be discovered so easily?"

"It wasn't that easy," Chen Qiu said with a light laugh. "It took many years, and there were many coincidences. If not for these coincidences, it wouldn't have been so easy to discover."

"You understand the Heavenly Dao better."

"What should we do next? Can we just crush the black cloak?"

"No."

July Cat shook her head, her expression complex. "The Heavenly Dao has always appeared as a black mist shrouded in a black cloak, and everyone thought that mist was its true form. But in fact, the black cloak is its true form."

"Then, according to you, if we destroy the black cloak, won't we also destroy the Heavenly Dao's true form?" Chen Qiu frowned.

"No," July Cat shook her head again. "If the Heavenly Dao were that easy to kill, it would have died long ago."

"That black mist, though not its true form, is its divine soul."

"As long as that black mist isn't destroyed, the Heavenly Dao can keep resurrecting and will never truly die."

"In other words..."

"To kill the Heavenly Dao, not only do we need to destroy his physical body, but we also need to destroy his divine soul. Moreover, both must be destroyed simultaneously to ensure his complete demise. Otherwise, if we only destroy his physical body, the Heavenly Dao will resurrect again, and he might not even revive in the same place. We'd essentially be releasing him."

"In simpler terms, before we can destroy his physical body, we need to find and destroy his divine soul first."

". . ."

Chen Qiu furrowed his brows slightly, gazing at the black-robed figure within the stone block. There was no trace of black mist around, which was essential to finding the Heavenly Dao's divine soul. "Where do we even start looking for the Heavenly Dao's divine soul? Is there any method?"

"There's no method at all."

July Cat sighed heavily and murmured, "There's no way to divine the location of the Heavenly Dao's divine soul. We can only search slowly. Normally, when the Heavenly Dao is in deep slumber, his physical body and divine soul would be separated and rest in different locations. This ensures that if one side encounters a problem, the other can serve as a backup."

"Before the physical body awakens, the divine soul cannot awaken."

"But if the physical body is destroyed, it can resurrect and awaken again."

"In other words, the best course of action right now is to maintain and strengthen this array, keeping the Heavenly Dao suppressed. Then, we can slowly search for his divine soul. I believe we'll eventually find it."

"The Heavenly Dao's divine soul is a wisp of black mist. It wouldn't just find a place like this black robe and go into slumber. It must have hidden inside something, like a porcelain bottle, a stone, or within mountains and rivers. We can search slowly."

"Most of the time, this object won't have any special effects, but there might be some latent ones. For instance, it could have a calming effect when touched."

"Why so gloomy?" Jiang Buying, standing nearby, spoke up with a lighthearted tone, "Isn't this already a pretty good outcome? Keeping the Heavenly Dao suppressed for tens of thousands of years will eventually lead to its demise without the need for a decisive battle. Isn't that great?"

". . ."

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes in deep thought for a long time before speaking softly, "This Celestial Prison was created by the Mock Heaven Sect before its destruction. In other words, before the Heavenly Dao fell into slumber, this Celestial Prison was already quite vast."

"If I were the Heavenly Dao, I wouldn't choose to slumber in a place expanded by my enemies."

"I feel uneasy."

"But I did slumber here. The only possibility is that my injuries were too severe, leaving me with limited choices. I had to slumber in this Celestial Prison."

"What do you mean?" July Cat looked at Chen Qiu with a puzzled expression.

Chen Qiu paused before continuing, "I mean, there's a high probability that the Heavenly Dao's physical body and divine soul are both in the Great Xia Kingdom. And your words just now made me realize that his divine soul might be hidden inside a stone or porcelain bottle."

He turned his hand and took out an oval stone with an incredibly smooth surface. It was a stone he had obtained long ago in the Great Xia Kingdom.

It had been with him for many years, a loyal companion.

It was during a time when he and the Scholar were being pursued that they hid in a canyon. They discovered this massive stone by the river in the canyon. Over the years, he often sat on this stone to cultivate, finding it calming and soothing.

This perfectly matched the special effect July Cat had described.

He had kept it by his side all these years.

If the Heavenly Dao's divine soul was indeed in the Great Xia Kingdom, he was inclined to believe it was within this stone.

Noticing the confused gazes of July Cat and the others, Chen Qiu calmly explained, "This stone has been with me for many years. Since I was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it has been by my side. I obtained it by chance in a canyon in the Great Xia Kingdom."

"A thousand years ago."

"One day, as I was cultivating while seated on this stone, I felt it vibrate slightly. I always thought it was a monster egg, but since I was accustomed to sitting on it, I never bothered to open it. After all, I didn't need a monster to enhance my combat power."

"Now it seems..."

"I want to open this stone. I feel the Heavenly Dao's divine soul might be inside."

"This..."

Fat Dragon, standing nearby, was stunned. Even the Scholar, who had come with July Cat, stood frozen in disbelief.

This stone was very familiar to him.

Before meeting Chen Qiu, he often secluded himself deep in that canyon. He had touched this stone countless times, and wherever Chen Qiu went, he always carried it with him. Moreover, Chen Qiu particularly enjoyed cultivating while seated on this stone.

Now, Chen Qiu was suggesting that the Heavenly Dao's divine soul might be inside this very stone?

Was this too dramatic?

Was there some bad blood between the Heavenly Dao and Chen Qiu? Had Chen Qiu's array suppressed the Heavenly Dao's physical body underground for thousands of years, and now his divine soul was beneath Chen Qiu's buttocks for the same amount of time?

What kind of karma was this?!

"Let's give it a try, shall we?"

"If it's truly the Heavenly Dao's divine soul, it will be extremely vulnerable at this moment, possibly even still in a state of slumber. Before the physical body awakens, the divine soul cannot awaken."

July Cat hesitated, her words tinged with skepticism. Although she felt the possibility was incredibly slim, she had no reason to refuse. Still, she couldn't help but feel that finding the Heavenly Dao's physical body was already a stretch, and discovering his divine soul with such ease seemed even more far-fetched.

The odds were lower than a Qi Cultivation Pill cultivator drawing a "Rainbow Entry."

The coincidences were piling up to the point where even a novel wouldn't dare go this far.

"Let's try."

Chen Qiu took a deep breath, and spiritual energy slowly enveloped the oval stone before him. The next moment, the spiritual energy transformed into a blade and sliced right through the middle, splitting it in two!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end