Chapter 260 Guiding
The Chaos cone nail descendants, the Mo brothers wanted divine soldiers and ghost generals to fight with the cultivators under the heavens. The two of them did not rest in peace... The rogue cultivators that had filled the mountains and plains all ran away.
Old man Bao Ri was terrified to death as he looked at the changes in the skies. He opened his mouth wide and made gagging sounds. After a while, he stammered, "I think, maybe, even the immortal master teacher could've foreseen that the bastards of the Chaos cone nail… had changed his own magic circle..."
Wen Buzuo squinted his eyes as he looked at the sky. When he heard Bao Ri's words, he did not forget to chime in, "Not maybe, he couldn't have thought of that!"
The air in the sky vibrated violently. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen yet. Chang Li seemed to be bored of waiting. She turned and walked up to Bao Ri, "That immortal teacher of yours, does he have any other outstanding elites or monsters under his command or not?"
Bao Ri dared not slack off, he immediately replied with respect, "There are many elites under the immortal teacher, but the most outstanding ones are us, descendants of the Heaven's cone nails. Also, Wu Dudu's sect which is stationed at the highlands is also quite skilled. As for the others..." As he said this, Bao Ri shook his head, "Their cultivation bases are a level or two lower."
Cone Nail frowned, "You guys are the most powerful? This can't be..." As she said this, she exchanged a puzzled glance with Cone Nail (Chang Li, maybe?).
Wen Leyang did not understand. He looked at the two of them with a stunned expression. Cone Nail immediately ignored Chang Li. She turned and explained to Wen Leyang, "Kong Nuer wanted them to capture the cat demon, alive."
When she saw that Wen Leyang nodded, she continued, "The magic circle which Kong Nuer passed onto these Heaven's cone nail descendants if the Great Guiding Formation. If the only things that it guided were endless monsters or corpse soldiers and divine generals that know nothing but slaughtering, how could they have captured the cat demon alive? And… they might not even be able to capture the cat demon!"
Chang Li skipped over. She asked Wen Leyang with a smile, "I've never heard that Yin soldiers and ghost generals could take hostages... But he did pass on a guiding formation, what is it supposed to guide?"
Wen Leyang finally grasped the situation as he answered with all apparent naivety, "Peerless elites loyal to Kong Nuer!"
Chang Li nodded, "That's right! The people guided by the magic circle must at least be more powerful than these fools and obedient to Kong Nuer..." Halfway through her speech, the cat demon pouted and made an impatient face, "But Bao Ri said that Kong Nuer does not have any more powerful subordinates!"
Cone Nail was too lazy to think about it. They had been wracking their brains all this while, these peerless demon immortals annoyed beyond endurance, "Well, we'll know all about this later! But Kong Nuer's formation spell had been altered by the two bastards, the things that will be guided out might also have changed..."
Chang Li made an indifferent expression. She turned and looked at the group of Great Mercy Temple monks behind her. She asked old demon rabbit Bu Le with slight puzzlement, "Why aren't you guys leaving?"
The old demon rabbit had no expressions as he answered drily, "If Grand Master is here, Bu Le and Shan Duan shall never leave!" After he finished, he paused for a while. Finally, under the slowly squinting eyes of Chang Li, he shook his hands and smiled embarrassedly, "If you didn't say so, we… dare not leave!"
Within the span of their conversation, almost all the cultivators on the mountaintop have already left. Only little supreme leader Liu Zheng, Great Mercy Temple, One Word Palace and the highland cultivators brought by Rangjung and the line of Tuo Xie's disciples stayed back on the mountain. Ever since Cone Nail appeared, Painting Town's Leyang Wen had already disappeared.
Chang Li laughed loudly and waved her hands, "You can just leave if you want to, you don't have to be so polite with me!" The old demon rabbit agreed almost instantly, but he did not budge. After all, if Grand Master Chang Li did not leave, they would also not leave no matter what.
The others did not say anything. They each looked up at the strange phenomenon in the sky. Not long after, the layers of scaly clouds which rolled in the sky finally jumped slightly and vanished into nothingness!
The blazing show of lights and boundless clouds which covered the skies just now had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Wen Leyang, however, suddenly bulged his eyes! A giant floating island was like a giant yacht that just docked in the harbor as it firmly leaned on Goddess Peak from the East.
Wen Leyang never thought that the formation magic would guide an island as large as a city here. Compared to the giant island, the devil fetus rock tower that floated at the edge of the sky seemed insignificant,
A magic weapon made from a giant island?
Wen Buzuo's eyes almost fell out of its sockets. He mumbled, there is no limit to the universe!
Not only Wen Leyang, even Cone Nail and Chang Li raised their beautiful brows after a moment's loss. The two peerless demon immortals had deep shock written all over their faces!
The golden monkey Qian Ren's expression was normal. When he saw Wen Leyang's expression who was terrified to death, he laughed hysterically, "It's not a magic weapon, don't scare yourself! The formation magic did not guide an island, but it used the energy of the formation to shatter the void and connected the island with Goddess Peak! Currently, the island and Mount Hua were in their original spots and did not move, but the void changed, and they were connected. After the formation spell recedes, everything will return to normal."
Wen Leyang could roughly understand Qian Ren's meaning. The formation spell had changed the space and connected two places that were nowhere near each other. He gulped anxiously, "So the person who's Kong Nuer's searching for is hiding on the island?"
The monkey hugged himself and nodded his head in all apparent seriousness. He pointed at the unbroken giant island with his chin and said with a stern expression, "This place is not what it seems! The personage who's coming out of it must be someone! But… how come I've never heard of such a strange place before?"
On the island, mountain ridges filled the terrain. Due to the close distance, they could not make out the mountain range's form or shape. However, on the entire island, there were no signs of green. It was so gloomy that it would erupt at any moment.
Qian Ren was still worried that Wen Leyang still did not understand as he continued to explain, "Amidst this spiritual realm, there are some dark life vitality Foulness running amok. And the evil foul air among it is even more shocking..."
He had not finished when Cone Nail suddenly cut him short. She said with a dry voice, "On this island, the true evil foul air was still being subdued. If all of it's released at the same time, then… then…"
Chang Li's expression was also extremely strange, it was indistinguishable whether she wanted to cry or laugh, "This is no strange land, this..."
She was halfway through her sentence when a long howl suddenly came from that giant island, "Who's responsible for this, guiding my land of cultivation!"
The giant mountains that span across everyone's eyes vibrated fiercely. A human figure leapt from the depths of the giant island like a meteor. He leapt over the dozens of miles of mountains. The air hissed. Even with Wen Leyang's eyesight, he could not catch up with the person's figure. In no time, he reached the edge of the giant island.
Wen Leyang suddenly squalled. If it were not for Cone Nail who supported him, he would have crashed onto the ground already!
A man in his thirties, with the air of an erudite learned person, a long sword slung over his back. Righteousness filled his eyes, a grace filled his every movement. Wen Leyang could never forget that look, the true soul Tian Yin!
Up until now, Chang Li only finished her sentence in a seeming sigh, "This is Black and White Island!"
Wen Leyang's brain was in a mess. The formation spell had guided Black and White Island here. Was this Kong Nuer's original intention? Or was it the Chaos cone nail brothers' absurd acts that caused it?
Tian Yin's gaze was initially filled with an inward anger, but when he saw the crowd, he was slightly stunned. Then, he took a stride and reached Goddess Peak from Black and White Island. His face was still slightly pale and dreary due to his unrecovered strength, but his expression was wild and collected. He had the art of soul-escape and possession, he was not afraid of this group of peerless demon immortals in front of him.
Tian Yin's gaze swept across everyone's face. Eventually, it stopped on Cone Nail's face, "If you wanted to look for me, you could've just come to Black and White Island yourself, it's not like you don't know the way. Why did you use such a messy pretense of guiding energy?" After he finished, he paused and sneered, "What, you've found a way to kill me?"
Wen Leyang exchanged a glance with Cone Nail beside him. When the Guiding Formation was activated and connected Goddess Peak with Black and White Island, it seemed that Tian Yin was more shocked than they were.
Little supreme leader Liu Zheng chattered his teeth. He stared at Tian Yin as he bared his teeth, "Vile beast… return my master uncle's body..." Liu Zheng was usually dexterous and resourceful, but when he suddenly met his great enemy, he lost his cool. He clenched his hands and made to cast the Kunlun sword formation. Cone Nail immediately reached out a hand and stopped little supreme leader Liu Zheng.
Tian Yin did not even look at Liu Zheng. He only snorted softly, "Shall I use your body after I return your master uncle's body then? Young one, you think a little too highly of yourself!" He had not finished when Chang Li quickly snorted, "Let's fight!" Then, her body swayed as she rocked the Demon Blades which covered the sky and attacked Tian Yin!
The golden monkey also laughed strangely. His body formed a golden arc once again. He turned wildly in circles around Tian Yin. Bangs of clashes and the sound of Demon Blades breaking the air suddenly filled the air. After a moment's hesitation, Cone Nail also urged the icicles and attacked Tian Yin with a boom.
Tian Yin's cultivation base was on par with Chang Li, Cone Nail and the others. He had tossed about under the heavens more than a day ago and was almost exhausted. He quickly lost under the joint attacks of the three demon immortals. Amidst loud bangs, he was struck back onto Black and White Island.
Wen Leyang was truly dumbstruck. When the three demon immortals attacked at the same time, were they not afraid that Tian Yin would self-destruct and let his soul escape?
As expected, after Tian Yin leapt, he pounced over with a savage look and a sharp howl. He would rather discard his schemes for thousands of years to make Chang Li and the others understood the pain of seeing their bodies being helplessly controlled by the true soul!
However, Chang Li raised her arms. She blew her little fists with a happy face, "I've been wanting to hit him all along!" Then, her face tightened as she stared at Tian Yin unwaveringly, "If you possess my body, I must have a moment's window where I can break free of my shackles. Even this brief moment is enough for me to plunge headlong into the Thirteen Shall Not Pass in the crystal ore cave!" After she finished, a sneer appeared on her lips. Then, she lifted her chin and did not look at Tian Yin.
Tian Yin's fierce pounce froze in midair. He landed softly on the ground. The expression on his face had returned to normal, but his gaze was filled with anger and hate!
The true soul naturally had no restrictions within its own body, or a body which had completely turned into its own. However, if it truly went into the bodies of demon immortals like Chang Li or Cone Nail who were much stronger than Tian Yin was, it was difficult to predict if the other party could wrestle their bodies back for even a moment. Besides, in the process of the true soul's possession, there would be a stage where the primordial spirits of the two parties would superimpose. To put it bluntly, they would share the same Buddhist magic art.
Even if the other person's primordial spirit could wrestle her own body even for a brief moment, it was enough to activate the Distant talisman and plunge into Thirteen Shall Not Pass.
Tian Yin replied coldly, "I can always activate my life vitality to blast your body before you reached Thirteen Shall Not Pass!"
Chang Li pouted and smiled. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Tian Yin took a deep breath. He looked at Chang Li with bright eyes and smiled. He looked every bit like a god, "Cat demon, why don't you ask me where did Pickle Jar go after he left Black and White Island two thousand years ago?"
The fierce wrinkles between Chang Li's eyes disappeared as quickly as they appeared. She shook her head slowly, "If I had asked that, I would either be ridiculed or teased by you. I won't do such a foolish thing as that!"
A hint of satisfaction showed on Tian Yin's face. However, Chang Li mimicked his tone and asked in return, "Xiang Liu, why don't you ask me why your foolish little brother is no longer on Goddess Peak, the wood element wicked soul?"
A laugh escaped from Wen Leyang's lips. Chang Li had said to him before that nobody under the heavens could ever win against her!
A savage expression suddenly appeared on Tian Yin's face, "Here? This is Goddess Peak?" Before this, Tian Yin captured Earth Emperor and sent the wood element wicked soul back. He had walked about under the mountains and did not go up Goddess Peak. Then, he flipped his arms and a suppressed squall that flustered everyone came from his mouth!
Wen Buzuo's voice sounded lazy, "Stop screaming, we'll just return it to you then!" As he said this, he took out a mountain rock imprinted with the shape of a snake. He grunted, "I had wanted to keep this as a souvenir." After the giant sword refined the wicked soul, Wen Buzuo had taken down the stone plate imprinted with the wicked soul's shape.
Tian Yin caught the stone piece. He had only glanced at it when he gave a heaven-shaking wail. With a clap, the slate in his hands was reduced into fine powder and erupted into a puff of dust! Tian Yin's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. He spat out every word with hate, "Who killed Seventh Brother!?" As he said this, his slender and slightly skinny body started to expand and contract. For the casual observer he looked just like a huge toad's belly!
Everyone could see that Tian Yin had already made up his mind. Even if he had to forfeit his own body, he must avenge the wood element wicked soul!
Chang Li snorted, "You've Got Me!"
A strange cry suddenly sounded from Wen Leyang's chest. You've Got Me heard that someone had called it out. It flaunt its prowess and at the same time the giant sword Molten Metal Fire Bell appeared suddenly amidst heaven-shaking bell tolls. The blade was covered in layers of fiery snakes, as if it was the natural nemesis of Tian Yin. Even the bell tolls had some wall-breaking ferocity.
Tian Yin did not even look at the worm, but after seeing Molten Metal Fire Bell, the expression on his face changed quickly. It changed from an exasperated anger to an extremely sinister forbearing and alertness in an instant. He collected his stance and flailed his arms as quick as lightning. The air hissed as he wrote something in it. Then, he yelled, "Distant, break!"
The air in front of Tian Yin shriveled visibly, then, it protruded suddenly. It swallowed up Tian Yin's figure in the blink of an eye!
Only a few moments later, Tian Yin's low growl before he broke the air to escape projected through the air, "You and I will not rest until we die!" It gradually faded into unintelligible chirps.
A long while later, when Wen Leyang had confirmed that Tian Yin had already activated the talisman and escape, he finally realized that his clothes were drenched in cold sweat. He looked at Black and White Island which only had mountains and no greenery with a blank expression as he asked the others, "Who's… he talking to?"
You've Got Me was in high fighting spirits. It stayed on Wen Leyang's shoulder and shrieked.
Chang Li also sighed softly. She looked at Wen Leyang with a slightly helpless expression, "Tian Yin was talking to the giant sword's master!"
You've Got Me abruptly shut its mouth. Its black eyes stared at Chang Li.
This time, little Chi Maojiu did not wait for Wen Leyang to ask before he could not restrain himself from asking, "Tian Yin ran away because he was afraid of You've Got Me? I thought Molten Metal Fire Bell's true fire of heavenly plow could not harm Xiang Liu's true soul?"
Cone Nail shook her head, "Tian Yin did not know that the master of the giant sword had changed to You've Got Me. He was afraid of the former master of the giant sword! Of course Tian Yin was not afraid that Molten Metal Fire Bell was in You've Got Me's hands, but if the original master triggered the giant sword, he might've been able to kill the true soul!" As she said this, Cone Nail turned towards Chang Li and said with a smile, "Clever!"
The Guiding Formation had connected Mount Hua Goddess Peak and Black and White Island. Wen Leyang and the others were startled, Tian Yin even more so. From Tian Yin's first sentence when he appeared, Chang Li knew that Tian Yin himself did not know what was happening.
In Tian Yin's eyes, he saw that a group of enemies had activated some silly formation spell and came looking for him with burning spirits. No matter how calm he appeared, he was still secretly uneasy. He was worried that they had found a way to defeat him.
Wen Leyang only understood now that Chang Li had this all planned from the very beginning. The giant sword and Black and White Island were connected to each other. They could restrict the wicked soul and at least would have some terrifying effect towards Tian Yin. As expected, Tian Yin recognized Molten Metal Fire Bell. When he saw that the giant sword had appeared and confirmed that it was the real thing, he thought that the giant sword's master wanted to ambush him. He immediately casted the Distant talisman and escaped far away.
Wen Leyang knew, when it came to scheming, he had no hopes of outsmarting these group of old demons.
Chang Li squinted her eyes and made a fierce expression. She stared at a flustered Wen Buzuo, "It's you who foiled my plans! I had originally wanted to stall Xiang Liu before summoning the giant sword to flaunt itself to see if we can know his whereabouts. Now, thanks to you, you've directly given the wicked soul its… its proof of death. Aren't you making it risk its life?"
Wen Buzuo's jaw dropped. He replied with a frown, "It's because I didn't know… I had only intended to back you up..."
Wen Leyang suddenly felt a chill travel up from the base if his spine. If Xiang Liu was determined in fighting all out, or if it did not recognize Molten Metal Fire Bell, everyone present here might not be able to survive. He could not help but mumbled, "That was close..."
However, Chang Li turned and looked at Wen Leyang with a pent-up anger, "What's close? If Xiang Liu fought all out, worst case scenario is that we'll escape..."
Chang Li bullied everyone she could get her hands on. The group of demon sect disciples and people of Tuo Xie sect dared not make a sound. Cone Nail shook her head and smiled bitterly as she diverted the topic, "The true soul did not understand the matter of the Guiding Formation. It's even less likely that it'll listen to Kong Nuer's orders."
Wen Buzuo quickly nodded forcefully, "This matter can only be an accident after the Guiding Formation was altered by the Chaos sect people..."
Wen Leyang nodded even harder than Wen Buzuo. He pointed at the nearby island, "This is the Black and White Island which subdues Xiang Liu? Xiang Liu is being subdued in the heart of the island?"
However, Cone Nail shook her head. She pointed at the bald the giant bald mountains, "One mountain is one snake's neck of Xiang Liu!"
This time, Wen Leyang was not alarmed about this. An utmost evil monster that overran the whole world, it was understandable that its true body was as large as mountains. He asked with a smile, "Xiang Liu's so large. Where's the demon-subduing Heaven's cone nails?"
"The Heaven's cone nail's shape is no larger than a person. If Xiang Liu's snake neck is a great python, the Heaven's cone nail could only be a needle." As she said this, Cone Nail's expression was slightly dispirited, "The thing that subdued Xiang Liu was not the cone nail but the formation. It had nothing much to do with the cone nails."
After she finished, Cone Nail looked at Chang Li with a smile, "We'll go up the island to sightsee after we dismiss the next one."
Wen Leyang's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, "What next one? There's another one?"
The golden monkey nodded his head in a matter-of-fact manner, "The surrounding life vitality is still vibrating, the formation spell is not yet complete. After Black and White Island, there must be another place which will be guided here!"
Chang Li, however, waved her arm with annoyance, "We're not waiting anymore! We're leaving! Who cared what it's guiding here, if it's that powerful, then just let it chase after me all over the world!"
Kong Nuer's formation spell had not yet been fully activated. The fact that another place or elite will be guided here had already boggled Wen Leyang's mind. After hearing Chang Li's words, Wen Leyang felt that his every nerve in his brain was twisting fired dough twist, "You can still run?" He had always thought that when the formation spell came, they would be possessed and their bones would be corrupted, that the formation would follow wherever they went. He had never thought about running away.
Chang Li replied without lifting her head, "Of course we can run. We could've run before Tian Yin arrived, why can't we do it now?"
Cone Nail hugged Chang Li's arms with a smile, "Don't go now! Who cares what's going to be guided here. Since everyone's here, we can just work together and beat it! Once we're finished with the lackeys, Kong Nuer will show himself!" After she finished, she paused and continued to smile, "If we really want to run, let's wait until we're sure that we cannot fight it..."
Her voice barely faded when Guo Huan who floated high up in the sky suddenly snorted, "It's coming, it's coming! The big mountain!"
After the appearance of Black and White Island, a flowing mountain range that extended to the edges of the skies appeared silently from the north. It did not let out any sound as it firmly leaned on Goddess Peak!
Guo Huan's position was the highest. When the strange place appeared, he could have a complete view of the surroundings. His rigid voice was filled with shock. He rambled, "Deep golden scales, covered the southern side of the mountain. Covered in red, a thousand hills slanted towards the east. Never coming back after one leaves..." After he finished, he paused briefly. When he opened his mouth again with his awkward voice, almost every cultivator responded to his voice. They exclaimed, either with shock or with fear, "Desert Rebel Mountain!?"
Only the group of Tuo Xie sect people looked at each other. Wen Buzuo looked at Wen Leyang, Wen Leyang looked at Chi Maojiu, Chi Maojiu looked at Second Mother...
At the northern side of the mountains, a bronze-yellowish peak loomed over the other mountains. The angle at which it slanted to the south was extremely big, as if it would tumble at any time. The other mountains formed an unbroken chain, they were all dark red in color. They slanted towards the east in unison. The mountains slanted in two different directions with their different heights, the strong contrast strained the eyes of the onlookers, there was an unexplainable ill feeling about it.
Old demon rabbit Bu Le explained to the people of Tuo Xie sect in a low voice, "In ancient times, there were a lot of tragedies. During that time, there were many evil beasts under the heavens. Xiang Liu was the most evil of all, but there were also a few which were more powerful. One of them is Red Pot. The power of its water and fire were strong beyond compare, but it was still subdued in the end. It had been forever sealed within this golden-fanged red-garbed strange mountain. Legend has it, that after the strange mountain sealed Red Pot, it uprooted and disappeared. People have called it Desert Rebel Mountain ever since!"
Little Chi Maojiu listened with interest. He could not help but questioned the old demon rabbit closely, "Then which one is more powerful, Xiang Liu or Red Pot?"
The old demon rabbit answered without hesitation, "Xiang Liu was the most evil of all. Although Red Pot was also a great evil, but compared to the nine-headed monster, it was still leagues below it... These are all words of legends, I don't know if it's accurate."
The golden monkey Qian Ren diverted old demon rabbit's sentence, "Desert Rebel Mountain sealed and subdued Red Pot was a thing of ancient time. When I cultivated in Ending Cave, Desert Rebel Mountain was already a thing of legend."
Cone Nail frowned as she looked at the big mountain before her, "All that came today are evil lands which sealed great wickedness!"
However, after Desert Rebel Mountain appeared, it did not make any sound. It only floated there quietly...