The morning light was hazy, and the clouds on the horizon were painted in brilliant hues of crimson and orange. The sun had fully risen from the boundary between heaven and earth, casting its radiance across the wilderness, illuminating every person on and within the city walls. This scene was in stark contrast to the dark and terrifying moments just prior, bringing a sense of renewal to each soul.
Although they were awed by the rapid disappearance of the local demonic tide, astonished by the ease with which the Meat Mountain Demon General had been defeated, and amazed by the godlike strength of the man in the green robe, the nightmare had ended, hell had shattered, and the torment that had plagued them day and night had not arrived. This brought indescribable joy to the experts and masters on the city walls, who felt a lightness in their hearts and an urge to cheer.
“The first wave of demons has ended!” someone suddenly shouted, and the words echoed across the land.
At this, cries of relief burst forth, releasing the pent-up tension and heaviness. The orderly patrolling teams within the city and the ordinary citizens staying quietly at home looked at each other in confusion. How could the demonic tide have ended in less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea?
Just then, one of the masters suddenly inhaled sharply, lifting his left hand and trembling as he pointed outward, exclaiming, “The Four Emperors of Salvation—it’s the Four Emperors of Salvation! The one who acted was the Primordial Emperor Miaowu!”
Someone near him had once followed a heretical cult that had welcomed back the incense altar of the Four Emperors of Salvation, so he recognized them!
Although the faces were unclear, aside from the Qin sisters, the number matched, the appearance matched, and their “salvation” actions also aligned.
Was it true—was there really a divine being?
Had a real god truly descended to save the world?
Many people on the city walls, directly or indirectly, had heard of the cult of the Four Emperors of Salvation. Now, upon hearing this whisper, they were all shocked. Could it be that the heretical sect they had once mocked was actually a holy religion serving true deities?
Did true divine beings exist in this world? Could humanity’s efforts pale in comparison to the occasional favor of a god?
Qin Shuanghua wiped her eyes, brushing away her tears, and looked at Meng Qi with a complex expression. Was the sacrifice of generation after generation of humanity, the solemn passing of the torch, and the perseverance that had sustained them until now all meaningless?
Had her parents, her master, the nine members of the Qin family, and the entire sect, who had died heroically, been surpassed by a god who had never appeared before?
Meng Qi secretly activated his Yuanxin Seal, suddenly turned his head to look at the distant mountains, slightly furrowing his brow. He had sensed a strange malice—someone actually hated him deeply?
Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and the person had already retreated. There was no way to chase after them.
He turned back, glancing at Qin Shuanghua and the various expressions on the faces of the masters and experts on the city wall. Then, with a solemn expression, he spoke loudly, “I am ‘Yuanhuang,’ a human who has secretly cultivated among the common people. Together with my three companions, I have discussed martial arts, pondered day and night, and constantly honed our skills, which is why we have achieved our current strength. However, unfortunately, we have been slandered by petty villains and falsely labeled as gods.”
“We are not born powerful; we were once weak too. If it weren’t for countless ancestors who braved hardships, cut through thorns, and sacrificed their lives to protect the hope and spark of humanity, allowing many cities to survive, we would have perished in the demonic tide long ago—how could we have the strength to counterattack today?”
“If we are strong, it is because we stand on the shoulders of generations of martyrs who gave their lives for the continuation of humanity. In the future, if we succeed in eliminating the demonic tide and sealing the rift to Jiuyou, it will be the collective effort of every hero and every person who fought desperately!”
The city fell into silence. Qin Shuanghua, her eyes wide with emotion, gazed at Meng Qi, a faint mist quickly forming, clouding her dark pupils.
At that moment, someone on the city wall suddenly raised their arm and shouted:
“Long live humanity!”
“Long live humanity!” The voice surged like waves, filled with tears and passion.
Meng Qi turned around, facing the place where the demons had emerged, his expression stern yet resolute as he said, “Let’s go. Seal the rift to Jiuyou!”
“Yes, Yuanhuang!” Qin Shuanghua blinked, her voice thick with emotion, as tears slowly fell from her lashes.
At the same time, Meng Qi quietly transmitted his voice to Zhao Heng: “Old Five, quickly collect the remains of the Meat Mountain Demon General.”
This was a form of divided voice transmission, allowing internal communication. Everyone could hear it. Jiang Zhi smiled slightly, seemingly understanding Meng Qi’s thoughts, while Ruan Yushu calmly gazed at the rising sun on the horizon.
Zhao Heng asked in confusion, “Why don’t you just collect it yourself?”
Meng Qi replied with slight pride, “I am ‘Yuanhuang,’ revered by all humanity. How could I do something so petty?”
Yuan meant the beginning, the origin, the very first. Paired with the title of “Emperor,” it was perfect, rivaling even the Primordial Heaven Demon!
“Yuanhuang—the emperor of apes?” Ruan Yushu suddenly interjected coldly.
Yuanhuang, Yuanhuang… Meng Qi’s mouth opened slightly, his expression frozen, as if struck by lightning.
I need to change my title—I must change my title!
But just now, he had already announced his name across the entire city. It was too late to make any changes…
He had wanted to praise the little glutton for providing such excellent background music…
Meng Qi maintained a stern expression, saying indifferently, “Let’s move out.”
With that, he flew toward the horizon as if fleeing. Jiang Zhi and the others followed. Zhao Heng took the opportunity to collect the remains of the Meat Mountain Demon General.
…
“This is the place,” Qin Shuanglian said, carrying her younger sister, pointing to the mountains below.
It was a range of undulating peaks. Deep within one of the mountains was a cave that looked like the mouth of a giant beast, winding downward into unknown depths. Thin black mist drifted out, and the surrounding vegetation was withered, with no signs of life.
“Several masters once entered after the demonic tide receded, attempting to seal the rift, but they encountered something terrifying. In the end, only two escaped, and they died thirty years earlier than normal. Senior, you must be careful,” Qin Shuanglian warned, looking warily at the cave, which was unknown in its dangers and strange environments.
Meng Qi had already recovered from his earlier embarrassment and entered a battle-ready state. His heart was calm, like a still pond, without any ripples. After a moment of contemplation, he said to Jiang Zhi and the others, “I will first split open the Jiuyou rift.”
“Split it open?” Qin Shuanghua, listening nearby, was puzzled.
Meng Qi observed the flow of Daoist principles in the heavens and earth, the emergence of spiritual energies, and casually replied, “The cave leading to the Jiuyou rift has been cultivated by demons for an unknown duration. Although we are not afraid, there is no need to make things difficult for ourselves.”
As he finished speaking, he raised his orange-yellow fire blade. His acupoints lit up one by one, like stars in the sky, fully opening and returning to the primordial origin.
The long blade slashed down, activating the divine weapon, like a line of fire silently cutting into the mountain.
A red-hot crack appeared on the mountain ridge, rapidly extending downward, smooth and flat like a mirror’s surface, melted into glass-like form. A large section of the mountain disappeared into the crack, replaced by white mist.
Creaking sounds followed as the fissure rapidly spread, splitting the mountain into two halves. Explosions echoed, black mist rose and vanished, and eerie wails filled the air.
The orange-yellow blade light disappeared, and the mountain had already split into two. Deep within the fissure, molten lava flowed beneath. Above the red-hot magma, the space itself seemed torn like a piece of broken cloth, stitched with crooked, centipede-like seams. A twisted, pitch-black rift lay there.
The rift was ten zhang long and three zhang wide, like a giant mouth. Inside were blackened mountains and rivers, a dark sun, emerald stars, and a dragon-like creature of unknown length coiled there.
It possessed all the characteristics of a true dragon, yet its entire body was jet-black, its scales adorned with eerie patterns. Its enormous, dark golden eyes gazed outward with chilling intensity, radiating a terrifying draconic aura. This overwhelming presence plunged Qin Shuanglian into hallucinations, as though she had descended into the eighteenth layer of hell.
“Ha!” The voice resonated in the mind, carrying a hidden Buddhist chant. Qin Shuanglian and Qin Shuanghua suddenly snapped back to reality.
This was merely the faintest trace of aura leaking through the rift between worlds, yet it was already this powerful!
“This dragon demon must be at the Xian level,” Jiang Zhi judged.
Meng Qi nodded, a faint smile appearing, calming Qin Shuanglian and the others: “Fortunately, it cannot come out. Even if it can strike through the rift, its power in this world will be below the Fa Shen level.”
He paused, then transmitted his voice: “Zhiwei, Yushu, Old Five, you three cooperate to restrain it. I will ‘seal’ the rift.”
Fighting across the barrier between worlds while in his home territory, Meng Qi was not afraid of this dragon demon, but he knew he couldn’t focus on sealing the rift while fighting. Thus, the task of distraction was left to his companions.
Jiang Zhi had already been eager to fight, her eyes bright, as if glowing with light. She turned to transmit her voice to Ruan Yushu: “Little sister Yushu, use ‘Bell of the Three Realms’ to assist me. Zhao Heng, watch for any unexpected threats.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Qi frowned: “You’re going to use Sword Twenty-Three?”
Jiang Zhi smiled lightly: “After my recent breakthrough, my physical body, Dharma Body, and Yuan Shen have begun to merge. The backlash from using this move can now be shared among them. Besides, this isn’t the original Sword Twenty-Three—it’s my own evolved version, Jiang Zhi’s Sword Twenty-Three, after years of cultivation and understanding.”
“I even waited at the gate of Xuantian Sect for half a year, challenging any master who came out, seeking to understand the Dao of Time from the Celestial Emperor.”
“Held up at Xuantian Sect for half a year?” Meng Qi couldn’t help but smile. This was truly Jiang Zhi’s style.
With this explanation, he no longer worried, watching Jiang Zhi fly toward the rift, Ruan Yushu already placing her hands on the strings of her qin, activating the Qixing Qin, while Zhao Heng held his sword, scanning the surroundings.
Qin Shuanglian and Qin Shuanghua held their breath, watching from afar. Could they truly seal the Jiuyou rift?
Seeing Jiang Zhi approach, the massive dragon opened its mouth and roared, its sound waves nearly becoming tangible, shaking the rift.
Jiang Zhi placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword, slowly drawing it. Her physical form became ethereal, her Yuan Shen and Dharma Body overlapping, forming the image of the Supreme Sword Immortal—compassionate yet emotionless, embodying the Dao of the Supreme.
Dang!
The qin sounded like a bell, shaking the Three Realms. Qin Shuanglian and Qin Shuanghua felt as if everything before them had frozen, the rift and the dragon like insects trapped in amber.
The sword was drawn, aimed at the dragon. Suddenly, the world lost all color, remaining only black and white, silent and still, the sound waves from the dragon moving as slowly as the steps of a dying old man.
Even though they were far away and unaffected, the Qin sisters couldn’t help but sweat and feel their thoughts slow.
Silence, beautiful like a painting. Meng Qi sensed the dragon’s power slowing, raised his long blade with his right hand, and stepped forward with his left foot.
Now!
Qin Shuanghua felt something stir and turned to look at him. Yuanhuang’s body began to grow inch by inch, soon transforming into a giant over ten zhang tall. His overwhelming aura was suffocating, making one want to faint. At the tip of his orange-yellow blade, a pitch-black vortex appeared, sending chills down their spines, as if it could destroy heaven and earth.
This… Qin Shuanghua was stunned. Yuanhuang’s current aura was five to ten times stronger than when he had defeated the Meat Mountain Demon General, giving the impression of holding up the sky and standing firm on the earth.
This was his true strength!
His strength just before had already been awe-inspiring, but now it was beyond words, inspiring only blind faith!
Suddenly, Qin Shuanghua’s mind flashed with the image of her father, his back standing tall on the city wall, the figures of her master and grandmaster leaving Pingle City, dying heroically like the wind blowing cold over the Yi River, and the vivid faces of many memories.
Father, mother, master, grandmaster, younger brother, fourth sister, can you see? The Jiuyou rift here is about to be sealed!
Boom!
The blackness expanded, the rift spreading like a spiderweb, then suddenly contracting. Sound, light, vibrations, and aura all vanished!
For a long time, there was silence and nothingness. Qin Shuanghua saw that the area for hundreds of miles had become a deep pit, the river of magma gone, and the Jiuyou rift had disappeared, leaving only the dragon’s roar echoing and gradually fading.
Tears streamed down the faces of the Qin sisters, flowing like rivers, as they wept uncontrollably:
Father, mother, master, grandmaster, younger brother, fourth sister, can you see? The Jiuyou rift here is sealed! You did not die in vain!
Meng Qi sheathed his blade, standing with Jiang Zhi and the others, waiting for the Qin sisters to finish their heartfelt crying.
After a while, Qin Shuanglian sniffled and sobbed, “Thank you, seniors. Of the seven Jiuyou rifts in the world, one has now been eliminated. But the one near Pingle City was the weakest. The others are all stronger than this one.”
“Now, where is the nearest Jiuyou rift?” Meng Qi asked.
“In the jurisdiction of Changning City,” Qin Shuanghua interjected.
Meng Qi nodded slightly: “Then we go to Changning City.”
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