In the Jade Empty Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi sat beneath the statue of “Primordial Heavenly Venerable,” his eyes half-open, revealing a faint divine glow that was elusive and unfathomable.
Inside and outside his dharma body, the acupoints and internal organs undulated ceaselessly with his breathing, sometimes roaring like thunder, sometimes surging like tides. With each exhale, a hazy, chaotic beam of light flew from his nostrils, within which a starry river appeared inverted, brilliant and vast, surrounded by cosmic features like the golden crow and jade hare from different universes.
During inhalation, the dreamlike starry river receded, and the beam of light reentered Meng Qi’s nostrils, the mighty energy in the room vanishing without a trace, leaving the chamber dim and directionless, with time and space in chaos.
With each breath, heaven and earth opened and returned to chaos, making this small Daoist temple a true abode of immortals.
Unknown how much time had passed, everything calmed. The glazed lamp before the statue of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable cast a warm yellow glow, illuminating the room, as Meng Qi slowly opened his eyes—clear and deep, with no further divine anomaly.
This retreat had lasted half a year, cultivating the inner universe and resonating with the Dao’s rhythm, advancing the Primordial Nine Seals and the Eight-Nine Profound Art to a level suitable for his current dharma body, ensuring his techniques matched his cultivation stage.
“In the future, cultivation periods will only grow longer. At the Legendary or Creation stages, perhaps a single retreat would mean an entirely changed world…” Meng Qi sighed, patted his blue robe, and slowly stood.
In his perception, Fang Huaying and He Mu were still diligently cultivating, having recently acquired powerful techniques and newfound bright prospects, filled with motivation.
“Heh, one master and two disciples. If we all travel or handle affairs outside, this place would become a deserted mountain temple, an empty Jade Empty Palace. That sounds kind of cool,” Meng Qi chuckled, shaking his head as he strode out of the temple toward the entrance to the Immortal Ruins.
Time to retrieve the Green Calamus Sword!
…
At the Immortal Ruins, within the Biyou Palace, Meng Qi encountered “Lady Tian Fei” Qu Jiuniang, who was on duty that day.
Qu Jiuniang had been stuck at the second tier of the Celestial Ladder for several years, not yet reaching the Grandmaster stage. Fortunately, the time hadn’t been too long, and the mission difficulty hadn’t yet escalated to near-death levels. She remained energetic, collecting various resources and frequenting trading spots, living a very fulfilling life.
At this moment, she gazed at Meng Qi with sparkling eyes, as if looking at a walking treasure trove: “Oh my, who do we have here? The Heavenly Venerable himself! I heard that recently both the Soulbug Deity and the Blood Sea Rakshasa fell to your hands, and you even seized their divine weapons?”
A twitch at the corner of Meng Qi’s mouth: “Jiuniang, we’re old acquaintances. No need for such flattery. You think I don’t know your nature?”
Qu Jiuniangang was straightforward in her likes and dislikes, not particularly fearful of authority—she respected Meng Qi, but not to the point of yielding to force. Her only flaw was an extreme weakness for wealth and treasures.
“Hehe,” she chuckled dryly, “Heavenly Venerable, you’re joking. Who in the Immortal Ruins doesn’t know that Jiuniang is kind-hearted and generous, uh…”
She couldn’t even finish that sentence herself. Although she had no intention of actually being generous, even the verbal exaggeration made her feel pained.
Ahem, since flattery wouldn’t work, Jiuniang dropped the act, coughed twice, and stared at Meng Qi with sharp eyes: “Heavenly Venerable, your status and strength are no longer the same as ours. If you just drop a few crumbs, we’d be full for days. We’ve done many transactions before—you know I never cheat anyone…”
Except she did cheat everyone… Meng Qi muttered inwardly.
After a round of self-praise, Qu Jiuniang leaned closer and whispered through telepathy: “Forget the divine weapons—did you get anything else from the Soulbug Deity and the Blood Sea Rakshasa?”
Meng Qi inwardly smirked and replied deliberately: “At the dharma body stage, aside from divine weapons and items of similar rank, I don’t really care about anything else. No need to bother collecting them.”
Qu Jiuniang took two steps back, staring at Meng Qi with a pained expression:
“You… you’ve changed!”
The former “Fierce Blade” Su Meng used to be a fellow treasure-hunter, someone who could haggle with her for half a day. Never would she have imagined that time would change him so much!
“You’re rich and powerful, with multiple divine weapons, so you don’t care, but… but you should think about your friends and family!” Jiuniang lamented, positioning herself as one of his close associates.
Meng Qi suppressed a smile: “Jiuniang, don’t worry. I’ve recently been thinking of forging a treasure that connects distant lands. It’ll require many materials, and I can only gather part of them myself. I’ll definitely need to trade with you all.”
Qu Jiuniang’s eyes lit up like stars, and she flattered with a smile: “No wonder you’re such a renowned hero under heaven!”
Feeling delighted, she proactively asked: “The Heavenly Venerable doesn’t visit without a purpose. Is there anything I can assist you with?”
“Help me find the information Senior Chonghe gathered about the Green Calamus Sword,” Meng Qi said concisely.
Qu Jiuniang hesitated slightly before replying: “I do know about that, but there was a change there a few years ago.”
“What change? Well, start from the beginning,” Meng Qi suddenly had a bad feeling.
Qu Jiuniang did not speak right away. Instead, she guided Meng Qi into the secret chamber of the Biyou Palace, activated the suppression formation, and then began her explanation:
“In ancient times, the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable obtained the Biyou Palace atop Mount Kunlun, acquiring numerous profound techniques and secret arts. Among them was a clue regarding the Green Calamus Sword. Initially, the clue was quite enigmatic, and he could not decipher it—until he discovered the immortal abode left behind after Yun Zhongzi’s demise. Inside lay a replica of the Green Calamus Sword, along with further related information. By combining both sources, the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable finally located a concealed sea eye in the Eastern Sea of the Fengshen World…”
Another sea eye in the Eastern Sea… Meng Qi’s eyes narrowed, recalling how the young Daoist, suspected to be the Green Emperor, had vanished into the Eastern Sea eye.
However, the former was in the Fengshen World’s Eastern Sea, while the latter was in the True Realm’s Eastern Sea—the places they led to should be different.
What exactly did these sea eyes represent?
He hid the purple bell within his heart, returned his spirit to the Primordial Unity, and revealed no outward emotions. Unaware of Meng Qi’s inner thoughts, Qu Jiuniang continued, “After attaining the Dharma Body, the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable finally gained the strength to traverse this sea eye, only to enter a peculiar world that was neither a cave heaven nor a True Realm.”
It was a vast ocean dotted with countless islands and celestial abodes, where martial arts and Daoist arts flourished, and immortals frequently manifested, resembling the legendary overseas paradise from ancient myths.
“Overseas paradise…” Meng Qi repeated.
Qu Jiuniang nodded: “Truly a paradise. According to the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable, the ocean was boundless, with vast distances between immortal abodes and islands. Some places even required days of flight for dharma bodies unskilled in void travel. Therefore, densely populated islands often had teleportation arrays to facilitate communication.”
Teleportation arrays… Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully: “Is the Green Calamus Sword on one of the islands or at the ocean floor?”
“It’s hidden within a secret island called ‘Golden Turtle Island,'” Qu Jiuniang replied.
Golden Turtle Island? It was actually in this overseas paradise? Meng Qi felt a mix of surprise and inevitability.
It made sense for the Green Calamus Sword to be here.
“What dangers are there on the island that even Senior Chonghe had to retreat temporarily?” Meng Qi pressed.
Qu Jiuniang took a deep breath: “The Virtuous Heavenly Venerable encountered traces of ancient wild beasts and true celestial birds and divine beasts there!”
Ancient wild beasts… celestial birds and divine beasts… Just the names were terrifying. Meng Qi finally understood why Senior Chonghe, despite mastering the “One Qi Manifests Three Purities” technique and capable of setting up the Sword Array of Slaughter alone, still decided to wait until reaching the Earth Immortal stage before attempting to retrieve the Green Calamus Sword—an attempt that ultimately failed.
This time, Meng Qi decided to investigate first and not act recklessly.
“Who are the powerful figures in this overseas paradise?” Meng Qi asked.
Qu Jiuniang pursed her lips: “The Virtuous Heavenly Venerable encountered someone resembling a Heavenly Immortal there, but that figure remained elusive.”
A Heavenly Immortal? Meng Qi felt slightly surprised. This overseas paradise truly was a place of flourishing martial arts and Daoist techniques, even harboring a “living” Heavenly Immortal!
“Besides that, there are twelve powerful figures known as the Four Marvels, Three Devils, and Five Elder Immortals. Of particular note are the Five Elder Immortals, who are the rulers of several major islands in the overseas paradise. Led by the ‘Primordial Immortaless’ of the Three Heavens Island, they formed an organization called the Heavenly Dao Alliance, maintaining order and distributing benefits, effectively ruling the paradise. They’re known as the ‘Heavenly Dao Five Elders.'” Qu Jiuniang briefly introduced the major powerhouses.
Meng Qi was particularly interested in the Three Heavens Island. He pondered for a moment and asked: “Is the Primordial Immortaless an Earth Immortal?”
Another Golden Turtle Island, another Three Heavens title—this overseas paradise seemed closely related to the Jie Sect.
“Yes. By the time the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable attained the dharma body, she was already an Earth Immortal. The other Five Elders are also formidable. Even if they aren’t Earth Immortals themselves, they likely possess Earth Immortal-level combat power,” Qu Jiuniang answered.
Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully, suddenly recalling Jiuniang’s earlier words and quickly asking: “What was the change you mentioned?”
Qu Jiuniang hesitated: “The Golden Turtle Island… the Golden Turtle Island has vanished.”
“The Golden Turtle Island has vanished?” Meng Qi confirmed his earlier suspicion. Indeed, this journey to retrieve the Green Calamus Sword wouldn’t be simple. “How did you get this information?”
“The Virtuous Heavenly Venerable had a non-official member there, known as the ‘Yellow Dragon Immortal,’ responsible for collecting rare treasures. We provided him with techniques and assistance in return. After the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable’s demise, the Lady obtained the reincarnation talisman and divine weapons, visiting the overseas paradise several times. A few years ago, she learned from the ‘Yellow Dragon Immortal’ that the Golden Turtle Island had disappeared,” Qu Jiuniang explained.
At the time, the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable had asked the Yellow Dragon Immortal to monitor the Golden Turtle Island’s movements, as the island was extremely secretive and unknown to other powerhouses.
Meng Qi paced back and forth with his hands behind his back: “Where there’s existence, there must be traces. Even disappearance can be traced. I still intend to enter the overseas paradise for investigation.”
…
At Changhua Island, the island lord Qu Baimei was hosting a distinguished guest—the inspection envoy of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Yin Feilong.
Midway through the banquet, Yin Feilong signaled subtly, prompting Qu Baimei to dismiss the attendants and activate the suppression formation.
“Is there anything the envoy wishes to instruct me?” Qu Baimei asked in puzzlement.
Yin Feilong’s expression turned serious: “Island Lord Qu, are you aware of a mysterious organization that has been active over the past few decades? They wear masks resembling ancient immortals.”
“You’re referring to the mysterious organization that seized the treasures of the Purple Bamboo Island ahead of us?” Qu Baimei frowned in response.
“Precisely. At that time, a masked figure known as the ‘Doumu Yuanjun’ intervened. Additionally, nineteen years ago, the ancient ruins of Dongning Island were obtained by the ‘Taiyi Immortal.’ Twenty-seven years ago, the Supreme Demon Lord was severely wounded by the ‘Lingbao Tianzun’… The Five Elders have been closely monitoring this mysterious organization all along, never relaxing their pursuit. Now, I’ve finally obtained some clues,” Yin Feilong bowed respectfully. “I humbly request your cooperation, Island Lord.”
“Why would my cooperation be necessary?” Qu Baimei asked cautiously.
Yin Feilong’s expression grew solemn: “There’s a mysterious powerhouse named Mo Ning residing by the seaside on this island. Several clues point to him. I request your assistance in capturing him.”
Without informing Qu Baimei first, it would be easy for him to activate the island’s grand formation in a panic, causing casualties.
Qu Baimei nodded: “Allow me some time to prepare.”
He strode out of the hall, entered his bedroom, and upon turning around, a mask had already covered his face—the mask of the “Yellow Dragon Immortal”!
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