Eternal Tale

In the Xuanji Sacred Land, it was like a painting of a fairyland, with lush green mountains and clear waters, where verdant peaks stood proudly.

This was where the cave abodes of the new disciples were located.

Beneath the mountain, a fifth-grade Spirit Vein meandered, its spiritual qi rich to the extreme. The flowers, grasses, and trees on the mountain, nourished by the spiritual qi, became exceptionally mystical, and occasionally, spiritual beasts could be seen roaming around.

Chen Batian and Chen Yanshu sat on a large rock, looking up at the sky. A gentle breeze brushed their faces, carrying the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds, filling the air with a comforting atmosphere.

”Yanshu, we’ve been in the sect for several days now. Why haven’t Elder Xun and Ancestor Bull given us any orders?” Chen Batian asked, a bit confused. He plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, then lay down.

It had been several days since they joined.

Perhaps influenced by Chen Xun’s personality, the two of them, apart from occasionally cultivating, spent most of their time here, enjoying the scenery, feeling the mountain breeze, and discussing future plans.

But having waited so long without receiving any orders from Chen Xun, Chen Batian felt a bit uneasy.

”Entering the Sacred Land is just the first step. Right now, the most important thing is to improve our cultivation. There’s no need to think too much about other things,” Chen Yanshu said with a smile, sitting next to him with a book he had taken from somewhere. ”Once we have firmly established ourselves, when the time is right, they will inform us.”

Hearing Chen Yanshu’s analysis, Chen Batian nodded, seemingly relieved. He looked up at the sky, lost in thought....

Time flew by like a gentle spring rain, silent and unnoticed, or like a chilly winter breeze, causing everything to wither.

A month later.

Thanks to their exceptional spiritual roots and Ru Tang’s assistance, they successfully became disciples of Qiu Haiping, the strongest Void Refinement cultivator.

From then on, their status and position in the Xuanji Sacred Land gradually stabilized.

Speaking of Qiu Haiping, his life of cultivating immortality was quite legendary.

He was once a cultivator overlooked by the Sacred Land because he possessed dual water and fire spiritual roots, which were both complementary and conflicting.

The two types of spiritual qi in his meridians would clash, leading to either deviation or death by explosion, making cultivation extremely difficult.

However, his Dao heart was extraordinarily firm. Unafraid of life and death in pursuit of the immortal path, he studied numerous ancient texts and left the sect to travel, eventually succeeding in forming a special water-fire attribute Golden Core.

After enduring countless hardships, he returned to the Sacred Land, receiving various resources and attention, making him a highly regarded cultivator within the Sacred Land.

From then on, Qiu Haiping soared to great heights.

The water and fire attributes not only maintained a certain balance within him but also made his combat power far surpass that of cultivators at the same stage.

Later, it took him only a hundred years to break through all the way to the peak of Void Refinement, with ascension to the Unity stage just around the corner.

Importantly, Qiu Haiping and Ru Tang were disciples of Shen Shi’s lineage, and the two had some connections.

Thus, Chen Batian and Chen Yanshu becoming his disciples was also very beneficial for Ru Tang.

On this day, the sky was as clear as a wash, with brilliant sunlight illuminating the earth.

At this moment, in the area of a second-grade Spirit Vein in the Xuanji Sacred Land, there was a mountain shrouded in mist.

The mountain was named Water Flame Peak, standing about a hundred feet tall, majestic and steep, with ancient trees towering above, lush and vibrant, full of life.

This peak was the domain of Qiu Haiping, the strongest Void Refinement cultivator in the Xuanji Sacred Land.

Over the years, Chen Batian and Chen Yanshu had been residing here for cultivation. Time flew by, and it had been three years since they joined the sect.

Their cultivation had advanced from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and due to their remarkable talent, Qiu Haiping praised them highly.

Just when the entire mountain was as peaceful and harmonious as usual.

A terrifying aura suddenly emanated from Chen Batian’s cave abode, rapidly spreading and enveloping the entire mountain.

In the forest, countless birds and beasts fled in panic.

The disciples on the entire mountain, not knowing what had happened, all showed expressions of shock.

Before anyone could react, a dazzling pillar of light shot up into the sky, piercing the clouds, with surrounding spiritual qi converging like a sea of fire in the void, terrifying to the extreme.

”This... this celestial phenomenon is coming from Water Flame Peak!”

”Could it be that Qiu Haiping has broken through to the Unity stage?”

For a while, the surrounding peaks were abuzz with excitement, with various strong cultivators speculating in confusion.

At this moment, Qiu Haiping was also bewildered, waking from his closed-door cultivation. He instantly sensed everything and immediately locked onto Chen Batian’s cave abode, his mind shaken.

”What is this little guy doing? Why is there such a massive celestial disturbance!”

Qiu Haiping’s expression was uncertain, and he immediately activated the protective array to prevent the mountain from being damaged by the phenomenon caused by Chen Batian.

However, Chen Batian was unaware of all this. His eyes were tightly closed, his aura ethereal, with strands of terrifying flames swirling around him, burning everything, as he fell into a special state.

Far away in the Wanshou Mountain Range of the Xuanji Sacred Land.

”Hmm? What’s going on?”

In the Peach Blossom Land, Chen Xun’s true form also sensed the anomaly and hurriedly investigated.

”Huh, Bull, something’s strange...”

Chen Xun frowned, utterly puzzled, carefully probing every place, trying to find the reason.

”Moo? Moo!” Black Bull snorted, activating the power of the Five Elements Law, starting to deduce whether there was something wrong with the array.

”Moo moo moo!”

Suddenly, Black Bull seemed to have discovered something unbelievable, his eyes widened, nudging Chen Xun, and mooing excitedly.

”Are you saying the array has changed?”

”Moo!”

Black Bull nodded vigorously, then explained the situation in detail.

Chen Xun was taken aback, discovering that the array within the immortal puppet had somehow mutated, beginning to reverse on its own.

Because when the immortal puppet was initially crafted, the arrays within it were all imprinted by Black Bull.

And Black Bull’s arrays were basically evolved from the Five Elements Law, so the arrays within the immortal puppet, despite their changes, were essentially still Five Elements Arrays.

This array had long fused with the body, equivalent to the meridians within a cultivator, playing the role of absorbing, refining, and storing spiritual qi.

Unexpectedly, it suddenly reversed, triggering a series of chain reactions, causing changes in the body, leaving Black Bull in a panic.

After continuous deduction and observation by the two.

After a while, Chen Xun’s eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, ”It’s the power of the Reverse Five Elements!”

”Moo?” Black Bull was startled, his eyes widening, recalling the strange power of the Reverse Five Elements in the Tianhang Jade Stone mine.

The power of the Reverse Five Elements, like a maggot in the bones, had merged into their Five Elements Law, unable to be eradicated, always suppressed by them.

But currently, this power was very weak, showing no abnormalities or harm, and had long been forgotten.

Unexpectedly, the power of the Reverse Five Elements had also merged into the immortal puppet during its crafting, subtly altering the Five Elements Array within, reversing it, completely overturning everything.

This change, if allowed to continue developing, even Chen Xun couldn’t deduce what would happen next.

”Moo!” Black Bull let out a low moo, seemingly asking Chen Xun what to do.

They could remotely control the actions of the immortal puppet through the imprint within it, but to reforge the array inside, to set things right, they couldn’t do it remotely. They could only let the immortal puppet return, or they would have to infiltrate the Sacred Land to solve it by hand.

Chen Xun’s expression was uncertain, not answering immediately, clearly undecided for the moment.

After pondering for a while, he said in a deep voice, ”Let’s wait and see!”

”Moo?”

Black Bull tilted his head, somewhat puzzled by this decision.

Chen Xun expressed his thoughts, ”Bull, the power of the Reverse Five Elements is very peculiar. We only know that they are the reverse form of the power of the Five Elements, but we know nothing about their other effects. Perhaps the changes in the immortal puppet... can help us further understand this power.”

”Moreover, if everything were under control, wouldn’t it be too boring?”

”Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, let’s leave it to fate. Perhaps, for Batian and Yanshu, this might be an opportunity.”

”Moo!”

Black Bull nodded, agreeing with Chen Xun’s thoughts.

So they calmed down, observing in secret, letting everything take its course.