Chapter 61 – Testing Divine Powers at Jieli Mountain

Great Xuan, Jieli Mountain.

The mountain rose several thousand meters high, shaped as if cleaved by a blade, piercing straight into the clouds.

On the steep mountain path halfway up, two youths walked in single file.

The one in front was a lean youth wearing a straw hat, his features resolute.

The youth following behind looked a few years younger but had a burly frame, with thick brows, large eyes, and an honest demeanor.

At that moment, the burly youth wiped the sweat from his forehead and plopped down on the ground. “Erlang, let’s rest a bit. We’ve been walking most of the day, and I really can’t go on.”

The lean youth turned back and handed over a water flask. “Fierce tigers and wild beasts occasionally appear in these mountains. It’s not safe to rest here. I know there’s a hidden cave not far ahead—if you’re truly exhausted, we can rest there.”

The burly youth took the flask, gulped down several mouthfuls, let out a long breath, and asked curiously, “Erlang, are there really immortals in these mountains?”

“Definitely. I saw one with my own eyes.” Erlang raised his head to gaze at the summit hidden within the clouds, his tone utterly certain.

The burly youth looked unconvinced. “Ever since five years ago, you’ve been like someone possessed—running into Jieli Mountain every chance you get. Who knows how many trips you’ve made, and you still haven’t actually found any immortal. If you ask me, you should give up on this idea. Seeking immortals and pursuing the Dao is far too ethereal and uncertain. I think you’d be better off training in martial arts like me…”

The burly youth was only halfway through when Erlang cut him off with a frown. “Wang Xuanba, when did you become as nagging as my mother? Say another word of this nonsense and you can go back down the mountain by yourself!”

The burly youth awkwardly scratched the back of his head and wisely shut his mouth.

The two continued climbing along the mountain path toward the summit.

Before long, a sinister gust of wind suddenly swept through the mountains.

Wang Xuanba’s ears twitched and his expression changed. He stepped forward, pressed a hand on Erlang’s shoulder, and made a gesture for silence.

“Up ahead there’s—” His eyes narrowed as he was about to warn Erlang, but he froze mid-sentence.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

On the mountain path ahead, accompanied by a rustling sound, an enormous white python slithered down along the mountainside.

The python’s body was massive—just the visible portion from its head onward was already a full seven or eight meters long.

The rest of its body was concealed among the mountain’s vegetation, its true length impossible to guess.

The white python was as thick as a washbasin. Its enormous scarlet eyes radiated a chilling red glow.

Flicking its forked tongue, it held its head high and glided along the cliff face, descending toward the abyss below.

At the sight of this terrifying beast, both Wang Xuanba and Erlang were frozen with fear, not daring to move a muscle, holding even their breath.

The white python’s massive body dragged across the ground for quite some time before slowly disappearing from their field of vision.

Phew…

Wang Xuanba let out a long breath and was about to speak when he heard another burst of rapid movement.

That enormous serpentine head had instantly reared back up from below the cliff, its eyes locked dead on the two of them!

Wang Xuanba and Erlang turned to stone once more.

Hisssss…

The white python swayed its head, slowly slithering closer to the two.

Its gaping maw opened wide, bringing with it waves of fetid stench.

Engulfed by the python’s shadow, its head nearly about to swallow him whole, Wang Xuanba could endure no more.

He let out a thunderous roar, every muscle in his body bulging as his entire frame swelled a full size larger in an instant.

He flipped into the air, swung his fist, and smashed it down toward the white python’s head below.

“Clang!”

It actually produced the sound of metal striking metal!

And at that moment, Erlang moved too.

He stomped down, shattering the rock beneath his feet, and his figure blurred. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the white python.

Turning fists into fingers, he stabbed viciously into the python’s body dozens of times in rapid succession.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!…”

The sounds of collision rang out endlessly.

Yet this barrage of attacks from the two of them couldn’t even break through the white python’s skin!

The white python hissed furiously, twisted its body, and lashed out at Wang Xuanba.

“Boom!”

Wang Xuanba was instantly sent flying, slamming into the cliff wall and sending shattered rock spraying everywhere.

But the white python didn’t pursue Wang Xuanba. Instead, it swung its head around and opened its enormous jaws to bite down on Erlang.

Unable to dodge in time, Erlang could only thrust out both hands, desperately bracing against the python’s gaping maw.

The white python let out a strange roar and clamped down with tremendous force.

Erlang’s body nearly vanished inside the python’s massive mouth, but with a muffled grunt, he managed to hold it open by sheer force.

The stalemate lasted a long while. When the white python found it still couldn’t swallow this tiny human, it flew into a rage.

It thrashed its body violently, slamming Erlang against the mountain path, against the cliff face, over and over, trying to shake him loose.

With each blow Erlang endured, his fingers dug deeper like blades into the python’s flesh.

This went on for a long time. The mountain path was littered with the marks of Erlang’s body crashing into stone. Then the white python’s scarlet eyes flashed, and a stream of dark brown liquid shot from its mouth.

Erlang barely managed to dodge with his head, but the venom still drenched his entire body.

“Sizzle…”

As the venom corroded away, it revealed Erlang’s flesh beneath, glowing with a faint golden luster.

He let out a stifled groan, unable to hold on any longer. The white python flung him aside, sending him crashing next to the unconscious Wang Xuanba.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he struggled to prop himself up. Watching the white python draw ever closer, a trace of bitter defiance appeared in his eyes.

Ever since that evening years ago, when he had witnessed with his own eyes an immortal soaring through the sky above Jieli Mountain—that peerless, transcendent figure—the pursuit of immortals and the Dao had never left his mind.

Countless times he had ventured deep into the mountains, all to find that immortal and beg to become his disciple.

He had even clashed with his own mother over it.

Who would have thought that instead of finding the immortal, he would lose his life in the jaws of this beast?

He, Sun Erlang—born with supernatural strength, versed in every martial art—was to meet such an end. How could he possibly accept it?

But engulfed by the white python’s shadow, with no strength left to resist, Erlang could only close his eyes in despair.

Just as Erlang resigned himself to death, a clear, resonant crane call suddenly echoed from deep within the mountains.

Upon hearing the cry, the white python reacted as if confronting a natural predator. It reared its head high, flicked its tongue, and stared intently in the direction of the sound.

Seeing a turn of events, Erlang opened his eyes.

A white crane had appeared from somewhere in the mountains and was locked in fierce combat with the python.

The crane wheeled and dove with agility, nimbly evading the python’s strikes while pecking at its body with its sharp beak, tearing away bits of flesh with each strike.

Though the python was not as nimble as the crane, its hide was thick and tough. Even after dozens of hits, the crane had barely sapped its vitality.

Yet if the python managed even a single retaliatory bite on the crane, it would be enough to grievously wound it.

Gradually, the white crane began to lose ground.

Seeing the two beasts locked in their desperate struggle with no attention to spare for him, Erlang hurriedly struggled to his feet and tried to drag Wang Xuanba away to seize the chance to escape.

Just then, a sound like a surging tide seemed to rise from the mountains.

Erlang froze. He looked up and beheld an extraordinary sight.

In the sky, countless birds flocked together from every corner of the mountains, dense as gathering storm clouds, all flying toward this spot.

On the mountainside, rats, reptiles, even apes, tigers, and leopards, along with countless animals Erlang had never seen before, suddenly emerged from every direction, forming a beast tide that surged toward the place where crane and serpent battled.

Erlang realized what was happening, and his face went pale.

Caught in this beast tide, the two of them would have no chance of survival!

The red-eyed white python also sensed the danger. It broke off its fight with the crane and tried to flee.

But the white crane refused to relent, as if bearing an irreconcilable blood feud against the python. Even as it was bitten bloody and torn to shreds, it would not let the serpent escape.

In mere moments, the birds and beast tide arrived.

They ignored the white crane and Erlang entirely. The sole target in their eyes was the enormous python!

The white python let out a cry of terror, but it was already surrounded by countless beasts—with no path to heaven above and no door to earth below.

The beasts attacked as if crazed, trampling over one another, fighting to tear at and devour the python’s body.

Even when their own teeth shattered and blood flowed freely, they would not release their grip.

Many beasts literally gnawed themselves to death, but were quickly replaced by others.

It was as if the white python had committed some unforgivable crime.

Every bird and beast surged forward one after another, wave upon wave, vowing to devour the python down to nothing.

They would not stop until it was dead!

The white python was swallowed by the beast tide. Its struggles grew weaker and weaker.

After an unknown length of time, it finally fell silent.

Only then did the beasts gradually disperse.

As for that enormous red-eyed white python—not even a single bone remained.

Having witnessed such a bizarre scene, Erlang stood rooted to the spot, not daring to make a sound for a long while.

He swallowed hard, and only after a great deal of time did he regain his senses.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he looked left and right and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Immortal Master, is that you?”

“It must have been you who did this, wasn’t it?”

In his mind, the unnatural beast tide that had just occurred must surely have been the handiwork of that immortal living in seclusion on Jieli Mountain.

Erlang was excited, eager.

But despite shouting until his voice was nearly hoarse, he could not catch a glimpse of the Immortal Master.

And so he sank into deep disappointment.

Yet not far from him, Li Fan stood watching with a faint smile.

The Immortal Master was right before his eyes, yet a mortal could not perceive him.

“This child is quite good. His constitution seems somewhat special, and his resolve to seek the Dao is remarkably firm.” Li Fan regarded Erlang with a hint of appreciation in his gaze.

“Unfortunately, I myself haven’t even found my footing yet. How could I teach you?” Li Fan shook his head with a smile.

“When the time is right in the future, I’ll bestow upon you a stroke of good fortune!”

He lightly pointed a finger toward Erlang.

Sun Erlang suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, then looked around in a daze. Finally, he hefted the still-unconscious Wang Xuanba onto his shoulders and headed down the mountain.

After watching the two depart from Jieli Mountain, Li Fan then examined the scene where the white python had been devoured, feeling a measure of delight.

“Nine years of painstaking research have not been in vain. This Formless Killing Intent is truly extraordinary.”

The spectacle on Jieli Mountain just now—birds and beasts rising up in unison to devour the white python—was naturally his doing.

In this life, because he was already at the late Qi Refining stage, he had chosen to seclude himself on Jieli Mountain to avoid the effects of the Mortal Taint.

On one hand, he waited for Return to Truth to finish recharging. On the other, he cultivated diligently.

Since there was no spiritual energy in the immortal-barren land, he spent the vast majority of his time contemplating the celestial qi dynamics he had observed in his previous life.

Nine years of tireless effort, day and night, with single-minded devotion—he had finally gained something, comprehending from those insights a technique: the Formless Killing Intent.

Once deployed, the Formless Killing Intent could, within a certain range and to a certain degree, disguise itself as the Heavenly Dao’s killing intent.

When Heaven unleashes its killing intent, various calamities naturally manifest.

A target locked by the Formless Killing Intent would perish within those calamities without Li Fan needing to lift a finger.

Take the red-eyed white python just now—once Li Fan locked it with his Formless Killing Intent, it became a target of the Heavenly Dao’s killing intent within the bounds of Jieli Mountain.

Heaven and earth nurture all living things, and the will of heaven and earth commands the vast majority of creatures in this world.

Thus, countless animals were driven by that will, generating boundless killing intent toward the white python.

This killing intent would not dissipate until the python was completely dead.

Borrowing the mandate of Heaven for one’s own use—that was precisely what made the Formless Killing Intent so formidable.

Not only was its power impressive and its methods uncanny, the Formless Killing Intent also possessed extremely high concealment.

The Formless Killing Intent itself was akin to the killing intent of heaven and earth—a form of pure will and natural law.

Ordinary cultivators would be completely unable to detect it.

With so many advantages combined in one, it was truly an essential tool for killing and plundering.

No wonder Li Fan was so satisfied.

Of course, since the first test subject of the Formless Killing Intent was merely an ordinary mountain beast, the spectacle had been quite dramatic.

As for its actual effect when used against cultivators of equal or even higher cultivation than Li Fan—that would have to wait for Li Fan to test it himself in the future.

With the divine power test complete, Li Fan returned to the thatched hut where he lived in seclusion atop Jieli Mountain.

After a brief tidying up, Li Fan checked the recharge progress of Turn Reality into Illusion.

It was already at 99%.

“It’s time to set foot in the cultivation world once more.”

Li Fan promptly summoned the Taiyan Vessel and flew to Xuanjing City.

Wielding the might of an immortal, just as he had in his previous life, he plundered vast quantities of treasures and provisions.

After filling the Taiyan Vessel, Li Fan arrived outside Qian Hong’s tomb.

With his current cultivation, the restrictive seal of the Halt Stele Fragment could no longer harm him.

Entering Qian Hong’s tomb, Li Fan retrieved the bound Halt Stele Fragment stored within the Return to Truth space.

The two Halt Stele Fragments merged with each other, forming a completely new Halt Stele Fragment.

Unlike its previous decrepit state, it now bore only a few cracks along the surface of the stele.

Yet it still seemed to lack that final spark needed for a qualitative transformation.

Li Fan paid it no mind.

Having experienced the tremendous power of the Azure Sea Pearl, he no longer thought much of this Halt Stele Fragment.

It was merely something to sell to the Celestial Mystery Mirror in exchange for contribution points.

He also took the two cultivation techniques from Qian Hong’s tomb and the damaged Taiyan Vessel, then prepared to depart by boat.

After flying some distance, he turned back, carefully collected Qian Hong’s remains, and prepared to bring them back to the cultivation world to fulfill his dying wish.

With nothing left to attend to, Li Fan passed smoothly through the immortal-barren grand formation and returned to the cultivation world.

Seeing the azure Layered Cloud Sea once again, Li Fan couldn’t help but feel as though a lifetime had passed.

He took out Qian Hong’s remains, reduced them to ashes, and scattered them into the vast ocean.

High above, a celestial phenomenon suddenly manifested.

A single petal drifted from its branch, carried by the wind, wandering without end.

“Foundation Establishment cultivator Qian Hong cultivated the Dao for two hundred and sixty-five years. He achieved his Dao Foundation through the wondrous artifact, the Drifting Plum Blossom.”

“Cast adrift for three thousand six hundred and seventy years, his soul now returns to its homeland, and his Dao is returned to Heaven!”

The celestial phenomenon lasted no more than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before dissipating without a trace.