The Battle for Mount Tai

Once he had utterly erased Ruoshui’s image from his heart, Xiao Chen left Ancestral Dragon Village with Keke. It was like being reborn; the confusion of the past had been ground away completely, and he once again stepped into the cultivation world.

“Ya-ya ya-ya…” Keke darted through space, excitedly racing with Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen unfurled the Eight Aspect Worlds, moving like wind and lightning, but he found it impossible to shake the little creature. Behind him, a streak of white light followed like a strange meteor.

“Little one, you’re fast…” Xiao Chen smiled and pinched its nose.

The snow-white beast muttered discontentedly, then happily hugged a Vermilion Fruit and gnawed at it.

Clang!

From afar came the sound of swords and sabers clashing, accompanied by surging energy fluctuations.

This place was not far from Mount Tai, the most revered of the Five Sacred Mountains—a key site in the lands of the Nine Provinces.

Xiao Chen and Keke flew forward swiftly.

The mountains rolled, verdant and green, yet even the honored Eastern Peak, famed throughout the land, lacked spiritual energy.

Six figures were locked in chaotic combat, both sides evenly matched, fighting fiercely. One side was cultivators from the Cultivation World; the other, practitioners from the World of Immortality. Flying swords and magical treasures clashed and charged, the battle intense. Ahead, more shouts rang out, and looking forward, one could see countless silhouettes. Near Mount Tai, there were many battle groups, all young figures.

What is this? How can so many be fighting?

Xiao Chen and Keke, like outsiders, flew up to the summit of Mount Tai.

The fighting above was even more intense.

Blood stained the sky.

Cultivation World treasures flew everywhere.

Divine principles lit up the mountain peak.

At the summit of Mount Tai, a blood mist permeated everything.

Xiao Chen was astonished. He had not expected the battle between the two sides to be so brutal. If the people of the World of Immortality had not been brought into the mortal realm, the cultivators of the Nine Provinces would likely have been unable to stand against the Cultivation World.

Swish!

A beam of sword light shot toward Xiao Chen, aiming directly at his head. Keke muttered discontentedly and swept out a seven-colored divine light. With a clang, the flying sword shattered. A figure off in the distance spat blood and nearly fell from the sky, apparently not expecting the one-person-one-beast who had barged into the battlefield to be so powerful.

Several figures charged forward together, quickly surrounding Xiao Chen and Keke. Xiao Chen spread the Eight Aspect Worlds and vanished instantly, evading to another direction to watch. He did not wish to act rashly.

On Mount Tai, there were many battle groups, figures everywhere. Suddenly, he spotted an acquaintance.

Samo, one of the ten great religious experts of the young generation from the Roman Empire in the World of Immortality, was holding an ancient scripture book and chanting. The stars in the sky shone brilliantly, and eighteen house-sized blue energy stars fell like meteors, directly smashing the magical treasures of the three Cultivation World attackers besieging him and disintegrating their bodies.

“Haha… Brother Xiao, come help! The people of the Cultivation World are too arrogant—they even want to seize Mount Tai!” Samo saw Xiao Chen and the snow-white beast.

“How did you come here?”

“I wept—I went to the West, but it was bitterly cold there, and the seal was even more severe than the Nine Provinces. I had no choice but to run back.” Samo shook off two more Cultivation World cultivators and came before Xiao Chen, saying, “It’s said that the Nine Provinces are about to be unsealed, so the Cultivation World people have started grabbing sacred mountains. Similar battles are happening at famous mountains everywhere. But the old-timers haven’t shown themselves yet; it’s all the younger generation fighting.”

“I see.”

“There are indeed troublesome figures in the Cultivation World, very hard to deal with. I almost died here a few days ago,” Samo said, still shaken.

Xiao Chen saw another familiar silhouette. Golden sunflower petals lit up half the mountain peak. A shadow moved like lightning, so fast that even flying swords could not match it. It charged back and forth, snapping several flying swords and even lopping off the heads of a few Cultivation World cultivators.

Wasn’t that Hai Yuntian? It had been a long time since he had last seen him, and his demonic art had now reached great success. Without needing to think, Xiao Chen knew he had cultivated the legendary demonic manual, the Sunflower Manual. His figure was swift as a ghost, his sword-light brilliant as a rainbow.

“Heavenly Buddha Wheel!” A great shout drew Xiao Chen’s attention. He saw Chu Xingkuang, the master of the rare divine ability Fate Twins, which shared the same source as the Buddha’s great powers. Though he had been defeated many times, his future potential was boundless.

His opponent used a Five Elements Banner to shatter the Good Child holding the Heavenly Buddha Wheel, but the Evil Child broke through with the Death Scythe, shattered the banner, cut off the opponent’s head, and crushed the Nascent Soul that was trying to flee into the sky.

“Many old acquaintances have come to the mortal world,” Xiao Chen sighed.

Shudder!

Not far away, a graceful beauty spread Undying Wings and soared into the sky. Her hands, white as pure jade, seemed carved from the finest mutton fat. The Undying Seals were executed with sublime perfection, effortless and untraceable. She easily broke through two Cultivation World cultivators’ defenses, shattered their gilded drums, and sent them plummeting from the peak.

This woman’s beauty could eclipse the moon and topple cities—it was Yan Qingcheng. With the help of the Undying Sect Leader, she had severed her connection to Xiao Chen and used herself as a cauldron, finally achieving initial success in the Shatter Demon, Plant God technique. Her power had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Purple robes fluttered, the beauty was like a flower, gracefully dancing like a jade butterfly. Yan Qingcheng, nimble and ethereal, turned and also saw Xiao Chen. She seemed a little surprised, but quickly turned her head and began seeking her next opponent.

The Cultivation World was truly formidable. Xiao Chen saw Samo, Hai Yuntian, Chu Xingkuang, and Yan Qingcheng all defeat their opponents in succession, but he also saw many young experts from the World of Immortality fall on the summit of Mount Tai.

Battle was ruthless. Blood splattered on both sides, and casualties mounted. The situation was not one-sided.

Samo said, “Recently, Mount Tai has been the main battlefield, but fierce battles are also taking place at other famous mountains. Many old acquaintances are scattered across different places. I hear that the Cultivation World people want to set up a life-or-death arena with us, each side sending their strongest experts to duel.”

“Wuuu…” Just then, a low, muffled roar came from the distant sky, as if an ancient giant beast was approaching. A surging, overwhelming power rolled in like a tidal wave.

Looking into the distance, two enormous warships were flying through the sky.

Samo frowned. “Their experts have arrived.”

Those were unique giant warships of the Cultivation World, large-scale magical treasures shimmering with dazzling light. They pierced through clouds and mist, approaching rapidly. Both ships were hundreds of meters long, with extremely intense energy fluctuations.

“Stop!”

On the first ship, a man shouted. At the same time, a sword-light descended from the clouds like a celestial sword crossing the heavens. The enormous sword-light directly sent many cultivators flying.

It was an arrogant sword strike, trying to level the summit of Mount Tai. This immediately enraged many people. This was the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains, a symbol of the mortal world—how could he be so insolent?

But several cultivators who charged forward were shattered, blood spilling across the sky, their broken bodies falling. They simply could not withstand that colossal sword-light.

Just then, a flash of blood-red light appeared. Apocalyptic phantoms of gods and demons emerged—headless angels, armless demons—accompanying a crystalline, finger-length blood-red flying dagger that shattered the void and collided with the sword-light.

The orthodox successor of the Little Li Flying Dagger, Jue Dao, had acted. That red flying dagger was once Li Xunhuan’s benevolent blade, but having been stained with the blood of countless gods and demons, it had become a blood-drenched weapon of murderous aura, indestructible and unstoppable by gods or demons.

The sword-light shattered. The huge warship in the sky shook violently. The blue-clothed youth on it sneered: “Interesting.”

As he spoke, the two warships descended. The vast fluctuations sent the crowd staggering back. There were many cultivators on the ships. The blue-clothed youth was the first to descend on his sword, shouting, “Wasn’t it agreed that the strong would duel? Why has it turned into a melee?”

A scar-faced man with a wolf’s glare brazenly stepped forward and shouted back, “You should ask your people why they invaded Mount Tai by force!”

Xiao Chen was startled. Wasn’t that Bo Shi, the royal descendant of the Great Shang capital? That infamous fierce bald monk. It seemed the great clans of the five hegemonic kingdoms had also sent some “seeds” to the mortal world.

“Mount Tai belongs neither to the Cultivation World nor to your World of Immortality, does it?” the blue-clothed youth sneered.

Bo Shi said coldly, “Our ancestors’ roots are in the mortal world. We have returned to our homeland. You, however, are invaders.”

The blue-clothed youth laughed uproariously. “Ridiculous! Our ancestors, like the Great Yu and Hou Yi, also came from the mortal world. Returning now is also going home. Enough talk—in the end, strength will decide. There is still time before the arena deathmatches, but the battles for the sacred mountains have already begun. How about we contest a few kings right here today?”

“As if we fear you!” The people of the World of Immortality were furious.

The blue-clothed youth laughed loudly. “No need for too many participants. Each side will send a few people—that’s enough. I will certainly be among them.”

“Good!” Jue Dao stepped forward upon hearing this, facing the blue-clothed youth in the void.

At this moment, several experts from the Cultivation World side came to stand beside the blue-clothed youth, lining up with him.

To Xiao Chen’s great surprise, he saw an acquaintance—a pale-faced man in purple robes descending from the second warship on his sword. It was none other than Deng Yu, the number one young expert of the Shu Mountain sect.

Hadn’t he been suppressed in the Haotian Tower? Xiao Chen understood immediately: Taihao must have released him.

“Brother Deng, there is no need for you to act. Please rest,” said the blue-clothed youth.

“It’s no matter. With the help of the ancestors, I have fully recovered.”

Jue Dao stepped forward. Samo, Yan Qingcheng, Hai Yuntian, and Chu Xingkuang also advanced through the void.

“Has the World of Immortality fallen so far? You’re all that’s left?” The blue-clothed youth sneered, standing together with the purple-clad Deng Yu, looking down on the world.

“That is still better than the mortal world. Such a vast land as the Nine Provinces cannot produce a single fighter capable of taking the field,” Deng Yu said softly and slowly, but his words spread clearly across the entire Mount Tai. Many cultivators heard him, but no one said anything. Apart from Xiao Chen, there truly was no mortal-world cultivator here.

“Ya-ya…” Keke muttered angrily. It was highly intelligent and knew that this was Xiao Chen’s homeland, so it felt indignant on his behalf.

Deng Yu’s gaze swept over inadvertently, and he was thunderstruck. Although Xiao Chen’s appearance was different from the last time, his aura was absolutely the same.

This time, Xiao Chen was showing his true face and had not concealed his aura.

“It’s you?!” He was both shocked and enraged.

“It is I.” Xiao Chen held Keke and pinched its ear, causing the little beast to cry out “Ya-ya.” He appeared very calm, looking evenly at Deng Yu.

“I’ll kill you!” Deng Yu hated Xiao Chen to the bone. As the number one young expert of Shu Mountain, his last unexpected defeat had become an obsession. If not for the help of his elders, he would have been completely crippled by Xiao Chen.

“You want to fight me? But you just said that the mortal world cannot produce a single fighter. Do you want to duel with me, an ordinary mortal-world cultivator?”

These words were like a slap to Deng Yu’s face. No matter what, he had lost to Xiao Chen last time.

The blue-clothed youth beside him stopped Deng Yu and said, “Both of us are among the ten strongest young experts of the Cultivation World. Don’t lower yourself to the level of a mortal-world cultivator. Soldiers face soldiers, generals face generals, kings face kings. He will have his own opponent.”

“Haha…” Xiao Chen said nothing, only laughed loudly.

Deng Yu’s face burned, feeling that Xiao Chen was mocking him. He said coldly, “Last time you won by relying on the Haotian Tower. If you lose the tower, how can you match me with true skill? I will take your life within twenty moves.”

On the summit of Mount Tai, silhouettes crowded, countless cultivators. Everyone was shocked—Xiao Chen had actually defeated Deng Yu, one of the ten strongest young experts of the Cultivation World? They all showed expressions of disbelief.