Chapter 1 The Quarrel

“Dodge!”

“Get out of the way!”

“Run!”

Countless mud and rocks fell like a torrential rain, a scene that was more than spectacular.

The faces of the medicine gatherers were drained of color. Some rolled into the mountains and gullies, while others plunged headfirst into tree holes, utterly disheveled.

Bang bang bang~~

Wei Shaoyou's eyes flickered as he strode forward, waving his hands to knock away the boulders and tree trunks that were flying in all directions, threatening the medicine gatherers.

Over the past few months, he had made steady progress. Although he had not yet formed his natal essence, he had successfully tempered his skills.

What seemed like a natural disaster to ordinary people was nothing much to him. As long as he didn't rush into the heart of the aftershock, he wouldn't be in any danger.

“It really is a death tribulation. If I hadn’t intervened, even if they weren’t killed by the overwhelming rocks, they wouldn’t have escaped the wild beasts and ferocious creatures that would have scattered in terror...”

Wei Shaoyou stepped forward, his sleeves sweeping away the rolling mud and rocks, flinging a medicine gatherer into a nearby mountain depression.

Most of his attention, however, was focused on the honest middle-aged man named Li Wengang.

In the rain of mud, sand, and rocks, Li Wengang was having no better time than anyone else, perhaps even worse, looking utterly miserable.

However, the way this guy was leaping back and forth through the mountains and forests, although covered in dust, didn't seem to put him in any life-threatening danger.

It seemed ordinary, but in Wei Shaoyou's eyes, who had been watching him all along, it was a glaring flaw.

“Could it really be him?”

Wei Shaoyou was both surprised and delighted, but he didn't dare to jump to conclusions.

He moved through the mountains and forests, sweeping away the flying rocks and tree trunks, to prevent these people from dying here.

At the same time, his heart was extremely heavy.

He was the only one present who knew what was happening. If he wasn't mistaken, this was the prelude to the escape of that great demon.

Such disturbances would occur many times in the next few decades, affecting who knows how many states and prefectures.

Until hundreds of years later, when the Huangtian Shi Li (Ten Calamities of Heaven) were completely resurrected, they would unleash a cataclysmic wave of destruction before everything returned to silence.

Only the Old Celestial Master would seal the Huangtian Shi Li, leading a group of people across this apocalyptic end to the eleventh Da Dao Ji (Great Epoch).

Boom!

Boom!

Among the mountains, beasts fled in terror. Countless mountains cracked open, and ripples spread across the sky, scattering layers of clouds, creating a magnificent spectacle.

Near a mountain forest not far away, two figures stood one after the other. The surrounding mountains and forests trembled, dust and sand flying everywhere, but none of it could get close to them.

“The commotion is so great, but in these ripples, there seems to be a familiar aura...”

Ye Xiaoyi gazed at the distant mountains, frowning slightly.

Of course, she could sense that the ripples from this collision of supernatural powers came from an unknown distance away, perhaps a state away, perhaps several.

The combatants were certainly Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) level, and of a very high cultivation at that.

“Has the Supervisor discovered something?”

Behind Ye Xiaoyi, a middle-aged man in a blue robe bowed slightly.

His name was Ge Hui, and he was the Qintian Jian (Celestial Observatory) sentinel stationed in Ying Province, responsible for monitoring affairs inside and outside Ying Province. If any cultivator committed crimes, he would report them to his superiors and have them arrested.

“Nothing.”

Ye Xiaoyi shook her head slightly, her gaze still fixed on Wei Shaoyou, who was leaping back and forth in the nearby mountain forest.

With An Qisheng's hint, coupled with the Qintian Jian's powerful control over Ying Province, she had easily pulled Wei Shaoyou out from among countless people.

In a tightly controlled environment, someone who stood out was more noticeable than one might imagine.

Like Wei Shaoyou.

How could a young man who feared his father like a tiger have the courage to face his father's thunderous rage, and still insist on leaving home?

Such clues might go unnoticed if no one delved into them, but once investigated, they would naturally have nowhere to hide.

In these past few months, she had screened thousands of people like Wei Shaoyou, and finally settled on him.

“Why is the Supervisor so interested in this person? Could it be that the Marquis of Dingyang has committed some crime?”

Ge Hui asked cautiously.

He had originally been a rogue cultivator, taken in by the Taiji Dao Field and taught orthodox cultivation methods. Although there was a difference between insiders and outsiders, he was still considered a member of the Taiji Dao Field.

Naturally, he knew that the Daoist nun in front of him was the most favored disciple of the most powerful figure in the current Da Qing dynasty, and the junior sister of that Sa Daoren (Taoist) who had promoted the new laws for sixty years and had killed countless demons and ghosts.

In the current Da Qing, no one dared to underestimate her.

Even some Transcending Tribulation Immortals with higher cultivation levels would treat her with courtesy.

Not to mention Ge Hui, whom she had personally taken into the Taiji Dao Field and taught the methods of cultivation.

“That's none of your concern.”

Ye Xiaoyi glanced at Ge Hui indifferently. Without any visible movement, she had already floated away, disappearing into the overwhelming rain of mud and sand:

“You wait outside the mountain, and do not enter without permission.”

“Yes…”

Ge Hui bowed slightly, not caring whether Ye Xiaoyi could hear him or not, his expression extremely respectful.

Boom!

A boulder weighing thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Crack~

As the earth shook, cracks suddenly appeared on the mountainside.

“Wengang, be careful!”

Li Ertu shouted like a madman, trying to rush out of the gully, but was held back by several medicine gatherers.

“What?”

Hearing the old man's shout, Li Wengang's heart skipped a beat. He looked around, but only saw smoke and dust, unable to see anything.

Instinctively, he took a step back, but stepped into empty air, falling headfirst:

“Ah!”

He flailed his arms in the air, trying to grab something, but there was nothing to grab.

He could only plummet off the cliff in despair.

“Under the cliff?”

Wei Shaoyou, who had been watching Li Wengang all along, saw his eyes light up. He took a step of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) and leaped off the cliff as well, catching Li Wengang as he fell.

“I saved the lives of a dozen of your father and brothers, in exchange for your possible opportunity… It should be enough, right?”

Wei Shaoyou gazed at Li Wengang, a hesitant look flashing across his eyes.

The reason an opportunity is an opportunity is because it is a chance to change one's destiny. Even if he were to seize Li Wengang's opportunity, he wouldn't know.

But he still felt a little ashamed…

But in the next instant, the legendary 'Great Collapse of the Huangtian Ten Eras' appeared in his mind.

According to legend, it should be three or four hundred years after the Youming Fūjūn (Netherworld Monarch) offering that the Huangtian Shi Li would be born, wanting to destroy all living beings and unleashing a great disaster beyond words.

Few people knew the details of that disaster, only that after it was over, the Old Celestial Master, who had sealed the Huangtian Shi Li, sighed in sorrow, ferrying a few people across to the future Eleventh Era in a lone boat.

The records of this great tribulation were equally brief.

'On that day, the sun and sky shattered, the great moon fell, and countless stars came swarming, countless upon countless. In an instant, the sky collapsed and the land sank, the seas evaporated, and in the blink of an eye, all living things were extinguished...'

“If I succeed in the future, I will guide you into the Dao…”

The thought flashed through his mind, and Wei Shaoyou made up his mind, casually flinging him back onto the cliff.

And he himself disappeared down the cliff.

“Young hero Wei!”

Li Wengang threw himself onto the edge of the cliff, looking at Wei Shaoyou who had fallen off, his heart filled with shock.

He had lived for more than thirty years and had never seen anyone willing to risk their own life to save others.

Immediately, he felt intense remorse for his previous dislike of this young hero.

“Young hero!”

“Young hero Wei!”

The other medicine gatherers had also reacted, all of them deeply moved.

They had suspected that this person had ulterior motives, but now they knew how narrow-minded they had been.

Especially Li Ertu, who was even more ashamed of himself, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

“Strange…”

Ye Xiaoyi, who had arrived from afar, frowned slightly, unable to fathom this person's thoughts.

In her deduction, this Wei Shaoyou was very likely to have been possessed by some monster, affecting his mind, but would such a person sacrifice himself for others, risking his own life for a few farmers?

She didn't believe it.

As her thoughts raced, she glanced at the dissipating aftershock, shook her hand and sent out a talisman to protect the medicine gatherers, and with a flash, chased down the cliff.

Whoosh~

How fast were Ye Xiaoyi's movements?

With just a flicker, she had already arrived at the bottom of the cliff.

This cliff was deep between two mountain ranges, and beneath it was not flat ground, but a chasm, thousands of zhang deep.

Beneath it was a foul stench, a pool of stagnant water.

“Here…”

Ye Xiaoyi covered her nose with her sleeve. The stench was so strong that even her power field could not completely isolate it, clearly not a good place.

Glug glug~

Suddenly, bubbles of emerald green rose from the stagnant water.

Ye Xiaoyi narrowed her eyes slightly and saw a small toad slowly poking its head out of the stagnant water.

The small toad was emerald green like a gemstone. In this foul and poisonous pool, it was not stained by the slightest bit of filth, and it even seemed to have a hint of holiness.

The small toad raised its head, saw the Daoist nun standing above the pool, and was startled:

“Ribbit?”

“Wei Shaoyou was here for this little toad?”

Ye Xiaoyi immediately reacted.

In her opinion, this little toad's appearance and bloodline were top-notch. It seemed to be the direct descendant of some great demon. Whether it was taken as a spirit pet, or skinned, its blood taken, it would be a great boon.

For those who practiced strange and evil techniques like the Yixie Dao (Heterodox Path), it would be even more incredible.

If one's soul could possess and take over this little toad, not to mention other things, its lifespan would probably be comparable to a Yuanshen!

“Ribbit?”

The little toad leaped out of the water, walking back and forth on the surface of the water with its webbed feet upside down, and squinted at Ye Xiaoyi.

“What kind of species is this little toad?”

Ye Xiaoyi looked at the little toad, feeling rather strange.

This little toad seemed to have no demonic energy at all. Its aura was extremely pure, without the slightest hint of a demon, as pure as a newborn child.

Boom!

At this moment, a gust of air roared down.

The person and the toad were still staring at each other, ignoring everything.

Crack~

Wei Shaoyou crashed heavily into the mountainside. Under the enormous inertia, he forcibly pulled out a gully dozens of zhang long on the mountain wall.

Just right, stopping above the pool.

“Phew!”

Wei Shaoyou breathed a sigh of relief. Before his natal essence was formed, he could not fly.

This cliff was extremely high, and beneath it was an abyss. If he was not careful, even he would be killed by the fall.

Now that he had stopped his descent, he felt relieved.

A wisp of magic power gathered in his eyes, as if two beams of light burst out in the darkness.

He looked towards the dim pool.

This look caused him to freeze.

Above this stagnant water, which exuded a strong stench and had no end in sight, a handsome Daoist nun and a fist-sized emerald green toad were staring at each other.

Whoosh~

As Wei Shaoyou looked at the pool, the person and the toad suddenly turned their gazes and looked at Wei Shaoyou.

Eek!

Wei Shaoyou's heart trembled, and he almost fell straight down.

'Snatching? I've been sniped?'

His mind went blank.

According to legend, there was no record of such a situation…

Boom!

Just as the two people and the toad were staring at each other, a loud bang suddenly rang out, and ripples rolled around, as if the void had turned into a huge vortex.

Suddenly, it enveloped the entire pool.

“Not good!”

Wei Shaoyou's heart jumped wildly.

But before he could make any move, he was swept into the vortex.

The little toad seemed to have been greatly frightened. It looked at Wei Shaoyou, unhesitatingly darted towards Ye Xiaoyi, its speed extremely fast, and in an instant, it jumped onto Ye Xiaoyi's shoulder, tightly pulling on her Daoist robe.

It cried out in terror and urgency:

“Ribbit~~~”

“This toad?”

Ye Xiaoyi's heart skipped a beat. She was only a step away from transcending the tribulation, and her power field was enough to resist natural disasters. This little toad was actually able to penetrate her power field?

Her heart was shocked, but now was not the time to dwell on it. She waved her hand and pulled out a dazzling sword light, ready to strike.

But in the next instant, her expression suddenly changed, and the sword light she was about to strike with faltered slightly.

“Ribbit~~~”

In a shrill croak, it was submerged in the ripples that swept in.

Buzz~

The world spun, time and space shifted, and everything went black, as if she had appeared in another world.

Wei Shaoyou was dazed. His whole body rolled in the void for who knows how many laps, almost fainting on the spot.

After finally recovering, he heard a huge roar that was a thousand times louder than before, shaking the heavens and the earth!

Boom!

It was like ten thousand thunderbolts exploding, like a star on the verge of destruction shattering.

The light that burst out illuminated everything within sight, and the aftershocks roared in all directions, the ripples like tides engulfing everything.

Bang bang bang~~~

Wei Shaoyou felt as if he was about to be震killed, and in a trance, he heard the sound of bowstrings snapping, like crossbows firing.

And a roar that echoed all around, even drowning out the huge sound comparable to a star exploding:

“Sa Wuling!!!”

Sa! Wu! Ling?

Wasn't that the Old Celestial Master?!

Wei Shaoyou suddenly woke up, all of his magic power gathering in his eyes, looking towards the distance in the face of the strong light that was enough to blind ordinary people.

He saw at the end of his line of sight, in a place of unimaginable distance.

An enormous fire dragon suddenly shattered, and shattering with it was a chessboard that stretched in all directions, of unimaginable size!

“Senior, senior brother?”

Amidst the shock, Wei Shaoyou heard a cry of surprise from his side. It was the handsome Daoist nun.

This Daoist nun, was she the Old Celestial Master's junior sister?

“Ribbit~~~”

Only a shrill croak was heard.

Whoosh

Ye Xiaoyi moved, shaking the little toad off her shoulder, sidestepping and flashing, her sword light held in front of her.

“I'm so angry! I'm so angry! I'm so angry!”

In the scattered divine light, the emerald green toad trembled as if it were mad, making a low, subtle human voice.

This voice was not loud, but it seemed to be spreading through every tiny inch of the entire sealed space at the same time.

It easily suppressed the sound of three Yuanshen level experts colliding in a desperate battle, and was even more like a world-destroying cold current, freezing the entire sealed space.

“Hmm?!”

Sa Wuling, who was separated by who knows how many thousands or tens of thousands of miles, felt a sudden chill in his heart after a collision that shattered the chessboard and caused the Monk Da Kong to cough up blood as he retreated, his golden body shattered.

He felt an indescribable aura of terror filling the entire world.

This, was that great toad?

Sa Wuling looked around, frowning slightly, but was not alarmed.

“Chu has revived?”

Amidst the divine light, the Sky Mystery Daoist, his clothes stained with blood, was also greatly shocked. He focused his gaze, only to find that the huge toad sealed in the deathly space did not have the slightest movement.

But this aura could not be faked.

Immediately, his heart was shaken. He no longer had the intention of fighting with Sa Wuling. His whole body leaped into the sky, and his divine sense suddenly expanded, sweeping and scouring through the void that seemed to have solidified.

“Find it! It hasn't completely revived yet, we must find it, or we'll all die!”

The Monk Da Kong, whose golden body was broken and was almost shattered by a single blow, also roared madly, coughing up blood and soaring into the sky.

Since he dared to join forces with the Sky Mystery Daoist, he naturally didn't know nothing.

In fact, there have been countless people who have sought the Huangtian Shi Li throughout history. They are by no means only the Sky Mystery Daoist. He, and even his masters and ancestors, have also been searching for the traces of the Huangtian Shi Li.

His understanding of the Huangtian Shi Li would not be less than that of the Sky Mystery Daoist.

Therefore, he even forgot about Sa Wuling, who was still on the side. His whole body streaked across the sky, scattering countless golden divine blood, frantically searching for the traces of 'Chu'.

Sa Wuling and others, who were separated by who knows how many thousands of miles, had already felt so deeply, but Ye Xiaoyi, who was close at hand, felt it even more strongly!

“This toad…”

Ye Xiaoyi was shocked, but she couldn't even move.

She could feel that her muscles, bones, flesh, soul, and even the countless smallest particles that made up herself, were making sharp and terrifying cries of sorrow.

As if they had seen the most terrifying thing.

This was not any magic power, supernatural power, demonic energy, or evil art, but an indescribable and enormous pressure, a huge pressure from the source of the bloodline.

Wei Shaoyou was even more like he was dead. Even though he was protected behind Ye Xiaoyi, his heart and soul were shrouded in a layer of darkness.

“This little toad is actually Chu? I'm dead, I'm dead…”

In the endless darkness, Wei Shaoyou's heart was ashes, utterly despairing.

He never dreamed that a legend with only a few words recorded in it would not only involve the Old Celestial Master and the Old Celestial Master's junior sister!

It even involved 'Chu', this peerless great demon.

Immediately, he cursed the person who recorded that legend, what kind of 'A farmer obtained the descendant of Chu in the Wa Pu Mountain, with many good fortunes'.

It was simply killing people!

Buzz~

At this moment, Ye Xiaoyi and Wei Shaoyou, who were trapped in endless darkness, heard a long and peaceful sigh:

“Huangtian Shi Li, I have really waited for a long, long time!”