Chapter 180: Demon Unto Heaven (4)
Endless red rays of light suddenly broke through the night sky. After ten minutes, they weaved together to form a strange image in the air! It… was a giant roc that covered the earth and blotted out the heavens! The red light of its body didn't draw the outline of feathers! Instead...
There were abstract trees! Towering mountains! Vast rivers! And also… magik treasures glittering with golden light! Ancient and badly damaged jade slips! Causing the heart to shake and mind to sway… there were even one or two medicinal pills! This roc… was no less than several hundred thousand square kilometers in size! It shrouded the entire northwest sky!
Xichuan, Guifang, Longsu, Xijiang, and Zangsheng, these five major provinces were all joined under the head and tail of this bird!
There was inevitably a day where this great roc would ascend with the wind, soaring straight beyond the nine heavens. The flood dragon dives beneath the water, doubting the sea's depth, and the great roc spreads its wings, regretting that it is below the heavens! [1]
Although it was only an outline, it caused one to feel a kind of heart-shaking solemnity and respect from within it. At this moment, China's countless cultivators all stood up from their seats and looked towards the northwest sky in amazement.
"Secret realm! This is a secret realm!!!" In Xichuan Province, a cultivator madly thundered towards the sky, "A secret realm has come into the world… A secret realm has come into the world! My god!"
It was unknown how many people's eyes were reddened at this very instant.
A secret realm!
Right now, China's entire cultivation world, all cultivators, and all mortals looked clearly at the image in the sky!
Xu Yangyi hadn't slept. He was in a helicopter, observing the tremendous roc in the distant sky that seemed as large as heaven and earth. Because of it, this night was no longer dark. Because of it, an untold number of cultivators had gone crazy on this night. As for the Xingtian Legion, they were aboard the seven helicopters, flying straight into the core of this omnipresent image of red light!
Drone drone drone… The sound of propellers carried the seven helicopter straight to Danxia Temple like a shooting star chasing the moon.
At his side, Mao Ba'er was also watching everything in the sky with equal shock. No one spoke. This was one of this world's truths. A marvel unique to the cultivation world. Anyone would be shaken because of this absolutely beautiful scenery.
The light within Xu Yangyi's eyes glimmered. It was no wonder, no surprise that Daomaster Ancientpine had him set out on the night of the fifth day. This was on account that even Daomaster Ancientpine, who was at the world's apex, understood that he was unable to suppress this secret realm! No question… No mystery that Daomaster Ancientpine also wanted him to arrive within that day.
This was because once today passed, all true elites of China's cultivation world were destined to hurry over! With the advent of such a colossal worldly anomaly, even cultivators with slower perceptions would feel something was off.
He took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and prepared to meditate for a while. Once he reached Longsu Province and started… it was unlikely he would have more time to rest!
He meditated for an unknown passage of time, and Mao Ba'er pushed him awake. "Spud, there's ten more minutes until we enter Longsu's border."
Xu Yangyi's eyes snapped open. The sky was already shining, and the sun sprinkled rays of gentle golden light. In the sky, there were clouds. He looked carefully but discovered the giant roc image, so large that it was beyond limit, had disappeared!
His gaze faintly stirred and immediately understood that it was sure to have been already concealed by the cultivation world. Such a worldly anomaly was truly too great. Not even he had ever thought there would be an anomaly capable of shrouding the nation!
The outside of Longsu Province… had already been totally cut off by a formation that isolated mortals! The present Longsu Province… was a country within a country! A cultivator's world!
"Fellow Daoist, we're going to enter the formation immediately," the pilot said, not taking his eyes off from ahead. "When the time comes, there might be a relatively large shock. Please be careful."
Xu Yangyi nodded and tightened his seat belt.
"Distance from the formation fifty meters… forty meters… thirty meters…" Beeps were heard incessantly. At the moment the distance reached zero, the entire aircraft suddenly jolted.
Ahead, an immeasurable number of densely crowded clouds emerged without the slightest omen. Layer upon layer, their inner parts were nebulous in view. From what Xu Yangyi could tell, he only felt felt the plane suddenly fly into an ocean of clouds! Besides from snowy-whiteness and ashy-gray, there was nothing in sight!
A minute… two minutes… Spiritual sense swept through the airplane, seemingly verifying the identities of the people on the plane. After fifteen minutes, the seven helicopters finally flew out of the cloud bank. In a twinkling, all in front of them caused everyone's eyes to saucer wide open!
It was as if in front of them… there was a mirror established in the air! Its limits unseen, an immense gray vortex cloaked all of Longsu Province in the sky! An endless amount of iron-gray qi spilled forth from the vortex all around and caused Longsu's sky to lose splendor.
Above the vortex, there was a giant roc totem, perhaps a few hundred thousand square kilometers in size and awesome to the eye. Gazing into the distance from where they were, the Xingtian Legion could only see a scaly claw. If they hadn't seen this whole shape last night from the furthest away, none of them could've imagined that this was a giant roc totem!
Its length, width, and height were all a mystery! As the airplane flew below the totem, it was akin to an ant beneath dead leaves!
Xu Yangyi didn't have a trace of fear. He had already arrived here; what was there even to discuss about fear or no fear? On the contrary, excitement swiftly charged forth in his heart. This was because… at the side of the tremendous vortex, there were two imperial palaces, so tiny in contrast to the vortex that they couldn't be smaller, amazingly striking!
Core Formation imperial palaces!
But if it was just this, things still wouldn't be enough to excite him. At this moment, at the side of the vortex, there were countless flying magik treasures like glittering jewels filling the eye. The vortex resembled an enormous galactic space station! And all the flying magik artifacts were like compact spaceships!
A golden dragon puppet which was tens of meters long entrenched itself ahead. On each section of the dragon's body, there was a cultivator sitting cross-legged in meditation. At the side, there was a flying sword over ten meters long suspended in the sky. On top, seventy-two cultivators locked eyes on the vortex, not shying away.
On the other side, there were twenty-plus seats placed on the body of a bird no less than a hundred meters in size. Atop each seat, there was a young cultivator brimming with spirit and vigor.
In the sky, treasure light sparked, and the five colors soared and galloped. If an ordinary person saw this, they would even believe themselves to have arrived in the future! Below, an uncertain number of cultivators were like ants walking a creek. However, these "ants" held an obvious division of labor. Areas were completely cleared out by them to form regions of distinct kingdoms. Some of these vague "kingdoms" were large and small, yet extremely different like how the rivers Jing and Wei were obviously delineated.
Xu Yangyi took a deep breath and forcefully clenched his fist. This was a world of cultivators! This was the other face of the world! As he carefully surveyed below, a man's voice echoed from in front of the airplane. "Those who have come, halt."
A suited bald man trod in the sky without sorrow or joy. At some unknown time, he was standing before the aircraft. "Display your authorization. Otherwise, you will be immediately driven out."
Xu Yangyi took out the authorization pass that Jadesun gave to him. The man beckoned with his hand and then flew over. He glanced, and his eyes that originally concealed a wisp of apprehension suddenly flashed. His voice bright, he laughed, "So it was young friend Xu. The Xingtian Legion's area is in the northwest corner. Is young friend heading down first or going to see Ancestor Ancientpine?"
"Thank you, Senior." Xu Yangyi cupped his hands. "Junior still has to stop over first. There are a few Xingtian legionnaires, and its not convenient to pay a visit to Master-Ancestor right now."
"Good, good." The Foundation Establishment cultivator chuckled, "Let this Zhao congratulate young friend on all your possible gains in advance."
"I will borrow Senior's lucky words."
The aircraft steadily parked in the northwest corner. The propellers kicked up the dead leaves on the ground. It was then that Xu Yangyi saw this so-called stop-over point was no more than a few tents. He didn't pay heed to these things but rather sized up the surroundings along with all the legionnaires who had come.
In this place as far as the eye could reach, everything was tents. Stationed at the left side of the tents, there were ten giant birds, dead-silent and multicolored, that were in the middle of eating. On the right side, countless talismans appeared on the ground, separating their own domain with others.
In another distant place, close and continuous tents formed an ocean! Outside of each tent, there was a clan emblem hung. These clan emblems… even if Xu Yangyi didn't care too much about the subdivisions of powers, so long as he took a glance, he would completely know who they were! Those who were present… could all be regarded as China's first-rate clans!
Xu Yangyi narrowed his eyes because he discovered… that not every clan's "territory" was identical...
The Xingtian Legion's domain could be said to be the smallest. There were only several tents that were enough for housing. However… the other clans, even the smallest, were all over a hundred meters in size! In particular… there were over a dozen regions among them that didn't have tents! It was instead an expanse of glorious palaces!
Palaces that occupied at least a kilometer! This alone couldn't possibly make Xu Yangyi gasp in surprise. What caused him to truly sigh with emotion were the surroundings of these palaces. All of it was circles of runes, so complex that it caused him to feel dizzy and confused with a glance.
The closest palace to him had an extremely rich Song-dynasty style, decadently ornamented with a soaring roof and high walls. Even the entrance had dozens of Great Circle Qi Condensation cultivators standing there with their hands behind their back. At the main gate, streaks of qi congealed the character 'Yi' (易). This character was enough to make everyone understand whose great expenditure this belonged to.
"A Transference Formation." Xu Yangyi licked his lips. "Humanity's Seven Noble Lineages… Those different styles should probably be demonkind's Five Great Clans? The accumulated foundations of these thousand-year-old clans really is frighteningly rich to forcibly shift a palace over."
"Don't go causing trouble." He turned his head towards everyone and said seriously, "The position of our Xingtian Legion is still far from enough. Today, rest. I'm going to contact our allies. Once the secret realm is done forming, we'll immediately enter Danxia Temple."
"Fellow Daoist is wrong." At this time, a gentle male voice was heard from the side. It was a white-haired young man who was wearing a well-trimmed suit. His hand at his back was pinching a gilded folding fan, and he was looking at Xu Yangyi with a smile that wasn't a smile.
He'd already been standing here for a period of time, but Xu Yangyi simply hadn't expected that the other would talk with him. He was quite meager, yet in no way did he give people a sense of feebleness. His height was approximately 1.78 meters, and his white shoulder-length hair was tied into a delicate braid. His facial features were rather ordinary, so ordinary that it lacked a sliver of peculiarity.
Peak middle Qi Condensation… Xu Yangyi's gaze slightly flashed. In this place… spiritual pressure was very chaotic. In order to maintain the present grounds, there were too many Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, the current elites were in fact the Qi Condensation cultivators. Each one of them was a true genius of a major clan! Even though Foundation Establishment cultivators had also come, they were still nothing more than the result of fee collection.
"Fellow Daoist says the Xingtian Legion's foundation is thin. I approve. But… a thin foundation doesn't represent a disinclination to cause trouble in any way. A thin foundation moreover cannot represent the understanding of advance and retreat, an awareness of decorum. I don't know about my viewpoint, but does Fellow Daoist approve?" The white-haired man opened his folding fan, covering his mouth and laughing. "Did you know… I heard you were coming, so this Ming waited here a few hours for you? I really wanted to see… What kind of talented hero was able to behead Eighteenth Brother?" he sighed quietly and laughed, "But seeing isn't as good as hearing…"
"Fellow Daoist." He moved closer, and threads of killing intent appeared in his small eyes. "I'll tell you two things. First… the latest obtained information reports that this secret realm only permits cultivations under Foundation Establishment to enter. Moreover, there is still a day until it finishes forming. Second..." His gaze grew cold, and he softly dragged his extended hand over his neck. "This Lord will also enter the secret realm."
"Commander Xu, beseech more luck for yourself, alright?"
1. First half is a poem from Tang Poet Li Bai. Second half is from what I believe taken from the roc's bestiary article. In case some are wondering, the "roc" is a Peng. As in Kun Peng. But it is not a Kun Peng.