Chapter 299: Arrival of the Female Immortal

Outside the Western Capital, everyone looked up at the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land in the sky. The scenes inside the Blessed Land had undergone subtle changes, which at first seemed normal.

This Blessed Land was a half-immortal’s great realm, forged into a treasure only after the half-immortal’s death, and its sun-moon rivers and mountains were never entirely static.

But gradually, people noticed something off: the changes inside the Blessed Land were growing increasingly large.

“The commander of the Five Armies camp must be cheating, right?”

Murmurs rose among the crowd.

Chen Tang stared at the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, then suddenly said, “Eunuch Feng, the Blessed Land’s changes are too severe, it seems to be losing control! The Five Armies’ left and right commanders tried to trigger the Blessed Land to ambush my son, but both of them are only in the Return to Emptiness realm; trying to drive a half-immortal’s great realm is extremely strenuous! Something will go wrong!”

Eunuch Feng also looked toward the sky. His expression grew grave; he abruptly shoved the wheelchair aside and stood up. “Something already went wrong! The underworld portion of the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land collided with something, and it’s tilting toward the underworld!”

Chen Tang was the first to spring up and charge toward the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land.

Eunuch Feng followed close behind, shouting sharply, “Xia Fanghe, Xia Shouying! The Immortal Bridge Blessed Land is out of control and falling into the underworld, stop it at once!”

At the same time, within the Western Capital, the elders of the Great Clans were awakened by the anomaly of the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land.

Their primordial spirits spanned the yin-yang boundary and immediately observed the Blessed Land from the underworld, only to see that the Blessed Land’s underworld position partly overlapped with Qixia Taoist Temple!

Qixia Taoist Temple and the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land normally did not overlap; there was considerable distance between them. But because Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying altered the sun-moon rivers and mountains to scheme against Chen Shi, they upset the yin-yang balance of this Realm of Emptiness, causing the Blessed Land to fall toward the underworld.

The two Five Armies commanders had been focused only on movements inside the Blessed Land, neglecting the underworld changes, which allowed Qixia Taoist Temple and the Blessed Land to partially overlap.

“The Immortal Bridge Blessed Land has encountered the Bluestone Path in Qixia Temple! The Blessed Land is colliding with that Ghost and God Domain—if this continues, that Ghost Immortal could be brought into the mortal world!”

“That Ghost Immortal will traverse the Immortal Bridge that spans yin and yang within the Blessed Land and return to the living world! She wants to be reborn!”

The Great Clans’ elders felt their scalps tingle. Though they were over two hundred years old, they were hardly ancient.

The truly ancient being was the white-robed immortal behind the Bluestone Path!

Compared to her, they were newborn infants.

Rumor had it the Bluestone Path was a prehistoric remnant, and at the path’s end lay the burial of a white-robed fairy.

Using a secret method, she preserved herself beyond death, becoming a Ghost Immortal sealed within her own Ghost and God Domain.

But maintaining that form required replenishing yang energy, which meant luring cultivators onto the Bluestone Path into her domain.

Anyone who entered would have all their yang energy drained and become a desiccated corpse.

The Great Clans’ elders had grown up on such tales.

Of course, legends mix fact and fiction. After they took control of the clans, they learned more secrets. They discovered that even in the True King era people had investigated the Bluestone Path; the Ghost and God Domain at its end had erupted several times, causing many deaths in the Western Capital.

Later, a Moon-Embracing Hall was built on the Bluestone Path, and the white-robed fairy disappeared. But it was said that among the Moon-Embracing Hall’s guests, one or two out of every hundred would vanish. Truly vanish—no one alive or dead could be found, not even a soul could be summoned.

Guests who had stayed in the Moon-Embracing Hall said that at night when they woke to relieve themselves, they found themselves in another world—not in the Western Capital, nor in the Western Ox New Continent, not even in the living or the dead.

The storytellers vividly described this inexplicable experience: they felt as if they stood in an incomparably magnificent ruin, seeing a fractured sky, riven earth, countless shattered immortal weapons, huge and planted on the corpses of immortals.

The Thirteen Great Clans insisted the narrator was merely dreaming in the Moon-Embracing Hall, not truly entering another world.

Yet many guests of the Moon-Embracing Hall had the same dream: a tearing, annihilating, magnificent ruin. Their accounts were largely identical, making one wonder if sleeping at the Moon-Embracing Hall permitted entry into that strange realm.

That white-robed fairy had been a taboo since ancient times; even they would not provoke her. If she could not come into the mortal world, then sucking a few unlucky cultivators dry was a minor matter.

Seeing the scene, the Great Clans’ elders paled and cursed inwardly, “Those two bastards Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying have made a grave mistake! The Immortal Bridge Blessed Land links yin and yang. A Ghost Immortal can cross the bridge from another world into the mortal realm!”

Ma Yu, founding ancestor of the Ma Family, rose and said gravely, “Fellow Daoists of the Western Capital, act together to stop the Ghost Immortal from entering the world!”

To deal with Creation Little Five, most of the Great Clans’ elders were present. Creation Little Five had only left a few days earlier; they had not yet departed when this happened. One by one they rose, sending their primordial spirits into the underworld to fly toward the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land.

At the same time, Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying realized something was wrong and noticed the overlap between the Blessed Land and Qixia Taoist Temple in the underworld. They stopped fueling the Blessed Land, trying to separate the two locations.

But the Bluestone Path transformed into a long white jade bridge, like a nail, driving deep into the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land and unable to be pulled out.

The white-robed fairy’s figure appeared, and the aura she emanated immediately forced the Blessed Land further out of control, accelerating its fall toward the underworld!

The two commanders acted decisively, ordering Five Armies soldiers to rescue the examination candidates inside the Blessed Land and having Ministry of Rites officials evacuate.

Yet in an instant many officials and soldiers were crushed and burst apart by the white-robed fairy’s aura!

A blood mist formed in the sky.

The white-robed fairy walked on that blood mist toward the Immortal Bridge.

The other side of the Immortal Bridge led to the living world.

Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying each activated their Realm of Emptiness great realms, cutting into the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land from above to confront the white-robed fairy.

Both were at the peak of the Return to Emptiness realm, and had been stuck at that level for more than a decade—unlikely to ever reach the Great Ascension Realm in this life. Yet their strength was considerable. In the underworld they had fought Sand Granny, Blue Goat, and the celestial fox through half a night and still escaped alive.

At this moment they invoked the Huangming Classic World-Rectifying Technique, two empty great realms empowered by primordial spirit; the Blessed Land’s heavenly forces surged toward them!

They employed divine arts: Huangming Classic World-Rectifying, establishing human moral law and social order—sacred teachings of Confucian scholars that forge righteous vigor.

When they made their hand seals, a deluge of writings sprang forth, every character dazzling; the sun and moon took shape, the five elements manifested, mountains rose into the air—words become law, imposing suppression!

The sight shook heaven and earth. The white-robed fairy had just stepped down from the white jade bridge and with a flick of her sleeve shattered the sea of writings. Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying coughed up blood and were blasted backward!

Their empty great realms were shattered; their realms plummeted in a straight line, downgraded from Return to Emptiness down to the Refining Spirit Realm!

They tumbled out of the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, appearing above the Western Capital and falling.

Many experts in the Western Capital rushed toward the Blessed Land. Leading them were Chen Tang and Eunuch Feng.

Other Return to Emptiness experts from the Western Capital tried to enter the Blessed Land to save people as well, but upon seeing the two commanders’ injuries they were shocked.

Chen Tang and Eunuch Feng led the charge into the Blessed Land.

The massive Blessed Land was tilting into the underworld.

It was being forced down by the female immortal!

Gigantic thousand-zhang figures flew out of the underworld into the Blessed Land, attacking the white-robed fairy.

“They’re the elders of the Thirteen Great Clans!”

Many of these elders still bore wounds from Creation Little Five and had not yet healed, but they knew that should the white-robed fairy escape, catastrophe would follow, so they charged forward.

Dozens of thousand-zhang primordial spirits fought viciously around the white-robed fairy. The scene was earth-shattering. Their empty great realms had been reduced to tiny halos behind their heads, containing boundless power. Yet with just one clash, Xu Zhendong, founding ancestor of the Xu Family, was gravely injured—his thousand-zhang primordial spirit nearly shattered, the halo of his once-empty great realm on the verge of collapse!

The force of that blow reverberated through the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, shaking it violently. In an instant mountains changed, seas turned to mulberry fields—landscapes transformed!

The stars and sun and moon in the sky rapidly cycled, as if hundreds of days passed in a blink!

Chen Tang and Eunuch Feng were both deeply shaken, witnessing power beyond their comprehension.

That was immortal power!

This woman could not be the ordinary Ghost Immortal of legend!

Ghost Immortals were never this strong!

Could the white-robed immortal at the Bluestone Path’s end actually be a true immortal?

Chen Tang and Eunuch Feng felt the terrifying aura the white-robed fairy released. Even they experienced intense discomfort, as if countless blades cut their bodies; only invoking their empty great realms eased the pain slightly.

They watched as the white-robed fairy, while fending off the Thirteen Great Clans’ attacks, walked toward the Immortal Bridge. Her unworldly, transcendent bearing struck their Dao hearts.

She was immaculate.

Not only in appearance; her Dao heart was spotless, and her cultivation likewise immaculate.

She seemed a perfect being with no blemish whatsoever—not even a taint upon her Dao heart!

The Young Master was often called a paragon, but next to this female immortal he paled; he seemed filthy by comparison.

Eunuch Feng urged, “Lord Chen, go find Chen Shi and save the other examination candidates!”

The two immediately dove downward. At the same time, many Five Armies soldiers, each carrying examination candidates, flew upward trying to escape.

In a short moment, six more elders were gravely wounded by the white-robed fairy. The shockwaves came, and Eunuch Feng immediately acted to protect those soldiers and candidates. Had he not intervened, they could not have weathered the aftershock.

Seeing this, Chen Tang instantly dove alone toward the Immortal Bridge.

The fairy, resisting the Thirteen Great Clans’ attacks, continued toward the bridge.

“Lord Chen, don’t go over!” Eunuch Feng’s anxious voice rang out. “Look above! It’s too late!”

Chen Tang looked up. Above, the nine great halls—Wenhua, Wuying, Huagai, Wenyuan, and the rest—that suppressed the Western Ox New Continent’s fortunes were radiating bright light. These were the nine supreme treasures left by the True King, made to subdue disaster-level forces!

Now their power had risen to the extreme and was about to erupt!

Back when Creation Little Five ravaged the Western Capital, laying down the Three Ghost-and-God Variations and challenging dozens of the Great Clans’ elders, these nine treasure halls were alerted but did not activate to suppress Creation Little Five.

Creation Little Five had fallen short of warranting their intervention.

But now, the white-robed fairy had appeared and sought to step into the living world, finally stirring the nine supreme treasures into action!

Chen Tang gritted his teeth and ignored Eunuch Feng’s plea, hurtling toward the Immortal Bridge.

The nine halls—Wenhua, Wuying, and so forth—detonated. Blinding radiance shot into the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, saturating it with light until Chen Tang’s surroundings vanished into brilliance!

A violent shock came, and he bolstered his cultivation to withstand the impact. When the tumult subsided, a massive hole remained in the sky above the Western Capital, its other side a gray, misty underworld.

The Immortal Bridge Blessed Land dragged streaks of light and plunged into the depths of the underworld!

The Thirteen Great Clans’ elders steadied themselves. In that brief span, they had been repeatedly injured by the white-robed fairy!

Wounds left by Creation Little Five had not yet healed, and new injuries were now added.

Chen Tang rushed into the underworld. At that moment, a great black dog tore through the wind and dashed in, seizing the gap before it closed.

Chen Tang was startled. “Black Pot, go back quickly, the underworld is dangerous—”

He widened his eyes in disbelief at the massive creature that arrived beside him.

“The underworld… isn’t as dangerous as it seems,” he thought silently.

At that time dozens more figures rushed into the underworld: many officials of the Western Capital. Everyone looked around, but the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land had vanished.

Someone in the Western Capital shouted, “Is the Young Master out?”

“Is the Young Master safe?” another asked with concern.

The Young Master’s voice answered, “I am here. Everyone rest assured.”

Many senior officials loudly inquired about their children’s escape from the Blessed Land; some received replies, some did not.

The Minister of Rites immediately ordered that all rescued examination candidates be gathered and counted. After half an hour’s frantic work, the tally was completed.

“My lord, six hundred and forty-four candidates remain in the Blessed Land!”

Minister Yan Guzi frowned deeply. Nearly half the candidates were still trapped in the Blessed Land. He paused, then asked, “Among the lost candidates, any notable figures?”

“Report, my lord: Heavenly Master Mansion’s Guo Daoist, Tai Hua Qing Palace’s Yu Lingzi, Tai Shang Hao Yuan Palace’s Jin Lu Daoist, and Zhang Family’s Zhang You are all still trapped. Lord Chen Tang’s son, Little Chen, is also missing…”

Yan Guzi’s brow tightened; he looked at the gravely wounded Five Armies commanders Xia Fanghe and Xia Shouying and clenched his fist.

“Those two bastards!”

He wanted to stride over and beat the commanders, but the Thirteen Great Clans shared common blood; he restrained himself to avoid offending the clans.

“Immediately summon the officials from the Imperial Forest Gardens to perform soul-calling rituals and lock the candidates’ underworld locations!” Yan Guzi ordered loudly. “Whatever it takes, we must rescue them!”

In the underworld, Chen Tang stood on Black Pot’s head. Black Pot had revealed his true form. Chen Tang looked around; the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land was nowhere to be found.

The underworld was vast and boundless; he didn’t know where to search.

“Little Tang, I’m trying to summon Little Ten’s soul; his spirit is still present, so he’s relatively safe!” Sand Granny’s voice came. “You don’t need to worry too much.”

Chen Tang saw Sand Granny standing on the Bluestone Path, having appeared in the underworld.

Sand Granny wore a puzzled expression. “It’s just that the place he’s in is somewhat strange…”

Chen Shi sat on a stone by the Immortal Bridge, propping his chin with his hand, lost in the Wind-Thunder Variation. He faced the other side of the bridge, his gaze blank; the white-robed fairy was imprinted in his mind. Her battle with the Thirteen Great Clans’ elders was etched into his memory. Various mysterious Dao techniques gradually matched with the dazing immortal books in the True King Tomb’s Library Pavilion.

Suddenly, the Wind-Thunder Variation, Water-Fire Variation, and Mountain-Marsh Variation fused and harmonized. Chen Shi snapped out of his daze. His body shivered and his eyes shot open.

“I’ve comprehended it! I’ve realized it!”

He cried out joyfully and leapt to his feet!

At that moment, a bloodied woman rolled down from the Immortal Bridge and crashed against the large stone at his feet with a thud. Her head lolled to the side, and she fainted.