The Quest for Immortality
Mo Hua was shaken, finding it somewhat unbelievable for a moment. .
Suddenly, he recalled something:
"Master Gu once said, Solitary Mountain is rich in bright yellow copper mines, and was once known as ’Guhuang Mountain’... So the mountain god of Guhuang Mountain, is the Mountain God Guhuang... Lord Yellow Mountain?"
Mo Hua had never thought there would be such a connection before.
When Master Gu mentioned "Guhuang Mountain" to him, he simply didn’t remember any matter about Lord Yellow Mountain.
However, something felt off...
Mo Hua immediately frowned.
The Downcast Mountain God, Lord Yellow Mountain, was an old friend of his.
If there were indeed ties with Solitary Mountain, with his own insight into the Way of Cause and Effect, he would have certainly sensed some signs.
Yet he hadn’t perceived anything at all.
Either he was careless, or it meant that the matters relating to Lord Yellow Mountain were wrapped in a great cause and effect, concealed by some heavenly secret technique, preventing others from seeing or sensing it.
Mo Hua glanced again at the grand gate of the Divine Temple, at the image of the Mountain God Guhuang, holding a Mountain Spear, donned in intricately chained Golden Armor, with a stern and elongated face, exuding majesty while gazing down upon all beings.
In his mind, another image emerged of a ruined temple, a clay statue donned in a plain robe, with a pale and hungry face, drinking rainwater daily and eating rotten vegetables, obsequiously smiling at him—Lord Yellow Mountain.
For a moment, he simply couldn’t connect these two entities—no, these two deities—as one.
It seems not only humans can fall into destitution; even a mountain god falling into destitution has a hard time.
But at the same time, Mo Hua became even more perplexed:
"What exactly happened to the once so grand Lord Yellow Mountain, to reduce him to such a state?"
"Wasn’t he severed from his evil foundations by the predecessors of Taixu Gate? What history lies within this?"
"Why was his Divine Temple sealed within this mass grave beneath Solitary Mountain..."
...
Mo Hua raised his head, looking beyond the grandiose doors towards the magnificent, luxurious Divine Temple.
"Perhaps the truth lies within the temple itself..."
As Mo Hua was tangled with thoughts and doubts, Mr. Hui, upon seeing the temple, also showed an expression of shock.
"Within this tomb, there’s such a treasured hall..."
Despite his astonishment, he was puzzled, "What hall is this exactly? Doesn’t seem like a tomb from inside."
Mr. Hui frowned and looked toward the black-robed elder, only to see the elder wearing a face of piety and aged solemnity, murmuring:
"At last, found it..."
He extended his hand to touch the golden door, but upon contact, recoiled as if electrocuted.
It felt as if a divine power was condensed upon the door, forbidding others from touching it.
The black-robed elder’s expression became grave, infusing blood-colored evil power in his palm to push the door again.
His withered palm pressed upon the door.
The blood-colored evil power intertwined with the golden door.
The golden light gradually brightened, becoming scorching, evaporating the blood color bit by bit.
The black-robed elder’s hand seemed pressed upon a "branding iron," as white smoke curled up, not only was the evil power depleted, but also the flesh of his palm was burnt, charred, falling off, leaving a bare white bone.
The elder’s expression remained unchanged, facing death with equanimity, striving to push the door.
Yet the golden door of the temple didn’t budge a bit.
Seeing not only his palm turned to bone, but also his arm gradually burnt, the black-robed elder sighed deeply and finally withdrew his hand.
After withdrawing, the white bone on his arm began to be enveloped by fresh blood, muscles connecting, reforming back into a human hand.
Seeing the black-robed elder fail to push open the door, the Demon Sect Leader rasped:
"Let me try."
The black-robed elder sighed, speaking with an apologetic tone: "This old servant’s bloodline is not worthy..."
The Demon Sect Leader nodded slightly and proceeded toward the golden door, with the Azure Dragon Formation Patterns upon his back lighting up one by one, blood qi surging, channelling the immense power of the Evil Dragon into his palms.
His palm slowly pressed against the temple’s door.
A deep, subdued dragon roar resounded.
As if something resonated with his bloodline.
The Demon Sect Leader’s blood began to boil, surging into the golden temple door in torrents.
The opulent, secretive door gradually trembled.
Mo Hua’s heart involuntarily grew tense with anticipation.
Time passed bit by bit.
With a solemn expression, the Demon Sect Leader stood, surrounded by the shadow of an Azure-Black Evil Dragon, vast and roaring, with almost half of his blood being drawn.
The temple door, satiated by Evil Dragon blood, looked as if it would open.
Suddenly, a tangible sword light, like a white ribbon, carrying astonishing spiritual power, sliced through the air directly toward the Demon Sect Leader who was pushing the door.
The Demon Sect Leader’s expression changed, but he did not withdraw.
The Bear Demon Cultivator roared in anger, shielding in front of him, transforming into a demonic claw laced with monster qi to block the sword strike.
However, this sword light glowed like white jade, even more potent, piercing through the Bear Demon Cultivator’s claw after a moment of stalemate, heading straight for the Demon Sect Leader.
The black-robed elder flashed, summoning a horned skull, forming a skeletal shadow to intercept the rest of the sword light, finally neutralizing the sword moves.
The black-robed elder looked up and saw six cultivators approaching from afar. Their cultivation ranged from the initial to peak Golden Core.
The person leading them, a peak Golden Core cultivator, had an ordinary appearance but exuded a steady temperament, with eyes sharp like a hawk, wearing a Shen Family Taoist robe, none other than Shen Shouxing, a powerful elder of the Shen family.
At this time, he held a White Jade Sword, from which the earlier astonishingly powerful sword light originated.
Besides him, there were two other Golden Core cultivators from the Shen family, along with Xun Ziyou, making it a total of three.