Chapter 197 - Overturned

Fu Yi stared at Xu Ying, forgetting all about devouring the Exorcist Immortal Zhong Chengxiao. “How did you—”

“Know you ate people?”

Xu Ying sneered. “Fu Yi, have you forgotten? The first time we met, you could barely contain your desire when mentioning eating Exorcist Immortals. You couldn’t stop swallowing.”

He remembered the scene perfectly. He had just escaped Chen Mianzhu’s Radiant Vestige land, the white-robed Exorcist Immortal. Ghost gods were still pursuing Xu Ying, and the white-robed Exorcist Immortal’s human skin floated through the sky. That was when Fu Yi had invited him to tea and helped him evade the pursuing skin.

When Fu Yi had spoken of how Chen Mianzhu grew resentful after being eaten, his Adam's apple bobbed continuously.

Fu Yi’s eyes flickered. He chuckled. “Young Master Xu, do you know who ate Chen Mianzhu?”

He glanced around and, finding no sign of the Golden Crow, breathed an inward sigh of relief. Had Jin Buyi been here, he would have had no chance of survival. But with only Xu Ying, a bell, a snake, and a blade of grass before him, they posed no threat.

“Was it that good-for-nothing master of mine, Li Xiaoke?” asked Dazhong lazily.

Fu Yi momentarily froze. Clearly, he had not expected this to be common knowledge. Collecting himself, he asked, “How did you find this place, Young Master Xu?”

Xu Ying raised a hand. Mysterious Heavenly Dao runes appeared in the air, each shaped like an eye.

“These are Heaven’s Fate runes. They’re a type of Heavenly Dao rune. When I fought the stone statue of Heaven's Fate, these runes covered his body with every attack."

He continued unhurriedly, “The statue gave me a thorough beating. I couldn’t fight back at all. His eyes could appear anywhere in the surrounding space, watching my every move. None of my techniques could escape its notice.”

Fu Yi nodded. He had watched Xu Ying’s battle with the stone statue of Heaven's Fate from a distance, waiting for him to capture Xu Ying. The statue had beaten Xu Ying badly.

Xu Ying said, “So, how did I strike back and kill it? Because the moment I saw his Heavenly Dao runes, I comprehended them. Moreover, I could spot the flaws in its runes and correct them."

Understanding dawned on Fu Yi, and his expression grew even more woeful.

“You have likely fought many heavenly gods in the past. You studied them thoroughly. You know their Heavenly Dao runes better than they do. Yet with your memories sealed and suppressed, how could you still understand them?"

Xu Ying smiled. “That I don’t know either. I simply understand them when I see them.”

Fu Yi’s eyes widened. It took a while for his expression to return to normal.

With a sigh, he said, “I see. So this is why we can never keep you suppressed. Every time we seal your memories, you gradually find your way back to cultivation. And here we were, blaming Meng Po for diluting the soup.”

He shook his head. “So you were always the one to be blamed.. You hid all your insights into Dao arts and divine abilities beyond the seals' reach. As soon as you see similar writing, those memories awaken. Brilliant. Truly brilliant!”

He voiced his admiration despite himself. Xu Ying had concealed this knowledge of the sixteen Immortal Dao runes so that he could rise again. One could imagine how difficult it was to conceal all sixteen!

Something stirred in Dazhong and Yuanqi's minds. They recalled the lightning mark that occasionally appeared between Xu Ying’s brows.

Every time Ah Ying becomes Master Ying, that lightning pattern appears, summoning surging heavenly tribulation to replenish his power, Yuanqi thought.

But it occasionally appears even when his memories haven’t returned. Are his insights into Dao arts and divine abilities from his previous life hidden inside that mark?

Xu Ying said with a smile, “Since my understanding of Heaven's Fate surpasses even that of its stone statue, using Heaven's Fate’s divine ability to track you secretly wasn’t particularly difficult.”

The moment he finished speaking, a soft pop came from the sky above this Radiant Vestige land of sublimation.

An eye had appeared there!

The Eyes of Heaven had opened, summoned by Xu Ying’s divine ability, and stared down at Fu Yi with eerie, cold eyes.

Fu Yi had left soon after Jin Buyi cut down the gods with his saber and Dazhong turned their stone statues to dust. But Xu Ying had already unleashed his divine ability, manifesting eyes across the land to track him.

Xu Ying’s Eyes of Heaven watched him from afar. His eyes appeared in the sky, on mountains, and in rivers. They even took shape on tree trunks and leaves, monitoring Fu Yi’s movements. They dared not get too close. Fu Yi’s cultivation and strength were so formidable that he could easily detect them if they approached.

Though Xu Ying lost track of Fu Yi once he reached Changsha, knowing his general hiding place made the search straightforward.

The Purple Immortal Herb excelled at infiltrating other people’s ethereal void. He could even slip into the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor’s ethereal void and suppress his double pupils. By scouring the ethereal voids of powerful local cultivators, it quickly pinpointed Fu Yi.

Fu Yi sighed. “We always watched you in the past. Whenever you posed a threat, we forced you to drink Meng Po's Soup, erased your memories, planted fake ones, and relocated you. Who would have thought a moment’s carelessness would let you grow so strong? Now you plot against me."

Xu Ying asked calmly, “Did you think I would remain your puppet forever? Before, I had no power to resist you. Now, I won’t merely resist. I’ll strike back and kill you. Fu Yi, you’re the first.”

Fu Yi burst out laughing. His hunched spine slowly straightened. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and winds churned furiously behind him as his aura swelled!

Behind him, grotto heavens of varying sizes hummed to life in succession, distorting space and time and stirring the winds and clouds. Unlike Li Xiaoke, he did not possess a great many grotto heavens. He had sixty-three in all—no more, no less.

Reaching the pinnacle of all six human Secret Troves required nine grotto heavens each, allowing one to become an Exorcist Immortal. The Gushing-Spring Secret Trove mirrored itself on either side. Thus, fully cultivating all six Secret Troves yielded precisely sixty-three grotto heavens.

Paired with his Ascension Stage cultivation, Fu Yi's true power far exceeded anything he had shown before.

“Xu Ying!”

He charged forward, his laughter ringing out. “I used to beg anyone and everyone for help, pleading with my superiors to act, pleading with them to deal with you! Well, I’m done with those old fools and their precious procedures! I’ll deal with you myself!”

He let out a piercing cry. A towering, majestic Primordial Spirit appeared behind him as his mystical power erupted! Its white hair streamed through the air. It, too, wore a frown, but it carried far more of an immortal’s ethereal presence!

“Immortal-Slaying Finger!”

He thrust out a finger, and the winds and clouds shifted. Streaks of immortal light shimmered faintly at his fingertip, some swift and some slow. The attack was a true immortal mystic art, striking through different angles, times, and dimensions.

This was no mortal divine ability!

It was a divine ability passed down by immortals. Even wielded by an Ascension Stage Qi Cultivator, its ethereal immortal qi left the target no escape.

Even a master swordsman like Li Xiaoke had never displayed an immortal inheritance before Xu Ying. Clearly, Fu Yi’s legacy was extraordinary!

Xu Ying asked gravely, “Master Zhong, how much of your full power can you unleash?”

Dazhong flew out from beside him to meet the Immortal-Slaying Finger. His toll reverberated as he answered in a deep voice, “Originally, eighty or ninety percent. But after Ancestor Chanchan’s modifications, I can unleash a hundred percent!”

Xu Ying slammed his palm against Dazhong, then swept his hand across the bell's surface, instantly tracing a circuit!

Countless Dao avatars lit up across the bell: sun and moon, mountains and rivers, stars and seas, birds and beasts, insects and fish. All creation flourished as Xu Ying set every avatar in motion!

Dazhong felt that he was no longer unleashing a hundred percent of his power, but a hundred and twenty percent!

Xu Ying used the power of the Heavenly Dao to activate the Dao avatars across the bell’s inner and outer surfaces, allowing Dazhong to wield his power more effectively!

Clang!

Dazhong met the Immortal-Slaying Finger. Deafening peals echoed as the bell and finger collided countless times in a heartbeat!

The Exorcist Immortal Zhong Chengxiao’s land of sublimation crumbled beneath their world-annihilating might. Vast numbers of Dao avatars were obliterated. This earthly paradise plunged into a terrifying cataclysm, and everything within it was destroyed!

Within his Radiant Vestige land of sublimation, Zhong Chengxiao was an immortal in the mortal world. Yet he was powerless to resist, forced to watch his own land of sublimation fall to ruin.

Fu Yi’s face twisted in pain. All five fingers of his right hand shattered, and he leaped into the air with a muffled groan. The land of sublimation tore open with a hiss, and he flew out through the breach!

Just then, the Flying Peak hurtled toward him and struck him squarely, carrying him out of Changsha City! Its massive weight pinned him beneath it, dragging him along the earth for several dozen li before grinding to a halt.

Dazhong and Yuanqi hurried out of the land of sublimation before it could vanish. Xu Ying lingered a moment behind them and asked Zhong Chengxiao, whose skin had already been torn open, “Have you opened your Mud-Pill Secret Trove?”

Zhong Chengxiao nodded with difficulty.

Xu Ying said, “The destruction of your Radiant Vestige land of sublimation may not be a bad thing. If you start your cultivation over, your cultivation will be free of traps.”

He grabbed the blood-drenched Zhong Chengxiao and flew out. Behind him, the Radiant Vestige land of sublimation contracted and collapsed, destroyed.

Dropping Zhong Chengxiao, Xu Ying darted away and landed atop the Flying Peak outside the city!

With a roar, Fu Yi heaved the Flying Peak up with both arms. Dazhong barreled in from the side and slammed into him, knocking him out from beneath the mountain!

Fu Yi grunted and tumbled away.

He had barely pushed himself up from the dust when Xu Ying and Dazhong descended upon him. A thunderous toll blasted Fu Yi's Primordial Spirit from him. Xu Ying closed in for hand-to-hand combat, unleashing the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword in a flash and striking Fu Yi across his entire body!

Before Fu Yi could retaliate, sword strikes pierced the space between his brows, the back of his head, his chest, his Yellow Court, his throat, and the soles of his feet. The blows sent him flying high into the air.

Xu Ying stayed close and brought a palm strike down on him with the Dao-Returning Art!

Fu Yi felt his bones shatter as a strange force invaded his body through Xu Ying's sword wounds.

Along with Xu Ying’s palm strike came a strange horned snake. It sank its fangs into Fu Yi’s neck.

He was about to muster his mystical power to purge the venom when another Flying Peak bore down on him from above!

Roaring in fury, he thrust out both palms to meet it head-on. He stopped the enormous bronze mountain, though even his formidable cultivation could not keep the impact from sending blood spurting from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!

The backlash from the Flying Peak’s impact also knocked the breath out of Zhu Chanchan, halting her assault.

At the same moment, Fu Yi’s Primordial Spirit drove Dazhong back and returned to his body.

Fu Yi laughed aloud and surveyed his surroundings. His attackers were merely Xu Ying, Dazhong, Zhu Chanchan, and Yuanqi. There was also a blade of grass, but he dismissed it as useless.

He glanced at Zhu Chanchan. “Of all of you, this little girl has the highest cultivation. And she has only just formed her Primordial Spirit.”

She snorted. “In my prime, I could have subdued you with one hand!”

She was not boasting. At her peak, Zhu Chanchan was a grand Ascension Stage Qi Cultivator laden with stolen treasures meant for forging Haojing; their collective weight alone would have crushed Fu Yi to death.

Unimpressed, Fu Yi continued, “Young Master Xu has the most exquisite Dao art, while this bell strikes the hardest. As for this snake, here just to pad the numbers, do you really think your poison can harm me?"

As he spoke, his head began to swim. Alarmed, he examined himself through his Primordial Spirit and discovered that he had indeed been poisoned. His neck had turned black!

“This isn’t right. I have nine great Mud-Pill grotto heavens. No poison can overcome my body’s vigor. How could I have been poisoned?”

He hastily activated his Mud-Pill grotto heavens. They appeared behind him in succession, then faltered. Breaking free of his control, they drifted away. His expression changed sharply. He hurriedly mobilized his Primordial Spirit to suppress the poison within his flesh.

He rasped, “Young Master Xu, what did you do with those thirteen sword strikes?”

Xu Ying dispersed his sword qi. “I merely stripped your transplanted grotto heavens away.”

Uncertainty crossed Fu Yi’s face. Xu Ying's current cultivation should not have been strong enough to sever his grotto heavens, even with the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword.

What had truly made the difference was Xu Ying’s Dao-Returning Art. This formidable move had harnessed Fu Yi’s own power and channeled it into the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword!

“So what if I have no grotto heavens?”

Fu Yi suppressed the poison, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and glanced around with a smile. “I’m still a Qi Cultivator in the Ascension Stage. You have artifacts. Do you think I don’t?”

He laughed heartily. “Not only do I have them, but I also have more than you! Over these four thousand years, I’ve amassed untold wealth working for those above me...”

His heart turned cold. His ethereal void was empty. Every last artifact had vanished without a trace.

Just then, the Purple Immortal Herb emerged behind him. Countless roots burrowed into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, invading his ethereal void in moments and even binding his Primordial Spirit fast!

Fu Yi tried to resist, but this herb of immortality had been crucial in suppressing the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor. Though the herb was no fighter, its sealing abilities were formidable. It plunged Fu Yi’s divine sense and consciousness into chaos.

The Purple Immortal Herb made Fu Yi walk toward them. Yuanqi and Dazhong trembled, and Dazhong stammered, “M-Master Herb, you’re incredible. I-I am in awe...”

Zhu Chanchan stared, transfixed. Then she leaped over and punched the purple herb, trying to leave her own imprint on it.

A moment later, roots filled Zhu Chanchan’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Like Fu Yi, she had fallen under the Purple Immortal Herb’s control.

Seeing this, Xu Ying also regarded the immortal herb with awe. Good thing Grave Grass and I are close. It’s never done that to me.