Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Entrance

"Why would an emperor of Yu gather the dragon veins of ancient Yue?" As soon as Xu Zhong finished speaking, he realized his words were ill-considered. After a brief storm of thoughts, he found a way to ease the tension. "I know who that person is. We can exchange secrets."

To his surprise, Jiang Xuanyi smiled gently. "His name is Feng Xun, the last crown prince of the ancient Yue."

"I also know that the turmoil in Fengdu was all because of him."

"Is there any other secret you wish to know? I can tell you everything."

Xu Zhong maintained his composure and pondered for a moment before asking, "How do you know so much?"

"In the land of Yu, there is nothing I cannot know, provided I wish to," Jiang Xuanyi replied coolly. "Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Xu Zhong shook his head. "I'm afraid I have no secrets worthy of your curiosity to exchange."

"A wise choice," Jiang Xuanyi nodded.

"Now, it's your turn to lead the way." Jiang Xuanyi stepped behind Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong activated his wooden sword, which resumed its guidance.

Along the journey, the Ghost Mother grew increasingly silent.

Not long after leaving Liangshui, they encountered a Night Wanderer deity.

This deity roamed the mortal realm, investigating all it encountered.

Suddenly, it sensed Jiang Xuanyi and immediately raised a hand, bowing respectfully.

"Greetings to His Majesty, the Most Sacred Ancestor Emperor of Yu."

Jiang Xuanyi parted the clouds, revealing his face. He glanced down at the Night Wanderer and then pointed north.

"The criminal Feng Xun has gone to Yun Jian County."

Upon hearing this, the Night Wanderer thanked him and hurried toward Yun Jian.

Feng Xun's involvement was too deep; Fengdu would never allow him to roam freely among mortals.

Unfortunately, the Night Wanderer and Day Wanderer were the only two deities of Fengdu permitted to walk in the mortal realm; others were bound.

Once the Night Wanderer departed, the group resumed their journey.

A prolonged silence ensued, which Xu Zhong found difficult to endure.

Finally, he broke the quiet: "What exactly is the Dragon Capital Paradise?"

The Ghost Mother remained silent, as did the serpent demon.

Jiang Xuanyi, after some thought, answered, "Do you know of ancient Yue?"

Xu Zhong nodded.

"And do you know how it perished?"

Xu Zhong nodded again.

"The chronicles say the last ruler of ancient Yue levied heavy taxes and extorted his people, driving them to despair. Eventually, Liangshui changed course, broke through Jianliang, and ancient Yue was destroyed. The historian annotated: Ancient Yue was unrighteous; Heaven willed its destruction."

Jiang Xuanyi shook his head, then nodded. "True, but also false."

Xu Zhong was bewildered.

"The demise of ancient Yue was indeed Heaven's will, but the claim that its emperor was unrighteous is a lie."

"He was a benevolent ruler and a genius. During his reign, he governed diligently, strengthened his nation and people. After achieving prosperity, he began his cultivation. In a hundred years, he reached the Outer Scene; in five hundred, he attained the Equalization Realm; in a thousand, he refined the Outer Scene into the Inner Scene, being but a step away from ascension."

"At that moment, he conceived a mad ambition."

"He wished to lift the entire kingdom of Yu with him into the immortal realm."

Xu Zhong was stunned by Jiang Xuanyi's words; his ears rang as if someone were striking them with a heavy hammer.

To elevate an entire nation to ascend—such a thing had never been heard of.

Xu Zhong could not fathom how to judge this emperor.

"In the end, his ascension failed. The heavenly thunder descended and killed him, destroying Jianliang in its wake."

Jiang Xuanyi looked at Xu Zhong with a half-smile. "Do you know how vast the ascension thunder is?"

Xu Zhong shook his head.

To kill an Inner Scene cultivator and destroy a capital along with him…

"It's as vast as Liangshui," Jiang Xuanyi explained.

"All the ancient Yue royal family died in that thunder, except for a few who hid within an Outer Scene."

Xu Zhong had been to that Outer Scene.

"That was the emperor's first attempt. He gathered the green, white, black, and red emperors of ancient Yue to forge it together."

"But later, he created a superior Inner Scene."

Xu Zhong couldn't comment on the matter. He wondered if the emperor's ambition was madness or courage.

Yet he felt Jiang Xuanyi had not told the whole story, perhaps concealing something.

"After he was killed by the thunder, the Inner Scene within him remained in the world, and over time, it became the Dragon Capital Paradise."

The Dragon Capital Paradise was the emperor's Inner Scene—a notion Xu Zhong had never considered.

But he realized there were many things he had never considered.

The Ghost Mother listened attentively to their conversation.

She had been sealed for five thousand years.

Those events happened after her sealing.

Yet she retained some impression of ancient Yue.

Ancient Yue had existed for ten thousand years; all its people could cultivate, all were like dragons.

She and Zhou Jing were from that era.

She had never imagined Yu would perish, and in such a dramatic fashion.

The serpent demon nearby remained expressionless.

He had no affection for Yu.

The wooden sword drifted, piercing through layers of clouds.

"Jiang Xuanyi!" In the mountains, a demon god arose, opening its enormous maw to devour the entire cloud layer.

"White-Head Mountain Tiger God, you have broken the seal," Jiang Xuanyi remarked in surprise.

"Thanks to you, sealed for five hundred years." The Tiger God wished to vent its anger.

"I was inexperienced then, and sealed you for only five hundred years. If so, today I shall seal you for another five hundred."

Jiang Xuanyi extended his palm.

His palm fell flat, transforming into a mountain of five elements.

This mountain descended, thoroughly suppressing the Tiger God.

White-Head Mountain was now Five-Finger Mountain.

They continued onward.

Soon, another demon god appeared.

"Jiang Xuanyi!" came a furious roar from within Yuan Shui.

Yuan Shui surged violently; a wicked flood dragon was stirring up chaos, sending massive waves to engulf the world.

Without a word, Jiang Xuanyi began to suppress it.

He sent forth a single finger.

That finger pierced the entire river, pinning the dragon to the riverbed, to the earth's core, then followed with several palms, forming a colossal seal.

Wherever they went, demon gods emerged.

Each broke free of their seals to seek vengeance on Jiang Xuanyi, but all were inevitably subdued.

No one truly knew how powerful Jiang Xuanyi was.

The Ghost Mother was secretly astonished.

"Sealed for five thousand years, and so many demon gods now run rampant."

"Without ancient Yue, human cultivators no longer suppress demon tribes as fiercely as before."

In the past, no demon god would dare address a sovereign so boldly.

A king, with divine mandate, could suppress demon and ghost with a single decree.

The Ghost Mother pondered, stealing glances at Jiang Xuanyi beside her.

Though this ancestor of Yu was formidable, he paled compared to any emperor of ancient Yue.

Two days later.

A towering peak shrouded in gray clouds appeared before Xu Zhong.

The wooden sword halted.

A tremendous sword intent burst forth, a river of sword energy converging with the celestial phenomena, tearing apart the gray clouds and revealing the mountain.

The great peak was rich in spiritual energy, mist swirling around it, its ridges winding like dragons and serpents—magnificent beyond compare.

"So this is Chengtian Mountain!" The middle-aged man observed the mountain's contours and gave its name.

Chengtian Mountain—Xu Zhong recognized it.

Legend held that this mountain joined heaven and earth.

Ordinary folk could climb Chengtian Mountain and enter the immortal realm, while gods from the immortal realm could descend to the mortal world through it.

Xu Zhong studied Chengtian Mountain carefully.

It was not as grand as legend claimed.

Yet it was one of Yu's Five Mountains and Eight Rivers.

The Five Mountains and Eight Rivers referred to the five tallest peaks and eight longest rivers within Yu.

Chengtian Mountain was the last of the Five Mountains.

"A dragon vein is hidden here!" the middle-aged man exclaimed.

Dragon veins were rare in the world; most had already transformed into dragon gods, protecting their domains.

The dragon gods born of dragon veins could sway mountains and rivers with a single move.

The middle-aged man had long sought dragon veins.

The dragon veins of ancient Yue.

Yet what he saw before him was not that, but a Yu dragon vein.

Hence his astonishment.

Among Yu's dragon veins, none escaped his sensing—except this one.

Xu Zhong gazed at Chengtian Mountain a while longer.

He truly could not discern what a dragon vein was.

The wooden sword steadied itself, circling above the mountain.

"That might be the entrance to Dragon Capital Paradise!" the Ghost Mother looked at the spot. "Yet how can the entrance be revealed?"

"That's easily done!" came a voice from behind.

It was familiar. Xu Zhong turned and saw Bai Zhaoju.

A golden rainbow shot forth from Bai Zhaoju's body, piercing the mountain.

At once, dense spiritual energy boiled, the aura within a five-hundred-li radius surged into the rainbow.

Where the rainbow touched, a vortex formed, collapsing inward, countless lights and shadows streaming inside.

Xu Zhong's thoughts stirred.

He saw the entire mountain shudder, boulders tumbling with a roar louder than thunder.

The golden rainbow spread the vortex, silver light flickered, unfolding into a gate.

Then, a mass of gray mist billowed from the gate, thick as liquid, shrouding the mountain.

A stabbing pain pierced Xu Zhong's head.

Within the mist, he sensed an irresistible force stirring within, ready to burst forth.

"Only twenty years have passed, and you've cultivated a divine soul already?" Situ Nan's figure appeared in his mind.

"You haven't formed a divine soul!"

He saw the primal chaos within Xu Zhong's mind, his three souls still closed, seven spirits disordered, swirling through his consciousness.

"Situ Nan, is this the paradise that trapped you?" Xu Zhong did not speak, but his thoughts surged, and his mind responded in kind.

"Seems my luck is good," Situ Nan smiled. "But once you enter Dragon Capital Paradise, be careful—find a place to hide and wait for me to find you."

Situ Nan's imprint was growing purer.

But he seemed unable to persist for long.

"See, the passage is open," Bai Zhaoju smiled, looking at the others.

Her gaze finally settled on the male serpent demon.

"Sister!" he called.

"My shed skin has truly become a demon. But you calling me sister isn't wrong!"

As they spoke, the gate stabilized, and a grayish passage appeared before them.

"It is time to go."