Light Rainbow asked again, "Xiaokai, should we go back to see our master now?"
"Of course not," Xiaokai replied, "We should wait a bit longer to show our sincerity, to truly demonstrate that we've made an effort. He found a clean large rock and sat down, "Come, Light Rainbow, let's take a rest and wait a bit. Maybe if the demon comes up here, we can give Kunlun Sect a hand."
"What should we do now?" Light Rainbow thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "Xiaokai, since we have nothing to do, why don't we go and check out the Gate of Doomsday again?"
Just as she said that, they heard a muffled sound like something huge colliding from the mountain, followed by a distant clamor. Light Rainbow jumped up, "Xiaokai, it must be the demon coming. We need to go back quickly!"
But Xiaokai pulled her, "Don't go. They don't want our help."
"But we can't just stand by. If we don't go, they will be wiped out by the demon," Light Rainbow insisted.
"Let's wait and see for now. If the demon is really powerful, they will at least escape down the mountain. If we go now, they will think we look down on them," Xiaokai argued.
After some consideration, Light Rainbow sat down patiently.
Strange enough, the commotion on the mountain lasted for less than ten minutes before quieting down. Xiaokai and Light Rainbow listened carefully and heard nothing. It was peaceful, and the scent of grass mixed with the fragrance of flowers wafted over, devoid of any trace of blood. It didn't seem like a fight had taken place up there.
"Could we be mistaken?"
"Could it be an internal conflict?"
"Should we still go and see?" Light Rainbow suggested, "In case something happens..."
"Let's go," Xiaokai stood up and clapped his hands, "Let's go and have a look."
This time, the two dared not to fly, fearing to provoke the fragile self-esteem of the Kunlun Sect. They walked for a while and finally returned to the Maze Forest. They saw Poyunzi, who guarded the entrance, lying on the edge of the forest. As they approached, they saw that his mouth was blocked by a piece of cloth, which turned out to be his robe. To their surprise, Poyunzi's face was covered with ink, and a vivid image of a large turtle had been drawn on his forehead, looking ferocious and surprisingly well-drawn. Xiaokai and Light Rainbow couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Light Rainbow removed the cloth from Poyunzi's mouth, asking, "What happened? Did the demon come?"
"I don't know. I just felt a gust of wind passed by, and then... this happened," Poyunzi lay still on the ground, with only his eyes and mouth moving.
Light Rainbow stared at Poyunzi for a while and said, "Xiaokai, he seems to be under some kind of restraint, and the technique seems familiar to me. It's somewhat similar to what I've seen from the Shushan Sect in the past."
"Why bring up Shushan again? It should be the demon," Xiaokai puzzled, "But you're right. The demon came to wipe out Kunlun. It should kill people, not just tie them up."
"I'm not sure," Light Rainbow said, "I've only seen similar techniques when I used to go out with my master. It could just be a resemblance."
"Then let's hurry up," Xiao Kai took out a needle and held it in his hand, "Be careful on the way. There may be danger."
Kunlun Mountain is a famous place for cultivating the Tao. They had only reached the Maze Forest and were already ordered to leave earlier, not getting a full view. This was the first time for Xiaokai to go up the mountain.
It was midsummer, but the higher they went, the cooler it became. The climate on the mountain was ever-changing, and the path was full of strange peaks and rocks. After walking for ten minutes, they began to see patches of white snow, and as they continued, they entered an area completely covered with snow.
Surprisingly, they didn't encounter anyone during the journey, which was quite unusual. Xiaokai suddenly stopped and said, "Light Rainbow, let's not go any further to avoid ambushes. Let's fly up instead."
"Alright," Light Rainbow nodded and was about to summon the Seven Treasure Golden Ship, but Xiaokai laughed, "No need for the trouble. Just use your flying sword."
"But... my flying sword may not be able to carry you," Light Rainbow looked at Xiaokai, her cheeks blushing, "Xiaokai, if you really want to ride on my flying sword, then... I'll give it a try. But, you better hold me tight to avoid falling off."
"No need, I have a flying sword too," Xiaokai said proudly, taking out the essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron, which floated in front of him and slowly transformed into a two-meter-long stick. Xiaokai stepped onto it, "You lead the way, let's go."
Light Rainbow keenly noticed that a faint blue light was shimmering on the precious stick, while when they dealt with the demon earlier, it was purely black. Apparently, through absorbing the Kunlun Sect's Profound Iron Diamond Circle, the stick had evolved.
The essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron, originally unable to fly, had now truly become able to travel through the sky and the earth after being transformed by the Yin and Yang energies.
This was Xiaokai's first flight and he found that the treasure was incredibly fast. Upon activation, he swiftly soared ahead, looking back and realizing that Light Rainbow had barely covered one-third of the distance. Feeling joyful, he burst into laughter and continued to ascend.
Kunlun Mountain is extremely high, but the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron was so fast that in just a blink of an eye, they spotted a large lake ahead. Xiaokai descended on the stick, and there was a barrier in mid-air, probably to guard against outsiders entering Kunlun Mountain. However, the barrier was too frail in front of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron. It had already broken a large hole through it, and Xiaokai descended without hesitation.
As he landed inside the barrier from the icy sky, warmth enveloped him, and a gentle breeze blew. It was an extraordinary and beautiful place.
Looking from here, the lake was smooth as a mirror, with no ripples. Steam rose from the water, creating a mysterious and ethereal atmosphere. The lake was covered with Lotus flowers and Water Lilies, which were ten times larger than what Xiaokai had seen before, creating an otherworldly scene.
"Xiaokai, this is the legendary Yaochi," Light Rainbow finally caught up, "It's the source of spirit energy on Kunlun Mountain."
Xiaokai nodded, "It seems to be a hot spring. It should be quite comfortable to take a bath down there."
"Hey, you can't bathe here," Light Rainbow laughed, "This is the most sacred place in Kunlun Mountain. It's forbidden for anyone to pollute. Even the Kunlun Sect's leader isn't qualified to use the lake water. Only when the leadership changes hands will the new leader be allowed to take a sip from the lake, symbolizing taking over the leadership of Kunlun."
At this point, Light Rainbow suddenly cried out, "Something's not right. Normally, this place is guarded day and night by the second-generation disciples of Kunlun Sect. It's nearly impossible for outsiders to even get close, let alone enter so easily like today."
"It's simple," Xiaokai gestured with his mouth, "Look over there, those three should be responsible for guarding the Yaochi."
Indeed, not far away, three Kunlun Sect disciples in Daoist robes were lying prostrate, similarly gagged with cloth and ink-stained faces, presenting three vivid images of large turtles. They were now looking at Xiaokai and Light Rainbow with a sense of urgency and anger.
Light Rainbow exclaimed, running over to remove the cloths from their mouths, "Fellow Daoists, what's going on? Wait, why is it you?"
The person lying in the middle, isn't that Xingyunzi?
Xingyunzi blushed a little and said, "Cough... the intruders are a person who is neither male nor female and a girl of seventeen or eighteen. I don't know if they are the so-called "Tianyao" you mentioned."
"A girl?" Xiaokai was a little surprised. "But Tianyao is clearly a single person."
Qinghong asked, "Where did they go now?"
The person lying on the left said, "They went to the west side's council hall. The master and the senior martial brother are both over there."
"Oh," Xiaokai said, "Let's go over there quickly."
"Wait a minute," Xingyunzi said, "Could you help us lift the restriction first, so that we can also go over and help?"
"Forget it, are you just afraid of death?" Xiaokai glanced at him. "Not to mention that I can't remove your restriction, even with your level of strength, can you really be of any help? Just relax and wait."
Xingyunzi's face turned red, he opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.
After walking west for a while, Xiaokai saw a grand hall, which was similar to the Yellow Mountain sect's council hall, magnificent and splendid. These prestigious sects all did a pretty good job of showcasing their facades. However, it was a critical time, and there was no time to appreciate the architecture. Xiaokai stepped in and, when he looked forward, he exclaimed, "Wow!"
Feihe Shangren was lying on the floor, with his limbs and mouth bound, struggling to break free. Unfortunately, he was also immobilized, though his "big" posture was being maintained quite well.
He had a freshly painted big turtle face, which was more detailed compared to his disciples' faces. Even the patterns on the turtle shell were outlined in a few strokes. Xiaokai nodded repeatedly, unable to deny that Tianyao indeed had a talent for painting.
Feihe Shangren's clothes had been removed, leaving only his underwear, revealing his fair and smooth skin. Xiaokai carefully examined him and couldn't help but marvel, "Such tender and fair skin, an old man over a hundred years old actually looks better than me. Tsk tsk, quite a show-off, his underwear even in pink."
Feihe Shangren, who had always been concerned about his reputation, had never encountered such a situation. When Xiaokai and Qinghong returned, his face turned red in embarrassment, almost mortified. He immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
Xiaokai went over and removed the cloth from his mouth, asking, "Feihe Shangren, what's going on?"
Feihe Shangren kept his eyes closed and remained silent, showing a strong resolve not to speak. Suddenly, Qinghong said, "Xiaokai, look over here."
Qinghong lifted the curtain hanging high on the side of the hall, and behind it, there were five or six people stacked on top of each other, pressed against the wall, with the person at the bottom nearly losing consciousness. Xiaokai laughed when he recognized the person there—it was Feiyunzi, who previously tried to punish him in the Illusion Realm of the Flowing Cloud Pavilion.
The statues displayed behind the curtain were those of the successive heads of the Kunlun sect since its founding. Most of them were intact, but in the middle of the front row, one statue had been heavily damaged, with its face pockmarked and its more critical parts gouged out. If it were a living person, the extent of his injuries would have been no less than "death by a thousand cuts."
Xiaokai couldn't help but wonder who would be so bored as to take out his frustration on a statue. However, he put the matter out of his mind. Xiaokai and Qinghong clumsily placed the people on the ground and removed the gag from their mouths. Feiyunzi had the thickest skin, and he was the first to speak, saying, "Thank you for rescuing us."
"Who did this?" Xiaokai asked. "Was it Tianyao?"
"I'm not sure," Feiyunzi breathed deeply, "It was a person who is neither male nor female, and a very beautiful girl. I don't know what techniques they used; their cultivation is unbelievably profound. The eight great masters of our Kunlun sect, the 'Fei' generation, couldn't even withstand a single strike from them. It's truly humiliating."
Xiaokai and Qinghong exchanged a glance, both quietly wondering how this could be possible. If it was Tianyao, why didn't they just kill them all instead of merely humiliating them? But if it wasn't Tianyao, who else could possess such incredible strength, easily overpowering the eight great masters of Kunlun?
Feiyunzi continued, "We are deeply grateful for the prior warning you gave us. We declined your assistance later, that was our own fault. Today, we have been humiliated because of our incompetence, and it's our own fault. Please help us lift the restriction, we owe a great debt of gratitude, and we will repay it in the future."
Xiaokai said, "I'm sorry, I really don't know how to lift this restriction."
Feiyunzi said, "This is a technique of the Shu Mountain sect. Although not many people know it, I happen to be one of those. You just need to follow the method I tell you, and you can release it."
Xiaokai couldn't help but look at Qinghong in surprise, "It's really a skill of the Shu Mountain sect."
"Right, it's strange," Qinghong said. "Could it be that Tianyao and the Shu Mountain sect have some connection?"
Suddenly, Xiaokai remembered something and said, "Do you remember what Tianyao said, about going to Kunlun first, and then to Shu Mountain? Could it have some grudge against both Kunlun and Shu Mountain?"
Qinghong became anxious, "Xiaokai, we can't waste any time. Let's quickly resolve the situation here and head to Shu Mountain!"
Feiyunzi began to teach them how to lift the restriction. Finally, Qinghong managed to release Feiyunzi's restriction. Feiyunzi then went to rescue his senior brothers, while Feihe Shangren was left feeling completely embarrassed. He glanced at Xiaokai and Qinghong with twinkling eyes, wanting to say something but finding himself unable to. Xiaokai didn't bother with him and bid farewell to the others, quickly leaving the mountain. On the way, they passed by the Yao Chi, and Xiaokai suddenly had an idea, "How about we take some water from the Yao Chi?"
Qinghong said, "We can't do that. We just helped them, but we also caused them to be severely injured. Feihe Shangren has a temper. If you dare to touch the Yao Chi, he will definitely seek revenge."
"That's where you're mistaken," Xiaokai shook his head. "Do you think we'll ever have a chance to come to Kunlun again in the future? Particularly this forbidden place like the Yao Chi."
Qinghong shook her head, "Definitely not."
"Exactly," Xiaokai clapped his hands. "If that's the case, then today is our last opportunity to get the Yao Chi water."
"But the water from the Yao Chi is useless," Qinghong said. "Every time the successive heads of Kunlun took the water, it was just a formality."
"Wrong, completely wrong!" Xiaokai said, "If it was useless, why would the Yao Chi become a forbidden place in Kunlun? If it was useless, why would the heads of Kunlun have to take a dip in the Yao Chi? Didn't you see the lotus flowers and water lilies in there? They've grown so big; there must be something special in that water."
Qinghong thought for a moment and said, "That seems to make sense."
"Of course it does," Xiaokai said. "Think about it. Your Liuyun Water Pavilion's Moonlight Forbidden Ground houses even the terrifying Tianyao. Each of the six major sects has been around for tens of thousands of years. Don't you think they all have secrets?"
Qinghong nodded. "When you put it like that, I recall that my master said the Kunlun sect's Yao Chi Illusion uses not only the power of the disciples forming the formation but also the power of the Yao Chi itself. It seems the Yao Chi water is indeed special. Also, it's said that Kunlun sect has a divine beast holding down the mountain, yet no one has ever seen it. Could it be that the divine beast... is in the water?"
Xiaokai suddenly slapped his hand, "Right, that's it!"
At this moment, several top disciples of the Kunlun sect were still lamenting in the council chamber. Xiaokai went around the back to where Feiyunzi and the others were lying, then picked up a brick from the side and knocked three times on each of their heads. Unfortunately, the three respected cultivators, currently suppressed by their true Yuan and weakened, were knocked unconscious by the bricks. Qinghong was stunned, never having expected Xiaokai, her brother, to be so ruthless.
"This is just to prevent any accidents," Xiaokai explained. "If they start to speak ill of that old Feihe, won't that become a grudge? We're just going to quietly take some water and then leave, nothing will happen."
Xiaokai took out the essence of the Millennium Profound Iron, transforming it into a water bottle. Without needing to do anything, he simply tossed the essence of the Millennium Profound Iron, and the water bottle flew up to the Yao Chi. With a diving motion, it submerged into the water, and the sound of water gurgling continuously filled the air. After filling the bottle, Xiaokai called it back with a wave of his hand. The bottle's mouth automatically sealed itself, and then it started to fly upward. Qinghong looked on with envy, her face showing how much she admired Xiaokai's treasure, a feeling beyond words.
However, at this moment, an accident occurred!
"Roar!" This earth-shaking roar caused the entire Yao Chi to boil violently!
With this roar, an incredibly huge monster's head rose up along with the bottle of water, covered in shining scales. Its eyes were the size of copper bells, gleaming with a frightening ferocity as they glared at Xiaokai!
As the water kettle rose, the monster gradually emerged from the pool, exposing its entire body in front of the two. It looked somewhat like a turtle with a huge shell on its back, and the texture of the shell was very clear, resembling a massive Tai Chi diagram. As it rose, the water from the Jade Pool cascaded down its body, splashing the entire lake as if a sudden rain had come, the intensity of which was truly astonishing.
The monster opened its huge mouth and viciously snapped at the water kettle. It seemed that the water of the Jade Pool was its private property, and it was determined to destroy anything that dared to come and take its water.
"Crack!" Xiao Kai took a deep breath, as the clash between the creature's teeth and the essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron produced a grating sound that made his teeth ache. The most lethal part was that the monster wouldn’t let go, relentlessly grinding the essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron inside the water kettle, causing Xiao Kai and Qing Hong's teeth to feel sour, akin to modern military terminology, as if the enemy was employing the most typical sound wave attack weapon.
Xiao Kai kept commanding his precious item to come back, but the monster was incredibly strong, holding onto the essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron and struggling to break free. This unique struggle between the creature and the artifact began in mid-air; Xiao Kai and Qing Hong opened their eyes wide, looking at the giant monster in mid-air, over ten meters long, with its mouth wide open shaking its head and wagging its tail forcefully, causing them dizziness.
The essence of the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron was now constrained, containing a kettle of water inside. It could not exert even half of its strength; although it was the limit of the metal from heaven and earth, it was not anxious about being destroyed. However, it was extremely difficult for it to struggle free unless the water was released.
But Xiao Kai was stubborn; it was impossible for him to let go of this water kettle.
Qing Hong gritted her teeth, thinking, "Today, I've already caused trouble, so I'll disregard it." With a wave of her hand, she finally summoned the Agarwood Bead.
Once out, the situation changed dramatically. It is worth mentioning that this bead was also a well-known treasure from thousands of years ago. Although it might fall short in a one-on-one battle with the divine beast, it could still handle something as powerful as the Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron's essence.
Determined, Qing Hong brought it down hard on the creature's head, causing it to let out a miserable wail, and its mouth opened.