Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 8

Approaching the pitch-black volcano, Apu realized that the summit was not only billowing thick smoke but also seeping with bright, dazzling yellow lava.

As soon as the lava flowed out of the crater, it slowly faded into a fluid that resembled black sand, trickling down the mountain’s flanks. It seemed this was exactly how the expanse of black earth beneath them had been formed.

About a hundred fathoms behind the Black Mountain lay a vast black sea with surging waves. The inky giants crashed onto the shore, licking and slapping against the bizarre skeletons strewn along the coast. These bones were also ink-colored, belonging to humans, beasts, and even strange, unrecognizable species with double heads or giant claws.

Without exception, they were all frozen in the same posture: parched, charred arms reaching toward the inland, hollow black eyes and mouths wide open as if thirsting, crawling, or screaming for help.

The giant tiger let out a roar, came to a graceful halt, and sat down before the black volcano. The young girl slid down the tiger’s back.

The shore of the Black Sea was a beach of ink-colored stones. Along this line, countless black skeletons were piled together, their empty eye sockets staring in their direction. Apu shivered and was about to speak when she caught sight of Wuyanzi. The man’s expression had suddenly changed to one of sheer panic.

“This is… the Eastern Chaos Sea!”

Before Apu could ask anything, the woman in yellow suddenly appeared. The True Lord curled her right fingers into a claw and made a pulling motion toward Wuyanzi’s chest. She hooked out a human-shaped transparent phantom. Before Lin Pu could get a clear look, the True Lord struck the phantom into the girl’s chest with a single palm.

Lin Pu felt a warmth in her abdomen; she felt a mysterious, invisible connection form between her and Wuyanzi.

Looking up, she saw Wuyanzi howl in pain and collapse to the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Vaguely, one could see the curled shadow of a graceful woman inside the burly man’s body.

The woman in yellow spoke coldly, “Wuyanzi, behave yourself. If you act out again in the future, this junior of mine can take your life with a single thought!”

Wuyanzi endured the soul-tearing agony and knelt dutifully, voicing his obedience.

The woman’s tone softened slightly. “This contract does not bind you for a lifetime; it only prevents you from harming the contract holder. You may come and go as you please. Once you have saved her life three times, the shackles will naturally dissolve, your soul will return to its place, and your cultivation will not be hindered.”

After Wuyanzi complied, the woman in yellow waved her sleeve, taking Lin Pu inside it, and vanished instantly.

The girl felt as though she had changed locations in the blink of an eye. She went from the dark stone land covered by black clouds into the middle of bright, piercingly red lava. Above them circled a gold-trimmed red ribbon, from which a shimmering light barrier extended, carving out a wide air chamber within the magma. Only she and the True Lord were here.

The woman in yellow sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, her face somewhat pale. Her hands rested on a silver-white longsword laid flat across her lap. She spoke: “Name, life story, and anything you want to ask—speak.”

Lin Pu knelt and bowed. She did not rise but sat obediently before her senior.

“This junior is Lin Pu, nickname Apu, from Xiaolin Town, Nineteenth Town of Great Mang Mountain. I was named and raised by the Priestess of Mang Mountain. I am ignorant and have just stepped onto the immortal path. I ask for Senior’s title and the name of your immortal mountain.”

“Yushan Sword Domain, Mo Xianjun.”

Wuyanzi had previously introduced Lin Pu to the six Great Sects. The evil factions were the Ten Thousand Demon Sect and the Beast Realm; the righteous path consisted of the Qingling Sect, the Ghalan Fahua Temple, the Huangdao Alliance, and the Yushan Sword Domain.

The cultivation world of this era was a time when ten thousand methods competed in brilliance. Sects were numerous, each with its own strengths. The Great Sects were the giants among these immortal houses, and the Yushan Sword Domain was the leader among those giants.

The Yushan Sword Domain had been founded six thousand years ago by the Daoist Lord Lingque.

The Daoist Lord had filled seas and moved mountains to establish the Way. Ordinary cultivators who followed the steps would ascend to the upper realm once they reached a certain level. However, Lingque had mastered seven different cultivation paths and attained perfection four thousand years ago.

On the day the Master ascended, the Heavenly Gates opened wide, and the sun was obscured by divine clouds. Cultivators within ten thousand miles were bathed in spiritual rain, and their cultivation realms soared. Since then, Master Lingque has been honored as the Daoist Lord of this world.

The Daoist Lord had three disciples when he founded the sect and took three more before his ascension.

Among the six first-generation disciples of Yushan Sword Domain, the eldest, Yuan Siyan, followed in the Daoist Lord’s footsteps two thousand years ago and ascended. The third, Xie Yifei, fell into madness thirteen hundred years ago; using his final shred of sanity, he fled into the Southern Infinite Lands and vanished without a trace. The second disciple was the True Lord of the Red Ribbon, Mo Xianjun.

Lin Pu was terrified. The head of the Great Sects, a disciple of the Daoist Lord who became an immortal four thousand years ago—this was a top-tier, ancestor-level figure of the current cultivation world! She knew the woman in yellow was a big deal, but she hadn’t expected her to be this legendary.

“…Great Mang Mountain is the territory of demon beasts, ruled by Demon Kings. Cultivators cannot easily enter. The Nineteenth Town of Mang Mountain is located in its heart; the outside world speculates that the humans there must be protected by another Great Power.”

Hearing this, Apu thought of Priestess Granny. Mo Xianjun continued, “Your skeletal structure is peerless. It would be a waste to let it be buried in those vast mountains, so I sent an avatar to bring you out.”

In the common knowledge of the cultivation world, having a good skeletal structure (Gen Gu) did not necessarily mean one had the talent for cultivation; it also depended on comprehension, temperament, and training. However, without a good skeletal structure, one definitely could not cultivate. The better the bones, the higher the probability of success.

The quality of one’s structure can be seen from the outside, but top-tier ones like “Jade Bones” or “Natural Spirit Bones” have their spiritual light contained within, hidden beneath the flesh. Only cultivators with high ability can perceive them.

However, the more powerful an expert is, the less they value these external things. To them, it is enough as long as the structure exists. After all, Daoist Lord Lingque himself only had mediocre talent and ordinary bones.

In Mo Xianjun’s view, Jade Bones were special; they carried their own spiritual light and were as sturdy as jade. The demon snake had swallowed Lin Pu’s flesh but could not digest the Jade Bones; its demonic energy was exhausted, leading to its death. It was precisely because the girl’s flesh was repeatedly worn away and regrown that the spiritual light of her bone structure was revealed, allowing Mo Xianjun to sense it from a thousand miles away.

The demon beasts of Great Mang Mountain have a strong sense of territory. Very few cultivators are permitted to enter. If such a talented seedling remained there, she would either be buried in the mortal world or live a mediocre life in a low-level sect. It was a pity.

Thus, the famous True Lord of the Red Ribbon had personally intervened to bring the young girl out.

Had they met anywhere outside Great Mang Mountain, her ladyship would not have bothered. The Yushan Sword Domain had existed for six thousand years, with countless elite disciples. Mo Xianjun had seen every kind of excellent bone and talent; why would she stop for a mere set of Jade Bones?

Lin Pu felt a bit guilty. She knew exactly how her bone structure had come about, but Priestess Granny had warned her not to tell others about her business, so the girl remained silent.

Mo Xianjun patiently explained the background of the cultivation world before shifting the topic. “However, my lifespan is near its end. I fear I cannot take you back to the mountain gate myself.”

The girl was shocked, but before she could speak, Mo Xianjun asked, “Do you know where this is?”

Lin Pu remembered that outside, Wuyanzi had cried out “Eastern Chaos Sea” upon seeing the boundless black waves.

The True Lord nodded. “That girl from the Bronze Sparrow Terrace actually has some knowledge.”

The Eastern Chaos Sea, as the name implied, was a chaotic, primordial sea at the easternmost edge of the continent.

Living beings are resilient; they do not fear the cold or hardship and survive in all corners of this continent. Rocky cliffs, oceans, salt flats, and even marshes and deserts have life.

But only in the far east, past the desert, is there a land of black earth permanently shrouded by dark clouds. The sun never reaches it, nothing grows, and life is extinct. Only a type of “Demon Ghost” comes here from the sea.

Every three hundred years, the Chaos Sea has a Great Tide, which brings Demon Ghosts from parts unknown. These ghosts include humans, beasts, and chimeras. They crawl onto the coast and surge inland, wreaking havoc on the world. Led by the six Great Sects, every three hundred years, manpower is organized to resist the ghosts. The massive pile of black bones Lin Pu saw earlier were the ghosts killed by cultivators. The remains of the fallen cultivators, meanwhile, were taken back to their respective sects for burial.

“My senior brother, Yuan Siyan, was skilled in divination. Before he ascended, he cast a hex for me, saying ‘The benefactor is in the East.’ Now that my lifespan is failing and I have yet to touch the Great Dao, I traveled east. Who would have thought that after searching for a hundred years until reaching this Chaos Sea, I would still have no clue? I can only use my natal Red Ribbon Sword to stabilize this space and survive here while I think of a strategy.”

The Chaos Sea was a land devoid of spiritual energy—a land abandoned by Heaven. Cultivators here wasted away as their spiritual power could not be replenished. However, the Heavenly Tribulations here were also weaker than in the outside world. Mo Xianjun had traveled east and found this place, her lifespan already exhausted.

The end of a Heaven-rank cultivator’s life is different from that of an ordinary person. Below the Heaven rank, the soul leaves the body and dissipates to enter reincarnation. But a Heaven-rank cultivator has undergone multiple tribulations; their Primordial Spirit is formed and will not dissipate on its own without external force. Therefore, when their time is up, the Heavenly Dao senses it and immediately sends down divine lightning to destroy them—both body and path.

Although the True Lord had not found a way to break through her realm, the Heavenly Dao was weak here. She sought out this black volcano by the sea, used her Red Ribbon Sword to part the lava, and used her profound cultivation to stabilize the space, completely evading the gaze of the Heavenly Dao.

The plan was good. With sufficient spiritual power, Mo Xianjun could have cultivated here for another thousand years. That would have been enough time to elevate her state of mind and cross into the next realm, perhaps even gaining hope for the Great Dao and the Immortal Fruit. But an accident occurred.

“The legend passed down in this era is that only the Great Chaos Tide every three hundred years brings Demon Ghosts. Their strength varies, but with one Heaven-rank cultivator leading a team from the six Great Sects, they can be annihilated regardless of casualties. However, during the decades I have been here, I discovered this is not the case.”

Mo Xianjun’s cultivation had reached the Heaven-rank “Leisurely Realm,” nearly that of an immortal. In the decades she spent meditating in the Chaos Sea, she had discovered exactly eleven instances of “smuggling” by Demon Ghosts.

These smuggled ghosts were completely different from the ones brought by the Great Tide. They possessed superior combat power, arrived by swimming, and each had a cultivation level at or above the Earth rank. they came ashore silently and headed straight for the mainland.

As a True Lord of a Great Sect, how could Mo Xianjun sit back and watch Demon Ghosts go ashore to cause chaos!

But in the Eastern Lands, as long as one uses spiritual power, this stabilized space is sensed by the weak Heavenly Dao, triggering a lightning punishment. For every time the True Lord intervened to stop the smugglers, she not only consumed spiritual power that could not be replenished, but the more she used her divine powers, the heavier the lightning tribulations she had to endure.

“Yesterday, before you arrived, three Heaven-rank ghosts emerged from the Chaos Sea. I killed them, consuming much of my spiritual power. Given the frequency of these smuggling attempts in recent years, I fear I won’t last much longer.”

Only now did Lin Pu understand why Mo Xianjun looked so pale and weary within this lava space. She had fought and killed three opponents of the same rank alone, likely while enduring significant heavenly punishment.

“The next sect ghost-hunt is still two hundred years away. I cannot leave the Chaos Sea, so I will first initiate your cultivation and have the girl from Bronze Sparrow Terrace protect you as you return to the mountain. You must deliver the news of the smuggled ghosts to the sect… No, deliver it personally to the Sect Leader. I fear the ghosts are cunning and have smuggled many into the human world over these years, lurking in the cultivation world with dark plots. Once you deliver the message, stay out of it; the Sect Leader and the others will handle it.”

Lin Pu spoke up, “The continent is vast and the Eastern Border is remote. It will take many years for us to return and deliver the news. Why don’t you look after yourself first? If any ghosts try to smuggle ashore in the next few years, why not just leave them be for now and let the Great Sects handle them during their future search?”

The legends said the ghosts only came every three hundred years. The True Lord had only discovered the smuggling in the last century. One could imagine how massive a force the ghosts who had smuggled into the continent over thousands of years had already formed in secret. The ghosts the True Lord was exhausting herself to intercept here might be insignificant to their hidden, ghostly plans.

Mo Xianjun smiled. “Since I am here, it would be one thing if I didn’t know. But since I do, how can I allow Demon Ghosts to smuggle through under my nose and cause chaos in the world?”

She spoke with a look of pride.

“Though my spiritual power won’t last long, once you leave, I will use my life’s cultivation and physical body as a foundation to transform into a coastal barrier, sealing the Chaos Sea. As long as it is not an immortal who comes, I can hold them back for at least another two hundred years.”

Mo Xianjun of the Yushan Sword Domain was recognized as the one with the most indifferent personality among the Daoist Lord’s disciples.

Yet, as a top ancestor-level figure of the modern righteous sects, how could she not have her own compassionate heart and proud temper?

Whatever the Demon Ghosts’ plots, True Lord Mo Xianjun would transform into a barrier and seal the sea for two hundred years!

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