Chapter 135: The Immortal Mansion of Yuluo

Upon lifting his gaze, a stunningly alluring merman maiden stood right outside the palace doors.

She was draped in colorful garments, with a circular jade bi pendant hanging at her waist that radiated five-colored light. Her slender, graceful fish tail rustled out from beneath her skirt, swaying gently back and forth.

The merman maiden was levitated entirely in mid-air by a swell of translucent blue waves. Untainted by dust, she appeared like a poised, flying celestial goddess.

Seeing Chen Ying frown and question her, she lowered her head and said in puzzlement:

"This humble servant knows not. Perhaps one of the Chen clansmen in the Yulu Immortal Abode, skilled in heavenly divination and numerology, managed to calculate that Chen Heng's name? Just now, when Chen Yichao sent the message, he repeatedly demanded that Chen Heng also be sent beyond the heavens, or else he will certainly not let the Master off easily."

"Send Chen Heng beyond the heavens as well?"

Chen Ying sneered. "How insatiable these fools of the Yulu Immortal Abode are! Sending Chen Xuanwu and that so-called Yuan Yangsheng out of the Xudu Heavens already cost this True Immortal a tremendous favor! Do they think it was easy for me to pull this off behind my father's back?

Chen Yichao won't let me off easily? With his meager cultivation! If not for wanting to honor the favors owed to Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji, how could this wild beast have kept his life? I would have long since sent him off to the cycle of reincarnation. Yet now he stands here boasting shamelessly—how laughable!"

Noticing the faint trace of anger on Chen Ying's face, the merman maiden sheepishly lowered her head, not daring to utter another word.

The murderous, blood-red phantom lingering in Chen Ying's pupils was also startled; it stopped its weaving charge and obediently fixed its form in place, remaining completely motionless.

After a long while, as the cold light in the depths of Chen Ying's eyes subsided slightly, the merman maiden finally mustered the courage to ask in a soft voice:

"Master, should we still pay heed to the message from the Yulu Immortal Abode?"

Chen Ying frowned, remaining silent for a moment.

Earlier, when he was playing both sides between Chen Yuxu and the Yulu Immortal Abode, both Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji had bestowed many favors upon him and granted him numerous benefits. Whether it was elixir pills, Dao scriptures, array disks, or talismans, he lacked nothing.

Even the thirteen great ingredients required for forging the Golden Elixir had had three gathered for him by the Yulu Immortal Abode—one could truly call it profound benevolence.

And Chen Ying fancied himself a man who remembered kindness. Although he had witnessed Chen Yuxu's foundation firsthand within the "Rongcheng Crossing-Life Grotto-Heaven in Water" and resolved to completely lean toward his side, the kindness of the Yulu Immortal Abode—especially the grace shown by Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji—was something he could not fail to repay...

Chen Yuxu wished to gather his bloodline descendants into the Primordial Demonic Sect, bringing them under his palm so he could use them to divide the heavenly numbers, transcend calamities, and merge with the Dao.

Meanwhile, the Yulu Immortal Abode gathered those brothers who shared the same paternal blood in one place, teaching them how to enter the Dao of cultivation and nurture a true spiritual nature.

The two sides were inherently as incompatible as fire and water, and because of this matter, numerous conflicts had already erupted.

This time, upon learning that Chen Xuanwu had actually been playing the fool all along, abandoning the fruit status of the immortal Dao to instead cultivate the stellar-fiend martial Dao, and furthermore finding in Yuan Yangsheng such fine cultivation material for the stellar-fiend martial Dao—who, merely at the blood-nurturing realm, had already opened the "Martial Dao Heavenly Eye" that would make even martial Dao giants green with envy and hot with greed, truly possessing the bearing of a Venerable—Chen Runzi had implored Chen Ying to send these two out beyond the Xudu Heavens, where people from the Yulu Immortal Abode would naturally be waiting to receive them.

Although this act would undoubtedly offend Chen Yuxu, and once leaked, Chen Zuo and Chen Daozheng—who were contending with him—would be overjoyed, after much deliberation, Chen Ying ultimately gritted his teeth and accepted this bitter chore.

At this moment, after a brief hesitation, Chen Ying sighed and finally made his decision:

"Since I was going to do a good turn anyway and make a clean break with the Yuyi Immortal Abode... Besides, Chen Heng was originally intended to be thrown in as make-weight. Though I know not how the people of the Yulu Immortal Abode calculated Chen Heng's name, it is within my expectations."

The merman maiden pursed her lips and asked, "Does that mean my Lord intends to grant Chen Yichao's request?"

"Chen Yichao? What is that fool, mere common dirt and stray dogs! This True Immortal is doing this to repay Chen Runzi's kindness! It's just that Chen Heng is currently within the nether-abyss, yet I am about to rouse the Hutuan Sect's Primordial Magnetism Golden Light Sphere to drag the nether-abyss turbid tides upward and shake the earth's membrane. That truly is no small trouble..."

Chen Ying's eyes flickered uncertainly. He clapped his hands and said helplessly, "Bring it here then!"

The merman maiden was somewhat bewildered and asked blankly, "What does the Master wish this servant to bring?"

Chen Ying let out a loud laugh. "Resting in the lakes and rivers all day, have your brains been soaked through? Naturally, bring the talismanic decree! Aren't the people of the Yulu Immortal Abode wanting to see me, Chen Ying? Then we shall speak candidly and openly! Besides, after today, this talismanic decree will be destroyed anyway, and I have no wish to remain entangled with these people!"

The merman maiden nodded repeatedly, gracefully removing the five-color-glowing circular jade bi pendant from her waist and holding it up with both hands, offering it to Chen Ying.

After taking it with a raised sleeve, Chen Ying remained silent, stroking it for a while with inexplicable emotion.

With a flick of a finger, he tapped lightly upon the jade bi, infusing it with his magic power.

In an instant, dazzling rays of light coursed across the jade bi, intertwining like a rainbow. After a few breaths, they surged toward Chen Ying's body, emitting the roaring sound of crashing tidal waves.

"My divine sense is about to enter the Yulu Immortal Abode. Guard my dharma."

Having said these words to the merman maiden, a profound dark divine light burst forth from the crown of Chen Ying's head, protecting his entire physical body from top to bottom.

Immediately afterward, he closed his eyes, pressed his hands before his knees, and his aura vanished completely in an instant—as if nothing remained in his place save an inert physical shell incapable of movement.

***

The merman maiden moved to Chen Ying's side and, with practiced ease, produced an ancient bell. With a gentle shake, countless golden characters of light spewed forth, adhering to the entire palace hall.

Then, she stood vigilantly around Chen Ying, waiting with rapt attention.

Mist and glowing clouds shimmered; auspicious vapors steamed. Tier upon tier of towers stood lofty, and palaces rose majestically.

Following a familiar sense of disorientation, Chen Ying found himself once again standing at the foot of a white jade staircase thousand zhang in height.

On either side of the white jade staircase were bottomless, ethereal clouds and mists, appearing as though a single misstep would plunge one into the rifts of the cosmic void, never to find one's physical remains again.

All manner of dragon roars and phoenix cries echoed melodiously from the deepest recesses of the clouds and mists, rumbling and shaking one's spirit into disquietude.

At the summit of the white jade staircase sat a sun-essence palace comprising thirty-three tiers, even larger than a mountain. It radiated a brilliant, dazzling light that dyed the bottomless sea of clouds in a sheen of brilliance, as though carved by the sun itself.

Silently, Chen Ying raised his head to gaze at it.

After watching for a long while, he flicked his sleeve, transformed into a streak of light, and pushed open the vast and profound palace doors with his hand.

Inside, there had originally been the sounds of zithers, flutes, and pipes, interspersed with laughter—quite a lively scene.

Yet the moment Chen Ying stepped in, all sounds ceased abruptly.

The atmosphere in the arena instantly turned somewhat oppressive and tense, heavy with gloom.

"Chen Ying? You running dog of Chen Yuxu, how do you still have the face to come to the Yulu Immortal Abode? Aren't you ashamed?"

Amidst this delicate standoff, just a few breaths later, someone fiercely hurled their wine goblet to the ground with a mocking voice.

"Chen Yichao, whether I come or not, what business is it of yours?"

Chen Ying looked at the speaker, a fierce flash crossing his eyes: "If you, you fool, dare to chatter again, I will kill you right now!"

Inside the golden palace, spiritual fragrance curled and auspicious mists billowed in colorful splendor. Seven-colored heavenly blossoms drifted down aimlessly, vanishing upon touching the ground to transform into the purest spiritual breath that cleared the nose and throat and accelerated the circulation of one's energy pulses.

As far as the eye could see, everything was coated in precious jade; the ears were filled with serene and wondrous music.

The solemn and magnificent scenery of immortals here was truly beyond the power of words to describe.

On the jade tables of the immortal platforms lining both sides, the hundreds of Chen Yuxu's offspring had originally been drinking, enjoying the music, and discussing profound principles.

At this moment, however, all had fallen silent.

There were immortals, Buddhas, demons, saints...

Meeting those complex gazes—some mocking, some icy, some disdainful, some emotional, and others harboring forbearance—Chen Ying walked with a calm and composed demeanor to a seat behind an immortal table, summoned a wine flask with a wave of his sleeve, and began to pour and drink by himself.

"My brethren, I presume you all already understand in your hearts. A parting today means we shall be enemies the next time we meet."

Raising his goblet from afar, Chen Ying sighed to the crowd: "You and I now each serve our respective masters. If one day we end up pitted against one another, our past friendship will hardly be enough to spare your lives."

"Take you, for instance, Chen Yichao—a good-for-nothing who failed in the immortal Dao and instead turned to cultivate the divine Dao."

He looked toward a towering deity clad in golden helmet and armor, wearing lion-head boots, with twin demon-subduing whips hanging at his waist, and smiled slightly:

"Next time you cross paths with me, Chen Ying, you will undoubtedly not escape death!"

Hearing this, Chen Yichao grew furious, his face instantly turning flush red.

He sprang to his feet, a hundred-zhang-high radiance erupting from behind him. Every single divine aperture was venting blazing rays, faintly carrying the sounds of countless prayers and worship from within, dazzling to behold like a rushing torrent of fire!

Just as Chen Yichao raised his hand, intending to strike, suddenly, an eight-sided sarira pagoda flew across, interposing itself between him and Chen Ying like a vajra barrier, solidly blocking that towering killing intent.

"Amitabha."

Chen Yichao turned his head and glared angrily.

A red-robed monk rose leisurely, clasping his hands in a sigh: "Even if you two elder brothers harbor much discord, why bother flying into a rage and fighting inside this immortal abode? Internal strife—even if unavoidable—should at least be postponed."

"You—"

A dragon girl with dual horns on her forehead frowned and said, "What about you? Do you think that because the two elder brothers are absent, you can run amok here? Chen Yichao, cease your impudence and sit down!"

"Indeed, indeed."

Someone else chimed in.

Chidden by the dragon girl and seeing that the eight-sided sarira pagoda was still suspended in mid-air radiating brilliance, Chen Yichao, despite harboring a hundred misgivings, suppressed his anger and let out a light huff.

"Heed good advice and you'll never go hungry; the brat seems to have grown a bit smarter," Chen Ying smiled at the sight.

A mild uproar rippled through the gathering. Those on good terms with Chen Yichao all wore cold expressions, feeling that Chen Ying was courting death by acting so arrogant while right here.

"As for the matters concerning Elder Brother Chen Xuanwu and Yuan Yangsheng, has there been any progress yet?"

Sensing that the atmosphere was growing askew once more, a man wearing a high cap and broad belt, dressed in the attire of a worldly Confucian scholar, took the initiative to speak up, raising his goblet with a smile.

"Elder Brother Ruli."

Chen Ying made an obeisance and said, "Yuan Yangsheng is easily handled; being a commoner with no attachments, sending him beyond the heavens is a breeze. But Chen Xuanwu..."

"What about Chen Xuanwu?"

Seated at the upper-left of Chen Ying, a heavenly being clad in bright light with a pristine, bright moon suspended behind his head spoke up.

"Chen Xuanwu has after all met Father. Sending him beyond the Xudu Heavens is no easy task."

"Father?" someone said with displeasure. "You actually call that filthy old dog Father?"

"In the Yulu Immortal Abode, everyone calls him Father. If we return to the Primordial Demonic Sect, what should we call him? Good daddy?"

Chen Yichao raised an eyebrow, chiming in with a clap and a laugh. "What a pity though, Chen Ying! Your good daddy doesn't look at you, Chen Zuo, or Chen Daozheng as sons at all—he merely treats you as a few dogs he's raised! Who knows when he might strip your skin and eat your flesh!"

Once these words were uttered, they immediately provoked a burst of loud laughter.

A white-browed youth looked slightly displeased and wanted to dissuade them, but seeing the situation, his lips moved a few times without managing to speak out.

Beside him, another white-browed maiden noticed his odd expression, hurriedly tugged at him, and forcefully pulled his sleeve down to make him sit.

At this moment, Chen Yichao sat squarely on the immortal platform, fingers interlocked, a chilling murderous intent etched across his face.

Meanwhile, Chen Ying likewise rested a hand slightly upon his waist, where two golden-red radiances faintly coiled around his flanks, the intent to kill surging within him just as fiercely.

Seeing this scene, the red-robed monk and the dragon girl both felt helpless. Exchanging a glance, they stood up.

As the two of them stepped forward, others upon the immortal platforms also rose to their feet one after another, expressions varying.

Swords were drawn, bows bent, and the tension was hair-trigger!

At this crucial juncture, a soft chime suddenly rang out as if struck right beside their ears.

Everyone was startled and turned their gaze toward the master seat.

There, unawares, a majestic-looking Daoist had seated himself.

His entire body was shrouded in brilliant starlight and departing smoke, resembling a towering, ancient divine statue whose robes and facial features could not be discerned.

Only that pair of eyes shone as brightly as stars, imbued with a gentle and benevolent warmth like an amiable elder, naturally stirring favorable affection in anyone who looked upon them.

"Elder Brother!"

The monk and the dragon girl were the first to snap out of their shock. They hurried forward a few steps and paid their respects.

The others in the hall likewise reacted, bowing respectfully and not daring to show any slackness.

Even someone as unruly and untamed as Chen Yichao or Chen Ying was no exception.

"I've only been away at the Gujie Heavens for a few days, yet your tempers have grown this fiery? Ready to engage in fratricidal strife over a mere disagreement?"

Chen Runzi swept his gaze across the hall and suddenly smiled:

"It seems it is about time to recall Chen Zhuan from the Huangting Sect to straighten out the atmosphere here. What are your thoughts on that, Yichao?"

Called by name, Chen Yichao lowered his head, mumbled indistinctly, and offered only submissive assent.

"Very well, you may all withdraw. Let me speak a few words with Chen Ying."

Without further elaboration, Chen Runzi waved his hand.

The crowd acknowledged the command, each收敛 composure and departing.

As the white-browed youth passed by Chen Ying, he cast a worried look at him. Chen Ying shook his head dismissively, gesturing that there was no need to care.

"Chen Ying... look at these people. There are practitioners of the immortal Dao, the human Dao, the divine Dao; those who practice Chan Buddhism, those who train in martial arts, those who cultivate demon arts.

In order to keep them alive, Yuanji and I have exhausted our minds and spilled our hearts' blood. Yet even so, the people in this hall grow fewer with each passing year, perishing one after another in the calamities of heaven and earth."

With everyone else retreated, leaving only Chen Runzi and Chen Ying in the hall, after a brief silence, Chen Runzi spoke:

"Before I left for the Gujie Heavens, I entrusted a matter to you. I wonder if there is any sign of progress now?"

"Yuan Yangsheng is easy enough, but Chen Xuanwu..."

Chen Ying cupped his hands together, his face showing difficulty. "And as for the Chen Heng whom Chen Yichao spoke of, he—"

"It is not the Chen Heng of whom Chen Yichao spoke, but rather me."

Chen Runzi shook his head.

Chen Ying could not help being startled, a myriad of thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant as he frowned slightly.

"And strictly speaking, it was not even I."

Meeting Chen Ying's gaze, Chen Runzi smiled faintly and said:

"The one who used primordial divine numerology to calculate Chen Heng's name was the Eldest Brother. I am merely passing on a word for someone else."

Eldest Brother?

Chen Ying lowered his head, his gaze truly harboring a hint of terror.