Chapter 78: The Battle Ledger and Divination

At this very moment, in the vast expanse of the sky.

Two streaks of blazing light were locked in a relentless chase, one pursuing, one fleeing, both moving at a speed beyond compare, darting over mountains and rivers in the blink of an eye.

In no time, they were drawing near the floating Jade Lake.

“Miao Nan, you old fiend! If you turn back now and surrender yourself, I may yet spare your life! Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no mercy!”

From the second streak of flame behind, came the sternly furious shout of the Lord of Huaiwu Cave, his tone laced with a faint trace of dread.

Gone was the composed bearing of the elder with silvery hair and dignified features; his brows were tightly furrowed, his gaze icy and murderous intent nearly bursting forth.

He coldly pointed a finger, and from the sweep of his sleeve erupted a mass of Simming Bone-breaking Truefire, shooting toward the fleeing figure several miles ahead, fast as a meteor!

This Simming Bone-breaking Truefire was one of his prized techniques, found in the legacy of a long-dead itinerant cultivator, and ranked among the upper grades.

This fire blazed fierce and bright as a scarlet sun, illuminating all directions! Though it could not compare to the supreme innate Sunlight Divine Radiance, among even the finest arts, its scorching power could burn mountains and smelt iron!

Especially when wielded by a cultivator at the second stage of Profound Grotto, it was like a blazing sun descending, vaporizing clouds along its path to nothingness!

Yet, faced with this fierce assault, the fleeing figure did not dodge or evade, but instead let out a long, chilling laugh. From his crown leapt a three-foot flag, painted with birds, flowers, and fish, shining with radiance.

There was no need even to direct it.

As the Simming Bone-breaking Truefire neared, the flag merely fluttered once, effortlessly dispersing the fire, not even letting its might manifest before scattering it to nothing.

At the appearance of this radiant flag, the spiritual tides for a hundred miles surged and leapt, drawn into it like whales drinking deep, altering the very sky—wild winds howled forth!

“Hahahaha! Old cur Huaiwu! You break my mountain gate, slay my disciples—such arrogance! Such tyranny! But now, though I am right before your eyes, what can you do to me?”

Seeing his Simming Bone-breaking Truefire so easily parried, the fleeing figure ahead burst out laughing:

“With Fellow Daoist Shengyang aiding me, if you so much as scratch me, I’ll take your surname as my own!”

At these words, the flag shimmered, and the painted birds, flowers, and fish danced across its surface, as from within the flag came a voice, youthful and brash.

“Miao Nan, relax! With me here, this so-called Cave Lord won’t even sniff your behind. Once we reach that so-called Floating Jade Lake, let’s join forces and blow his lair to the skies!”

At this, both man and flag exchanged wicked grins, their laughter echoing across the heavens, shaking the land and making the Lord of Huaiwu Cave’s face grow even darker as he gave chase.

“Miao Nan! The Five Directions Shengyang Banner!”

The Cave Lord tore the crimson talisman from his belt and hurled it forth. Dozens of yards ahead, it transformed into a cloud of crimson mist.

Guided by his will, the cloud unleashed hundreds of bolts of thunder, cascading down upon man and flag, the crackling roars deafening and mighty!

But under this deluge of thunder, the Five Directions Shengyang Banner merely cast forth a river of golden light, blocking every bolt with ease. No matter how fiercely the crimson cloud raged, it could not break through; its threat was all bluster.

Another half quarter-hour passed.

In this chase, the Floating Jade Lake was now less than twenty miles away; its many islets and pavilions could already be glimpsed, though still faint and blurred.

The Cave Lord, gritting his teeth, drew on his true energy, doubling the force of his thunderous barrage, his urgency growing.

“Damn it! That Miao Nan fiend was only supposed to be at Foundation Establishment’s third level—when did he ascend to the Purple Mansion? And this Five Directions Shengyang Banner—”

He had thought that with his Profound Grotto cultivation, capturing a mere Miao Nan would be a simple matter. Who could have foreseen such a twist?

Miao Nan had been entrenched in Miao Nan Peak for years, pillaging and building a considerable fortune, notorious as a demonic villain with a trail of bloody debts.

To take down such a menace would not only bring profit, but also a fine reputation—a deal with no downside.

Who could have guessed Miao Nan was so cunning, pretending to be a lesser cultivator when he was already of the Purple Mansion realm?

And the Five Directions Shengyang Banner he wielded was no ordinary talisman, but a true magical artifact—a mid-grade artifact, its spirit even more refined than his own Huaiwu Cave’s treasure!

Such spirit-imbued artifacts need no master’s urging; their innate might is vast, and their powers fierce and domineering, enough to shake heaven and earth, making all bow in fear!

Even Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators would not take such a thing lightly, much less himself, still only at Profound Grotto.

What’s more, the Five Directions Shengyang Banner was a weapon of immense destructive power.

Even though he prided himself on certain opportunities and his wife’s careful instruction, enough to stand toe-to-toe with disciples of the Crimson Bright or Jade Celestial sects, he could not easily suppress the Banner, let alone break its defenses and slay Miao Nan on the spot...

He could only wear it down, slowly sapping its strength until victory was possible.

“Curses! After hunting sparrows all my days, now the sparrow pecks my eye... I meant to capture this old fiend for my wife’s use, and now—how humiliating.”

The Cave Lord sighed inwardly.

No matter how formidable Miao Nan and his Banner, he was still a Profound Grotto cultivator; their capture was only a matter of time.

But now, man and flag were recklessly fleeing toward the Floating Jade Lake, which made his heart leap in alarm.

It was the season of grand ceremonies—not only were delegations from all the great sects and countless wanderers gathered here, but also...

“My wife is in the throes of demonic hunger—I dare not approach her myself, which is why I let her roam free to devour cultivators and soothe her cravings... If this fight disturbs her, it will be a disaster!”

His expression clouded with worry.

He was not a member of the Six Demonic Sects.

Some among them would summon and keep heavenly demons as ‘pets’ for their cultivation, even performing grand rituals to bring them from beyond the sky, brazenly flaunting their power.

Though he was a Profound Grotto cultivator, in the eyes of the great sects, he was little more than a large insect—hardly worth the trouble to squash.

Harboring a heavenly demon was a crime against the world, making one a universal target, an outcast to be destroyed on sight!

Yesterday’s drinking companions from the Five Lights Sect would instantly turn on him, rushing to “slay the demon and uphold justice!”

Now, as Miao Nan entered the Floating Jade Lake, the Banner’s clashes with thunder and lightning startled the cultivators on the surrounding islets, leaving them pale with fear. The more excitable shouted and fled on their own flying lights, scattering like headless flies.

This chaos spread outward with Miao Nan’s flight, like ink spilled on water.

The Cave Lord, in a final act of desperation, drained his true energy to its limit, swelling the crimson cloud and trapping man and flag at the heart of his thunderous onslaught.

Yet before a smile could cross his face, a dragonlike beam of golden light burst forth, shattering the cloud into tatters in an instant!

Within the Banner’s radiance, Miao Nan still wore a cheerful, unconcerned smile.

When the crimson mist was pierced, all thunderous sound fell silent, and the cracked crimson talisman flickered weakly before tumbling powerless from the sky.

The Cave Lord’s hand trembled; his ambition to seize the Banner for himself died completely.

He snatched up the shattered talisman, turned toward the Five Lights Sect encampment, and bowed deeply, calling out in a helpless voice:

“Master Wang! Please reveal yourself—subdue this demon!”

From the southeast, on a blossom-covered islet, a hearty laugh rang out as the Cave Lord bowed.

A moment later, a massive hand of earthen yellow energy extended from the islet, spanning miles in a single reach, shading half the sky—a world of golden dusk replacing the daylight!

“The Six Yellow Virtue Hand Seal of the Five Lights Sect?!”

At last, the Banner’s spirit was truly shaken, the youthful, rebellious voice turning to panic.

In the blink of an eye, the massive hand, with the force of a mountain, crashed down!

The Banner barely managed to shield the stunned Miao Nan, but under the blow, it almost fell into the lake, its light flickering weakly.

“Oh? The Five Directions Shengyang Banner—have your injuries not yet healed?”

A soft sigh; suddenly, beside the Cave Lord, a handsome youth with sword at his waist appeared, shaking his head in surprise.

“Master Wang.” The Cave Lord, startled by this silent arrival, bowed again.

“You’re quite the greedy one, trying to keep this artifact for yourself? Just like your master—always grasping for petty gains. That old ghost tricked me more than once for a few scraps. Like master, like disciple!”

Master Wang glanced at him, smiling faintly. “But now you need me to clean up your mess—why not ask sooner? Now you’ve only lost face.”

“Yes, yes...” The Cave Lord’s brow dampened with sweat.

He knew that Master Wang was an old acquaintance of his late mentor, and had shown him much favor.

But a Golden Core master is a being of true essence, moving with thunder at a thought, roaming the heavens and underworld at will. Their very presence is as a rabbit before a lion—no malice is needed to inspire dread.

“Treasure belongs to the fated. I am but your vanguard, Master Wang—truly, you are the destined one!”

Regaining his composure, the Cave Lord flattered him.

Master Wang only laughed, saying nothing more.

Meanwhile, the Banner, wrapped around Miao Nan, darted furiously about, casting ten thousand rays of gold, illuminating the world.

But no matter how it twisted or surged, it could not break beyond a mile’s circle—trapped.

“I have already sealed the void; where can you flee? Five Directions Shengyang Banner, a mid-grade artifact... it’s been a long time since I saw one. You belonged to Master Feng Yu once, didn’t you? I heard he foolishly challenged Master Junyao of the Jade Celestial Sect, seeking to test his thunder arts, and was slain with a single finger.”

Watching the Banner’s frantic flight, Master Wang sighed.

When Master Feng Yu was killed, his belongings were mostly destroyed by divine thunder, and the Banner vanished. No one cared for a mere rogue’s estate, especially when Junyao was at the height of his fame after winning the “Grand Alchemy Tournament.” All assumed the Banner had perished too.

Some searched for it, but found nothing, and left disappointed.

Who would have thought the artifact survived, hiding in the southern realms and binding itself to a mere Purple Mansion cultivator—a truly absurd fate.

All artifacts of grade, high or low, possess their own spirit. To wield them, one must either overpower or match their temperament.

...

“You, a mid-grade artifact, serving a mere Purple Mansion master? How odd.”

Master Wang sighed. “If you submit to me, not only will I repair your seals, I could even reshape you anew. What say you, Five Directions Shengyang Banner?”

Only a sneer answered him.

“Pity.”

Master Wang’s gaze hardened; he drew his sword and cast it forth, unleashing a myriad of dazzling blades that hacked at the Banner, dimming its glow even further.

He had resolved to erase the Banner’s spirit and forge a new one; he would show no mercy.

Just then, from another islet, a soft, alluring laugh drifted over.

A cascade of rosy clouds split the sky, colliding with the sword light, joining the fray to contest mastery over the Banner.

“Those who see, share! Do you mean to keep everything for yourself, Master Wang?” came the woman’s voice, cool and sweet.

“A villain from the Flower God Pavilion dares challenge me in magic? Foolish!” Master Wang only scoffed inwardly.

Under the might of two Golden Core masters, the Banner could only hold out for a few dozen breaths before weakening.

Though a mid-grade artifact, it had taken Junyao’s divine thunder head-on, its seals mostly shattered, and after years of hiding, was a shadow of its former self.

Sensing its dwindling light, the Banner sighed, pouring its last essence into Miao Nan, reviving the man from his power-induced faint.

“It seems... we are out of options...” As Miao Nan’s eyes opened, he saw the Banner’s battered surface, his lips trembling.

“Wasn’t this expected? That Cave Lord destroyed your home, ruined your fortunes—let’s give him a taste of his own medicine!” the Banner replied cheerfully. “We’ve reached Floating Jade Lake; you should rejoice.”

“...Only, I regret what’s become of you.”

The Banner only smiled.

“So be it! There’s nothing left to hope for! May we meet again in the next life, to rob men and slay women together!”

Man and flag let out wild, wicked laughter, and as their voices shook the sky, the Banner’s body began to crack and shatter, exploding with a thunderous boom and torrents of golden flames!

...

Master Wang’s expression changed drastically; with a sweep of his sleeve, he whisked the Cave Lord away, vanishing with a water-escape technique.

“Madmen!” the Flower God Pavilion master cursed, sending a riot of rainbow smoke skyward before merging with the void and disappearing as well.

In a flash, the two masters had fled a hundred miles, taking their followers with them.

With the void’s seal lifted, the Banner’s golden radiance flared unchecked—a golden sun rose into the sky above Floating Jade Lake, and before the astonished eyes of its cultivators, exploded in a cataclysmic burst!

“What—”

“Artifact self-destruction?!”

Despairing cries rang out.

In a heartbeat, the islets around the Banner were scoured flat by the surging flames!

Countless screams began—and were instantly silenced. From high above, the lake’s waters caved inward, the cracked lakebed visible; ten thousand waves were driven outward by the golden sun, rolling up mountains of water!

...

In Chen Heng’s eyes:

He heard the thunder overhead pause, and barely had time to step out of the pavilion.

Moments later, his vision was consumed by dazzling golden light and searing heat—he was blinded.

“What is this—” he managed, as behind him Qingzhi shrieked, “Damn it! Artifact self-destruction?!”

Artifact...

His heart lurched; he tried to move, but the world-crushing force pinned him in place—he could not even move a finger.

That blinding gold seemed to rise from the edge of the world, advancing inch by inch, yet in a blink, it was already a hundred paces away.

The scorching wind swept over, turning the lake into a hell of burning air.

Chen Heng’s hair stood on end; a terror unlike any he’d known gripped him, as though thrown into an ice pit, blood freezing in his veins.

This was no illusion, no trial of the mind.

To die here would be—for real.

For an instant, his mind blanked, but his eyes quickly steadied, even as Qingzhi’s panicked voice echoed behind him, as if she were trying to stop something.

Chen Heng forced his gaze sideways and saw Wei Lingjiang, holding a golden talisman, looking at him in silence.

Her lips moved as if to speak, but in the end she only raised the talisman, aiming it at him.

...

Time stretched, slow and slower still.

As the artifact’s self-destruction bore down, and the golden talisman flared to life, Chen Heng’s storage pouch suddenly shifted—a Doulu slipped silently from the void, meeting the blast.

And then—

Silence fell.

Countless cultivators, still trapped in mortal terror, waited in dread.

A few breaths, dozens of breaths...

No pain came.

They looked up, bewildered, and saw that the golden sun, the towering waves—all had vanished.

The sky was warm, the willows stirred by a gentle breeze—

That cataclysmic vision was gone, as if a nightmare had melted upon waking.

After a few moments of choked sobs and gasps, the air erupted in thunderous cheers, echoing to the clouds!

...

A hundred miles away.

Master Wang halted, hesitating, peering back toward Floating Jade Lake—his gaze froze.

“How... did a Nascent Soul intervene?” he wondered. “Was it a Jade Celestial Sect inspector? I thought only Golden Core cultivators came—could a senior have arrived?”

On Red Leaf Isle, in a small pavilion.

Wei Lingjiang was stunned, then gasped and hurriedly lowered the golden talisman.

“Hey! Are you alright?” she called anxiously to Chen Heng, who still seemed dazed.

“No harm done,” Chen Heng replied, shaking his head, fingers clenching as he hid the light in his eyes and gave her a small smile.

Doulu...

So, at the moment of life and death, it had acted on its own to protect him?

...

At the very same moment Doulu activated—

In the southern realm.

Innate Demon Sect, the Lakeheart Longevity Pavilion.

In a lakeside pavilion.

Yu Shu, clothed in purple and crowned with gold, raised a brow in interest. He calculated on his fingers, cast a divination, and soon a faint smile touched his lips:

“Not Chen Ying, nor Chen Jin or Chen Daozheng... Ah! Chen Heng? So that’s the name.”

On that handsome, otherworldly face, the smile grew.

“So the boy’s hiding in the southern wilds, in the Floating Jade Lake? Such a backwater, yet so well concealed! He’s made his father search far and wide!”

A stick of incense later.

As Yu Shu finished his divination, a woman across the table asked carelessly,

“Senior brother, what have you divined this time?”