Chapter Fifty-Nine: Piercing Through Hidden Truths

Following the two members of the Youqiong clan toward the entrance of the mountain valley’s earth vein, Qingxu could not help but recall the stories told by the Youqiong clan earlier. “To traverse over ten layers of mountain miasma with the physique of the Golden Core stage—this Youqiong clan must be innately extraordinary!” In every tribe, there are always those with exceptional talent. In later generations of humanity, there were often prodigies capable of feats such as lifting several hundred or even a thousand pounds. But in this era, humanity was still in its first generation, born with outstanding gifts, and among them, the truly gifted were remarkable indeed.

Qingxu understood that the Youqiong clan’s ability to cultivate from the Golden Core stage to the mid-Earth Immortal stage in just sixty years owed much to their innate talent, but above all, it was the mysterious profundity of the Celestial Shaman secret arts. This aroused his deep curiosity toward those arts, though it was nearly impossible to glimpse them. In the primordial wilderness, cultivation methods were guarded with utmost seriousness. Unless you were a blood relative or an inner disciple, it was impossible to even catch the slightest glimpse. How could the Youqiong clan allow Qingxu to observe the Celestial Shaman arts from the sidelines?

It was simply unthinkable!

Lost in thought, Qingxu entered the valley. Gazing around, he saw that the surrounding cliffs were riddled with caves and caverns, many crude stone tools scattered throughout the valley, and even the bloody carcasses of common beasts. Their skins were stripped, entrails scattered, and fresh meat gleamed crimson to the eye.

“Living on raw meat and blood,” he mused, but felt no urge to intervene. Teaching basic everyday skills—building shelters, kindling fire by friction, weaving nets to fish—may seem trivial, but for the proto-human race, these were profound advances. They might influence the destiny of the Heavenly Dao and the rise of the human sovereign, perhaps even entangle him in karmic bonds. It was not worth risking immense trouble for a sliver of merit; meddling could bring more harm than good.

“Even knowing the trajectory of history, I can’t change a thing!” In the future, the sect of interceptors would nearly be annihilated, and his own sect would see four—Wenshu, Puxian, Cihang, and Julusun—betray their teachings for the Western Buddhist order, causing their fate to decline and reducing them to a laughingstock, their efforts reaped by others. “Must I, knowing all this, stand aside and not intervene?” The greatest issue was that Qingxu could not discern how much he could change—what was permissible, what was not, and what the limits of the Heavenly Dao’s tolerance were. These were the main concerns; as for the consequences of change, he could only rely on his own calculations.

He understood the problem, but could do nothing about it. Even a sage who had attained the primordial Dao dared not claim to comprehend the workings of the Heavenly Dao completely, and gaps were inevitable. How much more so for him, a mere Earth Immortal?

“Alas! If only the Investiture system were more helpful, giving hints about what could be changed—how wonderful that would be! Otherwise, dreading the punishments of the Heavenly Dao, I can never intervene, relegated to being a mere spectator. How frustrating is that!” Qingxu found this hard to accept—not to mention, during the War of Investiture, the twelve immortals of his sect had their three flowers above their heads and five energies in their chests stripped away; he himself was among them. If the Heavenly Dao did not change, his calamity was unavoidable, no matter what he did. Even defeating the Three Sisters, and without the Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation and the Primordial Golden Bowl, the Heavenly Dao would manifest another method.

“There’s no point in dwelling on this now. There’s simply no proper solution. The best I can do is take things one step at a time. Whatever happens, improving my own strength is never wrong. And strength is the union of self and magical treasures. At this moment, the yin-turbid earth fiend energy is perfect for augmenting the power of my Profound Demon Sword, and it would also win over the Youqiong clan—truly a double benefit.” While Qingxu pondered, the two, Youqiong and Youxin, halted before a massive boulder. They had reached the deepest part of the valley. On the inner wall, two caves were visible—clearly the residences of the Youqiong brothers. The boulder was situated about a mile outside the caves.

It stood roughly fifty feet tall, covering half a mile, irregular in shape, resembling a giant round cake.

“Fellow Daoist, the only entrance to the earth vein of the Wild Mountain lies beneath this boulder. Because the yin-turbid earth fiend energy beneath increases daily, we had to seal it off. Otherwise, not just this valley, but the surrounding mountains would rot away, leaving not a blade of grass. Please use your earth-walking arts to enter. This boulder cannot be moved; if it is, the yin-turbid earth fiend will become uncontrollable!” At the Youqiong clan’s signal, Youxin explained.

Glancing at the brothers, Qingxu smiled, spoke no further, and activated his earth-walking technique, merging himself into the boulder.

After Qingxu departed, Youxin could not help but ask, “Brother, can he handle the yin-turbid earth fiend energy? What if he actually extracts a strand of the earth vein’s origin?”

“The yin-turbid earth fiend is indeed ferocious, but that Daoist’s cultivation is unfathomable. It’s hard to say. However, he probably never imagined that the greatest obstacle he’ll face is not the yin-turbid earth fiend at all.” A cold smile crept across Youqiong’s lips.

“What? Not the yin-turbid earth fiend? Then what? What could possibly be more terrifying?” Youxin had descended several times himself, but had never discovered anything worse than the fiendish energy. His curiosity was piqued.

“It’s normal that you don’t know; even I only saw it when I ventured in the first time. Had I not kept my distance and spotted it early, I would have been reduced to dust!”

“What is it, then? Brother, don’t keep me guessing!” He pressed anxiously.

“Primeval Demon God!” he pronounced each word slowly, as if thunder were exploding in Youxin’s mind, leaving him stunned.

“Primeval Demon God?” Youxin swallowed hard, barely able to believe it. If it were anyone but Youqiong speaking, he would dismiss it outright. It was too astonishing. What was a Primeval Demon God? These were the supreme beings born in chaos and primal void, the children of the Great Dao.

Three thousand Primeval Demon Gods and Pangu were born together in the chaotic primal void, each one powerful enough to surpass the Heavenly Dao. But legend has it that when Pangu split the primordial wilderness open, the three thousand demon gods tried to stop him and perished one after another. Dozens of demon gods’ bodies were destroyed, their souls and demon spirits entered the wilderness and anchored themselves to innate treasures to cultivate anew. These are known as ancient innate divine beings, notable examples being the Sage Hongjun, Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, and Yangmei the Great Immortal.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not really a Primeval Demon God, but an ancient innate divine being—an ancient demon god.”

…

“Ancient innate divine being? Ancient demon god? Good heavens, that’s enough to terrify anyone! The Youqiong clan is truly sinister. If one recklessly descends, it’s a matter of life and death. But now that I’m prepared, things are different,” Qingxu thought. He was exceedingly cautious; when he earth-walked, he did not immediately enter the earth vein channel. Instead, he concealed his aura within the boulder, listening to the entire conversation of the Youqiong brothers.

Never did he imagine that his caution, which seemed redundant at first, would uncover such an earth-shattering secret.

Although he now knew that the earth vein channel harbored an ancient demon god, Qingxu still intended to investigate. First, he wanted to use the Profound Demon Sword to absorb the yin-turbid earth fiend and increase its power; second, he was intrigued by the ancient demon god. He did not believe it was alive—most likely, it was the corpse of an ancient demon god. In that case, he could use the Profound Demon Sword to see if it could devour it.

Ancient demonic arts devouring an ancient demon god—perhaps it was entirely possible!

“If I can truly devour an ancient demon god, I’ll be set for life.”