Chapter 93: Immortal Dominion

"Yi Qingzhou."

Chen Huangpi’s thoughts were thrown into sudden disarray. Looking at the gaunt, eerie figure before him, he could in no way reconcile this sight with the image of Yi Qingzhou he held in his mind.

Back then, his master had brought thousands of Taoists from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty to the Ten Thousand Mountains to forge gods. Yi Qingzhou was one of them. In the memories of the Fox Mountain God, Yi Qingzhou’s mother had told him that ten days prior, strange anomalies had appeared within the borders of Great Qian, and the Emperor intended to seal the entire dynasty. Consequently, Yi Qingzhou had regretted coming to the Ten Thousand Mountains. But that was at the very beginning of the world’s upheaval.

The next time he encountered something related to Yi Qingzhou was the Flying Immortal Token that the gaunt, eerie entity had traded to him. Every Taoist of the Pure Immortal Temple possessed a Flying Immortal Token with their name engraved upon it. That token bore the name of Yi Qingzhou.

Thinking of this, Chen Huangpi could not help but ask, "I thought you were just some gaunt monster who had dug up Yi Qingzhou's grave. I never expected you to actually be him! But how did you end up like this? And shouldn't you be inside that black coffin?"

Chen Huangpi was filled with doubts. His sole purpose in coming to this Grave of the Buried Gods was to find the passage leading to the Yellow Springs and the Underworld. Now, he knew that passage lay within the black coffin. Was it possible that this Yi Qingzhou had traveled through that passage to the Underworld and then made his way back to the Ten Thousand Mountains?

"Chen Huangpi, wait," the brass oil lamp warned, its tone vigilant. "He might not necessarily be Yi Qingzhou." If he truly were Yi Qingzhou, why would he not return to the Pure Immortal Temple instead of scavenging in the Ten Thousand Mountains? It had not forgotten that the first time it saw this gaunt entity at the marketplace, its clothes were filled with dozens of hollows, each containing a chaotic mess of items—Flying Immortal Tokens, "Those Who Die a Hundred Deaths," and even eyeballs and broken houses. Aside from the "Those Who Die a Hundred Deaths," all these items were currently stored within the Soul-Hooking Register.

Upon hearing this, Chen Huangpi hesitated and said, "Gaunt one, if you are Yi Qingzhou, nod. If not, shake your head."

However, the creature shook its head, then nodded. Chen Huangpi did not understand what this meant. Just as he was about to press for an answer, the entity stepped toward the black coffin. Its aura was now terrifyingly intense. The Calamity of Desolation and Lord Mangshan both bowed their heads, while the Eye of Calamity trembled incessantly. That sword light had been its most powerful weapon, yet against this gaunt entity, it had been utterly useless, absorbed completely. It dared not act out again.

In this manner, the creature walked step by step to the center of the altar where the black coffin lay. The lid was closed, and the source that had previously spilled out was nowhere to be seen. Yet, the entity seemed unbothered, reaching out a hand to knock on the coffin lid.

*Thump, thump, thump...*

It looked as if someone were living inside and it were trying to wake them. Immediately after, a knocking sound echoed from within the black coffin.

*Thump, thump, thump...*

*Creak...*

The black coffin suddenly opened, and before Chen Huangpi’s disbelieving eyes, the source poured out like water. Following this, a blurry, translucent figure emerged from the source. It was a young man of about twenty, wearing dark green Taoist robes.

The moment the youth appeared, the body of the gaunt entity underwent an immediate change. It had stood over three meters tall with long, thin, terrifying limbs, but in the blink of an eye, it became identical to the youth. Then, both stepped forward, and their figures merged into one.

Yi Qingzhou turned around and offered Chen Huangpi a smile. This time, the smile was not bone-chilling; instead, it felt as refreshing as a spring breeze. Seeming to read the doubt in Chen Huangpi’s heart, Yi Qingzhou said, "The gaunt creature you speak of was my physical body. While it is me, it is also not me. I could not leave this place, so I resorted to such a desperate measure. I never expected that after all this time, it would eventually return to me. Truly, it is a matter of time and fate."

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi suddenly recalled an image: the gate of the Grave of the Buried Gods, inscribed with two characters: *Suppress Immortal*. In other words, this grave was actually suppressing Yi Qingzhou.

Thinking of this, Chen Huangpi could not help but ask, "Why were you suppressed?"

"Because he is an anomaly," the voice of the High God Guangmu was complex. "Yi Qingzhou, am I right?"

"That is not important," Yi Qingzhou said calmly. "What matters is that I do not have much time left."

As the words fell, his figure instantly appeared before Chen Huangpi. The brass oil lamp immediately went on high alert, and the Golden Horn beast beneath Chen Huangpi let out a fierce roar.

"I will not harm him," Yi Qingzhou said faintly. "At least, not within the next quarter of an hour."

"And after that?"

"Perhaps I will kill him," Yi Qingzhou smiled at the brass oil lamp. "But, honored one, there is no need to worry. With your power, you will surely be able to protect him."

Although a quarter of an hour was short, he would lose his clarity by then and turn into a truly terrifying anomaly. But so what? The Golden Peak Heavenly Lamp was forged by the Temple Master using Ten-Direction Shadowless Gold; it was an existence even more powerful than an immortal. Could it not keep him in check? But why was the aura of this Golden Peak Heavenly Lamp so weak? And why were there so many tooth marks on the lamp itself?

"Because I am Huang Two!" the brass oil lamp grated, teeth clenched. "I am not Huang One! I am not Huang One!"

"Tsk..." Yi Qingzhou marveled, which only served to make the brass oil lamp even more furious.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing at all." Yi Qingzhou shook his head, his expression becoming solemn. He looked at Chen Huangpi and asked, "How should I address you?"

Chen Huangpi thought for a moment and said, "Are you the master's disciple?"

"No," Yi Qingzhou shook his head. "Only the eldest senior brother is the Temple Master’s disciple. Xu Qingshan, myself, and the other fellow disciples are merely disciples of the Pure Immortal Temple. How would we dare call him Master?"

"Then just call me Chen Huangpi," Chen Huangpi said, feeling a bit lost. He had assumed Yi Qingzhou was his master's disciple, never imagining that only the eldest brother held that title.

Yi Qingzhou nodded. "Chen Huangpi, in a quarter of an hour, I will no longer be able to maintain my clarity. Within this quarter of an hour, in this Grave of the Buried Gods, do whatever you wish, take whatever you want. This is the only thing I can do for you."

With these words, Lord Mangshan, the Calamity of Desolation, the Eye of Calamity, and the other disasters felt an immediate sense of dread, as if a blade were hanging over their heads. Since entering this grave, they had made an enemy of Chen Huangpi. Now that he had an immortal’s aid, would he let them go? Certainly not.

Chen Huangpi said without hesitation, "Those disasters, they are rotten to the core. I want them dead."

"Very well." Yi Qingzhou nodded. Without any visible movement, those disasters instantly turned into fly ash—so quickly that Chen Huangpi did not even see how they died. But that was not important.

Chen Huangpi pointed to the Calamity of Desolation and said, "It has struck at me time and again, and it is extremely difficult to kill. Can you destroy it?"

"Naturally," Yi Qingzhou said calmly. "It is merely a false god of clay and wood. Though it attained some fortune, it can be easily unmade."

The Calamity of Desolation’s face changed drastically. "Chen Huangpi, don't kill me! I am unique, I have great utility for you. I can be your beast of burden, spare my life, I will be your dog!"

"You and the Fox Mountain God are truly worthy of being creations of Xu Qingshan," Chen Huangpi said. "The Fox Mountain God wanted to be my dog, and you want to be my dog too. But while he was slippery, he was at least sincere to me. As for you, I do not trust you, and I have no desire to. Yi Qingzhou, do it. But don't make it too quick, or I won't feel satisfied."

"Rest assured, you will get your vent."

As Yi Qingzhou finished speaking, a beam of light shot from his eyes. It struck the Calamity of Desolation, which immediately let out a harrowing scream. Strands of yellow mud began to peel away from its body. The Calamity of Desolation had originally been a mountain god, only transformed by the corruption of yellow mud. Now, as the mud was stripped away, it lost its immortality and reverted to a mere clay and wood statue.

Chen Huangpi watched its miserable state. While he felt a sense of relief, it still felt like something was missing. He joined his fingers into a sword gesture and slashed a blade of energy through the statue. The latter opened its mouth, trying to say something, but before it could, it exploded into fine powder.

"That's better," Chen Huangpi exhaled, finally feeling satisfied.

"And the Eye of Calamity!" the brass oil lamp reminded. "It must have seen that sword. There is still a shadow of the blade in its eye!"

"I know!" Chen Huangpi had not forgotten. He looked at the Eye of Calamity; its pupil shrank, conveying a sense of desperate pleading. The Eye could not speak, so Chen Huangpi asked, "Yi Qingzhou, can you make it speak?"

"I cannot," Yi Qingzhou shook his head. "Its true form is an eye, so it cannot speak. Only existences like the Temple Master can alter such things at will. However, I do have another method."

Saying this, Yi Qingzhou reached out a hand. The massive Eye of Calamity instantly shrank and landed in his palm.

"What technique is this?" Chen Huangpi leaned in. Yi Qingzhou’s palm seemed to have become a mirror. The Eye of Calamity was trapped within it, and the image reflected on the mirror was a certain peak within the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"A few small tricks. When you become stronger, you will naturally know how to do this as well," Yi Qingzhou blew on his palm. "Move!"

The image in the mirror began to shift. Chen Huangpi saw flowing light and vibrant colors, the turning of the sun and moon. He also saw the Eye of Calamity. Time seemed to have truly begun to move, though it had been dialed back to a specific node.

In that moment, Chen Huangpi saw the Eye of Calamity in the clouds above a mountain peak. Suddenly, a sword light, dazzling beyond compare, cut across the sky like a silver river. Everywhere it passed, the clouds were shattered by the blade’s energy. The Eye of Calamity fell into the mountain in terror. Then, a sword-hum filled with killing intent rang out. The entire sky of the Ten Thousand Mountains turned into a vast expanse of white.

The Eye of Calamity saw it, and Chen Huangpi saw it too. It was a three-foot-long sword. It seemed to have been provoked, or perhaps it carried a specific purpose, as it slaughtered its way toward the far north.

Chen Huangpi asked, "What is in the north?"

Yi Qingzhou replied, "The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty."