Chapter 111: One Eye Black, One Eye White
"Kill! Kill them all!"Dantai Xuan slammed his palm against the chariot's guard, his roar seething with fury.One man and one steed had plunged into a host of fifty thousand, weaving through the tide of soldiers with ease, carving a bloody path all the way to his front.
It was as if this Overlord had struck his face with a resounding slap, then spat upon him in contempt.Cultivators—an insufferable, unruly breed of cultivators!Time and again, Dantai Xuan had suffered humiliation at their hands.First at Beiluo City, then at Wolong Ridge, and now once more—the Overlord returned to slap him across the face.His wrath surged like wildfire.
Spurred on by Dantai Xuan's thunderous bellow, the soldiers of Northern County found renewed courage, charging once more toward the Overlord.Yet the Overlord laughed, a wild, unrestrained laugh as he wheeled his horse around and cut through their ranks with savage glee.Blood mist coiled faintly around his form, shrouding him like a scarlet veil.
None could stand against him as he stormed the battlefield.Beneath a blood-hued moonlight, he broke free of the encirclement.With laughter echoing through the night, he and his steed vanished into the endless dark.
Awaiting him beyond the battlefield stood Xu Chu and a host of Xiliang generals, their faces flushed with excitement.Their eyes followed the Overlord as he danced through the enemy lines—unbound, unstoppable, divine.Even a million troops could not hinder him.He had surpassed mortal limits.
The sound of galloping hooves split the air.Xiang Shaoyun returned astride his blood-drenched black warhorse, galloping at breakneck speed.Xu Chu and the others dismounted in unison, kneeling with fervent reverence.
Atop the steed, the Overlord showed signs of fatigue, yet within that weariness lay cathartic release—and a hint of regret.
"So close... just a little more," he murmured, shaking his head in wistful reflection.He had shed his armor, from which blood still dripped. His burly frame was marred with wounds.And yet, he truly regretted only one thing: in that burning state of mind and battle, he had felt as if he were on the verge of breaking through his shackles.
Had he crossed that threshold, he might have stepped into the "Body-Repository Realm" that Lu Ping'an had once spoken of—a realm where one began to unearth the hidden treasures of the flesh.
Xu Chu studied the Overlord closely and sensed a change—something had been released from within him, leaving him somehow lighter, freer.
"My lord, the House of Celestial Mechanisms has sent another message to the world, delivered by one of their Sky-Pigeons..."Xu Chu offered a dark-hued letter.
The Overlord wiped the blood from his hands with a strip of cloth, took the letter, and gave it a cursory glance."Dragon-Nurturing Grounds…" he muttered.
Xiang Shaoyun narrowed his eyes, then looked over his subordinates.If Xiliang wished to claim dominion over the world, his power alone would not suffice.He needed his men to become like him—cultivators who could face a thousand foes, even ten thousand.
"Mobilize the army. March for Tong'an. Take the city.""And then…""Seek out the Dragon-Nurturing Grounds. Seize the blessings of fate!"
Beiluo, Heartlake Isle
A gentle breeze stirred ripples across the lake's surface.Before him, the grand "Mountains and Rivers" chessboard had been laid out.Lu Fan rolled up his sleeves and began to collect the pieces, placing them neatly back into their box.
The Heavenly Game Formation, recorded in the soul-tempering manual of the lower Profound Rank, was more than a mere game.By placing pieces according to the recorded strategy and visualizing the formations, one could not only improve their chess prowess but also temper the very fabric of their soul.
The treatise held nine evolving formations, each increasingly complex.Lu Fan had played the first formation dozens of times and now navigated it with ease.
He paid no further attention to the Overlord's battle, though he did feel a pang of regret.The Overlord had come so close to sensing the barrier of the Body-Repository Realm—but fell just short.
Suddenly, Lu Fan's hand froze mid-move.He raised his head, and a strange ripple passed through his gaze.In that moment, his vision pierced thousands of miles.
He saw a figure seated cross-legged on a bluestone.A serpent-like being with a human face coiled around the rock, silently watching.
"They've already found one of the Dragon-Nurturing Grounds?"
"But of the six remaining, several are in perilous, deadly lands…"
Leaning against his wheelchair, Lu Fan rested his chin in one hand, murmuring softly.
Zhu Long, Ying Long, Qing Long, Hei Long, Chi Long, Shen Long, Pan Long, and Yun Long—These eight celestial dragons were beings of legend, fashioned from his memory and imagination.They were the very foundation of his grand design to elevate the Five Phoenix Continent into a realm of high cultivation, and beyond, into mythic fantasy.
If the site belonged to Shen Long, Pan Long, or Yun Long, then there was little danger.But if it were one of the remaining three… then misfortune might be unavoidable.
These three were far beyond ordinary cultivators—even those in the Qi Core Realm.Lu Fan had hidden their grounds in remote and obscure corners of the world.
And yet, someone had found one.
Take Zhu Long, for instance—a dragon of true terror.Even with the Dao-Platform, recreating a single Zhu Long would be nearly impossible.
Raising his hand, a bronze goblet floated to his fingers from the table.He took a sip of the now-cool wine and let the anticipation flicker in his eyes.
If those adventurers survived… perhaps they would bring him a pleasant surprise.
Northern County, Tianhan Pass
Timeworn and weather-beaten, the ancient walls of Tianhan Pass told stories of a long-forgotten era.Under the crescent moon, it stood amidst the jagged borderlands like a relic from a myth.
Tianhan Pass marked the northernmost edge of the Great Zhou Empire, shielding its borders from the wild lands beyond.Beyond this pass, the empire's rule no longer held sway.
Legends claimed the pass was built by the empire's first sovereign in the days of antiquity.Millennia had passed, yet it still stood unyielding amidst the northern cliffs, guarding the frontier.
Outside the pass lay the boundless desert, the domain of the Western Rong tribes.For centuries, their warbands had hurled themselves against the gates of Tianhan Pass, soaking the land in blood—Yet never once had they breached its walls.
The wind beyond the pass was bitterly cold, piercing the skin like blades.
A blue ox plodded slowly along the trail.Li Sansi sat sideways atop the beast's back, clad in azure robes, a wooden sword hanging at his waist.Under the moon's cold gleam, he raised a flute and played a wistful melody that echoed across the empty plains.
He never played for others—only here, in the desolation of the wilds, did he let the music flow.Just a blue ox, a flute, and the moonlight.He was enamored with this solitude.
Though a foremost disciple of the Daoist Sect, Li Sansi rarely returned to his sect in recent years.Instead, he roamed the borderlands, slaying the Rong and driving back the savage tribes.
"Come on, old friend. Just a bit further, and we'll see the village beneath Mount Buzhou."When the song ended, Li Sansi gently patted the ox's horn.
Mount Buzhou, tucked away near Tianhan Pass, was his next destination.A remote place, rich in rare herbs and flora—To the soldiers guarding the frontier, such herbs could mean the difference between life and death.
The villagers gathered herbs and sold them in the nearby town.But days ago, a survivor had returned with dreadful news:A small band of Rong raiders had butchered the village and chased the survivors into Mount Buzhou—Only to be slaughtered in turn…
By a dragon.
A dragon with one eye black, and the other white.
When its gaze fell upon the raiders, death swept through them like a scythe.The lone villager who escaped had fled, tumbling and crawling down the mountain.He brought word to the town, and when Li Sansi heard, he immediately recalled the Wolong Ridge secret realm—and decided to investigate.
He now possessed six threads of spiritual energy within him.Though his cultivation progressed slowly, it was steady.Yet true advancement demanded a celestial haven, a sanctified land like the Heartlake Isle of Beiluo.
Under the frigid moonlight, the ox trudged onward.In the distance, Li Sansi could already glimpse the village.
It had been razed to the ground.That small band of Rong soldiers had spared no one.Huts collapsed, corpses strewn like broken dolls...
Grief clouded Li Sansi's face.He had seen such tragedy far too many times during his years along the border.
Dismounting, he took up a spade and dug a vast grave, burying the dead with solemn care.He then carved a plank into a makeshift grave marker and planted it at the pit's edge—without inscription.
Mounting the ox once more, he took up his flute and resumed playing as he moved forward.
Dust has marked the ages; white bones lie tangled in the withered weeds.
His melody drifted through the ruined village, fading with each step.
At the foot of Mount Buzhou,Li Sansi sat sideways upon the ox, gazing skyward.
The mountain loomed high, its peak shrouded in mist.And within that haze… something stirred.