Chapter 1020: Upper Five Emperor Mountain

The thousands of years of legacy of the One Yuan Dao Palace are about to be plundered by these rogues from the Eastern Wilderness. Grand Ancestor, if your spirit still watches over us from the heavens, please open your eyes and strike down both these external villains and our internal traitors.

Elder Lianshui's heart was filled with grief and indignation, yet he felt utterly helpless.

“Greetings, three elders,” Chen Mobai said with a slight smile to Elder Lianshui and the others. “Elder Su has mentioned you to me; you are all vital pillars of the One Yuan Dao Palace.” He then flew off towards Five Emperors Mountain with Tudé.

Watching Chen Mobai's retreating figure, Elder Lianshui recalled his previous words to Su Ziluó, feeling an even deeper bitterness welling up inside him.

Chen Mobai had not only arrived at One Yuan Immortal City but had been personally invited by Tudé, the Grand Elder, entering openly and with dignity.

This rendered all their earlier assertions to Su Ziluó utterly ridiculous.

Chen Mobai felt a slight hesitation before entering the grand formation of Five Emperors Mountain.

However, having come this far, and with several influential figures from the Eastern Continent's Sacred Lands observing, there was no way he could back down now.

Still, for caution's sake, he tested the area once more with his Tongtian Zhi.

After confirming there was no life-threatening danger, he feigned the casual air of returning to his own territory and, with a composed expression, followed Tudé inside.

As a renowned Tier 6 spiritual pulse in the Eastern Land, Five Emperors Mountain was naturally no ordinary place. Its peaks were majestic, having been personally elevated to a height of four thousand six hundred and seventeen zhang by One Yuan True Lord before his ascension.

This represented the number of One Yuan.

In the primordial age of this realm, humanity defined one Yuan as four thousand six hundred and seventeen years. Upon entering a new Yuan, at one hundred and six years, there would be nine years of drought, known as ‘Yang Nine.’

Daoists referred to heavenly calamities as ‘Yang Nine’ and earthly losses as ‘Bai Liu’ (Hundred Six).

From the beginning of a Yuan until ‘Yang Three,’ there were four thousand five hundred and sixty normal years and fifty-seven years of disasters, totaling four thousand six hundred and seventeen years, marking the completion of one Yuan's cycle of qi.

This system was established to commemorate the various heavenly and earthly disasters humanity endured in the primordial age.

Tudé flew ahead, explaining as he went.

Chen Mobai knew Tudé wasn't explaining for his benefit, but rather for the two righteous sect masters beside them, and even True Lord Wuchen.

“That our human race in the Eastern Continent has reached its current standing is entirely due to the ancient sages who, one by one, blazed trails and overcame obstacles…”

Tudé's words were filled with the highest praise for these ancient sages.

And these were precisely the grand ancestors of sacred lands such as the Nine Heavens Demon-Sweeping Sect and the Daoist Sect.

After traversing the swirling clouds and mist, Chen Mobai followed Tudé to the summit of Five Emperors Mountain.

Grand halls were arrayed there, along with a solemn and majestic statue that, needless to say, belonged to One Yuan True Lord.

Chen Mobai bowed to the One Yuan statue on the summit, sensing the ancient aura it emanated, but his gaze was drawn to a grey stone bell cradled in its palm.

“Junior Brother Chen has keen insight; that is indeed the Hunyuan Bell,” Tudé said, standing beside Chen Mobai. As he spoke, he formed a hand seal, and the grey stone bell in the statue's hand subtly glowed with a jade-like luster.

In that instant, Chen Mobai felt an intensely dense spiritual qi, emanating from the statue and spreading throughout Five Emperors Mountain, from its summit down towards One Yuan Immortal City.

Additionally, there was a hidden, terrifying power.

This must be the mountain-protecting grand formation.

The entire Five Emperors Mountain—its spiritual pulse, its grand formation—all had their core in the Hunyuan Bell held by this statue.

“Junior Brother Chen, please proceed,” Tudé said, pointing to the grand hall behind the statue, which bore the three large characters ‘One Yuan Hall.’ “I've already notified the other three junior brothers to join us.”

Chen Mobai nodded. Although his Tongtian Zhi indicated no life-threatening danger, he remained highly vigilant, ready to use Void Walking to escape should any situation arise.

Tudé watched Chen Mobai calmly follow him into the One Yuan Hall, thinking to himself that this person certainly possessed confidence.

It was worth noting that on Five Emperors Mountain, Tudé held the home advantage, and with the grand formation and the Hunyuan Bell at his command, he could easily suppress and kill Chen Mobai.

If he were in Chen Mobai's shoes, he would certainly never place himself in such a perilous situation.

The two entered the grand hall, one after the other.

Tudé pointed to the two central cushions and took a seat on one of them first.

Chen Mobai, meanwhile, began examining the murals within the hall. One particular mural felt somewhat familiar to him: ancient trees towering skyward, birds swirling in flocks, depicting a serene and profound artistic conception.

“These were personally carved by the One Yuan Ancestor,” Tudé explained, following Chen Mobai's gaze. “This particular mural depicts the Ancestor's cultivation ground in the Eastern Wilderness, which I believe is now your Five Elements Sect's Giant Wood Ridge…”

Chen Mobai nodded, then shifted his gaze to an adjacent painting. It depicted a multicolored jade tree, which was clearly the One Yuan Secret Realm within Hunyuan Immortal City.

Only these two murals depicted scenes related to the Eastern Wilderness.

Judging by this, did each mural represent a secret realm?

Just as Chen Mobai was pondering this, a Nascent Soul spiritual light entered the grand hall.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Tudé… huh?” The entering Wood Virtue Mountain Master exclaimed in surprise as he saw the clear-faced, handsome youth standing aside, observing the murals.

He naturally recognized Chen Mobai, as the One Yuan Dao Palace had gathered extensive intelligence on him, their primary adversary at the moment.

“Junior Brother Wood Virtue, please take a seat first. Once the other two junior brothers arrive, I'll announce some good news,” Tudé said, pointing to the cushion beside him. Wood Virtue frowned, a faint suspicion forming in his mind.

“What is he doing here?” Just then, two more figures entered. The leading one was the stern-faced Metal Virtue Mountain Master, who, upon seeing Chen Mobai, instantly glowered with murderous intent and pointed a finger at him.

“Senior Brother Tudé, why aren't you acting?”

Hearing Metal Virtue's words, Tudé smiled faintly and began to explain the reason for Chen Mobai's presence on Five Emperors Mountain today.

“After conversing with Junior Brother Chen, I discovered that our previous conflicts were all misunderstandings. We are all inheritors of the One Yuan Ancestor's legacy, essentially brother sects…”

Upon hearing that Tudé had actually reached such a humiliating and disgraceful agreement with Chen Mobai, Metal Virtue erupted in fury. Even Water Virtue and Wood Virtue, standing nearby, showed expressions of clear displeasure.

“Senior Brother Tudé, I do not agree with this,” said Water Virtue.

“Neither do I!” added Wood Virtue. Immediately after they spoke, Metal Virtue directly summoned his life-bound flying sword and aimed it at Chen Mobai.

“If we slay this rebellious fiend here today, we will still respect you as the Dao Palace's Grand Elder and our Senior Brother,” Metal Virtue declared coldly to Tudé as he aimed his flying sword at Chen Mobai.

“Rogue from the branch sect, who gave you permission to point your sword at me?” Chen Mobai retorted, his brow furrowed in displeasure.

Then, as Metal Virtue's sneer twisted into a look of alarm, the colossal left arm of the Ten Thousand Swords Dharma Body materialized within the One Yuan Hall.

The left hand of the Ten Thousand Swords Dharma Body extended and descended towards Metal Virtue. As the terrifying Purple Splendor Sword Intent condensed, the entire grand hall began to tremble.

For this trip to the Eastern Land, Chen Mobai had naturally prepared all his most powerful techniques.

His Purple Lightning Sword, currently undergoing refinement, was no exception.

However, in this strike, Chen Mobai did not utilize the Purple Lightning Sword's physical body, merely unleashing the sword intent manifested by the Ten Thousand Swords Dharma Body.

Yet even this was already a Tier 5 technique.

“One Yuan Dao Body!” Metal Virtue and the two others were instantly aghast at this sight. Metal Virtue's entire body erupted in brilliant golden light, which surged into his golden flying sword. A torrent of golden sword qi surged forth, intending to clash with the Purple Splendor Sword Intent condensed at the fingertip of the Ten Thousand Swords Dharma Body.

But at the moment of contact, the golden torrent disintegrated with a roar. Metal Virtue spat out fresh blood and collapsed to the ground, utterly suppressed by the sword intent.

With a clang, the golden flying sword recoiled the instant it touched the Ten Thousand Swords Dharma Body's fingertip, embedding itself in the floor before Metal Virtue, where it continuously trembled and wailed.

Water Virtue and Wood Virtue watched wisps of purple lightning course over the golden flying sword. Had the sword not been forged from Tier 5 materials, it likely would have been shattered by that single strike.

“To draw your sword against me was truly an overestimation of your capabilities,” Chen Mobai stated. As he spoke, he remained facing the murals, admiring them, with his back to Metal Virtue and the other two.

“Tudé, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“Is the Dao Palace's legitimate legacy of thousands of years to be destroyed in our generation?!”

Upon witnessing the One Yuan Dao Body, Water Virtue and Wood Virtue both realized they were no match for Chen Mobai, but they shifted their accusations towards Tudé instead.

“Junior Brothers, let us act together! Tudé has already betrayed the sect and joined forces with outsiders to wipe us out…” Metal Virtue, still suppressed by Chen Mobai's sword intent, tried to say more, but Tudé gently waved his sleeve, using Hunyuan True Qi to seal his mouth.

“It seems my two junior brothers are still unaware of the full truth,” Tudé sighed. “Alas, our sect faces misfortune. I had originally intended to handle this matter quietly in private, but in truth, Junior Brother Metal Virtue is a spy for the demonic path…”

As Tudé's words fell, Metal Virtue's eyes widened, and he struggled violently, seemingly desperate to argue.

But under the combined suppression of Chen Mobai and Tudé, he was utterly powerless to retaliate.

“What evidence do you have to prove that?” Wood Virtue asked, remarkably calm.

“The previous Dao Son and Saintess are the proof,” Tudé explained. “Junior Niece Su had previously approached the three outer elders about this, but Elder Lianshui and the others had too much trust in Five Emperors Mountain, so they never reported it.”

“Furthermore, with this generation's Dao Son and Saintess, Chen Lingming failed his Nascent Soul formation specifically because Metal Virtue harbored murderous intent towards him. And during the war between the righteous and demonic factions, it was Metal Virtue who betrayed their operational routes to the demonic path, leading to Junior Brother Fire Virtue and others being ambushed and killed.”

“Considering that the One Yuan Dao Palace was previously assailed by Mingzun, it can be deduced that Metal Virtue is a spy for the Tongyou Demonic Sect. The deaths of both the Palace Master and Senior Brother Wuming were also a result of his betrayal.”

“It was precisely after learning all these facts that Junior Brother Chen felt Five Emperors Mountain's interior was riddled with demonic traces and no longer worthy of upholding the One Yuan Dao lineage, which led him to act so impetuously. After my private conversation with him, I understood that both our sides merely wish for the betterment of the One Yuan Dao lineage; our differences stem only from differing perspectives.”

After Tudé finished speaking, he turned a furious gaze upon Metal Virtue.

“Traitor, do you have anything more to say?”

Metal Virtue's eyes widened, his mouth agape, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Noticing this, Tudé remembered he had gagged Metal Virtue and promptly waved his sleeve, retracting the Hunyuan True Qi.

“Utter nonsense!” Metal Virtue immediately retorted. “Tudé, you're merely selling out the sect yourself, then fabricating an excuse to make me your scapegoat, falsely labeling me a demonic traitor! You ungrateful wretch, you alone monopolized the Hunyuan Dao Fruit! It was clearly you who disposed of two generations of Dao Sons and Saintesses, and now you dare to pin it on me…”

Upon hearing this, the anger on Tudé's face surprisingly subsided.

“We need more direct and conclusive evidence,” said Water Virtue Mountain Master, who had remained silent until then. It was clear that merely relying on the words of Tudé and Metal Virtue would never convince them.

“It's quite simple,” Tudé retorted. “I dare to swear that I have no collusion with the demonic path. Metal Virtue, do you dare to do the same?” After Tudé's challenge, Metal Virtue froze in place, his mouth agape, seemingly wanting to speak but utterly at a loss for how to argue.

“Senior Brother Metal Virtue…” Seeing Metal Virtue's reaction, Water Virtue and Wood Virtue exchanged worried glances, their brows deeply furrowed.

“Taking an oath would affect my future Void Refinement,” Metal Virtue finally managed to say. “Regardless, my conscience is clear.” In the end, this was all Metal Virtue could offer.

Water Virtue and Wood Virtue's faces showed clear disappointment.

Tudé, meanwhile, immediately raised his right hand, walked out of the grand hall, and swore an oath before the statue of One Yuan True Lord: “May the Grand Ancestor bear witness, this disciple…”

After Tudé completed his oath, Water Virtue and Wood Virtue finally turned their suspicious gazes upon Metal Virtue.

“When did you find out?” Metal Virtue asked Tudé, his expression cold and his eyes somber.

“It truly was you!” Upon hearing this, both Water Virtue and Wood Virtue revealed expressions of utter disbelief.

“When the previous generation's Dao Son was killed and the Saintess went missing, I already suspected there was a demonic spy within Five Emperors Mountain,” Tudé recounted. “During the war between the righteous and demonic factions, I refined the Hunyuan Dao Fruit, which allowed me to use the grand formation to observe everything on Five Emperors Mountain. Under close scrutiny, I witnessed you transmitting information about our sect's army to outsiders…”

As Tudé finished speaking, Metal Virtue seemed to recall something, and an expression of deep regret involuntarily crossed his face.

“Why?” Wood Virtue asked Metal Virtue, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Junior Brother Wood Virtue,” Metal Virtue began, “with our aptitudes, if we were in other sacred lands, we might have become Dao Sons or Saintesses. But here on Five Emperors Mountain, we are only destined to be mere Mountain Masters, Protectors of the Dao. Are you truly content with that?”

Wood Virtue and Water Virtue fell silent upon hearing his words.

This was the perennial issue within the One Yuan Dao Palace.

To outsiders, they were exalted elders of a sacred land. Yet within the Dao Palace itself, they were merely a part of the Hunyuan Dao Fruit's cultivation.

Among the Dao methods left by One Yuan True Lord, only through the Hunyuan Dao Fruit could one achieve Nascent Divinity and Void Refinement.

Although One Yuan True Lord, before his ascension, had already deduced a lineage where all Five Elements could evolve into Hunyuan, the tradition had remained unchanged for thousands of years.

Even with the absence of a Dao Son and Saintess, the Earth Pulse lineage still retained its priority.

The reason they, the other mountain masters, had been willing to acknowledge Tudé was that he had promised to relinquish the Dao Fruit after he refined it and achieved Nascent Divinity, allowing them to take turns comprehending it.

Though they knew the hope was slim, it was hope nonetheless.

“I am not reconciled!” Metal Virtue declared with a ferocious expression. He then bit the tip of his tongue, and a large gush of vital blood spurted from his mouth.