Chapter 664: Heavenly Burial

A torrential downpour of stones, as if gravity were reversed, pierced through the thick mountain mist like tearing through a sheet of milky-white silk. Rising towards the sky with terrifying force, the stones' speed and density made it impossible for the five demonic lights in the sky to evade.

Swish, swish, swish…

Sharp claw-lights and golden glows flashed across the sky, and many stones exploded with a *boom*. However, it was clear that the speed of the escaping lights had been completely halted.

"Hahahahaha, you insignificant creatures, how dare you fly so low!"

Whoosh… whoosh…

Amidst the tearing howl of violent winds, a gigantic arm, seemingly made of mountains and rivers, churned through the mist below. Rising into the sky with explosive power, it blocked a swath of starlight and moonlight, casting a vast shadow over the demonic creatures in the sky who were casting spells to shatter the flying boulders. The entire process was as swift as a thunderclap.

*Bang*, *bang*, *bang*, *bang*...

The colossal arm swept forth, with countless stones hammering against it like millet grains. Then, with undiminished power, it struck the demonic creatures' position.

*Clang*...

With a sound like an explosion, two demonic lights were directly crushed by the colossal arm. Its five fingers closed, crushing the two figures within the lights in its gigantic hand, while the other three demonic lights narrowly escaped.

*Crackle, crackle, crackle*...

A dense, terrifying grinding sound emanated from the gigantic stone hand. The two demons inside, whose forms were no longer visible, had fallen completely silent.

The remaining three demons rapidly flew higher into the sky, not daring to pause for even a moment. They shouted down as they flew.

"Lord Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain! It is widely known that the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain is devoted to the Dao, seeking no incense offerings and not interfering in human affairs. We are all Celestial Masters of the Zuyue Kingdom, personally appointed by Emperor Song of Zuyue, officials who receive court stipends. Our presence in this territory is solely to handle affairs of our dynasty, with no intention of offense!"

Before their words had fully faded, another explosive roar erupted from Tingqiu Mountain.

*Boom*...

A rain of massive stones once again surged skyward, faster than the three demons could flee. Accompanying this was the heaven-shaking voice of Tingqiu Mountain's God.

"I oversee the Tingqiu Mountain Range. How can you speak of interfering in human affairs? And how can scoundrels like you be appointed court officials? Your deaths are of no consequence! Hahahahaha..."

The Mountain God's laughter echoed above Tingqiu Mountain, filled with mockery. The three demons were not foolish; they clearly understood its meaning. The Mountain God was certainly doing this on purpose. Even if the Zuyue dynasty's governance was in disarray, with the Mountain God's cultivation, how could he not recognize the official aura on them?

The three demons continuously cast spells to attack the incoming boulders. One of them even revealed its true form: a pangolin over three meters tall. It let the other two stand on its demonic body, continuously swinging its sharp claws to shatter the flying boulders, and even accelerating by using the recoil force.

The mountain mist in Tingqiu Mountain was completely churned away. A colossal stone figure, like a pillar supporting the heavens, stood with its feet on two peaks, looking up at the sky. Its mountainous body alone was enough to terrify countless people. The three fleeing demons were also greatly frightened, and their flying speed grew increasingly frantic.

Amidst the shattering and crashing of countless boulders, the three demons suddenly felt the light dim. Immediately after, a strong impact struck them from behind.

*Rumble*...

"Cough..." "Gasp..."

The three demons' momentum, originally flying rapidly upwards, instantly turned into an abrupt halt. The moment they sustained massive impact damage, they turned their heads to look behind them. There was no longer sky and clouds. Unbeknownst to them, behind them was now a vast layer of golden rock and earth, as if forged from metal and stone. It was like a vast cloud of earth and rock, suspended in the sky, blocking their path.

'When did this happen? Where did all this earth and stone come from, thousands of feet up in the sky?'

This thought flashed through their minds, and the three demons vaguely understood the answer: it was precisely the countless boulders that had been launched skyward earlier. But now it was too late. At the moment they were struck by the sky's stone slab, their minds reeled and their spell-casting faltered, yet the rain of boulders continued to strike, defying gravity. Their momentum not only hadn't diminished but had grown stronger.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

*Boom*

*Boom*

Countless boulders, like volleys of heavy artillery, converged and struck the exact spot where the three demons were trapped. Originally, some light from their demonic aura and spells had still flickered, but within a dozen breaths, it had completely faded.

"Hahahaha, this move of mine is called 'Sky Burial'. How about this name I just came up with?"

The colossal mountain-like giant chuckled as he asked, but his booming question was met with no reply.

Soon, the rain of boulders shooting skyward ceased. The golden-stone cloud that had obscured the stars and moon in the sky also began to descend. Judging by its terrifying speed and oppressive presence, it seemed capable of crushing many mountains. However, as it neared the ground, the rocks and earth crumbled apart and drifted down onto Tingqiu Mountain with the wind, creating only soft rustling sounds.

Tingqiu Mountain became quiet once more in the winter night. In fact, the entire process, from the Mountain God's action to its conclusion, lasted less than a quarter of an hour. The commotion was so immense, it seemed more like the Mountain God had intentionally created it.

The commotion was so great that within dozens of miles of the battle zone, many hibernating animals were awakened. Even after the noise subsided, they dared not make a sound and only drifted back to sleep more than an hour later.

The colossal stone body of the Mountain God also squatted down again, once again becoming a majestic peak. Atop this peak stood a man in a long robe the color of gray rock. He looked towards the northeast and southeast; the commotion on both sides had not yet ceased.

This man was precisely Hong Shengtian, the true deity of Tingqiu Mountain. As he himself had stated, he did not wish to intervene in human affairs. However, the methods he used tonight could be considered a rogue form of taking sides. But at Hong Shengtian's level of cultivation, this slight involvement in human conflict tonight would have no real consequence.

"Heh heh, that Lady Bai is more formidable than I imagined."

With these words, Hong Shengtian slowly sank into the ground, disappearing into the mountain.

Outside Yongding Pass, Bai Ruo, uniting with her sword, weaved back and forth, wielding the Dragon-Snake. Its head, tail, and claws could all attack like a flood dragon, and its offensive grew increasingly fierce. It seemed that the longer Bai Ruo wielded the Dragon-Snake sword technique, the more its power increased. Thunder and streaks of sword qi continuously erupted. The two elders of Linggu and the two other individuals fighting her were utterly exhausted trying to cope.

*Bang*, *boom*...

The dragon's tail, entwined with a tornado of sword qi and lightning, swept towards the four individuals who had just converged, sending them flying several miles away. Their clothes were shredded by the sword qi, and streaks of blood appeared on their bodies.

The scene briefly quieted. The four individuals hovered to the north, while Bai Ruo, in the southern sky, sheathed her sword on her back. The dragon-snake, however, continued to coil and soar beside her without pause.

The two elders of Linggu exchanged glances. Each of them had sword marks on their legs, arms, bodies, and even faces; some were deep, some shallow, but none were fatal.

Looking at their two other companions who had joined the battle, one was a demon and the other a stone spirit. The former used scales to protect its body, but many scales were shattered, constantly oozing blood, while the latter's body was covered in axe marks.

After battling for more than half an hour, the four now understood in their hearts: the woman named Bai before them had not truly intended to kill them.

After a moment of hesitation, the man among the two elders of Linggu cupped his hands in salute towards Bai Ruo from a distance.

"Immortal Bai, since you have not resorted to killing, then let us cease hostilities tonight. We implore you, Immortal, to be lenient and allow us to depart."

Bai Ruo's gaze was indifferent. She merely nodded slightly without speaking and made no superfluous movements, seemingly assenting to their proposal.

The two elders of Linggu and the other two exchanged glances, slowly flying backward, then gradually increasing their speed. Only after gaining some distance did they turn into streaks of light and depart.

To them, although they had been held back by this woman named Bai, from another perspective, it seemed more like they had held her back. Furthermore, five of their companions had already gone to Qizhou, and by their reckoning, they should have arrived there long ago.

Once the four streaks of light disappeared from sight, Bai Ruo finally let out a long breath. As she withdrew her magic, the dancing dragon-snake beside her immediately disintegrated, and some of the boulders that comprised it fell to the ground, creating a rumbling sound.

Although the Dragon-Snake sword technique was powerful, Bai Ruo was not as relaxed as she had appeared. It could only be said that she was not yet proficient enough. It wasn't that she hadn't considered killing her opponents, especially when it was just the two elders of Linggu at first, she had intended to slay them.

Unfortunately, they had delayed her until reinforcements arrived. After that, Bai Ruo weighed her options and felt that if she truly intended to kill them, she might also have to pay a significant price, at least losing a considerable amount of vital energy. Her opponents were not the mediocre, low-ranking, or even insignificant characters who constantly followed the Zuyue army camps.

Given this, forcing them to retreat was the best option. After all, Bai Ruo had also observed the Dazhen side. There were a few capable individuals, but besides Daoist Qingsong, whom she couldn't see through, the others were not particularly impressive. Even Du Changsheng was somewhat lacking. Dealing with the mages who consistently moved with the enemy forces was naturally no problem, but dealing with the many powerful demons and wicked cultivators from the Zuyue side would be quite challenging for them.

"However, tonight should have yielded quite a fruitful outcome!"

Bai Ruo gazed back south and murmured softly to herself. In the direction of her gaze, the 'fire clouds' in Qizhou's sky were still a deep crimson. After watching for a while, she faintly heard endless shouts of battle.

When Bai Ruo, riding the wind, landed on a hilltop, a girl in white was already leaping through the mountains to reach her side. She arranged a meditation cushion and a small tea table, and then deftly placed a small incense burner on it.

"Madam is truly amazing! So many demons and immortal cultivators are no match for you. Qiao'er admires you so much!"

"Hehe, you always say the sweetest things. By the way, where's Hong'er?"

The girl named Qiao'er gestured for Bai Ruo to sit, then draped a velvet cloak over her, and only then replied.

"Hong'er's ears are better than mine. She said she heard a big commotion to the west, so she rushed over to check it out."

"Hmm!"

Bai Ruo looked thoughtfully towards the west. In that distant direction lay the vast Tingqiu Mountain.