Chapter 1209: Mo Yan Melts Tianyang

The geothermal fire, which had seemingly reached its theoretical limit, surprisingly flared up vigorously once more. Fierce flames surged forth. Cracks appeared on the seabed, and countless bubbles churned endlessly.

However, it was not this strange phenomenon that startled Qiaogong. Instead, a peculiar creature was quietly born before him, within the geothermal fire. Having been in the Xuanhuang Realm for so many years, he was already familiar with this kind of existence. It bore a name known to almost everyone: the Soul of Heaven and Earth!

As the materialized embodiment of the Xuanhuang Realm's heavenly laws, any cultivator who absorbed it could instantly ascend and advance to the Dao Integration realm. The Soul of Heaven and Earth was an incredibly precious cultivation resource, appearing without any discernible pattern. But now, the Soul of Heaven and Earth had actually taken shape with a mere flick of the finger from this faceless mysterious person before him!

“This…”

To Qiaogong's incomprehensible and utterly shocked perception, something even more mysterious occurred. The Soul of Heaven and Earth, born from the geothermal fire, did not make any unusual moves. Instead, it quietly catalyzed the geothermal fire, and after the flames transformed from orange-yellow to pitch black, it surprisingly voluntarily entered the Geothermal Reversion Array! It was clearly an act of self-sacrifice, in exchange for the potential for further advancement of the dormant puppet within the array!

The black flames silently pulsed, merging into the colossal puppet body beneath the ground as the Geothermal Reversion Array continuously operated.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous sounds of collapse and explosions echoed from underground. It was a sign that impurities within the puppet's body were being refined.

“The birth of this Soul of Heaven and Earth—not only did it not actively attack cultivators, but instead, it assisted this underwater puppet, just as that person intended?”

“How is that possible?”

As is well known, there was an irreconcilable conflict between the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao and Xuanhuang cultivators. Upon seeing a Soul of Heaven and Earth, cultivators would be overcome by the desire to devour it. Conversely, the Souls of Heaven and Earth would show no mercy to cultivators who dared to appear before them, swiftly killing them. But this scene unfolding before his eyes completely shattered Qiaogong's understanding.

“Even the Soul of Heaven and Earth obeys him so readily... Could it be that this person before me is the embodiment of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao itself?” Qiaogong thought, somewhat absurdly.

“The Soul of Heaven and Earth is born with a heavenly duty,” Li Ping explained in a calm tone. “This black flame before us is called Moyan. Its duty is to assist in the birth of a Dao Integration puppet...” However, Li Ping did not voice his next thoughts. Twisting heavenly principles allowed him to fake the Heavenly Dao's will and conjure Souls of Heaven and Earth out of thin air, but it only went so far. Under normal circumstances, getting a Soul of Heaven and Earth, which was inherently opposed to cultivators, to sacrifice itself for a cultivator's advancement—this completely defied the Heavenly Dao's will and was normally impossible to achieve. However, he was the embodiment of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao; all his actions were for the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth itself, and Heaven and Earth would naturally assist him.

Li Ping sensed the subtle transformation of the Heavenly Will within himself, ever since the You Clan members, under his command, had renewed their faith in the Sea of Gloom. Precisely because of these multiple contributing factors, the Soul of Heaven and Earth that appeared this time was an extremely powerful Moyan. The unsettling black flames even made Li Ping feel a faint sense of danger.

Under Moyan’s refinement, the underwater puppet advanced at an unimaginable speed. “It won't be long until this puppet emerges,” he mused.

“Although its realm is only Dao Integration, if it truly fought, I probably wouldn't be its match. And this is merely the result of a casual flick of this mysterious person's finger…” Qiaogong secretly glanced at Li Ping again. While fearful in his heart, he couldn't help but grow even more expectant of the two aids the other party had mentioned.

“It seems he wasn't boasting…”

Li Ping and Qiaogong waited for the puppet to emerge. As Moyan and the puppet continuously merged, the chaotic movements in the surrounding sea grew increasingly intense. However, Li Ping concealed it with an array formation. Otherwise, such an anomaly would surely have long attracted a large number of cultivators to observe.

Another half a month passed.

As if its energy had been completely depleted, the undersea geothermal fire had completely extinguished. The lava solidified into black crystals. Only the seabed remained permeated with a thick mist due to the lingering high temperature. The aura of the Soul of Heaven and Earth, Moyan, had completely vanished, replaced by a nascent, powerful aura that emerged from the seabed.

The danger he felt in his heart made Qiaogong unconsciously move slightly closer to Li Ping. Suddenly, that aura vanished from Qiaogong's perception. Qiaogong's expression changed drastically, and a layer of silvery-white armor appeared, protecting him. A pitch-black figure silently appeared beside them. Its target was not Qiaogong, but rather Li Ping, the Faceless Sacred Emperor of Daqi!

The newly awakened Tianyang's vigilance was extremely high. After sensing two powerful auras beside him, he surprisingly attacked them without a word. As crisis struck and Tianyang attacked, Li Ping did not dodge. He did not even summon the power of the Source Essence for defense. With just a faint voice transmission, he woke up the somewhat bewildered Tianyang and stopped his rash behavior.

“Tianyang, do you want to avenge your master and senior brothers?”

Tianyang's body trembled violently, and he revealed his figure, staring fixedly at Li Ping. His appearance was still the same as before he fell dormant, looking like a child of just over ten years old. Only his eyes occasionally revealed a profound weariness that completely contradicted his youthful appearance. After calming down slightly, the scene of Li Ping helping him absorb the Soul of Heaven and Earth during his dormancy also surfaced in his mind. Knowing that his current strength was entirely due to the other party's assistance, the hostility in Tianyang's heart slowly dissipated. He still stared fixedly at Li Ping, wanting the answer to his previous question.

“The original culprits who caused the tragic deaths of countless sect cultivators during the great war with the Xuanhuang Realm back then are still alive…”

“I intend to…”

Li Ping slowly transmitted his explanation. Tianyang quietly listened to the other party’s plan, his aura fluctuating. Then it subsided, and he flew to Li Ping's side.

“It's not advisable to stay here long; let's go back first,” Li Ping said. Then he looked at Qiaogong: “Fellow Daoist, are you coming with us?”

Ever since Tianyang appeared, Qiaogong's gaze had not left him. “How could I dare not come along…?” Qiaogong muttered to himself, then nodded in agreement. It wasn't until the three of them traveled through the void and arrived in Daqi's small world that Qiaogong's gaze finally shifted from Tianyang.

The Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven led the way. A total of nine grotto-heavens surrounded Daqi's small world, providing propulsive power for its journey through the void. Moreover, the spiritual energy concentration within this mysterious small world was surprisingly much higher than that of the Xuanhuang Realm itself. Furthermore, it seemed as if an invisible force concealed it, preventing even Qiaogong from clearly perceiving its internal details with his divine sense.

Just as Qiaogong once again fell into shock, an aura, transforming into a rainbow, arrived, making Qiaogong's heart suddenly skip a beat. Tianyang, who had been silent, also grew alert.

A Longevity realm cultivator? How was that possible?