Chapter 6: Watching the Immortal Battle from the Mountain

The Boundless Abyss of Ruins, located in the easternmost part of the Great Xuan Kingdom, is unfathomably deep and perpetually shrouded in thick fog. Anyone who accidentally falls into it would surely be obliterated.

No one knows what lies beneath the Abyss. It is a place where even birds are absent, and for many years, it has remained a forbidden zone for humans.

However, Li Fan, through his experience in the previous simulation, knew that the thick fog above the Abyss disperses once every fifteen years. Today, he came to the Abyss specifically to witness this event himself.

After all, if he was correct in his guess, Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong, the two cultivators, likely arrived at this land devoid of immortals through the Abyss.

Li Fan stood silently, gazing at the awe-inspiring boundless abyss nearby, waiting patiently.

After an unknown period, the thick white fog, emanating an ancient aura, finally began to change.

A low howl, as if from an ancient beast, faintly emerged from below. As the sound grew louder, it became clear to everyone that it was the sound of wind!

The dense white fog was stirred, creating layers of ripples. The wind then intensified, and large amounts of white fog were forced to surge out of the Abyss, resembling an inverted waterfall, shooting straight into the sky.

Such a strong wind lasted for nearly half an hour before the heavy layers of fog finally dispersed.

Li Fan's expression grew solemn, and he took out his binoculars to look towards the bottom of the Abyss.

Initially, the bottom of the Abyss was completely dark, and nothing could be clearly seen.

Gradually, tiny specks of light began to appear.

After a long time, the bottom of the Abyss became brightly illuminated, and an inverted mirage-like scene appeared before Li Fan's eyes.

According to information, the scene appearing at the bottom of the Abyss looked different to each observer.

The scene before Li Fan's eyes caused a great shock to his mind.

A dilapidated mountain gate stood amidst collapsed buildings everywhere. The ground and walls were covered in cracks, bearing the marks of sword and spell impacts.

Moreover, several areas seemed to be stained with blood, displaying an eerie dark red color.

Scattered corpses and weapons littered the ground, seemingly silently narrating a catastrophe that occurred many years ago.

Li Fan was filled with shock. He shifted his view and on the smooth cliff face of a mountain, he saw four large characters carved into it.

"The Immortal Path is Dead!"

The four characters were black and red, appearing to be written in blood.

Even from an unknown distance, upon seeing these four characters, Li Fan could feel the unspeakable terror and despair contained within them.

"'The Immortal Path is Dead'... What exactly happened in this place? And what exactly happened to the entire cultivation world?" Li Fan was lost in thought, remaining silent for a long time.

The thick fog only dispersed for half a day before beginning to reform, and Li Fan returned to Xuanjing.

After that, time flowed on, and soon it was the Fiftieth Anchor Year.

On this day, Li Fan's seventieth birthday, thousands of soldiers in Xuanjing City stood ready for battle.

"Dao Xuanzi! Don't push your luck!"

Kou Hong turned and roared angrily, stopping in mid-air above Xuanjing City.

However, before Dao Xuanzi could respond, voices already echoed from below, reverberating throughout Xuanjing.

"Kou Hong, you brat! We have been waiting here for a long time, on the orders of Immortal Master Dao Xuanzi!"

Appearing with the voices was a hail of bullets.

Caught off guard, Kou Hong was struck directly.

"How is this possible? Did Dao Xuanzi already know I would flee here? When did he become so cunning?!" Kou Hong was both surprised and enraged.

Immediately after, Kou Hong was horrified to discover that his spiritual energy was being rapidly depleted while he fended off these magic artifacts. With a sweep of his divine sense, Kou Hong instantly understood.

"'Immortal-Mortal Miasma'?! Dao Xuanzi, how utterly despicable you are!" Kou Hong looked at the arriving Dao Xuanzi with disbelief, as if seeing his century-long close friend for the very first time.

At this moment, Dao Xuanzi was somewhat bewildered.

"What is going on with these mortals? Why are they attacking Kou Hong under my banner? And they can even use Immortal-Mortal Miasma?" The suddenness of the situation caused Dao Xuanzi's mind to momentarily freeze.

But seeing Kou Hong, who was already in a state of extreme rage not far away, Dao Xuanzi instantly snapped back to reality.

"This place is quite strange! Kou Hong, these mortals are not acting on my orders!" Dao Xuanzi hastily explained.

"What? Are you afraid to admit what you've done?" Kou Hong laughed in extreme anger. "Or are you afraid that once word of your use of Immortal-Mortal Miasma gets out, all cultivators will unite to hunt you down? Or perhaps you're more concerned that your reputation, built over a hundred years, will be ruined in an instant?"

Dao Xuanzi knew his brother's temper well and understood that he had now lost his reason, and would likely not listen to anything he said.

Dao Xuanzi faintly felt that he had fallen into a trap.

The strange aura of this place also gave him a significant sense of danger.

Contending with Kou Hong at this moment was not a wise move.

So, he still patiently explained to Kou Hong, "We've known each other for a hundred years; when have you ever known me to lie? This place is truly not..."

However, before he could finish speaking, an aged voice suddenly came from all directions, abruptly cutting him off.

"How can Immortal Master Dao Xuanzi suddenly turn hostile and deny everything? Didn't we agree that if we helped you kill Kou Hong here and seize his Core Formation cultivation method, you would lead my clan out of this land devoid of immortals?" The voice sounded a bit wronged and resentful.

"Core Formation cultivation method?!" Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi's expressions changed simultaneously upon hearing this.

"And you still say it wasn't you! Besides you and me, who else in this world would know about this?!" Kou Hong's hair bristled, clearly at the peak of his rage.

"This person actually knows about the Core Formation cultivation method..." Dao Xuanzi's heart sank completely.

Meanwhile, the voice from below continued to speak, oblivious to them: "You should know, for the Immortal-Mortal Miasma that Immortal Master you spoke of, we incurred the wrath of the masses. Now, the common people are seething with resentment throughout the land. If Immortal Master cannot keep your word and lead us out, I fear it won't be long before our clan perishes without a burial place!"

Being slandered, Dao Xuanzi was utterly exasperated and roared, "Shameless scoundrel, shut your mouth!"

He leaped and flew towards the source of the voice, hoping to find the mastermind, but only saw a strange rectangular object. The voice was emanating from it. Similar objects were scattered throughout Xuanjing City, making it impossible to know how many more there were!

"So cautious..." Dao Xuanzi felt utterly helpless.

"Is Immortal Master now trying to silence me?" A somewhat mocking voice continued to emanate from it.

Dao Xuanzi gnashed his teeth and crushed it to dust with one grab.

In Kou Hong's eyes, it looked as if Dao Xuanzi, enraged and humiliated after being exposed, was trying to silence him.

Kou Hong let out a long howl to the sky: "Dao Xuanzi! We've known each other for a hundred years, yet I never thought I would misjudge you so completely! Don't you want the Core Formation cultivation method? Why resort to such despicable methods? I won't run anymore. If you have the guts, come and take it!"

"Dao Spell: Blazing Dragon's Fury!"

A furious fire dragon coiled around Kou Hong, letting out an earth-shattering roar.

The fire dragon glared forward, spitting out a long crimson flame that shot straight towards Dao Xuanzi.

Dao Xuanzi sighed helplessly. With a soft hum, a flying sword appeared out of thin air behind him, transforming into a streak of white light, and met the crimson flame.