More and more Nascent Soul-level light streaks converged from all directions.
Each one carried a terrifying spiritual pressure, churning the originally desolate sea into surging waves. The ocean roared, and the sound of crashing waves rolled like muffled thunder.
Canfeng stood at the edge of the desolate island, looking up at those light streaks, feeling his mouth go dry.
Within those beams of light, each one represented a Nascent Soul Ancestor. Beings of the highest order, rarely seen in ordinary times, were now appearing in droves like they were heading to a market fair.
In his hundred-plus years of life, the Nascent Soul Ancestors he had seen could barely fill one hand, but now he couldn’t even count them.
“This... how many are there?”
He muttered to himself.
Xie Yunqing appeared beside him at some point and spoke coolly.
“According to my master, with Heavenly Abyss Mountain opening this time, the three alliances combined have at least over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators present. As for Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators, there are even more—no less than a thousand, if not eight hundred.”
Canfeng sucked in a sharp breath. Over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators? This wasn’t a treasure hunt; it was a small-scale war!
Xie Yunqing glanced at him with a faint, mocking smile.
“What? Scared?”
Canfeng stiffened his neck.
“Who’s scared? My ancestor is still here!”
Xie Yunqing let out a soft laugh and said no more, but a trace of seriousness lurked in his eyes.
On the desolate island, Jiuyou stood with his hands behind his back, sweeping his gaze across those light streaks one by one.
“Yin Gu the Old Fiend is here... and he’s brought three Early Nascent Souls. Looks like he’s gathered quite a few helpers.”
His voice was low. Senior Blood Vine sidled over, followed his gaze, and chuckled.
“That old bastard Yin Gu always plays for himself. For him to bring people this time means he’s afraid he can’t hold his own.”
Jiuyou didn’t respond, shifting his gaze slightly.
“The married couple from Black Fiend Island have arrived too. When they work together, even a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator has to tread carefully.”
Senior Blood Vine shook his head.
“That couple’s Yin-Yang Harmony Technique has reached the seventh layer. When they join forces, their power doubles. I wouldn’t fear them one-on-one, but if they both come at me, it’s best to steer clear.”
Jiuyou snorted coldly and continued scanning.
“The Poison Old Freak from Ten Thousand Poison Sect... his poison skills are unmatched; a single touch means trouble.”
“Sha Wuji from Heavenly Fiend Sect... that man is murderous to the core. Years ago, he fought three opponents single-handedly, his methods utterly ruthless.”
Blood Sea True Person stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze steady, taking in everyone’s movements. He suddenly spoke.
“On the Righteous Path Alliance side, besides Fang Wuji, Old Ghost Qingshan, White Crane Child, and Gao Tianshan, a few more have arrived. That one in white robes is Jade Clarity Sect’s Jade Clarity Superior, skilled in illusions and hard to guard against. The old woman in black beside him is Ghost Granny from Nether Valley; her ghostly arts are bizarre and unpredictable.”
Jiuyou’s gaze sharpened. Ghostly arts were no stranger to him—he himself cultivated the “Nether Capital Art” and knew its intricacies well. For this Ghost Granny to hold her own in the Righteous Path Alliance, her skills must be formidable.
Blood Sea True Person pointed in a few other directions and roughly introduced several well-known Nascent Soul cultivators from both the Righteous Path Alliance and the Heaven and Earth Alliance.
Jiuyou’s face grew serious as he silently memorized them.
His knowledge of Nascent Soul cultivators from the Righteous Path and Heaven and Earth Alliances was limited; he mostly knew their names, but little of their specific methods. Now, hearing Blood Sea True Person’s introductions, he gained a clear picture.
“Everyone here is a Nascent Soul cultivator from the three alliances nearing the end of their lifespan.”
He mused to himself.
“Some might hold back for the sake of their sects, but others are loners who’ll do anything... I only need one hundred-year Life-Extending Fruit. I’ll go through the motions—no need to clash head-on with those desperados.”
With one hand behind his back and the other rubbing his fingers together, he kept calculating.
Just then, a gaze shot over from afar, cold as a blade.
Jiuyou looked up and met Old Ghost Qingshan’s eyes, brimming with hatred.
Old Ghost Qingshan’s lips moved slightly, and his voice, transmitted through divine sense, dripped with venom.
“Jiuyou, you old fiend. You’d better pray you don’t run into me inside Heavenly Abyss Mountain.”
Jiuyou’s expression didn’t change; in fact, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
“I’d like to see if your skills have improved any after two hundred years.”
Old Ghost Qingshan snorted coldly and turned his head away.
For a moment, all the surrounding islands were occupied by Nascent Soul cultivators. Low and mid-level cultivators without backing dared only watch from a great distance, terrified of accidentally offending a Nascent Soul grandmaster.
It was almost laughable.
Most of the Righteous Path Alliance Nascent Soul cultivators gathered on the left islands, while the Demonic Path Alliance mostly occupied the right, the division stark. Only the Heaven and Earth Alliance cultivators didn’t care, their figures scattered on both sides.
On the islands, the numerous Nascent Soul cultivators sized each other up, probed, and remained vigilant.
Some didn’t know one another, watching from afar to assess strength.
Some were old acquaintances, greeting each other across the sea with cupped hands, hidden tests beneath their smiles.
Others were enemies, their gazes carrying undisguised killing intent and cold sneers. But with so many Nascent Soul cultivators present, none dared to actually strike. After all, with Heavenly Abyss Mountain not yet open, fighting now would only benefit others.
Most cultivators chose silence, observing covertly.
Jiuyou was one of them. He sat cross-legged on a reef, his eyes half-closed, appearing to rest, but his divine sense remained vigilant over tens of miles.
Canfeng stood obediently behind him, not daring to breathe loudly, stealing glances at the legendary figures in the distance with his peripheral vision, his heart both nervous and excited.
Several months passed quietly in this delicate standoff.
One day, a muffled rumble suddenly came from the horizon.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it seemed to strike directly into everyone’s hearts, stirring their qi and blood, unsettling their minds. All cultivators looked up at once, their gazes fixed on the sky.
Jiuyou’s eyes snapped open.
In the distance, the sea began to warp and tear, as if an invisible giant hand was ripping the heavens apart. A massive rift slowly emerged, and dazzling light poured out from within it. The light grew brighter and stronger, nearly blinding.
Rumble—
Amid the deafening roar, a towering mountain slowly rose from the rift.
The mountain was unimaginably vast.
A single corner of its base already occupied hundreds of miles of sea. The mountain itself pierced straight into the clouds, its peak invisible. Spiritual light swirled around it, mist coiled, and faint glimpses of cascading waterfalls, springs, and rare flowers appeared. Dense spiritual energy spread like a tide in all directions.
Heavenly Abyss Mountain had appeared.
Countless gazes locked onto that colossal peak—some greedy, some longing, some desperate.
“Five hundred years... a full five hundred years!” An old cultivator’s voice trembled.
More cultivators, without a word, shot up into the sky like locusts swarming, charging toward Heavenly Abyss Mountain. Countless beams of light intertwined, their momentum like a rainbow.
Jiuyou stood up, his gaze as steady as an abyss.
He glanced at Canfeng behind him and said calmly, “Stay close.”
“Yes, Ancestor!”
Canfeng quickly responded, his heart pounding wildly.
Jiuyou took a deep breath. His form transformed into a mass of dark green mist, enveloping Canfeng as he shot forward.
Blood Sea True Person, Blood Withered the Old Monk, and Senior Blood Vine followed closely behind.