Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Are you sure the position is correct?” Yin San asked as he turned toward the Great
Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect.
Sweeping through his sparse hair with his hand, the Great Grandmaster of the
Mysterious Dark Sect said sentimentally, “We were the neighbors to begin with, and I
had hid here under the ground for so many years. I’m sure I’m not mistaken.”
Having said this, he reached out his short and thick finger and stabbed at the air a few
times.
Countless light specks emerged from his finger, forming an exceedingly complicated
three-dimensional map that then reflected in the eyes of the Dark Phoenix.
Yin San had a different body from Jing Jiu’s, and his body was more vigorous; on the
other hand, his body was more susceptible to mishaps, like being set ablaze easily. As
such, Yin San couldn’t enter the underground and reach the river of lava, and the Great
Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect would be detected by the Sword Formation of
Green Mountain if he were away from Yin San for too long, so he couldn’t go there
either. The Dark Phoenix was the only one who could deal with this matter.
The Dark Phoenix flew up by flapping his wings, heading toward the crack in the ground
cut by Liu Ci as he disappeared.
Yin San strolled slowly to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the bottom of the
crack, his eyes full of childish curiosity and interest.
He still acted like a youth, but his body had been getting old and was deteriorating.
Looking at his back, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect was quite
worried.
Two years had passed. The Immortal couldn’t even fly now, save for sitting in a
carriage. How long could he last like this?
The First Child Sword had been sent to the Royal Palace of Zhaoge City; so the
Immortal would have a hard time turning his body into a sword body. But why did he
take such a big risk coming to the Cold Mountain?
What was the significance of the scales of a fire carp?
The Magic Army of the imperial court and the Windy-Broadsword Church hadn’t
stopped cleaning up the remaining deviant practitioners here, not to mention that White
Town was on the other side of the mountain. What if they were discovered by Cao
Yuan?
Thinking of the other objects he had prepared for the Immortal over last two years, the
Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect felt even more at a loss.
A quake was felt from beneath the ground, and a squeaking sound came from the
horse-drawn carriage, with small pebbles being tossed about everywhere.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect knew it had begun.
…
…
It was not dark in the deep part of the underground, with the glows of scarlet and
crimson colors showing everywhere, some of which were even a bit bright.
The quietness of the lava river was disturbed. The scorching hot and ferocious lava
tumbled up and down, splashing in all directions. They made sizzling noises when they
hit the cliff walls.
The huge fire carp was swimming in the river of lava at a high speed. He wagged his tail
frequently as he flung the lava outwards as his weapons. He seemed furious.
The Dark Phoenix was flying back and forth above the river of lava at a fast speed; he
would strike with his sharp claws like a flash of lightning which would bring out countless
tinier bolts of lightning.
As a Principal Guard of Green Mountain who had the same Cultivation state as the
White Ghost, the Dark Phoenix’s claws were as sharp as the flying swords of those
practitioners in the Broken Sea State. They were exceedingly formidable in terms of
sharpness and lethal consequence.
The Fire Carp was diving now and float then in the lava, trying his best to evade the
Dark Phoenix’s attacks. Yet many white marks could be seen on his body.
Fortunately, the scales on his body were strong enough to prevent his body from being
truly damaged.
As a divine animal of the Center Sect in waiting, he had never been treated so rudely
save for the time when he was threatened by Jing Jiu. The Fire Carp was so furious that
he wanted to drag his opponent into the lava and burn him to death, then eat him one
bite at a time…However, this strange bird was too swift, and his attacks were too
powerful; so he was not an equal of this bird.
A bird and a fish were chasing each other toward the upstream of the lava river. The
lava would pop up like the fireworks on the surface of the river from time to time.
After a long while, the Fire Carp was forced to the end of the lava river, which was the
huge transparent wall dividing the human world and the Underworld.
The Fire Carp’s head came up to the surface of the lava river, and he looked at the Dark
Phoenix cautiously, a hint of hatred glistening in his eyes. Yet, he was ready to dive
down at any moment. “Who the heck are you?” he shouted. “You started attacking me
without exchanging a word. You shouldn’t think that you can move faster. Provoke me,
and I’ll use my magic and turn the lava upside down, burning you into a barbecued
chicken.”
The Dark Phoenix had also suffered some burning wounds. He lifted up his right claw
and licked it, and he appeared quite wicked. “You can give it a try, if you so wish,” he
said.
After a curse, the Fire Carp said, “I’ll try it for sure now!”
The Dark Phoenix put down his right claw, and said icily, “Even if you filled the
underground with lava, I could dig a tunnel and hide in it first. When you can’t hold up
any longer and the lava drops down, I’ll come out and scratch you. No, actually I’ll just
peck your eyes out.”
The Fire Carp’s heart skipped a beat, as he wondered how painful that would be. But, if
he swam with his eyes closed, it would be still quite painful if he bumped into a rock. “In
that case, I’ll just stay under the lava the whole time,” he quickly retorted.
“You can choose not to come out in a thousand years,” said the Dark Phoenix. “I’ll
simply wait here for you in one thousand years. But, you should be clear about this;
you’re a fish and I’m a bird. You are, by nature, not my equal.”
As the Fire Carp was about to argue that it was not true that all fish was not a match for
birds, he suddenly found something peculiar, yelling in surprise, “My goodness! You can
speak!”
“What’s wrong?” The Dark Phoenix felt it preposterous, since he had already spoken so
many words.
“I can speak too!” the Fire Carp said excitedly. “Look, the divine animals in Chaotian are
quite limited in number, and those who can speak are even fewer. It’s lucky for us to
meet today. There is no point in us fighting each other to death; we can talk things
over.”
As he spoke, his fish mouth kept on opening up and contracting like a ring, looking
rather adorable.
The Dark Phoenix thought that what the Immortal said was indeed sensible. But he had
his own style of action: To beat his opponent to submission first. “What is wrong with me
teaching someone of later generation a lesson?” he lectured the Fire Carp.
The Fire Carp protested, “Are you the Unicorn? Are you the Round Turtle? If you’re not,
you are definitely not as old as I am; so you shouldn’t pretend to be my senior.”
The Dark Phoenix was taken aback, thinking that he was not as old as this carp in terms
of age. He felt a bit mortified, and took a step forward.
The Fire Carp sank down into the lava a bit, as he said hastily, “Brother, we can always
talk things over no matter what the matter is. Just tell me what you want…as long as it
won’t kill me.”
“Didn’t you think you were my senior? Why did you call me your brother?” the Dark
Phoenix snapped.
The Fire Carp explained earnestly, “The capable is the master and the achieved is the
senior. This king knows this simple principle…What on earth do you want? I don’t have
any treasures.”
“Don’t worry,” said the Dark Phoenix. “It won’t endanger your life. All I want is two of
your scales.”
The Fire Carp became furious instantly after hearing this request. “The scales are in our
bodies; they are not something in a bag. How can I give them to you?” he exclaimed
angrily. “Isn’t it painful to yank them off my body? You can speak human language;
don’t you have any human sensibility? Would you want me to pull out some of your
feathers from your body?”
“I’m a bird and you’re a fish. Why do you speak of the human sensibility?” The Dark
Phoenix thought this guy was a bit ridiculous, as he continued, “As for the feathers, I’ll
pull out some of them. Though it’s painful to do so, it’s worth it if it helps me achieve
something significant.”
The Fire Carp realized that he had no way to escape from his menacing claws; so he
demanded pitifully, “Brother, what kind of a bird are you?!”
The question had a hidden intent of revenge. As long as he knew who his opponent
was, he would be able to ask the Center Sect to avenge him.
“I’m the Principal Guard of Green Mountain. You can call me the Devil Rooster,” the
Dark Phoenix said.
The Fire Carp was dumfounded, thinking that he wouldn’t be able to have his revenge
after all. As such, he felt rather upset and irritated, wondering why those of the Green
Mountain Sect acted the same way.
…
…
More than a dozen of the deviant sects of various sizes were affected during the
destruction of the Mysterious Dark Sect. Many magic treasures and method instructions
were left behind on this patch of barren land after the turmoil.
Even though the imperial court and the Windy-Broadsword Church kept a close watch
on the Cold Mountain, some bold free-traveling and deviant practitioners couldn’t help
but risk coming here in hopes of finding something valuable.
The horse-drawn carriage was a rarely seen device in this area; it was attracting the
Cultivation practitioners like a flame would a moth.
Those practitioners had become corpses on the ground now. They had died noiseless
deaths before they could employ their magic treasures and magic wares to protect
themselves.
They didn’t expect to encounter in this place a senior master of extremely high status
among the deviant sects, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect.
He waved his sleeve, setting those corpses ablaze instantly. Then they were thrown into
the crack in the ground by an invisible force.
The Dark Phoenix flew out from the crack while flapping his wings. He tossed two
scales the size of a large mirror to the front of the carriage. “Are you going to knock me
down again?” he exclaimed to the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect in
disdain.
He was a Principal Guar of Green Mountain; it was natural that the Dark Phoenix had a
poor opinion of the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect, a hidden
swordsman.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect laughed twice and didn’t argue
with the Dark Phoenix.
The Dark Phoenix didn’t pay further attention to him, and turned toward Yin San, saying,
“This Fire Carp is quite formidable. It’s fortunate that he hasn’t yet reached adulthood;
otherwise, I might not have been able to defeat him.”
Yin San’s line of sight fell on his burning wounds, as he said, “Thank you for your hard
work.”
The Dark Phoenix replied, “I only hope that the you, Immortal, won’t forget your promise
you made to me back then.”
And the promise was this: The rooster and dog will ascend with him.
The reason the Dark Phoenix mentioned this was because he would pay a steep price
for the cause itself, much more than a few burning wounds.
Yin San said, “Like I said, I won’t ascend if you two can’t come with me.”
“We’ve already have the bone marrow of the Old Dragon, the cartilage of the Flying
Whale, the scales of the Fire Carp. What else do we need?” asked the Dark Phoenix.
Some members of the Old Ones must still be in the imperial court, so it wouldn’t be
difficult for Yin San to obtain something from the Fiend Prison.
The Flying Whale was the divine animal of the Center Sect Sword Sect, and its corpse
was the property of Green Mountain. Someone must have given that part of the whale
to him willingly.
It didn’t take too much effort to procure the scales of the Fire Carp other than some
convincing.
Yin San said, “We need to go to the Thousand-Mile Windy Corridor to pick some lotus
flowers.”
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect finally understood.
The question he had over the last two years had eventually been answered.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect felt even a bit shocked after this
realization, even though he had extensive experiences and knowledge. “Immortal…are
you going to go through the total transformation?” he asked in a trembling voice.
Yin San uttered “hmm”, his expression calm and composed.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect asked again in surprise, “Isn’t the
total transformation…a mere rumor?”
The ultimate goal of Cultivation was to ascend through total transformation.
In the minds of regular people, the total transformation and ascension were the same
thing; in reality, they were two completely different things.
Ascension was to ascend, while total transformation meant to transform.
Since ancient times, those who had successfully ascended were rare, but there were a
few who had done it nevertheless.
But, nobody had seen or even heard of someone who had experienced total
transformation.
The total transformation was more of a legend or fairytale.
“When I have successfully done it, the legend or fairytale will come true as a result.”
Yin San went on lightly, “I had read an ancient book back then, one that spoke of total
transformation and the pertinent recordings regarding it. Yet it wasn’t detailed enough. I
have attempted to complement the rest over the years, but I’m not very successful in
this endeavor. I’m not sure that I can succeed; but I have no choice but to take risks and
give it a try since I’m in such a condition now.”
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect calmed down now. Thinking of the
lotus flower as the last ingredient among all the others, he suddenly understood more of
Yin San’s plan.
The lotus flower represented revival or reincarnation in the Zen sects.
It looked like the Immortal was to use the Buddhist methods to supplement the
deficiency in the Dao methods; in other words, he was to use the Buddhist methods to
correct the mistakes in the Dao methods.
To say nothing of whether he would succeed, it would be an outstanding deed just to try
to cultivate the total transformation, and it was a laudable adventure just to achieve the
Dao through Buddhist methods.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect feared Taiping and Jing Yang the
most in his life, but he wasn’t so impressed by their prowess. It wasn’t until this moment
that he was utterly impressed.
He bowed to Yin San in reverence and sincerely this time.
Yin San received his salute matter-of-factly.
There was no difference between the orthodox and deviant Cultivation at this very
moment, not even the utilizing and scheming involved in this behavior. It merely
manifested the reverence a Cultivation practitioner had for Cultivation itself.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect suddenly thought of the rumored
information, asking, “Since the rosefinch is extinct, where are we going to find its
feather?”
The feathers were needed for the total transformation.
The rosefinches hailed from the natural fire; so a power of revival existed in its blood.
The Dark Phoenix flew up onto the top of the carriage, claiming, “Use mine, of course.”
