Yellow Court Daoist

Kongling Gorge.

Heavenly Star Sect.

Lu Qingfeng, under his public identity, ventured through the Twenty-Seven Arrays Mountain left by Ancestor Master Qin Feng of the Heavenly Star Sect at Lv Mountain, and afterward returned to the Xuanyuan Water Realm. Not long after, he was invited back to the Heavenly Star Sect by Wu Jiu Zhenyi of the Heavenly Star Sect.

Since then, he became the third Primordial Spirit True One of the Heavenly Star Sect.

In just over a decade, he became renowned in all directions, celebrated as the number-one array genius of the Three Mountains and Nine Waters. Achieving the status of Primordial Spirit True One within eight hundred years, he stood foremost among the unmatched talents of the lands.

Looking back ten thousand years.

There was no second to him.

For a time, his fame was unrivaled.

However, after joining the Heavenly Star Sect, Lu Qingfeng always secluded himself in Yellow Bull Mountain, delving into the way of arrays, oblivious to the outside world.

It was only when Qingyu received the legacy of Thunder God Sword Venerable and sought out the Heavenly Star Sect.

That they occasionally glimpsed this newly ascended True One, seen strolling with his sister through Kongling Gorge; finally, he made himself known within the Heavenly Star Sect.

Super-level Techniques are hard to master.

Lu Qingfeng often offered guidance on the side, occasionally employing the method of Enlightenment, enabling Qingyu to grasp the 'Heart Monkey Sword' with increasing clarity.

Thunder God Sword Venerable left behind his legacy of Sword Dao.

If Qingyu aimed for Ascension in the future, seeking inclusion under his sect as a support, he naturally needed to achieve proficiency in the 'Heart Monkey Sword'. Otherwise, remaining only at the 'Ming Technique' or 'Universal Law' stage, even if ascending to the Upper Realm, he would likely not catch the Thunder God Sword Venerable's eye.

On the contrary.

Should he manage to advance the 'Heart Monkey Sword' to the Fifth Level 'Controlling Force' realm before ascending and becoming a Primordial Spirit in the Spirit Realm, once ascended, he could possibly be accepted directly as a disciple.

That would mean truly clinging to a mighty support.

Of course.

All this still depended on just how well the 'Thunder God Sword Venerable' fared in the Upper Realm.

The Fifth Level 'Controlling Force' realm was by no means easy.

But fortunately with Lu Qingfeng there, coupled with Qingyu's diligent cultivation, practicing the Supreme Level 'Luofu Sword Scripture', he also made rapid progress.

Time passed.

The clouds were light, and the breeze was soft.

...

Situated between the Spiritual Mountain Shell Field, Yunmeng Swamp, and Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain, there lay a bitterly cold place known as 'North Sea'.

This place, together with the Wind Wave Valley where the Snow Mountain Ancestor, Wei Fengniang, once resided in the North Pole Snow Domain, counts as two of the five utmost frigid locations amongst the Three Mountains and Nine Waters.

In the North Pole Snow Domain, Wei Fengniang of the Snow Mountain, honored as a renegade of Six Dust Temple and beyond the temple's control, mastered the Snow Mountain Great Method. Even the famed Deng Xian would avoid her sharp edge; she had no equals.

In the North Sea.

The North Sea Turtle Mountain Old Mother led.

However, over the past few hundred years, circumstances have changed drastically.

The once-revered Snow Mountain Ancestor in the North Pole Snow Domain, recognized by the Three Mountains and Nine Waters as the strongest, was captured by Jinshan Doutian Daoist of the East Sea and is now suppressed in the Six Dust Temple, unable to show her prowess outside.

Meanwhile, the North Sea Turtle Mountain Old Mother had her Yuan Gui Divine Sword taken by Jinshan Doutian Daoist, Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang, and Demon King Golden Eyes six hundred years earlier. Subsequently, she was severely wounded by a second visit from Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang. Although she managed to escape into hiding using the arrangements within Turtle Mountain, her whereabouts unknown.

She was gravely injured, lay hidden without a trace, and thus fell into silence.

Rumors spread through the world –

Turtle Mountain Old Mother was dead.

This momentarily spurred many Righteous Sect cultivators to applaud.

On this day.

After decades of silence deep within Turtle Mountain, a strange aura began to emanate. Following this essence deeper, deep within was pitch-black, an area where not even fingers could be seen in front of one's face.

Going deeper.

Amidst the darkness, streaks of spirit light shimmered, the icy light illuminating everything. Breaking through a patch of darkness, revealing all around, was a seabed abyss.

Within the abyss.

There lay an ice-cold, crumbling city.

The city had three walls collapsed, one damaged, everywhere showing scenes of broken walls and ruins, seemingly having suffered unimaginable destruction.

But within the city, the earth still remained.

There were a few buildings scattered about, among which the half-collapsed mansion in the center shone with a faint light. Its light reflected off the remaining buildings and the half walls, creating an interplay of luminance.

Keeping out the external seawater.

Under the half wall, an unknown entity swallowed seawater, and numerous little ice figures around three feet tall emerged. They were exceedingly petite, walking near the base of the wall, seemingly deliberately catching deep seawater flowing in, waving their little hands to extract essence from the seawater.

Then they opened their little mouths, lightly blowing a breath.

Mist spread.

The cold was rampant.

The essence of seawater in their hands depended on the half wall, instantly solidified, forming blocks of ice-cold bricks. Looking closely, it was evident that the remaining half of the wall was gray and shabby, damaged from heavy impacts and various erosions, thus looking this way.

But faintly, it could still be seen that this half wall was also cast in the same way.

Each block of brick was solidified from the essence of seawater.

Inside.

There was also a complex array of patterns on it, making the bricks extremely hard, enduring thousands of years. And they combined with each other, the array merging, gradually gaining some momentum.

The wall was eighteen zhang high.

But those little ice figures were only three feet tall, hopping in and out, yet their numbers also did not exceed five hundred. Their breath turned into ice, mending the wall very slowly.

It could take three to five days to repair a zhang.

Their advantage was their tirelessness, never stopping. In this way, one day, the four walls and even the buildings within the city could be completely repaired.

Inside the broken city.

The ice figures worked energetically, displaying a bit of vitality in the seabed abyss.

At this moment.

Inside the building resembling a mansion in the center.

A black-robed elderly crone, clutching a copper mirror, slowly emerged. Her back was slightly hunched, her face deeply wrinkled.

If Lu Qingfeng were here, he would undoubtedly recognize her—the Demon Dao Giant of the North Sea, presumed dead after being gravely injured by Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang:

North Sea Turtle Mountain Old Mother!

No one would have imagined that the vanished North Sea Turtle Mountain Old Mother was actually hiding in the deep Abyss of the ocean.

"Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang."

"Jinshan Doutian!"

Hatred flickered through the murky eyes of the Turtle Mountain Old Mother. With a terrifying smile, she mocked, "Zhu Yang stole my opportunity, yet little did he know, deep in the North Sea lies an even greater chance. The 'Seven Star Tower' he took is merely one of the forty-two towers in 'Yuan Gui City' that broke away."

Turtle Mountain Old Mother walked through the city, stopping in front of a seven-story high building, radiating icy coldness, with seven stars converging above it.

Smiling.

She formed a hand-seal, merging momentarily with the city itself.

Soon after.

A procession of ethereally beautiful beings clad in sheer garments emerged. One after another, they appeared—totaling a hundred.

Arrayed before the 'Seven Star Tower,' they dazzled with a thousand charming poses, yet bowed before Turtle Mountain Old Mother, cooing, "Greetings, Daoist Master!"

Neat and composed, their energies concealed.

They were Daoist Soldiers!

Beyond this building, another intact Seven Star Tower stood in the city, and two damaged ones from which more exotic beauties stepped forth.

Their number reached two hundred and fourteen.

"Hehe!"

"Yuan Gui City Fourth Rank Daoist Soldiers: Seven Star Beauty Boa."

Watching the Daoist Soldiers in front of her, the Turtle Mountain Old Mother cackled eerily, looking skywards, "With Yuan Gui City in hand, born innate, I stand on invincible ground. And with over two hundred fourth-rank Daoist Soldiers, wielding power in Three Mountains and Nine Waters, who could possibly contend against me?!"

In the past, Yuan Gui City contained forty-two Seven Star Towers, mostly ruined now, reduced to rubble. Like the one Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang snatched from Turtle Mountain Old Mother's grasp, others fell into the deep sea or into the Void.

Irrecoverable.

Yet even so, two hundred and fourteen Daoist Soldiers, each comparable to a Primordial Spirit Cultivator, were enough for Turtle Mountain Old Mother to sweep through the Three Mountains and Nine Waters!

Her brows lifted, her eyes revealing a chilling murderous intent—

"Zhu Yang!"

"Jinshan Doutian!"

"And Demon King Golden Eyes!"

"None of you will escape."

In the deep abyssal sea, a chilling voice rippled, unsettling the silence, unheard by anyone. Yet the dark currents surged, with cold spirit light continuously rising.

If someone were here now, they would witness an extraordinary scene—

In the pitch-black abyss tens of thousands of fathoms deep, a city forged from icy chill emitted a faint spirit light, rising continuously. It stretched out, spanning twenty or thirty miles.

Lifting billions of tons of seawater.

An awe-inspiring spectacle!

...

Ten days later.

Yellow Bull Mountain.

A tunneling light flew in, landing outside the mountain, revealing a Daoist figure who loudly called out, "Junior Brother Lu."

Lu Qingfeng emerged from his cave dwelling.

Qingyu followed closely at his side.

"Elder Brother Wu Jiu."

As Lu Qingfeng greeted him outside his dwelling, seeing Heavenly Star Sect's Primordial Spirit Wu Jiu stand outside, he smiled, yet unaware of the purpose of his foster elder brother's visit.

"Troubles stir in the North Sea; Turtle Mountain Old Mother is suspected to still be alive, having slain all seven True Men of our sect cultivating in North Sea Turtle Mountain, including four Core Formation True Men from Divine Maiden Peak."

"I intend to investigate with the Heavenly Dragon Goddess from Divine Maiden Peak, would you be interested, Junior Brother?"

Wu Jiu didn't enter the cave dwelling, and went straight to the point with his shocking news.

Decades ago.

After being severely wounded, Turtle Mountain Old Mother disappeared without a trace.

Heavenly Star Sect and Divine Maiden Peak took over the deserted Turtle Mountain, allowing disciples practicing the Ice Cultivation Method to train there, significantly boosting their progress—a notable cultivation site.

Decades passed peacefully.

Unexpectedly, disaster struck the day before!

The death of seven True Men wasn't a severe loss for the Heavenly Star Sect, but given the implication of Turtle Mountain Old Mother's movements, the sect had to respond.

"Turtle Mountain Old Mother?"

Lu Qingfeng furrowed his brow upon hearing this. He had known from Zhu Yang that Turtle Mountain Old Mother wasn't dead, but also that she had been gravely wounded. By Zhu Yang's methods, it was fortune enough that she wasn't at death's door—how could she dare show herself again, let alone kill True Men of Heavenly Star Sect and Divine Maiden Peak, and provoke these major forces?

Intrigued, he hastily inquired.

However, no useful information had been relayed back about the dead true men, and Wu Jiu knew but little. The specific details would only be clarified after investigation.

"It seems."

"I must personally make a trip to Turtle Mountain."

Thinking this, Lu Qingfeng said to Wu Jiu, "Junior Brother is at a crucial point in his cultivation and needs to guide his junior sister; I really can't spare the time, please forgive me, Elder Brother."

It was essential to visit Turtle Mountain.

But not with Wu Jiu or the Heavenly Dragon Goddess. Accompanying these two, under the guise of 'Lu Qingfeng,' would inevitably restrict him.

Lu Qingfeng wouldn't trouble himself with such restraint.

"..."

Wu Jiu paused internally, feeling slightly embarrassed by such a straightforward refusal. Yet seeing Lu Qingfeng's sincere demeanor and pained expression, he couldn't tell if he was genuinely occupied with crucial cultivation or if he was simply too terrified of Turtle Mountain Old Mother's renown to go.

Knowing Lu Qingfeng's potential to be boundless, he didn't take offense, simply smiling, "Junior Brother's cultivation is indeed paramount."

After exchanging pleasantries, he turned and left.

He was to meet with the Heavenly Dragon Goddess and head to North Sea Turtle Mountain.