Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 682 - Chapter 682 Chapter 68 A Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 682: Chapter 68 A Glimmer of Hope Chapter 682: Chapter 68 A Glimmer of Hope When Ren Ni regained consciousness again, he found himself lying beside a rushing mountain stream, his severed arm already scabbed over.

He struggled to sit up and saw Li Yan squatting beside the stream washing his face. When he spoke, he couldn’t help bringing a little sob into his voice, “Yan bro, Mo is dead.”

Li Yan gave him a glance, drops of water still falling from his chin, “He wouldn’t necessarily die even if you did. Take it easy.” After saying this, he pulled out a somewhat porcelain-textured red stump and stuffed it into Ren Ni’s arms, “Look after him.”

Ren Ni picked up Yang Zheng’s severed leg, listened to it closely for a while, still hearing a faint ringing sound, and then he finally relaxed.

As long as the clear ringing could be heard from within the remnants of Yang Zheng, there was still hope for his life.

“I got held up by Wenle, so I arrived later than planned, my apologies.”

Ren Ni shook his head, “Where are we right now?”

“We must have been pulled into the Feng Shui Realm along with Muni, by Zhao Xin. That girl has really come a long way.”

Li Yan pointed with his hand, and following his gesture, Ren Ni saw at the source of the mountain stream a giant emerald frog the size of a truck lying prone, with clear stream water flowing endlessly from its wide-open mouth–an astonishing sight.

That wasn’t all; cushy multicolored clouds obscured the sun and the moon, banks on both sides piled up with gold and silver sand, covered in sweet-smelling flowers, the lush woods adorned with hanging jade ruyi, pearls, and gemstones. Flaming carp-like fish skimmed the crystal-clear riverbed, resembling a heavenly realm.

Seen from above, the contours of the mountains on the southwestern fringe of Hong Island looked like half a dragon head floating on the sea, with layered grooves as dragon skin, a spread of precious forests as dragon scales, and undulating peaks as dragon brows. Two purple coral trees, like dragon horns, extended from the seawater into the sky.

All sorts of peculiar mountain shapes, niches, and riverbeds of the Yang World transformed into various Feng Shui phenomenons, each dominating its territory.

“By the way, Yan bro, where’s Muni?”

Before Li Yan could answer, a mournful roar of wild beasts came from the west coast, followed by a burst of splendid multicolored twilight that surged into the sky, only subsiding after a long while.

On the beach, a Golden Bodhisattva stood higher than the deep forest canopy without revealing its head, adorned with a jeweled crown and garlands, broad ears, and wide forehead, lips accompanie by fresh red plasma, and one hand holding the torn body of a large python, with a terrifying eating posture. It came into Ren Ni’s view.

“What is this?”

“That’s Muni.”

————————-

“So there really are demons disguising themselves as Bodhisattvas in this world.”

Through the Taixu Compass, Zhang Pu caught sight of Muni’s Golden Bodhisattva and was momentarily struck speechless. Zhao Jianzhong had just shown them “Human Path,” so the impression was fresh in his mind.

After dragging Muni into the Feng Shui Realm, Zhao Xin and the others immediately returned to the Zhongxing Baode Building to hand the Taixu Compass over to Zhang Zhongshan.

“Mr. Zhongshan, we have several companions trapped inside the Feng Shui Realm, is there a way to rescue them first?”

Ren Yi asked.

Zhang Pu and the others exchanged looks before speaking, “That shouldn’t be difficult; we can ask the Heavenly Yi Noble to go into the Feng Shui Realm and fetch people back one by one. However, there’s a risk. If the demon escapes the Feng Shui Realm following the Heavenly Yi, we might not get such a good chance again.”

“Thank you for the guidance, sir.”

After hearing what Zhang Pu said, Ren Yi quietly left the room.

“The fish is in the pot. In the opinion of you elders, how should we banish the demon?”

Zhang Zhongshan asked.

“In my opinion!”

The hot-tempered elder stood up, “To banish the demon, one should start with thunder methods. Among the Four Pillars of destiny, introduce Yuan Chen Fiend into the mix, assisted by Jin Yu, Liu Xia, and Kui Gang, to form the storm thunder-slaying formation. The left eye of the Dragon Vein happens to have the Yuan Chen Fiend destiny; we shall borrow the might of the dragon’s thunder method to create the Five Thunder Righteous Heaven formation. It should be enough to vanquish this fiend.”

Zhang Zhongshan furrowed his brows but did not object; instead, he just said with a cupped fist, “Elder Shen might as well give it a try.”

The middle-aged scholar named Wen Jun seemed to ponder, apparently not entirely agreeing.

Stepping back a few steps, he asked an elderly stooped figure, “Yong Ji, brother, how would you proceed if you took charge?”

The old man replied, “With the demon showing a Bodhisattva’s appearance but harboring a demonic heart, and possessing boundless powers, the thunder method may not work. If it were me, I would use the eight specialists and nine uglies, with both yin error and yang mistake in destiny, to create an endless formation. I would make the demon endure the seven emotions and six desires, suffer through hundreds of lifetimes of reincarnation, boil its bones and blood, scorch its five organs, so that it’s consumed by the fire within its heart, incinerating both spirit and form.”

After listening, Wen Jun nodded in agreement.

“What would you do if it were you, brother Zhongshan?”

The stooped elder asked in return.

“Mr. Zhao has quite the means, even he is wary of this demon. I believe instead of killing it, it’s better to let it flow. Since ancient times, the dead ghost became an echo, the echo died to become few, and the few died to become extinct. If the ‘Ten Evils Grand Defeat’s first fiend’ exists, with ‘Emptiness’ and ‘Loss of Soul’ complementing each other, opening a hole in the Feng Shui Realm to sink this demonic creature between the realms of few and extinct, that is, in what Mr. Zhao refers to as the ‘Leaf Sea’, it should be possible.”

“Hahaha, without the Ten Evils Grand Defeat, aren’t you just speaking nonsense and boasting?”

While a few people were chatting idly, that Elder Shen had already begun conducting the ritual.

…

“You want me to go down to the underworld?”

Ye Shiru smiled, not quite smiling.

“It’s the Feng Shui Realm.”

Ren Yi corrected.

“I have no reason to help you again.”

Ye Shiru flatly refused.

Ren Yi’s gaze flickered. The Heavenly Yi Noble’s fate was greatly honored; Earth Endurance might not truly be able to possess her. Otherwise, she would not be stingy with her help.

“Miss Ye, you may state any conditions you have, and we will do our best to satisfy them. You have also had dealings with Muni, if we let her out, Da’ao Village will also suffer. Please think carefully.”

“Hehe, I can offer my help, but let’s get the ugly part out of the way.” Ye Shiru’s eyes grew cold: “I won’t save that Li surname.”

Wan Die, upon hearing this, finally couldn’t help but speak up: “This isn’t the place for you to drive a hard bargain.”

“If you’re not willing, then simply figure it out yourselves.”

Wan Die laughed in extreme anger: “If it weren’t for your naturally lucky life, do you think you could still be standing here intact?”

Ye Shiru indeed appeared quite charming and mischievous: “The fate wasn’t chosen by me, if you all are so powerful, why don’t you just take it.”

It was Zhao Xin who remained indifferent, only advising Wan Die with a word: “She clearly doesn’t want to live, threatening her is useless.”

Ren Yi also softly reminded: “Mr. Zhao has only given us twenty minutes, we don’t have much time.”

Wan Die asked displeasedly: “Then what do you suggest?”

Ren Yi bowed slightly: “I just think, to save one is to save one.”

Wan Die frowned deeply, while Zhao Xin also folded his arms and remained silent.

Jin Ye, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally spoke up: “Why not let Li Yan decide for himself?”

Zhao Xin glared sideways at him and retorted: “By asking him, aren’t you just roasting him on the fire? Could he even refuse?”

Jin Ye spread his hands and said no more.

“Actually, there might be another way.”

Everyone turned around, unbeknownst to them, the middle-aged scholar known as Lai Wenjun, who had been standing behind everyone with his hands tucked and listening for a while, finally spoke up.

…

“Ye Shiru refuses to save me?”

Li Yan questioned through the conversation.

“That’s the situation, the matter is too urgent, we couldn’t think of another way.”

Zhao Xin informed Li Yan of the situation through the conversation.

Li Yan’s tone was calm: “So you mean, I must perish along with Muni?”

“The friend that Mr. Zhao brought, the one named Lai Wenjun, has come up with an idea, which might offer a chance for survival from certain death.”

“What is it?”

“First, you need to find a way to get into Muni’s stomach.”