Journey to the West: With a supernatural understanding, he entered Fangcun Mountain at the beginning
Chapter 17 - Battle with Vishnu

Chapter 17: Battle with Vishnu

“Thank you, Lady Pingxin!”

As the true form of Xuanming dissipated, Qin Chuan once again took the form of a handsome and refined young man. He respectfully clasped his hands in salute to Lady Pingxin.

Lady Pingxin smiled and nodded in response.

“The fact that you could condense the true form of Xuanming shows the deep affinity between us. Had Fellow Daoist Subhuti not accepted you first, I might have taken you as my disciple myself.”

Qin Chuan replied sincerely, “I thank Your Ladyship for your kind intent. However, since I have already entered my Master’s sect, I cannot switch allegiances. If Your Ladyship ever has a task for me in the future, simply give the word.”

Lady Pingxin looked at him with increasing satisfaction. With a light laugh, she said, “Fellow Daoist Subhuti is indeed fortunate. Very well, I won’t keep you any longer. Take this token—I believe it will be of some help to you.”

Qin Chuan was momentarily surprised. Instinctively, he reached out and caught the token she tossed to him. A surge of righteous energy flowed from it, piercing directly to his soul.

The token was shaped like a coiled dragon, golden in hue. Etched upon it were the sun, moon, and stars at the top, rivers and mountains below, and in the center, the characters read:

“By Heaven’s Mandate, the Empress of the Earth, Hou Tu.”

The script danced like dragons and serpents, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Suddenly, a realization dawned on Qin Chuan—he had nearly forgotten. One of the Six Celestial Lords of the Heavenly Court, ruler of the lands and mountains, the deity Hou Tu herself, was standing before him.

“By the way…” Lady Pingxin added, her tone turning more serious, “The light escape technique you used earlier in the Underworld—was that the Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation?”

Qin Chuan froze for a moment, scratching his head awkwardly. “I wouldn’t dare hide it from Your Ladyship. It was indeed the Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation.”

He quickly added, “But this technique was something I acquired purely by chance—it has nothing to do with anyone else!”

Lady Pingxin sighed softly, her expression softening. “There’s no need to be nervous. This is no longer the ancient era. Besides, that was a great calamity decreed by Heaven itself—beyond the power of mortals to reverse.”

Qin Chuan lowered his head in silence. Given Lady Pingxin’s status, speaking of Heaven’s Will was nothing to her, but he knew he was far too insignificant to bear its weight.

“However,” she continued, “there are still descendants of that lineage alive today. Now that you’ve learned that technique, you may face some karmic consequences in the future.”

Qin Chuan smiled. “Thank you for the warning, Your Ladyship. I will keep that in mind.”

Lady Pingxin nodded. “A day in the Underworld equals a month in the mortal world. You’ve spent more than half a year refining the Xuanming Blood Essence—eighteen years have passed in the mortal realm. You should return quickly.”

Qin Chuan was stunned—eighteen years? He hadn’t considered that. The Monkey King must have already rebelled! Hurriedly, he said, “Then I won’t trouble Your Ladyship any longer. Farewell!”

“Go,” she replied.

Lady Pingxin’s shadowy valley—who knew where it lay in the Underworld?

Qin Chuan transformed into a streak of rainbow light and, in an instant, crossed the realms of the dead, arriving at the edge of a vast Sea of Blood.

This was the Nether Blood Sea, beside the Styx River. Blood-red waves surged endlessly, thick with an overwhelming aura. The sea churned with massive waves and torrential currents, boundless and unending.

As Qin Chuan stood at the shoreline, gazing at the scarlet waters and crashing tides, he was about to turn away when suddenly, waves surged skyward with a roar that shook the land. From the sea leaped a figure.

Clad in a royal robe, garbed in yellow, with dark blue skin, a round moon-like face, lotus-like eyes, and four arms!

Qin Chuan stared in shock, stunned for a long moment before blurting out, “A-San?!”

The figure glared at Qin Chuan and shouted, “I am Vishnu, servant of the Asura Demon King! Who are you, daring to trespass into the Nether Blood Sea?”

Qin Chuan snapped out of his shock and cupped his hands. “I entered by mistake. I haven’t stepped into the sea itself. I’ll leave immediately.”

He knew exactly what kind of place this was. The Nether Blood Sea was not something he wanted to get entangled with. Without hesitation, he turned to leave.

But just then, a piercing sound split the air. The Ice Snow Dragon Cry Spear flew up and unleashed a storm of frost. With a flick of the wrist, Qin Chuan met an incoming blood arrow head-on.

The spear emitted a deep hum, like the roar of dragons and tigers.

Qin Chuan’s face remained calm, but inside, he was shaken. The force behind that blood arrow was immense. If he hadn’t refined the Xuanming Blood Essence, if his body hadn’t been vastly enhanced, he wouldn’t have been able to take that hit.

This man was no mere Taiyi Golden Immortal—he had likely reached the Great Luo realm!

As the thought passed, Qin Chuan twirled the Ice Snow Dragon Cry Spear, creating a blizzard barrier around himself to isolate him from the outside world, then retreated like lightning.

Vishnu stood atop the Blood Sea, his blood-colored eyes fixed on Qin Chuan. Suddenly, a red orb materialized in his palm, glowing like a bloody sun.

With a flick of his finger, the orb shot forward, transforming into another blood arrow, its force overwhelming. Surrounding it was a thick, blood-red mist filled with howling souls, and the arrowhead was cloaked in black qi that seemed capable of devouring everything in its path.

Qin Chuan gripped his spear tightly, unleashing all his cultivation. “You really think I’m afraid of you?!”

The Ice Snow Dragon Cry Spear buzzed with power. With one mighty thrust, it swept up a storm of ice and frost, overwhelming the entire sea.

As the blood arrow neared, Qin Chuan’s spear shot forward like a rainbow piercing the heavens, clashing directly with the arrow.

The collision shook the heavens. Ice and blood mist mingled, inseparable.

A muffled grunt escaped Qin Chuan as he staggered, clearly wounded. The gap between Taiyi and Da Luo was indeed a chasm.

Vishnu was surprised. A mere Taiyi Golden Immortal had actually withstood his blood arrow?

Qin Chuan steadied himself with his spear, lifted his head, and shouted, “Summon the wind!”

At that moment, a storm erupted over the Blood Sea, roaring like a dragon, shaking heaven and earth. The wind howled like wailing ghosts, striking terror into the soul.

Then Qin Chuan’s voice rang out once more: “Summon the rain!”

In an instant, a rain of blood fell like arrows from the sky, blotting out the sun, covering the heavens and earth. The blood rain was scalding, like boiling water poured from the heavens—impossible to withstand.

The storm and blood rain interwove, forming a colossal barrier that completely obscured Vishnu’s vision.

Vishnu sneered coldly, his voice as sharp as the autumn wind through withered leaves. “Tian Gang Art? Pathetic—your cultivation is far too weak!”

Suddenly, the clouds in the sky vanished in an instant, as if the curtain of night had been torn apart. The storm ceased, and the rain halted.

Everything Qin Chuan had summoned vanished like a dream or illusion, fading into nothingness.

As the wind and rain disappeared, so too did Vishnu’s mocking smile.

Where Qin Chuan had once stood—he was gone.

In his place stood a bizarre figure: a creature with a human face and a bird’s body, standing atop a green serpent.

Seeing this, cold sweat poured from Vishnu’s brow, and he cried out in fear, “Ancestor Wu Xuanming!”

From the depths of ancient times, the fear of the Witch Tribe that had once ruled over the Asura Clan surged within him once more.

The Ancestor Wu Xuanming seemed to have emerged from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, exuding an aura of bone-chilling cold.

Her human-like face bore eyes filled with a piercing, icy light, staring directly at Vishnu. He couldn’t help but take a step back, a deep unease rising in his heart—as if he were trapped in an ice cellar.

“Vishnu, do you know who I am?” The strange figure asked, her voice cold as ice, like the wind of a winter night, biting to the bone.

Vishnu’s heart trembled. His lips quivered. “A-Ancestor Wu Xuanming…?”

“Then why are you not kneeling?!” The figure snapped.

A jolt ran through Vishnu, and with a shudder, his legs gave out…