Chapter Ninety-Two: The True Successor

Ji Feichen left the Hall of Thick Earth, but Zheng Qiong soon led a group in pursuit. Sensing their approach before they were even close, Ji Feichen stopped in his tracks. "Very well. I have never crossed blades with him; this is a perfect opportunity to witness the true essence of the Yin-Ming Sect's arts." Confident in his own cultivation and protected by a peach-wood sword, he viewed this contest among his peers as a way to refine his own path.

As Zheng Qiong drew near, Ji Feichen casually tossed a ball of Ice-Soul Divine Thunder. A flash of white light exploded, and an aura of profound frost spread through the air.

"Drat, I must be more sparing with these," Ji Feichen thought, reaching into his sleeve only to realize he had but five or six thunder beads left. "I should take this thunder art to the northern snowfields to re-refine it with the chill there. While I am at it, I shall see what this 'Xuanming' truly is."

Even as his mind wandered, his hands remained busy, launching twenty-four precious beads into the air.

Zheng Qiong and his companions were caught off guard as the temperature plunged, and a hazy white mist obscured their vision.

"Watch out, everyone! Bring out your dharma treasures for defense, and do not let him escape!" As they stood on guard, a flash of emerald radiance streaked through the air, striking several of them and sending them plummeting from the sky.

Seeing the emerald brilliance soaring, Zheng Qiong cursed inwardly, "That troublesome Azure Tide Bead again!"

The Azure Tide Beads were forged from condensed water vapor, infused with the essence of the sun and moon, and harmonized with the twenty-four qi of the Eight Vistas. Furthermore, they were imbued with the merit-filled Profound Yellow Qi that Ji Feichen had accumulated over years of cultivation. Striking others with these beads incurred no karmic debt in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao.

"Get out of the way and support me with incantations!" A black light erupted from the center of Zheng Qiong’s brow. A sharp, sinister sword aura shattered the white mist and lunged at the Azure Tide Beads.

His companions scattered, unleashing the demonic flames of the Huangyang Demon Sect at Ji Feichen.

"Oh?" Ji Feichen watched Zheng Qiong deflect the beads, his fingers dancing as the spheres swirled around his opponent. As for the incoming demon fire, he summoned the Azure Cloud Subjugation Banner to shield his body.

Having depleted much of their mana in the Hall of Thick Earth, neither Ji Feichen nor Zheng Qiong were at their peak. Consequently, both instinctively activated their Dao Fruits to draw upon the world’s primordial qi to replenish themselves.

Normally, Ji Feichen’s mastery of the Dao Capital Diagram and the twenty-four methods of the Eight Vistas gave him a superior recovery rate; he could replenish his mana simply by absorbing the light of the sun, moon, and stars. However, the world was now filled with blood-tainted mist, which scattered the celestial light and made it difficult for him to draw power within the immortal mansion. Meanwhile, Zheng Qiong seemed to receive secret assistance from someone in the distance, his mana flowing steadily and gradually gaining the upper hand.

"Is the Earth Immortal of the Sea of Blood helping him in secret?" Ji Feichen’s brows knitted as he calculated his next move: *A prolonged battle is not in my favor. I must subdue them quickly, then find an immortal hall and use its restrictive arrays to strike.*

"Qinghong! You rely on water to run rampant, but let us see how you fare against my Styx Grand Technique!" Black water surged three zhang high from behind Zheng Qiong, rolling into a vast, surging river that encircled Ji Feichen.

The world turned dark, hiding the sun and moon.

Startled, Ji Feichen quickly shook his Subjugation Banner, causing golden flowers and azure clouds to swirl around him. The power of the subjugation tool was immense; despite the surging Styx, it could not draw near. Instead, the demon fire of the Huangyang Sect was blocked by the Styx, its power gradually extinguished.

Ji Feichen smiled to himself: *This is not some game from my past life; there is no such thing as 'no friendly fire.' The Yin-Ming Sect and the Huangyang Demon Sect are rivals, their arts incompatible. The Styx neutralizing their fire only saves me from the danger of being swarmed.*

He silently observed Zheng Qiong’s Styx, comparing it to his own understanding.

"My Styx is merely a single form of Weak Water—the water that flows through the Nine Netherworlds—as a counterpoint to the Three Lights Divine Water. But his Styx is far more complete, containing Yin winds, demonic fire, wailing ghosts, bone-demon statues, and Styx-sand dark moons. It is a masterful manifestation of the Yin-Ming Sect’s entire lineage." That was the advantage of the sect leader’s branch; all five sub-lineages were encapsulated within this single river.

"However, while my Styx consists only of Weak Water, it is pure, yielding, and profoundly cold. In that regard, his cluttered Styx cannot compare." In terms of the true essence of Weak Water, Zheng Qiong had not even mastered the true Three-Yin Weak Water; the quality was worlds apart.

Seeing Ji Feichen lost in thought, Zheng Qiong scoffed, "Qinghong, you claim to be of the Orthodox Xuan Sect. How will you respond to my Styx?"

Ji Feichen snapped back to reality. With a flick of his finger, three-colored divine light burst forth, and a spiritual cloud of water-light rose above his head. "Cloud-bringing and Rain-making." He unleashed his supernatural power once more. Pure, sweet rain fell, and with every drop, the evil qi within the Styx—along with the Weak Water itself—was neutralized. Beneath his feet, the ground transformed into clear water, and a lotus of unsullied green leaves slowly unfolded.

With a flick of his finger, he conjured lotuses, radiating auspiciousness. Every movement he made carried the aura of the Xuan Sect and the wonders of the immortals. This was the "immortality" he had sought in his previous life.

"Young Master Zheng, what do you think of this?"

Ji Feichen himself was a master of the Styx technique. In his hands, the Styx and the Heavenly River were counterparts, yin and yang transforming into one another. It was only due to his lack of raw power that he had not yet refined the entire Styx into his own Dao Fruit.

Zheng Qiong snorted, lunged forward, and engaged Ji Feichen with his sword.

"Oh my... are you angry, young master?" Ji Feichen chuckled calmly, reaching out as twelve beads formed a water-colored shield to block the demonic blade.

The sound of clashing metal rang out as the shield trapped a serpentine black iron sword.

This sword was forged by Zheng Qiong from thousand-year cold iron, excavated from a site of extreme Yin-Sha, and imbued with demonic energy by a Yin-Ming Sect Earth Immortal. It showed no sign of yielding to the Profound Yellow Qi of the Azure Tide Beads.

Ji Feichen’s expression shifted, and the other twelve beads immediately struck at Zheng Qiong.

The members of the Huangyang Demon Sect, seeing the Styx disperse, seized the opportunity to attack. Illusions of cranes, ghost-chariots, and azure phoenixes rose as their divine fires merged into the glazed-colored Nine-Sha Seven-Gathering Demon Fire.

The temperature soared. With a flick of his mind, the twelve beads attacking Zheng Qiong returned to his side, fusing with the other twelve to form a seven-foot spear.

"Three-Lights Wave-Splitting Spear!" The tip of the spear glowed with the phantom images of the sun, moon, and stars. With a gentle shake, the celestial light scattered the demon fire, causing the dark red flames to explode in the air.

The Azure Cloud Subjugation Banner automatically deflected the fire. Ji Feichen leaped out of the fray, standing in the air with his spear.

"A whole group of you cannot take down one man? Do you not feel ashamed?"

Zheng Qiong stared at the spear in his hand in silence. Compared to his own vast wealth—he carried over a dozen demonic artifacts—the Loose Immortal Qinghong was famous only for his twenty-four Azure Tide Beads. Yet in Ji Feichen’s hands, these beads were unfathomably versatile, capable of mimicking the powers of countless other treasures.

Water has no fixed shape; it can be hard or soft. The beads changed form at Ji Feichen’s will.

"No wonder the Grandmaster once warned me not to rely too heavily on artifacts. He told me that a brilliant cultivator can evolve a common item into a thousand different methods. Turning the rotten into the miraculous."

Zheng Qiong remained silent. In his understanding of artifacts, Ji Feichen was far superior.

It was out of necessity. When Ji Feichen was in his sect, his lack of strength meant he had to turn over every treasure and herb he found to Master Heiliu. Only later, as his strength grew, did he begin to accumulate his own resources. Thus, he had learned to be meticulous, making a single artifact perform a hundred different functions.

He flicked the spear, and it whipped out like a dragon, a white rainbow filling the sky as it transformed into a long, five-element water-dragon whip.

"Come out!" Ji Feichen lashed into the void, and five water dragons emerged, diving toward the members of the Huangyang Demon Sect.

"Young Master Zheng, what other tricks do you have? The Yin-Ming Sect should have more, should they not? Yellow Springs Sand? Green Phosphorus Fire? Show them to me."

As Zheng Qiong prepared to retort, the Big Dipper suddenly shone in the sky, and a spiritual light locked his movements in place.

"You brat, you court death!" Zheng Qiong’s eyes widened as he unleashed two beams of demonic light at the source.

"Ah—" Fu Yutang, who had been hiding in the air, was instantly forced out.

The Seven-Star Demon-Subjugating Lock held Zheng Qiong fast, but he spat out a stream of Green Phosphorus Demon Fire.

This fire was a secret technique of the Yin-Ming Sect's Azure Branch, capable of incinerating souls and destroying spirits. Fu Yutang, unable to dodge, was burned and fell unconscious. Just as he was about to perish, the Three-Lights Divine Water extinguished the demon fire. Ji Feichen caught him, wondering, "How did this kid get here?"

He pointed at Zheng Qiong, and a line of black and white light, formed from Yin and Yang energy, constricted around Zheng Qiong’s neck.

The Seven-Star Demon-Subjugating Lock, a treasure crafted by the Lingwei Sect, rendered Zheng Qiong’s demonic soul and physical body immobile, leaving him to watch helplessly as the light severed his head.

Yet, immediately after, black light flew from his neck, and a demonic soul phantom appeared, knocking away the lock. His headless body reached up, grabbed its head, and placed it back on its shoulders.

"Is this the body-refining technique of the Six-Armed Demon God Sect?" Ji Feichen marveled, seeing Zheng Qiong survive decapitation. It was his first time witnessing such a technique.

"Junior Brother!" Jing Xuan arrived in haste, waving his Taiqing sword aura to strike at Zheng Qiong.

Seeing the Xuan Sect arrive to assist, Zheng Qiong decided to withdraw with his men.

"Senior Brother, take care of him." Ji Feichen handed Fu Yutang to Jing Xuan, the Azure Tide Beads in his hand shifting to form an ice-crystal longbow.

"You wish to leave? Have you asked my Cold Heaven Divine Bow?" The twenty-four beads were embedded evenly along the bow, and each flash of spiritual light enhanced its power.

As Ji Feichen drew the string, an arrow of solid ice materialized. With a *whoosh*, it shot toward Zheng Qiong’s back.

A chill pierced through Zheng Qiong’s entire body, causing him to stumble, but he forced himself to endure the blow and flee into the Hall of Thick Earth.

Jing Xuan approached Ji Feichen, "Junior Brother, let us return to the Hall of Thick Earth for now. We will find someone to help heal Fu Yutang."

"No need. I can handle it myself. After all, he and I are from the same lineage." Ji Feichen refused, carrying Fu Yutang into the distance. "Senior Brother, I can take care of him; you go on ahead."

Realizing that Ji Feichen did not wish to associate with the Xuan Sect, Jing Xuan sighed and returned to the Hall of Thick Earth.

Once he was gone, Ji Feichen examined Fu Yutang’s injuries, realizing that the boy had turned misfortune into a blessing; he had gained a moment of enlightenment. The Three-Lights Divine Water and the Green Phosphorus Demon Fire in his body had formed a strange Yin-Yang Wheel, and he was currently comprehending the principles of Yin and Yang from the Cloud Pavilion lineage.

"Perhaps he might even refine his Dao Fruit from this?"

Ji Feichen looked around, searching for a place to guard Fu Yutang’s meditation.