"The Nails On The Head, Seven Swords is known as the most powerful hex in the Three Realms," said a baffled Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain. "However, according to what I know, it requires twenty-one days of rites to deliver its maximum potential. By scheming against Hou Yi today, Lu Ya must have already begun the rites twenty-one days ago. Was he already aware that Hou Yi would burn his Dharmic powers to deal with Zhurong twenty-one days ago?"

Guangchengzi nodded as well. "There are many oddities about the opening of Mt. Three Blades. Perhaps it was Lu Ya who opened it."

"It was him."

Qin Yun nodded. "Back when Mt. Three Blades was opened, I happened to be cultivating here. I discovered Daoist Lu Ya opening Mt. Three Blades. I was unable to recognize him back then, so all I did was observe carefully. I later noticed Brother Yang enter before Patriarch Blood Sea and a bunch of Ancestral Fiends. Patriarch Blood Sea and company had changed their appearances and had hidden their auras from the heavenly secrets. I was also unable to recognize them back then."

"That makes sense then." Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain nodded. "Zhurong and many Chaos G.o.dfiends were sealed in Mt. Three Blades. Lu Ya is very aware of the vendetta between Zhurong and Hou Yi. Furthermore, Zhurong is sufficiently powerful. He probably predicted that the moment Zhurong was released, Zhurong and Hou Yi would clash in an internecine battle. When that happened, he could deliver a sneak attack and have a chance of killing Hou Yi."

Guangchengzi roared with laughter. "However, Lu Ya must have never expected that Zhurong would immediately escape instead of fighting for his life after being shot just once!"

Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain nodded as well. "Yes, if Zhurong had not been good at an escaping art and thought that escaping wasn"t an option, the only option available would be to take the initiative to attack! With his strength, if he were to really battle Hou Yi, Hou Yi was bound to have been injured. That way… Lu Ya would have definitely succeeded by delivering a sneak attack!"

"But no one expected that Zhurong had an escape art that can be ranked in the top three of the Three Realms. Perhaps even Lu Ya can not match him despite being a Golden Crow. Furthermore, with him having just escaped imprisonment, it was the best choice for Zhurong to escape, considering how little he knows of the external world. Even if he wanted revenge, it would never be too late to pursuit it in the future," said Guangchengzi.

A rash clash would only happen if one knew escape was not an option.

"That"s right. Regardless of who it is, they will rein it in a little after being imprisoned for so long," said Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain.

Qin Yun and Yang Jian listened attentively.

"Lu Ya is a Golden Crow…" Qin Yun could not help but comment. He knew parts of Lu Ya"s information, but had no idea that he was a Golden Crow.

"Yes," said Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain as she looked at Qin Yun. "To prevent Hou Yi from discovering his tracks, Lu Ya has always been very mysterious. Most mighty figures are unaware of his origins. In fact, he was one of the ten Golden Crow princes of the ancient demon"s Heavenly Courts and the only one to have escaped from Hou Yi. The other nine Golden Crows were shot to death by Hou Yi, which resulted in this vendetta. Hou Yi is the number one person in the Three Realms that Lu Ya wants dead."

Qin Yun was enlightened.

The only remaining Golden Crow? How could he not feel hatred after seeing nine of his brothers die in front of him?

"This Lu Ya first studied the Dao before he studied Buddhism. He has also learned all sorts of unorthodox arts as well," said Guangchengzi. "Therefore, when it comes to comprehensive knowledge, he is considered one of the best in the Three Realms. However, he was still unable to match Hou Yi. However, both of you have to be careful not to offend him. He might not be able to kill Hou Yi, but if he wants to scheme against juniors like yourselves, you would die without even realizing it."

Qin Yun and Yang Jian nodded in unison.

At the pinnacle Golden Immortal level, the both of them were truly nothing worth mentioning when placed before Lu Ya who was deemed the best at scheming in the Three Realms.

"Why did Mt. Three Blades have G.o.d King Zhurong sealed inside it?" inquired Yang Jian.

Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain and Guangchengzi exchanged looks.

"G.o.d King Zhurong is too complicated a person. Therefore, the matter regarding Mt. Three Blades has always been kept secret," said Guangchengzi. "In the early periods of the Three Realms, the Chaos G.o.dfiends vied for supremacy. Back then, the strongest were G.o.d Kings Zhurong and Gonggong. After Zhurong defeated Gonggong… Gonggong slammed through Mt. Buzhou in a fit of rage, causing the heavens to collapse. It was G.o.ddess Nüwa who mended the heavens. I believe both of you know of this."

Qin Yun and Yang Jian nodded in unison.

"The collapse of the heavens back then was one of the greatest calamities the Three Realms faced." Guangchengzi turned wistful. "Mt. Buzhou was a pillar of the heavens! Before breaking through it, the Heavenly realm was even bigger than it is now. Back then in the Three Realms, ninety percent of living beings thrived in the Heavenly realms. Only ten percent were scattered across Small Worlds. The Small Worlds back then were far fewer than there are now.

"That blow caused the heavens to collapse and crack the Heavenly realm."

Guangchengzi sighed. "G.o.ddess Nüwa had burned her Essence Soul without any regard for her life to mend the heavens. With failure almost at hand, countless cultivators fell into despair. At the final critical moment, G.o.ddess Nüwa suddenly received an epiphany and reached the Heavenly Dao realm, successfully mending the heavens and saving the Three Realms. However, more than half the Heavenly realm was in shambles. The large fragments became Great Worlds! The countless tiny fragments became the countless Small Worlds. It also resulted in the sixty dominions we have at present. Now, most of the living beings in the Three Realms are in the sixty dominions while a small number reside in the Heavenly realm.

"After G.o.ddess Nüwa mended the heavens, she killed Gonggong in her rage when she saw that the Heavenly realm had been reduced to countless fragments. She captured Zhurong and his horde of Chaos G.o.dfiends and sealed them all in Mt. Three Blades. She threw Mt. Three Blades into one of the Heavenly realm fragments which gradually took form to become the present Effulgent Great World."

Qin Yun and Yang Jian were enlightened.

Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain said, "From Her Majesty"s point of view, Gonggong was the main culprit and deserved death. As for Zhurong and company, they deserved punishment even if death wasn"t warranted for their crimes. Her Majesty had been merciful by giving them a chance to live, or she could have killed them directly back then."

…

Heavenly realm, Mt. Lightning Roar, Qin Manor.

"That"s what happened." Qin Yun and Yi Xiao sat together drinking tea as he narrated all that had happened in Mt. Three Blades.

"So all of this was a plot by Daoist Lu Ya. It was because of his vendetta with Hou Yi?" Yi Xiao was enlightened before she sighed. "However, G.o.ddess Nüwa sure did a huge meritorious deed. She risked her life to mend the heavens to save the Three Realms! She even created us humans. She even showed pity on Zhurong and company. She truly is compa.s.sionate."

Qin Yun nodded. "G.o.ddess Nüwa is indeed impressive. She seldom interferes with matters of the Three Realms these days."

"Brother Yun."

Yi Xiao beamed and said, "You are now just short of a perfected Great Dao after your recent breakthrough. If you were to reach the perfected Great Dao, your realm would not be inferior to the Chaos G.o.dfiend, Ze. Furthermore, your Intrinsic Flying Sword has a chance of being nurtured into a Connate Cardinal treasure. With that in hand… you will definitely be able to transcend the twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation unlike Ze."

Qin Yun smiled. "Yea."

Although he said so, he knew it was very difficult.

Attaining a perfected Great Dao was very difficult. Nurturing an Intrinsic Connate Cardinal treasure was difficult as well. It was still a question if the twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation was the last.

However, all he could do was taking probing steps forward.

"I have to spend more effort on my defensive measures," thought Qin Yun. "To fend off the Itinerant Immortal tribulation, I"ll have to rely on my Misty Rain Array! Enemy killing is secondary. Defense is of utmost priority. Although I was lucky to have defended against Patriarch Spirit Devouring, there are perfected Great Dao existences who have extremely powerful attacks such as Hou Yi, Mahamayuri, Patriarch Spirit Devouring, or even Guangchengzi who wields the Empyrean Seal… My Misty Rain Array is unlikely able to withstand their attacks."

"For now, my Misty Rain Array is considered the best defensive array formation among pinnacle Golden Immortals. In the future, it will become the best defensive array formation among perfected Great Dao existences. Only by doing so will I have a chance of transcending the Itinerant Immortal tribulations," thought Qin Yun.

******

In the middle of a magma lake, a man with disheveled red hair sat cross-legged.

Gu! Gu! Gu!

The magma lake constantly bubbled.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

A woman in a fluttering white dress appeared above the surface of the magma lake, her fair toes stepping onto the magma. She was none other than the female manifestation of the Ancestral Fiend.

"Black Lotus." Zhurong stood up and looked at the Fiend Ancestor"s manifestation.

"Isn"t Yi"s son very powerful?" said the Fiend Ancestor with a smile.

Zhurong nodded. "Yes, he is in no way inferior to me!"

The Fiend Ancestor smiled. "Zhurong, you just came out, so I believe your cultivation will improve with time. When the time comes, you will be able to repress Hou Yi as well."

"Cut the pleasantries. Let"s get down to business," said Zhurong. "What"s your goal, considering how you got Blood Sea to release me?"

"Didn"t we agree to discuss this a thousand years from now?" The Fiend Ancestor smiled. "G.o.d King Zhurong, why do you suddenly seem a little anxious?"

"The times have changed. I think we can chat now." Zhurong looked at the Fiend Ancestor. "Tell me of your motive."

The Fiend Ancestor beamed as s.p.a.ce itself seemed to turn joyous. "What I want is simple. It"s just a lotus seed."

(End of Volume)