Above the Great Dao

Chapter 1237 578: Three Pure Ones' Demon Refining Well

Zhang Xian chuckled, "How could I know the whereabouts of such an existence? Mr. Chen, the position of General should have been yours, but an order from above decreed that I temporarily assume the role. I declined three times but could not refuse; I hope you do not hold it against me."

He was in the True Immortal Realm, yet he was very polite and courteous towards Chen Shi.

Chen Shi smiled, "My duel with Yin Fenglou was nothing more than a jest, not to be taken seriously. Even if he were defeated, he could not decide who would be appointed as General."

Moreover, Yin Fenglou is already dead.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xian sighed with relief and thought to himself, "Chen Shi is not an unreasonable person. It's strange, why did he insist on killing Yin Fenglou?"

He was quite puzzled. Logically speaking, since Chen Shi had just ascended and become a Heavenly Soldier in the Heavenly Court, he was unfamiliar with the world and should not have had a conflict with the General.

Yet Chen Shi deliberately provoked Yin Fenglou and executed him in public, which was already suspicious in itself. But even stranger was that after being thrown into the Heavenly Prison, Chen Shi was released.

"He must have a powerful patron behind him!"

Contemplating this, his eyes flickered, and he thought, "Most likely, the position of General of the Fire Camp was left for him by that patron. But because he was imprisoned, the role fell to me. I must be cautious, lest I offend him and be eliminated by him."

Thinking this, he became even more courteous to Chen Shi.

"According to legend, after the establishment of the Haotian Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court separated from the Ancestral Land, and immortals and mortals were governed separately. The Haotian Heavenly Court ascended, opening up the Earth Immortal Realm."

Zhang Xian said, "At that time, the Earth Immortal Realm was still primitive and barren. The Xuanhuang Sea was still in darkness. The immortals and the Heavenly Court blazed trails and cleared the darkness, refining demonic auras, gradually forming the later Earth Immortal Realm. The myriad worlds within the Xuanhuang Sea were developed from that time, originally inhospitable places. Huanxian Valley was one of them."

They entered Huanxian Valley, which, despite having the word "valley" in its name, was actually a basin, encompassing hundreds of thousands of miles, comparable to the West Bull New Continent.

Mountains surrounded the basin; some peaks hung upside down, evidently belonging to the sects of Immortal Families.

Zhang Xian continued, "Legend has it that this place was once a land of lakes, the basin filled with water, believed to be where immortals bathed, thus named Huanxian Valley. However, immortals arise from mortal cultivation, what need do they have for such a large bath basin?"

Bai Fangfang inquired, "What about the water in Huanxian Valley?"

"It is said that a great immortal who followed the Three Pure Ancestors used a finger to slash, splitting the mountains, allowing the waters to cascade away from the mountain cliffs."

Zhang Xian pointed to two distant towering mountains and said, "Those two mountains were cleaved apart by a single sword stroke of that great immortal, known as the Sword Gate."

The crowd looked and saw that the massive mountains were split neatly into two, the cross sections incredibly smooth.

"The power of the great immortal is truly remarkable," everyone marveled.

Huanxian Valley retained many large and small lakes, presumably left from the release of water in those ancient times. Chen Shi examined the surrounding peaks and noticed many battle scars, scorch marks, claw marks, and cuts from blades, which were most likely remnants from the Three Pure Ones Demon Refining.

Huanxian Valley housed a mortal kingdom, with villages and fortified towns everywhere. People cultivated fields, raised silkworms, wove cloth, and conducted trade just like in the Mortal World.

Chen Shi sensed carefully and felt a slight pang: "The cultivators here are far inferior to those of the West Bull New Continent, unworthy of the Earth Immortal Realm's name."

The West Bull New Continent had numerous cultivators, where every child of the appropriate age could attend official schools and potentially become cultivators. However, although Huanxian Valley was within the Earth Immortal Realm, governance was predominantly by sects. For cultivation, unless one had a family inheritance, one had to join a sect or school to practice.

Zhang Xian led the group to the capital of Huanxian Country, where the king hurriedly led civil and military officials to greet them, "Why have the heavenly messengers come?"

Chen Shi observed the king, who was also an immortal, not weak, already in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, his cultivation thick and robust. In the court, many officials were similarly at the Immortal Realm.

Zhang Xian said, "By imperial decree, to ascertain whether a Great Demon has emerged in Huanxian Valley."

The king hesitated for a moment and said, "Indeed, there have been some strange occurrences recently, but it is unclear whether they involve a Great Demon. In Iron Creek Town, the wind roared through the night like howling, mixed with the clatter of chains and thunder and lightning. The people of Iron Creek Town dared not venture out to investigate. When dawn came, they found a large pit outside the town, a few miles in circumference, depth unknown."

Zhang Xian's curiosity was piqued, and he said, "Please, Your Majesty, take us to see it."

The king dared not refuse and dismissed the civil and military officials, taking only a few Heavenly Immortal Realm officials to guide them personally to Iron Creek Town.

Chen Shi inquired, "Your Majesty, after discovering the pit, did you not send people to investigate?"

"I did."

The king replied, "I sent some cultivators, including the Grand Marshal of my Huanxian Country, Hong Qiushui, to oversee. However, they went several days ago and have yet to return."

Iron Creek Town was not too far; after slightly more than an hour, they arrived at the large pit outside Iron Creek Town.

The pit was about four miles wide, and looking down, it was dark and deep, the bottom unseen.

Dai Qingxi conjured a flame that transformed into a Vermilion Bird and soared downward, flying into the pit towards the depths.

After waiting for a while, they saw the Vermilion Bird become a tiny light spot, still flying down into the abyss.

"This divine skill of mine, named Sparrow Feather Slash, can fly three thousand miles without losing any power."

Dai Qingxi frowned and said, "This pit is likely much deeper than we imagined."

Zhang Xian said, "To find out what happened below, we must descend and see for ourselves. Fire Camp, hear my command: Odd-numbered teams stay here, ready for rescue. Even-numbered teams, follow me down into the abyss."