Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 176 Seven Stars Align, Revealing the True Form (10,000 words, seeking subscriptions)

"Yes, the leader said that although the mountain people of the Southern Wilderness seem barbaric, they are not unreasonable. They also conveyed the message of the mountain god, saying that they do not want to be disturbed by the outside world, but they do not reject friendly exchanges."

"Interesting." The Lord of Qingzhou stroked his chin and ordered, "Continue to maintain contact with the Southern Wilderness. You can continue to send gifts, but you should be more humble. Consider it as making goodwill! As for Tianjian Manor... don't worry about it for now. Let those hungry wolves devour it themselves! Two tigers cannot share one mountain. It's time for a change of colors in Qingzhou."

"Yes, my lord!"

Meanwhile, inside the Tavern for Relieving Worries.

Mad Saber Xue Shan, his face flushed from drinking, shouted, "Let me tell you, that Chen Ye is my sworn brother! I knew he was no ordinary man five years ago! How about that, do you believe me now? He killed that son of a bitch Jian Wuchen with one stroke, and even slapped Jian Jingchuan's old face until it was swollen! Damn it, that's what you call a man!"

The surrounding drinkers cheered and toasted, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

Actually, there was something Xue Shan hadn't told anyone: he had actually gone to the Southern Wilderness Mountains some time ago.

He thought that with his cultivation at the Sea Condensation Realm and his burning passion, he would surely be able to find Chen Ye's whereabouts.

However, reality soon gave him a painful lesson.

As soon as he entered the territory of the Southern Wilderness Mountains, he felt as if he had bumped into a ball of cotton, and he couldn't tell which way was which.

The mountain was still the same mountain, the tree was still the same tree, but after walking for most of the day, he found himself going around in circles.

The fog in the woods grew thicker and thicker, carrying a sweet fragrance that made one dizzy.

Before long, all sorts of strange and unusual things began to emerge.

A monkey with a human face grinned at him from a tree, colorful venomous snakes crawled out of the ground like vines, and some indistinct black shadows darted through the forest, making cries like those of a baby crying.

Xue Shan initially tried to force his way through, but was knocked away by a monster that looked like a wild boar, with thick skin that even his knife couldn't cut. He landed in a daze.

Finally, he practically scrambled out of that eerie forest, covered in wounds and in a sorry state.

Then Xue Shan figured it out and realized that the mountain god probably didn't want him to go in, so he comforted himself, "Never mind, we'll drink after you come out, brother."

As he spoke, he raised his gourd towards the direction of the mountains, then turned and limped back.

Unbeknownst to him, as he ventured into the mountains, Ah Niu was watching his every move clearly through a peculiar spell on the walls of Kawa Village.

"Chief, another fearless one has arrived. Should we let the creatures in the mountains keep him here?" Aniu asked in a muffled voice.

The old clan chief shook his head. "No need. I don't think this person has any ill intentions; he's just a reckless man. Let him suffer a little, and he'll retreat on his own. The Mountain God doesn't like indiscriminate killing."

"Yes."

Time is like water, years are like a shuttle.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

For ordinary people, two years is enough time for many things to happen, but for cultivators, especially those who are devoted to arduous cultivation, it is just a blink of an eye.

In the desolate mountains of the south, in a quiet room on the back mountain.

Chen Ye slowly opened his eyes, and a long breath of turbid air was exhaled from his mouth, shooting out several feet away like a white arrow, creating a deep pit in the stone wall of the quiet room.

His aura was even more profound and weighty than it had been two years ago, as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

In the past two years, he has hardly left his home, devoting all his time and energy to cultivation.

Yuanlan's support for him was immense, providing him with all sorts of rare and precious elixirs and rare herbs that were hard to find elsewhere, as if they were free.

In particular, his Star River Qi Refining Technique has reached its maximum level, and with the spiritual energy so dense it's almost tangible, his cultivation is progressing by leaps and bounds.

But these are not the most important things.

His greatest takeaway came from his understanding of calamity.

In the past two years, following Yuanlan's guidance, he no longer simply worked behind closed doors, but often stepped out of his quiet room to observe everything in this valley with his keen eye.

He had witnessed the entire process of a flower from its bloom to its withering. In his eyes, the gray line of calamity, representing the end of life, had existed from the moment the flower bloomed, and it became clearer and thicker over time.

He had seen a boulder eroded by wind and rain, from being indestructible to being full of cracks, and finally collapsing with a crash.

The cataclysmic event that signifies collapse was already deeply embedded within its internal structure.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death; rise and fall, prosperity and decline.

Everything is destined for destruction from the moment it is born.

This is the calamity.

With this understanding, Chen Ye's use of his swordsmanship now goes beyond simply severing the lines of destruction and causing chaos.

He could even use his own true essence as a guide to manipulate those subtle tribulation lines.

For example, Chen Ye can make a flower that should have withered last for one more day. Although it is a very slight change, he is intoxicated by this mysterious feeling.

With a creak, the stone door to the quiet room slowly opened, and Chen Ye walked out.

In the valley, Yuanlan stood quietly by the lake, seemingly deep in thought.

After Chen Ye came out, he asked without turning his head, "How did you feel?"

"It's better than ever before!" Chen Ye smiled.

"That's good." Yuanlan nodded. "Time is running out. There's less than a month left until the day the seven stars align. I'm starting to feel uneasy, like something bad is about to happen."

The longer one lives, the more acute one's perception of celestial secrets becomes, so Yuanlan's unease is by no means unfounded.

"Is it Jian Jingchuan?" Chen Ye asked directly.

"Perhaps." Yuanlan's tone was somewhat uncertain. "The secrets of heaven are chaotic, and I can't see them clearly either, but besides him, I can't think of anyone else who would cause me trouble at such a critical moment."

"What do I need to do?" Chen Ye asked.

"You don't need to do anything. Just continue at your own pace of cultivation. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay." Chen Ye agreed without hesitation.

……

Tianjian Manor, the forbidden area in the back mountain.

The secret chamber, shrouded in layers of restrictions, was deathly silent.

Jian Jingchuan, who was sitting cross-legged, had reached the most crucial moment.

The space around his body distorted slightly, and countless mysterious runes appeared and disappeared around him, which were the embodiment of the laws of heaven and earth.

Three feet above his head, a fist-sized ball of light, radiating multicolored glow, was slowly coalescing. Within it, a miniature figure, identical to him in appearance, was struggling to take shape.

This is the Nascent Soul.

Once the nascent soul is formed, he can step into the Nascent Soul Realm in one fell swoop, and from then on his lifespan will greatly increase, his supernatural powers will naturally develop, and he will become a top power in this world.

Jian Jingchuan poured all his spiritual cultivation and insights into this nascent soul without reservation.

He could sense that he was just one step away from success.

With just a little more effort, and by breaking through this last membrane, he will be able to see a whole new world!

His face flushed slightly with excitement.

Immortality, power—everything is within reach!
However, just as he was at his most excited and about to succeed, the ball of light suddenly shattered and vanished.

"Do not--!"

Jian Jingchuan was struck dumb, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with golden light.

This is his original essence and blood!

As he spat out that mouthful of blood, his once handsome face seemed to have all its vitality drained away, aging at a visible speed.

His long, black hair turned gray, his once smooth forehead was now covered with deep wrinkles, and his once straight spine had hunched over.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a dignified middle-aged man into a frail old man on the verge of death.

“Ahhhhhh——!!!”

Failed!
He had cultivated diligently for hundreds of years, risking everything for a breakthrough, and yet he failed just like that!
Endless despair and resentment transformed into a heart-wrenching roar that echoed wildly within the sealed room.

Jian Jingchuan slid weakly to the ground, panting heavily like a fish out of water.

It’s over.

It's all over.

The breakthrough failed, the foundation of the Dao was destroyed, and lifespan was almost gone.

He could even clearly feel that the flame of his life was being extinguished at an irreversible speed.

At most... at most three years.

"Hehe...hehehe..." Jian Jingchuan lay on the ground, letting out an unpleasant laugh, filled with self-mockery and madness.

He schemed and ruthlessly his whole life, only to end up like this.

All the talk of the Great Path to Immortality and the Ancestor of Nascent Soul Transformation has come to nothing.

Boundless hatred began to grow wildly. Just then, a strange fluctuation of the energy of heaven and earth suddenly came from the distant south, catching his attention.

This fluctuation is peculiar, vast and ancient, carrying a sense of the revival of all things and the breaking free of shackles.

A hint of doubt flashed in Jian Jingchuan's cloudy old eyes.

He struggled to his feet, leaned against the wall, and sat cross-legged.

Although his cultivation level was greatly damaged, his vision and knowledge remained.

He could sense that this was not a natural phenomenon, but rather that someone was manipulating the celestial phenomena, seemingly preparing for some earth-shattering ceremony.

And that direction... is the Southern Wilderness Mountains!

A chilling glint flashed in Jian Jingchuan's eyes. "Yuanlan..."

He practically spat out the name through gritted teeth, then forcibly suppressed his surging blood and qi, and his hands began to rapidly form a series of complex and ancient hand seals.

As the hand seal was formed, the air in front of him began to ripple, as if it had turned into a water mirror.

This is another of his trump cards—"Mirror Flower Water Moon".

This supernatural power was not used for warfare, but rather it was an ancient divination technique he obtained in his early years, which allowed him to glimpse the secrets of heaven and predict the future.

However, this technique consumes a great deal of energy and is extremely susceptible to backlash from the heavens, so he rarely uses it.

But he can't care about that now.

He needed to know what that old devil Yuanlan was up to!

"Buzz!"

He pointed his fingers like a sword, touched his brow, and forced out a drop of golden life essence blood, which he flicked into the water mirror.

The water mirror instantly became clear, and countless blurry images flashed by rapidly within it.

There are endless, vast mountains, mysterious valleys shrouded in mist, roaring thunder, and torrential rain...

Jian Jingchuan's face grew paler and paler, but he still stared intently at the image in the mirror, his eyes wide open, not missing a single detail.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply!
He saw in the water mirror that seven brilliant stars were moving along a specific trajectory and would eventually connect into a straight line!
"The seven stars align... drawing stellar power into the body, breaking free from the shackles of the mortal world..." Jian Jingchuan murmured to himself, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes, "This is... a sign of transforming into a dragon!"

He finally understood!

Yuanlan, that old demon, actually wanted to take advantage of the rare occasion of the seven stars aligning once every few hundred years to draw upon the power of the stars, refine his demon body, sever his last dragon bloodline, and transform into a true dragon in one fell swoop!
Real dragon!

That's a legendary divine beast. Once it succeeds, its strength will be comparable to that of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!
But why should I?!
Why is it that Jian Jingchuan failed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and became a cripple, while this beast was able to ascend to the heavens in one step!
An intense, irrepressible fire of jealousy burned fiercely in his chest.

"Yuanlan, you really are a master strategist, but if I can't have you... you can't have you either!" Jian Jingchuan muttered to himself, a morbid madness appearing on his face.

Southern Wilderness, the valley behind the mountain.

The lake water moved on its own, creating ripples, even without wind.

Chen Ye, who was sitting quietly on a blue stone by the lake, suddenly opened his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Over the years, he and Yuanlan had developed a unique understanding, and they could clearly sense each other's emotional fluctuations.

"The wind is rising." Yuan Lan's voice echoed in Chen Ye's mind, carrying an unprecedented solemnity.

"I saw a fragment of the future, which was still blurry, but clearer than ever before."

"What did you see?" Chen Ye's heart also jumped.

“Jian Jingchuan,” Yuan Lan said slowly, “failed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, his Dao foundation is destroyed, and he will soon die.”

Chen Ye was taken aback at first, but then he understood.

As expected, the old man couldn't overcome that hurdle.

"What threat can a dying man pose?" Chen Ye asked.

“You’re wrong.” Yuan Lan’s voice became extremely serious. “It is precisely because he is about to die that he is the most dangerous. After all, a madman who has lost everything and has no attachments or scruples is capable of anything.”

“I can feel that he has focused all his resentment on me, and this matter cannot be hidden from a great cultivator like him who has reached the Core Formation stage, so he will definitely come on the day the seven stars align.”

Chen Ye's brows furrowed tightly.

Even if a powerful cultivator in the late stage of Core Formation is seriously injured and near death, the power of his final counterattack is absolutely devastating.

This is indeed a huge problem.

“But you don’t need to worry. I’ve been preparing for this day for a long time, so even if he comes, I have a way to deal with it. You just need to unleash that strike without reservation at the crucial moment,” Yuan Lan said.

“Okay!” Chen Ye had no objection and immediately nodded in agreement.

And that day finally came.

When that day came, just as dawn was breaking, the sky became so gloomy that it looked as if it were about to collapse.

Thick, dark clouds gathered from all directions, shrouding the entire Southern Wilderness Mountain in a gloomy and oppressive atmosphere.

There was no wind, and the air was so stagnant that it was hard to breathe.

In Kawa Village, all the villagers came out of their wooden houses, gazing up at the strange celestial phenomenon, their faces filled with unease and awe.

The old clan chief, leaning on his cane, stood before the altar in the center of the village, his cloudy eyes reflecting the rolling dark clouds in the sky.

He knew that the most important moment for the Mountain God was approaching.

"Boom——!"

A deep rumble of thunder, like a war drum, exploded in the sky.

Immediately afterwards, large raindrops began to fall from the sky without warning, pattering and splashing on the ground.

The rain intensified, quickly turning from raindrops into a torrential downpour, as if the Milky Way had burst its banks, threatening to completely submerge this land.

The valley behind the mountain.

Chen Ye stood outside the cave, letting the cold rain wash over his body.

Rainwater soaked his hair and slid down his angular face, but he remained motionless, like an unchanging ancient reef.

His hand remained pressed against the Jingzhe Blade at his waist.

"This rain is a good omen."

Yuanlan's voice echoed in his mind, carrying a hint of barely concealed excitement.

"I am the Black Dragon of the Dark Water, born and raised in water, so this torrential rain is my home turf and can lend me a helping hand."

Chen Ye did not answer.

He simply closed his eyes, immersing himself completely in the storm.

One hour, two hours...

Chen Ye stood there quietly, as if he had become one with the wind and rain.

All his distracting thoughts and emotions were washed away by the heavy rain.

All that remained in his heart was the sword that was about to sever his destiny.

Suddenly, a slight tremor came from the ground beneath my feet.

It was very faint, like a heartbeat coming from deep underground.

But Chen Ye noticed it immediately.

He knew the time was approaching.

He slowly opened his eyes, which shone brightly in the dim rain.

Then Chen Ye took a deep breath, the cold and damp air filling his lungs, making him feel incredibly clear-headed.

The Jingzhe Blade emitted a clear, resonant hum, as if responding to its master's fighting spirit, filled with longing.

Rumble——!
The earth's heartbeat grew stronger and faster!

That was no longer a slight tremor, but it turned into an extremely violent earthquake!

The entire back mountain was shaking violently in this terrifying tremor.

On the cliffs on both sides of the valley, countless boulders tumbled down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, crashing into the lake and creating towering waves.

On the ground, deep, bottomless cracks, like hideous scars, spread wildly in all directions.

Chen Ye stood still, the ground beneath his feet undulating violently, but he seemed rooted to the spot, as steady as Mount Tai.

His gaze was fixed on the hill behind him that he had been looking at for nearly five years.

And at this moment, the mountain is coming to life!
Click... Click...

Large swaths of rock and soil covering the mountain surface are crumbling and falling away, revealing enormous black scales that shimmer with a deep, dark luster!
That's not a mountain at all; it's clearly the massive body of Yuanlan, which has been dormant for nearly a thousand years!
This is it!
This is the mountain!

"Roar--!!!"

A roar that seemed impossible for any mortal creature to utter suddenly exploded from inside the mountain!
Then two enormous beams of light, like blood-red lanterns, suddenly shone, piercing through the layers of rain and illuminating the world.

Those are Yuanlan's eyes!
It's awake!
The enormous head, larger than any palace Chen Ye had ever seen, slowly rose from the mountain and roared to the sky!

As it moved, all the rocks and soil covering its body collapsed, revealing its complete, sky-covering body.

A black dragon of unknown length, covered with black scales the size of millstones, with horns on its head and claws on its belly, was fully revealed in this world!

Its enormous body almost filled the entire valley.

Chen Ye was as insignificant as a speck of dust in its presence.

Yuanlan's body slowly stretched out, and its thick, mountain-like dragon tail was still deeply rooted in the earth, as if it were connected to the entire Southern Wilderness's ley lines.

It is gathering its strength, preparing to break free from this final constraint and soar into the sky!
However, at the very moment it was about to launch...

A dazzling golden sword light, like lightning tearing through the night, suddenly appeared from the northern horizon and sped toward this place at an indescribable speed!

Before the sword light even arrived, the cold, venomous, and insane sword intent had already enveloped the entire valley like a tidal wave!
"Yuanlan!!"

A roar echoed through the sky.

"Today, I will make you and me... be utterly destroyed!!!"

(End of this chapter)