The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden could only hold on for seven or eight minutes even if she wantonly absorbed the water fortune of the Treasure Mirror Mountain's deep mountain stream. In fact, she might last for even less time than this. Jiang Qujiang was as pale as a sheet as he murmured, "Why have things turned out ? This shouldn't be the case..." The old fox finally noticed the pitiful state of his daughter, and he squatted down beside her yet wasn't able to do anything. He felt extremely worried, and he finally started to regret the fact that he hadn't listened to his foolish son. Yang Chongxuan stood still inside the water mirror illusion and said, "Warm up complete. I'm not going to play around anymore." He took a deep breath and assumed a fist stance, appearing like a primordial divine general who yearned to split a river into two. This was a fist stance that he had comprehended during his youth from a deity battle painting, an heirloom that was passed down in his clan. The water mirror shattered with a loud crack, disintegrating into a thousand pieces like a fragile piece of glass being smashed on the ground. The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden had no option but to activate another mystical ability, controlling the water fortune of the deep stream to form a suit of armor around her body. She tried her best to stop Yang Chongxuan from advancing. However, the man arrived before her in a flash, throwing a punch that pierced through her abdomen. He slowly pulled his arm out of her body before using his other hand to grab her by the head and throw her to the ground. In the end, he stepped on her forehead and looked down at her, clicking his tongue in wonder and chuckling, "As expected of a divine maiden. Your physique is genuinely very similar to that of mountain gods and river gods, with even your blood being gold in color. Moreover, ordinary deities should shatter into pieces after facing my punch, yet you're actually able to remain alive. Not bad, not bad at all. "I'll allow you to recover your energy and vitality after I retrieve the treasure mirror, and we can continue to do battle then. Rest assured, I'll throw my fists thirty percent slower at that time, and I'll also reduce my power by thirty percent. I definitely won't end the battle as quickly as I did just now. After all, it's not good for men to finish too quickly." Even though Yang Chongxuan was offering to be polite, he suddenly increased the force through his foot and pushed the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden's entire head into the snow white stone cliff, temporarily preventing her from absorbing more water fortune from the mountain stream. Yang Chongxuan leaned down and said with a faint smile, "I'll break your neck with my foot if you continue to delay my proper matters." The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden struggled with all her might, moving her fingers slightly and still attempting to absorb water fortune from the deep stream. After stepping out of their murals, the divine maidens from Mural City would all possess such kind of determination and resoluteness as long as they were still alive. They wouldn't ever complain about this. Just as Yang Chongxuan was about to dispose of the divine maiden once and for all... A voice quietly sounded from the peak of Treasure Mirror Mountain. "Sure enough, you're useless trash." Yang Chongxuan looked up and pointed at himself, asking, "You're not talking about me, are you?" A delicate and fragile-looking young woman who wasn't especially beautiful lightly jumped forward and slowly hovered down from the peak of the mountain. There was a golden lion seal hanging by her waist. Yang Chongxuan's mind whirred, and he was just about to stomp down and kill the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden. However, the young woman smiled and said, "I encourage you to refrain from doing that." The young woman surprisingly continued to slowly walk toward Yang Chongxuan even after personally witnessing his paramount close-quarter combat ability. Not only that, but she even flicked her fingers twice right in front of Yang Chongxuan, sending Jiang Qujiang and the old fox flying into the distance. She then shot a sideways glance at the pitiful Rain Bringer Divine Maiden and said with ridicule in her eyes, "First month of the empire's calendar, days of rain accompanied by thunder, and here starts the record of this book. What a waste of a good name.[1]" Yang Chongxuan was astonished, and he reduced the force through his foot and asked, "And you are?" "Li Liu," the young woman replied. Yang Chongxuan raised a hand and rubbed his chin, saying, "I haven't heard your name before." There was a hint of a smile on Li Liu's face as she said slowly, "I was the one who told the founding ancestor of your clan about the prophecy regarding this treasure mirror. He was still wearing open crotch pants at the time, and your Yang Clan was also very poor. Because of this, his pants had many patch marks and wasn't even able to cover his little bird and buttocks." Yang Chongxuan roared with laughter, laughing so hard that he almost shed tears. He had never heard such a bloody hilarious joke before in his life. Li Liu also started to laugh, with her eyes and brows bending like willow branches. She looked gentle and soft, making her appear incredibly attractive at this moment. Yang Chongxuan was suddenly reminded of a person. And thus, he was no longer able to laugh. "Are you number four? But in reality, even Liu Jinglong was helpless against you?" Yang Chongxuan asked in a hesitant voice. Li Liu cocked her head and smiled with squinted eyes, asking, "Liu Jinglong? I've never heard this name before." Yang Chongxuan widened his eyes in surprise. Oh, this young woman was interesting enough, alright. And she was even better at acting than him! She was completely to his tastes! However, Yang Chongxuan couldn't help but grumble in his mind. Before advancing to the Vajra Body Tier, a mighty figure had performed fortune telling for him and said that he needed to take extra care in the next ten years because he was going to be hurt by a woman. At the time, he had mistakenly thought that he was going to be hurt due to a romantic relationship, so he had felt slightly afraid every time he had come across a beautiful woman. He was a cultivator, after all, so things would become very troublesome if he fell into a tribulation of romance. However, perhaps that divination was suggesting that the young woman in front of him right now was going to injure him? There were only five paces between them when she finally stood still. "Killing you is a bit difficult, and the price will be a bit big," she said. She was seemingly feeling a little worried. Meanwhile, Yang Chongxuan felt as if he were facing a formidable foe. He hadn't felt so alert and guarded even against the old immortal from the Small Mystery Capital Temple. Not long after Chen Ping'an silently snuck into the territory of Gushing Earth Mountain... An outsider from the Flowing Dawn Continent left Mural City with the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden, the first divine maiden to leave her mural, and started to climb a mountain. They visited the ancestral hall of the Flax Robe Sect first, and they drank a bowl of gloomy tea each and enjoyed a hearty conversation with one of the three old ancestors of the sect. With the help of a secret technique of the Flax Robe Sect, they were then directly transported to Green Cottage Town where they took a tour. However, the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden felt a slight tug at her heart, so she asked her owner to travel to Accumulating Cloud Mountain with her. According to the divinations performed by the Spring Official Divine Maiden back then, the fated opportunity at Treasure Mirror Mountain could be regarded as a gift from the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden to her owner. In the same vein, the miniature thunder pool atop Accumulating Cloud Mountain could essentially be regarded as a possession of the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden. Even though this miniature thunder pool was far inferior to the thunder pool at Stalactite Mountain both in terms of size and grade, it was still a huge fated opportunity that was equivalent to a pseudo-celestial tool. At the same time, the divinations of the Spring Official Divine Maiden had also suggested that regardless of whether it was the mirror at Treasure Mirror Mountain or the thunder pool at Accumulating Cloud Mountain, obtaining these fated opportunities would beget further fated opportunities of the Great Dao in the future. This was the truly important aspect of these fated opportunities. However, it was impossible to determine what exactly these fated opportunities would be, just like how their true identities were seemingly shrouded in layers of thick mist. The two people who could already be regarded as Dao partners traveled to Accumulating Cloud Mountain on the wind. The Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden was a straightforward person, and she said with a smile, "I'm far more fortunate than Big Sister Rain Bringer. She's chosen someone with such a weak mental state, and she even has to follow him for sixty entire years. I would feel absolutely terrible if I were her. That young person is truly far inferior to Master." The man felt slightly helpless, but his gaze was gentle as he replied in a soft voice, "Don't compare ourselves with other people, Huoling. From the past until the present, bettering oneself has always been better than bettering other people." The Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden smiled faintly and nodded, saying, "I know, I know, Master." She was in a delightful mood as they approached Accumulating Cloud Mountain, and this was for no other reason than the fact that she could now see the sea of clouds circling the waist of the mountain. She felt even happier when she looked at the sea of clouds hovering above the mountain peak. She grabbed the man's hand and dashed forward above the sea of clouds. The arcs of lightning were unexpectedly tame, not launching any attacks at the two of them. Instead, the arcs of lightning slowly jumped across the surface of the clouds, appearing extremely intimate with the divine maiden. They stopped in midair after arriving near the peak of Accumulating Cloud Mountain, and the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden pointed at the stone tablet atop the peak and asked with a wide smile, "Do you recognize those characters, Master?" The man glanced at the stone tablet and nodded in response, saying, "Doushu Academy Sword Washing Pond. This is an important weapon-washing location of the primordial thunder-element deities. Doushu Academy belonged to that one residence, two academies, and three departments. When dreaming one night, I felt as if I were a yin soul embarking on a distant journey, and I traveled to the ruins of two academies and one department. However, my memory of those locations became fuzzy after I woke up, and to put things simply, I felt like that was a very mystical experience." The Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden was extremely happy. She looked down at the mountain, and she suddenly furrowed her brows. "What's wrong?" the man asked in puzzlement. The Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden was brimming with killing intent as she replied, "A few of the thunder whips are missing, Master. I don't know which thief stole them, or perhaps some demons in the vicinity treated the whips as their private property!" The man shook his head and replied, "Since they were fated opportunities, then it was destiny whether they were stolen by a thief or taken away by a demon. There's no need to get angry." The Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden replied with a nod. She then smiled and gently detached the small and exquisite ancient inkstone with the inscribed character "Lightning" from her waist, throwing it forward. A magnificent and astonishing scene appeared atop the peak of Accumulating Cloud Mountain. The entire thunder pool rose from the ground, funneling into the small inkstone along with the crackling sea of clouds. Approximately fifteen minutes later, the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden instructed with a soft shout, "Return." The ancient inkstone flew into her palm, after which she passed it to the man and said, "Please look, Master." The man lowered his head and looked at the thunder pool that appeared like a puddle of golden ink in the ancient inkstone. This was indeed very mysterious. The man told her to put away the ancient inkstone, and he gazed into the distance and said, "It's time to return home." "Master, can this be regarded as returning home with newfound glory?" the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden asked in a playful and amused voice. "You have me to thank for this, so how are you going to express your gratitude? In fact, this is quite easy. I've heard that the sky in the Flowing Dawn Continent is extremely high, so all of the five lightnings are present there. Master simply needs to take me there to have a hearty meal!" The man couldn't help but chuckle in speechlessness. It was rare for her to make such a childish joke. Over at Gushing Earth Mountain... The scholar was extremely disheveled as he was pursued by a Golden Core Tier demon, and there were also other Golden Core Tier ghosts temporarily maintaining the mountain-protection formation of Gushing Earth Mountain as he chaotically ran around everywhere. In fact, they were willing to sacrifice the mountain roots and water fortune in order to forcefully stabilize the formation underground and in the sky, preventing the scholar from taking advantage of his strange escape techniques. If this were all, then the scholar naturally could have fled a long time ago. However, the Golden Core Tier ghost who was an unofficial member of White Cage City surprisingly possessed an unfathomable treasure that could attach itself to the scholar without harming his soul. However, it could follow him everywhere and was impossible to shoo away. The scholar performed a somersault in the air and just barely dodged the attack of an immortal treasure. Amid the plumes of dust, he suddenly smiled and flew toward a certain direction, exclaiming loudly, "Brother Haoren!" Chen Ping'an was disguised as an old man right now, and he pursed his lips and replied, "Brother Mumao." What happened next confused all of the demons and ghosts, and they exchanged puzzled glances with each other and actually stopped pursuing and attacking the scholar. The scholar pinched a golden talisman between two fingers and furiously threw it toward his ally who had come to help. Meanwhile, the newcomer drew his sword and slashed down at the talisman that was erupting with golden light. An enormous aura rippled toward the surroundings. It was as if a mountain had crashed into a lake. As the sword light and talisman faded together... The scholar's aura suddenly changed, and his gaze became brilliant as he unexpectedly retracted his spiritual energy on purpose. This was an act of retracting his defenses, and the scholar directly lunged at Chen Ping'an and said in a soft voice, "Hack away the bone-attaching shadow on my body first. We can leave together after that." Chen Ping'an nodded and thrust his sword forward, accurately striking a dark shadow. The scholar who had seemingly become a different person felt as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders, and he was just about to sincerely thank Chen Ping'an. However, a follow-up punch immediately arrived. His vision went black. 1. The saying mentioned here is a modified line from Zuo Zhuan (an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the Spring and Autumn Annals) that talks about the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Annals. Shushi's name is a reference to this line, with Shushi (书始) literally meaning the beginning of the book. ☜