Chapter 45

In the Great Wasteland Mountain, a place where the Empress Nüwa once refined stones to mend the sky a thousand years ago, the harsh environment could not be concealed despite its fame. The Great Wasteland Mountain was steep and rugged, with strange rocks standing tall, and within a hundred miles, no living creature could be found.

The Kunlun Mountain, Kongtong Mountain, Great Wasteland Mountain, Jiuyi Mountain, and Shouyang Mountain. These five great mountains were the most likely places to find the remains of the Nine-Headed Human Emperor.

The Kunlun Mountain, being the sacred ground of the sages, was not a place where Feng Ye and Yuan Kui would dare to search for the Nine-Headed Clan's remains. Moreover, if the nine heads had truly transformed into mountains, the Kunlun Mountain would be impossible, as the Nine-Headed Human Emperor had not yet died when the Kunlun Mountain existed.

The other four famous mountains all appeared after the Nine-Headed Clan's demise, making them all possible candidates. Thus, Feng Ye and Yuan Kui each took two mountains to investigate.

Feng Ye first went to the Kongtong Mountain, but his investigation yielded no results. He found nothing except a dissipating spiritual vein, as if someone had just been there before him. Seeing this, Feng Ye came to the Great Wasteland Mountain to search.

The Great Wasteland Mountain, in terms of feng shui and qi, was not an excellent place, only marginally good. The only connection to the human race's fortune was the grand feat of Empress Nüwa refining stones to mend the sky here.

Feng Ye, deep in thought, looked up towards the direction of the Wujiji Cliff. According to legend, that was where Empress Nüwa once resided. Observing the flow of the spiritual veins, the most concentrated qi was there, a testament to the greatness of a sage's legacy. Feng Ye's heart stirred, and he walked towards it. If the legend was true, Empress Nüwa should have left a piece of the Five-Colored Stone.

Halfway there, he saw a five-colored boulder, standing thirty-three feet and three inches tall, faintly emitting a golden light of virtue. It was unclear whether this stone would give birth to a Monkey King who would shake the heavens and the earth, or transform into a precious jade to earn the tears of women in the mortal world.

While Feng Ye was lost in thought, a black-red dragon wrapped in a dark cloud rushed towards him. Instinctively, Feng Ye raised his hand to block it, but suddenly a surge of malevolent energy rushed from his left hand towards his heart. Feng Ye quickly summoned the Sui Ren Lamp, a sacred artifact of virtue, though not as powerful as the legendary Heavenly Jade Tower, it was still excellent for defense. Moreover, the Sui Ren Lamp, being a fire element, a pure yang object, naturally suppressed the malevolent energy and dispelled it completely.

Feng Ye looked at the bleeding wound on his left hand and the dark cloud not far away, his expression serious. "Malevolent energy?!"

Although the Great Wasteland Mountain had no living creatures and was not a blessed land, it was unlikely that such malevolent energy could arise here. After all, Empress Nüwa had been here; could it be that she did not notice this malevolent energy? Or was it a recent development?

While Feng Ye was pondering how to deal with it, Yuan Kui's voice came.

"Brother Dao, come to Shouyang Mountain, I have found the nine heads!"

Feng Ye's eyebrows twitched. Fine, if the Great Wasteland Mountain is not the place, why waste time? The five-colored boulder, though valuable, is not essential. Now, achieving the Dao is the most important thing!

With that, Feng Ye ignored the dark cloud and transformed into a rainbow, flying away.

Shouyang, meaning the leader of the six yang, refers to the head. Indeed, this fits, as the Nine-Headed Human Emperor once existed. Thus, Shouyang Mountain being called the ancestral court of the human race is fitting.

Feng Ye arrived at Shouyang Mountain, where the mountain ranges undulated, shrouded in clouds and mist. The nine main peaks, like nine divine dragons, coiled there, surrounded by a sea of qi, forming a pure yang paradise. The feng shui and qi were far superior to the Great Wasteland Mountain.

Feng Ye saw Yuan Kui meditating by a mountain hollow and flew over. "Since Shouyang Mountain is where the nine heads have transformed, do you have a way to gather them back?"

"If I had a way, I would have done it already. Why would I invite you here?" Yuan Kui rolled his eyes.

"Do you think I have a way if you don't?" Feng Ye was speechless.

"At least, two people are better than one, right?"

Feng Ye didn't bother arguing with Yuan Kui, looking up at the nine main peaks, he began to calculate. "Brother Dao, since the nine heads of the Nine-Headed Clan have already transformed, we need to return Shouyang Mountain to its original state to retrieve them. However, doing so will incur the karma of destroying a region."

"Exactly, that's why I'm worried! What can we do? If there's no other way, we'll have to resort to this last resort!" Yuan Kui said with a worried face.

"What if we don't destroy the mountain but extract the essence of the nine heads one by one?" Feng Ye murmured.

"How is that possible! Doing so would disrupt the earth's veins—" Yuan Kui's spirit was lifted. "Wait! This might work! Although it will disrupt some of the earth's qi and incur some karma, it will be much less than destroying the entire Shouyang Mountain!"

"Extracting the earth's veins is not an easy task!" Feng Ye wasn't as optimistic as Yuan Kui.

"What about this array?" Yuan Kui passed a diagram of an array to Feng Ye.

"The Nine-Extreme Return to Origin Array?" Feng Ye looked at the array Yuan Kui passed, pondering. "This is a technique exclusive to the Nine-Headed Human Emperor's lineage! However, setting up the array requires nine array instruments!" Feng Ye paused. "Your meaning is— we should forge nine array instruments to set up the array? But the materials—"

Well, Feng Ye and Yuan Kui were not wealthy. Where would two penniless people get the materials to set up the array?

"This is Shouyang Mountain, Brother Dao! Shouyang Mountain has a special material, and since this mountain is formed from my remains, the material here is related to me. Setting up the array will more easily draw out the essence of the nine heads."

What material does Shouyang Mountain have? Red copper from the First Mountain! The legendary sword of the Yellow Emperor and the Nine Tripods of Emperor Yu were both forged from this material.

"Since we need a set of nine, why not directly forge nine copper tripods?" Feng Ye transmitted his thoughts to Yuan Kui.

Yuan Kui's expression changed, and he nodded in agreement. This way, in the future, when Emperor Yu's time came, they could directly use these nine tripods, earning some virtue.

The two worked quickly, and the red copper from the First Mountain was not as scarce as it would be later. They collected a large amount from the nine main peaks.

Looking at the pile of red copper, Feng Ye suddenly asked, "Brother Dao, do you think this red copper is formed from your bones?"

Yuan Kui's face stiffened. "It's possible. When the Primordial Deity Pangu died, his bones turned into mountains and minerals!"

"Never mind, this will make it easier to extract your nine dragon essences!" Feng Ye comforted him.

Yuan Kui remained silent. After eighty-one days of forging, they finally created nine large tripods.

Following the "Nine-Extreme Return to Origin Array" diagram, they placed the nine tripods at the array's focal points. Feng Ye activated the array, and the nine tripods spontaneously ignited, with flames burning continuously.

The Nine-Extreme Return to Origin Array continuously drew qi from the surrounding earth's veins, gathering it into the nine tripods. The flames in the tripods refined and decomposed the qi, storing the pure essence of the nine heads in the tripods, while the remaining qi was returned to Shouyang Mountain. This way, although extracting the nine dragon essences still harmed Shouyang Mountain, the return of qi made the karma manageable. Feng Ye and Yuan Kui could bear this karma.

After forty-nine days, the nine dragon essences of Shouyang Mountain were finally extracted. A dragon soul from each of the nine main peaks flew out and entered the nine tripods.

The nine head essences! This was the most important part of the nine heads. With this, their mission was a success.

Yuan Kui was overjoyed, transforming into a dragon and swallowing the essences. He then swallowed the nine tripods and coiled in the array, beginning to refine the essences.

Feng Ye, with nothing to do, set up a warning array outside the Nine-Extreme Return to Origin Array and wandered around. Without the nine head essences, Shouyang Mountain clearly lost some of its spiritual nature. Extracting the nine dragon essences removed the most important nine-head imprint. Although it might not be noticeable now, in a thousand years, it would be like the Great Wasteland Mountain.

But this was for the best. This way, a mountain spirit inheriting the essence of the Nine-Headed Clan, like the Yellow River's first river god, would not be born here. Yuan Kui, having gained this mountain and river, would achieve his true form, and the Great Sage status would be within reach.

As for himself, he hoped to use the essence of the Nine-Headed Clan to cover his identity as a visitor from another world. Otherwise, it would be disastrous.

After three more days, Yuan Kui still hadn't emerged from the array. The Nine-Extreme Return to Origin Array, with its instruments swallowed by Yuan Kui, gradually dissipated. Feng Ye could now see the situation inside.

"Another dragon molt? No! This is a regenerating head?" Feng Ye shook his head.

Yuan Kui originally had only one head, but after swallowing the nine head essences, he began to grow additional heads.

A new head first formed a large lump on his neck, then the dragon horns pushed through the lump, and a bloody head emerged, dripping with pus and blood. Yuan Kui clearly endured intense pain, depleting his essence.

Seeing this, Feng Ye cast a series of beneficial talismans to restore Yuan Kui's essence. He then set up a defensive array around them to prevent interference.

After eight more painful head growths, Yuan Kui finally grew all nine heads, combining with his original head to complete his nine-headed true form.

A dragon's roar echoed, and Yuan Kui broke through Feng Ye's array, soaring into the nine heavens.

The nine-headed true form, a significant step towards becoming a nine-headed primordial spirit. Due to the Nine-Headed Clan, the divine race's fortune naturally fell upon Yuan Kui.

The great powers of the divine race also sensed this.

In the Purple Sun Grotto of the Eastern Heaven, a goddess opened her eyes, sensing something and looking towards Shouyang Mountain. After a moment of contemplation, she smiled and sent a purple light towards Shouyang Mountain, obscuring the heavenly fate.

Emperor Di Jun, whose throne had been unstable since the sky was mended, relied on the ten princes' celestial patrols and Empress Xihe's virtue of suppressing the sun's poison fire to maintain the sun lineage's fortune. Now, with a new heir to the Nine-Headed Clan, the divine race's fortune fluctuated, and as the Heavenly Emperor, he sensed it. Just as he was about to calculate the benefits and drawbacks, the heavenly fate was suddenly disrupted. Di Jun coldly snorted, picked up the River Chart and Luo Book, and tried to discern the heavenly fate.

The witch ancestors of the Witch Sect, the Western Queen Mother of Kunlun, and other divine beings also sensed it, but the witch ancestors were not skilled in divination and could not determine the outcome. Being scattered, they could not act together. Only the time witch, Zhu Jiuyin, vaguely sensed the return of a former deity.

The Western Queen Mother, having been injured while saving the Eastern King Gong, paused to continue eliminating the sun's poison fire from her body. Initially, she was injured by the ten golden crows and then secretly struck by Empress Xihe, who implanted the sun's poison fire in her body. As a manifestation of the most subtle and yin energy of the West, the sun's poison fire was her nemesis. She was in great pain and had no time to worry about other matters, focusing on healing in the Western Kunlun.

Other divine powers also sensed it but were less perceptive than the aforementioned. Seeing the heavenly fate confused, they did not intervene.

Only the sages, the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, and Zhunti, could see through the heavenly fate. The goddess's reversal technique could only deceive them temporarily. However, just as they were about to discern the situation and clarify the heavenly fate, it became even more chaotic, making it impossible to determine the outcome.

A sage had acted! This was the only thought of the sages. But without communication, they did not know who had acted, and out of mutual caution, they did not dare to act.

In the Nüwa Palace, Empress Nüwa, as the sage of the divine race, controlled the divine race's fortune. She was one of the most informed about the situation. However, she had her own plans. She added a stroke to the chaotic heavenly fate, making it even more confusing, even for other sages.

Taking advantage of this moment when the great powers could not discern the chaotic heavenly fate, the River Chart and Luo Book, wrapped in a stream of light, fell from the Nüwa Palace and entered the Six Paths of Rebirth.