Chapter 352: Advent

Chapter 352: Chapter 352: Advent

A giant was heading for Mi Mountain.

Bai Mo startled awake from a dream and leaped out of bed.

In the corner of the hall, a badger, sleeping soundly, heard the commotion and groggily raised its head.

Bai Mo walked over and gave its sturdy body a light kick, but it didn’t budge.

"No more sleeping. Come with me and lay low for a bit. Don’t want you to lose your little life for nothing!"

Hearing this, Ah Er jolted, its eyes instantly clearing up.

It pulled out a fully-stocked Pill vial from under its meditation cushion and, clutching it with both paws, followed Bai Mo outside.

BOOM!

The door opened to a clear, starry night and bright, white moonlight.

CRACK! From the rock wall to the left of the door, a massive boulder rolled down. The boulder sprouted limbs, and a stone giant revealed its form.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’re heading out so late at night. Could it be..."

Bai Mo nodded solemnly.

"The enemy is already on its way to Mi Mountain."

The stone giant immediately chuckled, "Hehe," and crouched by the door.

"It’s been a long time since Mi Mountain has seen this much excitement."

He raised a hand and pointed somewhere ahead.

"You go on. There are people from the sect over there."

Bai Mo quickly hopped onto his Flying Ship and headed in the direction the stone giant had indicated, with Ah Er following close behind.

Before long, the figure of Shang Wunian, dressed in a great red robe, appeared in his line of sight.

The man had his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, his eyes closed in meditation.

Nearby, several Cultivators in loose-fitting cloaks hid in the shadows of trees and rocks, their faces obscured.

Bai Mo leaped from the Flying Ship and hurried over, speaking quickly:

"It’s a colossal giant, tall enough to touch the heavens, with skin as white as stone and a massive belly. It’s holding a bone club and is already on its way to Mi Mountain."

Shang Wunian opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise in them.

"It’s actually coming in its true form?"

"Hehehe!"

A shrill, ancient-sounding voice cackled from the nearby shadows.

"That just saves us the trouble."

"Fellow Daoist Shang, why not ask this young disciple where the giant is coming from?"

’Huh?’ Bai Mo was confused.

’How could I possibly know?’

The thought had barely formed when Shang Wunian pointed a finger, its tip landing on the spot between Bai Mo’s eyebrows.

A cooling sensation spread from his brow, and Bai Mo’s mind roared as the scene of him seeing the giant surged forth, appearing with vivid clarity.

"Where is it located?"

Bai Mo’s body stiffened. He saw that the giant stood on a boundless land of white bones, with two altars situated nearby.

Behind it, a great furnace burned, fueled by white bones that produced plumes of pitch-black smoke.

It was a scene of utter desolation.

He described what he saw to Shang Wunian.

The shrill, ancient voice from the shadows was the first to speak.

"I’ve never seen such a place. It’s either isolated from the world, in a location like a Secret Realm, or it’s somewhere extremely remote."

"If it escapes, it will be hard to find again. We cannot afford to fail!"

Shang Wunian remained noncommittal, simply saying to Bai Mo:

"I just used a causal art to let you see more of the scene. Are there any omissions in what you’ve told me?"

Bai Mo had already come to his senses and shook his head at the question.

Shang Wunian nodded and gestured to a nearby mound of earth. Three flags with drooping banners were planted on top of it.

"Go wait on that slope. Don’t move around, and more importantly, do not interfere."

Bai Mo quickly did as he was told, leading Ah Er to the flower-covered mound.

Two disciples in blue robes were already there, each holding a woven net, looking very tense.

Seeing Bai Mo, the two were the first to speak.

"We are disciples of the Jinyu lineage, here with our master to vanquish a demon!"

"That’s right! Junior Brother, you should step aside a bit, so you don’t get caught up in this."

Their words were resolute, and the tension on their faces eased considerably.

Bai Mo smiled, took a few steps back, and turned his head. From here, he had a perfect view of Mi Mountain.

’It’s a good spot.’

Ah Er was still a bit confused, frightened by everyone’s demeanor, and stayed quietly by Bai Mo’s feet.

It was just about to eat a Pill to calm its nerves, but before it could even pry the cap off the vial, a sudden chill shot through its heart.

BZZZ!!!

A gray shadow abruptly appeared above Mi Mountain. The shadow expanded, enveloping a hundred-li radius in an instant.

CLINK!

Ah Er’s whole body went rigid. The Pill vial dropped, and it leaned against Bai Mo.

Bai Mo snapped out of it to find his vision filled with gray. He knew he’d been mesmerized by some kind of invisible force.

He turned his head and saw that the two disciples from the Jinyu lineage also had dazed expressions.

"You two Senior Brothers, wake up!"

The two blue-robed disciples shuddered and snapped out of it, their faces flushing red and pale in turn.

In that brief moment of distraction, had they been inside a tomb, they would have already died several times over.

’A real moment of carelessness!’

THWUMP!

A dull sound came from the direction of Mi Mountain. A bone club materialized from thin air, gripped by a massive, pale hand, and swung down toward Mi Mountain.

If that blow landed, half the mountain would likely be gone.

The cloaked figures had, at some point, flown into the air, where they now cackled strangely.

"Where are my Jinyu disciples!?"

The voice was immense, striking at the hearts of all who heard it.

"Here!!"

Responses echoed from all over, but none were more excited than the two beside Bai Mo.

They cast out the nets in their hands. The nets soared through the air, merging and expanding.

In an instant, they blanketed the sky above the mountains and rivers.

The bone club smashed into the massive net, its force completely dissipating.

Unwilling to accept this, the owner of the bone club did not retreat. It silently stepped forward and raised its club once more.

The giant’s figure filled the world, seeming to warp space itself and radiating an aura of deathly silence.

An invisible pressure bore down from all directions, silencing the heavens and the earth.

From a distance, Bai Mo saw a figure rush out from the foot of the mountain. Boulders and rocks flew from all over, gathering and merging with it.

Before long, that stone giant was as tall as the top of the pale giant’s foot.

The pale-skinned giant, with its protruding belly, gave Mi Mountain an indifferent glance, completely disregarding the tiny insect at its feet.

It just tapped the insect with the tip of its bone club, crushing the little pest to bits.

BZZZ!!!

The bone club was raised high and swung down toward Mi Mountain once more.

A figure in red robes soared high into the air.

Shang Wunian waved his great sleeve, and mist immediately began to rise from within Mi Mountain.

The mist swirled and coalesced, unexpectedly transforming into an immortal paradise, vibrant with pine trees and pavilions.

"This disciple respectfully welcomes the Ancestor’s return!!!"

A clear shout spread in all directions, and only then did Bai Mo finally shake off the oppressive feeling in his heart.

Within the illusory paradise on Mi Mountain, a figure with white hair and a white beard suddenly appeared in a pavilion, his bearing and aura like that of a banished immortal.

He appeared so naturally, as if he had always been there, not at all out of place.

"An Immortal?"

Bai Mo muttered aloud.

"It’s the Ancestor from Divine Dao Mountain!!"

The two disciples from the Jinyu lineage, however, knew the Immortal’s origin.

The Ancestor looked up and pushed out his palm, and the bone club could no longer descend.

The pale giant’s face was grim as it stared down at Mi Mountain.

It reached behind itself and, from some unknown place, pulled out several sections of a gruesome spinal column. It bit through the surface with its jagged, yellowed teeth and began sucking out the marrow.

’I thought it was just a few unexpected little insects, but to think it would come to this.’

At this thought, a flicker of agitation crossed its eyes. It let out a guttural roar and slowly began to back away.

"Fellow Daoist, you won’t be leaving."

The banished immortal-like Ancestor in the paradise spoke, his voice full of peace.

He simply stretched out his hand and swiped, and it seemed as if something in the world had been severed.

"This, after all, is the gate of my Xuandao Sect, not some barbaric wilderness."

As he finished speaking, the world trembled, rippling like water.

Everyone blinked, and the world was clear and bright once more.

"Is it over?"

Someone asked softly.

"No, it’s just the beginning. But it has nothing to do with us anymore."