Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 856.2: The Various Immortals of Lingxiao

Chapter 856.2: The Various Immortals of Lingxiao

...

"There is no time to waste! Stand back while This Venerable One establishes a formation, then you may proceed with the Meridian Refining Technique on Taotie!"

As he spoke, a thousand flying swords poured from Chen Huaian's storage pouch, dispersing into the eight directions to align with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. He thrust his palms downward, causing surging Sword Qi to erupt from the blades. The air surrounding the trio twisted, and the landscape began to blur.

The formation materialized in an instant.

Muscle Tyrant and Renshou watched, completely stunned.

"Is this truly the speed at which a Great Ascension Stage Sword Cultivator sets up a formation?" Renshou felt an overwhelming impulse to bow in reverence. "It is utterly terrifying!"

Muscle Tyrant grunted, "I wouldn't know... The Big Boss wasn't this formidable before... Not even the most elite Feathered Transformation Realm cultivators back on Earth Star could reach such a level of power..."

"This formation effectively masks the five senses and prevents the detection of heavenly secrets. Any cultivator with cultivation beneath mine who attempts to probe with Divine Sense will find theirs shattered immediately. Should their cultivation exceed mine, I can use this great formation to hold them off for a duration."

Chen Huaian stood with a sword finger pressed against his chest, his other hand gripping the hilt of the Black Scales Sword at his back.

Although his eyes remained shut, a faint, sharp sword light seemed to pierce through his eyelids. Though his lips remained still, his clear, icy voice echoed directly within the minds of Muscle Tyrant and Renshou.

"Begin. This Venerable One shall guard you!"

"Yes, Ancestor!"

Having witnessed the sheer dominance of a Great Ascension Stage expert, Renshou instinctively shifted his way of addressing him.

"Senior Taotie, consume this Meridian Refining Pill. It is saturated with the Destiny Energy and Demonic Souls of countless beasts from the Cangyun Realm. Prepare yourself to battle those lingering Demonic Souls."

Before Renshou could finish his warning, a sudden, fierce gust of wind dragged him straight into Muscle Tyrant's maw.

"Enough with the incessant chatter! They are merely demon souls—why would this king possibly fear them?" Muscle Tyrant scoffed, yet a moment later his form locked up like stone, his eyes glazing over as a tide of blood-red mist obscured his vision.

Observing this, Renshou realized the struggle against the Demonic Souls had begun.

He retained his faith in Taotie, the Beast King of Fierce Beasts. Absorbing the Destiny Energy and the thousands of Demonic Souls would be a trivial matter for him.

His task now was to assist Muscle Tyrant in containing those energies.

He retrieved his wolf-hair brush, dipped it into ink refined from the blood of ten thousand demons, and leapt into the air. With sweeping, graceful movements, he began to transcribe scriptures onto the colossal hide of Muscle Tyrant.

This primitive art was the heart of the Meridian Refining Technique, known as the *Prajna Bodha Soul-Calming Scripture*; its purpose was to subdue the murderous Killing Intent and Demonic Souls trapped within the pill.

Inscribing the runes required immense focus, with True Essence acting as the conduit. It was a perilous and draining endeavor.

The characters shimmered in a bloody light as they were drawn, appearing as if the howling Demonic Souls were trapped within the ink. Gradually, however, they morphed into dark golden symbols that glided across Muscle Tyrant’s skin.

After only a few lines were completed, Renshou felt his True Essence waning, his complexion draining to a ghastly pale.

Suddenly, a palm rested gently against his back.

A torrential surge of potent True Essence flowed into him, yet it was so refined that it didn't disrupt a single meridian. It poured directly into the inscription process. The sheer mastery of True Essence control displayed by Chen Huaian left Renshou breathless, giving him a newfound appreciation for the man's terrifying power.

With Chen Huaian’s backing, the pace of the inscription accelerated rapidly.

...

Meanwhile, in the Kunlun Immortal Palace.

Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng, clutching the incense stick provided by Hua Jin the True One, marched directly toward the Lingxiao Hall.

Under normal circumstances, the Lingxiao Hall was restricted, avoided even by Hua Jin. Access usually required ritualistic bathing and a change of garments to maintain proper solemnity.

It was rumored that the hall housed divine statues representing the various immortals of Lingxiao.

Uncertain of what to expect, Zhang Yibai simply kicked the heavy doors open, and he and Gu Changsheng burst inside.

They operated on the philosophy that if they did not enter the lair of the tiger, they would never catch its cubs.

If they didn't see what was hidden inside, how could they hope to sabotage the incense Hua Jin had given them? They had already identified the incense as shards of high-grade Celestial Jade Marrow, likely an offering used to summon these supposed immortals to perform their bidding.

*Creak—!*

As the massive doors groaned open, a wave of cold, stagnant air flooded out, carrying a faint, nauseating scent of blood that instantly engulfed them.

The Lingxiao Hall was buried in shadows. Only a few night pearls embedded in the ceiling cast a dismal, flickering glow, distorting the architecture into long, grotesque shapes.

Zhang Yibai halted, his face drained of all color, his heart hammering against his ribs in sheer terror.

The divine statues towered over thirty feet, carved from a pitch-black stone and dusted with gold, yet their features remained menacing and utterly alien.

To the left sat Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun, known for slaying monsters, holding a three-pointed blade. Yet, the statue’s mouth was twisted into a cruel grin, and dark, viscous blood wept from the cracks in its stone eyes.

In the center, the Jade Emperor—ruler of the Three Realms—wore his imperial robes, but his hands were shackled in blood-stained chains that vanished into the darkness, as if he were restraining some ancient, eldritch horror.

To the right resided the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, an idol from Zhang Yibai’s youth. But the monkey king’s staff was scarred, his arrogance stripped away, replaced by an expression of deathly numbness and hollow eyes, as if his soul had been forcibly extracted.

Further on, he saw Guanyin with her vase and Li Jing with his pagoda, all figures from Earth Star legends transformed into something sinister.

The sense of divinity was gone. In its place was an aura of profound malice and rot.

Threads of Black Qi leaked from the cracks in the stone statues, coiling through the hall like serpents.

"H-How is this possible..." Zhang Yibai's voice wavered, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists in despair.

He never imagined the legends of his childhood would be warped into this state.

Were they nothing more than puppets for the Celestial God Clan? Left here in this tomb-like hall, subsisting on the 'nourishment' of Celestial Jade Marrow?

Gu Changsheng frowned, his expression hardening. While Hua Jin had claimed these were the immortals of Lingxiao, they lacked even a flicker of the sacred Immortal Qi found in the Cangyun Realm. They were purely and unmistakably evil.

Though he had never gazed upon a true immortal, he had witnessed Real Person Jade Compassion’s ascension, an event of entirely different purity.

He tugged on Zhang Yibai’s sleeve. "Ancestor, exercise caution. These statues are fundamentally wrong. They are... corrupted."

Zhang Yibai inhaled deeply, suppressing his grief. His gaze traveled to the offering table, where a bronze incense burner sat. Scattered inside were remnants of the same Celestial Jade Marrow shards Hua Jin had gifted them.

However, the fragments had turned a deep, obsidian black, and it was impossible to tell how long ago they had been burned.

Most of the burners remained empty; only a handful before specific statues showed signs of recent use.