BTTH: From Genius to Invincible-Chapter 562: Yellow Springs Mountain Range

Word Count: 2,801 Words

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The moment those words fell, a figure in dark-grey robes stepped into the air and stood suspended above the battlefield. The instant his foot descended, space shattered beneath it in rippling waves. Had Yun Yun not pulled Nalan Yanran away in time, those spatial distortions alone would have left her gravely wounded.

"Yanran, are you alright?"

Nalan Yanran shook her head. "I’m fine, Master."

Venerable Tian Huo and the others swiftly gathered around Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran, their wary gazes fixed on the man who had emerged from the spatial rift.

"So that’s the Profound Sky Sect’s Half-Saint, Old Demon Tian Ming?"

"This is the power of a Half-Saint... truly countless times stronger than a Dou Venerate."

Old Demon Tian Ming had long grey hair, yet his face bore no wrinkles whatsoever. His skin was unnaturally pale and smooth. Were it not for those blue-tinged eyes that radiated an ancient, weathered aura, no one would have believed this was a monster who had lived for centuries.

At first glance, the gray-robed figure appeared utterly ordinary. Even the aura within his body seemed no different from a common person’s. Nothing about him stood out, yet everyone present understood that this man was anything but simple.

"Heavens, Old Demon Tian Ming is still alive?!"

Several older-generation experts who recognized him gasped in shock. This old demon had broken through to Half-Saint several centuries ago. Everyone had assumed he had long since perished in meditation. No one expected him to still draw breath!

"These old monsters really know how to cling to life."

"I wonder if the Flower Sect’s Fairy Qing will come."

"Unlikely. I heard Fairy Qing has completely entered death seclusion and no longer concerns herself with worldly affairs. Unless the Flower Sect itself faces destruction, she won’t emerge. As for Fairy Hua, she’s only just entered the Half-Saint realm. However..."

It wasn’t only the spectators who had noticed. Even Tian Ming Zi of the Profound Sky Sect had realized that from the moment the battle began, Xiao Yan had not appeared once.

"Have Xiao Yan come out." Old Demon Tian Ming waved his hand, and space instantly solidified around them. "Otherwise, not a single one of your Yan Alliance will leave alive today."

A high-level Half-Saint could truly destroy heaven and earth with a mere gesture!

The moment Old Demon Tian Ming sealed the surrounding space, the temperature across the entire region spiked violently. The clouds overhead turned blood red!

"Old Demon Tian Ming, you’re not enough. Your Profound Sky Sect should never have offended him."

A voice rang out, calm and unhurried. "Back in your day, you were nothing but a small-time lackey. The Profound Sky Sect was just a minor faction that only rose by scavenging the Hall of Souls’ scraps."

In that instant, a figure materialized above the Profound Sky Sect. His arrival was so sudden that no one saw how he had appeared.

The newcomer was an elderly man clad in a crimson robe, a single cloud embroidered upon its chest. Every member of the Profound Sky Sect froze at the sight of this red-robed elder. Even Old Demon Tian Ming could scarcely believe his own eyes.

"You... you’re Huo Yun!! You weren’t killed by the Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls?!" Old Demon Tian Ming’s gaze burned as it locked onto Old Ancestor Huo Yun, his eyes brimming with disbelief.

The moment the name ’Huo Yun’ left his lips, several older-generation figures who grasped the implications paled dramatically.

"Burning Flame Valley’s Old Ancestor Huo Yun?! Impossible! He should have been killed by the Hall of Souls’ Hall Chief! That’s what caused Burning Flame Valley’s decline!"

"Huo Yun... the direct disciple of Burning Flame Valley’s founding ancestor, Old Ancestor Fen Yan?!"

"It must be him! Legend says he possessed 2-star Dou Saint strength back then!"

Everyone had believed Old Ancestor Huo Yun long dead. After all, Burning Flame Valley had fallen from a top-tier faction that once surpassed the Two Sects and even rivaled the Pill Tower to the weakened shadow it was today.

All eyes shifted between the Profound Sky Sect and Old Ancestor Huo Yun before finally settling on the banner fluttering from the Space Shuttle Boat.

Understanding dawned instantly.

It wasn’t that Xiao Yan refused to appear. He simply had no need to!

Some experts caught on at once, shock spilling into their voices. "Could it be... Xiao Yan is already a 9th-tier alchemist?!"

Hiss—!!

Gasps rippled through the crowd as the realization struck home. Old Ancestor Huo Yun would never act for the Yan Alliance out of mere friendship. The only thing capable of compelling a Dou Saint to move was a 9th-tier alchemist!

Tier 9!

Those two words alone were an insurmountable mountain pressing down upon the Profound Sky Sect!

The previously arrogant Old Demon Tian Ming turned deathly pale. He was merely a high-level Half-Saint, not even a 1-star Dou Saint. Against a 2-star Dou Saint like Old Ancestor Huo Yun, he wouldn’t even have the chance to flee!

Swish!

Old Demon Tian Ming frantically pulled out a spatial jade slip carved with serpent patterns and crushed it. Spatial fluctuations immediately pulsed outward.

"Old Ancestor Huo Yun! My Profound Sky Sect has already allied with the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe! Leave now and I will overlook this matter. Otherwise, even a 2-star Dou Saint cannot stand against three Dou Saints!"

His gaze then shifted to Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran. His tone softened noticeably as he sent a secret voice transmission. "You two, withdraw now. I guarantee I will not interfere in matters between the Yan Alliance and the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe."

He had folded!

The Yan Alliance’s true strength lay not in Old Ancestor Huo Yun’s support but in Xiao Yan himself, the rallying power of a 9th-tier alchemist!

Offending any alchemist was already a death sentence. Offending a 9th-tier alchemist? Nine lives wouldn’t be enough!

Yet whether it was Nalan Yanran, Venerable Tian Huo, Yun Yun, or the others, they all acted as if they hadn’t heard a single word. Not one showed the slightest reaction. From the sidelines, Tang Zhen, who had been watching without interfering, let out a quiet sigh.

"It seems the Profound Sky Sect meets its end today. The title of ’Two Sects’ will soon become nothing but history." Tang Zhen shook his head. He had already seen it clearly: the spatial passage had formed long ago, yet no Dou Saint from the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe had appeared.

With a Dou Saint’s power, traveling from the Yellow Springs Mountain Range to the Profound Sky Sect’s gates would take mere moments, especially since both sides had pre-constructed spatial passages for precisely this purpose: to guard against the Yan Alliance.

The Yan Alliance had come, yet no Dou Saint from the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe appeared. There was only one conclusion: they couldn’t even protect themselves!

Only now did many realize belatedly that from start to finish, the Yan Alliance’s most formidable force, the Snake-People Tribe under Queen Medusa’s command, had never joined the battle at all!

The Yan Alliance’s fearsome army had always been the Snake-People and the Sky Serpent Mansion’s numerous serpent magical beasts. Yet now, not only were Medusa and Qing Lin absent, but the Snake-People and serpent magical beasts were nowhere to be seen either.

This was clearly abnormal!

...

Almost at the same moment the Yan Alliance descended upon the Profound Sky Sect, another colossal Space Shuttle Boat appeared in the sky above the Yellow Springs Mountain Range, deep within the Beast Region!

This was an unimaginably vast mountain range, stretching across nearly half the Beast Region. Dense fog shrouded the Yellow Springs Mountain Range year-round, hiding its true face from view. It had always been that mysterious, that unknowable.

From afar, it resembled a giant serpent that had crawled up from the depths of the Nine Serenities to coil within the Beast Region.

The origin of the Yellow Springs Mountain Range’s name was the subject of many tales. Some claimed it was because the range was damp and bone-chillingly cold, most of it as marshy as a great swamp, reminiscent of the legendary realm of the Yellow Springs itself.

Others said that deep beneath the mountains lay a pool of Nine Serene Yellow Spring water, like the true Yellow Springs of legend, and the range had been named accordingly.

Still others believed that an incomparably powerful Demon Saint named Huang Quan (Yellow Spring) had once been born here. When that Yellow Spring Demon Saint finally passed away in meditation at this very place, the range was named in his honor.

As for which tale held true, even the Medusa Race’s ancient records offered no clear answer. Cai Lin only knew that her people had once lived within the Yellow Springs Mountain Range before the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe drove them out and exiled them to the desolate North-Western Region.

Whatever the truth, one thing was certain. Today, the history of the Medusa Race was destined to be rewritten!

"The Nine Serene Yellow Spring lies beneath the mountain range?" Xiao Yan asked.

The Medusa Race’s First Elder nodded, her hoarse voice explaining, "Yes. The Nine Serene Yellow Spring lies deep underground, at the very origin of the Yellow Springs Mountain Range. That place originally belonged to the Ancient Heaven Serpent and the Heaven Swallowing Python, but the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe controls it now. They regard it as a holy land. Any Nine Serene Deep Ground Python on the verge of advancing will travel to the Nine Serene Yellow Spring and soak in its waters, which makes the breakthrough proceed far more smoothly."

"However, the spring water is extremely yin and cold. For serpent-type magical beasts already inclined toward yin-cold attributes, it ranks among the finest body-tempering grounds in all the world. But because the waters are so overwhelmingly frigid, even ordinary Dou Saints dare not truly venture to its depths."

"Spring Blood Crystals form only in the deepest, most frigid regions. They are extraordinarily precious."

Xiao Yan frowned at this. The most supreme body-tempering sacred grounds were invariably dangerous, much like the Void Lightning Pool he had once encountered. In areas where Black Demon Lightning dwelled, even ordinary Dou Saints would be blasted to death!

Even Mang Tian Chi of the Lei Clan, a high-level Half-Saint, had been chased away from that place.

He turned the situation over in his mind. More than two years remained before the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame emerged. Before then, he needed to push his cultivation as far as possible and make another trip to Holy Pill City. Beyond entering the Small Pill Tower, he also needed to obtain the pill recipe for the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill in order to refine it.

Cai Lin approached, clad in blood-red battle armor. She was not in full human form but rather maintained her human upper body with a serpent’s tail below, scales glinting beneath the armor’s edge. After all, this time her identity was that of the Snake-People Tribe’s Queen, leading a campaign in person!

"You don’t need to act yet," she said.

Xiao Yan nodded and scooped up Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai. "Mm, you’ll all lead the charge this time. If Yao Ming appears, then I’ll step in."

This was an offensive they had launched against the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe, so revealing every trump card from the start was out of the question. Moreover, this was the Beast Region. Xiao Yan had to remain wary not only of Yao Ming, the tribe’s previous leader, but also of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe and other fierce beasts lurking in seclusion throughout these lands.

In the Beast Region, who would dare guarantee that some ten-thousand-year-old relics weren’t still stubbornly clinging to life?

The three Dragon Kings of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe’s Southern, Western, and Northern Islands also demanded caution. Any single Dragon Island alone possessed strength surpassing the entire Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe.

"Xiao Xiao, Daddy’s going with you to beat up some little monsters this time. Sound good?" Xiao Yan grinned, teasing the little girl in his arms.

"Yes!" Xiao Xiao pumped her tiny fists with gusto. Wind howled with each swing, and one punch nearly shattered the surrounding space outright.

Hiss, hiss!! Xiao Cai flickered her forked tongue in and out, clearly declaring she wanted in on the fight too!

For once, Xiao Yan could finally play the role of mastermind pulling strings from behind the scenes. As long as nothing unexpected happened, he truly wouldn’t need to lift a finger.

With the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent and Tuan Tuan, combined with Cai Lin, Little Fairy Doctor, and Qing Lin, three women whose own strength was already formidable, the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe was hardly worth fearing.

Holding Xiao Xiao’s small hand and carrying Xiao Cai, the father and his two daughters leaped from the Space Shuttle Boat. They landed in a secluded clearing within the Yellow Springs Mountain Range and lit a campfire, ready to pick off any stragglers who slipped through the net. The Heaven Swallowing Python’s appetite was enormous, after all.

With Xiao Yan personally watching over the two girls, Cai Lin finally set her worries aside. The gentle wife vanished in an instant. Dominance flooded back into her bearing, and her gaze sharpened like a drawn blade. The Queen had returned.

"According to intelligence from the snake slaves, the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe’s strongest member disappeared suddenly. We can’t rule out that he’s deliberately hiding in death seclusion. Qing Lin and I will handle their strongest First Elder. Can you stall Yao Xiaotian?" She turned to Little Fairy Doctor.

Little Fairy Doctor had not yet broken through to the Dou Saint realm; her strength remained at the Six-Change Dou Venerate level. Although the Woeful Poison Body encountered no bottlenecks when advancing, she had yet to find a suitable secret realm to push her cultivation further.

She nodded and gently stroked Tuan Tuan’s fuzzy head. "Stalling him won’t be a problem."

Tuan Tuan had only just entered the 1-star Dou Saint level, but combined with Little Fairy Doctor’s Woeful Poison Body, holding a 1-star Dou Saint at bay posed no great difficulty. The true main battlefield would still depend on the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent.

Qing Lin’s current strength was still insufficient to control Rank 9 serpent-type creatures with the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent was not controlled by those eyes either. The two had forged a summoning contract. The great serpent possessed its own will and served as Qing Lin’s contracted spirit beast, not a mindless puppet.

Cai Lin gave a single nod, her voice cold and clear. "That is enough."

The four Elders of the Snake-People Tribe stood behind them, fists clenched tight. Tears glimmered at the corners of their eyes as they gazed out over the Yellow Springs Mountain Range.

Fallen leaves return to their roots.

This was once their home. All four of them had lived in these very mountains as children.

...

Deep beneath the Yellow Springs Mountain Range, within the Underground Serene Snake Network, numerous snake tribes dwelled. At the far end of countless subterranean settlements stood a sprawling, magnificent palace.

The palace bustled with activity today. Leaders from many snake-people tribes had gathered in the great hall, their laughter and conversation echoing off the soaring walls.

On the throne at the head of the hall sat a man draped in black robes. His features were handsome enough, yet an unhideable chill lingered between his brows. Each time his half-lidded eyes slid open and shut, a cold light flickered within them, evoking a venomous serpent poised to strike and kill in an instant. His mere gaze was enough to freeze the heart.

This was Yao Xiaotian, the current Tribe Leader of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe.

Two women with bewitchingly curvaceous figures hovered at his side, massaging his shoulders and back with painstaking care. His large hands roamed freely over their soft, delicate bodies, coaxing a hazy intoxication into their gazes. They looked almost sinfully enticing.

"Hm?"

Yao Xiaotian’s half-lidded eyes snapped wide open. Shock flashed through them.

BOOM!

A heartbeat later, a deafening explosion rocked the earth. The great palace shuddered violently as massive stones crashed down from above.

Dou Saint might erupted from Yao Xiaotian like a tidal wave, and his roar thundered through the entire underground world. "Who dares run wild in the territory of my Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe?!"

A cold, domineering voice descended from above.

"From today onward, your Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe can get lost."