Chapter 1164: Borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 1164: Qiankun Jiefa

Tianchen Star.

The sky was dark, shrouded in thick mist.

Outside Black Mountain, Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen were still hiding in the shadows.

Ning Caichen looked anxious, unable to hold back any longer.

In contrast, Yan Chixia was relaxed, constantly pulling various magical tools from his storage bag—things like peach wood swords, talismans, and eight trigrams mirrors, all essential for slaying demons and evil spirits, and he had quite a few of them.

"This is it—just this once, and we'll settle our karmic debt. Don't come looking for me again."

"You think I want to see you?"

"Ever since I met you, that stinky old Taoist, I haven't had a single stroke of good luck. All I've gotten are one disaster after another."

"Hey, you little brat, I—huh?" Yan Chixia was speaking when he instinctively glanced up at the empty sky.

"It's that immortal from before." Ning Caichen looked up as well, and Ye Chen was descending from the heavens.

"Huh?" Ye Chen landed, his expression full of surprise. "What are you two doing here?"

"Saving my wife."

"Your wife?"

"She was locked up inside by that old tree demon. It's outrageous."

"How interesting." Ye Chen smirked, sizing up Ning Caichen with a strange look. Earlier, Li Xiao was a mortal whose wife was the snake demon Bai Suzhen. Now, Ning Caichen was also a mortal with a demon wife. The difference was that the reincarnated person last time was male, and this time, it was female.

"What brings you here?" As Ye Chen examined Ning Caichen, Yan Chixia eyed Ye Chen curiously.

"Saving someone."

"You're saving people too?" Not just Yan Chixia, but even Ning Caichen stared at him, both with odd expressions.

"Who are you saving?"

"Whoever you're saving, that's who I'll save."

"You're familiar with that fox demon?" Yan Chixia was stunned, and so was Ning Caichen.

"Fox demon." Ye Chen stroked his chin. He had only deduced it was a demon but hadn't figured out the type. Hearing this, it reminded him of the past, when he fought a tree demon alongside Hu Xian'er and Fan Tong.

"Hey, we're asking you a question." Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen kept staring at Ye Chen, waiting for an answer.

"I've crossed paths with her a few times." Ye Chen smiled.

"Kid, you see that? He's your rival in love." Yan Chixia nudged Ning Caichen.

"Don't stir up trouble."

"You still don't believe me." Yan Chixia nudged Ye Chen too. "Come on, tell me, old Taoist that I am. How did you meet that nine-tailed fox? Was it mutual affection? Did you bow to heaven and earth? Did you—"

"Nine-tailed?" Yan Chixia hadn't finished when Ye Chen interrupted him.

"How could you not know?"

"Now I do." Ye Chen turned toward Black Mountain, surprised to learn that the reincarnated person was a royal nine-tailed fox. This was unexpected. If Hu Xian'er found out, who knew what expression she'd have.

"Since we're all here to save the same person, let's go together. Three against one—we'll take down that old tree demon for sure." Yan Chixia was suddenly full of energy.

"Three against one?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and glanced at the scholar Ning Caichen beside him. "Old Taoist, he's just a mortal. That tree demon could crush him in one breath. Are you seriously letting him join the fight?"

"You don't get it." Yan Chixia said, "He's a virgin, which is perfect for me to borrow power through him. If we're lucky, we might even channel Sun Wukong into him. Don't underestimate him."

"Sun Wukong—what a great name. If we borrow him, we could put on a monkey show."

"Don't mess around; that's a deity."

"This time, make sure you borrow the right one." Ning Caichen glared at Yan Chixia. "If you channel another female deity like last time, I'm not letting it go. She's still showing up in my dreams out of nowhere."

"Can we not bring that up? It drives me crazy." Yan Chixia grumbled. "So what if it was a female deity? Isn't she still a deity? I only borrowed her once, and now we're tied by this ridiculous karma."

"Let's get down to business." Ye Chen said sternly, dropping the joking tone.

"The time is about right." Yan Chixia glanced at the starry sky, then focused on Ning Caichen.

Ning Caichen seemed to understand and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, taking a deep breath before gently closing his eyes.

Intrigued, Ye Chen watched quietly, curious about Yan Chixia's so-called borrowing method and what kind of ability it was.

Yan Chixia gripped his peach wood sword and began circling Ning Caichen—three circles clockwise, then three counterclockwise, and repeated. Not just Yan Chixia, but even Ye Chen, who was watching, started to feel dizzy.

After a while, Yan Chixia stopped and muttered some incantations and words that Ye Chen couldn't understand.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, sensing that Yan Chixia's Taoist arts were drawing on a mysterious force. It was ethereal and invisible, yet undeniably real, filling him with wonder.

"Heaven and earth are boundless; Qiankun Jiefa, as the law commands!"

Yan Chixia suddenly shouted, his voice like a divine bell, pointing his sword to the sky.

Instantly, the nine heavens trembled, and a divine rainbow descended, shooting straight into the top of Ning Caichen's head.

"Another realm!"

Ye Chen murmured, looking up at the starry sky. He realized that Yan Chixia's borrowing method connected to a different realm, similar to summoning spirit beasts, though he wasn't sure if this realm was the same as the spirit world.

"Si Ming Xing Jun? Now that's impressive!"

Yan Chixia sheathed his peach wood sword and looked delightedly at Ning Caichen.

Ning Caichen, who had his eyes closed, now opened them, with two beams of divine light shooting from his pupils. His aura changed dramatically, sharp like a divine sword emerging from its sheath, his entire body radiating brilliant immortal light.

"Emperor realm!"

Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise. Ning Caichen's pressure now was no weaker than Yan Chixia's.

"How mysterious!"

Ye Chen murmured again, viewing the old Taoist in a new light. This inheritance truly defied the heavens.

"Old Taoist Yan, I'm baffled—why is it always me?"

Ning Caichen spoke, glancing displeased at Yan Chixia. "Do you think Si Ming Xing Jun has nothing better to do? You call me down every time there's trouble."

"That's not fair, Xing Jun." Yan Chixia protested. "I'm just fighting demons and upholding justice. Demons run rampant, and there are always a few tough ones I can't handle alone. I have to call in reinforcements from above! You've been up there so long; coming down for a bit is good for you."

"I don't mind you fighting demons, but can't you pick someone else? There are so many deities up there—why always me? I just lay down and hadn't even closed my eyes before you dragged me down again."

"It's not my fault." Yan Chixia scratched his ear. "My level's too low; I can't summon the big ones. Take Sun Wukong, for example—I'd love to call him, but he ignores me!"

"So, I'm just third-rate to you?"

"How could that be? You're Si Ming Xing Jun!"

"Hey, can we focus on the task at hand?"

Ye Chen couldn't stand it anymore and interjected.

"Sacred Body." Ning Caichen glanced at Ye Chen and murmured, his eyes full of meaning.

"Let's get to business." Yan Chixia forced a smile, then pointed toward Black Mountain in the distance. "Xing Jun, take a look—that mountain's boss is incredibly fierce."

"The Black Mountain Old Demon." Ning Caichen frowned, recognizing the entity. "And it's holding a nine-tailed fox captive."

"Old Taoist, you always go after the tough ones!" Ning Caichen turned to Yan Chixia. "That's a quasi-saint."

"And you're Si Ming Xing Jun, aren't you?"

"You think this is up there? When I borrow power, my strength is limited."

"Isn't that why we have us?" Yan Chixia chuckled. "I calculated it right—the old demon's weak tonight. This is our chance. If you help us take it down, it'll be a great deed."

"That's true enough."

"In that case, you two handle the old demon, and I'll rescue the person." Yan Chixia looked at Ye Chen, pulling out an iron sword and holding an eight trigrams mirror, both exceptional magical tools.