He Escapes, It Pursues

In an ordinary realm, Ying Bing would naturally be no match for the Rivers and Mountains Scroll.

But now, within the bounds of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain—now fragmented into the Celestial City—she possessed the other half of its power, making her half a master of this domain.

Thus, that true spirit truly hovered in midair, refusing to be swallowed by the rift in the void.

At the same time, Ying Bing’s delicate brows suddenly furrowed.

"Someone is activating the Rivers and Mountains Scroll... and it’s not Jing Tai."

The sea of clouds was suddenly dyed gold, flowing like a radiant lake, layer upon layer, with purple qi rising from the east.

Countless sunbeams pierced through the clouds, growing brighter with each layer they passed, until finally, they became a great sun illuminating heaven and earth.

The great sun resembled the gaze of some unfathomable existence, coldly observing Ying Bing and the true spirit.

In an instant, the sun and moon shone together.

"Is that the spirit of the Rivers and Mountains Scroll?" someone in the imperial capital asked.

"It must be."

"Seems His Majesty finds Lady Han unworthy, and Young Master Li shouldn’t be given a second chance?"

"But Young Master Li was born from the Human City—it was unfair from the start."

"Can Lady Han withstand the spirit of the Rivers and Mountains Scroll?"

As all knew, the Rivers and Mountains Scroll was a Heaven’s Mandate artifact. Even the power of the Seventh Realm seemed childlike before it, capable of widening the gap between Eighth Realm Transcendent experts.

Against anyone else, there would be no doubt.

But Ying Bing had already defied reason too many times...

"All who enter this domain must abide by its rules. Release the true spirit."

A voice, vast and inhuman, echoed from the great sun, as though its every word embodied the law itself.

It actually spoke!

Many in the imperial capital who had witnessed the Celestial Trials multiple times had never heard the spirit of a Heaven’s Mandate artifact utter a word.

"This is not your boundless land of rivers and mountains."

Ying Bing remained unmoved.

Between her and Li Mo, many things no longer needed words.

Upon entering the Celestial City, she had already understood his intentions.

Becoming mortal was, in fact, Li Mo’s own choice—he too was searching for his own inner landscape.

In that moment, tension crackled between the two sides.

The moon and the sun now stood in opposition. Within the Celestial City, mortals knelt, not daring to lift their heads; martial artists trembled in fear; even the Celestials fell deathly silent.

The true spirit, encased in a cocoon of light, remained suspended in midair.

Though neither side had yet acted, neither would relent.

"Boom—"

Then, an anomaly erupted.

"From the foreign lands..."

The thought had barely formed in Ying Bing’s mind when—

Dark mists surged between the void, churning like a sinister sea of blood, endless and restless.

A black coffin emerged from the depths of the blood sea, and the moment it surfaced, an overwhelming stench of blood assaulted the senses.

With a creak—

The coffin slid open, revealing an arm—pale and blackened, scarred and battered.

Though lifeless, its seething blood essence summoned a pillar of vital energy.

The Blood God!

The first wave of the Celestial Calamity had barely passed, yet He had already arrived in haste!

Clearly, He had not come for Ying Bing, nor for the spirit of the Rivers and Mountains Scroll.

He too was here for Li Mo.

"Why?"

Some were baffled.

Lady Han and the Rivers and Mountains Scroll’s actions were at least understandable.

But strictly speaking, the Blood God stood opposed to both of them—why would He join this fray?

The three parties each had their own motives.

The moment the coffin opened, an undisguised gaze fell upon the true spirit. His thoughts were unmistakable.

"Heh... why fight over him?"

"If I take him, then make him vanish, wouldn’t that satisfy everyone?"

Before the voice even escaped the churning blood sea, the pale-black hand had already reached out.

At that moment—

Within the cocoon of light, Li Mo, his eyes closed, stirred slightly.

Before him, scenes of his first cycle of life and death replayed. The Thousand Forms Art, cultivated by countless individuals, manifested within his true spirit.

His comprehension was swift—he was on the verge of awakening.

Meanwhile, the struggle outside grew ever fiercer.

Seeing the Blood God’s hand approach, Ying Bing merged into the moonlight, unleashing a frigid radiance that froze the limb and eroded it through the passage of time.

Seizing the moment of their clash—

Light and shadow intertwined within the great sun.

The Rivers and Mountains Scroll did not contain the Dao of the Mustard Seed and Sumeru.

Rather, it embodied the Dao of Light and Shadow, the Dao of Transforming Illusion into Reality.

Mountains and rivers materialized abruptly, displaying landscapes from across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, descending upon the world.

No matter how terrifying the Blood God’s hand, it could not traverse the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Time might shift the land from sea to mulberry fields, but it could not break the cycle of endless rebirth.

...

"Has my trial... ended?"

"Yet my inner landscape remains incomplete..."

Li Mo awoke with a start, peering out from the cocoon, only to find the scenery shifting rapidly before him.

He reached out, attempting to touch the light and shadows, but his hand passed through them.

He understood—he was in a pocket dimension of sorts, where nothing could affect him unless he willed it.

"I’m still in my true spirit form... I haven’t left the Celestial City?"

"What’s that?"

Suddenly, he noticed a black dot rapidly expanding in his vision.

It was a rift in the void, filled with bizarre lights, as though leading to another world.

The rift drew closer—neither he nor it had moved, yet it seemed to chase him relentlessly.

"If I’m swallowed by it, I’ll leave the Celestial City?"

"No, not yet. Only one wave of the Celestial Calamity has passed. That ice block hasn’t reclaimed the other half of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, and my inner landscape isn’t complete..."

A cloud materialized beneath Li Mo’s feet.

With a single somersault, he traversed one hundred and eight thousand miles, continuously shifting, putting distance between himself and the rift.

Hm?

A sound of surprise emanated from the great sun.

The spirit of the Heaven’s Mandate artifact was astonished once more.

Its first surprise came from the fact that the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths projected by the artifact had no effect on Li Mo.

This was utterly abnormal. Even Seventh and Eighth Realm experts could only resist by wielding their own Daos to weaken the connection.

Could this brat have ascended to immortality, placing him beyond the artifact’s control?

And yet, Li Mo bore no trace of any "Dao" upon him.

Yet he fled so swiftly!

The artifact’s spirit could not suppress Li Mo with its authority, but it could alter itself.

Heaven and earth spun, mountains and rivers inverted.

"!"

Li Mo suddenly realized—no matter how he ran, the rift only drew nearer.

He lost his sense of direction, flailing like a headless fly.

Just then—

A beam of pure moonlight pierced through the projection, like a lighthouse guiding his path.

...

Everything that transpired was witnessed by those within and beyond the imperial capital.

"Lady Han is clashing with the Ancestral God of the Summoning Demons Sect, and Li Mo is resisting a Heaven’s Mandate artifact?"

"How can Young Master Li cover such distance with a single somersault?"

"How did he shake off the artifact’s influence?"

"He flees, it pursues—Young Master Li has no chance of escape."

Countless questions swirled in their minds.

But for now, those mysteries would remain unanswered.

The only question that would soon be resolved was...

Can Young Hero Li stay in Tianren City?