Inside the sect master's hall, Tai Wuling and Yang Linyin stood before Monarch Pathway.
"After negotiation, we decided to imprison you for at least ten thousand years or until the final battle between the Anti-Earth Alliance and us breaks out," Monarch Pathway slowly said.
Tai Wuling's face instantly became ugly as he clenched his fist. "Are we really going to let them do as they wish? They're clearly trying to find fault with us."
Monarch Pathway sighed. "We are helpless too. Unfortunately, Eternal Night Emperor assassinated our monarch, who mastered the Law of Space, forcing us to rely on outsiders to set up the spatial formations."
"Who knows, maybe the Anti-Earth Alliance and the Buzhou Immortal Sect are in cahoots," Tai Wuling said with a snort.
"While I wouldn't discount that possibility, the chances are minimal. We heavily monitor the edge and see if they are relaying messages outside of the Earth Continent. They haven't. Aiming for monarchs that mastered the Law of Space is an age-old tactic. I recall that the Anti-Heaven Alliance's monarch, who specialized in the Law of Space, coincidently died too," Monarch Pathway said.
He walked up to Tai Wuling and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. The imprisonment is only on the surface. In truth, we'll hide you away so that you can raise your strength in preparation for the final battle."
Tai Wuling understood the concept, but he couldn't stomach the shame on his principles. If he knew that Monarch Pathway had also been forced to relinquish three monarch-level artifacts, his anger would burst through the roof.
"Alright," Tai Wuling finally said as he unclenched his fingers.
"I know you cultivate the martial path, and I noticed your martial body had strengthened. Do you have any locations in mind?" the sect master of the Eight Pillar Sect asked.
"I do," Tai Wuling said. "Five Element Penal Mountain."
Monarch Pathway's expression changed. Not just him, but Yang Linyin looked at him in worry.
"Are you sure? Not even an emperor would lightly enter there. It's not a prison but a location the sect uses to trap enemies that are too hard to kill. The constant bombardment of the five elements will wear away at their qi and mind, eventually grinding them into dust," Monarch Pathway warned.
"I'm sure. What I lack is the energy of five elements. Sect Master should know of my spiritual root and why Five Element Penal Mountain is so attractive to me," Tai Wuling said.
"Alright," Monarch Pathway conceded. "But I'll give you a talisman that will teleport you out. Make sure to use it if you suspect death is nearby, understood."
After Tai Wuling nodded, he sighed again. "At least this way, we can fake some sincerity toward Monarch Nine Heavens."
Tai Wuling's expression twisted for a second but returned to normal swiftly. "Before then, I want to meet Master."
The Eight Pillar Sect Master nodded. "Go, Grand Elder Infinity is already waiting for you."
Tai Wuling bid Monarch Pathway and Yang Linyin farewell as he made his way to Emperor Infinity's abode.
"Speak, why have you sought me out?" Emperor Infinity asked once Tai Wuling appeared.
"Master, I want to ask you if you heard of the Wuxing Core." Tai Wuling had always meant to investigate the black sphere's origins, but between the allegations and digesting the gains from Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation. He never had time until now.
Emperor Infinity scrunched his brows as he tried to recall where he had heard of it. Then, he opened his eyes, and they exuded myriad brilliance. "I don't know about the core part, but I have heard about Wuxing."
Tai Wuling's ears perked up as Emperor Infinity continued. "Before the Primordial World had fractured into the current Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, before even the known world had been created, there existed only chaos."
"In the chaos, the first divinities were born, and they were called godfiends." Tai Wuling nodded. He knew this story. However, he didn't interrupt his master. "In total, three thousand godfiends were born, and each one was born with mastery of a divine level law. The last godfiend to be born was Pangu, who slew all the other godfiend and created the Primordial World using the godfiends' corpses. Pangu couldn't withstand the consumption and later died, becoming part of the Primordial World."
"Although all the godfiends died under Pangu's ax, some traces of their remnant souls survived and reincarnated in the Primordial World. Hence, the legend became known to the world," Emperor Infinity said. "Among the slain godfiends, there was a particularly powerful godfiend born with mastery of the Law of Five Phases. Like many other of his compatriots, not all of his soul was exterminated by Pangu. Some say his remnant souls reincarnated to five individuals or the Redcloud Ancestor of legend."
"Could he have reincarnated into the Yellow God and the other element gods?" Tai Wuling asked.
Emperor Infinity blinked. He nodded after a moment. "It's possible. The Law of Fire, the Law of Water, the Law of Earth, the Law of Wood, and the Law of Metal make up the Law of Five Phases. The Yellow God controls the Law of Earth. The Red God controls the Law of Fire, the Black God controls the Law of Water, the Green God controls the Law of Wood, and the White God controls the Law of Metal. If Godfiend Wuxing really reincarnated into five individuals, they are likely candidates."
"In fact," Emperor Infinity sunk into thought for ten whole minutes. "Yes, I remember now. I remember reading through the broken records of the Primordial Era that the Five Elemental Gods received the world's scorn and were eliminated by the Immortal Court for some reason."
"Thank you for enlightening me, Master," Tai Wuling said. His thoughts drifted. It seemed that he could only clarify the matter after the Eight Pillar Sect united the Huang Realm or if he discovered another secret realm left by one of the Five Elemental Gods.
Emperor Infinity waved his hand. "It's no matter. Since you asked after leaving the Yellow Mausoleum, the Yellow God must have some relationship with Godfiend Wuxing even if he isn't a reincarnation. However, such matters are beyond your strength now. Even an immortal emperor like me cannot delve into the matters of the Primordial Era. You should calm your heart and focus on increasing your strength."
"Disciple understands," Tai Wuling said. He bid farewell and spent the next few days before entering Five Element Penal Mountain with Yang Linyin. Since he planned on staying until succeeding, he didn't know when he would see them again.
Finally, the day of his imprisonment arrived.
The Five Elemental Penal Mountain was one of the Eight Pillar Sect's forbidden grounds. Not just because it kept dangerous prisoners inside but because of the occasional bursts of energy that would fatally injure true immortals. Binding chains with glowing sigils surrounded the mountain and kept the energy from breaking out.
Tai Wuling stood at the entrance and looked back. He saw Monarch Pathway, Yang Linyin, and many other close associates he made during his time in the Eight Pillar Sect. Most of them didn't know the truth of the matter and looked aggrieved for him.
Most of them glared at a certain spot. Xi Tianyi, one of the causes of this matter, stood there alone. He wasn't even paying attention to Tai Wuling as he observed the Five Element Penal Mountain with interest.
Tai Wuling gritted his teeth and turned around. A few steps toward the entrance of no return, a voice called, "Wait."
He turned around to see Yang Linyin walking toward him. "Senior Sister, is something wrong?"
Tai Wuling didn't know what they wanted. They spent the last few days together. They didn't cultivate and only enjoyed their time together, growing closer. Yang Lingyin shouldn't have forgotten anything, right?
Yang Linyin ignored Tai Wuling's confusion. They stopped centimeters away from him and said nothing. They said nothing to clear his questions; they only inched closer and closer. Tai Wuling only felt a floral perfume enter his nose, causing him to go lightheaded, and then something soft brushed against his lips.
The world turned silent for Tai Wuling. He stared speechlessly at Yang Linyin. Their face had a faint blush that disappeared so quickly he thought he had hallucinated it. They didn't say anything and turned away and left.
Tai Wuling looked at the crowd. They didn't seem to have detected anything except Monarch Pathway and, infuriatingly, Xi Tianyi, who only raised an eyebrow with an amused smile. Worse, Xi Tianyi looked like he was about to break out in laughter.
With a huff, Tai Wuling glared at Xi Tianyi, uncaring of the consequences. He sharply turned around and walked into the Five Element Penal Mountain. The entrance disappeared right after he entered. Along the way, he brushed his hand across his lips, and a slight smile graced his face.
Even the burst of fiery energy that greeted him didn't erase his good mood. The destructive energy burned away his robes, but Tai Wuling didn't care. He had already stored his spatial ring with all his belongings inside his body, and the clothes he wore were regular items. He didn't want to waste precious defensive artifacts in the prison when he wanted to use the experience to temper his body.
Tai Wuling didn't stop as he became naked as the day he was born. The outermost edge of the Five Elemental Penal Mountain contained the weakest energies. What he wanted was more pressure, so he made his way up the mountain, searching for a cave that would lead him to the core of the mountain.
He had underestimated the dangerous nature of the forbidden ground. Tai Wuling had expected difficulty only when entering the cave near the core, but he already had to stop in order to adjust and temper his body.
His flesh could withstand the energy easily, but it needed his qi to sustain the powerful defense. Although he had strength comparable to an immortal monarch through his body alone, using it at the maximum output would drain his qi significantly. Tai Wuling had already expected this after surviving the self-detonation of the Golden Immortal War Formation, but he had forgotten to take into account that his body had improved after leaving the Yellow Mausoleum.
Tai Wuling allowed the watery energy to batter his body and felt the softness and flexibility of water. Wooden stakes struck his body, and roots whipped his body, allowing him to feel the vitality of wood. He stepped on steel spikes, and the sharp edge of metals carved his flesh. He gained an understanding of the rigidity and toughness of metal. Even the fiery energy allowed him to understand the explosive and ethereal power of fire.
Instead of fire energy, Tai Wuling focused on absorbing the water energy. Sure, upgrading his martial body with fire would increase his offense, but he didn't need that right now. Tai Wuling needed to incorporate the diffusion and flexible properties into his body more so that he could withstand the harsher environment.
As time passed, Tai Wuling's body exuded an earthen light, but black lines soon appeared from the light. At first, it was so slight that they seemed invisible, but they slowly thickened. The black color of water aura began to overlay with the yellow aura of earth.
After a year, the earthen light around Tai Wuling's body gained a thin dark film over it. However, he wasn't done yet, as thin wisps of red appeared over his body. Another year later, a thin film of red covered the earthen light in addition to the black film.
Tai Wuling finally stopped and resumed his journey. He had already raised his flesh to the maximum limit he could at the moment. Even if he absorbed metal and wood energy, he wouldn't be able to incorporate their characteristics and transform his body. At most, it would have been an incremental change. He would need to master the Law of Wood or the Law of Metal first.
He trudged on and found a cave leading into the mountain. Tai Wuling's eyes hardened. From now on, he would spend the next few years, possibly decades, here. However, he stepped in without hesitation, fueled by confidence and duty.
While the Eight Pillar Sect waged war against the Anti-Earth Alliance on the Earth Continent, the Buzhou Immortal Sect waged war on the Anti-Heaven Alliance and Tripartite Alliance.
The Buzhou Immortal Sect's most powerful expert, Xi Mengfei, opened her eyes. She sat in the main hall of Heaven-Earth-Man Trinity Palace, and standing before her were ten immortal monarchs and hundreds of true immortals. Among the immortal monarchs present, nearly half originated from Jade Peak. Just a quick scan allowed Mengfei to recognize Monarch Jadeflame and Monarch Violetsnow.
Mengfei stood up and walked out. "Let's go."
