Chapter 920: Chunyangzi, Lu Dongbin

Li Ningyang was precisely the name of Iron Crutch Li, one of the Eight Immortals.

One of the Eight Immortals had actually turned into such a state—neither human nor ghost, and seemingly even lacking clear sanity. Just what had happened to this Heavenly Court?

Nowadays, the children all had the ability to stand on their own, so Qin Changqing had not hidden many things from them; they all knew much of the inside story.

Just as Qin Qipeng was still lost in thought, a sharp whistling sound of something breaking through the air suddenly rang out from behind. Simultaneously, Zong Xiaoxiao's startled cry reached his ears: "Brother Peng, watch out!"

Swish!

A streak of sword light, like a bolt of white silk, slashed straight toward Qin Qipeng's back, carrying a heart-palpitating Divine Power. However, the circulation of this Divine Power seemed somewhat stiff.

Qin Qipeng whipped his head around, subconsciously wanting to manifest a Magic Treasure to block, but it was already too late.

In his haste, he could only form a hollow grip with his right hand and reach out directly to seize the sword light.

Clang—

A crisp sword hum rang out, accompanied by the sound of fabric being torn. The sword light was directly crushed in mid-air by Qin Qipeng's grasp, but a gash was also torn into his palm by the light, and blood seeped out.

Looking at his own palm, a look of surprise flashed through Qin Qipeng's eyes.

He had already cultivated the Indestructible Vajra Body. Although it had not yet reached Major Achievement, it was enough to withstand attacks from anyone below the level of a Divine Venerable; even an ordinary Divine Venerable should not be able to break through his divine body's defense.

Yet now, it had been torn by a single streak of sword light. How could he not be surprised?

"Brother Peng, are you alright?"

Zong Xiaoxiao grabbed Qin Qipeng's hand to examine it carefully, her eyes full of heartache. She then quickly took out a handful of Divine Pills and precious medicines from her Storage Ring and stuffed them into Qin Qipeng's mouth.

Qin Qipeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This little injury is no big deal… Why did you even take out the Fushen Pill refined by Qichen? That's for cultivation, not for healing!"

As the sword light shattered, a figure flew through the air. Long hair fluttered in the wind, hands were clasped behind the back, and the temperament was otherworldly. Before him, a long sword shimmered like light and water, and the Divine Power radiating around him seemed to transform into countless tiny, fragmented swords. It was incredibly miraculous.

But beneath the black hair fluttering in the wind was a face as shriveled and gaunt as Iron Crutch Li's, resembling a dried corpse.

"Your Excellency… why… hurt my Fellow Daoist…"

The sword light rose again. This person's Divine Power surged, causing even the space to tremble faintly.

Qin Qipeng's eyes widened. This person could actually speak. Although it was intermittent, it showed that his sanity was at least somewhat clear. He immediately asked, "Just now, it was your Fellow Daoist who attacked first. I only fought back out of necessity. If I have offended you, please forgive me. Who are you, and why have you become like this?"

Hearing Qin Qipeng's words, the person's shriveled eyeballs rolled. The sword light around him slowly subsided as he spoke again in a low voice: "So that's how it is… My apologies… I am… Lu Dongbin!"

As soon as this name appeared, Qin Qipeng's eyes instantly lit up.

This person was actually one of the Eight Immortals, Chunyangzi Lu Dongbin!

He was the most renowned existence among the Eight Immortals. The Iron Crutch Li, whom Qin Qipeng had just suppressed, had been enlightened and guided into immortality by Lu Dongbin.

Seeing the other party display such exquisite sword techniques and such an elegant, otherworldly temperament, Qin Qipeng had already had his suspicions. He hadn't expected it to really be him!

If Qin Qiming or Qin Qixian were here, they would surely be extremely excited.

In terms of the Dao of the sword, this Lu Dongbin should be even above Qiming and Qixian. After all, in legends, Lu Dongbin entered the Dao through the sword, and his talent was not to be underestimated.

Some said the head of the Eight Immortals was Iron Crutch Li, but in terms of combat power alone, Lu Dongbin's cultivation level was clearly far above Iron Crutch Li's, possessing the strength of a Divine Venerable or higher. He had also held back just now; otherwise, he wouldn't have left only such a small wound.

Furthermore, it was obvious that both of them had likely experienced an extraordinary past to have ended up in this ghostly state.

It was just that Iron Crutch Li's mind was already deranged, while Lu Dongbin still retained his sanity and could at least communicate with others.

"So it is Senior Chunyangzi. I have long heard of your great name. Please excuse my lack of manners. I am Qin Qipeng, and this is my Dao Companion, Zong Xiaoxiao!"

Qin Qipeng returned the iron crutch in his hand and then cupped his fists, adopting a friendly posture.

"Heh—heh—"

Iron Crutch Li took back his Magic Treasure, his face contorting as he prepared to pounce again, but Lu Dongbin tapped a finger on the back of his head, and he immediately quieted down.

Lu Dongbin's shriveled eyes looked Qin Qipeng and Zong Xiaoxiao up and down, and he slowly asked, "This place has been… sealed for many years. How did you… enter?"

There was nothing to hide about this, so Qin Qipeng directly recounted the process of how he had entered.

The Eight Immortals held a significant status in the Heavenly Court, and their cultivation levels were very strong, with each being above the Divine Lord level. Lu Dongbin even had the strength of a Divine Venerable or higher. If they could be brought into the Changqing Alliance, it would be another great help!

After listening to Qin Qipeng's words, Lu Dongbin showed a thoughtful expression and sighed, "That… Great Calamity back then… actually caused the entire God… Realm to shatter. It seems that after so many… years, the Seal… blocking the Heavenly… Court has also begun to… loosen. However, that you… could actually find the location of the Heavenly Court's Origin… within the vast… torrent of space… I don't know if this… luck of yours is… good or… bad!"

Hearing so many words spoken intermittently made Qin Qipeng feel a bit uncomfortable, but he still caught a certain underlying meaning from Lu Dongbin's words.

It seemed Lu Dongbin had been trapped in the Heavenly Court since the start of the Great Calamity. For some unknown reason, he hadn't been refined by the Three Pure Ones but had remained here instead.

"Why does Senior Chunyangzi say that?"

Qin Qipeng asked with a frown.

Lu Dongbin sighed. "Back then, the Three Pure Ones… plotted against the gods. The Heavenly Court… bore the brunt of it… Too many deities were captured by them and their… whereabouts are unknown. To maintain the Heavenly Court's operation… the Heavenly Emperor forcibly used the Heavenly Court's… Origin to Seal this realm and… exile the Heavenly Court. But this also… caused irreversible damage to the… remaining gods… which is the state you see… us in now…"

He explained the events in detail.

Qin Qipeng's pupils constricted sharply.

The reason Lu Dongbin and Iron Crutch Li had become like this was actually because of the Heavenly Emperor!

To protect the Heavenly Court and evade the pursuit of the Three Pure Ones, the Heavenly Emperor did not hesitate to forcibly use the Heavenly Court's Origin to extract the Divine Souls and essence of the various gods. Those with low cultivation levels were sucked dry and died directly, just like the two corpses Qin Qipeng had seen at the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Those with high cultivation levels were barely able to sustain themselves. However, as time passed and the strength of the Three Pure Ones grew, the Heavenly Emperor extracted more and more Divine Soul essence to maintain the consumption of the Heavenly Court's Origin. This led to even some high-cultivation gods being unable to hold on.

Take the Iron Crutch Li before him, for example; one of his souls and one of his spirits had already been extracted, and his remaining Divine Soul had become disordered and inverted. That was why he had turned into this state of being mentally unclear.

Of the former Eight Immortals, only the two of them remained. Four had been taken by the Three Pure Ones, and two had been completely sucked dry, becoming nourishment for the Heavenly Court.