Volume 1, Chapter 512 – Backup Plan

When Shi Lan heard the name Old Immortal Nanhua, her brow could not help but furrow slightly.

She had heard a few scattered remarks about this man from Tong Yuan.

He too was a hidden figure at the absolute peak, highly proficient in the arts of sorcery, with methods that were rather strange and unfathomable.

According to Tong Yuan, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which had only recently been put down, had Old Immortal Nanhua’s shadow behind it as one of its driving forces. All of Zhang Jiao’s methods had originated from him.

“What brings you here, Senior?”

Facing a Supreme of the sorcerous path, Shi Lan did not dare show the slightest carelessness, even if his Dao fruit had been severed. After asking her question, she gathered her focus and went on guard.

He would not have come here without a reason. Old Immortal Nanhua’s relationship with Tong Yuan did not even amount to a casual acquaintance. Since he had suddenly come here, his purpose was certainly not simple.

“What is Tong Yuan to you? Where is he now?”

Old Immortal Nanhua did not answer Shi Lan’s question. Instead, he countered with one of his own.

“The Spear God had business to attend to elsewhere and asked me to watch over the mountain gate. If Senior has business with him, you may leave a token, and this junior can pass it along.”

Shi Lan’s palm tightened slightly, her gaze turning colder as the ominous premonition in her heart gradually began to come true.

“Where exactly did he go? He did not even take his personal weapon with him.”

Old Immortal Nanhua looked at Shi Lan and kept skirting the subject, his tone becoming somewhat strange.

“If you have no business here, then please leave, Senior.”

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Shi Lan had no desire to waste more time humoring him. As she spoke, a faint ripple, almost too slight to detect, stirred in the void behind her.

At this moment, no one knew how many powerful beings were secretly coveting Penglai. The longer Old Immortal Nanhua remained here, the greater the hidden danger became.

“No need. I will just wait here for him to return.”

Old Immortal Nanhua waved a hand and immediately moved to descend into Penglai atop the immortal crane. He paid Shi Lan no heed at all, clearly intending to force his way in.

Hum.

Before the immortal crane could even spread its wings, a halberd-light drove it back.

“The Spear God left orders: no one may trespass into Penglai. Any unauthorized entry will be killed without mercy!”

Shi Lan held the war halberd and did not waste another word. The concealed gate to the Qiongluo Realm opened in an instant, and a blazing mass of Vermilion Bird true fire swept across the void, cutting off heaven and earth and sealing Penglai into another layer of space so that it would not be caught in the battle.

The instant the world entrance opened, the essence qi between heaven and earth began to pour frantically into the Qiongluo Realm, whipping up a vast tide of spiritual qi and disturbing hundreds of thousands of li of sea.

Chijunyu spread its wings like a great sun suspended in the sky, and surging fire laws capable of burning the heavens and boiling the sea poured forth. Old Immortal Nanhua and the immortal crane, beneath that blazing true fire, were reduced to ashes in a single instant.

Seeing this, Shi Lan felt no joy at all. Instead, a chill rose in her heart. Her divine sense spread in all directions. How could a Supreme of the sorcerous path possibly be so easily annihilated?

“It seems Tong Yuan’s situation is quite dire now, if he actually left a little doll like you to guard the gate. Where are his three disciples?”

A faint laugh echoed through the void as Old Immortal Nanhua slowly stepped out of space. He wore white robes, with crane-white hair and the face of a youth, every bit the immortal sage. His complexion was incomparably better than it had looked a moment ago.

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Clearly, what had just appeared had only been a phantom body he used to test the waters.

“The last Vermilion Bird of this world was shot dead by Hou Yi in ancient times. You are not from this world.”

With a single glance, he discerned Chijunyu’s origins, and said indifferently:

“With just such a little bird, you cannot stop me. Step aside and let me pass. We can form a bit of karmic goodwill between us, and perhaps we may meet again in the future.”

“When one accepts another“When one accepts another’s trust, one must fulfill it faithfully.”

Shi Lan did not step forward. She slowly retreated, leaving the battlefield. Her cultivation was far too low. She could not affect a struggle at this level.

Roar!

A savage roar rolled across the heavens as a gigantic white tiger slowly stepped out of the Qiongluo Realm, followed closely by two Rune Masters at its side.

“You possess two of the Four Celestial Spirits. Your fortune is indeed profound.”

At the sight of the White Tiger, Old Immortal Nanhua’s expression grew somewhat more serious.

“You are blessed with rare talent. Why insist on wading into this muddy water? Do you not understand the principle of preserving yourself wisely?”

“If Senior leaves, the fighting can end here.”

Hearing that, Old Immortal Nanhua fell silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

“Very well. Since you refuse to come to your senses, I will send you on your way first.”

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“Little doll, learn this lesson well. In your next life, when you face a sorcerer, do not waste time talking.”

A strange smile curved at the corner of Old Immortal Nanhua’s mouth. He suddenly raised an arm. In his palm appeared the phantasmal image of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and then he formed the Five Thunder Seal with his hand.

“Once you give a sorcerer time to set up a formation, you will not have another chance to strike!”

Boom!

The clear sky for ten thousand li was instantly swallowed by dark clouds. Layer after layer of world-destroying lightning flared into being, connecting with the radiance of the great sun hidden behind the clouds and illuminating the entire world.

Roar!

The White Tiger threw back its head and let out a long howl. Brilliant golden light gathered along its back, as though it had grown wings vast enough to hang from the clouds. Surging Geng Metal killing qi condensed into two blades that could cleave the heavens, shooting upward!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless bolts of lightning descended. Over the turbulent sea, boundless towering waves erupted, forcing some of the creatures hidden in the depths to reveal themselves, only to be wiped out without the slightest power to resist beneath the endless lightning.

Old Immortal Nanhua had, after all, once been a Supreme. With the aid of formations, he was still able to unleash battle strength surpassing the top heroes of the age.

Yet though the might of the lightning was fierce, it was unbearably fragile before the Geng Metal sharp qi slashed out by the White Tiger, collapsing at the slightest touch.

The White Tiger was not much weaker than Old Immortal Nanhua was now. As one of the Four Spirits of Heaven, it had cultivated in seclusion within the Qiongluo Realm for who knew how many tens of thousands of years. Its mastery of Metal laws had already reached the absolute summit.

Its cultivation had even nearly touched the Supreme domain, equivalent to a giant demon at the extreme limit of Emperor Dao in the Lingyang Realm. If not for the upheaval in the heaven and earth of the Qiongluo Realm, it might already have attained the Dao.

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Before a battle of this level, even the two Rune Masters beside the White Tiger found it difficult to intervene. Though they were likewise eighth-rank, they could only inscribe rune seals in the void to protect the White Tiger’s body and do what little they could.

For a time, the battlefield fell into a stalemate.

“Since you are determined to seek death, then I shall grant it to you.”

A trace of gloom surfaced in Old Immortal Nanhua’s eyes. Threads of essence blood seeped from his brow, as if a blood eye had opened there. Stars arrayed themselves in his palm, and with another wave of his hand, he replaced the sky above them.

“Two of the Four Spirits of Heaven should be enough to refine at least one furnace of tonic.”

Bang!

Chijunyu, which had been struggling all this time to keep space stable, could no longer withstand the aftershocks of the clash between the two. The spatial barrier isolating Penglai shattered instantly.

Hum.

The instant space broke apart, the silver spear standing atop Penglai Mountain suddenly sprang up. Its spear-light blazed across the world, transforming into a silver divine phoenix that tore through the sky and struck to kill.

Its high, piercing cry shattered the heavens.

Tong Yuan naturally could not have been at ease leaving Shi Lan alone to face so many powerful enemies. He had left behind a backup plan within the long spear, sealing inside it a strike nearly equal to one from his peak days.

The Spear God of Penglai, striking at the height of his power, could sink an entire province. In the present age, no one could withstand it!

“Tong Yuan!!”