Atop Yuxu Peak, a voice boomed like thunder: "The Nuo Ancestor says heavenly fiends are corrupting people's hearts and hiding among us! Those who snatch the immortal pills are all heavenly fiends—anyone may put them to death!"
Those words were like a death-hastening curse. Without the slightest hesitation, powerful experts turned on those nearest to them with murderous intent.
To fight over those nine immortal pills, hundreds lost their lives in a mere fraction of a moment!
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou stayed right beside that single immortal pill, battling the experts who came lunging at them from every side.
Only nine pills had flown out from the Jade Void Palace—far too little broth for far too many monks. Unwilling to forfeit this immortal encounter, everyone fought with desperate abandon.
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou hurled lethal moves at each other, each seeming to crave the other's life. Yet whenever outside enemies swooped in to snatch the immortal pill, the two would strike in unison against the common foe, grievously wounding the interlopers!
Were these two trying to seize the pill, or were they escorting its escape?
Someone soon saw through their game and shouted, "These two are in cahoots! Join forces and kill them!"
Scores of cultivators charged in at once, seeking to wipe out both Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou in a single sweep.
Yet in the next breath, Xu Ying unleashed the twenty-four bright moon beads, manifesting his Heavenly Dao avatar to suppress the entire field!
Behind the Son of Heaven of Zhou, immortal fires surged in a sweeping deluge—a full six distinct kinds of immortal flames, so devastating that not even an Ascension stage Qi Refiner could withstand a single blow!
Driving the crowd back, one recalled his bright moon beads while the other dispersed his immortal fires, and they resumed their duel.
Seeing how fearsome the pair were, the others had no choice but to back off and pursue the other immortal pills instead.
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou fought their way deep into the mountains, where pure white snow blanketed the earth. Wherever the immortal pill passed, snow lotuses sprouted from the drifts, wafting faint, ethereal fragrance into the icy air.
Driven to a sheer precipice with nowhere left to flee, the pill finally came to a halt.
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou arrived before the cliff, confronting each other across the divide. The pill floated between them, neither far from one nor the other. Yet neither moved to claim it.
"Six thousand years ago, Your Excellency risked taking a boat to the other shore just to live another six thousand years, survive until today, and return to Kunlun to seize the immortal medicine," Xu Ying said in a low voice. "Now that the pill floats right before your eyes, why don't you take it?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou replied languidly, "You have the chance to seize it as well. An ageless immortal may have eternal life, but wandering destitute for tens of thousands of years is a wretched existence, having one's destiny dictated by others. Why don't you take the immortal pill? Take it and swallow it, and you can undergo tribulation, ascend, and become an immortal high above the world. Who could manipulate your destiny then?"
Xu Ying smiled. "Your ascension of the entire court seemed magnificent, but it only proved that you lacked the confidence to face the tribulation alone. You bound your whole court of civil and military officials together in hopes of pooling everyone's strength to overcome the heavenly tribulation. Since you fear it so much, why not take this pill and consume it?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou laughed heartily. "To take an immortal pill and ascend is a marvelous thing. A gentleman helps others fulfill their wishes, so I yield this opportunity to Brother Xu."
The two stared each other down, their eyes fixed on the pill, yet neither took the initiative to seize it.
"You're afraid to die, aren't you?" Xu Ying sneered. "You're worried there's a trick to this ascension pill. You suspect the six Nuo Ancestors tampered with it, so you dare not be the first to take one. You're waiting for someone else to consume one first."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou smiled faintly. "And you are not?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "I am not. I am merely keeping you from getting it. I have no interest in ascension."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou let out a soft harrumph.
Suddenly, hearty laughter rang out across the mountains, shouting loud and clear, "I've finally obtained an immortal pill!"
No sooner had the voice fallen than an earth-shattering aura erupted from within the speaker's body, like a raging tide, like an erupting volcano, shaking heaven and earth and sweeping aside wind and clouds!
The billowing aura blew away every shred of cloud drifting above Mount Kunlun, leaving the azure sky clear for ten thousand li!
The experts who had charged toward him were thrown through the air by the invisible wave of force, unable to steady their bodies and coughing blood while still aloft!
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou turned toward the aura, both inwardly astonished. The one radiating such a terrifying presence was a mere youth, looking barely fifteen or sixteen years of age.
He was a Nuo master from the imperial Li clan. Though he practiced both Nuo and Qi, his cultivation had not been exceptionally profound.
Yet with the aid of the Li clan's experts, he had caught an immortal pill amidst the chaos and swallowed it without a second thought.
The terrifying power contained within the pill remodeled his physical body and opened his three great passes. It transformed his Golden Core directly into a Primordial Spirit, vaulted him over the Twelve-Storyed Mansions and the Jade Pool, bypassed the need to shed mortal bone and flesh, crossed the God Bridge, and delivered him straight to the Jade Capital!
From a Nuo master at the Cross-Refinement stage, he had transformed in the blink of an eye into an expert of the Ascension stage!
Behind him, the cave-heavens of his secret depositories burst open all at once, as many as sixty-three cave-heavens shining in radiant harmony across midair!
Even more staggering was the immortal qi spilling from his body, his flesh gleaming with brilliant immortal radiance so dazzling that none could look upon him directly!
The sounds of the Immortal Dao reverberated through him, altering the structure of his physical body and Primordial Spirit, transforming him toward the realm of the non-human!
Everyone sensed the arrival of his fated trial—the aura of heavenly tribulation!
The Li youth's cultivation had arrived; the heavenly tribulation was about to descend!
Terrifying energy surged from nowhere into the clear sky, smothering Mount Kunlun beneath gathering tribulation clouds that grew heavier by the second, weighing on everyone's hearts with awe and dread.
The suffocating presence of the Heavenly Dao enveloped the Kunlun Ruins.
Xu Ying froze slightly. "The Heavenly Dao aura coming from this tribulation... seems a little off..."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou also froze, quickly scanning his surroundings in suspicion. "Strange. I sense the aura of a heavenly fiend. Could a heavenly fiend have entered?"
Just then, the immortal light within the youth shot straight into the clouds. The surging radiance actually parted the tribulation clouds overhead, causing the dreadful, terrifying heavenly tribulation to disperse completely!
Countless pairs of eyes looked up into the sky in disbelief. The tribulation clouds that had barred unnumbered Qi Refiners from ascending had simply vanished into thin air!
As the tribulation dispersed, the heavens parted, and a holy ascension light beamed down from the sky, bathing the youth in its glow.
Pair after pair of envious eyes watched him. This fortunate youth of the Li clan was about to ascend!
Xu Ying was dumbfounded. He murmured, "Could taking an immortal pill truly allow one to ascend? Have I misjudged the Nuo Ancestors? No, why did I sense something strange about that tribulation...?"
His gaze fell upon the pill before him.
At the same time, the gaze of the Son of Heaven of Zhou also locked onto the pill.
The Li youth was drawn upward by the ascension light, rising toward the heavens. As the sky split open, another world was revealed—vast, wondrous, magnificent, filled with inconceivable power and Great Daos.
He was about to ascend!
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou were also poised to strike. Faced with the temptation of an immortal pill that could grant ascension, they resolved in secret that even if they had to unleash their deepest trump cards to slay each other, they would claim this medicine!
Just as the two were on the verge of losing their restraint, a divine furnace suddenly plummeted upside-down from the sky, crushing the heavens and trapping the ascending Li youth inside!
A figure flew in, hoisting the divine furnace with one hand, and laughed loudly. "Not too late! As long as I refine this boy back into an immortal pill and swallow it in time, it will still work!"
Raging flames blazed inside the furnace, scorching the youth, refining him as though he were an elixir!
Cradling the furnace, the figure turned and vanished deep into the folds of Yuxu Peak.
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou were deeply shaken when a sudden gust of fierce wind swept toward them. Without hesitation, Xu Ying unleashed his Heavenly Dao domain, the twenty-four bright moon beads rising into the air as the Heavenly Dao avatar raised its palm to meet the newcomer head-on!
A terrifying force crashed down, knocking both the avatar and Xu Ying back thousands of steps.
On the other side, the Son of Heaven of Zhou was also ambushed. The attacker broke through his six immortal fires, forcing him into retreat.
By the time Xu Ying steadied himself, a small boat had appeared like a ghost before the immortal pill. At the bow stood a man in a bamboo hat, lifting two fingers to lightly pinch the pill between them!
"Put that down!"
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou shouted together and gave chase in hot pursuit. The man in the bamboo hat plucked the pill, and his small craft accelerated dramatically, leaving the two far behind and vanishing without a trace!
Having come up empty, Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou turned to look at the other immortal pills, only to discover that in that fleeting span, the remaining seven had also been swept clean by mysterious experts appearing out of nowhere!
The pair were both furious and alarmed, swallowed by an immense sense of frustration.
Xu Ying clenched his fists, his expression turning cold. "The ones who moved to snatch the pills were those anglers and leek farmers! They passed down counterfeit Nuo methods to harm people and harvest their secret depositories for longevity medicine, and now they rely on their strength to plunder the immortal pills. Truly shameless!"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou's eyes flickered. "Besides Nuo Ancestor Nuo Lu, there are other Nuo Ancestors in Kunlun. Even if we lost one share of the immortal medicine, we will have other chances! However, We sensed an abnormal aura just now."
Xu Ying's heart stirred. "You noticed something wrong with the heavenly tribulation?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou looked at him in surprise, shaking his head. "I sensed the aura of a heavenly fiend. What, was there something wrong with the tribulation as well?"
Xu Ying was startled. "A heavenly fiend aura?"
Suddenly, an astonishing aura erupted from the direction of the mountain peak. A Nether Sea surfaced, as though drifting in another space-time, yet in this moment drawn infinitely close to Kunlun's realm, making passage between the two possible!
"The immortal medicine nurtured in the Nether Sea!" someone cried in shock. "Could the soul immortal medicine be maturing as well?"
Waves churned upon the Nether Sea, raising terrifying surges that took the shape of blooming lotuses, resembling a lotus cave-heaven.
As the waters receded, Twelve-Storyed Mansions rose slowly from the Nether Sea, surrounded by clusters of blazing nether fire.
The soul immortal medicine hailed from those Twelve-Storyed Mansions within the sea!
Before the mansions stood another tall, thin elder leaning on a cane, holding a pink-and-white lotus in his other hand. He stood there chuckling, radiating the poise of an immortal.
That cane was a great speckled serpent, manifested from his immortal qi.
This tall, thin elder was Nuo Ancestor Nuo Xiang, one of the six Nuo Ancestors!
As the crowds surged toward the Nether Sea, Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou exchanged a glance. The Son of Heaven of Zhou asked, "Brother Xu, shall we head over?"
Just as Xu Ying was about to speak, strange light erupted from another part of Yuxu Peak. Swirls of Xuanhuang Qi billowed without end, as though invading from another space-time, staining Kunlun's skies.
Amidst the boundless Xuanhuang Qi, a golden palace gradually parted the mist and came into clear view—the Yellow Court Mansion.
Outside the Yellow Court Mansion, rings of Xuanhuang fire burned, barring the passage between the Yellow Court and the outside world.
Outside this palace stood another ancient, half-human elder, relatively short in stature, standing atop a green serpent.
He was Nuo Ancestor Nuo Yang, another of the six Nuo Ancestors.
Many in the crowd immediately veered off, rushing toward the Yellow Court Mansion.
Xu Ying narrowed his eyes. "We had better wait. My understanding of the Heavenly Dao may not be exceedingly deep, but not even the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao world understand it better than I do. My senses could not be mistaken."
Standing beside him with robes fluttering, the Son of Heaven of Zhou said, "My three thousand courtiers and I traveled back and forth between the six other shores. Because our bodies were rich with immortal medicine, heavenly fiends hunted us down. Our perception of heavenly fiends could not be mistaken either."
Suddenly, another burst of light flared on Yuxu Peak. The Sea of Chaos churned, emerging from the void, and within it stood an ancient palace of white jade—the Mud Pill Palace.
Outside the Sea of Chaos stood an old woman, treading upon two serpents, one black and one white.
She was Nuo Ancestor Nuo Peng of the six Nuo Ancestors.
Xu Ying and the Son of Heaven of Zhou looked on from afar, neither making a move.
"Since neither of our perceptions was mistaken, then what was wrong was the heavenly tribulation—and the immortal medicine," Xu Ying said. "Does Your Excellency agree?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou nodded gently. "Brother Xu's words resonate deeply with Our thoughts."
Suddenly, dazzling immortal radiance flared on the other side as jade light surged. A Jade Capital Palace manifested, where another ancient elder stood, a jade serpent coiled behind him like a dragon.
This elder was Nuo Ancestor Nuo Di of the six Nuo Ancestors.
And across from the Jade Capital Palace, on the other side of the mountain, immortal fires surged as the Crimson Palace surfaced, with Nuo Ancestor Nuo Fan standing before it.
The other five shores—Jade Capital, Mud Pill, Crimson Palace, Yellow Court, and Bubbling Spring—had appeared one after another. The immortal medicines of every other shore were maturing at the exact same moment!
"Brother Ji, I think we need to have a proper talk," Xu Ying said, turning to the Son of Heaven of Zhou. "I am very interested in the heavenly fiends of the other shore you mentioned."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou nodded. "We are also greatly interested in the Heavenly Dao Brother Xu spoke of. Furthermore, if Brother Xu does not mind, you may address Us as Your Majesty."
The two exchanged a look, suppressed the urge to beat each other to death, and leaned in close to compare notes.
Meanwhile, atop Yuxu Peak's sister peak, Yuzhu Peak, Xu Fu stood upon Mount Fangzhang, gazing at the other shores appearing one by one. He smiled suddenly. "Xiao Fengxian, did you sense it?"
"I sensed it!" A phoenix swept over on beating wings, trailing long tail feathers before folding its wings to land before Mount Fangzhang, transforming into a naive young maiden with a phoenix plume upon her head. She said, "My perception was crystal clear—there is no mistaking it! The moment that youth underwent his tribulation and the sky split open, I sensed the aura of a heavenly fiend descending from the Immortal Realm!"
Xu Fu smiled faintly, the scar by the corner of his eye turning bright red, revealing that his heart was anything but calm.
*Finally, the wait is over! Such a marvelous opportunity! Lord Xu, you shall witness the downfall of Nuo and the restoration of the Qi Refiners! Xiao Fengxian, let's go!*
Chapter 247