Grand Preceptor Jiang Qi felt a chill deep in his heart. He remembered taking this Heavenly Dao divine artifact to Zhu Chanchan, asking her to wipe away the heavenly god's imprint and replace it with his own.
Back then, Zhu Chanchan's eyes had shone with immense delight. He had assumed it was merely greed and the sheer thrill of working on a rare treasure, never imagining that this was the very day she had been waiting for.
*She prepared long ago to assassinate the Son of Heaven and avenge her teacher.*
As Jiang Qi tumbled toward the outskirts of the city, he looked up. Feilai Peak was descending toward the Son of Heaven of Zhou beneath the heavenly tribulation with peerless, apocalyptic might.
Zhu Chanchan had schemed meticulously, preparing for this day for far too long.
Even the big bell and Yuan Qi at Xu Ying's side had become tools for her to exploit.
Countless Heavenly Dao runes were branded within the big bell and Yuan Qi. Now those runes blazed with light, harmonizing with the heavenly tribulation outside and greatly amplifying its power—which Xu Ying had previously severed by seventy percent!
Zhu Chanchan intended to utterly destroy the Son of Heaven of Zhou!
*Did she blast me out of the city because she didn't want to kill me? Her only enemy is the Son of Heaven of Zhou.*
Jiang Qi snapped tree after tree with loud crashes, coughing up mouthfuls of blood as he was pinned against a cliff face, unable to move.
Memories flooded his mind of when Zhu Chanchan had refined the Divine Boat of the Other Shore, and why the vessel had perpetually hovered on the brink of falling apart without ever truly doing so.
It was because three thousand Great Zhou Qi Refiners were aboard.
Those people were not Zhu Chanchan's enemies.
The Divine Boat of the Other Shore had teetered between collapsing and holding together because Heavenly Artisan Zhu's heart had also been torn between god and demon, locked in a fierce inner war.
She had hesitated over whether to slaughter everyone and bury them alongside the Son of Heaven of Zhou, or to spare him and those Qi Refiners. On one side was repaying her master's kindness and exacting vengeance; on the other was slaughtering three thousand innocent souls.
In the end, Zhu Chanchan's divine nature had triumphed over her demonic nature, allowing them to drift through six thousand years of wandering and return alive from the other shore.
Xu Ying and Chu Xiangxiang watched the scene unfold, utterly stunned. Chu Xiangxiang was in disarray, murmuring, "Why would Chanchan try to kill the Son of Heaven of Zhou...?"
Xu Ying, however, felt a surge of genuine admiration. "I thought she lacked the courage to avenge her teacher," he whispered, "yet all along she was biding her time for this day. Seventh Master and Lord Bell became tools for her scheme as well, though they hardly have room to complain—who told them to follow at her heels every day, kissing up to her with non-stop flatteries of 'Ancestor'?"
He truly admired Zhu Chanchan's methods. Though she had used Yuan Qi and the big bell, she had refined them into formidable states to ensure her plan's success.
In particular, her stroke of genius in using the Heavenly Dao runes within them to stoke the tribulation's power against the Son of Heaven of Zhou was something he could not help but applaud!
Watching this, Chu Xiangxiang wondered, *Isn't the Son of Heaven of Zhou his friend? Why isn't Uncle Ying the least bit worried to see him facing death?*
Xu Ying had never considered a person like the Son of Heaven of Zhou a friend.
In his eyes, the Son of Heaven of Zhou and Zulong were cut from the same cloth: solitary tyrants. They only lay low in the mortal realm because the heavenly tribulation suppressed them.
If the day ever came when they soared above the clouds, they might very well be the ones manipulating the heavenly tribulation.
Xu Ying could admire their intellect, courage, and strength, and he could join hands with them against common foes, but they were not friends. An oppressed snake catcher becoming bosom friends with an emperor in distress, or even sympathizing with the imperial master who had once subjugated him, made no sense at all.
Just as the man in the bamboo hat was about to strike his palm against Zhu Chanchan's back, he paused upon seeing the scene unfold. Turning around, he faced the soldiers of the Great Zhou.
Sister and brother stood back-to-back, as if they had returned to days long past.
"Senior Sister," he said softly, "I will kill Ji Man first, and then I will kill you!"
Zhu Chanchan unleashed Feilai Peak, along with the big bell and Yuan Qi.
The big bell and Yuan Qi were simultaneously thrilled and terrified. They felt layer upon layer of imprints within their bodies being stimulated. Heavenly Dao majesty erupted from inside Yuan Qi and along the inner walls of the bell, resonating with the heavenly tribulation and magnifying its ferocity!
*Boom!*
Haojing suddenly sank, forced deeper into the earth under the crushing weight!
At the same time, the Son of Heaven of Zhou threw his head back, directly facing the terrifying descent of Feilai Peak. The Five-Colored Immortal King Banner rose behind him, casting five beams of immortal radiance to meet the mountain!
"Undergoing tribulation means braving the heavenly tribulation, but also human tribulations! Heavenly Artisan Zhu, though I did not guard against you, I guarded against everyone!"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou roared relentlessly, his clothes shredding until his upper torso was bare. His Primordial Spirit manifested behind him—a hundred-zhang-tall figure brandishing the Immortal King Banner. Five beams of immortal radiance soared skyward, shattering the magic treasures encircling Feilai Peak one by one!
"They call me 'the solitary one,' for a sovereign stands utterly alone! The only one I can trust is myself!"
Feilai Peak's overwhelming power bore down. Even with an extraordinary treasure like the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner, the Son of Heaven of Zhou bled profusely from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose under the pressure!
"I, Ji Man, am the scion of an Immortal King! Inheriting the bloodline of an Immortal King and the legacy of my ancestors, I will never perish here! Nor can I perish here!"
The immense pressure ruptured his skin, causing blood to stream endlessly.
His Primordial Spirit wavered and softened, vital essence leaking away continuously.
Zhu Chanchan had plotted for far too long. When she helped him refine Haojing, her intention had always been to turn the city against him to kill him. This time, possessing both the opportune moment and terrain, she struck decisively without mercy.
Channeling the power of Haojing and harnessing the tribulation's might, Feilai Peak compounded his wounds upon wounds.
Fortunately for him, the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner was astonishingly potent. Its five beams of immortal radiance danced like dragons, continually shaving away the thousands of treasures adorning Feilai Peak and sending countless fragments scattering across the air.
The massive backlash traveling from Feilai Peak jolted Zhu Chanchan into coughing up blood.
She held the initiative and the advantage of timing, striking first with the aid of the heavenly tribulation. Yet the banner's might was so ferocious that it threatened to grind Feilai Peak to dust.
Under her control, Haojing crumbled ceaselessly. Massive magic treasures rose into the air and merged into Feilai Peak to sustain its power!
As the two supreme treasures clashed, bolts of tribulation lightning rained down from the sky, piercing through Feilai Peak and striking the Son of Heaven of Zhou right on the head.
Because he was pouring everything into resisting Feilai Peak, the Son of Heaven of Zhou could not activate his ancient arts in time. Flesh and blood flew, aggravating his severe wounds even further.
"You court death!"
He roared in fury, vigorously waving the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner. Chants of immortal music suddenly resonated from the banner, causing its power to skyrocket. Accompanied by the resonant sounds of the Immortal Dao, the five streams of immortal qi forcibly pulverized Feilai Peak into pieces!
Thick beams of immortal light soared upward, sweeping toward Zhu Chanchan in the sky above!
Her face paled. She cast out the big bell, its walls bursting with streaks of immortal radiance as it whistled through the air. Threading between the five dancing beams of immortal light, it narrowly avoided them and slammed into the Son of Heaven of Zhou's forehead with a loud *clang*!
On the other side, the five beams of immortal light rotated like five whirling immortal swords, slicing down toward Zhu Chanchan.
Zhu Chanchan swept her sleeve and threw Yuan Qi clear of the sweeping beams, but it was already too late for her to escape.
Just then, six radiant cave-heavens appeared before her to shield her. The immortal light severed the cave-heavens one after another, followed immediately by a Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground rising to block the five beams.
The immortal light carved into this paradise, crushing its Dao visions, leveling its mountains, and boiling its seas dry.
Zhu Chanchan and the man in the bamboo hat stood side by side, both summoning their Primordial Spirits to meet the falling immortal light in a desperate stand.
Their Primordial Spirits blocked the first beam, the second, and the third, but the relentless pressure forced them backward until they crashed through the Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground with a loud roar.
The immortal realm disintegrated instantly.
The fourth and fifth beams arrived in quick succession, slashing into their Primordial Spirits. The two stepped forward, staking their lives on using their mortal bodies to resist, and finally fended off the final blow.
Drenched in blood, they saw the Qi Refiners of Great Zhou surging toward them. Zhu Chanchan channeled her last drops of magic power, commanding the surviving treasures of Haojing to blast a way out of the encirclement.
Covered in blood, the brother and sister staggered as they fled into the distance.
Behind them, a portion of the Great Zhou Qi Refiners descended to check on the Son of Heaven of Zhou, while the rest set off in ferocious pursuit of the fleeing pair.
Soon, they vanished without a trace.
Yuan Qi glanced around furtively, preparing to slip away from the ruins in disgrace, when Xu Ying's voice called out, "Seventh Master."
Yuan Qi froze, turned his head, and saw Xu Ying standing outside the city. Blinking rapidly, he offered an ingratiating smile. "Master Ying, what a coincidence! What brings you here?"
"Before Seventh Master, how could I, Little Weak Xu, dare call myself Master Ying?"
Xu Ying gave a half-smile. "These days, you've been clinging to Chanchan nonstop. Having found someone new, you cast aside an old friend like me, and now you reap what you sowed, eh?"
Yuan Qi hurried to protest, "How could Little Seven dare cast aside Master Ying for someone new? Wasn't it Master Ying who was busy traveling the scenic mountains and rivers with Miss Xiangxiang, neglecting Lord Bell and me?"
Xu Ying snorted, feeling a touch guilty. *I suppose I really have been spending these past few days wandering around with Xiangxiang to relax.*
Just then, the big bell flew over looking crestfallen. It shook the dust from its surface, revealing a patch where the banner's immortal light had scraped away the bronze patina, uncovering a radiant gleam beneath.
That light came from the immortal gold of Mount Kunlun's Yuzhu Peak, gifted by the Queen Mother of the West, of which Xu Ying, the bell, and Yuan Qi had each received a share.
The big bell was baffled. "The glow on me..."
"No need to look," Xu Ying said. "It's our immortal gold."
"Ancestor Chanchan didn't skim any of it?" Yuan Qi scratched his head with his tail.
Xu Ying looked at the fragments of Feilai Peak carpeting the ground and pondered. "Probably not. If she had, Feilai Peak wouldn't have shattered so easily."
Moreover, there was no luster of immortal gold among the rubble.
"Where is Lord Grass?" Xu Ying asked.
The grave grass poked its head out from Yuan Qi's forehead; it had been hiding inside him all along.
The heavenly tribulation continued to strike down. Xu Ying looked toward the center of the ruins, where troops formed an impenetrable wall around the Son of Heaven of Zhou, whose fate remained unknown.
Numerous soldiers raised the Immortal King Banner in an attempt to block the lightning, but the bolts curved right around the banner and struck the Son of Heaven of Zhou nonetheless.
"The tribulation continues; it seems he isn't dead yet." Xu Ying marveled at his resilience.
"Brother Ji, I can shield your heavenly secrets so the tribulation cannot sense you. Emperor Wu Shen Luo had his heavenly secrets shielded by me, which was why his tribulation stopped," Xu Ying called out with a smile. "Does Brother Ji require assistance?"
"No need."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou's voice drifted from the crowd, weak and grievously wounded, yet speaking with immense difficulty, "This heavenly tribulation is one that I must overcome on my own. Brother Xu, please take your leave."
Xu Ying led Yuan Qi and the big bell away. Puzzled, Yuan Qi asked, "Ah Ying, why didn't he want our help?"
"He doesn't trust us," Xu Ying said. "He never trusted us from the very beginning. He doesn't trust anyone. Seventh Master, you heard him yourself—he called himself 'the solitary one.'"
Yuan Qi praised, "Ah Ying, you've learned to pick apart words like a scholar."
"Chanchan placed so many imprints on you two. Can you trace them in reverse to sense where she fled?" Xu Ying asked.
The big bell and Yuan Qi focused their senses. Yuan Qi shook his head. "The imprints she left behind seem to have all vanished."
The bell agreed. "Same here. I can't sense her aura anymore."
Frowning slightly, Xu Ying leaped into the air, giving chase in the direction Zhu Chanchan had fled. "Xiangxiang already went after them earlier. Let's follow along the Xiang River!"
Yuan Qi and the big bell hurried to keep pace. The great serpent ascended into the sky, swelling within moments into a giant beast hundreds of zhang long. Riding the mist and clouds, he darted through the cloud cover and scooped up the running Xu Ying.
Xu Ying landed between his horns, noticing the Yin and Yang qi swirling there, coalescing into a Taiji diagram of twin fish. It boosted the serpent's speed dramatically as he cut through the air, commanding the forces of Yin and Yang.
Xu Ying was momentarily stunned. After Zhu Chanchan's tempering, Yuan Qi was no longer like an ordinary viper.
They caught up with the Great Zhou Qi Refiners, only to find that they had already lost the trail and had no idea where Zhu Chanchan and the man in the bamboo hat had gone.
Yuan Qi pressed forward and soon caught up with Chu Xiangxiang. The Xiang River flowed through the sky, and the great serpent swam swiftly to glide alongside it.
Chu Xiangxiang shook her head. "I lost them too."
On an unnamed hill by the shores of the Eastern Sea, Zhu Chanchan and the man in the bamboo hat touched down. Staggering, Zhu Chanchan collapsed to the ground. Controlling Feilai Peak against the Son of Heaven of Zhou's Five-Colored Immortal King Banner had brought severe backlash, leaving her heavily injured.
The man in the bamboo hat was wounded even worse, yet he swayed as he rose to his feet. He raised his hand to strike her head, but paused.
"Senior Sister, why did you abandon me?" He looked toward the shore, where crashing waves churned up endless white foam.
Zhu Chanchan panted heavily, whispering, "I had to survive to get my revenge. For as long as Ji Man lived, I had to live just as long. I had to kill him with my own hands. Xiao Hui, your cultivation wasn't enough. I couldn't take you to the other shore; doing so would have only gotten you killed..."
The man in the bamboo hat fell silent. His name was Fu Hui—entrusted to the spring sunlight.
"Then why didn't you teach me our sect's supreme arts?" he asked.
"I taught you the fundamentals, and you learned them very well. That was how Master taught me; he said he was only responsible for guiding me through the door, and the rest depended on my own cultivation." Sitting on the ground, Zhu Chanchan looked up and smiled. "If you hate me for that, then go ahead and strike."
Fu Hui looked down at his bloodstained hands, overwhelmed by an indescribable mix of emotions. All the hatred he had harbored toward his senior sister had never truly been about her.
He asked, "Senior Sister, did I really learn well?"
Zhu Chanchan nodded gently. "You should have let go of your hatred toward Ji Man, lived a good life, and spent your days in happiness. Master's vengeance was mine to bear. If I couldn't kill him in one attempt, I would try a second time, and a third. You were different. Master died not long after you entered the sect; there wasn't much affection between the two of you."
Fu Hui looked at her. It was true that he had felt little affection for their teacher, but the bond he shared with his senior sister ran deep.
He walked away, coming to rest on a solitary rock by the shore, far away from her.
Grievously wounded, exhausted, and weary, Zhu Chanchan soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, she woke to the sound of crashing waves. She swayed as she stood, every inch of her body burning with pain.
Zhu Chanchan channeled her Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven, doing her best to treat her wounds, and saw that Fu Hui was still sitting by the shore.
She hobbled toward him. "Xiao Hui..."
The youth by the sea looked back, a smile gracing his face. "Senior Sister, it hurt so much last night, but I didn't dare make a sound for fear of waking you."
As he turned his head, Zhu Chanchan saw a faint line of light at the back of his head, thin and delicate, like the mark of a seam.
A great sorrow seized her heart. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out; she wanted to weep, but no tears would fall.
Fu Hui looked just like the youth from six thousand years ago, back in the days when he had studied at her side—carefree and untouched by worries.
"Senior Sister, let's go back," he said, his eyes pure and pleading.
"Alright," she agreed, holding back her grief.
A sea breeze swept past, carrying a contented sigh. A human skin, stripped of all lingering obsessions, fluttered on the wind and settled into Zhu Chanchan's hands, neatly folded.
Chapter 303