First Meeting with Yin Fenghai; High Above, the Bright Moon Shines on Me Alone!

Whoosh— In the rear courtyard of Qinghui Garden, Huang Tian's expression was calm and placid as countless strands of worldly spiritual qi poured into his body. Vigorous vital blood surged through his meridians. His sinews and bones chimed in unison, emitting subtle resonant vibrations, while true qi billowed like a vast river, coursing through complete heavenly circuits across his body. Pfft— At a certain moment, an almost imperceptible sound rang out in his mind. Rank Two—accomplished! A lustrous, jade-like radiance emanated from Huang Tian's body. His skin grew as smooth and delicate as fine jade, while his bones shone brilliantly, resembling vajra colored glaze. Hoo— He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath, one that carried a trace of ethereal purity. "Not bad." Feeling the brimming vital blood and surging true qi within him, a smile touched the corners of Huang Tian's lips. "Now, I should be able to fight a Celestial Being..." "Hm?" Suddenly, his brow twitched. He tapped his toes against the ground, his sleeves fluttering as he rose into the air. Looking up into the distance, he saw dozens of escape lights streaking across the sky more than twenty li outside the commandery city like falling stars, and he could faintly hear voices in the wind shouting, "Wei Shen!" The armament master was forced into the open? He understood immediately. With a rumbling boom, he whipped up a long tornado of air currents and shot across the sky! Beneath the bright moonlight, he flew at astonishing speed, traversing nearly twenty li of open sky in the blink of an eye to catch up to those twenty-odd streaks of light. "So fast!" "Who is flying that fast?!" Up in the sky, someone heard the rolling sound of wind and thunder behind him and looked back in shock, only to see a white tornado swiftly sweeping past him toward the front. "That is... Huang Tian?! How can his flight speed be so terrifying?!" More than a dozen pursuers were overtaken in succession, cries of alarm erupting one after another. At the very front, Wei Shen, clutching the Juntian Ocean-Subduing Ruler as he fled for his life, glanced back and immediately felt his scalp tingle with dread. Too fast! He's far faster than even ordinary Rank One martial artists! He knew he could not keep flying, or he would certainly be overtaken within a dozen breaths. His frantic gaze swept over the vast earth below. There's a dense forest! I'll hide there! He immediately steered the divine armament downward toward a thick forest. In a flash, he plunged into the depths of the forest. Just as he was about to sprint away, five consecutive streaks of light landed around him, sealing off every path of retreat. Rumble! Amid a series of concussive blasts, Huang Tian landed on the ground, separated from Wei Shen by a mere few yards. The moment he appeared, the atmosphere turned deathly solemn. The five Rank One martial artists exchanged glances, their bodies subtly shifting toward him, consciously or unconsciously regarding him as their common rival. Swish, swish— Right after, another twenty-odd streaks of light descended all around, revealing figures who were all illustrious Grandmaster-level experts from Qin Province or neighboring provinces. They stared hungrily at the Juntian Ocean-Subduing Ruler in Wei Shen's hands, but when their gazes swept around and settled upon the impassive Huang Tian, their expressions stiffened. In all of Kunyun Commandery—no, in the entire Qin Province—the person they feared most was Huang Tian. If Huang Tian were determined to contest the divine armament with them, they would stand little chance of winning. Without prior agreement, everyone regarded Huang Tian as their greatest adversary, faintly harboring thoughts of joining forces. Five Rank One Great Grandmasters! Plus Huang Tian, and over twenty Rank Two and Rank Three martial artists... This time, I fear doom is inescapable... A sliver of despair welled up in Wei Shen's heart. Yet, he still wanted to make one final struggle, and he looked around at the crowd. "I know you all want to claim the divine armament, but as everyone knows, divine armaments choose their masters! If one isn't recognized by it, having it in your hands is useless. Even if you kill me, you can never become the new armament master..." No one answered. Whether one could become the armament master could be dealt with later; seizing the divine armament first was what mattered! What if the divine armament happened to choose them? Feeling the oppressive pressure of dozens of auras, the bitterness in Wei Shen's heart deepened. Alas, I thought gaining a divine armament made me the chosen one of destiny. Who could have guessed I would die here today! He sighed and gripped the Juntian Ocean-Subduing Ruler tightly, resolved to make a desperate, suicidal strike. As an armament master, although he was only at Rank Five, he possessed Rank Three combat prowess. If he poured all his vital blood and true qi into the divine armament, he could partially awaken it, unleashing Rank One combat prowess for a brief moment! Of course, after that outburst, he would be completely drained and left entirely at everyone's mercy. Yet, in his current predicament, unleashing it or not meant death all the same. He might as well drag one or two down with him so he wouldn't be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs. Sensing the tragic, desperate resolve rolling off Wei Shen, the crowd couldn't help hesitating. No one knew just what an armament master was capable of when facing death, and it would be utter misfortune to be dragged into mutual destruction. Since they didn't make a move, Huang Tian didn't either. He wasn't worried about Wei Shen's trump card, nor was he concerned that making a move would invite a coordinated attack from everyone present. What truly kept him from acting in haste was... "Lively indeed." A soft chuckle suddenly rang through the dense forest, detonating like thunder in everyone's hearts. Startled, the crowd hastily turned toward the sound. There, dozens of yards away atop a towering ancient tree, stood a figure clad in plain white robes, having appeared without anyone noticing. The night breeze blew, gently fluttering his wide sleeves and lapels like gathering and dispersing clouds. Even more wondrous was that the pure moonlight in the sky seemed uniquely enamored with him. The cool radiance flowing across the heavens appeared to be gathered and converged by an invisible hand, ultimately congealing into a beam of lucid, bright light that gently enveloped him and the colossal ancient tree beneath his feet. The surrounding hills, woods, and everything else seemed to fade into a dim background at this moment. He merely stood with his hands behind his back, doing nothing at all, yet he achieved a flawless harmony with the ancient tree, the solitary moon, and the night sky, standing as the sole focal point amidst the boundless darkness. High above, the bright moon hung, shining upon him alone! Hiss— Just meeting this man's eyes cast an immense pressure onto everyone's hearts, as though the entire canopy of the heavens was descending alongside his gaze! How can he be... this strong?! Nearly everyone was shaken to their core, and Wei Shen was no exception. His heart roared in disbelief, Could he be... a Celestial Being?!! The white-robed man atop the tall tree paid no mind to their shock. His gaze of appreciation fell upon Huang Tian. "Are you Huang Tian?" Huang Tian nodded slightly, then furrowed his brows slightly and said, "You are not him." What did that mean? Many martial artists looked bewildered. What was this "You are not him"? The white-robed man smiled softly. "Quite right. This is merely a wisp of my divine intent possessing another vessel; my true body still rests in some nameless hill." As those words landed, shock and madness flashed across everyone's faces. Possession via divine intent?! Even Celestial Beings could not accomplish that! Only legendary Void Realm experts, having cultivated a Soul, could possess another with their divine intent to survey the myriad sights of the mortal world and unleash a fraction of their power across thousands of li! "Void Realm?! You're a Void Realm expert!" Wei Shen's eyes went wide. Could there really be a hidden Void Realm master in this world? "Still a hairsbreadth away," the white-robed man said with a sigh of regret. "That single step is like an insurmountable chasm, difficult to cross even in several decades." Only then did the crowd inexplicably breathe a sigh of relief. But right after, they guessed who this person had to be—if one were to ask who in this world was closest to the Void Realm, there was unquestionably only one answer. "Yin Fenghai!!" several people gasped. The white-robed man smiled. "It is I." Hearing this, Wei Shen sank into profound despair. If even Yin Fenghai had come to snatch the divine armament, there was no way he could survive. Yet, to his surprise, Yin Fenghai had not looked at him once from beginning to end; his gaze had remained fixed on Huang Tian throughout. Yin Fenghai asked, "Do you want the Void Realm divine armament?" "It would be nice to have, but it doesn't matter if I don't." "Once your divine intent is formed, your path is set. Unless you are willing to destroy all the foundation accumulated from your cultivation and accept the legacy of that Void Realm expert from ten thousand years ago without omitting a thing, taking it is of no use to you." Huang Tian said thoughtfully, "Did you once obtain a Void Realm divine armament?" Yin Fenghai nodded. "Three months ago, the ones that emerged were not just the Juntian Ocean-Subduing Ruler and the Thundering Lightning-Chasing Divine Sword, but also the River and Mountain Dragon Abyss Saber. I borrowed it from the saber master to study for over a month, but gained next to nothing." Everyone was astonished. So yet another divine armament had descended into the world, and it had even been in Yin Fenghai's hands! He said calmly, "The Void Realm is what I seek. However, if reaching the Void Realm requires abandoning my own path, I can only cast it aside like a worn-out shoe." As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's hearts trembled. Wei Shen, in particular, was filled with indescribable mixed feelings. Was the Void Realm divine armament he guarded with his life, the supreme treasure that hundreds of millions of martial artists across the world dreamed of, truly nothing more than a useless trinket in Yin Fenghai's eyes? "I came to Qin Province solely to meet you," Yin Fenghai said with evident appreciation. "Having just reached Rank Two, you have already comprehended divine intent... No, your divine intent has been nurtured for many days, whereas your vital blood only just broke through. You comprehended divine intent back when you were at Rank Three? "Good! Your talent is greater than Wan Shenyang's was back then! Greater than mine as well! Very good! Very good!" "Divine intent?!" Another wave of astonished cries rose and fell. No one was ignorant of how crucial divine intent was! And no one failed to understand how difficult it was to comprehend! Yet Huang Tian had actually comprehended divine intent at Rank Three?! And now he had broken through to Rank Two as well? Dozens of uncertain and shocked gazes lingered on Huang Tian. Yin Fenghai threw back his head and laughed, his laughter reverberating across the wilderness and holding back the winds and clouds. "The world calls me a prodigy who appears once in thousands of years, but in my view, you are the true creation of Heaven and Earth! With you here, this era is finally not a lonely one!" After his laughter faded, his figure grew increasingly ethereal, looking as if it might disperse with the wind at any second. Speaking in the appreciative tone of an elder to a promising junior, he said, "Do you have any questions? Ask, and I shall tell you all I know." "I have no questions. I wish only to exchange a strike with you and witness a glimpse of the grace belonging to the world's foremost expert." Yin Fenghai was caught off guard for an instant, then smiled and nodded. "As you wish." Whoosh— He lifted his foot and lightly tapped the void. An invisible aura centered on him instantly expanded, enveloping everyone present. In the next second, everyone's minds blurred with a trance-like daze, and they felt as though they had arrived in an illusory world. Looking as far as the eye could see, thousands of immortal peaks floated above a boundless sea of clouds. Some were like sharp swords piercing the azure vault, sharp and unyielding; some were like azure lotus buds waiting to blossom, quiet and profound; some were like colossal tortoises crouched low, bearing the vicissitudes of eternity. Within the immortal mountains, radiant luster swirled, and all manner of miraculous spiritual flora grew in wild abundance, wafting a luminous, precious fragrance. High in the sky, divine birds such as immortal cranes and cyan luan skimmed across the vast heavens, their cries clear and melodious, their tail feathers trailing streams of light that drew long, wondrous tracks across the celestial vault. Just as everyone was enraptured by the spectacle— Roar! From the highest, most distant depths of the firmament came the roar of a dragon. A divine dragon tens of thousands of feet long emerged from the vast, misty clouds. Its towering head was rugged and imposing, its two eyes resembling a pair of blazing miniature red-gold suns, exuding innate majesty with every glance. With merely a gentle sweep of its great tail, it could churn the clouds and winds across hundreds and thousands of li. And atop that most magnificent dragon head, a figure stood with hands behind his back. He was no longer dressed in white; a black robe whipped and snapped in the wind, its dark-gold cloud patterns flowing endlessly like water, while boundless immortal light shimmered all about him, framing him like the supreme sovereign of Heaven and Earth! "The Immortal-Demon Dual Phenomena Primordial Art!" a Rank One Grandmaster cried in awe. "Rumor has it that Yin Fenghai comprehended both the Immortal and Demon divine intents—is this the Immortal?" Yin Fenghai stood atop the dragon head, looking down. His voice rolled outward like billowing thunder. "Let me witness your divine intent." "Very well!" Huang Tian stepped forward, and a tens of thousands of feet tall phantom stepped forth from his body. That phantom resembled a Divine Emperor of the Nine Heavens, wearing an imperial crown with twelve tasseled pendants and an imperial robe swirling with shifting galaxies. Its mere presence here caused this illusory world to tremble and sway! Yin Fenghai looked visibly moved. After sizing it up for a moment, he raised a palm without hesitation. Within that single palm, the spiritual essence of the surrounding universe converged. Phantoms of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, flowers, birds, insects, and fish rose, fell, formed, and vanished within it as it pressed down toward Huang Tian! Simultaneously, the immense divine dragon beneath his feet let out a sky-shaking roar, disgorging a vast torrent of dragon breath that flowed like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, pouring entirely into Yin Fenghai's sky-covering palm that spanned like a rainbow! Wherever the palm print passed, space collapsed layer upon layer, emitting an agonizing groan under the unbearable weight. Facing this strike, the Divine Emperor before Huang Tian lifted a palm—seemingly slow yet unimaginably swift—and cleaved downward at an angle! Clang!! A clear ring abruptly resonated between heaven and earth as a celestial saber, frost-white like a bolt of silk, flashed into existence. None could tell how long the blade was, for it stretched across the entire horizon. The celestial saber shone with resplendent majesty, slashing straight down toward the radiant, rainbow-like palm print! Boom!!! The instant the two collided, a blinding, magnificent burst of light exploded between heaven and earth. A terrifying shockwave expanded outward in concentric circles at staggering speed, billowing in all directions. Wherever it swept, the thousands of immortal peaks glowing with spiritual light, the magnificent palaces, the cascading spiritual waterfalls, the soaring immortal birds, and the exotic flora swiftly disintegrated and dissolved. Immediately after, the heavens tilted and collapsed, the earth crumbled, and this illusory spiritual world shuddered violently twice before shattering completely! After another brief daze, all the martial artists came back to their senses and raised their heads in sheer terror. They saw the aftershocks generated by the clash of the two colossal divine intents shooting straight into the sky! An enormous moon-white halo, spanning a full thirty li in radius, abruptly blossomed and rippled across the night sky! The halo was so luminous, so bright and clear, its cold radiance so grand that it seemed as though another bright moon had risen into the sky! It reflected and rivaled the true moon hanging in the distance, each competing in radiance. Between Heaven and Earth, twin moons hung in the sky!