Fight to the Death!

Fighting three opponents alone, the Immortal Fairy showed not the slightest trace of exhaustion. On the contrary, the more she fought, the fiercer she grew, striking terror into the hearts of all who witnessed it. Before cultivation of this caliber, mountains were softer than blocks of tofu. Wu Youdao and his two companions smashed clean through countless peaks in succession, without the slightest sign of stopping. With even greater speed, the Immortal Fairy materialized behind them, unleashing several punches in rapid succession that sent them hurtling through the air once more. The three of them were bounced around like rubber balls, unable to even steady their bodies—a luxury far beyond their reach. "Spatial defense!" Wu Youdao was the first to regain his footing. Confronting the aggressively advancing Immortal Fairy, he erected layers of spatial barriers—protective treasures handed down by generations of Emperors of Yu. These pockets of space varied in size and were extraordinarily difficult to traverse, each brimming with lethal danger. Anyone trapped inside faced a near-certain death, and even if they managed to escape, they would be stripped of half their life! The Immortal Fairy cast a casual glance at the spaces obstructing her path. Shifting her lotus steps lightly, she passed right through the layers of folded space and planted a kick square in Wu Youdao's face! The blow snapped his neck instantly! "How is this possible!" Wu Youdao was utterly horrified. Even if someone were exceptionally skilled in spatial arts, traversing these spaces should have been impossible. The varying sizes of these spatial pockets had been specifically designed to prevent anyone from crossing them with spatial techniques. "Just now, she used both Shrinking the Earth to Inches and Inches to the Ends of the Earth at the same time!" Venerable Cang Lei possessed a sharp, discerning eye and recognized the Immortal Fairy's methods immediately. Yet he had never heard of anyone capable of executing two supreme spatial arts simultaneously! Not only did Wu Youdao and his beaten companions feel their scalps prickle with dread, but even Qiu Jin'an and the man in the white paper hat watching from afar were thoroughly shaken. Fighting three opponents of the same realm with such effortless ease, the absolute control she displayed undeniably belonged to an immortal! "As expected of Dou Tianzun, who can play with stars like beans at will," the man in the white paper hat sighed softly. Judging from the mere tip of the iceberg the Immortal Fairy had revealed, that description was not exaggerated in the slightest. Qiu Jin'an looked at the man in the white paper hat in surprise. "Dou Tianzun who fiddles with stars like beans? Not Dou Tianzun as in battle?" "'Dou' as in bean," the man in the white paper hat corrected Qiu Jin'an's misconception, but revealed not a fraction more information beyond that. …… The Immortal Fairy stretched luxuriously. Having been cooped up inside the spiritual space all this time, she had finally gotten the chance to stretch her limbs. "I've had my fun; time to wrap things up." She threw three consecutive punches. Each punch carried her profound comprehension of spatial arts and was impossible to evade. Taking the hits, the three could hold on no longer and tumbled from the sky like tattered sacks. "Cough, cough—" Wu Youdao spat out mouthfuls of dark blood, his eyes bloodshot. Ever since his birth, blessed with Dragon-Tiger Qi, everything in his life had gone smoothly. His talent for cultivation was extraordinary, and everyone praised him for possessing the demeanor of his ancestors, destined for greatness. And indeed, cultivation had been as effortless for him as drinking water; he had never encountered a single bottleneck. There had been a slight hurdle when ascending to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, but that was all. He smoothly became the sixth Emperor Yu, while none of his younger brothers or sisters were qualified to compete with him. After ascending the throne, he discovered that cultivation in the Tribulation Transcendence stage was fraught with difficulties, lacking the seamless ease of his earlier years. Yet his ambitions were not confined to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. He wanted to become an immortal. To that end, he participated in the Imperial Preceptor's plan and entered a deep slumber, awakening one hundred and eighty thousand years later to vie for the opportunity of immortality. Before achieving immortality, he set his sights on the power of national destiny. It was a catalyst capable of transforming his Dragon-Tiger Qi, an immense nourishment for him that would prove invaluable in future battles for immortal ascension. The Imperial Preceptor sought to analyze the power of national destiny, while Wu Youdao wished to claim it for himself; thus, the Hanshui City plan had been born. "I am Emperor Yu! An emperor knows no retreat!" Wu Youdao forcefully spat another mouthful of black blood and consumed another half-immortal elixir. His aura surged like a rainbow, the twin currents of Dragon and Tiger Qi flanking him like civil ministers and military generals! Embedded in a mountain crevice, Venerable Cang Lei looked older than ever. He panted heavily. In order to withstand the Immortal Fairy's punch, he had exhausted numerous contingencies, yet even so, he had failed to block it. Under that single fist, the best he could do was barely keep his life. Venerable Cang Lei slowly closed his eyes, reflecting upon his life. When he was born, it was still during the era when the first Imperial Preceptor aided in governing the nation. He had hailed from a mediocre clan, whose Old Ancestor was merely a Soul Formation cultivator. Because of his low status, he received no recognition within the family and suffered endless humiliation. While gathering herbs in the mountains, he had stumbled into a secret realm by chance and obtained an inheritance of lightning arts. After obtaining the inheritance, his plight only marginally improved; he possessed the technique, but lacked resources. To secure resources, he fought desperately, enduring countless bloody battles to elevate himself. He joined various factions, conquered innumerable foes thought to be invincible, and ultimately achieved fame and prestige, trampling the clan that once looked down on him beneath his feet. Because he had fought so recklessly in his youth, combined with the flaws in the lightning art inheritance he obtained, he had burned through a significant portion of his lifespan, leaving him with a shorter life than other Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. To prolong his life, he chose to enter hibernation, intending to forsake the opportunity of immortal ascension while others fought over it, seeking instead spiritual treasures that could extend his lifespan. He did not care who sat on the throne, nor who became an immortal. His participation in the Hanshui City operation was solely because the Imperial Preceptor had promised to help him obtain life-extending treasures. He had never imagined that he would encounter such a formidable adversary, putting his very life in mortal jeopardy. Should he admit defeat? Venerable Cang Lei's consciousness began to fade as scenes from his hurried, turbulent life flashed through his mind: defeating his cousin for the Foundation Establishment spiritual item; joining an assassin organization to gain insights for the Golden Core; vanquishing three peers in succession to shatter the core and form the nascent soul, fighting until his lamp was drained of oil… No! Venerable Cang Lei snapped his eyes open. His entire life had been an unbroken string of battles. Fortunes and opportunities were seized through grit and carved out through slaughter! So what if she possessed an innate counter against him? Did that mean she could never be defeated?! "Kill!" Looking at the familiar yet alien Yin Corpse Mountain Range, Venerable Wu Ji could not help but sigh. He was a descendant of the legendary, reclusive Wu Clan. Because he had stolen the clan's closely guarded secret, the corpse-driving art, his cultivation had been crippled, his memories of the technique wiped, and he had been banished from the clan. Fortunately, his memory had not been entirely erased. Fragments of the corpse-driving art frequently surfaced in his mind. Relying on those fragments, he frequented various graves and cultivated using the grim environment, gradually reclaiming his cultivation and recalling the complete art. To elevate his realm, he stirred up a considerable corpse tide within Great Yu. The imperial court captured him, but instead of executing him, they deemed him a rare talent and decided to nurture him vigorously. Under the imperial court's patronage, his cultivation progressively outpaced the other candidates of his cohort, eventually carrying him to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. The very first thing he did upon breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage was march upon the Wu Clan, slaughtering them down to the last person and seizing a vast wealth of inheritances. The imperial court had given him the strength to exact his vengeance; naturally, he would repay them with his life. That was righteousness and debt of gratitude! "His Majesty must not die here! Give it our all!" A blazing fire ignited in the eyes of all three men as they prepared to fight to the death. "Dragon-Tiger Qi, fight alongside me!" Wu Youdao trampled the dragon qi beneath his feet while the tiger qi transformed into a protective tattoo emblazoned across his back, roaring continuously. His eyes shifted—his left eye became that of a dragon, his right that of a tiger—radiating raw, untamed savagery. "Cang Lei enters the flesh, tempered through a thousand trials!" A thick bolt of azure lightning struck Venerable Cang Lei. A lightning mark surfaced on his forehead, his hair standing on end with electric arcs flickering at the tips. His body rapidly revitalized, returning to the prime of his manhood. He was burning his lifespan in exchange for his body at its peak! "If that old ghost Cang Lei is burning his lifespan, I can't fall behind! Wu Clan Secret Art—Fist of Sacrificing to Heaven!" Venerable Wu Ji went mad, discarding all lingering hesitation and holding nothing back. Letting out a long howl, he offered his body as a sacrifice to the heavens. Boundless power descended from above, flooding into his flesh. Every single cell radiated a shimmering luminescence, gorged to the utmost limit with power! "Attack together!" The three struck simultaneously, putting their lives on the line. Unleashing their ultimate, bottom-of-the-chest techniques, they aimed to slay the Immortal Fairy right here and now! "Be careful!" Qiu Jin'an cried out in warning. Even watching from a distance, the sheer ferocity of their desperate attacks made his blood run cold, breaking out in a sweat across his forehead! The man in the white paper hat swallowed hard, filled with dread over whether the Immortal Fairy could withstand such a lethal onslaught! *Bang, bang, bang—* The Immortal Fairy executed her Fairy Boxing, delivering a single punch to each of them, instantly beating all three into a state of utter collapse. The trio crashed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably, unable to rise. "What was that? You gave this immortal quite a startle. I thought you actually had some impressive moves up your sleeves."