Old Acquaintance

Bringing back the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor last time hadn't been enough; this time, she had directly brought two ancient half-immortals to Prison Peak, hadn't she? *I am in the Tribulation Transcendence stage, not an immortal.* If this kept up, he couldn't even imagine what kind of prominent figure she would drag back next. "Is it that Lu Yang kid again?" The child grandmaster suddenly realized the root of why he had never known peace since retiring. "Little Junior Brother just happened to be present." Gasps of chilled breath rose one after another among the inmates of Prison Peak. Every inmate imprisoned in Prison Peak over the past two years was connected to this cultivator named Lu Yang. Moreover, the backgrounds of the arriving prisoners were each more absurdly formidable than the last. First came an emperor of Great Yu, and now half-immortals who had vied for supremacy over the world. If Prison Peak could be counted as a faction, it would be on par with the Demon Empire. The Demon Empire had only two half-immortals to its name. Never in their lives had they imagined they would witness two great Supremes who had fought for world dominion. When Great Yu Emperor Wu Youdao saw Nightmare Supreme, his gaze turned particularly evasive. As the sixth emperor of Great Yu, no one knew better than him how terrifying Nightmare Supreme was. In his ancestor's struggle for the realm, Nightmare Supreme had undeniably been the single greatest stumbling block—an indisputable fact! "Leave Nightmare here. I'm taking Void out for a bit." Eldest Senior Sister wasn't worried that Nightmare would escape; she had already planted a thought seed inside Nightmare Supreme. The moment a thought of escaping sprouted in his mind, the thought seed would grow, tormenting him until he wished he were dead. Upon learning that a thought seed had been planted, the Grandmaster finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. Void Supreme had no idea where Yun Zhi was taking him. Hauled by the collar by Eldest Senior Sister, he hurtled like lightning across the sky and reached their destination. The Imperial Palace of the Imperial City! Void Supreme instantly turned red-eyed with jealousy. If not for the Jiang and Meng families, this place should have been his territory—no, the entirety of Great Xia should have belonged to him! Before arriving at the Imperial Palace, Yun Zhi sent a voice transmission to Emperor Xia, telling him to dismiss everyone around him. Currently handling memorials regarding Chunjiang City in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Xia was momentarily startled, but quickly recovered and ordered the eunuchs and palace maids to withdraw. Yun Zhi arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation holding Void Supreme. Looking at Emperor Xia, whose brow bore some resemblance to Jiang Ping'an, Void Supreme was so infuriated that his aura became unstable. "Presumably, he is the Void Supreme who vied with our ancestor for the realm?" Emperor Xia examined Void Supreme closely, clicking his tongue in wonder. It was no easy feat to have the opportunity to see his old ancestor's rival in person. Faced with Yun Zhi's strength, Void Supreme felt dread. But facing the descendant of his nemesis—an Emperor Xia with negligible cultivation talent at that—Void Supreme had no reason to mind his manners. "It seems Jiang Ping'an committed countless wicked deeds, leaving his descendants with barely a few years left to live!" At a single glance, he saw Emperor Xia's frailty, which stemmed from a deficit in lifespan, and could not help gloating. Emperor Xia's expression darkened; this was his sorest spot. Yun Zhi suddenly remembered what the Immortal Fairy had mentioned: there existed in the world a heaven-and-earth spiritual root resembling a peach tree, which fell outside the bounds of ordinary heavenly materials and earthly treasures. The immortal peaches grown on it could extend one's lifespan, though its whereabouts were unknown. And in the secret realm where she had grown up, aside from the Child-and-Mother River, there were countless peach trees. Could one of the trees in that secret realm be that so-called heaven-and-earth spiritual root? If so, Emperor Xia would be saved. Since it wasn't yet confirmed, there was no need to tell Emperor Xia and get his hopes up in vain. Void Supreme felt inexplicably better. He had thought Cult Master Yun brought him here just to vex him, but now it seemed he had found some amusement for himself. Wait... since Cult Master Yun was acquainted with the current Emperor Xia, didn't that mean Great Xia was in league with the ancient Heavenly Court? He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. "Then I shall take him inside to meet someone first," Yun Zhi said casually. Hearing this, Emperor Xia personally opened the door for her. Void Supreme was somewhat bewildered. Who else was she taking him to see? Yun Zhi had no intention of answering Void Supreme. Instead, she carried him toward the palace's rear courtyard, to a place known among the palace maids and eunuchs as the "Forbidden Grounds." Red walls, red gates, and blue tiles—that was the impression palace dwellers held of the Forbidden Grounds. As for what lay inside, why entry was forbidden to all, and who on earth resided within, none could say. Two bronze beast heads were carved onto the towering red gate, rings clasped in their jaws. Yun Zhi tapped lightly on the door rings three times. *Clang, clang, clang.* The ferocious bronze beasts' eyes lit up, and the gate swung silently open. Stepping into the Forbidden Grounds, Void Supreme realized the interior was entirely unlike what it appeared from outside. Seen from without, no buildings or rising hills exceeded the height of the red palace walls. Yet in reality, the interior was vast and boundless, complete with mountains, rivers, and streams—except everything was exceedingly miniature. The tallest mountain was merely thirty to forty meters high, like a small dirt mound. The rivers were pitifully narrow, and the lakes were as tiny as puddles formed after rain. It was as though objects from the outside world had all been shrunken down and placed here; walking through this world, they felt like giants. Void Supreme looked at one of the mountains, finding it more and more familiar. "Wait, that mountain is Mount Tai'an, and beside it is Bamboo Forest Lake..." Void Supreme matched the surrounding scenery one by one, suddenly realizing: This was a miniature version of Great Xia! "Let me see who Daoist Friend Yun has brought. Ah, an old acquaintance." A relatively youthful voice rang out, drifting from the horizon. "That voice..." Hearing that voice, Void Supreme's aura leaked uncontrollably, murderous intent surging within him. A young man wearing coarse hemp clothes and carrying a hoe on his shoulder touched down. He looked at Void cheerfully with a brilliant smile. His features were clean and handsome, making it easy to take a liking to him. "Void, it's been a hundred thousand years since we last met, hasn't it?" Seeing the young man, Void Supreme wished he could swallow him alive. He would never forget this face as long as he lived. "Jiang Ping'an, you're still alive!" If not for Jiang Ping'an, he would be the ruling emperor today, and this Great Xia would have been his realm! The young man's smile broadened. "If even you're still alive, why shouldn't I be?" Jiang Ping'an cupped his fists. "Daoist Friend Yun, please put him down. With you and me here, he won't get away." Yun Zhi released her grip. Before hitting the ground, Void Supreme flipped over and landed steadily on his feet. "Void, I know you refuse to accept your defeat, thinking Junzi and I only won back then by ganging up on you two-on-one." The ancestor of the Meng family, Meng Junzi. "Actually, I could have beaten you on my own. Fighting two against one just allowed us to win faster." Void Supreme sneered repeatedly. Believing his nonsense would be seeing a ghost. "Tell you what, I'm not one to play dirty. It's rare for us to meet. Since you're not convinced, let's fight another proper match with real blades and spears. I won't ask for anyone's help either. How about it?" "Fine!" Void Supreme agreed in a heartbeat. "Descent of the Void Realm!" Void Supreme roared. With a grin of having his scheme succeed, he unfurled his Void Realm, enclosing both of them within it. Eldest Senior Sister brought out an imperial chair and waited by the side for the outcome. Very quickly, the smile was wiped clean off Void Supreme's face. "Jiang Ping'an, you fucking became an immortal?!"