Chapter 152: Different Paths
Peacock King's eyes were as clear as water, his hair soft and each strand ethereal. He was like a snow lotus on an icy mountain—handsome, elegant, and refined. "Join forces to enter the Bronze Immortal Hall? To court death? I haven't lived long enough yet."
Nan Gongzheng's silver hair danced lightly. Tall and imposing, he stood in midair, enveloped by falling flowers. The vegetation around him was lush and verdant, brimming with vitality. "Don't you wish to glimpse the opportunity for immortality? You've been in seclusion for eight hundred years. Wasn't this emergence precisely for that?"
Peacock King sneered coldly. "Since ancient times, how many peerless experts has that bronze hall claimed? I've never heard of anyone achieving immortality through it. It's less an immortal hall and more a tomb—a graveyard burying the strong of the Eastern Wasteland."
"To seek immortality, one must face nine deaths for a single chance at life. Otherwise, why would all the sages of old sigh in vain?" Nan Gongzheng said solemnly. "If we join forces and enter the Bronze Immortal Hall, we gamble life and death for a chance at eternal life. That's far better than fading away in obscurity."
Peacock King clasped his hands behind his back. "I've roamed the world, pointed my sword at Sacred Lords, and lived life on my own terms. Where is the obscurity? Even death holds no fear for me."
"You may have the vigor of your prime, but have you never sighed at the eastward flow of time? In the end, it's all but a dream, an empty flower. A thousand years from now, who will remember you? You're nothing but fleeting dust. Without immortality, it all amounts to nothing."
"What others think or what happens a thousand years after my death—what do I care? I only know that the present is real. To pursue immortality, to cling to a single obsession, only to find emptiness in the end—that is truly pitiable."
Nan Gongzheng shook his head, his expression serious. "To shed mortal form and attain eternal freedom is the great aspiration of our kind. Why deceive yourself?"
Peacock King burst into laughter, shaking the heavens. "Let me ask you this: from ancient times to the present, has the Eastern Wasteland ever truly produced an immortal? Don't tell me about those few recorded in ancient texts—their fates are too dubious to serve as proof."
"Of course, some have achieved immortality. Wasn't the immortal slain and suppressed by the Desolate Tower considered an immortal?" Nan Gongzheng's hair was white as snow, his bearing heroic and imposing as he stood in midair.
"Have you seen it with your own eyes?" Peacock King countered.
"No."
Peacock King said, "If one is not an immortal, they are not empty. They can still be a hero. I soar freely, dominating the world. Where is the self-deception?"
Nearby, Ye Fan felt that Peacock King was quite unrestrained, not placing much importance on achieving immortality. Nan Gongzheng, on the other hand, spoke with uncommon refinement, truly worthy of being a human Great Power.
Ji Ziyue's large eyes darted around as she muttered softly, "This is so unfair. They're legendary figures, with centuries as mere fractions and millennia as whole numbers, yet they're still so young—even more handsome than my brother..."
"Nan Gongzheng, you've said so much, but it's all empty talk. Are you trying to interfere and stop me?" Peacock King asked in a deep voice.
"The head of the Ji Family once told me that if I happened upon you and saved either of the siblings, he would give that person to me as a disciple to inherit my legacy. I'm about to enter the Bronze Immortal Hall and have yet to find an heir, so I wanted to fulfill this wish." Around Nan Gongzheng, flowers bloomed one after another, making him appear transcendent and otherworldly.
"Nan Gongzheng, do you truly intend to make a move? Think carefully!" Peacock King's eyes suddenly sharpened. A powerful aura erupted like a volcano, surging upward and piercing the clouds.
"Peacock King, as an old friend, I advise you to stop. Join me in seeking the opportunity for immortality. Otherwise, your glorious life may end in obscurity," Nan Gongzheng urged.
"Such bold words! Could it be that the Sacred Lord of the Ji Family is nearby, ready to suppress me alongside you?" Peacock King's eyes blazed with divine light.
"He doesn't know you're here." Nan Gongzheng paused slightly. "Not only is the Ji Family Sacred Lord searching for you, but the Sacred Lord of Yaoguang has also personally emerged from seclusion."
"I expected as much. Let's see what they can do to me. They bullied my people. As a Great Power, if I don't step forward, I'd be unworthy of the Demon Clan." Peacock King sneered. "Eight hundred years ago, I roamed the Southern Domain. Eight hundred years later, they still can't suppress me."
"The great forces passed down since the Primordial Era have unfathomable foundations. Someone might indeed jump out to personally suppress you..."
"Unless they dig up their ancestral graves and revive their deceased Divine King!" Peacock King's gaze was as sharp as lightning, his demeanor completely transformed. "If you want to stop me, prove it with strength!"
Fragrant floral scents drifted gently, filling the air with swirling petals that shimmered brilliantly. Nan Gongzheng appeared solemn and dignified, like a Buddha holding a flower, transcendent and detached. Behind him, a towering ancient tree grew, reaching into the sky.
"Since that's the case, forgive my rudeness!"
"You and I should have had this battle long ago!" Though Peacock King looked like a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth, he now seemed like a peerless divine sword drawn from its sheath, his oppressive aura causing skin to ache and his battle intent soaring to the heavens.
"Swish"
Peacock King suddenly opened his Heavenly Eye. A divine rainbow shot out from the center of his forehead, instantly entering Ji Ziyue's body.
"Aiya, Peacock King, what are you doing?!" Ji Ziyue exclaimed in surprise.
"It's nothing. He's just left a mark so he can find you later. Now, leave quickly," Nan Gongzheng transmitted to the two.
"Let's go!" Ye Fan grabbed Ji Ziyue and shot into the sky. The two Great Powers were about to clash, and the earth would surely split and the heavens shatter.
Even after flying a great distance, Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue could still feel the surging fluctuations behind them, like an ocean in turmoil, deeply shaking them.
Looking back, Ji Ziyue opened her small mouth in shock. "Heavens, there are so many suns over there!"
In the distant sky, rounds of blazing suns hung in the air, dazzlingly bright.
It was impossible to tell which was the real sun and which were manifested by the Great Powers.
"There's an extra layer of azure sky!"
There, the sky was split into two layers, both as blue as if washed clean.
"This is... Stars Adorning the Azure Sky!"
The Great Power's divine phenomenon—Stars Adorning the Azure Sky—looked exactly like this. Each star blazed as fiercely as the sun, truly astonishing!
Beneath the azure sky, the stars, viewed directly, were as massive as giant mountains, dazzling and brilliant, trembling the heavens!
Suddenly, a colossal ancient tree rose from the ground, piercing the sky as if to tear it apart. Its canopy was unimaginably vast, blotting out the sun.
"That's the legendary Jianmu tree, manifested by Nan Gongzheng!" Ji Ziyue was astonished, disbelief shining in her large eyes.
Jianmu, whether on the other side of the starry sky or in this world, was surrounded by endless legends. According to ancient texts, it was a sacred tree worshipped by ancient ancestors, located at the center of heaven and earth, serving as a bridge connecting heaven, earth, humans, and immortals.
Manifesting such a divine phenomenon and using it to tear the sky was naturally achievable!
Beside that ancient tree, many divine grasses and exotic trees trembled, lush and verdant, radiating boundless vitality, like a landscape painting.
This was an unknown divine phenomenon. Nan Gongzheng, as a human Great Power, truly lived up to his reputation, leaving people in awe.
"Buzz"
Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue felt dizzy, their blood surging from a terrifying roar that sent them flying backward.
In the distant sky, a hazy scene appeared, with different divine phenomena emerging. Moreover, the two Great Powers charged toward each other, unleashing supreme secret arts as the true battle began.
"There are other divine phenomena..." Ji Ziyue's large eyes sparkled with curiosity, but she knew that escaping was the top priority.
A battle between Great Powers was a world-shaking conflict, extremely rare to witness.
Ye Fan felt regret but, stepping with mysterious footwork, no longer looked back. He pulled her along as they fled with all their might, vanishing over the horizon in an instant.
They kept moving without pause until they were hundreds of miles away before finally letting out a long breath. Still, they didn't stop, choosing a direction and continuing their escape.
"I'd love to see Peacock King's supreme divine might, shaking mountains and rivers, plucking stars and moons," Ye Fan murmured to himself. From Ji Ziyue's fragmented words, he had already sensed the Great Power's overwhelming strength and longed to witness that domineering, world-dominating style.
"Him... forget it!" Ji Ziyue shuddered. The Ji Family's eminent elder had been shattered by a single roar from Peacock King. The mere memory of his might sent chills down her spine. "I'd rather see that white-haired heroic figure's majestic bearing..."
"You're quite lucky to have escaped from Peacock King's territory..."
A cold voice came from ahead. On a mountain peak, a man in hemp clothes rose into the air, holding a five-story silver pagoda in his hand, blocking their path.
At the same time, figures rose from all directions, surrounding the two.
"Hiss..."
Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue drew in cold breaths. A total of six cultivators, all extraordinary, had encircled them.
These were the ones who had chased them across the domain gate not long ago. Though their faces were shrouded in mist, making their true features unclear, their voices suggested they were all middle-aged and formidable.
"The Phoenix-Crowned Lightning Bird didn't take your lives either. You really are lucky..." Ji Ziyue taunted.
Aside from the hemp-clothed man holding the silver pagoda, the other five were tattered and scorched, clearly having suffered greatly.
"Kill them!" The hemp-clothed man waved his hand without further words, decisive in his intent to eliminate them here.
Powerful fluctuations surged from all directions as the group activated their weapons and unleashed secret arts, attacking the two.
Ji Ziyue's injuries had not yet healed, leaving her weak and unable to fight.
Relying on his speed, Ye Fan dodged left and right, quickly descending to the ground. The opponents were all beyond the Other Shore realm, and he couldn't confront them head-on. His only option was to flee.
"Don't think you can escape. This time next year, I'll burn some paper money for you..."
The hemp-clothed man personally made his move. The silver pagoda in his hand rapidly expanded, hazy and indistinct. The five-story ancient pagoda, as massive as a small mountain, pressed down with terrifying force.
Ji Ziyue whispered in Ye Fan's ear, "Quickly channel your divine power into me. I have a secret treasure inside me that can break us out."
Without a word, Ye Fan poured his divine power into her. Ji Ziyue immediately became radiant and holy, emitting strange, colorful light that withstood the pressure of the five-story pagoda.
"Swish"
The next moment, the two moved like flowing light and fleeting shadows, constantly flickering to evade various secret techniques before bursting out.
Like a thread of lightning in a thunderstorm, weaving through dark clouds, they flashed several times and were about to break free from the encirclement.
"Buzz"
A piercing tremor sounded as the hemp-clothed man spread his five fingers, each as large as a small hill, reaching out instantly and distorting the void.
Ye Fan's expression changed. This man was terrifying!
Ji Ziyue also paled. This hemp-clothed man was extremely formidable, seemingly hard to shake off. Anxiously, she transmitted, "Listen, little hairy boy. I'll teach you the complete incantation of the Grand Void Art. Hide within the void!"