Chapter 1689: Innocent Little Pine
The youth stood beneath the starry sky, and all the ghost soldiers halted. Starlight dotted the void, yet waves of yin energy surged as well. One person alone blocked the path of hundreds of thousands of troops.
Those behind were shaken. A very handsome youth, still carrying a hint of youthful shyness, yet at this moment possessed an aura that commanded reverence, suppressing the very starry universe.
Ahead, one of the ghost commanders raised his hand, and all the ghost soldiers behind him pointed their bronze halberds forward. Their armor gleamed coldly, and an icy aura spread.
"Who are you?" the ghost commander’s voice scraped like two pieces of cold iron grinding together, devoid of humanity or emotion, sending chills down one’s spine and raising goosebumps.
"I am Little Pine," the youth said shyly, with bright eyes, long eyelashes, light and airy hair, and a thin, delicate frame that seemed very fragile.
He gave off a contradictory feeling. The youth looked very cute, but the powerful aura he unconsciously emitted put pressure on the many ghost soldiers and generals.
"Little Pine? Never heard of him," the ghost commander murmured softly. The other commanders of the same rank beside him also shook their heads coldly, indicating they didn’t know.
"Do you know where we come from?" one of them asked in a cold, eerie tone.
"I don’t know," the youth said, a little embarrassed, a blush rising on his face as he felt his lack of knowledge.
All the ghost generals’ expressions were icy. One of them said, "We come from the Underworld!"
"The Underworld..." the youth whispered. He didn’t know where that was, nor had he heard of such a cultivation sect. He answered honestly but a bit nervously, "I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it."
Behind him, a group of ghost generals immediately fumed with anger, glaring at him. No one had ever dared to show them such contempt!
Yang Xi had been arrogant, killing one hundred and eight of their ghost generals, but he wouldn’t dare say he hadn’t heard of the Underworld. Ye Tong was powerful, cutting down three Underworld sons in a row, yet he had to admit that this organization was extremely terrifying. Yet this youth, prettier than a girl, spoke like this, belittling them. Every ghost general with intelligence was furious, feeling insulted.
"You... haven’t heard of it?" one ghost commander said in a cold, gloomy tone, his voice even changing, the yin energy carrying a piercing sharpness.
"I’m sorry. I... really haven’t heard of it," the youth lowered his head, even more embarrassed, his face flushed red.
A group of sages who had been fleeing all stopped, a bit dumbfounded. Some even sucked in cold air. Who was this youth? Was he really Ye Fan’s disciple?
Was he being arrogant? Not taking the Underworld seriously? But it didn’t seem quite right. That expression and tone weren’t faked. Was he truly an innocent, inexperienced youth?
Everyone was a bit confused. Those who had been fleeing stopped and watched quietly.
On the opposite side, many ghost generals of the Underworld were filled with rage. That flushed face, in their eyes, was the ultimate expression of contempt, deliberately mocking them.
"For countless years, the Underworld has held the reins of the universe. It caused the Heavenly Court to collapse while it stood eternal, leaving gods and spirits lying dead. Who dares to disrespect? You, a mere brat, are so arrogant, insulting our Underworld. Today, let’s see if you can defy the heavens," the ghost commander said calmly but coldly.
"Uncle, I’m sorry. I really don’t know," the youth explained, a bit flustered.
Hearing this, the ghost commander couldn’t help but tremble. Uncle? This was unbearable! He had never seen such a hateful youth, so arrogant!
"This kid... has personality!"
"He’s emboldened. Could it be that the Sacred Body Ye Fan has arrived, or that big black dog taught him to say this?"
The sages couldn’t help but laugh. The youth dared to act like this, so he must have a backup plan to withstand the Underworld’s storm. Perhaps the Heavenly Court’s army had arrived, ready for a decisive battle.
As for the Underworld side, there was an awkward silence for a long time. This was too much. Repeated humiliation—this youth showed no mercy at all.
"Kill!"
The ghost commander waved his hand, and behind him, battle formations took shape. Banners densely covered the area, array platforms appeared in clusters, and runes lit up in patches. This was the Underworld’s killing formation, presided over by a group of ghost generals.
Terrible yin energy spread, instantly sweeping across the starry sky. Everyone shuddered; it was a tremor from the soul, the breath of death rushing toward them.
The aura of the youth, Little Pine, suddenly changed. Though still shy, the aura he emitted became immensely powerful, like an indestructible divine mountain standing there.
A banner flew over, and an array platform descended, suppressing Little Pine. All erupted with terrifying deathly auras, the array patterns like the veins of the universe, flashing with blinding light.
"Crack"
Unexpectedly, all the array platforms and banners were useless. As soon as they approached Little Pine, they shattered. The group of ghost generals charging forward were sent flying, coughing up blood uncontrollably.
The youth hadn’t even made a move. His body was merely enveloped by a purple divine ring—a form of instinctive defense—that sent everyone flying.
"So strong!"
People were shocked, their faces turning pale instantly.
The ghost commander’s face darkened. He took the field himself, wielding a quasi-emperor weapon—a black iron halberd that tore through the universe like a black flood dragon, eerie and chilling.
"Clang!"
Unfortunately, the attack was still ineffective. The quasi-emperor weapon was sent flying by the divine ring, and the ghost commander was thrown back, his bones cracking everywhere. He suffered severe injuries, nearly turning into a pulp of flesh.
Everyone’s eyelids twitched. The stronger the attack, the greater the backlash. This was truly terrifying. A harmless-looking youth was so heaven-defying.
Even a quasi-emperor weapon falling on him couldn’t harm him in the slightest, automatically rebounding. How astonishing was that?
"You... are you all right?" The youth seemed at a loss, as if he had never killed anyone. Seeing people coughing up blood and some lying motionless on the ground, he became very uneasy.
"Quasi-emperor!" The ghost commander stood up with difficulty, reconnecting his broken bones, his face pale as he spat out these two words, shaking everyone.
A youth who looked so immature was actually a quasi-emperor!
"Who exactly are you?" the Underworld people demanded.
"I am Little Pine, a disciple of... the Sacred Body Ye Fan," the youth said in a low voice, a bit flustered and nervous, looking at the crowd.
The Underworld crowd immediately exploded. He was Ye Fan’s disciple! So he was indeed coming for them. Recalling the earlier "humiliation," the ghost generals became even more indignant.
This youth was Ye Fan’s disciple. The two sides were mortal enemies. Everything he had done earlier must have been intentional. Everyone was filled with hostility.
"You’ve gone too far! Bullying us to the extreme!" the ghost commander roared.
"Uncle, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt anyone. But you were going to cause trouble for the Heavenly Court and attacked me first. I could only defend myself passively," the youth Little Pine explained.
"The enmity between the Underworld and the Heavenly Court is irreconcilable. Ye Tong must die, and Ye Fan’s blood must be spilled. As his disciple, you must also be executed!" Behind him, a ghost general, already furious, felt that the youth’s demeanor was clearly mocking them.
"The Heavenly Court lineage must be destroyed!"
A group of ghost generals shouted.
"Why must it be like this? What you’re doing is wrong," the youth said, refuting seriously and uneasily, a bit agitated, his face flushing.
"I can’t take it anymore! This is too much! I’ve never seen such an arrogant person. Insulting us once is bad enough, but he keeps going. Let’s fight him to the death!"
Someone activated an array platform, using a quasi-emperor formation to bombard the youth ahead.
"This really isn’t right. We can sit down and talk. War is truly terrible," the youth shouted, looking very simple and honest.
Boom!
The quasi-emperor formation awakened, fierce and unmatched, its aura shaking heaven and earth, causing ghosts and gods to retreat. It far surpassed ordinary quasi-emperor formations, one of the trump cards prepared to breach the Heavenly Court.
A flash of purple light appeared above the youth’s head, and a tower shot out from his crown. It had nine layers, shaped strangely, somewhat like the fruit of a pine tree—a pinecone.
As soon as this tower appeared, everyone was stunned. Its aura, its luster, its Dao radiance—it was like a celestial treasure from the upper realm, dazzling and brilliant, its Dao light astonishing.
This was a purple Dao tower, crystal clear and dripping with color, entirely wrapped in purple light, steaming with mist. On each layer sat a celestial venerable, chanting scriptures and revealing the secrets of the creation of heaven and earth.
It was forged entirely from Divine Mark Purple Gold, without even a trace of impurity—flawless and radiant, with celestial light that was awe-inspiring, containing the divine marks of the era of creation, forming a natural scripture.
"He has refined it to this level!" people marveled.
Every type of immortal gold had its unique value. When Divine Mark Purple Gold was refined to the point of spiritual and celestial communion, merging with the owner’s soul, it could capture the Dao runes of heaven and earth.
Especially when entering ancient sites or exploring ruins, having such a celestial treasure in hand might allow one to trace and copy the various runic marks left by ancient people during their enlightenment, with endless wondrous uses.
Though this was said, throughout history, no one had ever refined Divine Mark Purple Gold to such a heaven-defying level, giving it a new life, making it spiritual and divine.
How had this youth done it? Legend said that only those close to immortality could possess such divine power!
The pinecone tower forged from Divine Mark Purple Gold had nine layers, each with a celestial venerable sitting in meditation. This was the most incomprehensible part. They chanted different scriptures, rumbling with power.
"Through this divine tower, he has obtained many scriptures, though all are incomplete, it is still astonishing!" Not just the Underworld crowd, but even the sages behind were nearly dumbfounded.
There were two divine objects in the world with such heaven-defying potential to capture the Dao patterns of heaven and earth. One was the spiritual and celestial Divine Mark Purple Gold, and the other was the Immortal Conch.
However, the latter was impractical. Legend said it could only be used after being nourished by immortal qi in the Immortal Domain, making it almost meaningless in this realm.
Divine Mark Purple Gold had been obtained by others before, but none had ever refined it to such a celestial level. It had nothing to do with cultivation level but rather with the holder’s innate nature close to immortality.
How did Ye Fan have such a disciple? This could truly shake the world!
"Does such a person really exist in the world? Could it be that he will become an immortal in the future?!" Everyone was stunned.
This display was even more shocking than Ye Tong’s combat power, because no one knew how far this shy youth would grow.
"I understand now. He wasn’t deliberately mocking us. This is just his nature—an innocent heart, untouched by the mortal world, pure and flawless, allowing him to approach immortality!" the ghost commander finally realized.
Understanding this, he felt deep worry. "Kill him!"
He ordered the ghost soldiers and generals to open that cage, making everyone retreat. He wanted to release the one who had once been unmatched in this world to slay Little Pine.