Chapter 106: Desperate Flight

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Qin Wu and Wu He were escorting the captured demons back to the Three Mountains Pagoda.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed, the sun and moon losing their brilliance as a thick cloud of darkness engulfed the clear expanse.

Wu He looked up and said in puzzlement, “Strange, it was a clear sky just moments ago. How could it change so suddenly?”

Qin Wu, knowledgeable and experienced, sensed a faint, sinister demonic aura within the dark clouds. His expression grew grave as he instructed Wu He, “Flying is unsafe in this weather. Let’s descend and proceed on foot.”

The storm roared with thunder, fierce winds whipped the air, and heavy rain poured down. Dark clouds churned violently—a terrible time for celestial beings to traverse the skies. That’s why many immortals choose auspicious days with clear, rainless skies for their journeys.

At Qin Wu’s command, Wu He tugged the chains, dragging the horde of demons down onto a nearby mountain peak. The surroundings were cloaked in shadows, jagged rocks towering, ancient trees densely covering the hills—now rendered even more silent and eerie under the overcast gloom.

No sooner had they landed than Qin Wu raised his hand toward the distance. Thunder exploded out of nowhere, disturbing a black dragon from a cold pool far away.

“Who dares block the path in the rain?” Qin Wu demanded sternly.

The black dragon remained silent, unleashing a blast of icy energy from its mouth. Snowflakes and frost swirled wildly, and ice crystals spread across the mountains and rivers.

As the saying goes, “The cold bites sharper than the winter snow, and chills deeper than autumn frost.”

The dragon’s manipulation of the weather sent the world into a blinding white, all other colors vanishing.

This control over celestial phenomena was clearly the power of a Dao fruit, which shocked Qin Wu. He warned Wu He, “Junior brother, lead the others away immediately. A supreme immortal demon of the demonic sect has appeared!”

Qin Wu quietly summoned his divine power, summoning layers of Thunder Heaven behind him.

The Tai Xiao Palace is renowned for its mastery of thunder magic, producing outstanding disciples each generation who perfect the Divine Thunder Technique. Qin Wu had reached the fifth realm, the Jingxiao stage, of this art.

From the thunderous heavens, an Eight Trigrams platform emerged, followed by countless bolts of lightning transforming into phoenixes that soared and attacked the demonic dragon.

Dragon and phoenix clashed, heaven and earth roared.

The sky filled with dense lightning and icy chill battling fiercely, shrouding the landscape in thick mist and obscuring vision.

But for celestial immortals, their perception transcended mere sight; through their Dao fruit’s spiritual eye, they observed the world. When white mist appeared before Qin Wu, he lightly tugged the iron chains toward a certain direction on their left, striking the dragon’s vulnerable scale precisely.

Instantly, the dragon transformed into a long halberd, falling to the snowy ground.

“Eh? Not a true dragon? This is a demonic dragon halberd?” Qin Wu was momentarily stunned when a shower of yellow mud and sand splattered from the sky.

“Yellow Springs mud and sand?” The corrosive substance threatened to harm him, so Qin Wu didn’t dare take it head-on. Instead, he formed a thunder seal, transforming into golden lightning to evade the attack and reappeared nearby. “Who from the Yinming Sect dares interfere here?”

Ji Feichen hid in the shadows, beckoning the dragon halberd back to his hand. Then he activated the Yellow Springs conch, unleashing torrents of mud and sand to assail Qin Wu continuously.

The muddy sands filled the air, turning the once-white landscape into a dark yellow hue. The mud coalesced into demonic forms that engaged Qin Wu in close combat.

“Such methods—this must be that demon Ji Feichen,” Qin Wu thought, summoning three bolts of thunder from the Divine Thunder Heaven behind him. A flash of light revealed a three-foot-long sword in his hand.

The sword swept through the demonic miasma, the thunderbolts shattering the Yellow Springs monsters one by one.

Ji Feichen arched his brows and laughed from afar, “So this is the Thunder Lang Flying Immortal Sword Technique from the Divine Thunder Sect?”

The Jingxiao Thunder Lang Flying Immortal Sword, a sword technique conjured from thunder, is a supreme method of the Divine Thunder Sect, possessing unrivaled speed and strength.

Qin Wu said nothing but wielded his sword, searching through the mist for Ji Feichen’s trace.

“This fellow may have some renown in the Yinming Sect, but I didn’t expect his cultivation to be so advanced. He’s nearly on par with us now. If Qinghong Daoist argues with his younger brother in the future, one misstep could be fatal.”

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Qin Wu’s reference was naturally to the holy realm’s generation of immortal-demons. Although Ji Feichen had not unleashed his full strength, his current seven-tenths power already rivaled newcomers like Jing Xuan.

Ji Feichen was also gauging Qin Wu’s power: “Without using my full strength, I won’t win against him. But my goal is to rescue someone. While I hold him off, senior brother should have succeeded.”

Ji Feichen restrained Qin Wu, while elsewhere Tian Chengzi moved to confront Wu He, attempting to free the demons.

Wu He’s cultivation was insufficient to match Tian Chengzi. Though Ji Feichen warned him not to kill, Tian Chengzi, having practiced the demonic path for years and harboring deep malice, drew forth a freshly forged Dragon Severing Chain after rescuing Yuan Chuping, intending to kill Wu He.

This lock was a treasure of extreme cold and darkness; piercing the heart meant instant death.

Wu He tried to defend with thunder, but the golden chains shone brightly, clouding his soul and rendering resistance futile. The lock snapped tight on his heart, a surge of icy cold intent on ending his life.

“Is this the end of me?” Wu He thought, but suddenly a burst of immortal light exploded within him. Another bolt of thunder shattered the Dragon Severing Chain and flew toward Tian Chengzi.

“Damn!” Ji Feichen sensed danger and threw the dragon halberd to block the thunderbolt, sweeping his sleeve to summon a blizzard. He grabbed Tian Chengzi and two others and fled.

They escaped to a desolate mountain, Ji Feichen’s heart pounding with fear as he sensed calamity approaching. He forbade Tian Chengzi from killing—partly out of loyalty, partly to guard against Wei Feng.

Although Wei Feng had left earlier, he had left marks on Qin Wu and Wu He. If Tian Chengzi struck ruthlessly, it would attract Wei Feng’s attention. When Wei Feng saw Ji Feichen’s trail, he was incensed. He had no intention of bullying the weak, but Ji Feichen’s brazen abduction before the Tai Xiao Palace was intolerable.

Wei Feng came personally to capture Ji Feichen. Realizing the mortal danger, Ji Feichen handed Yuan Chuping and the others to Tian Chengzi.

“You take them and leave!”

“And you?”

“I’ll head to the ancient battlefield in the southern border, and come find you later!” Ji Feichen and Tian Chengzi split up, fleeing toward the sea.

“The killing calamity has begun. Though this Earth Immortal may not be caught in it, in Wei Feng’s eyes, I should be part of it and unable to go overseas. Once I escape to the sea, he likely won’t pursue me there.” Moreover, Lady Chen was traveling with Feng Qianli, visiting friends at sea and could assist him.

Ji Feichen hurried away. Soon, Wei Feng arrived, seeing Wu He injured and Qin Wu healing him.

The great immortal snorted coldly, pointed a finger, and a divine light enveloped Wu He, dispelling the cold. “You two heal here. Help will come later.” He calculated with his fingers and pursued Ji Feichen’s fleeing direction.

Though Ji Feichen had a head start, his aerial speed could not compare to Wei Feng’s. The latter soon closed in.

“At times like these, I realize Qiao Yuan’s divine power really is useful!” Ji Feichen thought, considering asking Qiao Yuan for help. But fearing exposure of his double identity, he sought other options.

“Tushan is headed home now and couldn’t defeat Wei Feng anyway. Looks like…” Ji Feichen decisively invoked the Drought Demon’s sacred fire within the Mud Pellet Palace. “Goddess, save me!”

Lady Chen was visiting a celestial isle overseas.

Thousands of years had passed; much had changed. The once-thriving Qi cultivators had vanished from Xuanzheng Prefecture’s stage, but overseas, they still remained a formidable force. Feng Qianli brought her abroad, where many old acquaintances gathered, discussing profound Dao and enjoying leisure.

Suddenly, Lady Chen’s expression shifted, her delicate brows furrowing.

“What’s wrong?” the assembled immortals asked.

Feng Qianli seemed to understand. “Trouble again from that little pest?”

“Hmm, it concerns me somewhat. It’s Wei Feng,” Lady Chen said, sitting cross-legged. A golden lamp appeared between her hands as she chanted, using its power to ignite divine fire and sense the sacred fire within Ji Feichen’s body.

Suddenly—

A red flame emerged from Ji Feichen’s brow, circling him thrice before forming a luminous shield that concealed his hidden power.

“Come to Changguang Isle overseas. I’ll be waiting for you here!”

Seeing her intervention, Ji Feichen relaxed. After all, his lineage traced back to the Qi cultivators’ fate. As the saying goes, “Those who attain the Dao gain much aid.” Naturally, some would not wish to see his early demise.

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He used cloud light to escape, and soon Wei Feng lost Ji Feichen’s trail.

“This brat is protected by someone hiding the heavens’ secrets. Is it that person again?” Wei Feng sneered. “Not in my Tai Xiao Palace will you escape so easily.”

He stopped, standing on the clouds to activate divine arts. His palm emitted five-colored light as the Eight Trigrams platform rose. His eyes pierced through the spiritual platform, surveying heaven and earth. Dao fruit illusions floated before him.

These Dao fruits were embedded in the Heavenly Dao, operating the mysteries of the cosmos. Two of them, positioned one above and one below, resonated from afar.

One shone with triple radiance, a vast celestial river flowing. The other roared like a demon dragon, a dark river surging below. These two were the Dao fruits Ji Feichen had manifested.

Yet neither was his true Dao fruit. His was like the primordial Tai Chi, uniting yin and yang in one. This profound principle made his Dao fruit a harmonious whole, heaven and earth unified. Above, the celestial river manifested the sun, moon, and stars; below, the dark river churned as a demon dragon. At the center stood the sacred Tai Emperor deity with a human body and dragon tail. Around it were faint images of twenty-four talismans, two of which had already revealed their true forms.

This was Ji Feichen’s genuine Dao fruit—the Eight Sceneries Tai Yuan Dao Fruit. In daily life, even if immortals calculated his origins, he could simply hide the core Tai Emperor image, leaving only the celestial river’s triple radiance and the demon dragon’s dark river visible.

No one could discern his true Dao fruit, enabling him to smoothly play his dual roles. Otherwise, immortals could detect the truth by their Dao fruits.

Wei Feng’s lack of suspicion toward Qinghong stemmed from sensing Ji Feichen’s Dao fruit alongside Qinghong’s. The opposition of yin and yang, good and evil, was a sign of shared lineage.

Ordinary immortal-demons could not possess two Dao fruits simultaneously. Only supreme Qi cultivators could split their Dao fruits into immortal and demonic forms and shift at will.

Using the Dao fruits for divination, Wei Feng couldn’t pinpoint Ji Feichen’s exact location but confined it to a certain region where traces of the Dao fruits appeared.

“A thousand li away? That’s enough!” He sneered, inhaled deeply, then exhaled a three-foot-long auspicious light. “Seal Heaven, Lock Earth!”

White mist rose, spreading into the sky and earth to form a vast net enclosing a thousand li radius. Any living being passing through would alert him.

As this technique took effect, the distant connection between the Drought Demon goddess and Ji Feichen abruptly severed.

“Not good!” the goddess was alarmed. Trying to help was now impossible; she could no longer penetrate the energy barrier.

“What is this?” she wondered. Such divine art had not existed thousands of years ago.

“It is a unique Earth Immortal sealing technique,” Feng Qianli said, glancing toward the sixth direction. “Our junior sister has been suppressed for years. Though her cultivation remains, she knows nothing of the new immortal arts developed in these three thousand years.”

Perhaps these arts offered little direct combat advantage, but in everyday matters, they were far more convenient than those from three millennia ago.

Many ancient great immortals had gathered, some on the verge of ascending to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit. They gazed toward the distance, where the colorful clouds shimmered.

“Feng Daoist is right. The goddess has secluded herself for many years, her understanding of these arts frozen in time. These days, she has been discussing Dao with us, practicing diligently. With your Earth Immortal cultivation, you can quickly make up for the three-thousand-year gap.”

Despite these words, the three-thousand-year disparity was undeniable. Had they endured that long of intense cultivation, they might also ascend to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit.

Lady Chen’s heart ached. For appearances, she forced a smile, thanked everyone, then said to Feng Qianli, “Senior brother, why don’t you try to save him?”

Just as Feng Qianli prepared to act, thunder spread from afar. Besides Wei Feng, many Tai Xiao Palace immortals also intervened. Together they set up a deadly thunder and earth net, sealing the thousand li area so tightly even Feng Qianli’s power alone couldn’t break through.

“How did this brat provoke Tai Xiao Palace so severely to enrage them this much?” The other immortals, though indifferent to Ji Feichen, recognized him as a disciple of the Cloud Soaring Pavilion. They watched eagerly to see how he would survive this tribulation.

“If he can pass this trial, he must be incredibly lucky and destined for greatness. Perhaps we should all contribute to reviving the Qi cultivators.”

Originally, Lady Chen and Feng Qianli had asked fellow Daoists for aid. Though willing to resolve old karmic ties, these immortals had never met Ji Feichen—why would they help?

This incident would serve as a test of Ji Feichen’s fate and a measure of his fortune.

(To be continued.)