Chapter 189
The Five Dragon Celestial Palace hung above the Thunder Pool.
On the outskirts of the palace, the five originally majestic golden dragons had grown a hundredfold, each one now as thick as a thousand zhang and as long as ten thousand zhang. They coiled around the Five Dragon Celestial Palace, their bodies forming a protective barrier around Uncle Pang, who was inside.
Surrounding the palace, several beams of blood-red and black light intertwined, their imposing aura rivaling that of the Five Dragon Celestial Palace itself.
“Zheng Shidi, where are the helpers Master summoned?”
Sun Daoyu was also using his洞虚灵眼 (Dongxu Lingyan, a spiritual eye technique) to observe the battle and noticed that Uncle Pang was alone, prompting his question.
Zheng Fa shook his head.
He didn’t know either.
The元婴真人 (Yuan Ying Zhenren, Nascent Soul masters) that Uncle Pang had invited were nowhere to be seen, leaving him to fend for himself against the onslaught.
Zheng Fa could see that Uncle Pang’s complexion was far from good; he looked much paler than usual, as if his spiritual power was running low.
The five golden dragons surrounding the palace also appeared somewhat disheveled.
One dragon was missing a large patch of scales, while another’s eyes seemed injured by dark sorcery, emitting wisps of black smoke.
There were four people from the Great Freedom Demon Sect besieging Uncle Pang.
One was a gaunt old man, his face pale and green, sitting atop a bronze coffin.
Another was a scantily clad female cultivator, entwined by a thick, long, human-faced red serpent.
The third was a middle-aged man, accompanied by a child.
The child had fingers like lotus stems and a face like a full moon, initially appearing extremely cute.
But upon closer inspection, one would notice the child’s eyes were completely white, devoid of pupils.
Even Zheng Fa couldn’t tell if the child could still be considered human.
“Jiu Shan Sect, Five Dragon Zhenren,” the old man said, looking at Uncle Pang. “With your keen insight into the universe and your ability to discern life and death, you are indeed remarkable.”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but be taken aback.
Uncle Pang had such a title?
He glanced at Sun Daoyu beside him, who also looked somewhat dazed, seemingly unaware of their master’s past glory.
“It’s just a name,” Uncle Pang replied calmly. “I truly didn’t expect…”
“Copper Coffin Old Man.”
“Red Serpent Fairy.”
“And… the Thousand Kill Sword Immortal.”
He shot a glance at the child, anger flickering in his eyes as he continued, “Though you act in such a wicked manner, the celestial sect was unaware that you three are all from the Great Freedom Demon Sect…”
Suddenly, a delicate laugh rang out.
Zheng Fa initially thought it was the Red Serpent Fairy speaking, but to his surprise, it was the human face on the serpent that spoke, “It’s not just us; the元婴 (Yuan Ying) you invited also has our people among them, doesn’t it?”
The voice was sweet and soft, like that of an eighteen-year-old girl.
So this serpent was the Red Serpent Fairy?
“That Xuan Gui Shangren originally intended to ambush you, but you ended up outsmarting him,” the Red Serpent Fairy continued. “Five Dragon Zhenren, your insight is indeed exceptional—only, those helpers you summoned, seeing you two fighting amongst yourselves, couldn’t tell friend from foe and ultimately chose to stand by and watch, eventually fleeing.”
“Leaving you all alone here, the Hundred Immortals Alliance…” The Red Serpent Fairy chuckled lightly, her laughter laced with disdain.
Zheng Fa finally understood why Uncle Pang was left to face this alone.
Those who were supposed to assist him had never been sincere; after Uncle Pang killed Xuan Gui Shangren, they were even less inclined to stay at the Five Dragon Celestial Palace.
…
As the conversation continued, the fighting did not cease.
Zheng Fa observed from the Thunder Pool and realized that the battle among the元婴 (Yuan Ying) was surprisingly slow-paced, almost calm, with both sides still engaging in verbal sparring.
But in the world seen through the洞虚灵眼 (Dongxu Lingyan), it was a different story.
The spiritual energy in the sky split into two currents.
The three opponents were surrounded by a black and red aura.
Uncle Pang’s aura, on the other hand, revolved in five colors.
These two currents of spiritual energy exchanged blows, seemingly testing each other while seeking opportunities.
Gradually, Uncle Pang, outnumbered, began to falter; the five-colored spiritual energy curled around the Five Dragon Celestial Palace, leaving almost only the black and red energy in the sky.
Uncle Pang’s Five Elements Celestial Palace resembled a dim lantern in the night sky.
Perhaps due to the palace’s defensive power, Uncle Pang’s spiritual energy gradually stabilized, though the situation still appeared overwhelmingly one-sided.
Yet, it had somehow devolved into a stalemate.
Time passed slowly.
Though the five golden dragons beside the Five Dragon Celestial Palace remained robust, their golden light gradually dimmed.
However, Uncle Pang seemed unhurried.
He appeared as if he could hold out until the end of time.
The three assailants surrounding the Five Dragon Celestial Palace wore calm expressions, seemingly in no rush, even smiling at times.
“People from the Hundred Immortals Alliance say you’re more of a turtle than that ancient turtle Xuan Gui Shangren; I think they’re right.”
The Red Serpent Fairy continued to laugh.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Pang didn’t get angry; he merely manipulated the Five Dragon Celestial Palace to defend against their attacks.
A day and night passed in the blink of an eye.
Even for元婴 (Yuan Ying), this tense battle was exhausting, especially since the situation on the battlefield seemed almost unchanged.
Even Zheng Fa was starting to feel fatigued.
“Bold move!”
He heard the old man on the coffin shout angrily, and when he looked again, Uncle Pang had leaped forward, suddenly appearing before the Red Serpent Fairy.
The Red Serpent Fairy seemed momentarily distracted, not expecting Uncle Pang to abandon the defense of the Five Dragon Celestial Palace. Uncle Pang seized this fleeting opportunity.
He first unleashed a天品云雨符 (Tianpin Yunyu Fu, a high-grade rain and cloud talisman), followed by a呼风符 (Hufeng Fu, a wind talisman), and finally threw out a天品雷火符 (Tianpin Leihuo Fu, a high-grade thunder and fire talisman).
Zheng Fa recognized this technique—
This was Uncle Pang’s ultimate skill. Even the talisman technique, in essence, was a method of enhancing the power of spiritual talismans through the interplay of the five elements.
But in practice, it was far from simple.
The timing of each talisman’s release and how they coordinated with one another required the洞虚灵眼 (Dongxu Lingyan) to observe the changes in the five elements’ spiritual energy to find the right moment.
The cloud and rain talismans had no offensive capabilities.
But once the thunder and fire talisman was unleashed, the thunder borrowed the rain’s momentum, and the fire rode the wind’s strength.
Thunder and fire illuminated much of the sky.
The Red Serpent Fairy had already shown a flaw; now, with Uncle Pang’s surprise attack using the talisman technique, she had no time to react.
However, the other two were not to be underestimated.
The bronze coffin beneath the old man suddenly flew open with a loud bang, revealing a pitch-black interior, like an abyss.
As the coffin turned, its opening faced Uncle Pang, and countless azure-purple arms reached out from within, grasping at him.
Even from a distance, Uncle Pang felt as if he were being seized, unable to move.
Meanwhile, the previously silent Sword Immortal of Death finally made his move!
The child beside him suddenly soared into the air, and in an instant, his delicate skin withered, and his plump muscles dissolved, leaving only a tiny skeleton.
This skeleton transformed into a bone sword in mid-air, lunging at Uncle Pang. As the bone sword flew, it emitted a chorus of wailing cries, as if thousands of children were mourning together.
It was heart-wrenching to hear.
…
Zheng Fa felt Sun Daoyu grip his shoulder, his fingers trembling.
He didn’t turn around, keeping his gaze fixed on Uncle Pang.
Now that Uncle Pang was pinned down by the bronze coffin and the bone sword was about to strike, it was indeed a moment of crisis.
He could imagine the tension on Sun Daoyu’s face without looking back.
At that moment, the five golden dragons behind Uncle Pang suddenly surged forward, crashing into the old man’s bronze coffin.
The old man sneered, “Your Five Dragon Celestial Palace’s defense is decent…”
Boom!
Before he could finish his sentence, Zheng Fa saw one of the golden dragons swell up even more, almost becoming a spherical shape, and then it exploded.
“You’re insane!”
The old man was caught off guard, not expecting Uncle Pang to be so ruthless.
But Uncle Pang was even more ruthless than he imagined.
The Five Dragon Celestial Palace seemed to be his life’s treasure; self-detonation wouldn’t be easy for Uncle Pang either, but at that moment, the other four dragons also began to swell, seemingly not wanting to survive.
The old man hurriedly pulled the bronze coffin back, diving into it, sealing the lid tightly with not a single gap left.
Without the bronze coffin, Uncle Pang felt a lightness in his body and unleashed another雷火符 (Leihuo Fu).
The Red Serpent Fairy, already battered by the previous雷火符 (Leihuo Fu), was now caught off guard; the scantily clad woman was instantly reduced to ashes, and the human-faced red serpent was left covered in wounds, clearly gravely injured and on the brink of death.
“...Uncle Pang, is this your usual style?”
Zheng Fa was taken aback; this was a reckless way to fight.
“It’s the way of the《大道争仙》 (Da Dao Zheng Xian, the Great Way of Competing for Immortality).”
Sun Daoyu paused for a moment before responding.
《大道争仙》…
That was a path that feared nothing.
And this time…
Uncle Pang glanced at the Thunder Pool, seemingly noticing the astonishment on Zheng Fa and the others’ faces, and a hint of pride appeared at the corner of his mouth.
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