Sensing the presence of the Mother of the Phoenixes and Xiao Qing, and even Mu Tao’s arrival, Teng Qingshan felt a complete easing of tension. But upon hearing the Cloud Dream War God speak, he couldn't help but curl his lips, musing, “This Brother Mu Tao is really something. He probably just arrived in the Nine Provinces and doesn’t know about me yet.”
Mu Tao’s shout sealed his fate; he could no longer leverage his identity as a casual Void Realm expert.
“But it doesn’t matter now. With Xiao Qing and Brother Mu Tao here, my side’s power has surged immensely. We absolutely have the standing to establish ourselves in the Nine Provinces. This is far better than I had initially anticipated!” Suppressing his excitement, Teng Qingshan rode the Six-Legged Blade Cicada towards the Cloud Dream War God.
“Haha, Brother Mu Tao!”
“Haha, Brother Qingshan!”
“Long time no see. Congratulations on your breakthrough, Brother Mu Tao.”
“Brother Qingshan, your progress is even greater than mine.”
The two Void Realm experts met in mid-air. The Cloud Dream War God, ‘Mu Tao,’ settled directly onto the back of the Six-Legged Blade Cicada. Simultaneously, Mu Tao was filled with astonishment: “As expected of the Nine Provinces; this is a truly grand place. The entire Duanmu Continent, even with Brother Qingshan back then, only had three War God level experts. Yet here, beneath Tianyun Mountain today… there are a total of four Void Realm experts pursuing Brother Qingshan!”
Upon spotting Teng Qingshan, Mu Tao naturally also noticed the contingent from the Yu Huang Sect not far from him.
On the Yu Huang Sect side, the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Rat had long been shaken off, but even so, there were still four Void Realm experts present, including the Gale-Splitting Dragon Falcon!
If one added Teng Qingshan, the Six-Legged Blade Cicada, the Undying Phoenix Mother and daughter, and Mu Tao, the number of Void Realm beings gathered today reached nine! Nine Void Realm existences congregated beneath Tianyun Mountain!
“Nine Void Realm beings living in the same era? That would be impossible on my Duanmu Continent. Only the vast Nine Provinces could manage it… Haha, this is where Void Realm experts belong! So many powerful beings gathered.” Waves of excitement surged through Mu Tao’s heart, his blood boiling. He no longer felt the loneliness of a supreme master.
Because this was the Nine Provinces!
...
Mu Tao was deeply shaken, but the three from the Yu Huang Sect pursuing Teng Qingshan—Liu Xia, Yu Tonghai, and Shen Gongtu—along with the Gale-Splitting Dragon Falcon, were truly stunned. They had already been shocked when they saw three Void Realm figures descending from Tianyun Mountain toward ‘Jing Yi.’
But—
When they heard the words, “Haha, Brother Qingshan, long time no see,” the three Great Perfection Void Realm experts on the Gale-Splitting Dragon Falcon’s back, no matter how much they had weathered storms or how firm their resolve, were completely dumbfounded.
“Qingshan?”
“This Jing Yi calls himself Qingshan? Could it be, could it be… Teng, Teng Qingshan?”
“This, this—”
The pair of small eyes beneath Yu Tonghai’s sweeping brows widened into perfect circles, filled with a horror greater than witnessing the annihilation of the Yu Huang Sect. No sect in the world was eternally prosperous; even if the Yu Huang Sect perished, Yu Tonghai would only attribute it to peaking and then declining, caused by an overwhelmingly powerful adversary.
But—
“Teng Qingshan? He should only be twenty-two years old this year! Last year, yes, last year he was already a Void Realm expert. He reached the Void Realm at twenty-one!” Yu Tonghai was completely bewildered, feeling that many fundamental concepts in his mind instantly collapsed. Reaching the Void Realm at twenty-one was simply inexplicable!
“Heavens above, how is this possible?” Beads of sweat broke out on Shen Gongtu’s forehead.
Although there were many people with the same name in the Nine Provinces, and many named Qingshan, among the Innate experts, there was only one ‘Teng Qingshan.’
They could not think of anyone else; only one name sprang to mind—Teng Qingshan!
“Qingshan, Qingshan… Who else could it be besides Teng Qingshan? Back when he was fleeing, he could withstand a strike from the Innate Golden Elixir ‘Zhao Danchen’ without dying and still escape. A monster, a true monster… He must have been an Innate Golden Elixir back then.” Liu Xia felt his heart trembling.
An unbelievable monster!
Forget the demonic monk of the past—what was the demonic monk compared to this? Even compared to the Four Supreme Experts in history, Teng Qingshan was a monstrous anomaly!
“A Void Realm expert at twenty-one, and now, at only twenty-two, he can actually fight us, Great Perfection Void Realm masters. Could he be a reincarnated Living Buddha from the Buddhist Sect?” Liu Xia’s thoughts were in utter disarray. “No, no, a reincarnated Living Buddha cultivates the Buddhist lineage. Even if he were one, if he didn’t cultivate Buddhist arts, his speed wouldn’t be this fast.”
Occasionally, a reincarnated Living Buddha would emerge in Moni Temple, but they possessed the experience and insights from a past life, allowing them to bypass detours, naturally leading to rapid cultivation. But if they embarked on an unfamiliar path, even a reincarnated Living Buddha would cultivate slowly.
“Look, look at those two beside him…” Shen Gongtu’s breathing grew ragged as he stared intently at Teng Qingshan floating in the air nearby. Currently suspended beside Teng Qingshan were two massive divine birds bathed in flame, covered in fiery red feathers, sporting crests like crowns—these were none other than the legendary divine beasts that hadn't been seen in the world for ages—the Undying Phoenixes!
“Yiou~ Youyouyou~~” Of the two Undying Phoenixes, the slightly smaller one was chirping excitedly beside Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan reached out to stroke the Undying Phoenix’s feathers, and the bird happily narrowed its eyes.
“Those two… are they Undying Phoenixes?” Shen Gongtu turned to look at the other two.
“They… they should be,” Yu Tonghai’s mind was reeling.
“Undying Phoenixes. Since the Poem Sword Immortal Li Taibai, no one has seen an Undying Phoenix. After thousands of years, two appear at once?” Liu Xia was usually a very calm person, but this succession of shocks overloaded his brain. Chaos, chaos, chaos!
A Void Realm expert at twenty-one, capable of fighting them at twenty-two! An existence more monstrous than the Four Supreme Experts!
The legendary divine beasts, which some suspected no longer even existed—the Undying Phoenixes, arguably the strongest Void Realm demon beasts—two of them had appeared!
...
“Xiao Qing.” Teng Qingshan was filled with joy.
“Brother Qingshan, are the three figures and the Void Realm beast in the air over there your enemies?” the Cloud Dream War God transmitted telepathically. Teng Qingshan had already leapt onto the back of the Undying Phoenix ‘Xiao Qing’ and glanced back at the nearly stupefied Yu Huang Sect contingent, coldly sneering, “Of course. If it weren't for the Undying Grass, the Blade Cicada and I would likely have been killed by them.”
“Oh?” The Cloud Dream War God glanced at the injuries on the Six-Legged Blade Cicada, then turned his gaze, burning with fervor, toward the Yu Huang Sect side. His voice boomed, “Brother Qingshan’s enemy is my Mu Tao’s enemy! Haha, I just achieved a breakthrough and was looking for worthy opponents.”
The Cloud Dream War God, long lonely at the peak, was now brimming with fighting spirit!
The Undying Phoenix ‘Xiao Qing’ also stared at the group in the distance. Being extremely intelligent, it naturally perceived the hostility between them and Teng Qingshan—they were enemies, and the only response was—kill!
“Yu Tonghai, Liu Xia, Shen Gongtu, weren't the three of you trying to kill me?” Teng Qingshan looked across the distance at the Yu Huang Sect group from Xiao Qing’s back.
“Teng Qingshan, you are Teng Qingshan, not Jing Yi?” Yu Tonghai rasped out.
“Teng Qingshan?”
Teng Qingshan took a deep breath, his expression momentarily complex. When a person’s progress is astonishing, they are a genius. But when they are thousands of times stronger than a genius, they become a freak, a monster, someone feared by other sects. This was precisely why he dared not reveal his true name.
Seeing his parents, yet not daring to acknowledge them.
Having a name, yet daring not to claim it.
“Yes!” Facing the stares of Yu Tonghai, Liu Xia, and the others, Teng Qingshan laughed loudly, his voice shaking the heavens. “You guessed correctly. It is I, I am Teng Qingshan! Jing Yi? Qin Lang? Hu He? They were all just aliases!”
“My name is Teng… Qing… SHAN!”
Teng Qingshan’s voice rolled out, resounding through heaven and earth, as if releasing all the accumulated pressure stifled in his heart.
I am Teng Qingshan!
From this day forward, I need no longer hide my name.
“Your, your face…” Yu Tonghai, Liu Xia, and Shen Gongtu were thrown into utter chaos.
“My face? Yes, you lack the ability to alter your appearance. But I can!” Teng Qingshan stood in mid-air. The muscles and bones of his face underwent subtle shifts, every part transforming. Combined, this was equivalent to a complete change of face—it was his true countenance, Teng Qingshan’s real look.
“Teng Qingshan.”
Yu Tonghai and the other two exchanged glances.
Suddenly—
“Yiou~~” A displeased cry reached Teng Qingshan’s ears. Turning, he saw it was the Mother of the Phoenixes. She hadn't expected to encounter people pursuing Teng Qingshan when she escorted her child over. With the Mother of the Phoenixes’ wisdom, she instantly judged—
Her daughter’s human friend, ‘Teng Qingshan,’ clearly had many enemies in the Nine Provinces. If her daughter accompanied Teng Qingshan, she too would face danger.
If she just left her daughter behind, she would be deeply uneasy.
Therefore, the Mother of the Phoenixes, whose instincts were fundamentally those of a beast, naturally made a decision—she must kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! This ‘chicken’ was naturally the contingent from the Yu Huang Sect before them.
“Yiou you~~” The silent Gale-Splitting Dragon Falcon opposite let out a series of calls toward the Mother of the Phoenixes.
The Mother of the Phoenixes gave no response, merely giving the Gale-Splitting Dragon Falcon a cold glance.
“Yiou~~” The Mother of the Phoenixes cried out toward Xiao Qing beside her.
“Bad. Quickly, run! That Undying Phoenix wants to kill us.” Liu Xia, who understood the beast language, saw his expression shift dramatically.
A high-pitched, excited cry sounded. The Undying Phoenix ‘Xiao Qing,’ having learned for nearly a year, instantly transformed into a streak of light and charged forward. Beside her, there was another fiery red streak of light transformed from the ‘Mother of the Phoenixes,’ moving even faster than Xiao Qing.
“Quickly!”
“Flee!”
Facing the Mother of the Phoenixes, who had accompanied Li Taibai in the past and knew many secrets, Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai dared not resist and instead fled in separate directions. Shen Gongtu, who had less experience, while fleeing, directly drew his divine bow and nocked his final Void-Breaking Arrow.
“Hmph!” Shen Gongtu snorted, preparing to shoot, “I don’t believe you can withstand my Void-Breaking Arrow!”
“Don’t fight it, split up and run. Save whoever you can,” Liu Xia urgently transmitted telepathically.
The fiery red streak that was the Mother of the Phoenixes rapidly lunged toward Shen Gongtu, then executed a quick, sharp turn. Simultaneously, a purple-gold flame erupted from the Mother of the Phoenixes’ mouth. This flame was like a bolt of lightning, instantly engulfing the Great Perfection Void Realm Shen Gongtu. The massive power of heaven and earth coating Shen Gongtu’s body, his full ten-tenths power…
Chii, chii~~
Almost instantaneously, it was burned through by the purple-gold flame.
“Aaaah!” Shen Gongtu let out a piercing scream.