With the monkey’s astonishingly powerful staff in motion, the Elder of Jade Skill merely shook his head in disdain. “A mere firefly, daring to vie with the brilliance of the moon.” Waving his ever-present jade staff dismissively, the Elder of the Jade Staff slowly met the monkey’s staff with his own.

Upon reaching the Great Overarching Golden Immortal (Da Luo Jinxian) realm, the difference in power between each major tier was tenfold! A beginner-grade Da Luo Jinxian was an insignificant ant before the Elder of the Jade Staff; the monkey’s current fluctuation of magical power was, at best, that of a beginner-grade Da Luo Jinxian.

Though shocked by the sheer number of subordinates Gu Xiechen had managed to gather from the wilderness, and though impressed by the refined cultivation of his million-strong army, the Elder of the Jade Staff remained unconcerned. Lacking the protection of the Five Directions Five-Colored Banners and engaging him head-on—was this not courting death?

With a sharp crack, the jade staff met the purplish-black iron rod. The Elder of the Jade Authority’s expression abruptly shifted.

His short frame convulsed, and he tumbled from the cloud top in a single somersault. His jade technique was smashed to smithereens by the iron rod, the tip scraping past his shoulder, blasting through his protective immortal light and tearing his Taoist robe to shreds.

Yang Jian’s eyes flashed with cold light, and he cheered with satisfaction: “Great Sage’s might! A splendid staff power, magnificent divine ability!” Teaming up with the monkey to attack one person was something Yang Jian, in his arrogance, would never initiate.

However, this did not stop the sharp-eared hound beside Yang Jian from transforming into a black shadow and darting out, latching onto the Elder of the Jade Staff’s backside with a wide-open maw. This hound was also an ancient, primordial species; otherwise, how could it have stayed by Yang Jian’s side for so many years?

It possessed no other remarkable skills, save for teeth famous throughout the Three Realms for their ability to sever metal and crush jade. Since the Elder of the Jade Staff’s protective immortal light and robe were shattered by the monkey’s blow, the hound’s teeth met no obstruction as they plunged into the Elder’s pale, tender buttocks.

The hound shook its head gleefully from side to side. The Elder of the Jade Staff let out a piercing howl; the flesh of his right buttock was nearly torn completely away by the hound.

Great swathes of purplish-gold blood sprayed out as the hound, smugly satisfied, snatched a chunk of flesh weighing three to five pounds and swiftly retreated, happily returning to Yang Jian’s side. The monkey erupted in laughter.

He casually plucked a hair from his thigh, spat out a breath of immortal energy, and instantly, the sky filled with monkeys whose golden fur glittered, their Mourning Gate Staffs hacking wildly. The heavy staffs tore through the air, producing thunderous roars, and the heavy shadows of the strikes shattered vast waves of the sea of blood with sounds like collapsing mountains.

When it came to close-quarters combat, aside from Yang Jian who had once fought the monkey one-on-one, no one else in the Three Realms dared boast of handling the monkey’s calamity-like staff. A dozen of the Elder of the Jade Staff’s beginner-grade Da Luo Jinxian disciples were struck dead, their skulls shattered before they could even register the staff’s approach.

His five sons were lucky; the Elder of the Jade Authority and Technique were knocked flying by a single blow from the monkey. They immediately clustered together, conjuring several immortal artifacts for defense, narrowly avoiding being hit squarely by the staff.

The artifacts the Elder of the Jade Authority’s sons used for protection were five triangular jade tablets, shimmering in five colors. These five tablets flickered in the air, each flash emitting vast swathes of five-colored mist that securely shielded their true forms.

The monkey’s clones spun around them like windmills but could not get close to their bodies. The monkey, in a fit of rage, let out a long cry toward the heavens.

His clones scattered chaotically in all directions, and with a strike of his staff, he smashed every single one of the Elder of the Jade Authority’s tens of thousands of disciples to death. Pitiable were those tens of thousands of immortals whose cultivation had taken untold years to achieve, only to be reduced to nothingness by the monkey in a single morning.

Watching his disciples slaughtered, the Elder of the Jade Staff trembled with fury. What nearly made him vomit blood was the sight of massive quantities of merit floating down from the void after the monkey killed so many of his followers; this merit flowed entirely into the monkey’s body.

In the blink of an eye, a blinding wheel of golden merit light began to glow behind the monkey’s head, utterly identical to the Buddha-light behind the divine Buddhas of the Buddhist Sect. The Elder of the Jade Authority shrieked in anger, cursing wildly: “You monkey fiend, what cultivation method do you practice—immortal arts of the Taoist path, or Zen disciplines of the Buddhist path?” Poor monkey, having spent these ten thousand years merely consorting with villains like Penghua, Siren, and Mohe, the once noble Great Sage Equal to Heaven had thoroughly gone bad.

Hearing the Elder of the Jade Staff’s curses, the monkey glared, spun around, slapped his own backside with force, and roared with laughter: “What method I, Grandfather Sun, cultivate is none of your damn business! Why should I tell you?

Call me ‘Grandfather,’ and if Grandfather Sun is in a good mood, perhaps I’ll tell you!” The Elder of the Jade Technique was enraged. Although his personality was insidious, favoring secretive maneuvering and the strategy of concealing his brilliance, he possessed the solid cultivation of a peak Great Overarching Golden Immortal—a top figure among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

The monkey’s treatment of him instantly ignited his hidden fury to a height of thirty thousand zhang. With a cold snort, the Elder of the Jade Staff flipped his right hand.

A milky-white cold mist coiled around a jade-white Flood Dragon nearly a hundred zhang long, rushing forth, bringing with it boundless icy air, aimed at the monkey. The monkey laughed heartily.

Having knocked the Elder from the clouds with one blow, the monkey had grown somewhat contemptuous. Seeing the Elder of the Jade Technique release the Flood Dragon, the monkey lazily swung his staff toward it: “Grandfather Sun has spent his life pulling dragon scales and tendons!

Hah, oh dear!” Just as he was laughing triumphantly, the monkey’s staff met the Flood Dragon, and his expression changed; he cried out that things were bad. A terrifying cold current surged out from within the Flood Dragon, traveling up the monkey’s staff into his body.

In an instant, his entire network of meridians was frozen, and even the immortal energy within him solidified entirely. Before the monkey could even blink, he was encased in ice, plummeting heavily toward the Sea of Blood.

The Three-Headed Yaksha Ghost King was already waiting below, raising their massive tridents, ready to pierce the monkey’s body. Gu Xiechen shook his head and chuckled softly: “This monkey only learns when he suffers a loss.

After all, the Elder is a peak Da Luo, isn’t he!” Even if the monkey’s divine abilities surpassed the Elder of the Jade Technique’s by ten thousand times, his current magical power cultivation was trillions of times weaker. That initial slip-up was due only to the Elder’s momentary carelessness; how could he allow it a second time?

Still, the monkey’s staff was undeniably piercing. Even if the Elder of the Jade Technique had been careless, his protective immortal light was not something an ordinary person could breach.

With a wave of his hand, an extremely thin white light shot out from his sleeve—the Black Ice Rope, transformed from the Profound Ice Demon Path—shot out, imbued with piercing cold. It swiftly coiled around the frozen form of the monkey, rapidly pulling him back.

The frigid energy that encased the monkey’s body was rapidly absorbed by the Black Ice Rope, and in a blink, the ice coating the monkey’s exterior vanished without a trace, restoring him to normal. Gazing suspiciously at the Black Ice Rope, the Elder of the Jade Staff let out a cold snort and pointed a finger at the white Flood Dragon.

The white Flood Dragon, heedless of its own peril, joyfully roared within the cold air, charging toward Gu Xiechen with monstrous cold energy and light. Seeing the intention to use freezing energy against Gu Xiechen, Penghua and the others all rolled their eyes; the Elder of the Jade Staff’s judgment was severely lacking.

Gu Xiechen smiled, grabbed the just-recovered monkey, and tossed him behind the great formation. Then, with a sweeping gesture of his sleeve, his flowing robes lashed out with icy cold light, fiercely striking the white Flood Dragon’s head, beating it senseless.

This Flood Dragon possessed formidable cold energy, but its physical body and magical power were quite weak. He snatched the Flood Dragon, rubbed and kneaded it a few times until it shrunk down into a worm about a foot long, which obediently slipped into Gu Xiechen’s sleeve and was absorbed into the Taiyin Profound Pearl.

Gu Xiechen smiled at the dumbfounded Elder of the Jade Staff, casually summoning the Black Ice Rope, which transformed into a waterfall of cold light as thick as a hundred zhang, violently rushing out to firmly entangle the five-colored banner protecting the Elder of the Jade Staff’s five sons. The Elder of the Jade Technique was aghast.

He sensed the terrifying Taiyin cold energy within the Black Ice Rope and roared, “Upstart, you dare!” Gu Xiechen watched the Elder of the Jade Staff with a grin, then retracted the Black Ice Rope. The true form of this rope, the Profound Ice Demon Path, was refined by the Taiyin True Monarch at immense personal cost.

It contained infinite Taiyin profundities, possessing the most soft and heavy nature. Once attached, it felt as if tens of thousands of great mountains were pressing down from above, making the body sink as if caught in quicksand, unable to move.

As he reeled in the Black Ice Rope, the five sons of the Elder of the Jade Technique were swept over as well. The Elder of the Jade Authority was terrified and roared, “Are you all dead men?” The five sons of the Elder of the Jade Staff, protected by the five-colored jade plaques, finally took alarm.

They hastily conjured their personal magical artifacts, attacking the Black Ice Rope, trying to break it open and escape. But this Black Ice Rope was refined by the Taiyin True Monarch collecting the essence of Taiyin, and then nourished for countless years in the Eternal Bright Domain of the Northern Pole by the essence of the Eternal Profound Ice.

Its quality surpassed most Innate Supreme Treasures. How could they possibly break it?

The five Great Overarching Golden Immortals were thus bound together in a string and sucked into Gu Xiechen’s sleeve, where he moved them into the Taiyang Profound Pearl for containment. The Elder of the Jade Staff, also known as the White Cold Celestial Venerable, suggested that his lineage’s cultivation followed the Taiyin path, specializing in profound ice and icy cold techniques.

The fate awaiting five ice-statue-like Great Overarching Golden Immortals, thrown into a place swirling with Innate Yang energy everywhere, was easy to imagine. The Elder of the Jade Staff stood frozen, staring intently at the Black Ice Rope coiled around Gu Xiechen’s wrist.

He sneered, word by cold word: “Innate Magical Artifact?” Looking down at the Black Ice Rope, Gu Xiechen shook his head. “You could call it an Innate Magical Artifact.

It is the condensed essence of Innate Taiyin Qi, refined with countless supremely Yin and cold Innate materials, and sealed with countless Taiyin divine runes by the Ancient Taiyin True Monarch. It is not an Innate Artifact, but it surpasses most Innate Artifacts.” “I see,” the Elder of the Jade Technique nodded weakly.

He spoke to Gu Xiechen: “Hand over my five children, and we shall consider the matter of killing my eldest grandson settled.” Gu Xiechen shook his head and said lightly: “Your eldest grandson deserved his fate, but you imprisoned us for ten thousand years. I seek one return for one debt.” He glanced back at the million-plus heavenly soldiers and generals behind him, and Gu Xiechen sneered: “One person for ten thousand years.

There are over a million people here. I shall imprison your entire extended family for one hundred billion years—that’s two epochs.

Shall we consider our grievances settled then?” The Elder of the Jade Authority sighed deeply, shook his head, and then suddenly thrust out a hand, forming a hand seal, bowing toward Gu Xiechen. Vast cold light surged toward Gu Xiechen; the terrifying cold energy truly possessed the dread power to freeze the Three Realms.

Had it been any other immortal, even one at the same peak Da Luo level as the Elder of the Jade Staff, they would have suffered a hidden blow. But Gu Xiechen possessed the Taiyin Profound Pearl and had refined it into his life-bound magical treasure.

This meager cold energy was merely sustenance for him. With a grasp and a squeeze, all the cold light in the sky condensed into several exquisite white ice shards suspended in his hands.

With several crunching sounds, Gu Xiechen ate the ice shards as if they were candy beans, smiling and nodding toward the Elder of the Jade Technique: “Very pure cold energy, excellent nourishment! Do you have any more?” The Elder of the Jade Staff’s face shifted.

This beam of cold light was his most potent divine ability, inherited from some ancient immortal, boasted of the power to freeze a world and slay even Buddhas and Gods. But despite his cultivation being trillions of times superior to Gu Xiechen’s, he could not harm a single hair on Gu Xiechen’s body.

If Gu Xiechen wasn't concealing his magical power aura, then he must possess some supreme treasure that countered Taiyin energy. Regardless of the scenario, it was not good news for the Elder of the Jade Staff.

He cast a sinister glance at the Five Directions Five-Colored Banners floating above the Heavenly Net and Earthly Net formation, then suddenly took a deep breath. He instinctively sensed that today’s events were disadvantageous to him.

But he had already lost an eldest grandson; losing his five sons as well would be too great a loss. He must persist!

The Elder of the Jade Authority glared fiercely at Gu Xiechen, then suddenly pointed a finger at the banner floating above the Sea of Blood, letting out a harsh, ghostly shriek. The great banner moved, and sky-reaching waves of blood surged.

Hundreds of Yaksha Ghost Kings, along with countless Yakshas, churned and charged toward Gu Xiechen. Gu Xiechen chuckled faintly and casually conjured several streaks of Yin Lightning.

Given Gu Xiechen’s current cultivation level, his Yin Lightning True Art possessed the power to shatter the heavens and earth. But when it struck the Yaksha Ghost Kings, it only produced a few sparks of firelight, failing to even singe their fur.

Indeed, as legend held, these Yaksha Ghost Kings from beyond the heavens were creatures of immense cosmic malevolence. Except for a few specialized demon-subduing divine abilities from the Daoist and Buddhist sects, other Taoist magic was useless against them.

Legend claimed that even the might of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had immense difficulty subduing these Yaksha Ghost Kings; even with his Buddhist abilities, completely eradicating one took significant effort. Shaking his head, Gu Xiechen glanced at the blood-colored banner suspended overhead, momentarily uncertain of its origin.

To be able to condense the vital essence of living beings to forge the true bodies of Yaksha Ghost Kings—this banner must have an extraordinary background. However, since the Corpse Emperor coveted this banner, he, as his disciple, had to seize it, overcoming whatever difficulties lay in the way.

With a wave of his hand, the Heavenly Net and Earthly Net formation, accompanied by auspicious light filling the sky, soared upwards, instantly enveloping the endless Sea of Blood and the countless Yakshas within. The formation severed the connection of divine sense between the inside and outside, instantly cutting off the Elder of the Jade Technique’s connection to the great banner.

The Elder of the Jade Technique’s face turned ashen. Just as he was about to unleash a divine ability to break open the formation, ten streaks of immortal light shot up from the surroundings—the Ten Heavenly Lords had already set up the Ten Absolute Formations.

Heavenly Lord Yao shouted sternly: “Youngster, have you heard the name of the Ten Heavenly Lords of the Chan Sect? Do you know the might of the Ten Absolute Formations?” “The Ten Absolute Formations?” the Elder of the Jade Staff cried out, his face growing even more panicked.

The ancient immortal secret text he possessed contained much historical record of the Three Teachings, naturally including the notorious infamy of the Ten Absolute Formations. In that moment of hesitation, the Elder of the Jade Staff was swept into the Ten Absolute Formations.

Gu Xiechen summoned the Taiyang Profound Pearl and drew the Ten Absolute Formations inside, letting the Ten Heavenly Lords and the Elder of the Jade Technique struggle as they wished. He then summoned the Taiyin Profound Pearl, allowing the Heavenly Net and Earthly Net formation to enter it as well.

Only then did he smile and hand the Four Swords of Execution and the formation diagrams to the Corpse Emperor standing behind him. “Master, to secure that banner, you must labor personally.

Unless you cooperate with the Ten Heavenly Lords to execute the Elder of the Jade Technique, the banner will be hard to obtain!” The Corpse Emperor nodded firmly, lifted his head to accept the sword formation, and charged into the Taiyang Profound Pearl in a single stride. Gu Xiechen exchanged knowing smiles with Penghua and the others.

More than a dozen Innate Magical Artifacts unleashed their power simultaneously, led by the Pangu Banner in Gu Xiechen’s hand, blasting out a chaotic brilliance that shattered the spherical space. The silk handkerchief floating among the nebulae burst apart, an excellent ancient immortal artifact utterly pulverized.

Gazing at the surrounding starry sky, Gu Xiechen sighed toward the heavens: “Ten thousand years of arduous effort were worth it. Now, I no longer fear anyone.

But in these ten thousand years, Fuya, Poison Wolf, Black Jack, Gu Yuru, ***…” Stomping his foot hard, Gu Xiechen sent a divine sense into the Taiyang Profound Pearl to the Ten Heavenly Lords and the others, instructing them to remember not to let the Elder of the Jade Staff die too easily. It would be best to destroy his physical body, seize his divine soul, erase his true spirit, and then hand his divine soul over to Daoist Chen, allowing Daoist Chen to refine him into an immortal artifact—thereby forging an immensely powerful divine weapon!

Being imprisoned for ten thousand years, while not truly significant for an immortal, meant the world to the people and affairs of the mortal realm. Having no desire for further chatter, Gu Xiechen hurriedly employed the Great Star Shift divine ability, teleporting continuously toward the Spiral Star Domain.

The closer he got to the Spiral Star Domain, the clearer the feeling became: Fuya and Ming were no longer in Yafik, but had gone to a place beyond his current power to perceive. The nearer he approached Planet Yafik, the more empty Gu Xiechen felt, as if a piece of his heart had been gouged out.

This vacant sensation, suspended between heaven and earth, made Gu Xiechen’s face grow increasingly grim. Penghua and the others dared not utter a sound as they watched his increasingly ferocious expression, all diligently following behind him, not daring to make the slightest noise.

On the only route connecting the Spiral Star Domain to the outside world, a small cavern manor floated at the end of the passage. A few Heavenly Immortals, led by one Grand Unity Golden Immortal, sat languidly before the entrance of this manor, which occupied less than three mu and consisted of several tents.

They were laughing merrily, chatting about something. When Gu Xiechen suddenly appeared before them, the leading Grand Unity Golden Immortal lazily picked up a scroll and a brush beside him, asking without even raising his head: “Immortal friend, from whence do you hail?

What do you seek to procure here? Do you have familiar merchant guilds or shops?

Do you require introductions to some fairly priced establishments?” Gu Xiechen swept his cold gaze over the immortals with a slight snort, and the three Kongsang brothers rushed forward, instantly obliterating the Heavenly Immortals. Kongsang Ri snatched the Grand Unity Golden Immortal’s divine soul and used soul-searching techniques to forcibly extract all the information he needed.

Upon hearing the Grand Unity Golden Immortal’s confession, Gu Xiechen’s expression darkened further. Grinding his teeth, he commanded that the Grand Unity Golden Immortal’s divine soul be shattered piece by piece and scattered in all directions.

Gu Xiechen, his face grim, charged into the Spiral Star Domain. Half a month later, a piece of news that shocked the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths suddenly spread wildly among the immortals who had descended to the mortal realm: The largest free trade zone in the mortal realm, the Spiral Star Domain, had lost contact with hundreds of thousands of immortals and their affiliated factions.

The great powers of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were shaken. They hurriedly dispatched their most capable operatives to rush toward the Spiral Star Domain.