Undying Life

Chapter 840: Journey to Qingqiu

"The rise and fall of the world is everyone's responsibility!"

This was Zhong Shan's last message to the people. The citizens of Dazhen silently swore oaths in their hearts, feeling a surge of ambition that they had never experienced before. This newfound determination would help them face all future challenges with courage.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

A flash of intense light erupted from the distant battlefield near the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, and a massive fierce beast burst out from the light.

Clearly, the Great Immortals of the Kong family, having the advantage in numbers, had created a significant opening. The Taotie, a fearsome creature, was charging straight for the Lingxiao Heavenly Court!

"Taotie, devour the Lingxiao Heavenly Court for me!" a thunderous voice echoed from the light.

It was Yan Hui's voice. Despite battling the Taichu Holy King, Yan Hui was still observing the surroundings.

"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

With a ferocious roar, the Taotie lunged forward, its mouth growing larger and larger as it approached the Lingxiao Heavenly Court. Ten miles, a hundred miles, a thousand miles, ten thousand miles.

The Taotie's mouth had expanded to a terrifying size of ten thousand miles and was still growing. This monstrous divine beast appeared capable of swallowing the entire Lingxiao Heavenly Court in one gulp.

Zhong Shan stepped forward, leading his ministers to face this colossal maw.

"Hmph!" Zhong Shan snorted coldly.

From beginning to end, Zhong Shan had not personally intervened, relying instead on using enemies against each other. But now, he couldn't remain hidden any longer. If he did, the Lingxiao Heavenly Court would be completely swallowed by this fully grown Taotie.

In the distance, Yi Lanque also watched the terrifying maw of the Taotie, his eyes narrowing as he spoke in a deep voice, "Notify the ancestors! We can't wait any longer. If we delay, we won't gain any favor and might even incur Zhong Shan's wrath!"

The disciples of the Yi family immediately obeyed.

The enormous mouth of the Taotie was nearing the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, its overwhelming size and terrifying presence making it seem capable of devouring even the heavens.

On the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, everyone saw the massive maw covering the sky. The mouth opened wide, and a large portion of the Lingxiao Heavenly Court had already entered the Taotie's mouth.

The people caught within the Taotie's mouth fled northward in terror, hoping to escape beyond the creature's lips.

But the Taotie's massive size and rapid approach were too overwhelming.

As the greenish-black lips of the Taotie closed in on the Changsheng Hall, desperation gripped many.

Suddenly, behind or above the Taotie's lips, another set of pink lips appeared.

Was this Taotie double-faced?

No, those weren't the Taotie's lips. Was it the Holy King's divine beast?

Realizing this, everyone was stunned. They knew the divine beast was mysterious, but its mouth was even more exaggerated than the Taotie's?

In an instant, the Taotie's lips stopped advancing and seemed to be pulled back by a powerful suction force, retreating at a speed hundreds of times faster than before.

The formidable Taotie, with its monstrous maw, was rapidly pulled away from the Lingxiao Heavenly Court.

Everyone saw just one scene: the colossal Taotie being sucked into an even larger mouth.

Indeed, it was the Holy King's divine beast. It had reappeared.

"Ah-woo!"

With a snap of its jaws, Baji Tianwei (Eight Extremities Heaven Tail) closed its mouth and vanished from sight.

The Taotie was swallowed?

Everyone was left in shock, realizing that the Holy King's divine beast had once again saved the day by devouring the ferocious Taotie.

Countless people stood in shock, staring blankly at the cloudless sky.

On the southern battlefield, everything suddenly paused. The Great Immortals stopped fighting and turned to look in the direction of the Lingxiao Heavenly Court. One of the Kong family's Great Immortals even wiped his eyes, staring at the spot where the Taotie had been.

Gone? Where was the Taotie?

The battle between the Taichu Holy King and Yan Hui also came to an abrupt halt.

The two supreme powerhouses quickly used their secret methods to scan the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, searching for the eight-tailed beast.

Yan Hui looked as if he had swallowed a fly, his eyes wide with disbelief. Even now, Yan Hui couldn't believe what he had seen.

An adult Taotie, with its indestructible skin and ability to swallow the heavens and earth, had been swallowed itself? Was this a joke?

But it was real—the Taotie had indeed been swallowed. And by an unknown beast, no less.

What had just happened? Where was the beast?

Realizing the situation, Yan Hui roared, "Zhong Shan, where is my Taotie?"

"I don't know, maybe it got eaten," Zhong Shan said with a faint smile.

"Hand over that beast, or I'll kill you!" Yan Hui roared, his body poised to charge at the Lingxiao Heavenly Court.

But he was stopped by the Taichu Holy King.

"Or kill me? Weren't you planning to kill me earlier? Was that just a joke?" Zhong Shan sneered.

"Humph!"

Yan Hui pulled out a bamboo scroll.

The Spring and Autumn Annals! Zhong Shan recognized it. Kong Lietian had one as well—an artifact created by Confucius, passed down to his descendants. This particular Spring and Autumn Annals was vastly more powerful than Kong Lietian's.

As soon as it was taken out, lines of text appeared in the sky, as if the very void was influenced by the presence of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

"Is this how Confucius taught his disciples?"

Suddenly, a powerful voice echoed from the north, filled with a grand and majestic aura.

Everyone turned to see thirty Great Immortals appear in a rush of wind on the northern side of the Lingxiao Heavenly Court.

Leading them was a man in blue robes, with slightly graying hair, who exuded an ethereal and transcendent aura.

"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

From the northern valley, a tremendous creature with a wingspan of three thousand miles emerged—it was the Kunpeng! The same Kunpeng that had fought the Eight Extremities Heaven Tail before!

With a flap of its wings, the Kunpeng lifted a large group of people into the sky.

The Yi family, led by Yi Lanque, appeared.

"Yi Lanque greets the ancestors!" Yi Lanque called out.

The leader nodded.

"Yi Siqi, what did you just say?" Yan Hui asked coldly.

"I said, this doesn't seem to be your Kong family's territory. When did Confucius extend his influence here?" Yi Siqi replied with a faint smile.

"And it's not the territory of Zhuangzi either. Does Zhuangzi want to challenge my Kong family?" Yan Hui sneered.

"Why not?" Yi Siqi replied coldly.

"You—"

"My master once promised that sage to look after this region when able. This is not your place to be!"

"But that sage is dead!"

"So what? Get back to where you came from!" Yi Siqi said coldly.

"Hmph, then today let me see how strong you really are, Yi Siqi, to make me leave!" Yan Hui was furious.

Out of nowhere, another troublemaker had appeared. Why was it so hard to kill Zhong Shan?

"Very well, a few of my senior brothers will be passing through here soon. Let me show you what true brotherhood looks like!" Yi Siqi said with a wicked smile.

Brotherhood?

Yan Hui was speechless. Did Yi Siqi mean that he and his brothers would gang up on him? Yan Hui glared at Yi Siqi, puzzled by his sudden aggression.

Looking deeply at Zhong Shan, Yan Hui suddenly realized Yi Siqi was protecting Zhong Shan.

Why was heaven favoring this small Holy Court so much? So many Great Immortals couldn't destroy it? And now, Zhuangzi's disciples were helping him too?

"Hmph!" Yan Hui snorted in frustration, knowing there was no point in arguing. He decided to leave.

"Let's go!" Yan Hui commanded.

With nothing more to say to Yi Siqi, Yan Hui turned around and left, seething with anger.

Zhong Shan looked at Yi Siqi and then at Yi Lanque.

Yi Siqi didn't look back at Zhong Shan, but Yi Lanque nodded and smiled at him, clearly indicating that this help came from Yi Lanque.

"Thank you!" Zhong Shan said solemnly to Yi Lanque.

"Fate will bring us together again," Yi Lanque replied.

After saying this, he bowed respectfully to Yi Siqi. Then, their group quickly disappeared from sight.

"Thank you, ancestor!" Yi Lanque said to Yi Siqi.

Yi Siqi smiled and looked at Yi Lanque. "Not bad. Watching all this wasn't a waste of time!"

"Oh?"

"This Zhong Shan is extraordinary. Despite his weak cultivation, never before has a newly established Holy Court managed to go through such turmoil without losing a single soldier or general. He turned danger into opportunity with over two hundred Great Immortals. You've made a valuable friend!" Yi Siqi nodded approvingly.

"He's not my friend yet."

"He will be," Yi Siqi said with a smile.

The events had happened so quickly that many were still processing what had occurred.

The officials of Taichu were dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold with great astonishment.

Another external force? Another thirty Great Immortals?

It was a rare occurrence to encounter even one Great Immortal, and now there had been a total of two hundred and thirty-one in one day? Had Great Immortals become common, or were they seeing things? And there were two divine beasts from the rankings. No, there was one more—the mysterious eight-tailed beast. What was that?

The Taichu Holy King also stared at Zhong Shan. For some reason, Zhong Shan's cultivation had suddenly risen to the Third Heaven of the Celestial Stage!

Previously, he had been at the peak of the Second Heaven of the Celestial Stage, but the breakthrough seemed too quick. There was something suspicious about Zhong Shan. Throughout the confrontations, while others compared strength and power, Zhong Shan had remained unscathed and even increased his cultivation. The Taichu Holy King was not pleased.

"Zhong Shan, are you ready?" the Taichu Holy King asked sternly.

"Ready to go anytime!"

"Then let's go! Follow me to 'Qingqiu Sacred Capital.'"

"General Wang Jian, I leave the Lingxiao Heavenly Court in your hands. Eliminate any remaining Great Immortals," Zhong Shan instructed.

"Yes!"

The Taichu Holy King waved his sleeve, taking Zhong Shan up into the clouds. The group of Great Immortals flew southwest, taking Zhong Shan with them.

"Farewell to the Holy King~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The ministers of Dazhen knelt down, their eyes filled with respect. The Holy King had traded his freedom for the safety of Dazhen. No one underestimated Zhong Shan; their respect for him only grew stronger. They were determined to fulfill the Holy King's wishes and repay him with a powerful Dazhen.

As the ministers knelt in reverence, two different shadows departed from the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, following Zhong Shan.

One was the commander of Dazhen's Fourth Legion, Mister Shi.

The other was the chief commander of Dazhen's Shadow Guard, Dark Emperor.