The two stood a hundred zhang apart, their powerful auras crashing against each other, churning the void into a maelstrom of winds. Above them, an image of a colossal lizard and a giant python, ten thousand zhang tall, materialized and faced off.
The surrounding cultivators were forced back by the immense pressure, yet their faces were alight with excitement. Some gossiped, "The divine abilities of these two seniors are truly unfathomable. Even ordinary Golden Immortal Venerables are likely no match for them."
"You blind fool, can't you see the one who's slightly shorter is the great cultivator Hei Jie of the Black Lizard Clan? He's one of their three Taiyi realm great powers!"
"What? A Taiyi realm great power? Then is this old woman also a Taiyi realm great power? I've never heard of her."
"It's normal for you sea folk not to have heard. I come from the Thousand Clans of the Eastern Wilderness. This old woman is a newly ascended Taiyi realm great cultivator of the recently emerging Xi Mountain Snake Clan. Legend has it their ancestors even had a Great Luo Supreme existence!"
"Oh my, this is extraordinary! It seems we are about to witness the demeanor of a Taiyi realm great power."
Xuan Jiu, standing behind Granny Hua Geng, was filled with shock. He had cultivated diligently for tens of epochs to reach the late Golden Immortal stage, yet Granny Hua Geng had already surpassed two realms and entered the Taiyi realm before him!
Seeing that a great battle was imminent, he dared not speak to dissuade them.
But then, Qing Ling stepped forward and whispered into Granny Hua Geng's ear, not using the telepathic communication that Golden Immortals could overhear, but in the secret language of the Snake Clan. "Granny, it is not wise to provoke the Black Lizard Clan lightly at this moment. I saw Venerable Mo Chan, who attacked me back then, following King Ling Chan. If the Black Lizard Clan and the Toads join forces, our task of taking a gate will face immense resistance. After all, even the most skilled fighter can't fend off multiple opponents."
Granny Hua Geng's expression faltered. She then surveyed the surroundings, examined carefully, and finally nodded. She withdrew her aura and indifferently dismissed Hei Jie and his companions.
Hei Jie also stopped his provocative words. He retracted his formidable presence and no longer paid attention to Hua Geng. The brief clash of auras had made him realize that although Hua Geng had only recently entered the Taiyi realm, her strength was extraordinary. She was almost on par with him, a seasoned Taiyi realm cultivator. She must have received assistance from a Great Luo, and might even be able to break through to the Great Luo realm. Upon returning to his clan, he would have to report this to the elder, and they could not allow Xi Mountain to continue developing.
Granny Hua Geng then said to Xuan Jiu, "You have been here for some time, haven't you? Tell me, which gate has the weakest force guarding it? Don't tell me your Green Fish Clan is the weakest."
Xuan Jiu's heart trembled, and his scalp tingled, but he managed a smile. "Granny, you jest. While my Green Fish Clan may not match the background of Xi Mountain, we are still a clan with some strength and are naturally not the weakest.
According to my calculations, the gate to the southeast has the weakest force. Although it appears to have two late Golden Immortal Venerables and five Golden Immortal Venerables, it is actually a hastily assembled team with no trust among them. It will be the easiest to breach."
"Good, then we shall take this gate." Granny Hua Geng glanced at the Heavenly Sea Gate and immediately made her decision. She turned and said, "Qing'er, let's go."
Qing Ling reluctantly followed behind the old woman. Though Granny Hua Geng was very old, her spirit was undiminished, and she had always been strong-willed.
Granny Hua Geng approached the gate guarded by eight Golden Immortal Venerables, a smile appearing on her face. Her murderous aura vanished, making her look like a kind and benevolent elder.
"My friends, I am late. All twelve gates have been occupied. I wonder if you could be accommodating...
Even though your strength is not bad, this place is fraught with danger. It would be better for you to leave and live in peace."
The two leading late Golden Immortals among the seven exchanged glances. One of them, a woman in a palace dress, stepped forward and asked, "May I ask, Granny, what is your cultivation level?"
Granny Hua Geng did not reply verbally. Instead, she waved her hand, and three streams of magnificent light surged from above her head. Three profound Dao flowers bloomed simultaneously, signifying the convergence of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The five qi within her internal organs condensed, and the Tai Geng Dao manifested in the void, radiating an ancient and sharp aura.
Taiyi realm great cultivator!
Shock flashed in the eyes of the woman in the palace dress. She recovered and exchanged a look with the black-robed man beside her, then said, "Senior, please forgive us. We have painstakingly obtained this place, and it is too unwilling to yield it so easily.
We two are willing to spar with Senior for three moves. If we cannot win, we will retreat immediately. What do you think, Senior?"
Hua Geng did not hesitate and nodded. "Very well, let us begin then."
As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Hua Geng held her staff in her left hand and extended her right, pushing forward with her palm. It was as if thousands of troops were advancing together, and the force of myriad weapons swept towards the two.
The woman in the palace dress immediately shifted her stance with the black-robed man. Their bodies emanated black and white light, transforming into a Tai Chi fish eye, the perfect Yin and Yang. The black chaos protected their bodies.
"Oh, the Dao of Tai Chi? Quite profound," Granny Hua Geng chuckled. However, the gigantic, pure golden palm, carrying the force of thousands of troops, surged into the black and white chaos. The chaos did not distinguish between the six directions. Countless golden lights poured in, but they only spun and inverted four times within the Yin and Yang of Tai Chi, unable to be released.
Just as the Tai Chi fish eye was about to engulf the giant golden palm, countless golden lines crisscrossed within it. A combined palm strike descended. A palm strike from outside the Tai Chi and a palm strike from within the Tai Chi, one external and one internal, two layers of force entered two layers of Tai Chi. Yin and Yang reversed and inverted again, and with a deafening boom, golden light blazed. The Tai Chi fish eye dispersed into two streams of qi, transforming back into the woman in the palace dress and the black-robed man. Both were greatly shocked, their auras unstable. Seeing Granny Hua Geng about to strike again, they quickly said, "Senior, please wait! It was our arrogance. We shall retreat immediately."
As their words fell, they shot into the sky without the slightest hesitation. The five Golden Immortal Venerables, seeing their two late-stage companions unable to withstand even one blow, also dared not linger and quickly departed.
Seeing this, Granny Hua Geng withdrew her techniques and said to Qing Ling, who was observing from the side, "Being able to advance and retreat is also a way of survival."
Qing Ling nodded in agreement. He watched as Granny Hua Geng was examining the light gate and followed to protect her.
Even though Granny Hua Geng had only used one palm strike, he could feel the power of the Taiyi realm at such close proximity. The convergence of Dharma, Dao, and momentum in a casual strike, a single strike appearing as three, was truly profound.
The surrounding onlookers gasped in astonishment. "Hiss! This person is truly a Taiyi realm great cultivator! How terrifying, to repel eight Golden Immortal Venerables with a single strike."
"It seems this place is far beyond our imagination. It's best we leave soon, lest we lose our lives carelessly."
...
Among the Black Lizard Clan members, Hei Jie's expression was grim. That palm strike had also surprised him. While such a technique did not possess the power of a Great Luo, it carried a hint of Great Luo's intent. It seemed Hua Geng was far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
To the north, over thirty cultivators occupied two gates. The leader was a stout man with a full beard, resembling a bandit chieftain from a mountain stronghold. Standing beside him was an elder in black robes, none other than Venerable Mo Chan from years past.
The bearded, stout man's green-glowing eyes fixed on Qing Ling, who was following Granny Hua Geng. "Is this the innate deity you spoke of?"
Venerable Mo Chan quickly replied with flattery, "Indeed, my lord. This child belongs to the order of Spring Season deities. Not only is his appearance peerless, his divine body is pure and flawless, and he possesses a companion spiritual treasure of innate origin."
"Excellent, excellent, extremely excellent. I have never encountered such a prime specimen."
"Haha, precisely, precisely. The body of an innate deity, how rare, and with such beauty. If it were to belong to His Majesty the King..."
"If it were to belong to me, it would naturally be a war with Xi Mountain. Only then can the clan be broken and the Holy Son be destroyed, hahaha. That old hag Hua Geng will be crushed by me sooner or later." The stout, broad-faced man laughed heartily, his eyes glowing as he looked at Qing Ling.
Venerable Mo Chan felt relieved. With King Ling Chan's interest piqued, it would certainly lead to war with Xi Mountain. In the next Ten Thousand Beast War, with King Ling Chan, who commanded the fifty-two toad tribes, leading the other toad tribes to assist, they might even be able to destroy Xi Mountain. His Crimson Fire Toad Clan would then be spared from annihilation!
At this moment, Granny Hua Geng was probing the Heavenly Sea Gate with her divine sense. Based on the fluctuations of this gate, it appeared to be a water-element spiritual item, and it could manifest twelve Heavenly Sea Gates. Within the gate, a world seemed to be gestating, at least of innate origin!
Qing Ling was summoned to the light gate by Granny Hua Geng. "Qing'er, you have an innate deity body. You should be close to this kind of innate item. Probe it with your divine essence, invest your primordial spirit into the light gate, and investigate."
Qing Ling nodded and stepped forward, placing his right palm on the gate. The Spring Godhead within his primordial spirit trembled, and spiritual patterns flashed on his right palm. His divine sense actually saw a blurry image within the blue Dao patterns of the light gate.
In the hundred-zhang spiritual lake, behind the twelve light gates, corresponded twelve colorless and waveless spiritual pearls. The twelve pearls combined to form the Great Cycle of one yuan. The spiritual pearls were subtly connected, linked by marvelous Dao rhyme, and the illusory shadows of the sea and sky world were reflected.
At this moment, no matter how ignorant Qing Ling was, he knew what this spiritual treasure was!
The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls in Zhao Gongming's hand during the Investiture of the Gods battle!
However, there were only twelve here. But these twelve spiritual pearls formed a set, synthesizing into twelve innate Dao patterns, comparable to a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure.
However, if separated, they would merely be ordinary innate spiritual pearls. While still precious, they would be significantly less valuable compared to the complete set.
Below the twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls was a ten-zhang-deep, dark blue spiritual water. Even after seeing it, he was greatly shocked. The legendary Nine Yuan Heavy Water, a supreme treasure in the eyes of water cultivators, was more precious than a high-grade innate spiritual treasure.
This was because although spiritual treasures were marvelous, they could not directly increase one's cultivation, whereas Nine Yuan Heavy Water could drastically speed up cultivation.
Furthermore, with ten zhang of Nine Yuan Heavy Water below, even a Great Luo Supreme would take tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of epochs to condense such a quantity!
Qing Ling's heart became clear. His fortune lay not in the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, but beneath them.
Spiritual treasures had spirits. Unless they encountered their destined person, they would not truly belong. Moreover, with so many Golden Immortal Venerables present, the twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were destined not to be fully acquired, nor to complete the number twelve.
He no longer yearned for the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls and placed all his hopes on the Nine Yuan Heavy Water. With such a vast quantity of Nine Yuan Heavy Water, Qing Ling would undoubtedly be able to advance his cultivation further!