Chapter 142: Golden Roc, White Dragon

"You must be Yuntian from the Black-White Academy, right?" the arrogant, golden-robed young man asked coldly, his gaze fixed piercingly on Yuntian.

Yuntian raised an eyebrow slightly, smiled with serene nonchalance, and nodded. "That's right! I know you are hunting a Fire Phoenix, but she has already agreed to become my spirit beast. So you'd better save your breath and go back where you came from!"

"You're courting death!" The arrogant golden-robed youth's expression instantly darkened. "Yuntian, do you really think I wouldn't dare wipe out your Yun clan?"

Yuntian shrugged with indifference. "If you have the ability, by all means, go ahead and wipe them out. The Yun clan cast me out of the tribe long ago anyway, so I hold no affection for them. Destroy them if you please; it has nothing to do with me."

"Very well!" Laughing out of sheer fury, the golden-robed youth waved his hand and shouted coldly, "Attack! Form the Golden Peng Array!"

"Understood!" The Myriad Manifestation warriors clad in golden armor aboard the warship roared in unison. They soared into the air together, rapidly combining into a massive battle array. The convergence of heaven and earth quintessential energy formed a gigantic, glowing golden-winged roc in mid-air, which hurtled down toward Yuntian. Its razor-sharp energy talons warped the very fabric of space as they clawed straight at him.

Swish... The moment the energy talons grasped Yuntian, his figure abruptly dissolved and dissipated into nothingness.

Almost simultaneously, Yuntian reappeared right in the midst of the array-forming Myriad Manifestation warriors. Brandishing the Silver Dragon Sword—a Heaven-grade magic treasure—in his hand, accompanied by a faint, resonant dragon roar, the surrounding space twisted as if sliced by sword light. The sword beam swept across the warriors one by one; amidst their miserable shrieks, their physical bodies were torn to shreds by the sword Qi, transforming into a torrential downpour of blood.

"A single sword strike to shatter the battle array, penetrating straight into the core to kill those maintaining it—such formidable swordsmanship! His comprehension of the Dao of Qiankun is profound, and this strike even seems to contain the marvelous mysteries of the Gale Dao." The hooked-nose middle-aged man standing beside the arrogant golden-robed youth narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grave.

The golden-robed youth, whose face had also drastically paled, wore an expression as gloomy as stagnant water. "Uncle Ying, are you saying you aren't confident you can deal with him?"

"Killing him won't be easy. However, defeating him is by no means difficult," the hooked-nose middle-aged man said, directly leaping off the warship.

"I don't wish to take lives. Take your young master and leave," Yuntian said calmly, looking at the hooked-nose middle-aged man.

The hooked-nose middle-aged man chuckled, though his smile carried a biting chill. "Junior, because you possess a sliver of talent, you truly believe you are unrivaled in this world? Do you honestly think that with your mere Myriad Manifestation Adept realm of cultivation, you can match me in battle?"

"I have never yet killed a Primordial God Realm cultivator. Today, you shall be the first," Yuntian replied with calm indifference.

"Junior! You seek death!" Laughing with rage, the hooked-nose middle-aged man flicked his wrist. Countless black feathers, sharp as blades and serving as powerful magical treasures, materialized out of thin air. They coalesced into a fierce, majestic black hawk imbued with a violent aura and charged at Yuntian. The hawk appeared completely lifelike; the very instant it plunged downward, it caused the surrounding space to tremble and distort, reeking of lethal intent!

Clang... With what looked like a casual wave of his sword to parry, Yuntian shattered the black hawk, causing it to burst apart and scatter into a flurry of dispersed black feathers. Following this, with a fleeting flicker of his figure, Yuntian traversed space and appeared instantly before the hooked-nose middle-aged man.

Rip... The hooked-nose middle-aged man's eyes bulged in utter shock before he could even react, a sword thrust straight through his chest by Yuntian. Taking the point of entry as the center, the sharp sword Qi, carrying terrifying destructive might, instantly blasted a massive hole right through the middle-aged man's chest. Furthermore, that gaping wound continued to expand, turning the hooked-nose middle-aged man into absolute nothingness within the span of a breath. Only a few magical treasures dropped downward, which Yuntian swept into his hand with a wave of his sleeve.

"This... t-t-this is impossible?" The arrogant golden-robed youth's teeth chattered in stark terror. Watching Yuntian cast a piercing gaze toward him, he felt his heart seize violently. Coming back to his senses, he frantically sought to urge the warship into flight.

At that very moment, however, Yuntian abruptly materialized right before him, thrusting a sword directly into his chest in the exact same manner.

Boom... Amidst a muffled collision sound, as his body was sent flying backward, a layer of golden radiance blossomed across the golden-robed youth's torso—it was precisely this abruptly manifested golden light that blocked Yuntian's previous strike.

"You've activated a protective defensive treasure? Its power is quite formidable; it must be a life-preserving treasure bestowed by an Immortal, right?" Yuntian narrowed his eyes slightly at the youth. He appeared once more right in front of him, delivering a light, breezy sword strike that seemed utterly effortless. Yet, it directly tore through space, shattering the golden protective barrier enveloping the golden-robed youth, leaving a crimson bloodline across his face.

The next instant, the crimson line bloomed. With eyes wide and filled with boundless shock and unwillingness, the arrogant golden-robed youth's body split cleanly in two, transforming into a golden-winged roc nearly a hundred feet long that plummeted from the sky. The two severed halves crashed heavily into the earth, staining a vast expanse of ground crimson with blood.

"Oh?" Having just slain the arrogant golden-robed youth, Yuntian frowned slightly as if sensing something, lifting his gaze to see a figure abruptly materialize in the void not far away.

It was a middle-aged man clad in pristine white robes, exuding a cold and imposing aura. His gaze was icy as he stared directly at Yuntian. "Human brat, was it you who killed my son in Yunmeng Marsh?"

"I didn't expect an Immortal of the demon race to be hiding within Yunmeng Marsh. You're referring to that flood dragon, I presume?" Yuntian looked at the white-robed middle-aged man with serene calm.

"Knowing that I am an Immortal, you aren't afraid?" The white-robed middle-aged man narrowed his eyes at Yuntian. "Aren't you afraid I'll strike right now and kill you?"

"Afraid? If I say I'm afraid, will you refrain from striking me?" Yuntian smiled indifferently. "Besides, do you truly believe you possess the capability to kill me?"

The white-robed middle-aged man burst into laughter. "Ha ha... What an arrogant little punk! As a dignified Immortal, I wouldn't be able to kill a mere human Myriad Manifestation Adept? Ridiculous!"

"Today, I shall let you witness what is truly ridiculous," Yuntian said. The Silver Dragon Sword in his hand vanished, replaced abruptly by a dark cyan celestial sword.

"An Immortal-grade flying sword?" Sensing the sharp aura emanating from the dark cyan celestial sword in Yuntian's grip, the white-robed middle-aged man's eyebrows twitched in surprise.

Right at this moment, a stream of light streaked swiftly across the horizon from afar, causing the white-robed middle-aged man to turn his head. It was none other than Yuqiu arriving on the scene.

"Yuntian!" Yuqiu flew straight to Yuntian's side. Just as she was looking at him with nervous concern, she failed to notice that the white-robed middle-aged man was staring at her with wide-eyed shock and astonishment, his entire body trembling slightly as he blurted out, "Y-Young... Young Mistress?"

Young Mistress? Yuntian turned his head in mild astonishment to look at the white-robed middle-aged man, while Yuqiu also furrowed her delicate brows and eyed him. "Who are you?"

"Young Mistress, have you forgotten? It is me, Bailong! I once served under Lord Yuming, though back then I was merely an insignificant Primordial God Realm cultivator," the white-robed middle-aged man said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "Well, it is hardly surprising; my strength was negligible back then, so it is only natural that the Young Mistress did not remember me."

"You... You are Uncle Baize?" Yuqiu suddenly recalled something, her expression shifting to one of pleasant surprise as she asked hurriedly.

Baize? Uncle? Hearing this, Yuntian felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Good grief, why did his own main body's prime disciple show up right here? What on earth was going on?

"To think the Young Mistress still remembers this subordinate! This subordinate, Baize, pays respects to the Young Mistress," the white-robed middle-aged man said, bowing respectfully to Yuqiu with joyful agitation.

"Uncle Baize, please rise," Yuqiu said with a smile, waving her hand as she hurriedly asked, "Right, Uncle Baize, why are you in this place?"

Baize straightened up and sighed. "Young Mistress, back when Lord Yuming perished, the forces of our Yuming Mountain shattered like ice. With no other choice, in order to evade relentless pursuit, I could only flee to the Great Xia world and live in seclusion within Yunmeng Marsh. Later on, I fortuitously broke through to become a Void-Returning Terrestrial Immortal. Yet, with meager strength such as mine, I remain utterly insignificant. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see you here, Young Mistress!"

"So that's how it is!" Yuqiu nodded in sudden comprehension before hurriedly changing the subject. "Uncle Baize, you were just about to fight Yuntian? What is going on here? Yuntian is my Dao companion."

Dao companion? Baize's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Yuntian, and he anxiously protested, "Young Mistress, you are a divine beast, the Yuqiu! What qualifications does this human brat possess? How could you possibly take him as your Dao companion?"