Chapter 143: The Three Immortals

Yuqiu could not help but ask repeatedly, "Uncle Baize, what is wrong with Yuntian? He is a rare genius among mankind! Although he is currently only at the Wanxiang realm, his comprehension of the Dao is already extraordinary. He is simply in no rush to break through and become a Yuanshen Daoist."

Although Yuqiu was not entirely clear on how many Daos Yuntian had fully comprehended, over the past few years during their dual cultivation, through soul-melding communion, Yuntian had gradually allowed Yuqiu to experience some of the profound mysteries of the Dao of Water. This had enabled Yuqiu to make rapid progress in Dao comprehension, successfully comprehending two minor paths of the Water Element in succession!

"Oh? A peerless genius among humans?" Baize's expression softened slightly, but he could not help saying, "Even so, Young Mistress, choosing a cultivation partner is not a casual matter. Are you truly certain that you can give everything for each other, and walk this path of immortality together through ten thousand deaths without regret?"

"I am!" Yuqiu replied without the slightest hesitation, turning her head to look at Yuntian by her side. "And I believe Yuntian is too."

"Very well! Since this is your choice, Young Mistress, I will say no more," Baize sighed with a hint of helplessness, then turned to Yuntian. "Yuntian, is it? Since you are the partner chosen by the Young Mistress, our past grievances are hereby written off. However, I hope you are truly worthy of the Young Mistress's devotion; otherwise, I will not let you off easily in the future."

Hearing this, Yuntian looked at Baize in disbelief and asked, "I killed your son. Are you certain you aren't going to seek revenge?"

"What? Yuntian, you killed—" Yuqiu's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and she looked at Baize. "Uncle Baize..."

Baize merely waved his hand to signal that Yuqiu need not say more. "It is fine, Young Mistress. I have plenty of sons; one more or one less makes no difference."

"Huh?" Hearing these words, Yuntian was stunned and left speechless. Plenty of sons? He didn't care?

"Uncle Baize..." Yuqiu felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, feeling deeply apologetic toward Baize and uneasy in her heart.

"Young Mistress, say no more," Baize quickly added. "Why not come with me to cultivate in the Yunmeng Marsh? By my side, you will at least be safer."

Yuqiu glanced at Yuntian beside her and shook her head. "No, Uncle Baize. I would rather stay with Yuntian in the Xia Clan's tribe!"

"This... Very well!" Baize frowned, then flipped his hand to produce a jade talisman and tossed it to Yuqiu. "Young Mistress, if you ever encounter danger, crush this talisman, and I will sense it. I will naturally rush to your side as quickly as possible."

Catching the jade talisman and watching as Baize vanished via spatial teleportation, Yuqiu turned to Yuntian and asked, "Yuntian, what is going on? How could you have killed Uncle Baize's son?"

"How was I supposed to know that flood dragon was Uncle Baize's son?" Yuntian said with a wry and helpless smile. "Earlier, when I went to the Yunmeng Marsh, I saw that flood dragon attempting to kill Ling'er, so I struck and killed it. By the way, Yuqiu, he mentioned the Yumang Mountains—is your father named Yumang?"

Yuqiu bit her lip and remained silent for a moment before replying, "Yes, my father was a powerful True God. However, he was killed by several True Gods and celestials acting together. After his death, the Yumang Mountains that he had labored to build also vanished into thin air. I truly never expected that Uncle Baize would still acknowledge me as his Young Mistress."

"So that's how it is!" Yuntian, somewhat surprised to learn that Yuqiu's father was a True God, asked with a flickering gaze, "Yuqiu, how much do you know about this Uncle Baize? Is he really that loyal to your father?"

Hearing this, Yuqiu frowned and looked at Yuntian. "Yuntian, what are you trying to imply? You saw it yourself just now—upon hearing that you are my cultivation partner, Uncle Baize even set aside the grudge of his son's murder. Although I didn't know Uncle Baize very well in the past, I don't think he has any reason to deceive me. After all, he is now an immortal, while I am merely the descendant of a fallen True God, a divine beast of the Yuanshen realm."

"I don't mean anything by it. It's just that an immortal suddenly appearing out of nowhere and acknowledging you as his Young Mistress feels rather strange," Yuntian said with a shaking head and a smile. "Even though Uncle Baize seems to have no ill intentions, it never hurts to be cautious."

...

Late at night, in the quiet chamber of Yuntian's residence, Yuntian sat cross-legged with eyes closed, quietly meditating on the profound mysteries of the Dao before suddenly snapping his eyes open.

"What is it?" Yuqiu, sitting cross-legged on a jade bed nearby, also opened her eyes and looked at Yuntian with her beautiful gaze.

"It's the fluctuation of spatial teleportation. Someone used spatial teleportation to enter the territory of Tianyun Mountain, and they should be less than ten thousand miles away from here," Yuntian said, his brow furrowed with suspicion as he added, "I need to go and take a look... Oh? That person is heading in our direction."

Yuqiu's expression shifted slightly, and she asked with concern and alarm, "Could this be trouble brought on by your killing those who were pursuing the Fire Phoenix? I will go with you."

"Alright!" Yuntian glanced at Yuqiu and did not refuse. He reached out to take her arm, and with a single thought, vanished in a teleportation.

The next moment, in the night sky several thousand miles away, Yuntian and Yuqiu abruptly appeared. They saw a streak of golden light shooting toward them from afar, dazzling in the darkness and clearly visible even from a great distance.

In the blink of an eye, the golden light arrived before them in the void, transforming into a majestic, golden-robed man in his thirties. With sword-like eyebrows and piercing, fierce eyes, he looked at Yuntian and Yuqiu, resembling an unsheathed, razor-sharp sword.

"An immortal?" Sensing the surging, terrifying aura emanating from the man, Yuqiu's lovely face changed. A jade talisman suddenly appeared in her hand, and she crushed it with a forceful squeeze of her slender fingers.

"Oh?" The golden-robed man, as if sensing something, shot a lightning-like gaze at the crushed talisman in Yuqiu's hand. Immediately afterward, a white figure abruptly materialized in the empty space beside Yuqiu and Yuntian—it was none other than the white-robed middle-aged man, Baize.

The moment he saw Baize, the golden-robed man's killing intent soared, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "No wonder my son and Ying Huan were killed so easily. It turns out Tianyun Mountain was hiding an immortal! My son and subordinates were killed by you, weren't they?"

"You brat, your talent and strength are formidable, but your ability to stir up trouble is just as impressive!" Baize cast a wry, helpless glance at Yuntian.

"What? My son was actually killed by this brat? How is that possible?" The golden-robed man frowned and glared at Yuntian.

Baize flashed forward, placing himself between Yuntian, Yuqiu, and the golden-robed man. "I advise Your Excellency to turn back. With me here, you cannot harm these two."

"Just you? You dare try to block me? How over-classing of yourself!" With a cold laugh, the golden-robed man shifted into a blur and charged directly at Baize.

"Fall back quickly!" Baize barked a low warning to Yuntian and Yuqiu before moving to intercept the golden-robed man.

Boom... As the two immortals clashed, accompanied by a deafening roar of exploding energy, the very space trembled, warped, and instantly collapsed.

Yuntian, pulling Yuqiu back as they retreated through the air, watched as the space where the two fought rapidly turned chaotic, his brows slowly furrowing. Although the battle appeared fierce and evenly matched, relying on his spatial perception, Yuntian could clearly see that Baize had been at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the exchange.

Clang... Amidst the sound of clashing metal, the golden-robed man, having fully probed Baize's strength, sneered and swept his golden spear fiercely forward. Baize, hurriedly raising his immortal sword to parry, trembled all over and was sent flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his aura fell into disarray.

"Uncle Baize!" Seeing this, Yuqiu's eyes widened in shock, her delicate face turning pale.

"You dared kill my son, now die!" The golden-robed man cast a cold glance at Yuntian and lunged forward, thrusting his spear as if tearing straight through space.

With a furrow of his brow, Yuntian prepared to reveal his true strength and strike, when a figure carrying an archaic immortal sword suddenly appeared before them.

Hum... As the figure seemingly drew his sword with agonizing slowness, a terrifyingly sharp aura caused the surrounding space to tremble. Immediately following that, a sword beam resembling a swimming dragon met the golden-robed man's spear head-on. The instant the two collided, the space shook violently and shattered into ruins.