Chapter 148 Desperate Straits, It Is Done

The Emperor Xia was also pleasantly surprised and deeply shocked, but immediately his brows furrowed slightly: "This kid actually made a move against Zishan? Is it for the sake of Ji Ning and Yu Wei? It seems that although he spent a few years in the Prince Qi's Estate, in the end, he still lacks a sense of belonging to our Xia Mang clan!"

"A mere Wanxiang Adept, yet his comprehension of the Dao has reached such a realm! Incredible!" Other Pure Yang True Immortals were equally shocked, one after another speaking out in succession. Clearly, they were all deeply astounded by Yuntian. Especially Great Strength Bodhisattva from the Western Buddhism, whose eyes lit up as he eagerly asked, "Fellow Daoist Xia Mang, may I ask what this young man's name is?"

Glancing at Great Strength Bodhisattva, the Emperor Xia smiled upon hearing this: "Haha... This young man is named Yuntian, and he is a descendant of my Xia Mang clan."

"A descendant of the Xia Mang clan?" Great Strength Bodhisattva was stunned for a moment, while the other Pure Yang True Immortals cast slightly surprised glances at the Emperor Xia.

Lü Dongbin couldn't help but curl his lip and remark, "Xia Mang, to have such an peerless genius emerge among your descendants—look how pleased you are."

Great Strength Bodhisattva and the other seven Pure Yang True Immortals felt a secret pang of helplessness in their hearts. Even if Yuntian possessed peerless talent, since he was a descendant of the Xia Mang clan, snatching him away would be nearly impossible! To actually do so would inevitably provoke the wrath of the Emperor Xia.

"Moreover, Yuntian is also a disciple of the Black-White College," the Emperor Xia continued with a meaningful smile, "and the time he has spent cultivating is even shorter than that of Ji Ning."

Emperor Hao couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "He is also a disciple of the Black-White College? For the Black-White College to produce four talented disciples all at once—it seems the Great Xia world is truly a convergence point of fortune!"

"His cultivation time is even shorter than Ji Ning's? How can his comprehension of the Dao reach such a realm?" Lü Dongbin frowned in confusion.

The old cow-riding immortal, the Northern Immortal Elder, shifted his gaze and said, "Could he be a reincarnated immortal?"

"Ahem... Yuntian is indeed a reincarnated immortal," the Emperor Xia gave a light cough and nodded with a somewhat helpless expression.

Upon hearing this, the other Pure Yang True Immortals could not help feeling a hint of disappointment. The probability of a reincarnated immortal successfully passing the tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal was simply too slim. Without becoming a Celestial Immortal, what use was peerless talent? In the end, one would still perish and have their soul scattered.

"A reincarnated immortal, that explains it," Lü Dongbin said with a flash of realization, then immediately added, "In his past life, this Yuntian must have been a brilliant and stunning Earth Immortal, though for some reason he failed to survive the Celestial Immortal Tribulation. Now that he has reincarnated, with his comprehension of the Dao having reached this level, it is not impossible for him to become a Celestial Immortal."

Great Strength Bodhisattva looked at Lü Dongbin with a beaming smile: "Lü Dongbin, it seems you hold this Yuntian in very high regard! Could it be your heart is stirred and you want to take him as a disciple?"

"If Fellow Daoist Xia Mang has no objections, I certainly wouldn't mind taking on a genius disciple," Lü Dongbin said, looking toward the Emperor Xia.

The Emperor Xia chuckled, "The geniuses of this Immortal Fate Gathering will be chosen by my master first. Even if my master does not choose Yuntian, many of my fellow apprentices would likely be more than willing to take Yuntian as a disciple."

"Eh? This Yuntian merely forced Xia Mang Zishan and that Cangwu Jiu to hand over half of their tally tokens, and then he went into closed-door meditation?" Lü Dongbin said with a slight curl of his lip and a hint of surprise, before smiling, "Interesting, very interesting. This Yuntian is truly fascinating!"

The Emperor Xia also let out a soft sigh of relief: "Fortunately, this kid still has some regard for his identity as a member of the Zishan Xia Mang clan; he didn't resort to killing."

That Xia Mang Zishan was considered one of the top three hopefuls for this Immortal Fate Gathering. If he had been directly eliminated by Yuntian, the Emperor Xia would have been genuinely depressed.

In the blink of an eye, the trial within the Bright Moon and Water Scroll reached the twelfth month, which was also the final month.

The remaining geniuses within the Bright Moon and Water Scroll were dwindling, and some geniuses had begun to form alliances with one another, making subsequent encounters all the more thrilling and fierce.

"It's about time," beside the cold spring within the quiet mountain hollow, space rippled slightly. Yuntian's figure materialized as he slowly opened his eyes, and with a single step, he vanished.

Yuntian acted alone and had no desire to clash with others. Besides, the tally tokens he had obtained from Xia Mang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu were already more than enough.

Several days passed in this manner, and Yuntian witnessed a few battles between other genius squads. Finally, on this day, a much more intense battle caught his attention.

From afar, Yuntian sensed that Ji Ning and Yu Wei were in danger. He hurried over immediately, yet he did not make a move right away; instead, he used spatial arts to conceal himself nearby and watched quietly.

"Yuntian has gone over. With him making a move, Ji Ning and Yu Wei should be safe," outside the Bright Moon and Water Scroll, within the main hall of the Tianmang Palace, Lü Dongbin's expression relaxed slightly. Just as he was about to raise his cup to sip some immortal brew, his brows furrowed once again: "What is going on? What is he doing? Why isn't he attacking?"

The other Pure Yang True Immortals also began to discuss among themselves with a degree of surprise. They had previously seen Yuntian move against Xia Mang Zishan just to vent his anger on behalf of Ji Ning and Yu Wei. Now that the two of them were in danger—virtually driven to the brink of desperation—Yuntian was merely standing by and watching?

Soon, because Ji Ning was entangled by the Nine-Death True Immortal, Yu Wei gradually found herself unable to hold on under the combined assault of the other four.

Although Ji Ning frantically controlled the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to aid Yu Wei, he still failed to block the attack, and Yu Wei was wounded by Xia Mang Qi—who was second only to Xia Mang Zishan among the Xia Mang clan members—using the divine ability Myriad Poison Stings. The instant Yu Wei was poisoned, Ji Ning's eyes turned bloodshot, and an endless killing intent flooded his soul. In that instant, he burst forth with comprehension, mastering the seventh stance of the Three-Foot Sword, and directly drove back the Nine-Death Daoist.

"He actually broke through? Splendid!" Outside the Bright Moon and Water Scroll, upon seeing Yu Wei poisoned, Lü Dongbin—whose brows had been tightly furrowed—saw Ji Ning erupt and let out a bright-eyed cry of approval, though he immediately frowned again with a hint of bewilderment in his heart: "Could it be that this Yuntian merely watched from the sidelines to push Ji Ning and Yu Wei to the brink of desperation so they could achieve a breakthrough? If that truly is the case, his heart is daring and ruthless indeed! But if he can be this ruthless toward others, such a state of mind will truly allow him to walk further on the path of immortality. Only... it is bound to be a bit extreme."

Under Ji Ning's explosive assault, Xia Mang Qi was instantly slashed into fragments by sword qi, and then ground to death by Ji Ning's deployment of the Water-Fire Lotus.

True Immortal Heishi hurriedly revoked the sealing grand array, releasing Zhanshui Qi, True Immortal Danji, and True Immortal Feixue, and then re-activated the sealing grand array in an attempt to trap Ji Ning. Yet, Ji Ning still shattered the sealing grand array, and streams of sword light violently slew True Immortal Feixue.

Zhanshui Qi and True Immortal Danji fled in terror, while True Immortal Heishi also retracted the sealing grand array. The disheveled young girl, the Nine-Death True Immortal, stood by his side, her hands already fitted with silver glove magical treasures.

"Hmm?" True Immortal Heishi's expression changed abruptly as if he sensed something. He whirled around, only to feel a stabbing pain in his forehead, and then he knew nothing more.

Swoosh... With a single sword strike, Yuntian—who had suddenly arrived behind True Immortal Heishi and struck instantly—used that fierce and piercing sword to grind True Immortal Heishi directly into nothingness.

The disheveled young girl, the Nine-Death True Immortal, stood there staring in utter shock, before snapping back to her senses and frantically retreating.

"Haha, don't be so nervous, I have no intention of killing you," Yuntian glanced at the Nine-Death True Immortal with a light chuckle, then ignored her entirely. With a casual wave of his hand, he gathered up the magical treasures left behind by the deceased True Immortal Heishi and walked straight toward Ji Ning: "Junior Brother Ji Ning, not bad at all! You actually achieved a breakthrough right in the middle of battle—impressive! Well? I didn't arrive too late, did I?"

"Senior Brother Yun?" Ji Ning looked at Yuntian with pleasant surprise, then snapped back to his senses and hastily flew to Yu Wei's side: "Senior Brother Yun, Senior Sister has been poisoned."

Watching Ji Ning fly toward Yu Wei as they embraced, the Nine-Death True Immortal—having narrowly escaped death—frowned as she glanced at Yuntian's back, then hastily departed.

Standing there watching Ji Ning and Yu Wei holding each other, a smile inevitably tugged at the corner of Yuntian's lips.

"Haha... Excellent! It's done! It should be like this! When your heart is stirred, you shouldn't hesitate. Dilly-dallying like that, what is it even?" In the main hall of the Tianmang Palace, Lü Dongbin slammed his palm down onto the table, shaking the immortal fruits and immortal brew into the air, as he stood up and pointed at the Bright Moon and Water Scroll with a loud laugh.

"This Yuntian actually watched Xia Mang Qi die without lifting a finger to save him, and even killed True Immortal Heishi..." The Emperor Xia thought with a slightly furrowed brow, but seeing Lü Dongbin's over-the-top reaction, he instantly felt even more depressed and helpless.