Aspiring to the Immortal Path

The devil chiefs gave chase into the Astral Wind region, their demonic flames blazing without fear of the Astral Winds as they blasted away at the Immortal army, bringing them down one after the other. These Immortal soldiers had come brimming with confidence, but now they were fleeing like stray dogs.

As the demons immersed themselves in the killing, the Astral Winds around them began to shift and merge, just like with the Demon-Slayer Dragon Dance Formation. But rather than black dragons, the Astral Winds formed themselves into blades, spears, swords, axes, and so on. Though these weapons were formed from Astral Wind, they also had the unique power of art relics, lighting up the world with the glow of these treasures. If one looked carefully, one would find that this power was somewhat similar to Tang Jie’s Myriad Yin Yang Furnace, but on an even greater level. But Tang Jie simply smirked in disdain.

The devil chiefs reacted with terror. Having just experienced what human cultivators could do with formations when converting demonic energy, and the flames of the Astral Winds being far stronger than demonic energy, they immediately threw up barriers to protect themselves.

The light of the treasures fell on a devil chief, and his massive body melted like snow under the sun. The devil chief gathered power in a desperate bid to protect himself as he howled in pain, but the torrents of demonic energy could only delay his death, prolong his torment. In the light of the treasures, his body was obliterated, reborn, and obliterated again. In just a few seconds, the devil chief had died and been reborn ten-some times until his Divine Soul finally ran out of energy and dissipated.

This made the demons even more terrified, and they began to retreat, but the band of treasure light swept over, casting its light on several more devil chiefs and causing them to wail in agony.

“There really was an ambush?” Wang Yao was both shocked and enraged, feeling remorse over not having listened to his father. He reached out with his hand, gathering what remained of his Dao power to try to save his subordinates, but he discovered that space had become so rigid that not even his control over the Dao of Space could break it.

“A spatial seal?” Wang Yao cursed. In these circumstances, he could only retreat first.

But just as he was about to sound the retreat, Tang Jie’s voice came over: “Don’t retreat.”

What?

“Bao’er, listen to me. Though the Astral Winds are powerful, that’s exactly what makes it so difficult to lay down a formation within them, for the vast majority of materials will be destroyed on contact. That’s why there’s a Demon-Slayer Dragon Dance Formation but no Astral-Slayer Dragon Dance Formation. Astral Wind might be much stronger than demonic energy, which would make for a stronger formation, but cultivators are still limited in the ways they can use it.”

“But haven’t they done it now?” Wang Yao replied.

“They used another method,” Tang Jie answered.

“You’re saying this isn’t a formation?” Wang Yao said in shock.

Tang Jie remarked, “There might be formations that I can’t undo, but I can still tell the difference between Immortal Arts and formations.”

This was the confidence of a top-class formation master.

Tang Jie went on, “This isn’t a formation, but an art cast by a person, so it can’t be maintained for long. In addition, this ambush was initially targeted against you. Consider that the Demon-Slayer Dragon Dance Formation’s greatest fear was your Dao of Space, and when the three Gold Immortals fled after using the Infinite Rain, only you had the ability to chase after them. Thus, Yu Cheng laid down an ambush for you, hoping to kill you, or at least prevent you from destroying the Dragon Dance Formation. But you didn’t take the bait, so the ambush wasn’t used, and those who were meant to ambush you were brought here instead to rescue the Sage Mother’s forces. This is why this ambush also comes with a spatial seal… It was initially meant for you.”

“What does that have to do with what’s happening right now?” Wang Yao urgently asked. His subordinates were being killed by the Astral Wind treasures while Tang Jie was leisurely giving analysis, but he couldn’t rush Tang Jie, so he could only try and disperse the treasure light, to limited effect.

“I’m getting there. Although this is an ambush, since the target changed, a lot of parts no longer work.” Tang Jie calmly went on, as if he wouldn’t talk at all if he couldn’t explain everything clearly. In reality, he just wanted to stall for time and ensure that more demons died. “Thus, I would dare to say that while this method of molding Astral Winds is very powerful, it’s not a formation, and because they’re trying to stop so many demons from running away at once, it can’t last for long. You just need to endure long enough for your foe to reach their limit.”

Wang Yao was taken aback by Tang Jie’s advice. “If that happens, the demons will suffer heavy losses.”

“When did the Demon Sovereigns of the Primordial Fog start worrying about the deaths of their subordinates?” Tang Jie chuckled. “That said, aren’t your losses already heavy? As a leader, other than considering how to avoid losses, you should also consider how to make your losses more worthwhile, how you’re going to win. Moreover, haven’t you noticed that while we were talking, the treasure light has already started to weaken?”

Wang Yao saw that this truly was the case.

Although the weakening wasn’t overly noticeable, it was happening. Without Tang Jie’s reminder, Wang Yao wouldn’t have cared, but now that he understood what was going on, he shouted, “All demons, don’t retreat! Keep chasing! They won’t be able to last long! Celestial Fiend Wolf, release the Skyblood Fog to hold back the treasure light! Ghosteater, attack the spatial seal. Black Boar, use the Heavenly Ocean Fang! The court’s army can’t be allowed to escape…”

Wang Yao was a Sovereign, so after getting Tang Jie’s reminder, he immediately began issuing orders, and as the devil Titans began to take action, the chaos was quelled. Not only that, the treasure light continued to weaken—the attack and the spatial seal were part of one whole, so attacking the spatial seal also affected the treasure light’s power.

The tables turned again, the battered demons managing to salvage the situation. Meanwhile, three figures appeared within the Astral Wind region.

Three more Gold Immortals!

Many True Immortals had also followed Yu Cheng into his long hibernation. They had already reached the limits of what they could achieve in their lifetime, but thanks to the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art, they were able to break these shackles. After ten thousand years of Reincarnation, they had returned and transcended to become Gold Immortals.

This was the real reason Yu Cheng dared to attack the Primordial Fog Domain. He now had far more than just the Four Sages, who merely existed to fool the unaware.

These three Gold Immortals were Master Swan, Immortal Meishang, and the Feather Venerable. While they couldn’t compare to top-class Gold Immortals like Tang Jie, Yu Cheng, and Wang Yao, they had their own specialties and were particularly skilled at working together. But their combination attack was of the explosive variety and not the protracted kind, and they were meant more for dealing with individuals than groups. Thus, it was a fine choice for Wang Yao but rather lacking when it came to holding off an enemy force. Ultimately, Tang Jie had seen through their ruse and Wang Yao had forced them out of hiding.

The moment the three appeared, they knew that they were in trouble. Although they were Boundless Gold Immortals, they had not communed with the Gigantes core, and they were also exhausted already from holding off the demon assault. Just like with the Godhead Universal and company who had to retreat after using the Infinite Rain, the moment the treasure light and spatial seal were undone, it meant that they had run out of strength.

There was no better opportunity than this.

“Kill them!” Wang Yao bellowed.

The Nine Disaster Fiend Monk reacted even more quickly, the Dark Buddha Kingdom manifesting and instantly engulfing the three, rendering them immobile. At the same time, numerous devil chiefs unleashed their demonic arts at the three, even ignoring the Immortal army.

“Save me!” the three shouted in surprise.

The court, the divine throne.

This time, without any need for prompting from a subordinate, Yu Cheng opened his eyes, emerging from his “half-dead” state and once more swinging his Xuanyuan Sword, this time taking aim at the Dark Buddha Kingdom.

The unparalleled might of the sword instantly obliterated the Dark Buddha Kingdom, allowing the three to break free and fly away.

A moment later, the Dark Buddha Kingdom reappeared, but just as it was about to restrict the trio again, another slash came, slicing apart the Buddha Kingdom. While Yu Cheng’s sword had the greater power, Nine Disaster was closer to the battlefield, and this made it difficult for them to reach an outcome quickly.

But while the Xuanyuan Sword could hold off Nine Disaster, it couldn’t hold off others.

Laughing, Wang Yao snatched Master Swan. “Hurry up and die!”

Boom!

There was a massive burst of energy. Master Swan wouldn’t have been a match for Wang Yao at full strength, let alone empty of energy, so even as he put up a desperate resistance, Wang Yao shattered him in an instant. He immediately fled as a soul, not even bothering to reform his body. But his opponent was a master of Space and Time, so escaping was hopeless, and a moment later, Wang Yao seized him again, and a flood of demonic energy began to grind away at Master Swan’s soul as he howled in despair.

On the other end, Immortal Meishang was surrounded by demons. In his exhausted state, unable to commune with the core, against so many powerful devil chiefs, his doom was certain.

The only one able to escape was the Feather Venerable. He caught up to the Immortal army and began to use the surviving soldiers as his own shields. He had been sent to cover their retreat, but he was now turning those who he had protected into his scapegoats. To this end, he even used spell arts to stop the soldiers from escaping, slowly dragging them back to the battlefield they had just barely managed to get some distance from.

“You bastard!” the Sage Mother cursed.

The Feather Venerable snorted, “This one is an honored Boundless Immortal. What’s wrong with them dying for my sake? Once I’ve recovered, I’ll take revenge for them.”

“No need.” A voice traveled to his ears, causing his mind to shudder.

It was Yu Cheng.

Looking up, he saw a silver wave of sword energy.

This time, the Xuanyuan Sword didn’t aim at the Dark Buddha Kingdom, but at the Feather Venerable’s head.

“For deserting from battle and selling out your fellow Immortals… death!”