Clang!
Long Ma reared up on its hind legs and brought both front hooves crashing down — the entire section of city wall that had stretched before them was shaken into dust. The lesser celestial lord on the ground went pallid. This divine steed was unnervingly extraordinary — what realm had it reached, exactly? A chill ran through his entire body. Trampling them to death would be as easy as crushing ants.
At the center of the ancient city stood a formation platform, carved over with intricate Dao patterns of every variety. A flash of radiance flickered from it — a quick-thinking disciple within the city vanished, running to send word.
“There must be some misunderstanding here, fellow Dao companion — we can talk this through.” The old woman on the ground still managed to speak up, sensing that something had gone very wrong.
Even the ordinarily imperious lesser celestial lord sealed his lips shut now. If he put on airs at this moment, he was certain that infernal Dragon Horse would cave his skull into a rotten melon with one hoof.
The three wounded figures all shared one thought: they had to stall Ye Fan and the others long enough for the many immortal masters to arrive. Only then could they settle this account — for now, they could only endure.
Huang Tiannü mocked them openly. “What is there to discuss? My master needs Penglai’s permission just to establish a sect in the central lands? You’re all high-and-mighty immortals, on an entirely different level from common folk like us — we couldn’t possibly presume to compare.”
The lesser celestial lord’s face cycled through shades of red and white. This was no different from slapping him across the face. The gorgeous, enchanting woman before him was truly infuriating — yet he could only endure it, knuckles white and bloodless.
“The lesser celestial lord is still just a child, young and hot-headed. Many offenses have been given — please, all of you, bear with us. All who come to Penglai are honored guests.” The old woman said earnestly and sincerely. Yet deep within her eyes, a faint cold gleam flickered and vanished.
“Is that so — ‘just a child,’ you say. And you and this old gentleman are both of considerable years, yes? And yet just moments ago, were you not both saying, ‘Whatever the case, we’ll suppress you first’?” Huang Tiannü refused to let it go.
The others all nodded. These two had clearly favored their own side over reason, rushing forward without a word to strike the group down. Had Long Ma’s cultivation not been unreasonably powerful, they would likely all have been turned to pulp.
Zhang Qingyang acted — using pure Resolve to form a mental channel, he reached into the lesser celestial lord’s sea of consciousness and extracted some pieces of valuable information, seeking to learn what was peculiar about Penglai.
“Master — they seem to have obtained a Heavenly Book, and because of it they intend to come preach in the central lands, seeking to gather pure Resolve.” The lesser celestial master received this information at once.
“That explains it — no wonder they wanted to destroy the Heavenly Court’s buildings and burn Master’s divine statues.” Zhan Yifan said.
In the age of high antiquity, certain ancient sects had already discovered the wondrous uses of Resolve, though it came with significant limitations. It was said that only one figure from the demonic path had ever truly made something of it, gestating a demonic embryo to maturity. Zhang Qingyang furrowed his brow — he had gleaned this information from the lesser celestial lord’s sea of consciousness, and Penglai’s Heavenly Book seemed to have some connection to this matter.
“These are all external forces. They can allow you to quickly reach the peak, but to use them to ascend to heaven itself — that is exceedingly difficult.” Long Ma said dismissively. Though it had been born and raised in Kunlun, it was after all a spiritually aware divine steed and had learned a thing or two of hidden lore.
“Has anyone ever used this method to comprehend the Dao in the past?” Ye Fan spoke up.
“I’ve heard that one person did — on some ancient star, I know not which. The ages are long, and one imagines they must have passed into peaceful death many tens of thousands of years ago.” Long Ma said.
In Kunlun there had once been a mysterious elder who came from beyond the domain. In Long Ma’s youth, this elder had passed on cultivation methods to it and told it of this ancient matter — but time is merciless, and the elder had faded into the Dao before Long Ma had grown up.
“Who dares come to my Penglai and cause this chaos?!”
The void split open and a spatial gate appeared, through which a group of people surged. At their head was an old man — arms extending past his knees, eyes blazing like golden lanterns, looking for all the world like an old ape. One look at him told you he was the type to fiercely shield his own — and he came in shouting.
“Who are you people, daring to run rampant in Penglai? Do you know where you are?! You’ve injured people of my sect — not one of you leaves!”
With arms that extended past his knees and a mysterious art to match, though he was of the human race he demonstrated the mystical methods of the divine ape. A dharmic manifestation that nearly broke through the heavens itself — towering heaven and earth in the form of a giant, one foot swinging down to stomp upon the group.
“An ancient sect-master-level figure?!” Wei Yu and the others cried out in alarm.
They had known that Penglai was one of the three immortal mountains, where spiritual energy had never run dry, where the great Dao could be sensed, and where cultivation conditions had changed little — yet they still couldn’t help but be stunned.
In terms of overall power, these immortal islands beyond the sea were considerably more formidable than the Dao sects of the central lands. In just this short time, a sect master had already appeared!
“Too late for regrets now. Penglai is not a place where you can show off!” The colossal foot spread across the sky, crushing the void as it fell like a cloud of darkness.
“It’s been a long time since anyone dared to step on me.” Ye Fan said.
Long Ma was quite arrogant about this. “I’ve stepped on you before — or tried to, anyway. Didn’t succeed, but you can’t pretend the fact away.”
In that moment, it shed its unpretentious demeanor, and its presence turned fierce and ferocious. Flames danced over its body. In an instant it expanded, and extended one great horse hoof to crash forward — trading a stomp for a stomp.
The eyes of the old man who had manifested his dharmic form — blazing like golden lanterns — contracted sharply. A great shock ran through him. The moment Long Ma released its presence, he felt an overwhelming, dreadful threat.
“How can this be?” He couldn’t believe it. He knew full well that the outside world’s environment had greatly changed — someone of his standing, at the second tier of the Celestial Dais, could be called a peerless powerhouse of the age.
Yet this irascible Dragon Horse was pressuring him to the point of near suffocation. He had assumed himself comparable to the ancient sect masters — that a single move from him would bring any enemy to hand without difficulty. But at this moment, that was clearly not how things stood.
Thud!
Long Ma’s wild nature blazed. One rear kick launched out — the old man let out a miserable cry as one of his legs simply ceased to exist. Bone fragments and blood foam scattered chaotically as he was sent flying sideways.
“You dare show off in front of this one, thinking yourself the supreme authority of Mount Tai? Even a genuine ancient sect master would have to crawl and lie flat before me.”
Long Ma held its head high in pride, a pair of dragon horns crackling with electric brilliance atop its head. Two bolts of scarlet lightning shot out, instantly splitting the great figure open until his skin burst and flesh scattered, the smell of scorched meat rising in waves.
“And as for the rest of you — get over here and bow in greeting.” It roared at the crowd in the distance like some ferocious beast, issuing commands — a far cry from any auspicious beast, and removed from any sacred mount by an incalculable distance.
Zhang Qingyang had half a mind to ask Ye Fan whether this really was Long Ma — this felt more like a local tyrant and bully than anything else. Was this truly the mount fit only for an ancient sage-emperor? The whole group exchanged speechless glances.
Huang Tiannü smiled lightly, suggesting that it takes a vicious horse to grind down a vicious person — and that this was exactly how it should be.
“Stop right there!”
Long Ma let out a long cry, left behind a wall of flame, and charged through the sky — one hoof at a time, it knocked every last person down, and in particular trampled the old man who had fancied himself of ancient sect-master level invincibility into a half-dead wreck.
This fiercely protective old man was now in something of a daze. What was wrong with the world? Wasn’t the central lands in an age of Dharma’s decline? Yet here was a genuine Dragon Horse that had appeared in the world!
Then Ye Fan personally made his move. His body blazed with immortal radiance, and with one finger pressed to the great man’s brow, he reached into his sea of consciousness and extracted the valuable information within. Whatever secrets the man possessed, none could hide.
“You…” The old man was seized with terror beyond imagining. What kind of being was this, treating him like an ant — casually breaking open his sea of consciousness, leaving him powerless to resist, as if he were facing an ancient celestial dragon?
“They really did obtain a Heavenly Book — someone in Penglai has cultivated to some remarkable level.” Ye Fan’s brow creased as he considered how extraordinary the scripture Penglai had obtained must be. He then carefully examined the sea of consciousness of each person, gathering considerable information, before gazing toward the distance. “To the immortal mountain!”
Ye Fan mounted Long Ma and brought his several disciples across the void. Before long, they appeared before a sacred land — auspicious light drifted through the air, radiant splendor cascaded in streams, pouring down across every mountain.
This was the root foundation of the Penglai immortal sect. When they arrived, great banners snapped and rippled in the wind and a group of powerhouses emerged — at their head a middle-aged man in purple and gold robes, a belt of white jade around his waist, his bearing one of considerable authority.
Beside him stood several men in a row, all radiating powerful presence that surged forward like a flood, their eyes fixed on Ye Fan and his group.
“This heaven and earth is not yet exhausted — the Penglai immortal sect truly lives up to its reputation.” Ye Fan said. Facing them were five great masters in an instant — something in this era that sounded like a fairy tale.
For these were not people who had survived from the age of high antiquity — their ages should all be somewhere around a thousand years, not ancient to the point of grotesqueness.
“You’ve attacked our Penglai without cause. Who are you?” The middle-aged man at the head asked. He was Penglai’s sect master — a supreme great master, with the power to look down upon all under heaven.
“I am the lord of the Heavenly Court. Having heard that establishing a sect in the central lands requires Penglai’s approval, I have traveled from afar specifically to seek guidance.” Ye Fan said.
“Before the sages of high antiquity departed, they entrusted us with guarding the people of this world — they did not want any disruptions. You presumptuously using the name of the Heavenly Court has triggered the celestial laws.” Penglai’s sect master said solemnly.
Long Ma was entirely unmoved. “This one has never heard of such celestial laws. Who established them?”
Zhan Yifan also spoke. “The sages of high antiquity entrusted you to protect the mortal world — and so you continue to do so. Yet when our master establishes a sect, you demand your permission be obtained first? This kind of interference is overbearing beyond measure.”
“Elders are speaking — when is it the place of juniors to interject?” One of Penglai’s figures of considerable standing shouted them down.
Banners and flags filled the distance; a massive army stretched dark and dense — Penglai had clearly been roused to genuine fury. Another person fixed them with an icy gaze and spoke. “Even a mount dares to speak out of turn. Have you no sense of propriety at all?”
Ye Fan very consciously dismounted. He knew this volatile-tempered beast was about to erupt. And true enough, just as he had expected — Long Ma let out a long cry, reared onto its hind legs, transformed into a streak of fire, and charged forward. “I’ll stomp on your lungs!”
Thud!
The pitiable powerhouse had barely finished rebuking a mount for speaking without propriety when Long Ma’s basin-sized hoof came smashing down upon him, and lung fragments were stamped out of his body.
Long Ma unleashed its might, charging forward wildly, sending every great banner flying with kicks. One after another it stamped over twenty mountain peaks into fine powder — wherever it passed, the earth collapsed and the sky fell, a rumbling din accompanying lightning and thunder, fire blazing into the heavens.
This was an auspicious beast — when it unleashed its power, all manner of heavenly omens and earthly signs appeared together. Combined with its own spiritual power that was like a sea of stars, it was unstoppable. How could these people possibly resist?
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out. The Penglai sect master sent a surge of five-colored divine light rushing from the top of his head, and a precious tree came shooting out from his celestial gate, shaking loose thousands upon thousands of rays of radiance that struck toward Long Ma — its sacred authority rumbled and rolled like a rainbow bridging the sun.
“Wretched creature! You dare come to Penglai and run wild — you’ve come to your end!”
This was a sacred tree — a weapon forged by an ancient sage. It wielded immense power, as though a distant ancient sage had come back to life within it.
Even a king who had severed the Dao would not dare brush against a sage’s weapon — the gulf was simply too vast. Once one had attained sainthood, all living beings, kings included, were as ants — utterly unmatched.
Long Ma possessed extreme speed. It transformed into a streak of fire and charged away, dodging the overwhelming sacred pressure that blotted out the sky — but the sacred tree traced a five-colored divine arc that still swept downward.
Ye Fan had no choice but to act. A black arrow appeared in his hand. He drew it sharply across, and dark radiance surged like a vast black ocean and crashed forward.
Boom!
The five-colored divine light shattered. The sacred tree was sent flying backward, and the Penglai sect master was sent tumbling through the air, vomiting blood from his nose and mouth — and this was the result of Ye Fan pulling his blow.
“Summon the celestial lord to come out and strike down this evil!”
Everyone was thoroughly stunned. No one had imagined the attackers would be this terrifying, and many people cried out toward the depths of the mountains where immortal radiance flowed in streams.
In the distance, the great mountains rumbled and roared. Every peak began to move, pulling back rapidly to either side, revealing a massive Dao platform — wreathed in layer upon layer of divine rings.
Ye Fan was greatly startled. That Dao platform was extraordinarily mysterious — divided into five colors, its material identical in every way to that of the five-colored ritual altars!
And further — the great Dao resonated in unison. True dragons formed of light leaped and soared; phoenix birds forged of immortal radiance took flight and danced. Shrouded in mystery, one after another sacred rays of light billowed outward, illuminating all around in brilliant clarity. An existence like a divine being itself sat upright upon it.