At noon, above the Five Continents of the Primordial World, near the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Sunlight scattered across the sea of clouds. No birds or insects flew here, yet the rolling clouds created their spectacular scenes, and the gentle breeze carried its wonderful rhythm.

A golden light shot in from the northwest, appearing like an arrow piercing through clouds from afar. In the blink of an eye, it reached within a hundred li of the Southern Heavenly Gate, leaving space and time in its wake.

The golden light instantly ceased, transforming into a tall figure standing proudly a hundred li from the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Behold this immortal!

With sword-like eyebrows, narrow eyes, and an aquiline nose, his eyes sparked with wild electricity, and his heart brimmed with arrogance.

Wearing a great golden cape that emphasized his Phoenix clan heritage, crowned with a jade coronet adorned with golden pearls, and sporting white boots with gold patterns, he cast a cold smile toward the Southern Heavenly Gate. His overly sharp chin lifted slightly, allowing him to ‘look ahead’ through both nostrils.

Tremble, Heaven!

“Ah… *yawn*…”

At the Southern Heavenly Gate, a guard celestial soldier couldn’t help but yawn and stretch.

A hundred li away, the bird visitor frowned, taking time to observe the situation at the Southern Heavenly Gate…

Something wasn’t right. Why hadn’t the Southern Heavenly Gate increased its guards? Why were only Celestial and True Immortal rank soldiers stationed here?

Could it be that the Heavenly Court hadn’t heard the news he’d spread?

No, that wasn’t right either. The conversation between Water God and East Wood Duke had spread through various quarters, clearly indicating that he, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, would come here.

Ambushing the weak would disgrace the dignity of the Phoenix clan!

The Southern Heavenly Gate’s current state surely concealed a trap…

But!

Noon had arrived, and he had shown himself. How could he not enter?

The Golden-Winged Great Peng snorted softly, swept his cape, and prepared to charge toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.

He would fly through the Heavenly Gate right before these celestial soldiers, displaying his supreme speed that would leave them no chance to respond!

The Peng spreads its wings!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure transformed into a golden line, rushing toward the Heavenly Gate!

In just an instant, the Peng bird had covered ninety li and was about to burst through the Heavenly Gate when a sword chime rang out above. The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure sharply veered left.

The entire sequence happened in a flash, leaving the guard celestial soldiers no time to react;

Even certain divine paper avatars hiding in the shadows could barely catch a blurred afterimage.

Hum—

Above the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Demon-Slaying Sword burst forth with waves of purple light, a sword beam-like silk ribbon slashing down toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure from afar!

Unfortunately…

Though this sword light was incredibly swift, it still fell three measures behind the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s current speed, seemingly about to be easily dodged.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng even turned his head to look, his lips curling into a slightly mocking smile.

So this was all the Heavenly Emperor’s sword amounted to. He hadn’t even revealed his true form yet, merely flying in human form, and this sword light couldn’t even catch up. How could it possibly… guard… the… heavens…

The Golden-Winged Great Peng suddenly startled, looking down to find himself somehow already within a formation barrier.

Dense Heavenly Dao power surged from all directions, and below, the hundred li of dark clouds displayed the pattern of Yin-Yang Taiji!

Space became a prison, now squeezing the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s dao body…

At this moment, the sword beam shot by the Demon-Slaying Sword arrived, barely grazing the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s cheek, leaving a shallow blood mark.

Below, and at the Southern Heavenly Gate, the incredibly dense Heavenly Dao power gradually receded.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng stood still, feeling the horrifying sensation and helplessness from nearly suffering severe injury just moments ago.

This…

The Golden-Winged Great Peng drew a deep breath, staring intently at the Southern Heavenly Gate.

What to do?

He had already made his fierce declarations. Could he retreat without even entering the Heavenly Gate?

Wouldn’t that instantly destroy the Phoenix clan’s reputation? How could he, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, ever show his face again?

Looking from afar, the white jade Southern Heavenly Gate towered in the clouds, and the three divine swords hanging above had returned to their original ‘plain and unadorned’ state.

The Peng bird fell into deep hesitation.

What he didn’t know was that inside the Southern Heavenly Gate, within a sea of clouds, Elder Long Shou and Emperor Qin Tianchu, concealed by the Primordial Treasure Taiji Diagram, were…

Laughing.

“Long Geng, aren’t you giving him too much face by using a Primordial Treasure?”

“Your Majesty shouldn’t think that way. The Golden-Winged Great Peng is still the son of the Ancestral Phoenix. Consider it showing some respect to the Ancestral Phoenix.”

Elder Long Shou smiled and said: “This humble deity placed several hundred recording pearls around the Southern Heavenly Gate, arranged according to the Ancient Demon Court’s Cosmic Star Formation, just to ensure this move.

With scenes like what just happened, the Heavenly Court’s dignity won’t be affected.

Today we need to teach this fellow a lesson and try to see if we can bring him into service, letting his extreme speed serve the Heavenly Court.

If he proves too untameable and eventually escapes, we won’t suffer any loss…”

Failure? Impossible.

Emperor Qin gave a thumbs-up and asked: “What if he becomes enraged and kills our soldiers?”

Elder Long Shou said: “Your Majesty, please rest assured, this humble deity will intervene at any moment.

This humble deity sought the Taiji Diagram from Master precisely to prevent him from causing havoc in his desperation.”

“Excellent!”

Emperor Qin nodded with satisfaction, his eyes brightening: “Look, look, that fellow is coming again.”

Outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Golden-Winged Great Peng maintained his human form, and with just two movements, his cape fluttering, returned to a hundred li outside the Heavenly Gate.

He panted heavily, his eyes full of fighting spirit, staring fixedly at the three divine swords above the gate.

All in!

As long as he flies fast enough, the divine swords won’t catch him!

He, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, had never suffered such humiliation since birth! When it comes to speed, even if Kun Peng himself came today, he wouldn’t succeed!

Divine Ability: Phoenix!

Wait a moment… what were these celestial soldiers doing now?

“Why hasn’t the next shift arrived yet?” complained a middle-aged celestial guard.

As his words fell, several figures flew out from within the Southern Heavenly Gate, quickly taking over the defensive positions.

A newly arrived celestial guard announced: “By Water God’s command, the three divine swords are to be taken to the Water God Palace for blade restoration and maintenance. Please escort them there.”

As he spoke, the new celestial guard bowed deeply to the three divine swords above the Southern Heavenly Gate;

Emperor Qin secretly waved his finger, and the three divine swords slowly descended, escorted away by several celestial guards and a squad of celestial soldiers.

Golden-Winged Great Peng: …

Having reached the Southern Heavenly Gate mere moments ago, he fell into a daze for the second time.

At this moment, even his mind, tempered by years of high-speed flight, couldn’t quite muster the mental strength needed for current contemplation…

Was the Heavenly Court destroying its defenses?

No, this was the Water God provoking him!

The Water God was humiliating him, suggesting he couldn’t overcome the power of the Heavenly Dao!

A cross-shaped vein popped on the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s forehead. He clenched his fists, thinking to leave, but then considered… if he retreated now, wouldn’t his reputation be completely ruined? Wouldn’t the Phoenix clan become a laughingstock throughout the world?

Well played, Water God!

Making him unable to advance or retreat!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng narrowed his eyes, instantly thinking several steps ahead.

The Water God had predicted he would disregard everything for the Phoenix clan’s dignity, surely setting up an inescapable net inside, waiting for him to charge in.

Even if mountains of blades and seas of fire lay ahead, he, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, would break through today!

“Hahahahaha!”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng suddenly laughed loudly, standing on the clouds, staring at the Southern Heavenly Gate from a hundred li away, his voice carrying for ten thousand li:

“Water God! Even if your divine abilities reach the heavens, even if you control everything under heaven, even if this poor dao cannot match you, today, this poor dao accepts your challenge!

This Heavenly Gate, I, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, will breakthrough!

Let’s see if you can stop me from reaching the Vast Cold Palace!”

Whoosh!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure shot forward, transforming into a golden line, instantly passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate, and disappearing into the clouds.

The celestial soldiers guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate were still looking in various directions outside the gate, searching for the source of the voice they had just heard, but that golden line had moved so fast their immortal consciousness couldn’t even catch half an afterimage.

Setting aside methods of spatial movement, the Golden-Winged Great Peng truly deserved his reputation for extreme speed, it’s just…

Just…

Emperor Qin muttered: “Did he just surrender to you earlier? Yet still putting on a brave face, charging in with a death wish?”

Elder Long Shou raised his hand to rub his brow: “No wonder the Phoenix clan lost back then.”

“Indeed,” Emperor Qin clicked his tongue, “their loss was well-deserved.”

“Your Majesty, I’ll transfer to my other avatars now. We need to keep a constant watch on this fellow to prevent him from actually harming anyone.”

“Go ahead, go ahead,” Emperor Qin smiled and shook his head, his finger gently waving as the three divine swords returned to hover above the Southern Heavenly Gate.

At this moment, Elder Long Shou’s consciousness transferred between paper avatars, steadily tracking the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure.

After charging into the Heavenly Court, the Golden-Winged Great Peng remained fully alert, deliberately holding back three-tenths of his extreme speed, reserving it for emergency evasion and escape.

But not long after entering the Heavenly Court, he was stunned again…

Everything was peaceful, without any military formations. Though the Heavenly Court was no longer desolate, there were still vast expanses of empty cloud seas.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng spread his immortal consciousness, seeing immortal maidens dancing in distant pavilions, groups of celestial soldiers practicing battle formations on cloud tops, and two or three immortals and deities gathering in leisure pavilions to drink wine and compose songs…

Meanwhile, his immortal consciousness detected several shocking imposing auras distributed in three directions, which were the locations of the Doulu Palace, Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and Jasper Pool.

‘Looks like I can only go this way.’

The Golden-Winged Great Peng muttered to himself, though he knew very well not to approach these three directions.

He had come to make a name for himself using the Heavenly Court, to mock the Water God, and to submit his credentials to the Western Paradise, not to seek death.

How could he provoke the avatars of the strongest Saints?

The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were already the rulers of the Heavenly Court, able to freely deploy the power of the Heavenly Dao within. He had just experienced the might of the Demon-Slaying Divine Sword, his cheek still stinging with pain, so naturally he dared not approach.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng smiled slightly.

As long as he could reach the Vast Cold Palace today and see Immortal Lady Chang’e, he needn’t be too impudent with her—just hold her waist and leave a kiss, then depart with style…

Hahahaha!

Among the Three Realms’ wanderers, only I, the Phoenix, stand supreme; the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s brilliance shall be legendary!

Suddenly, a thread of transmitted sound reached him: “What are you grinning about, General? Why are you flying so fast?”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng, who had been speeding along, instantly halted, his entire body bristling like a startled cat. Following the direction of the transmitted sound, he saw a desolate immortal mountain in the sea of clouds ahead…

At the mountaintop sat a sturdy man in gray robes with horns on his head and a steel ring in his nose, roasting two chicken wings over a fire, with a wine jar beside him.

Expert.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng immediately sensed it—the pressure this bull demon gave him, especially that nose ring, made his spiritual perception go wild.

The Blue Bull puzzled: “General, what’s wrong? Is barbecuing not allowed here?”

“And you are?”

“Just a miscellaneous staff member of the Heavenly Court,” the Blue Bull waved dismissively, following his previously memorized script, laughing heartily. “How should I address the General?”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng was about to announce himself but hesitated slightly, saying: “You need not know. Where is the Vast Cold Palace?”

“The Vast Cold Palace? Fly this way, keep going.

When you reach the intersection between the Sixth and Seventh Heavens, you’ll find a signpost marking the direction to the Vast Cold Palace.”

The Blue Bull chuckled: “What’s up, going to see Chang’e? Don’t get your hopes up, Chang’e is hard to meet. You’d be lucky just to catch a glimpse of her handmaidens.”

“Hmph!”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng coldly snorted, cupped his hands toward the Blue Bull, and said: “Unexpected to find a demon clan expert like yourself serving the Heavenly Court.”

With that, his figure transformed into a ball of golden light, drawing a faint golden line across the sky, avoiding the Blue Bull as he hurriedly flew away.

The Blue Bull cursed: “You General, how dare you call me a demon! You’re the bloody demon!”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng heard the curses gradually falling behind him, his lips curling slightly, taking it as the bull demon’s last shred of dignity.

‘Wait, isn’t Supreme Lord Laozi’s mount also a bull?’

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s figure halted again. He had reached the cloud layer between the two heavens and saw the floating signpost.

The signpost had two wooden arrows, both pointing diagonally upward, one northwest and one northeast.

The northwest-pointing wooden sign was marked: To the Greater Yin Star.

The northeast-pointing wooden sign was marked: To the Heaven’s Punishment Hall.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s sword-like eyebrows furrowed, immediately realizing… the problem wasn’t simple.

‘How formidable, Water God, using such deceptive methods here.’

The Golden-Winged Great Peng smiled again, recalling the warnings from the Western Paradise Saints’ disciples before he came.

All that talk about how the Water God was extremely cunning, to be extra careful, how the Water God calculated opponents’ minds, not to think too much, just charge straight through…

All nonsense!

If an ordinary bird reached this spot, they would surely do the opposite and take the path marked Heaven’s Punishment Hall.

If a slightly cleverer bird reached here, they would do the opposite of the opposite and follow the signpost’s direction.

But he, son of the Ancestral Phoenix, fastest in the Three Realms, the primordial variant Golden-Winged Great Peng, how could he fall for such tricks?

This signpost—its grain still fresh, ink not yet dry, still carrying a trace of the Supreme Clarity Great Dao’s rhythm—must have been just placed by the Water God!

There was only one answer, only one true path!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng looked up at the ‘bisector angle’ between the two signs, his lips curling in a cold smile. His figure shot forward with a whoosh, directly smashing through the signpost!

This must be the way to the Greater Yin Star!

Bang—

A thousand li away, the sea of clouds churned.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng had been flying too fast to react when he suddenly hit a cloud barrier, the Heavenly Dao force bouncing him back, making him lower his head and spit out blood.

The clouds ahead dispersed from the horizontal impact force, revealing a translucent pale golden barrier behind them…

The Heavenly Court’s boundary barrier formation!

Phoenix clan profanity!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng looked around several times, his nostrils quivering, then sheepishly flew back to where the signpost had been.

After lengthy contemplation and immortal consciousness exploration, he finally… headed in the direction the signpost had marked as ‘Greater Yin Star’.

In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the great bronze mirror in the center displayed this scene to all the immortals and deities.

Someone couldn’t help but snicker and the entire hall was instantly filled with a merry atmosphere.

One of Elder Long Shou’s paper avatars stood there, eyes closed in meditation, showing a faint smile.

…

Moments later…

The trap must be a trap.

Unconsciously, the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s vigilance had been raised to its peak.

Along this path, he had encountered almost no obstacles and had now reached from the edge of the Eighth Heaven to near the Greater Yin Star, already able to directly see the great star rotating in the heavenly curtain.

But the Golden-Winged Great Peng now hesitated to advance.

Why did the Heavenly Court have no defenses?

Why were there so many strange occurrences along the way, even a signpost directing him?

Why did the Water God deliberately remove those three divine swords?

Simple—the Water God planned to strike when he grew careless!

To attack suddenly when he was about to succeed and his guard was down!

All the Water God’s calculations centered on this Greater Yin Star!

No, that’s not right either…

If he reached the Greater Yin Star, the Water God would have already lost half the battle. The Water God excelled at calculations, likely setting an ambush before the Greater Yin Star.

In that case, if this poor dao sneaked around from behind, ascending the Greater Yin Star from its far side without anyone knowing, wouldn’t that…

The Golden-Winged Great Peng showed a faint, confident smile. Two faint wings appeared behind him, his toes lightly tapped, producing a suppressed sonic boom as he shot extremely quickly through the heavenly curtain, circling to the far side of the Greater Yin Star.

The far side of the Greater Yin Star was an expanse of pale white ‘sand sea’, dotted with a patch of pale green forest…

The Golden-Winged Great Peng sensed abnormal spatial fluctuations; some powerful formation might exist here.

Not daring to be careless, he slowly landed at the edge of the sand sea, intending to fly toward the front, but found space sealed off everywhere. An invisible wall separated the front and back of the Greater Yin Star, with a rather dangerous aura flowing over it.

Only that forest…

The Golden-Winged Great Peng pondered briefly, keeping his form faint as he crept near the forest. Looking carefully, he saw a stone tablet.

[There is no secret passage to the Vast Cold Palace here]

What a laughable trap!

Only a fool would fall for it!

But the Golden-Winged Great Peng… hesitated.

Layer upon layer of thoughts arose in his heart as he hid in the sand sea, wordless for a long time.

At some point, reaching the Vast Cold Palace had become an obsession. Even just touching Immortal Lady Chang’e’s small hand would mean he hadn’t lost to the Water God…

Phoenix clan, the divine fire never extinguishes!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s nostrils quivered again several times. He stepped forward, striding into the forest…

But what surprised the Golden-Winged Great Peng was that there was a secret passage here, and the passage contained faint water element power. Ahead was even a space-compression formation where one step could cover hundreds of li!

Carefully, checking thrice each step, the Golden-Winged Great Peng slowly flew to the path’s end, inexplicably ending up upside down, having reached the other side of the Greater Yin Star…

He adjusted his position and looked up, finding himself seemingly in an old well.

Outside must be layers of encirclement.

But only by breaking through could he, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, truly make his name in the Primordial World!

Charge!

Phoenix clan secret technique, prepare to…

Hm?

Above the well, the Golden-Winged Great Peng halted, standing dazed in midair three zhang high.

Dance pavilions and song towers, winding paths leading to seclusion, overhead a giant tree crown like a heavenly canopy;

Not a single guard lurked around, no mechanisms or calculations anywhere, but outside the surrounding walls stood a solid great formation.

“Little Spirit Zhenzhu, open the door~”

A pleasant humming came from the side.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng turned toward the sound’s source, seeing an adorable, ethereal young girl skipping along from the vegetable garden with a basket of carrots on her back…

“Eh?”

The girl tilted her head, discovering the Golden-Winged Great Peng standing in midair. She froze for a moment, then her little face went pale as she screamed: “Master! A man has broken in! Master!”

“Silence!”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng shouted, his figure whooshing forward, raising his hand to seize the young girl.

At that moment!

A cold snort exploded beside the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s ear. His spiritual perception went wild, his entire body’s hair standing on end as his speed suddenly plummeted!

The surrounding space compressed inward; it was as if he had charged into a quagmire!

—The Taiji Diagram secretly displayed its might.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng only thought his divine ability had been locked by someone else. He turned his head in horror…

A white figure flashed by, and a peerlessly beautiful immortal lady stood before the young girl, her exquisite face filled with frost, her eyes gleaming with cyan-blue light.

Expert!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng immediately tried to reveal his true form, but the immortal lady moved too quickly, her delicate hands swiftly forming the Nine Character Seal, using an ancient human race battle technique.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng felt the Dao of Years being stirred slightly by this woman!

Even just a trace was enough to raise stormy waves in the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s heart, and in this instant, his extreme speed was completely broken, his forward momentum reduced to a snail’s pace!

He couldn’t even manifest his true form!

The immortal lady’s long hair danced as she expressionlessly pushed her left palm forward, her palm center blooming with nine cyan-white light rings that trapped the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s nearly frozen form.

“Suppress!”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s vision darkened, his primordial spirit bound, his dao body locked. The golden peng phantom that had already appeared around him was forcefully dispersed by those nine cyan light rings.

The immortal lady’s graceful hand rose, her sleeve moving, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng, bound like a rice dumpling, flew over the high wall, through a gap that automatically opened in the great formation, rolling several times on the shallow grass.

Clang!

A great axe came from the side, its blade grazing past the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s ear, cutting off several strands of his hair before embedding it in the grass.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s dao heart trembled slightly as he felt another expert’s pressure, and this one openly displayed killing intent toward him.

At the edge of the peng bird’s vision, a muscle-bulging strong man stepped forward, his eyes suffused with bloodlight.

The strong man asked in a deep voice: “Your Highness, flay him or burn him?”

From behind the wall came a cold reply: “Make soup.”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng, whether from fright or anger, directly fainted.

In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, all the immortals, deities, and celestial generals watching this scene in the great bronze mirror were momentarily struck speechless.