The Earth Dragon's barrier shattered, the black rain in the sky not even having a chance to fall before it was incinerated by the blazing golden light—

From start to finish, True Master Jun Shan did not move a single step.

However… at this moment, he discreetly wiped the sweat from his palms with his sleeves.

True Master Jun Shan conveyed with a tone of resentment, "You rascal, how come you arrived so late? A little more delay and White Ghost's fist would have landed on my face—"

"I apologize."

Wu Zhexian paused for a moment and said apologetically, "Some matters delayed me for a while."

As a Yang God.

Wu Zhexian could traverse the void with his physical body.

Thus, he did not travel south with the Imperial City Treasure Ship, but left two Jade Talismans, monitoring the situation at the seven Zhanjiao Mountains through the Divine Thought within them.

One Jade Talisman was naturally kept at the Zhanjiao Mountain where the Martial Sect resided.

In the entire Martial Sect, the junior that Wu Zhexian admired the most was Zhou Ceng, who had been defeated by Xie Xuanyi eleven times back then. Zhou Ceng had also joined this ghost-eliminating task and had now reached the Great Yin God realm, becoming one of the strongest individuals among the seven Zhanjiao Mountains. Fangyuan Square once recognized Zhou Ceng as an extremely strong contender for the Ten Heroes of the World, who could break through at any moment and succeed Wu Zhexian as the next Yang God Realm martial artist of the Great Chu Dynasty.

The Martial Sect was now flourishing, and aside from Zhou Ceng, the young generation's Saint Heir also showed great promise, with Wu Yue now ranking third on the Heavenly Pride List, just behind Nalan Qiutong of Li Kingdom.

If nothing unexpected happened, the achievements Wu Yue would attain when he advanced to the Yin God realm would surpass Zhou Ceng's back then!

This Jade Talisman was naturally left for Zhou Ceng and his disciples.

However, no one knew.

Wu Zhexian had prepared a second Jade Talisman and gifted it to True Master Jun Shan.

Sixty years ago, True Master Jun Shan had given him much support, which Wu Zhexian remembered well, so when they met at Qu River that time, he let the matter of the Purple Green Treasure Ship go without further pursuit of trivial affairs.

Their bond was much stronger than the world imagined.

During their encounter at Qu River…

True Master Jun Shan had greeted him with a smile, calling him Xiao Wu.

And Wu Zhexian had respectfully addressed him as Jun Shan Brother.

...

...

The appearance of Wu Zhexian immediately changed the atmosphere at the scene.

"Xiao Wu!"

True Master Jun Shan stepped back and tugged at Wu Zhexian's sleeve, earnestly reporting, "It's those three… they just said they were going to kill me!"

"???"

Mo Taoist's expression darkened.

Was this the same Jun Shan who had once launched a massacre at the Heavenly Puppet Sect?

At this moment, Jun Shan displayed none of the bearing or flair typical of a Reincarnated True Person!

Mo Taoist had envisioned ten thousand endings, but he had not anticipated that Jun Shan's greatest reliance upon arriving here alone would be Wu Zhexian!

"..."

The smile on Joyful Zen Master's face vanished completely.

Jun Shan's words seemed like a child's complaint.

But their actual impact was akin to King Yan calling out for death!

"What do we do now?"

She lowered her head and looked at the nearby boy sitting cross-legged.

"Hehe..."

White Ghost, sitting on the ground with his hand covering his chest, grinned.

From the wound on his chest that had just been struck by Wu Zhexian, golden cracks spread out. Truly befitting the strongest Yang God post the Battle of Poison in Da Chu, the punch brimming with dominance penetrated the flesh and delved into the bone.

The souls nurtured within the Soul-devouring Banner, unleashed by White Ghost to fend off the attack, had proven nearly useless.

Everything touched by that punch's energy was instantly ground to pieces.

White Ghost's flesh was continually disintegrating…

Wu Zhexian only glanced at him before shifting his gaze. In his eyes, White Ghost was no different from a dead man. The Taoist Realm intent had sunk into his skin, and with White Ghost's strength, it was impossible to dispel it. Soon, this body would be torn apart and disintegrate completely.

"Finally seeing the 'Wu Zhexian'... I suppose this counts as good news, right?"

White Ghost slowly stood up, baring his teeth with some self-mockery, "If you two don't trust me, you can choose to flee."

"?"

Mo Taoist's expression turned peculiar.

Tonight's meeting had been White Ghost's idea, and without the Paperman Sect, Yin Mountain would hold the highest status among the Three Great Sects, with White Ghost as the top of the Three Saints.

He had believed White Ghost had a thorough and meticulous plan.

Even if Wu Zhexian appeared...

Nothing would change.

Yet, from the current situation, it seemed White Ghost was not as reliable as he had thought.

"Run?"

Joyful Zen Master sighed deeply, "Are you serious?"

The occult arts of the Three Great Sects were unimpressive, riddled with huge flaws.

Having cultivated to their current peak, they had already reached the extreme.

Though their strength had already surpassed the limit of the Yin God Realm, they were still a step, albeit a significant one, away from becoming true Yang Gods… and thus, they were recognized as saints by the two major dynasties in the South Border.

If standing before the three of them was a newly ascended and still vulnerable Yang God.

Then perhaps Mo Taoist, Joyful Zen Master, and with White Ghost working together, might be able to carve out a bloody path.

However, the one who had arrived at the battlefield was Wu Zhexian, in his prime, at his peak.

Body Refinement to prove Tao, undoubtedly a ruthless character.

Fighting, they would certainly lose.

Fleeing, they would certainly not escape.

Mo Taoist's expression fluctuated, realizing that if the three united, they might resist a little. But the moment anyone harbored thoughts of fleeing, everyone would be taken down instantly!

"Zzzt…"

A blaze lit up between Mo Taoist's brows, a dark and towering Heavenly Puppet stepping out from the Grotto Heaven behind him.

He had no other options.

Joining forces was the only chance to cling to life.

On the other side.

Joyful Zen Master did not leave either. Stretching out both hands, she pressed against both sides of her neck, slowly pulling apart. The smiling face was gradually peeled away, revealing a second face—

A solemn and merciful Buddha face. From above echoed the deep songs of the Buddha, and six drums lightly rippling, radiating golden Sanskrit.

"So you two chose to trust me after all…"

White Ghost chuckled softly.

He took a deep breath, firmly pressed down the fractured bone at the side of his chest.

Crack!

A crisp sound was heard.

The bone shattered by Wu Zhexian's punch astonishingly healed.

"...Hmm?"

True Master Jun Shan squinted his eyes, somewhat surprised by this sight.

There are ten realms of the Yang God.

In the grand pathway, shortcuts do exist, but to reach the summit, no shortcuts can be taken. Thus, while the Holy Land Families might rely on elixirs to amass Yin God Venerables, they cannot produce a Mountain Peak Yang God; every Yang God masters at least one impeccable Tao. Even Body Refiners are no exception.

These Southern Border rogue cultivators had great talents but walked the wrong path.

The legacies of Yin Mountain, Heavenly Puppet Sect, and Hehuan Sect stopped at the Yin God Realm.

No matter how talented White Ghost was.

The "Tao" he cultivated couldn't be refined into the "Great Tao"...

Thus he was destined never to become a Yang God.

Following this logic, these people could only reach the Great Yin God finish line. Those among them with exceptional talent might achieve the Great Perfection.

Only over a hundred years ago did a secret realm in the South Border appear.

Cultivators from the Three Great Sects found a "Great Tao Stele" within this secret realm, a mysterious stele that continued the broken ancient Tao from a thousand years ago. Therefore, the leaders had the opportunity to go beyond the Yin God Realm... Yet the Great Tao Stele was also incomplete, filling only half of the missing parts.

Therefore.

White Ghost, Mo Taoist, and the like could only be called saints in the South Border.

They would never truly become Yang Gods.

Their prowess significantly surpassing the Yin God level individually might contend with a severely injured first heaven Yang God. Tianyuan Mountain housed an old and declining Great Demon who was about to fall from the Yang God Realm, and even with a grand formation to extend its life, its condition remained dire.

These three were at a similar level with the Tianyuan Mountain Great Demon.

White Ghost with his Earth Dragon prowess was stronger than Mo Taoist and Joyful Zen Master...

But in any case.

It was impossible for him to endure Wu Zhexian's punch and rise as if unharmed.

Strange.

Too strange.

Standing behind Wu Zhexian, True Master Jun Shan furrowed his brows.

At this moment, his otherwise calm Heart Lake began to stir without reason…

The power of his second realm activated on its own.

In his Heart Lake, fragmented pieces of "future" uncontrollably emerged.

Before these "future" pieces could come together, they turned into a howling snowstorm.

For the first time since gaining insight into the Tao Rules, True Master Jun Shan encountered such a situation—

In an instant, his Heart Lake exploded! Countless shards surged toward him like a tsunami.

This "foresight" was the most perilous he had ever encountered—

Jun Shan knew.

All great paths arise from heart thoughts. If he didn't want to see this extremely dangerous "future," he would only need to turn away and leave.

However.

Jun Shan had never been one to avoid.

He took a deep breath and stood his ground, letting the Taoist Realm's tsunami engulf him.

...

...

The night's blackness flowed like ink.

Yet a sacred and radiant white light bloomed from White Ghost, with the flesh on his cracked chest closing like petals, and a milky white radiance of moonlight flowing from the cracks.

An enticing "Life Breath" emanated from the scene.

Mo Taoist and Joyful Zen Master couldn't help but take a few more breaths.

Their expressions became peculiar. Was this White Ghost's "Great Tao"? It didn't seem related to the Soul-devouring Banner…

This was more like the divine glow from some rare and precious treasure.

Wu Zhexian tilted his head. He noticed the young Daoist child holding his sleeve looked dazed, seemingly entranced in some unique "meditative" state.

Could Jun Shan Brother have comprehended the second realm?

Under such circumstances, slipping into meditation wasn't a good thing...

He silently shifted a step, fully covering Jun Shan Brother behind him.

"Is this… the Life Dao Realm?"

Having done this, Wu Zhexian finally spoke.

He was very aware of the power of that punch just now. At that moment, he held a killing intent; though only one punch was delivered, it was enough to render White Ghost unable to get up.

Yet now, not only had White Ghost stood up.

His injuries had also fully healed.

"Impressive, Wu Zhexian. Your guess is very close."

White Ghost looked down at the healed flesh flower, smiling softly. "But you could guess even closer… You participated in the Battle of Poison, didn't you? Think back to why everyone was so frantic back then?"

Wu Zhexian's expression changed drastically.

The Battle of Poison back then was too tragic, a place he hated revisiting in his memory...

Everyone had gone mad for the "Undying Spring."

Wait.

He looked at White Ghost's healed skin in disbelief.

"Is this… the Undying Spring?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.