Yuan Ming and his two companions did not conceal their approach, so Gu Xuanyang detected their presence immediately.

His face showed no significant change of expression. He simply quickened the movements of the sword technique in his hand, as if to hurry up and finish off the two Golden Stone Strange Beasts before him.

Just as he swung his sword to decapitate the one creature left with only half a body, planning to turn and kill the other, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The slightly smaller beast that was entangled with Daoist Qian Bao suddenly leaped into the air, its body emitting a dazzling golden light.

The next moment, including the two beasts entangled with Gu Xuanyang and fragments of golden stone of various sizes scattered on the ground, they all converged toward the smaller beast and fused together, transforming into a gigantic golden beast several zhang high.

The golden giant beast leaped down, not pursuing the ill-fated Daoist Qian Bao anymore, but instead lunging ferociously towards Gu Xuanyang, its huge mouth faintly spitting white, fierce flames.

At the same time, Gu Xuanyang had already launched several Sword Qi from his golden flying sword towards the giant beast, slicing off chunks of gold and stone. However, for such an enormous creature, these were but superficial wounds, barely making an impression.

When the golden giant beast was only two or three zhang away from Gu Xuanyang, he no longer controlled the flying sword. Instead, with a sudden change of his sword technique in one hand, he swept his other hand out from his sleeve.

In the next breath, a piercing green Sword Qi spiraled out from Gu Xuanyang's sleeve, splitting into nine as it cut horizontally across the massive Golden Stone Strange Beast.

The Golden Stone Strange Beast was instantly sliced into several segments, as if it had suddenly become as fragile as tofu. In an instant, its body fell apart, scattering into a pile of gold and stone debris on the ground, dead on the spot.

The nine strands of green Sword Qi merged back into one, forming a single majestic Sword Qi that continued to shoot forward without losing speed, striking the golden palace behind it.

A corner of the palace was cut off as if it was made of mud, and the grand Sword Qi continued unabated, striking the golden mountain behind it.

With a booming rumble, a gigantic sword mark, tens of zhang long, appeared on the mountain, causing the golden mountain to shake. Countless small stones fell as if an earthquake was occurring.

Seeing the situation turning grim, Yuan Ming and the others had already retreated. They stopped their bodies a hundred zhang away.

Yuan Ming's heart was secretly shocked. This golden mountain was extraordinarily sturdy, and Gu Xuanyang's previously controlled flying sword did not possess such formidable power. The sword that was wielded from his sleeve had left behind such an alarming mark, and he wondered what kind of exotic treasure it was!

After Gu Xuanyang finished killing the strange beast, he recalled his golden flying sword, glanced at Yuan Ming and his two companions, and gave a light command, "Qian Bao, go and check inside the hall."

"Yes!"

Daoist Qian Bao agreed with a sound and entered the palace through the sliced opening.

However, before he went in, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at Yuan Ming.

"Master, that Core Formation Cultivator is Yuan Ming," he quietly transmitted.

Gu Xuanyang's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression did not change.

Although Yuan Ming was unaware of their private communication, he noticed Gu Xuanyang's gaze on him, which made him frown.

On the other side, Lei He and Yan Xiang managed to rein in their shock and came forward with hands clasped, "We didn't expect to meet Fellow Daoist Gu here, you..."

Unexpectedly, Gu Xuanyang did not let them finish and interrupted both dismissively, "What are you two doing here? Did you use some kind of trick to sneak onto the island?"

Lei He, sensing that Gu Xuanyang seemed to be blaming them, quickly replied, "Fellow Daoist Gu has misunderstood. We were all on Fusang Island waiting for the Immortal Fruit Conference to end when suddenly something unusual happened on the island..."

Lei He repeated the process of coming here he had told Yuan Ming earlier.

While listening to his words, Gu Xuanyang's frown deepened, and anger surfaced on his face.

"Hmph, this must be the doing of that bastard, the Heavenly Puppet Venerable!" Gu Xuanyang couldn't help but curse in anger.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Yuan Ming and his companions changed slightly.

"The Dawn Alliance's men also reached Fusang Island?" Yuan Ming's mind stirred, and he asked.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyang glanced at Yuan Ming and seemed to realize he shouldn't have mentioned this. He immediately let out a cold snort and closed his mouth in silence.

However, seeing his reaction, Yuan Ming guessed part of it – it was likely Ni Mu had shown up.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, since you have important matters to attend to here, the three of us will not disturb you any further. We shall part ways here," Lei He stepped forward and said, cupping his fist.

"Life is precious, and the mountain is unpredictable with fortune and misfortune. If you return now, you might be able to keep safe," Gu Xuanyang said with just a faint smile.

"We don't need you to worry about that," Yan Xiang replied, not at all politely.

Gu Xuanyang, surprised by the response, suddenly had an unfriendly look in his eyes, and asked word by word, "What did you say?"

Yan Xiang, not intimidated at all, let out a cold laugh, about to speak, when Lei He cut in.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang is just hot-tempered, please don't mind him. We'll take our leave now. We each go our own way, without conflict. How about that?" Lei He did not want to confront this seasoned Nascent Soul cultivator and tried to smooth things over.

Gu Xuanyang was not receptive at all and said, "I've told you it's not suitable for you to go up the mountain, and that means it's not suitable. If you really think you are capable, why not try to pass me first?"

"This..." Lei He was angry but did not dare to show it, his face showing his dilemma.

"No more nonsense. If you truly wish to obstruct us today, then let's give it a try," Yan Xiang's anger had surged, his eyes glaring as he shouted.

Upon seeing this, Gu Xuanyang did not get mad but laughed and said, "Then I would really like to see how much weight you hold."

With that said, he suddenly raised his hand and threw a palm strike towards Yan Xiang.

Yuan Ming saw a "break" character within a golden rune emerge in the palm of his hand, emitting a golden light.

A gold-colored giant palm, about a dozen feet tall, immediately condensed, carrying the oppressive aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator. It pressed the air so violently that it emitted a buzzing sound, and swiftly descended upon Yan Xiang's head.

The dust and smoke swirling in the void around them shattered under the might of the giant palm.

Although Yuan Ming stood quite some distance away, he could still distinctly feel the forceful and piercing oppression emanating from the palm strike. It was as if the palm were even sharper than the edge of a blade.

Amidst his surprise, he recalled the information about Golden Turtle Island that Yan Siyun had helped him to gather earlier, which seemed to mention one of the Six Extremes of Golden Turtle Island, the Golden Turtle Mountain Breaking Strike.

Judging from the current circumstances, it was likely that Gu Xuanyang was using that very technique.

Seeing this, a flash of solemnity crossed Yan Xiang's eyes.

With a twist of his wrist, a crimson Feather Fan appeared in his palm and he brandished it towards the golden giant palm.

As he shook his wrist, the feathers of the crimson fan fluttered, its surface glowing with increasing brightness.

Suddenly, it was as if the Feather Fan had caught fire, stirring up a surge of intense, undulating red light that drew a circle in the air before charging fiercely towards the giant golden palm.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh"

The flying red light ignited in the air, transforming into a flaming lion that crashed into the golden giant palm.

A resounding boom echoed.

A dazzling blaze of fire exploded, and the golden giant palm disintegrated into tiny specks of light, dispersing into the void.

"Is that Feather Fan the one from before?" Yuan Ming felt the residual ripples in the void, a peculiar emotion arising in him.

Just as shocked were Lei He and Gu Xuanyang.

"Is that the Mystic Fire Fan, a replica of the Ancient Spiritual Treasure, the Heavenly Fan?" Gu Xuanyang frowned slightly and asked, revealing a serious demeanor.

"What do you think, want to try again?" Yan Xiang tugged at the corner of his mouth and asked.

"I originally thought this treasure was in the hands of the master of Karma Fire Island. I had no idea it was in your possession." Instead of anger, Gu Xuanyang looked at Yan Xiang with newfound respect.

Just then, Daoist Qian Bao rushed out of the hall, his eyes narrowing slightly upon seeing the standoff.

As he was about to speak, two figures hurried over.

Long Chong, who arrived in a rush, immediately saw Yuan Ming and exclaimed with joy, "Brother Yuan, I've finally found you."

Without waiting for the others' reactions, he rushed to Yuan Ming's side and clapped him on the shoulder.

"How did you end up here?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled, but slightly relieved to see that Long Chong was unharmed.

"Sigh, after entering that Transmission Array, I knew nothing. When I woke up, I found myself on Golden Sunflower Island. Luckily, I met my father or I wouldn't have been able to come here," Long Chong sighed and said.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming looked toward the "Dragon King," who was walking toward them with Long Chong, the Golden Transformation Master and Island Master of Thousand Dragon Island.

"Greetings to my senior," Yuan Ming greeted with folded hands.

The Golden Transformation Master, without much expression, nodded in acknowledgment, scanning the surroundings before asking, "What happened here?"

"That Golden Turtle Island Master was trying to claim the mountain for himself, barring us from climbing further," Yuan Ming said, seizing the opportunity now that reinforcements had arrived.

Gu Xuanyang furrowed his brow upon hearing this.

So they're not allowed to climb the mountain, but what's this nonsense about claiming the mountain as his kingdom?

"Heh, Venerable Gu, you're still as domineering as ever," Golden Transformation Master commented with a smile at Gu Xuanyang.

Gu Xuanyang's brow creased slightly as he looked at the group before him.

He might have dismissed the others, but the arrival of Golden Transformation Master warranted his cautious consideration.

"Hmph, let's go," Gu Xuanyang snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Daoist Qian Bao glanced at Yuan Ming and the others, quickly following Gu Xuanyang.

Lei He and Yan Xiang, not bothering to greet Yuan Ming's group, immediately chased after them.

"Let's go," called out Golden Transformation Master, and the three of them hastened toward the peak.

"Brother Yuan, do you have any news of Fellow Daoist Yun and Brother Hong?" Long Chong followed beside Yuan Ming, his voice filled with concern.

"After we entered, we all got separated. I haven't seen Fellow Daoist Yun on my way here, and Yan Xiang and the others haven't mentioned him either. But you know their strength; they'll definitely be fine," Yuan Ming reassured, patting Long Chong's shoulder with a smile.

Long Chong managed a forced smile at Yuan Ming's words but was clearly not much relieved.

However, now was not the time to dwell on these concerns, so he hurriedly caught up with the others.

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