“Greetings, Senior Brother Guangchengzi,” said Qin Yun with a bow. Due to the Daoist-Fiend war, the relationships between the three Daoist lineages had warmed up significantly. At the very least, they appeared united on the surface. In terms of seniority, Guangchengzi was Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning’s disciple while Qin Yun was Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure’s disciple. It was indeed correct for him to address Guangchengzi as senior brother. Instead, it was Yang Jian who was a third generation Jade Void Palace disciple. Strictly speaking, he was one generation Qin Yun’s junior.
However, strength was supreme in the Three Realms.
If emphasis was placed on seniority and cultivation time, there were tons of ancient existences that would win out. Just the Chaos Godfiends alone were a huge bunch!
In the Three Realms, the strong were the seniors! They were the mighty figures! The weaker ones would be juniors or predecessors regardless of how long they had been cultivating.
Qin Yun shared a good relationship with Yang Jian, so it was normal for them to address each other as brother.
“My sword arts were good at protecting myself even while I was a mortal,” said Qin Yun with a smile. “And it has been so all this while. My Sword Dao is great at defense, and having become an Itinerant Immortal, there are numerous Itinerant Immortal tribulations awaiting me. Now, the first thing on my mind is naturally to resist the Heavenly Tribulations. Therefore, I have put more effort into defense. The only thing noteworthy about my sword array is its defensive capabilities. It’s relatively weak in every other aspect.”
Guangchengzi was enlightened when he heard that.
In order to transcend the tribulations, an Itinerant Immortal placed all his focus on defense? This made Guangchengzi pity Qin Yun a little.
Everyone in the Three Realms knew that being an Itinerant Immortal was a dead end.
Successfully being one was harder than attaining a perfected Great Dao!
“Brother Qin Yun, if there’s any help you need from me, feel free to tell me,” promised Yang Jian.
“Yes, feel free to say it if you need my Jade Void Palace’s help,” said Guangchengzi with a smile. “After all, my Jade Void Palace does owe you a great favor after what happened.” Guangchengzi knew very well that, with his master’s temperament, it was impossible that Jade Void Palace would turn a blind eye to Qin Yun’s rescue of Yang Jian.
The Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning wished that their taking advantage of the Green Touring Palace would be kept to a minimum.
“Haha, I will definitely say it when needed,” said Qin Yun with a laugh.
Guangchengzi nodded. “Alright, let’s leave quickly.”
Qin Yun and Yang Jian did not object.
Qin Yun had already gained insights into the Great Dao of Earth, so with the primary goal of his expedition accomplished, why would he need to continue studying the array formation? Mt. Three Blades was here and he could come again at anytime! Besides, the most pressing matter for him now was to figure out the final Great Dao of Man to attain a perfected Great Dao. Therefore, he could not continue wasting his time at Mt. Three Blades.
The trio immediately flew forward through the stone tunnels.
“Uncle-Master, you were just a little late. You arrived several seconds after Patriarch Blood Sea left,” said Yang Jian. “If you stopped him and destroyed his combat body, that would have been awesome. Eh? Uncle-Master, why are you taking this fork? I’ve never entered this fork before!”
“Follow me,” said Guangchengzi as he flew. “As for that map you gave me, aren’t you aware of how many detours it has?”
Yang Jian was taken aback as he said ashamed, “Mt. Three Blades’ interior is like a maze, so I was constantly going in circles.”
“After receiving your call for help, I immediately entered Mt. Three Blades and kept going in circles through this maze according to your map,” said Guangchengzi with a shake of his head. “Eventually, Master had to personally seek Goddess Nüwa’s help before she provided the entire map of Mt. Three Blades’ interior. That allowed me to arrive when I did, or I’d probably have been five minutes late.”
Yang Jian was alarmed. “Master sought Goddess Nüwa’s help…”
At the level of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning and Goddess Nüwa, requesting each other’s help was not a simple task.
“Don’t be rash in the future,” said Guangchengzi.
“Yes,” replied Yang Jian.
“Thankfully there was Qin Yun,” said Guangchengzi. “If not, by the time Goddess Nüwa gave me the map, it would likely have been too late by the time I arrived.”
Yang Jian nodded as he looked at Qin Yun.
It was true he owed him a big one.
“Brother Yang Jian cultivates in an indestructible body, so even if he was temporary captured, I believe Senior Brother Guangchengzi would be able to chase up and rescue you since he had Goddess Nüwa’s map,” said Qin Yun.
“Once he’s captured, things would be hard to predict.” Guangchengzi did not elaborate.
…
With Guangchengzi leading the way, the trio quickly exited the mountain.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Three figures flew out of Mt. Three Blades’ entrance.
“I’m out.” Looking at the vast land in front of him, Qin Yun turned back to glance at the lofty Mt. Three Blades. His entry had allowed his strength to break through, and he was just short of a sliver to a perfected Great Dao.
Yang Jian looked at the scenery outside as he smiled.
Finally out!
“Hahaha… Qin Yun, that eldest senior sister of yours is up head. Let’s rush over,” said Guangchengzi with a laugh.
“Eldest Senior Sister?” Qin Yun felt somewhat awkward.
His Eldest Senior Sister, Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain, had exhorted him to quickly leave when she noticed that the situation in Mt. Three Blades was not right. However, he had taken the initiative to fight Patriarch Blood Sea.
The trio flew to somewhere nearby.
On a cloud a short distance away stood an elderly woman with a staff. She was none other than the Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain and she was looking at Qin Yun in a displeased manner.
“Eldest Senior Sister, I was rash,” said Qin Yun with the initiative.
“Wudang, don’t blame Qin Yun. It was solely because of Qin Yun that Yang Jian was able to escape with his life,” said Guangchengzi with a smile. Yang Jian also bowed. “I’m alive all thanks to Brother Qin Yun.”
The Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain glared at Qin Yun while she gave Guangchengzi a faint smile. “Guangchengzi, Yang Jian escaped with his life, but Qin Yun risked his life. Your Jade Void Palace took great advantage of us.”
“My Jade Void Palace will naturally remember that we owe Qin Yun one,” said Guangchengzi.
“You better.” Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain nodded slightly.
Just as they were chatting idly—
Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain and Guangchengzi sensed something and turned to look at Mt. Three Blades.
Qin Yun and Yang Jian did the same.
A burning and domineering aura surfaced at Mt. Three Blades’ entrance. It was a red-haired man with disheveled hair. He was the first to exit and behind him were a bunch of ancient Chaos Godfiends.
The red-haired man scanned the surrounding world with an evident dominance and might. He stood there as though he was the only supreme existence in the world.
“Zhurong.” Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain and Guangchengzi’s expression both turned solemn.
God King Zhurong was stronger than all the other perfected Great Dao existences in the nascent periods of the Three Realms. Back then, he was only at the half-step Heavenly Dao realm. Only God King Gonggong, who was similarly at the half-step perfected Great Dao, could compete with him for supremacy. Back then, various factions avoided the conflict and ultimately, Zhurong defeated Gonggong. At that time, he was the strongest existence! It was only when Goddess Nüwa suddenly broke through to the Heavenly Dao realm that he was reined in.
Despite all this time, God King Zhurong did not improve at all. He was still one of the few strongest existences beneath the Heavenly Dao realm.
“Three Realms, I’m back.” Zhurong smiled as he looked at the world before him.
Meanwhile—
In a forest beneath Mt. Three Blades.
A linen-clothed man was looking at the wild flowers leisurely on the ground when he suddenly sensed something. He looked up and saw the Zhurong who stood by Mt. Three Blades’ entrance.
“Zhurong, you are finally out. I’ve been waiting in the Effulgent Great World for so many years just for this very day.” The linen-clothed man flipped his hand as a black, ancient, and simply adorned longbow appeared.