Chapter 429: Auntie! Cousin!

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the mountain ridge collapsed.

After three days and three nights of tireless, sleepless labor, the five puppet strongmen, using their diligent hands, forced the mountain's belly to be hollowed out. If the Cultivation Realm were to award a May Day Labor Medal, these puppet strongmen before us would be the most fitting candidates.

The mountain's belly is empty, the ridge has collapsed, and a five‑colored giant stone floats in midair, spewing a thousand streams of auspicious aura and blasting golden light in all directions.

Zhang Xingyu stared blankly at the floating stone, his mouth opening wide enough to fit an egg.

Sure enough, there's a treasure.

Only I don't know the stone's origin. But it certainly isn't an ordinary object; otherwise the Hundred Flowers Palace Master wouldn't have come in person.

Alas, kind aunt has already reserved it; this treasure isn't meant for me.

Zhang Xingyu examined the five‑colored giant stone for a while, then shifted his gaze to the surrounding beauties.

A Chou naturally opened his mouth wide like a glutton, and Gu Yuyao's jaw dropped in shock. As for the sisters of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace around them, they all looked as if they'd lost their souls.

Zhang Xingyu looked at Tang Yunxi and saw her deep in thought. Beside her, the Hundred Flowers Palace Master's pretty face remained calm and indifferent, as if this easily attainable treasure failed to pique her interest.

No wonder she's a woman born of a noble family; she's just different from us poor‑born folk.

At that moment, the white‑clothed fairy A Rou addressed the Hundred Flowers Palace Master: "Master, the Five‑colored Divine Stone has been unearthed; please give further orders!"

The Hundred Flowers Palace Master nodded and softly instructed, "Go up the mountain!"

Half an hour later, atop the ridge.

A flamboyantly adorned women's militia and a murderous black‑armored army met unexpectedly.

Elder brother?

Aunt?

Cousin?

Cousin?

The Hundred Flowers Palace Master and Tang Yunxi wore puzzled expressions, while the youth in the python robe and the youth in elegant clothes opposite them stared dumbfounded.

After a moment, the python‑robe youth snapped out of it, grabbed the soulless elegant‑clad youth, and stepped forward to pay his respects.

Aunt, hello! Cousin, hello!

Elder cousin, hello! Third cousin, hello! Tang Yunxi bowed back with a curved posture.

The Hundred Flowers Palace Master's face showed neither sorrow nor joy; after the two finished their bows, she finally asked, "Elder brother, third brother, how did you come here?"

At that moment, the despondent elegant‑clad youth regained his spirit, weakly saluted the Hundred Flowers Palace Master, then darted to Tang Yunxi's side like a stray dog spotting a bone, "Cousin, dear cousin…"

The python‑robe youth shook his head, then replied calmly, "Uncle's birthday is approaching. I was thinking of presenting him with a treasure as a gift. My subordinates said this ancient divine forbidden land is a secret realm left by the primordial god‑clan, so I brought people in to try our luck. I never expected to meet you here; what a coincidence."

"Indeed, it's a great coincidence! If I hadn't run into you two here, I wouldn't have known you'd entered. You slipped in silently without permission; did you ever inquire what this place is before coming? You must know this is an ancient divine forbidden land, a place of great calamity, where countless heroes have perished over tens of thousands of years. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain to your fathers and my elder sister?" the Hundred Flowers Palace Master scolded, though her eyes were full of concern.

"Yes, yes, yes, the nephew thought carelessly. All the mistakes are my fault; Aunt, please don't be angry!" the python‑robe youth chuckled apologetically.

The Hundred Flowers Palace Master waved her hand lightly, "Fine, you're already inside, scolding won't help. Considering your filial devotion, I won't press charges for trespassing. Next time you venture into a dangerous place, you must inform your father and mother first, so your sisters won't worry. For now, follow me. If you truly obtain any treasure, I'll grant you one or two items to use as birthday gifts."

Zhang Xingyu quietly watched the four people ahead, showing no intention of stepping forward to greet them. Though they spoke, he had already guessed their identities. Ever since he and Tang Yunxi sealed their fate with a kiss, Tang Yunxi had told him about all seven aunts and eight uncles of her family.

The python‑robe youth, Zhao Wuji, Tang Yunxi's elder cousin, Crown Prince of the Southern Kingdom, a mid‑stage fusion strongman. It is said he also serves as a corps commander in the Immortal Alliance's grand army of Central Immortal State, holding the rank of three‑star General.

The elegant‑clad youth, Zhao Yunsheng, Tang Yunxi's third cousin, a dandy, unemployed drifter, in the early Nascent Soul stage, whose favorite pastime is wandering and causing trouble.

Zhang Xingyu disliked these two fellows. Beyond the disparity in status, he chiefly despised the deliberately regal aura Zhao Wuji exuded, and Zhao Yunsheng's clingy, taffy‑like attachment to Tang Yunxi.

While Tang Yunxi was being entangled by Zhao Yunsheng, Zhang Xingyu turned his gaze back to the five‑colored giant stone in the sky.

On the way up the mountain, he had secretly asked Tang Yunxi about it; this five‑colored giant stone is called the Five‑colored Divine Stone. Legend says that in the primordial era, the Ancestor God wielded a massive axe to create this world. After the Ancestor God perished, the heavens and earth became unstable, a universe collapsed, and the Mother God forged the Five‑colored Divine Stone to mend the heavens. After repairing the sky, the Mother God casually discarded the remaining divine stone. Since ancient times, cultivators have been searching for this Five‑colored Divine Stone. It is said that anyone who obtains it can comprehend the supreme Dao, shatter the void, and ascend to the Immortal Realm.

Zhang Xingyu reached to wipe the drool from his mouth, preparing to shift his gaze back to his dear senior sister. No matter how fine the treasure, it isn't meant for him. The old witch, Hundred Flowers Palace Master Tang Yanran, and the turtle‑like youth Zhao Wuji both eye this cracked stone greedily. Though they appear one kind and benevolent, the other respectful and courteous, neither will let go easily.

At that moment, his mind jolted, and a booming, bell‑like voice resonated in his divine courtyard: "Worship me, and gain eternal life!"

A deity statue?

No way, didn't that guy already escape?

Worship me, gain eternal life!

Worship me, gain eternal life!

Worship me, gain eternal life!

It kept repeating, one line after another.

Zhang Xingyu prepared to sing; the song gave him confidence, the song gave him strength.

That familiar melody rang in his divine courtyard, beginning low and somber, then soaring, then soaring higher, finally merging into the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, surging across a smoke‑filled battlefield, washing away all enemies that enslave us.

The beguiling voice in the divine courtyard grudgingly fell silent.

Zhang Xingyu circulated his divine essence; two faint golden glints flashed from his eyes, and the Five‑colored Divine Stone appeared before him like the Hundred Flowers Palace Master shedding a veil.

Gulp!

Zhang Xingyu inhaled a cold breath. In his pupils reflected a bronze‑colored figure: hair disheveled, a stern face, a tiger‑back and bear‑wide torso, bulging muscles, and a five‑colored giant axe in his hand, gleaming.

Pangu the Great God?