Chapter 431: The Elder

"Believe in me, live! Otherwise, die!"

Zhao Wuji stared tightly at the Pangu Ancestor God in midair. His expression gradually shifted from astonishment to doubt, then from doubt to sarcasm: "The divine race has long perished. A lone wandering soul that appeared from nowhere dares to impersonate the Pangu Ancestor God. Come, soldiers, the Cold Ice Deer‑Cutting Blade awaits, kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Behind him, the black‑armored troops let out three earth‑shaking roars. Endless killing intent spread over the black‑armored formation, and gradually the mountain ridge began to wind.

The air suddenly turned cold, and crystal‑clear snowflakes drifted from the sky. The rolling killing intent formed a massive wind blade, wrapping the falling snow, and slashed fiercely at the Pangu Ancestor God in midair.

The master of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace fixed her beautiful eyes on the Pangu Ancestor God in midair. Her expression remained utterly calm, as if the suddenly appearing deity had never appeared at all. After a long while, her seductive eyes narrowed slightly, and her bright red lips softly uttered two words: "Xuanqing!"

In midair, the bearded, hair‑flowing Pangu Ancestor God flicked his eyelid.

Boom! The wind blade, brimming with killing intent, exploded in midair.

Damn! Zhao Wuji let out a deep roar: "Brothers, Li Fire Burning Heaven Spear, kill!"

Kill! Kill! Kill! After three roars, flames shot up the mountain ridge, and a long spear wreathed in fire materialized above the black‑armored formation.

At the same time, Zhang Xingyu, hand in hand with Tang Yunxi, slipped with the crowd from the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace to the foot of the mountain. The battle on the ridge was beyond the capacity of these Nascent Soul novices. The Pangu Ancestor God that leapt from the five‑colored divine stone was clearly a formidable being, and the Prince of Zhennan, Zhao Wuji, who remained on the mountain, as well as the master of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace, Tang Yiran, were both top‑tier masters of the Fusion stage.

Combat is for the experts; the rookie years are peaceful. With beloved senior sister by his side, everything else is fleeting. Thinking this, Zhang Xingyu placed his salty‑pig hand on Tang Yunxi's waist again.

Time flew.

Unwittingly, three days passed, and the battle on the ridge still raged.

Unlike before, the master of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace, Tang Yiran, also joined the battle formation. In her hand she held a round fan, its surface painted with lifelike blossoms. Each time she waved the fan, a flower fluttered out. The flowers rose into the air, transforming into dazzling fairies. The fairies either danced in crimson silk or brandished jeweled swords, surrounding the Pangu Ancestor God with fierce attacks.

"Yunxi, your aunt's dough fan is truly a treasure!" Zhang Xingyu turned his head and whispered to Tang Yunxi.

Tang Yunxi gave a soft hum, then explained: "My aunt's round fan is called the Hundred Flowers Competing Beauty Fan; it's a premium celestial artifact. Its surface bears tens of thousands of blossoms, each housing a flower spirit."

"Sure enough, it's a treasure!" Zhang Xingyu exclaimed, then asked Tang Yunxi: "Senior sister, your elder cousin is also formidable; the golden spear he wields also looks like a treasure!"

Tang Yunxi smiled: "That's not a golden spear; it's called the Thousand‑Machine Fan, a premium celestial artifact bestowed by the father‑king for his protection. It can transform into knives, spears, swords, halberds, and other weapon forms. My elder cousin practices the Heavenly Overlord Qi Resolve; the power he cultivates can fuse multiple elemental forces and release them in various forms through the Thousand‑Machine Fan."

While the two spoke, the battle formation in the sky already shifted.

With the master of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace and her nephew joining forces, the Pangu Ancestor God finally could not stand. His forehead split open, spewing multicolored light that formed five muscular giants in midair. One was jet‑black, another engulfed in flame, a third pale as a corpse, a fourth with wax‑yellow skin, and the last resembled a green giant. Apart from their colors, the five giants were almost identical in appearance.

The five giants, once formed, each set to work.

The black‑faced giant flipped his massive hand, and a long desk appeared before him, its surface laden with the four treasures of the study. The black‑faced giant, while splashing ink with his brush, sang loudly: "A lifetime of marching three thousand miles, a single sword once blocked a million troops." As soon as his song ended, the still‑wet ink scroll emitted a rumbling war‑drum sound, and regiment after regiment of soldiers sprang out of the scroll.

The yellow‑faced giant bent down, cupping the golden sand at his feet. He spat golden rays onto the grains. In an instant, the sand transformed into soldiers clad in golden armor. The yellow‑faced giant roared: "Sky‑piercing killing intent fills the heavens, the ground swarms with golden armor. Men, charge!"

The red‑faced giant shouted to the heavens: "Li Fire Burning Heaven, the six paths know no birth nor death! Li Fire Flying Phoenix, emerge!" In an instant, the void split, and phoenixes wreathed in blazing fire flapped their wings and surged forward.

Immediately after, the white‑faced giant summoned a Snow Maiden, and the green‑faced giant called forth a Treefolk, causing the scene to stall once more.

Zhang Xingyu felt his heart surge.

At that moment, a light, soaring song drifted from the horizon: "United hearts walk the straight Dao, ten thousand nations open the Shun Gate. In a footstep lies the pure void, subtle choices select rare talent. Radiance births brocade streets, together atop the Orchid Terrace. The heavens stretch high, wind and clouds converge..."

The song began softly, but soon resonated in the ears like the deep tones of a bronze bell.

Zhang Xingyu followed the sound. At the far edge of the sky, an old Daoist stepped upon clouds. He had crane‑white hair, a child's face, a fluttering sash, and an unmistakably celestial bearing.

His appearance was simply flawless; not setting him up at a market fortune‑telling stall would be a waste.

Zhang Xingyu found the old Daoist's look oddly familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he'd seen him.

The old Daoist stepped forward, looked up at the Pangu Ancestor God and the five giants, then clapped his hands and laughed: "Pangu opened heaven and earth, the five divine paths traverse the great Dao. Thanks to Heaven, it grants this humble Daoist the chance to achieve enlightenment!"

After laughing, the old Daoist produced an object from his robe: a stone figure with seven orifices, its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose rendered lifelike. Holding the stone figure in one hand and drawing a talisman with the other, he murmured: "Source veins give rise, the five gods return to their positions!"

Strangely, as soon as his rune was finished, the five‑colored giants in midair dissolved into light and entered the stone figure's body, and the soldiers, armored warriors, phoenixes, Snow Maiden, and Treefolk they had conjured also vanished.

"Damn!"

Seeing his five‑colored giants being taken away, the Pangu Ancestor God was both shocked and enraged.

He roared, "Axe!" In an instant, streams of black mist surged from the void, coalescing in his hand into a massive jet‑black axe.

"Die!"

The Pangu Ancestor God lifted the great axe and took a step forward.

At the same time, a destructive aura burst from the massive axe, turning heaven and earth. The sky swirled with black clouds, lightning flashed and thunder roared; the ground quaked, mountains shook, and the earth split open.

The master of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace and Zhao Wuji retreated thousands of steps together, never daring to clash with the Pangu Ancestor God again.

The Pangu Ancestor God seemed indifferent to the two. He bore the jet‑black axe, advancing step by step toward the old Daoist clutching the stone figure.

"Give it back, or die!" the Pangu Ancestor God declared, each step a word.

The old Daoist rode the clouds, retreating slowly. As he withdrew, he traced intricate, profound patterns with his fingers, forming bright light curtains in the air.

Zhang Xingyu guessed this was the legendary seal. On Xuantiandalu, seals are divided into four tiers: Earth‑Demon Seal, Heaven‑Gang Seal, Spirit Seal, and Immortal Seal. Seals serve both as anti‑enemy tools and as essential methods for forging high‑grade treasures. The higher the tier, the harder it is to cultivate, but the greater its power once formed. It is said that above the Immortal Seal lies an even higher grade—Divine Seal. Divine Seals are not cultivated; they arise together with innate divine artifacts. Yet on Xuantiandalu, no one has ever possessed an innate divine artifact, not even Tang Yunxi's father, the first master of Xuantiandalu, Emperor Gai Tian, who has never even seen one.

Pip pip pa pa!

Each step the Pangu Great Deity took, his mountain‑massive foot struck the seal the old Daoist had set. Black smoke billowed from the foot. Yet the Pangu Great Deity continued as if nothing, lifting the great axe step by step forward.