Chapter 623: If You Respect the Immortals, Why Not Respect Me?

Above the Eastern Hong Sky Curtain.

The vast, surging silver-white dragon qi had already gathered into clouds, blotting out the sky and sun as it spread toward the other three Hongs.

This was the disturbance caused by the Dragon Lair losing its guardian.

An event that should have shaken all four Hongs, yet at this moment, no one had the mind to pay attention.

"Haa—"

The terrifyingly massive ape, hunched over, let out heavy, ragged breaths, its long arms plunging into the waters, 死死 choking the neck of a ferocious beast.

"This Lord commands you to let go!"

In the heavens, a colossal black dragon burst through the clouds, furiously whipping its tail down in a horizontal smash.

The gap in realm between the two was like the difference between cloud and mud.

Yet facing the roaring dragon tail, the ape's face twisted into a grotesque, mocking smile; it exerted force once more, finally snapping the ferocious beast's neck, then turned its gaze sideways.

It was a hideous, scar-covered ape face, staring straight at the black dragon, with not a shred of fear in its eyes, filled instead with utter indifference to death.

In an instant, accompanied by a violent boom.

The massive ape body, treading the surging blue waves with white clouds and the vast sky above its head, was effortlessly struck apart by the dragon tail, shattering into a sky full of giant stones that fell like raindrops, swallowed by the surging waves.

The black dragon transformed into human form; it was Qi Tianchuan, acting as commander for the Northern Long Wang.

He stood motionless, his expression numb, speaking not a word for a long time.

Although his strength was inferior to his elder brother Qi Tianya, preventing him from becoming the Northern Hong Long Wang, he was still a dragon clan member at the peak of the Heaven realm, with vast knowledge, and had even participated in the shocking capture of the Merit Immortal some days ago.

His character needed no further words.

But at this moment, the ape demon's final glance still surged in his mind.

On the journey here, this was already the third great demon Qi Tianchuan had slain.

The strength of these great demons was not particularly high; none were a match for him in a single round, yet they left an incredibly deep impression on him.

Regardless of what kind of demon, when facing death, they all made the same choice.

That was to kill even just one Northern Hong demon soldier before dying, while their own lives seemed like something utterly unimportant.

The same indifferent, utterly calm gaze.

This matter completely exceeded Qi Tianchuan's understanding; in his view, these wild demons, having cultivated to such a realm, must have endured countless hardships along the way and should have cherished their lives immensely; what kind of thing could possibly make them commit such bizarre acts?

Moreover, even he felt his spirit shaken.

Let alone the other Northern Hong creatures; facing this group of bizarre, ferocious things, one could not imagine how much trouble they would suffer.

"No wonder the advance is stalled."

The old turtle, bringing numerous soldiers and generals, rushed up, holding a map, and sighed, "We were somewhat careless; we lost many of our Northern Palace elite soldiers and fierce generals. Let us proceed more slowly; let no further accidents occur."

Qi Tianchuan remained silent for a long time, finally clenching his fist: "Send a message to the Liangdaohuang Sect; first, work together to sweep the Western Hong."

Following his command.

Countless demon soldiers slowly withdrew from the Eastern Hong.

Once the demon qi piercing the sky vanished completely.

Many creatures finally emerged from their hiding places, panting heavily with lingering fear, staring blankly at the sky.

They never imagined that what would ultimately allow them to temporarily preserve their lives were those ruthless villains whose ferocious reputation had just risen, only to vanish without a trace.

"Wan Yao Dian..."

In the crowd, supported by several cultivators, Ye Jiu, his body covered in blood, gently pushed away the arms of those around him.

After a fierce battle with two dragon sons at the late Heaven realm, finally repelling the two dragons, yet against the techniques passed down by those immortals, he too had paid a heavy price.

"..."

Under everyone's gaze, Ye Jiu slowly walked into the water, reached out to scoop up a piece of broken stone, and held it in his hands, examining it carefully for a long time.

After being shattered, the body, originally no different from a living creature, had turned into an utterly ordinary stone, simultaneously losing its luster, with not a shred of life remaining.

Just then, this piece of broken stone suddenly transformed into a black streak of light and fled.

Ye Jiu raised his gaze; he saw stones of all sizes in the waters flying up one after another, all transforming into streaks of light, then converging into one, darting toward the sky, where they turned into a ball of black mist in the palm of that petite figure, who stored it in her sleeve.

"The Northern Hong joins forces to sweep the Western Hong."

Ye Jiu roughly understood the identity of the person before him and also guessed the reason why this group of great demons dared to face death without fear.

He concisely conveyed the information he possessed.

The petite girl's reaction, however, surprised Ye Jiu; he saw that her expression remained calm, as if she felt no pressure whatsoever, merely nodding her chin slightly: "Understood."

Having spoken, this woman turned and fled toward the west.

"Count me in."

Ye Jiu drew his streak-of-light long sword, without the slightest hesitation, and went straight after her.

He knew that before those two Dao realm experts, the remaining three Hongs had almost no chance of victory, but since someone still dared to step forward, regardless of their identity, he naturally had to follow.

Once all these Heaven realm experts had left.

The remaining creatures of the Eastern Hong, dazed, stared at the sky full of silver-white dragon qi, gradually accepting reality.

That benevolent Long Wang was gone; from now on, no one would be able to protect them.

As time passed, figures gradually detached themselves from the crowd, summoned their magical treasures, and likewise headed west.

Eastern Hong, Dragon Lair.

Qi Tianya sat cross-legged, freely inhaling and exhaling the silver-white dragon qi.

Since the Hong waters no longer required the Four Palaces to guard them, naturally, these things were meant for him to enjoy.

"Old Lu, do not be jealous; serve the immortals well, and there will be benefits for you."

Lu Xiao quietly flipped through the booklet, offering no response; only the cold light hidden in his half-closed eyes revealed his faint thoughts.

If Qi Tianya were to absorb the Four Hong Dragon Qi, his strength, already superior to my own, would surely leap forward once more.

By then, though they claim to govern by division, the Liangdaohuang Sect will inevitably continue to be suppressed by the Northern Long Gong.

But it matters not; after all, he has been accustomed to this since ten thousand years ago.

Now the Liangdaohuang Sect has become a colossal power occupying nearly half of Hongze, while the Nanhongqi Sects look like mere ants, left to despairingly await their destruction.

As long as the correct choice is made.

There will always be a chance to turn the tables; no rush, no rush...

Lu Xiao diligently attended to the task in his hands; in a short time, he had already uncovered most of the path laid out by the Eastern Long Wang over ten thousand years.

How Yu Feng ascended to heaven, and the name and origins of every single "brick" on this path, would all appear without omission on the desk of Hongze Daxian.

Once Daxian finishes consuming that merit-grain, he will settle accounts with the past one by one.

As long as one does the task at hand well, how could an immortal treat oneself poorly?

"This is... the correct choice."

Lu Xiao closed the booklet, and a smile returned to his face.

Yet, in the span of a single breath.

Qi Tianya suddenly opened his eyes, and Lu Xiao also turned his cold gaze toward the direction of the Dragon Hall.

The empty Dragon Hall contained only a few remaining figures.

Square desks, with wisps of green smoke still lingering, as if it were still the academy of old.

Only behind the tables, there were no longer those figures, nor the crisp sounds of laughter and joy.

On the stone wall at the deepest part of the hall, a grotesque dragon head with twisted features hung high; its knotted purple beard was dyed dark red, its two dragon horns had lost their luster, and in those wide, lifeless eyes, blood tears had dried into long streaks.

It gazed upon the hall in Tianyan Siji.

Intimidating the creatures of East Hong.

"Heh! Heh!"

Ziyang, his face deathly pale, accidentally met his father's eyes, then panicked and fearfully turned his head away, sitting stiffly on the ground with five fingers deeply dug into the stone tiles, his gaze falling upon the bulging blue veins on the back of his hand.

From the very beginning, he had not supported his father's plan.

Ziyang had never believed that mere mortals like himself could have any impact on the immortals who dwelt so high above.

But the sudden glimpse of hope had clouded his judgment.

That momentary lapse.

The result was the imprisonment of the entire clan, the beheading of his father, and the dragon soul confined within a gourd, subjected to endless torment, never to rise again for eternity.

He finally understood now why Li Xuanqing had fallen into despondency.

Because his mind was filled entirely with how to kill that immortal, yet even pondering until his soul was exhausted, he could think of no method; even with his remaining sanity, he felt an indescribable fear at having such a thought.

"Don't look at me... I... I dare not think..."

He closed his eyes, curled himself into a ball, and emitted a hoarse whisper, nearly voiceless.

Senior Zi Xian squatted beside her elder brother, burying her head deep into the crook of her arm.

As the favored daughter of the Eastern Long Gong, she had never imagined that the four words "family destroyed and home lost" could be so close to her, so close that it required only an immortal raising a hand.

The purple-bearded white dragon, who claimed to care for Hongze, ultimately personally plunged Hongze into a state of widespread suffering.

So-called benevolence is in fact the greatest cruelty; how absurd and ridiculous.

So ridiculous that Senior Zi Xian had already vaguely fallen into madness; the entire Eastern Long Gong is Hongze's greatest sinner!

"..."

Zilan, holding a meal, seeing her aunt and uncle in such a state, did not know why, but tears suddenly rolled from her eyes.

She turned and stumbled toward the hall's exit, only to suddenly collide with someone's chest.

Jade plates shattered into pieces on the ground; Zilan, bewildered, vigorously wiped away her tears, knelt on the ground to pick up the shards, and then used her sleeve to frantically wipe the soup, only to find that no matter what she did, it would not clean; finally, she broke down in tears: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Yet that figure did not scold her, but simply stepped silently past her and walked into the hall.

Zilan looked up in a daze; through her tear-blurred eyes, it was an extremely familiar, Bai Xi and handsome profile.

Back then, in the immortal cave of South Hong, she had blamed the other for being too cruel, but after witnessing firsthand how lowly Grandpa Dragon died, Zilan suddenly felt that perhaps acting like the other person was the correct way.

Later, she had also heard her uncle and aunt mention him.

Only that youth in the stories, though his personality matched her impression, did the things he did match at all.

Beheading the Western Long Wang? How could that be done by a youth who struggled even to kill Yue Tianji?

Zilan had never imagined that their next meeting would occur under such circumstances.

She stared blankly at the youth's back, hurriedly scrambled to her feet, and chased after him step by step.

"You must leave quickly! There is..."

Anyone would likely not expect that within the seemingly quiet Eastern Long Gong, two Dao Realm experts were stationed.

At such a time, the first words spoken by this group of purple-bearded white dragons upon meeting were still "You must leave quickly."

Shen Yi slightly raised his eyes, looking at the grotesque dragon head on the stone wall.

His eyes were like an ancient well, without a ripple.

His pupils were pitch black and deep, not the dead gray of Tianyan Siji, without the enhancement of the Ten Thousand Calamities Ruthless Dao.

In his normal state, Shen Yi still expressed no sorrow or any other emotion regarding this.

He simply continued to step forward, walking until he stood beneath that dragon head.

"You..."

Ziyang and Senior Zi Xian, the brother and sister, finally sensed something was wrong and looked up blankly with those dim, lightless eyes.

Immediately, they saw Shen Yi extend his hand.

"Don't move! This has nothing to do with you!" Zi Yang suddenly rose like a mad beast, his hoarse voice roaring.

What kind of son could bear to see his father's head hung high, eyes still open in death?

But we truly cannot move… because it was hung there by an Immortal.

No one knows what terrifying fate awaits after offending this capricious Immortal.

"Huu."

Shen Yi acted as if he hadn't heard, gently taking down the dragon's head and turning to place it on the table.

Zi Xian froze as if struck by lightning, her body stiff as she turned back.

As expected, just as she had foreseen, at the instant the dragon's head was removed, two cold, motionless figures appeared outside the hall's door.

Qi Tianya and Lü Xiao both raised an eyebrow.

They were the Immortal's left and right arms; thus, the Immortal's dignity was their own honor.

A young man of unknown identity, at the late Heavenly Realm, had simply strolled into the hall and slapped their faces.

"You are the most gifted person I've ever seen in Hongze."

Lü Xiao stepped into the hall and smiled lightly: "And also the most foolish."

To offend an Immortal official recognized by the Immortal Court over something so meaningless is even more absurd than what Li Xuanqing and Zi Yang did.

He walked to Zi Yang's side, crouched down, and slammed the Crown Prince's head hard onto the ground: "You reminded him you care for him, so he's one of them on that path?"

At this age, possessing such power, he is almost certainly not a native of Hongze, but an outsider.

Qi Tianya also stepped forward, bending to gently pat Zi Xian's occiput: "Good girl, tell Uncle who he is."

Such a feat cannot be monopolized by Lü Xiao alone.

The brother and sister trembled all over, biting their lips until they bled, their eyes locked on the tips of the two Dao Realm experts' shoes—silent.

They could not betray their ally beneath their father's eyes.

But! But it was Shen Yi!

Why? Why did he come here? Why did he extinguish the last sliver of hope?

He should have gone to Shenzhou, joined Ruda Sect, achieved fame and glory… then returned to deliver justice to us!!

Zi Yang suddenly began to sob, the last glimmer of light in his eyes slowly fading.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Yet no one noticed that Shen Yi had also closed his eyes.

The accumulated demonic lifespan was rapidly draining, forming a blood-red great seal.

Simultaneously, a vast hall's spectral shadow rapidly enveloped the entire East Long Gong.

"..."

The ink-robed youth sat behind the desk, slowly opening his eyes, gazing at the dragon's head on the table—once the place where the East Long Wang had sat to teach.

The books on the desk were scattered and disheveled.

He gently stroked the dragon's head's knotted purple whiskers, then neatly rearranged the books, his clear voice tinged with confusion: "Are you really afraid of Immortals?"

At these words, Qi Tianya and Lü Xiao froze, as if their scales had been touched, their voices low: "We revere!"

This fool is already a dead man—how dare he speak such reckless words? His death will not be easy.

Yet Shen Yi seemed utterly unaware of their fury. Calmly, he set down the books, his expression returning to serenity: "Then look up. Look at what I am."

Before he finished speaking, the two Dao Realm experts released the siblings, their eyes turning toward the figure before the desk.

This outsider had behaved so strangely from start to finish—curiosity stirred within them.

Yet they saw nothing unusual on Shen Yi.

On his youthful face, his lips curled slightly into a clean, innocent smile, like an unthreatening youth.

But as his tone turned mocking, they suddenly perceived a ferocity on that face—even his neat, white teeth felt like the fangs of a monstrous beast.

"You really look?"

The entire hall instantly grew icy, as if turned into a dead zone.

In an instant, the boundless land-and-water realm visible only to Shen Yi and the Immortal suddenly manifested within the minds of the two Dao Realm experts.

The demonic emperor's weapon, forged from countless lifespans, along with all Immortal arts, spells, arrays, and stabilizing stones—even if they spent every last resource—could hardly threaten two Dao Realm experts.

But Shen Yi was not using his own things.

At least in this moment, he was an Immortal.

The entire Nan Hong and Xi Hong trembled violently; the celestial qi across the vast land-and-water realm erupted!

Before this boundless land-and-water realm, cultivators and demons alike seemed utterly insignificant.

"Roar!"

Qi Tianya sensed something wrong—deep terror surged in his eyes; black scales instantly spread across his body as he sought to transform and flee.

Lü Xiao instinctively reached for the Ancestral Stele.

Both fell utterly silent, unable to speak—for they were facing the crushing pressure of two land-and-water realms!

"..."

Zi Yang and Zi Xian stared blankly upward, watching the black dragon surge upward, only to be seized back by an invisible hand, its form shrinking like an eel, thrashing desperately; Lü Xiao's robe exploded into fragments, his five fingers snapping one after another as he tried to summon the Ancestral Stele, then his entire arm burst into blood mist.

The entire hall was filled only with an overwhelming, indescribable torrent of celestial qi, roaring like waves.

Shen Yi sat behind the desk, eyes lowered, carefully combing the dragon's head's fur until he deemed it perfectly tended, then extended both palms, facing the head toward himself, slowly closing its eyes.

With his thumb, he wiped away the two tear tracks, leaving only a gentle whisper.

"The path you prepared for them—they refuse to walk it."

"Then walk mine."

Saying this, Shen Yi rose, circled the desk, gathered the two piles of shattered remains, and quietly left the Dragon Hall as he had come.

His path was called the Yellow Springs.

The three remaining people in the hall stared in unison at the empty space outside the hall.

Their pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpoints.

What on earth had they just witnessed…

What on earth had they gotten to know along the way?!

Shen Yi was no reincarnated immortal — because he was a true immortal himself!

(End of chapter)