Chapter 520: The Eighth Master and the Primordial Seal! Finally Meeting

Beneath Mount Zhangbai, snow and wind filled the sky.

The leaden sky seemed ready to collapse; the biting north wind whipped billions of icy shards, roaring like a primordial beast, turning this realm into an absolute domain ruled solely by ice and silence.

“Skree…”

At that moment, a piercing cry, sharp enough to pierce metal and rupture eardrums, suddenly rang out—a divine spear from antiquity—tearing through the storm’s roar and shooting forth from deep within the snow-covered peaks.

Huo Fa Wang stood firm in the snowstorm, looking up, and saw a massive black shadow piercing through layers of snow, crossing the sky toward him.

It was a giant bird, its entire body covered in pure white feathers like carved ice, with only the tips of its wings and its beak and talons faintly shimmering with a metallic sheen.

Its size far surpassed ordinary golden eagles; when its wings spread, they resembled clouds hanging from heaven, casting shadows that instantly engulfed vast stretches of snowfield. Each flap of its wings stirred visible whirlpools of demonic energy; the ferocious winds capable of tearing steel crashed against these whirlpools and vanished like mud sinking into the sea, unable to shake it even slightly, instead amplifying its might.

Boom…

The moment it appeared, a vast, overwhelming terror surged outward.

That dreadful pressure, like a frozen plain stretching across the land and crashing from the heavens, bore down directly upon Huo Fa Wang—instantly, the Heavenly Master’s aura erupted skyward to meet it.

Boom…

The two utterly different auras collided, their terrifying ripples surging like tidal waves, shooting straight to the ninth heaven, as if cleaving heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and snowstorm into two halves.

In an instant, wind and clouds ceased.

The swirling snowflakes seemed frozen by invisible force, suspended midair, flickering between existence and nonexistence, daring not to fall further.

The howling wind also fell silent; the world sank into a heart-stopping, vacuum-like stillness.

Huh…

Suddenly, the cold, domineering pressure receded like a tide, and the Heavenly Master’s aura likewise retreated.

One inch receded here, a fraction fell there—until finally, all returned to silence.

Huo Fa Wang still stood there, looking up—the White Feather Golden Eagle hung motionless in midair, its cold golden eyes like two shrunken suns, gazing down with indifference; the demonic energy swirling around it was as deep as an abyss, its terrifying aura and pressure no less than that of the Heavenly Master himself!

“Zuoshan Diao, it’s been a long time.” Huo Fa Wang smiled lightly.

“Say Ji, not Ba… Ba Ye is Ba Ye—he hates it when people call him by name and title together…”

Zuoshan Diao’s voice rang like clashing metal, threatening to shatter the snowstorm, heavy and grating.

“Please, Brother Diao, announce my arrival.” Huo Fa Wang spoke softly.

Even as a contemporary Heavenly Master and deputy abbot of Bai He Guan, he had no choice but to be courteous.

Only because Mount Zhangbai’s secret realm ranked among the top in all of the world’s mountain-sea secrets, teeming with demons and spirits, brimming with masters—this golden eagle demon before him, in strength, was no weaker than he.

Not to mention, within these mountains lay dangers that made even him wary, even fearful.

In this world, only Ji Ba Ye could come and go freely, as if he were the master of this ancient divine mountain.

“Huo Fa Wang, leave. Ba Ye won’t see you.” Zuoshan Diao hovered in midair, gazing at him coldly.

“You know that after the fall of Southern Zhang, Ba Ye declared he would never meet an old acquaintance again.”

Hearing this, Huo Fa Wang’s brow furrowed slightly, and he said gravely: “But I come with Jiang Zonghui’s…”

“Big Brother wants what? Ba Ye knows perfectly well.” Zuoshan Diao sneered, cutting him off before he could finish.

“Ba Ye said he wants the [Primordial Seal]. That thing isn’t here.”

As he spoke, Zuoshan Diao’s eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a human-like sneer.

“Big Brother’s brat entered Mount Ailao—surely he’s found the [First Sacred Seed] by now!?”

Hearing this, Huo Fa Wang fell silent, but his face twitched violently.

The immortal substance left behind after the death of a Divine Demon Embryo cultivator is called the Sacred Seed.

The term “First Sacred Seed” refers to the fact that the Divine Demon Embryo cultivator had already attained the Pure Yang Ultimate state in life.

“Big Brother’s brat has passed how many Great Nights of Darkness? If he assimilates that Sacred Seed, he’ll become truly immortal and indestructible…”

“Heh, is Big Brother getting desperate? Seeking the [Primordial Seal] to finish him off?” Zuoshan Diao sneered.

“Your words are too harsh, Brother Diao.” Huo Fa Wang said gravely.

“Heh, harsh words are nothing compared to ugly deeds.” Zuoshan Diao said coolly: “Huo Fa Wang, go tell Big Brother…”

“Back then, Second Brother and Ba Ye did search for the [Primordial Seal], but they never found it.”

“You may return now.”

Huo Fa Wang hesitated, glancing at the hovering Zuoshan Diao, then his gaze swept over the snow-laden Mount Zhangbai.

He knew—he would not see Ba Ye today, no matter what.

“What? Without the [Primordial Seal], you can’t control Da Lingzong Wang?”

Zuoshan Diao’s voice rang out again, tinged with lingering amusement.

“Then again, his Divine Demon Embryo is already fully matured—no one in this age can match him, and killing him won’t be easy.”

“Heh, cut the grass but not the roots, and the spring wind brings it back… Did Big Brother soften his heart back then? Raised a tiger only to be devoured by it.”

“Zuoshan Diao!”

Huo Fa Wang’s temple veins bulged; he could no longer bear it, letting out a sharp, thunderous roar that drowned out the storm.

“Don’t think that without the Primordial Seal, you can suppress Da Lingzong Wang!”

“Oh? Big Brother is Big Brother—truly has heavenly abilities.” Zuoshan Diao sneered: “Then I’ll wait and see.”

“Fine. I’ll wait.” Huo Fa Wang said coldly.

He still had other plans. By his calculations, that man’s brat would soon reach the Mount Zhangbai region—once he captured him, Da Lingzong Wang would have no choice but to hesitate.

Thinking of this, Huo Fa Wang looked up once more at Zuoshan Diao, then turned and left.

“Huo Fa Wang…”

At that moment, Zuoshan Diao flapped his wings and suddenly called out, stopping him.

“What else?”

Huo Fa Wang halted and turned.

“Since you came all this way, I’ll give you a piece of news.” Zuoshan Diao sneered.

“What?” Huo Fa Wang asked instinctively.

“Third Brother…”

“Is still alive!”

Zuoshan Diao’s eyes narrowed to slits, staring fixedly at Huo Fa Wang, a hint of mockery glinting deep within.

“Dragon King!?” Huo Fa Wang’s expression shifted slightly.

Only five words—yet they stirred this Heavenly Master to profound unease.

In an instant, Huo Fa Wang’s expression returned to calm; he gave the hovering Zuoshan Diao one last long look.

“That’s truly good news!”

Before his words had fully faded, Huo Fa Wang turned and walked away, vanishing into the endless snowstorm.

“Pfft… what a piece of trash!”

Zuoshan Diao spat toward Huo Fa Wang’s retreating figure, his dark-gold eyes brimming with deep loathing.

…

The moon floated in the sky, a great orb hanging alone.

Hazy clouds drifted across the heavens, casting the village’s stillness like a stagnant pool.

In the late night, faint rustling suddenly came from the low house in the back courtyard; Wang Tao, guarding the door, snapped alert, instinctively looking up.

The door opened—a figure stood there, the cold moonlight stretching his shadow long and thin.

“Gate Lord!?”

Wang Tao stared at the familiar face, yet felt it strange; his gaze flickered past to the coffin inside the low house, where another figure still lay.

One glance—and Wang Tao’s eyes narrowed sharply; the face inside the coffin was identical to Zhang Fan’s, utterly indistinguishable.

“Gate Lord, you’ve changed…”