Chapter 241: The Emergence of Tai'a

After a bout of galloping on horseback, the group finally returned to Dragon Gate.

Wen Chou Chou, having received the news, had long been waiting before the Mountain Gate with the disciples of Dragon Gate and Huaimie.

Amidst the sound of rapid hoofbeats, Wen Chou Chou knew that Duan Fengyun and the others had returned.

One could see Duan Fengyun walking at the front of the crowd, holding Xiao Wuyou in his left arm and Xiao Ruoruo in his right, riding his horse with an air of great dominance.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!

Welcome home, Sect Leader's wife, young master, and young miss!"

Wen Chou Chou led the disciples in kneeling.

Duan Fengyun leaped directly from his horse and flew before Wen Chou Chou, saying:

"Everyone, rise.

Chouchou, there is someone behind looking for you!"

Duan Fengyun moved aside, revealing the figure of Youruo.

Upon seeing Youruo, Wen Chou Chou wept with joy and said:

"Young Miss!"

Youruo stepped forward, patted Wen Chou Chou on the shoulder, and smiled:

"Chouchou, it has been a long time!"

Wen Chou Chou nodded vigorously; indeed, they had not seen each other for a long time.

Xiao Wuyou, Xiao Ruoruo, and Xiao Butian looked at the magnificent Dragon Gate, and being full of curiosity about this new home, they peered around everywhere.

Watching Xiao Wuyou and Xiao Ruoruo, who looked exactly like Duan Fengyun and Youruo when they were young, Wen Chou Chou excitedly stepped forward to hold the two little ones and said:

"The young master and young miss look exactly like you and the young miss did when you were children."

Xiao Wuyou and Xiao Ruoruo sensed Wen Chou Chou's goodwill and did not fuss, silently gazing at Dragon Gate from within Wen Chou Chou's embrace.

Wuming and Jian Chen, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were also very happy to see Duan Fengyun and the others reunited as a family.

Jian Chen looked at the reunited trio of Bu Jingyun, Chuchu, and Bu Tian, and silently offered his blessings in his heart.

At thirty, he had come to understand that loving someone does not necessarily mean possessing them; seeing her happy and fulfilled was enough.

Jian Chen smiled:

"Congratulations on your family reunion.

Chuchu, it has been a long time."

Seeing Jian Chen and sensing the sincerity in his words, Chuchu smiled and replied:

"Brother Jian Chen, it has been a long time!"

Huaikong watched the reunited Duan Fengyun and the others, and held Bai Ling tightly.

As for the martial fanatic Huaimie, he had no interest in the reunited Duan Fengyun and the others; he only sensed the changes in Duan Fengyun.

When he left Dragon Gate, Duan Fengyun had just finished Refining the Dragon Essence, so his entire being was sharp and exposed.

But now, the returning Duan Fengyun was as plain and unremarkable as a Mortal; Huaimie knew that Duan Fengyun must have encountered another martial opportunity.

This made Huaimie's fighting spirit even stronger; he had to keep becoming stronger.

After the group exchanged pleasantries, Wen Chou Chou did not forget his status as the current Chief Steward of Dragon Gate, and he smiled:

"Everyone, I have already had the kitchen prepare a banquet; please, come inside and take your seats.

Please, everyone."

At Duan Fengyun's call, Xiao Wuyou and Xiao Ruoruo returned to Duan Fengyun's arms.

With Wen Chou Chou having already made proper arrangements, the group followed the routine to wash up and then went to the banquet that had been meticulously prepared.

Dragon Gate, which originally only had the four martial brothers of Duan Fengyun, Long Er, and Wen Chou Chou, had now added Huaimie, Huaikong, Bai Ling, Jian Chen, Wuming, Youruo, Chuchu, Ding Ning, Di Er Meng, Xiao Wuyou, Xiao Ruoruo, and Xiao Butian, becoming much livelier in an instant.

And for this day, Duan Fengyun had made preparations as early as when he established Dragon Gate.

Back when Dragon Gate was established, Duan Fengyun had already had a table custom-made that could accommodate twenty people.

Now, with eighteen people sitting around the large table, the harmonious atmosphere was truly enviable. While Duan Fengyun's side was harmonious, Xu Fu in Tianwen Temple was in agony.

After Xu Fu swallowed the Dragon Essence, he thought he would be able to refine it quickly.

As it turned out, he had not expected that the Phoenix Blood within his body had not been completely dissolved by the Five Thunders Transformation Technique.

The Phoenix Blood hidden within his body instantly produced a massive rejection upon encountering the dragon blood.

Xu Fu felt two balls of fire in his body constantly tearing at his physique.

Yet, amidst the agony, Xu Fu also felt his body constantly growing stronger.

He bared his teeth and smiled:

"Duan Fengyun, you just wait for this old man.

This old man will also make you taste this feeling of being better off dead, of being in absolute agony."

The bestial nature within the Dragon Essence, upon encountering a peerless arch-fiend like Xu Fu, constantly enhanced Xu Fu's demonic nature.

Ultimately, the Divine Dragon, as the head of the Four Great Auspicious Beasts, still overcame the Phoenix.

Through Xu Fu's gritted-teeth persistence, the Dragon Essence within his body was finally refined by him, and the Phoenix Blood was also absorbed by the Dragon Essence.

At the very moment the Dragon Essence was completely refined, Xu Fu clutched his hands tightly; he felt as if his hands were about to burn up.

Xu Fu roared in anger:

"Damned Heaven, why was Duan Fengyun's refining of the Dragon Essence so smooth, while this old man has to suffer such great torment?

Damned Heaven, tell me, on what grounds!"

Under Xu Fu's continuous roars, his hands still burst into flames.

In unbearable pain, Xu Fu clutched his hands and rolled on the ground incessantly; finally, after his hands were burned into dried meat, the burning stopped.

Xu Fu looked at his hands, which had been burned to a crisp, and the hatred in his heart rose continuously; he attributed all of this to Duan Fengyun.

Then a scene that shocked Xu Fu appeared: a surge of energy within his body rushed toward his hands, and his hands, which had long since withered, began to regain vitality under this energy.

Under the silent gaze of Xu Fu's eyes, his hands transformed into a pair of Dragon Claws.

And unlike the Divine Dragon of the past, this pair of Dragon Claws of his must contain the power of Phoenix Blood, which is why his Longzhua Shou was blood-red.

Compared to the peerless great demon of the original story, the Blood Tribulation Hand Duan Lang, Xu Fu's Longzhua Shou looked even more ferocious and bloody.

Xu Fu touched his hands that had turned into Dragon Claws; he lightly swiped his claws against the ground, and instantly, a large fissure appeared directly.

Xu Fu stroked his Dragon Claws as if he had obtained a precious treasure and said:

"Now that I have obtained the Longzhua Shou, I am the one destined by heaven.

Duan Fengyun, you just wait for me; I will come to take my revenge on you very soon."

Xu Fu looked at his Dragon Claws as if they were a treasure, then strode out of the secret chamber.

In the original story, Duan Lang could never accept in his heart that he had become a half-human, half-beast monster, which is why he chose to use gloves to cover his Dragon Claws.

But Xu Fu was different; he believed these Dragon Claws were his Magic Treasure, and he wanted to display them before the world.

After walking out of Tianwen Temple, Xu Fu entered the secret passage and headed straight for Heaven Gate.

When he arrived at Heaven Gate, although he had been prepared, he was still stunned by the devastated state of Heaven Gate.

Heaven Gate, which was once full of disciples, was now empty and deserted.

And the ice cave that once helped Xu Fu alleviate his aging had also been directly melted by Duan Fengyun.

He said through gritted teeth:

"Duan Fengyun, you destroyed my Heaven Gate; I will surely destroy your Dragon Gate to vent the hatred in my heart."

The furious Xu Fu struck a palm against the stone in front of him.

"Boom!"

The stone, blasted apart by the palm, triggered the explosion of the entire Heaven Gate, directly burying Xu Fu, who had no time to dodge.

It turned out that when he first conquered Heaven Gate, Duan Fengyun had ordered Wen Chou Chou to fill Heaven Gate with explosives.

Duan Fengyun had predicted that Xu Fu would definitely return to Heaven Gate, and that Xu Fu, upon seeing Heaven Gate in such a state, would surely be furious.

Wen Chou Chou had indeed been ruthless, planting several thousand catties of explosives throughout Heaven Gate.

Duan Fengyun had not guessed wrong; after returning to Heaven Gate, Xu Fu was indeed furious because of the state of the place, and subsequently triggered the welcoming gift Duan Fengyun had prepared for him.

Under a series of explosions, the former Heaven Gate was completely reduced to ruins.

"Boom!"

Xu Fu stood up directly from the pile of ruins; although he had no injuries, he was in a disheveled state.

This was the effect Duan Fengyun wanted; he knew that explosives would certainly have no effect on Xu Fu.

But he simply wanted to disgust Xu Fu.

Because of this maneuver by Duan Fengyun, Xu Fu became even more enraged.

He desperately wanted to kill Duan Fengyun right now to vent the hatred in his heart, but he still held back.

He had to first return to the courtyard where he had lived in seclusion under the guise of the Righteous Path; his weapon was kept in that courtyard.

Fortunately, when Wen Chou Chou was setting the explosives, he did not know about the secret passage, so the passage leading to the small courtyard was not destroyed.

Xu Fu passed through the secret passage and arrived at his small courtyard.

The small courtyard was as peaceful and quiet as usual, but there was no one left inside.

Xu Fu did not care about such things; he only wanted to retrieve his weapon.

Xu Fu arrived at his wine cellar, and seeing that the cellar remained exactly as it was, he felt much more at ease.

He was not worried about Duan Fengyun and the others taking his wine; he was worried that the weapon beneath the wine jars would be discovered by Duan Fengyun and his group.

In fact, Duan Fengyun had originally wanted to move Xu Fu's wine away, but fearing that Xu Fu had played tricks in the wine, Duan Fengyun abandoned the idea and thus did not destroy Xu Fu's small courtyard.

If Duan Fengyun had chosen to move Xu Fu's wine, then with his Spirit Sense, he would certainly have discovered Xu Fu's secret.

Without a second thought, Xu Fu struck all the wine jars in front of him, sending them flying away.

After all the wine jars had flown out, revealing the smooth ground, Xu Fu struck the ground beneath his feet with force.

After the palm strike, a large pit appeared on the ground, and an antique-looking precious sword appeared before Xu Fu's eyes.

Seeing the precious sword, Xu Fu smiled and said:

"Old friend, it has been a long time!"

The precious sword seemed to sense Xu Fu's presence, flying directly out of the pit and into Xu Fu's hand.

This sword was the one Qin Shi Huang had bestowed upon him to kill the phoenix when he served as an official under Qin Shi Huang years ago.

This sword was named Tai'e, and it was cast by the two famous sword masters of the time,

Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang, and was treated by the Chu State as a national treasure.

After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states and obtained the Tai'e Sword, he always kept it by his side; the Tai'e Sword was once also regarded as a sword of majesty.

To assist Xu Fu in killing the phoenix, Qin Shi Huang bestowed this sword upon Xu Fu, letting Xu Fu use this sword of majesty to kill the phoenix and achieve his goal of immortality.

In the end, Xu Fu indeed used this sword of majesty to slay the phoenix.

And after being stained with Phoenix Blood, the Tai'e Sword directly gained divine power.

When Xu Fu wreaked havoc in the Human Realm years ago, it was precisely the Tai'e Sword he used.

After the Tai'e Sword was stained with Phoenix Blood, a fire phoenix would fly out whenever it was used.

After Xu Fu cultivated his power to its peak, he buried the Tai'e Sword here.

Now, he would rely on this sword to kill Duan Fengyun and vent the hatred in his heart.

Xu Fu gripped the Tai'e in his hand tightly and shouted:

"Duan Fengyun, cherish your final days!

I shall have the Tai'e Sword in my hand drink deeply of your dragon essence blood!"

The Tai'e Sword, having emerged into the world once more, danced joyfully in the hands of Xu Fu, and because of the emergence of the Tai'e Sword, the entire sky was filled with lightning and thunder, hinting at the arrival of a rainstorm.

Brought to you by the great author Duan Fengyun, from "Crossing the Heavens Starting from Wind and Cloud".