Accompanied by the rhythm of his slow, steady strides, his imposing aura did not feel human at all. Instead, it was like that of a Primordial Giant Beast. This man was none other than a Nascent Soul Cultivator of the Ninefold Celestial Court, who had styled himself as the Giant Spirit Immortal.
One only needed to look at his exterior to know that his Body Refining Technique was terrifyingly profound. If a knowledgeable Cultivator were present, they would be able to analyze the metallic luster on the surface of his muscles and other details to deduce that this fellow had actually tempered his physical body into a Magical Treasure. Indeed, the Giant Spirit Immortal did not use any Magical Treasures because he himself was an indestructible Magical Treasure.
"HEHEHE... Fellow Daoist Ju Ling, long time no see!" an extremely uncomfortable, treacherous voice abruptly rang out behind the Giant Spirit Immortal.
The Giant Spirit Immortal raised an eyebrow. Without even turning his head, he said, "Blood Shadow, are you here for a piece of the pie as well?"
Behind him, a blood-red shadow suddenly elongated. This second Tribulation Cultivator to appear was the Blood Shadow Yama of the Yama Underworld. His combat style was the exact opposite of the Giant Spirit Immortal’s. He almost never fought anyone head-on, but instead always hid in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Right now, he appeared to be hiding within the blood shadow behind the Giant Spirit Immortal, but in reality, only he knew where his true body was located.
"If Fellow Daoist Ju Ling can come, why can’t I?" the Blood Shadow Yama retorted.
Visibly displeased, the Giant Spirit Immortal demanded, "Where did you get the news?"
"That brat is courting death himself. Do I even need someone to give me the news?" the Blood Shadow Yama scoffed. Before he could finish, he suddenly remarked in surprise, "So Guanghan Fairy has arrived as well..."
In the sky, a female immortal slowly descended, her sleeves fluttering in the wind. Anyone who took even a single glance would feel incredibly shocked by this woman’s figure, and a single word would unconsciously pop into their minds: Perfect! She truly perfected the standard of beauty—adding even a trace would make her too plump, and subtracting a trace would make her too thin. However, despite her perfect figure, this female immortal’s facial features were obscured by a special layer of water vapor, making it impossible to see her clearly.
She was the leader of the Celestial Seven Immortal Maidens, Guanghan Fairy, and also the only existence among the Seven Fairy Sisters who had reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
Under the guidance of the Chess Player, Li Chengxin, the three Great Tribulation Cultivators had thus gathered together. But they clearly had not realized this themselves. They only thought that their luck had finally turned for the better, or that Zou Feng had suffered heavy injuries in his battle against Gongyang Wuji, thereby exposing a fatal flaw.
"It seems we’ll have to divide Zou Feng into three portions..." Blood Shadow said with a playful laugh.
Guanghan Fairy did not touch the ground. Instead, she floated at a low altitude and said in a glacial tone, "That works too. Only by joining forces can the three of us guarantee that nothing will go wrong."
Only the Giant Spirit Immortal felt dissatisfied with the sudden addition of two people to split the spoils. "Let’s get one thing straight. This kid’s physical body belongs to me. As for his Divine Soul or whatever else, you two can do as you please!" Knowing that it was impossible to drive these two menacing figures away, the Giant Spirit Immortal simply specified his demands in advance.
Blood Shadow had no objections to this, but Guanghan Fairy was displeased. "Ju Ling, don’t be too greedy. You can take most of this boy’s physical body, but you must leave one thing for me!"
"Heh, isn’t it just that filthy object? You can go ahead and take it!" The Giant Spirit Immortal actually understood Guang Han quite well. Despite this woman’s aloof, icy-cold, and snow-like demeanor, she was actually the most promiscuous and bottomless of the Seven Fairy Sisters.
Since things had come to this, coupled with the fact that the Ninefold Celestial Court and the Yama Underworld were currently allies, the three quickly reached a tacit understanding. They were also certain that only by joining forces could they ensure foolproof success. After all, even the Giant Spirit Immortal did not believe he would lose to a Golden Core Realm existence, but Zou Feng was a Child of Fortune. If Zou Feng went all out to escape, he admitted that it was highly likely he truly wouldn’t be able to make him stay.
However, with three Nascent Soul Cultivators gathered together, the possibility of Zou Feng slipping away became extremely low. Not to mention that Zou Feng’s fortune was obviously malfunctioning now; otherwise, the three of them wouldn’t have been able to track him down to this place.
There was no need for further words, much less formulating any tactics. The Giant Spirit Immortal continued to stride boldly toward Xuanwu Palace. It was worth mentioning that the Giant Spirit Immortal’s "Dao" consisted of a single word: Reckless! Relying on his extreme Body Refinement, he always plowed directly into his enemies during combat. No matter what myriad transformations or infinite magic the enemy employed, just recklessly charging through was always the right answer for him.
With such a brute present, both Guanghan Fairy and Blood Shadow Yama felt quite at ease. After all, an existence who voluntarily served as a meat shield, charged at the very forefront, and was genuinely powerful was pitifully rare. But naturally, the two of them wouldn’t remain idle, either. Blood Shadow Yama merged into the Giant Spirit Immortal’s shadow, while Guanghan Fairy followed behind at a leisurely pace.
Dozens of miles away, on the peak of a barren mountain, Li Chengxin wore a smile on his lips as he occasionally moved the pieces on a chessboard. Opposite him, Elder Fu Yun was leisurely sipping tea.
They hadn’t let that massive Flying Celestial Ship follow them here. Instead, they had feigned an order for their subordinates to rest on the spot before silently slipping away. Once they "rescued" Zou Feng, they could later claim that they had suddenly divined that he would be in danger, and thus rushed over with all their might to assist him. After all, two Nascent Soul Realm experts traveling at full speed would undoubtedly be faster than a Flying Celestial Ship.
Up until now, everything was under Li Chengxin’s control. It was evident that he greatly enjoyed this feeling of masterminding strategies from behind the scenes.
Unexpectedly, after moving a few more pieces, Li Chengxin’s finger accidentally bumped into an ordinary piece that hadn’t changed its form. Under normal circumstances, even with such a light touch, this ordinary piece should have immediately toppled over. However, this piece did not budge in the slightest; it was as steady as a boulder!
"HUH!?" A look of confusion appeared in Li Chengxin’s eyes, and he immediately looked down at the piece. But upon closer inspection, the piece was now in a toppled state. It was as if his inability to shake the piece just a moment ago had merely been a delusion.
He wondered if there were still hidden variables. Li Chengxin wouldn’t truly dismiss it as a delusion; on the contrary, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss.
"What’s wrong?" Fu Yun noticed the odd expression on Li Chengxin’s face.
After freezing for a long moment, Li Chengxin slowly shook his head. "It’s nothing. It shouldn’t be a big issue..."
Since things had reached this point and the "chess pieces" had already begun to move, it was too late to forcibly interrupt or change the plan. Thus, Li Chengxin could only hope that if an unforeseen event did occur, he would still be able to suppress it...
At the same time, the Giant Spirit Immortal had already arrived before the poisonous fog of Xuanwu Palace. Looking at this eerie, unknown poisonous fog, the Giant Spirit Immortal couldn’t help but sneer repeatedly. Having practiced Body Refinement up to this day, what he feared the least were such flashy, impractical tricks. To him, this mere poisonous fog was actually an invigorating tonic. Therefore, without any hesitation, the Giant Spirit Immortal took a large stride directly into the poisonous fog.
Due to the peculiar nature of the poisonous fog surrounding the outer perimeter of the Xuanwu Poison Domain, as well as the Xuanwu Palace’s own Concealment and Deception Array—which had now been fully repaired by Zhao Feixiong—the Giant Spirit Immortal felt no physical discomfort upon stepping inside, but was rendered completely unable to see. Even his Divine Sense was temporarily restricted from spreading out very far.
However, using some unknown method, Blood Shadow Yama had grasped the situation around them and advised, "It’s fine. Fellow Daoist Ju Ling, you just need to keep moving forward. Once we reach the palace ahead, the poisonous fog won’t be as thick..."
In truth, there was no need for Blood Shadow’s reminder; regardless of the circumstances, the Giant Spirit Immortal would have kept moving forward anyway. However, his temporary inability to see still made him incredibly displeased. So, he simply came to a halt, let out a cold snort, and forcefully began to inhale.
The surrounding poisonous fog was rapidly sucked into his nose and mouth, and his belly began to visibly bulge and swell. After just five breaths of time, the originally dense poisonous fog had been sucked down by the Giant Spirit Immortal until only a faint mist remained. Looking ahead, he could now clearly see the outline of the palace in front of him.
"Ju Ling, pace yourself. Aren’t you afraid of getting an upset stomach!?" Guanghan Fairy couldn’t help but warn him. After all, she had long since sensed the extraordinary nature of the poisonous fog in this place.
"An upset stomach?" The Giant Spirit Immortal patted his belly, which rapidly deflated from its swollen state. "I truly don’t know what getting an upset stomach feels like!"