At Jade Pool, Queen Mother of the West was blasted straight back through the spatial passage, sent flying as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Grandmother!"
Ning Rong's face went pale with fright. She hurriedly ran over.
"Heavenly Gate's guardian truly lived up to his reputation."
Qu Ying gritted her teeth, inwardly admitting that she had acted too rashly.
At the top of the tower, the old man's attack had instantly frightened the daylights out of Xiang Tian, Guang Hao included.
Guang Hao gave him a thumbs-up. "Old man, you're damn impressive. Who would've thought? You said you'd hit Queen Mother of the West, and you hit her—without the slightest hesitation."
The old man rarely made a move. The last time seemed to have been when he had made a bet with Guang Hao and tricked him into staying here to guard the gate with him.
Xiang Tian's eyes, meanwhile, spun round and round. Immortal King Guang Hao only saw Xiang Tian run over to the old man and squat beside him, the two of them whispering back and forth about who knew what.
"Sir, just give me a little Divine Source. Just a tiny bit—enough for me to call someone over."
"Oh, little fellow, these old bones of mine can't withstand your torment. No Divine Source, just one rotten life."
"Next time I go to the Upper Realm, I'll bring you all the finest wine. As much as you can drink!"
"Deal!"
Sure enough, one had to play to a man's tastes. When dealing with a drunkard, wine was still the easiest weapon.
"What were you two talking about?"
Seeing Xiang Tian looking fully satisfied and beaming with springtime joy, Immortal King Guang Hao was rather puzzled.
"Nothing, nothing."
Though Xiang Tian said that, the corners of his mouth had already stretched all the way to the back of his head.
Guang Hao rolled his eyes and looked toward the horizon. "Chang Ning should be here soon."
Sure enough, before long, Immortal King Changning appeared. He smiled at the two of them, then walked over to the old man, bowed in greeting, and handed him a jug of wine.
"You're still the better one, little fellow. Unlike that little bastard Guang Hao, who spends all day fighting this old man for wine."
Guang Hao: ?
"You old man, that's too much! You're the one who stays cooped up indoors all day long. Whenever wine needs buying, haven't I always been the one running errands?"
Immortal King Guang Hao was thoroughly unconvinced, but it seemed he simply could not beat this old man.
Immortal King Changning walked to Xiang Tian's side and reached out. With a single motion, the restriction Queen Mother of the West had placed inside Xiang Tian's body was removed.
He had also been surprised that Xiang Tian had retrieved Hun Tian Tu so quickly, which was why he had rushed over the moment Immortal King Guang Hao sent him word.
But considering Xiang Tian's many methods, he did not dwell on the matter.
Looking at Xiang Tian, Immortal King Changning said, "Let's go. We're making a trip to Jade Pool."
"To Jade Pool?"
Guang Hao, standing nearby, was somewhat speechless. "That old man just slapped Qu Ying back a moment ago. That old hag is probably still fuming. Trying to negotiate with her now is probably a long shot."
"Negotiate?"
To Immortal King Guang Hao's surprise, Immortal King Changning glanced at him, and his next words nearly scared him senseless.
"Who said we were going to negotiate? I'm going to tear down their Jade Pool."
With that, he paid Xiang Tian no heed and directly grabbed him before vanishing.
Immortal King Guang Hao stood there, still too stunned to react.
Bang!
Suddenly, a wine gourd struck him on the head. The old man, drunk and muttering, said, "What are you standing around for? Hurry over and break up the fight! One is a hotheaded fool, and the other is one too. Are you really going to wait until Jade Pool gets torn down?"
Guang Hao hurried after them. The old drunkard remained sprawled on the ground, muttering, "Young Lord, this time, we'll see how you perform."
At Jade Pool, Queen Mother of the West was still regulating her breath where she sat. She knew full well just how heavy that seemingly ordinary slap from the old man had been.
It had thrown the spiritual power throughout her body into chaos, leaving her unspeakably miserable.
Just then, Immortal King Changning and Xiang Tian appeared in the sky above Jade Pool.
Seeing this, Qu Ying rose with a cold sneer. "Boy, you came back so quickly. I suppose you failed to retrieve Hun Tian Tu too?"
Immortal King Changning silently drew the sword that had accompanied him throughout his life. Its name was Jing Yin.
Xiang Tian was dumbfounded as well. He had not expected Immortal King Changning to be this uncompromising—he had brought Xiang Tian here and, without a word, was already preparing to fight.
Seeing this, Qu Ying's face darkened. "Chang Ning, what are you trying to do?"
Xiang Tian quickly grabbed Immortal King Changning and said, "Wait, wait, don't attack yet."
Then he said to Qu Ying, "I have never avoided responsibility for my unintentional offense toward Ning Rong earlier. I admit that I was rash. For this matter, I can offer an apology."
With a sweep of his hand, all the treasures he had collected over the years came pouring out in one heap.
"I can give all of these to Jade Pool as compensation for my apology."
The sight of those items made the eyelids of the Jade Pool people twitch wildly.
"Wasn't the Heavenly Gang Stone already gone? How does this kid have such a huge piece of it?!"
The rich fragrance wafting from those jade bottles made the elders of Jade Pool's Pill Hall change expression. Whoever had refined these pills was unquestionably more skilled than them!
"Fuck, those weapons are Immortal Artifacts! Damn it, how does this kid have so many Immortal Artifacts? They practically rival the contents of Jade Pool's treasure vault!"
Xiang Tian did not lack such things. To him, obtaining them was merely a matter of saying the word.
Though Qu Ying was shocked inside, her nature would not allow her to swallow this grievance no matter what. Moreover, Changning had fought her several times for this boy—how could she simply let the matter pass?
With a sweep of her sleeve, the things Xiang Tian had brought out were directly shaken into powder. Everyone felt their hearts ache; such fine treasures had been destroyed just like that.
"You little bastard, do you think Jade Pool would even look twice at this trash of yours? Let me advise you: stop dreaming. You have only one path left—to die and atone for your crimes."
Xiang Tian's face instantly darkened. This crazy hag truly was not afraid of death. Fine, she did not have to accept them—but why destroy his things?
Immortal King Changning stepped forward. "It's useless. For people like this, taking action directly is more effective."
"Immortal King Senior!"
At that moment, Ning Rong ran forward. "Immortal King Changning, although saying this will reflect terribly on us, I still want to ask you: does my grandmother's devotion to you truly not move you in the slightest?"
Immortal King Changning's gaze gradually turned cold. "I already made everything crystal clear with her long ago. And do you know what she did to me before? After all this time, she and I have long since had nothing to do with one another. Now, she is standing up for you, and I am acting for Xiang Tian. What is wrong with that?"
His words left Ning Rong speechless and drove Qu Ying even further into a frenzy.
"Fine, you want to fight? Come, then! Jade Pool will keep you company to the bitter end today!"
With that, Qu Ying formed seals with her hands, and the entire Jade Pool immortal mountain began to quake.
One beam, two beams, three beams!
A full nine beams of divine light soared into the sky as the Jade Pool Immortal Realm's killing formation fully activated.
Another blazing sun appeared in the heavens as the Immortal King Domain opened.
Qu Ying rose into the air, her eyes brimming with viciousness. "Little bastard, today, not even Chang Ning can save you."
Just as Immortal King Changning was about to step forward with his sword, Xiang Tian stopped him.
"I'll do it, Immortal King. I already apologized for what happened with Ning Rong. If they refuse to accept it, that is their business. Now, it's time for me to settle the score over that slap!"
Before you continue