A Stirring of the Heart

The young man with black hair walked over on his own. He was dressed in a blue robe, and his long, ink-black hair shone with a crystalline light. He was quite handsome, with an air of confidence amidst his refined demeanor.

However, his casual gesture of waving his hand at the several Limit Breakers from the Pingtian Academy and letting them disperse directly angered Hong Teng.

"Who is this? Is this daffodil that has come to life? What are you pretending to be? Do you really think you can change the course of history with a wave of your sleeve? Go back to your own star system."

He was a man of action. He didn't like the Man in Green, so he took action immediately, kicking him diagonally and stepping towards him in mid-air.

Yan Que quickly followed. He knew how formidable the man opposite him was. This was his business, and he couldn't let Hong Teng stand up for him and fight him to the death.

As expected, the black-haired man was no ordinary person. He still walked with a smile, arriving through the air at an extraordinary speed, with the power of time surrounding his body.

He pointed at Hong Teng, and the vegetation around him outside the mountain gate grew wildly, then aged, withered, and died. In an instant, it was as if countless years had passed, and the delicate flower buds lost their beauty in the blink of an eye, turning into ashes.

Yan Que rushed out with Hong Teng, placing her left hand on Hong Teng's shoulder and pulling him backward, using the momentum to propel herself forward.

This scene made Wang Xuan think that Sparrow was alright; he didn't have a good impression of him when they first met.

The Yan Que's right hand affected the stability of space. With one hand forming a seal, grains of sand, like Small World, were sent out from his right hand.

Later, the void roared, and each grain of sand, though small, was materialized by Yan Que, like one after another grotto being created, born, and destroyed.

The sand, flowing with a strange power, blocked the erosion of time. Yan Que's right hand shot out, colliding with the opponent's fingers that flowed with the power of time.

Silently, without any major explosion, a mysterious white mist rose up, and terrifying patterns intertwined violently.

Finally, between the two, grains of sand, one after another, filled the years, returning to tranquility, while the emptiness, in its silence, seemed to be missing a large piece, taking a long time to heal.

There is no doubt that the seemingly simple confrontation was actually extremely dangerous, containing unpredictable power of rules. If it were to fully erupt, its destructive power would be enormous.

Even Wang Xuan was staring at them, his eyes reflecting the patterns as he studied and pondered them. The origins and lineages of these two were definitely astonishing.

"Not bad, Sparrow. All these years you've been wandering alone, forging your own path and living your own life. The most useless and pitiful worm in the family, the weak and powerless Sparrow, has actually made some progress. You can hold your head high and go home now."

The black-haired man looked at Yan Que with a strange expression and said this, scrutinizing him.

He had just mentioned the name of a tribe, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a large amount of crystalline sand flowed from Yan Que's fingertips, resonating with the void and creating a booming sound that erased the name of that tribe, as if not wanting him to say it aloud.

"Nian Mo, shut up. If you want to fight, then do it now. If you want to reminisce... get out of here!" Yan Que said with a stern face. She clearly knew this man, but they didn't get along.

The black-haired youth named Nian Mo had an outstanding temperament and a strong aura of immortality. He smiled and said, "Alright, much more assertive than before."

"They're an eyesore, just kill them!" Hong Teng, with his dark complexion and strong physique, stepped forward again. He was always a man of action and was about to make a move again.

"You black thief, shut up and show some respect!" Behind Nian Mo, a man bathed in the Sun Fire Essence walked over.

There was quite a distance between them, and the void here had been burned and collapsed. His long golden hair was very bright. This person was extremely strong. He stepped forward on behalf of Nian Mo and reprimanded Hong Teng.

"Yellow Hair!"

Hong Teng was indeed stubborn and explosive. Back then, not only did the divine ape Qi Sheng get slapped on the back of the head, but it was also rumored that even the dean's ninth-generation descendant was slapped twice by him for glancing at him and saying that his skin was dark.

Now, he naturally couldn't stand it, and with a whoosh, he rushed over. He was the complete opposite of his opponent, and his whole body blazed with Dark Light as he punched through the void.

He seemed to stand in the midst of a black, blazing sun, with black flames surging around him.

"Beneath the Nine Netherworlds, Black Fire Nether Raven, I never imagined that such a strange creature as you still exists in this era. I thought you were all extinct," the Blond Man said, showing no fear whatsoever.

With a loud thud, the two, both radiating Immortal Fire, collided directly, without any fancy feints or empty moves.

The Sun Fire Essence was vast and intense, with countless golden rays surging forth, carrying endless golden flames that engulfed Hong Teng.

But Hong Teng didn't care much. Every pore on his body opened up from head to toe. He stood in the black sun, and behind him appeared a terrifying black demonic bird, huge and boundless. It opened its eyes, cold and ruthless. The moment the ferocious bird opened its mouth, it devoured the Sun Fire Essence.

"Are you blind? Do you think I'm a bird? I just found a crow egg from the Netherworld to practice my skills. And you coward, come here!"

Hong Teng was truly both foul and stubborn, with a fierce and menacing appearance. Behind him, a huge black demonic bird merged with him, squeezing into the void of heaven and earth.

The fluctuations were incredibly astonishing, like the starry sky breathing, like the ocean rising and falling. The black flames transformed into waves, backfiring on the Sun Fire Essence and the Blond Man.

In an instant, the two flew at high speed, colliding repeatedly. One devoured the fire essence, while the other unleashed boundless Immortal Fire.

In their fierce clash, the Immortal Fire burned, melting the sky and destroying the earth. Outside this celestial mountain, large areas of land and peaks melted away, revealing a scene of hell opening up and lava flowing like a sea.

Bang!

Hong Teng staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he laughed loudly. Behind him, the enormous black demonic bird materialized, appearing in reality, reaching the sky and becoming even more imposing. Its beak opened, swallowing a dazzling golden sun!

His laughter was flamboyant and arrogant, and his body contained a golden glow within its Dark Light, while the flames within it were changing.

In the distance, the Blond Man staggered backward, his chest torn open, sixty percent of his heart missing, as the Immortal Fire of the sun raged and assaulted him.

"Thanks! Your Immortal Fire Source foundation is decent enough; it can support me to go a little further." Hong Teng grinned heartily, his face becoming increasingly fierce.

He charged straight at the Blond Man opposite him, ready to tear him to pieces.

The man stepped back, and then the people behind Nian Mo pressed forward, facing the murderous Hong Teng.

At the same time, An Hong, Cheng Tian, Cai Wei, and others stepped forward together, united against the common enemy, showing great solidarity.

The black-haired youth's gaze turned slightly cold as he said, "That's a bit much. I don't want to make things difficult for you, but your people have taken away most of the essence of my people, which puts me in a difficult position."

"What's so difficult about it? Let's have a fight." Sand flowed from Yan Que's fingertips as he prepared to strike. Hong Teng was fighting for him, and he himself was even less likely to back down.

"Hehe, count me in, Sparrow. I've missed you all very much. I'll bring someone along to get closer to you and have a friendly spar."

The woman, whose features were as beautiful as a painting, finally spoke. She smiled at Yan Que, revealing her teeth. Her long silver hair shone with a brilliant luster. She was extremely beautiful, and her delicate, fair face was exceptionally radiant.

She was planning to join forces with the black-haired man, Nian Mo, to target Yan Que and his group.

"Liuguang, it's been so many years. It seems you've been practicing dual cultivation techniques. You've mastered the sacred art and come out of seclusion to show off your beauty?" Yan Que said without any politeness, directly pointing out the name of the technique she had mastered. For a woman, this was not a good reputation.

The Silver-haired Woman named Liuguang was not angry. She had a high level of cultivation and said, "Oh, how heartless. I still remember the scene when the pure little sparrow gave me that Heavenly Tribulation Grass. To this day, I still plant that wonder in my medicine garden, where it grows bathed in lightning and fire."

She smiled and said, "Back then, I refused because I was looking out for you. You were too naive. Look, with the tempering of time, hasn't the weak little sparrow grown stronger? A few years ago, you quietly killed two of my capable henchmen. You deserved it."

From some of the words spoken by Liu Guang and the black-haired youth Nian Mo, it's not hard to guess that Yan Que's situation wasn't good in the past; he was completely controlled by others.

Yan Que himself once said that he had no talent or natural talent, and even his appearance was very ordinary. He was weak-willed from childhood and was not well received at home. In the end, he traveled alone and wandered far away.

"What a show-off! Who are you trying to impress here?" Qi Miao said, her entire body covered in mechanical armor, exuding a cold and aloof beauty. She glanced at Yan Que and said, "Men are all the same. They'd be moved by this kind of seductive woman who practices dual cultivation? Even if she's the most beautiful woman in the world, so what? What kind of taste do you all have!"

A red lotus mark between her brows glowed, exuding a cold and aloof beauty. Her disdainful demeanor made Yan Que somewhat embarrassed, and the others were also criticized as a result.

"I was young and ignorant back then," Yan Que sighed.

Liu Guang wasn't angry. He looked at Qi Miao and said, "You spout off about sacred techniques. You're slandering my innocence. Unforgivable. A red lotus between your brows, a reincarnated great power? How about I teach you to practice the sacred techniques later, and we can comprehend them together?"

Then she looked at Nian Mo and asked him if he wanted to expel the unrelated people first and join forces to enter the immortal mountain.

"You, me, and Sparrow are all old acquaintances. It's not good for us to get involved ourselves and tear things apart. If word gets back to the industry, it won't look good," Nian Mo said.

He looked at Yan Que and said, "We won't use our power to bully you or rely on our numbers to gang up on you. How about this, you send three people to finish this quickly."

Although he was calm, he was actually cold-blooded. His people's essence had been taken away, so he naturally had to take drastic measures to demand an explanation.

In all three matches, he planned to have powerful figures participate, or at the very least, to tear apart the opponent's foundation. As for Yan Que himself, he couldn't make a move in public.

"Narcissus, you come here right now, I'll beat you to death this time!" Hong Teng was indeed the wildest and fiercest, and was the first to lose his temper and couldn't stand his arrogant attitude.

Nian Mo's face immediately darkened. He held a high position and had been repeatedly provoked by that dark-skinned boy, but he couldn't personally intervene. So he directly appointed someone and said, "Ming Dao, go and take him down!"

A man stepped out, dressed in a black robe, his immortal power concealed. He was like a black hole, seemingly capable of devouring all laws.

"Don't go over there," Qi Miao said, stopping Hong Teng. "He is as deep as an abyss, and he possesses a top-tier treasure that is suitable for me to take action against."

Her pair of metallic wings unfurled gracefully and swiftly as she swooped down towards the man in black robes.

The spot where the man in black robes stood instantly turned into a black hole, and a black bottle appeared, taking his place and hanging there, devouring everything.

Firelight, rules, spacetime, and so on all seemed to be objects it devoured, which was quite terrifying, like the prototype of a "Dao Bottle".

In an instant, Qi Miao swooped down and arrived. A crimson lotus flower flew out from between her eyebrows and disappeared into the black hole, taking the black bottle into the lotus flower.

The petals closed instantly, and countless strands of crimson light tore through the black hole. With a thud, the black-robed man, his mouth full of blood and his body riddled with cracks, reappeared, only to fall backward to the ground, his primordial spirit light rapidly extinguishing.

With a crack, a crisp sound came from inside the red lotus, and the black bottle seemed to have shattered. The lotus shone brightly, directly extracting the regular patterns of the Treasure Vase. The moment the petals opened, black fragments fell down in a flurry.

The red mark returned to Qi Miao's brow, and she retreated.

The man on the ground died, his primordial spirit collapsed, and the strange treasure that he wanted to cultivate into the "Dao Bottle" was related to his life, and the core of his primordial spirit was actually stored inside it.

This scene moved everyone. Nian Mo, Liu Guang, and the others were all looking at the crimson lotus mark between Qi Miao's eyebrows.

"Anyone who obstructs me from entering the mountains to seek opportunities is like a murderer of my parents." The bankrupt An Hong stepped forward. He was highly skilled in Daoism, holding a silver spear, and walked forward.

"These are all cultivators who have broken through their limits after years of cultivation. If they fight like this, the death of any one of them would be a loss. When powerful figures clash, there's no time to even offer help. Are there any newly ascended immortals who could help resolve the situation if something happens to them?"

With a graceful and slender figure, flowing silver hair, and a flawless face, Liu Guang suggested that the newcomers compete against each other.

Beside her, a woman stepped forward. She had long, dark green hair, a beautiful face, and a peaceful and serene demeanor. She said, "Newcomer, Ascension to Immortality for less than three years."

"An Hong, go ahead, what are you looking at me for?" Wang Xuan, who was originally standing at the back, noticed that An Hong, Cheng Tian, Cai Wei and others were all looking at him.

"She says it takes three years to become an immortal? It could take three hundred years!" Wang Xuan said.

"I swear to the Great Dao that I have been an immortal for less than three years, and I am not even three hundred years old yet." The woman with long, dark green hair, surrounded by an ethereal aura, walked over gracefully.

"She must have some extraordinary abilities to stand up like this, but you've broken through your limits three times. It wouldn't make sense for you not to show your fangs now," Cai Wei said.

Nian Mo said, "Hurry up, someone is approaching. This immortal mountain is not simple. It may contain a mysterious inheritance that allows people to begin walking the path of Dao-imperialized at the True Immortal realm. In the past, some of our acquaintances have obtained such a supreme secret manual."

Both he and Liuguang had confidence in this woman, knowing her true origins; she was far stronger than some True Immortals who had broken through their limits twice and for many years.

"There really is a lineage in this world that allows someone at the level of Ascension to Immortality to embark on the path of Dao-imperialized Transformation?" Wang Xuan's heart pounded with excitement.

Yan Que, who knew many secrets, said, "It's just the initial stage of allowing the body to develop some 'Heavenly Principle' to embark on the journey. It's still a long way from true Dao-imperialized to immortality. However, if one can start accumulating these during the Ascension to Immortality stage, one will naturally be far superior to one's peers. The path to immortality may be within reach in the future, and it's not as far-fetched as one might think!"

"Then what are we waiting for? That woman, come on! Let's settle this with one move!" Wang Xuan said, then quickly added, "I, Qin Cheng, have been an immortal for less than fifteen days!"