Chapter 22

No one dared violate a saint's majesty.

Yet everyone privately pondered the matter.

The Jie Sect was in internal strife. Tai Cang was now part of the Cang Gate, and his attitude was of crucial importance.

More importantly, this involved the three teachings. Tai Cang's blatant targeting of the Jie Sect direct disciples was not merely revenge; it was more like a silent affront to Saint Tongtian.

"Hmph!"

From the seat of honor, Tongtian snorted coldly, a trace of regret flashing through his eyes.

The moment Tai Cang made his move, Tongtian understood that his target was every Jie Sect direct disciple. This was not only revenge for Duobao and the others' schemes back then, but also a silent affront to Tongtian himself.

If I had accepted him as a direct disciple back then...

The thought flashed through his mind, and bitterness welled up in Tongtian's heart.

Had he known things would turn out this way, he would never have chosen Duobao while neglecting Tai Cang. Unfortunately, it was too late now. There was no room left to turn things around.

"Someone, take him away to recover."

Suppressing his emotions, Tongtian issued the order in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Several Jie Sect disciples close to the man hurried forward, lifted his unconscious body, and left in haste, not daring to linger for even a moment.

"Look! Tai Cang has set his sights on another Jie Sect direct disciple!"

A sudden shout rang out.

The gazes of the gathered gods sharpened as they focused once more on the mirror showing Tai Cang.

Almost there...

Within the bushes, Tai Cang moved as swiftly as the wind. Sensing the aura ahead, he quickened his pace.

A short while later, Tai Cang appeared in an area filled with jagged boulders.

The rocks here were exceptionally enormous. Each one stood ten thousand zhang tall, like rolling hills if placed in the outside world.

Amid the pile of boulders, Wudang, Jinling, and Guiling were joining forces against a lizard-like exotic beast at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. Though the beast was small, it was extraordinarily agile. Wings grew from its back, granting it superiority in the air, and it occasionally spewed flames, ice spikes, lightning, and poisonous mist. Even with the three of them working together, they found it difficult to subdue it.

Rumble—

Rumble—

Thunder roared without end as the three women continuously unleashed Upper Clarity Divine Thunder at the beast. Yet the divine lightning could not penetrate its defenses. Though they appeared to hold the upper hand, danger lurked everywhere. Even more worrying, such an intense battle could easily draw other exotic beasts. If they were surrounded then, elimination would be unavoidable.

Senior Sister Wudang, what should we do now?

Unable to break through the beast's defenses after so long, Jinling and Guiling gradually began to panic. When they looked toward Wudang, thoughts of retreat had already arisen. They had assumed the three of them could handle a Grand Unity Golden Immortal-level beast together, only to learn after fighting it that they had been far too naive. The beast's hide was thick and tough. Without a high-grade spiritual treasure, they simply could not break its defenses. Even a divine ability like Upper Clarity Divine Thunder could do nothing to it.

Retreat!

Wudang frowned tightly. "This beast is far stronger than we expected. We are no match for it."

"Our earlier judgment was wrong. It seems we can only deal with Golden Immortal-level beasts."

Hearing this, Jinling and Guiling breathed sighs of relief. The three quickly gathered together and simultaneously released Upper Clarity Divine Thunder to force back the beast, preparing to withdraw.

Hiss—

A sudden change occurred!

The beast flapped its wings and evaded the divine lightning, then suddenly opened its jaws and spat out three streams of venom, which became sharp arrows that shot straight at the three women.

"Watch out!"

"Move!"

Wudang and the other two women's expressions changed drastically. They knew full well how terrifying the venom was—it would corrode anything it touched, reducing even ten-thousand-zhang boulders to nothing. If they were hit, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Unfortunately, they were still half a beat too slow. The venom arrows came with such ferocity that they were not even given a chance to crush their escape jade talismans.

It was over...

This time, they truly...

In despair, the three women closed their eyes and awaited death.

Sigh—

Suddenly, a soft sigh sounded.

In that instant, three streams of sword qi tore through the air and struck the three women before the venom arrows could hit them.

Amid cries of pain, the three women, drenched in blood, fell to the ground. The sword qi had saved their lives, but it had also severely injured them.

Almost at the same time, the venom arrows landed in a forest several hundred zhang away.

In an instant, the grass and trees melted away at a visible speed. Amid rising white smoke, many exotic beasts were caught in the blast and turned into stark white skeletons in moments.

Hiss—

Seeing this, the three women sucked in cold breaths, fear lingering in their hearts. Life and death had truly been separated by only a hair's breadth!

Still shaken, they all looked toward the forest. Who exactly was this mysterious person who had injured them yet saved them?

It worked.

Tai Cang glanced at the defeat count flickering on the mission panel, then flashed onto the battlefield. With a sweep of the Yinghuo Sword, several streams of sword qi forced back all the approaching exotic beasts.

Standing with his sword in hand, Tai Cang swept his gaze over Wudang and the other two on the ground. "You should withdraw. You may not be so fortunate next time."

"Tai Cang!"

"It was you!"

Wudang and the others looked at him with complicated expressions. Though it was true that they had been seriously injured, they understood perfectly well that had Tai Cang's strike not knocked them back, they would already have died beneath the venom arrows. The tangled emotions of gratitude and resentment left them at a loss for what to do.

Hiss—

Before the three could say more, a shrill cry from the beast sounded in the distance. The massive creature flapped its wings and flew toward Tai Cang at high speed. Several new wounds had appeared on its body, and its ferocity had erupted. Its aura was already comparable to the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.

"Danger!"

Wudang and the other two women's expressions changed sharply as they hurriedly crushed their jade talismans. Only after spatial power enveloped their bodies did they breathe a sigh of relief and shout at Tai Cang, "Run!" Though he had injured them, he had also saved their lives. They were not ungrateful people after all.

"Such a mere ant dares to act so fiercely?"

Tai Cang remained unconcerned. Looking at the charging beast, a trace of disdain flashed through his eyes. The Yinghuo Sword in his hand trembled lightly as he charged directly at the beast. In an instant, his mana surged and sword intent swept forth, becoming a ten-thousand-zhang sword light that collided violently with the beast.

Slash—

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through armor rang out. Sword qi filled the sky, cleaving the beast cleanly in two. Amid a rain of blood, its severed body crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

This...

How was that possible?!

Wudang and the other two, who had not yet departed, stared in utter shock. The vicious beast that had nearly killed them was actually no match for Tai Cang at all.

They were cultivators of the same realm, yet the gap between them was so vast.

"Junior Brother Tai Cang truly puts us to shame."

As they muttered to themselves, the three women's figures gradually blurred before they were finally teleported out of the beast realm.

Tai Cang stood in the air, holding an inner core the size of a washbasin in his palm. Gray-black spiritual energy flowed endlessly within it.

After placing the inner core into his Qiankun Bag, Tai Cang looked around. Amid the rising and falling roars of beasts, countless vicious creatures were swarming toward him. To the northeast, a White Ape as massive as a mountain was flattening the forest as it approached, casually grabbing exotic beasts along the way and stuffing them into its mouth.

Best leave quickly.

Tai Cang did not dare delay and immediately sped off in the opposite direction.

That White Ape was an expert at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.

Though he had seemingly killed the lizard beast with ease, he had actually gone all out. Had he not cultivated the Nine Revolutions Cang Skill to perfection and obtained the true teachings of the Grand Clarity Bright Jade Body and the Shangqing Sword Art, he could never have dispatched his opponent so cleanly.

Wonderful!

What an impressive Tai Cang!

On the viewing platform, the mighty experts praised him one after another.

Everything that had happened earlier had entered their sight. Tai Cang's performance of killing the beast in a single move had won the unanimous approval of the mighty experts present. That sword strike had appeared plain and unremarkable, but its subtle mysteries might have been beyond Wudang and the others. How could the mighty experts present fail to recognize them?

Being able to condense all one's mana into a single point showed that one's control over personal strength had reached the pinnacle. Though Tai Cang was merely at the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, the technique he had just used, turning himself into a sword, already possessed the power to threaten ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Tongtian, on gaining such an outstanding disciple!"

On the high platform, Jieyin and Zhunti offered their congratulations with broad smiles.

They knew that Tai Cang's strength was extraordinary, and no one under the Western Teachings could compare to him. What delighted them even more was that this outstanding member of the Jie Sect had always been at odds with the others in his sect. Zhunti even began entertaining the thought of recruiting Tai Cang into the Western Teachings afterward. After all, the Western Teachings still belonged to the Cang Gate lineage.

Sect Master Tongtian's expression darkened.

Naturally, he could hear the mockery in their words. His gaze swept over Wudang and the other three female disciples, who had already been teleported out of the secret realm, before turning toward Tai Cang, who was calmly weaving through the beast horde in the mirror. His determination to promote Tai Cang to a direct disciple only grew firmer.

Every cultivator present witnessed this scene.

The mighty experts who had been about to offer congratulations all fell silent, but their praise for Tai Cang did not cease. This was not merely out of respect for the Three Pure Ones; Tai Cang had earned their sincere recognition through his strength. If they were honest with themselves, few of the mighty experts present dared claim they could have done better than Tai Cang in the same circumstances.

Especially Old Ancestor Minghe and the other mighty experts who cultivated the sword, their gazes toward Tai Cang were filled with admiration. In the Primordial World, there had always been few who specialized in the sword path. Most cultivators still focused on conventional spells and divine abilities, paying little attention to close-combat methods such as the sword path and spear path.

"This is bad! Fellow Daoist Tai Cang is in danger!"

Di Yi's startled cry suddenly rang out.

The mighty experts' expressions changed upon hearing this. Forgetting their praise, they hurriedly looked toward the mirror, only for their pupils to contract sharply. "Grand Unity Golden Immortal!"

"How is this possible?!"

"He actually encountered a Grand Unity Golden Immortal-level exotic beast!"

As soon as those words were spoken, even the Six Saints wore grave expressions.

A Grand Unity Golden Immortal!

Tai Cang had actually encountered such a formidable enemy. This was no good omen.

Grand Unity Golden Immortal!

How could this be?!

Deep within the forest, Tai Cang frowned as he stared ahead.

There crouched an exotic beast resembling a qilin, except it had no horns on its head and a pair of wind-and-lightning wings on its back, looking majestic and imposing. Most troublesome of all, the beast had already noticed his presence. Even from dozens of miles away, Tai Cang could clearly feel its aura locking onto him.

I cannot confront it head-on!

A Grand Unity Golden Immortal is not an opponent I can defeat!

In a flash, Tai Cang made his decision and immediately changed direction to flee.

However, this action completely alerted the beast. Its four feet stepped through the air, its wind-and-lightning wings beat, and its speed far surpassed anything Tai Cang had expected.

Damn it!

Seeing the beast draw ever closer, Tai Cang's expression darkened.

An escape technique!

His weakness had now been completely exposed.

Lacking a high-level secret escape technique, he had no way to shake off the beast's pursuit. In the blink of an eye, it was about to catch him.

I have no choice but to risk it!

I must break its lock on me.

Tai Cang gritted his teeth and swung the Yinghuo Sword, unleashing continuous streams of sword qi. At the same time, his left hand formed a seal and brought down destructive Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder, attacking the beast together.

Yet all these attacks were futile.

The beast's wind-and-lightning wings moved as swiftly as lightning, easily evading the sword qi. Even stranger, the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder, which even Grand Unity Golden Immortals had to fear, was swallowed into its belly in a single gulp. Black lightning flickered across its body for a moment before it returned to normal, chasing Tai Cang with even greater excitement.

Something like this actually existed...

Tai Cang's eye twitched. His divine thunder had actually become the beast's food.

However, he had already glimpsed the beast's weakness—it was young and ignorant, and especially fond of devouring lightning.

"Then eat your fill!"

A sharp glint burst from Tai Cang's eyes as he instantly drew upon half his mana to activate Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder.

Rumble! Rumble!

Thunder shook the surrounding lands as dark clouds spread fifty thousand miles in an instant, and countless bolts of divine lightning poured down.

Sure enough, the beast was immediately drawn to the thunder filling the sky. It no longer bothered pursuing Tai Cang, instead frantically flapping its wings and devouring the lightning.

An opportunity!

Tai Cang did not hesitate. He rode his sword and used an escape technique to flee one hundred thousand miles away, landing atop an unnamed mountain. After confirming that he had escaped the lock, he collapsed onto a rock and panted. This beast realm is truly dangerous. Who would have thought that a palm-sized beast could possess Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation? Compared to that ten-thousand-zhang White Ape, this little thing is even more terrifying.

"Die!"

A cold shout suddenly rang out.