Golden-Winged Great Peng

Dao Xuan was worried about Gourd Baby's injuries and had no mind to linger.

The Five Spirit Qilin understood its master's intentions. Its four hooves stepped upon auspicious clouds, turning into a streak of five-colored light as it sped toward the direction in which Gourd Baby and Six-Eared Macaque had been sent.

His divine sense had already spread out like a tide, locking onto the valley ten thousand miles away.

He arrived in moments.

Descending from the clouds, he landed within the valley.

Yet the sight before him made Dao Xuan pause slightly.

The image he had expected—Gourd Baby looking aggrieved while Six-Eared Macaque anxiously stood guard—did not appear.

Instead, treasure light flashed through the air above the valley, accompanied by rolling explosions!

Gourd Baby stood atop the Seven-Colored Gourd, his little face taut and his large eyes full of focus—with a hint of puffed-up indignation—as he fought a Golden-Winged Great Peng to a standstill!

The great peng had a wingspan of dozens of zhang, its entire body covered in dazzling golden feathers as though forged from gold. It was extraordinarily majestic, and its aura was unmistakably that of a mid-stage Golden Immortal!

Its twin claws were sharp as hooks. Every lunge tore through the air and produced piercing sonic booms!

Even more eye-catching was the ancient earthen jar clutched in its claws.

The jar appeared crude and simple, yet it emitted an unfathomable Dao aura. Yin and yang energies flowed endlessly from its mouth, sometimes transforming into millstones that ground through the void, sometimes into sharp swords that pierced and sliced. Its power was astonishing!

Though Gourd Baby had the High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Seven-Colored Gourd, protecting him, its seven-colored treasure light hazy and unmatched in defense, blocking every attack from the yin and yang energies.

He was, however, still young, and severely lacking in combat experience.

His offensive methods were even more limited. Either he urged the gourd to fire seven-colored rays at the great peng, or he swung his tiny fists and punched through the air with fierce babyish rage.

The attacks were not weak, but the Golden-Winged Great Peng always evaded them with its extreme speed and agile movement technique, or cleverly neutralized them with its yin and yang energies.

For a time, golden light interwove with multicolored radiance, while yin and yang energies collided with seven-colored treasure light. Explosions rang out without cease. They were evenly matched, and neither could do anything to the other.

Meanwhile, Six-Eared Macaque anxiously scratched at its ears down on the ground, leaping up and down.

It was merely an Earth Immortal. In a battle between Golden Immortals, even the scattered aftershocks made it tremble with fear. It could not intervene at all.

All it could do was howl at the top of its lungs:

"Young Master, watch your left!"

"Ah! That bird's jar is spewing black smoke again!"

"Quick! Smash it with the gourd!"

All six of its ears stood straight up like antennae. It desperately wished it could rush forward and take the blows for its young master.

Dao Xuan quietly landed beside Six-Eared Macaque, but it did not notice him at all and continued jumping about in panic.

"Six-Eared." Dao Xuan spoke calmly.

"Ah?!" Six-Eared Macaque jolted in fright and spun around. Seeing Dao Xuan, it was instantly overjoyed, as though it had seen its savior. With a thud, it dropped to its knees.

"Immortal! You've finally come! Please save Young Master!"

"Get up and explain. What happened?" Dao Xuan's gaze remained fixed on the two fighting in the sky, his brow slightly furrowed.

Six-Eared Macaque hurriedly scrambled to its feet. It spoke rapidly, sounding both embarrassed and aggrieved.

"Reporting to you, Immortal! Just now, you used your great divine ability to send us out of the formation and tear open a spatial rift..."

"This little one... this little one's cultivation was too low, so I couldn't control my body..."

"And... and the landing spot... was... just a tiny bit off..."

It scratched its head, all six ears drooping lower and lower as its voice faded.

"This little one's butt... happened to land... right on that great peng's... face..."

Dao Xuan: "..."

Even with his clear Dao heart, the corner of his mouth could not help twitching slightly.

Just imagine that scene...

A golden-haired monkey fell from the sky, landing with perfect precision on an arrogant Golden-Winged Great Peng's noble face with its backside...

That was no mere offense. It was simply an unbearable humiliation!

Six-Eared Macaque continued with a mournful expression.

"That great peng was... uh... perhaps grooming its feathers? Or contemplating bird life?"

"When this little one sat on it... its feathers immediately stood on end! Every single plume flared up!"

"It felt it had suffered the greatest humiliation and flew into a rage, wanting to tear this little one apart to vent its anger!"

"Young Master is kind-hearted. How could he stand by and do nothing? He immediately stood in front of this little one and reasoned with that feathered beast..."

"But that bird was utterly unreasonable. Relying on its high cultivation and that strange jar, it attacked outright!"

"Young Master only began fighting it to protect this little one! They've been fighting for quite some time already!"

After pouring everything out like beans from a bamboo tube, Six-Eared Macaque looked at Dao Xuan expectantly, its eyes full of lingering fear and guilt.

After hearing the explanation, Dao Xuan could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

What sort of situation was this?

A bloody battle caused by an error in a "butt landing point"?

He looked at the majestic Golden-Winged Great Peng in the sky, its feathers radiant and its claws gripping the yin-yang earthen jar, and a strange glint flashed through his eyes.

This great peng's bloodline was incomparably pure, and its aura incomparably noble. It was far beyond those mixed-blood great pengs he had encountered before!

Especially the ancient earthen jar in its claws. As yin and yang energies circulated within it, its Dao aura was naturally formed and perfectly integrated, faintly possessing the tendency to evolve chaos!

It was certainly no ordinary object!

Dao Xuan's heart stirred. He silently activated Xuanmen's art of deduction and began calculating on his fingers.

Though the heavenly secrets had become obscure with the coming calamity, when he considered this great peng's appearance, aura, and especially its yin and yang energies, which shared the same origin...

A name instantly surfaced in his mind!

One of Phoenix's two sons! The first and purest Golden-Winged Great Peng in heaven and earth!

Its elder brother, Kong Xuan, had shaken the Primordial World with his Five-Colored Divine Light and was said to be able to brush away anything beneath a Saint!

Though this one was less renowned, its accompanying treasure actually contained the innate origins of yin and yang!

So it was him... Dao Xuan understood.

Looking at the earthen jar and then thinking of Kong Xuan's Five-Colored Divine Light, thoughts raced through Dao Xuan's mind.

This great peng possessed extraordinary bloodline talent, and its accompanying treasure held limitless potential. It simply seemed not to have fully refined or mastered it yet. Its combat was also immature; despite possessing mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivation, it could not even defeat Gourd Baby, who was equally lacking in battle experience.

If properly taught and shown the Great Dao, its future achievements might not necessarily fall below those of its elder brother, Kong Xuan!

The thought of picking up a bargain arose in Dao Xuan's heart.

At that moment, the battle in the sky was reaching its peak.

After fighting for so long without victory and being held up by a mere infant, the Golden-Winged Great Peng felt it had lost all face and grew increasingly agitated.

It let out a shrill cry and poured all its power into the earthen jar in its claws!

"Yin and yang revolve, grind heaven and earth to dust!"

Buzz!

The yin and yang energies at the mouth of the earthen jar spun madly, transforming into the phantom of an enormous black-and-white millstone. Carrying a terrifying Dao aura that could grind away all things, it descended toward Gourd Baby's head!

Its might was several times greater than before!

Gourd Baby's little face turned pale. Feeling the immense pressure, he hurriedly activated the Seven-Colored Gourd.

Seven-colored treasure light surged forth, forming a solid shield around his body!

Boom!

The black-and-white millstone smashed viciously into the seven-colored barrier!

The barrier shuddered violently, its seven-colored radiance flickering erratically!

Gourd Baby's blood and qi churned from the impact. His little face became even paler, and even the Seven-Colored Gourd beneath his feet swayed.

Though he had blocked it, he was clearly struggling.

"Young Master!" Six-Eared Macaque cried out in alarm.

The savagery in the Golden-Winged Great Peng's eyes intensified as it prepared to activate the earthen jar once more.

"Enough."

A calm voice containing supreme authority exploded directly within the depths of its primordial spirit like Nine Heavens' Thunderclap!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng's feathers instantly stood on end! An immense terror originating from the depths of its bloodline made its movements freeze abruptly!

It looked down in horror.

A Daoist had appeared in the valley at some unknown time.

He wore a Blue Gauze Headband, his face as smooth as Mutton Fat Jade. His eyes were bright, his brows clear, and his bearing elegant. He carried the air of a true Xuanmen master.

He simply stood there quietly, his aura as profound as the sea, as though he had fused with heaven and earth itself.

Though he emitted no pressure whatsoever, the Golden-Winged Great Peng felt a suffocating sense of oppression!

It was as though it stood before an insurmountable Primordial Divine Mountain!

Dao Xuan looked at it with deep, unfathomable eyes.

"Phoenix's son, possessed of a pure bloodline, yet you bully the weak and indulge in vicious violence here. Do you not disgrace your parents' great names?"

With his origins exposed, the Golden-Winged Great Peng was even more shocked. Yet its pride would not allow it to bow its head, and it shrieked, "Who are you to meddle in my affairs? This monkey insulted me first. This is a private grudge!"

"A private grudge?" Dao Xuan smiled faintly. "I am Dao Xuan of Xuanmen. This child is my disciple, and this monkey is my attendant. If you wish to harm them, then you make an enemy of me."

"Dao Xuan?!" The Golden-Winged Great Peng's pupils contracted sharply!

Though it had long dwelled near the Undying Volcano in the southern heavens, it had still heard this name!

The First Disciple of Xuanmen! The direct disciple of the Supreme Pure Dao Venerable! The one who had survived a battle against the ancestral witches!

Its heart was instantly filled with overwhelming terror!

Yet the pride of Phoenix's son made it force itself not to flee at once.

"Hmph! So what if you're Xuanmen's First Disciple? I..."

It had not even finished its threat.

Dao Xuan had already lost interest in listening.

"Stubbornly unrepentant."

He did not use any Dharma treasure. He merely raised his right hand and made a gentle grasp through the air toward the defiant Golden-Winged Great Peng!

The movement was unhurried and utterly effortless.

Yet!

The instant he raised his hand!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng felt the space around its body instantly freeze solid!

It was as though it had fallen into the thickest amber!

Its vaunted extreme speed could not even move a single feather!

Those sharp claws capable of ripping space apart had become as heavy as mountains!

The yin-yang earthen jar in its claws, whose power seemed boundless, instantly dimmed. The yin and yang energies were firmly suppressed by an invisible force and retreated back into the jar!

A vast, incomprehensible power that could not be resisted descended upon it as though heaven and earth themselves had overturned!

"Screech—!" The Golden-Winged Great Peng let out a terrified, despairing cry!

It struggled desperately, burning its bloodline as golden light flared wildly!

But before that power, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree—utterly futile!

The phantom of Dao Xuan's palm expanded infinitely in its vision!

The next instant!

Heaven and earth spun!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng's vision went dark, and its enormous body rapidly shrank beyond its control!

The golden light receded, and its feathers drew inward.

In no more than the blink of an eye.

The majestic Golden-Winged Great Peng with its wingspan of dozens of zhang had turned into a tiny peng bird no larger than a palm. Its feathers remained golden, but its eyes were filled with terror and confusion!

Dao Xuan drew it over through the air and lightly pinched it between two fingers.

As easily as picking up a real... little bird.

"Master!" Seeing Dao Xuan effortlessly capture the formidable enemy, Gourd Baby cheered and flew down on the Seven-Colored Gourd, his little face full of worship.

"Immortal, your divine abilities are vast!" Six-Eared Macaque was so excited that it threw itself flat on the ground in prostration.

Dao Xuan looked at the little Golden Peng between his fingers. It was still struggling, yet could not stir even the faintest breeze. He sensed the pure, vast Phoenix bloodline within it, as well as the yin-yang earthen jar in its claws, which still emitted a subtle Dao aura.

He was satisfied.

Though this journey had taken some twists and turns, the gains had been plentiful.

He had obtained the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin.

And now he had picked up a Phoenix offspring with limitless potential.

"Let's go."

Dao Xuan casually stuffed the still-dazed little Golden Peng into the sleeve of his wide robe.

The movement was smooth and natural, as though he were merely putting away some small trinket.

Little Golden Peng: "???"

Gourd Baby curiously leaned over, tugging at Dao Xuan's sleeve as he peered inside.

Six-Eared Macaque stretched out its neck as well.

Dao Xuan lightly patted the qilin's neck.

The Five Spirit Qilin gave a low roar and rose upon the clouds.

The Seven-Colored Gourd carried Gourd Baby and Six-Eared Macaque as it followed close behind.

Three streaks of light set off once more, leisurely flying toward the horizon.

Only, this party...

A master riding a qilin.

A "son" seated on a Seven-Colored Gourd.

A Six-Eared Macaque leading the horse and holding the stirrup.

And tucked inside a sleeve... a little Golden-Winged Peng questioning its bird life.

The more one looked at this combination, the more it seemed to possess a strangely harmonious quality... one that was becoming increasingly bizarre.

Dao Xuan sat upright upon the qilin's back, feeling the little Golden Peng's futile flapping within his sleeve. The corners of his lips rose slightly.

Traveling through the Primordial World truly brought surprises everywhere.