Aspiring to the Immortal Path

With the appearance of the Sage Mother of the West, several more Immortal armies appeared in the sky, all of them well-ordered and under the command of True Immortals.

Seeing that the Bejeweled Star Lord had been defeated, another Immortal general came forward. “Signless has come to receive instruction.”

This man was True Lord Signless, an Immortal who had followed the Immortal Emperor into hibernation early on.

He bowed to the peacock, but just when the peacock Demon Lord was about to reply, he suddenly felt danger and threw up a barrier. A moment later, a surge of power slammed into the barrier, instantly shattering it, and then the wave washed over the peacock, who was sent flying while throwing up blood. There was even an explosion in his mind, as if something was trying to tear his Divine Soul apart.

“You!” the peacock shouted.

True Lord Signless smiled. “Demon Lord, be careful.”

As he spoke, another wave of invisible Signless Astral Energy swept out.

True Lord Signless’s Signless Astral Energy was famous for being difficult to detect, exhibiting no trace whatsoever when activated.

The peacock’s rainbow was a profound ability, but it was only suitable for dealing with treasures and useless against the Signless Astral Energy.

True Lord Signeless sent out wave after wave of Signless Astral Energy, leaving the peacock, who was powerless to counter it, in a bedraggled state.

The peacock raged, “Scoundrel, you think I’m that easy to push around!?”

He threw his head back and screeched, his rainbow plumage unfurling and giving off a radiant glow. With a single wave, the air was filled with resplendent colors, a storm of feathers.

The peacock Demon Lord had released all its feathers into the most dazzling display of color in its life, and even True Lord Signless was shocked. He instantly threw up countless barriers around himself, even his invisible energy taking form into a seven-colored glass barrier.

In this clash of colors, it was True Lord Signless who was sent flying hundreds of kilometers, his body covered in bloody holes, even his Divine Soul greatly injured. From his deathly pale complexion, it was clear that his injuries were heavy.

But the peacock was now bald and no longer able to unleash his rainbow light. As True Lord Signless came charging back into the fray, the peacock suddenly laughed and said, “This old man concedes.”

Just like that, he flew back to his ranks.

True Lord Signless was furious at having been left battered and bruised by his foe without being able to strike back, shouting, “Don’t run away!” and trying to give chase. But the Sage Mother shook her head, forcing him to give up his pursuit. The peacock had left him badly wounded, so when the demons sent out another, True Lord Signless was only able to fight for a while before conceding.

Going back and forth, they fought ten-some duels, and by the end, only the strong were left on both sides.

The demons had the Black Dragon Demon Lord, Queen Sinflower, the Blue Eyes Divine Lord, and the Scorpion Emperor, while the court had the Heavenly Scribe, the North Sea Divine Lord, the Divine Craftsman, and Meng Guangyuan.

All of these were powerful individuals with abundant vitality, able to fight for several dozen days in a row without an outcome, and they could even take turns. As a result, time went by very quickly.

Surprisingly, Nine Disaster, Wang Yao, and Yu Cheng all didn’t seem to be in much of a rush, simply watching as the Immortals battled with great gusto.

At this moment, Queen Sinflower was battling the North Sea Divine Lord. These were two peak True Immortals, and they shared the common trait of excelling in protracted battles. Queen Sinflower specialized in being unkillable, having life force as deep as the ocean such that even Gold Immortals would have a hard time killing her. As for the North Sea Divine Lord, he had deep wells of energy and specialized in recovery, even being able to absorb spiritual energy mid-battle to recover. As it was said, “In the bare and barren north there is the dark and vast ocean—the Pool of Heaven. In it there is a fish, several thousand kilometers in breadth, while no one knows its length.” And it was also said, “And moreover, on the accumulation of water;

if it be not great, it will not have strength to support a large boat. Upset a cup of water in a cavity, and a straw will float on it as if it were a boat. Place a cup in it, and it will stick fast;

the water is shallow and the boat is large.” This was whence the North Sea Divine Lord derived his name. The North Sea Divine Art he had created allowed him to absorb spiritual energy and expel it as Immortal power. Those who came after and tried to imitate its power could only use one ten-thousandth of the original’s, but this was still enough to dominate their peers, such was its strength.

(TN: The author has chosen to quote the “Zhuangzi”, specifically lines from the first chapter “Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease”. I have chosen to use the translations from James Legge, with some modifications, which can be found on ctext.org.)

When these two got to fighting, they could truly go for a thousand days without a problem.

Seeing this, Tang Jie slightly frowned.

Xu Miaoran came over and said, “They’re buying time.”

“Which side?” Yiyi asked.

“Both sides,” Tang Jie replied.

Thanks to the Court of Myriad Domains fighting the demons, the cultivators of the Rosecloud Domain had safely retreated back to the domain, but rather than leaving, it continued to orbit around the Gigantes Domain. Because of its size, it appeared like a moon, though much larger and closer than would be expected.

It was so close that the spiritual energy emitted from its pagoda could affect the Gigantes Domain’s Astral Wind region, so from the perspective of a domain, it was only a few steps away. It was precisely because they were so close that the pagoda could maximize the amount of information received from the Gigantes Domain and ensure that the Eight Ocean Mountains could continue converting demonic energy for the cultivation needs of the Rosecloud Domain.

It was clear that Tang Jie had not truly given up on the Gigantes Domain.

He really was choosing to spectate the fight between tigers.

But it seemed like neither the Court of Myriad Domains nor the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk cared. Perhaps the only one that did was Wang Yao, who kept looking through the sky at the Rosecloud Domain with a complex mixture of emotions in his eyes, as if he wanted it to both leave and stay.

Perhaps only Tang Jie could understand these contradictory feelings.

For as long as the court and the demons fought, Tang Jie watched.

The cultivators of the Rosecloud Domain were all ready to leave, but the order to leave never came. The clouds of war continued to hang overhead, growing thicker and thicker as if to signify that a new war was on the horizon.

Yiyi was intrigued by Tang Jie’s words. “‘Both sides’? They’re both buying time? For what?”

“They naturally have their goals.” Tang Jie gazed into the distance, looking past the Gigantes Domain to the Court of Myriad Domains.

After drawing close to the Gigantes Domain, it had stopped, though its position was somewhat closer to the surface than the Rosecloud Domain. Even so, the numerous Immortals of the court did not take action, apparently thinking that the forces already dispatched were enough to resolve everything.

Tang Jie clearly didn’t think so. As he carefully examined the Court of Myriad Domains, he suddenly said, “It’s moving.”

“Oh?” Xu Miaoran and Yiyi looked at him.

“The Court of Myriad Domains? No, hasn’t it been sitting there the entire time?” Yiyi said.

Tang Jie shook his head. “No, it’s moving, just very slowly, so slowly that you can barely tell. But this battle has been going on for 32 days, and 32 days ago, the Court of Myriad Domains was over there…”

Tang Jie pointed at a distant mountain.

This mountain had been ruined by the battles of Immortals.

32 days ago, the Court of Myriad Domains had been parked over this mountain, but it was now a long distance away. If Tang Jie hadn’t been such a meticulous and sharp-eyed person, he would have missed this detail, which was firm proof that the court was moving.

It was simply at an imperceptible speed.

This was an easy task. Movement on the scale of domains could be incredibly fast and still indistinguishable to ordinary people. Tang Jie also wouldn’t have noticed unless he had the terrain as a reference.

“I see! But what are they doing?”

“I’m not sure.” Tang Jie shook his head. “But I think I know how much longer they’re trying to stall. It should be around 65 more days.”

“’65 days’?” Xu Miaoran was taken aback, and then she fell into deep thought. Tang Jie didn’t give her any hints, simply quietly observing her.

After a while, her eyes lit up. “I understand. You estimated according to the speed of the court. Based on the court’s speed, it will take another 65 days before they complete an orbit of the Gigantes Domain and come back to their original position.”

Xu Miaoran then said in realization, “They’re looking for something!”

Tang Jie gazed appreciatively at his wife. “Correct. They should be looking for something. I think that the reason that Nine Disaster is constantly attacking the Gigantes Domain is the same reason Yu Cheng has come here, and perhaps even the reason the Gigantes Domain is being protected and not annihilated by the Heavenly Dao.”

“Protecting Gigantes from the annihilation of the Heavenly Dao! That should be some extremely powerful force, right?” A tinge of confusion appeared in Xu Miaoran’s eyes.

“I think… it should be,” Tang Jie muttered.

“But how do they know that this power exists here?” Yiyi asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Jie answered, “The Martial Lord.”

“‘The Martial Lord’?” Xu Miaoran and Yiyi said in unison.

Tang Jie shook his head. “I don’t know the exact details. But I do know that the Martial Lord coming here before his death was no coincidence. And when he was banished to the Primordial Fog, it wasn’t without reason that he suddenly grew stronger. All of it is probably connected to this place. Perhaps… the answer to everything might be found here.”

Xu Miaoran’s eyes were glowing. “In other words, if we just wait until the Court of Myriad Domains finds its objective, the secret of the Gigantes Domain will be revealed? Husband, is that why we’re still here?”

Tang Jie sighed. “Yes, but not entirely. The other reason… is Bao’er.”

Looking down at Wang Yao, Tang Jie said, “We can’t leave this matter unresolved.”

Xu Miaoran chuckled. “Didn’t you say you were letting him have his revenge on Rosecloud? So how do you plan to resolve it?”

“Yes, I’m letting him have his revenge, but only his subordinates will be coming. Neither he nor I will take part. Thus, in order to ensure Rosecloud’s survival, I will have to rely on you, my wife.”

“How exactly am I supposed to deal with so many demons?” Xu Miaoran asked.

Tang Jie gave a toothy smile. “Just kill them all.”