One Hundred and Twenty-Five: Fine Wine Sleeps for Three Thousand—Years!

This abrupt action caused the other inner-sect elders to frown steadily. However, since the wind-fire wheels were merely refining the body and soul rather than instantly shattering them into nothingness, the elders did not intervene.

Whoosh!

As the fire entered, Jia Youke let out a miserable shriek. The flames scorched his clothes bald, yet he remained protected by the totem inscribed with the characters for "Elegant and Carefree." One could only imagine that if the token of a great sect’s leader lacked even this basic level of protection, the Great Immortal Emperor Piaoyi would have lived in vain.

Regardless of whether he had been burned, Jia Youke was terrified. As for the short-horned black horse, the moment it was touched by the flames, its eyes lit up; a surge of power erupted, parrying the fire.

Only Wu Yun treated the blue flames like flowing water, using them to wash his bald head as he remarked, "Your Samadhi True Fire is a bit weak. Look, it couldn't even burn away the hair stubble!"

The Sixth Elder looked grave, while He Youqing, gripping his immortal blade, said, "Sixth Elder, you may not know this, but this fellow possesses a precious, high-grade flame for protection, making fire-based attacks difficult to execute."

He Youqing swung his blade, first striking at Wu Yun, then striking again to slay Jia Youke.

The first strike cut Wu Yun in two, but the second was neutralized by the Fifth Elder, Jiliao Wuqing, who stated, "This token holds the secrets of that sect. To damage it carelessly would be a great tragedy!"

However, after intercepting the blow, he looked at the two halves of Wu Yun, which were still hopping about, and cast a suspicious glance at He Youqing: why had that strike failed to sever the soul?

As Wu Yun’s two halves restored themselves, He Youqing was charging his third strike, infused with spirit-shattering, soul-breaking formations and various baleful energies. Just as he was about to unleash it, a suppressed roar came from afar: "He cannot die! His soul belongs to my Yin God Sect. Whoever makes an enemy of him makes an enemy of my sect!"

Dongyin Gonggong broke through various restrictive formations and immortal talismans, shattered numerous incoming immortal arts, and finally dove into the front rank of the demon-cavalry formation, struggling violently.

The death energy of Dongyin Gonggong had reached its peak. When He Youqing’s second strike was about to hit the top of Wu Yun’s head, the Fifth Elder watched nervously; he neither wanted He Youqing to destroy the soul nor did he want Wu Yun to remain unscathed!

Ten wind-fire wheels locked the space and pinned Wu Yun down. He Youqing exerted his full cultivation as a mid-stage Profound Immortal. Facing this strike, the trapped Wu Yun even closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate.

Seeing this, Jia Youke suddenly wailed, "Whoever is willing to save us, I will offer up all the secrets of the Great Immortal Sect of Piaoyi!"

He Youqing’s spinning strike arrived in an instant. Just as the locked formation opened a gap to allow the attack to enter, *slap!* The Fourth Elder, Wuying Feng, released his signature technique. A cyan-blue gale drifted past, diverting He Youqing’s attack.

Wuying Feng then said coldly, "It is too early to shatter his flesh and capture his soul."

The Third Elder, Sanyan Shenmu, who had spoken first, nodded as well. A mottled world appeared within his eyes, enveloping Wu Yun and the wind-fire wheels. "First, trap them. Once we have subdued this expert from the Yin God Sect and resolved the crisis at the Hall of Law Enforcement, we can judge them at our leisure!"

After speaking, Shenmu glared again, and phantom shadows like tracks surged toward the struggling Dongyin Gonggong.

Dongyin Gonggong, who had held the advantage, found his movements slightly hindered by the illusions. The constant stream of death energy and wraiths was temporarily suppressed by the myriad immortal artifacts and formations.

After the Third Elder made his move, the Tenth Elder, not to be outdone, threw out a collar. As it expanded, he attempted to slip it over his opponent, but Dongyin Gonggong’s two bone-spike weapons seemed to sense the danger. The intense energy gathered into an arc of light, colliding with the enlarging collar.

This Grade 4 superior immortal artifact lasted only three seconds before being sent flying, pitted and scarred. Tuo Lao spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes fixed on the artifact corroded by death energy. His snow-white beard stood up without wind, transforming into a ball of cotton-like mist that wrapped around the artifact.

Even so, the healing beard was scorched by the death energy like an iron skillet, sizzling loudly.

Tuo Lao felt immense heartache. He was an immortal transformed from a rare species of ginseng, and every single strand of his beard had the power of resurrection. After suffering damage from this strike, he retreated to the back and did not make another sound.

After the Tenth Elder was injured, the Third Elder said calmly, "This death energy is the natural enemy of our Immortal Dao and Buddhist Dharma. We of the Hundred Flower Valley cultivate things related to the growth of all living beings, so we are suppressed by it. How can we repel such an enemy? Moreover, the Valley Master is in seclusion, and the ten Immortal Kings are all watching from the sidelines. We must work together and take the lead!"

According to the rules of the Immortal Realm, an Immortal King should face an Immortal King, and a Profound Immortal should face a Profound Immortal; how could one fight above their rank? Unless they were defeated and admitted inferiority, the Immortal Kings would not intervene.

Furthermore, the Yin God Sect had once been a major sect with an Immortal Emperor at its helm, making it even stronger than the Hundred Flower Valley. Crucially, when Dongyin Gonggong started fighting, he had shouted that he was from the Yin God Sect, which was equivalent to adding a halo of prestige to himself!

After the Third Elder’s illusion technique was broken, Dongyin Gonggong revealed his massive true form, a head emerging from a toad-like mouth.

This was his true physical body!

"Do not make an enemy of my sect. As one of the Great Elders of the Beast Shaking Gang and an elder of the Yin God Sect, my power is far beyond your imagination. Once I unseal my full strength, this place will be reduced to a wasteland where not a blade of grass will grow."

Sanyan Shenmu stared intently, his confusion deepening. Could the opponent be an injured Immortal King? That would explain the explosive combat power that the immortals could not withstand!

While they hesitated, the sound of tribulation lightning from an Immortal King’s trial echoed from the direction of the Hall of Law Enforcement. Because the Hall of Law Enforcement and the inner-sect elders of the Hundred Flower Valley kept each other in check, internal problems could not be interfered with by the ten inner-sect elders unless the Valley Master participated; they could only report it!

"The Valley Master has not sent a message for a long time. If he really is an injured Immortal King whose strength has declined, we can only seek help from the Vice Valley Master and the various Immortal King-level consultants. That would cost the entire Hundred Flower Valley a fortune in immortal treasures!"

The Third Elder’s words betrayed his reluctance; his meaning was clear: if we can handle it ourselves, don’t invite others.

"Are we not waiting for the First and Second Elders?" Wuying Feng spoke, sniffing repeatedly. An object like gauze appeared before him, then turned transparent and vanished into the horizon.

This was his life-bound weapon, the Shadowless Universe Sky-Falling Cloth, a Grade 4 immortal artifact of immense power, usually used to shroud a region of heaven and earth to accelerate the growth of immortal herbs. Today, by unleashing it, his attitude was clear.

After the Fourth Elder offered his life-bound weapon, the Fifth Elder, Jiliao Wuqing, unleashed a teapot-shaped treasure. The Sixth Elder, Qinghe, also brought forth his life-bound immortal sword, and even the slightly injured Ninth Elder, Wangqing, and the Tenth Elder, Tuo Lao, summoned their own life-bound artifacts.

Led by the Third Elder, the six inner-sect elders prepared to brew a thunderous strike. Meanwhile, the masters of the various branches of the Hundred Flower Valley reorganized their formations, their weapons forming an airtight web that severed time and space.

As the dao-soldier mounts retreated, the pressure they formed finally overcame the chaotic, Grade 3 immortal-level lightning strikes, slowly canceling them out. Countless baleful energies ignored the death energy and encroached upon the true body of Dongyin Gonggong.

In particular, the six great elders were charging their attacks, aiming for his two energy-emitting bone-spike artifacts; if they were severed, these two artifacts would be completely destroyed.

In an instant, black clouds gathered, shrouding the shining star above in layers of dark energy even from outside the atmosphere. As the anomalies shifted, Dongyin Gonggong let out a long roar, his entire body swelling to more than ten times its original size. Furthermore, a force of natural law manifested.

As soon as this force of law appeared, it seemed to trigger a Heavenly King’s Tribulation. A rift tore open in space, and an oval, cold, and merciless fiery red eye stared down.

Around this eye, countless tribulation bolts erupted, and many phantom images of Immortal Kings clad in armor descended. These phantoms were manifestations of the tribulation lightning; it was said that every Immortal King killed by the lightning would transform into a state similar to this!

"The Great Immortal Sect of Piaoyi is not something you lot can touch!" Dongyin Gonggong roared, casting off the layers of pressure. A wave of death energy spread from his toad-like head.

Strangely enough, as he exerted his power to face the tribulation lightning, all the lethargic, deathly beasts within his mouth cavity seemed to come back to life, appearing in the sky. There were thousands of them, all minor demons comparable to the Great Immortal Perfection stage, with a small portion being early-stage Profound Immortals.

These monsters, once revived, disrupted the trajectory of the tribulation lightning. Some even fearlessly rushed up to block the falling divine thunder on his behalf!

At this moment, Dongyin Gonggong had actually stepped into the realm of the Immortal King, reaching the early stage. His aura of death churned, forming a dense sandstorm.

At this time, there was no trace of his monstrous appearance left. He was handsome, dashing, and elegant, holding his two life-bound weapons—the very same bone-spike artifacts from before.

He brought the two spikes together, forming a massive spine. This spine had eighteen knotted segments, each a different color, containing incomparable, manic power.

No wonder the collision of the auroras they emitted earlier had been world-shattering; they were like two energy rods!

Jia Youke, trapped on the sidelines, watched, mesmerized. He had never seen a battle at the Immortal King level. In his excitement, he watched as the short-horned black horse chewed on an immortal suit of armor it had picked up from somewhere, eating it slowly as if it were grass. Occasionally, it would take a breath, inhaling a mist of water from the ruins below—it turned out to be immortal wine buried underneath—bypassing several layers of formations and pouring it into its mouth.

"Senior Wu Yun!" the black horse spoke, its voice reverting to that of the *Qiantuo*. "Let them fight even more joyfully, so my soul can descend quickly. Also, Senior, there is a lot of fine wine here; I hope you can collect some!"

Wu Yun looked displeased and pointed into the distance. A group of bandits flickered in and out of sight. These robbers would break into intact cave dwellings, and when they emerged, they wore crazed smiles. When pursuers approached, the bandits would unleash an immortal sword, scaring the pursuers away, leaving them speechless.

The *Qiantuo* looked closely and nearly reverted to its black horse state in fright, cursing, "The Fear-Hate Immortal Sword? Are they not afraid of attracting that female madwoman from the Emperor Snake sect?"

Wu Yun’s expression was extremely ugly. He watched as an inner-sect deacon, fearing nothing of the immortal artifacts, pursued them, only to be sliced in two by the leader, who was leisurely searching for a complete and beautiful dwelling.

Suddenly, the Soul-Startling Blade appeared!

As the bisected inner-sect deacon was still in terror, he was rescued by the juniors trailing behind him.

The wielder of the blade laughed maniacally, the scent of wine on his body soaring to the heavens. Even the *Qiantuo* twitched its nose and said, "Sleep for Three Thousand?"

Wu Yun was also stunned. Sleep for Three Thousand?

Jia Youke, standing to the side, chimed in with envy, "The nectar that drips from the finest immortal stones, brewed using thousands of immortal herbs mixed with various benign baleful energies, gale energies, and immortal energy, aged for a million years in immortal grain and an eternity in jade ice. A normal immortal body that gets drunk on it will sleep for three thousand years; hence, it is called 'Sleep for Three Thousand'!"