Chapter Seventy-Six: Greenleaf's Relatives

"Unite as one!"

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue merged together, turning into pure white, then became hot pink, indigo, ochre, grass green, bright blue…

At last, as the colors fused with her, they became a pure violet!

Without a word, the strongest attack was unleashed! This was the most direct and effective assault in the Celestial Realm, aside from those of the Celestial Emperor. If such an attack failed, the parties would typically step back and observe before making another move.

"Haha, King of Calamity, your axe is about to lose its power! It won’t so much as scratch me!" Wuyun taunted, yet the blow fell as expected.

The enormous glowing violet axe, stretching over a thousand feet, descended—not upon the center of the formation, but toward a corner.

But Wuyun, defying her expectation, shifted the formation, making her strike the very center.

"You have only yourselves to blame for courting death. Do not fault me for being ruthless!" Feng Qianyu shouted. Greenleaf, terrified, shut her eyes tight; even the five-headed serpent mount dared not look. Only Long Yi, caught within the handkerchief, continued to fight three monstrous blue-striped beasts.

Boom!

The formation cracked open, allowing the power of a third-tier axe to break through.

Old Bear Three and Battle King were both stunned as the gigantic axe fell. The second-tier celestial sword stood before them, but who had the courage to wield it against such force?

Without the power to activate the Dread and Hate Celestial Sword, relying only on its inherent strength, the result was clear—upon contact, the weaker side would be shattered into spatial dust!

"Senior!" Little Bug reminded, at least suggesting they shift the formation and avoid the blow.

But Wuyun did not even blink. As the axe crashed down, a Jade Seal Coffin appeared out of thin air, covering the heart of the formation and taking the brunt of the devastating strike.

Seven axes in one cleaved at the Jade Seal Coffin, the immense impact sending both reeling backward.

Within the eye of the formation, Old Bear Three felt suffocated, the shockwave channeling through the second-tier celestial sword and ringing in his ears.

It took three seconds for everyone to recover from the pressure. The formation had been blasted ten kilometers away, while Feng Qianyu was knocked back over a hundred miles.

And it didn’t end there—her entire arm, the one wielding the axe, had turned to pulp. If not for the dozen or so fourth- and fifth-tier celestial artifacts on her person absorbing most of the backlash, she would have been left half-dead, her soul gravely wounded.

Yet, with her arm lost, Feng Qianyu showed no pain. Two fair hands began to grow from the stump.

She glanced at the five-headed serpent caught in the formation, then at Long Yi trapped in the handkerchief and Greenleaf bound in chains, her eyes full of dread.

How had they managed a perfect defense against her full-strength blow? It was as if she had struck herself.

Once Long Yi, Greenleaf, and the five-headed serpent called Thin Rope had all been sealed within the Jade Seal Coffin, Wuyun grasped the Dread and Hate Celestial Sword. With a casual shift, a hint of a Celestial King's aura flashed before fading away.

That fleeting aura left Feng Qianyu shaken and wary. She could not fathom how a Celestial King could appear in such a place.

Bracing herself for a second strike, she was interrupted by Wuyun's calm voice: "No need to push yourself. Such countershock will leave incurable wounds to the soul. You must recuperate at once to avoid lasting harm."

Wuyun’s body remained within the formation, the sword’s tip outside, as he continued, "Though you appear domineering, you act with sincerity and forthrightness. Our Celestial Wanderers are few now, and we wish not to make more enemies. I’ll grant you a spell to help you through the Celestial King’s tribulation, so your weapon spirit cannot be bewitched."

Without further ado, Wuyun sent the incantation. Feng Qianyu quickly grasped it, asking in confusion, "Can it be so simple?"

The other replied with only a mysterious silence. Once Feng Qianyu bowed in apology and requested the return of her five-headed serpent, Wuyun answered, "You may have it back when the Seven Seas Fortress reveals itself." He gave no cause, and she did not press; only Old Bear Three saw clearly that the five-headed serpent, in its true form, was locked in a life-or-death struggle with twenty-four dragon-spirits inside the Jade Seal Coffin.

This serpent, called Thin Rope, possessed a cultivation just shy of Celestial King, standing on the threshold. It had once received guidance from the Emperor Serpent and bore a superb fourth-tier natal artifact, making it fearless in combat.

The dragon-spirits could suppress anything within the handkerchief, release Long Yi, and even unlock Greenleaf’s chains, but they could not subdue a serpent.

While Wuyun and Feng Qianyu spoke, the serpent swallowed a wisp of dragon-spirit and praised, "If I devour them all, I’ll at once break through as a Monster Celestial King!"

The fiercer the serpent fought, the more apprehensive Wuyun became. After perfunctory words with Feng Qianyu, he hurried back to the formation’s core, grasped the hanging Soul-Stirring Blade, and summoned the Six-Talented Ancestor Dragon.

The ancestor dragon burped and grumbled, "Senior, it’s not that I don’t want to act, but this blade needs time to digest the weapons it just devoured. One can’t eat half and spit the rest out!"

He did, indeed, spit out half—the celestial ribbon, now as dull as a headscarf on an old woman.

The Soul-Stirring Blade was not enough; Wuyun looked to Long Yi, who shuddered as a voice directed at him declared, "We’ll need special means."

Long Yi’s face fell. Amid the ancestor dragon’s laughter, he was sent back into the Jade Seal Coffin.

No sooner had he entered than Thin Rope noticed him. The serpent, in a frenzy, bit off the tip of Long Yi’s tail as he failed to dodge.

"Spirit of all dragons, heed my will! Ten thousand dragons unite! Divine Dragon descends!" Wuyun chanted, sending celestial incantations into the Jade Seal, each aimed at a coiled dragon engraving.

All save the last responded, for Thin Rope had already absorbed it, strengthening himself.

The remaining twenty-three dragon-spirits instantly entered Long Yi. In Thin Rope’s eyes, Long Yi became an unparalleled delicacy—a supreme tonic.

For Long Yi, however, it was torment. To be incomplete, missing a dragon-spirit, and to have it torn from within to be replaced—such agony could hardly be borne. These dragon-spirits were no ordinary essence, but the undying souls and indomitable will of dragons, able to be unleashed as a devastating draconic force.

The process was excruciating, as if his entire form was being peeled raw—not naturally, but forcibly, like being spun and stretched beyond limit.

Even with all his Celestial King experience and hardships, Long Yi howled in pain.

A torrent of dragon tongue curses poured forth, making Wuyun frown. The nerve! Daring to curse him!

Long Yi, between curses, trampled Wuyun underfoot, claiming him as a mount.

He vented his rage on Wuyun, Six-Talented Ancestor, Old Bear Three, Battle King, and Little Bug—calling them idiots, fools, and dolts, like a dragon rampaging through a menagerie.

Even Wuyun’s hand trembled; Battle King was dumbfounded—how had the dragon king come to despise him so?

Just as Long Yi was on the verge of fainting from pain, Wuyun clapped his hands: "Ah, excuse me! I forgot the painkiller!"

At the brink of unconsciousness, Long Yi felt the world go quiet, his body suddenly brimming with power.

Minor achievement in Celestial Immortal! The rank of a great monster!

Now, as he looked upon the five-headed serpent, he was utterly calm—just a dragon regarding a snake.

Thin Rope sensed this shift. The arts that once let him withstand dragon might and bloodline oppression now failed.

He trembled all over, feeling as if bronze stood before a true king. No! He had devoured many dragons before—how could he be afraid?

A dragon’s roar echoed. Long Yi revealed his true form, expanding to fill nearly the entire space within the Jade Seal Coffin.

"Turn the world upside down—dragons are but flying insects!" Thin Rope unleashed his strongest spell, but Long Yi brushed it aside with ease.

A joke—had the former Celestial King no combat experience?

Long Yi unleashed his fury, his claws locked with Thin Rope’s as the outcome became clear. Little Bug attempted to plead for Greenleaf, but Wuyun snapped, "Kin is kin, but this old eel—at least let her pick the best piece for you."

Greenleaf panicked, kneeling at Wuyun’s side, begging, "Senior, please! My uncle here was once kind, a follower of the Emperor Serpent, later persuaded to guard the house. Please, spare him!"

Wuyun considered—Thin Rope had indeed pleaded for Greenleaf earlier—but how could one snatch food from a dragon’s jaws?

The more Long Yi fought, the fiercer he became; Thin Rope, increasingly alarmed, was no match for Long Yi’s ruthless close combat and endless arcane arts.

Especially the dragon-spirits within Long Yi’s body, as if sentient, burrowed into Thin Rope, opening a third battlefield within.

"How can this be?"

Thin Rope’s prized fourth-tier celestial trident, his greatest treasure, was chipped by the Soul-Stirring Blade. His heart felt as if a piece had been torn away, blood gushing.

The blood instantly vaporized and was absorbed by Long Yi.

At last, Long Yi, now at the threshold of minor Celestial Immortal, needed only a little time to reach the mid stage and ascend further.

"If only I had ten more like you! I long to return to Dragon-Slaughter Star!" Long Yi was full of relish, already forgetting his prior agony. He was about to devour Thin Rope whole when Wuyun grinned at him, making him abruptly wary.

"What did I just say? Surely I was raving from the pain."

Looking a bit lost, Long Yi hesitated. Wuyun snorted, "At least he’s kin to Little Bug’s mount. Whether braised or stewed, let her decide first!"

Long Yi nodded hastily, grabbed Thin Rope, and tossed him out of the Jade Seal Coffin, laying him before Greenleaf.

Greenleaf was about to thank him, but Long Yi coldly said, "Since he’s your kin, you pick two parts first. The rest—hmph!—are mine, and we’ll divide them!"

Faced with Wuyun’s fierce glare, even at her new celestial rank, Greenleaf dared not argue and obediently chose two pieces first.

In that instant, the former lord, once sovereign, shed tears. Before she could speak, Thin Rope snapped, "Why cry? Have we not eaten our share in this life? Now, as I am devoured, let it at least be quick. Take my natal spirit and crystal core, and let that be my repayment for our kinship."

The two snakes shared a moment of mutual sorrow, but Long Yi erupted, "What nonsense! Hurry up—take the two most valuable treasures he has. There’s a whole line waiting their turn!"

Greenleaf…