Qingxu Daode Zhenjun felt a sudden tightness in his chest. This Shen Gongbao was truly lawless; a mere Mid Mysterious Immortal daring to provoke him so flagrantly! Did he really think the title of one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect was a hollow reputation gained from nothing?
Qingxu Daode Zhenjun slowly raised his right hand and gave a gentle flick. A shimmering, radiant fan appeared in his palm out of thin air. This was the very Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan that Shen Gongbao had mentioned earlier. The fan’s ribs were crafted from the feathers of seven innate spiritual birds—the Phoenix, Azure Luan, Roc, Peacock, Baihe, Swan, and Owl—with each feather etched with flame patterns of distinct colors. The surface of the fan was interwoven with five-colored divine flames; when fanned, it could summon five Primordial World flames: the Southern Blazing Fire, the Samadhi True Fire, the Solar Essence Fire, the Doutian Divine Fire, and the Nether Ghost Fire.
The moment he took hold of the Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan, the arrogance on Qingxu Daode Zhenjun’s face was fully displayed.
"Today, I shall let you witness the true methods of the Twelve Golden Immortals!"
The Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan was his proudest masterpiece. Not to mention a Mysterious Immortal like Shen Gongbao, even Great Demons at the Golden Immortal level had perished at his hands many times over.
"Shen Gongbao, kneel and beg for mercy now! In consideration of our shared lineage, I might let bygones be bygones and spare your life. Otherwise, do not blame me, as your senior brother, for having to enforce the sect’s rules on behalf of Master and punish you severely!"
"Enforce the sect’s rules?" Shen Gongbao scoffed, twirling the Rift-Shattering Thunder Lord Whip in his hand. "By using a weapon forged from the remains of our own brothers to enforce the rules? Senior brother’s skin is even thicker than his cultivation."
"You seek death!"
Qingxu Daode Zhenjun let out a violent roar and swung the Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan down fiercely. The Southern Blazing Fire transformed into a Vermillion Bird, the Samadhi True Fire condensed into a dragon of flame, the Solar Essence Fire expanded like the wings of a Golden Crow, the Doutian Divine Fire resembled Pangu opening the heavens, and the Nether Ghost Fire acted like a soul-reaping force from the Nine Netherworlds. The five types of Primordial World flames wove into a net, descending upon Shen Gongbao’s head.
The Southern Blazing Fire burned away evil and targeted the primordial spirits of demons; once touched, it would ignite, and even a Taiyi Golden Immortal would find it difficult to extinguish. The Samadhi True Fire could melt innate spiritual treasures—even Taishang Laojun had used it to forge his artifacts. The Solar Essence Fire possessed the power to destroy worlds, the Doutian Divine Fire contained a sliver of the fire from when Pangu created the world, and the Nether Ghost Fire specifically targeted the soul.
The moment the five-colored divine flames appeared, Shen Gongbao immediately felt immense pressure bearing down on him. He furrowed his brows slightly. He had not expected that Qingxu Daode Zhenjun’s Golden Immortal cultivation, combined with the Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan—a high-grade acquired spiritual treasure—would unleash such power.
Seeing Shen Gongbao’s grim expression, Qingxu Daode Zhenjun burst into loud laughter. "You ignorant wretch, it is too late to surrender now!"
He flicked the fan, and the five-colored divine flames surged straight toward Shen Gongbao.
"All you do is talk big!"
Shen Gongbao’s expression turned stern. The instant the flames were upon him, he lashed out with the Rift-Shattering Thunder Lord Whip, which struck like a silver snake flicking its tongue. The next moment, a massive spatial rift tore open in front of the five-colored divine flames.
Watching as the five-colored fire silently vanished into the spatial rift, Qingxu Daode Zhenjun’s face was etched with disbelief. "How is this possible?" How could his attack be neutralized so easily? "Shen Gongbao, you must have used some demonic magic I don't know about, right?"
As one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, he had painstakingly forged the Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan himself, and its quality had already reached the level of a high-grade acquired spiritual treasure. How could such a treasure be easily countered by a mere Mid Mysterious Immortal like Shen Gongbao?
But Shen Gongbao paid him no mind. By the time Qingxu Daode Zhenjun had finished his questioning, Shen Gongbao was already standing right in front of him.
"How is your speed so fast?" Qingxu Daode Zhenjun looked at the incoming whip with terror. He could not fathom why Shen Gongbao’s speed had suddenly increased so dramatically.
Shen Gongbao sneered, "Senior brother, have you forgotten what my true form is?"
In his previous life, to diminish the prejudices held by his fellow sect members, Shen Gongbao had never dared to reveal his true form in Yuxu Palace, nor had he ever utilized his innate demonic talents. But in this life, Shen Gongbao no longer cared what others thought. *Why am I so fast?* It was because his true form was the Thunder Leopard! Speed had always been his greatest gift!
With a loud "boom," Qingxu Daode Zhenjun was sent flying. Shen Gongbao flashed after him, followed by another heavy whip strike. Like a spinning top, Shen Gongbao gave Qingxu Daode Zhenjun no chance to stabilize. One whip blow after another rained down, sending the man spinning wildly above Yuxu Palace.
"U-Uncle..." Nezha’s mouth hung wide open; his Fire-Tipped Spear clattered to the ground. That arrogant Senior Uncle Qingxu was currently being whipped around like a spinning top.
Yang Jian’s forehead broke into a cold sweat as he subconsciously touched his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear. He had previously thought it was humiliating enough for the two of them to have been taught a lesson by Shen Gongbao. Now, compared to Qingxu Daode Zhenjun, that was merely a minor incident. After today, it was unlikely that Qingxu Daode Zhenjun would ever be able to show his face in Yuxu Palace again.
*So, Uncle Shen had truly shown us mercy before...* Yang Jian muttered to himself as he watched Shen Gongbao flashing through the sky above Yuxu Palace.
…………
At the peak of Kunlun, inside Yuxu Palace, the crowd looked on with grim, icy expressions as the scene of Shen Gongbao beating Qingxu Daode Zhenjun played out in the center of the hall.
Judulsun wiped the sweat from his brow, secretly feeling fortunate that it was Qingxu Daode Zhenjun who had taken action. If it had been him, wouldn't he be the one suffering now? However, how had Shen Gongbao suddenly become so powerful? Hadn't he just broken through to the Mid Mysterious Immortal stage? This combat capability did not match his cultivation level at all!
Fortunately, he and Qingxu Daode Zhenjun had staged this whole affair to deal with Shen Gongbao. Although there had been a slight mishap, it was not necessarily a bad thing. With this in mind, Judulsun bowed to Yuanshi Tianzun on the cloud platform.
"Master, please look clearly. I only approached Master and the other disciples to discuss countermeasures because I saw there were some misunderstandings between Senior Brother Qingxu Daode and Junior Brother Shen. I never expected Shen Gongbao’s methods to be so formidable."
"Formidable? Who knows what kind of demonic tricks those are?" Chijingzi stared at Shen Gongbao in the projection, his face full of disgust. "Master, with Shen Gongbao’s strength, it is impossible for him to be a match for Qingxu Daode Zhenjun. He is only suppressing him because he must be using some underhanded methods. I suggest that Master conduct a thorough investigation!"
Yuanshi Tianzun did not respond to Chijingzi. Instead, he looked toward Wuliang Xianweng and asked in a flat tone, "Wuliang Xianweng, what do you make of the situation between Shen Gongbao and Qingxu Daode Zhenjun?"