Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 663 Fame Shakes the Four Directions [Please Subscribe]

The Eight Views Palace Lantern spun around in the sky, and Master Ziyang bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the treasure.

In an instant, the Eight Views Palace Lanterns, which had been emitting soft light, burst forth with dazzling purple-red light.

The purplish-red light quickly transformed into a purplish-red optical cable under the control of Master Ziyang, connecting with the fire phoenix.

Then, as if it had received mid-air refueling, the fire phoenix, whose power had been weakening, suddenly regained its momentum and started moving again!

This scene made Zhou Chun's eyes widen in surprise.

He never expected that Master Ziyang's natal magic weapon would have such an effect, and that it was actually a rare auxiliary magic weapon!

To his even greater surprise, this treasure actually had an enhancing effect on the [Blazing Sun Treasure Mirror], a spiritual treasure.

This unexpected situation immediately put him in a difficult position.

If he continues to rely on holding out and attrition, even if he manages to hold out, he will inevitably suffer serious injuries from the intense heat released by the fire phoenix.

Furthermore, he was unaware whether Master Ziyang possessed even more powerful offensive methods yet to be unleashed.

The saying goes, "If you hold on for too long, you will lose." This path is clearly not a good way out.

With that in mind, Zhou Chun stopped hesitating.

He communicated with the spirit within the Moon Toad Pearl and immediately released half of the Xuanming Cold Qi that the treasure had absorbed and stored at the Xuanming Water Eye.

The reason why spiritual treasures are so different in power from magic treasures is that after they have a spirit, they can absorb external spiritual energy and store it as their own spiritual power.

The amount of spiritual power a magical artifact can store depends on the strength of its spirit and the quality of the artifact itself.

The spirit of the Moon Toad Pearl is very strong and has a solid foundation, so it stores a lot of spiritual power.

For Lingbao, this spiritual power is key to ensuring that it can still protect itself after losing its master, and it will not use it lightly.

When the owner of a magical artifact uses it to fight, it consumes their own magical power, and the artifact's own spiritual power is consumed very little.

Only when encountering a very difficult opponent will Lingbao use its accumulated spiritual power to unleash even greater power.

At this moment, as the spirit of the [Moon Toad Pearl] unleashed a large amount of its stored Xuanming Cold Qi, the divine power of the "Taiyin Protective Immortal Robe" surged dramatically.

A dense white icy light erupted from the giant white toad, seemingly freezing the surrounding void.

The fire phoenix, which had been bolstered by a tonic, was suddenly struck by a ring of white ice light, forcing it to retreat repeatedly, its flames rapidly flickering and shrinking.

But Zhou Chun didn't give it any room to dodge. He immediately opened his mouth and spat out a thick white beam of light that pierced through the air and struck the fire phoenix.

This time, the Fire Phoenix had no way to avoid it and was forced to transform into a fiery red sun to collide head-on with the white pillar of light.

Then, a strong red and white light burst forth in the azure sky, and the terrifying power annihilated all the gales within a radius of dozens of miles, creating a vacuum area.

After this extreme collision and sublimation, the fiery red sun and the white pillar of light finally exhausted their power and dissipated, essentially perishing together.

"Very well, so you've already used the power of the spiritual treasure's origin? Let's see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!"

Master Ziyang stared at the moon toad that Zhou Chun had transformed into with an ugly expression and sneered repeatedly. His hand seals changed again, and the [Blazing Sun Treasure Mirror] in mid-air immediately burst into flames, and fireballs as big as houses condensed and shot towards Zhou Chun with a roar.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun conjured up layers of icy shields around himself, his entire body radiating a brilliant icy light. He then opened his mouth and spat out a beam of earth-yellow spiritual light, which transformed into a snake-man puppet with a human body and a snake tail.

This snake-man puppet was the fifth-tier puppet that Zhou Zhiying inherited from [Master Xuanfeng].

When Zhou Chun returned to his family, he was prepared to fight against the Nascent Soul stage cultivators from both factions. Therefore, on the way back, he asked Zhou Zhiying to lend him the top-grade magic weapon [Azure Sky Illusion Sword], which he didn't need yet, for refining. He also asked her to lend him the snake-man puppet as a trump card.

If Zhou Chun had been able to defeat Master Ziyang on his own, he certainly wouldn't have revealed the Snake Man Puppet as his trump card.

However, seeing that the opponent was powerful and not someone he could easily defeat, Zhou Chun decided not to hold back anymore.

At this moment, the snake-man puppet appeared and immediately unleashed an illusionary magic technique on Master Ziyang, its eyes gleaming with starlight.

When it tested Zhou Zhiying, it only used less than one-tenth of the power of this illusionary magic.

Now, under Zhou Chun's urging, it is exerting its full power, and this illusionary magic has suddenly unleashed its terrifying might.

Even a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator like Master Ziyang, who had overcome the "Inner Demon Tribulation," was instantly captivated by the vortex of starlight in its eyes, momentarily losing his focus.

How could Zhou Chun miss such a golden opportunity!

He withstood the bombardment of fireballs, and with another spit, the [Nine Annihilation Ice Needles] silently shot out, piercing into the vital points of Master Ziyang's body.

At the same time, the Azure Sky Phantom Sword, which was originally entangled with the Crimson Fang Sword, took advantage of the fact that the opponent was temporarily out of contact with its master and its flexibility was greatly reduced. It directly left a clone sword shadow to deceive the crimson flying sword with a shake, and the main body instantly accelerated and shot towards the Purple Sun True Man's Void Piercing Cave.

This series of attacks was completed in the blink of an eye. Master Ziyang, whose mind was distracted by the illusion, had no time to prepare any defenses.

However, the spirit of the [Blazing Sun Treasure Mirror] seemed to sense its master's danger, and at this moment it automatically protected its master by shining a crimson flame that shielded True Man Ziyang.

Although it is a spiritual treasure, it is not a defensive one. The crimson flames released by its automatic protection are only good for defending against attacks from Golden Core cultivators, and are far from sufficient to deal with Nascent Soul cultivators.

The nine ice needles were even faster, piercing through the crimson flames' protection in the blink of an eye.

Just as they were about to hit Master Ziyang, another burst of crimson fire suddenly erupted from Master Ziyang's body, transforming into a wave of flames that spread outwards, forming a crimson fire ring in mid-air.

If it were a normal method, and suddenly encountered such a supernatural counterattack, even if it wasn't swept away in one wave, it would inevitably drift away from the target.

However, the [Nine Annihilation Ice Needles] magic weapon is known for its ability to break through shields and pierce through obstacles. At this moment, it was like a flying fish breaking through the waves, directly piercing through the fire waves and hitting various parts of Master Ziyang's body.

However, what made Zhou Chun's heart sink slightly was that the nine invisible ice needles did not actually inflict serious damage on Master Ziyang.

Because under his robes, this fellow was wearing a defensive inner armor of the same level as him, and it was even a high-grade magic weapon inner armor!

The five invisible ice needles that were aimed at his chest were deflected as if they had struck iron or stone.

The two invisible ice needles aimed at his eyes were also knocked away by a sudden burst of fire.

In the end, only the two invisible ice needles that were aimed at his arms successfully hit their target and pierced his body!

As the ice needle entered his body, Master Ziyang let out a scream and broke free from the illusion.

Then flames blazed brightly on his body, forming a protective shield that blocked the incoming Azure Sky Phantom Sword, allowing him to dodge the attack with a slight sway.

Immediately afterwards, a crimson-gold shield-like magical artifact flew out from his sleeve, swirling around him and blocking several strikes from the Azure Sky Phantom Sword, successfully holding off the attack of the Crimson Fang Sword.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, he also forced the two invisible ice needles that had pierced his body out using his magic.

This series of responses fully demonstrated his combat experience and skills as a veteran Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

No matter how many tricks he used or how exquisite his magical weapons were, he could only struggle in vain against an opponent whose strength far surpassed his own.

Then the snake-man puppet raised its hand and waved it, and a golden spear and an earthen-yellow shield appeared in its hands.

Holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, it charged towards Master Ziyang with a flick of its snake tail.

Master Ziyang had already suffered a great loss from the snake-man puppet, so how could he dare to underestimate this fifth-tier puppet now?

He let out a low shout and immediately activated the [Blazing Sun Mirror], shining a fiery red divine light towards the snake-man puppet.

Faced with the attack, the snake-man puppet immediately raised its shield in front of it. Yellow light surged from the shield, merging with the yellow light emanating from its body to form an earth-yellow shield that firmly protected it.

The fiery red divine light that Zhou Chun dared not underestimate was actually blocked by the snake-man puppet and failed to break through its defense!

"How is this possible!"

Master Ziyang's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator without a spiritual treasure wouldn't be able to withstand his attack so easily. Why is it that a puppet can do this?

He was filled with bewilderment and shock.

But neither Zhou Chun nor the snake-man puppet would hold back because of his shock and confusion.

After blocking the fiery red divine light, the snake-man puppet lunged at Master Ziyang once again.

At this moment, Zhou Chun was fully activating the [Moon Toad Pearl] and unleashing a powerful "Taiyin Extinction Divine Light" at True Person Ziyang.

It is obvious that Zhou Chun, wielding a magical artifact, poses a greater threat than the snake-man puppet.

Master Ziyang could only reverse the target of the [Blazing Sun Treasure Mirror], releasing a fiery red divine light to clash with the white icy light.

With the power of the magical treasure restrained by Zhou Chun, the snake-man puppet quickly closed in on him.

He then quickly witnessed the snake-man puppet's close-combat capabilities.

The snake-man puppet brandished its spear repeatedly, and specks of golden cold light covered and enveloped the area within a hundred feet around Master Ziyang.

He tried to withstand the attack with his crimson-gold shield, but it only lasted for a few breaths before the snake-man puppet's spear knocked the shield away. Startled, he quickly transformed into a streak of crimson fire and distanced himself.

However, once he was distracted by using his escape technique to dodge the snake-man puppet's attacks, he naturally couldn't concentrate on defending against Zhou Chun's attacks.

He was quickly struck by Zhou Chun's [Gengjin Sky-Splitting Thunder] after he regained his human form, and his protective aura was almost shattered!

As time went on, Master Ziyang gradually felt his arms stiffen. The cold poison that he had suppressed with his magic power began to invade his heart and brain while he was busy dealing with Zhou Chun and the snake puppet.

He wasn't some physically powerful fifth-tier demon king. If this kind of obviously insidious cold poison were to invade his heart, brain, or other vital organs, he would suffer severe damage even if he didn't die.

So at this moment, he panicked.

Before arriving at the Azure Lotus Mountain Range, he was full of confidence and did not believe that Zhou Chun, a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator, would be his opponent.

After all, Master Ziyang was among the top tier of early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, possessing spiritual treasures, reaching the peak of the early-stage Nascent Soul realm, and having mastered several great divine abilities.

But he never expected that Zhou Chun, this junior, would not play by the rules at all.

Not only did he have just successfully formed his Nascent Soul, but he also possessed a top-grade magic sword and spiritual treasure. He could even produce a fifth-order puppet that even the Flame Sun Sect couldn't find!

Now he not only can't defeat Zhou Chun, but continuing to fight might make him lose face, even though he already has to lose face.

This result left him feeling incredibly frustrated and upset.

At this point, they were caught in a very awkward situation, unable to advance or retreat.

Seeing Zhou Chun and the snake-man puppet's attacks growing more and more ferocious, Master Ziyang also showed signs of anxiety.

He clearly couldn't bring himself to beg for mercy, but if the fight continued, he would definitely not be the victor.

If only a third party could intervene and mediate at this point!

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he actually came up with a solution to break the deadlock.

He then shouted loudly, his voice booming like thunder, "Where is Fellow Daoist Tianjing? Why don't you come out at once and lend me a hand!"

The shouts reverberated through the sky and could be heard for hundreds of miles.

On Qinglian Peak, Tianjing Zhenren, who was watching the battle from his cave, couldn't help but let out a long sigh, knowing that he could no longer sit and watch.

In fact, Zhou Chun's performance greatly exceeded his expectations, and the strength he displayed shocked him.

Based on Zhou Chun's current strength, he is by no means a match for him.

However, this is actually a good thing for him.

If Zhou Chun could seize this opportunity to severely injure or even kill Master Ziyang, he would be overjoyed.

But he also knew that it was simply impossible.

At the same time, because he has not yet made all the necessary preparations, he cannot ignore Master Ziyang's plea for help today.

Immediately, he moved swiftly, soaring into the heavens, and said to the two combatants, "Fellow Daoists, please stop! For my sake, I urge you both to calm down and withdraw your supernatural powers!"

"Fellow Daoist Tianjing, are you truly going to help that old thief Ziyang and become an enemy of my Zhou family?"

Zhou Chun looked at Tianjing Zhenren with a grim expression and spoke in a very annoyed tone.

Master Ziyang stared intently at Master Tianjing without saying a word.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you misunderstand. I have no intention of being an enemy of you or the Zhou family."

Master Tianjing shook his head repeatedly, speaking in a peacemaker tone: "It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. Since neither of you can defeat the other, why don't you both take a step back, temporarily cease hostilities, and sit down to discuss and resolve any conflicts? There's no need to fight to the death!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately sneered, "Discuss a resolution? What's there to discuss? That old thief Ziyang clearly accepted the top-grade magic treasure I offered him, yet he remained insatiable and treacherous, attempting to force my Zhou family patriarch to his death. If I don't avenge this, how can I maintain my standing in the cultivation world in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Master Ziyang immediately denied it, saying, "Don't make false accusations! When did I ever try to force your ancestor to his death? It was clearly you who detained my sect's elder first. I'm just here to seek justice for my sect's elder!"

He would certainly not admit this, and his original intention was not to force Zhou Mingde to his death, but simply to hinder Zhou Chun's path to advancement.

Although the hatred of those who obstruct one's path is irreconcilable, it is ultimately an open scheme, so at least it won't lose too much moral ground.

It sounds much better than forcing a junior like Zhou Mingde to his death!

As for turning the tables and accusing Zhou Chun of detaining an elder of their sect, it was also to make themselves appear to have a legitimate cause.

To avoid ending up with a reputation for trying to suppress the younger generation only to be taught a lesson by them instead, becoming a laughing stock among other Nascent Soul cultivators!

As a Nascent Soul cultivator who had lived for over a thousand years, Master Ziyang was already intimately familiar with these rhetoric techniques and could defend himself in the fastest and most reasonable way without even having to think.

However, he was a seasoned veteran, and Zhou Chun was no naive newcomer either.

He immediately sneered at him and questioned, "You old scoundrel Ziyang, tell me, what has your Yan Yang Sect elder been doing inside my Zhou family's mountain gate for more than half a year? Did my Zhou family invite him here for tea?"

"this……"

Master Ziyang's expression changed slightly, and he opened his mouth, unsure of how to interpret the situation.

He could only turn his gaze to Master Tianjing, signaling for his help in getting out of the predicament.

Seeing this, Master Tianjing could only cough twice and say, "Ahem, fellow Daoists, please calm down. I see you're both exhausted from fighting today. Why don't you go back and rest for a while? As for who's right and who's wrong, we can discuss it calmly after you've both calmed down. There will surely be a result!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun glared at him sharply and said, "If I don't agree, are you going to join forces with that old thief Ziyang to deal with me?"

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, please don't misunderstand. I simply don't want you and the Zhou family to deepen the enmity between you and Fellow Daoist Ziyang!"

Master Tianjing slightly turned his head and replied calmly.

"I see, I understand now. In that case, I'll give you face today, Fellow Daoist Tianjing, and let that old thief Ziyang off the hook!"

Zhou Chun stared at Tianjing Zhenren for a long time before finally nodding slightly and coldly agreeing to a truce.

Then, his expression quickly turned cold, and he said in a chilling tone, "Since Fellow Daoist Tianjing has no affinity with my Zhou family, please move out of here. My Zhou family is too shallow to accommodate a dragon like you!"

Upon hearing this, Master Tianjing trembled, then let out a long sigh, "Alas! Since Fellow Daoist Zhou has spoken so, this old man naturally dares not disobey!"

His tone was filled with a sense of desolation and loneliness.

Upon seeing this, Master Ziyang's eyes flickered slightly, then he said coldly to Zhou Chun, "Since Fellow Daoist Tianjing has intervened, I will give you, junior, a chance to sincerely repent. I hope to see our sect's elders return within three days!"

Without waiting for Zhou Chun's response, he quickly put away his magic weapon and transformed into a streak of purplish-red flame, flying away.

After watching Master Ziyang depart and disappear from his sight, Zhou Chun nodded subtly to Master Tianjing and then returned to his family's mountain gate.

Following Zhou Chun's instructions, news that Master Ziyang had attacked with great momentum but was injured and defeated and fled back to Yanyang Sect was immediately spread within the Zhou family and among the markets of the two prefectures under his command.

It was only at this point that many cultivators from Lanzhou and Lianzhou learned that Zhou Chun, the head of the Zhou family, had actually formed a Nascent Soul!

The news spread like wildfire, like a boulder thrown into the still waters of the cultivation world in Jingguo, immediately causing a huge uproar.

In just a few days, the news spread to every market town in Jing Kingdom. Any powerful forces or independent cultivators with even a little bit of information knew about this event, which could be described as the most exciting one in a hundred years!

Upon closer examination, the last cultivator in Jing Kingdom to successfully form the Nascent Soul stage was True Person Tianjing.

It has been four or five hundred years since he successfully formed his nascent soul!

Those cultivators who learned of this news back then, if they hadn't successfully formed their core, are basically all gone by now.

Compared to Zhou Chun's successful Nascent Soul formation, his defeat of Master Ziyang has received far less discussion.

Firstly, the Yan Yang Sect does not acknowledge this matter at all, and will punish those cultivators who discuss this matter for the crime of speaking ill of their sect's elders.

Secondly, this matter is indeed too astonishing and bizarre, inevitably making people suspect that it is a false message deliberately released by the Zhou family to glorify themselves.

Many cultivators preferred to believe that neither of the two Nascent Soul stage cultivators could defeat the other; it was just that the Ziyang True Person from the Yanyang Sect, who had tried to bully the younger one but failed, was too embarrassed to publicize it.

Of course, this did not diminish the shock and envy of ordinary cultivators regarding Zhou Chun's successful formation of the Nascent Soul stage.

After the news spread, the vassal families and forces that had interacted with the Zhou family immediately sent their most powerful members to offer their congratulations with generous gifts.

They didn't expect to be received by Zhou Chun, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator; they were merely expressing their own power's emphasis on this matter.

After all, if you send a gift to congratulate someone at this time, not many people in the Zhou family might remember it. But if you don't send a gift to congratulate someone, the consequences could be unpredictable if it gets brought up later!

Then many forces discovered that the Zhou family cultivator who received them to offer congratulations on behalf of Zhou Chun was not Zhou Mingde or Zhou Xinyan, whom they knew, but Zhou Daoyi, whom they had either heard of before or had never heard of.

Some cultivators who had some knowledge of the Zhou family's history over the past few centuries were secretly shocked when they discovered this.

They all knew that the Zhou family had long ago claimed that the former patriarch had disappeared and died.

It now appears that this former clan leader not only did not perish, but also successfully formed his core outside the clan.

This shows just how well the Zhou family has kept their secret all these years!

Zhou Chun ignored the outside world's discussions and speculations. After returning to his cave, he began to take stock of the gains and losses from his battle with Master Ziyang.

Through this encounter with Master Ziyang, he gained a clear understanding of his own strength at the early Nascent Soul stage.

It is certain that even without considering the top-grade magic weapon [Azure Sky Phantom Sword] and the fifth-tier snake-man puppet, his strength is among the best in the early Nascent Soul stage.

After all, apart from a few early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who possess sect-inherited spiritual treasures, most early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators do not have any spiritual treasures to rely on.

This also shows how precious spiritual treasures are, and how much they can enhance the strength of Nascent Soul stage cultivators!

Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators possess spiritual treasures, giving them sufficient self-protection even against mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who lack such treasures, without fear of mortal danger.

Of course, if a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator also has a spiritual treasure, it is definitely far inferior to the opponent's. If they encounter each other, it is best to run away first!

Thus, among the six Nascent Soul stage cultivators currently existing in Jing Kingdom, Zhou Chun's strength is likely second only to True Person Silver Moon, a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator who also wields a spiritual treasure.

Even if we include the "Heavenly Absolute Four Symbols Formation" set up by the four spirit pets, Master Ziyang and Master Cangyue of the Moon Wheel Sect, who also possess spirit treasures, should not be his match!

The two weakest Nascent Soul stage cultivators were naturally Bai Yang Zhenren and Tianjing Zhenren from the Yan Yang Sect, neither of whom possessed any spiritual treasures.

Having considered this, Zhou Chun nodded with satisfaction and said, "This situation is pretty much what I expected. Apart from being careful when facing True Person Silver Moon and avoiding the vicinity of the Moon Wheel Sect's mountain gate, there's nowhere in Jing Kingdom I can't go!"

And this is only the current situation.

Once any of his spirit pets successfully survives the Heavenly Tribulation and advances to become a fifth-tier demon king, he might not be able to defeat even a Nascent Soul cultivator like True Person Silver Moon, who wields a spiritual treasure!

As for Master Ziyang, in order to cooperate with Master Tianjing's plan, he will be allowed to enjoy his freedom for a while longer.

Once the Fiery Phoenix of the Hell has survived the Heavenly Tribulation and advanced to become a fifth-order demon king, Zhou Chun will naturally attack the Flame Sun Sect and make it vomit up double what it had previously consumed, and obediently bow down and apologize to him!

"Even if we can't take down that old scoundrel Ziyang this time, we still need to collect some interest. Let Li Mingxuan pay the price for his foolish actions!"

Zhou Chun muttered to himself, and immediately ordered Zhou Mingde to personally cripple Li Mingxuan's cultivation, drive him out of the Zhou family's mountain gate, and leave him to fend for himself.

(End of this chapter)