Chapter 877: Battle of the Imperial City Concludes

"Damn that Gentleman Meng, had I known, I should have slain you outright from the very start!"

Deep within the ancient, pristine forests tens of thousands of miles beyond the Imperial City, Guan Shanhai's face contorted with sheer malice; he had suffered a catastrophic defeat in the battle of the Imperial City, leaving his subordinates abandoned in the capital and Yuzhou, while the very power of the national destiny he coveted most had been cast away by his own hands.

Having survived countless battles throughout his life, he had never expected to be outschemed by two mere juniors!

At this thought, Guan Shanhai could no longer suppress his burning wrath, and he stomped his foot violently, shattering the mountain beneath him into a swirling tempest of dust.

"Gentleman Meng, Jiang Ping'an, just you wait; if I do not avenge this enmity, I swear I am no longer human!"

Though his followers were gone, possessing the copy Dao Fruit meant he lacked nothing less than subordinates; General Yu and the second State Master could easily be replicated for his use, allowing him to rise from the ashes in the blink of an eye.

"First, I must find a sanctuary to tend to my wounds."

The self-detonation had been too devastating, and coupled with his failure to seek immediate treatment, his headlong flight while burning his celestial blood had only compounded his injuries; even the simultaneous activation of his embryonic longevity and rejuvenation Dao Fruits failed to accelerate his recovery.

"Why does Senior Guan not come to my Dao Seeking Sect to heal?"

A cold, detached voice resonated from behind Guan Shanhai, sending a sudden shiver of cold sweat down his spine.

"Who is there!"

Startled, Guan Shanhai realized with a shock that someone had approached him so closely without his slightest awareness!

He whipped around to find a woman in a pristine white dress standing behind him, gazing at him quietly, devoid of joy or sorrow.

"Yun Zhi of the Dao Seeking Sect!"

Guan Shanhai recalled that Yun Zhi had once defeated four sect leaders at the Grand Assembly of the Five Immortal Sects, leading him to deduce that she had either reached the peak of the Tribulation Transmutation Stage or the realm of a Half-Immortal.

Whichever it was, she could not have affected his schemes in the Imperial City, so he had paid her no heed.

"What, a mere Half-Immortal thinks she can defeat a heavily wounded me to win fame and glory? The juniors of later generations are truly arrogant!"

Yun Zhi offered no reply; she merely took a single step forward.

Reflected within Guan Shanhai's terrified and despairing pupils was a delicate palm, drawing closer and closer, utterly inescapable.

"Is it finally over?"

A quarter of an hour after Guan Shanhai’s escape, the cultivators of the Imperial City asked themselves with lingering uncertainty, swallowing hard.

"Was the battle across the Eastern Sea of this same caliber back then?"

"The clash of Immortals is terrifying indeed."

"Aye, that technique of the Great Yu State Master just now... what was that move called again?"

"How did Gentleman Meng and the Great Yu State Master fight just now, can anyone remember?"

Although Gentleman Meng's borrowing Dao Fruit lacked the trait of causing immortal oblivion, the copy Dao Fruit possessed it, which caused the entire immortal battle to be obscured, leaving no one with a clear memory of the specific techniques used.

Even the recording crystal orbs specially deployed to capture the event had turned entirely blank, beyond any hope of recovery.

In a corner of the Imperial City, the battle among the five Half-Immortals also drew to a close.

General Yu required little explanation; Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi were entirely familiar with the combat style of the embryonic Yin-Yang Dao Fruit, making it easy to devise countermeasures, whereas the embryonic karma Dao Fruit of the second State Master proved the most troublesome.

Fortunately, the three women eventually devised a strategy; they ceased actively attacking the second State Master, and Jin Caiwei transformed the surrounding six dimensions of space into flat planes, sealing the area so that anyone attempting to breach the perimeter would face their joint assault.

They then used the planes as blades, continuously slicing the space until it was reduced to a point where the second State Master had nowhere left to hide, thereby deciding the victory.

This was an inspiration Jiang Lianyi had drawn from her husband and the four Immortals sealing the entire cultivation world to hunt for the murderer of the Immortal Sfx, and it had proven exceptionally effective.

Thus, this earth-shattering battle finally drew its curtains.

"Old Mu, are you certain you want to establish an enterprise in the Imperial City? This place feels rather unsafe." Cult Master Chi stood frozen in place; the higher one's cultivation, the more one understood how terrifying the previous battle had been, representing a clash at the very absolute end of the cultivation path, where every movement held the power to destroy heaven and earth, capable of wiping out the capital in a single strike.

Who could have foreseen that a perfectly normal inspection would evolve into a throne struggle, then a battle of Half-Immortals, and finally a clash of Immortals?

"Look on the bright side, the Imperial City boasts two Immortals, Gentleman Meng and Jiang Ping'an; is there any place safer than this?"

"Put that way, it does seem so."

"Are you the younger martial brother of Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi?"

Gentleman Meng, one of the protagonists of the immortal clash, appeared before Lu Yang, observing him with keen interest.

"Senior Meng." Lu Yang had not expected Gentleman Meng to seek him out immediately after the battle, leaving him feeling somewhat flattered.

"Such a solid foundation in cultivation; even I was no better than this during my Nascent Soul stage, a truly brilliant youth."

"Senior Meng, your injuries..."

Lu Yang looked with slight anxiety at Gentleman Meng, whose body lacked a single patch of unblemished flesh, his eyelids twitching at the sight of such grievous wounds.

The self-detonation of an Immortal possessed an unimaginable power that surpassed any celestial art Guan Shanhai had deployed; it was remarkable enough that Gentleman Meng could still stand here after taking it head-on.

Gentleman Meng laughed heartily: "Hahaha, a mere Immortal's self-detonation, what can it possibly do to me?"

Hearing this, the Immortal Sfx grew furious, leaping up from her imperial throne and rolling up her sleeves, ready to go out and spar with Gentleman Meng: "Looking down on an Immortal's self-detonation? Let this Immortal detonate one for you to see!"

"Immortal, there is no need, really no need, Senior Gentleman Meng was only joking."

Terrified, Lu Yang quickly restrained the Immortal Sfx, ushering her back to the throne.

Unaware that he had just escaped a calamity, Gentleman Meng continued to talk tough.

"These are all minor injuries that will heal in a few days; if you doubt me, you can have Guan Shanhai try self-detonating once more."

...Senior, please say a few less words.

After their battle concluded, Ao Ling and the other two also approached Lu Yang.

They were startled to see Gentleman Meng here, yet they flew down nonetheless and spoke: "Senior Brother Lu Yang, fortunately we did not fail our mission; we have captured these two."

Dangling from their hands were General Yu and the second State Master.

Only then did they cup their fists toward Gentleman Meng: "Greetings, Senior Gentleman Meng."

Gentleman Meng waved his hand: "Though I am an Immortal, the three of you are figures from the ancient era after all; discussing seniority would be too chaotic, why don't we address each other as fellow daoists?"

Gentleman Meng had previously heard Yun Zhi mention that Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi were on their side.

He only wondered why she had not mentioned Jin Caiwei; was there some sort of reservation?

"Fellow Daoist Jin, thank you for allowing me to borrow your embryonic Dao Fruit earlier; to construct such an exquisite embryonic form, Fellow Daoist Jin truly possesses peerless talent."

"An embryonic Dao Fruit cannot be borrowed for nothing, as that goes against my principles; I see that Fellow Daoist Jin belongs to the Qiongqi clan, so how about I absolve all debts between the Meng family and the Qiongqi clan?"

Jin Caiwei's eyes lit up with delight; she had thought lending her embryonic Dao Fruit was done without recompense, never expecting such a pleasant surprise.

Coming to the Imperial City this time, joining the Ancient Heavenly Court, witnessing an immortal battle, capturing two Half-Immortals alive, and finally resolving the debt that had plagued the Qiongqi clan for countless years—the harvest was immense indeed.