Chapter 969: Junior of Later Generations, Do You Dare to Compete with Me?

"Little Dai's courage still needs some tempering." The Immortal Fairy popped out. Though Dai Bufan's cultivation surpassed that of Little Yangzi, his nerve fell far short.

"So this is the Heavenly Lord Ying?" Yun Zhi observed the Grand Exalt Yinglong with a touch of curiosity. It seemed her junior brother's excursion to the Immortal Palace had yielded no small bounty, seeing as he had even located the Heavenly Lord Ying, missing for three hundred thousand years.

"Yes, the Fairy and I happened upon Senior Heavenly Lord Ying in the Immortal Palace."

The Grand Exalt Yinglong touched down, exhaling a mist of water, his draconic eyes reflecting Yun Zhi's expressionless visage.

"Junior, are you the eldest martial sister young friend Lu Yang speaks of?"

"Immortal also speaks highly of you, wishing for me to come and behold you."

"It is merely Senior Fairy's undeserved praise."

"Undeserved or not, one trial by me will tell. Junior of later generations, do you dare contend with me?"

Yun Zhi clasped her hands in an ancient salute. "Then I must ask Senior Heavenly Lord Ying for your guidance."

This was entirely unplanned; Lu Yang hastily stepped forward to intervene. "Senior Heavenly Lord Ying, is this not somewhat inappropriate?"

The Grand Exalt Yinglong laughed heartily. "Rest easy, young friend Lu Yang. I never use my position to bully others. Since you worry for your eldest sister, I shall grant her three moves."

"That is not what I meant..."

"Enough. The word of an immortal is unalterable; the matter is settled!"

"Senior Heavenly Lord Ying acts with great nobility." Yun Zhi spoke from the heart. In all her battles, she had never encountered anyone who dared grant her three moves; the Heavenly Lord Ying was the first.

The Heavenly Lord Ying was also one who relished combat. His Yinglong form coiled high in the heavens, resembling the supreme immortal king of legends. "Junior of later generations, strike with all you have. Let me see what capabilities you possess!"

To the side, the Immortal Fairy suddenly recalled a matter of grave importance and shouted a warning, "Oh, right, Ying Tian! Back in the Eastern Sea, it was this girl Yun who thrashed and drove off the other me!"

"Ah? Wait, fellow Daoist, not this—"

"Cloudfall Palm."

Above the pocket world, a cluster of pure, flawless, auspicious clouds manifested. The clouds coalesced, descending in the shape of a palm. The palm was so vast its end could not be seen at a glance, looming larger than even the grand physique of the Grand Exalt Yinglong.

The cloud palm descended, shattering layers of space, pinning the Grand Exalt Yinglong directly into the earth.

The Heavenly Lord Ying felt as though this single palm contained countless worlds, its weight staggeringly immense. Furthermore, this strike was an attack targeted entirely at the soul; he could not even evade it!

Dai Bufan awoke in a daze, his mind a tangled mess, somewhat forgetting what had caused him to awaken.

"Did I just see the legendary Heavenly Lord Ying? The Heavenly Lord Ying even said he was visiting the sect."

Dai Bufan remembered now. He had seen a golden immortal dragon of indescribable nobility—the very one of numerous legends, hailed as the immortal among immortals, the ancestor of artifact refining: the Heavenly Lord Ying.

"Where is the Heavenly Lord Ying?"

Exerting himself to support his body, he witnessed Yun Zhi slapping the Grand Exalt Yinglong into the ground with a single palm. Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, he could vaguely discern the giant dragon rolling on the ground in agony.

"Never mind, I should sleep a bit longer."

Dai Bufan felt he might still be dreaming, so he collapsed back to the ground and drifted off to sleep once more.

"Taiyi Formless."

Another palm strike blasted the Grand Exalt Yinglong back into his Heavenly Lord Ying state. The Heavenly Lord Ying felt his immortal-metal limbs trembling incessantly, as if beyond his control.

"Taichu Substanceless."

"Doutian Immortal Thunder! Immovable Immortal Thunder! Jinque Immortal Thunder!" The Heavenly Lord Ying channeled supreme immortal lightning. The immortal thunder manifested as layers of barriers shielding his front; multiple layers of immortal thunder resonated and shifted with one another, condensing into a defensive shield of lightning.

Then, with a resounding boom, he was sent flying by Yun Zhi's palm, rocketing backward an untold distance until he plunged headfirst into the world barrier of the pocket world.

The Heavenly Lord Ying pressed both hands against the world barrier, pulling his head out with a popping sound, his brain buzzing.

First, Immortal's self-detonation had given him a brutal blow, and now Yun Zhi had sent him flying in three moves. Why had he been subjected to consecutive beatings these past two days, and all by his own people?

Back in the ancient era, whenever Immortal was around, he would always mysteriously fail in his attempts to show off. Why was it still happening now?

The Heavenly Lord Ying walked over with vigorous strides, his demeanor free and easy. "Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Yun truly possesses remarkable methods. However, we immortals seek carefree liberation; blindly flaunting strength and fighting fiercely is, conversely, a lesser path. Let us be friends through the Dao, stopping at the right moment. I see no need to dispute who is superior, yes?"

"Fellow Daoist Ying Tian speaks with reason."

Yun Zhi glanced at Dai Bufan, who lay fast asleep on the ground. "Strange, during the battle just now, I seemed to see Junior Brother Dai wake up?"

Seeing that Dai Bufan would not be waking anytime soon, she pinched a hand seal. Dai Bufan automatically floated out of the ancient ring's pocket world, flying back to the Mission Hall, before they finally turned to the business at hand.

"Senior Fairy, Junior Brother, how exactly did you find Fellow Daoist Ying Tian?"

"Fellow Daoist Yun, do not be anxious. Sit, and let us converse slowly."

With a thought from the Heavenly Lord Ying, the ground reshaped itself, growing four chairs connected to the earth.

The ancient ring's pocket world was a creation he had meticulously refined; he could alter its shape at will.

"Yesterday, among those invading the Immortal Palace, apart from the two guises of the Demon-Subduing and Fiend-Slaying Lords, another individual also secretly entered the palace..."

Having listened to the account, Yun Zhi pondered for a moment. "So that is how it is. The Mid-Heaven Emperor is attempting to open the world, and his clone possesses the capability to devour. From this, it can be inferred that he himself possesses the Devouring Dao Fruit."

"Generally speaking, without a profound comprehension of a Dao Fruit, one cannot utilize it. The Displacement Dao Fruit and the Inscription Dao Fruit we obtained have been set aside unused for precisely this reason."

"Judging by the actions of Lord Netherghost, he intended to directly seize the Tribulation-Transcending Dao Fruit. This implies the Great Gan faction has a method to utilize it."

"The most plausible explanation is that the Devouring Dao Fruit can bypass the limitations of comprehension, devouring other Dao Fruits to employ them for its own use."

"Presumably, because the Mid-Heaven Emperor's soul cannot control multiple Dao Fruits simultaneously, he requires the Laurel Tree Ancestor to strengthen his immortal soul."

"I thought so as well." The Heavenly Lord Ying and the Immortal Fairy nodded in succession.

Lu Yang thought it over, then also nodded along, pretending to understand perfectly.

"As for the origin and usage of these three Immortal-Seeking Tokens, now that Lord Netherghost is dead, something ought to be gleaned from the Demon-Subduing and Fiend-Slaying Lords."

"When I find an opportunity to visit the Immortal Palace to gather intelligence, this matter should not be difficult."

Having finally captured two major figures of the Great Gan Dynasty, both the Immortal Sect and the imperial court would view this matter with great gravity; perhaps the Immortal Palace would directly employ soul-searching to violently extract all intelligence.

"As for one of the Four Immortals being possessed by the mastermind behind the scenes, that is indeed a problem."

"The mastermind hides in the shadows. Now that one has been possessed, it is equivalent to moving from the shadows into the half-light, which is also an opportunity."

"Junior brother, if you encounter the two immortals Qilin and Jiuchong in the future, you must exercise extreme caution."

"Understood. But is Eldest Martial Sister so certain that I will encounter the Qilin Immortal and the Jiuchong Immortal?" Lu Yang recalled that his eldest sister had previously always told him to stay clear of immortal disputes. Why had her line of thought changed now?

What answered Lu Yang was Yun Zhi's complex gaze. Lu Yang tactfully refrained from questioning further.

It seemed it really wasn't a matter of him staying clear just because he wished to.