Crossing the layered mountains and forests, Chaoyang Valley was already in sight.
This place was once the territory of the water demons from the North Sea, but as the Human Race rose rapidly, the demons gradually retreated back to the North Sea.
Nowadays, a large number of humans have migrated here.
Clearing wastelands, building city-states.
For Qi Refiners, this place is also a treasure land awaiting development.
Many Qi Refiner sects of the Human Race have moved here, selecting blessed lands to establish their sects, mining Spiritual Ore, and planting Spirit Roots.
Yangji Sect is one of the outstanding ones.
In just a few hundred years since establishing their sect, they already have over two hundred disciples, among whom are more than a dozen who have achieved immortality.
At dawn, Chaoyang Valley welcomed a brand new day.
The Sect Master of Yangji Sect stood in front of the doors of a brightly lit and spacious Treasure Hall, his face faintly displaying urgency, yet he still bowed respectfully and meticulously: "Junior has an urgent matter to discuss with Immortal, may I ask if Immortal could possibly..."
"Bang!"
The great doors of the Treasure Hall flung open with a resounding boom, a fragrance mixed with the smell of alcohol wafted out, followed immediately by a cool voice from inside the hall: "What matter is so pressing to disturb Daoist's leisure?"
The Sect Master of Yangji Sect bowed deeply, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Reporting to Immortal, those disciples who went to capture the Nine-tailed Fox have not returned, and even the third junior brother who went to support them has not sent any messages back, junior fears there might have been an accident..."
"What's the panic!"
The Daoist inside the hall sneered: "Don't forget who you're working for, even if those foxes discovered them, so what?"
Hearing this, the Sect Master of Yangji Sect felt slightly relieved and respectfully said: "Then junior will try to contact the third junior brother again."
"Be quick about it! Those treasures gifted to you are not there for display!"
The Daoist in the hall urged: "This Nine-tailed Fox is designated by brother Ding Guang as his Furnace Tripod; if you can't deliver on time or the quality is subpar, and brother blames me, not only will Daoist surely not escape punishment, but you won't have it easy either!"
"Yes, yes, yes, junior will personally guide them and will certainly find them as quickly as possible."
"What do I need people for? Daoist wants the Nine-tailed Fox!"
"Yes, yes, yes, junior will go right away..."
As the Sect Master of Yangji Sect spoke, he bowed and retreated backward.
Just then, four dark shadows streaked past him, then crashed heavily to the ground.
The Sect Master of Yangji Sect looked closely, weren't these four figures his three disciples and the third junior brother, Xuanji Zi?
Right now, all four of them had their Primordial Spirits bound, their magic power completely sealed, tied up like horses hobbled together, their bodies curved into the shape of shrimp, each limp and sprawling messily, resembling several limp worms.
The Sect Master of Yangji Sect was shocked to the core and abruptly looked up, only to see a handsome young man descending slowly on a white cloud.
"You... who are you?! How dare you barge into my Yangji Sect..."
"Go play on the side."
The young man waved his hand casually, sending the Sect Master of Yangji Sect flying out like a cannonball; he crashed through several palaces without being able to stop and finally embedded deeply into the mountainside.
Then the young man turned his head to look at the Treasure Hall in front of him and said irritably: "Not going to hurry out? Or do you need me to invite you personally?"
A tall and thin figure walked out from within the Treasure Hall, his expression stern, dressed in a green Daoist robe, glanced over the bodies of Xuanji Zi and others on the ground, and said lightly: "It seems like Daoist friend is here for the Nine-tailed Foxes, but this matter is of great concern, not something you can afford to interfere with. Are you sure you want to wade into these muddy waters?"
The young man shook his head and smiled: "Originally, something like the Nine-tailed Fox has nothing to do with me; I came here only because I heard there was a Heavenly Immortal expert here who excels at harvesting primordial yang, so I specifically came to see for myself...
But now that you've mentioned it, I think I would like to wade into these muddy waters."
The tall and thin Daoist's expression darkened slightly, he secretly activated his Upper Pure Divine Eye, his gaze intently focused on the young man, trying to ascertain the depth of his cultivation.
Upon this look, he saw the True Mysterious Light flickering above the other's head, a sign that the Three Calamities were not yet complete.
That is to say, the young man before him was merely a high-ranking Profound Immortal.
This clearly seemed impossible!
Leaving everything else aside, he had just witnessed the scene where the other party casually waved his hand, and sent the Sect Master of the Yangji Sect, who was at the True Immortal Realm, flying away.
This was definitely not something a high-ranking Profound Immortal could do.
The light of the True Mysterious Light above his head was surely just a disguise; his true Dao Xing could very possibly be no weaker than his own!
With this thought, the tall and thin Daoist spoke in a deep voice: "There's no harm in telling you, I am Yao Gongbo, a disciple of the Jie Sect. If you know what's good for you, leave quickly, and I shall pretend you were never here."
Unexpectedly, after he declared his identity, the young man who had appeared suddenly started to laugh.
While laughing, he moved his wrists, saying: "I wouldn't have minded anything else, but you actually dare to claim you're a disciple of the Jie Sect..."
"Is there a problem?"
A trace of confusion flashed in Yao Gongbo's eyes.
In his mind, once he had revealed his identity as a disciple of the Jie Sect, the other party should have been scared off, or at least not dared to act rashly anymore.
But clearly, things did not progress as he had imagined.
"Hey, disciple of the Jie Sect..."
The young man muttered to himself, stepping forward unhurriedly, under his puzzled and alert gaze, he abruptly swung his palm and slapped him.
"Slap!"
The sound of a crisp slap resonated, and though Yao Gongbo was on guard, the palm was so fast that he was still solidly hit, his head spinning as he was flung away.
Yao Gongbo was totally dumbfounded.
He was a dignified high-ranking Heavenly Immortal, a second-generation disciple of the Jie Sect, and yet, he had been sent flying by a slap from this unknown man!
"You're seeking death!"
Fury surged in Yao Gongbo's heart, and he directly brought out his treasured weapon.
It was a red and round great staff, its material unknown, that stretched to the size of a house with a gust of wind and crashed down.
However, with a loud "bang," the treasure he painstakingly created broke into two pieces. Immediately afterwards, the young man followed up closely with another slap to his face.
Yao Gongbo, still airborne, was slapped directly back to the ground by that palm, causing the earth to crack and the stone steps to shatter.
Only then did the young man dust off his hands, chuckling: "In my presence, you even dare to impersonate a disciple of the Jie Sect and tarnish the reputation of our Jie Sect! Truly courting death!"
Yao Gongbo, already beaten to a pulp, heard this and suddenly scrambled up from the ground, "Wait! You're also a disciple of the Jie Sect? This is a misunderstanding! I really am a disciple of the Jie Sect, my Dao Xing place is on the Yuanjiao Immortal Island in the East Sea..."
The young man landed beside him with another palm slap coming down, "Still spouting nonsense! If your Dao Xing place is on Yuanjiao, what are you doing here?"
Yao Gongbo was slapped flying once again.
This time the young man seemed even more ruthless. Yao Gongbo's teeth were nearly all knocked out, leaving only two big front teeth standing stubbornly.
The young man then followed up closely with both hands swinging, striking from left to right.
Yao Gongbo felt like a punching bag, being tossed about non-stop by the alternating slaps of those two palms, without even touching the ground, let alone being able to speak up in his defense.
He had no choice but to use the Primordial Spirit Transmission Skill to send out what he had to say: Stop hitting! Stop hitting... What I said is true, I am here collecting furnace tripods on the order of the Long-eared Ding Guang Immortal brother... You should know Long-eared Ding Guang Immortal, right? He is a favored person beside our Sect Hierarch...
"Long-eared Ding Guang Immortal?"
The young man stopped, looked at him and asked, "Are you talking about that Long-eared Ding Guang Immortal from the Seven Attendant Immortals close to the Sect Hierarch?"
"Yes, that's the Long-eared Ding Guang Immortal brother."
Yao Gongbo nodded repeatedly, "I am here on his orders, stationed here to collect suitable furnace tripods..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the young man slapped him again.
"Good for you, impersonating a disciple of the Jie Sect isn't enough, you even dare to falsely accuse my Uncle Long-eared, I'll skin you alive today!"