Volume One: The Ethereal Cloud Immortal Palace Chapter 103: Defeat

Chapter 103: Defeat

The once Cloud Mist Immortal Hall had now become the Nangong Immortal Hall. At this very moment, a formidable immortal aura surged from the towering purple peak. The sky above the mountain swiftly darkened, swirling with storm clouds that blotted out the heavens.

A figure in a cyan robe hovered midair, his hair loose and stained with blood. His right shoulder was mangled, flesh torn, and his arm had already fallen to the foot of the mountain. The overwhelming immortal might radiated from him.

Opposite stood a youth clad in white—Zhou Hao. He charged forward, taking the initiative. A yellow gourd floated protectively above his head, while behind him rose the familiar golden sun.

The Great Sun!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Zhou Hao struck first, unleashing the Great Radiant Sun Palm against Nangong Xun. Nangong Xun’s eyes were icy cold, but he muttered incantations under his breath. Suddenly, a colossal dark hand descended from the gloomy sky, ink-black as night, seizing Zhou Hao’s small frame. Even the Great Radiant Sun Palm could not prevent the attack.

“Break!” Zhou Hao’s voice rang out. Though tightly gripped, the yellow gourd above his head unleashed beams of white sword light that instantly dissolved the dark hand.

“Whatever moves you have, bring them on. Today will be your end!” Zhou Hao fixed his gaze on Nangong Xun.

“Hmph, do you really believe a mere treasure gourd can bridge the chasm between a Golden Immortal and a Supreme Immortal? Do you know how long and how much effort it took me to ascend from Golden to Supreme? You’re just a mere child, and you dare to kill me?” Nangong Xun’s voice was low, contemptuous, and laced with bitter laughter.

“Stop clinging to your seniority. You colluded with the Night Palace to murder the former hall master and my master, and now shamelessly claim the title of new hall master? That’s utterly despicable. I kill you for the sake of justice,” Zhou Hao’s words echoed resolutely across the heavens.

Their exchange caught the attention of Nangong Immortal Hall’s disciples and elders, who gathered en masse on Cloud Mist Mountain to witness the battle. Upon seeing Zhou Hao, whispers erupted.

“Isn’t that Zhou Hao? He actually returned from the Great Immortal Cave. Why is he fighting the hall master now? Doesn’t he value his life?”

“That’s not the main point. The key question is why Zhou Hao is at war with the hall master. Could there be hidden reasons? If what Zhou Hao says is true, is Nangong Xun really colluding with the Night Palace?”

“Are you seeking death? How dare you speak such treason! But I suspect Zhou Hao’s fight with Nangong Xun must relate to his master, Yun Fang. After all, Yun Fang and Nangong Xun are sworn enemies, and there was that incident before.”

“Yes, it must be about Yun Fang. Yun Fang was eager to become the new hall master, so he conspired with the Night Palace to kill the old hall master. Fortunately, Nangong Xun broke through to Supreme Immortal at that crucial moment to prevent a disaster from befalling the Hall.”

“Indeed, if not for Nangong Xun, we would have long been ruled by the Night Palace and Yun Fang, turning into pawns of demons and monsters. We would have been caught between two evils, neither immortal nor demon.”

“Zhou Hao is Yun Fang’s disciple. He must be involved with the Night Palace too. Now he dares to face the hall master head-on—he’s just courting death!”

Though these murmurs were low, Zhou Hao, a Golden Immortal master, could hear them clearly. Yet he did not grow angry. When Qingqing had transmitted Ouyang Qi’s entire memory into his mind, Zhou Hao had already pieced together the whole truth.

Nangong Xun regarded the two brothers, Yun Miao and Yun Fang, as thorny enemies. Just three days after Zhou Hao left for the Great Immortal Cave, Nangong Xun could no longer restrain himself. At that time, Yun Miao was already like a flickering candle in the wind, entering the final stage of Immortal Decline—the Soul Decline. Seizing the opportunity, Nangong Xun conspired with the Night Envoy and laid a trap. He ordered the Night Envoy to strike at Yun Miao, while he lured Yun Fang into a prepared snare.

One moonlit night, the Night Envoy suddenly appeared in Yun Miao’s cultivation chamber. A fierce battle erupted. Strangely, none of the elders came to assist, as Nangong Xun had already set up a protective barrier that shielded the entire Cloud Mist Mountain. In the end, Supreme Immortal Yun Miao was tragically slain on the sword cultivation grounds.

Before the disciples’ morning training, Nangong Xun brought Yun Fang there. Seeing his brother’s lifeless body filled Yun Fang’s heart with rage, but this was exactly what Nangong Xun wanted. The disciples all gathered at the sword grounds, witnessing Yun Fang and Nangong Xun locked in fierce combat, with the hall master dead before their eyes.

Soon after, a shadow appeared—the same Night Envoy who had killed Yun Miao but had yet to leave. He coldly attacked Nangong Xun with deadly strikes. From this, everyone concluded: Yun Fang had allied with the Night Envoy to kill Nangong Xun. Clearly, the hall master’s death was the result of their collaboration.

Finally, Nangong Xun revealed his astounding power, manifesting the realm of a Supreme Immortal master—a breakthrough he had achieved. The Night Envoy, realizing he could not defeat Nangong Xun’s rise, fled. Yun Fang was defeated, imprisoned, and ultimately executed by beheading.

The victor writes history. Nangong Xun spun his tale to the world, accusing Yun Fang of conspiring with the Night Envoy to assassinate Yun Miao in the dead of night. The motive was that Yun Fang feared Nangong Xun’s breakthrough to Supreme Immortal would make him the preferred candidate for the next hall master. The damning evidence was that Yun Fang and the Night Envoy had attempted to kill Nangong Xun under everyone’s watch. Additionally, the past incident of Yun Fang’s prized disciple Yu Yang’s death at the Night Envoy’s hands over a century ago was brought up again. Nangong Xun’s scheme was masterful—a chain of traps ensuring Yun Fang’s guilt was inescapable.

“Today, I shall show you the insurmountable chasm between a Golden Immortal and a Supreme Immortal!” Nangong Xun raised one hand high, his cyan robe fluttering in the wind. His figure seemed frozen, like a god receiving worship from all living beings.

In an instant, the essence energy of this small world poured into him from all directions, like rivers converging into the sea. The energies of heaven and earth flowed like water around Nangong Xun, who became a massive whirlpool.

“Dragon-Slaying Slash!”

With a swing of his arm, a dragon’s roar shook the sky. A golden dragon made of condensed energy burst forth from Nangong Xun’s body, its four claws clutching a gleaming long blade. The blade’s sharp edge tore through space, revealing terrifying black cracks.

“This is my strongest strike. Let’s see if this so-called gap can be bridged,” Zhou Hao murmured as he formed hand seals. The golden sun behind him began to shrink.

“Great Radiant Sun Palm!”

With a fierce shout, Zhou Hao thrust both palms forward. Two gigantic golden palm prints merged into one massive imprint. At its center, a golden sun spun fiercely, as if to incinerate all demons and monsters.

Beneath the cyan alchemy tower, a figure in black robes looked up at the two combatants. When Zhou Hao unleashed the Great Radiant Sun Palm, the face hidden beneath the robes shifted color.

“What a terrifying Great Radiant Sun Palm. I didn’t expect such a prodigy to emerge from the small Heluo Sect Star Domain. To have mastered this peerless immortal technique and even condensed a sun like that... Hmph, I shall claim this young man’s soul!” The Night Envoy muttered but then shook his head. “Alas, though the Great Radiant Sun Palm is formidable, a Golden Immortal is still no match for a Supreme Immortal’s absolute power.”

No sooner had he spoken than Nangong Xun’s Dragon-Slaying Slash clashed with Zhou Hao’s Great Radiant Sun Palm. Both were masculine, powerful immortal techniques. Their collision was devastating: spatial rifts filled the void, storms of energy ravaged the heavens and earth. Except for Cloud Mist Mountain—protected by formation arrays—other elder summits were literally “beheaded.” Entire mountains cracked and collapsed, sending plumes of dust skyward.

That terrifying destruction was only the initial impact. Elders and disciples of Nangong Immortal Hall trembled, unable to gaze directly at the flash of light produced by such attacks.

“Kill!”

In midair, Zhou Hao and Nangong Xun transformed into beams of light, rushing into their lethal strikes.

Nangong Xun merged with his golden dragon, while Zhou Hao infused himself into the Great Radiant Sun Palm. Both were prepared for a fight to the death. Nangong Xun fought with the principle of a lion attacking a rabbit—using full force—while Zhou Hao’s sole thought was to kill his opponent.

With a roar, the golden dragon surged forward. Its four claws wielded the gleaming long blade, slicing through the void. In a flash of light, the five fingers of the golden palm imprint were all severed, leaving five smooth wounds and a fingerless palm. The golden dragon then opened its massive jaws and swallowed the sun at the palm’s center. The Great Radiant Sun Palm was utterly shattered.

Yet the golden dragon piercing through the palm remained unharmed.

“Pfft... pfft... cough, cough,” a figure fell from the sky. Zhou Hao coughed up fresh blood, his once pristine white robe stained crimson. Now, he resembled a bird with broken wings, unable to fly.

Had it not been for the yellow gourd’s protection, Zhou Hao would have been shattered to pieces. Nangong Xun’s Dragon-Slaying Slash was a Supreme Immortal’s full-strength strike, and Zhou Hao, still early in his Golden Immortal cultivation, could not defy fate.

A humming sound arose.

Nangong Xun appeared again, coldly glancing at Zhou Hao before extending his hand toward the yellow gourd floating above Zhou Hao’s head—clearly intending to seize it.

But suddenly, the yellow gourd launched an automatic counterattack, sword qi soaring into the sky. Nangong Xun hastily withdrew his hand, but the white sword qi, imbued with relentless tracking and killing intent, was inescapable. Nangong Xun’s hand became a fingerless, mutilated stump.

“Already recognized a new master...” Nangong Xun’s face darkened.

“Seize him! Lock this traitor in the Alchemy Prison!”