Volume One: The Misty Immortal Palace Chapter 116: Who Is More Important

Chapter 116: Who Is More Important

At the Southern Palace of Immortals, the azure sky churned with rising winds and gathering clouds, but in the blink of an eye, the heavens darkened to an inky blackness. The ten suns disappeared, and darkness cloaked the skies. A thunderclap shattered the silence, lightning serpentine and dragon-like twisting through the heavy clouds, followed by a torrential downpour.

Through the rain curtain, Yunmiao Immortal Mountain stood tall and proud among the peaks like a towering giant, distinguished and superior. The mountain remained shrouded in clouds and mist, enveloped in a veil of swirling purple energy.

At the summit of the immortal mountain stood a solitary treasure tower. Its pinnacle was shattered with a large hole; though the tower’s exterior appeared untouched, its interior was completely pierced through. Within the third level of the tower, two familiar figures were bound to stone pillars. Facing them were two youths of similar age, also seemingly known.

“Senior sister, do you know why the Palace Master captured you two but did not kill you? After all, you were once disciples under the same master. The Palace Master, holding onto old sentiments, hoped you would reflect on your mistakes in the Alchemy Prison and then be released to continue your cultivation. But you both disappointed him greatly by aiding that rebellious brat Zhou Hao. Honestly, the Palace Master should have just killed you when he caught you this time,” said one of the young men. Dressed in white, tall and handsome, his eyes were cold and cruel, dripping with sarcasm.

“Besides using us to threaten Zhou Hao, I can’t think of any other clever plan the old Southern Palace thief might have,” said one of the bound women, clad in red, her tone indifferent.

“Cheng Yan, Southern Palace Ying, you two deserve nothing but death. My greatest shame in this lifetime is being disciples with you rotten immortals and even calling that old Southern Palace thief our master!” The other woman, delicate and pretty, barely fourteen or fifteen, now furious, spat out cutting insults.

“Have you finished your insults?” The white-clad youth Cheng Yan’s companion, a youth of average build dressed in yellow, spoke sternly.

“No! Your father, Southern Palace Xun, is an old thief who assassinated the Palace Master, framed the elders, and ruthlessly seized the entire Yunmiao Immortal Palace. You and Cheng Yan are petty thieves—old and young thieves colluding like snakes and rats. You won’t meet a good end,” Xiao Shanshan retorted sharply.

Smack!

Before Xiao Shanshan, the youthful-looking girl, had finished speaking, a heavy slap landed on her left cheek, leaving five clear red finger marks.

“Southern Palace Ying, you’re shameless! You even hit a girl—have you no shame?!” The woman in red, Yu Nan, struggled fiercely against her bindings, furious as she scolded Southern Palace Ying.

“Am I shameless? As a son, if someone insults my father, how can I not teach her a lesson?” Southern Palace Ying smiled coldly instead of getting angry, then slapped again.

But this time, it was not Xiao Shanshan who took the blow—it was Yu Nan.

“I almost forgot, you also insulted my father just now. Let me tell you both: the reason you were brought here was to threaten Zhou Hao. He has a mysterious gourd taken from the Great Immortal’s cave—a secret trump card. With that gourd, he might truly become invincible. My father, to be safe, thought of using you two to exchange for Zhou Hao’s gourd,” Southern Palace Ying revealed the truth.

Despite the slap, Yu Nan remained unfazed, sneering coldly: “Hmph, the old Southern Palace thief is no fool—cautious and meticulous in everything. No wonder he seized Yunmiao Immortal Palace within days.”

Smack! Smack!

Now Southern Palace Ying’s face turned icy cold as she struck Yu Nan’s reddened left cheek twice with sharp slaps.

He had a habit of only slapping one side of the face.

“Southern Palace Ying, if you have the guts, hit me! You rotten immortal who only bullies girls—compared to Zhou Hao, you’re just a hopping grasshopper. He only needs to lift his foot to crush you,” Xiao Shanshan’s eyes reddened with anger as she provoked and cursed Southern Palace Ying.

Unexpectedly, Southern Palace Ying turned her head sharply toward Xiao Shanshan. Once an innocent and lively girl, she now resembled a shrew, constantly hurling insults.

“Zhou Hao? What right does he have to be compared with me, Southern Palace Ying? My family background is excellent, my strength no less than any disciple in Yunmiao Immortal Palace. What does he have? Simply the favor of Su Qing—nothing more than a hanger-on!” Southern Palace Ying’s anger grew, her voice rising to a shout.

“I became like this entirely because of Zhou Hao. I was supposed to be the true number one in Yunmiao. He stole the title of the Yunmiao Three Talents from me, shattered my state of mind, caused my unstable realm, and ruined my future!” Southern Palace Ying’s eyes burned with hatred, her tone hysterical.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Everyone knows you and Zhou Hao have never even fought. How could he take your title and break your heart?” Yu Nan retorted coldly, her swollen left cheek still expressionless.

“You don’t understand! Back then, my senior brother was defeated by Su Qing, and Zhou Hao seized the opportunity to leap forward, becoming the most noticed male disciple of Yunmiao Immortal Palace. Then, at the Immortal Palace tournament, my senior brother was eliminated by other heirs, but Zhou Hao, a newcomer, became one of the final three. All these blows relate to Zhou Hao—my senior brother’s heart broke, and he has never recovered,” Cheng Yan explained calmly.

“Hahaha… What a joke! You lost because you were weaker, then you sulk and blame others. A male immortal like you can’t even accept defeat. Not only would a genius like Zhou Hao beat you, but even a lower immortal could stop you forever. You’re just too petty, too afraid of losing, always blaming heaven and earth!” Yu Nan laughed mockingly, the laughter sharp and biting.

“Exactly. Blaming others for your own failure—that’s losing without accepting it!” Xiao Shanshan sneered.

Southern Palace Ying clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. After a long pause, she said softly, “I won’t waste words with you. When Zhou Hao is captured by Father later, I will tear him limb from limb before your eyes. His death will be the stepping stone to solidify my Golden Immortal realm!”

“You dare?” Yu Nan’s delicate face finally changed color, her eyes wide with disbelief, pupils blazing with fury as she stared at her former senior sister.

“You’ll see,” Southern Palace Ying said, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed.

Outside, the rain fell relentlessly, and the wind howled.

Three Upper Immortals surrounded Zhou Hao, battling fiercely to the death. Two of them, Night Envoys, were genuine peak late Upper Immortal realm, while Southern Palace Xun was much weaker, barely reaching initial Upper Immortal realm thanks to the elixir forged by the Yin-Yang Cauldron.

Zhou Hao, with a yellow-skinned gourd hanging from his head, had withstood multiple fierce attacks from the three, but it was clear that their profound immortal energy was hardly depleted.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

From the gourd’s mouth burst forth white sword qi, surging and slicing through everything. The Night Envoys, wary, retreated while swinging their black chains, but the white sword qi effortlessly shattered the chains into scrap metal.

“Do you really think possessing the gourd makes you invincible?” The Night Envoy halted after retreating over a hundred miles.

“Sorry, I had no choice but to use the gourd against you. If I were truly an Upper Immortal, I wouldn’t need to suppress you with this treasure. How about this—I’ve thought of a good idea: lower your realms to Golden Immortal. Not even the early stage, just mid-stage. I guarantee I can defeat you three without the gourd. How’s that?” Zhou Hao’s face was full of helplessness, as if wronged, though his words made the three want to slap him.

“Arrogant! Not only are we more numerous, but our realms are higher than yours. Even if we fought at the same level, I alone could crush you!” Southern Palace Xun sneered, standing in midair, impervious to the millions of raindrops falling around him.

Zhou Hao shrugged, “Who knows? But I guess you definitely won’t dare fight me at the same level.”

“You…” Southern Palace Xun was taken aback, then waved his sleeve dismissively, “Childish. This hall would never fall for your petty provocations!”

“Enough talk. Capture him, destroy his body, extract his soul, and slowly burn it with Dao fire. Let’s see if he still misbehaves,” one Night Envoy growled impatiently, sending piercing sword lightning and eight slender black chains stabbing in eight directions.

“Slash!”

Zhou Hao channeled his immortal power to activate the yellow-skinned gourd, which spewed sword qi to sweep through the piercing sword lightning. The moment the white sword qi touched the chains, a piercing clang erupted. Although the piercing swords were cut by the sword qi, the sword qi was also pierced and shattered, dissipating like ripples in space.

“How is this possible?” Zhou Hao exclaimed, shocked. He had never expected the piercing sword chains to be so formidable, able to pierce even the gourd’s sword light.

“The piercing sword is our Night Palace’s secret weapon—nothing can resist or penetrate it, nothing can withstand it. Although it failed to pierce that turtle’s shell today, it doesn’t mean it can’t break your sword qi. Accept your fate. Your soul belongs to the Night Palace, not to yourself!” the Night Envoy declared.

Zhou Hao shook his head, dismissing the words: “Hmph, don’t be so smug. I know why. As for your chain-sword thing, I can still destroy it with sword qi. So far, it looks like we’re evenly matched!”

The Great Immortal Wanderer once said that after the yellow-skinned gourd recognizes its master, it gradually unleashes the sword qi sealed within. When the gourd’s true power is fully awakened, it means its master has comprehended all its secrets.

“Since you trust your gourd so much, let me see what you truly value more: your gourd or these two girls!” Southern Palace Xun reached out, and the two women suddenly appeared outside the tower in the pouring rain.

“The same trap can fool someone twice?” Zhou Hao crossed his arms, disdain on his face.

The two women, one in red, one in green, bore overlapping finger marks on their left cheeks, swollen and red. Their hands and feet were bound tightly with golden immortal binding ropes. Southern Palace Xun gripped one of their necks with one hand, showing no regard for any master-disciple sentiment.

“Looks like I was wrong. These two good disciples of mine aren’t as important as the gourd on your head. Then... I’ll just have to kill these two traitors!”

The wind howled, rain lashed, thunder roared!