Chapter 12: Sun and Moon

Chapter 12: Sun and Moon

Inside the magnificent palace, the pillars were made of crystalline white jade, the walls of verdant emerald, and the halls were adorned with dazzling gold and pearls. The rarest seashells and corals known to mortals were scattered there like ordinary grains of sand.

Atop the highest throne in the grand hall, a giant pink scallop lay open, within which sat Princess Bever of the Merfolk. She possessed long pink hair and deep, bright eyes with pink irises. Her facial features were fair, delicate, and three-dimensional, vastly different from the immortals of the mortal realm. Below her swan-like neck, her upper body was bare save for two plump rose-red shells that tightly enveloped her full breasts, outlining a breathtaking curve. Beneath her flat abdomen lay a purplish-red fish tail, its scales shimmering like diamond-studded stars.

Although Princess Bever's body had been frozen in place by the Sea Yaksha King, tears welled in her eyes, and deep sorrow filled her wide gaze. Having witnessed her royal father, mother, and elder brother slaughtered by that fiend, her young heart had instantly shattered. In that moment, she cared no longer for revenge, wishing only to depart this world with her parents and brother...

Yet, as a Merfolk princess born with peerless beauty, how could she ever decide her own life and death?

The reason the Sea Yaksha King had led over a thousand Sea Yakshas through arduous journeys across hundreds of thousands of miles to find the Merfolk Palace was not solely for the Pearl of Devotion—a legendary treasure said to grant eternal youth and profound cultivation progress. Another major reason was Princess Bever herself.

The birth of the Pearl of Devotion depended entirely upon absolute devotion—true love as unyielding as gold. Any merfolk had a chance to shed a tear that would condense into this pearl, but each could produce only one in a lifetime. It represented a lifelong bond with a single soulmate, the purest and most pristine emotion.

The Sea Yaksha King coveted not only Princess Bever’s beauty, but even more so the Pearl of Devotion born from her tears, for now that the Merfolk King and Queen were dead, no one else in the world likely knew where the true pearl was hidden.

As long as he successfully united with Princess Bever, one day he would acquire the Pearl of Devotion formed from her tears. The path of cultivation was fraught with immense difficulty; although the Sea Yaksha King was currently at the late stage of the Upper Immortal realm, finding a breakthrough opportunity was as hard as ascending to the heavens. Once aided by the Pearl of Devotion, he could successfully breach his realm, advance to the next level, and become a supreme powerhouse in the Greater Immortal realm. Such were the ambitions of the Sea Yaksha King.

Therefore, no matter what, the last and only princess of the Merfolk race could not die!

At the lower end of the grand hall, the Sea Yaksha King was clad in cyan-gold armor. Unlike the lesser Sea Yaksha generals, he exposed his ferocious, menacing face, living up to the name of yaksha. Fresh blood trickled from beneath the armor at his abdomen, dripping continuously onto the floor of the merfolk palace. The Heavenly Thunder Spear had ultimately wounded him, tearing through his intestines and bowels.

Opposite the Sea Yaksha King, one golden and one dark, one of light and one of shadow, the sun and moon rose in tandem. The two young human immortals had remarkably each manifested the legendary visual phenomena of cultivating the Dao of Yin and Yang.

The Great Sun of Solar Radiance!
The Great Moon of Lunar Shadow!

On Zhou Hao's shoulder, the turtle wept tears of joy. It alternated its gaze between the Great Sun behind Zhou Hao and the Great Moon behind Zhang Yue, dancing and jumping with excitement.

"I am the one involved, and I haven't even reacted yet. What on earth are you getting so excited about?" Zhou Hao glanced sideways at the turtle.

"It has been far too long, far too long. The last time I saw this sight, I remember I was... Hey, why does the word escape my lips just as I try to speak? What was I again? Why did I suddenly forget?" The turtle originally wanted to open the floodgates of conversation, but found that its memories seemed to have been suddenly erased by someone, no matter how hard it tried to recall.

"What on earth are you trying to express, old timer? It's all jumbled up, completely incomprehensible," Zhou Hao said with disdain.

"It seems to be the same for me. The words are right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't say them, and my memories regarding... this matter are constantly blurring and fading away," the green snake chimed in.

Zhou Hao suddenly grew tense. Memories fading? Could someone be manipulating the turtle and the green snake from behind the scenes, or had a curse been placed on their immortal senses?

He quickly recalled that previously, when the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity was mentioned, both the turtle and the green snake clearly remembered visiting it, yet they could never recall any specific details about the place.

What was most miraculous was that, theoretically, the turtle and the green snake had first met on a star near the Greater Immortal's dwelling in the River-Luo Sect's stellar region. Furthermore, given their low cultivation levels at the time, it was virtually impossible for them to have come into contact with the celestial capital of Sun and Moon or the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity. Yet the turtle claimed to be an exiled immortal turtle, banished from the Immortal Realm down to the mortal world, having endured countless generations of vicissitudes before finally attaining the fruit of a Golden Immortal and ascending through the Dao.

"You two are truly fated! One cultivates the Dao of the Sun, while the other cultivates the Dao of the Moon. To join forces against the enemy today—truly both of you are young geniuses!" The turtle simply gave up on trying to recall what it had forgotten. It was now growing increasingly fascinated by Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue, eager to see how far these two could go and whether they could reach the legendary realm of Ten Suns and Ten Moons, matching the twin Lords of Sun and Moon.

"Indeed, for two fellow Daoists to manifest the Great Sun and Great Moon at such a tender age—you are truly dragons among immortals. I hold you in high regard!" Zhao Zhen of the Golden Light Cave had long been awed by the sun and moon manifesting behind Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue, and could not help offering a sincere word of praise.

A sharp gleam flashed through Li Qinglu's beautiful eyes. With a serene smile, she gazed at the yin and yang phenomena behind Zhang Yue and Zhou Hao for a long time before slowly speaking: "The Great Sun of Solar Radiance and the Great Moon of Lunar Shadow are reputed to be invincible among peers. I presume that in the upcoming freshman selection for the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity, Brother Zhou and Brother Zhang are bound to be on the roster!"

"To think that both fellow Daoists have kept your abilities hidden all this time, being such prodigious talents. In my view, you are hardly inferior to the geniuses from beyond the realms," Lin Chen praised.

"Seeing the two of you makes me even more certain that this year's freshman selection for the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity will be intensely contested!" Zhang Cheng narrowed his small eyes and smiled good-naturedly.

Firework smiled broadly as she looked at Zhou Hao, delighted by the praise he was receiving. Thinking that several young Golden Immortals present held his strength in such high regard, it seemed the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity was practically tailor-made for him. A month from now, he would undoubtedly enter that most prestigious divine immortal academy in the celestial capital of Sun and Moon with ease.

The youth in white and the youth in purple, with the sun and moon shifting behind them—in the eyes of everyone present, the two now resembled supreme young deities, possessing peerless potential and talent.

Zhou Hao rubbed his nose, quietly absorbing the approving gazes cast upon him by the surrounding crowd. In contrast, Zhang Yue stood silently, having only flashed a slight look of surprise when the Great Sun first rose behind Zhou Hao, after which he immediately resumed his stern expression, as unmelting as a millennium-old glacier.

"I admit that you are indeed rare young talents in the Immortal Realm, but that is no reason for your arrogance. Before truly rising to prominence, even geniuses are mere weaklings in my eyes."

The Sea Yaksha King soared into the air, his voice echoing throughout the merfolk palace. Pointing his twin-pronged halberd obliquely at the group, he instantly whipped up a monstrous wave that surged toward Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue.

Boom!

***

Zhou Hao pushed his palm forward, and a golden palm print like a small mountain smashed into the towering wave. In an instant, steam surged, water vapor mists billowed, and the seawater began to boil.

Turning to Zhang Yue, one saw his slender, straight fingers pressed together as he pointed lightly forward. Instantly, an energy finger-print condensed, as black as ink, similarly the size of a small mountain. Shaped like a sword, the finger-print cut the oncoming tidal wave directly in half.

"Turn the Sea to Ice!"

Suddenly, a brilliant light shone upon the cyan-gold twin-pronged halberd in the Sea Yaksha King's hand, shooting down into the waves below. The surging waves froze instantly, spreading from near to far until the entire Merfolk Palace was on the verge of being sealed in ice.

"Again?" Zhou Hao's expression changed drastically. Remembering how he had previously been frozen by Luo Tianyi's dragon breath, anger flared within him.

"Great Radiant Sun Palm!"

Zhou Hao thrust out both palms, condensing a giant golden palm print. The fierce, mighty solar energy around it churned wildly, and the brilliant sun shining brightly behind him shrank rapidly in size.

"Great Prohibiting Moon Finger!"

Zhang Yue pressed his fingers together and pointed forward, summoning a gigantic pitch-black finger. Surrounding it, surging lunar energy roiled, and the pitch-black moon behind him also shrank at a rate visible to the naked eye.

One palm and one finger occupied half of the majestic palace. Golden and black lights flared brightly, forcibly halting the advancing light of frost.

Clang, clang, clang!

The Sea Yaksha King snorted coldly, hurling his twin-pronged halberd sideways. It flew like a beam of cyan-gold light through the air, colliding head-on with the palm and finger. The latter instantly shattered and lost all their power, while the halberd merely slowed its momentum slightly.

Seeing the halberd about to crash down upon the two of them, Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue exchanged glances and nodded. Instantly, the sun and moon behind them rose above their heads, and like children tossing balls, they flung the sun and moon directly toward the Sea Yaksha King's weapon.

With a thunderous explosion, the weapon became entangled amidst the sun and moon, and the latter immediately burst apart, finally halting the halberd's attack.

Suspended in mid-air, the Sea Yaksha King reached out and recalled the powerless halberd back into his grip. He sneered, "Interesting. You actually managed to block an attack from me, but I imagine you are both at the end of your tether now?"

Below, the Merfolk and Sea Yaksha clans all cowered in the corners of the palace, shivering. The power of an Upper Immortal was simply too terrifying for lower immortals like them. Had Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue not acted in time, blocking the attack with the Great Radiant Sun Palm and the Great Prohibiting Moon Finger, they surely would have been reduced to cannon fodder and frozen to death on the spot.

At this moment, the palace was split into two distinct realms: frozen seawater and flowing seawater!

Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue panted heavily, their consumption of energy evidently immense. The Great Sun and Great Moon represented the strength of their solar and lunar energies; hurling them out had barely managed to stop the fatal blow of the halberd. One could only imagine what kind of unbridgeable chasm lay between a Golden Immortal and an Upper Immortal.

"Cut the nonsense. Don't think being an Upper Immortal makes you invincible; we still have trump cards we haven't played," Zhou Hao declared. Although eyes and ears were everywhere, it seemed he had no choice left but to use the yellow gourd.

"Hmph, a mere Golden Immortal—what sort of trump card could you possibly have?" the Sea Yaksha King mocked with a sneer.

Suddenly, a streak of golden light shot forth with blinding speed, aiming straight for the Sea Yaksha King's eye. A flash of intense light erupted within the latter's pupils, and a cyan radiance shot out, freezing the golden light mid-air.

Only then did the Sea Yaksha King cast his gaze downward to spot the attacker: a lean youth clad in a yellow Taoist robe—Zhao Zhen.

"An Upper Immortal's magic treasure?" The Sea Yaksha King glanced again at the golden light locked motionless by the cyan beam in mid-air. It was a wooden hairpin, originally used to secure Zhao Zhen's hair. Who would have thought it was actually a magic treasure of the Upper Immortal tier, gifted by his master?

"Alas, possessing a treasure yet being unable to fully wield it... When facing a genuine Upper Immortal, a sneak attack like this still fails to work," Zhao Zhen muttered with a wry smile as he saw his wooden hairpin halted in mid-air.

"Since that's the case, let me test your mettle!" Zhang Cheng of the Vault of Heaven Mountains stepped forward. Tall, straight, and carrying a long sword on his back, he took a single step into the upper expanse of the palace, facing the Sea Yaksha King directly.

"Oh? Seeking your own death—what tricks do you have?" the Sea Yaksha King sneered.

"I am a sword immortal; I have only the sword in my hand," Zhang Cheng said with carefree laughter.

"Go to hell and be your sword immortal there!" A ruthless look crossed the Sea Yaksha King's face as he swung his twin-pronged halberd down in a crushing blow.

Clang!

With lightning speed, Zhang Cheng drew the long sword from his back and slashed upward with all his might, parrying the halberd's strike.

The blade of the sword was carved all over with intricate patterns, its edge blindingly bright, reflecting a dazzling radiance. A razor-sharp aura seemed on the verge of breaking through the vault of heaven.

"A fine sword!"

A ferocious grin twisted the Sea Yaksha King's savage face, and he swung his halberd to attack once more.

***

Zhang Cheng held his sword horizontally. With the force of splitting Mount Hua, the twin-pronged halberd crashed onto the blade. Zhang Cheng was sent flying backward instantly, unable to even keep a grip on his sword as it tumbled downward. The Sea Yaksha King reached out, snatched the sword mid-fall, and hurled it back like a rainbow straight toward the chest of the retreating Zhang Cheng.

With his exceptionally keen vision, Zhang Cheng saw his own sword rushing toward him and hurriedly chanted an incantation. The speeding blade abruptly halted, and in the next instant, using its hilt as the leading edge, it flew beneath Zhang Cheng's feet, cushioning his downward descent.

"Go to hell!"

Unwilling to waste any more time tangling with these wet-behind-the-ears Golden Immortal youths, and reasoning that since the Merfolk King and Queen were dead and the pearl could not be found, he would simply destroy the Merfolk Palace. After all, as long as the Merfolk Princess remained, another Pearl of Devotion could eventually be born.

Inside the palace, the Sea Yaksha King withdrew his twin-pronged halberd and raised both empty hands upward. A high-density sphere of water rapidly condensed, freezing over as ice spikes burst forth from its surface, transforming it into a gigantic frozen sea urchin.

Boom!

The seawater within the palace surged violently. The icy sea urchin rolled forward at breakneck speed, carrying terrifying Upper Immortal-tier energy as it crushed down toward Zhou Hao and the others.

With mere Golden Immortal cultivation levels, how could they possibly withstand the crushing force of the frozen sea urchin?

Gathering together, the group had no choice but to channel all their immortal energy into forming a massive protective barrier. It resembled a giant white bowl radiating ripples, inverted upon the ground to block the advancing sea urchin.

"Fellow Daoist, hurry and take out that trump card you mentioned earlier! Otherwise, we're all going to die here!" Lin Chen shouted to Zhou Hao.

"I... I was just bluffing! I don't have any trump cards. Even the Great Sun was easily shattered by that monster; I'm afraid today we're all destined to lose our lives here," Zhou Hao said with a bitter smile, putting on an appearance of quiet resignation.

In truth, just as he was about to retrieve the gourd, both the turtle and the green snake had spoken up. Neither of them agreed to use the gourd at this moment, reasoning that the celestial capital of Sun and Moon was fraught with too much peril and human hearts were unpredictable. Once he used the gourd to kill the Sea Yaksha King, certain people among their group would inevitably set their sights on the treasure. The losses would outweigh the gains, likely drawing the pursuit of greedy covetous eyes, and the gourd must never be casually revealed until the very last moment.

"Well, this is splendid. We came to participate in the freshman selection for the Academy of Clarity and Obscurity, only to throw our lives away in a place like this," the handsome youth Lin Chen lamented, deeply touched by the fickleness of fate.

Just then, after stalemating with the jointly-condemned immortal energy barrier for less than half a minute, the frozen sea urchin shattered the barrier into fragments. The group was instantly blasted backward by a backlash of force toward the palace gates, colliding with and collapsing several jade pillars of the merfolk palace along the way.

"Listen to me! I will stay and fight the Sea Yaksha King. Take the opportunity to rescue the Merfolk Princess and lead the remaining Merfolk clan to escape the palace and head to the surface," Zhang Yue said, blood churning violently in his chest as he forcefully suppressed his internal Qi and addressed the others.

The group looked at one another, then turned their gazes collectively to Zhang Yue. The latter had already stood up, manifesting another spear of lightning in his hand—the Heavenly Thunder Spear, capable of harming Upper Immortals. He soared toward the grand hall ahead, intent on waging another battle against the Sea Yaksha King.

"Firework, listen to me!" Zhou Hao watched Zhang Yue's receding figure, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he turned to Firework.

"What are you trying to say?" Firework blinked her crimson eyes, looking puzzled.

Zhou Hao leaned close to her ear, whispered a few words, and then stood up as well. Flying forward to catch up with Zhang Yue, he even left the turtle and the green snake behind on Firework's shoulders.

"Hey, Zhang Yue, wait for me! I've decided to stay behind with you. Dealing with the Sea Yaksha King alone is a bit strenuous for you; one of us cultivates the Dao of the Sun and the other the Dao of the Moon—perhaps staying behind I can be of some help," Zhou Hao said, flying shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhang Yue and looking at his cold face.

Zhang Yue glanced at Zhou Hao as well, his pupils reflecting the latter's delicate face. After a long moment, he said, "You do have a trump card after all."

"Uh... When traveling outside, one naturally needs a trump card for self-defense. Otherwise, wouldn't you just doom yourself the moment you ran into someone slightly stronger?" Zhou Hao was startled at first, not expecting Zhang Yue's first words to concern his hidden card, before laughing it off with a casual excuse.

"Let's strike! I promised the Merfolk clan that I would rescue their princess. At this point, the only way to achieve that is to stall or even kill the Sea Yaksha King." Zhang Yue stopped looking at Zhou Hao, his gaze locking onto the tall, ferocious figure of the Sea Yaksha King ahead.

Hum, hum!

A golden glowing sun rose once more behind Zhou Hao, while a black moon ascended behind Zhang Yue.

"Still trying the same old tricks?"

The Sea Yaksha King crossed his arms, clear contempt written all over his eyes.

Zhou Hao and Zhang Yue remained silent, their hands moving rapidly to form seals. The sun and moon behind them released overwhelming waves of heavenly energy, growing larger and heavier with every passing second. In just a brief moment, they blotted out everything around them, filling the Merfolk Palace entirely with these two spheres of light.

"Could it be that you two are foolish enough to detonate the Great Sun and Great Moon? Hahaha! Even if I stood here and let you detonate them, I doubt you could scratch a single hair on my body," the Sea Yaksha King mocked with a laugh.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Zhang Yue finished transforming his hand seals and extended his right hand. A spear wrapped in scorching lightning radiance materialized, which then split into two. At that moment, he extended his left hand as well, holding one spear in each hand, and hurled them fiercely toward the Sea Yaksha King.