Returning from the Immortal World

Tang Xiu turned his head to gaze at the Tidal Empress and sighed with a click of his tongue. “16 Fallen Immortals. I never thought your Ghost Sect had such cards hidden. Unable to become Supremes and faced with the impending roadblock, some Immortals choose to become Fallen Immortals and enter a deep state of sleep and exert themselves for the sect after being awakened by the sect during a huge crisis. They’re stronger than Perfected Golden Immortals to some degree but equally weaker than Supremes. This is really interesting. Your Ghost Sect indeed lives up to its vicious nature, you are even squeezing this last bit of strength out of your ancestors.”

The Tidal Empress sneered. “We aren’t vicious at all. We’re members of the sect when we’re alive, and ghosts of the sect when we’re dead. What’s wrong with sacrificing this tiny bit of life for the sect’s development?”

Tang Xiu lauded her and exclaimed, “It will be impossible to eliminate us thoroughly with just these 16 Fallen Immortals, so why not reveal your trump card? Or else you will be just making a fool of yourself.”

“Is that so?”

The figures of two people shot over from the distance with lightning-quick movements and arrived before the Tidal Empress instantly. These two people were dressed in black robes and had all their features hidden under them. They also wore masks to cover their faces and the aura shrouding them revealed them to be powerhouses in the Supremacy Stage.

Tang Xiu’s expression changed slightly, and he said deeply, “I didn’t expect the Ghost Sect to still have so many surviving members. You actually still had two Supremes hidden, and have a total of three Supremes together with the Tidal Empress. With such a lineup, it’s indeed possible to make us stay behind.”

The Tidal Empress sneered. “Do you really believe we only have this much strength left?”

Along with her words, a tsunami rose up at a distance of five hundred kilometers away in the boundless sea and formed a multilayered curtain of Weakening Water that covered this entire space with archaic golden runes appearing and disappearing alternatively within the water.

“Golden Empyrean Bell?”

Tang Xiu’s pupils contracted, and his eyes filled with disbelief. He had seen the Golden Empyrean Bell once just before he had become an Immortal, and this bell was within the hands of a Supreme of the Immortal World, who definitely wasn’t an opponent of the Ghost Sect back then.

Furthermore, that Supreme had disappeared 6000 years ago, and no Immortal had seen him ever again. From the current situation, it seemed like he had perished under the hands of the Ghost Sect.

The Golden Empyrean Bell was a treasure that was ranked 9th among the Ten Great Divine Artifacts of the Immortal World, and any sect that obtained it gained the ability to reinforce the sect’s protection array by a large margin. The surviving members of the Ghost Sect had actually used the Golden Empyrean Bell to lay down an array here, so there was no doubt that it possessed a truly fearsome strength!

Tang Xiu took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, “Tell me, where is Shade Demon Zhu Wushou?”

The Tidal Empress broke into loud laughter. “My senior brother isn’t in this Maelstrom Space. He’s actually in a safe region in the outside world. Unfortunately, you will never have the chance to see him ever again. Once we get rid of you, all of our Ghost Sect’s members will infiltrate your Great Tang Empire and win the trust of all the upper echelon members before making it destruct thoroughly from within. You have a lot of friends and relatives, Great Tang Heavenly Emperor! I hope they can live a bit longer, hahaha…”

Tang Xiu’s eyes brimmed with murderous intent as he summoned the other seven Supremes from his Heavenly Abode and then tried to send a voice transmission to the Golden-eyed Great Peng and Nether Sea Whale King, but he failed in the end. He even sent a communication signet outside, but they were all ineffective as the array formed by the Golden Empyrean Bell obstructed it.

The Tidal Empress chuckled and said, “Great Tang Heavenly Emperor, are you feeling despair right now? Did you fail to contact the two people you left outside? Indeed, if they attacked the clouds from outside, they may have broken the Maelstrom Space and rendered our array ineffective, but unfortunately, you are unable to contact them, so only death awaits you here, and then, we shall kill those two as well.”

Tang Xiu narrowed his eyes. He had once sealed a special immortal soul force within the bodies of the Golden-eyed Great Peng and the Nether Sea Whale King, so he tried to contact them through his immortal soul force and successfully sent his intended message to their immortal souls shortly.

“Kill them!”

Tang Xiu revealed a somewhat nefarious grin and dashed towards the Tidal Empress and the two Supreme powerhouses of the Ghost Sect.

“Attack!” The Tidal Empress and the two Supremes were all vicious characters. They charged towards Tang Xiu and the others along with the 16 Fallen Immortals controlling the array.

A battle between powerhouses was always cruel and dreadful.

After two burning-incense sticks worth of time had passed, the Maelstrom Space began to tremble suddenly, and this made Tang Xiu and the others, who were in an inferior position in the battle originally, reveal expressions of glee.

Boom…

A terrible explosion began propagating from the distant array and, at the same time, the 16 Fallen Immortals suffered a backlash as well. They spewed blood and fell back in succession.

Without the array or the 16 Fallen Immortals to block them, Tang Xiu and the eight Supremes rushed out of the crumbling clouds in tandem and appeared outside them within just a few short breaths and met up with the Golden-eyed Great Peng and the Nether Sea Whale King. The 11 of them then looked at the 19 enemies that had rushed out from within the clouds.

“Great Tang Heavenly Emperor, just how did you do this?” The Tidal Empress roared in fury with a look of indignation on her face.

Tang Xiu smirked. “How could you all comprehend my methods?! Since we’re outside the trap you made for us, let’s have a fair battle now! I shall let you experience my methods!”

In the next instant, Tang Xiu employed his divine power, the Rainbow Phantasmagoria Realm, and caused the 19 enemies to become absent-minded for a moment. Tang Xiu and the 10 Supremes used this gap to charge at them.

Spurt… Spurt… Spurt…

The Fallen Immortals either perished or got wounded badly, and even the Tidal Empress lost one of her arms and got severely wounded by two Supremes.

“Kill them!”

After the Rainbow Phantasmagoria Realm lost its effectiveness, everyone unfolded a crazy volley of their strongest attacks. All of their strengths had made enormous progress after refining a large amount of god blood, so it just took half-a-day for them to eliminate the two black-robed Supremes and the 16 Fallen Immortals.

“Tidal Empress. Tell me where Shade Demon Zhu Wushou is, or else, you shall perish eternally here today.” Tang Xiu’s voice thundered.

The Tidal Empress was riddled with injuries right now and they were so severe that she could barely put up a fight. A decisive look flashed through her eyes when she heard Tang Xiu’s words and it made her scream sorrowfully, “Great Tang Heavenly Emperor, my senior brother is an unparalleled genius, so even though his immortal soul alone remains, he will obtain the item he needs very quickly and cultivate back to the Supremacy Stage again. And the day he achieves that is the day your Great Tang Empire will meet its doom, and also the moment you will perish eternally. You can do nothing but wait for it to happen!”

Boom…

Saying so, she detonated her immortal soul.

Tang Xiu and the 10 Supreme powerhouses retreated in succession and were able to withstand the blast with much difficulty, each receiving considerable injuries.

“Look for him. You must find Shade Demon Zhu Wushou even if we have to scour the entire Endless Sea once again. If we leave him alive, it would be akin to inviting a calamity upon us in the future, so we must eliminate him at all costs,” Tang Xiu yelled.

“Understood!” All of them acknowledged.

After a half-burning-incense stick worth of time, all of them revealed astonished expressions as they sensed the signs of a battle occurring at a space a few ten thousand meters away from them.

“Let’s go!”

Tang Xiu showed no hesitation and dashed over towards that location.

“Shade Demon Zhu Wushou? And… Ji Chimei?”

Tang Xiu’s pupils contracted when he ascertained the identities of the people battling and revealed an excited expression immediately. After he had brought the Great Tang Empire’s army from Earth to the Immortal World, he had tasked a group with collecting information about Ji Chimei, but it was a fruitless endeavor as they couldn’t find anything at all. However, he never expected to run into her at such a moment, and she was even battling Shade Demon Zhu Wushou and four other Perfected Golden Immortals with her group.

“Kill Shade Demon Zhu Wushou and his men.”

Tang Xiu yelled as he sprinted towards Ji Chimei immediately and helped her block the attack of a Perfected Golden Immortal.

“Your Majesty!”

Ji Chimei revealed an emotional expression when she saw Tang Xiu appear. She and her clansmen were on the brink of losing, but she never expected Tang Xiu would appear at this moment along with so many Supreme powerhouses in tow.

Tang Xiu didn’t participate in the battle and instead tapped Ji Chimei’s shoulder. After that, he shot a drop of god blood into her mouth and said deeply, “Refine this drop of god blood first, we can talk once we have eliminated all of them.”

“Understood!”

Ji Chimei retreated a few thousand meters away, then sat cross-legged on a landmass and began cultivating.

A faint smile rose up on Tang Xiu’s handsome face as he observed Shade Demon Zhu Wushou, whose expression changed greatly all of a sudden. He smirked at him and said, “Don’t even think of escaping. You won’t be able to escape from the hands of us 11 Supremes. Zhu Wushou, you’re dead today.”

An infuriated look appeared on Shade Demon Zhu Wushou’s face as he glared at Tang Xiu fiercely and yelled, “This can’t be happening. My junior sister, Tidal Empress, brought you inside the Maelstrom Space along with the powerhouses of my Ghost Sect. They laid down a grand array there, so how did you escape from it? Where are my junior sister and my elders?”

Tang Xiu sneered. “Did you believe that just the Tidal Empress, two Supremes, and 16 Fallen Immortals could kill us? That’s just a terrible joke, Zhu Wushou. You have expended all your hidden cards by now, so the only path left for you is death. Therefore, you might as well detonate your immortal soul. How about it?”

Shade Demon Zhu Wushou took a deep breath and a bitter smile appeared on his face as he gazed at Tang Xiu and asked, “Star Cultivation Great Emperor, is there a way for you to leave me with my life? How about I exchange it with all the wealth I possess?”

Tang Xiu summoned his divine sword and smirked. “The wealth you possess is worthless in my eyes. Moreover, I will naturally obtain your wealth once I kill you. Zhu Wushou, you’re the person I hate the most in the Immortal World, so you shall die today.”

A resplendent light broke out from the divine sword as a series of sword images sliced through Shade Demon Zhu Wushou’s immortal soul. Just a single hit from one of them shattered Shade Demon Zhu Wushou’s immortal soul into pieces, and even the four Perfected Golden Immortals 10,000 meters away from the point of illumination perished at the same time. When the immortal souls of the four Perfected Golden Immortals tried to flee, Seaway Monarch and Nether Sea Whale King beside Tang Xiu acted immediately and destroyed the four immortal souls at once.

“This was too easy.”

Seaway Monarch revealed a radiant smile. He originally believed that it would take them a long time to find Shade Demon Zhu Wushou’s tracks before they could kill him. However, they didn’t even have to use some of the plans formulated by his master, the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor, and had settled the matter with just a single drop of god blood.

Tang Xiu withdrew his divine sword and looked at the place where Shade Demon Zhu Wushou perished and felt empty all of a sudden. He had always seen Zhu Wushou as a target of vengeance, but now that he had killed this enemy of his, he felt a little lost now.

A long while later, Ji Chimei awakened from her state of cultivation and flew before Tang Xiu to greet him respectfully. “Ji Chimei greets Your Majesty.”

“We greet Your Majesty.” Ji Chimei’s severely injured clansmen fell on their knees in the void one after the other.

Tang Xiu requested them to stand up and said with a smile, “There’s no need for such formalities. Ji Chimei, you returned to the Immortal World earlier than us. Over 1000 years have passed since then, so where were you all this time?”

Ji Chimei smiled bitterly. “As soon as I arrived in the Immortal World, I looked for my clansmen to assist them, but I ran into Shade Demon Zhu Wushou’s men and got severely injured by them. I was brought over here and got tormented by them day and night for a 1000 years after that. However, we seized the opportunity to escape from the Maelstrom Space when Shade Demon Zhu Wushou returned recently and were in a constant battle with him ever since. Although we lost a lot of members, we were able to persist until now.”

Tang Xiu finally understood what happened to her and said with a smile, “You cannot go unrewarded for helping us eliminate Shade Demon Zhu Wushou once and for all. Frankly, it would have been pretty difficult for us to find his hideout if it weren’t for the battle between you.”

Ji Chimei forced a smile and said, “It’s all your achievement, Your Majesty. I feel too ashamed.”

Tang Xiu waved his hand while smiling and said, “Let’s return. Our Great Tang Empire has already become the strongest force of the entire Immortal World by now. You shall become a venerated immortal of the empire once we return and all your clansmen can live in the empire too.”

“Understood!”

Ji Chimei felt excited when she recalled her master, Gu Yan’er, and wished to reunite with her soon.

Tang Xiu didn’t say much and just smiled at her before all of them left the place quickly.

“Your Majesty. I know a place in the Endless Sea that has divine rocks, but no one has been able to obtain it till now since they failed to reach that place,” Seaway Monarch muttered suddenly.

Tang Xiu asked in astonishment, “There’s a divine rock in the Immortal World? Are you sure about this?”

Seaway Monarch shook his head and said, “I’m absolutely certain about it because I have seen the divine rocks personally once. I could neither enter that place nor had a way to obtain the divine rocks from inside since I was just a weak Perfected Golden Immortal back then. However, we have a lot of people this time, and all of us are Supremes, so we should have some chance of obtaining a few divine rocks from there.”

“Where is it?”

Tang Xiu found it hard to resist the temptation as the divine force inside the divine rocks was a lot stronger than the immortal spiritual force. It was especially beneficial to the Supreme powerhouses as their bodies would gain a divine aura if they were to absorb it. And if they cultivated diligently under such a state, their chances of crossing the divine tribulation in the future would increase by a few degrees.

Seaway Monarch said, “Please follow me.”

A few months later, all of them arrived at a chaotic belt of meteorites. However, Tang Xiu never expected to actually discover a vortical portal inside such a location.

“Those are… divine rocks?”

Tang Xiu could clearly see some golden ores floating on the other side of the portal. He had studied the records of divine rocks before and the golden ores inside the portal looked the exact same as the rocks mentioned in those records.

Seaway Monarch said solemnly, “Your Majesty, that golden ore inside the portal should be made of divine rocks. However, this portal is pretty weird. I used a tremendous amount of gravitational force back then, but I could neither enter inside nor pull the divine rocks outside.”

Tang Xiu pondered for a moment and asked, “A lot of powerhouses probably know about the existence of these divine rocks here, but it seems like none of them have been able to obtain them. Why is this? Did none of the Supremes ever try to obtain them?”

“I’m also clueless about this.” Seaway Monarch shook his head with a wry smile on his face.

Tang Xiu took a deep break and employed his divine power, Heavenly Net, and the world before his eyes turned into a multicolored world of countless bright lines following their designated loci. Tang Xiu focused his gaze upon a series of golden lines within this multicolored world.

“Divine force?”

The Immortal World actually has divine force? Just what’s going on here?

Tang Xiu had crossed the divine tribulation once, so it only took a moment for him to make it out as he was very familiar with it. He concluded that the other side of the portal contained a large amount of divine force.

Seaway Monarch said, “Your Majesty, someone once speculated that the portal doesn’t actually link to a place in the Immortal World, but rather some corner of the God Realm. If we can enter the portal, we would be able to bypass the divine tribulation and enter the God Realm as an Immortal.”

Tang Xiu said, “Let me have a try.”

Saying so, he gestured with his hands in succession and controlled the series of golden lines to induce a change in the loci they followed.

In the next moment, a dreadful gravitational force emerged from the portal and pulled Tang Xiu’s entire group inside almost instantaneously.