Chapter Thirty-Six: The Southern Descent Captures the Immortal

A streak of golden light, like a meteor falling from the heavens, trailed a golden tail as it hurtled toward the foot of the Divine Mountain of Buzhou.

Transformed into this golden radiance, Nanluo swept past like a shooting star, unable to spare a glance for the mountain’s magnificent scenery—her sole purpose, to accelerate.

The closer she drew to the base of the mountain, the stronger the sense of foreboding grew within her heart; she tried to break through this impending peril by speeding up even more.

Yet, when Nanluo descended to less than ten thousand zhang above the foot of the Divine Mountain, the ominous feeling surged to its peak, overwhelming her in an instant.

Thus, instead of continuing downward, Nanluo abruptly turned and fled, concealing herself from view.

Within a crystal-clear stone cave, Nanluo sat cross-legged, pondering her options.

“To be assailed by such a dreadful premonition, only the most supreme and exalted beings could be responsible,” Nanluo’s golden eyes reflected the figure of a man in purple robes. “And now, the only one likely to act against me is the Patriarch Hongjun himself!”

She took out the Creation Jade Disc, gazing at its sacred brilliance, and said helplessly, “I never expected Patriarch Hongjun to arrive so soon.”

“What should I do? How can I escape Hongjun?” Her majestic golden eyes flickered with confusion and uncertainty.

At present, she had two choices: first, surrender the Creation Jade Disc and possibly win Hongjun’s favor; second, resist to the end and refuse to hand it over.

Nanluo dismissed the first option without hesitation.

After all the hardship she had endured to obtain this opportunity, how could she simply give it away?

Even though her opponent was the legendary Patriarch Hongjun, Nanluo was not willing to relinquish the Creation Jade Disc.

If the Disc could make Hongjun a Dao Ancestor, then surely it could do the same for her.

She regarded the Creation Jade Disc as the foundation of her path to enlightenment—there was no way she would give it up so easily.

Moreover, as a Primordial God-Demon, Nanluo had inherited the flaws of her kind—pride and arrogance.

Even faced with a supreme being, while she was but a minor deity, Nanluo could never easily bow her head to Hongjun!

Thus, in truth, she had only one path: resist to the very end, never surrender.

But slogans alone were useless. What mattered was having a real strategy.

A thought of direct confrontation flashed through her mind, only to be quickly suppressed.

Fighting head-on was impossible!

The disparity between them was simply too great.

Without exaggeration, with a single thought, Patriarch Hongjun could annihilate her utterly.

There was only one possibility: outwit him!

Nanluo’s gaze lingered on the Creation Jade Disc, which floated before her, radiating divine brilliance. An idea suddenly struck her. “If only you could hide yourself so well that even Patriarch Hongjun couldn’t find you—wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

No sooner had she spoken than the spinning Jade Disc shot a golden beam at her.

Caught off guard, Nanluo was struck by the beam, her whole body jolting.

Moments later, she was beside herself with joy at the information the golden light imparted. She shouted, “So you truly can conceal yourself from Patriarch Hongjun!”

While she was elated, there was also deep apprehension in her eager gaze at the Jade Disc.

A treasure that grants whatever one wishes is as frightening as it is delightful!

When she refined the Creation Jade Disc, she had not obtained the method to conceal it.

The spirit residing in the Disc, shaped by her soul, also knew nothing of this technique.

Yet, when she needed it, the Disc itself proactively bestowed the method upon her.

“It seems the Creation Jade Disc was never truly refined by me and is far beyond my control,” Nanluo mused as she gazed intently at the Disc.

“If so, who is the true master of this Jade Disc? And what are their intentions? Is this obvious loophole a demonstration of power?” Such thoughts flitted through her mind.

Her eyes narrowed. Recalling that hidden manipulator, she wondered, Is this all part of your design?

Alas, the depths of the primordial world are unfathomable!

Especially in the ancient era, when countless supreme beings lurked in secret, biding their time.

How different from the era when Patriarch Hongjun dominated the world—most of those hidden powers had been slain or exiled by him, ushering in the Age of the Seven Saints.

“The Creation Jade Disc is a tool to be used, not relied upon,” Nanluo decided privately.

So many thoughts raced through her mind, but only for a fleeting moment.

Her hands emitted boundless golden light as she formed a complex, arcane seal, directing it at the floating Jade Disc.

The great golden seal struck the Disc at once.

The Disc’s divine golden radiance began to slowly draw inward.

At last, the Jade Disc shrank to a point of golden light and shot toward Nanluo.

Above her head, her fate manifested—a golden canopy, nine zhang tall, radiating ten thousand beams of brilliant light.

The Creation Jade Disc became a tiny speck, attaching itself to the dazzling golden canopy above her.

“Unless Patriarch Hongjun merges with the Dao right now, he’ll never be able to discover the Creation Jade Disc hidden within this golden canopy,” Nanluo said with satisfaction as she gazed at the utterly undetectable Disc.

“Patriarch Hongjun, you are destined to return empty-handed,” she thought, a hint of pride curling her lips at the image of the purple-robed figure.

Having settled everything, Nanluo once again transformed into a golden light and left the cave to continue her descent.

At five thousand zhang up the Divine Mountain, there was a hidden cavern of fire spirits.

Within, Chiyangzi, garbed in crimson Daoist robes and his ruddy face creased with worry, sat upright upon a vermillion mat, behind him a vision of myriad flames blazing.

Suddenly, Chiyangzi coughed up a mouthful of immortal blood, his complexion turning deathly pale as he remained seated.

“It’s still impossible. Without a stroke of fortune, breaking through to become a Grand Golden Immortal is nearly unattainable,” he muttered, his color returning but his spirit wounded by the setback.

Though the primordial world was rich in spiritual energy and resources—as they said, even a pig could become an immortal—those born in this era either lacked cultivation methods or were suppressed by the laws of heaven and earth. Breaking through was not easy.

Chiyangzi was a perfect example. Born as an innate spirit, he had cultivated the Dao of Immortality all the way up to Golden Immortal, yet had been stuck at that realm for hundreds of thousands of years without advancing a step.

In terms of talent, effort, and resources, did he not surpass future immortals in every way?

Yet due to cosmic suppression, he could never break through—unless fortune favored him!

While Chiyangzi was still brooding, he suddenly sensed his protective array being breached.

An overwhelmingly powerful being was approaching his cave at great speed.

Just as he drew his top-grade innate treasure, the Myriad Fire Fan, he saw an enormous golden fist smash into his head.

“A god-king level expert—why in the world is he attacking me?!” was Chiyangzi’s last confused thought before losing consciousness.

A golden light swept up the unconscious Chiyangzi and carried him toward the foot of the Divine Mountain.

May all the scholars facing the great examination achieve smooth success!