Nanyangzi had never entertained the thought of subduing the Divine Beast, because he knew that any Divine Beast capable of causing such a massive commotion was definitely not weak.
How could they covet a fully grown, high-rank Divine Beast?
Shu Jianyue raised an eyebrow, glanced at him, and then looked toward the location of Fuchenshan.
Tiankong’s evolution was about to succeed.
Zhu Su, however, assumed that the young child Shu Jianyue had been holding earlier was the one advancing. That child had to be a Divine Beast; otherwise, how could an ordinary human possibly remain unfazed by Heavenly Thunder?
Yet, on second thought, something felt off. The Sect Master had said it was an adult Divine Beast, but that child was clearly still an infant and could not possibly reach adulthood so quickly. That left only one possibility—there was another adult Divine Beast on that mountain.
A feverish fervor surfaced in Zhu Su’s eyes as he stared at that patch of sky. If he formed a contract with the cub, the adult Divine Beast would most likely follow him as well.
With that thought, he was already beginning to envision a future where he stood supreme above all.
Retracting his gaze, Nanyangzi cast a glance at Zhu Su and said indifferently, “Everyone, return to the sect. From now on, that area is designated as a forbidden ground of Hunyuan Xianzong. No one may enter without an order. Violators will be expelled from Hunyuan Xianzong, and their life or death will be of no concern.”
Zhu Su did not notice Nanyangzi’s glance, but Lu Shuixian, who had been paying close attention the entire time, caught it. Not only did she catch Nanyangzi’s glance, but she also did not miss the greed that had just shown in Zhu Su’s eyes.
She wanted to obtain a Divine Beast as well. When Lu Xiwei had only contracted a second-rank shapeshifting Lingshou, her father had already begun regarding her with newfound respect. If she herself could contract a Divine Beast, then in the Lu family—no, in the entire Dongyuan Dalu—what room would there be left for Lu Xiwei?
Thinking this, she could not help but curl her lips into a smile.
The First Elder nodded with a furrowed brow. That area happened to fall just outside the borders of Hunyuan Xianzong. What was that mountain called again?
After pondering for a while, he finally remembered. “Sect Master, that bottle-shaped peak seems to be called Fuchenshan. That anomaly occurred right above Fuchenshan.”
“Ah…” The First Elder immediately looked toward Shu Jianyue. “The Fuchenshan you requested, young lady?”
Shu Jianyue nodded.
The First Elder immediately recounted his prior transaction with Shu Jianyue to Nanyangzi.
He even took out the pill Shu Jianyue had given him and handed it to Nanyangzi for inspection.
Looking at the pill with its peculiar color yet dense and pure Lingqi, Nanyangzi’s brows twitched. He looked at Shu Jianyue and said, “It is acceptable.”
“However, I wonder if a handwritten copy would suffice? After all, the disciples within the sect still need to use the original regularly.”
Shu Jianyue nodded. “As long as there are no errors, a copy is fine. But do not copy down the wrong contents, or there won’t be a next transaction.”
Nanyangzi nodded and looked at the First Elder. “Incorporate the matter of designating Fuchenshan as a forbidden ground into the sect rules.”
The First Elder frowned slightly and asked via voice transmission, “Senior Sect Master, since this mountain has already been gifted to the young lady, why must it still be designated as a forbidden ground?”
“Because there are always those who are arrogant beyond measure and come seeking their own deaths. We cannot control outsiders, but if anyone from Hunyuan Xianzong dares to do so, they shall be severely punished without leniency.” A person ought to have self-awareness, yet there were always those who lacked it.
With that, Nanyangzi departed, not sparing the Second Elder a single glance throughout the entire exchange.
The Second Elder’s face had been taut ever since Nanyangzi arrived; only after he left did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Shu Jianyue waved a hand toward the First Elder and left as well. Arriving back at Fuchenshan, she saw the skyward-vaulting monkey in the midst of transformation.
Its brown fur was gradually morphing into a white head, red feet, and a scarlet tail. Its stature also began to shoot up, only to shrink back down little by little after reaching full height.
Chaotian handed Yuchuan back to her and glanced around the surroundings. The defenses of Fuchenshan needed to be reinforced; previously, they had only set up a Mizhang at the foot of the mountain, but now, a barrier had to be established over the entirety of Fuchenshan.
Seeing Tiankong open its eyes, Shu Jianyue walked over, staring into its eyes, and remarked, “Even your eye color has changed.”
“Come on, tell me, what kind of Lingshou did you evolve into?”
Tiankong directly transformed into human form—a tall youth appearing around eighteen or nineteen years old. Grinning from ear to ear, he said, “I am a Zhu Yan.”
Had his mouth not been split into such a silly grin, he would have looked quite imposing.
Wait, Zhu Yan?
Once it registered, Shu Jianyue’s eyes widened instantly. “The Super Divine Beast Zhu Yan?”
Just how much good karma must she have accumulated in her past life to have obtained two Super Divine Beasts just like that?
Tiankong shrank in an instant, jumped onto her shoulder, and squatted down. “Indeed! How about giving me a few more Spirit Fruits? My bloodline hasn’t fully awakened yet.”
This was just like Chaotian.
After a moment of thought, Shu Jianyue said, “Spar with me. If you win, I’ll give you two.”
Tiankong shot up in size immediately and lunged toward her. “Careful, Master! My innate heritage lies in battle and command.”
Shu Jianyue took out the Fushen Teng, raised an eyebrow, and moved to meet him. “Bring it on. I happen to be in need of a sparring partner.”
Chaotian watched for a moment before heading off to set up the barrier.
Shu Jianyue and Tiankong clashed all the way from the top of Fuchenshan to the base of the mountain.
The more Tiankong fought, the more alarmed he grew. Although he had not fully grasped his innate heritage, his cultivation was close to the Jindan Period—which was equivalent to the Huashen stage for human cultivators. Furthermore, Divine Beasts were capable of fighting above their rank, yet right now, he was only fighting to a draw against his master!
Hadn’t Master only just broken through to the Jindan stage?
Shu Jianyue had now already cultivated the Qianxi Fuling Jue to the third tier and mastered three forms of the Fuhuan Shenbian; fighting opponents of higher ranks was already second nature to her.
“Spirit Binding.” Shu Jianyue utilized the second tier of the Qianxi Fuling Jue, Spirit Binding, which could bind and restrain the Lingqi surrounding her opponent as well as the Lingqi within their body, rendering them powerless to resist.
Tiankong tried to unleash his innate skill, ‘Absolute Gravity,’ only to find that he could not mobilize his spiritual energy in the slightest.
He immediately looked at Shu Jianyue in horror. “Master, what kind of ability is this?”
To be able to bind another person’s spiritual energy—wouldn’t that make one invincible under the heavens!
Shu Jianyue smiled and replied, “This is a technique I practice called the Qianxi Fuling Jue. It can bind the Lingqi around an opponent’s body.”
“Of course, against those whose cultivation realms are far higher than mine, it naturally won’t be of much use.”
Still, if it could bind an opponent for a second or two under absolute suppression, that would be golden time for her to make an escape.
Tiankong gave her a thumbs-up. “Incredible.”
Shu Jianyue directly brought out a basket of apples and handed it to him. “Thanks. We’ll spar again next time.”
Advancing one’s cultivation realm alone was not enough; one naturally needed sufficient combat experience as well, so Tiankong made for a great sparring partner.
Transforming into his human form, Tiankong took the basket of apples and bounced away in delight.
Seeing such a tall fellow hopping and skipping along without looking the least bit out of place was truly a wondrous sight.
The Second Elder did not return to Hunyuan Xianzong with the First Elder, but instead accompanied Zhu Su to the imperial capital of Fengxian Guo.
The moment they entered the Ninth Prince’s residence, he struck Zhu Su with a palm strike, sending him flying backward. “That is the Divine Beast cub you spoke of?!”
“If you want to court death, do not drag this elder down with you.”
“Furthermore, why didn’t you mention that your master died at the hands of that woman?”
Clutching his chest, Zhu Su kept his eyes lowered, hatred churning within him. “You saw it as well; what that woman was holding in her arms was just a nursing babe. There is no way it could undergo Dujie and reach adulthood in the blink of an eye.”
The Second Elder fell silent. Indeed.
Yet the Sect Master had spoken with absolute certainty that it was an adult Divine Beast.
Zhu Su pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, his expression gloomy as he said, “Besides, even if it is an adult Divine Beast, as long as it has no master, subduing it would be an even greater boon than a Divine Beast cub.” He kept his other suspicion to himself.
Could it be that he was the only one who had realized there were two Divine Beasts on that Fuchenshan?
The Second Elder sneered coldly. “With my strength in the Jindan Period, let alone subduing an adult Divine Beast, even getting close would be difficult. Stop daydreaming.”
“You can invite people from other domains, but anyone below the Yuanying stage shouldn’t bother coming. Coming here would just be seeking death.”
Zhu Su narrowed his eyes slightly. “The Sect Master is in the Yuanying realm. Why didn’t he make a move to subdue the Divine Beast? Not only would that eliminate a hidden threat for Dongyuan Dalu, but wouldn’t it also elevate Hunyuan Xianzong to a higher level?”
The Second Elder shot him a sideways glance. “You are welcome to go try.”
If the Sect Master could have made a move, would he have designated that place as a forbidden ground?
While he could not claim to understand the Sect Master deeply, he still knew him to a certain degree.
Having finished speaking, the Second Elder departed.