Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 810: Before the Battle

Upon returning to Rosecloud, Tang Jie inexplicably heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had cast off a heavy burden.

He had actually known about Ice Phoenix's feelings toward him for a long time, but he had always believed that she would restrain it. This was because he understood Ice Phoenix's personality. This girl had a rather aloof and proud nature, so if Tang Jie didn't say anything, she should have never brought up the matter herself.

But for some reason, she acted strangely this time, with even greater intensity.

Perhaps she had lost control of herself after suppressing her emotions for too long, or perhaps spending too long in this demon territory had influenced her. Tang Jie had thought about advising her to leave the underground world for a while and do some traveling, but her condition made it unwise to meet her, so he decided to wait until after his battle with Jewel.

The pressure from his battle with Jewel had occupied all his attention, and he had no energy to think about anything else.

When he returned to Freedom Hall, Xu Miaoran was already waiting for him.

She went up to welcome him, asking, "Is everything settled?"

Tang Jie nodded. "Yes, but I will have to enter seclusion for the next few days to digest what I have learned. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you company."

Xu Miaoran smiled. "It's not like this is the first time that's happened. I'm used to it."

The two of them embraced.

A few moments later, Xu Miaoran said, "After this battle, let's have a child."

"Since you want it, why wait until after the battle? We can try for one right now." Tang Jie smiled and lifted Xu Miaoran up, carrying her into the hall. Behind them, a gust of air closed the doors, and the hall was filled with the air of spring…

Time went by very quickly.

The day of the duel arrived.

Heavenly Balance Mountain!

The mountain was particularly lively today, with cultivators from all around gathering in this place.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Tang Jie had shaken all of the Rosecloud Domain by ascending to Violet Palace. Five years ago, he had shaken the world again by ascending to Deification. Now, for the third time, Tang Jie had become the center of attention, but this time, he was fighting not against the heavens, but against a human.

Against the number one expert beneath Earth Immortal, the one known as the strongest Violet Palace expert, the Jewel Immortal Sovereign!

This was an extremely important battle!

If the Jewel Immortal Sovereign won, then the two-hundred-year rising momentum of the Basking Moon Sect would be put to a halt, and all would become naught but floating clouds.

If the Freedom Celestial Sovereign won, then nobody would be able to stop Basking Moon's ascendance.

A great crowd of cultivators had gathered above Heavenly Balance Mountain.

Countless people were spectating, waiting for this earth-shaking battle.

Someone impatiently said, "Why aren't they here yet?"

Another person replied, "Don't rush, don't rush. What will come will come."

At this moment, an auspicious cloud appeared on the horizon, casting out a brilliant glow like a rising sun illuminating the world.

From this splendid radiance, a luxurious wagon emerged.

This wagon was made entirely from Ink Jade, its canopy was a rainbow cloud, and it was pulled along by nine Fireglass Snakes.

The Fireglass Snake was a fiend snake with a translucent body that liked to eat fire. Its bones and blood were considered rare materials, and these fiends had long ago been rendered extinct in the Rosecloud Domain. Using nine of them to pull a carriage was a sign of immense wealth.

On the Ink Jade wagon was a lotus platform, which was made from white jade, thus contrasting with the black wagon. Each leaf of the lotus had a golden twinkle which enchanted the eyes.

A person sat upon the lotus platform, holding a vase of pure water and bearing a solemn and majestic expression that made one want to worship her. This was the Jewel Immortal Sovereign. Behind her sat a little girl. She didn't look old, but her face exuded an aura of elderliness and pride.

The wagon stopped at Heavenly Balance Mountain, upon which the girl shouted, "All people beneath Violet Palace must leave this place and are not permitted to observe this battle!"

What?

These people had come from afar just to see this battle, but they weren't allowed? This was going too far! All the cultivators immediately began to clamor.

But even if this was going too far, what could they do?

No matter how they protested or complained, they had to leave. The will of a Soul Projection Celestial Sovereign wasn't something they could defy. Countless Horizon Ocean Pavilion disciples rushed to drive the cultivators away from Heavenly Balance Mountain.

Those with brighter minds guessed that this was a sign of how seriously the Jewel Immortal Sovereign was regarding this battle. If Tang Jie was an ordinary opponent, she could just end him with a slap, and there would be no need for all this. But if Tang Jie was hard to deal with and the battle dragged on, then no matter whether she won or lost, her reputation would suffer.

If there were spectators, then even if she won, people would start to say, "The Jewel Immortal Sovereign used all her strength, risking heavy injury and throwing up blood, turning into a crazed old granny, and only then did she manage to barely defeat Tang Jie, and there were also many other lacking areas…"

Jewel had no doubt that she would win this battle. That she was worried about her image after the battle was the greatest show of respect she could give Tang Jie.

As for why she didn't drive away the Violet Palace experts, that was because she had no means of driving them away. Moreover, those at Violet Palace had their own dignity to consider, and they normally didn't lower themselves to spreading such gossip.

But there were some people who weren't at Violet Palace who she also couldn't drive away.

"Tang Jie is my husband. Why can't I observe a battle where my husband is fighting?" Xu Miaoran raised an eyebrow, and the Horizon Ocean Pavilion disciples helplessly turned to Jewel, who nodded in assent to her request to stay.

"I'm Tang Jie's brother. Why can't I watch when my brother is doing battle?" This time, the one speaking was Cai Junyang.

This guy was truly audacious, directly speaking to Jewel.

"Mm?" The Jewel Immortal Sovereign cracked open her eyes and looked at Cai Junyang.

This glance made Cai Junyang feel like he was being drawn into a black vortex from which he would never be able to emerge again. He was stunned and tried to fight back, but he was powerless to do so.

He was a tenacious person, and the more dangerous and difficult the moment was, the less inclined he was to give up. Just when the vortex was about to completely consume him, he let out a roar and struck his own soul.

There was a buzz, and then his soul erupted in light, and his jolted mind managed to break free of the black vortex, upon which he found that he was still standing where he was, though he was now entirely drenched in sweat.

"Eh?" The Jewel Immortal Sovereign was surprised to see that Cai Junyang was able to break out on his own. "The Basking Moon Sect really has been producing many talents in these last few years."

This casual comment carried with it a thunderclap that shook Cai Junyang's soul once more, and he knew that Jewel was about to try again. But that glance just now had taken all his strength to break free from, so breaking out again was impossible.

At this moment, there was a clear and bright laugh. "Immortal Sovereign, why go to such lengths over a mere junior? Are you not afraid of lowering your status?"

It was Tang Jie.

As Tang Jie spoke, the thunderclap in Cai Junyang's ears subsided, as did that soul-shaking voice. Not only that, a power flowed into his body, soothing his spirit.

After a moment of surprise, Cai Junyang realized and laughed. "Many thanks, my good brother."

Following his laugh was the Jewel Immortal Sovereign's furious roar of, "Tang Jie, you dare!"

It turned out that Tang Jie's interference had not only stopped her attack on Cai Junyang. It had also silently severed her sliver of Divine Will, leaving it in Cai Junyang's body. Thus, rather than hurting him, it had enriched him. How could this not shock and enrage her?

It wasn't like this was some great loss. This bit of Divine Will was only a tiny fraction of the Jewel Immortal Sovereign's power. But that Tang Jie was able to silently sever it indicated that he possessed some extraordinary method of doing so. It had to be understood that he was weaker than her, yet he had severed the Divine Will of a Soul Projection Celestial Sovereign. This meant that his method was on a completely different level.

Tang Jie had always used excess strength to make up for his shortcoming in spell arts, relying on his dual body–law cultivation to challenge those above him.

The Jewel Immortal Sovereign couldn't help but be surprised at such an exquisite method.

She didn't know that this was one of the tricks Tang Jie had learned from Immortal Ji Yao. While Immortal Ji Yao harbored ulterior motives, she hadn't held back in her instructions. For her, there was no need to ruin her plan over this aspect. For this reason, when it came to technique, the methods Tang Jie had learned were on par with Jewel's, and in profundity, they even surpassed hers.

While that sliver of Divine Will was nothing to Jewel, it was a major boost to Cai Junyang, and as he quickly digested it, he laughed and said, "Immortal Sovereign, my gratitude for the generous gift."

This guy was really bold, daring to provoke Jewel in these circumstances.

The Jewel Immortal Sovereign scowled and was about to strike again, but Tang Jie interrupted, "Jewel Immortal Sovereign, today is your battle with me, or did you forget? If you want to fight with Junyang, you can make an appointment for another day. But before that, we have to fulfill our own deal."

"Tang Jie, no matter who wins this battle of ours, I'll be seen as bullying you. You were clearly the one who incited this battle, but my reputation will be the one that suffers, so I have no desire to have spectators for this battle."

Tang Jie replied, "If that's the case, we can have most of the people withdraw, but do you need to be so strict when it comes to my close friends?"

"Indeed, indeed. There is no need for the Jewel Immortal Sovereign to be so inhospitable," voices sounded out in agreement as Ji Qingfeng's group arrived.

It wasn't just wandering cultivators spectating this battle. Of the six major sects, all except Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate had sent spectators.

The Seven Absolutions Sect and Thousand Passions Sect both had outstanding disciples that they wanted to nurture using this opportunity. After all, this was a battle between Titans, and even if they comprehended only the smallest iota from this battle, it would have boundless benefits.

This was why everyone agreed with Tang Jie.

The Jewel Immortal Sovereign saw that she had inadvertently ended up on the opposite side of everyone else. While she wasn't afraid of them, when the fight actually began, to have everyone cheering for Tang Jie was not a pleasant feeling.

While she was angry, in the end, she said, "If that's the case, then every sect can have twenty people."

"I think thirty," Tang Jie replied.

The Jewel Immortal Sovereign was furious and wanted to object, but Tang Jie's suggestion had the people's approval, so she could only accept.

But this wasn't the end of it, as another voice rang out: "Each of the major sects have thirty spots, and we unaffiliated cultivators do not dare to place ourselves together with the six major sects. But perhaps we can ask for three?"

A figure appeared in the distance: a man with a three-pointed beard, followed by three youths.

Ling Xiao called out, "So it is Reverend Wuwang? Welcome, welcome."

This man was none other than the master of Apricot Pavilion, the Wuwang True Lord.

It was from him that Tang Jie had once stolen a Wuwang Character, thus comprehending the Dao of Insight.

Tang Jie laughed. "There is no greater honor than to be graced by the reverend's presence! Three spots is nothing at all, and we could give you even more."

"It's enough, enough," Reverend Wuwang laughed and stroked his beard, leading his disciples over to the Basking Moon Sect's side and paying respects to Ling Xiao and Xiao Biehan.

Reverend Wuwang's party had just settled down when another voice called out. "If that's the case, then this lord will also participate. Might I ask for six spots?"

A tall and thin man appeared, wearing a crown of white bone. This was the White Bone Divine Lord, a Violet Palace expert of Endsea. A while ago, one of Wang Juemie's juniors had pretended to be a disciple of his but had ended up dying thanks to Tang Jie. This man was at Deification, a tier higher than Reverend Wuwang, and as he asked for double the spots, six black-robed disciples appeared behind him.

This person was on good terms with the Jewel Immortal Sovereign, who smiled and said, "Of course."

The White Bone Divine Lord sat down on Horizon Ocean Pavilion's side.

Just when everyone thought that they could begin, an old man emerged in the distance, riding on a yellow bull. Though this bull seemed to amble through the sky, it moved with deceptive speed, reaching the mountain in the blink of an eye. Stroking his white beard, the old man said, "Good, good, I managed to make it in time."

Ling Xiao, Ji Qingfeng, and the Jade Emptiness Immortal Sovereign all bowed to this man. "We pay respects to the Immortal Elder of the Eastern Pole."

The Immortal Elder of the Eastern Pole was an extremely old Violet Palace expert, said to be from before the previous Primordial Fog Calamity. In the last two thousand years, his cultivation had not advanced, but his seniority was on par with the six Immortals, so even the likes of Ling Xiao and Jade Emptiness showed respect to him.

This elder had been in seclusion for the last one thousand years, and many people thought that he had already become Returned Remnants. The Immortal Elder nodded, accepting everyone's bows, and then he found a spot to sit down. With a wave of his sleeve, a group of youths appeared, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. The old man didn't bring up anything about asking for spots, and everyone else could only play dumb.

Several more True Lords and Celestial Sovereigns arrived in quick succession.

Thanks to Tang Jie, this battle had drawn almost every great power of the Rosecloud Domain. Cai Junyang and Wei Tianchong had never imagined that there were so many powerful people outside the sect system, and even Tang Jie was meeting many of them for the first time, so busy bowing and greeting guests that the fight was continuously delayed.

Meanwhile, the Jewel Immortal Sovereign could only watch as all these Violet Palace experts arrived, each one bringing with them their own people, and the small audience she had hoped for quickly ballooned into sixty to seventy Violet Palace experts and five hundred other spectators.

She knew that it was impossible for her to keep this battle a private affair.