Embittered Bamboo!

Aoxue’s identification sent a ripple of surprise through the scene. As one of the ten great connate spirit roots of the world, it was a mythical thing that existed only in legends dating from the ancient times. It’d been introduced to the world at large after records of it were unearthed from ancient tombs.

Their reputation exceeded that of many connate-grade treasures, as all connate spirit roots possessed great power. It was said that whoever could obtain all ten would set foot on an accelerated path through the immortal dao! Even Feinie’s Formation Orb paled in comparison.

However, the spirit roots weren’t something that could be sought out intentionally. The world of immortals at large didn’t even know if the myths were true. Yet now, the seventh on the list—Embittered Bamboo—was in the public eye in the form of someone’s replica!

Donglin Shaohui, peerless immortal of House Donglin, blanched. He hadn’t expected his greatest secret to be seen through so easily. The woman hadn’t only spotted this body as a replica, but had also ascertained what it’d been refined from.

“Run!” Donglin Shaohui disengaged from his fight with Beigong Yu and burst into emerald light. A tremendous bamboo shadow flashed through and took him out of the city, knocking away Beigong Yu at the same time.

“You’re not going anywhere!” roared Beigong Yu. His body made a sudden transformation into an enormous bird with a wingspan of three thousand meters that blotted out the sun. This was one of the forms of a true kunpeng!

A kunpeng had two forms—one as a fish, and the other, a bird. As the only kunpeng in the world of immortals, Beigong Yu had only ever displayed his fish form to outsiders, saving his bird form as a secret weapon. Not even the North Sea monster king knew about it.

Now that he’d died and been resurrected as Lu Yun’s Infernum, he was at liberty to reveal himself as a divine bird and unleash tremendous power. Watery ripples violently undulated from him and doused all of Tidewatcher City like a giant pond, shunting all of the local immortals away from the city.

Water Kingdom!

It was a combat art that kunpengs were born with, and it wrapped around Donglin Shaohui before he could escape the city.

“What kind of divine beast is this?!” he yelled with shock at the giant black bird. The horrifying domain of the Water Kingdom had suppressed his embittered bamboo body and was close to forcing its true form to manifest.

“Die!” growled Beigong Yu. The ripples enveloping the city converged and transformed into a giant hand, grabbing Donglin Shaohui’s replica.

“Gahhhhh—break!!” Donglin Shaohui roared. An enormous bamboo shadow emerged above him, its tremendous power smashing the hand of water so he could totter out of the Water Kingdom.

“Don’t let him get away!” shrieked Aoxue. Throwing caution out the window, she manifested a crimson halberd, unleashing her battle strength as a blood dragon and slashing at Donglin Shaohui.

The embittered bamboo was so great a treasure that Aoxue had to acquire it for Lu Yun, even if she exposed herself as a blood dragon in the process.

“What the hell is that?!” Donglin Shaohui barely had the time to breathe before a blinding crescent of crimson light slammed into him. Panic flooded his face when the light almost ground the nascent spirit he’d attached to the embittered bamboo to paste. Nevertheless, he was still an elite immortal of House Donglin who’d been so fortuitous as to encounter an embittered bamboo. That alone put him above average immortals.

“Break!” Donglin Shaohui decisively bit the tip of his tongue and spat out dark-green blood. A pleasant fragrance immediately filled the air as millions of shadowy bamboos manifested.

Bam!

A crimson halberd slammed into the bamboo with terrifying radiance and slowed like it’d been mired in mud, but then Beigong Yu’s Water Kingdom arrived and trapped Donglin Shaohui again.

“The great peng rides the wind and soars forty-five thousand kilometers into the sky!” Beigong Yu howled. An enormous kun fish leapt from his Water Kingdom and twisted in the air, turning into a giant peng bird.

Peng of Kun!

This was Lu Yun’s second personal sword technique. As the original that the technique was based on, Beigong Yu could naturally master it. In fact, the technique was even more powerful in his hands.

“That’s Lu Yun’s sword technique,” Donglin Shaohui shrieked. “You’re Lu Yun’s man!!”

As House Donglin’s enemy, they’d studied all of Lu Yun’s combat arts and techniques. Therefore, he’d recognized the technique the moment the divine bird used it.

Wham!

A massive kunpeng body slammed into him, forcing out a mouthful of blood and the almost complete expulsion of the spirit he’d attached to the bamboo.

Clang!

Aoxue shifted, sweeping her giant halberd at Donglin Shaohui and knocking him off his feet. If the embittered bamboo replica hadn’t been as sturdy as it was, the attack would’ve bisected him at the waist.

Donglin Shaohui snarled furiously, but didn’t have a chance when confronted with a concerted attack from two powerful experts. Beigong Yu and Aoxue together made a formidable team; however, the blood dragon had also caught Donglin Shaohui off guard. If he’d reacted in time and managed a counterattack, he would’ve easily killed Aoxue, whose cultivation was inferior. Even though she’d tapped into the power of a blood dragon, she was no match for Donglin Shaohui in a head-on fight.

A replica of Embittered Bamboo was too powerful!

Rawwwr!

After a failed blow, Aoxue opted to transform into a dragon, her now-scarlet body running three hundred meters long and her foreclaws clenching the same crimson halberd. She unleashed draconic combat arts and battle techniques with abandon, scattering the great combat art Donglin Shaohui was planning to use.

Aoxue was an unrivalled genius in close quarters combat. Even with an embittered bamboo replica, Donglin Shaohui still found himself struggling.

The blood dragon and kunpeng fought together with Beigong Yu taking the lead, clashing head-on with Donglin Shaohui and meeting the embittered bamboo with his enormous kunpeng body. Meanwhile, Aoxue utilized her wealth of experience and sophisticated draconic combat arts to parry Donglin Shaohui’s attacks, blocking his escape routes at the same time.

……

Many immortals in Tidewatcher City kept an eye on the epic battle. However, they hesitated to approach the city since it was the territory of the tyrannical Monster God.

“Wait, it’s not the Monster God who’s fighting. The power ripples are coming from peerless immortals!”

“Some peerless immortals are making a move against the Monster God?!” Many snapped to attention.

“I heard that Marquis Kun of the North Sea court is paying the Monster God a visit… so why is there a battle between peerless immortals?”

The little fox didn’t have a strong foundation on Levitating Island, but she knew well the art of intimidation. Anyone who dared challenge her quickly suffered a harsh and brutal end. Therefore, though there was a great fight raging in the city, everyone gave it a wide berth lest they attract the Monster God’s ire. Even the other local overlords on the outskirts of the island kept their distance.

House Donglin territory.

“Shao… Shaohui’s in trouble!” An elderly man shot to his feet with a rapidly shifting expression. “The Monster God’s taken the cosmic constitution back to his palace, and now Shaohui is under attack in Tidewatcher City. Is this a plot against House Donglin?”

There was a hard glint in his gaze as he looked in the direction of the city. “A strange divine beast and a crimson dragon… and they’re overpowering Shaohui?!” Sword energy built beneath him before taking him to the city.