Beigong Yu was beside himself with rage. The kunpeng energy he sensed in Marquis Kun had come from the nest of kunpengs, where he himself had been born. There was another egg there that he’d carefully protected, anticipating the birth of another of his kind. Similarly, Spiriteater Demon Frogs had once gone extinct, but some remaining eggs had remained whole and carried on the bloodline.

The presence emanating from this shark, however, meant that the nest had been invaded, and the egg that Beigong Yu had carefully preserved might’ve fallen into someone else’s hand. It’d been only two years since his death in the Dusk Tournament!

In those two years, the forces he’d left behind had been exterminated and the kunpeng nest invaded. To be frank, he had only himself to blame. He’d been entirely too vicious and violent when alive, and had possessed a penchant for slaughter. He’d wiped out his fair share of clans, including not only humans, but also North Sea monster spirits. The mass murders he’d committed had left dense negative karma on him, which allowed Lu Yun to kill him with the Judgement of Life and Death.

After his death, his followers were immediately exterminated and his nest destroyed. The luckier monster spirits had absorbed the energy in the nest and acquired the kunpeng bloodline, making a great leap in strength. Marquis Kun was one such example. The great amount of energy he’d consumed propelled him to arcane immortal realm, whereupon the North Sea emperor had appointed him a marquis.

“I am a marquis of the North Sea Court. How dare you try to kill me?!” Ensnared by the giant talons, Marquis Kun could feel a tremendous wave of killing intent rolling off from his captor. He yelled at the top of his lungs, “This is the North Sea! His Majesty will chase you down!”

“A North Sea marquis?” Beigong Yu’s face split into a feral grin, his giant head manifesting in the air with eyes fixed in a death stare at Marquis Kun. “I’ve killed no less than eight hundred marquises in my lifetime. One more notch on my belt won’t make a difference.”

The proclamation chilled Marquis Kun to the bone. He could tell that the ruthless heavyweight before him meant business, and clearly had grudges to settle with the North Sea Court.

“Tell me, how many more little spirits have consumed kunpeng energy like you?!” Beigong Yu growled again.

“There are, are....”

Bam!

Before he could respond, a tremendous might knocked away the talons Beigong Yu had manifested with his inner energy.

“Fellow daoist, Marquis Kun is a member of the North Sea Court and a great official in charge of Levitating Island,” spoke a feminine voice. A handsome man in emerald long robes quickly appeared in front of the palace to protect Marquis Kun. “Your actions are disrespectful to the court.”

“Master Donglin!” Marquis Kun looked visibly relieved. The peerless immortal of House Donglin ignored him and stared gravely at Beigong Yu.

“House Donglin?” Beigong Yu showed himself. His true form was a stern-looking man in black, but he was currently disguised as a weary old man in grey, playing the part of an old servant.

“Is House Donglin of Aureate Major now going to intervene with the internal affairs of the monster spirits?” Beigong Yu smirked derisively.

The Donglin immortal tensed, then continued with some hesitation, “Who are...”

“You’re in no place to ask about me. Have your superiors come!” Scoffing, Beigong Yu suddenly clawed at the shark under the peerless immortal’s protection. He had to find out who’d entered the nest and where’d the egg had gone. Although he’d become Lu Yun’s Infernum, it was still his duty to rebuild the kunpeng race. Only by Lu Yun’s side could his kind soar to great heights. He would find the egg and offer it to Lu Yun!

“Hmph!” Face darkening, the Donglin immortal charged at Beigong Yu, his body flaring with emerald light as a green bamboo shadow flashed over his head.

Bam!

A great shock spread through the area from their collision, shaking the entire Monster God’s palace and destroying many of its buildings. Even Tidewatcher City itself felt the great impact. The repercussions of a battle between peerless immortals were far too strong for a golden immortal’s palace with unfinished formations.

“My palace!” Miao cried out unhappily.

“I’ll stop the peerless immortal,” the Donglin immortal said to Marquis Kun. “Retrieve the cosmic constitution from the palace.”

“Understood!” Marquis Kun reported. His kunpeng bloodline had been crippled by Beigong Yu, but he himself still retained the cultivation of an arcane immortal.

“Don’t kill him!” Beigong Yu reminded hurriedly when he saw the shark rushing into the palace.

“Think about yourself,” scoffed the Donglin immortal.

Beigong Yu was a formidable fighter, due to both being born with incredible talent and kunpengs being one of the top divine beasts in the world. He hadn’t become any less powerful after becoming an Infernum. And yet, the peerless immortal from House Donglin was keeping up with him, proof in itself that the immortal was a rare genius.

However, the immortal’s face clouded over when he sensed a terrifying power seizing Marquis Kun.

“I’d actually love for you to take the little girl.” Aoxue hauled up the shark with one hand and glanced at the slightly baffled Xing Mou. “However, Sir Qing Han seems to have taken a liking to the girl. If you take her, I won’t be able to explain myself to Sir Qing Han.”

In the eyes of Aoxue and the other envoys, Qing Han’s importance was second only to Lu Yun. Xing Mou’s eyes lit up at Aoxue’s words, but then lowered her head uneasily, her face flushed.

Crimson power unleashed from Aoxue’s body restrained Marquis Kun before she walked out of the palace.

“Be careful, the peerless immortal isn’t here in his true form. It’s a replica,” Aoxue voiced after careful observation. As an august immortal, it was easy for her to capture the half-crippled Marquis Kun, but she wouldn’t be a peerless immortal’s match. Thus, she stayed out of the battle.

Beigong Yu’s expression turned solemn at her words. Such replicas were usually refined from great connate treasures, and as a result, were extremely powerful.

“This particular replica is refined with an embittered bamboo, which ranks seventh among the ten connate spirit roots!” Aoxue yelled with sudden realization. “Capture him!!”