Zhang Mingyuan’s roars echoed through the space above the vault of heaven.
Down below, Chu Jinghong and Bai Yao stood among the crowd. He looked up, his lips twitching slightly.
“As expected of Master. His capacity for the unexpected is off the charts.”
Then, it was as if he suddenly realized something!
“No, wait!”
“Master’s line about being ‘super awesome’ must be some long-lost ancient mantra!”
“Master would never say something without a reason!”
He slapped himself across the face.
“Really, how could I ever doubt Master!”
Standing beside him, Bai Yao held Chixia in her hand and cast an expressionless glance at Chu Jinghong.
“Senior Brother, wake up.”
Bai Yao’s voice was crisp as she ruthlessly popped his bubble.
“Master's Husband is clearly just throwing a tantrum because he didn't get the immortal Dao source energy. Listen to his voice—it's completely cracked.”
“Nonsense!”
Chu Jinghong replied righteously.
“What kind of figure is Master? Would an elder of his stature care about a mere drop of immortal Dao source energy?”
“This is playing hard to get! Master is warning the upper world to make them understand the rules of Qingyun Heaven!”
“Just watch, Master definitely has a backup plan!”
Having witnessed the battle just now, there was no way Chu Jinghong would ever doubt his master’s strength again.
He had already worshipped his master blindly, but now, in his eyes, his master was simply invincible under heaven!
Bai Yao couldn't be bothered to argue and redirected her gaze back to the sky.
Although she hadn't been on the path of cultivation for long, she could tell that Zhang Mingyuan's current foot-stomping was by no means some profound, unfathomable scheme.
This exasperated, furious look of his was exactly like an old uncle at the village entrance who had just lost his prize hen.
High up in the sky, Zhang Mingyuan was still throwing a fit.
Clutching his dark-red Dog Slaughterer Sword, he pointed at where the immortal gate had disappeared and cursed up a storm.
“Where's the justice in this? I smashed the tribulation, I scared off the immortal, and you steal my clearance reward?”
“Open that door again if you dare! See if I don't slice you to pieces! Spit out my source energy!”
Su Jinxue stood by his side, her red robes rustling in the wind.
As she watched Zhang Mingyuan's exasperated state, the frost in the depths of her eyes quietly melted away.
She reached out and gently tugged on Zhang Mingyuan’s sleeve.
Zhang Mingyuan turned around, his face still flushed with indignation.
“Wife, you be the judge! Isn't this trash gate just a sore loser? It ran away because it couldn't win, and it even ninja'd my loot!”
Su Jinxue did not answer.
She raised her hand, her fingertips smoothing out Zhang Mingyuan's disheveled collar, and then gently tidied the stray hairs near his ears that had been singed by the tribulation lightning.
Her movements were soft, carrying a rare gentleness.
“Forget it,” Su Jinxue spoke softly, her voice like willow catkins in spring.
“Just being able to survive is already wonderful.”
Zhang Mingyuan froze.
He had known Su Jinxue for five thousand years, and this woman had always been of a cold, sword-swinging temperament.
Even after they became Dao companions, she was mostly tsundere and awkward. When had she ever spoken to him in such a child-coaxing tone?
Su Jinxue withdrew her hand, her gaze landing on Zhang Mingyuan’s chest as her voice softened even further.
“Whether we become immortals or not doesn't really matter. You're still here, Qingyun Heaven is still here, and I... am still here too. That is enough.”
Listening to her words, the anger in Zhang Mingyuan's head flared even higher.
He suddenly grabbed Su Jinxue’s wrist with immense force.
“How can it be fine?!” Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes turned red.
“I have to become an immortal! I must obtain the immortal Dao source energy! Otherwise, how am I supposed to save you?!”
Su Jinxue’s body stiffened.
Her crimson eyes suddenly widened, filled with utter shock.
“You...” Su Jinxue’s lips parted slightly, and after a long moment, she managed to squeeze out, “You know everything?”
Zhang Mingyuan clenched his fists.
“Of course! Did you really think you could hide it from me?”
“Your dantian is shattered, your origin is damaged, and you only have fifty years of life left!”
“Were you planning to wait until you were on the brink of death, make up some random excuse to run away from home, and have me search the entire world for you?”
Having her secrets laid bare, Su Jinxue turned her head away, not daring to meet his eyes.
“I...” She had always countered Zhang Mingyuan at every turn, but now she began to stutter.
“I just didn't want you to get distracted...”
“Bullshit!” Zhang Mingyuan spat out a curse.
“I went into seclusion for forty-nine years and risked my life to knock on the immortal gate just so I could get the immortal Dao source energy, become an immortal, and rebuild your dantian!”
“Now the gate is shut and the energy is gone! How do you expect me to stay calm?!”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He raised the Dog Slaughterer Sword, about to point at the sky and curse again.
Violet-gold ripples suddenly spread across the void.
A middle-aged man wearing a violet-gold long robe materialized out of thin air.
The man had a majestic countenance, and his entire body was surrounded by a profound aura of Dao laws. He was none other than the Heavenly Dao's avatar of the Xuanling Realm.
The moment the Heavenly Dao's avatar appeared, he familiarly sidled up to Zhang Mingyuan and patted his shoulder.
“Brother, calm down, calm down.”
The Heavenly Dao's avatar adopted the attitude of an older brother trying to break up a fight.
“Your wife is right. Being able to survive is already a blessing.”
“The one who emerged from the immortal gate just now was a major figure from the upper world.”
“You're lucky to be alive, kid. You weren't crushed to death by a single finger, so why are you still clamoring for immortal Dao source energy?”
Zhang Mingyuan slapped the Heavenly Dao's avatar's hand away.
“You were the one who told me back then that only immortal Dao source energy could save her.”
“Now that the source energy is gone, what do you expect me to do?”
The Heavenly Dao's avatar coughed twice, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the Dog Slaughterer Sword in Zhang Mingyuan's hand.
He was the Heavenly Dao; he couldn't get angry at a mere mortal cultivator!
Yes, that was it!
The Heavenly Dao's avatar withdrew his gaze, turned to Su Jinxue, and squeezed out a warm smile.
“Sister-in-law, look at this guy. He's getting worked up again.”
The Heavenly Dao's avatar patted his chest in reassurance.
“Your big brother here rules the Xuanling Realm; I have plenty of good stuff. Is it really worth throwing a fit just because the immortal Dao source energy is gone?”
Su Jinxue was slightly dazed.
She looked at Zhang Mingyuan, then at the Heavenly Dao's avatar.
The aura radiating from the man in the violet-gold robe was unmistakably the supreme Heavenly Dao laws of the Xuanling Realm.
She remembered that when Zhang Mingyuan had defied heaven back then, there was clearly a rift between them. When did they become so chummy?
“As for attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal, the most important part is the 'attaining' aspect. By attaining the Dao under the immortal tribulation, one receives the empowerment of the immortal Dao source energy and ascends to immortality.”
“As for where this source energy actually comes from, it doesn't matter at all. Don't you agree, sister-in-law?”
Su Jinxue nodded. That indeed made sense.
Suddenly, Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes lit up!
Right! The most important thing about becoming an immortal was attaining the Dao. Things like the immortal Dao source energy were just a bonus!
And didn't Brother Heavenly Dao have plenty of stock?
Instantly, Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes stopped being red, his anger vanished, and he stopped throwing tantrums at Brother Heavenly Dao.
He plastered on a flattering smile and leaned in closer.
“Brother Heavenly Dao, my voice was a bit too loud just now. It was my fault, I reflect on my actions!”
Hearing this, the Heavenly Dao's avatar immediately turned his back.
Little punk, did you really think this Dao couldn't handle a mere cultivator like you?
“What did you say? This Dao didn't hear you.”
Zhang Mingyuan tugged at the Heavenly Dao's avatar's sleeve. “Hehe, Brother, a great man like you wouldn't hold a grudge against a lesser person. We're brothers, we have to talk about our bond!”
However, just as the two of them were bantering back and forth, an unexpected change suddenly occurred in the sky.
The sky, which had already cleared up, cracked open once more.
Myriads of radiant lights gushed forth, illuminating the entire Xuanling Realm.
Celestial music lingered, and golden lotuses bloomed.
The ancient, magnificent, and sacred Gate of Ascension had actually returned!
Not only had it returned, but the gate was opened even wider than before, almost taking up half the sky.
Boom!
The immortal gate flung wide open.
Immediately after, a white mist so thick it was almost solid spewed out from inside the gate.
The mist contained the most pure immortal Dao laws—it was the very immortal Dao source energy that Zhang Mingyuan had been dreaming of!
The way this source energy erupted was not like a blessing at all; it was like a bursting dam, pouring out recklessly.
The Heavenly Dao's avatar stared in disbelief.
He had ruled the Xuanling Realm for countless years and witnessed the ascension of countless peerless geniuses. When had the immortal gate ever not been stingy, only sprinkling down a few meager wisps of source energy?
What was happening today?
Was the immortal gate leaking?
Or had the upper world immortals been scared out of their wits and were using the source energy to pay protection money?
Su Jinxue also froze in place. She had never heard of such a spectacle in her life!
As for Zhang Mingyuan, he had gone completely wild.
“Holy crap! Awesome!!!”
He screamed, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull.
“The immortal tribulation dungeon dropped the jackpot! The drop rate is maxed out!”
He threw off the Heavenly Dao's avatar and was about to charge straight over to receive his baptism.
Just as Zhang Mingyuan moved, he suddenly felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes.
The force wasn't strong, yet it stopped his momentum completely.
“What are you doing, old coot?” He cursed without turning his head.
“Don't get in the way of me gathering source energy! Pull me again and see if I don't slice you!”
He gave a hard tug but couldn't budge. Finally, he turned around impatiently, but found no one there.
Suddenly, a soft, sweet voice drifted up from below his line of sight.
“Brother, food, hungry~”
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