Yun Zhi had made a trip back to her hometown for some business. Upon her return, she found Heaven’s Gate Peak completely deserted. Only the Qingfeng Sword was planted in the ground, giving off an unusual aura.

When she entered the Qingfeng Sword’s small world, she saw four half-immortals locked in battle, all of whom she knew.

Adding the little white tiger lying on the ground, that makes five half-immortals involved in the fight?

A battle of this scale had seemingly only occurred in the ancient era, when half-immortals were everywhere.

“Everyone, stop!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shouted, halting the four half-immortals’ battle.

With a great enemy before us, this is no time for internal conflict.

As she was the leader of two major factions, and her word was the law, none dared disobey. The four experts—Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, Yun Mengmeng, and Bu Yaolian—immediately ceased fighting and stood behind the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

Seeing this, Jin Caiwei stopped playing dead and scrambled to her feet to join the others.

At times like this, herd mentality was highly effective.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy spread her arms. Five half-immortals stood on either side behind her, forming a line.

This is the force I’ve painstakingly built to defeat Yun Zhi!

Lu Yang glanced up at the Everlasting Immortal Fairy floating behind him, then crouched down and quietly slipped to the last and most inconspicuous position in the formation.

“Lass Yun, you didn’t expect this, did you? This immortal could build such a massive force right under your very nose!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy flaunted to Yun Zhi smugly.

Apart from the Xia Emperor—the Prime Minister of the Great Dou Dynasty—every member of the dynasty was present.

The four members of the Everlasting Lineage were present as well. Among them, Yun Mengmeng held multiple positions, including Minister of Rites of the Great Dou Dynasty.

In truth, the Dao-Seeking Sect also had a faction opposed to Yun Zhi. It was the little herb kings of the herb garden. But it was too late to summon them now.

“Attack together! Let Lass Yun see what we’re capable of!”

At the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s command, Yun Mengmeng struck first.

“Take this!”

In her earlier battle with Ao Ling, Yun Mengmeng hadn’t been this spirited.

Yun Zhi’s eyelid twitched. Why are you jumping into this for no reason?

Jin Caiwei had been hesitant, unsure whether she should take action. But even Yun Mengmeng, who was merely at the Basic Divine Transfiguration Stage and had just condensed her Incipient Dao Fruit, had already made her move. Jin Caiwei figured it should be fine for her to act as well.

Besides, don’t we have Sister Everlasting here to back us up?

“Roaaar!” Jin Caiwei transformed into an enormous, majestic white tiger with wings made of bones.

Refusing to be outdone, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi also changed into their true dragon and phoenix forms.

The true dragon, phoenix, and the qiongqi—these three legendary immortal beasts had never once joined forces against a common enemy, even in the ancient era. Who would have thought that history would be made together, with all three fighting together?!

Bu Yaolian revealed a mournful face and obediently stepped forward to self-detonate, livening things up.

Why do I have to fight Jiang Lianyi and Yun Zhi today? As an almighty half-immortal, why is it that I’ve faced only opponents like this since my debut? I’ve never won a single time.

Come to think of it, the only time I’d gained the upper hand was in my fight against Great Yu’s Second Imperial Preceptor.

“Charge! This is the moment the dynasty needs you to storm the battlefield. As long as you defeat Lass Yun, promotion and ennoblement will be yours for the taking!”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy stepped forward to boost morale, promising high office and generous rewards.

Lu Yang felt that promotions and ennoblement would be challenging. Posthumous honors sound more like it.

Galvanized, the three great generals formed the Three Talents Array. Ao Ling, who had the toughest physique, charged at the forefront, while Jiang Lianyi and Jin Caiwei supported her from the flanks, their coordination flawless.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was a role model among monarchs. Unlike other emperors who simply directed their troops from the rear, she led by example, personally joining the battle against Yun Zhi.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy had made up her mind. Not even Grand Tutor Lu Yang’s remonstrations could sway her.

Grand Tutor Lu Yang had witnessed the rise of the Great Dou Dynasty firsthand and had even been designated as the next Dou Emperor. Now, seeing the dynasty in decline, he couldn’t help but feel a sorrowful lament welling in his heart.

He employed the Deceiving Heaven Defying Fate Technique and the Shrinking Earth technique and buried himself in the soil, choosing to live and die alongside the Great Dou Dynasty.

~~~

Time slipped away, passing like a shuttle. The great river surged eastward, washing away all heroes.

A pale hand emerged from a grave. A young man crawled out, his gaze vacant. “How long have I slept? What year is it? Why am I here?”

He saw the ravaged small world and the familiar faces who had been hailed as unbeatable in their respective eras, now turned into corpses. Long-buried memories slowly resurfaced.

“The Everlasting Immortal Fairy, the founder of the Great Dou Dynasty; Ao Ling, the Dragon Ancient Ancestor, Jiang Lianyi, the Phoenix Ancient Ancestor... Were these legendary figures ultimately unable to defeat that unparalleled enemy?”

Lu Yang’s lips trembled. He could not believe the cruel reality before his eyes. “Half-immortals have perished. Why am I the only one still alive?”

“Second-in-Command, what are you mumbling about?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy got up from the ground as though nothing had happened.

Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and the others also revived one after another.

“Oh, nothing.” Lu Yang remained composed, as if he hadn’t been the one speaking just moments ago.

Among everyone present, Jin Caiwei was the most stunned. The earlier battle could only be described as utterly devastating. Even half-immortals like us couldn’t last more than two moves against this woman called Yun Zhi.

Who exactly is she?

“This is the creed leader of our Heavenly Court Creed,” Lu Yang introduced Yun Zhi upon noticing that Jin Caiwei still didn’t know her.

“She’s also part of our Heavenly Court Creed?” Jin Caiwei hadn’t expected the ancient Heavenly Court to have such a formidable member aside from the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“I brought some peaches. Let’s share them.” Yun Zhi gathered everyone and opened her cloth bundle, which contained freshly picked immortal peaches from her hometown.

She had planned to give Lu Yang a few immortal peaches to celebrate the end of his body refinement training. She didn’t expect to return and find everyone engaged in a chaotic melee inside the Qingfeng Sword’s small world.

“Immortal peaches!” Jin Caiwei’s eyes sparkled. These are top-tier good stuff. The Qilin Immortal had let me taste it before.

Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi hadn’t tasted immortal peaches in a long time. The sudden sight of them stirred a sense of nostalgia.

Only Yun Mengmeng remained perfectly unperturbed. “Little Zhi, these peaches...”

Yun Zhi shot her a warning look. “I grew them from peach pits.”

“Ah? Oh, yes, yes, that’s right.”

“You can grow immortal peach trees from peach pits?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was puzzled. Why didn’t I know that?

“Yes,” Yun Zhi affirmed.

After the battle, everyone gathered to eat peaches. The fragrance filled the air, creating a warm atmosphere. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy also got to taste the immortal peaches by using Lu Yang’s body.

“Delicious! It still tastes the same as before.”

“Although it’s not as good as Everlasting-jiejie’s cooking, it’s still really delicious.”

Only Bu Yaolian couldn’t eat any since he was a soul entity.

Inside the mental space, after the Everlasting Immortal Fairy tasted the immortal peach, she sighed heavily, recalling the total defeat of the Great Dou Dynasty.

“What’s wrong, Immortal Fairy?”

“Does this immortal have to resort to eating people?”

Lu Yang got a fright. Why do you suddenly have to eat people?

“It's from a story you told me, Xiao Yangzi. An emperor was defeated and taken captive. He dug his heart and liver out, enduring hardship to make a comeback, and ultimately returned triumphant.”

“Immortal Fairy... I was talking about ‘sleeping on firewood and tasting bitter gall.’”

“That’s a pretty elegant way of putting it.”