Chapter 1014: Dao Soil

Boom!

The dragon-horse reared up on its hind legs, and as its front hooves stomped down, the entire city wall spanning before them shattered into dust. The Young Heavenly Venerate on the ground turned pale; this divine steed was unnervingly powerful. What realm had it truly reached? He felt a chill run through him, realizing that crushing them would be as easy as stepping on ants.

In the center of the ancient city stood a formation platform, carved with various intricate Taoist patterns. At that moment, a flash of light appeared, and a quick-witted disciple from inside the city vanished, having gone to deliver a message.

“Esteemed Taoist brother, I believe there might be some misunderstanding. We can talk this over,” the old woman on the ground spoke up, sensing that things were going terribly wrong.

Even the arrogant Young Heavenly Venerate now kept his mouth shut. If he were to put on airs now, he believed that vicious dragon-horse would stomp his head into a rotten watermelon with a single hoof.

The three injured individuals shared a single thought: they absolutely had to pacify Ye Fan and his companions now. They would settle the score after the many immortal masters arrived; for now, they could only endure.

Phoenix Heavenly Maiden scoffed, saying, “What’s there to talk about? My master needs your permission to establish a sect in the Central Lands? You are all high and mighty immortals, not on the same level as us mortals. We can’t aspire to such heights.”

The Young Heavenly Venerate’s face flushed and paled; this was no different from being slapped in the face. This dazzling and enchanting woman before him was truly detestable, but he could only endure, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned blue.

“The Young Heavenly Venerate is still a child, full of youthful vigor. Please forgive his many offenses. All who come to my Penglai are esteemed guests,” the old woman said, sounding very sincere. However, a cold, dim light flickered in the depths of her eyes, then vanished.

“Oh, really? He’s still a child?” Phoenix Heavenly Maiden pressed the point relentlessly. “But you and this old man are not young yourselves, are you? Didn’t you just say, regardless of anything else, you would suppress us first?”

Everyone else nodded. These two were clearly biased, favoring their own without regard for reason. They had immediately tried to kill them without any investigation. If not for the dragon-horse’s absurdly high cultivation, they would most likely have been turned into pulp.

Zhang Qingyang made his move. Using pure psychic power, he formed a mental channel to extract some valuable information from the Young Heavenly Venerate’s sea of consciousness, to see if there was anything unusual about Penglai.

“Master, it seems they have obtained a Heavenly Tome, and because of this, they intend to spread their teachings in the Central Lands. They wish to gather pure psychic power,” the Young Celestial Master immediately received this information.

“So that’s it. No wonder they wanted to destroy our Heavenly Court buildings and burn Master’s statues,” Zhan Yifan said.

In ancient times, some ancient sects had already discovered the wondrous uses of psychic power, but it also had significant limitations. Legend had it that only one demonic figure had managed to achieve great power by cultivating a ‘demonic fetus’. Zhang Qingyang frowned; he had obtained this information from the Young Heavenly Venerate’s sea of consciousness, and the Heavenly Tome acquired by Penglai seemed to have some connection to this.

“These are merely external forces. They can quickly help one reach the peak, but to ascend to heaven through them is extremely difficult,” the dragon-horse sneered. Although it was born in Kunlun, it was, after all, a spiritual divine steed and knew a good deal of secrets.

“Has anyone ever achieved enlightenment through this in the past?” Ye Fan asked.

“I’ve heard of one, though I don’t know which ancient star they were on. The ages are long; I reckon they must have passed away many tens of thousands of years ago,” the dragon-horse replied.

In Kunlun, there was once a mysterious old man who came from outside this realm. He had imparted cultivation methods to the dragon-horse in its youth and told an ancient tale. Alas, time was a relentless blade; the old man had assimilated into the Tao before the dragon-horse had even fully grown.

“Who dares to cause trouble in my Penglai?”

The void opened, and a domain gate appeared. A group of people rushed out. The leader was an old man whose arms reached past his knees and whose eyes shone like golden lamps, like an old ape. It was clear at a glance that he was extremely protective of his own, and he immediately began to loudly scold them.

“Who are you, to behave so wildly in Penglai? Don’t you know where this is? Having injured my sect’s people, none of you shall leave!”

His arms reached past his knees, and the profound technique he displayed was also very unique. Though human, he unleashed the Mysterious Ape Divine Art. A Heaven-Earth Dharmakaya almost pierced the sky, as he transformed into a towering giant, reaching from earth to sky, and stomped his foot towards them.

“An ancient sect master-level figure?!” You Weiyu and others exclaimed in shock.

Although they knew Penglai was one of the three immortal mountains, where spiritual energy had been abundant since ancient times, allowing for comprehension of the Grand Dao, and where the cultivation environment hadn’t significantly changed, they couldn’t help but be astonished. In terms of overall strength, this overseas immortal island was considerably more formidable than the Taoist sects in the Central Lands. In such a short time, a sect master had already appeared!

“It’s too late for regrets. Penglai is not a place where you can show off your might!” His massive foot, covering the sky and earth, crushed the void and descended like a demonic cloud.

“It’s been many years since anyone dared to step on me,” Ye Fan said.

The dragon-horse, full of arrogance, said, “It’s not like I haven’t tried to stomp on you before. Though I didn’t succeed, you can’t avoid that fact.”

At this moment, it suddenly shifted from its state of returning to simplicity to one of fierce power. Flames flickered all over its body, and it instantly grew larger, extending a large hoof to strike, engaging in a head-on kick with the opponent.

The old man who had unleashed his Heaven-Earth Dharmakaya, his golden-lamp-like eyes rapidly contracted. He was shaken to his core. The moment the dragon-horse’s aura appeared, he felt an immense danger.

“How is this possible?” He couldn’t believe it. He knew well that the external environment had drastically changed; a figure like him, at the second heaven of the Immortal Platform, could be called a peerless powerhouse. Yet this ill-tempered dragon-horse oppressed him to the point of near suffocation. He had originally thought himself comparable to an ancient sect master, believing that any foe would be easily subdued with a single move. But now, it was clearly not the case.

Pfft! The wild dragon-horse, with a powerful kick, made the old man let out a miserable shriek. One of his legs was gone, bone fragments mixed with bloody foam flew everywhere, and he was sent flying horizontally.

“You dare to be arrogant in front of this master? Do you consider yourself an unchallengeable authority? Even if a true ancient sect master came, they would have to lie prone or prostrate before me.”

The dragon-horse proudly raised its head. A pair of dragon horns on its head pulsed with intense electrical light, shooting out two crimson bolts of lightning, instantly splitting open the flesh of this important figure. His entire body emitted a burnt stench.

“And you others, all of you, kneel and pay your respects!” It commanded the group of people in the distance like a vicious beast, a far cry from a benevolent auspicious beast.

Zhang Qingyang was tempted to ask Ye Fan, “Is this really a dragon-horse? It feels more like a local tyrant. Is it truly a mount only an ancient Human Sovereign could possess?” This made several people look at each other in bewilderment.

Phoenix Heavenly Maiden chuckled lightly, indicating that evil people deserved to be dealt with by a ‘vicious horse’ and that this was exactly how it should be.

“Don’t you dare run!” The dragon-horse let out a long neigh, leaving a trail of flames. Its hooves galloped through the sky, striking down everyone with a single hoof each. It even stomped the old man, who had considered himself an ancient sect master-level expert and invincible, half to death.

This extremely protective old man was now a bit bewildered. “What’s wrong with this world? Isn’t the Central Lands supposed to be an era of decline? Yet a true dragon-horse has actually appeared!”

Then Ye Fan personally made his move, his body radiating immortal brilliance. He extracted valuable information from the forehead of this highly distinguished old man. With a single finger point, no secret could hide.

“You…” The old man was utterly terrified. What kind of person was this, treating him like an ant, easily opening his sea of consciousness and leaving him powerless to resist? It was as if he were facing an ancient Celestial Dragon.

“They truly obtained a Heavenly Tome, and someone in Penglai has cultivated something significant,” Ye Fan frowned. The scriptures Penglai had acquired were extraordinary. Next, he carefully probed everyone’s sea of consciousness, learning a lot of information. Then he looked into the distance and said, “To that immortal mountain!”

Ye Fan rode on the dragon-horse, leading several disciples across the void. Soon after, they appeared in a sacred land. Auspicious light danced and propitious radiance flowed in this place, showering the mountains with streaks and beams of light.

This was the foundational stronghold of the Penglai Immortal Sect. When they arrived, they saw large banners flapping, and a group of powerful cultivators emerged, preparing to meet them in battle. The leader was a middle-aged man, clad in a purple-gold robe with a white jade belt at his waist, and possessed a formidable aura.

Beside him stood several other men, all exuding powerful auras, which surged towards them like a flood. Everyone stared at Ye Fan and his companions.

“This world hasn’t withered; the Penglai Immortal Sect is indeed extraordinary,” Ye Fan said. Five great experts had appeared all at once opposite them. In this era, it was like something out of A Thousand and One Nights. This was because they were not individuals who had survived from ancient times. Their ages should have been over a thousand years, but they weren’t decrepit.

“Who are you, to trespass upon my Penglai without cause?” the leading middle-aged man asked. He was the Master of Penglai, a peerless great expert, capable of looking down upon the world.

“I am the Master of the Heavenly Court. I heard that establishing a sect in the Central Lands requires the approval of Penglai. Therefore, I have traveled countless miles specifically to seek your counsel,” Ye Fan replied.

“Before the ancient sages departed, they entrusted my Penglai to guard the human world. They did not wish for any unforeseen changes. By presumptuously using the name ‘Heavenly Court,’ you have triggered the heavenly laws,” the Master of Penglai said in a deep voice.

The dragon-horse, completely unconcerned, said, “How is it that this master has never heard of these heavenly laws? Who established them?”

Zhan Yifan also spoke up, saying, “The ancient sages tasked you with guarding the human world; you are free to continue doing so. But for my master to establish a sect, he needs your permission? This interference is far too overbearing.”

“When elders speak, how is it the place of juniors like you to interrupt?” an individual of no small stature from Penglai rebuked.

Opposite them, banners unfurled, and a vast army loomed. Penglai was clearly truly enraged. Another person cast a cold gaze over them and spoke, “Even a mere mount dares to speak out of turn? Is there no discipline here?”

Ye Fan dismounted consciously; he knew this hot-tempered one was definitely about to erupt. As expected, the dragon-horse let out a long neigh, naturally rearing up on its hind legs, transforming into a streak of fire and charging forward, saying, “I’ll stomp your lungs out!”

Pfft! That poor strong individual. No sooner had he finished rebuking a mount for speaking out of turn and lacking discipline than he was struck by the dragon-horse’s basin-sized hoof, having his lungs stomped out.

The dragon-horse unleashed its might, charging recklessly, knocking over all the large banners, then successively trampling more than twenty mountain peaks into dust. Wherever it passed, the earth collapsed and the sky cracked, rumbling loudly, accompanied by lightning flashes, thunder, and towering flames. This was an auspicious beast. The moment it exerted its power, various natural phenomena appeared simultaneously, and coupled with its boundless magic power, vast as a sea of stars, it was invincible. How could these people possibly stop it?

Suddenly, a soft shout rang out. A five-colored divine light shot up from the Master of Penglai’s head. A treasure tree burst forth from his crown, shaking down thousands upon thousands of luminous rays, striking towards the dragon-horse. Its saintly might rumbled, like a rainbow piercing the sun.

“You scoundrel! To dare behave wildly in Penglai, your death is at hand!”

This was a sacred tree, forged by an ancient saint as a weapon, possessing immense power, as if an ancient saint had revived there. Even a king who had severed the path, like the dragon-horse, dared not challenge a saint weapon because the gap was too vast. Once one became a saint, all living beings, including kings, were like ants—simply no match.

The dragon-horse possessed extreme speed, turning into a streak of fire and shooting out, dodging the overwhelming saintly pressure. But the sacred tree drew a five-colored divine light, which still swept down. Ye Fan had no choice but to act. A black arrow appeared in his hand. With a forceful swipe, dark light surged, gushing forth like a black ocean.

Boom! The five-colored divine light dispersed, and the sacred tree flew backward. The Master of Penglai was sent flying horizontally, spitting blood from his mouth and nose. This was the result of Ye Fan showing mercy.

“Please, Heavenly Venerate, emerge and suppress these evildoers!” Everyone was greatly shocked. They hadn't expected the invaders to be so terrifying. Many called out towards the depths of the mountain range where immortal radiance flowed.

In the distance, the great mountains rumbled. All the peaks moved, rapidly receding to the sides, revealing a massive Taoist platform enveloped by layers of divine rings. Ye Fan was greatly astonished. That Taoist platform was very mysterious; it was composed of five colors, exactly the same material as the Five-Colored Altar! Moreover, the Grand Dao resonated, transformed true dragons leaped, and phoenix birds forged from immortal brilliance danced, all incomparably mysterious. Streaks of sacred radiance spread out, illuminating the area brightly, and a god-like existence sat enthroned upon it.