Hidden within the sea, Ye Feipeng watched the world-shaking battle between Crimson Flame and the group of Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences above with bated breath. At this moment, he felt a flicker of hesitation.
Though his current strength was far beyond what Zhang Haobo from his past life’s memories could have ever achieved, the actual combat power displayed by Crimson Flame and the Immortal Eminences was also vastly greater than in his previous life.
If that were all, he wouldn’t be so conflicted.
The key was that another hunter was hidden on the battlefield: Zhang Zhiliang!
This Spirit Transformation array master, who had peered into his past life’s memories, would certainly not give up this chance at Dao Unity.
Just looking at the sheer, overwhelming scale of the array composed of countless, densely packed silver cubes was enough to chill him to the bone.
How could such a person be content with simply playing a supporting role?
Sure enough, the subsequent course of events confirmed Ye Feipeng’s suspicions. And Zhang Zhiliang was even more despicable than he had imagined.
He used his arrays to seal the battlefield, forcing the Immortal Eminences and Crimson Flame into a struggle to the death, while he himself waited to reap the rewards. He had even invited another Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, Hei Ya, to secure his position.
If this Dao Unity cultivator named Hei Ya made a move, Ye Feipeng stood no chance.
Should he still take the risk?
Ye Feipeng, who had already steeled his resolve before, wavered again.
But as the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences trapped within the Two Poles Subtle Dust Array fell one by one, as the wounds of Soul Arbiter Crimson Flame grew increasingly severe, and as Zhang Zhiliang’s successful Dao Unity advancement drew near, this sliver of hesitation gradually vanished.
A flash of red passed through his eyes. Gazing at the greatly weakened Crimson Flame, an unstoppable tide of greed surged in his heart.
The arrow is nocked; it must be loosed!
At this point, there is no room for me to retreat!
With the Deepsea Pearl’s cooperation, I used the Kun Devours divine ability to swallow nearly a third of the Congyun Sea.
With my Kun-Peng bloodline fully ignited, even I don’t know what kind of terrifying monster I will become after the Startling Peng Transformation.
Zhang Zhiliang read my memories. With his meticulous mind, he’s surely prepared countermeasures for me.
But it’s useless!
I won’t even engage him. It doesn't matter whether it's that Soul Arbiter, those strange arrays, or Zhang Zhiliang—I’ll just swallow them all in one gulp!
Then I’ll execute the Peng Soars divine ability, swiftly distance myself from the Congyun Sea, and head for the Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain Range.
There, the power of my sacred beast bloodline will multiply. I’ll find a place to hide and slowly digest everything!
Just ten years—no, just three years, and I’ll have digested everything in my belly!
By then, I will be the new Crimson Flame Immortal Venerable!
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Ye Feipeng’s mind.
His blood boiled with excitement, and visions of everyone bowing before him after his successful advancement to Dao Unity filled his mind.
Ye Feipeng’s eyes burned crimson.
Startling Peng Transformation, activate!
The exotic beast bloodline erupted like a violent volcano, instantly coursing through his entire body. The Deepsea Pearl frantically channeled its own power and the might of the Congyun Sea to reconstruct Ye Feipeng’s form.
Silently, a Kun-Peng demonic beast, with a body spanning thousands of li, emerged from beneath the waves into the world.
From below, its immense shadow dwarfed Zhang Zhiliang, the countless Array Crowns, and Crimson Flame.
Then, Ye Feipeng surged upward, opened his colossal maw wide, and swallowed them all.
With a long, ancient cry, the gigantic beast leaped into the air, blotting out the sky and sun.
Below, the cultivators fortunate enough to witness this scene from Myriad Immortals Island and across the entire Congyun Sea, wore an expression of utter terror.
Beneath the shadow of the great beast, cultivators and islands alike seemed infinitesimally small.
The beast hovering in the air did not plunge back into the sea. From its back, two pairs of gigantic wings unfurled. In an instant, its form shifted into that of a strange black bird.
Its wings spread in fury, like clouds hanging from the heavens. With one mighty flap, the gale it stirred instantly swept across the entire Congyun Sea.
Myriad Immortals Island, lying directly beneath the beast and facing the full might of the Kun-Peng, trembled like a willow leaf in the wind.
Waters churned for ten thousand li as the Kun-Peng rode the winds, soaring skyward. In a flash, it was high among the nine heavens.
The sounds of tremendous impacts seemed to echo continuously within its belly. But the Kun-Peng’s body was far too vast; such attacks could not shake it in the slightest for now.
As for Immortal Venerable Hei Ya who had been overseeing the situation for Zhang Zhiliang, he showed no intention of intervening.
He simply transformed into a one-eyed crow with feathers of pure black, looking up with keen interest at the departing Kun-Peng.
The Kun-Peng beat its wings once more. In the eyes of the assembled cultivators, the massive exotic beast shrank from sight until it was just a speck of black, moving swiftly southwest.
Only then did the cultivators of the Congyun Sea begin to recover from their shock.
"What... what was that?"
"Such a terrifying monster was actually hiding at the floor of the Congyun Sea?"
"A Kun-Peng! That must be the ancient Kun-Peng exotic beast, thought extinct for so long!"
"It actually swallowed Zhang Zhiliang and the Soul Arbiter together?! Does that mean this Kun-Peng will become the new Crimson Flame Immortal Venerable?"
"Ah, what a pity. Zhang Zhiliang schemed so meticulously, only to end up in a beast's belly in the end. All his efforts came to nothing!"
***
Will the ultimate victor of this era be Ye Feipeng?
The opportunities of the Congyun Sea and the Kun-Peng demonic beast bloodline stacked upon each other, plus foreknowledge and careful planning... He truly has the capital to attempt Dao Unity.
However, after swallowing Crimson Flame, he fled immediately... He likely lacks the strength to digest it on the spot.
But how will this be considered? If Crimson Flame isn't dead yet, will Ink Death still descend? Will the Congyun Sea still be destroyed or not?
Li Fan, like the other cultivators, gazed up at the sky, his expression inscrutable.
At that moment, another clear, resonant cry from the Kun-Peng reached everyone's ears. It seemed to be in extremely high spirits, utterly pleased with itself.
The cultivators sighed and murmured amongst themselves.
Just as the Kun-Peng was about to vanish completely from the skyline, a sudden change occurred.
Li Fan’s eyes narrowed, and his posture abruptly straightened.
There, upon the vast sky, a purple-hued aura suddenly arrived from the west.
Multicolored clouds appeared, spreading across the entire firmament in the blink of an eye.
A figure composed entirely of faint purple aura sat upon those multicolored clouds occupying half the sky.
The purple figure gazed in the direction where the Kun-Peng had nearly vanished and snorted coldly.
"Demons and heretics, how dare you show yourselves!"
The voice was strange, a composite of a child's tender tones and a cold, middle-aged man's timbre. Yet it carried immense authority, thundering like a storm, echoing across the world.
Every living being that heard it felt their hearts lurch, seized by a nameless dread.
As the purple form spoke, it pointed a single, casual finger toward Ye Feipeng.
A bolt of purple divine thunder descended from the highest heavens, lashing down with furious speed.
It struck the Kun-Peng's body squarely.
A howl of agony rang out. The Kun-Peng's fleeing form shuddered to a halt. Then, as if all power had left it, it began to plummet, falling swiftly toward the earth below.