Lu Fan led the large group straight to Biyou Palace. The sight of ten thousand people flying through the air was truly spectacular.
"Lishan Laomu! How dare you!" a sudden roar echoed, followed by the sight of a large bird flying from the horizon.
Everyone stopped abruptly and looked. As the bird flew closer, they realized it wasn't a bird at all, but a person! And what a bizarre-looking person he was.
He had a face as dark as indigo, hair like cinnabar, bulging eyes, and fangs protruding from his lips. He stood twenty feet tall, with a pair of wind and thunder wings sprouting from his ribs, and he wielded a golden staff in his hand.
"Disciple! Is this thunder-mouthed fellow the legendary Lei Zhenzi?" Lu Fan's lips twitched. He hadn't expected the myths to become increasingly real.
"Master! This creature, neither man nor bird, is indeed Lei Zhenzi," Lishan Laomu said, nodding to Lu Fan.
"Lei Zhenzi! Why aren't you hiding in your Jade Pillar Cave? Have you come out to scare people?" Lishan Laomu shouted at Lei Zhenzi.
"Lishan Laomu! You killed my grand-disciple Mu Zhenzi, and now you dare to insult me here. Do you think I'm easily bullied? If you don't give me an explanation today, hmph! I'll beat you to death with one blow!" Lei Zhenzi brandished his golden staff and shouted at Lishan Laomu.
"Hmph! Is the golden staff so mighty? I have a golden broadsword too! Let me kill him!" Lu Fan drew his golden broadsword with a flourish.
"Master! It's best you don't intervene. His cultivation realm is far higher than yours currently," Lishan Laomu exclaimed in alarm, grabbing Lu Fan's arm. He was a Star General sealed as a Saint; you couldn't just hack him down as you pleased, could you?
Lishan Laomu waved her hand, and three people immediately rushed out.
"Lei Zhenzi! You will stay here today!" Whoosh... the three figures charged towards Lei Zhenzi. Without further ado, they engaged him in battle.
As expected of an unparalleled Star General, even surrounded by three opponents, he seemed to gain no advantage. After dozens of rounds, he even showed signs of being at a disadvantage.
Lishan Laomu's brow furrowed. With a wave of her hand, three more figures rushed out. Six against one, Lei Zhenzi immediately felt the pressure. His golden staff became difficult to manage.
"Lishan Laomu! Are you relying on your status to gang up on the weak and bully the young?" Suddenly, another voice boomed. Seven more figures flew from the sky.
"The Seven Star Generals? You're getting involved too?" Lishan Laomu's expression shifted slightly. These seven were the Big Dipper Star Generals, and their involvement was quite unexpected.
"Hmph! We are all Star Generals; how can we allow you to act so recklessly? Form the array!"
The Seven Star Generals were not ones for idle talk. They instantly set up the Seven Star Grand Array. Facing the opposing hundred generals and ten thousand soldiers, they dared not be careless.
"Hmph! Since you wish to court death, we shall oblige! Attack them all, chop them down!" Before Lishan Laomu could speak, Lu Fan waved his great treasure sword and shouted. There was no talk of righteousness; he simply wanted to uncover the truth as soon as possible.
Whoosh... the hundred men behind him instantly surged towards the Seven Star Generals, engaging in a chaotic melee.
Swish... Lu Fan suddenly noticed the sky above his sea of consciousness. Within the vast starry expanse, seven more brilliant points of starlight had appeared. Pfft... pfft... the little infant in his sea of consciousness was blowing at the stars above, playing.
Whoosh... in his dantian's sea of qi, the golden infant looked up at the stars in his sea of consciousness. After watching for a while, his form flickered, and he suddenly appeared within the sea of consciousness. He leaped up, flying and darting through the starry sky, seemingly having a grand time playing with the stars!
Lu Fan was astonished. The two infants were originally his primordial spirits, connected to his mind. He could sense they seemed to be comprehending something! Something he himself was far from reaching or grasping.
"Master... Master..." Suddenly, Zhan Tai Ruo Mei's voice echoed in his ears. Lu Fan snapped back to reality, his consciousness separating from the sea of consciousness. He saw that Lei Zhenzi and the seven Star Generals had already been driven away.
"What? Why did they all run off?" Lu Fan asked in surprise.
"Master! What are you thinking about? Are you missing Sister Ru Yan? Hehe!" Zhan Tai Ruo Mei giggled, lowering her voice.
"Scram! You little brat, don't go asking about things you shouldn't!" Lu Fan rolled his eyes.
"Those seven fellows seemed very formidable, unfazed even when surrounded by dozens of people. But for some reason, they suddenly lost their composure, making consecutive mistakes. In the end, they had no choice but to flee. Lei Zhenzi saw this and followed suit," Zhan Tai Ruo Mei said, sticking out her tongue.
"Lost their composure?" Lu Fan blinked slightly. In a fight, one should be focused. A slight lapse could be fatal. Moreover, they were Star Generals; how could they not know this? Could it be related to the two primordial spirits in his sea of consciousness?
"Master! Let's continue on our way! It's likely Lei Zhenzi will go and gather more people to deal with us. However, as long as we reclaim Biyou Palace, we won't have to fear them coming to cause trouble again," Lishan Laomu said.
"Alright!" Lu Fan nodded. In his heart, he felt that Lishan Laomu seemed more anxious than he was. Was she truly the Wudang Saint Mother who escaped the Investiture of the Gods calamity and lived under a new name...?
A day later, a vast immortal island appeared before them, stretching for a thousand li. Upon the island stood a magnificent grand hall, inscribed with the three characters: Biyou Palace.
"Is this Penglai Immortal Island? How is it different from what we saw before?" Lu Fan asked in surprise.
The few of them had obtained the golden broadsword on Penglai Immortal Island. At that time, the island was only about a kilometer in size and could have been washed away by the sea. Compared to the immortal island they saw now, it was like a mere model.
"Master! What you're referring to is the Penglai Island in the mortal realm. This is the Penglai Immortal Island in the immortal realm. It's one of the three supreme immortal palaces in the immortal realm; even the Jade Emperor's Heavenly Palace doesn't compare!" Lishan Laomu said proudly from beside him.
"Penglai Island has distinctions between mortal and immortal realms?" Lu Fan was also taken aback.
"Master, have you forgotten? The Penglai Island in the mortal realm is merely a giant rock from the Penglai Immortal Island in the immortal realm. It was a heavenly ladder you left in the mortal realm to enter the immortal gate. You once preached and taught here, advocating for education for all, hence you had a hundred thousand disciples, known as the Ten Thousand Buddhas' Arrival. Today, we have returned!" Lishan Laomu said with deep emotion.
"Entry to this Penglai Immortal Island is forbidden to outsiders. Those who trespass shall die!" Suddenly, a voice boomed from Penglai Immortal Island.