“Where is Chu Kuangren?!” the man bellowed coldly.

The man came in a red outfit that complemented his bewitching features, especially his long narrow eyes with amber-like pupils, which emanated an inhuman presence.

As a matter of fact, that vast yokai qi from the man was already announcing that he was not human.

Cao Yun furrowed his brows as he sized up the man before his eyes.

Countless runes were glimmering in his eyes, and vaguely, he could make out an image of a nine-headed snake inside.

“Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe!”

“Oh, your eyes are interesting. They can see my true form,” the man said with a hint of surprise on his face.

“My name is Jiu Fang, and I’m here to find out how powerful Chu Kuangren is,” he added coldly.

The man was Jiu Fang, the strongest Heavenly Champion of the Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe.

Although the tribe leader had warned him not to provoke or offend Chu Kuangren, his restlessness overtook his patience and rationality.

After some careful consideration, he decided to find out for himself.

He was confident that with his current strength, even if he would face imminent defeat, he could still easily flee with his life.

After all, he was a Nine-Headed Snakelet wild beast who had awoken his bloodline five times!

Cao Yun’s brows furrowed even more upon hearing Jiu Fang’s words. “Chu Kuangren isn’t her,and if you’re looking for him, you’ve got the wrong person.”

“It’s fine that he’s not here. You’re also from the academy anyway, and I do not plan to let this Immortal Herb go,” Jiu Fang said.

“It seems like we will have to fight today,” Cao Yun said.

Fu Shan, Hua Yun, and the others gathered behind him and glared at their opponent coldly. Their energies swirled as they prepared themselves for a tough fight.

The energy fluctuation of the Primordial Spirit Daoist Fruit had indeed attracted a lot of cultivators.

Other than Jiu Fang and Xing Feng, some other cultivators were also present, but they were simply observing and had yet to join the fray.

“I think the folks from the academy are in trouble.” Someone from the mountains gloated and chuckled softly.

It was the Soul Vanquisher.

Beside him was another man in black armor, with a giant sword on his back. The man simply kept quiet and watched with frosty eyes.

The man was none other than Chi Zhan, the successor of the Demonic Dao’s Chiyou Tribe.

Chi Zhan glanced at Cao Yun and company before he shifted his gaze toward the clouds in the distance, or more precisely, the two figures that hid within.

“The aura of elites,” he said coldly.

“Oh? Even you acknowledge their strength, huh? They must be extraordinary. Which orthodoxy are they from?” The Soul Vanquisher also looked toward the clouds curiously.

Within the clouds were figures of a man and woman.

The woman was in a long white dress. Her skin was like porcelain, her long legs were fair, and she was surrounded by Immortal Sparks, looking a lot like an elegant deity in the sky.

The man by her side was a handsome one with bright eyes. He was in a long golden robe, and he, too, had an indescribable nobility to his aura.

“This noble aura… Could it be the Young Imperial Commander of the Immortal Hall?” the Soul Vanquisher said.

“Other than him, the other orthodoxies like the Human Emperor Sect, Jade Pool Sacred Land, or the Eastern King School are also capable of producing someone with such a noble presence,” Chi Zhan said.

“They haven’t made a move yet, so it’s hard to say.

“Why don’t I go and battle them?” Chi Zhan grinned and leaped to his feet.

“Forget it. Don’t cause any trouble. There’s no point in losing your power over testing the strength of two elites.”

“Fine. Speaking of which, Ming Shi is away for a while now. Has he located the woman from the Baimei Tribe?”

“I haven’t heard anything from him, but there’s no hurry in that. There are traces showing that the woman is already in Kunlun,” Soul Vanquisher said.

“Alright.”

Meanwhile, in the clouds, the man and woman stood side by side.

“Yu Zhi, who do you think will win in this battle?” the man in golden robes said with a smile.

The man was Zhuo Donglai, the Heavenly Champion of Eastern King School, and he was looking at Yu Zhi, the Holy Jade Pool Maiden Sage, with admiration.

Yu Zhi was not a fan of his. She simply turned a blind eye at his admiring gaze and said, “In terms of numbers, the academy has the advantage. However, Jiu Fang and Xing Feng are both Heavenly Immortals, and other than Cao Yun, everyone else from the academy is just Earthen Immortals. Hence, Jiu Fang and his team have a higher winning chance.”

Heavenly Immortal and Earthen Immortal were but one word different, but the strength difference between the two was heaven and earth apart.

“Hm, you’re right.”

“Unless Chu Kuangren is here to turn the tide around,” Yu Zhi said with slight curiosity.

She had heard about Chu Kuangren on her trip to Kunlun, and she was intrigued by the newly appointed Fengdu Ghost Emperor.

Zhuo Donglai furrowed his brows a little. He was a possessive person, and he admired Yu Zhi. Hence, he could not allow her to think about someone else other than him, not even praising another man.

“Chu Kuangren, the outside world has nothing but praise for him, but to me, their praises are a little exaggerated. Other than being lucky enough to get two Emperor Seals and the Heavenly Samsara Physique, there’s really nothing amazing about him.”

“The Heavenly Samsara Physique is one of the Ten Honorable Supreme Immortal Physiques, and having it allows one to overpower most of the sky-pride in the world. Even though you and I also possess a Supreme Immortal Physique, ours are still lackluster compared to an Honorable Supreme Immortal Physique.”

Yu Zhi was a highly-talented and powerful person.

However, she was not that arrogant to look down on others, especially one with an Honorable Supreme Immortal Physique.

No Honorable Supreme Immortal Physique should be underestimated because as long as the host progressed smoothly without any accident, it would grant them a chance to reach the Embodier Realm.

“Daoist Physiques aren’t everything.” Zhuo Donglai grunted.

Yu Zhi did not want to dwell on the topic anymore, so she chose silence.

Deep down, she rated Zhuo Donglai as an arrogant person with too much self-esteem, but she was helpless against it.

If it were not for the relationship between the Eastern King School and Jade Pool Sacred Land, she would never agree to travel with such a person.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, a powerful Immortal’s Core energy erupted.

Xing Feng and Jiu Fang were already engaged with Cao Yun and company. As a result, terrifying energy blasts swept over everything and in all directions.

Cao Yun went up against Xing Feng while the rest of the academy’s Heavenly Champions teamed up against Jiu Fang.

With a raise of his hand, Cao Yun unleashed energies from his Immortal Techniques, one after another. His attacks even contained mystical runic energies.

Xing Feng’s battle intent rose sharply. Then, he swung his fists in a barrage and destroyed all the incoming Immortal Techniques.

“Cao Yun of the academy, combining runic powers with Immortal Techniques, I see… It seems like the rumor about Cao Yun getting the inheritance of the Holy Late Teacher, Cang Jie, is true,” exclaimed one of the cultivators.

Cang Jie was a Holy Late Teacher of the academy. He was also the first human to deduce the trajectory of heaven and earth and included them into runes that humans could cultivate. In other words, he was the pioneer of Rune Dao for the human race.

Cao Yun was the successor.

“Legend has it that Cang Jie’s deduction of the heaven and earth trajectory showed him hints about fate and allowed him to deduce the fate of all things on earth.”

“Cao Yun’s eyes are magical, and that’s why he has the runic powers to deduce fate. Maybe that’s why he could see through Jiu Fang’s true form with a single glance. He should not be underestimated.”

“Tsk. Xing Feng isn’t too bad himself either. He inherits from Xing Tian, the ancient War Immortal from Holy Judgement Sect. I heard his battle intentions can precede death, and he can rival the ruler of the Immortal Hall.”

The audience’s attention was on the battle between Xing Feng and Cao Yun. On the other hand, Jiu Fang was also engaged in a fierce fight with the academy’s Heavenly Champions.

It was no surprise that the group of Heavenly Champions fell into a disadvantageous position.

“Weak. You guys are too weak!”

The water-fire energy gushed out from Jiu Fang, and every single attack almost overwhelmed the bunch from the academy.