Volume One: The Cloudy Immortal Palace Chapter Thirty-Five: Battle of the Exalted Immortals

Chapter Thirty-Five: Battle of the Immortals

Atop the snow-capped mountain, the cold moon hung high in the sky.

On the vast altar, the blood sacrifice that had been on the verge of completion suddenly halted. The girl within the ice coffin opened her eyes, and in that same instant, pierced the throat of the man in white!

The pitch-black dagger she held dripped with bright blue blood, glistening under the moonlight with a tragic beauty.

The sudden appearance of a shadow behind the white-robed man sent a shock through the hearts of the other two present, one of whom seemed on the verge of losing control.

At that moment, Yu Nan's eyes were fixed on the shadow at the center of the altar. Her hand, gripping her immortal sword, trembled; the murderer of her brother stood before her—how could she not be furious?

"Yu Nan, calm down!" Su Qing urged anxiously at her side.

"Even if it means my death, I will go. Don’t try to stop me!" Yu Nan’s gaze was resolute as she rose to her feet.

"You can’t. The people from Night Palace are far too powerful; you haven’t the slightest chance of defeating them." Su Qing stood as well, her immortal energy largely restored.

A streak of light—Yu Nan spoke no further, transforming into a beam and shooting toward the altar’s center. Su Qing had no choice but to follow.

On the other side, just as the Snow Wolf demon’s massive paw was about to strike Zhou Hao, the man in white was stabbed through the throat. The wolf demon, as if telepathically linked to the man, abruptly turned and flew toward the altar, whipping up wild winds that shook the sky above the snowy peak.

"Very well, since it’s come to this, let’s all settle accounts with Night Palace!" Zhou Hao muttered coldly.

Four figures arrived one after another, their speed so swift it happened in mere breaths. Yet the shadow, encircled by all, remained utterly unafraid.

"Heh heh heh heh, you’ve all come. It seems today is the day the net closes!" Cloaked in black mist and hovering three feet above the ground, the shadow’s voice was hoarse beyond measure, and in his hand was a pitch-black chain.

"Members of Night Palace, prepare to die!"

A crimson glow shot skyward. Yu Nan, sword in hand, murderous intent surging, shouted and prepared to strike at the shadow!

The shadow only sneered. The black chain writhed through the air like a serpent, aiming to coil around Yu Nan. Her imposing aura faltered before the chain, as if a subject before a sovereign.

"Careful!"

Zhou Hao cried out, moving swiftly. He grabbed Yu Nan in an attempt to dodge the chain, but the disparity was too great; the chain bound them both in an instant.

Clang!

Sword energy shot upward, silver light dazzling. Su Qing unleashed her flying sword, and in a blink, hundreds of sword shadows battered the chain, causing the very air to boil.

Her five fingers spread, each crystalline digit glowing gold, green, blue, red, and yellow. Within each light, a different element floated—metal, forest, river, sea of fire, earth. Su Qing’s jade hand reached forth, and a colossal five-colored palm manifested in the void, surrounded by the five elements, exuding terrifying immortal pressure. Yet the hand was slender and graceful, like that of a peerless immortal queen.

"Five Elements Palm!"

Even the shadow was startled, clearly familiar with the five-colored palm, but his cultivation was far too high. Unless someone of his own realm wielded the Five Elements Palm, he could not be defeated!

The immortal sword, forged of shimmering silver, struck the black chain with a ringing clang, but to no effect. The five-colored palm, too, was powerless to rescue the two bound by the chain, meeting ruthless destruction as the shadow merely flicked his sleeve, dispersing Su Qing’s attack entirely.

"Ugh!"

Su Qing staggered back several steps, coughing up blood. Her face paled instantly, and her newly recovered immortal energy was drained once again.

"Su Qing!"

Zhou Hao and Yu Nan cried out her name, deeply moved by her selfless actions.

Even Yu Nan, who had disliked Su Qing, now felt a surge of respect; her opinion of Su Qing changed in an instant.

"Heh heh, you too—come here!"

The black chain did not retreat; it coiled again, aiming to bind Su Qing. She was powerless to resist, lacking even the strength to evade, and escape was impossible.

Boom!

Four wings thundered, countless sharp ice shards shot from the frost wings toward the shadow, shaking the void with a piercing roar atop the snowy peak.

"Paltry tricks. Even a Golden Immortal is but an ant before me, a Supreme Immortal!" the shadow sneered.

Indeed, the black chain merely expanded a shield and instantly deflected all the ice shards. The shadow reached out and, with a grasp, the wolf demon’s body was drawn before him.

The wolf demon glared at the shadow, pupils blood-red, jaws open to devour him. But the shadow extended another hand and, with a direct strike, pierced the wolf demon’s skull. When his hand reappeared, a ghostly blue orb was tightly held in his palm.

Thud!

The wolf demon’s eyes dimmed as the orb was extracted, its massive body crashing to the ground. Blood flowed across the altar, painting a scene of carnage.

"He Fan!"

The man in white watched helplessly as the wolf demon’s essence bead was seized and its life snuffed out. He, a mid-stage Golden Immortal, and the wolf demon He Fan, an early-stage Golden Immortal, wished desperately to die in He Fan’s stead.

"Heh heh, Snow Wolf King, who would have thought your vitality so stubborn? The Night Dagger couldn’t kill you in a single strike!"

The shadow held the blue essence bead taken from He Fan’s skull, his rasping voice as grating as a crow’s cry in the night.

"What are you so proud of, dog of Night Palace? I don’t begrudge you freezing this star and siphoning the essence of billions to build your celestial net, but why did you deceive me? Why can’t Xiao Lai be revived?"

"Now you kill my kin—I’ll fight you to the death!" The white-robed man’s eyes were wild, pupils crimson and bulging.

He looked at the girl before him, whose face was familiar but whose expression was not. He shook his head, then yanked the dagger from her grasp, blue blood spurting high. In a flash, he shot toward the shadow.

Clang!

Their palms met with a metallic crash, sparks flying from their colliding hands, both as hard as steel.

Ugh!

The man spat blood and was flung skyward, weakened further, but something within him kept him standing—even before a Supreme Immortal, he could still fight!

"The Ice Soul Pill of the Snow Wolf Clan, rumored to elevate one’s cultivation to the threshold of Supreme Immortal. I see you kept a trump card, no wonder the Night Dagger couldn’t slay you. But even so, you won’t live to see the dawn!"

The shadow had never regarded anyone present as worthy, even as the white-robed man’s cultivation advanced to Supreme Immortal.

"You killed He Fan—I will not forgive you!"

The man’s expression was frigid, his blood-red eyes colder than ice. He struck with his palm, the heavens resounding, wind and thunder roaring.

A massive wolf paw imprint crashed toward the snowy summit, toward the altar’s center, as if it could pierce the planet itself!

"Heh heh, come then—at last, a true warm-up!"

The black chain had already bound Zhou Hao and the others. The shadow shook his sleeve, collecting all three within—known throughout the Immortal Domain as the Universe in a Sleeve!

Only then did he face the giant wolf paw. The black chain shot skyward with a clang, shattering the wolf paw in a single blow.

"Weak races—before the might of Night Palace, only death awaits!"

Stepping atop the chain, the shadow moved through the sky like a wraith, speeding along its length and arriving before the man in white in an instant.

Howl!

The man in white gazed at the moon and let out a mighty roar, revealing his true form—a colossal wolf, pure white, mountain-sized, a hundred feet tall, wings spread wide to infinity!

The moon’s brilliance was utterly eclipsed; in the darkness, only this living giant remained. Though not as immense as Snow Wolf Mountain, the man in white inspired awe and insignificance.

Whoosh!

The giant wolf exhaled, sending snowflakes swirling, the void freezing, a layer of ice forming around the shadow.

Boom!

They clashed again, the void cracking like a spiderweb, spreading chaos and death!

The battle of Supreme Immortals had begun!

This clash was truly terrifying; with every casual strike, mountains and rivers collapsed, the void faltered, the star’s foundation unable to withstand their immortal might.

At first, the battle raged in the sky, then on the earth—everything thundered, glaciers fractured, volcanoes erupted, waves of destruction rolled forth, the prelude to the end of the world!

After dozens of breaths, the planet was reduced to dust and meteorites in the starry sky, the explosion so vast it seemed even space trembled, as if someone had detonated an atomic bomb in the cosmos.

At length, all grew still.

Yet the battle between the Snow Wolf King and the Night Palace shadow raged on. At the level of Supreme Immortal, death was elusive; only in special spaces or the cosmos itself could such battles be fought, else the world would be destroyed as this frozen star was.

The Wolf King spread his wings, cold winds howling through space, snowflakes swirling like blades—immortal or not, even Golden Immortals would bleed and die!

But to the shadow, these were mere trifles; his strength was beyond the Wolf King’s ability to resist. The only reason the fight dragged on was because the shadow had other motives...

Cloud Mist Immortal Hall, atop the grand hall.

"Something has happened—the frozen star has exploded, someone is battling there. We must hasten, three disciples are in grave danger!" Immortal Yunmiao frowned, sensing calamity ahead.

"Vice Hall Master Ao, Elder Nangong, Elder Li, Elder Yu, Elder Yunfang... come with me. The other elders must guard the hall well, let no enemy seize the chance to invade!" Immortal Yunmiao gave his final orders.

"Yes, we bid the Hall Master farewell!"

Eight figures departed together, and in just ten breaths, they witnessed the clash of two Supreme Immortals!

"Hall Master, my disciple Yu Nan is still alive—the shadow took her!" Nangong Xun, as Yu Nan’s master, could sense her predicament.

"My disciple Su Qing as well!" Li Qionghua glanced at the shadow ahead.

"That shadow is from Night Palace—he’s the one who killed Yu Yang!" Yunfang was so furious his teeth were nearly grinding to dust, aching to slay the shadow then and there.

"Indeed, it’s him. Hall Master, please avenge my son!" Yu Longtian’s eyes brimmed with rage; but for his reason, he would have attacked the shadow himself.

"Calm yourselves. The Night Palace fiend will not escape today!" Immortal Yunmiao formed seals with both hands, his body enveloped in blazing white light like the descent of a god of light, the immortal pressure shaking the stars.

A wave of energy rippled through the void, thunder rolling near and far, like ten thousand horses galloping, instantly boiling the space around them!

Another Supreme Immortal was about to enter the fray!

His white robes fluttered, immortal aura swirling, white light enveloping Yunmiao’s form. He struck with a palm, immense power aiming to annihilate the shadow, who responded instantly, summoning his pitch-black chain once more.