Chapter 177 Immortals Gather, Exhausted and Fading Away
Bitao was announced by the Heavenly Dao of Myriad Realms as the winner of the third round, and the Silver River Net was already in an uproar.
"Ahhhhhh—This is amazing! Our Peach has ascended to immortality! She's become a Tai Xian!"
"Ahhhhh! I'm so excited! I'm still on official duty in the mortal realm and didn't have time to go back and see Peach Blossom Certificate in person! What a pity!"
"Mingguang Xuanxian loves Bitao Xuanxian so much! Mingguang Xuanxian arrived just in time. That Palace Master of Jiuxiao Palace is so wicked."
"Bad guy, bad guy, bad guy! He almost caused Bitao Xuanxian to die! Waaaaah, the relationship between Jinli Xian and Bitao Xuanxian was so good! When she said, 'I caught you, sister,' my sisters and I burst into tears on the spot!"
"Waaah... Mingguang Xuanxian is so badly injured. I traced his perspective and thought he and Bitao Xuanxian had fallen out. I never imagined it was all to deceive that Xu dog!"
"Mingguang Xuanxian said, 'Who wants to kill him? Who dares to kill him?'"
"Hahahaha, I can't help but laugh every time I see Dongjun. How can he be so funny, getting completely fooled? The legendary Dongjun has completely gone mad now."
"I think so too, hahaha..."
"Am I the only one who thinks Xu Li is strange? Is he influencing those banished immortals to attack Bi Tao Xuanxian's team? Who exactly is he? Is he an immortal who accompanied the competition in the third round, in disguise? Is he training for the immortal position in the third round?"
"At first I thought so too, but then I realized that was wrong. No matter how much Master Sui Sai pretends to be a villain, he would never disregard human life. He clearly doesn't care about his subordinates, the common people, or the lives of these immortals."
"No, he is definitely not an immortal who accompanied the competition. There was something wrong with this third competition. The Yin-Yang Sundial of the Star River Rotation malfunctioned, which created this star realm where sinful immortals gathered. Didn't you see that people from the Shangqing Realm have already arrived? They are at the Heavenly Gate. It is said that they are going to take away the Qingming Emperor who failed in his duty to hold him accountable."
"It's true! There are several True Lords of the Upper Clarity Realm waiting at the Heavenly Gate!"
"I just want to know what will happen to Mingguang Xuanxian next, and what will happen to the immortal positions of those who participated in the competition? Nearly half of them have already died, and those were all elites from their respective departments. Moreover, it takes thirty-six immortal pearls plus people with the five elemental attributes to exchange for one person to ascend. How will the rest of them ascend...?"
"Bitao Xuanxian is crying in the clouds... She must be very worried about Mingguang Xuanxian and the others..."
...
Bitao was indeed very worried.
I am extremely worried.
She knew exactly what Mingguang was all about, and how much he knew about the people behind him.
After Bitao passes away and assumes her position, he will properly gather her subordinates and continue on his path.
In competitions, Bitao excels at daring to win big despite limited resources, while Mingguang's approach to competitions has always been a stable and orthodox one.
In the first competition, the Ziwei star deity lost his virtue, and he was chosen again; the chaotic star dial was his return to his rightful place. In the second competition, after the reincarnation bridge was reconnected, Mingguang also made great contributions to the subsequent stability of the human world, the sweeping away of the rampant ghosts, and even the resolution of natural disasters.
In this third competition, he will surely find a way to die.
only……
Bitao trusting Mingguang is one thing, but worrying about him is another.
Fearing that she was no longer in control of herself, she returned to the Heavenly Realm from the "edge of life and death" and the "purgatory" where everyone was supporting her. She even felt as if her whole body was about to be torn apart.
The Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Realms gave Bitao some time to prepare.
If I say it's a little bit, then it's a little bit.
The tears in Bitao's eyes from being lifted into the sky had not yet dried. Just as she was about to enter the Silver River Net to take a look at the competition arena, the immortals who were preparing to debate the law arrived from above the clouds.
The first to arrive were the three officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water.
The celestial official's light blue robes fluttered like mist in a forest after rain.
She walked on a cloud to Bitao's side, smiled at Bitao, and raised her hand to bestow a blessing upon her.
Bitao felt refreshed; her chaotic and anxious thoughts were instantly cleansed and calmed by the warm spring.
Just as Bitao was about to greet the Heavenly Official, the Water Official, who was right behind him, arrived in front of Bitao and smiled at her as well.
The Water Official and the Heavenly Official were twins, both possessing the beauty of jade trees and the grace of the moon and the rosy clouds. They were also of one mind. Sensing the reason why the Heavenly Official liked Bitao, the Water Official followed suit and tapped Bitao's head, thus relieving her of a calamity.
Bitao quickly cupped her hands and performed the proper rites of respect to the ancestral master.
He said, "Thank you for the blessings from Heaven, and thank you for relieving my calamity from the water."
As soon as Bitao finished speaking, the Earth Official, who had appeared almost simultaneously with the two of them, had already walked up to Bitao.
He raised his hand, holding the torture token. His features were sharp and stern, yet sinister and malevolent. His entire being exuded a chilling aura, and his dark eyes were captivating, making anyone with a guilty conscience dare not look him in the eye.
Bitao looked directly at him.
He spoke first, "Lord Earth Official, there's no need for that..."
Bitao tilted her head slightly, referring to the torture token hanging above her head.
The Earth Official, in charge of criminal law, wields a punishment warrant that resembles a butcher's cleaver. This is perhaps the most malevolent and malevolent artifact in the world; countless celestial beings have perished beneath its power.
If he were to imitate the Heavenly Official and the Water Official and slap Bitao on the head, Bitao would probably be in for a lot of trouble.
The Earth Official paused, as he habitually followed the actions of the Heavenly Official and the Water Official.
Bitao dodged, and he realized that it was inappropriate to place the punishment token on the head of someone who was about to be promoted to the rank of Grand Immortal.
However, the official did not immediately walk past Bitao. Instead, he gave her a rather serious look and asked in a low, sinister voice, "Interested in coming to my White Cloud Division?"
Bitao was taken aback.
Bitao recalled that not long after she descended to the mortal realm in the third competition, in order to intimidate the newly recruited, scheming immortals, she had once used the name of the Earth Official to say, "I am a servant in the palace of the Earth Official of Pardon in the Heavenly Realm, and I come from the White Cloud Division under his command."
I didn't expect the official in charge of the pardon to be so diligent; he really remembered!
Bitao bowed in greeting and was about to apologize when a human head floated up into the clouds.
Throughout the entire Nine Heavens, only the Eastern King Duke was swaying back and forth with his head on his head.
The Eastern King Duke floated directly to Bi Tao's side and said to the Earth Official, "The legal debate hasn't even started yet and you're already here trying to take advantage?"
"Bitao wouldn't even accept being a successor of my Penglai sect, so why would she go to your Baiyun Division, which is even more sinister than the Netherworld?"
Bitao's words were interrupted just like that. The Earth Official didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
He stopped not far from the Heavenly Official and the Water Official, seemingly having grown accustomed to everyone finding him unlucky and subtly rejecting him.
Dongwanggong circled the peach tree three times before clicking his tongue and saying, "Wow, this is incredible! One should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation."
"Once you are promoted to the rank of Grand Immortal, will I have to pay my respects to you in return?"
Dongwanggong is also a Grand Immortal. He is an ancient Grand Immortal who oversees the male immortals of the Nine Heavens in Penglai. For tens of thousands of years, he has been complacent and spends his days seeking pleasure. His immortal rank seems to be nailed to the spot and he remains unmoved.
Thinking that after Bitao is promoted to the rank of Grand Immortal, no matter which of the Six Departments she enters, she will definitely hold a general position.
If he were to succeed the Emperor of Fengdu, he would be overtaken by a successor.
Of course, Dongwanggong was not jealous of Bitao's upcoming promotion to Emperor. Given his love of watching a good show, even if Bitao were to become an Immortal Emperor tomorrow, he would still be willing to conjure up a body to applaud and cheer for her.
He was just teasing his friend Bitao on behalf of Zhu Ming, who was currently extremely busy.
Bitao laughed, knowing that Dongwanggong was joking.
She was never a humble or modest person, and said directly, "That depends on what position I take over. If it is the Emperor, then I will have to trouble Immortal Venerable Yingying to conjure up a body and pay her respects after seeing me."
"Why!"
"Tsk!"
"Why are you so easily teased, little one?"
The Eastern King Duke's eyes held a threat; why was he being called Immortal Venerable Yingying again?
After a while, once people heard him, he never showed his head in public again.
Bitao reached out as if to cover her mouth, indicating that she didn't need Dongwanggong to silence her; she wouldn't call out anymore.
Just as Bitao was about to ask about Zhu Ming, a man with a full head of fiery red hair suddenly appeared in the clouds.
He was broad-shouldered and burly, with an imposing and imposing presence. His hair, in particular, was so striking that it resembled a flame burning into one's pupils, drawing all eyes to him.
He strode past Bitao with an imposing presence, his voice booming as he deliberately infused it with spiritual pressure, making Bitao feel a tightness in her chest: "Such an arrogant tone. You haven't even settled down to debate the laws yet, and you already think you can become an emperor?"
This person wasn't hard to recognize; Bitao was very familiar with the celestial positions in the Heavenly Realm.
Not many people have long, fiery red hair, and after considering the fact that it requires the six minds of the Dharma to be gathered together, one can tell who this person is.
Bitao turned around and bowed in greeting. Although she sensed the inexplicable malice of the person in front of her, she remained calm and said with a slight smile, "Little fairy Bitao greets King Jinghai."
The Sea King, who had already passed her, suddenly turned around and looked at Bitao, his pupils contracting, and said, "You know me?!"
Bitao flattered, "In charge of the human landscape and inheriting the immortal position of the ancient water god Gonggong, there is only one Jinghai King in the Nine Heavens and myriad realms."
As Bitao spoke, she glanced at his long, wildly disheveled hair, which resembled that of a wild beast.
After a moment of contemplation, Jing Haiwang realized that he had overreacted. Bitao was in the Competition Star Realm, while he had been stationed in the Mountain and Water Department. Even if she and Mingguang had noticed something, they couldn't possibly know about him.
Jing Haiwang curled his lips into a cold laugh, clearly unmoved by Bitao's flattery.
He strode towards the Heavenly Official and the Water Official, and as if greeting an old friend, slapped the Water Official on the shoulder.
Unexpectedly, the water official dodged the attack with a quick movement, and his gaze towards him was not very friendly.
Jing Haiwang's voice could practically echo through the heavens: "Long time no see, Shuiwa'er. You used to love going down to the river with me when you were little, have you forgotten?"
Shui Guan's expression was indescribable. A slightly stiff smile appeared on his face.
The Heavenly Official retreated several steps, clearly indicating that the Sea King had not left her with a good impression.
"Ignore him."
Dongwanggong secretly transmitted his voice to Bitao, saying, "He acts like an emperor of all realms just because he's old and in charge of a few dragons and a few mountains. He's the most annoying person."
"Don't be fooled by the fact that he inherited the bloodline of the water god Gonggong. He didn't inherit any of Gonggong's divine power. The only thing he inherited was this head of red hair. Even after turning into a dragon, he's not as good-looking as your little koi sister's Zhujiuyin dragon."
Bitao, of course, didn't care why the King of the Well, whom she had never met, would be hostile towards her.
There are so many people who are hostile to her that he'd have to wait in line for ages.
However… Bitao felt that his question, “Do you know me?” was not a simple inquiry; she knew he was “King of the Well Sea”.
His shock seemed to be mixed with a hint of fear.
What is he afraid of?
When Bitao thought about the immortals who wanted to "turn the world upside down" that she had guessed when she was in the competition arena in the lower realm, she wondered if there was a descendant of the water god Gonggong among them.
As Bitao pondered, several more immortals appeared one after another above the clouds.
One of the Three Star Lords of Doubu – Zhongtai Liuchun Sikong Star Lord.
The Seven Stars of the Big Dipper – the Fourth Star Lord of the Mysterious Darkness and Literature.
The two of them didn't even glance at Bitao. They found a suitable spot above the clouds, sat down, and waited for the debate to begin.
The four gods of the Dipper Division—the successor of the Northern Black Tortoise, the Bright God, Xuanjia, appeared in the clouds.
When Bitao saw Xuanjia, her peach blossom eyes curved into crescents. She pursed her lips, having to restrain herself from lunging at him.
Although Xuanjia spoke slowly, his movements were anything but slow; he quickly winked at Bitao.
Immediately afterwards, the clouds suddenly turned eerie and dark – the Great Emperor of Fengdu from the Underworld had arrived.
Daju tilted his head slightly towards Bitao, gesturing for her to look down at the clouds.
When Bitao looked up, she saw that both of her fathers had been taken to the Heavenly Realm by the Emperor of Fengdu and were watching her from afar on the competition platform!
Is this really going to work? Although Bitao is very happy, the third competition is not over yet, and both of her fathers are immortals who are participating in the competition.
"Isn't this dereliction of duty?" Bitao wondered, staring at her two fathers.
Bitao only looked away when the six Ding and six Jia gods of the Ministry of War—the successor of the Yin Goddess Jade Maiden Dingwei God General and the successor of the Yang Goddess Jade Male Jiawu God General—appeared in the clouds.
Then her eyebrows twitched.
What a small world!
The successor of the Yang Shen Yu Nan Jiawu Divine General who replaced the Ministry of War in debating the law with Bi Tao is the same person who spoke ill of Bi Tao on the street and got beaten up by Tai Chi!
After Bitao passed away in the second competition, she was busy making love with Mingguang and didn't apologize to him or send Taiji to apologize.
Bitao avoided the rather unfriendly gaze of the Yang Shen Jade Man, lowering her head and pretending that she was "already behaving herself".
Next to ascend to the clouds were the two immortals from the Supervision Department and the Medical Department, who had come with them.
The Nine Heavens God of Life in the Imperial Observatory—the Great Emperor of the Nine Heavens Observatory.
Bitao wasn't very familiar with him, but he was Cuiwei's superior, so Bitao greeted him politely.
The person from the medical department was also an acquaintance. Just a few months ago, he was one of the people who went naked swimming in the Wuji Sea of Juntian Dushuo Mountain with Mingguang and others—Lingze Zhenxian from the medical department.
Lingze was originally a deity; the last time Bitao saw him, he was still a deity.
He did not descend to the mortal realm to compete, but he always liked to divide himself into several parts and then descend to the mortal realm to help and save people.
I reckon that one of my differentiated forms must have received a great opportunity to ascend to immortality.
Moreover, Lingze was Yugan's superior. Yugan was able to enter the medical department thanks to the help of the True Immortal Lingze.
Bitao stepped forward and politely congratulated her: "Congratulations on your advancement to True Immortal."
Lingze glanced at Bitao with some surprise.
He was obsessed with medicine, and even in this setting, he held a handwritten book in his hand. His gentle appearance made him seem like an ordinary scholar, and his voice was soft and calm as he spoke: "Do you still remember me?"
Bitao is now a Xuanxian (a high-ranking immortal), and Binglun, who offended her, was banished to the mortal realm. The number of immortals in the Nine Heavens who were punished because of her is countless.
Lingze had no interest in the "celestial realm" and had been wandering in the mortal world for far too long. In his mind, they had already been separated by many lifetimes.
Bitao: "..."
"I'm just participating in a competition, not being reincarnated."
Lingze smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Congratulations on your promotion to Grand Immortal as well."
Bitao nodded: "Then I will accept the auspicious words of the True Immortal Lingze."
Lingze, representing the medical department, found a spot above the clouds and sat down cross-legged.
Bitao stood in the middle of the group, looking around at everyone. Some were talking in hushed tones, some were meditating with their eyes closed, and others... such as Jinghaiwang and Yangshen Yunan were all looking at her with unfriendly eyes.
The Immortal Emperor's seat directly opposite the Peach Blossom, and the seat to the left of the Immortal Emperor's seat, the Kunyi of the Myriad Realms Heavenly Dao, are both empty.
At this moment, the Heavenly Dao of Myriad Realms, Kunyi, is at the Heavenly Gate beneath the clouds, negotiating with several True Lords of the Upper Clarity Realm, dressed in robes.
Bitao glanced at the Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Realms, and then simply sat down cross-legged on the clouds.
He used his sea of consciousness to access the Silver Han Gu.
She took this opportunity to see what was happening in the lower realm.
The difference between the Star Realm and the Celestial Realm is that "one day in the heavens is ten years on earth".
In other words, in the short time that Bitao returned to heaven to prove her position, two or three days had already passed below.
Even with Dongjun's help that day, Mingguang's displayed strength far exceeded his strength after being suppressed in the lower realm due to the competition.
His meridians were torn in several places by his own golden spirit, and he had to reconnect them. After Bi Tao passed away, Ming Guang immediately lost consciousness, so Dong Jun only took Tai Chi, which could reconnect Ming Guang's immortal meridians.
In a flash, Bitao had read everything that Mingguang had experienced in the past few days.
He spends most of his time lying in a daze, occasionally waking up in a panic, but once he is fully awake, he calms down.
His meridians were in very bad condition, but fortunately, his Tai Chi swordsmanship had reached a state of perfection, and he miraculously mended him, making him a whole person again.
Nourished by the same source of immortal spirit as Dongjun, the recovery was relatively quick.
Not long after Mingguang woke up, as Bitao had predicted, he began to send Dongjun to find her subordinates.
Dongjun was worried about Mingguang, so he pulled out his master, the Supreme God of Origin, to guard Mingguang, while he himself went out three times a day, traveling all over the Star Realm.
They found Ji Chunjun and his group, which now only had a few members left.
They also found most of the people who had formed the formation. Those who had formed the formation had been healed by Tai Chi. Those who were stronger, such as Yun Chuan, Bing Lun, and Bing Jing, had basically recovered their spiritual energy after it was suppressed during the competition.
The guardian celestial master Han Shang was in a more serious condition because he had been repeatedly seriously injured in battles and had sacrificed his immortal veins, leaving him unconscious and still unconscious.
Of all the people who formed the array, Dongjun was unable to find them all. Bitao traced back to the Silver River Net and discovered that among those people, only Zhan Kui, who was the weakest, entered the Five Elements Calamity Transformation Array the earliest, and suffered some of the backlash from the karmic fruit, was missing.
Bitao immediately withdrew from Mingguang's silver net and began to trace Zhan Kui.
Bitao discovered that after Zhankui ascended to heaven that day, he was supposed to evacuate with everyone, but they encountered many attacks along the way.
At that time, Mingguang had not yet woken up and did not send Dongjun to find them, so the group was frequently scattered and robbed time and time again.
Zhan Kui and Guang Han were originally mediocre cultivators, and their strength was comparable to that of ordinary people. When their group was attacked by a banished immortal, they were separated.
Fortunately, the two of them were inseparable, so they weren't left alone.
Unfortunately, Zhan Kui appeared to be in extremely poor condition.
Very, very bad.
When Bitao saw Zhan Kui, he was always radiant and dressed to the nines, always relaxed, and always confident of victory.
Even after dodging the heavenly lightning and turning into a fish-headed person, she never seemed to feel inferior, and often wandered around in the sky with a tattered rag.
When he gets wild, he's even wilder than Bitao, the infamous Nine Heavens Madman.
But now she is emaciated, her face is dark, and her lips are cracked, looking like she is about to die.
Moreover, she was also dragging along Guanghan, who was on the verge of death just like her.
Zhan Kui carried a bundle of rattan on his shoulder, with a pile of crudely woven branches pulling behind it. Inside the net was Guang Han, whose abdominal blood had dried, and who looked as if she had been dead for a long time.
As Zhan Kui walked, he muttered to himself, "Couldn't you at least have woken up and helped me for a bit?"
"I've been holding you for a whole day and night, are you just pretending to be dead...?"
After Zhan Kui acquired the voice of the Xuanmen Ancestor, her voice became so beautiful that if she weren't so weak, her words would even have the effect of bewitching people.
But at this moment, her voice was hoarse and dry, like a crow's.
She was "talking" to Guanghan, but she didn't turn around, as if she were talking to herself.
Two days ago, she and Guanghan got separated from the group. They were quite clever and ran to a deserted place in the Immortal Realm to hide.
Zhan Kui knew that once Ming Guang woke up, he would definitely try to find them.
In many cases, Mingguang is the most reliable one.
Now that the peach blossoms are no longer in this realm, Mingguang is like a father figure to all the immortals in the lower realms.
Unexpectedly, they couldn't hide it any longer. The group of immortals, traveling in their spirit boats in the sky, somehow discovered two people using some kind of magical artifact that could detect spiritual energy.
They didn't dig into Zhan Kui's stomach to find the Immortal Pearl. Zhan Kui's current appearance is comparable to that of the swan-shaped meteor during the second competition.
She was devoid of any spiritual energy, filled only with turbidity; she didn't look like someone who could live a long life, let alone a banished immortal.
However, Guanghan had spiritual energy fluctuations, so those people captured him again and cut open his stomach.
No matter how Zhan Kui explained, it was no use; they searched inside Guang Han's stomach until his internal organs were almost turned upside down.
Fortunately, this group of people were scattered immortals who had not participated in the ascension ceremony and did not know much about ascension. They did not know what the Palace Master of the Nine Heavens Palace said: that if one collects enough immortal pearls, one can ascend without worrying about karma.
Therefore, he was still afraid of the consequences of his actions, and at least he didn't kill two people.
Guanghan had already suffered severe injuries while protecting Zhankui, and now her abdomen had been ripped open again. She was completely unable to move.
After they left, Zhan Kui did his best to bandage Guang Han's wounds.
They wove a vast net and, along the boundless array of the celestial realm, trudged arduously towards a populated human world.
Guanghan lay there silently, seemingly "dead," but in reality, he was not dead. He was in a state of dormancy, slowly healing himself.
He could hear what Zhan Kui was saying, and he could also sense that Zhan Kui was desperately pulling him away.
It seems like Guanghan is the one who's more seriously hurt, but actually, it's Zhankui who's about to give up.
Her divine spirit was completely sacrificed, and the karma and turbid energy she received within the formation had not been cleared away in recent days, corroding her soul. She was now completely exhausted.
"There's a village ahead!"
Zhan Kui raised his voice slightly, as if a crow were passing by.
She pulled Guanghan to a stream, used the relatively clean part of the hem of her dress to soak up water, and then squeezed it out for Guanghan to drink.
She checked Guanghan with her finger and saw that she was still breathing. She seemed to see a glimmer of hope, and the last breath she had been holding on for the whole journey was released.
She fell to the ground, supporting herself with one hand.
She looked at Guanghan, but her eyes couldn't see him clearly. She wanted to raise her hand to rub her eyes hard, but she fell into the stream.
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