In the secret chamber of Jade Peak Palace, forbidden to outsiders, sat Ba Shifang. Although he was still in the guise of Xi Tianyi, there was no way Tianyi would allow anyone to replace him on his wedding day.
Luckily, he wouldn't be bored. A pill the size of a fingernail jade-white in color appeared in his hand. It exuded a lustrous glow composed of red, black, white, green, and yellow colors. This was the Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill - Five Phases Edition concocted by Tianyi.
It only had a fraction of the Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill's effect, but for Ba Shifang, it was enough. Contained within was Tianyi's understanding of the Law of Five Phases. If someone who had not mastered the five elemental laws ingested this, it would have no effect. But if someone like Ba Shifang, who mastered the five elemental laws, ingested it, it would improve their chance of comprehending the Law of Five Phases.
Ba Shifang glanced at the chamber doors. Although he could neither see nor hear what was happening outside, he could still feel the festive air leaking in. He shook his head and swallowed the Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill - Five Phases Edition.
The pill passed through his throat and entered his dantian. The moment it did so, the jade-white pill dissolved five differently colored strands. The strands came together and formed a five-pointed star, shifting through five different colors.
Insights into the five phases flowed into Ba Shifang's mind. The interaction between the five elements was split into five kinds of cycles: inter-promoting, weakening, inter-regulating, overacting, and counteracting.
Inter-promoting meant creation, promotion, and growth: wood feeds fire, fire produces earth, earth bears metal, metal collects water, and water nourishes wood.
As for weakening, it is the reverse of inter-promoting: wood depletes water, water rust metal, metal impoverishes earth, earth smothers fire, and fire burns wood.
For inter-regulating: wood stabilizes earth, earth contains water, water dampens fire, fire melts metal, and metal carves wood.
Overacting is a result of one element possessing excessive strength, causing the element to overwhelm the other: wood depletes earth, earth obstructs water, water extinguishes fire, fire vaporizes metal, and metal overharvests wood.
Finally, counteracting is the reverse of the relationship of overacting: wood dulls metal, metal drains energy from fire, fire evaporates water, water destabilizes earth, and earth rots wood.
Slowly, a smile appeared on Ba Shifang's face. He could feel it, he was beginning to comprehend the Law of Five Phases, and it was only a matter of time before he entered the Seamless Immortal Realm.
-line break-
Dressed in festive attire, Duan Muli stepped out of Yin-Yang Palace with the rest of the Eight Pillar Sect emissaries. They, along with the other emissaries from the other forces, gathered on Jade Peak.
Compared to the usually solemn and quiet atmosphere of Jade Peak, the numerous guests caused it to become unusually merry. Only immortals and those with high status were allowed on Jade Peak, but despite this, numerous curious onlookers gathered at the foot of the mountain, drowning the surrounding in a sea of people.
"Who are you looking for?" Duan Muli asked upon seeing Immortal Lord Swordwind looking around.
"I'm looking for Monarch Nine Heavens," Immortal Lord Swordwind said. "Strange, according to the rumors, he should be Xi Tianyi's father. Why is he not present?"
"Maybe he's not Xi Tianyi's father?" Duan Muli suggested. "I heard from Prince Xi that the rumor only popped up recently due to the Sword Sovereign's actions."
Immortal Lord Swordwind sighed. "Perhaps. I was so sure as well. When I tested it, Monarch Nine Heavens showed a big reaction, so I thought the rumor was true. Who could Prince Xi's father be then?"
"Does it really matter?" Duan Muli asked.
After a while, Duan Muli and the rest of the immortals from the Eight Pillar Sect greeted the other guests, including those from the Anti-Heaven Alliance.
Duan Muli and the others had seen neither hide nor hair of Tianyi or the Sword Sovereign, but that was only natural. The wedding had been arranged to the Sword Sovereign's wishes, so it followed the tradition of the Xi Dynasty's marriage customs.
The guests would not see Xi Tianyi nor the Sword Sovereign until the time came for Tianyi to pick up the bride. In the Xi Dynasty, the groom would travel to the bride's home and take her to his home, signifying that the bride left her maternal family and joined the groom's family.
The bride, Jiang Daoyi, was the Sword Sovereign's disciple, and her home country had already been destroyed due to the war between the Buzhou Immortal Sect and the two alliances. However, the Flower Peak Lord allowed Jiang Daoyi to stay on Flower Peak until Xi Tianyi picked her as a favor toward the Sword Sovereign.
Once the sun reached the highest point, the groom, Xi Tianyi, finally appeared. He wore an outfit of red, embroidered with soaring dragons and dancing lotuses. Duan Muli could not sense his aura at all, and he just seemed like an ordinary mortal groom.
"What's wrong?" Immortal Lord Swordwind asked upon seeing Duan Muli staring.
"Nothing. I just feel that Prince Xi is a bit different today," Duan Muli said. He had visited Xi Tianyi a few more times since their first meeting; the current Tianyi felt off to him.
Immortal Lord Swordwind smiled. "What's so strange? He's getting married. It's only natural he would be different on this day."
Duan Muli nodded, feeling that he had been overthinking. He plastered on a smile and went forward to greet Xi Tianyi. He, along with a few other people, would follow the groom to the bride's home to pick her up.
Xi Tianyi rode on one of the spiritual beasts from Tamer Hall to Flower Peak. The spiritual beast possessed the form of a horse with antlers and reddish-brown fur. Behind him, several more horse-shaped beasts pulled an extravagant and beautiful carriage.
Duan Muli and the other people following just flew behind him. They were immortals and didn't need to ride beasts to Flower Peak.
Upon arrival, numerous female immortals stood waiting. Most stilled their expression into emotionless masks as they welcomed Xi Tianyi. Although a few cast hateful glares toward Tianyi as if he had wronged them somehow.
Xi Tianyi and his entourage slowly climbed Flower Peak until they reached Flower Peak Palace. Waiting in front of Flower Peak Palace was an immortal monarch.
"Jiang Ziya."
Duan Muli frowned as he heard the shock in Xi Tianyi's words. He had investigated the bride and her family. She was from a minor family in the now-fallen Xi Dynasty with no notable cultivators. At least, that was what Duan Muli had thought. If he recalled correctly, Jiang Ziya was the name of Daoyi's grandfather. 'Did the Buzhou Immortal Sect get another immortal monarch, but my information didn't say anything about a Dao Manifestation after Monarch Nine Heaven's Dao Manifestation.'
"If you want to marry my Jiang Family's daughter, you must block three moves from me," Jiang Ziya said.
Duan Muli saw Xi Tianyi's brows twitch upon hearing those words. 'Is this planned? Does the Buzhou Immortal Sect want to boost their fame?'
"Alright," Xi Tianyi said after a moment of silence.
Duan Muli and the rest of the people who followed Xi Tianyi distanced themselves. Although it might be just an act, but no one wanted to risk injury in the process.
Jiang Ziya pointed his forefinger at Xi Tianyi and pointed forward. Instantly, everyone felt massive pressure as a giant finger materialized in front of him and pressed toward Xi Tianyi. Comparing the size, Xi Tianyi was about the size of the finger's nail.
Duan Muli's eyes stared at Tianyi, wanting to see what he would do. To his surprise, Xi Tianyi only reared his fist back and punched forward when the giant finger neared him.
A cataclysmic boom shook the surrounding. Duan Muli had to raise his arms in front of his face as his robes flapped from the wind generated by the force. When it calmed down, he saw Xi Tianyi's untouched appearance.
Duan Muli clenched his fist. 'Impossible, this must be an act. It must be!'
He, himself, could block Jiang Ziya's finger too, but not in the same way as Xi Tianyi. The way he did it appeared so effortless that it shook Duan Muli's confidence. According to his information, Xi Tianyi majored in the Law of Lightning, and he even killed an immortal lord shortly after reaching the Pathfinding Immortal Realm. If Xi Tianyi had used lightning to block the technique instead of just a punch, Duan Muli wouldn't have been so surprised.
Regardless of his shock, Jiang Ziya and Xi Tianyi continued.
"The second move."
Jiang Ziya opened his palm toward Xi Tianyi, and a hundred meters surrounding him became encased in a shimmering bubble. The bubble's film turned cloudy and obscured Xi Tianyi's figure.
Suddenly, it pulsed. With every pulse, a wave of spatial ripples spread through the air. Duan Muli felt his body distort under the ripple, and he couldn't help but think, 'Does the Buzhou Immortal Sect want to kill Xi Tianyi!?'
He didn't have long to think as the bubble popped and lightning discharged into the surroundings. Duan Muli had to activate his defense artifact to resist the onslaught of lightning, but he didn't have to resist for long as Flower Peak Palace released a spiritual light that contained the lightning.
Despite the short interaction, Duan Muli clearly felt the oppressive power of the lightning himself even more. His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. 'That power, he definitely mastered the Law of Lightning!'
Duan Muli could only think of a single reason why a true immortal who mastered a complete law would not immediately enter the Seamless Immortal Realm and become an immortal monarch. That is, if the true immortal wanted to use a different, stronger law as the foundation to enter the Seamless Immortal Realm.
He struggled to master one worldly law, and he thought Xi Tianyi was also working on comprehending a complete law, but he was wrong. It turned out that Xi Tianyi could step into the Seamless Immortal Realm at any moment, and just wanted a stronger foundation, so he suppressed his cultivation.
Jealousy, envy, and hate filled Duan Muli's heart, but he couldn't show it at all. Before, if he had any reservations or displeasure at his master's, Monarch Pathway's, decision, it disappeared completely. Without fail, Xi Tianyi must fall, or another immortal emperor may rise from the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Xi Tianyi did not notice this, he still had to face Jiang Ziya's final move after all.
"Careful," Jiang Ziya said as a rod about a meter long appeared in his hand. Space coiled around his rod, and he casually waved it. The rod lengthened and transformed into a whip that shredded the surrounding space.
In response, Xi Tianyi summoned a sword. Duan Muli recognized it as the Silver Dragon Sword he had gifted to him a month ago, but he couldn't believe his eyes. If before, the Silver Dragon Sword was just one step away from a monarch artifact, now, it had wholly reached that level.
A white glow surrounded the blade of the sword, and Xi Tianyi pierced it forward.
'Not just the Law of Lightning, but he also mastered the Law of Metal!?" Duan Muli's thoughts were thrown into disarray.
However, Jiang Ziya's whip held the upper hand as it slammed into the tip of the Silver Dragon Sword and pushed Xi Tianyi back. Just as everyone thought Xi Tianyi would lose the clash, the white light turned into a black light. That black light turned green, green turned to red, red turned to yellow, and yellow turned to white again.
The sword continued to cycle through the five colors, and its power dramatically increased, allowing Xi Tianyi to hold his ground. The sword and whip continued to clash for dominance for a seemingly infinite amount of time, but in reality, it was extremely short.
The whip lost its energy and dissipated while Xi Tianyi stood his ground. He had officially withstood three moves from an immortal monarch. All the onlookers had shocked expressions, not just from Xi Tianyi's accomplishment but because of what they gleaned from those three clashes.
Jiang Ziya ignored their turmoil and stepped away from the door. "You have taken my three moves, the Jiang Family's daughter is your bride."
