After deciding that Levitating Island would be his new home, Wuzhiqi spent his days pouring effort and energy into the island. He dismantled all of the formations that the two scarlet apes had set up and rearranged everything according to his liking. He also installed most of the treasures he’d preserved from the Primeval Era and refined a great deal of changes into the landmass.
However, it’d never occurred to him that as the maker of the island, the little fox would leave a strand of core essence in it and that she’d be able to ignite it to blow it sky high. Everything that he’d diligently worked on in recent times was now strewn across the ocean in pieces—Wuzhiqi had had only enough time to grab Silverlight.
Enraged beyond belief, he brought the enormous club down to pulverize this insect that courted death, but the mammoth Mount Vastspace suddenly appeared between them. Interposed between the two ancient personages, it took the brunt of Wuzhiqi’s blow.
The water monkey’s emerald-colored club was a connate treasure while Mount Vastpace was a connate treasure beneath the immortal dao. The two were evenly matched, but what set the mountain apart was the countless folds of space it contained within. Layer upon layer and level upon level of space formed the true heart of the mountain.
Wuzhiqi’s blow crashed right into the dense overlapping layers without meeting any resistance. Caught off guard, the demon god stumbled and fell into the mountain. Fully poised for a bitter duel to the death, the six prodigals started with surprise and hastily called upon the mountain’s power, sealing Wuzhiqi in the depths of Mount Vastspace.
Not only were there endless layers of space in the mountain, it was also a world unto its own with the rules and laws of one. As Wuzhiqi tumbled to the inner depths, the treasure’s power of a world completely restrained him before he could even bring his own strength to bear.
The Deaf Prince and others, including the torch dragon, were completely taken aback by this incredibly fortuitous development.
“Monster, monster spirit ancestor…” An awkward Silverlight had struggled free of Wuziqhi’s grasp in the commotion. She stood quietly in midair, unsure of how to address or approach the little fox. If it hadn’t been for the timely arrival of the six prodigals and the little fox these days, she would already be deep in her duties as water monkey incubator.
“Go to Dusk Province, Goldenlight is still kneeling in front of the Dao Academy gates.” The little fox waved a hand and didn’t address anything else.
Expression shifting slightly, Silverlight looked at the little fox with a few more hints of gratitude and veneration than before. She fell to her knees in midair and kowtowed three times at the little fox before departing in the direction of the province.
This interlude went ignored by the Deaf Prince and six others as they stared blankly at the little fox.
“It’s… over? Just like this?” the torch dragon asked with confusion. Since its body was a projection, it could spontaneously reform even though the little fox had smashed it to pieces.
“Hmph.” The little fox glared at the torch dragon and ignored it. She was the grudge-nursing sort.
“What was that?” softly asked Jing Dichen as she walked over.
“Did you all really think that we meant for you to die when we told you to break free of your tribulation?” the little fox snorted. “Having you die would be meeting the tribulation without a plan, not breaking free of it. Lu Yun and the Tianqi kid wouldn’t do something so stupid.”
Though Lu Yun and Tianqi hadn’t seen each other for a very long period of time, the two of them had made certain plans long ago. Tianqi, in particular, spent every day and hour conjecturing what his master wanted and his eventual goals, making his own moves accordingly.
He’d left Wuzhiqi alive for another purpose than to have the water monkey kill the Deaf Prince and the others.
“Alright, we can go back now.” The little fox adopted a mysterious air and swept an aloof glance over the torch dragon. Not wanting to anger her again, the torch dragon quickly dismissed its image projection and opened its real eyes in the Xuan Yuan Tomb.
Calm was restored back to the North Sea, but when the group put away Mount Vastspace and was about to depart, a crimson glare held them in place in the air. The hostile look swept over them like a storm of blades, feathering bloody marks over their skin.
“Who is it!?” Shaking from effort to throw off the glare, the little fox sent out the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals and had it patrol the skies. She could clearly sense a predatory gaze looking up and down at her, but she couldn’t locate its source.
Scanning their surroundings with an eagle eye, the little fox closely observed the void as well. The scroll afforded the group enough of a reprieve so that the Deaf Prince and others could call upon Mount Vastpace again and lock down the premises. However, the gaze remained and exerted tremendous pressure on them.
“Kyakyakya!!” Suppressed in Mount Vastspace, Wuzhiqi suddenly cackled with laughter. “Tushan, you’ve been sharp for all your life but a fool for a moment. Did you think that this kind of inconsequential trap could really hold me?”
Within the depths of the treasure, the demon god’s body faded away into drifting motes of dust. Then, the little fox and the others discovered with dismay that the North Sea was starting to tremble beneath their feet. An enormous eye floated to the surface of the water, making almost the entire sea the eye!
Wuzhiqi’s eye.
“Wuzhiqi is a water monkey. Since he’s a connate demon god, that also makes him a connate water god. …dammit! He set up a foolproof plan within the sea and purposefully lured us over here!” the little fox reacted quickly.
She’d placed a little too much blind trust in Lu Yun and Tianqi and forgotten that Wuzhiqi wasn’t a regular connate demon god. He was a character on par with the likes of Dijiang and Nuanzi!
Boom!
An explosion went off in the North Sea as a furry hand probed out from the deep, grabbing for Mount Vastspace.
“Tushan! You’re just a fox, how would a noble connate water ape such as I ever be interested in you?? All of that before was to have you bring these six fools here! And now, the treasure of human dao is mine!!” A massive being five hundred kilometers tall slowly stood up from the North Sea. This was Wuzhiqi’s true form!
“Get back here!” he roared and recalled Silverlight, who’d already set foot on Dusk Province territory. She streaked back to his side in the North Sea like time had rewinded, resolving from a blur of light into a horrified scarlet ape.
“AHHHHH!!!” Wuzhiqi howled at the skies, beating his chest furiously. Devastating ripples exploded from his body and spread throughout the world of immortals. Strength unique to connate demon gods and chaos realm power exceeding great emperor gushed forth onto the world, shaking all life forms down to their core.
