"Wangshu," Da Hai said in surprise. Zulong who was suddenly released sighed in relief at the appearance of his aunt master. Wangshu tore her hand out of Hongjun's grasp and leapt back kicking at the immortal.
Hongjun leaned back avoiding the blow and frowned in displeasure. "Wangshu, are you declaring yourself an enemy of the world?" He lectured.
"Enemy? Heh, the only enemy I see is you," Wangshu spat. The goddess sent a blast of silver light at Hongjun. Narrowing his eyes, Hongjun unleashed the taiji painting forming a shield.
Looking to the side, Wangshu threw out a guard at Da Hai. "Take that," she said. Da Hai nodded unplugging the guard and drank its contents. It was filled with three brilliance divine water, filled with endless life giving energy that filled his vitality.
Da Hai's injuries were healing fast and very quickly recovered. The miraculous power of the three brilliance divine water was astounding. A guard full had restored the sea god to peak fighting condition.
Wangshu lashed out at Hongjun showing an incredible level of skill in martial arts. Hongjun twisted his head avoiding a palm strike before grabbing that hand. A fist encased in purple clouds struck Wangshu's abdomen hard.
The moon goddess had to steady herself. Her abdomen had gained a wooden texture. Wangshu's eyes glowed silver, her skin faded away, her divine features disappeared into a snarling wooden creature.
Assuming her true form gave Wangshu a power boost. Her limbs creaked as they moved. Her silver eyes shone in anger. Opening her mouth, she fired a blast of lunar energy,
Hongjun held out his right hand and stopped the blast. He raised his left and blocked Da Hai's concentrated laser. Hongjun growled in visible anger.
"This has gone on for long enough," he announced. His eyes darkened into a deep purple. The gas clouds around him quivered. The skies darkened in ominous wrath. Purple lightning danced admits the clouds and divine chanting could be heard.
The praise of daoist priests from across the cosmos was concentrated into the heavens above Hongjun. The chanting rejoiced in his teachings, thanked him for his benevolence, they chanted for his victory.
"Youths these days," Hongjun said looking almost condescending. "You should've been good little boys and girls and listen to your elders. Disobedience requires punishment."
In a flash of purple, Wangshu and Da Hai were both overwhelmed. Da Hai gritted his teeth plummeting into the ocean. Wangshu did much better as she was able to catch herself. The wooden goddess humphed at Hongjun triggering him.
The silver radiance of the moon clashed against divine retribution of the heavens. It was a sight worth seeing. It was as if the moon in all its grandeur was standing defiant against the heavens themselves. Hongjun resembled an absolute deity, his beard and robes fluttering in the wind.
He sighed in disappointment. "In the end, you refuse to accept my pitch? Wangshu, I thought you fought for the world, surely you will put aside petty grievances," he lectured.
"Petty? I could still remember your desire to kill us," Wangshu snarled. "Have you really forgotten all your involvement in Shenni?"
"Slandering me are we? Please at least pick something believable," Hongjun sighed condescendingly. "You really are naive, there are forces in play much larger than yourself. I thought you were smart as a direct descendent of Pangu."
"It is because I am smart that I recognise you for what you are," Wangshu retorted. Her arms tensed preparing to fight. Down below, Da Hai surfaced from the water holding the xuanyuan water control flag.
Hongjun looked down and said, "Such precious treasures does not deserve to be in your hands. The legacy of Pangu shall not be tarnished by a villain like you," he immortal said righteously.
"Yeah right," Da Hai scoffed waving the flag around. Perfect hydrokinesis on any scale. Too bad the bodies of Golden Immortal weren't flesh and blood else Da Hai would've made Hongjun explode from the inside.
The ocean rose as one for Da Hai. They charged and thought for Da Hai. They roared and challenged the heavens for Da Hai. The west sea's seawater rose in an all consuming wave intent on swallowing Hongjun.
On an island not far from the battlefield. Qinglong and the rest of his group recuperated from their earlier tussle. "Things are not looking good," the azure dragon said getting up. "Yinglong, we have to support master."
"What? Are you insane?" Baihu exclaimed in disbelief. "Do you not see the kind of battle going on? A start but of lightning will kill us."
"No, I don't think they will," Yinglong chimed in. "That senior, Hongjun, he deliberately chose not to kill us nor eldest brother," he explained. "We're valuable to him," he concluded.
From top and bottom, the sea and the moon clashed against the heavens. Purple gas clouds met against the horrifying might of the ocean pushing it back. It countered the radiance of the moon holding it in place.
"Da Hai," Wangshu called out mentally. "We are not gaining an advantage on him, not anytime soon."
"Get to the point," Da Hai respond forming a shield with the white lotus to block a bolt of purple lightning. He attacked with the flag and defended with the lotus allowing him to somewhat manage. However, he'd already sustained a few injuries from Hongjun's assault. Evidently, the great immortal was focusing more on Wangshu than himself.
"We need the lunar star, I can call it to us," she said.
"Then what's stopping you?" Da Hai replied back.
"The pressure is too much, I cannot extend enough concentration to call it to me," she admitted.
"Is it nearby at least?" Da Hai asked.
"Yes, just beyond the hole in the sky," she replied.
"Alright, I'll try to buy you some time," Da Hai said. He crossed both his arms as a pillar of purple slammed into him through the ocean. The sea god spat out his Dao infused blood and reared back. His forearms were bent in unnatural ways.
"Master," Da Hai turned his head to the side and witnessed to approaching forms of Yinglong and the four symbols. Suddenly an idea reached him. 'What luck,' he thought in relief.
"Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu, you can all hear me yes?"
"Yes master/senior," they responded instantly.
"Good, form the four symbols formation," he instructed. "Before you say anything, let me finish. I'll use my cultivation base to fuel it. You only need to build and guide it."
Wangshu struggled against chains of purple clouds and growled. She radiated silver light that tore apart myriad clouds. However, they just kept coming back. Hongjun pointed his fingertip at her and formed a thin laser beam.
ZOOM!
The beam fired for Wangshu. It travelled blindingly fast and packed enough energy to heavily injure, if not outright kill the moon goddess. Suddenly, that laser swerved out of the way missing Wangshu.
Hongjun narrowed his eyes, "I wonder how much karmic luck you can expend." Wangshu reached out and tugged at her chains. Roots came out of her body lashing out at Hongjun.
The great immortal slapped out at the tendrils. Each and every one of them was met with shockwave producing slaps. Hongjun raised his palm and unleashed a gargantuan purple palm. The pangu banner lay at his lap as he fought while supplementing him with hits destructive might.
Wangshu roared shaking the heavens. The image of the lunar star appeared behind her. On her head, a crown with embedded jewels manifested. The intense light was blinding but Hongjun only grunted in annoyance.
Wangshu proceeded to shatter her bindings and bring her arms to getter. She fired a blast that was a replica of her own monstrous face against Hongjun's palm.
Zulong had to shield his eyes at the explosion as he lay low on the ocean surface. He stepped on the water straddling to get up. "What power," he muttered before steeling his eyes. "One day, one day, I'll stand at that summit."
"Hm?" Hongjun suddenly looked downwards. A cosmic diagram of the universe brimming with starry might rose up at him. He looked back at the injured but a smirking Wangshu and humphed in distaste. Wangshu was missing a good chunk of her body, three of her arms had been severed and the left side of her head was missing.
The diagram of the universe turned, the ocean below it swirled with it. It lit up with twenty eight constellations in four quadrants acting out in unison.
The taiji painting manifested below Hongjun's feet expanding into a diagram of the taiji greater in size. The two forces clashed against each other. The harmonious power of existence against the heavenly bodies of the universe.
A titanic struggle began as Hongjun was deeply troubled. The four symbols formation formed by the four guardian beasts with support from Da Hai was exponentially stronger. What's more, all of Da Hai's xiantian spiritual treasures were placed into the formation.
"Damn it, obey me and break it apart," Hongjun growled at the taiji painting in frustration. He picked up the floating Pangu banner and smashed it downwards. The chaotic sword Qi that originally split the chaos sea descended in waves.
Absolute destruction clashed against the cosmic universe. Lightning of a wide assortment of colours littered the skies. Da Hai howled in rage mustering his Dao fruit to its absolute limit.
High up in the skies, Wangshu back in human form held her arm outstretched. "Come on, come on, travel faster," she begged. She pulled with her full might while taking brief glances below.
The cosmic universal diagram was beginning to crack. Under Hongjun's bombardment, even one of the most powerful formations in the world was beginning to break. Hongjun looked almost gleeful at his progress.
"No matter what, you cannot discount the gap in cultivation," Hongjun stated smashing down with the Pangu banner once more. The banner bearing the iconography of Pangu was once apart of a greater weapon, the Pangu axe.
After heaven was split from the earth and the primitive world was opened from the chaos sea. The Pangu axe exhausted all its power. After, it had cut apart the highest level of reality possible, a feat not even Dao realm ancestors could lightly achieve. In the wake of such an act, the axe split into three.
The axe head became a banner, the neck and eye became a bell, and the handle became a painting. These treasures were not simply xiantian spiritual treasures. The Pangu axe was an ultimate existence far beyond xiantian spiritual treasures. Unlike the 36 Petals Chaos Green Lotus which split into ten top grade xiantian spiritual treasures. The axe split into three chaos spiritual treasures.
Although they came from sources of similar level. The Pangu banner was far superior compared to the Xuanyuan Water Control Flag and the 12 Petals White Lotus.
Da Hai sucked in a deep breath and braced himself for the impact. He could only take solace in Hongjun's earlier words about imperfect control. The flag struck the surface of the formation damaging it like no other had before.
Da Hai spat out a mouthful of blood as the cracks became too much. The formation was destabilized, it was breaking. 'Wangshu, where is the lunar star?' Da Hai thought desperately.
On the ocean floor, the unconscious bodies of the four symbols floated in the water. Yinglong swerved trying to collect them. Hongjun had held back from killing them and was making an active effort to pull his punches while they were in the area.
In the sky, a visibly stressed Wangshu looking very haggard was pulling with both hands. The doorway at the summit of the Jianmu tree showed the lunar star on the other side. However, the doorway was too small.
"Fuck," Wangshu growled punching out. The sound of glass shattering was heard as reality was punched apart. Wangshu's attempt at widening the hole was met with some progress. However, the lunar star was simply too large.
Hongjun looked back at Wangshu. He felt the devastating power of the lunar star trying to descend into the great wilderness. The right eye of Pangu was an existence on the verge of Dao. It was nothing to scoff at. It was actually the primary reason Hongjun valued Wangshu and why he never fought her in the stars.
"Oh no you don't," he swung the Pangu Banner around sending a wave at the unsuspecting goddess.
Wangshu felt danger. She looked back just in time as the wave bisected her at the waist. "GAH!" She screamed in pain. Her Dao essence bled out and her nascent soul too sustained damage.
"Wangshu," Da Hai called out flying up with a combined zambato sword. Hongjun blocked the oncoming blade with his forearm. He clawed sideways with that same arm.
SPLATTER!
Da Hai's entire left side was torn away from his body. It was only connected to his body by his abdomen. 'Damn it,' Da Hai thought. 'Will things really end like this?'
Hongjun raised another palm intending to slap Da Hai to death. A mysterious golden light appeared on Da Hai's body. A miracle occurred in which Da Hai was whole. He dodged the palm strike of Hongjun and send a palm strike of his own.
Da Hai's palm was lit in the auspicious karmic fire. He slammed into Hongjun's waist with a heavy impact. The shockwave could be felt across the world.
"GRAH!" Hongjun growled in pain as his waist was burnt badly. Da Hai spun mid air and kicked Hongjun with a leg encased in karmic fire.
Hongjun flew into the sky while Da Hai assumed his true form. The eight heads spewed forth karmic fire in a concentrated stream of fire at Hongjun. Da Hai's own karmic luck was plummeting extremely quickly. His desperation had nearly cost him his entire stockpile.
Hongjun threw both hands down. The Pangu banner, the taiji painting, and the jade fortune disc appeared in unison. The greatest force of the universe, the karmic fire was successfully being blocked.
Zulong looked up in a panic. He was prepared to propel himself up to shield his master with a tail slap. But suddenly, space distorted beside him. Qiankun stepped out from the portal looking at the battle.
"Good, I made it in time," he said softly. It was then that Zulong noticed that in his hands, Qiankun held the dying body of another immortal, Ancestor Shangxia.
Qiankun himself looked scruffled. He had obviously been in a tough battle just now. "You're Da Hai's disciple right?" He asked to which Zulong nodded.
"Good, I owe a debt to your master," he explained dropping Shangxia's body. Cosmic rays condensed wrapping around Shangxia. Qiankun himself blasted high into the air.
"What a Hongjun," he scoffed. "After all these quiet years, you finally make such a move. No matter, it's not like I have to fight you directly."
Qiankun's mastery over space was second to none. Even though his cultivation was currently inferior to Hongjun, his control was in reality much finer. With this, he was the fastest immortal cultivator in the world. Beating out Hongjun and Luohu.
Wangshu who held herself together in a blob of three brilliance sacred water was the first to notice Qiankun. "Why are you here?" She asked.
"I want to say that it was pure coincidence that I was in the area, but something else probably had something to do with it," he admitted. "To think this all started when I had a premonition a few decades ago to come west."
Hongjun spread out his arms dispelling the karmic fire. Da Hai looked extremely spent and lay mid air panting. "Using so much of my power to punish brats," he scowled. "To think so much usage was needed to put you down. Wait… this presence, Qiankun?"
Hongjun turned around and saw Qiankun standing tall. "Hongjun, you don't get murderous intent against me without repercussions," Qiankun said. "And you certainly don't try to assassinate me with a recruitment pitch. Don't underestimate the ancestor of the universe."
With one motion, Qiankun opened a gargantuan portal into the starry skies. A portal visible from the West Continent where a black robed young man walked out alongside a silver haired young man. "What the hell is going on?" Luohu asked Mara who merely shook his head indicating he had little idea.
Hongjun looked nervously at the sky as the lunar star appeared in the primitive world for the first time in history. Wangshu smirked as her lower half was restored by the moonlight. Her eyes glowed and her crown emitted a horrid screeching song.
It sounded as if a million celestial fairies were celebrating. As if the stars themselves became royal servants laying out the carpet for their ruler. Wangshu breathed in and out feeling the power of the stars flow into her through the portal.
"Let's pull him into the starry skies," she informed Qiankun and Dai Hai.