Immortal of the Ages

In a world cloaked in mystery, atop an ancient and nameless teleportation formation, the words Six Paths of Reincarnation hung in the air like strange, blood-red suns.

Beneath these words lay an endless shadow, black as a coffin, stretching boundlessly in every direction, its edges unseen.

The humming sound confirmed it. The Yaksha Ancestor was right.

When Moon Fairy, Pale Revenant, and the Great Mother drew near the Six Paths of Reincarnation realm, the mighty celestial energies surged like a near-liquid sea, so vast that one felt submerged in an ocean of mystical force.

With a mere stretch of a hand, the black, dusky yellow, and blood-red energies condensed into a droplet of frost upon one's palm.

"The disparity between worlds is vast," Yun Xiao thought as he observed the frost. "A single droplet could shatter a mortal star."

Did the lives of mere mortals truly hold meaning? Even as a former lowly mortal himself, such thoughts inevitably crossed his mind, let alone those born supreme.

All were beings, all had lives, yet the essence of their existence varied greatly.

"No matter," Yun Xiao mused, "this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm far surpasses the Great Dao Celestial Realm."

Moon Fairy's silver eyes gazed coldly ahead at the super cosmic realm, 3,000 times more vast than the Great Dao Celestial Realm. His small stature, merely five and a half feet tall, seemed no more significant than a speck of dust in comparison, his divine body dwarfed by the vastness around him.

This awe for the magnitude of the world sparked from Moon Fairy's eyes, but it was Yun Xiao's heart that truly felt the overwhelming vastness.

Moon Fairy was part of his body, as if Yun Xiao had extended himself into this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm to personally experience its enigmatic and majestic third Dao Source.

"Such a vast world signifies abundant opportunities, yet also harbors unpredictable dangers," he reflected. "Then again... this is just a body double—if it dies, I'll simply replace it with another. There's no need to be afraid."

With this open-hearted and firm belief, Yun Xiao controlled his body double, drawing ever closer to the dark shadow that seemed to beckon him as an entrance. Not only that, as he neared, he sensed the presence of other beings, creatures near the entrance.

It promised to be a lively gathering.

Far off in the distance, six boundless vortices appeared like deep abysses, drawing numerous creatures of varying sizes into their swirling depths.

Moon Fairy, accompanied by the two corpse demons, was but a trifling trio upon this endless teleportation formation.

"These beings seem quite formidable," the Great Mother cautioned, her voice tinged with cool alertness.

"This world is too dark and eerie, it feels perilous," Pale Revenant added.

Moon Fairy nodded in agreement. He continued moving forward, each step drawing him closer to the six abyssal vortices. As they narrowed the distance, the presence of enigmatic creatures grew more palpable, with shadows occasionally sweeping past, chilling to the bone.

Such encounters gave Yun Xiao the sensation of walking through a dark forest, where the fog was so dense it seemed the whole world was a clouded swamp, never knowing if the next moment would bring forth a behemoth from the mist.

Pale Revenant and the Great Mother grew increasingly tense, one clutching at Moon Fairy's sleeve, the other gripping his ear...

Moon Fairy looked up helplessly at the Great Mother. Despite her substantial size, her courage was less considerable, and he feared she might yank his ear off if spooked.

Moon Fairy was about to suggest they relax when his eyes suddenly widened, and he halted.

"Hush." He signaled for silence, and the two corpse demons instantly stopped and held their breaths.

Following Moon Fairy’s gaze skyward, they too looked up instinctively.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! From the dense black mists above came two strange roars, one like the wail of cattle under lash, the other like the breathy gasps of a horse exhausted unto death. Both sounds were grating, filled with a mournful cry as if tormented for an eternity, sending shivers down the spine.

Moon Fairy listened intently, his eyes narrowing.

BOOM! He saw them. From the ghostly red-black fog above, emerged figures with the bodies of burly men, their arms at least twice as thick as Moon Fairy’s legs, all muscle-bound giants. Strangely, these strong men bore not human heads but those of oxen and horses.

The crescent-shaped horns, the lifeless black eyes, the broad nostrils, and the elongated horse faces were all vividly clear. Iron rings pierced their bovine and equine nostrils, attached to dark chains that clanked ominously.

BOOM! BOOM! They strode through the void, their nostrils puffing out white mist and black fire, panting heavily as they thundered overhead.

"Bull-headed and horse-faced?" Moon Fairy was momentarily stunned. Were they human, demons, or ghosts?

"They're pulling something..." the Great Mother whispered.

KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! The chains they bore clashed together, producing a harsh, piercing noise as they stretched out behind, pulling more of these bull-horse strongmen from the mist!

Moon Fairy quickly counted; in such a short span, their number had already reached the thousands. What were they pulling?

KLANG! Suddenly, a ghastly, spectral, deathly aura descended upon the world, pressing heavily on the territory around Moon Fairy.

Following this, the ends of those chains in the black mist pulled forth a crimson palanquin, tracing a blood-red galaxy overhead!

Though it was but a fleeting glimpse, Moon Fairy could feel the terror emanating from the blood palanquin. It was adorned with wind chimes made of human skulls at its four corners, which clanged together with a 'bang bang', sounding like screams from a tormented sea.

As the blood palanquin flew overhead, the black curtains on its side window fluttered momentarily, and Moon Fairy caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in bridal red inside. Her face was marked with a strangely beautiful pattern...

Suddenly, the woman turned her head sharply, looking down from the heavens above, her pair of blood-red eyes blooming like fiery kapok flowers...

Moon Fairy remembered that flower! For the blood palanquin was engraved with it all over; it was vibrant yet overpowering, with a bizarrely suffocating allure.

"She saw me!" Just as Moon Fairy sensed an ominous foreboding, a surge of black patterns erupted from the blood palanquin, racing along the chains to the thousands of bull-headed and horse-faced beings pulling it.

The air hummed ominously.

The bull-headed, horse-faced beings collided, their dark, muscular bodies cushioning the descent.

For a moment, the blood palanquin hung suspended in the sky!

With a sudden shift, all the creatures looked downward, their mournful, dark eyes fixing on Moon Fairy and his companions.

Thundering booms echoed as they, tethered to the blood palanquin, descended from the heavens, landing forcefully around Moon Fairy, encircling him and the two corpse demons tightly with their formidable black muscles.

With a loud crash, they knelt upon landing, raising their hands high, their gazes both frenzied and fearful towards the direction of the blood palanquin.

The palanquin itself landed atop the celestial teleportation formation, wobbling a bit. The kapok flowers painted on it seemed to flutter in the wind, and the curtains at the front billowed, occasionally revealing shadows of blood mist inside, as if a massive beast from the abyss dwelled within the palanquin.

Even Yun Xiao felt a bead of sweat form at this eerie spectacle.

Suddenly, the curtains of the blood palanquin flew open!

This time, Moon Fairy saw clearly. Seated within was a woman in bridal finery, her hands folded neatly on her lap, surrounded by swirling black and red mists and countless wailing spirits, creating a chilling chorus.

However, Moon Fairy could not see her face, for it was covered by a red bridal veil embroidered with a vivid kapok flower and a skull.

“Corpse demons, come.”

The woman in red suddenly spoke these words, her voice hauntingly beautiful, hinting at a tragic beauty. But in this eerie context, even her melodious voice carried a deadly oppressiveness.

Hearing her words, the Great Mother and Pale Revenant's hearts raced.

It seemed they had unwittingly drawn the attention of this unknown entity…

Yun Xiao had thought she was wary of him seeing her face.

The two corpse demons had inadvertently come to this place to protect him, and Yun Xiao felt obliged to take responsibility for them.

Thus, speaking through Moon Fairy, he bowed respectfully and said, “I am Moon Fairy. Greetings, senior. These two corpse demons are my close friends, and I have promised to take care of them…”

Just as Moon Fairy was speaking, the woman in the blood palanquin flicked her finger, and a blood-red shadow shot out at a terrifying speed, striking Moon Fairy instantaneously.

BOOM! Moon Fairy's body burst open, severing at the waist, his organs spilling onto the ground, his blood splattering into the shape of a kapok flower.

"Immortal Yun!!" Pale Revenant and the Great Mother cried out as if struck by lightning, their faces turning deathly pale!

They hadn't anticipated that a dignitary of the Six Paths of Reincarnation could be so brutally direct. Yun Xiao had spoken courteously, but she hadn't bothered to listen, choosing to annihilate at her whim!

Before they could rush to Moon Fairy's aid, two blood-shadow hands stretched out from the palanquin, brutally dragging them inside.

CRACK! SMASH! The hands crushed the two corpse demons into bloody masses, tossing them into a corner of the palanquin.

Throughout this, the woman and the surrounding bull-headed, horse-faced creatures didn't waste a word.

"Immortal Yun!" The Great Mother roared, her eyes bulging out of the blood mass, staring furiously at the woman. "I will kill you!"

"Oh?" The woman in the palanquin paused, "You're fortunate indeed. Act nice, and maybe you'll be my servants."

As she spoke, the palanquin started to move again.

"Wait!"

Moon Fairy's upper body suddenly rose, glaring intensely at the woman. "What’s your name? Where do you live?"

The woman in the palanquin paused again. These creatures... Where did they get such courage? She felt a flicker of interest and asked softly, "And why would you want to know?"

"To return the favor a hundredfold one day," Moon Fairy replied, blood dripping from his eyes.

The woman in the palanquin chuckled softly.

"My name is Yanfu Tan. You can find me in the Sea of Bitter Blessings," she said gently.

Moon Fairy replied coldly, "Fine, I'll remember you, Yanfu Tan!"

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