This Human Immortal Is Too Serious

In the southeastern part of the Human Domain, within a hidden forest.

Fleeting shadows swiftly swept over the treetops, surrounding a clearing so tightly that not even water could escape, all eyes fixed on the formation laid out on the ground.

Many elders were bathed in blood. Some were so severely injured they could barely stand, yet none could afford to rest, all waiting silently for the formation's light to flare.

At last, a screen of light rose from the base of the formation, and two figures burst forth.

One was Fire Plume, tall and dressed in fiery red battle armor. The other was Liu Baiyi, Pavilion Master of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, of robust build and dressed in a great python robe.

The two turned around hastily after breaking through the light screen.

With several soft crackling sounds, the restrictions on the formation's base shattered. A scorching blast erupted from the center of the formation, creating a tiny void in Heaven and Earth.

Liu Baiyi pressed down with his hand, and the collapsing force of Heaven and Earth was immediately halted. He reached forward to grab something but came up empty.

An elder asked in a trembling voice, "Pavilion Master… where are Wuwang Palace Lord and Daoist Xiao Jian?"

The expressions of the accomplished cultivators gathered around varied greatly as they collectively moved a few steps closer.

A bald, muscular man among the group turned pale. Although aware it wasn't his place to speak in such circumstances, he couldn't help but blurt out, "My Sect Master, he didn't make it back?"

Liu Baiyi remained silent, his brows furrowed in contemplation.

DANG!

Fire Plume forcefully slammed her spear into the ground. Her eyebrows arched sharply, her demeanor spirited and imposing, a hint of resentment in her eyes. She said softly, "Mother of the Sun, Xihe, suddenly intervened, using the Dao of the Evil God Ming Snake to sever the Qiankun Passage. That Ming Snake had been granted the power of Heaven and Earth by the Heaven Palace, making it a pseudo-deity of the Dao of Heaven and Earth. In her desperate efforts, the Qiankun Passage formed by the formation disintegrated, and Wuwang Palace Lord and Daoist Xiao Jian's whereabouts are unknown."

The forest fell into a silence as heavy as death.

Members of the Human Emperor's Imperial Guards, assembled at the outskirts of the forest, had mostly overheard their leaders' words through their Immortal Consciousness. The three elders, the young girl, and the middle-aged leader among them each sighed in relief.

Then Feng Zhizi, Pavilion Master of the Four Seas Pavilion, said with a laugh, "Maybe they just fell out halfway and tumbled into the East Sea."

An earnest Elder from the Four Seas Pavilion replied gravely, "Pavilion Master, the Qiankun Passage doesn't work that way. Two formations create the Qiankun Passage, piercing through Heaven and Earth and forming two compatible points within it. In fact, it traverses beyond Heaven and Earth. If one falls out of the Qiankun Passage, it's very likely they will be lost in the void... hard to find."

Feng Zhizi's thin old face contorted as he scolded, "Do you think I haven't studied the essentials of formations? Can't you gauge the environment, the atmosphere here?!"

The Elder furrowed his brows and said, "In any case, the Qiankun Passage projected into the world isn't a straight line."

Feng Zhizi couldn't help but close his eyes and turn his head. Then, revealing a gentle smile, he spoke warmly to the Elder, "Right, what the Elder said is very true."

The Elder showed a knowing smile, completely oblivious to the hostile gazes of his peers, who were figuratively sharpening their knives around him.

Finally, Liu Baiyi spoke up. "Everyone need not worry too much. His Majesty personally divined for Wuwang Palace Lord and affirmed that his destiny is as solid as rock. Fire Plume, the Xia Official, should have also noticed that when we were separated by the Qiankun Passage, my disciple Xiao Jian slashed out a beam of sword light to the left."

After carefully recalling, Fire Plume nodded slowly and said, "Indeed, he did."

"They probably fell into a small world attached to the Great Wilderness World."

Liu Baiyi said, "Xiao Jian has stepped into the Breaking Transformation realm, and he cultivates the extremely sharp Sword Dao. As long as he recovers from his wounds, returning to the Human Domain will pose no issue. He is my disciple, and I have this confidence in him. Not to mention, Wuwang Palace Lord was also with him."

Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Baiyi gathered his spirits, suppressed the internal injuries within his body, and announced in a clear voice, "Let us not gather here. Continue with the plan as previously arranged. Divide our forces into three groups to cover our three retreating contingents and prevent the Heaven Palace from retaliating out of shame and anger!"

Immediately, the many accomplished cultivators in the forest acknowledged the command and, as previously instructed, darted off southward, northward, and directly east.

However, several Pavilion Masters and the four leaders remained in the forest, each glancing towards Liu Baiyi and Fire Plume.

Liu Baiyi would not lie about this matter. Daoist Xiao Jian did indeed cleave through Heaven and Earth with a sword when the Qiankun Passage collapsed, dragging Wu Wang into an unknown miniature world.

But there was a minor detail Liu Baiyi and Fire Plume did not disclose.

Seeing Liu Baiyi's troubled expression, Feng Zhizi asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

"The Ming Snake followed them."

Liu Baiyi closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh. "Think of something quickly! Search all the miniature Qiankun worlds we can. The Ming Snake followed them!"

The expressions of the few became rich with emotion.

Fire Plume asked, "Is Daoist Xiao Jian a match for the Ming Snake?"

"If any of us were to face the Ming Snake alone, we could only say the odds are fifty-fifty." Liu Baiyi's brows knitted so deeply they formed vertical lines. "Xiao Jian was guided by Wu Wangzi into the Breaking Transformation realm less than a thousand years ago. How could he possibly... Search quickly! I will go report this to His Majesty at once. Let's not spread the news."

The several experts nodded to each other, their figures disappearing into the forest, employing their methods to search Heaven and Earth.

Liu Baiyi sighed. Unable to rest, he took a couple of elixirs and rushed towards the East Sea.

The Human Emperor was in the East Sea. This served not only to block the Heaven Palace's path to reinforce the Southeastern Region but also to support the Human Domain's three retreating armies, making the gods of the Heaven Palace hesitate to pursue them relentlessly.

This interconnected strategy was Wu Wang's simple summary of military methods characteristic of the Great Wilderness. It brought the advantage of 'terrain' into full play, restraining the Heaven Palace and allowing the Human Domain to return with a great victory.

Yet at this moment, this very person, the primary contributor to this victory, was... vomiting blood profusely.

「 」

"WAAH—"

"PTOO—"

Under the gray sky, at the edge of a somewhat damp swamp.

Wu Wang was lying on Daoist Xiao Jian's arm, constantly turning his head to spit out fresh blood, his Golden Armor twisted in an irregular shape.

The moment the Qiankun Passage collapsed, Wu Wang felt like he was going to shatter along with Heaven and Earth.

This sensation was very similar to when he plunged into a wormhole and was distorted bit by bit by the curvature of space. But the process was countless times faster, instantly disintegrating him from whole to pieces.

Even Daoist Xiao Jian was seriously injured, let alone himself, a mere Yuanxian Realm cultivator.

Fortunately, his Golden Scale Armor had performed exceptionally. Moreover, Wu Wang's body, having absorbed a significant amount of purified divine power from Evil Gods, was far stronger than what could be judged by Dao Realm standards, enabling him to withstand the ordeal.

—Heaven and Earth are like a painting, and people are like the grass and trees within it; if the painting is torn, the grass and trees should also be torn apart.

"Wu Wang, pull yourself together!"

Daoist Xiao Jian's voice trembled slightly. Gripping Wu Wang's shoulder tightly, he channeled waves of Original Immortal Spirit Qi into Wu Wang, saying regretfully, "I should have been more decisive then! I kept thinking we could make it, we could make it. If I had just gone to block that Ming Snake, I could have sent you back to the Human Domain. I truly hesitated!"

Wu Wang's eyes were somewhat hollow as he looked up at the man and whispered softly, "Daoist Master, I have an unfulfilled wish. Could you possibly, could you..."

"Don't talk like that! Don't say that!"

Daoist Xiao Jian's eyes reddened, tears welling. He gripped Wu Wang tightly and shouted, "I must take you back to the Human Domain! I will!"

"That's not it!" Wu Wang glared and cursed, "Can you let go first? My shoulder was already broken! Now it hurts like hell! HISS— I'm dying, I'm dying!"

"Eh?"

Daoist Xiao Jian froze for a moment, then hastily released his grip. Wu Wang jumped up, golden light flashing around him as the twisted Golden Scale Armor retracted into his body, revealing his battered form.

Wu Wang closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The necklace hanging on his chest gently swayed, then pressed against Wu Wang's chest, from which a silver-white glow surged, enveloping Wu Wang's figure.

In just a moment, Wu Wang appeared normal on the outside. His internal organs were also enveloped in divine power but needed time to recover gradually.

Endurance is an important component of combat effectiveness.

"Are you all right?"

Daoist Xiao Jian asked with a frown, full of confusion as he looked Wu Wang up and down, and exhaled in relief, saying, "Good, it's good you're fine. You really scared me. Now everyone regards you as the little hope of the Human Domain. If something happened to you in front of me, I truly wouldn't know how to explain it to them."

"Why did you have to add the word 'little'?"

Wu Wang's mouth twitched slightly as his gaze fell on various places.

Daoist Xiao Jian lifted his legs, seating himself cross-legged in the air. He closed his eyes to regulate his breath and released his Immortal Consciousness.

Soon after, Daoist Xiao Jian said, "This is a small world, its five elements incomplete and its Great Dao obscure. It doesn't seem to have been created by an Innate God or one of our Human Domain elders, but rather formed naturally. Once I've finished regulating my breath, I'll try to find a way back to the Human Domain."

"I should be able to find the way back. Brother Dao, there's no need to worry about this."

Wu Wang held his necklace close, from which a faint starlight was emanating.

However, with that, Wu Wang's mouth tightened slightly and a trace of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. In a low voice, he said, "Now the question is... Brother Dao, how many rounds could you last against Pavilion Master Liu?"

"If I gave it my all, I should be able to hold on for several dozen moves," Daoist Xiao Jian answered earnestly, then asked, "Why ask this all of a sudden?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

Wu Wang looked behind Daoist Xiao Jian, towards the gray horizon, where a 'mountain range,' separated by who knows how many miles, was slowly wriggling.

He said, "So, Brother Dao, you're not a match for an Evil God by yourself?"

"Of course," Daoist Xiao Jian replied with a helpless expression. "Evil Gods are not like those minor gods. They are powerful ancient beasts, already transcendent in strength, chosen by the Heaven Palace specifically to oppose the Human Domain, and then elevated to become Evil Gods. Which one of them isn't an ancient behemoth, a famous powerhouse of the Great Wilderness for a long time? If it were so easy to be countered by a mere transcendent like myself, the Heaven Palace would have been conquered by us long ago!"

"I understand the reasoning," Wu Wang lifted his chin towards the horizon. "If we can't return to the Human Domain immediately, let's hurry and recuperate. That thing's tail has already grown back a fair bit. It'll probably come looking for trouble soon."

"Hm?"

Daoist Xiao Jian turned his head to look, and his already pale complexion became even more colorless.

Just then, a thin film of light covered the somewhat low sky. A Qiankun Seal!

On the horizon, the colossal body of the Ming Snake had coiled up, its broken tail nearly fully restored at the cost of its body shrinking slightly in size.

And on that snake head, hundreds of yards in diameter, an alluring, charming figure they had met several times before became visible again.

Her slender eyes were full of mockery. Her tongue slid over her bright red lips, and a light laugh reached Wu Wang's and Daoist Xiao Jian's ears.

"It seems the two of you will be fighting me next."

Daoist Xiao Jian closed his eyes but remained quite composed, continuing to regulate his breath with his back to the Ming Snake.

Wu Wang pondered for a moment, contemplating the possibility of using his verbal evasion tactics, while circulating his immortal power and fervently absorbing the divine power from his necklace, trying to get himself into the optimal state to face the enemy.

Surrendering without a fight was impossible.

In this silent small world, two beings and one Evil God were all recovering from their injuries.

A wind blew past, seemingly from nowhere; it was the breath of the Ming Snake.

「 」

Meanwhile, in the Southeastern Region of the Great Wilderness.

In the ruins of Yun City, several creatures climbed out of the debris, staring blankly at the scene before them.

The once bustling Cloud City, the largest metropolis in the Southeastern Region and a renowned den of opulence, was now reduced to ruins.

High walls stood on all sides, but within the walls was a collapsed city.

The Young Master stood high in the air, silently gazing at the scene below, wisps of divine light surrounding her.

The Sun Goddess had taken the Head Manager and the other Innate Gods away, but the Young Master, saying she felt unwell, mentioned she would return to the Heaven Palace later and lingered there for a while.

Hearing the cries from below, she sighed softly, closed her eyes, and departed, heading eastward.

Moments later, this goddess in charge of reproduction arrived secretly at the homeland of the Feather Country.

This was a place of gloom and despair, with sighs and laments everywhere.

Not to mention that a large number of elite soldiers from the Feather Country were buried in the ruins of Cloud City. They had fallen in battle without any meaningful resistance, failing to withstand even a few volleys of magic treasures from the Human Domain cultivators.

Now that Yun City was destroyed, and they had participated in the battle, retaliation from the Human race was still possible. This was despite the Young Master having already ordered Qiong Qi to spread the news that Qiong Qi had controlled the spiritual mind of the Feather Country's King.

The great war had ended. The Heaven Palace had lost three gods and retreated in disgrace.

But how could their Feather Country simply walk away? With so many elderly, weak, women, and children, relocation was a very difficult matter.

Thus, the Young Master, hiding her form as she roamed the lands of the Feather Country, heard various complaints and grievances against the Heaven Palace.

The Young Master's expression grew somewhat somber.

But soon, any excess emotion vanished from her clear eyes. She appeared directly in the royal palace of the Feather Country and took away the princess who had previously sought out Old Snow Eagle.

The strife will only end when either the Heaven Palace or the Human Domain falls, she thought.

Before returning to the Heaven Palace, the Young Master looked toward the Human Domain in the west.

A divine light flashed through her eyes, her expression somewhat cold.

「An hour later,」

「On the shores of the East Sea.」

A figure in a blood robe tore through Heaven and Earth, delivering several young people to this place before turning and departing.

These were Ling Xiaolan, Lin Qi, and Ji Mo and Le Yao, who had previously been amidst the armies without any chance to distinguish themselves.

They had all participated, but the level of power involved in the great war was too high; it wasn't yet their era in the Human Domain.

At this moment, the four of them had also heard about the disappearance of Wu Wang and Daoist Xiao Jian.

Gathered together, they intended to discuss what could be done next, but as words reached their lips, they turned into sighs instead.

Ling Xiaolan's toes hovered half an inch above the fine white sand. She was the first to speak, "Didn't the seniors say that as long as Daoist Xiao Jian finds the path, he can break through Heaven and Earth and return?"

Lin Qi closed his eyes, saying nothing overly sentimental.

Ji Mo smiled. "Right now, we can only wait for news. Brother Wuwang can wrestle with the Head Manager; how could he be trapped by this mere art of manipulating Heaven and Earth?"

Le Yao said, "That may be true, but still..."

Ji Mo looked helplessly at his wife. She immediately understood that her husband was trying to comfort the other two.

"Still... still, it will be alright," she whispered, blinking apologetically at Ji Mo.

Ji Mo suggested, "Why don't we sit down, have some tea, and see if we can think of anything?"

"Who's in the mood?" Lin Qi sighed.

Ling Xiaolan said, "Let's wait here for now. News should arrive later. Don't worry too much; Brother Wuwang will surely return."

Each nodded, but the beach fell silent.

Unnoticed by them, a barefooted old man with a staff and a conical bamboo hat was passing silently through the sparse woods nearby.

If they had seen him, they surely would have come forward to pay their respects, calling out 'Your Majesty.'

A small bird perched on Shen Nong's shoulder. It then flew to a tree branch in the woods, lifted its little wings, and waved them gently at the old man, as if bidding farewell.

Smiling, Shen Nong shook his head and continued to stroll away.

Let the young ones sort things out themselves. At his age, he couldn't concern himself with the minor affairs between these young people anymore.

He still had to search Heaven and Earth to see where the future Pavilion Master of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion and that Little Golden Dragon had fallen.

「 」

In an unnamed small world.

Wu Wang looked up at the Ming Snake in the sky, which was about to fully restore itself. He slipped two rings onto his fingers.

He was panicked, yet not entirely so.

He covered the necklace at his chest, feeling the still-solid connection to the Star God's Dao, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Outside Heaven and Earth, sword intent lies dormant, cultivators hide their sharpness; two Dao hearts beat, THUMP, THUMP. Within the Heaven Palace, gods lack foresight, spirits are cold; this little Ming Snake just won't cut it, no, no.

TSK.

"Mother, save me!"