This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

Within Tianyi's inner world, the galaxy had become dim, the starlight started to fade, and darkness began to cover the three figures hidden within that world.

Unbeknownst to Tianyi, two of the three figures had changed. The emperor need not be said as his clothes became authentic silk brocade robes, but the greatest change was the worm-shaped cloud. It was no longer worm-shaped at all and instead was nine spherical objects, eight brightly lit spheres that revolved around a larger black sphere. But they too began to dim with the darkness encroaching upon the world.

Just as it seemed the world would be extinguished, the third indistinct figure began to emit a brilliant rainbow that illuminated the galaxy once more.

Outside Tianyi felt his sweat drench his clothes as he regained the functions of his mind. He didn't know what happened, just that his vision had gone dark for a moment, but the danger Tianyi felt still lingered within his heart. Not only that, but Tianyi discovered that his soul, which had reached the threshold of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, had regressed to the quality of a Core Formation Realm cultivator. He didn't dare ponder anymore as he activated the Pendant of Mountains and Seas.

Nine mountains and nine seas descended onto the world, but Tianyi's pupil shrunk as he saw that the area near the four-story pagoda was untouched as if that area was detached from the world. His hand didn't falter as he took out the most powerful talismans his mother had given. He activated three of them at once.

Three swords formed of immortal qi immediately appeared and pierced towards the unknown immortal.

Tianyi didn't bother to see the aftereffect as he activated another talisman. This time, he was enveloped inside a sword-shaped qi and sped away inside it. He left the Mountains and Seas Formation to blockade the immortal.

Just as it seemed that Tianyi would leave, a transparent figure began to form in front of Tianyi, causing him to leave the sword of qi as it jetted towards the half-transparent man, but the sword qi only phased through him as if he didn't exist.

Once the man in red fully formed, the four-story pagoda appeared behind him again.

Tianyi felt his heartbeat quicken as the reality of the situation descended upon him, but he was unwilling to give up. The sensation that lingered within him was just too frightening. Without any more care or reservation, Tianyi began to use all the talismans he had been given.

The horned man did not change his expression as he deflected or countered everything Tianyi threw at him. Even the mountains and seas formation was locked in place, unable to move.

Just as all hope seemed to be lost for Tianyi, a figure appeared in front of him. It was someone who Tianyi knew extremely well, although this person had been standing behind him all the time that he knew her.

"Elder Meng!" Tianyi cried out in surprise.

"Young Master, please escape." Those were Elder Meng's only words as she stared off at the immortal in the distance. The immortal, in turn, seemed to be wary of Elder Meng, who had just appeared even though she was in the Unity Realm and not immortal like him.

All of Tianyi's talisman that he had used were attacks at the Immortal Realm, but that hadn't made the immortal as guarded as seeing Elder Meng.

Under Tianyi's visibly shocked eyes, Elder Meng's speckled gray hair began to turn black as if it had been dipped in ink, and a ghostly garment appeared and wrapped around her robes. He couldn't see her face, but he guessed that she must have used a special technique to drastically increase her strength that resulted in her regaining her youth.

Her intent to fight couldn't be clearer.

"Elder Meng, I have some talisman–" Before Tianyi could finish, he felt an invisible force push him away. The force was gentle, and there was no intent to harm. Tianyi felt his body seize up under the force as if his body wasn't his to control anymore.

"Eld-" Before he had a chance to call out anymore, another gentle force made his body fly far away. Tianyi completely understood now; this was Elder Meng wanting him to leave. He had not expected Elder Meng to be so strong. He had grown prideful because of his special cultivation method, but he didn't expect the quiet Elder Meng to be so strong.

All around Elder Meng were the phantoms composed of skeletons, all of them wearing a bridal dress that had been bleached white, creating an eerie scene. Their ghoulish cries crawled through the quiet night, sending a chilling sensation everywhere.

In contrast, the red-robed youth's phantoms were elegant dolphins. They were pleasant to the eye if a bit disconcerting to look at. They gave off a feeling of a child's purity.

Just from this scene alone, it would be easy to mistake the immortal as someone who was out delivering justice against a devilish cultivator.

"Lady Meng, do you need to stake it all for an outsider?" The red-robed youth spoke as he controlled his phantom to clash against Elder Meng's skeleton brides.

"For Monarch Soulfish to know of this Junior is my honor. But I will not let your words sway me. I am an elder of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, and I will protect Grand Elder Xi's son at all cost!" At Elder Meng's rejecting words, Monarch Soulfish's brows furrowed at Elder Meng's words.

More dolphin phantoms appeared with a wave of his hands and began to swarm Elder Meng's skeletal brides. At the same time, the confusion in Monarch Soulfish's eyes became even more evident. "Does she truly not know, or was I incorrect about her true identity?"

No matter what Monarch Soulfish's questions were, since Elder Meng had decided to stand against him, he would show no mercy.

Upon seeing that her skeletal brides were no match in both numbers and strength against the dolphin phantoms, Elder Meng made several hand seals. Flesh began to grow upon the skeletal brides, revealing the grievances they had before death. Their eye sockets were empty and leaked tears of blood while their mouth started shrieking horrendously.

Wherever the shriek passed, space seemed to blur. Even the pagoda seemed to shake not from the effect of the shriek but rather something within responded to the grieving shrieks. Monarch Soulfish gently patted the pagoda, and it quieted down. The phantom dolphins began to grow bigger under his control until the shrieks no longer had any effects.

Elder Meng's hand didn't stop as various hand seals were formed. The phantom brides' skin soon attained a rosy blush on their cheeks as she did so. The only difference between them and a living human was their empty eye sockets. The greatest was to come as the bleached bridal dresses soon regained their vibrant red color.

But that wasn't because the bridal dresses' colors were returning. No, it was being colored red from soaked blood. Once the dress became a hundred percent red, a ghastly red light surrounded the phantoms. At the same time, Elder Meng's body became gaunt as if something had sucked away all the blood in her body, but the steel in her eyes never dulled.

Monarch Soulfish's eyes hardened. Some of the bridal phantoms had barely reached the threshold of the Immortal Realm, while the rest were all firmly in the realm of an Earth Immortal. He had no problems dealing with the phantoms, but if he delayed any longer, then his target might escape.

He clapped his hand together before fully separating them apart. As if working on its own rules, space appeared above the pagoda behind Monarch Soulfish. A torrent of azure water started to descend and wash over the entire area.

Elder Meng moved her bridal phantoms in front of her to block against the torrential waters. Soon the water engulfed Elder Meng and her phantoms. She felt like she was in a fragile bubble in the deep sea. All around, she could see those dolphins circling her.

Strangely numerous tiny rats were flailing in the water while they kept drowning yet never being able to die, only able to flail aimlessly.

The protective bubble around Elder Meng continued to shrink under the pressure of the azure sea with no end in sight, as if she was in a world that was comprised only of water. No matter where Elder Meng moved, she could not escape the water.

The first to go was the weakest ghost brides. Water crashed into them, and they separated away from Elder Meng. After each ghost bride separated, would be encased in a cocoon, and when the cocoon broke open, a white dolphin appeared and became part of the sea. The Immortal Realm bridal phantoms became red-skinned horned dolphins.

The more time dragged on, the more bridal phantoms became separated from Elder Meng until there were only nine bridal phantoms at the Immortal Realm left. And even they were beginning to weaken as small patches of white could be seen on the wedding dresses.

There was simply no way Elder Meng could escape this azure sea world. Despite this, the direr the situation, the more peaceful Elder Meng's expression became. She waved her arms, and the bridal phantoms all merged with her.

Elder Meng's robes shifted to a red wedding dress not soaked in blood but made of the world's finest brocade. It was embroidered with phoenixes and parasol trees, and a red veil completely covered her head. Beneath the veil, Elder Meng had peerless features and unearthly beauty that suppressed all the women in the world.

A woman was most beautiful on her wedding day. That saying was not wrong, but it was a pity that there was no one to lift Elder Meng's veil and reveal her beauty to the world. The only hint of her beauty was the crystalline skin on her hand and the inky black hair poking out under the veil.

There was a sigh, one of hopelessness and regret.

The barrier was gone, and azure water encapsulated Elder Meng's body. Unlike the bridal phantoms, Elder Meng wasn't covered by a cocoon. Instead, she flowed with the currents. Slowly her figure became transparent and dissolved into nothingness.

Inside the four-story pagoda, Monarch Soulfish watched this all with a calm expression. Amidst the endless water with no surface or bottom, the only structure that existed was the dull red pagoda.

"Qiu."

Monarch Soulfish whirled around to see a girl younger than him smiling at him. Her hair was dark brown, and her eyes carried traces of innocence as she spun in her red-brown dress.

"Chun." Monarch Soulfish involuntarily spoke the girl's name, but his face was twisted in a furious expression. Forcibly calming himself down, Monarch Soulfish closed his eyes.

"Qiu, what's wrong?"

His body shivered at Chun's words as if physically impacted, but he continued to ignore her.

When he opened his eyes once more, Monarch Soulfish was standing outside of the pagoda, and his target was standing right in front of him. But he knew that he no longer had any chance because standing beside his target was a silver-haired woman in ethereal white robes.

---

Tianyi followed the direction the force pushed him towards. His heart wasn't feeling good at all, this feeling called powerlessness.

Just as he was speeding along the way, the space in front of him seemed to have become a two-dimensional painting as it tore apart like parchment, and a silver-haired woman wearing white robes came out.

Tianyi's eyes brightened. He had never been so excited to see Grand Elder Zhang in his life. "Grand Elder Zhang! Elder Meng is fighting against an immortal! You have to help her!"

Maybe Tianyi himself never realized how desperate his voice had become, but Grand Elder Zhang did. She placed her hand on Tianyi's shoulder, and before Tianyi's vision could even blur, he noticed himself across from the four-story pagoda once more.

Monarch Soulfish had his eyes closed, but it wasn't long before he opened them. There was a trace of sullenness in his eyes as he stared at Tianyi and Grand Elder Zhang.

"Zhang Cuiying, you should know the boy is an outsider. Why do you protect him so?"

Grand Elder Zhang's eyes became cold. "Monarch Soulfish, I do not recall ever being so close to you. If I do not protect him, what else would I do? Collaborate against my sect member with you?"

A brush appeared in Grand Elder Zhang's hand. It had a splendid handle that emphasized the grain of the wood and a brush made of strands of silver.

Upon seeing the brush in Grand Elder Zhang's hand, Monarch Soulfish immediately began to retreat, but it was already too late. A painting of the dull red pagoda appeared before Grand Elder Zhang. With a few swishes of her brush, the pagoda immediately became like an old building able to crumble apart at any moment.

"No!" There was a fierce cry from Monarch Soulfish as he saw the pagoda begin to crumble. His body withered, and blood leaked continuously from his mouth, but the pagoda had returned to normal. On the other hand, his body had become like an old building ready to crumble at any moment.

Grand Elder Zhang did nothing as she watched Monarch Soulfish flee.

"Grand Elder Zhang, what about Elder Meng?" Tianyi asked as he searched around for his guardian.

Grand Elder Zhang said nothing and instead grabbed Tianyi's shoulder once more. When Tianyi regained his bearings, he discovered that he was in the Buzhou Immortal Sect's Soul Lamp Hall.

The Soul Lamp Hall was where the members of the Buzhou Immortal Sect left their soul lamps, so the sect knew whether they were alive or dead. Only inner disciples and above had the qualifications to leave a soul lamp.

Understanding Grand Elder Zhang's meaning, Tianyi quickly scanned the numerous soul lamps and released a sigh of relief when he saw Elder Meng's soul lamp still burning. But the strange thing was that her soul lamp wasn't with the other Unity Realm elders but placed among the Immortal Realm elders.