Immortal Divine Tribulation

Chapter 177: Reunion with Zi Ying on the Immortal Island

Tian Fan suddenly felt the urge to curse. 

At this moment, he swore he really wanted to grab a knife and give this beautiful woman a good beating. The little phoenix hadn’t truly matured yet, but it was still a divine beast—at least in the Immortal Ascension Realm, wasn’t it? 

Forcing a small cultivator like him, only at the early Primordial Unity stage, to fight a divine beast—wasn’t that just throwing steamed buns to a dog, with no chance of return?

“Heaven and Earth’s divine treasures aren’t so easy to possess. Without great strength, how can you protect them?”

Hearing this, Tian Fan fell silent. She wasn’t wrong. Without power, how could he protect such treasures, let alone his friends and family?

“Fine, I agree!” At last, Tian Fan accepted the beautiful woman’s condition.

“Waaah! If you lose, then you’ll stay here and play with me!”

The little phoenix flapped its gorgeous five-colored wings. Normally, it only had the woman as company—it was boring. With someone new, things would be much more fun.

“Go on, the two of you can fight in the north!” the beautiful woman said. This puzzled Tian Fan. Why head north when he had just come from there?

“You’re really dumb. This is our home. If you break it, then what?” the little phoenix piped up.

“You two can go. That little one stays.”

Tian Fan was surprised that the beautiful woman wanted Little Dragon to remain. Still, he wasn’t worried. After all, she herself was a beast in human form—the leader of myriad creatures. There was no reason to mistrust her.

“I’m going too!”

The little guy was reluctant, unwilling to be left behind. But when the beautiful woman smilingly took out a Fire Spirit Fruit, Little Dragon instantly abandoned Tian Fan and flew over in delight. Tian Fan was speechless—what a gluttonous brat.

So he and the little phoenix set off, circling the island and retracing their path. Along the way, the phoenix studied Tian Fan carefully, then looked at itself.

“Why are you purple? Why don’t you have pretty feathers?”

Seeing its innocent expression, Tian Fan was left speechless. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing white today, or else this little phoenix might have looked down on him outright.

He recalled that time in the ancient forest of the Western Regions, when a spotted deer had glanced at him and the Holy Son of the Demon Palace—both dressed in pure white—before lifting its head arrogantly and striding away.

“Because I’m human, so I don’t have feathers,” Tian Fan explained helplessly.

“Humans are so pitiful!”

Hearing the little phoenix’s sympathetic tone, Tian Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The creature was so naively adorable.

“All right, this is the place. Let’s start! But if you lose, you have to stay here and play with me!”

“Fine. But tell me, little one, what realm are you at exactly?”

“Um, I don’t really know. Oh, right—Auntie said I’m at mid Immortal Ascension,” the phoenix said after tilting its head to think.

Tian Fan almost choked. Mid Immortal Ascension? What the hell.

“All right then, let’s begin!”

Silver radiance slowly flowed from Tian Fan’s body. He moved his hands in a seal, pressing into the void. A rune formation appeared overhead, and behind him, a silver-white temporal gate unfolded, releasing a crushing divine pressure that even startled the phoenix.

“What’s that thing!?”

Golden rays spilled from the gate into Tian Fan, his aura surging higher and higher. When the last beam sank into him, his strength had reached an entirely new level.

With a thunderous boom, the silver gate slammed shut. His aura now was incomparably mighty. The power of Shangguan Yuntian was immense—just a step shy of breaking free from the Immortal Ascension Realm. Even one of his avatars could suppress three existences of that level. Now, all of that divine power had been transferred into Tian Fan, raising him straight to the peak of Primordial Unity. Of course, it would only last two hours at most.

Still, only his freakishly tough body could endure it. Anyone else would have exploded instantly.

“Come, little one!”

Tian Fan’s golden brilliance blazed. His purple robes fluttered without wind, his bearing like that of a god. At this moment, he felt invincible.

“Then you’d better be careful! I’m really strong!”

The phoenix boasted proudly, five-colored feathers glowing red. It spread its wings, unleashing a torrent of crimson fire that blanketed the sky. The heavens twisted under the heat, space itself buckling.

Tian Fan dared not be careless. Silver light shimmered as he formed the Five Elements Seal. Behind him, a silver diagram expanded to enormous size and shielded him, blocking the flames.

Boom!

The skies detonated with endless energy, ripping apart ancient trees below and shattering small hills.

Above, Tian Fan stood like a war god in purple, hair cascading like a waterfall. His golden divine sword cleaved through the air, tearing apart the very fabric of space, spilling chaotic temporal currents everywhere.

“Hey! You big bully, not so hard!”

The phoenix fumed, flames wreathing its body. Its kind were born fire gods. The little creature filled the sky with divine flames.

Tian Fan smiled, sheathing the sword. Using Divine Cloud Steps, he danced through the air, leaving countless afterimages, blocking all of the phoenix’s attacks.

With his current body, unless an immortal god descended, there was little in this world that could harm him. Against the phoenix, only two realms apart, he could hold his ground.

“Heh, little one, have you ever even fought for real? You look totally inexperienced.”

“Lies! I fight Auntie all the time!”

The phoenix flared up, as if its tail had been stepped on. Its aura burst forth, and its flames raged higher, shaking the heavens.

Man and beast clashed fiercely, shaking mountains and breaking skies. Though small, the phoenix was a divine beast, terrifyingly powerful. With a flap of its wings, storms of energy shredded the void.

Angry, it poured its full strength into its attacks. Opening its beak, it spat searing violet flames that burned through the heavens themselves.

Tian Fan was startled. Despite its youth, the phoenix had already reached mid Immortal Ascension and could wield violet fire. Such was the divine beast’s unmatched bloodline.

Little Dragon had its own fortune—its mother perished before its birth, gifting it her entire essence. In the Abyss, the ancient dragon had merged its soul into it. That dragon, whose body had defied decay for tens of thousands of years, must have been one of the strongest even among ancient immortals.

Thus, Little Dragon was born surpassing the Immortal Ascension Realm.

Raising his hand, Tian Fan pressed down. A giant handprint manifested, smothering the phoenix’s flames. Some embers fell, scorching the land into ruin.

His body brimmed with overwhelming force, unafraid of destruction, battling the phoenix head-on.

“I must obtain the Fire Spirit Orb!”

For the first time, Tian Fan revealed his fierce battle intent, sharp as a drawn blade. Divine winds howled outwards, the void trembling beneath his aura.

“Bad guy, what are you doing?!”

Sensing danger, the phoenix’s body blazed crimson, eyes wide.

Tian Fan roared, his voice shaking the skies. His towering form blazed with golden radiance, surging to Immortal Ascension strength.

His fist struck forward, lightning entwining it, shaking the heavens and sundering the void.

“You jerk!”

The phoenix, cloaked in fire, sensed mortal danger. It tried to resist, but Tian Fan’s punch knocked it back a thousand yards, blood spraying.

“Ow! That hurts!”

The little one wailed on the ground. Shocked back to his senses, Tian Fan rushed over, guilt pressing on him. But before he could, the phoenix appeared before him again, teary-eyed and glaring.

“You’re awful! That hurt so much!”

“I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to.”

Tian Fan’s expression softened. “Do you know, there’s a girl I care about—beautiful, pure, kind. She’s as sweet as you. But… to save me, she fell into deep sleep. Only the Five Spirit Orbs can awaken her. Can you lend me yours?”

“Really? She sleeps that soundly? Even worse than me!” the phoenix said innocently. Then it tilted its head. “All right, but promise me one thing.”

“What is it? Say it—I’ll agree to anything!” Tian Fan said eagerly.

“When you wake her up, will you come here to play with me?” the little one asked pitifully.

“Yes, I promise!”

At once, the phoenix brightened. It opened its beak, and a fiery red orb floated out, dazzling and translucent. Instantly, spiritual energy for a hundred miles surged toward it, filling the gem with radiant brilliance.

Trembling slightly, Tian Fan accepted the Orb—barely larger than a bead—and stored it carefully, as though it were his life itself. He thanked the phoenix sincerely. This meant everything to him.

“You’d better keep your word! If you lie, I’ll have Auntie roast you alive—she loves me most!”

“I’ll keep my promise. When she wakes, I’ll bring her here to play with you.”

Tian Fan’s voice was earnest. The little phoenix was simply too lovable.

“Yay! I believe you. Let’s go back!”

The phoenix transformed into a streak of fire and flew off happily.

Tian Fan smiled and turned to follow, but suddenly, a strange feeling struck him. Looking down, his body trembled violently.

Below stood four figures—three men and one woman. And among them, he saw himself. 

‘Impossible.’

But what shook him wasn’t that—it was the violet figure below, graceful and lively. His vision blurred.

“Zi Ying…”

His voice quavered as he stepped forward.

“If you don’t want them to vanish, stop right there.”

A calm voice echoed in his mind—it was the beautiful woman’s. 

Startled, Tian Fan realized she could sense him even from such a distance.

“Zi Ying, wait for me!”

He gave one last deep look below, then turned resolutely away. Using Divine Cloud Steps, he vanished into the skies.