Chapter 227. The Nine Provinces Map, A Forbidden Divine Art, A Battle Erupts

Since even the Primordial Dragon considered them a great enemy, they had to be extremely formidable. Moreover, Human Sovereign Shennong and Immortal Guang Chengzi even struggled against them.

"King Lu," Jiang Ningxian said, pointing in another direction.

Lu Yuan raised his head and looked. In the distance, streaks of pitch-black lightning crackled intermittently, and even the air itself seemed to be shifting. It had begun—another yin yang inversion.

Jiang Ningxian knew that would happen, so she wasn't pointing at them. Instead, she was pointing at something else.

Lu Yuan saw violent streams of energy erupting in the distance; clear signs of a fierce battle.

"That's the Golden-Winged Great Peng's aura. And the Peacock King." Lu Yuan opened his Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes and identified them at once. He frowned deeply. He sensed that they were not fighting the celestial troops or the Yin soldiers. They were fighting other people.

Whoever managed to corner them to that extent was not someone simple.

"It's Zhou Yunqiong," Jiang Ningxian remarked, instantly guessing the beast kings' opponent.

It had to be known that those beast kings—except for the Golden-Winged Great Peng—were Venerable Kings. Earth's Awakened wouldn't dare to treat them as enemies, and while the beings from the Outer Cosmos could do so, they wouldn't dare to do that, thanks to Lu Yuan's prestige and reputation.

By process of elimination, only Zhou Yunqiong remained.

"It's time to settle things," Lu Yuan calmly said after a moment of contemplation. He was already inside the secret realm, so the secrets of the Netherworld region could wait.

Right now, the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the others were fighting Zhou Yunqiong, and he had unfinished business with her, so he had to go and face her.

Just as he had said, it was time to settle things once and for all.

Zhou Yunqiong had a formidable bloodline, and she harbored many secrets. She also had the backing of the Ji Clan. Since she dared to attack the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the others, she definitely had confidence in her own strength.

"All right." Jiang Ningxian's interest was piqued. She decided to accompany him and see what was going on. Having made up their mind, the two rose into the air and concealed their auras just in case.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

***

Streaks of light shot out in all directions, and the formidable power wielded by each streak of light made thunderous roars reverberate throughout the city, shaking even the very ground itself.

The Peacock King, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Spirit Monkey, and the Nine-tailed Fox King. All four beast kings had joined the battle, and they were truly formidable. Every movement on their end generated fearsome results.

The Spirit Monkey wielded his iron cudgel, and his golden fur radiated formidable energy. The Peacock King and the Golden-Winged Great Peng spread their massive wings, emanating dazzling lights.

The Nine-tailed Fox King's nine tails lashed through the air nonstop.

These four formidable beast kings had attacked in unison. Had this battle taken place anywhere outside Mount Kunlun's secret realm, half a city would have been reduced to rubble in an instant.

Even with their combined might, however, they couldn't suppress the solitary figure standing before them.

It was a woman shrouded in what looked like a divine light, exuding an overwhelming aura. She walked through the air as if on solid ground. Whenever she clapped her hands, a wave of formidable energy would erupt, accompanied by shadowy figures depicting what seemed to be a phoenix.

Somehow, she alone had suppressed all four beast kings.

"I don't want to kill any of you. Leave that item behind and retreat. I will let bygones be bygones," Zhou Yunqiong said calmly as she stared at the four beast kings. Despite fighting four beast kings at once, she looked leisurely and composed.

At this point in time, she had already reached the fifth stage of evolution—the Venerable King Realm, and she was incredibly powerful.

"We found the Nine Provinces Map first, so why should we give it to you?" the Nine-tailed Fox King retorted. It had already reverted to its true form to unleash its full power.

A sheepskin scroll drifting slowly in the tempestuous air could be seen above. Upon closer inspection, one could see that it depicted the Nine Provinces of ancient times. Anyone could tell at a glance that this map was a treasure.

This was the reason behind their intense battle.

Not long ago, the four beast kings had reunited. They had been exploring the Netherworld region of the city when they discovered the Nine Provinces Map inside a great hall.

The moment they claimed it, Zhou Yunqiong appeared and attacked them, intent on seizing it for herself.

Just like that, a battle erupted between them.

The four beast kings had assumed that suppressing Zhou Yunqiong would not be too difficult. After all, mutated beasts were generally stronger than humans if the two were on the same stage of evolution.

Not everyone was invincible like Lu Yuan.

To their shock, however, Zhou Yunqiong ended up being unimaginably powerful. None of them could match her, and even though they were fighting her together, they were still being thoroughly suppressed.

However, the Nine Provinces Map was no ordinary treasure, and they had found it first as well, so they refused to give it up to her.

"Since ancient times, treasures have always belonged to the strong. You lot are weak, so why even risk your lives? How pathetic," Zhou Yunqiong said blandly.

She knew these four beast kings were connected to Lu Yuan.

Thus, she hadn't gone all out against them.

After receiving the aid of that

personage

from the Ji Clan, her strength had increased by leaps and bounds. At this point, she wasn't afraid of even a Void Sage. This was the terrifying power of her awakened bloodline, and it was also the source of her unwavering confidence.

Zhou Yunqiong recognized the Nine Provinces Map's value and wanted it for herself. However, these four beast kings had been refusing to back down, and her patience was finally wearing thin.

At last, she said, "I will warn you one more time. Leave now, and you may keep your lives."

"Let's see just how far you can go, then," the Nine-tailed Fox King replied. Together with the other three beast kings, it went all out. They refused to believe that Zhou Yunqiong could truly suppress them all by herself.

"Uncle Zuo, should we go assist the Young Miss?" asked a subordinate of the Zhou Family with worry evident on his face.

After all, four beast kings were joining forces against her. He feared something could go wrong.

"Relax." Uncle Zuo shook his head and smiled calmly. "The Young Miss has been in seclusion for a long time, and she has changed completely since then. Even with all of them working together, they're not her match. Besides, she wants to test her own limits as well. We need only watch from the sidelines."

Uncle Zuo's voice was full of confidence. He knew exactly what changes his Young Miss had experienced during her seclusion. Her bloodline could be traced back to the Yellow Emperor himself, making her stronger than even some of the Ji Clan's Rankers.

Now that her bloodline was fully awakened, she was a terrifying expert. In Uncle Zuo's mind, the only person who could rival her was Lu Yuan.

"Since you lot clearly want to go down the hard way, don't blame me for being rude," Zhou Yunqiong remarked. Her patience had finally run out. She stepped forward, and brilliant light erupted from her.

Then, the lights converged in midair, manifesting into a massive image of a phoenix. Zhou Yunqiong stood in the middle of the lights, and it looked like she herself was a phoenix gazing down on the world from the firmament.

Zhou Yunqiong no longer intended to hold back. Since she had already emerged from seclusion, she decided to announce her true might to the world!

In the distance, two figures were swiftly closing in.

"That's a forbidden divine art of the Ji Clan..." Jiang Ningxian froze mid-flight at the sight. Then, she remarked, "King Lu, it seems the Ji Clan thinks highly of your old friend."