Yuanshi watched as Ling Xiao, Dijun, and Tai Yi descended, and the cold smile stretching across his face widened into a look of triumph.
This was a double blessing.
Now, he was not merely faced with a grand Opportunity of heaven and earth, but he also held the chance to exact his revenge and sever the lingering threads of their shared Karma.
"Three Crows, I truly did not expect you to possess the audacity to appear. Did you not realize we would be here? Such courage is almost commendable!"
Yuanshi's laughter boomed across the waves, his features etched with a profound sense of arrogance and open defiance.
Ling Xiao's expression remained as still as a frozen lake as he replied indifferently, "Did you not spend your days clamoring to settle the score with us? Well, we have arrived to fulfill that wish."
As the words left his lips, the gathered mighty experts exchanged looks of genuine astonishment.
None had truly expected that a formal agreement existed between the Three Crows and the Sanqing.
What shocked them further was that the Three Crows actually possessed the nerve to keep the appointment. Did they not understand that the Sanqing were no longer the figures they once were? Not only had they been anointed as the Disciples of the Dao Ancestor, but they now wielded Innate Supreme Treasures of terrifying power.
The gathered titans scrutinized the unfamiliar figure of Ling Xiao. They had long heard the legend of the Three Crows, yet while Dijun and Tai Yi were constants in the world's affairs, this third Golden Crow was a ghost rarely seen.
He was peerlessly handsome, with sharp eyebrows that slanted elegantly toward his temples, and he wore a robe embroidered with the Sun, Moon, and Stars. He radiated an innate, boundless nobility. Compared to the steady Dijun or the fierce Tai Yi, Ling Xiao appeared younger and more high-spirited, projecting a wild, untamable posture that seemed to challenge the heavens themselves.
"Indeed, the ancient rumors claim the Golden Crows are born with the destiny of an Emperor; seeing him, one knows it is not a lie," several experts thought privately.
"However, that which is too rigid is easily snapped. This brand of Emperor's destiny is not always a blessing."
To not know when to retreat—to choose a head-on confrontation despite knowing the Sanqing stood ready—was, in their eyes, a far from wise choice.
Hearing Ling Xiao's retort, Yuanshi said, "In that case, let us use this brief interval to see who is truly superior."
He spoke with a deceptive casualness, clearly intending to crush his opponents before the Three Immortals Island even opened its gates. Such was his confidence!
"Fine. Anything to keep you from clamoring in my ear once we are inside," Ling Xiao said flatly, his own attitude even more nonchalant than the Saint-to-be.
For a heartbeat, a layer of heavy, dark clouds suddenly shrouded this corner of the world, making the very air feel thick and oppressive.
Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian each took a single step forward, crossing into the Void Realm to stand level with the Three Crows.
More than half of the mighty experts of the Honghuang World were gathered at this spot. For the Sanqing, there was no better stage to defeat the Three Crows and justify their title as the sole orthodox lineage of Pangu.
The heavens and the earth began to shudder, the sea's surface boiled, and giant waves rose ten thousand fathoms into the air. An invisible Aura, majestic and vast, tore through the Void Realm that separated the two factions.
The surrounding experts felt the sudden suffocation of the pressure and retreated frantically, terrified of being caught in the crossfire of such a cataclysmic battle.
"Just as well. Let the Three Crows test the depth of the Sanqing's strength. If they prove too formidable, we shall call Big Brother and the others to surround and slaughter them together!" Candle Nine Nethers said with a chilling laugh.
"Whether these Three Crows can even force the Sanqing to show their full strength remains to be seen," Gonggong added with a smirk.
The powerhouses of the Yao Race, East King Duke, the Queen Mother of the West, Styx, and the others all harbored their own hidden agendas. They had not anticipated such a magnificent spectacle would precede the opening of the islands.
Vroom... boom...
A violent, world-shaking roar erupted. The entire sea surface surged with renewed violence as ten-thousand-fathom waves crashed against the hidden barriers of the Three Immortals Island.
Then, an incredible scene unfolded: the Innate Grand Array enveloping the three islands shattered like fragile glass.
The Three Immortals Island had officially emerged into the world!
Terrifying Chaotic Spiritual Qi erupted from the breach, billowing out in all directions. The sky was instantly flooded with auspicious light and the shimmering glow of treasures, numerous as the stars, causing the entire island chain to ignite with radiance.
Auspicious mists sprayed a fine purple fog, and golden light rolled across the horizon like a series of fractured rainbows.
This sudden turn of events stunned the world's experts for a split second, but the shock was instantly replaced by a frenzied eruption of movement. They transformed into streaks of divine light, divine rainbows rushing toward the three islands.
The sea surface for hundreds of millions of miles boiled over with the wake of their passage.
The Sanqing's expressions shifted instantly. They abandoned their confrontation with the Three Crows, turning to rush toward the islands.
They split their path—one for each island—showing a clear greed; they had no intention of missing an Opportunity on any of the three landmasses.
"Let's split up as well. I will take the middle one!" Ling Xiao's eyes flickered with a sharp light as he spoke in a deep tone.
"Alright. I'm going to find that old fogey Yuanshi," Tai Yi declared. He summoned the Chaos Bell, his body erupting with a brilliant, solar gold light as he crossed the sky like a falling sun, descending onto his chosen island.
"Then I shall leave Tongtian to me." Dijun held the River Chart and Luo Scroll, his feet treading upon the Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus as he charged into the fray.
Ling Xiao did not hesitate. With a single stride, he performed a spatial leap, vanishing and reappearing on the soil of Penglai Immortal Island in the next instant.
He raised his eyes to look: the sky was thick with celestial light, and endless living beings were plunging toward the three islands like moths to a flame.
Among the crowd, there were tens of thousands at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal level alone, and those beneath that realm were as numerous as the stars in the night sky.
Ling Xiao withdrew his gaze and pushed deeper into the heart of Penglai. Although they were called islands, they were vast and boundless, each one a Major Thousand World in its own right.
The land was teeming with every variety of Spiritual Root, Immortal Plant, rare metals, Divine Stones, and Spirit Beasts—a chaotic collection of the strange and the unusual.
Standing upon Penglai felt like stepping into the primordial world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
This was an unrefined, ancient realm; even an ordinary Immortal would find it impossible to explore its breadth in a thousand years.
Ling Xiao was not one for polite restraint. He stomped his foot lightly, and the ground beneath him surged with life. Utilizing the Law of Earth, he caused the soil to yield, gently peeling many Spiritual Roots and Immortal Plants from the earth.
With a wave of his hand, Ling Xiao swept them all into the Chaos Pearl, securing them within its depths to be nurtured and harvested when needed.
Each step he took was a spatial leap of ten thousand miles, carrying him to the next treasure-laden site.
"A High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure..."
"A Five Elements Spiritual Root..."
"...Just in time! Haha! This Opportunity truly has a predestined affinity with our West!"
"Indeed, arriving early is never as good as arriving at the perfect moment."
Two hearty, booming laughs rang out across the island. The Two Sages of the West, despite living the furthest away, had finally arrived, timing their entry perfectly with the islands' emergence.
Seeing the mountain of treasures before them, the eyes of the Western Sages gleamed with an unholy light. Without a moment's hesitation, they plunged into the island's depths.
Not long after, Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun also arrived, joining the ranks of those scavenging the land.
For a time, the Three Immortals Island was a hive of frantic activity as the world's experts gathered treasures with manic joy.
But as the density of living beings increased, the joy began to curdle into conflict.
The sounds of battle began to echo from every corner of the islands as cultivators fought over the same prizes.
Ancestral Witches, Yao Race experts, and the heads of the male and female Immortals were spread across the three islands, each pursuing their own hidden agendas.
Among them, the primary goal of the Ancestral Witches was simple: find trouble and ensure the Yao Race had no peace.
It did not take long before an Ancestral Witch encountered a high-ranking Yao expert, and the two sides immediately came to blows.
The terrifying Aura of their combat shook the very foundations of the island. Ling Xiao, however, continued to gather treasures on Penglai with unhurried grace, turning a deaf ear to the cacophony of war outside.
"Heh, little Golden Crow. What treasures have you managed to dig up? Hand them over and let me have a look."
A voice rolled in from the distance, moving from far to near in a heartbeat. A flash of thunder tore through the sky, and Qiang Liang arrived in an instant, his heavy landing carving a ten-thousand-fathom crack into the island's surface.
"You are looking for trouble with me?" Ling Xiao glanced at him, his voice remarkably calm.
"Cut the crap! You Golden Crows live upon the very eyes of the Father God, and I haven't even settled that blood-debt with you yet!" Qiang Liang shouted, his voice a deep rumble. Having reached the Quasi-Saint realm, he feared no opponent.
Ling Xiao nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. "It seems you are truly bent on seeking your own death, Ancestral Witch of Thunder... In that case, I shall defeat you using the very Law you claim as your own."
In his palm, the Law of Thunder—honed to the level of a Hun Yuan Golden Immortal—suddenly erupted.
Seeing the sheer intensity of the lightning in Ling Xiao's hand, Qiang Liang's face underwent an instantaneous and terrified transformation.