Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy

"What? Dragon Country really intends to make a move against us?"

The elderly, the weak, women, and children—how would they have heard the news? Living in the mountains, they were completely unaware of the outside world. All they knew was that their Fusang and Dragon Country had long kept to themselves without interference. But now, a powerful expert from Dragon Country was coming to their lands? And according to the Mountain King, this expert was going to kill them for no reason at all?

"That’s right! He refuses to let us go," the Mountain King twisted the truth. He wanted the elderly, weak, women, and children to join him in facing the enemy—the more, the better. After all, the Martial Emperor of Dragon Country was the one who had slain the Sword Saint of Fusang and shattered the Demon Blade itself.

"Then we’ll fight him with everything we have!" an old grandmother roared.

"Right! When I went down the mountain for school, my history teacher told us the people of Dragon Country are ungrateful," a child added, gnashing his teeth in anger. "Back then, we tried to lead them toward prosperity, but they rejected our help and even attacked us."

"Good, good, good!" The Mountain King, Xu Tiandi, was very pleased with their reaction. "With unity of purpose and one heart, no matter what foul demons come from Dragon Country, what do we have to fear?"

Aboard the phoenix, Wu Tian’s ears twitched. He heard everything happening on Wakayama below, every single word.

They’re descendants of Xu Fu and his followers, and they still want revenge against Dragon Country? A cold light flashed in his eyes.

"As descendants of Dragon Country, living in Fusang is no crime," Wu Tian’s clear, resonant voice boomed from the sky above. "But you have forgotten your roots and abandoned your heritage. This is unforgivable."

The Mountain King sneered, "What do you know? What do you know? It wasn’t us who betrayed our ancestors, it was you! Do you have any idea how arrogant and tyrannical Qin Shi Huang was back then?..."

"Shut up," Wu Tian interjected coldly.

Even if these people were related to the Six Kingdoms, they couldn’t have been royalty—just commoners. Where did all this hatred come from? All this resentment?

When Wu Tian told him to shut up, the Mountain King couldn’t stand it. His surname was Xu, and as a descendant of Xu Fu, he was revered in Fusang. Glaring furiously at Wu Tian, he said coldly, "This phoenix is a fake, isn’t it? A counterfeit produced with genetic synthesis and biotechnology. It’s all show and no substance!"

If Wu Tian weren’t on the phoenix, they would have certainly claimed it was real. How prestigious would it be to announce that Fusang had a phoenix? But since the creature belonged to Wu Tian, it had to be a fake. It simply had to be.

"You came to Fusang alone, so this is where you will die." The Mountain King waved his hand. "Everyone, attack! Slaughter him!"

Immediately, the mountain dwellers nocked and loosed their arrows.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The sound of arrows piercing the air echoed through the mountains. Among them was a master archer whose arrows never missed. His family had practiced archery for generations for one purpose: to one day return to Dragon Country and kill one or two famous figures. Wu Tian, of course, was one of them.

Today, I will shoot your head to pieces and make my name in the Martial Arts World with a single arrow! In his confidence, he had even engraved his name on the arrowhead. At that moment, the arrow flew. It seemed capable of piercing through anything, a brilliant streak in the volley.

However, what happened next was dumbfounding.

Wu Tian had no intention of dealing with such trash himself. He muttered something under his breath, the words inaudible to those below.

The phoenix, however, heard him. He was teaching it a cultivation technique. Dad finally understands how to make a deal! the phoenix rejoiced.

Immediately, the phoenix began to channel the cultivation technique Wu Tian recited and dove straight toward the volley of arrows.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The rain of sharp arrows struck the phoenix in a dense pattern. At least, that’s what it looked like to the naked eye.

"If it’s not a bird of Fusang, then even if it’s a phoenix, it must be a fake! And it must die!" The Mountain King hadn’t expected the phoenix to be so stupid. Instead of dodging, it plunged right into the arrow volley. What is this if not courting death?

The Mountain King was already making plans. I’ll take the phoenix to the Eastern Capital later and hand it over to our scientists. We’ll surely be able to create a Fusang phoenix then. The omen of ’A Phoenix Cries on Mount Qi’ will come true! Moreover, I might be able to uncover the secret of the elixir of life from it! Perhaps, in my generation, the search will finally succeed. Then, I will shine as brightly as the sun and the moon and exist as long as heaven and earth!

Thinking this, he threw his head back to laugh, but he had only let out a single cry of laughter before he could laugh no more, his face frozen.

As the phoenix drew closer, they could see that the arrows seemed to cling to its feathers, failing to pierce its skin. The phoenix’s white plumage now had a magnetic sheen.

"What’s going on?" "Is this phoenix a machine?" "Honestly, if a biologist made this phoenix, is there really such a brilliant biologist in the world today?" someone questioned. "It can’t be a machine, right? If Dragon Country had that kind of technology, they would have replaced the United States of America as the world’s number one superpower by now."

The people of Wakayama were all dumbfounded. They couldn’t comprehend what kind of bizarre creature this phoenix was.

The phoenix glared angrily at the Mountain King.

Damn it! It’s you, you old geezer, who called me a fake! I am the Phoenix Ancestor, a descendant of the pure bloodline!

With a single swipe, it lunged its claw toward the Mountain King. A blow that could tear a tank to shreds was more than enough for a mere human.

Seeing the giant claw descending upon him, the Mountain King’s pupils dilated in pure horror.

Dodge? It’s too late!

"Take this!" The Mountain King had no choice but to draw his ancestral sword and thrust it at the phoenix’s claw.

The sword’s name was lost to time. Two characters were inscribed on its blade, but one was now an illegible blur. The other character was ’Tian.’ The character after it had been worn away by the ages, its identity unknown. However, this blade was in no way inferior to the famous swords of Dragon Country or the demon blades of Fusang.

The Mountain King had read the family records: *In the third year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign, the country was at peace, and the nation was undertaking massive construction projects. A fangshi named Xu Fu chanced upon a peculiar stone on the East Sea Coast. It resembled a sword and was as heavy as gold. Even a strong man could not lift it with both hands. Fu refined it using the arts of Yin and Yang for a full cycle of eighty-one days. The stone then cracked, revealing the sword within.*

The sword was shaped like a crescent moon, and when drawn, friction with the air caused it to burst into fierce flame. This sword collided with the phoenix’s claw.

The phoenix, channeling the technique Wu Tian had taught it, struck down fiercely.

CLANG!

Upon impact, a tremendous force surged through the sword. The Mountain King felt the impact send shockwaves up his arm, causing the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to split and gush blood. Then, while he was still reeling, the claw seized the sword.

CLANG!

The phoenix’s talons ruthlessly crushed the ancient blade. Its other claw then snatched the Mountain King himself. The talons squeezed.

Blood splattered everywhere.