The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The peach blossoms seemed to evolve as they bloomed in defiant splendor. It was a natural display, as gorgeous as the brightest stars of the Dao, swaying and scattering their petals to the wind.

Yang Zhang smirked. "Getting desperate already? I've fought you dozens of times. I won't let you escape again!"

The wind whipped past, and beneath Yang Zhang's red hair, a tiny flame of Dao Essence began to glow between his eyebrows.

"Born of rage, the Dao of the Heaven-Burning Flame!"

An immense torrent of fire instantly scorched the sky, and the drifting peach blossom petals began to smolder and burn.

An uncontrollable rage instantly seized Chen Dong and the others. Their eyes widened as if they would burst, filled with a gut-wrenching fury directed at the heavens, the earth, and even themselves. A Fire Technique spontaneously flared to life in Chen Dong's trembling hands, and he was on the verge of unleashing it to tear apart everything in sight.

With an enchanting smile, Meng Yingluo's laughter seemed to steady their wavering minds as it reached their ears. "This is the Anger-Burning Heaven Dao Essence," she said. "Everyone, steady your minds! He's using most of his power to fight Peak Master Zisang, so don't let him affect you!"

Chen Dong snapped back to his senses. 'So this is Dao Essence?'

An expression of profound sorrow appeared on Zisang Jin's face. Her Peach Blossom Divine Sword multiplied into thousands of copies, which then drifted down through the air, spinning and glowing faintly like falling blossoms.

A clear, quiet voice drifted out. "To forsake one's youth for a head of white, to walk the sorrowful path of mourning... Let the ages turn, and with each turn, a splendid year passes!"

A brilliant radiance erupted, shining upon the heaven-burning flames. It was the sorrow of ages, and under its light, the furious flames dissipated in grief.

Chen Dong and the others were instantly plunged into a realm of drifting sorrow. Tears streamed down their faces as they felt they had wasted their entire lives, that all their time on earth was but a single, fleeting glance at bygone splendor. Their hearts felt dead from the grief.

The other Demon Kings arrived in pursuit but immediately retreated several miles. They didn't dare to rashly intervene. This was now a clash of Dao Essence. A single misstep would bring disaster upon them.

Yang Zhang's red hair bristled with fury as he roared, "The world survives on self-deception! Rage has no place in it!"

Flames erupted once more, a heavenly inferno that vowed to incinerate everything in existence.

A lock of hair at Zisang Jin's forehead instantly turned stark white, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"A lifetime... of sorrow... and pain!"

The moment she spoke, the Peach Blossom Divine Sword became incomparably sharp. Its light flashed, momentarily clearing a patch of blue in the fiery sky. The drifting petals burned away along with the flames. With another flash of sword light, she and the others vanished from sight.

Yang Zhang stared for a long time at the spot where the sword light had been. The other Demon Kings gave chase once more.

Pengshan flew to Yang Zhang's side and complained, "Yang Zhang, how could you let her get away again? If I had Dao Essence, I would've crushed her to death myself!"

Ao Tian landed as well, letting out a cold snort. "Pengshan, don't talk so recklessly. Demon King Yang Zhang already sacrificed a hundred years of his lifespan; he just didn't expect Zisang Jin to be even more ruthless!"

"I just hate that I don't have Dao Essence myself!"

"Enough talk. We have to catch them! Zisang Jin has damaged her core energy and won't be able to use her Dao Essence again any time soon. This is the perfect chance to kill her!"

Pengshan nodded and chased off in the direction the sword light had taken.

Within the fleeing sword light, Chen Dong stared at the stark white lock of hair on the once-radiant young woman. The look of sorrow still lingered on her face, and he fell into a pensive silence.

Liu Ling's voice sounded in his mind. "Master, that is the price for pushing one's Dao Essence to its absolute limit. Peak Master Zisang must have just sacrificed a significant portion of her lifespan."

Chen Dong understood. 'Cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage can't unleash the full power of their Dao Essence. They have to pay a price to do so.'

Before long, a range of colossal mountains appeared before them, stretching across the horizon. Beams of Divine Light shot out from the peaks from time to time, refracting endlessly and without any discernible pattern.

The Divine Light looked like warm sunbeams, but the terrifying aura they contained made even Chen Dong's soul tremble. 'If one of those beams hits me,' he thought, 'the only way out would be to abandon my physical body.' Even an expert at the Nascent Soul Realm could probably only endure one or two of those beams.

Zisang Jin asked Chen Dong lightly, "What do you think?"

Chen Dong's eyes immediately lit up. Mu Qingzhu instantly began using her Great Deduction Divine Calculation at full power. Two breaths later, her right eye returned to its usual profound depth.

"It's possible!"

"It seems fate isn't done with us yet. Let's go!"

The group descended and flew toward Xuhua Mountain.

Following Chen Dong's directions, the group dodged the beams of the Sun's Divine Light time and time again.

The pursuing Demon Kings arrived, but they all frowned and stopped upon seeing Xuhua Mountain.

"How could they dare enter Xuhua Mountain!"

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Anyone who enters that mountain range dies. They might be dead in there already. You can't even fly in there; taking to the air just makes you a living target for the Sun's Divine Light!"

"What do the Demon Kings skilled in divination have to say?"

A moment later, a Demon King received a message.

He immediately reported, "The thread of their fate hasn't been severed, so it seems they're still alive. None of the Demon Kings who specialize in divination are confident they could enter the mountain range safely."

"Then what do we do? Surround it? The Xuhua Mountain Range is massive, and Zisang Jin is no ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. Having our regular kin surround the place would be useless. Besides, behind the Xuhua Mountain Range is the Land of Extinct Demons. Who dares to go there?!"

"Damn it!"

A cold voice cut in, "I'll go after them!"

The Demon Kings turned toward the voice and saw it was Yang Zhang.

Yang Zhang said coldly, "I've let Zisang Jin escape multiple times; the fault is mine. I have the Anger-Burning Heaven Dao Essence. I'll have no problem protecting myself in the Xuhua Mountain Range."

The Demon Kings fell silent. For the moment, they had no better idea.

But Ao Tian had a vague, unsettling premonition. Everyone was well aware of how formidable Zisang Jin's Sword Intent Dao Essence was, even though she was now weakened. But that Chen Dong... he was far from ordinary.

So Ao Tian warned, "Demon King Yang Zhang, if you're going to pursue them, you must be careful of the one named Chen Dong. If you get the chance, kill him first!"

Yang Zhang nodded. "I know. Isn't he the entire reason we've made such a scene? Zisang Jin can be allowed to escape again, but he absolutely cannot!"

As the other Demon Kings watched, Yang Zhang transformed into a streak of red light and shot into the Xuhua Mountain Range.

Barely a few breaths later, a beam of the Sun's Divine Light shot toward Yang Zhang. He instantly shrouded himself in his Dao Essence. The Divine Light passed straight through him, and after a brief pause, he continued his pursuit.

The Demon Kings let out a collective sigh of relief. That Divine Light could severely injure even an expert who had reached the Realm where one's body becomes law and the Dao follows the heart. It seemed Yang Zhang could only resist it because his Dao Essence had similar properties to the Sun's Divine Light. Had it been any of them, one or two beams would have been enough to grievously wound them and force a retreat.

Since they couldn't follow him in, their only choice was to place all their hope in Yang Zhang.