The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 157 - 156 Shen Gongbao’s Wonderful Adventure

Chapter 157: Chapter 156 Shen Gongbao’s Wonderful Adventure

Fire Spirit Saint Mother was only one cultivation realm lower than Master Huang Long, but in terms of innate talent, she surpassed him. As for Magical Treasures, there was no need to even compare—she utterly dominated him in every aspect.

Adding the interference from the Golden Radiance Crown, Master Huang Long’s close-combat prowess was effectively reduced to zero.

Master Huang Long: "..."

So no matter who I fight, I’m the one getting beaten up, huh?

Fire Spirit Saint Mother hoisted her massive hammer and, amidst a flurry of Golden Light, relentlessly pummeled Huang Long!

Truly, it went like this: Eighty! Eighty! Eighty!

...

Not only did she vent her previous anger, but she also found immense joy and satisfaction in the beatdown.

The next day, even without Luo Xuan stepping aside, she took the initiative to seek out Master Huang Long for another match.

Between hitting and being hit, she wasn’t stupid—of course she knew which to pick.

Getting beaten every day left Master Huang Long somewhat depressed. Fighting Luo Xuan was still somewhat dignified, and the process wasn’t unbearable. It was like steaming in a sauna, honestly kind of comfortable.

But taking on Fire Spirit Saint Mother was a completely different matter. He had to maintain his human form and ended up bruised and swollen every day—how could that be dignified?

Come on, I, Huang Long, have my pride too, okay?

After a few days of this, he finally decided to consult with Master Taiyi: "Senior Brother, how about I take on Luo Xuan tomorrow instead?"

Master Taiyi casually replied, "But Luo Xuan attacks with flames—can you stop him, Junior Brother?"

Master Huang Long’s face grew awkward. He was just there to get beaten—how could he have any way of stopping Luo Xuan?

"This..."

Truth be told, Taiyi wasn’t fond of fighting Fire Spirit Saint Mother either. He was worried that if he didn’t hold back properly, he might accidentally kill her. That wouldn’t end well.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear the consequences—it was just that there was no need for such trouble.

So, this arrangement was just fine. All good.

Back in his day, Taiyi had also been a force to reckon with, and dealing with someone like Luo Xuan wasn’t much of an issue for him.

On Luo Xuan’s side, seeing Fire Spirit joyously pummeling Huang Long every day left him at ease—it wasn’t like he particularly cared about Wen Zhong.

To him, Wen Zhong wasn’t even a friend—at best, he could be considered a reluctant rival of sorts.

One day, with a glance of silent understanding, he and Master Taiyi started slacking off together,

leaving Fire Spirit Saint Mother as the only one truly fighting, while Master Huang Long was the only one truly getting beaten up.

No matter how you looked at it, thanks to Huang Long’s effort, the West Zhou Battlefield reached a certain equilibrium again. Though it could be said they were still at war, the only ones actually fighting were Huang Long and Fire Spirit. On the surface, there was a standoff, but in reality, it wasn’t much of a battle.

Old Jiang was quite satisfied with this outcome. Truth be told, he didn’t want to keep fighting either. This arrangement was good enough—it gave him a reasonable explanation to Ji Fa, and he well understood the current situation.

As for the soldiers on both sides, even more so—after all, what normal person was eager for war? If Immortals wanted to fight, let them go ahead. What did it have to do with us mortals?

Keeping our own hides intact—now that’s the real deal.

...

Shifting the scene back to Shen Gongbao, he had been following the red light’s guidance. But the further he descended, the more bewildered he became. The bizarre and grotesque monstrosities he encountered on the way even gave him a chill.

"Senior? Senior? Where are we headed?"

He called out for quite some time, shouting at the red light, but it apparently grew impatient and simply vanished.

Shen Gongbao: "..."

He wasn’t a fool—in fact, he was exceedingly cunning. He immediately understood that he had been duped.

He had always been the one fooling others. To be on the receiving end this time? Well... it felt quite sudden.

The Primordial world’s schemes run deep. I want to go back to Kunlun!

He didn’t dwell too much on why Lady Rashamon had tricked him. I mean, if someone’s out to kill you, is there really any point in wondering why? Survival—that was the real priority right now.

But the underground was pitch black, making it impossible to determine up from down or left from right. The pervasive Turbid Qi here threatened to taint his Immortal Body, and he had no clue how to get out.

On top of that, strange, chaotic noises echoed all around, making the place all the more terrifying.

But Shen Gongbao wasn’t someone to give up easily. Trusting his instincts, he picked a direction and flew forward, only to crash headlong into a rock-solid mountain face.

Shen Gongbao didn’t dare illuminate the way with his Magical Treasure—he knew full well it would make him a glowing target for the monsters lurking in the darkness.

So, he changed directions and flew again. Not long after—bang!

Shen Gongbao: "..."

What the hell is this godforsaken place?

He adjusted course again and flew cautiously through the dark for a long time, only to slam into another inexplicable rock face. At this point, Shen Gongbao was utterly baffled. After a lengthy moment of thought, he finally decided to take out a Magical Treasure to get a sense of his surroundings.

He produced a Treasure Bead and held it in front of him, channeling Mana into it slowly. The bead glowed faintly, revealing a horrifying sight—countless grotesque, alien figures, numbering in the hundreds!

Shen Gongbao: "!!!"

He abandoned the Treasure Bead without hesitation, turned tail, and ran for his life!

Behind him came a cacophony of sounds—the crashing of countless legs against stone and earth filled the air.

Shen Gongbao stopped pretending altogether and reverted to his Panther form, sprinting away with everything he had.

But even with four legs, how could he possibly outrun those countless-legged Alien Insects?

Just as he was about to be overtaken, a thunderous, otherworldly screech erupted in front of him. The shock was so great that his already-pounding heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

Then, with a deafening crash, some enormous, unidentified creature hurtled overhead and collided with whatever was pursuing him.

A series of tremendous booms followed. Shen Gongbao didn’t even dare glance back—he bolted in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Only when he reached an unfamiliar area where the alien beasts’ cries had grown distant did he finally stop.

He panted heavily, his long tongue hanging out as he gasped for air. Exhausted—he was utterly exhausted!

Since his Immortal Ascension, he had never suffered like this. It had been ages since he’d needed to revert to his original form.

After resting and cultivating for a while, he began to notice something odd about this area—there were surprisingly few abnormal beasts here.

His earlier ordeal had taught him one thing: no way was he going back. As a transformed Panther, he understood one ironclad principle.

If there are no lesser beasts here, it can only mean there’s an even more terrifying Beast King ruling this domain.

After much deliberation, he figured—either way, he was probably doomed. But if that Beast King had immense cultivation and was open to negotiation?

Maybe then he wouldn’t have to die!

He might even con the Beast King into going after Jiang Ziya!

Worst-case scenario, he’d die anyway, but being slain by a Beast King had an air of dignity to it.

Having restored his human form and replenished his Mana, he cautiously proceeded in the direction where the alien beasts grew even scarcer.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking in the endless darkness, but eventually, a glimmer of light appeared far ahead.

The Golden Light in the underground abyss shone brilliantly, almost dreamlike in its radiance.

Shen Gongbao didn’t hesitate and flew straight towards the light. However, it was one of those "the mountain grows taller as you climb" scenarios, and the journey felt interminable. Thankfully, the area bathed in Golden Light was free of any abnormal beasts. Now that he was surrounded by brightness, the terror that gripped him before began to fade.

After who knows how long, Shen Gongbao finally reached the light source. It turned out to be an enormous golden silkworm cocoon, more than two meters in radius.

He circled the cocoon a couple of times, unable to discern what it was. His cultivation journey had been too short, and he had spent most of his efforts on reaching Earth Immortal status and networking. He hadn’t had the time or energy to study the sprawling texts of Yuxu Palace.

However, the Golden Cocoon seemed to sense the arrival of an unknown being. Its radiance intensified, as if something within it were about to emerge.