Chapter 20: Don’t Get Too Proud

Zhu Baoman thought he had hidden himself well enough that Huo Zun would never discover him. Little did he know, Huo Zun struck first and forced him to reveal himself.
Of course, Zhu Baoman was puzzled—how could Huo Zun, a four-star Human Soul Immortal, see through his invisibility formation? It was even difficult for Human Soul Immortals to detect the “Earthbound Breath-Holding Formation.”
Hearing Zhu Baoman’s cry of shock, Huo Zun laughed and said, “Zhu Baoman, you actually used a formation in front of a genius like me? Aren’t you seeking shame for yourself?”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Baoman’s eyes turned icy as he replied indifferently, “Huo Zun, even though you’re talented with formations, you’re still stupid. As a Human Soul Immortal, once you’ve discovered me, you should have run away. Instead, you dare to confront me, a true Human Soul Immortal. You’re just seeking your own death.”
With that, Zhu Baoman stared at Huo Zun coldly, like an ice blade, without rushing to attack.
Huo Zun simply said, “Can a Human Soul Immortal really kill a Human Soul Immortal?”
After saying that, he picked up the Flaming Sword and swung it suddenly, sending another massive fire serpent toward Zhu Baoman.
This fire serpent was filled with the power of flame. Once it touched Zhu Baoman, its intense force would pierce through his body completely.
Seeing Huo Zun swing the Flaming Sword again, Zhu Baoman thought that although it was a divine weapon at the level of a high-tier Human Soul Immortal, its power was still limited since its user was only a four-star Human Soul Immortal.
As for Zhu Baoman, he was a true Human Soul Immortal of the lower tier, belonging to the Water element.
“Huo Zun, your cultivation is too low. Having a good divine weapon is just a waste,” Zhu Baoman said with a smile.
Then, he picked up his blue long sword and swung it quickly, sending out a wave of huge waves. These waves were formed from the power of water. With one sweep, they wrapped around the fire serpent sent by the Flaming Sword and extinguished it instantly.
“Huo Zun, now you see the difference between a Human Soul Immortal and a Human Soul Immortal. A good divine weapon can’t make up for that gap. So, give me this divine weapon—I’ll sell it for a good price,” Zhu Baoman said cheerfully after easily blocking Huo Zun’s attack.
With that, he immediately flew forward. With a light slap of his left hand, a row of huge waves rushed forward, while his right-hand sword spun rapidly, forming a water vortex meant to trap Huo Zun inside.
While trapping Huo Zun, he would also attack him.
How could Huo Zun let Zhu Baoman succeed? He suddenly took out a mid-tier divine weapon, the Floating Flame Ribbon, and drew a beautiful circle in front of him to block the water vortex and waves.
At the same time, Huo Zun shouted, “Water Lord, come out.”

In an instant, Water Lord appeared beside Fire Lord under Zhu Bao’s astonished gaze.
“Fire Lord, this guy is bullying you because of his own cultivation. Let’s use a fine immortal artifact to take him down,” Water Lord said in a cold tone as soon as he appeared.
Without hesitation, as soon as he finished speaking, Water Lord took out a mid-grade immortal artifact—a water jar—and shook it rapidly. Ten water dragons emitting cold mist flew out from the jar, forming a spinning wheel that moved toward Zhu Bao.
“How is this possible? Fire Lord, is this your clone?”
Zhu Bao was already shocked when his attacks were blocked by Fire Lord. Seeing that Fire Lord had summoned a Water Lord with an identical aura, he grew panicked.
However, Zhu Bao was experienced enough not to be disturbed by this sudden appearance of Water Lord.
“Even if you have a clone, what can you do? Watch me destroy both of you!” Zhu Bao shouted angrily.
With his left hand, he created a massive wave that stretched a hundred meters, filling the entire cavity and enveloping the “Water Dragon Wheel,” drowning the ten water dragons alive.
At the same time, with his right hand, he swiftly launched countless blue water swords, shooting straight at Water Lord.
Fire Lord, still wrapped in the Fire-Walking Silk, remained inside the wave, neutralizing its crushing force. After using the water jar to create the “Flying Dragon Wheel,” Water Lord disappeared immediately, returning to the Dimension Sphere.
Since Zhu Bao always thought Water Lord was Fire Lord’s clone, Water Lord didn’t have to worry about Zhu Bao discovering the Dimension Sphere and could enter it directly. The Dimension Sphere was located in Fire Lord’s soul space.
Zhu Bao kept pouring out immortal energy to maintain the wave and suppress Fire Lord inside the Fire-Walking Silk.
“Fire Lord, you truly have great talent. Not only are you skilled in array formations, but you’ve also cultivated a water-based clone. I must capture you and imprint my soul mark on your Soul Flower, making you my slave forever,” Zhu Bao declared triumphantly.
Fire Lord, trapped in the space created by the Fire-Walking Silk, heard Zhu Bao’s boastful words and simply replied calmly, “Zhu Bao, don’t get too proud.”
Hearing this, Zhu Bao thought Fire Lord was about to give up and increased his output of immortal energy, making the wave even stronger.
Seeing Zhu Bao intensify the pressure, Fire Lord laughed inwardly but pretended to be on the verge of collapse.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Void Tree obtained by Qu Yi from the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion had entered the Star Luo Cauldron, which in turn had arrived inside Fire Lord’s body.

The Spirit Tree is equivalent to the level of a Earth Soul Immortal and can continuously absorb spiritual energy to transform it into primordial energy. Right now, the Spirit Tree is constantly supporting the Fire Lord by supplying him with fire-type primordial energy. The Fire Lord’s body seems on the verge of collapsing, yet in reality, his internal fire-type immortal essence is abundant, so there’s no need to worry about a lack of essence. Immortal essence is the primordial energy within the bodies of cultivators in the immortal realm. Zhu Bao keeps supplying water-type immortal essence, and whenever he sees the Fire Lord’s body weakening, he viciously increases the flow of essence. However, Zhu Bao’s suspicions grow stronger—each time he sees the Fire Lord on the brink of defeat yet unable to completely knock him out, he becomes increasingly suspicious. “Fire Lord, is the immortal artifact in your hand at the Earth Immortal level? And how can your immortal essence sustain you for so long? Do you have another artifact storing primordial energy inside you?” Unable to resist his doubts any longer, Zhu Bao immediately asked. Of course, the Fire Lord wouldn’t reveal the real reason to him. “Why should I tell you?” the Fire Lord replied lightly. Zhu Bao was almost driven mad with anger; his immortal essence surged violently, pouring out like water released from a dam. Seeing Zhu Bao finally go berserk, the Fire Lord suddenly retracted the Floating Flame Ribbon, and his body entered the Star Net Cauldron. Naturally, the waves meant to shatter the entire underground area had no effect on the Star Net Cauldron, which remained firmly planted on the ground. Zhu Bao immediately stopped attacking and stared at the Cauldron in confusion. “Fire Lord, how can you have so many magical artifacts? What kind of immortal artifact is this?” Zhu Bao shouted frantically. At that moment, he had an intuition that provoking the Fire Lord was a foolish decision. Inside the Star Net Cauldron, the Fire Lord saw that Zhu Bao had stopped his frenzied attacks, so he immediately flew out of the Cauldron and stored it inside his body. “Zhu Bao, I’ve said before that a Human Soul Immortal doesn’t necessarily have to be able to kill a Human Spirit Immortal. Actually, I forgot to mention— a Human Spirit Immortal can also kill a Human Soul Immortal,” the Fire Lord said with a faint smile. Zhu Bao’s gaze turned cold, and he reached for his blue long sword to swing at the Fire Lord. But the Fire Lord wouldn’t give him another chance. “Water Lord, Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Earth Lord, come out as well,” the Fire Lord called out smilingly. Soon, the Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, and Earth Lord all emerged from the Dimension Sphere and stood beside the Fire Lord, each holding a mid-tier immortal artifact: the Golden Sword, the Wind Drum, the Water Dividing Pot, and the Earth Diving Shuttle.

Qu Yi’s five avatars fought side by side once again. All five simultaneously used their mid-grade immortal artifacts, pouring in all their immortal essence to unleash the fullest power of those artifacts with their own strength.
“Sword energy fills the air!”
“Wind sweeps through souls!”
“Water dragons roar from all directions!”
“Heavenly fire moves like a dragon!”
“Swift strikes pierce the sky!”
The five mid-grade immortal artifacts launched five powerful attacks. Although they were all activated by human soul immortals, the strength of the spells cast by these artifacts was no less formidable than that of higher-ranked human soul immortals and should not be underestimated.
Zhu Bao’s eyes widened in terror, his expression revealing sheer fear. Then, he rallied himself, gritting his teeth as he shouted, “No matter how many avatars you have or how strong your artifacts are, you’re still just a human soul immortal. You can’t defeat me, a human soul immortal!”
At the same time, Zhu Bao pulled out a spirit talisman, its water-energy fluctuations capable of toppling an entire mountain.
“Water Essence Barrier!” Zhu Bao cried, activating the talisman. Layers of water-shaped grids spread around his body, stacking upon each other to resist the attacks of the five spells.
With a rumbling sound, the water-shaped grids began to shatter layer by layer. Yet, two more layers remained intact, allowing Zhu Bao to save his life thanks to this precious spirit talisman.
“Hmph, Fire Lord, I never expected that a mere human soul immortal like you would possess so many immortal artifacts. Very well, since I can’t defeat you this time, I’ll admit defeat. Next time, I’ll come back for you—and I’ll definitely succeed.” Zhu Bao stepped out of the water-shaped grids, shouting viciously.
By now, Zhu Bao had almost no immortal essence left and had no choice but to flee.
The Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, Fire Lord, and Earth Lord all burst into laughter upon hearing this. Meanwhile, Qu Yi’s true form also emerged from the Dimensional Sphere.
“Zhu Bao, I’ve shown you my five avatars. Do you still want to leave unscathed?” Qu Yi said with a calm smile.
Zhu Bao’s expression could be described as one of utter shock—he was completely stunned. First, there was the Fire Lord, then the Water Lord, followed by Qu Yi’s five avatars all appearing at once, each equipped with a mid-grade immortal artifact. This had already greatly shaken Zhu Bao. Now, with Qu Yi’s true form appearing, it completely shattered his mental resilience.
“Who is this guy? When did such a person appear in the entire Immortal Realm? He has five avatars, and yet he only lets one of them, the Fire Lord, operate in the Immortal Realm.” Zhu Bao thought in fear.
At that moment, the life core of the Soul-Connecting Flower arrived above Zhu Bao’s head and immediately flew into his brain.