Shrouded Sky

Chapter 148 - The Peacock Monarch

Ye Fan was stunned, he had run into Ji Ziyue. Though she smiled sweetly, her face was pale, and blood stained her lips. She stood trembling by the fish pond.

“You… how did you end up here?”

Though seriously wounded, she smiled just like before, dimples forming at the corners of her lips. “Did the Peacock Monarch chase you too?” Ye Fan quickly approached.

“I really did run into you…” She was still smiling when blood suddenly trickled from her mouth. Her once-bright eyes dulled, and she wobbled before collapsing into the pond.

Her injuries startled Ye Fan. Her pulse was faint, her heartbeat nearly gone, and her organs were all torn, her survival was miraculous.

Ye Fan channeled godpower to dry her soaked clothes, then vanished from the village in a few strides, arriving atop a cliff. He took out the Jade Purity Vase and poured some divine spring water into her mouth. Instantly, life essence surged into her body.

This divine spring, sourced from the Nine Sacred Mountains, possessed incredible spiritual properties, almost enough to resurrect the dead or regenerate flesh. Ji Ziyue’s injuries immediately stabilized.

At this moment, her eyes remained closed, her body shivering. She muttered something in her sleep. Ye Fan leaned in, but still couldn’t make it out.

“Don’t kill my brother…” she suddenly cried out in her sleep.

Half an hour later, Ji Ziyue’s long eyelashes fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up but failed.

“Your injuries are too severe. Although stabilized, you shouldn’t move,” Ye Fan said, helping her lean back against a soft vine on the cliff.

“That was terrifying…” Ji Ziyue was clearly still shaken.

“You’re talking about the Peacock Monarch?” Ye Fan immediately thought of the demon powerhouse.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Little rascal, why did you slip away without a word? I chased you three thousand miles, but got nothing in return.”

“If I hadn’t run, your brother would’ve cut me into pieces for research.”

Ji Ziyue chuckled. “It’s not that bad. As long as I’m around, you’ll be safe in the Ji Clan. No one will dare trouble you.”

Ye Fan noticed how highly Ji Ziyue was regarded in the Ji Clan. “The Peacock Monarch is terrifying…” she added worriedly. “I don’t know if my brother Haoyue can escape.”

“He attacked you too? How did you survive? That sounds almost impossible.”

The Peacock Monarch’s might was beyond comprehension. The powerful elders protecting the Ji siblings were like straw men, shattered in an instant.

“He was… terrifying. His godpower is boundless…” Ji Ziyue still trembled. They had tried to activate a domain gate to cross the void, but the Peacock Monarch shattered it with a finger. Some were instantly obliterated.

She survived only because of a hidden treasure. At the critical moment, reinforcements from the Ji Clan arrived. Otherwise, no one would've made it.

Still, no one could stop the Peacock Monarch. He crushed all resistance. A single roar exploded people into blood mist. It was godpower incarnate.

“Incredible…” Ye Fan was shaken. A being of such strength was beyond imagination.

“His power must rival the ancient gods…”

The Ji Clan’s experts only stalled him for a moment before being annihilated, but it was enough for Ji Haoyue and Ji Ziyue to escape.

Hearing this, Ye Fan became even more certain of Ji Ziyue’s status. In that desperate moment, the Ji Clan sacrificed lives to save her.

“The Peacock Monarch merged with heaven and earth. His roar shattered a mountain…” Ye Fan was horrified.

“My brother’s God-King Physique is immensely powerful, but he was completely suppressed, like a mortal.” Ji Ziyue added.

Ye Fan had seen Ji Haoyue’s strength firsthand. He had slain greater demons with ease. But even he was helpless before the Peacock Monarch.

“He’s like a god, plucking stars and seizing the moon…” Ji Ziyue clenched her fists, still visibly tense.

“How did you escape?” Ye Fan asked.

“We split up. He went after my brother…” Ji Ziyue looked worried. A being like that could not be opposed, even a God-King Physique like Ji Haoyue’s had no chance.

“There’s been no bad news yet. Your brother is likely still alive.” Then Ye Fan grew suspicious. “Why didn’t you return to the Ji Clan? Why come here?”

“The Peacock Monarch didn’t chase me, but others did…” Ji Ziyue was hunted down the entire way, gravely wounded.

In desperation, she used a minor sect’s domain gate, randomly crossing the void to end up here. She didn’t know the destination since she couldn’t inscribe formation patterns.

“What a coincidence…” Ye Fan muttered.

“It’s not,” Ji Ziyue glared at him. “I left a mark on you. After appearing in this region, I slowly tracked you down.”

“What? You did something to me?”

“I had no ill intent. When I saw you acting strangely, I knew you were planning to leave, so I prepared in advance. But you ran too fast. I lost the signal.”

Ye Fan searched within himself but found nothing strange. “What exactly did you do?”

“Find out yourself…” Ji Ziyue giggled, but quickly turned somber again. “I’m afraid my brother won’t make it…”

Suddenly, Ye Fan stiffened. Up in the sky nearby, a portal opened and several cultivators emerged.

“Oh no, it’s the people chasing me!” Ji Ziyue gasped. “They followed through the domain gate!”

Boom! A bolt of terrifying lightning crashed down. The attackers didn’t hesitate, they struck instantly.

Ye Fan grabbed Ji Ziyue and dove aside. The silver lightning blasted through the cliff, sending rubble flying.

Then a tower emerged in the sky, rapidly expanding and pressing downward.

Ye Fan’s face turned pale. People who used towers, bells, and cauldrons were rarely ordinary, usually extremely powerful.

Though it had only five levels, the tower was like a mountain, radiating suffocating energy.

Ye Fan grabbed Ji Ziyue and fled. These enemies were too strong, fighting would mean certain defeat.

Using a secret footwork technique passed down from the crazy old man, Ye Fan sped away like the wind. In no time, they were ten miles away.

He didn’t stop until they had fled a hundred miles. Only then did he exhale. “Those people… were no joke.”

“They’re all strong. I wouldn’t have run otherwise.” Ji Ziyue gritted her teeth.

“They didn’t seem like demon cultivators,” Ye Fan noted.

“No. Someone is using this chance to eliminate me and my brother,” Ji Ziyue said. “Even if my brother escapes the Peacock Monarch, other human cultivators might take the opportunity to kill him and blame the demons.”

She was young but perceptive, already considering these darker possibilities.

“If they’re after your brother, why come for you too? Are you a God-King Physique?”

“How could I be…” Ji Ziyue didn’t explain, instead glanced at Ye Fan and teased, “Hey, little rascal, you’ve got your own secrets. What’s that green bronze piece you carry? Why can your body block god attacks? How do you know the old madman’s footwork? Why were you so eager to flee Supreme Mystery?”

This mischievous girl clearly wanted to change the subject and probe Ye Fan instead.

Suddenly, a golden light streaked across the sky, splitting into bolts of lightning like golden snakes.

“It’s a lightning bird!” Ji Ziyue frowned. “Wait, no, it’s a Phoenix-Crested Lightning Bird! We have to avoid its territory!”

The bird was entirely gold, as if cast from molten metal. Lightning danced around it. A crown-like crest adorned its head.

This powerful creature was nothing like ordinary lightning birds. Its destructive power was terrifying. Most cultivators wouldn’t dare approach it.

“Good thing it didn’t see us,” Ji Ziyue sighed in relief. “There might be a nest ahead, we could use it to shake our pursuers.”

“Good idea,” Ye Fan agreed.

As they moved forward, they found a nest atop a towering ancient tree. Four golden eggs the size of human heads sat inside, crackling with lightning.

“This rare species can evolve continuously. I'd love to raise one as a pet,” Ji Ziyue said wistfully.

She didn’t dare take one. Instead, she and Ye Fan left behind misleading clues and fled skyward.

Soon after, their pursuers reached the mountain range and, spotting the signs, believed Ji Ziyue was nearby.

Eventually, they reached the tree.

“A bird’s nest… no!” one shouted. “That’s a Phoenix-Crested Lightning Bird’s nest! We can’t afford to provoke it. If it thinks we’re after its eggs, it’ll never let us go!”

The golden eggs sparkled like forged treasure.

“Run! These things hold grudges. If it traps us here, we’re finished!”

But they had lingered too long. The bird returned, crying out with a thunderous screech. A streak of gold tore across the sky as it dove at them.

From a distant mountain, Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue watched lightning explode in the distance. Without stopping, they quickly fled.

The next day, in a scenic mountain range, Ye Fan saw a teenage boy around seventeen. Slender and delicate, he looked graceful and serene, with gentle eyes like a calm lake and soft black hair flowing in the breeze.

He was like a mountain spring, fresh and pure.

In such a remote area, Ye Fan was surprised. He smiled and asked, “Hey, little brother, can you tell me where we are?”

The youth stood quietly, hair drifting, eyes clear. “This is the Sunset Glow Mountain Range, within the State of Jin’s borders.”

“You look like a young cultivator,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

“I am,” the boy nodded.

Behind them, Ji Ziyue turned pale and trembled. “Little rascal… come back!” she cried in fear.

Ye Fan turned to see her horrified expression and felt something was wrong. He slowly stepped back.

“What is it? Who is he?”

“He’s… the Peacock Monarch!” Ji Ziyue’s voice shook. Her usual liveliness was gone, replaced by sheer terror.

“What?!” Ye Fan was stunned. This boy… was the Peacock Monarch? It was shocking and bizarre.

“Peacock Monarch, you are a Supreme Giant, standing atop the world. Please, don’t kill innocents, let him go. He has nothing to do with this,” Ji Ziyue pleaded.

The Peacock Monarch, demon lord of the Southern Region, had been unmatched 800 years ago, even the Lord of Radiant Light had failed to defeat him. Few knew how long he had truly lived.

Some estimated his human form was over 2,000 years old, dating back to the Qin-Han era if compared with Earth history.

But now, he looked only seventeen, his gaze pure and youthful, without a trace of age. It was impossible to reconcile with the legendary figure.

Ji Ziyue had described his godpower, how his roar shattered mountains, how he merged with the heavens.

Ye Fan had imagined someone grand and domineering. But this boy looked like a gentle breeze, a snow lotus on a peak, a crystal stream in the woods.

Thinking about how he had spoken so casually with the Peacock Monarch earlier, maybe even tried to pat him on the shoulder, Ye Fan’s scalp tingled.

This was someone with power rivaling the ancient gods.