Chapter 9: The Immortal Domain

Under the ink-wash night sky, dotted with the faint light of distant stars, a campfire flickered between the gaps of a few pine trees at the foot of an unnamed, towering mountain. A small wild boar had been properly cleaned and set upon a wooden spit over the open flames. Lei Yan occasionally turned the branch, sending waves of rich, savory aroma into the air. Droplets of pork fat sizzled as they fell into the burning embers, bursting into tiny, dancing sparks.

"Is it ready yet? Is it done yet?" The White Tiger drooped its jaw, pacing back and forth with eager anticipation.

"Almost." Lei Yan shook his head. To mask the gamey odor inherent in wild boar, he had already stuffed the carcass with a generous amount of deodorizing herbs, yet a faint muskiness still lingered. With a resigned sigh, he crushed a handful of scent-repelling grass between his fingers and sprinkled it evenly over the sizzling meat.

Lei Yan lifted the red-brown, roasted boar from the fire, tore off a single trotters, and tossed the rest directly to the White Tiger.

After taking two bites of the tough trotter, Lei Yan frowned and swallowed with difficulty. His culinary skills were, to put it mildly, lacking. Although the meat was thoroughly cooked, it was practically devoid of flavor.

"Delicious! Absolutely delicious!" The White Tiger mumbled around mouthfuls of roasted meat, humming happily to itself. In the blink of an entire roasted boar had vanished into its belly. Wiping its greasy paws on its fur, the beast stared longingly at the remaining half-trotter still in Lei Yan's hand, looking far from satisfied.

"You glutton." Lei Yan tossed the remaining piece of meat across the fire. The White Tiger bared its slobbering maw, caught it mid-air, and crunched down. "Mmph... crunch, crunch..." The half-trotter was swallowed whole in seconds. Licking its lips, the White Tiger grinned. "I am truly a genius. Look at this! Following you out into the world actually comes with perks like this. Why didn't I ever think of roasting a pig before? Hehe... though, to be honest, I'm still not full..."

Lei Yan laughed in exasperation. "If you want more, roast your own."

The White Tiger flickered its crimson tongue to clean the corners of its mouth, then slumped heavily onto the ground, its eyes half-closed as it slipped into meditation. Yet, within a mere heartbeat, the great beast began to emit loud, rumbling snores, a comical air bubble swelling and shrinking at the tip of its nose with every breath.

Lei Yan watched as the White Tiger smeared greasy paw prints all over its newly acquired clothes, fast asleep on the filthy ground. He shook his head helplessly. "So much for the majestic divine beast of legend."

"Ancestor," Lei Yan called out mentally, "is the second barrier blocked by formations just over that mountain ahead?"

"Indeed," Qing He replied via telepathic transmission. "That array covers a very small perimeter, roughly a dozen miles or so."

"Good. We move out now." Lei Yan stood up, nudged the sleeping White Tiger with the toe of his boot, and commanded, "Wake up. Stop sleeping and get moving."

The White Tiger completely ignored him, simply rolling over and continuing its thunderous snoring.

"And they call this a divine beast," Lei Yan muttered in disdain. He picked up a smooth pebble from the ground, flicked it with his index finger, and sent it whistling through the air straight toward the fluctuating air bubble at the beast's nose.

*Pop.*

Startled out of its slumber, the White Tiger sprang violently to its feet, letting out a ferocious roar. "What cowardly rat dares disturb the great White Tiger Lord's slumber?!"

"Great White Tiger Lord, my foot," Lei Yan curled his lip. "Enough nonsense. We're back on the road."

"Hah~" Yawning widely upon realizing it was only Lei Yan, the beast glared at him with immense grievance. "You wouldn't let me eat my fill, and now you won't let me sleep properly. How am I supposed to travel without any strength?" With that, it flopped right back down.

"The moment we reach the next town, you can eat all you want until you're completely stuffed," Lei Yan conceded with a helpless sigh. "The faster you travel, the sooner you get to eat."

The White Tiger's eyes lit up instantly. With a flash of white light, it vanished and reappeared several yards away, sprinting forward while bellowing, "I want to eat a deer! A whole sheep..."

"This fellow," Lei Yan chuckled, shaking his head as he hurried to keep pace, "there seems to be nothing inside its head except food."

"Your speed is far too slow! When are we ever going to get there? Faster, faster!" The White Tiger darted circles around Lei Yan, chattering incessantly.

Lei Yan could only smile wryly. The beast's speed was terrifyingly fast. Even after pushing his Hidden Dragon Divine Movement technique to its absolute limit, he still found himself struggling to keep up.

***

Within the span of a cup of tea's brewing, Lei Yan and the White Tiger arrived inside a secluded mountain valley.

"Child, this formation appears exceptionally powerful," Qing He's voice echoed in Lei Yan's mind the moment they stepped into the valley. "Judging from the faint aura radiating from beyond the boundary, I have a feeling that even a pinnacle practitioner at the Mahayana stage would find it difficult to break through."

"I have no intention of breaking it," Lei Yan replied calmly. He raised his hands and rapidly wove a complex hand seal. A single tree leaf, glowing with a soft, ethereal light, drifted forward and drifted straight into the invisible barrier.

A moment later, the dome-shaped formation split cleanly down the middle, slowly parting and receding toward the edges.

A breathtaking sight greeted Lei Yan's eyes: a crystalline turquoise spring, several miles wide, radiating an intense, biting chill.

Waves churned violently upon the surface as a whirlpool formed at the very center of the spring. In the next instant, a towering water spout erupted into the sky, surging directly toward where Lei Yan and the White Tiger stood.

"For over a thousand years, no living soul has set foot in this place. Hahaha..." A resounding, booming voice reverberated from within the raging waterspout.

*Splash!*

The waterspout exploded mid-air, scattering countless droplets that rained down upon them like a storm of iron-tipped arrows.

"A master! A peak Mahayana practitioner, and one who is merely a single step away from stepping into the immortal realm!" Qing He's warning rang out sharply in Lei Yan's mind.

Reacting swiftly, the White Tiger thrust out its right hand, conjuring a translucent, shield-like barrier that materialized before them. "What sacred entity dares make a move against your lord?"

"Your lord? Hahaha... Little creature, you actually dare use the title of 'lord' in my presence?" That majestic voice echoed once more.

The entity seemed genuinely displeased, yet the tone carried a strange, mocking amusement. Lei Yan furrowed his brows, maintaining a respectful yet unyielding posture. "Senior, this junior had no intention of causing offense. We merely wished to check if anyone else has disturbed you recently. Since senior mentioned that no one has visited in a thousand years, we have no desire to intrude further and will take our leave immediately."

"Young man, I know what you rely upon, which is why you are so utterly fearless," the voice boomed, directly piercing into Lei Yan's consciousness. "Do you truly believe that hiding five beings close to the Mahayana stage and a dying old man can allow you to walk out of here alive? You barge into my cultivation sanctuary and expect to leave just like that? Isn't that a bit too naive?"

Lei Yan's expression shifted dramatically. *Can he truly perceive the existence of the Five Ghosts and the old man solely through my aura? How terrifyingly perceptive is this being?!*

"Hahaha... What is this? Are you afraid? If fear has gripped you, then stand quietly to the side while I teach this little whelp who dared call himself a 'lord' in front of me a proper lesson!"

Before the voice could even fade, a massive surge of water swept forward with crushing momentum, slamming into Lei Yan and sending him flying backward.

Immediately afterward, ribbons of pressurized water snaked out from the remnants of the waterspout, wrapping tightly around Lei Yan's limbs and binding him immovably.

"Daring to call yourself a lord before me? Little beast, you are dead!" The fury-laden voice roared from within the swirling vortex, driving the water column straight toward the White Tiger.

Cold sweat drenched the White Tiger's fur. It had never encountered pressure of such magnitude in its entire life. Yet, driven by the innate pride of a divine beast, it refused to retreat. With a violent shudder, the tiger shed its human-like guise and reverted to its true form—a colossal, crimson-eyed white tiger stretching several zhang in length.

*Roar!*

A deafening howl ripped from its jaws, unleashing a fierce tempest of wind energy that burst outward and shattered into tens of thousands of razor-sharp wind blades, tearing straight toward the incoming water spout.

*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!*

In an instant, the water spout was shredded into countless tiny droplets, which began to drift downward at a remarkably sluggish pace, as if bound by some invisible, heavy gravity.

"Hahaha! Utterly pathetic! Know the true terror of your lord now!" Seeing the torrent destroyed, the White Tiger burst into arrogant laughter.

"White Tiger, look ahead!" Lei Yan shouted, struggling fiercely against his bonds.

"What?" The laughter cut off instantly. As the White Tiger shifted its gaze forward, it froze in horror. All the floating droplets in the air were rapidly converging toward a single point. The center of the mass had formed a rapidly expanding sphere of water, sucking in every lingering drop in the vicinity before beginning to morph and twist violently.

*Pop, pop!*

Crisp, rhythmic sounds echoed from within the water sphere, sounding as though someone were striking it from the inside. Numerous protrusions formed across its surface, accelerating with every passing second until the shape stabilized. In a blur of motion, a completely transparent, human-like figure composed entirely of pure water materialized before the White Tiger.

"This is..." Lei Yan gasped in astonishment.

"His comprehension of the Dao of Water has reached such a terrifying depth? It seems this person is on the verge of undergoing his immortal ascension tribulation," Qing He's voice transmitted quietly.

"You mean he has mastered the true essence of water?" Lei Yan asked mentally.

"Indeed. Such effortless manipulation of the Water Dao is something only an immortal-in-waiting can achieve. The White Tiger is in grave trouble now."

"No! If this continues, the White Tiger will die! Ancestor, you must have a way to deal with this, right?" Lei Yan pleaded.

"I do not," Qing He replied instantly, without a moment's hesitation. While saving them—or even annihilating the water entity—was well within his capabilities, doing so would risk exposing his own presence and potentially ruining his chance at reclaiming a perfect physical vessel. He would never commit such a foolish act.

"Rain of Heavenly Stars!" The transparent water entity bellowed, leaping upward into the sky. Countless needle-like water projectiles erupted from its arms, showering down relentlessly upon the White Tiger.

"Hmph! Such petty tricks dare to be displayed before this lor—" The final word remained trapped in the beast's throat as the translucent barrier in front of it shattered into dust, dozens of high-pressure water needles piercing straight into its thick fur.

*Thud, thud, thud...*

Streams of crimson blood instantly burst through the tiger's golden-striped white hide.

"Dammit!" Lei Yan yelled out in terror and anguish. "Gold Ghost, Wood Ghost, heed my command! Kill him!"

The moment his words fell, two shadowy figures burst forth from the Five Elements Pagoda hanging at Lei Yan's waist, soaring directly toward the water entity in the sky.

A flurry of brilliant flashes swept across the air, and the water entity was once again torn into shreds.

The White Tiger panted heavily, its chest heaving as it glared with burning fury at the water's surface below. "Is it dead? Who on earth is that monster? It's terrifyingly strong!"

"Did we succeed?" Lei Yan muttered, a sliver of hope rising in his chest.

"Child, its true core has not been touched. How could you possibly call this success? If you continue to fight it this way, all of you will undoubtedly die," Qing He stated coldly, though inwardly muttering to himself, *If this fellow accidentally destroys my ideal vessel, it will spell utter disaster. It seems I have no choice but to intervene... at the very least, I must force his true physical form to manifest.*

With a silent mental incantation, Qing He formed a series of obscure hand seals. A ripple of profound energy instantly swept outward, blanketing the entire surface of the turquoise spring.

"An Immortal Domain?!" A voice filled with profound shock echoed from the depths of the spring. "Hahaha... Little fellow, I never expected you to have an immortal backing you. Very well, there is no need to maintain your Immortal Domain; I shall show myself."

"An Immortal Domain? What on earth is that?" A wave of realization and curiosity stirred within Lei Yan, but before he could voice the question, a dramatic shift occurred right before his eyes.

Both the Gold Ghost and the Wood Ghost flickered backward, instantly retreating to the safety of the shore.