One after another, treasures were presented—immortal herbs, spirit medicines, and more.
But the three generals paid them no mind; their minds were already elsewhere.
At that moment, Yuan Yang frowned and turned to Tuohuo: “Fire Spirit General, where is your escort? That’s dereliction of duty!”
He wondered if this was Tuohuo’s doing.
Suddenly, Chu Mingyuan rushed over, looking flustered, “General, a fire broke out on the east side, spreading fast. Three cloud pavilions have been burned—suspected fire demon mischief!”
Tuohuo’s face turned grave.
He stood and said solemnly, “This is the duty of the Fire God Palace. I must handle this!”
Without another word, he dashed off, instantly turning into a blazing fire streak and disappearing in a flash.
Gu Yan Feng and Yuan Yang exchanged looks, “Why don’t you usually put out fires this decisively? And the Jade Pool is full of water—how did the fire start?”
“Ahem,” the two glanced at each other knowingly; clearly, it was time to use their methods.
Before Yuan Yang could speak, Yuelun Yuan stepped forward gravely and said to Gu Yan Feng, “General, with a fire demon causing chaos, there may be other demons hiding in the Jade Pool. If—”
Before he finished, Gu Yan Feng stood abruptly, “Reasonable. We, the Celestial River Navy, protect the Heavenly Court waters. The Jade Pool is the Queen Mother’s sacred land—demons must not invade!”
“You, please remain here to guard against surprise attacks. I will immediately patrol the water systems!”
He made no further comment, waving his sleeve as he transformed into a water light, vanishing into the clouds.
He was swift.
In moments, only the Rizhi Divine General remained.
Yuan Yang stroked his chin thoughtfully, watching the direction his comrades departed, their excuse clumsy but serviceable.
Without a second thought, he stood and walked away, no need even to find an excuse—no one was watching now.
Su Fu observed this: the drama was thick, but the fire and demons were just pretexts.
Their real goal was to find the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach during their absence.
Without the cloud veil from the platform, she could freely use birds to spy on them.
Meanwhile, Tuohuo did not go to extinguish any fire but instead headed straight for a building deep in the Jade Pool—the Treasure Pavilion.
He stopped nearby, thinking the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach, such a precious treasure, must be kept in the most valuable place—the Treasure Pavilion.
But the key was how to get the peach without alerting the guards…
Yet how hard could that be?
His subordinates had already said the Jade Pool was on fire…
In the next second, a raging blaze erupted around the Treasure Pavilion, quickly engulfing the entire building.
“Fire!” a guard shouted, alarmed, “The Treasure Pavilion is on fire!”
Everyone scrambled to get water and summon water Immortal officials to fight the flames.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Tuohuo transformed into a flicker of fire and, hidden by the inferno, sneaked into the core of the pavilion.
Having scouted countless times, he was well prepared and moved smoothly to the inner hall.
There lay a plump, round Peach of Immortality inside a jade box, wisps of cloud-like mist swirling around it like a dancing dragon.
Tuohuo was ecstatic, ‘This was the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach! ‘
“Just as I thought—it’s here!”
As he touched the peach, it seemed to sense him, trembling slightly with awareness and reassuring itself, “Don’t panic…”
“As Mother said, pretend it’s been taken, then quietly slip away…”
“I will succeed!”
The moment Tuohuo lifted the peach, Su Fu saw the Great Fairy’s expression suddenly change, a flash of displeasure in her eyes.
Su Fu raised an eyebrow, “Huh, does she know the Treasure Pavilion’s defenses have been compromised?”
It made sense—she should have been defending against the Celestial River General.
Unfortunately for her, it was the well-prepared Fire Spirit General this time.
The Great Fairy clearly grew flustered.
Just then, another Immortal official stepped forward with a gift, “Great Fairy, my master presents this thousand-year glimmering pearl to aid cultivation. Wishing the Queen Mother health and longevity!”
“Great Fairy?”
The official called several times before the Great Fairy reacted, forcing a smile, “Good, the pearl’s luster is radiant, full of divine energy. Thank you, Immortal friend.”
Her heart sank.
The Treasure Pavilion had been tampered with, meaning someone had broken the agreement and tried to steal a peach while she was away.
‘Who could it be? Gu Yan Feng? Or were all three involved?’
She forced herself to stay calm—no panic.
She had predicted this.
A hint of sarcasm flickered in her eyes.
Did they really think she would share the peach with them?
She was only constrained by their threats.
Now let them fight, best if they tear each other apart in bloodshed, never threatening her again.
For that, she would only lose one Nine-Thousand-Year Peach and spend a thousand more years cultivating the next.
No matter; as long as she was here, she could grow another.
Meanwhile, Su Fu saw Tuohuo successfully take the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach and escape the Treasure Pavilion.
Tuohuo suppressed his excitement, thinking as long as he returned to the Fire God Palace, all would be well.
But as he flew away, suddenly a flash of water appeared, and Gu Yan Feng materialized, blocking his path.
He smiled warmly, praising, “Fire Spirit General, clever move! I didn’t expect you’d find the peach so quickly.”
Tuohuo’s expression changed, growing wary as he stepped back half a pace.
Just as the two faced off, Su Fu sensed something was wrong.
“Wait, there’s more than just these two. There’s someone hiding in the shadows… the Rizhi Divine General!”
She was startled, “Not you, a Rizhi Divine General, playing such tricks? Is this the latest trend—being deceptive?”
Obviously, he planned to let the other two exhaust themselves, then swoop in for the spoils.
Truly an old sly dog.
At that moment, Gu Yan Feng stepped forward, “But Tuohuo, we agreed to share the peach. How can you be so selfish, wanting to take it all for yourself?”
Tuohuo instinctively felt something was off…
Sure enough, the moment he was distracted, Gu Yan Feng suddenly attacked, a whip-like torrent of water lashing toward the jade box in his hand!
Tuohuo roared, countering with a palm of blazing flames that instantly evaporated the water stream.
“How dare you ambush me, despicable villain!”
“Cut the act!” Gu Yan Feng snorted, “If you weren’t trying to take the peach, would I come here?”
“Bah! Don’t pretend! Your goal is the peach!” Tuohuo was no fool.
Their eyes met and suddenly exploded into battle!
Flames roared sky-high, water surged violently.
Fire and water collided, creating massive steam that obscured vision and covered Yuan Yang’s silent approach.
Su Fu gasped—the two generals fought fiercely.
Tuohuo launched a “Blazing Divine Arrow” through the air, fiery and majestic.
She couldn’t help but marvel, “Wow, that move is amazing!”
Gu Yan Feng was unfazed, shouting “Milky Way Torrent,” sending torrents of water pouring down like a river from the heavens to clash head-on with the fiery dragon, producing harsh screeches and clouds of steam and sparks.
“Ts—it’s even fiercer!”
The generals’ battle grew more intense.
Tuohuo’s fire bells vibrated, shaking the entire space, while Gu Yan Feng used his Tide Domain to resist.
The collision of two mighty forces made nearby peach trees shudder and tremble.
Suddenly, Gu Yan Feng burst forth, thrusting a spear that struck Tuohuo’s chest.
Taken off guard, Tuohuo staggered back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Ah! Tuohuo General is wounded—this could be a setback.”
Unexpectedly, the injury only roused his ferocity.
His eyes reddened as flames surged, “You’re asking for death!”
Tuohuo charged wildly, fire raining down like a storm.
Though Gu Yan Feng’s water nature had the advantage, he had to defend with all his might, dodging and weaving.
Soon, scorch marks appeared on his shoulders.
Su Fu understood now—fire attribute.
This was a fierce evolution.
The two fought like heaven and earth collapsing, but she sat comfortably at the Jade Pool Banquet, celestial music ringing in her ears and dance swirling before her eyes.
Watching the intense fight, she leisurely sampled spiritual fruits and thought, “True battle is the most thrilling.”
As their powers reached a stalemate, the ground beneath them suddenly cracked open, and a gush of Jade Pool water surged upward.
Gu Yan Feng was momentarily stunned, “What’s going on? That’s not my doing.”
But he seized the moment, slamming his palm to widen the fissure rapidly, letting the Heavenly River flood in.
“Boom!”
Both fell into the river.
Gu Yan Feng laughed wildly, “Now it’s my home turf! Let’s see how you fight me here!”
However, at the moment Tuohuo fell into the water, the jade box mysteriously vanished.
He turned angrily, shouting, “You fool! We’ve been ambushed! The peach has been stolen!”
Gu Yan Feng was shocked and scanned with divine power, noticing the jade box was gone from the Fire Spirit General’s person.
He had watched the whole scene through the water mirror; the box had held the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach, and with their fierce battle, no one had the chance to take it.
Now the box was gone—it meant the peach was missing.
Suddenly awake, Gu Yan Feng ground his teeth, “So there was someone else here—who?”
Before the question finished, the two exchanged knowing looks.
Who else?
“Yuan Yang! The Rizhi Divine General, Yuan Yang.”
“Quick, pursue him! He can’t be far. We can’t let him return to the Rizhi Divine Palace!”
Without hesitation, the two dashed after him.
Su Fu witnessed the truth—it was Yuan Yang who stole the peach.
But he was truly sly.
After taking the jade box, he didn’t keep it on him.
Instead, he swiftly flew to a peach grove and skillfully placed the peach on a tree.
Then he manipulated the light, creating a special interplay of sun and shadow among the leaves, perfectly hiding the peach’s location.
‘The peach won’t grow legs and run off,’ Yuan Yang thought.
“First, I’ll throw off those two idiots’ suspicion, then return to retrieve it once the heat dies down.”
He smiled as a warm light shone from his palm, and the jade box vanished without a trace, not even a speck of ash.
Indeed, the peach was ultimately his.
This was a case of arriving late but with perfect timing.
Having done all this, he immediately turned to fly back, but soon collided head-on with Tuohuo and Gu Yan Feng.
Yuan Yang reacted swiftly, seeing the direction they came from and the raging fire behind them.
He instantly feigned shock and righteous anger.
He pointed at them and shouted, “How dare you two try to steal the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach and run?”
He immediately produced a jade slip to send a message, “Great Fairy, hurry! Someone has stolen the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach!”
His performance was so smooth that both Tuohuo and Gu Yan Feng were momentarily stunned.
“Huh? Aren’t you the thief? Why are you crying ‘thief’?”
Something was off…
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