Mo Baiyu chatted idly with the other few Upper Immortals, his gaze fixed on the fleet ahead. At the very center was a silver-white great ship. Compared to the dozens of large vessels beside it, this one seemed somewhat smaller. However, its entire body was silver-white, shimmering with faint starlight, appearing exceptionally exquisite. Sailing slowly under the protection of the dozens of great ships, it was like the moon surrounded by a multitude of stars.
Having admired Upper Immortal Qingqing for many years, Mo Baiyu naturally knew this exquisite silver-white Xuantian ship belonged to Upper Immortal Qingqing.
Yet, no matter how he looked, he could not see Upper Immortal Qingqing's figure on the Xuantian ship. Just as he was puzzled, an Upper Immortal named Yunzhou beside him said, "Brother Baiyu, you've traveled thousands of miles to come here. You must be very eager to see Upper Immortal Qingqing at the first opportunity, right?"
"Not at all, not at all!" Mo Baiyu explained, "Brother Yunzhou, you jest."
"Heh, it's not our first day knowing each other. Moreover, we are both admirers of Upper Immortal Qingqing. There's no need for us to hide anything from each other. However... if Brother Baiyu wishes to see Upper Immortal Qingqing, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for some time..."
"Oh?" Mo Baiyu asked, "Why? Could it be that Upper Immortal Qingqing is not on the ship?"
"Upper Immortal Qingqing is not absent from the ship; she is merely temporarily occupied with some matters," Upper Immortal Yunzhou said with a faint smile. "Not long ago, I heard that when Upper Immortal Qingqing passed through Yuehua Celestial Domain, a passenger ship was plundered by a group of bandit immortals, resulting in many casualties. Look! That's the very ship."
Mo Baiyu looked over and indeed saw a great ship in tatters. Not only were all the formations on the ship destroyed, but the ship's hull itself was also riddled with cracks, clearly having suffered severe damage.
Upper Immortal Yunzhou continued, "At that time, several seniors were gravely injured, hanging by a thread. Upper Immortal Qingqing took them aboard her ship and has been treating them ever since."
"So that's how it is."
At this moment, another Upper Immortal stepped forward and said, "Even if Upper Immortal Qingqing weren't treating those injured, you, Mo Baiyu, might not necessarily get to see her smoothly."
The speaker was none other than Upper Immortal Yuanwu. This person wore a set of purple python robes, his expression arrogant, a cold sneer playing on his lips.
Almost anyone who had heard of Upper Immortal Yuanwu knew that his character was always haughty, arrogant, and overbearing. Not to mention those mortal immortals, even Upper Immortals like Mo Baiyu and Yunzhou, who like him bore the Immortal Dao's Edict Mandate, were not worthy of his regard.
Although Mo Baiyu, Yunzhou, and the other few Upper Immortals were all admirers of Upper Immortal Qingqing and thus in competition, they had never actually come to blows. When they met, they would chat and laugh, still counting as friends.
However.
He and Upper Immortal Yuanwu didn't even have the friendship of a nodding acquaintance. They couldn't be bothered to put on a polite facade.
And it wasn't just him.
The other Upper Immortals like Yunzhou felt the same.
The reason was simple.
Upper Immortal Yuanwu was simply too arrogant and overbearing, too full of himself. In order to impress Upper Immortal Qingqing, he would stop at nothing. Earlier on, he had even fought with most of them.
"What do you mean by that, Upper Immortal Yuanwu?" Mo Baiyu looked at Upper Immortal Yuanwu and said with a faint smile, "Could it be you still wish to spar with us?"
Hearing the word 'spar,' Upper Immortal Yuanwu's expression immediately changed drastically, his eyes filling with anger. He shouted, "Mo Baiyu, don't get cocky! Last time was just a momentary lapse on my part, that's why I lost to you by a single move. If I went all out, you would be no match for me!"
"Is that so..."
"Hah! You look like you don't believe it! Fine! Then let's have another contest!"
That Upper Immortal Yuanwu truly had a fiery temper. He was ready to act as soon as he spoke, regardless of whether Mo Baiyu agreed or not.
But just as he was about to move, Yunzhou said, "Yuanwu, you can fight with us as much as you like normally. But today, with outsiders present, don't let them see a joke of our Immortal Dao."
"That's right. I quite agree with what Brother Yunzhou says."
"At a time like this, the few of us must stand united."
Upper Immortals like Mufeng and Qingyue also stepped forward in agreement.
Hearing Yunzhou and the others speak like this, Upper Immortal Yuanwu snorted coldly, stared at Mo Baiyu, and said, "Today, I'll let you off for now!"
Mo Baiyu paid no heed to Yuanwu. Instead, he looked at Yunzhou and asked, "Brother Yunzhou, what did you mean by what you said earlier? What outsiders?"
"Fu Ying is also here this time."
Upon hearing the name Fu Ying, the previously calm and composed expression on Mo Baiyu's face stiffened abruptly.
He had heard of the name Fu Ying.
Not only heard of it.
He also knew that Fu Ying was a very powerful Monster Immortal, so powerful that even he regarded him with a degree of caution.
If it were just an ordinary Monster Immortal, Mo Baiyu naturally wouldn't be wary. The key was that Fu Ying's existence wasn't merely that of a powerful Monster Immortal. He was both an Upper Immortal bearing the Immortal Dao's Edict Mandate and an Upper Demon bearing the Monster Dao's Edict Mandate. One could say he possessed the Edict Mandates of both the Immortal and Demon paths.
To speak of it, in the Great Desolate, the existence of Monster Immortals had always occupied a rather awkward position.
Originally demons, yet they defected to the Immortal Dao.
Viewed as traitors by the Monster Dao, and even after defecting to the Immortal Dao, they weren't necessarily valued by the Immortal Dao either.
The Immortal Dao didn't treat them well, and the Monster Dao didn't either.
They were the kind that neither grandmother nor aunt loved.
Therefore.
It was extremely difficult for Monster Immortals to receive the Edict Mandate of the Great Dao.
If they did receive the Great Dao's Edict Mandate, then it could only mean that this Monster Immortal's existence, whether in terms of family background or innate endowment and fortune, was extraordinary.
And if one possessed both the Immortal Dao's Edict Mandate and the Monster Dao's Edict Mandate...
This was no longer a question of how powerful their family background or innate endowment was. The implications behind it were likely even more complex.
What did possessing two Edict Mandates signify?
It signified that not only did the Immortal Dao want to win him over, but the Monster Dao side also wanted to win him over.
For a Monster Immortal to be courted by both the Immortal and Demon paths was enough to show that his existence was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
This was also the reason for Mo Baiyu's caution.
"This time, it's not just Fu Ying who has come. He also brought three Upper Demons bearing the Monster Dao's Edict Mandate!" Mufeng glanced at Yuanwu and said, "Moreover, Yuanwu almost got into a fight with them."
Yuanwu said indignantly, "Hmph! If you all hadn't stopped me, I would have long since taught those few little demons a lesson!"
"If we hadn't stopped you back then, it's hard to say who would have been the one taught a lesson," Mufeng said disdainfully. "Since those three Upper Demons can receive the Monster Dao's Edict Mandate, how could they be someone you can just teach a lesson to as you please? Not to mention, Fu Ying is over there too. Back in the day, he wiped out over a dozen Great Desolate Spirit Immortals with a single move. You, fight him? Do you have the capability?"
"So what? You all fear him, but I, Yuanwu, do not!" Yuanwu sneered coldly. "He's just a Monster Immortal, what can he do to me? Does he dare kill me?"
The reason Yuanwu dared to be so arrogant and overbearing was, firstly, that he truly had the ability to be arrogant. Both his cultivation and his fortune were extraordinary.
Of course, more importantly, he hailed from a Great Immortal Realm, and his master was a very famous Profound Immortal.
Even if ordinary people had the ability to kill him, they would all hesitate due to his status and background, not daring to strike a fatal blow.
It was precisely because of this that Yuanwu dared to be so arrogant and overbearing in the Great Desolate.