Chapter 21

The figure surfaced in Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi's divine senses. Back then, that boy had used a Taiyi body to slaughter more than ten thousand of the Demon Race, and when Guiche Demon Sage had struck in bitter hatred, Nuwa had executed him on the spot. Now he was merely at Golden Immortal cultivation—what did he want with an item for proving the Dao?

"Be careful when discussing matters concerning a Saint."

Di Jun said in a deep voice.

Though they kept their mouths shut, hostility still congealed on Kunpeng and Donghuang's faces. Annoyance also rose in Di Jun's heart—after Empress Wa became a Saint, she had never shown care for her mother race, and now she had actually bestowed the innate primordial qi upon an outsider. What use was making offerings to such a Saint?

Western Pure Land.

Jieyin and Zhunti's faces were dark. From the moment Hongyun set foot on Shouyang Mountain, the two of them had already deduced that a change would occur, but they had not expected Nuwa to so readily allow him into the sect. The karma from becoming Saints in the past had yet to be repaid; if Hongyun remained in the world, it would have to be settled. Nuwa's move was clearly meant to use Hongyun to keep the Two Sages of the West in check. Thinking of this, the two felt as if thorns were pricking their backs.

At the summit of Shouyang Mountain.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged on the green grass, crystalline Thunder Spirit Fruits scattered around him. He swung up that brick, flowing with rosy light, and smashed it down with force. As the shell burst apart, he tossed the amber flesh into his mouth and chewed until it crunched.

At the side, Hongyun witnessed this scene, the corners of his eyes twitching nonstop—that was plainly the Kongtong Sacred Seal! Yet now it was being used like an ordinary stone hammer. Though he felt gratitude toward Lin Fan, he still could not suppress the urge to run to Nuwa and complain.

150-character version:

"I really want to see that kid get beaten."

"Want a taste?" Lin Fan tossed over a Thunder Spirit Fruit.

Hongyun caught it but did not eat, smiling as he said, "Young Friend Lin, how about a friendly spar while we have time?"

Earlier, he had witnessed Lin Fan's duel with Laozi; with the realm of a Great Golden Immortal, he had actually not fallen behind, leaving Hongyun utterly shocked.

Lin Fan immediately perked up, his eyes bright as stars. "Excellent! I've just had some insights recently."

Hongyun was slightly taken aback at the sight, but only took it as a youth's temperament. As the two exchanged courtesies, Lin Fan suddenly threw a punch—

Boom! Hongyun flew backward ten thousand li, his qi and blood churning.

"Again!" Lin Fan's hands evolved the Yin Yang Sacred Seal, dissolving in an instant the Universe Giant Palm that Hongyun had unleashed with all his strength.

(

Chapter

<The red-robed cultivator staggered back, the front of his robes already soaked through with blood. Seeing this, the young cultivator actually revealed a look of disappointment. "Dao Brother, would you like to try one more move?"

"No need!" The red-robed cultivator covered his face with his sleeve and retreated several steps in a row. Only now did he understand why the other party had been so eager to try—such thunderous methods could probably only be endured by the Witch Race, with their copper skin and iron bones.

After the red-robed cultivator went into seclusion to heal his injuries, the young cultivator quietly pondered for a while and decided to roam the four directions in search of opportunities. Taking advantage of his Master being off guard, he quietly left the immortal mountain.

Amid the waves of the East Sea, the young cultivator's expression suddenly shifted slightly. The twenty-four Vast Sea Spirit Pearls in his sea of consciousness had actually begun trembling for no reason. Following the sensation, he arrived deep beneath the sea. There, an innate profound formation was hidden beneath the azure waves; ordinary cultivators would find it almost impossible to perceive its existence. Silver light rose in the young cultivator's eyes as he fixed his gaze toward the depths of the formation.

Suddenly, a brilliant divine light erupted, treasure radiance flowing and illuminating the entire sea.

Lin Fan's pupils contracted slightly—

They were actually twelve Sea Calming Divine Pearls!

The twenty-four divine pearls within his body trembled and sang joyfully, as if seeing old friends. His fingertip cut through the void, and in the space of a breath, he had destroyed the guardian formation utterly.

When the thirty-six divine pearls gathered together in his palm, the treasure light actually condensed into chaotic qi.

(The Innate Supreme Treasure is complete.)

Amid the waves of the East Sea, traces of an Immortal Island suddenly appeared. Where verdant bamboo formed a forest, the yin and yang qi cycled without end. Most extraordinary were those spirit bamboos—purple lightning danced upon their green stalks, clearly spirit roots nurtured by the innate.

Lin Fan's divine sense swept across the depths of the bamboo forest.

Two round, black-and-white dumplings were hugging bamboo and chomping away.

Whoosh—

When he flashed in front of the Iron-Eating Beasts, the smaller one was still holding half a bamboo shoot tip in its mouth. Its round eyes blinked. "Big Brother, someone's peeking at us while we eat!"

The bigger one's fur instantly bristled, and it shielded the bamboo basket behind its back. "Hey! Don't even think about touching our rations!"

The two furry balls bared their teeth at Lin Fan, their short, chubby forelimbs comically striking poses as if showing off their muscles.

"Listen up, little guy, this whole bamboo forest is our territory!" the slightly larger round ball said fiercely, the soft flesh on its cheeks trembling with every word.

Lin Fan quietly watched them.

The smaller one scratched its round head with a paw. "Big Brother... he looks pretty pleasing to the eye. How about we give him one bamboo shoot?"

The larger one sized up Lin Fan's thin frame, and its tense muscles gradually relaxed. "Don't even think about it! I don't have enough to eat myself!"

A trace of amusement flashed through Lin Fan's eyes, and he raised his head to ask, "You two are so valiant and mighty. May I know your names?"

The two furballs immediately puffed out their chests with great swagger.

"This great lord is Xiong Batian!"

"This young lord is Xiong Aotian!" the smaller one added proudly. "Well? Impressive enough, right?"

Lin Fan nodded seriously. "Truly extraordinary in bearing. I see you two possess unusual talent. How about becoming my mounts?"

"Dream on!" Xiong Batian bit through a bamboo shoot with a crack. "How could dignified Iron-Eating Beasts allow themselves to be driven by others?"

Chewing on a tender shoot, Xiong Aotian mumbled in agreement, "Exactly! There's no worry about food or drink here. Who'd want to leave with you?"

Lin Fan raised a brow. This was the first time he had run into someone who gave him so little face. Green light rose from his palm, and as profound Dao rhythms flowed, the surrounding green bamboo gave off soft rustling sounds.

In the blink of an eye, the entire bamboo forest brimmed with vitality. Tender shoots sprang from the soil one after another like bamboo after rain, and the bamboo leaves shone with an emerald-like luster. The two furballs' eyes went wide, and the bamboo shoots in their mouths dropped to the ground with a plop.

The two brothers' eyes lit up the moment they saw the bamboo shoots, and they charged over like starving tigers pouncing on prey.

"They're all mine!"

"With this many spiritual bamboo shoots, we finally won't have to go hungry!"

Though this bamboo grove was vast, spiritual bamboo was rare, and top-grade innate spiritual bamboo was even something that might not appear in ten thousand years. Every time one stalk grew, the two brothers would end up falling out over it.

Up until now, they had only gnawed on a few low-grade things. Worse, the two of them had astonishing appetites; ordinary bamboo could not even fill their stomachs, and they were often so hungry they panicked.

Don't be fooled by how simple and muddleheaded they looked—they were not stupid. They knew they could not eat everything in one go, or else they would be drinking the northwest wind afterward.

Xiong Batian was chewing on a spiritual bamboo shoot when he suddenly stopped and stared at Lin Fan. "Hey, how did you make the bamboo grow so fast?"

Xiong Aotian also looked up, his eyes full of expectation.

When it came to anything related to food, the two of them were especially attentive.

"A piece of cake." Lin Fan smiled. "As long as I'm willing, I can have as many fresh, tender spiritual bamboo shoots as you want."

"So? Are you willing to be my mounts now?"

"Really? The two of us can eat a lot!" Xiong Batian was half convinced and half doubtful.

"Will we be full?"

Lin Fan patted his chest. "Follow me, and there'll be more than enough spiritual bamboo shoots—enough to stuff you until you don't want to eat anymore!"

The two brothers' eyes lit up. If this little guy could really do that, what was being a mount?

The bear clan never bowed their heads—unless food and lodging were included. They Iron-Eating Beasts had always been this unyielding.

Xiong Batian nodded solemnly. "Fine. I'm with you."

Xiong Aotian, however, had no image at all. Hugging a bamboo shoot, he pounced over and tugged at Lin Fan's sleeve, pleading, "Big Brother! You're my real big brother!"

"Please take me as your mount!"

Lin Fan deliberately furrowed his brow in hesitation.

"I only need one mount. You two discuss who it'll be."

"Pick me! I'm so majestic—only I have the face to be a mount!"

"It should obviously be me!"

The two fools argued until it was impossible to resolve, and it looked like they were about to start fighting.

Lin Fan did not want to watch the brothers turn against each other, so he suggested, "How about this? From now on, you'll take turns competing. Whoever runs faster gets to be the mount for the time being."

Xiong Aotian scratched his head and asked, "Big Brother, what does taking turns competing mean?"

"It means racing. The one who wins can be my mount," Lin Fan added. "Those who perform well can even get extra spiritual bamboo shoots."

The moment they heard that, the two brothers immediately perked up, and the looks they exchanged carried a sense of rivalry.

Lin Fan felt their names were a little rustic, so he pointed at Xiong Batian and said, "Batian, from now on, you'll be called Big White." Then he said to Xiong Aotian, "You'll be called Little Black."

Xiong Batian and Xiong Aotian lowered their heads to look at their black-and-white mottled fur, their heads full of question marks—what was the basis for these names? But at the thought of spiritual bamboo shoots, Xiong Batian did not ask further.

Xiong Aotian suddenly said, "Big Brother, actually, I have a childhood name."

"Oh? What is it?" Lin Fan grew interested.

Xiong Aotian proudly raised his head. "Xiong Bu'er! My second brother gave it to me. Sounds good, right?" (Now that he had acknowledged Lin Fan as his big brother, his original big brother had been demoted to second brother.)

The corner of Lin Fan's mouth twitched. "It's quite... distinctive. Why Bu'er?"

"Second Brother said that when doing things, you have to say one and not two. Only then can you become an overlord."

Lin Fan sighed. "You really are quite two."

Xiong Aotian gnawed on his bamboo shoot and asked indistinctly, "Big Brother, my name is Bu'er, so why say I'm two? Oh right, what does it mean?"

"It means I'm praising how amazing you are."

"Thank you, Big Brother!" The fool happily continued gnawing on his bamboo shoot.

Xiong Aotian broke into a smile.

Lin Fan lightly raised a hand, and the entire emerald bamboo grove instantly sank into the Primordial Pearl.

Leading Big White and Little Black, the two ancient exotic beasts, he drifted away.

After leaving the East Sea region, Lin Fan sat astride Big White's back and leisurely roamed the vast lands of the Primordial World.

He comprehended the true meaning of the Dao rhythm flowing between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, a heaven-shaking boom erupted along the shore of the East Sea. The void shattered, and the aura of slaughter shot straight into the nine heavens.

Clearly, cultivators had started a battle in human territory.

Lin Fan's pupils narrowed slightly, and the fluctuation of demonic energy made his gaze turn abruptly cold.

Tearing open the spatial barrier, he descended into the center of the battlefield in an instant.

There, he saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman being besieged by a horde of demons.

The woman had skin like ice and bones like jade, her beauty comparable to Nuwa's, and her brows brimmed with unruly defiance.

Among the Demon Race army led by Kunpeng, eight great Demon Sages, including Ji Meng and Ying Zhao, were all impressively present.

This person had to be Houtu.

Lin Fan thought to himself.

He clearly perceived the surging shaman bloodline within the woman's body; her diamond-indestructible body had withstood all manner of magical treasures head-on and yet remained completely unharmed.

At the heart of the battlefield, turbulent flows of space and time raged, and countless small worlds were annihilated one after another.

The surging aftershocks swept across the eight wastelands.

With a light sweep of his broad sleeve, Lin Fan opened a barrier to protect the human cities.

Then he turned into a rainbow and shot straight into the battle.

Insolence! Who allowed you to bring disaster to the human race!

The Kongtong Seal bloomed with ten thousand zhang of radiant light; the galaxy hung upside down, mountains overturned, and it smashed down thunderously toward the Demon Sages.

In an instant, heaven collapsed and earth split, and several great demons were all blasted back ten thousand zhang.

Kunpeng glared furiously at Lin Fan, blood flames surging sky-high in his eyes.

Seeing that Houtu was just about to be captured, who could have expected such a sudden change?

Before he could react, the Kongtong Seal had already swept up world-destroying might and come crashing down again.

Kunpeng hurriedly sacrificed his natal Demon Palace to resist.

The roar of the two supreme treasures colliding shook the universe.

A corner of the towering palace complex was actually smashed in, and it rolled back with a wailing cry.

The enraged Demon Master revealed his true form, and his natal divine ability pressed down on Lin Fan, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

You're courting death!

The flames of war suddenly ignited.

Amid lightning that ravaged the sky, several Demon Sages were caught off guard and attacked; they immediately flew into a rage and joined forces with Kunpeng to surround Lin Fan. The Xuan Yuan Water Control Banner snapped and fluttered, forming a protective light screen at Lin Fan's side. He flipped his palm and held up the sky; the vast firmament for ten thousand li abruptly transformed into a furious Thunder Prison, and annihilating divine thunder surged like a tide. Great demons such as Ji Meng and Ying Zhao had their physical bodies split apart on the spot, with only their Primordial Spirits fleeing in panic. Kunpeng spread his wings and turned into a rainbow, barely escaping the range of the sea of thunder, only to have half his body shattered by the Red Embroidered Ball that came hard on his heels; emerald blood spilled across the long sky.

Houtu stood frozen in place, her red lips slightly parted as she stared at this seemingly tender Youth—the fierce, crushing methods that swept through deadwood and rotten twigs were actually even three parts more savage than those of the Ancestral Shamans.

After the Demon Sages were reborn from dripping blood, they cowered behind Kunpeng, fear already showing in their shocked and furious gazes. "Lin Fan!" Kunpeng pressed down on the wound gushing with blood and shouted sharply, "The human race is completely unharmed, so why did you suddenly **?"

"To fight and kill within my race's territory is a capital crime." Lightning still leapt at Lin Fan's fingertips. "Roll back to the Heavenly Court and tell Di Jun—set foot in the human race's borders again, and every time I see you, I'll beat you to death."

When the sky-covering wings carried the defeated remnants away into the clouds, Houtu was just about to offer thanks, only to see the Youth give a light wave of his hand. "I only beat up a few flat-feathered beasts. Why thank me?"

Lin Fan waved his hand and said:

"That bunch of evildoers has been stirring up trouble everywhere. I've wanted to teach them a lesson for ages."

"Even if I hadn't run into you, I'd still have dealt with them."

Houtu could not help laughing, feeling that this little fellow was rather interesting.

His way of speaking was a little like her elder brothers'.

If he went to the shaman race, he would definitely be able to get along with them.

Houtu said with a smile:

"I will remember today's kindness in my heart."