Don't Come Near Me!

Xiang Dong tried to force his body to turn with his mind, but the pull was fatally attractive to his totem. Even his powerful will could not suppress it.

Even as he tried to suppress it, his body kept moving toward that unknown direction, his legs completely refusing to obey him.

Caught in this tug-of-war between instinct and will, Xiang Dong finally split apart.

That was right. He split apart in the literal sense.

Forget it. I can't keep struggling. Let it all be destroyed.

The sun totem on his chest separated from his body of light and changed back into its true form, a sunflower. Then it took to its heels and ran toward the source of the pull.

Xiang Dong, now no bigger than a palm, was left standing there, disheveled in the wind.

"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell are you doing? Betraying me? Are you still coming home for dinner?"

Watching this silent contest between will and instinct, Nuwa wore a look of surprise. No wonder so many Innate Divine Beings who had taken form from Innate Spirit Roots refined their true forms into spirit treasures.

Besides improving their ability to protect themselves and keeping others from getting a hold over them, they could also guard against situations like this, where their true forms ran out of control.

Still, she could tell that some fortuitous opportunity must have been drawing Xiang Dong's true form, and a heaven-defying one at that. Otherwise, it would not have reacted so strongly.

"Fellow Daoist, why don't we go take a look first?"

Xiang Dong: ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh.

What fortuitous opportunity? I don't need one. If I keep getting stronger like this, will I ever die?

If even a sage can't pull me out by the roots when the time comes, won't I have lost out terribly?

I can do without the fortuitous opportunity.

But I can't abandon my true form. Otherwise, a little guy like me won't have much Law Power and won't even be able to use Flash more than a few times.

Seeing that he had given up resisting, Nuwa did not press him. Instead, she comforted him. "It's all right. Since we've already landed on the island, there's no need to rush. Though I don't know what could be so attractive to your true form, I imagine it's a fortuitous opportunity meant for you."

"Fortuitous opportunities are hard to come by, but since this one has appeared, you shouldn't miss it."

Hearing that, Xiang Dong felt somewhat better. She really was a god-tier teammate.

She didn't complain or rush him, and she could even help him think things through and cheer him on.

"All right, let's go. Now I want to see just what could be so attractive to my true form."

The two followed the pull, one behind the other, until they came to a valley.

The entire valley was shrouded by an innate formation. Light rippled across its barrier, blocking Xiang Dong's true form, the sunflower, outside. No matter how wildly it charged about, it could not break through the great innate formation.

And the source of the pull Xiang Dong could not resist lay within that very formation.

Although the innate formation cut it off, Xiang Dong could still sense an Innate Divine Beings taking shape inside.

Judging by the other's presence and the pull it exerted on his true form, there could be only one answer.

"Dongwanggong. So this is where Dongwanggong is taking shape."

"Hiss!"

Xiang Dong sucked in a breath of cold air. He remembered that Dongwanggong's Immortal Court seemed to have been in the East Sea and had something to do with Penglai Immortal Island.

Xiang Dong didn't know much about Dongwanggong's deeds either. After all, Dongwanggong was another of the Primordial World's unlucky souls, the sort who had some providence, but not much.

His ambitions were higher than the heavens, and he wanted to contend with the Demon Race. But the Demon Race was one of the principal players in the Witch-Demon Kalpa. Even the Heavenly Court, the central hub of the Heavenly Dao, had been given to the Demon Race.

The entire Demon Race's providence blazed like a rainbow, and every one of its four emperors carried considerable weight. What did Dongwanggong have to contend with them? Even the Queen Mother of the West was unwilling to stand with him.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know what that thing inside is?"

"Yes, I do. It's Innate Donghua Qi, also known as Innate Supreme Yang Qi. No wonder it's so attractive to my true form."

His true form was an innate sunflower that had absorbed the First Light of Creation. A sunflower's nature was to grow toward the sun, so it had an innate affinity for things of the yang attribute.

That was why he preferred the Sun Star to the Moon Star. After all, the moon itself did not shine.

And Dongwanggong, who was taking shape within this great innate formation, was Innate Supreme Yang Qi. Xiang Dong had never seen yang Qi so pure in his life.

Well, the Golden Crows taking shape in the Sun Star had yet to assume their forms.

No wonder his true form had reacted so strongly. The Innate Supreme Yang Qi was far too tempting to him. He couldn't resist it, not even a little.

Xiang Dong pressed his true form back onto his chest, but even after it became a totem, it remained terribly restless.

It kept flashing on his chest, its light blazing as the pull of the Innate Supreme Yang Qi reached its peak. It even began to resonate with the presence inside the formation.

The ball of light nurturing Dongwanggong was stirring restlessly too. Xiang Dong could even hear its alluring invitation.

Ball of light: "Don't hesitate. Come in! Let's become one. As long as you absorb me, you can transform into a more powerful being."

Xiang Dong shook his head repeatedly and delivered three decisive refusals.

I don't want to! ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ) Go away! Don't come near me!!!

Xiang Dong pressed one hand against the totem and tried to persuade his true form with appeals to its feelings and reason.

"Dongwanggong was formed from Innate Supreme Yang Qi, and he's naturally closely connected to the Queen Mother of the West's innate extreme yin Qi. The Yinguo binding the two is too strong."

"Besides, Hongjun appointed him head of the male immortals. Tug one hair and the whole body moves. I absolutely can't absorb him. I don't want to become an unlucky soul."

He was looking for death, but even that required the right approach. He couldn't just absorb everything.

But his true form didn't care about any of that. It wanted it, wanted it, absolutely had to have it.

If he wouldn't let it absorb the Qi, it would throw a tantrum, just like a brat dropping to the ground and rolling about in a fit. The sight alone was enough to give him a headache.

Looking at his true form, Xiang Dong realized that if he didn't let it absorb a little, he really wouldn't be able to leave today.

With no other choice, Xiang Dong changed back into his sunflower form and faced the ball of Innate Supreme Yang Qi with his flower head.

As the two answered and resonated with each other, the innate formation actually opened a gap of its own accord, allowing Xiang Dong inside so he could better absorb the extreme yang Qi.

Golden light blossomed from the flower head as it absorbed wisps of Innate Supreme Yang Qi, making its golden glow shine even brighter.

It grew so bright that it even burst into flames. This was Pure Yang True Fire.

Xiang Dong hadn't absorbed much, only a little of the origin of the Innate Supreme Yang Qi, but it had strengthened his own origin enough for him to condense true fire. He even felt that he had faintly touched the threshold of Solar True Fire.

No, I can't continue. Sensing that his true form had settled down, Xiang Dong left immediately.

He was terrified that if he kept absorbing, he really would cultivate Solar True Fire. He was even more afraid that one slip might see him absorb Dongwanggong completely. Then things would really get interesting.