Who Gave Them the Courage?

Taiqing, standing beside Yuanshi, frowned slightly. Clearly, he felt his second brother's words were unwise, needlessly making another powerful enemy.

Tongtian looked at Yuanshi, then at Hou Tu and Qin Xuan, his expression rather complicated.

In his view, Hou Tu was gentle and kind-hearted.

But this Qin Xuan...

Suddenly!

Yuanshi's entire body stiffened. A chill shot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head, as though some peerless ferocious beast had fixed its gaze on him. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his Daoist robe.

He looked up in alarm and met Qin Xuan's icy, bone-piercing gaze. The killing intent in those eyes was undisguised, as if Qin Xuan would tear him to pieces the very next moment.

Fortunately, Qin Xuan merely gave him a cold look before withdrawing his gaze, not acting immediately.

Only then did Yuanshi secretly let out a breath of relief, though his back was already ice-cold.

The reason Qin Xuan did not make a move was that there were more important matters at hand.

He knew that the shameless Western duo, Jieyin and Zhunti, should be arriving soon. Now that Hou Tu had taken Kunpeng's meditation cushion,

conflict with those two from the West was inevitable.

As for Yuanshi... Qin Xuan would put that debt on the tab for now.

When the Gourd Vine of Buzhou Mountain emerged in the future, there would be plenty of opportunities to give this so-called "Pangu's Orthodoxy" a proper lesson. He would make sure to tear Yuanshi's foul mouth apart!

Several more days passed, and the gates of Zixiao Palace were about to close slowly.

Just then, an anxious shout came from outside the palace gates:

"Friend! Friend! Wait!"

Before the voice faded, two figures staggered into Zixiao Palace. Their clothes were ragged, and they looked utterly miserable. They were none other than Jieyin and Zhunti from the West.

The two men were pale, clearly having suffered greatly in the Primordial Chaos.

A faint smile tugged at Qin Xuan's lips.

He knew that Zixiao Palace's greatest famous scene was about to unfold.

The moment Jieyin and Zhunti entered, their eyes were firmly drawn to the six meditation cushions ahead.

All the cushions were already occupied. Their gazes swept across the seated figures before quickly landing on the kindly-looking Hongyun.

This person looked softhearted!

The two exchanged a tacit glance. The next moment, they both burst into loud sobs.

"Wuwuwu~~"

"Wuwuwuwu~~~"

"My brother and I traveled all the way from the barren lands of the West, crossing mountains and rivers and enduring countless hardships. We thought we would be able to hear the Dao beneath the Dao Ancestor, but who would have thought... who would have thought we would not even have a place to rest our feet! Wuwuwu... I might as well smash my head into a pillar here in Zixiao Palace and die!"

Zhunti wailed so earth-shakingly that he made a show of charging toward one of the hall's pillars as he cried.

Jieyin, meanwhile, threw himself before Hongyun, tears and snot streaming down his face. His appearance was enough to make those who heard him grieve and those who saw him weep.

Quite a few people in Zixiao Palace frowned at the sight, unable to hide the contempt in their eyes.

The palace was incredibly spacious. Was there really nowhere they could sit?

Did they lack a place to rest their feet?

They clearly coveted someone else's meditation cushion!

But how had Hongyun ever seen such a spectacle?

He had always been kind-hearted, renowned throughout the Primordial World as a good old fellow. He could not bear to see others suffer.

Seeing the two cry so miserably, especially with Zhunti seemingly about to ram himself into a pillar, how could he remain seated?

"Fellow Daoists, do not do this! Please, get up quickly!" Hongyun hurriedly rose and gave up his meditation cushion. "You may use my cushion to rest, Fellow Daoist!"

The instant those words were spoken, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Everyone present was stunned!

That worked too?

Beside him, Zhen Yuanzi anxiously slapped his thigh and said urgently:

"Yunzi! You fool! There are only six meditation cushions in total. There is obviously a great opportunity here, so how can you so easily give one to such shameless scoundrels? Quick! Let us take it back together!"

Prompted by Zhen Yuanzi, Hongyun came somewhat back to his senses.

He truly was kind-hearted. Just now, he had only been unable to bear seeing others suffer. But thinking about it now, everyone here was already a Great Golden Immortal. Who truly needed a meditation cushion to "rest their feet"?

Still, Hongyun was broad-minded by nature. Since he had already given it away, he waved his hand and said:

"Yuanzi, forget it. Since I have already yielded the cushion, it means it was never fated to be mine. There is no need to force it."

Zhen Yuanzi looked helplessly at his old friend, and in the end, all he could do was let out a long sigh.

The two could only find an empty spot nearby and sit down shoulder to shoulder. Each took out a ginseng fruit and began crunching away at it.

Yet neither of them noticed Kunpeng's cold gaze among the crowd, fixed firmly on Hongyun.

"What a pair of good bros!" Qin Xuan watched with great interest from the side, unable to stop himself from muttering inwardly.

His gaze then shifted to Jieyin and Zhunti.

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Having obtained a meditation cushion so easily, these two definitely would not be satisfied.

According to the original course of events, their next target should have been Kunpeng. But now... Hou Tu was sitting in Kunpeng's place.

Sure enough, before their backsides had even warmed the cushion, Jieyin and Zhunti turned their eyes toward the other meditation cushions.

The Three Pure Ones... they had heard a little about them. They were not people to provoke.

Very quickly, they set their sights on the gentle and peaceful Hou Tu.

This person looked much like Hongyun... she seemed easy to manipulate as well!

As for the young man behind Hou Tu, although his aura was not weak, he also looked harmless enough.

The two exchanged another glance, their thoughts perfectly aligned as they prepared to repeat the same trick.

Thus, one continued brewing his emotions in preparation to charge into a pillar, while the other began wiping away tears and walked toward Hou Tu, ready to begin another round of tearful pleading.

Hou Tu watched their clumsy performance, her delicate brows knitting slightly. She turned her head toward Qin Xuan behind her, blinking her clear, bright eyes.

"Little Xuan, do I look very foolish to you?"

Qin Xuan smiled faintly.

"No need to pay them any attention."

Hearing that, Jieyin and Zhunti immediately understood that they could not keep acting.

So they simply dropped the pretense and laid their cards on the table!

They walked straight up to Hou Tu, their tones carrying a hint of threat.

"Fellow Daoist, this meditation cushion is fated to belong to the two of us. Please do us a favor and find another place."

As they spoke, the mana around their bodies began to stir faintly. Clearly, they intended to seize it by force.

The moment those words left their mouths, an uproar erupted within Zixiao Palace.

"Hiss... Have these two gone mad?"

"How dare they?!"

"Who gave them the courage?!"

For a moment, the gazes directed at Jieyin and Zhunti were filled with shock, confusion, and... a faint trace of pity.

Seeing Hou Tu remain seated without moving, Jieyin's expression darkened further.

"Since Fellow Daoist refuses to appreciate our kindness, do not blame my brother and me for being merciless!"

Before his voice had faded, the two erupted with power and attacked at the same time. Their two gaunt palms tore through the air with fierce force as they grabbed at Hou Tu, intending to fling her directly off the meditation cushion!

However, at the very instant they made their move!

A pair of palms, seemingly plain and unremarkable, ignored the distance of space itself. Though striking later, they arrived first in a flash.

The next instant.

The vicious expressions on Jieyin and Zhunti's faces froze abruptly, then turned into horror.

They discovered that a single hand had effortlessly seized them by the throats and lifted them into the air. Their feet left the ground, and their mana was instantly sealed by an irresistible force!

Everyone felt a vast, boundless pressure descend suddenly, concentrated yet undispersed!

Qin Xuan stood where he was, looking calm. Yet his terrifying aura, belonging to a peak Great Golden Immortal and faintly surpassing even that realm, pressed down on Jieyin and Zhunti as if it were tangible, suppressing them completely!

"May I ask how the two Fellow Daoists planned to be 'merciless'?" Qin Xuan's voice remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

As his words fell, the force in the hands gripping their throats suddenly increased. The Law of Strength circulated, and the two felt the space around them twist and shatter. Their bones creaked, as though they would be crushed to pieces the next moment!

Jieyin and Zhunti spat out blood simultaneously, their eyes filled with nothing but boundless terror!

At that moment, they finally understood why everyone around them had looked at them that way.

Feeling the unfathomable power radiating from Qin Xuan like an endless ocean, they knew they had kicked an iron plate—and one harder than anything they could possibly handle!

With their necks gripped so tightly, neither could utter a complete sentence. They could only force words out of their throats with great difficulty:

"Fellow... Daoist... spare... us..."

"It... was... all... a... misunderstanding..."

A misunderstanding?

Qin Xuan wore an amused smile upon hearing that.

Apologizing now?

Too late!

With a casual flick, he threw Jieyin onto the ground before Hou Tu like a piece of trash.

"Sister Hou Tu, I will leave this shameless wretch to you. Watch how I deal with Zhunti!"

Before his words had even faded, he tossed Zhunti into the air, then grabbed him by both legs and dragged him toward a pillar.

It was the very pillar Zhunti had pretended he was going to crash into earlier!