When Lin Shen's babyish "eat" left his pink little lips, the entire world fell silent.
Yuanshi Tianzun froze mid-motion.
Tongtian Jiaozhu stopped rubbing his hands together.
Taishang Laojun's hand, which had been stroking his beard, also paused.
The three future Dao Ancestors had only one thought in their minds: What did their little disciple say? Eat? Eat what?
The next second, they received their answer.
Above the battlefield of Blood Maple Plain, a cloud of Calamity Fiend Qi formed from the miserable deaths of tens of thousands of living beings was as dense as ink. Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would suffer damage to his Dao Heart from touching a trace of it.
This terrifying black cloud actually "came alive"!
The enormous black cloud churned violently, seized by an invisible hand and forcibly torn from the sky.
The torn-off portion became a thick pillar of black qi, crossing ten thousand miles as it howled straight toward the mountain where Lin Shen was!
It moved unbelievably fast.
Everywhere it passed, even space was corroded by the violent fiend qi, producing a sizzling sound.
"Not good!" Yuanshi Tianzun's expression changed drastically. He was the first to react.
Without a second thought, he struck out with his palm.
The phantom of the Pangu Banner manifested instantly. A strand of Chaos Sword Qi capable of World Creation appeared across the heavens and accurately slashed toward the black pillar.
This strike was enough to split a Primordial Divine Mountain in two.
Yet the instant the Chaos Sword Qi touched the black pillar, it vanished like a clay ox entering the sea. It only faded the pillar's color slightly before being completely worn away by the endless resentment and karma within.
"How could this be?!" Yuanshi Tianzun was horrified.
The Calamity Fiend Qi had actually condensed to such a terrifying degree!
"Zhu Xian!" Tongtian Jiaozhu roared, raising two fingers like a sword.
An incomparably sharp sword intent shot into the sky, carrying an Aura of Slaughter that could extinguish all life as it met the black pillar.
The result was the same as Yuanshi Tianzun's.
Though the sword intent was fierce, once it entered the fiend qi, it merely stirred a ripple before being completely devoured.
"This thing specifically taints our cultivation. Dharma power and divine abilities have little effect on it!" Taishang Laojun said gravely.
The Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda appeared in his hand, scattering countless streams of Yellow Origin Qi in an attempt to block the fiend qi.
Yellow Origin Qi was impervious to all techniques.
Yet the fiend qi seeped through every opening. It actually bypassed the Yellow Origin Qi's defense and continued charging toward Lin Shen.
The Three Pure Ones were all panicking.
They had never imagined that their little disciple's careless words could truly draw forth Calamity Fiend Qi!
This divine ability of Words Manifest Reality was simply too overbearing, too unreasonable!
If their little disciple actually "ate" this thing, how could that be acceptable?
With his tiny body, wouldn't he immediately be burst apart by endless resentment and karma, turned into a puddle of blood and pus?
"Beloved Disciple, stop eating it! That thing doesn't taste good!" Tongtian Jiaozhu was sweating profusely as he reached out, wanting to cover Lin Shen's mouth.
But it was already too late.
The pillar of black fiend qi had already rushed before Lin Shen.
Rather than being afraid as he watched the "black noodle" flying toward him, Lin Shen excitedly opened his little mouth wide.
Chomp!
Before the Three Pure Ones' horrified eyes, that Calamity Fiend Qi, enough to poison a Grand Unity Golden Immortal to death, was swallowed by Lin Shen in a single bite.
Yes, one bite.
The thick black pillar automatically shrank the instant it neared Lin Shen's little mouth, turning into a thin stream that he easily sucked into his belly.
The entire process was like an ordinary person taking a sip of soup.
Lin Shen smacked his lips, a satisfied expression appearing on his little face.
Mm, it tasted pretty good!
It was a little like the spicy hot pot he had eaten in his previous life—numbing and spicy, with a faint charred barbecue aroma. The aftertaste was intense, and after swallowing it, his whole body felt warm.
While he ate to his heart's content, his three Masters were practically going mad.
"Lin Shen!"
"Beloved Disciple!"
The three of them pounced over at once and surrounded Lin Shen.
Yuanshi Tianzun's hands were trembling. He repeatedly swept Lin Shen's body with his divine sense, terrified of finding even the slightest abnormality.
Tongtian Jiaozhu was even more frantic, pacing in circles as he muttered nonstop, "It's over, it's over. What do we do? Should we soak him in Life-Creating Elixir and wash him? Can we wash that filthy thing out?"
Taishang Laojun stared fixedly at Lin Shen, the Eight Trigrams flowing in his eyes as he deduced every possible outcome.
But no matter how they examined or deduced, they reached only one conclusion—Lin Shen was fine.
Not only was he fine, but the Origin Qi around him seemed to have become a little more solid after "eating" that mouthful of fiend qi.
The little ginseng leaf atop his head had also become even greener, as though it had just been nourished by rain.
The Three Pure Ones: "..."
The three of them, Pangu's True Lineage and future Heavenly Dao Sages, felt their worldview suffer an unprecedented blow.
Calamity Fiend Qi, a deadly poison that all prehistoric beings avoided like the plague, had become... a nourishing snack for their disciple?
What kind of freak was this?
Just as the Three Pure Ones fell into a daze, the mindset of another great figure ten thousand miles away completely shattered as well.
"My fiend qi!!!"
Demon Ancestor Luohu watched the calamity cloud above Blood Maple Plain, a huge chunk of it forcibly torn away, and felt so heartsick he nearly vomited blood.
He had painstakingly amassed that treasure by instigating a war among the three clans and causing the deaths of tens of thousands of living beings!
It was top-quality material he intended to use to temper the Four Swords of Zhu Xian!
He watched helplessly as that pure fiend qi was drawn by an invisible force, crossing ten thousand miles toward the direction of those three fellows on Kunlun Mountain.
Then... it was gone!
That tiny ball of light had eaten it!
Eaten it!
Luohu's face instantly turned blacker than the bottom of a pot, blazing fury burning in his sinister eyes.
"Three Pure Ones!!"
"And that damned little thing!"
He gritted his teeth, wishing he could rush over immediately, seize that little thing that dared steal his food, and refine it into his own demon pill.
But he forcibly restrained himself.
Even amid this calamity, he had no certainty of victory against the Three Pure Ones working together.
Besides, that little thing was far too strange. It could actually devour Calamity Fiend Qi, something completely beyond his understanding.
He had to find out exactly what that thing was!
A ruthless glint flashed through Luohu's eyes.
He decided to remain still for now and continue observing.
Once he understood that little thing's true nature, it would not be too late to act.
He refused to believe that the Three Pure Ones could guard that little thing at every moment!
Elsewhere, within Zixiao Palace.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun also wore an astonished expression.
He had just "seen" that inconceivable scene as well.
"Devouring Calamity Fiend Qi..." Hongjun murmured. For the first time, his ancient well-like Dao Heart rippled violently.
He had originally thought that little thing was merely an Innate Spiritual Root containing immense vitality, an auspicious being born in response to fate.
But now, it seemed he had been completely wrong.
That was no auspicious being!
It was clearly the nemesis of the calamity!
An unprecedented brilliance suddenly burst from Hongjun's eyes.
In an instant, he understood many things.
Why did the Heavenly Dao bring down calamities?
It was to balance the number of living beings and cleanse the karma of heaven and earth.
Yet the calamity itself would also inflict tremendous destruction upon the prehistoric world.
It was a helpless measure of fighting poison with poison.
And the appearance of this little thing seemed to offer the Heavenly Dao an entirely new choice.
If he truly could "eat" all the Calamity Fiend Qi and transform it into energy beneficial to heaven and earth...
Then wouldn't this great disaster sweeping across the prehistoric world be able to end in the gentlest possible way?
Hongjun's heart began pounding fiercely.
He realized that he might have discovered the key to ending this Dragon-Phoenix Calamity and establishing his position as the Orthodox Xuanmen in one stroke!
That little fellow held in the Three Pure Ones' arms was the key to breaking the deadlock!
"Three Pure Ones, Three Pure Ones... you truly found a treasure..." Hongjun let out a long sigh, his gaze becoming incomparably profound.
He decided to secretly aid the Three Pure Ones and protect that little fellow.
No matter what, he could not allow him to fall into Luohu's hands!
The future of the prehistoric world quietly shifted at this moment because of Lin Shen's careless "eat."
Meanwhile, Lin Shen was being surrounded by his three Masters as they pinched his arms, felt his legs, and turned him over and over for inspection.
He was getting a little annoyed.
It was just one bite of food. Did they really have to make such a fuss?
He let out a full belch, and a faint scent mingling the fresh fragrance of grass and trees with a trace of "spiciness" drifted from his mouth.
Yuanshi Tianzun's expression became even more complicated when he smelled it.
Looking at Lin Shen's innocent little face, he truly could not understand where things had gone wrong.
"Big Brother, look... what exactly is going on here?" he could not help asking Taishang Laojun for help.
Taishang Laojun pondered for a long time before slowly speaking, his tone carrying a trace of uncertainty. "Perhaps... Lin Shen's true form is an innate ginseng spiritual root, supremely yang and pure. It may happen to form some kind of... complementary relationship with this supremely yin and evil Calamity Fiend Qi?"
Even he found this explanation far-fetched.
Tongtian Jiaozhu, however, was a man of action. If he could not figure something out, he simply stopped thinking about it.
Seeing Lin Shen's still-unsatisfied little expression, an idea suddenly came to him. He cautiously asked, "Um... Beloved Disciple, do you still want to eat?"
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