Chapter 35

They abandoned their pride and saintly bearing, even resorting to slaughter to achieve their goals, revealing the true faces of the Two Sages of the West.

Haotian welcomed the two Sages, and the polite exchange eased the tense atmosphere.

Jieyin and Zhunti asked Yuanshi and Tongtian about the Taishang Lineage's absence, implying that Hong Yun lacked the status to stand alongside the other Saints.

However, Yuanshi and Tongtian knew that although Hong Yun did not possess the reality of sainthood, he bore a Saint's name. His status could not be ignored.

Nuwa softly announced Hong Yun's arrival.

Hong Yun had returned after reincarnation. As the Earthly Sovereign Saint of the human race, his unique status aroused immense interest among All Saints.

Hong Yun stepped into the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, immediately drawing the attention of the great powers present.

All Saints acknowledged Hong Yun's status as an Earthly Sovereign Saint and looked forward even more to today's Peach Banquet.

Reunited after a kalpa, brilliant flames burned within Hong Yun's eyes.

When his gaze fell upon Jieyin and Zhunti, his eyes turned slightly cold.

"Hehe, greetings, Saints. A kalpa has passed, yet your bearing remains unchanged."

Hong Yun greeted them with a smile, though his words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

Many of the Quasi-Saint great powers present heard the implication in Hong Yun's words. They recalled that during Hong Yun's killing tribulation, if Jieyin and Zhunti had protected him with all their strength, they could have saved his life.

Yet they had not done so, causing Hong Yun to harbor doubts toward them.

Jieyin and Zhunti responded with smiles, as though they did not care in the slightest about their past schemes.

The moment they met, they praised Hong Yun for becoming one of the Three Fire Cloud Sovereigns, saying his fortune was extraordinary.

However, Hong Yun had no intention of indulging them today.

He directly brought up karma, saying that he wished to settle a certain karmic debt with them.

Zhunti's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly returned to normal and asked what Hong Yun meant.

He knew Hong Yun was serious today and would not give him even a shred of face.

Hong Yun hated Jieyin and Zhunti the most.

While he had been nurtured within the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Red Gourd, he had deeply reflected on his own experiences and realized just how indifferent Jieyin and Zhunti had been toward him.

At the final moment of the killing tribulation, they had not appeared to save him. That made him completely understand their intentions.

Therefore, Hong Yun had decided to settle this karma with them today.

Thinking back to how he had voluntarily given up his Saint position in the Purple Heaven Palace, only for them to harbor malicious intentions and seek to harm him,

he decided to take direct action to dissolve this karmic debt.

Thus, Hong Yun turned his gaze toward Zhunti and began speaking of the past within the Purple Heaven Palace.

He asked Zhunti whether he acknowledged the karma created by the act of giving up his seat.

Zhunti seemed to have expected this long ago. He responded with sophistry, emphasizing that Hong Yun had surrendered his seat of his own accord and that they had not ** .

However, Hong Yun did not back down. He knew that arguing with Zhunti would not solve anything, so he summoned Fuxi and Xuanyuan, the two human race titans, to support him.

Fuxi and Xuanyuan both stated their positions clearly. Even in the face of a Heavenly Dao Saint, they would defend the interests of the human race. Even if they had to leave the Western Sect, they would protect the human race's peace.

This action shocked and confused all the Quasi-Saint titans present, for they realized that the human race Saints displayed unprecedented determination and courage in defending their own interests.

The human race Saints ranked below them, yet Fuxi and Xuanyuan's words carried immense force, seemingly containing a threat. It made people wonder whether they carried an implication from the Supreme Saint.

They understood that this might involve that supreme existence behind them.

After all, the Three Sovereigns Saint also belonged to the Grand Pure lineage.

Upon hearing the words of the three human race Sovereigns, Zhunti's pupils abruptly contracted. Their counterattack was indeed no small matter.

They were using the human race's status as the Protagonist of Heaven and Earth to secretly pressure the Western Sect.

If Zhunti denied the karma now, he would undoubtedly give the three human race Sovereigns an opportunity to attack and exclude the Western Sect from the human race.

One had to know that future struggles over kalpas, Daoist Lineage conflicts, and other major events would all unfold among the human race.

Zhunti understood perfectly well that this was precisely what Yuanshi and Tongtian most wished to see. Without competition from the Western Sect, their Daoist Lineage status would naturally become more secure.

Therefore, Fuxi and Xuanyuan's words left Zhunti unable to respond easily.

Seeing Zhunti fall silent, Hong Yun's gaze sharpened as well.

They spoke of the fortune of attaining sainthood back then. That was where the karma lay.

Today, the Saints had to settle this karma.

The three human race Sovereigns joining forces to press the issue undoubtedly caught Zhunti off guard.

He had originally believed he could seize the initiative through sophistry, but now he could not even speak of initiative. Even the Western Sect under his command was threatened.

Because the Western Sect had borrowed merit in advance and made great vows, that had always been their weakness. The threat from the three Sovereigns struck directly at Zhunti's weak point.

However, Zhunti had ultimately transformed from the Bodhi Tree of Wisdom. His scheming, composure, and wisdom far surpassed those of ordinary people. Faced with this predicament, he would certainly seek a way ** .

Facing Hong Yun's karma of yielding his seat, the three human race Sovereigns remained expressionless. Zhunti slowly raised his head and swept his gaze over them.

He said with a faint smile, "How do the three Sovereigns wish to settle this matter?"

The implication was that he acknowledged the karma of Hong Yun yielding his seat.

These long-awaited words filled Hong Yun with satisfaction, finally releasing the pent-up grievance and fury in his heart.

He told the three Sovereigns that everything had begun because of them. He had originally yielded his seat out of goodwill, only to suffer a killing tribulation. Not only had he lost his Primordial Violet Qi, but he had also lost his life.

Now, so long as the Saints could recover the Primordial Violet Qi he had lost, the karma could be wiped clean in a single stroke.

With Primordial Violet Qi set as the condition for settling the karma, all the Quasi-Saint great powers in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall fell silent.

They had long known that this Peach Banquet was far from simple, as was the conflict between Hong Yun, the Earthly Sovereign, and the Two Sages of the West.

Hong Yun actually dared to speak so directly and contend with Saints, shocking many Quasi-Saint titans, who thought he was mad.

However, All Saints remained silent. They saw through the deeper meaning behind Hong Yun's condition.

Hong Yun's demand was neither excessive nor unreasonable.

Hong Yun had possessed Primordial Violet Qi from the very beginning.

If Jieyin and Zhunti had rescued him during the killing tribulation, he would not have lost that Primordial Violet Qi.

Whether he could refine it was another matter, but at least he would not have lost it.

Bringing up the Primordial Violet Qi again today was entirely reasonable.

However, under the current circumstances, Jieyin and Zhunti could not produce Primordial Violet Qi either.

That was because the Primordial Violet Qi had already been arranged by the Heavenly Dao. Together with the One That Escaped, it had become a special opportunity for the chosen child of destiny in a future Immeasurable Kalpa.

This was a method of the Heavenly Dao. How could Jieyin and Zhunti dare entertain such thoughts?

Among the Heavenly Dao Saints, not everyone possessed Taishang's courage to challenge the Heavenly Dao.

Even if Jieyin and Zhunti had such courage, they lacked the strength to fight the heavens.

Taking a step back, a single strand of Primordial Violet Qi was enough to create a Saint. If they truly had the chance to obtain one, they would not readily give it to Hong Yun.

Would it not be better for their Western Sect to cultivate a Saint of its own?

Therefore, Hong Yun's condition for settling the karma was both reasonable and unreasonable, as though it had seized the Two Sages of the West by the throat.

All Saints exchanged glances, smiles appearing in their eyes.

Hong Yun could not have devised such a scheme himself. It seemed more like a plan laid out by Taishang behind the scenes.

Then, in but an instant, All Saints' thoughts were drawn away once more.

"Can the two Saints agree?"

Hong Yun spoke again.

He had righteous grounds now and occupied the moral high ground.

Perhaps he had not dared provoke Jieyin and Zhunti in the past, but now that he possessed the honor of a human race Saint and Taishang's support, what did he have to fear? He only needed to confront them directly.

Hearing Hong Yun's condition, Zhunti narrowed his eyes before replying unhurriedly, "Fellow Daoist Hong Yun's condition is indeed rather difficult to fulfill."

Hong Yun's words clearly left no room for misunderstanding.

Though it was phrased as a question, it actually expressed an unyielding stance.

There was no room for negotiation!

Zhunti raised the crucial question. "Do you represent the human race and its three Sovereigns, or the position of the Grand Pure lineage?"

This question struck at the heart of the matter.

Everyone's gazes gathered upon Hong Yun as they awaited his answer.

He said that he represented both the human race and the Supreme Saint.

As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere within the Lingxiao Treasure Hall tightened once more.

Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, and the others were left speechless.

They had never seen someone speak so "out of breath."

Hong Yun's manner of speaking was as though he were putting on a performance.

Had the Grand Pure lineage become this bold now? They even dared toy with Saints?

Zhunti's expression twitched as he stated clearly, "Primordial Violet Qi cannot be handed over, but this can be resolved through force."

Immediately afterward, an unorthodox aura erupted from Zhunti's body, making his attitude abundantly clear.

He was rational and understood that Hong Yun had come with ill intent. Blindly yielding was not a good strategy.

Therefore, he decided to establish his right to speak first, then discuss settling the karma.

Because once he held the right to speak, whatever he said would have to be accepted by the other side.

In the face of Hong Yun's pressure, there was no other choice but to respond and accept the possible consequences of responding.

By this point, every side's position had become clear. All that needed to be said had been said.

The atmosphere in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall was tense. Hong Yun insisted on Primordial Violet Qi, and the negotiations had reached an impasse.

Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, and the other three Saints sensed that Hong Yun might be acting under Taishang's instructions. They believed Taishang's plan might involve a major scheme.

The three human race Sovereigns released powerful human Dao auras, displaying extraordinary majesty.

Though Jieyin and Zhunti were pressured by the Human Dao Grand Momentum, they did not retreat.

Zhunti faced the current situation with a calm expression.

It seemed that you three human race Sovereigns, having proclaimed yourselves Saints, had already lost your sense of reverence.

In that case, I shall let you understand...

Even if you are Saints, there remains a distinction of rank in certain domains.

As soon as these words fell, an imposing and powerful aura erupted from within him. He stared directly at Fuxi, Hong Yun, and Xuanyuan, the three human race Saints.

At that moment, a voice came from the Heavenly Emperor's throne in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. "Today is the Heavenly Court's Peach Banquet. Could the Saints give me, Haotian, some face?"

Haotian said, "Could you settle the other karmas after the banquet ends?"

Clearly, Haotian had his own considerations here.

As the Heavenly Emperor who governed the Heavenly Court, he did not wish for a battle in the void above to damage the Heavenly Court's dignity.

By stepping forward now, he wanted first to demonstrate his own status and, second, to display his influence in such a situation.

However, this Dao Ancestor's attendant, who had only recently ascended to the position of Heavenly Emperor, might have overestimated his own prestige and underestimated the impact of this Saint Karma.

Zhunti turned directly toward Haotian and replied, "Heavenly Emperor, this matter has nothing to do with you. You need not say more."

This left Haotian somewhat embarrassed. Zhunti's words were practically the same as telling him to shut up.

Though angered in his heart, Haotian still responded lucidly, "I obey the Saint's command."

Before Saints, though Haotian was furious, he knew his place.

As for Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa, they simply ignored Haotian in the void. In their eyes, a mere Heavenly Emperor dared not influence Saints. He truly did not know his own limits... In the void, Zhunti looked indifferently at the three human race Sovereigns. "You are far too arrogant. Today, I shall teach you another lesson..."

As his words fell, a vast Saintly aura descended, making the world tremble.

Fuxi, Hong Yun, and Xuanyuan, the three Sovereigns, felt their hearts quake as they sensed an unprecedented terror.

Even the circulation of Saintly aura could not calm their unease.

Zhunti's Saintly divine ability, the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, manifested directly, yet it failed to shake them in the slightest.

The honor of the three human race Sovereigns was the crystallization of the human race's will. They stood independent, self-governing, and self-strengthening.