Tongtian: This is My Big Brother's Mount Divine Beast!

Zhunti Good Corpse's face had never been so grave, even tinged with a hint of fear.

He stared fixedly at the immortal sword hanging behind the newcomer.

On the blade, Slaughter Dao Principles swirled, and an ancient "Jue" character seemed poised to annihilate eternity itself.

The Juexian Sword!

Thus, the identity of the newcomer was beyond doubt.

Tongtian!

But like himself, this was not Tongtian's Original Body, but one of his Three Corpses.

"I never expected to meet Tongtian Dao Friend in person." Zhunti Good Corpse suppressed all his aura, forcing a faint smile as he greeted him.

Hmph!

Tongtian let out a cold snort, a sound like the Great Dao Divine Thunder, jolting Zhunti Good Corpse's Primordial Spirit.

Tongtian ignored him, instead turning his gaze to Niu Ben and giving him a meaningful look.

Niu Ben, sharp as ever, instantly caught on.

He suddenly opened his mouth, and with a "puff," spat out a large mouthful of golden blood. His once overwhelmingly powerful aura instantly withered, like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of extinguishing at any moment.

"Martial Uncle! You've finally come! If you'd been a step later, this Martial Nephew would truly have been done for today!"

Niu Ben's words were utterly pitiful, filled with the relief and grievance of a narrow escape. In that moment, he was a true drama king, rivaling any acting emperor.

This scene left Zhunti Good Corpse across from him utterly dumbfounded.

What?

Martial Nephew?

This seemingly honest and simple little ox was actually a Disciple of the Three Pure Ones?

And from start to finish, he hadn't touched him even a hair. Where did this earth-shattering injury come from?

Was he trying to pull a scam in the Primordial World?!

Tongtian's gaze, cold enough to freeze time itself, fell back on Zhunti Good Corpse like two World-Creating divine swords.

That gaze held not a shred of emotion, yet contained a terrifying Killing Intent capable of grinding an entire Great Thousand World into dust!

"Zhunti, do you know who he is?"

"You! Actually! Dared! To! Beat! Him! Into! Severe! Injury!"

Tongtian's voice was not loud, but it was like the Dao's divine decree. Each word he uttered made heaven and earth tremble, and from the void itself, billions of fine sword energies burst forth, crisscrossing and slicing everything apart!

"Dao Friend, I did not..."

Zhunti Good Corpse's soul nearly fled in terror. He quickly tried to defend himself, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.

He could feel it—Tongtian was truly enraged!

This madman really dared to disregard everything and fight him right here!

But Tongtian gave him no chance to explain, cutting him off directly.

"This Azure Ox before you is my Big Brother's mount!"

"You've beaten him like this. Tell me yourself, how should this matter be settled?"

Tongtian's words, each one like the unstoppable Zhuxian Sword Qi, struck Zhunti Good Corpse's heart with devastating, world-ending sharpness!

Boom!!!

Holy crap!

Holy freaking crap!!!

At these words, Zhunti Good Corpse's mind felt as if struck by billions of Chaos Divine Thunders at once, instantly going blank!

His heart churned like a storm, as if he'd swallowed eons' worth of accumulated filth. His face, in the span of a single breath, cycled through a dizzying array of colors—green, white, red, purple—before finally locking into a deep, ugly purple!

Taishang Daoist's mount!

It was actually Taishang Daoist's mount!

This seemingly ordinary, even slightly foolish Azure Ox was the mount of that existence!

If it had been some random nobody under the Three Pure Ones, there might have been room to negotiate—maybe compensate with something and settle the score later.

But who was Taishang?

He was the Senior Disciple under Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the future Head of the Three Pure Ones, the universally acknowledged good man of the entire Primordial World, and also a taboo existence no one dared to provoke!

Offend Tongtian, and at worst, you'd be chased for billions of miles by his sword.

Offend Yuanshi, and at worst, you'd be schemed against behind your back and given a hard time.

But offend that seemingly passive Taishang Daoist... the consequences would be unimaginable!

His mount, in a sense, was closer and more important than his so-called nominal disciples!

Beating his mount—especially in front of this Future Second Leader of the Western Teachings' Good Corpse, and "beating" it into severe injury—was no different from slapping Taishang across the face with all one's might, right in front of every Great Expert in the Primordial World!

It was a resounding slap to the face of the future Western Teachings!

Realizing this, a dense layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Zhunti Good Corpse's back. The moment it appeared, it was evaporated into nothingness by the terrifying Sword Intent radiating from Tongtian.

The ugly, liver-purple color on his face faded in an instant, replaced by a brilliant smile so warm and affectionate it seemed to drip with honey.

His face-changing speed was faster than flipping through a book—so fast it could practically be called a divine ability!

"Aiya! Tongtian Dao Friend! Look at this mess! It's truly a case of the flood washing over the Dragon King's temple—family not recognizing family!"

"And you, young friend, why didn't you tell me earlier that you were Taishang Dao Friend's mount? If you had, how could such a earth-shattering misunderstanding have occurred!"

Zhunti Good Corpse's face bloomed like a chrysanthemum in full flower, his words dripping with familiarity and warmth. His enthusiastic demeanor made it seem as if the man who had just stared with icy eyes, ready to kill Niu Ben, was someone else entirely.

He swept his sleeve with a flourish, his posture supremely elegant.

The small flag he had just put away flew out again, turning into a stream of light that landed lightly and docilely before Niu Ben.

"Young friend, you see, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew this item was fated for you, meant to be yours!"

"That's why I specially retrieved it from that Demon King for you—returning it to its rightful owner. Take it, take it quickly!"

Though his heart ached as if bleeding profusely—this was a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure! The Western lands were barren, and every such treasure was priceless!

But now, to appease the Three Pure Ones' wrath, he had no choice.

Seeing this, a bright light flashed in Niu Ben's eyes. He took the small flag without any hesitation, swept his divine sense over it, erased the marks of the Demon King and Zhunti, imprinted his own, and stowed it away.

Yet even after doing all this, he still clutched his chest tightly, grimacing in pain. His face was twisted in agony, and his whole body swayed as if on the verge of collapse, about to breathe his last and return to the underworld.

"Martial Uncle... Tongtian Martial Uncle..."

Niu Ben mustered all his strength to let out a faint cry, his voice as thin as a thread.

"My chest hurts so much... I feel like my five organs, six viscera, eight extraordinary meridians, and even my Nascent Soul Dao Fruit have all been shattered..."

"This injury is too severe... I'm afraid it'll take tens of thousands of years before I can recover..."

Tongtian said nothing.

He only shot Niu Ben a knowing look.