Zhunti's Good Corpse wore an expression more grave than ever before, with even a trace of fear showing through.
He stared fixedly at the immortal sword suspended behind the newcomer's back.
Slaughter Dao Principles flowed across the blade, and an ancient character for "Juexian" seemed capable of severing eternity itself!
The Juexian Sword!
The newcomer's identity was self-evident.
Tongtian!
Yet like him, this was not Tongtian's true body, but one of the Three Corpses.
"I never expected to meet Tongtian Dao Friend here." Zhunti's Good Corpse restrained all his aura and forced out a smile as he greeted him.
Hmph!
Tongtian let out a cold snort. The sound was like Great Dao Divine Thunder, making Zhunti's Good Corpse's Primordial Spirit tremble.
Yet Tongtian ignored him and instead looked at Niu Ben, giving him a meaningful glance.
Niu Ben was exceptionally quick-witted and instantly understood.
He abruptly opened his mouth and, with a pfft, spat out a mouthful of golden blood. The originally incomparably powerful aura around his body instantly withered, like a dying candle in the wind that could go out at any moment.
"Martial Uncle! You finally came! If you had arrived one step later, your martial nephew would truly have died here today!"
Niu Ben's words were incomparably miserable, filled with the relief of surviving a calamity and boundless grievance. At that moment, he was putting on the performance of his life, worthy of an award-winning actor.
This scene left Zhunti's Good Corpse on the opposite side utterly dumbfounded.
What?
Martial nephew?
This little ox, who looked so honest and simple-minded, was actually a Disciple of the Three Pure Ones?
Moreover, from beginning to end, he had not touched him in the slightest. Where had these earth-shaking injuries come from?
Had he just run into the Primordial World's version of a scammer?
Tongtian's icy gaze, enough to freeze time and space, fell once more upon Zhunti's Good Corpse like two World-Creating divine swords.
There was not the slightest emotion in that gaze, yet it contained terrifying killing intent sufficient to grind an entire Great Thousand World into dust!
"Zhunti, do you know who he is?"
"You! Actually! Dared! To! Injure! Him! So! Severely!"
Tongtian's voice was not loud, but it seemed like the voice of the Great Dao itself. Every word made heaven and earth tremble, while countless tiny sword qi appeared from nothing in the void, crisscrossing and cutting through everything!
"Dao Friend, I did not..."
Zhunti's Good Corpse nearly lost his soul and hurriedly tried to explain, his voice carrying an imperceptible tremble.
He could sense that Tongtian was truly enraged!
This madman really dared to disregard everything and fight him here!
However, Tongtian gave him no chance to explain and directly cut him off.
"The Azure Ox before you is my elder brother's mount!"
"Now that you have beaten him into this state, tell me yourself: how should this matter be settled?"
Every word Tongtian spoke was like indestructible Zhuxian Sword Qi, carrying an edge capable of destroying heaven and earth as it viciously stabbed into Zhunti's Good Corpse's heart!
Boom!!!
Fuck!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
Upon hearing those words, Zhunti's Good Corpse felt as though his entire mind had been struck simultaneously by countless Chaos Divine Thunders, instantly going blank!
His heart churned as though he had swallowed countless years' worth of ancient flies. In the span of an instant, his face went through an incomparably complex series of changes—green, white, red, purple—before finally freezing into a dark purplish-red!
Taishang Daoist's mount!
It was actually Taishang Daoist's mount!
This Azure Ox, which looked utterly ordinary and even somewhat foolish, was actually that man's mount!
If it had been some ordinary nobody among the Disciples of the Three Pure Ones, there might still have been room to maneuver. At worst, he could offer some compensation 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, and the universally acknowledged good man of the entire Primordial World. Yet he was also a taboo existence whom absolutely no one wished to provoke!
Offend Tongtian, and at most he would chase you across countless miles with a sword in hand.
Offend Yuanshi, and at most he would scheme against you behind the scenes and make life difficult for you.
But if one offended the seemingly indifferent Taishang Daoist... the consequences were simply unimaginable!
In a sense, his mount was closer to him and more important than those so-called registered disciples under him!
Beating his mount—especially having him "beaten" into grievous injury before the Good Corpse of the Future Second Leader of the Western Teachings—was no different from using all one's strength to slap Taishang across the face in front of every great expert in the Primordial World!
It was also a vicious slap across the face of the future Western Teachings!
Having understood this, Zhunti's Good Corpse instantly broke out in dense cold sweat. The moment it appeared, it was evaporated into nothingness by the terrifying Sword Intent emanating from Tongtian.
The hideous dark purplish-red color vanished from his face in an instant, replaced by a dazzling smile so enthusiastic and warm it seemed capable of dripping honey.
The speed at which he changed expressions was faster than turning a page, so fast it could practically be called a divine ability!
"Aiya! Tongtian Dao Friend! Look at this mess! The flood washed into the Dragon King's temple—we're all family, yet we failed to recognize one another!"
"And you too, little friend. Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were Taishang Dao Friend's mount? Had you said so sooner, how could such an earth-shaking misunderstanding have happened?"
Zhunti's Good Corpse beamed like a blooming chrysanthemum, his words brimming with familiarity and warmth. His enthusiastic attitude made it seem as though the man with the cold gaze who had wanted to kill Niu Ben moments ago had never been him at all.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he struck an exceptionally carefree pose.
The small flag he had only just put away flew out from nowhere once more, turning into a streak of light before gently and obediently landing before Niu Ben.
"Little friend, the very first time I saw you, I knew this item was destined for you and should belong to you!"
"See? I specifically retrieved it from that demon king for you. It has now been returned to its rightful owner, so quickly, accept it, accept it!"
Although his heart was bleeding madly, this was a top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasure! The West was barren, and every Innate Spiritual Treasure was incomparably precious!
But at this moment, in order to appease the anger of the Three Pure Ones, he had no other choice.
Seeing this, Niu Ben's eyes flashed. Without the slightest courtesy, he grabbed the small flag, swept it with his divine sense, erased the marks left by the demon king and Zhunti, branded it with his own mark, and stored it away.
After doing all that, he still clutched his chest tightly, baring his teeth in pain. His expression was agonized to the extreme, and his whole body swayed unsteadily, as though he would breathe his last and return his soul to the Underworld the very next second.
"Martial Uncle... Martial Uncle Tongtian..."
Niu Ben used all his strength to let out a weak call, his voice faint as a thread.
"My chest hurts so much. It feels as though my internal organs, extraordinary meridians, eight channels, and even my Nascent Soul Dao Fruit have all been shattered by the impact..."
"These injuries are too severe. Without at least tens of thousands of years, I absolutely will not be able to recover..."
Tongtian said nothing.
He merely gave Niu Ben a look that said, You know what to do.
Before you continue