Kunpeng had already made his decision, but he did not agree immediately. If he agreed too readily, how could he negotiate terms?
Di Jun was not in a hurry. He simply waited quietly.
He understood what kind of person Kunpeng was.
Kunpeng felt somewhat speechless. Shouldn't you invite me again, then I hold out a little longer, and then we reach an agreement? Why aren't you saying anything?
A plan had occupied his mind for a long time, but he could never accomplish it through his strength alone.
Now that Di Jun had come to invite him to join the Demon Heavenly Court, this was the perfect opportunity.
The two remained silent for a long while.
Kunpeng was the first to lose patience. Pretending to have made up his mind, he said, "Fellow Daoist Di Jun, I can join the Heavenly Court, but... I have one condition!"
"Please, speak." The corners of Di Jun's mouth lifted slightly. If he invited Kunpeng again, Kunpeng would surely make an exorbitant demand.
But since the other party had brought it up himself, there was room for negotiation.
If it was too difficult to handle, Di Jun naturally would not agree.
Kunpeng said in a low, sinister voice, "In the future, I need the Demon Clan to help me kill Hong Yun!"
"Back in Purple Heaven Palace, if Hong Yun had not given up his seat, I would not have been implicated. One of those seven strands of Primordial Violet Qi would have been mine. Hong Yun has blocked my path to sainthood. This hatred is irreconcilable."
Di Jun had long since considered the matter. There were seven Saints in the Primordial Wilderness, as Ancestor Hongjun had personally declared, perfectly corresponding to the seven strands of Primordial Violet Qi.
He agreed readily, lest Kunpeng harbor resentment toward him. Besides, they both understood without needing to say it aloud.
"I agree to this. In the future, I will surely lead the Demon Clan and help you kill Hong Yun!"
Neither mentioned the Primordial Violet Qi. Once they had joined forces to kill Hong Yun, they could discuss the spoils.
The Primordial Wilderness contained countless Demon Clan members, and from such a vast population, many powerful beings had emerged.
As great powers chose one after another to join the Demon Heavenly Court, Demon Emperor Di Jun and Emperor Taiyi gathered the Demon Clan's powerful experts under their command, and their strength soared.
No years were counted in the Primordial Wilderness.
In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of years had passed.
At this time, the beings of the Primordial Wilderness possessed exceedingly long lifespans. A single nap might last tens of thousands of years.
Especially for Innate Beings. From the moment they were born, they possessed formidable strength. Once they became Grand Luo Golden Immortals, they could transcend the river of time and live as long as heaven and earth.
Thus, time was the least valuable thing in the Primordial Wilderness.
And during these tens of thousands of years,
the landscape of the Primordial Wilderness had quietly undergone enormous changes.
It appeared calm, yet undercurrents surged beneath the surface.
Like the stillness before a storm, it seemed to be brewing a violent tempest.
The three great races gradually began to reveal their prominence.
East Prince Gong, Immortal Emperor of the Purple Mansion Immortal Court, had been personally named the Head of Male Immortals by the Dao Ancestor. With the Two Westerners joining him, many powerful experts had also joined over these tens of thousands of years.
They had now begun expanding. Though the Two Westerners were shameless, the entire Primordial Wilderness had to acknowledge that they were also destined to become Two Saints.
Furthermore, East Prince Gong occupied the position of Head of Male Immortals, so his claim was entirely legitimate.
The Demon Heavenly Court had gathered countless Demon Clan experts. Fuxi became the Demon Clan's Third Emperor, Kunpeng became the Demon Clan's Demon Master, and the Ten Demon Gods had all reached the Quasi-Saint realm. Each Demon God commanded innumerable members of the Demon Clan.
Nuwa was also destined to become a Saint.
The two great powers stood in rivalry.
At this time, the Wu Clan had become the most stable faction, but their strength could not be underestimated. The Twelve Ancestral Witches were each immensely powerful, and they also had nearly a hundred Great Witches.
They claimed the area surrounding Buzhou Mountain as their territory and remained firmly in place.
Yet the Wu Clan was warlike, and its individual members were extremely powerful.
Moreover, they fed on the Demon Clan and frequently captured its members.
In the eyes of the Demon Heavenly Court's experts, East Prince Gong of the Purple Mansion Immortal Court was their primary target. They had no time to concern themselves with those brutish Wu Clan fools.
The Primordial Wilderness was a world where the strong preyed upon the weak. If one was eaten, one could only blame one's own lack of strength.
Kunlun Mountain
Everything was harmonious.
Of course, minor frictions occasionally arose, but they were harmless and quickly resolved. If they truly could not be resolved, they would immediately inform Niu Ben and let him make the decision.
Before the Three Pure Ones attained sainthood, the paths of Primordial Heavenly Lord and Tongtian stood opposed to each other.
Primordial Heavenly Lord expounded the heavenly will and followed the way of heaven, while Tongtian sought to Seize a Thread of Life for all beings. This was tantamount to defying heaven, refusing to submit to it, and going against the heavenly will.
Naturally, their disciples cultivated the paths passed down by their respective masters.
All manner of friction was inevitable.
Moreover, Primordial Heavenly Lord's arrogance was carved into his bones. He looked down upon furred, horned creatures and those born damp or from eggs, yet most of Tongtian's disciples were precisely such beings.
Although Niu Ben acted as a mediator, this was not something that could be resolved overnight.
Today,
Niu Ben was basking in the sun.
Beside him, Bixiao massaged his shoulders while pestering him to tell her stories.
If every day could be this leisurely, Niu Ben felt he could lie there for the rest of his life without getting up.
But just then,
Niu Ben suddenly opened his eyes. It was as though he had sensed a trace of opportunity.
The circulation of the mana within his body abruptly accelerated.
"Is this... am I finally about to break through to Grand Luo Golden Immortal?"
Niu Ben recalled that tens of thousands of years ago, he had already reached the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
He had been only one final step away from Grand Luo Golden Immortal, yet he simply could not break through. At the time, he had felt that the opportunity had not arrived. After accumulating power for tens of thousands of years, he had finally sensed it.
"Senior Brother Niu Ben, what's wrong?" Bixiao noticed something was amiss and hurriedly asked.
"Junior Sister, I need to enter seclusion. I feel that my cultivation is about to break through."
Niu Ben rose to his feet, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
In the Primordial Wilderness, strength was supreme. Whoever had the bigger fist had the final say.
Bixiao was also delighted for Niu Ben. "Senior Brother, then go quickly. An opportunity for a breakthrough vanishes in an instant!"
Niu Ben nodded and quickly returned to his cave abode.
He then sat cross-legged within the cave abode and circulated the Chaos Divine Ox Scripture.
Endless earth-fiend energy formed a gigantic funnel and rapidly poured into Niu Ben's body.
Niu Ben closed his eyes and focused on breaking through.
Again and again, he charged at the realm of Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
Cultivation knew no passage of years.
Time quietly slipped away.
Ten years!
A hundred years!
Until a thousand years later!
The entire Kunlun Mountain suddenly sensed a terrifying aura descend.
The immense pressure forced countless beings across Kunlun Mountain to the ground. Only those at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm could barely withstand it.
The Three Pure Ones were the first to sense this aura.
They opened their eyes at the same time and looked toward Niu Ben's cave abode, their gazes seemingly piercing through space itself.
"Is this the aura of a Thunder Tribulation?" Primordial Heavenly Lord said in surprise.
Tongtian's eyes suddenly lit up, filled with envy. Why had his elder brother received such an excellent disciple?
At first, he too thought a Heavenly Tribulation had descended.
But he quickly sensed that something was wrong.
"Could it be a Form Transformation Heavenly Tribulation?"
Yet as he continued to sense it, it did not seem quite right.
With a thought, his figure appeared in the air above Niu Ben's cave abode.
Taishang had already arrived. He looked up at the terrifying power of Heavenly Tribulation gathering in the void, then turned his gaze toward Niu Ben's cave abode, a trace of confusion appearing in his eyes.
Could this calf have caused it again?
Before you continue