The suffocating sense of gravity in the world did not completely dissipate with Hongjun's admission of defeat.
on the contrary.
The atmosphere became even more eerie because of that unexpected question.
All eyes were focused on the man in the blue robe who had one hand in his pocket and looked nonchalant.
Hongjun is waiting for an answer.
All living beings in the Primordial World are also waiting for an answer.
What is the background of this man who cannot be suppressed even by the Heavenly Dao and whose fate cannot be fathomed even by the Jade Plate of Creation?
Qin Feng looked into Hongjun's eyes, which were filled with inquiry and apprehension, the smile on his lips gradually faded.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he leisurely and casually put the Chaos Bead, which was enough to shock everyone, back into his pocket.
The movement was as casual as if he were putting away a newly bought tea egg.
Then.
He took a step forward and stood with his hands behind his back.
His previous lazy demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by an indescribable aloofness.
It was an indifference that placed one above all living beings, even above the rules.
"Who I am?"
Qin Feng repeated the question softly.
The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated into everyone's ears.
He raised his eyelids, his gaze calmly fixed on the Dao Ancestor who had ruled the Primordial World for countless years, and said, word by word:
"There are Three Thousand Great Daos and endless rules in this world."
"You operate within the rules, yet you believe you are in control of everything."
"And I..."
Qin Feng stretched out his index finger, pointed to the sky, then to the ground, and finally to Hongjun's aged face.
"I am the one who transcends the Three Realms and is outside the Five Elements, here specifically to subdue all those who dare to defy me."
To put it simply...
"I am someone you can't afford to offend."
boom!
These words were like a meteorite crashing into a calm lake.
Yuanshi Tianzun had just gotten halfway up from the ground when he heard these words, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt back down.
mad.
That's outrageous.
This is practically pointing fingers at the Dao Ancestor and insulting him!
Throughout the entire Primordial World, since the World Creation, who has dared to speak to Hongjun like this?
Even the Demon Ancestor Luohu back then wouldn't dare say that he was someone the Dao Ancestor "couldn't afford to offend"!
"You..."
Zhunti Daoren pointed at Qin Feng, his lips trembling. He wanted to curse him for being ignorant and arrogant, but because of the intimidation of the Chaos Bead just now, he swallowed his words back.
Everyone thought Hongjun would fly into a rage.
after all.
As the representative of Heaven's Way, being humiliated like this in person is something no one could tolerate.
However.
To everyone's surprise...
Hongjun was not angry.
He gave Qin Feng a deep look, his eyes, which seemed to hold the very essence of the universe, flashing with countless complex emotions.
There was surprise, there was contemplation, and even a hint of... relief.
Yes, it's about letting go.
In Hongjun's view, although Qin Feng's words were arrogant, they precisely confirmed his suspicions.
If one did not come from a world of a higher dimension than the Primordial World, and if one did not possess a background that transcends the Heavenly Dao, who would dare to have such confidence?
The Chaos Bead cannot be faked.
That attitude of disregarding the laws of nature cannot be faked.
The young man before him was indeed someone that Hongjun could not afford to offend.
Losing to someone like that is not shameful.
"What a formidable opponent!"
a long time.
Hongjun exhaled a long breath, and in that instant, he seemed to age a few years, but also relaxed a little.
He tapped the ground lightly with his bamboo cane, making a crisp thud.
"I have learned a great deal."
These five words were uttered.
Yuanshi Tianzun was completely dumbfounded.
The Fly Whisk in Laozi's hand fell to the ground.
The two bitter faces of Jieyin and Zhunti instantly contorted into an abstract painting.
Been taught a lesson?
The Dao Ancestor actually said he had learned something?
This is not just admitting defeat; it's acknowledging Qin Feng's status, even admitting that Qin Feng is superior to him!
"If that's the case..."
Hongjun turned around, no longer looking at Qin Feng, but instead turning his gaze to his four disciples who were still bewildered in the wind.
His eyes instantly turned cold.
The previous helplessness and compromise turned into a cold and stern expression of disappointment and frustration.
"This matter began with you, and it will end with you."
"As a saint, he is narrow-minded, scheming against his fellow disciples, and even going so far as to trigger a great calamity, using such despicable means to oppress his juniors."
"They have utterly disgraced the saints."
Hongjun's voice was like ice that had stood for ten thousand years, making the Four Saints tremble.
"Now."
"Past."
Hongjun pointed his bamboo staff at Qin Feng, and then at the group of ragged Jie Sect Disciple behind Qin Feng.
"For Fellow Daoist Qin Feng, for Tongtian, for the entire Interception Sect."
"Apologize."
What?!
These two words were even more devastating to the Four Saints than when Qin Feng pulled out the Chaos Bead.
Yuanshi Tianzun suddenly looked up, his face full of disbelief, the veins on his neck bulging, and his face as red as a congested pig's liver.
"Teacher! What did you say?!"
"Should we apologize to that bunch of creatures that hatch from eggs and grow fur and horns?!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
who is he?
He is the leader of the Chan Sect! He is the Pangu Orthodox Lineage! He is the Yuanshi Tianzun who values his reputation more than his life!
It's one thing to make him apologize to Tongtian, after all, he's his junior brother.
Could he really apologize to Qin Feng, this greenhorn, and to that group of the Interception Sect ants he wouldn't even bother to look at normally?
This is worse than killing him!
"That's right, teacher!"
Zhunti also jumped up, looking aggrieved and unwilling.
"Our Western Teachings has suffered heavy losses, and now we are expected to apologize? What kind of logic is this?"
"I'm not going!"
"I'd rather die than go!"
The Four Saints stood with their necks stiff, looking as if they would rather die than submit.
If they apologize, how will they ever survive in the Primordial World again? Even if they are saints, they will become a laughing stock in all realms!
"Not going?"
Hongjun narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.
"It seems that I haven't made a move in a long time, and you've forgotten the rules of the Purple Heavens Palace."
"Or do you think that I am now under someone else's control and therefore can no longer manage you?"
The words had barely left his mouth.
An overwhelmingly terrifying pressure from the Heavenly Dao instantly enveloped the Four Saints.
That was not a force for killing or destroying external enemies.
Rather, it came from the bloodline suppression of the master, and from the absolute control of the Heavenly Dao over the Saint Position.
Thump!
The Four Saints felt their legs sink, as if they were carrying Primordial Divine Mountain on their backs. Their knees involuntarily bent, and they slammed heavily into the ground.
"Apologize."
"Or, I may strip you of your Saint Position now and banish you to the Nine Netherworlds, where you will never be reincarnated."
Hongjun's voice was devoid of any emotion.
He's sacrificing a pawn to save the king.
This was also a way of showing sincerity to Qin Feng.
Since they couldn't afford to offend Qin Feng, they could only make do with these disciples.
Compared to the destruction of the Primordial World and his own failure to achieve Dao, the face of these disciples is worthless.
"Teacher... teacher..."
Yuanshi Tianzun trembled all over, and the pride in his eyes was crushed to pieces at this moment.
Looking into Hongjun's cold and resolute eyes, he knew that his teacher was not joking.
Saint Position.
That was the fruit of their countless lifetimes of arduous cultivation, the very foundation of their high position.
If the Saint Position is lost...
That moment of fear overwhelmed all my self-esteem.
"I..."
With difficulty, Yuanshi Tianzun turned around, crawled two steps on his knees, and faced Qin Feng's direction.
His head hung low, and with each inch it drooped, it sounded as if he could hear his spine breaking.
"If you're unwilling, then forget it."
Qin Feng suddenly spoke up, picking at his ear with an impatient look on his face.
"I dislike forcing people to do things against their will."
"Anyway, my Chaos Bead has been a bit hungry lately, and it just so happens that it needs a few Primordial Spirit of saints to nourish its body."
As he spoke.
The Chaos Bead in his hand glowed with a hazy gray light once more.
"No! No, no, no!"
Zhunti was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and he banged his head on the ground like he was pounding garlic.
"I apologize! I apologize!"
"Fellow Daoist Qin! Senior Brother Tongtian! Fellow Daoists of the Interception Sect!"
"It was our Two Saints of the West who were bewitched! We were wrong! We deserve to die!"
"Please, Fellow Daoist Qin, show mercy and put that bead away!"
With Zhunti the way, once the psychological defenses collapse, the rest becomes much easier.
Jieyin also lowered his head, muttering obscure and difficult-to-understand apologies.
Laozi sighed. Although he wasn't as pathetic as the Two Saints of the West, he still bowed deeply, acknowledging his defeat.
at last.
Only Yuanshi Tianzun remained.
He clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled.
Feeling the countless mocking, gleeful, and contemptuous gazes around him, he felt as if he had been stripped naked and paraded through the bustling city.
" Yuanshi."
Hongjun coldly urged him on.
Yuanshi Tianzun closed his eyes, and two lines of humiliated tears slid down his cheeks.
"The events of today..."
"It is our Chan Sect... that is wrong."
"Sorry."
The sound was as faint as a mosquito's hum, but in the deathly Boundary Breaker Pass, it was like a thunderclap.
We won.
We really won.
The Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at his four senior brothers, who were usually unapproachable and had always suppressed and ostracized him, now kneeling on the ground like dogs, apologizing.
He smiled.
As I laughed, tears began to stream down my face.
How many years has it been?
Since the beginning of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, how much humiliation has the Interception Sect suffered? How many disciples have died?
Today, we have finally avenged our defeat!
"Speak louder, haven't you eaten yet?"
Qin Feng clearly didn't intend to let them off so easily.
"Weren't you shouting 'fight!' quite loudly just now?"
"One more time."
"Speak properly to Yun Xiao and Zhao Gongming over there."
The Four Saints trembled with rage, but under Hongjun's murderous gaze, they could only swallow their anger, raise their voices, and repeat the humiliating apology once more.
This scene.
This is enough to be recorded in the annals of Primordial World history.
The sage bowed his head, Dao Ancestor yielded.
This moment.
The old mythological system collapsed.
A new legend is rising from these ruins.
"Get out."
Qin Feng, seeing that it was about time, waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies.
"Remember to bring your brain next time you go out."
"If you dare mess with my people again, I'll twist your heads off and use them as footballs."
The Four Saints were granted a general amnesty.
They didn't even dare to look up at Qin Feng, nor did they dare to say goodbye to Hongjun. They turned into four disheveled streaks of light and disappeared into the sky in an instant.
That speed.
It's more than ten times faster than when we arrived.
Hongjun watched this scene, a hint of weariness flashing in his eyes.
He gave Qin Feng a deep look, said nothing more, and his figure gradually faded away, merging into the void.
This time.
It's really over.
As the large Buddha statues departed, the dark clouds over Boundary Breaker Pass completely dissipated.
The sun shines on the earth once more.
Qin Feng stood in mid-air and slowly turned around.
He was greeted.
They were countless pairs of eyes filled with fervor, worship, and awe.
Especially the Yun Xiao at the very front.
This usually dignified and composed older sister, who remained calm even in the face of a collapsing Mount Tai, was now staring intently at the man's figure.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with mist.
The love and adoration within were so intense they almost overflowed.
This is her man.
This is the man she said she would protect for life.
turn out to be.
The one who has always been protected is herself.
Qin Feng's heart softened when he saw Yun Xiao's tearful appearance.
He shed his sharp aura and reverted to being the warm-smiling young man he always was.
Open your arms.
"Come over."
Without the slightest hesitation.
Yun Xiao transformed into a fragrant breeze and, in front of tens of thousands of the Interception Sect immortals, rushed headlong into that generous embrace.
Hold her tight.
It was as if she wanted to merge herself into his very bones.
"Brother Qin..."
"I am here."
Qin Feng gently stroked her hair, his gaze sweeping over the cheering immortals of the Interception Sect below, finally settling on the distant rising sun.
A confident smile curved his lips.
The old gods are dead.
A new king shall rise.
This Primordial World sky.
From today onwards, my surname is Qin.