Qin Feng slowly withdrew his hand, the motion casual and effortless, as though he had not just slapped a Chan Sect Golden Immortal into oblivion, but merely swatted a clueless mosquito to death.
That composure, that nonchalance, made Shi Ji's eyelids twitch behind him. Her Dao Heart had been shattered beyond recognition and still had not managed to piece itself back together.
Taiyi Zhenren, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, Yuanshi Tianzun's direct disciple.
And just like that... he was gone?
Man and magical treasure alike, he had been slapped so hard that he did not even count as a shooting star vanishing beyond the horizon. He had simply evaporated from the world.
Shi Ji felt as if the worldview of the Primordial World she had built over countless epochs had shattered into dust at this moment.
This was even more absurd than a dream.
Skeleton Mountain had fallen completely silent.
The two young attendants, Biyun and Caiyun, had long since collapsed to the ground in terror. Their mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg, yet they could not make a sound. They could only stare stupidly at that upright back, as towering as a divine mountain.
Qin Feng paid no attention to the three master and servants behind him, who were nearly petrified.
His gaze first drifted casually toward the distant sky where Taiyi Zhenren had vanished. A faint curve touched his lips, carrying three parts mockery and seven parts disdain.
Then, those profound eyes, as though they held an entire starry sky within them, slowly lifted. His gaze pierced through layers of clouds, ignoring the distance of space and time as it fixed directly upon two directions above the Thirty-three Heavens.
One was the Immortal Qi-shrouded, majestic and boundless Grand Pure Palace.
The other was the even more ethereal Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain, filled with supreme Yuqing Immortal Light.
Seeing this, Shi Ji's heart, which had just been shocked nearly to a stop, suddenly leaped into her throat again.
He... what was he planning to do?
Was sending Taiyi Zhenren flying not enough?
He was looking toward the Heavenly Court and Jade Void Palace. Was he going to...
A thought that made Shi Ji's scalp go numb, one she scarcely dared contemplate, frantically surfaced in her mind.
At that moment, Qin Feng spoke.
His voice was not loud, calm and plain, as if he were merely mentioning something insignificant.
Yet that voice seemed to contain an inviolable truth of heaven and earth. It became the voice of the Great Dao, ignoring every formation and restriction as it spread with perfect clarity to every corner of the Primordial Three Realms, resounding beside the ears of every living being.
"Taiyi of the Chan Sect bullied the master of my cave abode without cause."
Boom!
The instant those words rang out, Shi Ji felt as though a Chaos Divine Thunder had struck her mind. With a hum, it went completely blank.
What did he say?
Bullied the master... of his cave abode?
The master of the cave abode he mentioned was... me?
At that moment, what rose within Shi Ji was not shock, but an unprecedented scorching warmth that made her delicate body tremble faintly.
She had thought that this mysterious powerhouse might have acted on a whim, or perhaps because he disapproved of Taiyi's tyranny.
But she had never imagined that the moment he opened his mouth, he would place her directly beneath his protection.
Bullying her was the same as bullying him!
Those words gave her more reassurance than any divine ability or magical treasure ever could.
Yet before Shi Ji could recover from that sudden sense of belonging, Qin Feng's next words threw the entire Primordial World into an unprecedented upheaval.
Qin Feng's voice suddenly turned cold.
That calmness vanished, replaced by a supreme dominance that allowed neither doubt nor defiance.
"Today, the Chan Sect and the Heavenly Court must give Fellow Daoist Shi Ji and me an explanation."
"Otherwise, I do not mind personally visiting Jade Void Palace and the Grand Pure Palace!"
The moment those words fell, heaven and earth fell silent!
The wind stopped, the clouds scattered, and even the flow of time across the primordial continent seemed to freeze at that instant.
Shi Ji's entire body stiffened. Her already enormous phoenix eyes widened to an unimaginable degree, her red lips parting slightly, yet she had forgotten even how to breathe.
Mad!
This man had to be mad!
Did he know what he was saying?
He was demanding accountability from both the Chan Sect and the Heavenly Court at once?
And he wanted to personally visit Jade Void Palace and the Grand Pure Palace?
What kind of places were those?
That was the sacred ground of Yuanshi Tianzun, the saint beneath the Dao Ancestor!
That was the residence of the Jade Emperor, ruler of the Three Realms personally invested by the Dao Ancestor!
Since Pangu had opened heaven and earth, aside from the former demon race's Di Jun and Tai Yi, who had dared to be so arrogant as to declare war on both of these supreme forces of the Primordial World at once?
This was no longer mere audacity. He was using his own path and life to challenge the heavenly order of the entire Primordial World!
Yet what surged from the depths of Shi Ji's heart was not fear.
The instant Qin Feng said, "give Fellow Daoist Shi Ji and me an explanation," she felt her Dao Heart—the Dao Heart that Taiyi Zhenren had trampled until it was covered in cracks—instantly repaired by an incomparably powerful force. It even became firmer and more radiant than before.
Her delicate body, which had trembled in despair, was still trembling faintly.
But this time, it was not from fear or humiliation. It was from an unprecedented excitement and reassurance that made her very soul quiver!
Never before.
Never had anyone stood up for her with such force.
For her, he did not hesitate to openly become enemies with a saint's Orthodox Lineage and the ruler of the Three Realms.
At that moment, Qin Feng's back, though not especially broad, rose infinitely in Shi Ji's eyes. It became more majestic than sky-supporting Buzhou Mountain and more unreachable than the Thirty-three Heavens.
The way she looked at Qin Feng had completely changed.
From her initial shock, to confusion, to this moment, it had become the purest, most burning admiration and longing.
It was as though he were her heaven, her Dao, the only faith of her life.
At the same time, Qin Feng's voice exploded beside the ears of the foremost Great Powers from all the major forces of the Primordial World like hundreds of millions of thunderclaps.
Thirty-three Heavens, Grand Pure Palace.
Immortal Music drifted through the air, and divine light shone brilliantly.
The Jade Emperor sat high upon the Dragon Throne, admiring the graceful dances of the immortal maidens while exchanging cups with the immortals and gods below. The atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.
Suddenly, that incomparably domineering voice resounded throughout the entire hall without warning.
"Clatter!"
The white jade wine cup in the Jade Emperor's hand fell to the floor and shattered.
The smile on his face instantly froze, his pupils filled with shock and disbelief.
Who was it?
Whose voice could ignore the layers of restrictions within the Grand Pure Palace and enter directly into his ears?
Who dared proclaim that he would visit the Grand Pure Palace?
Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.
The sea of clouds churned, and Saintly Might surged across the heavens.
Yuanshi Tianzun, seated upon the Eight Treasures Cloud Light Seat with his eyes closed as though he had become one with the Great Dao, suddenly opened his eyes.
At that instant, two streams of Chaos divine light, containing endless slaughter and the fury of the heavenly way, burst from his eyes. They pierced through the void in an instant, causing the entire Jade Void Palace to shake violently.
A terrifying, bone-chilling rage that made even the myriad immortals tremble erupted violently from this saint!
"You insolent wretch, how dare you!"
Beyond the Ninth Heaven, deep within chaos, Wa Palace.
A woman dressed in palace robes, peerlessly elegant and beautiful beyond all description, was idly teasing the koi in a pond.
When Qin Feng's voice reached this place, her jade-like hand paused slightly. A trace of surprise first flashed across her exquisite face, then the corners of her lips slowly curved into an intrigued smile.
"An interesting little fellow..."
"Will this stagnant pool of the Primordial World finally see some ripples?"
Her gaze seemed to pierce through endless time and space, carrying a trace of curiosity and inquiry as it turned toward distant Skeleton Mountain.
Before you continue