Although more than a hundred years had passed, Gong Gong and Zhu Rong's battle had yet to end. Their strength was evenly matched, and they fought fiercely, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.
Some Mediate, Some Stir Trouble
Although Zhu Rong and Gong Gong fought with only their physical bodies on Buzhou Mountain, they had still reduced many peaks to flat ground. Wherever they battled became either glaciers or seas of fire.
Such was the might of the Ancestral Witches. Moving mountains and filling seas was as easy as lifting a hand to them.
Watching the two Ancestral Witches fight until heaven and earth shook, Hong Yun frowned.
He was somewhat worried that their fierce battle might affect his Opportunity.
Some precious Opportunities were fragile and could be directly destroyed by the aftershocks of Gong Gong and Zhu Rong's battle.
For instance, this Chaos Gourd Vine was the foremost innate spiritual root, the essence condensed by heaven and earth.
Its emergence did not release an obvious beam of divine light. Instead, it sent endless divine light toward Beyond the Heavens, so divine radiance now filled the skies over all of Buzhou Mountain. Finding the Chaos Gourd Vine would require effort and careful sensing.
If Gong Gong and Zhu Rong kept fighting and disturbed the divine object, causing Hong Yun and the others to lose their sense of Opportunity, it would be difficult for them to find it.
Therefore, Hong Yun could no longer stand by. He wanted to stop the two Ancestral Witches from continuing their battle.
He went directly to the two Ancestral Witches and called out, "Fellow Daoists of the Witch Clan, stop fighting!"
"Oh? So it's Hong Yun and Zhenyuanzi."
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong temporarily stopped, both panting slightly from exhaustion.
They had both fought with all their strength. After battling for over a hundred years like this, ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals would likely have long exhausted their blood and qi and died on the spot.
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong had seen Hong Yun and Zhenyuanzi in Zixiao Palace before. Though they could not remember the Great Dao explained by Fuxi, they could still remember what the two looked like.
Seeing them stop, Hong Yun said gently, "You two are siblings with the same origin. Why must you turn your fists against each other?"
Zhu Rong roared, "Because Gong Gong said I'm the weakest among the Twelve Ancestral Witches!"
"You are the weakest to begin with."
Zhu Rong said coldly.
"Gong Gong, are you asking for another beating?"
"Then fight! I'm not afraid of you!"
Seeing Gong Gong and Zhu Rong start arguing again, Hong Yun hurried forward and stood between them, afraid that they would resume fighting.
Hong Yun persuaded them, "In my opinion, you were both formed from Great God Pangu's Essence Blood. Your cultivation and physiques are evenly matched. Even if you fought for ten million years, I fear there would still be no clear victor."
"Hm? Then tell us, how should we decide who wins?"
Flames poured from Zhu Rong's eyes and nostrils.
Hong Yun said, "In my view, you are both exceptional Honghuang experts blessed with fortune and strength, and your cultivation has reached the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. If you wish to see who is stronger, compare the speed of your breakthroughs."
"For example, see who reaches the Grand Unity Peak first. Whoever breaks through first must be stronger."
Gong Gong nodded. "That does sound reasonable."
Zhu Rong looked at Gong Gong and said, "Then I'll let you off this time. Let's see who reaches the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal first!"
"Whoever breaks through later will be the weakest among the Ancestral Witches!"
"Fine! I, Gong Gong, will definitely be the first to break through!"
Gong Gong said, puffing out his chest.
Hong Yun smiled faintly. Stopping the battle between the two Ancestral Witches was highly beneficial to his search for Opportunity.
Now, he could go with Zhenyuanzi to search for the source of that divine light.
However, just as Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun prepared to set out, two streaks of golden immortal light suddenly flew toward Buzhou Mountain from Beyond the Heavens.
The two streaks of immortal light eventually stopped near the mountain peak where Hong Yun stood.
As the immortal light dispersed, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Di Jun appeared.
"I wondered which great immortals had come to our Buzhou Mountain. So it's you two mangy birds!"
The moment he saw Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Di Jun, Zhu Rong directly called the two Golden Crows mangy birds.
Gong Gong's gaze toward them was also filled with intense disgust and hostility.
Upon hearing Zhu Rong's words, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Di Jun's expressions turned cold.
"Hmph! Two brainless barbarians dare spout such nonsense?"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi immediately shot back.
At present, conflicts between the Witch Clan and the demon race were constant, with clashes occurring frequently.
Although the two great races had not yet erupted into a world-shaking war, the Ancestral Witches and the demon race's Grand Unity Golden Immortals had long found each other unbearable.
Both races had extremely violent temperaments, so Gong Gong and the Eastern Emperor began insulting and provoking each other the moment they met.
Faced with the friction between the Witch Clan and the demon race, Hong Yun and Zhenyuanzi's expressions became grim.
Although Hong Yun enjoyed playing peacemaker, he truly had no confidence in persuading both sides not to fight over a conflict that had escalated to racial enmity.
The instant Zhu Rong and Gong Gong heard the words "brainless," their tempers flared. They immediately cursed, "Eastern Emperor, Di Jun, you demons truly are shameless. You come to the Witch Clan's territory and still dare bark like dogs?"
"Hmph! What makes you think this is the Witch Clan's territory?"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi glared arrogantly at Gong Gong and Zhu Rong. "I think Buzhou Mountain has splendid scenery. From now on, the demon race can establish its headquarters atop Buzhou Mountain."
Eastern Emperor Taiyi's words were an outright provocation against Zhu Rong and Gong Gong. The Witch Clan's headquarters lay beneath Buzhou Mountain, so the demon race was trying to seize their territory.
Flames erupted all over Zhu Rong's body in fury. Pointing at Eastern Emperor Taiyi, he cursed, "Mangy bird, you demons think you deserve to occupy Buzhou Mountain? If you dare come here, I'll beat you so badly you won't even be able to crawl!"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi said disdainfully, "You? Your Ancestral Witches are no match for our demon race's Grand Unity Golden Immortals."
"Eastern Emperor Taiyi, do you want a fight?"
Frost suddenly spread across the ground around Gong Gong.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi said arrogantly, "Hmph! You two brainless savages—alone, I can suppress both of you."
"You're courting death! I'll pluck every last feather from you!"
With an angry roar, Zhu Rong swung his fist at Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
Gong Gong also condensed an iceberg and hurled it at Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
Although Zhu Rong and Gong Gong did not get along, they still understood what mattered when it came to their race, and chose to attack Eastern Emperor Taiyi together.
Yet Eastern Emperor Taiyi showed no fear. He directly took out an ancient bronze bell and threw it toward Zhu Rong and Gong Gong.
The bronze bell looked ordinary, but it was the famed Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Bell.
The moment the Eastern Emperor brought out the Chaos Bell, heaven and earth changed color. The Chaos Bell expanded to the size of a mountain and descended toward Zhu Rong and Gong Gong.
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong both activated the power of their physical bodies, intending to resist the Chaos Bell's might with their flesh.
However, the Chaos Bell was an Innate Supreme Treasure. Though Zhu Rong and Gong Gong possessed incredibly formidable bodies, they could only struggle to resist its suppression under the Innate Supreme Treasure's power.
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong furiously struck the Chaos Bell, but it remained completely unaffected. Instead, their fists were jolted open, flesh splitting and blood flowing.
The Three Pure Ones' Prestige
"Hmph! If all Twelve Ancestral Witches were here, I would need to take you seriously. But the two of you are simply not worth looking at."
Eastern Emperor Taiyi manifested his Dharma Form and hefted the Chaos Bell, smashing it viciously toward Zhu Rong and Gong Gong.
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong could not withstand the Chaos Bell's might at all. They were sent flying, their bodies shattered and blood flowing.
Yet Zhu Rong and Gong Gong had been formed from Pangu's Essence Blood, and their physical bodies were extraordinarily powerful. Though injured, all their wounds healed between breaths.
Still, both wore ugly expressions. They simply had no way to deal with Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who possessed a Chaos Supreme Treasure.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi put away the Chaos Bell and laughed wildly. "I thought the Twelve Ancestral Witches' physical bodies were so powerful. Turns out they can't even withstand a single strike from me."
Gong Gong's face turned green with rage. He shouted, "If you have the guts, put away the Chaos Bell and fight me fairly with your body! Even if I give you one hand, I can still tear that mouth of yours apart!"
"Hahaha!"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi laughed. "Why should I put away the Chaos Bell? The Chaos Bell is my treasure. I can use it however I wish."
"Would you also demand that someone who cultivates the sword path fight you without a sword? Keep dreaming! Your Witch Clan can only hide beneath Buzhou Mountain and indulge in fantasies."
Hearing Eastern Emperor Taiyi insult the Witch Clan so viciously, fire blazed in Zhu Rong's eyes. His blood boiled as he roared, "Eastern Emperor Taiyi, I'll kill you!"
With that, Zhu Rong charged at Eastern Emperor Taiyi again.
Though he knew he was no match for Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Zhu Rong simply could not swallow this insult.
Making him bow his head and submit was harder than killing him!
Seeing Zhu Rong charge forward, Eastern Emperor curled his lips into a cold smile, and the Chaos Bell in his hand glimmered faintly.
Since Zhu Rong wanted to court death, Eastern Emperor Taiyi could grant him that wish.
However, just as Eastern Emperor Taiyi prepared to use the Chaos Bell to suppress and kill Zhu Rong, a gigantic hand that covered the sky descended from above and stopped Zhu Rong.
"Fellow Daoist Zhu Rong, please stop."
A voice came from the distant sky.
With fury burning within him, Zhu Rong naturally would not stop. He roared, "Don't stop me!"
Zhu Rong wanted to ram straight through the massive hand condensed from mana, then attack Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
Unfortunately, Zhu Rong had not expected the sky-covering hand to be so sturdy. He could not break through it at all.
"Who dares stop me from killing Eastern Emperor Taiyi? Are you from the demon race?"
Zhu Rong shouted.
"Fellow Daoist Zhu Rong, the three of us have no intention of involving ourselves in the conflict between the Witch Clan and the demon race. We merely fear that you will perish, causing the two races to go to war and bring calamity upon all living beings."
The earlier voice rang out again as an azure cloud slowly drifted over.
Upon the azure cloud, Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Sect Master Tongtian appeared before everyone.
"Oh, so it's the Three Pure Ones."
Seeing that the three great Honghuang powers of the Three Pure Ones had stopped him, Zhu Rong did not speak harshly to them and displayed some restraint.
Before you continue