Hongjun Takes Action, Ceasefire (2)

Seeing that Taiyi had already pinned down the Earth Veins with the Chaos Bell, Di Jun burst into laughter. "Fellow Taoist Taiqing, the Bodhi Tree belongs to metal, while Bitter Bamboo belongs to wood. The two of us should join forces and burn them for a while. This formation will break soon enough."

Laozi nodded. "Second Brother, Third Brother, watch carefully. Fellow Taoist Di Jun and I will burn their grand formation. Keep an eye on them—if either of them tries to run, wipe out every disciple on Mount Sumeru. This is called: Zhunti may escape, but Mount Sumeru cannot."

Seeing this, Zhunti could no longer endure it. "Senior brother, we can't hold on anyway. Let's go out and fight them to the death." With that, he directly withdrew the grand formation and charged out with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in hand. "You've gone too far! If you want a fight, then fight!"

Taiyi retrieved the Chaos Bell and called out loudly, "Zhunti, we won't bully the two of you brothers either. Well, choose for yourself—one-on-one, or a group brawl?"

Zhunti chuckled upon hearing this. "And what would one-on-one be? What would a group brawl be?"

Taiyi rubbed his hands together. "One-on-one means you fight the five of us alone. A group brawl means the five of us beat the two of you..."

Zhunti was instantly speechless. "Aren't you afraid the Dao Ancestor will blame you for acting like this? We are all fellow listeners of the Purple Firmament Palace—why must you make things so difficult for me?"

Tong Tian immediately stepped forward. "Heh, we're all fellow listeners of the Purple Firmament Palace, so why the hell are you bullying my son?" The moment he finished speaking, a streak of Sword Qi shot from the Qingping Sword in his hand straight at Zhunti's face.

Zhunti showed no courtesy either. Seven-colored Glazed Radiance bloomed from the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in his hand and swept toward Tong Tian.

Yun Ting shouted, "Father, catch the sword! This sword can break the Seven Treasures Glazed Light." As he spoke, he sent the Hun Yuan Sword into Tong Tian's hand. The instant Tong Tian received it, he knew this sword was extraordinary, its might surpassing even the Qingping Sword. This sword is rather interesting. An Innate Supreme Treasure? I wonder where this brat got it.

Then, without giving it further thought, he sent waves of Sword Qi crashing down upon Zhunti.

Seeing his Third Brother make a move, Yuanshi did not remain idle. He gave Big Brother a look; one brought out the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, while the other wielded the Coiling Dragon Crooked Staff, and together they struck at Zhunti.

Jieyin was just about to help when—DUANG! DUANG! DUANG!—three bell chimes rang out, echoing across Mount Sumeru. Taiyi had acted, stopping Jieyin. "We're only here to cause trouble for Zhunti. But if you make a move, then us brothers can't very well refrain from dealing with you too."

Jieyin's face twisted bitterly. "Junior brother, it's still better for one person to get beaten than for two to get beaten. This time, your senior brother truly can't help you."

Inside the Purple Firmament Palace, Hongjun developed a headache and communicated with the Heavenly Dao. "Heavenly Dao, the Three Pure Ones have now become friendly with Di Jun and Taiyi of the Sun Star, and they have even joined them in causing trouble for Jieyin and Zhunti. Will things still be controllable in the future?"

"Controllable, controllable. This isn't even the third lecture at the Purple Firmament Palace yet, so what are you panicking for? Oh, and keep watch. Don't let Jieyin and Zhunti get beaten to death, or it will affect your merging with the Dao." The Heavenly Dao Dharma Wheel turned three times within Hongjun's Sea of Consciousness as it spoke.

Upon hearing this, Hongjun directly tore through space and arrived atop Mount Sumeru. He called out, "This humble Taoist could hear Zhunti's wailing even inside the Purple Firmament Palace. Taiqing, tell me—why have you come all the way to Mount Sumeru to trouble Zhunti instead of staying in Kunlun Holy Land?"

Laozi silently stroked his beard. "Dao Ancestor, you cannot blame us for this. Zhunti was the one who started the trouble. My nephew Yun Ting has always been sensible and courteous. He was merely passing by Mount Sumeru when Zhunti stopped him."

Hongjun looked at Yun Ting, then at Zhunti. "Zhunti, did this happen?"

Zhunti wore a deeply aggrieved expression. "Master, they are slandering me! Mahasthamaprapta, a disciple of my Mount Sumeru, was suddenly Entangled by Karma. His Primordial Spirit was directly battered senseless by karma... Now he can only grin foolishly. And when Mahasthamaprapta met with disaster, Yun Ting happened to be passing near Mount Sumeru. How could that possibly be such a coincidence?"

Yun Ting chuckled, craning his neck. "You say it couldn't be such a coincidence, and that makes it so? Do you have any evidence?"

Zhunti chuckled. "Evidence? The Dao Ancestor is here now. If you have no guilty conscience, swear a Heavenly Dao oath: if this matter is related to you, may you suffer the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder. How about it?"

Yun Ting chuckled. "Do you take me for a fool? If it's related to me, I suffer the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder. But if it has nothing to do with me, why should I suffer your baseless suspicions for nothing?"

Jieyin's expression turned bitter. "Then what do you want?"

Yun Ting rubbed his hands together. "If it is related to me, I will suffer the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder. But if it has nothing to do with me, you must compensate me with three Innate Spiritual Treasures. How about it?"

Jieyin shot Zhunti a look. Then Jieyin and Zhunti both threw themselves before the Dao Ancestor, sobbing, "Dao Ancestor, our Western Region has always been desperately poor and bitter. Where could we possibly find three Innate Spiritual Treasures to give him? He simply does not want to swear the oath and is deliberately making things difficult for us."

Their crying gave Hongjun such a headache that he snapped, "Silence. Yun Ting, make the oath. If this matter truly was not your doing, this humble Taoist will give you one Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure." Yet inwardly, he thought, Why has the Heavenly Dao suddenly told me to give him a Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure? Isn't this variable troublesome enough already?