The Two Colorful Immortals

About half an hour later, at the foot of Mount Buzhou, outside Nuwa's elegant Daoist sanctuary, space rippled with a faint yet distinct tremor, like a stone dropped into a still lake.

The first to step out of the rippling void was Xuan Wazi.

He stood tall and composed. His moon-white Daoist robe was as spotless as ever, immaculate, without even the slightest wrinkle to be found. His long black hair was meticulously tied behind his head, his complexion rosy, his aura steady and deep. There was even a trace of the comfort and lingering satisfaction of having just stretched his limbs in his profound eyes. A faint smile rested on his lips as he stood with his hands behind his back, as though he had not just gone to the perilous edge of chaos to "spar" with two mighty cultivators of the same realm, but had merely taken a stroll through a garden and enjoyed the view. His entire bearing radiated calm ease and effortless confidence.

The moment he steadied himself, his gaze casually swept over the surroundings, and he happened to spot Nuwa in the distant clouds. At some point, she had already returned and was watching from behind the rosy glow. Xuan Wazi's smile immediately brightened. He deliberately winked at her with the tiniest motion, carrying a hint of mischief and the smugness of Hurry up and praise me.

Almost the instant he found his footing, the spatial ripple behind him suddenly twisted violently, as if something were struggling to squeeze its way out. Immediately afterward, a rather miserable figure stumbled drunkenly out of the void, nearly pitching headfirst onto the ground.

It was Ancestor Hong Yun!

But where was the bearing of a top-tier mighty cultivator of the Primordial World, a guest of Zixiao Palace, and a famously kind man?

His carefully pinned hair bun had long since come completely undone, like a bird's nest ravaged by wind and rain. Several strands of graying hair stubbornly stuck up and swayed in the breeze, while traces of gray chaotic dust clung to them. He looked utterly disheveled.

Most eye-catching of all was his face—his left eye socket was black and purple, swollen high, with the heavy eyelid drooping until only a narrow slit remained. It was a freshly made, premium-quality panda eye! The corner of his right eye was bruised as well, though far less severely. One corner of his mouth was split open, with darkened, dried blood still lingering there, making his speech leak air and look rather comical. His iconic crimson robe, once dazzlingly bright, was now wrinkled like dried pickled vegetables. Several gray footprints were clearly stamped across his chest, back, and sleeves. The footprint on his chest in particular was especially distinct, silently recounting the "inhumane" treatment he had suffered in chaos.

One hand still clutched at his dull, aching chest, while his face twisted with pain, grievance, fury, and deep helplessness. His other hand... was tightly gripping someone's arm, laboriously dragging that person out of the spatial fluctuations that had yet to fully settle.

The one he dragged out like a sack was none other than the master of Wuzhuang Temple, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals—Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi!

On the surface, Zhen Yuanzi appeared to be in slightly better condition than Hong Yun, but a closer look showed that his sorry state was just as shocking.

His usually ancient and dignified face, which inspired reverence at first glance, had fortunately not gained any new "colors" and retained its original complexion. Yet his face was flushed an abnormal red, with occasional flashes of pallor, clearly showing that Xuan Wazi's overwhelmingly tyrannical power had left his internal breath in disarray and his blood and qi churning violently. His exposed neck and the backs of his hands, however, were mottled blue and purple with bruises, as though someone had overturned a dye shop. The outer side of his right thigh was especially bad. His robe there had completely torn apart, revealing a large, swollen, shiny bruise of such deep purple that it was nearly black. Just looking at it made one feel unbearable pain. His Heaven and Earth Crown, a symbol of his status and majesty, sat crookedly atop his head, swaying as though it might fall into the dust at any moment. His aura was chaotic, his steps unsteady, and as Hong Yun dragged him along, he could barely remain standing. Clearly, in order to withstand Xuan Wazi's storm-like assault in chaos, both his cultivation and his mind had been depleted to the extreme, leaving him on the verge of collapse.

These two mighty figures, revered throughout the Primordial World and renowned for countless yuanhui, looked several times more miserable than even street thugs who had lost a brawl and then been cornered for a brutal beating! And they had both been "educated" into this state by the same man, through an almost one-sided crushing and humiliating ordeal.

Not far away, Fuxi had been guarding Tongtian, who was still in enlightenment, while silently observing the commotion in the direction of chaos. When he saw the astonishing sight of the "colorful" Hong Yun struggling out of the void while dragging Zhen Yuanzi behind him, even someone as learned and powerful as he stood dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide for a full two or three breaths.

Then the corners of his mouth began twitching uncontrollably, his facial muscles twisting as though he were desperately holding something back. But when he saw Hong Yun's absurdly comical panda eye, the blue-purple bruises on Zhen Yuanzi that looked as though a mischievous child had splashed paint all over him, and their expressions of utter despair and humiliation, Fuxi felt an irrepressible laugh surge from his dantian straight to his throat.

"Pfft—cough, cough! Cough cough cough!"

In the end, he could not hold it in. He erupted into a violent coughing fit, using it to conceal the laughter that had nearly burst from his mouth. He hurriedly covered his mouth and nose with his broad sleeve, but his shoulders shook violently as though he were sifting chaff, bending his body slightly as he struggled terribly to suppress his laughter. Tears were almost forced from his eyes. He had imagined that Xuan Wazi was immensely powerful and might gain the upper hand, but he had never imagined that this "sparring match" would end in such a novel and unforgettable fashion! This Xuan Wazi truly was a wonderfully nasty fellow!

Even Nuwa, concealed in the clouds and already a Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal, whose Dao Heart should have been as still as an ancient well, froze for an instant. When her cool gaze swept below and clearly saw Hong Yun's exceptionally conspicuous panda eye, the colorful "painting" across Zhen Yuanzi's neck and hands, and the shocking bruises beneath his torn robe, even her saintly heart could not help but pause.

Then the corners of her cold lips, like ice and snow that had endured for ten thousand years, curved upward in an uncontrollable, tiny arc. Like a thawing river and the return of spring, it formed a smile so beautiful it could dim the sun and moon. She hastily lifted her jade-white hand to cover her crimson lips, but her beautiful eyes, containing endless mysteries of creation and starlight-like wisdom, were already brimming with laughter that nearly spilled over, like ripples spreading across spring waters and stars glimmering in the night sky. Looking at Xuan Wazi's smug expression that plainly said I did nothing and I'm innocent, then at Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi's miserable yet somewhat ridiculous state, she felt both annoyed and amused, with a touch of helpless amusement mixed in. She thought, This Xuan Wazi... truly is unbearably mischievous! He has no sense of restraint when he attacks... But... hehe, Fellow Daoist Hong Yun's eye sockets do look rather symmetrically distinctive... And Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi's attire is surely a sight rarely seen even once in ten thousand years...

Xuan Wazi's spiritual senses were incredibly sharp, so naturally, he took in Fuxi's suppressed laughter and Nuwa's amused expression behind the clouds. The smile that had already made him look rather punchable became even brighter, like a sun rising within chaos itself. He deliberately winked more noticeably toward the cloud layer where Nuwa stood, carrying a trace of seeking credit, as though saying, See? Didn't I do well?

What sort of people were Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi? Though they looked miserable and had suffered considerable losses to their cultivation, their spiritual senses remained intact. They clearly felt the intense emotional fluctuations coming from Fuxi's direction and faintly sensed the gaze of the saint above the clouds, filled with amused laughter!

In an instant, both men felt as though their faces were being scorched by raging flames. The burning pain was far worse than their physical injuries! It was a complicated feeling of shame, embarrassment, grievance, and utter frustration. They wished they could immediately use an escape art and flee billions of miles away, or simply find the deepest crack in the ground beneath Mount Buzhou, plunge into it headfirst, and never emerge again!

Fight? They definitely could not win. If they kept fighting, it probably would not be as simple as getting "colored" anymore.

Reason with him? What reason could they possibly argue with Xuan Wazi, a man capable of angering the dead back to life and the living to death? He would probably provoke them until their Dao Hearts collapsed.

Stay and talk? Face Nuwa's amused gaze and Fuxi's trembling shoulders? That would only grind what little dignity they had left completely into the dirt!

With perfect tacit understanding, both men ignored Xuan Wazi, who stood there radiating an aura of Come ask whether I look handsome and Aren't I impressive? Hong Yun released Zhen Yuanzi's arm. Zhen Yuanzi swayed several times before barely managing to stand with his own cultivation. Without saying a word or even exchanging a glance, the two of them walked silently, their steps slightly unsteady, to an empty patch of ground like two mute stone statues.

Suppressing the piercing pain from the outer side of his thigh and the scorching sensation threatening to ignite his face, Zhen Yuanzi took a deep breath and worked hard to calm his churning blood and qi. Silently circulating his profound art, he waved his hand, and an ancient stone table polished from Innate jade, along with two stone stools of the same material, appeared from thin air and settled firmly on the ground. Then he took out a chessboard. Its pieces were neither gold nor jade, but forged from stellar cores and Innate warm jade, radiating faint spiritual light and Dao charm. His movements appeared steady as ever, but his slightly trembling fingers, their tips gone white, inevitably exposed the stormy turmoil and humiliation in his heart.

"Come, Fellow Daoist Zhen... Zhen Yuanzi," Hong Yun said in a muffled voice, his speech somewhat unclear because of the wound at his mouth. He sat down first on one of the stone stools, trying his best to straighten his back and assume his usual unworldly, detached poise. Yet his swollen blackened eye, split mouth, disheveled hair, and wrinkled footprint-covered robe rendered all his efforts comical and futile. He looked more like a shabby old Daoist desperately trying to save face.

"Very well." Zhen Yuanzi's voice was lower and hoarser than usual, as though his throat were full of sand. He picked up a black stellar chess piece without even looking, then slammed it heavily onto the central point of the board with a smack, almost as though venting his resentment! His gaze remained fixed on the board's crisscrossing lines, as though they contained ultimate secrets beyond the Primordial Grand Unity and pointed directly toward the Great Dao. He did not dare, nor did he have the face, to look up at anyone present.

Just as that awkward, silent atmosphere spread, a faint sigh drifted down from the clouds above, carrying both helplessness and amusement.

Nuwa ultimately could not bear to watch any longer. After all, Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi were old acquaintances from Zixiao Palace. Though their current state was entirely Xuan Wazi's outrageously wicked doing, it was indeed far too unsightly. If word spread, it would damage the two Daoists' reputations. As the newly ascended saint of the Primordial Grand Unity who was present, she could not completely turn a blind eye.

Her slender jade finger lightly tapped in the clouds, and from its tip flowed a gentle green radiance, warm as jade and containing boundless vitality and the profound mysteries of creation. Like the first breath of life in early spring, or the flow of life's origin itself, the radiance silently crossed space, divided into two streams, and precisely enveloped Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi, who were "intently" playing chess.

Hong Yun felt a cool, comfortable aura brimming with life instantly wrap around his entire body. The burning, swollen ache in his left eye especially felt like rain after a long drought. He blinked instinctively, and the black-purple eye socket, swollen until only a slit remained, rapidly deflated at a visible speed. The bruising faded, his complexion returned to normal, and even the split at the corner of his mouth healed in an instant, leaving only a nearly invisible shallow mark. His disheveled hair moved without wind and became neat again, while the dust and footprints on his robe quietly vanished, restoring its original brilliant crimson color.

Zhen Yuanzi was likewise enveloped by that green light full of Creative Vitality. The blue and purple bruises on his neck and hands vanished as though wiped away by an invisible palm. The horrifying dark-purple bruise on the outer side of his thigh tingled and itched, then the swelling subsided, the pooled blood dispersed, and even his damaged Daoist robe repaired itself beneath the power of creation. The restless blood and qi within him quickly calmed beneath the nourishment of that gentle yet vast vitality, and his chaotic aura soon became even and deep again. Even his crooked Heaven and Earth Crown automatically straightened itself.

In the blink of an eye, the two mighty cultivators who had just been "colorful" and miserable had regained their usual immortal bearing and dignified demeanor, as though none of it had ever happened.

However, injuries could be healed, but memories and feelings could not be erased. Their bodies had recovered, but the unforgettable grievance, humiliation, and fear of being dominated by Xuan Wazi remained deeply branded upon their minds. The ease in their bodies only made their psychological embarrassment all the more apparent.

Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi both stiffened at once. Feeling their conditions restored, they naturally understood that Saint Nuwa had acted. The flush that had just faded from their faces seemed ready to return, and they became even less willing to look up. They merely clasped their hands toward Nuwa in the clouds, so subtly and swiftly it was almost imperceptible. They were too ashamed even to send a message of thanks. Then they stiffly immersed themselves in the chess game, as though they intended to expend every scrap of attention upon the black and white pieces.

When Fuxi saw this, his shoulders shook even harder. He hurriedly turned around to face Mount Buzhou, but his faintly trembling back betrayed him.

After doing all this, Nuwa cast a mildly reproachful look at Xuan Wazi, who was watching with great interest below, as though saying, Look what you've done.

Upon receiving Nuwa's look, Xuan Wazi not only failed to restrain himself, but grinned widely at her, revealing a mouthful of white teeth as he transmitted, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Nuwa, for cleaning up the mess. Otherwise, those two would probably have walked around the Primordial World looking like that for ten thousand years. Hahaha!"

Nuwa shook her head helplessly, ignored him, and slowly vanished into the rosy clouds.

Seeing this, Xuan Wazi chuckled and finally withdrew his gaze in satisfaction. He found the smoothest, flattest boulder and sat down. Though he appeared to be wandering in thought, his consciousness had already sunk into his body, where he eagerly conversed with the system in his mind about the gains from this battle. He also eagerly guessed what new "fun" and "opportunities" would await him to cause trouble with... to participate in... after Tongtian finished his enlightenment.

[Ding! The host successfully used an "unconventional" chaotic sparring match to create profound "body-painting" art upon Fellow Daoists Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi. The visual impact was shocking, and the comedic effect was maxed out! This deeply shocked—and successfully amused—Saint Nuwa, Fuxi, and all present and absent onlookers. This act greatly promoted the host's Not Being a Person style and displayed overwhelming strength. Unfilial Points +!]

[Reminder: Sect Master Tongtian's enlightenment has reached its final stage. The sword intent around him is concealed yet ready to emerge, and his Dao charm is approaching perfection. The crucial turning point for the Three Pure Ones' sainthood is about to arrive. A new great opportunity for "Not Being a Person"... ahem, for "setting chaos right" and "guiding the healthy development of the Primordial World," is about to begin. Host, please make full preparations, keep up the good work, and achieve new brilliance!]

Xuan Wazi felt utterly delighted and replied smugly, "System, did you see that? This is what you call professionalism! The perfect combination of overwhelming strength and comedic effect! I stretched my limbs, consolidated my cultivation, earned points, and entertained the masses too—mainly little sister Nuwa. Multiple gains in one move! Just wait. Once Tongtian wakes up, we'll take a trip around Kunlun Mountain, the west, and other places, then properly 'show Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti the way.' Those mission rewards... hehehe, just thinking about them makes my mouth water."

He seemed to already see countless Innate Supreme Treasures, Primordial Spirit Materials, and those mouthwatering cultivation-realm advancement rewards waving little handkerchiefs enthusiastically at him from the end of chaos.