Chapter 33

"Dreaming of taking my Primordial Violet Qi? I'd rather die than give it to you today!" Kunpeng roared with laughter as his body rapidly swelled, a dangerous aura sweeping in all directions.

"He's going to **!" Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi cried out in unison.

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi flashed to Di Jun's side, and the Chaos Bell crashed down over them. In his haste, he only managed to bring two demon generals inside before an earth-shattering explosion erupted.

"Boom—"

Space shattered like glazed ware, and the three hundred sixty-five giant stars condensed by the Zhou Tian Star Formation instantly collapsed. The demon generals within the formation did not even have time to scream before turning to ashes. Protected by the Chaos Bell, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi and Di Jun were blasted a million li away, yet narrowly survived.

A colossal tsunami surged into the heavens, and countless living beings were annihilated within the **. Hidden in the void, Li Peng lightly flicked his sleeve. His cultivation as a Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal allowed him to remain ** amid the aftermath. He focused on the center of the **, his gaze blazing as he searched for traces of the Primordial Violet Qi.

A moment later, Li Peng finally found where the Primordial Violet Qi was.

The space around it continuously cracked apart, then rapidly healed beneath the power of the primordial world. Yet the violet qi itself hung safely within the shattered void.

Suddenly, the Primordial Violet Qi seemed drawn by some force and flew straight toward a spatial rift.

Li Peng's gaze sharpened. He knew Hongjun was summoning the violet qi back.

How could he allow an opportunity already in his grasp to slip away? He immediately teleported, blocked the Primordial Violet Qi, and waved it into the system space.

The instant the violet qi entered the space, a system prompt sounded:

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Primordial Violet Qi. Reward: one Hunyuan Limitless Grand Unity Golden Immortal strength experience card (three days)."

Li Peng had no time to listen closely. With a flash, he vanished into a spatial crack.

At that moment, Dao Ancestor Hongjun, within the Purple Sky Palace, sensed that he had lost contact with the Primordial Violet Qi.

His expression changed drastically. He pinched his fingers to calculate, yet found nothing.

Hongjun was enraged and roared, "It must have been that person again!"

Haotian and Yaochi, who were in the palace, shrank their necks at the sound and hid in their rooms, not daring to make a sound.

Though enraged, Hongjun still sent a strand of divine sense down over the North Sea.

He glanced at Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi in the distance, then looked toward where the Primordial Violet Qi had vanished, his face dark.

In the end, he could only withdraw his divine sense and mutter coldly, "You win this time. Once the six saints take their places and the Heavenly Dao is complete, let's see what you can do then!"

With that, Hongjun closed his eyes and entered meditation once more.

Above the North Sea, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi, Di Jun, and the others finally endured the aftermath of Kunpeng's ** and emerged from the Chaos Bell.

The moment Eastern Emperor Tai Yi put away the Chaos Bell, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Second Brother, how are your injuries?" Di Jun asked urgently.

"It's nothing serious. Hurry and find the Primordial Violet Qi. This is of great importance," Eastern Emperor Tai Yi urged.

Di Jun nodded and searched all around the North Sea with the two demon generals.

They searched the skies, the waters, and every corner within a radius of ten thousand li, yet found no trace of the Primordial Violet Qi.

Di Jun roared with a twisted expression, "How could the Primordial Violet Qi vanish into thin air?"

In this encirclement of Kunpeng, he had lost three hundred sixty-three demon generals at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and even Eastern Emperor Tai Yi had been injured. After paying such a grievous price, they had still failed to seize the Primordial Violet Qi. How could he not go mad?

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi arrived upon hearing him. "Brother, have you still not found the Primordial Violet Qi?"

"There is no trace of it." Di Jun's eyes were bloodshot, his voice like a cry of blood.

"Perhaps the earlier disturbance spread too widely. We should expand the search area," Eastern Emperor Tai Yi advised in a deep voice.

Di Jun nodded dejectedly and led the others in another search.

Meanwhile, Li Peng stepped out of a spatial rift and was startled to find himself in a lush bamboo forest. Spiritual mist filled the air, and immortal herbs covered the ground. This was clearly a Blessed Land. He wandered deeper into the bamboo forest when he suddenly saw a plump, furry black-and-white beast stroll out from between the trees.

"A giant panda?" Li Peng blurted out, memories of his homeland from his previous life surging forth.

The strange beast tilted its head and asked, "Who are you?"

Li Peng examined it carefully and discovered, to his surprise, that this living being possessed the cultivation of a Mid Grand Unity Golden Immortal. It also carried the Innate Yin-Yang Origin, its Dao rhythm sharing the same source as his own.

"A prehistoric exotic beast—the Innate Yin-Yang Panda! This is a heaven-sent disciple!" Li Peng's heart surged with excitement, but when he saw that it had yet to transform despite such cultivation, he could not help frowning in thought.

Seeing that he had not answered for a long while, the Yin Yang Panda asked again, "Why exactly have you come here?"

Li Peng answered, "My name is Li Peng. Coming here was purely an accident."

"Oh, I see." The Yin Yang Panda nodded, looking adorably clueless as it readily believed Li Peng's words.

Li Peng was somewhat speechless at the sight. He had not expected there to be such an innocent, such an adorably foolish living being in the prehistoric world.

"Why haven't you transformed yet?" Li Peng asked curiously.

"Why should I transform? Aren't I cute like this?" The Yin Yang Panda tilted its head, looking adorably foolish.

Li Peng was momentarily at a loss for words. Could it be that this was the reason it had not transformed?

He looked over the Yin Yang Panda's fluffy body and thought of its innate yin-yang attribute.

Could it be that I'm going to raise a prehistoric version of Kung Fu Panda? Li Peng thought.

"Are you willing to take me as your master?" Li Peng asked the Yin Yang Panda.

"Take you as my master? Then you must be very powerful?" The Yin Yang Panda tilted its head and asked in return.

"I have already attained the Dao of Hunyuan. I am a Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal," Li Peng replied calmly, carrying himself with dignity.

"What realm is a Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal?" The Yin Yang Panda was full of curiosity.

"The same realm as a saint," Li Peng said with a smile.

"A saint! That powerful?" the Yin Yang Panda cried out.

Though it had never left this place, when Hongjun became a saint and Nuwa attained the Dao, the Heavenly Dao's voice had spread throughout the prehistoric world. All living beings knew of the might of saints.

Thus, the Yin Yang Panda also knew how powerful saints were.

Li Peng was pleased by its reaction and thought, Looks like this disciple is in the bag.

Just as he thought that, the Yin Yang Panda's next words greatly surprised him.

It tilted its head and asked, "Do the bamboo outside contain more energy? Is that why all of you are so powerful?"

Li Peng stared in astonishment. What did his cultivation have to do with bamboo?

"What does my strength have to do with bamboo?" Li Peng asked in confusion.

"You... don't eat bamboo?" the Yin Yang Panda asked in surprise.

"I don't," Li Peng answered helplessly.

"If you don't eat bamboo, how do you become stronger?" The Yin Yang Panda tilted its head, its eyes full of curiosity.

Li Peng was completely speechless. It seemed this fellow had never left this place since birth and thought every living being in the world grew stronger by eating bamboo like it did!

Wait... could eating bamboo really make one stronger?

Li Peng's gaze immediately fell upon the bamboo.

A sweep of Li Peng's divine sense made him gasp in astonishment.

The bamboo here was no ordinary thing. It was Bitter Bamboo, one of the Innate Spiritual Roots.

This Bitter Bamboo forest was enormous, containing roughly tens of thousands of stalks.

Though most of the Bitter Bamboo had yet to mature, one percent could be directly refined into Low-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, one-thousandth could be made into Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, and one ten-thousandth could be fashioned into high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.

And if the Bitter Bamboo's main body were refined into a spiritual treasure, it would surely become a Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure!

Yet such wealth did not hold much appeal for Li Peng. His fortune was already extremely abundant, and he was even less willing to seize something that would belong to him in the future, lest it harm his character.

Seeing Li Peng looking toward the bamboo forest, the Yin Yang Panda happily snapped off a stalk and offered it to him. "Are you hungry? Do you want some bamboo? Here, it's my treat!"

Li Peng was speechless for a moment. He had not expected to live to see the day he was fed bamboo.

He shook his head. Knowing it would be difficult to explain things clearly to a panda that had never encountered the outside world, he pointed a finger, sending a stream of light into the Yin Yang Panda's sea of consciousness. It contained basic information about the prehistoric world and common cultivation knowledge.

A moment later, the Yin Yang Panda opened its eyes, its face full of shock. Only then did it learn how vast the outside world was, how numerous the powerful beings were, and how countless existences were stronger than it.

It immediately became timid and said to Li Peng, "I don't want to be your disciple. The outside is too dangerous! I have bamboo to eat here, and I'm already satisfied!"

Hearing this, Li Peng nearly coughed up blood—at his level, he had actually been rejected when taking a disciple by a cowardly panda.

After much persuasion, Li Peng finally convinced the Yin Yang Panda.

With a sweep of his hand, he collected the entire Bitter Bamboo forest. Then he tore open space and opened a passage, preparing to leave.

Yet the Yin Yang Panda was still curled up where it was and had not followed him.

Li Peng had no choice but to pick up the Yin Yang Panda and carry it into the Space Channel. The rift vanished the moment they entered. Shortly afterward, he appeared with the panda by the shore of the East Sea.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Li Peng immediately found Daoist Jinlian and the four **. He flashed before them, startling everyone.

"Greetings, Master!" Sanxiao and Zhao Gongming hurriedly bowed. Seeing that Bixiao had not pounced on him, Li Peng thought that having them protect the human race had indeed tempered their dispositions.

"Rise," Li Peng said with a nod.

Only then did everyone notice the Yin Yang Panda in his hand. Bixiao came closer, poked the panda, and cried out, "Master, what is this? It's so cute!"

Li Peng silently took back his earlier assessment. Hearing a clear female voice, the panda moved the paws covering its eyes and curiously examined the woman before it.

"This is the new ** I have taken in," Li Peng said with a sigh.

Sanxiao and Zhao Gongming stared in disbelief at their fluffy new fellow disciple. Bixiao suddenly jumped with delight. "I'm finally no longer the youngest! Hurry and call me Senior Sister!"

The Yin Yang Panda blinked its round eyes and called out in a childish voice, "Senior Sister."

Bixiao was so delighted that she grabbed it and jumped around with it. Li Peng felt only that the road ahead would be difficult. He turned to Daoist Jinlian and said, "I'll leave the Yin Yang Panda to you for instruction."

"This beast possesses an innate yin-yang attribute. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for your main body to teach him?" Daoist Jinlian asked in confusion.

"The Yin Yang Panda's temperament is far too immature. I want him to undergo some experience in the human world and temper himself," Li Peng said.

Daoist Jinlian looked at the Yin Yang Panda happily playing with Bixiao and thought, This child might end up being turned into a little troublemaker by Bixiao.

However, he did not say it aloud. Teaching four disciples for his main body was teaching, and teaching one more made little difference.

Thus, Daoist Jinlian replied, "All right."

Seeing Daoist Jinlian agree, Li Peng tore open space and departed.

Time passed, and a thousand years slipped by.

On this day, Li Wu, who had been quietly cultivating in his room, finally opened his eyes.

"After ten thousand years, I have finally created a script for the human race.

"This script is neither as obscure and difficult to understand as Heavenly Dao Runes, nor does it lack all Dao rhythm like the writing of later generations.

"It can carry a trace of Dao rhythm and contain endless martial intent. With this script, it will be difficult for the immortal path among the human race to surpass the martial path." Li Wu muttered to himself.

Clearly, he had harbored selfish intentions when creating the script. After all, he had created the martial path, so it was only natural that he favored it.

"It is time for this script to appear in the world," Li Wu murmured.

He then walked out of the Human Ancestral Hall and came to the broad plaza outside.

Li Wu stood quietly for a moment before finally raising his hand and using his magic power to write in the air.

As his hand moved, an overbearing martial intent that proclaimed supremacy over heaven and earth fused into the newly appearing characters.

"Swish, swish, swish—"

Time passed, and more and more characters appeared in the sky. Vast martial intent surged from between the strokes, enveloping the entire human territory.

In an instant, every human was drawn into a profound state by the boundless martial intent. Countless true meanings of the martial path clearly appeared before them, causing their understanding of martial arts to rise rapidly.

When Li Wu wrote the final character—

Dark clouds instantly filled the sky, thick black clouds covering the heavens above the entire human territory. Terrifying pressure poured down from the firmament.

"Rumble!"

Thunder shook the heavens. Countless thunder dragons churned within the clouds, as if the end of the world had arrived.

The humans immersed in comprehending the Dao were startled awake by the terrifying pressure and thunder. Looking at the apocalyptic scene, every one of them turned pale.

Not far away, Daoist Jinlian also stopped his discussion of the Dao when he witnessed this terrifying sight.

Sanxiao, Zhao Gongming, and the Yin Yang Panda were likewise jolted awake by the dreadful heavenly phenomenon. Seeing the world-destroying lightning tribulation in the distant sky, all of them revealed fearful expressions.

Kunlun Mountain

"What is this? How can it be so terrifying?" Laozi opened his eyes and said with a face full of shock.

"This seems to be a heavenly tribulation, but what kind of heavenly tribulation could possess such power?" Yuanshi was equally shaken.

"We'll know if we take a look," Tongtian said.

Laozi and Yuanshi nodded in agreement.

Then, the divine senses of the Three Pure Ones crossed endless space and descended by the shore of the East Sea.