Chapter 41

The six Primordial beings were overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed. "Thank you, Master!"

The moment they called him "Master," the system notification sounded:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for accepting all the Primordial beings who passed the trial as **. The number of ** has exceeded ten. Choice Three has been completed."

Reward obtained: one Divine Ability Granting Card, Saint-grade **: Golden Peng Dao Art.

As the system's voice faded, an immense flood of information instantly surged into Li Peng's mind.

It contained methods for primordial spirit cultivation, body tempering arts, alchemy, artifact refinement, the Way of Formations, deduction techniques, and all manner of other knowledge, all laid bare within Li Peng's consciousness.

Only after digesting the information did Li Peng truly understand the power of this Saint-grade **, the Golden Peng Dao Art.

This art cultivated both the primordial spirit and the physical body, making its practitioners unrivaled among those of the same realm.

If cultivated to perfection, one could even attain the Dao of Primordial Unity.

What was even rarer was that the ** encompassed all sorts of methods, including alchemy, artifact refinement, the Way of Formations, and deduction. It was all-encompassing, worthy of being called one of the most comprehensive ** in the Primordial World.

Li Peng was quite surprised that the system had actually granted him such a reward.

He had been worrying about not having a suitable ** to teach **, yet the system had promptly delivered one. It was truly considerate.

Li Peng nodded in satisfaction, then looked toward the several registered ** he had just accepted.

"Now that you have entered my sect, you must strictly observe its rules. If any of you violate them, do not blame your master for showing no mercy." Li Peng's tone was stern.

"** will certainly obey!" the six Primordial beings answered in unison.

Li Peng nodded. "This is a ** I created over tens of thousands of years. It is called the Golden Peng Dao Art. Today, I will pass it on to you. Cultivate it diligently."

With that, he waved his hand, and six streams of light entered the bodies of Liu Er and the other five.

In an instant, the six were left dizzy and disoriented by the immense torrent of information.

It took them half an hour before they gradually finished absorbing it.

Liu Er and the others looked at Li Peng in shock. They had never expected to receive such a profound method the moment they entered the sect.

They felt that even if they spent their entire lives on it, they might not be able to fully master the Golden Peng Dao Art.

Its contents were vast and profound, and every method within required long periods of comprehension.

They could hardly imagine how learned their master had to be to create such a wondrous **.

For a time, Liu Er and the others' eyes were filled with reverence.

Seeing this, Li Peng felt a surge of satisfaction in his heart.

The system really came through. Without this reward, I honestly wouldn't have known what ** to teach them.

A moment later, seeing Liu Er and the others still staring at him with worshipful eyes, Li Peng smiled faintly.

Even Li Peng's skin, as thick as a city wall's corner, rarely showed a trace of embarrassment.

He cleared his throat and said to the six registered **, "These six Innate Middle-Grade Spirit Treasures match your attributes. I'll bestow them upon you for self-defense."

As he spoke, he casually took out six Innate Middle-Grade Spirit Treasures and distributed them among the registered **.

When Liu Er, Yu Ding, and Xuan Du saw that the registered ** had all received Spirit Treasures, longing immediately lit up in their eyes.

Li Peng smiled slightly at the sight and took a staff, a cauldron, and a sword—three High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures—from the system space. "These three High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures shall be given to you."

With a casual wave, the staff-shaped Spirit Treasure flew toward Liu Er, the sword-shaped Spirit Treasure landed in Yu Ding's hand, and the final treasured cauldron hovered before Xuan Du.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing these treasures!" the three said in unison.

Li Peng waved his hand. "Come into the island with me."

Before his words had even faded, he vanished from where he stood along with the nine **.

Five hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. Li Peng, who had been expounding the Dao, suddenly stopped.

Seeing their master suddenly cease speaking, all the ** looked confused.

"Cultivate well. Your master has matters to attend to." With that, Li Peng vanished.

A moment later, he had already torn through space with Fuxi and Nuwa, heading for the Heavenly Court.

At this time, the Heavenly Court was decorated in celebration. Demon soldiers patrolled back and forth, while numerous great powers gathered at Yaochi. Fairy maidens moved among the guests with immortal fruits and immortal wine in hand, creating an atmosphere of festivity.

The Space Channel suddenly opened, and the great powers present all rose to greet them.

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi hurried forward with the upper ranks of the Demon Clan. Aside from Saints, no one else could possibly appear in such a manner.

When Li Peng appeared with Nuwa and Fuxi, the immortals bowed in unison. "Greetings, Golden Peng Saint, Nuwa Saint, and Fuxi Saint!"

The three nodded slightly. "Rise."

"Please take your seats, honored Saints." Eastern Emperor Tai Yi bowed and led the way.

Li Peng nodded in agreement and followed Di Jun toward the seats of honor.

The moment Li Peng, Nuwa, and Fuxi entered the hall, they saw the Three Pure Ones already seated inside.

The moment the Three Pure Ones saw Li Peng, Nuwa, and Fuxi, hostility immediately surfaced in their eyes.

Clearly, they still harbored a grudge over Li Peng taking their Spirit Treasures last time.

However, Li Peng paid no attention to their hostility and simply pretended not to see it.

After all, he could not defeat the Three Pure Ones in one stroke right now, so why trouble himself?

"Zhunti and Jieyin certainly have quite the grand entrance. They still haven't arrived," Li Peng said seemingly casually after taking his seat with Nuwa and Fuxi.

The Three Pure Ones all looked displeased at those words.

Primordial, especially, who thought highly of himself, let out a cold snort to express his dissatisfaction.

At that moment, strange phenomena suddenly filled the sky. Heavenly Flowers fell in profusion, while golden lotuses sprang from the earth.

Then two songs rang out:

"Great immortals walk barefoot, fragrant with jujubes and pears, their feet treading auspicious clouds in rare splendor;

Upon twelve-petaled lotus platforms, Dharma treasures are expounded, while white light appears beside the Pool of Eight Virtues.

To say their lifespan matches Heaven and Earth is no falsehood; to claim their blessings surpass vast waves is no madness;

Having cultivated relics and attained the name of Fetal Breath, serene bliss belongs to the Western Land."

"When the Great Enlightened Golden Immortal becomes one, Bodhi is the ancestor of Western wondrous Dharma.

Neither born nor extinguished, the cycles of three and three unfold; only with complete qi and spirit may one partake of compassion.

Emptiness and stillness naturally follow transformations, while true suchness and original nature act as they will.

With a solemn body that lives as long as Heaven, through countless tribulations the heart is clarified, ** master."

As the songs ended, the phenomena gradually faded.

Zhunti and Jieyin slowly stepped out from the void.

Seeing them make such an entrance, the Three Pure Ones' faces darkened.

Compared to them, their own entrances seemed utterly lackluster.

They secretly decided that they would also prepare poetic titles for themselves in the future.

Only then could they avoid falling behind others.

Seeing Zhunti and Jieyin putting on such a display, Li Peng thought to himself:

Ugly people always make more trouble, showing off with all these flashy tricks.

While he was silently mocking them, Zhunti and Jieyin had already walked forward and taken their seats.

With all the Saints present, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi clapped his hands to signal the beginning of the wedding.

Bai Ze stood before the platform and announced loudly, "The auspicious hour has arrived. Please welcome the groom and bride!"

Hearing this, the great powers in the hall fell silent.

For a moment, the entire hall was solemn.

Amid the silence, Di Jun slowly walked over from afar, holding Hu Mei's hand.

Today, Di Jun wore a ** dragon robe. His bearing was majestic, and his authority was imposing.

Hu Mei, meanwhile, wore a phoenix robe. She looked dignified and noble, so breathtakingly beautiful that she could topple all living beings.

Seeing this scene, Nuwa could not help feeling envious.

Li Peng smiled when he saw her expression. "When the time is right, I'll prepare a wedding even grander than this for you!"

"Mhm, I believe in you, Brother Li!" Nuwa smiled sweetly.

While Li Peng and Nuwa were speaking tenderly, Di Jun and the woman had already reached the platform.

Bai Ze immediately shouted, "First bow to Heaven and Earth, in gratitude for the grace of creation."

As his words fell, Di Jun and Hu Mei bowed together toward the heavens and earth of the Primordial World.

Bai Ze continued loudly, "Second bow to the Dao Ancestor, in remembrance of the grace of transmitting the Dao."

The two respectfully bowed in the direction of Purple Sky Palace.

After the rites were complete, Bai Ze raised his voice. "The ceremony is complete—"

In an instant, mysterious yellow Golden Merit Clouds gathered in the sky and rained down everywhere.

The great powers present were all stunned. None had expected that a wedding could actually draw down merit from the Heavenly Dao.

For a time, the cultivators' thoughts stirred. All of them considered holding wedding ceremonies after returning, in hopes of receiving merit bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.

As they pondered this, the merit split into four portions and descended in four directions:

Forty percent went to Di Jun, forty percent went to Hu Mei, twenty percent went to Bai Ze, while the final ten percent transformed into countless tiny streams and entered the bodies of the guests present.

As the merit entered his body, Di Jun's aura surged wildly. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the Quasi-Saint Peak.

Li Peng's brow twitched slightly. He knew that Di Jun was following in the footsteps of the ancient Three Clans—

He wished to gather the Primordial World's providence and attain the Dao of Primordial Unity.

Li Peng had long known that this path was impassable, but Di Jun was intoxicated by the glory of the Demon Clan and still believed he could unify the Primordial World and achieve Primordial Unity.

Was it fate playing tricks, or did those in high positions inevitably lose their original hearts?

Just as he was deep in thought, a tremendous boom suddenly rang out.

This was followed by a burst of arrogant laughter:

"Hahaha... Di Jun! We've come to offer congratulations!"

Di Jun's face sank upon hearing the voice. He had never expected the Wu Clan to be so despicable as to come and cause trouble on the day of his great joy.

All the prominent figures of the Primordial World were present today. If he did not publicly punish the Wu Clan, where would the Demon Clan's dignity be?

Thinking of this, Di Jun's fury churned, yet he had no choice but to suppress it for the moment.

There were still many great powers present. If Di Jun left now, he would surely offend quite a few people.

Moreover, as the emperor of the Demon Clan, if he became flustered over such a minor disturbance, the great powers present would surely look down on him.

Di Jun turned to the crowd and calmly said, "Everyone, some petty scoundrels have come to make trouble. Please wait here for a moment. I will return shortly. Once I have dealt with those villains, I will come back and apologize to you all."

Hearing this, the great powers all said it was no matter and told Di Jun to go ahead.

Li Peng watched everything with great interest. He wanted to know whether the Wu Clan's move this time was merely a small disturbance or a full-scale attack.

After all, when he had analyzed the pros and cons for Houtu, he had not merely been advising the Wu Clan. He also wanted to see whether he could use this opportunity to change the Great Trend of the Heavenly Dao.

After receiving everyone's response, Di Jun immediately shouted, "All Demon Clan members, follow me to meet the enemy! Today, we will slaughter every last invading member of the Wu Clan!"

As his words fell, the Demon Clan's upper ranks followed Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi toward the source of the commotion.

Yet when they had only flown to the fifteenth heaven, they ran into the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

It turned out that the Wu Clan had broken through the first fifteen heavens in such a short time.

Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

Although no Demon Clan experts guarded these fifteen heavens, they were the foundation of the Demon Clan. Now that the lower-ranking Demon Clan members had been slaughtered by the Wu Clan, the Demon Clan had suffered a severe blow. How could they not be furious?

"Wu Clan! You're courting death!" Eastern Emperor Tai Yi roared, raising the Chaos Bell as he charged straight at the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

Di Jun did not dare delay and immediately followed after him. Seeing their leaders charge ahead, the other Demon Clan members also roared and rushed forward.

When Di Jiang and the other Ancestor Witches saw Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi leading their troops toward them, they were delighted rather than alarmed.

"Perfect timing! Today, we'll wipe out your Demon Clan!" Di Jiang laughed.

"Arrogant wretches!" Eastern Emperor Tai Yi shouted furiously as he struck the Chaos Bell.

Clang—

The bell's chime sent ripples through layer after layer of space, hiding endless killing intent within it. In an instant, the Wu Clan members struck by the sound waves exploded into bloody chunks before they could even scream.

The Twelve Ancestor Witches roared in fury and attacked Eastern Emperor Tai Yi together.

Seeing the Twelve Ancestor Witches joining forces against him, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi could not help but feel alarmed.

Though he had always been arrogant, he did not believe he could fight twelve opponents alone.

Fortunately, his brother Di Jun arrived in time with four Quasi-Saints under his command.

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi's confidence immediately soared.

He swung the Chaos Bell, making it ring repeatedly as he held back Di Jiang, Zhu Jiuyin, Qiang Liang, Ju Mang, and Ru Shou—the five Ancestor Witches.

With the River Diagram and Luo Book above his head and the Sun Golden Wheel in hand, Di Jun charged directly at Zhu Rong, Xi Zi, and Gonggong—the three Ancestor Witches.

Houtu, Xuan Ming, She Bi Shi, and Tian Wu—the remaining four Ancestor Witches—were held back by the four Quasi-Saints.

In an instant, the peak forces of the Wu and Demon Clans had all found their opponents.

The ten Demon Marshals led countless Demon soldiers into battle against the Twelve Great Witches and the Wu Clan army under their command.

The great battle erupted with a thunderous roar. Shouts of killing, miserable cries, and the clash of weapons echoed across the battlefield.

Only the area where the Ancestor Witches fought remained silent. No Wu Clan member or demon dared approach—

Anyone who drew near was reduced to ashes by the shockwaves of battle.

Li Peng and the Primordial great powers drank wine and sampled fruit in the thirty-third heaven of the Heavenly Court as they watched the battle with great interest, looking every bit like spectators at a show.

On the battlefield, Di Jun relied on the River Diagram and Luo Book for protection and wielded the Sun Golden Wheel against his enemies. With his cultivation at the Quasi-Saint Peak, he could fight three Ancestor Witches alone without falling into defeat.

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi controlled the Chaos Bell, its offense and defense both formidable. Even while besieged by five Ancestor Witches, he did not fall into a disadvantage.

However, the four Quasi-Saints were forced back step by step by Houtu, Xuan Ming, She Bi Shi, and Tian Wu, leaving them in a miserable state.

Even more critical was that the Demon soldiers led by the ten Demon Marshals were steadily retreating under the fierce assault of the Great Witches and the Wu Clan, suffering heavy casualties.