Chapter 8

Just as Li Peng was puzzled, Zhu Rong rose to his feet with a hearty laugh. "It's been ages since I've fought so satisfying a battle! You won today, but next time I'll definitely win it back. Haha! No fight, no friendship. From this day on, you are my, Zhu Rong's, friend."

As he spoke, Zhu Rong had already put away his true form and returned to being a bearded burly man over three meters tall.

Li Peng thought to himself, Looks like this Ancestor Witch really does have masochistic tendencies. He could not help backing away several steps, watching Zhu Rong warily for fear that he had some other intention.

The instant Zhu Rong conceded defeat, a system notification sounded:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Choice Two. Reward obtained: one million years of cultivation, mastery-level Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations!"

Pure cultivation power poured into Li Peng's body, as gentle as if he had cultivated it himself. Before he could refine it voluntarily, the power had already naturally merged into him, steadily pushing his cultivation upward.

The bottleneck at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm shattered at once, and Li Peng smoothly entered this realm.

However, some cultivation power still remained, yet Li Peng was unwilling to rush into breaking through to the Quasi-Saint realm. He knew well that he had cultivated for too short a time. If his foundation were unstable, it would only bring him harm.

Thus, he circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique and refined all the remaining cultivation power. Yet the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique consumed an immense amount of power. Even after investing so much cultivation power, he failed to advance even a minor realm.

"The Nine Revolutions Profound Technique truly is difficult to cultivate," Li Peng silently sighed.

At the same time, an immense flood of information surged into his mind, leaving him stunned for a moment.

The divine abilities and spells of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations repeatedly played out within Li Peng's mind.

Creation Manipulation, Yin-Yang Reversal, Star Shifting and Dipper Transposition, Sun Restoration, Rain Summoning and Wind Calling, Mountain Shaking and Earth Quaking,

Cloud Riding and Mist Soaring, River Division into Land, Golden Light Earth Traversal, River Overturning and Sea Churning, Earth Turning to Copper, Five Elements Great Escape, Six Jia Arcane Gates,

Foreknowledge of the Future, Mountain Whipping and Stone Moving, Resurrection of the Dead, Flying Body and Concealed Traces, Nine Breaths Qi Consumption, Primordial Yang Extraction, Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming, ** Sun,

Mountain Pushing and Sea Filling, Stone Turning to Gold, Upright Shadowlessness, Womb Transformation and Form Shifting, Size Alteration at Will, Instant Flower Blooming, Spirit Roaming and Qi Control, Seeing Through Walls,

Wind Reversal and Fire Return, Mastery of the Five Thunders, Abyss Diving and Ground Shrinking, Flying Sand and Moving Stones, Mountain Carrying and Sea Crossing, Bean Scattering into Soldiers, Seven Arrows with Nailheads.

At the same time, insights and comprehension regarding the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations also poured into Li Peng's mind, making him feel as though he had cultivated this art for hundreds of thousands of years.

Before long, Li Peng had completely absorbed everything contained within the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations and felt that he could now wield the art with effortless familiarity, without the slightest awkwardness.

"As expected of the system. The moment I obtained the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations, it allowed me to master them.

If the system were to grant me the peak ninth level of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique as well, wouldn't my physical body directly reach the Peak Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal realm?"

At that thought, the corners of Li Peng's lips rose, and his heart surged with excitement.

Just as his thoughts drifted afar, a spatial rift suddenly split open beside him.

The abrupt change jolted Li Peng awake from his reverie.

His expression hardened as he stared vigilantly at the rift.

The next moment, a burly man stepped out from it.

The man immediately spotted Zhu Rong, who was covered in blood, and his expression changed drastically.

In an instant, he stood in front of Zhu Rong, glaring fiercely at Li Peng with blade-like eyes.

Seeing him shield Zhu Rong, Li Peng immediately determined that this man was the Space Ancestor Witch—Di Jiang.

Although he had never met Di Jiang, the man's aura resembled Zhu Rong's. The moment he appeared, he protected Zhu Rong, and among the Wu Clan, the only Ancestor Witch proficient in the Way of Space was Di Jiang. His identity was obvious.

Before Li Peng could speak, Di Jiang coldly demanded:

"Who are you? Why did you injure my Zhu Rong? Do you intend to make an enemy of my entire Wu Clan?"

Li Peng's anger flared at those words. Zhu Rong had attacked him for no reason, and after Li Peng had finally defeated him, Di Jiang had come to question him as though Li Peng did not matter at all.

Having never suffered such humiliation before, Li Peng finally erupted completely.

"So what if I become enemies with the Wu Clan?" Li Peng said coldly.

Before his words had even faded, he brought out his only Innate Supreme Treasure—the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda—and suspended it above his head, first ensuring his own protection.

Immediately afterward, Li Peng drew the top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Yin Yang Twin Swords, and poured surging cultivation power into them.

In an instant, countless streams of sword qi wrapped around the blades, and two sword gleams as bright as daylight abruptly lit up.

A vast and razor-sharp aura burst from the swords and swept in every direction.

Feeling the might of this attack, Di Jiang was horrified.

He had never expected this person to possess such methods.

If he were struck, he would be severely injured even if he did not die.

His cultivation had only reached the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm and had yet to recover to the peak strength of the Quasi-Saint realm.

Faced with such a fierce assault from the Yin Yang Twin Swords, he was not confident he could take it head-on.

Though he did not dare claim victory, escaping would not be difficult for Di Jiang.

As the Space Ancestor Witch, if he focused on evasion, there were very few people in the prehistoric world who could hit him.

But the heavily injured Zhu Rong was beside him. If they fought here and Zhu Rong was caught in it, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Di Jiang could not help furrowing his brows tightly.

At that moment, Li Peng's attack had accumulated to its peak.

He sneered and was just about to strike—

When he suddenly discovered that his movements and the cultivation power within his body had become incomparably sluggish.

The next moment, another burly man appeared beside Di Jiang.

"Time Law!" Li Peng blurted out in shock.

His expression immediately turned grave as he locked his gaze tightly on the newly appeared burly man.

"Time Ancestor Witch Zhu Jiuyin has arrived too? Will the other Ancestor Witches also come one after another?" Li Peng thought to himself.

At that thought, his expression grew even more solemn.

He would not fear a few ordinary peak Grand Unity Golden Immortals.

But Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin had not only cultivated their physical bodies to the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, they also respectively controlled the two heaven-defying laws of space and time.

Even with the many treasures Li Peng possessed, it would be nearly impossible for him to ** these two Ancestor Witches within a short time.

Time dragged on, and the other Ancestor Witches would surely arrive one after another.

By then, Li Peng would face the joint assault of eleven Ancestor Witches.

At that thought, a wave of irritation rose in Li Peng's heart.

Why not simply flee?

Because his speed could not possibly surpass Di Jiang's.

No matter how fast he was, he could not outrun the Space Law!

Just as Li Peng was at a loss, the system notification sounded once more.

"Ding! The host's current situation has been detected. Please make a choice!"

"Choice One: Convince others through virtue. Immediately cease fighting and explain the circumstances to Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin, resolve the misunderstanding, and reconcile.

Reward: one million years of cultivation, Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations."

"Choice Two: Anyone who dares to attack is an enemy. Completely defeat the other side.

Reward: one million years of internal energy, one map of the Three Immortal Islands Overseas."

"Choice Three: Anyone who dares to attack is an enemy. Kill all three Ancestor Witches before you.

Reward: ten million years of internal energy, two drops of Pangu's Essence Blood, and comprehension of five levels of the Law of Strength!"

Li Peng carefully weighed each option.

He immediately ruled out Choice One.

The Ancestor Witches had always respected strength above all else and never used reason to convince others.

The Wu Clan was also famously protective of its own. They even dared to clash head-on with Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

Since he had already injured Zhu Rong, no matter how justified he was, the Ancestor Witches would never let the matter rest.

Although Choice Three's rewards were immensely tempting, if he truly killed Di Jiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Zhu Rong, neither the Heavenly Dao nor Hongjun would spare him.

Therefore, he could only choose the second option.

Although defeating Di Jiang, the Space Ancestor Witch, would be extremely difficult, with Zhu Rong and Zhu Jiuyin present to hinder him, there was still a sliver of hope.

Li Peng immediately replied to the system, "I choose Choice Two!"

With his resolve set, he hesitated no longer and poured all his cultivation power into the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

In an instant, the sword qi around the blades surged wildly, and their radiance became dazzling.

Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin exchanged a glance, their eyes both revealing grave expressions.

Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin hesitated no longer. Their cultivation power surged forth as vast fluctuations of time and space spread from their bodies.

A great battle was about to erupt!

At that critical moment, Zhu Rong hurriedly said, "Don't fight! It's all a misunderstanding!"

Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin were both stunned by his words.

But Di Jiang's face immediately turned fierce. "What nonsense are you talking about? He injured you this badly. He clearly has no respect for our Twelve Ancestor Witches. Today, I must teach him a proper lesson."

"That's right. That brat does deserve a lesson," Zhu Jiuyin nodded in agreement.

Hearing the conversation among the three Ancestor Witches, Li Peng's rage surged. They did not take him seriously at all, as though he were already meat on the chopping block.

A cold glint flashed through Li Peng's eyes. The Yin Yang Twin Swords, which had been charging for a long time, shot toward Di Jiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Zhu Rong with overwhelming sword qi. In an instant, sword qi filled the air, seeming ready to tear apart heaven and earth.

Zhu Jiuyin and Di Jiang's expressions hardened, their gazes turning solemn.

Zhu Jiuyin shouted, "River of Time, grind away all things—kill!" Before his voice had faded, he threw a punch, sending a strange river of time toward the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

When the sword qi collided with the river of time, there was no deafening blast. Instead, they silently eroded one another. Yet though the sword qi was worn away, the river of time weakened as well.

At the same time, Di Jiang also struck and shouted, "Space Meteor Punch!" With one punch, countless black spatial blades gathered into a giant fist. Wherever it passed, space shattered, its fragments swept into the fist's gale and formed a small spatial maelstrom as it charged toward the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The fist formed from spatial blades collided violently with the sword qi of the Yin Yang Twin Swords, erupting with explosive roars.

Amid the explosions, countless spatial blades scattered in all directions.

In an instant, densely packed spatial rifts split open around the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

The sword qi surged like a tide, yet every stream was swallowed by the rifts.

For a time, the battle fell into a stalemate.

Li Peng inwardly sighed. As expected of Ancestor Witches who control time and space. Though their strength is inferior to mine, they can still hold me off like this.

But he did not dare lose focus, keeping his eyes fixed on Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin.

He had to end this quickly. Otherwise, once the other nine great Ancestor Witches arrived, the situation would become dangerous.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Li Peng hesitated no longer. The Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda above his head suddenly smashed toward Zhu Jiuyin.

Seeing the tower-shaped treasure fly at him, Zhu Jiuyin did not dare be careless. Cultivation power surged through his body as the Time Law gathered into ripples in his palm.

He focused and waited until the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda came within a hundred zhang before abruptly opening his eyes and shouting:

"Time Stop!"

The power of time answered his call and flew toward the pagoda.

In an instant, the rapidly flying Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda froze in midair, unable to move.

At the same time, Di Jiang shouted:

"Space Banishment!"

A massive spatial rift opened above the pagoda and continuously pressed downward, intending to banish the pagoda somewhere in the prehistoric world and temporarily deprive Li Peng of his treasure.

Li Peng sneered inwardly. You do not know what kind of supreme treasure the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda is, yet you still dare covet it. You truly do not know the meaning of death.

As his thoughts shifted, cultivation power surged wildly around Li Peng, and his hands formed seals as swiftly as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, he struck out several thousand hand seals in succession.

When Li Peng formed the final hand seal, he shouted, "Reverse Yin and Yang, ** space-time, Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda, **!"

In an instant, the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda's radiance surged, brilliant and dazzling.

A vast pressure swept in all directions.

The Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda instantly regained its movement.

Feeling this terrifying aura, Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin cried out at the same time, "Innate Supreme Treasure!"

Before the two could react, an irresistible suction force erupted from within the pagoda.

Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin hurriedly circulated their cultivation power to resist it.

Just as they were resisting with all their strength, the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda suddenly expanded and crashed down toward them.

Di Jiang tried to open a Space Channel to flee with Zhu Jiuyin, but in the instant he was distracted, his body involuntarily flew toward the pagoda.

Fortunately, Zhu Jiuyin reacted quickly and grabbed Di Jiang by the ankle. Otherwise, Di Jiang would already have been ** into the pagoda.

However, while they focused on one thing, they lost another. The Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda had already descended with the force to destroy ** heaven and earth.

"Rumble—"

The massive roar shook the heavens. The earth trembled within a radius of hundreds of thousands of miles, as though ** had descended.

Where the two had originally stood, an unfathomable abyss had been smashed open.

Had Li Peng not been spiritually linked to the pagoda, even he would not know where Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin were at that moment.

Under the probe of his divine sense, he saw the two unconscious and lying quietly at the bottom of the abyss.

"As expected of Ancestor Witch bodies. They took a strike from an Innate Supreme Treasure head-on and only suffered minor injuries before falling unconscious," Li Peng said with a sigh.

He then put away his envy—his own Nine Revolutions Profound Technique was only slightly inferior.

Once he received the system reward, he would surely break through to the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. Even reaching the ** revolution of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique would not be impossible.

As he pondered, the system notification sounded:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Choice Two. Reward obtained: one million years of cultivation, one map of the Three Immortal Islands Overseas."

As the notification ended, vast cultivation power flooded into Li Peng's body.

He immediately circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique to absorb it.

This cultivation power moved as easily as his own limbs, naturally merging into his meridians along with the ** circulation, requiring no effort to refine.