Duobao's tone gradually became more arrogant.
In front of Xuan Du, he acted as if he were the Senior Disciple Brother, freely lecturing Xuan Du on everything under the heavens.
And Xuan Du was merely his junior fellow disciple.
Or perhaps not even that.
Xuan Du acted as though he had heard nothing and continued walking forward on his own.
Duobao walked up beside Xuan Du, chuckled lightly, and said, "I'd forgotten that Uncle-Master Laozi has two disciples."
"Even if he isn't here, there's still Senior Disciple Brother Luo Xuan."
"But with Senior Disciple Brother Xuan Du's current strength, in this state, why haven't I seen Senior Disciple Brother Luo Xuan come forward?"
Xuan Du smiled and said, "Senior Disciple Brother Luo Xuan is in seclusion."
Whenever Luo Xuan was mentioned, Xuan Du's eyes filled with pride.
Duobao let out a scornful laugh and said, "In seclusion? What kind of seclusion?"
"I think he's afraid now that the geniuses of Kunlun Mountain have gathered here."
"Ever since I came to Kunlun Mountain, Luo Xuan has been in seclusion the entire time. He probably thinks his foundation is shallow and that he'd only embarrass himself if he came out, so he's using alchemy as an excuse to stay in seclusion."
After Duobao joined the Interception Sect, he came to Kunlun Mountain.
Under Tongtian's guidance, Duobao also displayed extraordinary cultivation talent.
However, there had always been a thorn in Duobao's heart—the "other people's child" Tongtian often mentioned.
Whenever Tongtian achieved even the slightest accomplishment, he would go on about how Luo Xuan was this and Luo Xuan was that.
Although Duobao had never met Luo Xuan, he had secretly come to resent him.
By now, Duobao had faintly become the foremost among the many disciples on Kunlun Mountain.
Even though the disciples under Venerable Yuanshi were dissatisfied with him, they still dared not challenge him to his face.
Yet he remained unsatisfied. Having faintly touched the threshold of the Late Golden Immortal realm, he had become even more arrogant.
He believed that Tongtian's evaluation of Luo Xuan back then had been nothing but empty praise and an inflated reputation.
Thus, every few days, Duobao would seek out Xuan Du under the pretense of friendly sparring, only to beat Xuan Du black and blue each time.
Xuan Du was honest by nature and did not stoop to Duobao's level. But whenever Luo Xuan was mentioned, he bristled.
Xuan Du immediately glared angrily at Duobao and said, "Senior Disciple Brother is far stronger than I am. He would never be afraid."
Duobao did not believe him in the slightest. He glanced sideways at Xuan Du and said, "Then call him out and let me have a match with him."
Seeing Xuan Du fall silent, Duobao sneered. "I thought he was so powerful. Turns out he's nothing special. He can't even defend his junior fellow disciple with more than a few words. I think he's just a coward."
"You're not allowed to say that about Senior Disciple Brother Luo Xuan!"
The usually gentle and honest Xuan Du was completely enraged. A small dark-red flag appeared in his hand.
A Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Li Di Yan Huo Qi!
This was also the spiritual treasure Laozi had given Xuan Du after accepting him as a disciple.
The moment the small flag appeared, a dark-red flame surged toward Duobao.
This attack was clearly much stronger than the flame from before. Xuan Du had evidently been truly enraged.
Duobao, however, remained completely unafraid. As he swung the treasured sword in his hand, even sharper sword light tore the flames apart.
As his aura surged, Duobao struck Xuan Du in the chest with one palm.
Xuan Du's body immediately flew out like a broken sack, crashing through several massive trees before finally coming to a stop.
Duobao looked at the feeble Xuan Du and chuckled. "Senior Disciple Brother Xuan Du, can't you see the difference between us yet?"
"I merely said a few truths. Why are you so angry, Senior Disciple Brother Xuan Du?"
Suddenly, Duobao patted his forehead, looking as though he had just realized something.
"How could I have forgotten? You and Senior Disciple Brother Luo Xuan are both human, so naturally you'd defend him."
As he spoke, a mocking smile appeared on Duobao's face. "Humans are useless in everything except alchemy."
"You're all nothing but trash!"
Xuan Du stared fixedly at Duobao, his eyes bloodshot. Yet his chest felt as though it were stuffed with a lump of anger, leaving him unable to speak.
At that moment, Duobao's vision blurred, and a man wearing the same cloud-patterned Daoist robe appeared before him.
Duobao's expression changed slightly. So fast!
I know everyone on Kunlun Mountain. How come I've never seen this person before? Could he be...
Duobao threw his head back and laughed. "Luo Xuan, I've finally met you. I thought you didn't dare come out. Come on! Let's have a match..."
Before he could finish, Duobao felt a sharp pain in his face, and the scenery around him began spinning rapidly.
Luo Xuan withdrew his hand, frowned, and wiped his palm. "Annoying."
With that, Luo Xuan turned around and took out several elixirs for Xuan Du to swallow.
Duobao spun several times through the air before landing, even spitting out several teeth.
"This is impossible!" Duobao stared blankly at the teeth in his hand.
By then, Luo Xuan had also heard the general story from Xuan Du. He turned to look at Duobao.
"You were the one who said humans were trash?"
Duobao glared resentfully at Luo Xuan and shouted, "Luo Xuan, what kind of ability is sneak-attacking someone?"
"I'll make sure everyone on Kunlun Mountain sees what you're really like!"
Roaring, Duobao charged toward Luo Xuan.
Luo Xuan's eyes remained as calm as an ancient well. He slowly raised his hand.
In front of Luo Xuan, an invisible wall seemed to appear. No matter how Duobao exerted himself, he could not injure Luo Xuan in the slightest.
"How is this possible... How is this possible..." Disbelief filled Duobao's eyes.
"With this level of strength, you still dared to call humans trash?" Luo Xuan's indifferent voice rang in Duobao's ears.
Immediately afterward, Duobao saw a vast aura erupt from within Luo Xuan's body.
Dense Elixir Qi surged toward Duobao and drilled into him through his pores.
"What is this? What did you do to me?!"
Terror filled Duobao's eyes.
He felt that his body, which he had been able to control freely just moments ago, had repeatedly been filled with lead. It had become as heavy as a thousand jun!
Luo Xuan slowly walked up to Duobao, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.
"Apologize."
I Want to Travel Through the Primordial Wilderness
"Apologize."
On Kunlun Mountain, Luo Xuan looked indifferently at the immobilized Duobao.
Duobao stared at Luo Xuan in shock and fury. "What did you say?!"
Luo Xuan pointed at Xuan Du behind him and said, "Xuan Du is honest and gentle by nature. Without a special reason, he wouldn't cause trouble."
"You beat him into this state. Merely asking you to apologize is already letting you off easy."
Duobao looked at Luo Xuan in humiliation, his heart filled with extreme dread.
Although the others did not know what Luo Xuan had done, it had alarmed the Three Pure Ones.
Yuanshi sighed. "Mid Taiyi. Big Brother, you've hidden this deeply. You kept saying that Luo Xuan was in seclusion refining elixirs."
"How long has it been since he broke through?"
"If he had been cultivating all this time in seclusion, we could still believe that he had broken through to the Mid Taiyi realm."
Laozi laughed helplessly. "I didn't deceive you. Luo Xuan really was comprehending the Pill Dao."
Seeing Laozi's certain expression, Yuanshi was slightly stunned. He could not help secretly sighing at Luo Xuan's monstrous talent.
Tongtian stared deeply at Luo Xuan and said, "That's not all."
"The Immortal Qi Luo Xuan cultivates can actually ignore another person's physical body and enter through every opening. It even seems capable of controlling others. Strange and overbearing... Big Brother's Grand Pure Dao Method doesn't possess such an ability either, does it?"
Laozi stroked his beard and said uncertainly, "Perhaps it's a Divine Ability Luo Xuan comprehended himself."
Yuanshi glanced at Tongtian and chuckled. "Speaking of which, that Duobao boy is truly impressive. He actually challenged Luo Xuan while only at the Golden Immortal realm."
"No, it would be more accurate to say he went looking for a beating. Is this the so-called path of seizing a thread of life that Third Brother speaks of?"
At those words, Tongtian's face darkened immediately.
"Back then, Luo Xuan attempted to escape from Kunpeng, who was at the quasi-sage realm, while relying only on his Golden Immortal body. Why can't Duobao do the same?"
Although he said this, Tongtian was secretly annoyed. He thought that he would definitely reprimand Duobao when he returned.
"With Luo Xuan's strength, how could Duobao compare with him?" Yuanshi said with a sidelong smile.
Seeing the two of them begin arguing again, Laozi felt a headache coming on and shouted, "Enough! Stop arguing!"
After Duobao apologized to Xuan Du under Luo Xuan's overwhelming might, the two of them returned to Taiqing Palace.
As soon as they arrived, they saw Laozi, who had just finished persuading Yuanshi and Tongtian, looking utterly exhausted.
Laozi gave Luo Xuan a deep look, but ultimately did not ask about those strange and overbearing methods of his.
Those methods naturally were not Luo Xuan's Divine Ability. They were another wondrous aspect of the Primordial Pill Body that Luo Xuan had discovered while cultivating it.
However, recently, while cultivating, Luo Xuan had discovered that his Primordial Pill Body had reached a bottleneck.
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