The atmosphere inside Zixiao Palace had grown subtle.
Zhunti sat down on the Cushion Hong Yun had given up.
The sorrowful look on his face had long since vanished without a trace, replaced by the smug delight of someone whose scheme had succeeded.
Many powerful figures in the hall frowned at the sight, cursing inwardly at how shameless this Daoist from the West was.
Some secretly envied him. The Cushion clearly wasn't an ordinary item, and sitting on it was bound to bring great benefits.
But Zhunti didn't care in the slightest. As long as he could gain some benefits, what did a few disdainful looks matter?
These Innate Great Gods had all been born in the East, with deep roots from birth. They had never suffered hardship, so how could they understand the difficulties he and his senior brother had endured while seeking the Dao in the West?
He had obtained one Cushion, but his senior brother Jieyin was still standing!
How could that do?
His senior brother had to get a seat too!
The two brothers had always stood together through thick and thin, advancing and retreating as one!
Zhunti's eyes shifted as he swept his gaze over the remaining Cushions.
The Three Pure Ones?
No, no. The Three Pure Ones had been transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. Their roots were profound and their Destiny and Fortune enduring. A head-on confrontation would definitely gain him nothing. Besides, the three of them were one body, united like an iron wall. They couldn't be touched.
Nuwa?
Although she was a woman, Fuxi was eyeing everything like a tiger beside her. With the brother and sister joining forces, they were equally difficult to provoke.
Hmm?
Zhunti's gaze ultimately landed on the figure sitting alone on the fifth Cushion—Kunpeng!
Yes, it was him!
He looked weak and isolated, with no one to rely on. At a glance, he seemed easy to bully!
In terms of roots, he couldn't compare with the Three Pure Ones. In terms of backing, he was inferior to Nuwa, who had an elder brother protecting her. As for connections... judging from his appearance of wanting to keep everyone at arm's length, he probably didn't have any life-and-death friendships either!
Zhunti made up his mind. He looked at Kunpeng, his face once again beginning to brew with emotion as he prepared to use his old trick.
"Fellow Daoist!" Zhunti instantly put on a sorrowful expression and addressed Kunpeng. "Look at my senior brother. He came all the way from the distant, barren lands of the West, enduring countless hardships, all for the sake of listening to a Sage expound the Great Dao!"
"And yet he doesn't even have a seat now. Fellow Daoist, why not show some mercy and do us a favor?"
Jieyin immediately understood and stepped forward, pressing his palms together. "Fellow Daoist, please do us this favor."
Kunpeng had been closing his eyes and sensing the mysteries of the Cushion when this sudden disturbance interrupted him. His expression darkened at once.
These two shameless bastards!
They had used exactly this expression just now to cry and whine their way into tricking that fool Hong Yun out of his Cushion!
And now they had set their sights on him?
Did they really take him for a pushover?!
"Get lost!" A chill flashed through Kunpeng's eyes as he spat out the word without the slightest courtesy.
"Fellow Daoist, why would you say that?" Zhunti's face was thick enough that he didn't care in the slightest. "In a Sage's Dojo, what matters is destiny and affinity. My senior brother is fated to this Cushion. Why not help bring about this good affinity?"
"Fated? I think you just want to snatch it!" Kunpeng sneered.
At that moment, Yuanshi, seated on the second Cushion, slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze swept over Kunpeng, carrying undisguised disgust and contempt.
Then he slowly spoke, uttering the "famous quote" that shook all of Zixiao Palace and was passed down for countless years: "Hmph! Beasts covered in fur and bearing horns, creatures born from moisture and eggs—do you think you're worthy of sitting here with us?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all of Zixiao Palace abruptly fell silent!
Everyone stared at Yuanshi in astonishment!
Even Taiqing Laozi, beside him, couldn't help frowning slightly, clearly feeling that the words were inappropriate.
Tongtian's eyes widened even further as he looked at his Second Brother in disbelief.
He clearly hadn't expected his Second Brother to say something so vicious and merciless!
This was simply an indiscriminate attack!
With a single sentence, he had included many of the powerful figures present!
Di Jun and Taiyi's expressions instantly turned extremely ugly, cold intent flashing in their eyes.
Fuxi's brows drew tightly together, and Nuwa also slightly furrowed her delicate brows.
Behind them, among the Twelve Ancestor Witches, everyone except Wu Ming deeply furrowed their brows.
It was practically the same as pointing at Kunpeng's nose in front of every powerful figure in the Primordial Wilderness and cursing him, grinding his origins and birth into the dirt!
Kunpeng felt a surge of blood rush straight to his head, and his face instantly swelled purple-red!
"Yuanshi! You..." Kunpeng abruptly rose to his feet, demonic aura churning around him as killing intent filled his eyes.
However, Yuanshi merely cast him a cold glance, his eyes like those of someone looking at an ant.
The Three Pure Ones stood together as one. Although Taiqing and Tongtian might not entirely agree with Yuanshi, they would not undermine him after he had spoken.
That invisible pressure weighed heavily upon Kunpeng's heart!
Nearby, Jieyin and Zhunti said nothing more, but the aura of two top-tier powerful figures radiating from them also locked firmly onto Kunpeng, as though they were ready to strike at any moment.
Kunpeng instinctively looked around.
Di Jun and Taiyi watched coldly from the sidelines, even showing a hint of schadenfreude.
Nuwa and Fuxi wore expressionless faces.
Zhen Yuanzi frowned, seemingly wanting to say something. But after looking at the Three Pure Ones and then at Jieyin and Zhunti, he ultimately chose to remain silent.
Hong Yun hesitated, wanting to speak, but in the end, he merely sighed.
As for Wu Ming and the Twelve Ancestor Witches...
"Tsk, Yuanshi really does have an unpleasant mouth," Zhurong muttered with a curl of his lips.
"But Kunpeng really is a little too weak," Gonggong agreed, his tone carrying a trace of disdain.
"Enough," Wu Ming said calmly. "Just watch."
Only then did the Ancestral Witches shut their mouths sullenly, though their gazes toward Yuanshi and Zhunti were filled with hostility.
Kunpeng knew that he couldn't keep sitting in this seat today.
If he didn't leave now, things would only become more humiliating!
"Good! Good! Good!" Kunpeng laughed in his fury.
He abruptly rose and shot an incomparably venomous look at the true culprit—Hong Yun!
I'll remember this grudge!
Next, he glanced at Yuanshi, Zhunti, and Jieyin.
Then, without saying a word, he walked to the back of the hall, found an inconspicuous corner, and sat down again.
"Thank you for doing us this favor, Fellow Daoist!" Jieyin hurried forward, bowed toward the direction in which Kunpeng had left, and then sat down without ceremony on the vacated Cushion.
Then he bowed toward Yuanshi. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for speaking up for justice!"
At last, the six Cushions in Zixiao Palace had been settled.
The farce had come to an end.
But everyone understood that this Karma had been forged.
The hall once again fell silent, but the atmosphere was even more oppressive than before.
Some despised Jieyin and Zhunti for their shamelessness, some looked down on Yuanshi for his cruelty, and others sympathized with Kunpeng's plight.
Wu Ming took everything in and transmitted to the Twelve Ancestor Witches, "Did you see that? This is the law of survival in the Primordial Wilderness. Without sufficient strength, you don't even have the qualifications to sit securely in a position."
"Remember Kunpeng's fate today. We of the Witch Clan must never repeat his mistake!"
Zhurong, Gonggong, and the others wore thoughtful expressions. Their gazes toward Kunpeng had also grown more complicated.
Time slowly passed.
At last, the three-thousand-year period arrived!
Buzz—
Within Zixiao Palace, the boundless Daoist rhymes and laws instantly became incomparably clear and dense.
Everyone's spirits were roused!
Haotian and Yaochi, the two adorable youths with delicate, doll-like features, walked to the palace gates and slowly closed the heavy doors together.
"By the master's order, the palace gates are closing. They will not open again until ten thousand years have passed."
As the palace gates shut completely, the hall formed a world of its own.
On the high platform, a figure had silently appeared at some unknown point on the Cushion that had originally been empty.
It was Hongjun!
Hongjun's gaze swept across the entire hall. He spoke calmly, his voice plain yet clearly reaching the ears of every person present:
"You have all traveled from afar. Since you were able to enter my Zixiao Palace, you share an affinity with this impoverished Daoist."
"When I expound the Dao in the future, you shall listen according to the positions you occupy today. They may not be changed again."
As soon as these words were spoken!
Kunpeng's expression instantly turned incomparably ugly, darkening as if water might drip from it!
He stared fixedly at Jieyin, who was sitting in the position that had originally belonged to him, as well as... Hong Yun, who had caused all of this!
On the other side, Hong Yun trembled all over, his face filled with endless frustration and regret!
Zhunti and Jieyin, sitting on the Cushions, exchanged a glance. From each other's eyes, they saw joy that could no longer be concealed!
They had bet correctly!
These Cushions truly were a heaven-defying opportunity!