As soon as Xuanxiao returned to Kunlun Mountain, he saw Taiyi pinning Zhunti down with the Chaos Bell, Old Father Tongtian standing on Jieyin, whom he had seriously wounded with a single sword strike, and Second Uncle Yuanshi pressing down six Grand Unity Golden Immortals from the Immortal Court while casually tempering lightning arts for fun. Only Eldest Uncle was locked in an evenly matched fight with Dong Wanggong. Xuanxiao then took out the Heaven and Earth Black and Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and said, "Eldest Uncle, here's your pagoda."
Laozi took the pagoda and set it above his head. He focused solely on attacking and not defending. Before long, he had beaten Dong Wanggong until his head was covered in lumps, leaving him in unbearable misery. Just then, Hongjun, the emergency mediator, arrived again and said, "You are all great powers of the Primordial Wilderness. Harmony should be the priority. I just mediated the Witch-Demon War, and now you Three Pure Ones have started fighting with the Immortal Court again... You are all cultivators. Where does all this anger come from?"
Xuanxiao raised his hand and said, "Dao Ancestor, Dong Wanggong came to Kunlun Mountain to provoke us first."
Hongjun said coldly, "Regardless, major battles are forbidden in the Primordial Wilderness during the three epochs." With that, he left.
Laozi was speechless. "This time, I'll spare you. All of you are to leave Kunlun Mountain." The Dao Ancestor has spoken. If I destroy them now, I'm afraid he'll be displeased.
Tongtian said, "Eldest Brother, are we really letting them off?"
Laozi pointed at the sky and said, "The Dao Ancestor has already made a trip here. We have no choice but to let them off. Let it go for now. We'll settle the score with them later."
"Eldest Uncle," Xuanxiao said, "I think it's fine to let them go. But it wouldn't hurt to seize their spiritual treasures before sending them away, would it?"
When Zhunti heard this, he shouted, "The Western Teachings are already poor and barren. You still want to take my spiritual treasures? Believe it or not, I'll self-detonate right now and show you!"
Xuanxiao said calmly, "I don't believe you. Go ahead and self-detonate. Let me see."
?(?'?'? )?????? Zhunti never imagined that Xuanxiao would say something like that, and he was instantly dumbfounded.
Xuanxiao laughed loudly. "Lost your nerve? If you don't dare, hand over all your spiritual treasures and we'll let you leave. Otherwise..." Xuanxiao stopped speaking, but his gaze grew increasingly cold.
Seeing Xuanxiao's increasingly cold gaze, Jieyin said, "The two of us can hand over several spiritual treasures, but we'll keep our life-bound treasures. Would that be acceptable?"
Fearing that Xuanxiao might go too far and anger Hongjun, Tongtian said, "That will do. Leave behind several Innate Spiritual Treasures, and you can get lost."
And so, the Immortal Court's entire group arrived in grand fashion, took a thorough beating, and then slunk back in disgrace.
After returning to Mount Sumeru, Zhunti looked at the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, which had been drained of a considerable amount of its origin. He raised his head and cursed, "Damn Witch Clan barbarians! I am irreconcilable with you!"
Jieyin remained relatively calm and asked Zhunti, "Junior Brother, how can you be certain the Witch Clan did this?"
Zhunti pointed at the Bodhi Tree and said, "They uprooted the Bodhi Tree by brute force, then reversed the Wood Law to absorb the tree's origin power. Other than Jumang, the Wood Ancestral Witch, who else could have done this?"
Jieyin nodded and said, "Our strength is insufficient for now. Once our cultivation is accomplished, we'll settle the score with them."
Zhunti nodded silently, but inwardly, he came to hate the Witch Clan. Thus, he secretly hid near Buzhou Mountain and took his frustrations out by ambushing some Lesser Witches.
Time passed slowly. In the blink of an eye, it was once again time for the second lecture at Purple Cloud Palace. Everyone heard Hongjun's voice: "The second lecture at Purple Cloud Palace is drawing near. You may proceed there at once."
And so, everyone who had attended the previous lecture once again rushed to Purple Cloud Palace together. This time, however, only Houtu came. The reason was that Di Jiang and the other Ancestral Witches felt that the old bastard Hongjun's mouth was full of cultivation methods for the Path of Nascent Soul, which had absolutely nothing to do with the Witch Clan. They wouldn't understand it even if they listened. The floor of Purple Cloud Palace was too hard, and sleeping there was uncomfortable, so none of them came.
In Purple Cloud Palace, after all the immortals had taken their seats, Hongjun began. "This time, I'll be lecturing on the method of becoming a Quasi-Saint. A so-called Quasi-Saint..."
After a torrent of flowery words and golden lotuses springing from the ground, Hongjun said, "The third lecture will begin in three thousand years. During this period, I hope there will be no large-scale conflicts in the Primordial Wilderness."
And so, the lecture ended, and everyone dispersed. After returning home to Mount Sumeru, Jieyin and Zhunti discovered that their home had been robbed. Their dojo had been smashed into complete disarray.
Jieyin collapsed on the spot. "Who was it? Who dared to humiliate the two of us like this?"
Zhunti pointed at the footprints and said, "Senior Brother, this should have been the work of the Ancestral Witches. Look at the footprints beneath Mount Sumeru. They clearly came from an Ancestral Witch True Body. Besides, no one other than them, who didn't attend the lecture at Purple Cloud Palace, could have entered Mount Sumeru while the Mountain Protection Array was active."
Jieyin said, "Junior Brother, let's go together to Buzhou Mountain and demand justice from the Witch Clan."
Zhunti nodded. "Together, together."
Before you continue