How could anyone not be envious?

The Crimson Gourd had been given to Hong Yun, the Gourd Vine had also gone to Hong Yun, and now even the Purple Gourd belonged to him.

Hong Yun alone had taken all three supreme treasures.

While all of them were present, they had not even touched the edge of one.

Who wouldn't be furious?

Dijiang, the Ancestral Witch, was completely unfazed by everyone's anger. Pointing at the Three Pure Ones, he scolded coldly, "What kind of attitude is this? Didn't you swear earlier that you would divide them according to our wishes?"

Taishang Laojun watched the Purple Gourd he had set his heart on fly away, and his heart twisted with pain. "Even if we swore an oath, you can't act so recklessly!"

Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao oath restrained him. Otherwise, he would have already fought the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Yuanshi said solemnly, "This division is far too unfair!"

Tongtian was furious. "Dijiang, if your Witch Clan keeps dividing things like this, what will we get? Are you really planning to fall out with the Three Pure Ones?"

This division was simply treating them like fools.

Nuwa and Dijun were also gnashing their teeth in anger.

However, they were outnumbered and could not compare with the united Three Pure Ones.

Besides, although they wanted the Purple Gourd, they were not as obsessed with it as Taishang Laojun.

After all, Dijiang still held five gourds in his hands.

Jieyin and Zhunti were not particularly angry. They had already regarded Hong Yun's treasures as things in their own pockets.

They would trick them over sooner or later.

When Zhurong heard the Three Pure Ones shouting, he became blazing mad. "Then let us become enemies! Big Brother, these Three Pure Ones don't take our Witch Clan seriously at all. We might as well stop dividing them and give everything to Fellow Daoist Hong Yun!"

Gonggong, the Ancestral Witch, chimed in, "Exactly! The Three Pure Ones have already fallen out with us. Big Brother, stop hesitating and give everything to Hong Yun!"

The other Ancestral Witches shouted in unison, "That's right! Give everything to Hong Yun. It's better than letting our enemies benefit!"

Every one of them wore an expression of fury, acting as though they truly meant it.

Those words struck everyone dumb.

Nuwa muttered under her breath, "Don't! There are still five gourds!"

If they really stopped dividing them and gave everything to Hong Yun, she would not get a single one.

Dijun glared at the Three Pure Ones, resentment showing in his eyes.

Although he was enemies with the Witch Clan, he had always felt that the Twelve Ancestral Witches might give him one.

But after the Three Pure Ones caused this commotion, the Ancestral Witches would no longer divide them, and he had completely lost his chance.

Jieyin and Zhunti shouted together, "Three Pure Ones, shut up!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Dijiang strode over to Hong Yun.

He said solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, these Three Pure Ones have angered us greatly. We would rather become enemies with them than divide these gourds."

"There's no use keeping them anyway. We'll give them all to you!"

With that, Dijiang stuffed the remaining gourds into Hong Yun's arms.

Hong Yun accepted them with a beaming smile, his face full of delight.

This whole act had been planned by him from start to finish.

From getting everyone to accept the Ancestral Witches dividing the treasures to forcing everyone to swear an oath.

He had not expected the Three Pure Ones to be the ones who took the bait.

This move was called bringing disaster upon oneself.

When the others saw this, they all exploded.

But because of their earlier oaths, they had no way to question the Twelve Ancestral Witches' division.

They could not go back on their word, either.

They could only vent all their pent-up fury on the Three Pure Ones.

Demon Emperor Dijun roared, "Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, you three are compensating me for my treasures!"

He had known that the chances of getting treasures from the Ancestral Witches were slim, but now that he could pin the blame on the Three Pure Ones, perhaps he could extort something from them.

Nuwa snorted coldly. "Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, you owe me a treasure! If you hadn't angered the Twelve Ancestral Witches, how could I have failed to get even one?"

Jieyin shouted, "Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, each of you owes me a treasure. That makes three!"

Zhunti added insult to injury. "That's right. Three people, three treasures. My senior brother and I are owed six in total!"

The two of them were purely taking advantage of the chaos. After all, there was no harm in extorting them.

With how shameless those two were, if the Three Pure Ones did not hand over six treasures this time, they would still have to suffer a great loss.

As for the seven gourds and the Gourd Vine, Jieyin and Zhunti had never intended to let them go.

Once they found an opportunity, they would certainly trick them out of Hong Yun's hands.

After all, Hong Yun was famous for being easygoing.

At that moment, a mechanical voice rang out in Hong Yun's mind. "Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully causing trouble..."

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully causing trouble. Reward: the Great Desolation's supreme treasure for refining artifacts, the Qiankun Cauldron!"

As soon as the system's voice faded, Hong Yun's heart blossomed with joy.

He had truly gotten exactly what he wanted. He had just obtained the Innate Gourd Vine and had been worrying about how to refine it.

The system had immediately sent him the Great Desolation's foremost artifact-refining divine treasure.

It was said that the Qiankun Cauldron had transformed from the lotus receptacle of the chaos treasure, the Primordial Creation Lotus.

When Pangu opened the heavens, the Primordial Creation Lotus shattered. Its lotus receptacle split into two, with one half becoming the Qiankun Cauldron.

The other half transformed into the treasure for refining pills, the Cauldron of Fortune.

Hong Yun secretly rejoiced. "Obtaining this Qiankun Cauldron is an incredible profit!"

However, he did not dare take the Qiankun Cauldron out just yet.

At the scene, everyone pressed the Three Pure Ones step by step.

They shouted together, "Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, hand over treasures and compensate us!"

The Three Pure Ones' faces darkened like the bottom of a cooking pot. "If you keep forcing us, there will be nothing left but a fight!"

Clearly, it was the Twelve Ancestral Witches who had divided the treasures unfairly, so why had they become the scapegoats?

Jieyin egged them on. "Then fight! In any case, there is no Heavenly Dao oath between us!"

Dijun gnashed his teeth. "If you don't compensate us for our losses today, we will fight all the way to Kunlun Mountain and never stop!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, the Three Pure Ones all summoned their top-grade spiritual treasures to protect themselves.

Taishang Laojun held the White Jade Gourd Staff in his hand. Its immense might surged as it shielded his entire body.

A Three Treasures Jade Ruyi revolved above Yuanshi's head, ready to guard against a sneak attack at any moment.

Tongtian gripped the Qingping Sword tightly. Its sword qi was chilling, and its killing intent was overwhelming.

Seeing this, Nuwa, Dijun, Jieyin, and Zhunti also revealed their spiritual treasures, preparing to fight the Three Pure Ones.

Hong Yun glanced at the Twelve Ancestral Witches and cupped his hands toward everyone. "I will take my leave first!"

With that, he rode the clouds straight toward Fire Cloud Cave.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance but did not pursue him.

Chasing Hong Yun now would be too conspicuous and might attract other people's attention.

They planned to extort treasures from the Three Pure Ones first, then settle accounts with Hong Yun.

Seeing that no one was pursuing Hong Yun, the Twelve Ancestral Witches also dispersed.

As for the grudge between the Three Pure Ones and the others, they could not be bothered to interfere.

However, the Three Pure Ones had clearly provoked the wrath of everyone this time. Even if they did not die, they would still lose a layer of skin.

They could not escape compensating everyone with several treasures.

Three months later, Hong Yun returned to Fire Cloud Cave.

He laid down restrictions and sealed the cave dwelling tightly.

During this period, he wanted to focus on cultivation and did not want outsiders disturbing him.

Whoosh!

Hong Yun took out the Qiankun Cauldron and placed it before him.

This foremost treasure for refining artifacts truly lived up to its reputation. The pressure it emitted was no weaker than that of any Innate Supreme Treasure.

After examining it, he exclaimed in amazement, "This Qiankun Cauldron actually has forty-two innate restrictions!"

The treasures of the Great Desolation were classified by their restrictions.

Lower-grade spiritual treasures had nine to sixteen restrictions, while mid-grade ones had sixteen to twenty-four.

High-grade treasures had twenty-five to thirty-five, and supreme-grade treasures had thirty-six to forty.

Innate Supreme Treasures had between forty-one and forty-nine restrictions.

The more restrictions a treasure had, the stronger it was.

However, treasures with forty-nine restrictions were exceedingly rare. Perhaps only the Three Treasures of Creation could reach that level.

Although having more restrictions was beneficial, refining them was also unimaginably difficult.

For example, Eastern Emperor Taiyi's Chaos Bell had forty-nine restrictions, yet he had still not finished refining them.

Otherwise, relying on this treasure alone, he could sweep across the Great Desolation and be invincible against anyone below a Saint.

Hong Yun secretly made up his mind. "I will refine this Qiankun Cauldron first!"

To refine the Innate Gourds, he had to master the Qiankun Cauldron first.

Even if he could not refine all of it, refining part of it would be enough as long as he could activate it.

He summoned the Great Dao Cushion and sat down upon it.

This cushion was wondrous beyond words. It could increase the speed of cultivation and treasure refinement a hundredfold.

If someone else refined the Qiankun Cauldron, they would not even be able to budge it in ten thousand years.

But Hong Yun only needed a hundred.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

He sat cross-legged and began refining it.

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed.

Hong Yun opened his eyes and waved his hand. The Qiankun Cauldron moved according to his will.

He said with satisfaction, "I refined thirty-six restrictions. I can now activate it freely!"

Refining thirty-six restrictions in a hundred years was something no one in the Great Desolation would dare believe.

However, the restrictions became more difficult to refine toward the end.

Even after another two hundred years, he might not be able to finish the remaining six.

For now, this was already sufficient.

He then took out the seven Innate Gourds.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The seven-colored gourds floated before him, shining brilliantly.

Hong Yun thought secretly, "One gourd can be refined into a Supreme Grade Spiritual Treasure. If I refine all seven together, I wonder what divine treasure will emerge!"

After refining the Qiankun Cauldron, he no longer needed to pay much attention to it. It could refine things on its own.

He threw the seven gourds inside and stopped worrying about them.

He estimated that the result would emerge after five hundred years.

At the same time, he began cultivating.

Now he had the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique to temper his body and the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique to refine his spirit.

He cultivated both his physical body and primordial spirit, advancing in tandem.

He had already abandoned the Colorful Cloud Immortal Art. Compared to the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique, it was utterly insignificant.

Three hundred years later, his aura suddenly surged.

"Three hundred years on the Great Dao Cushion is equivalent to thirty thousand years. I have reached the peak of the Great Luo!"

Immortal power surged through his body like an ocean, and he could not suppress his excitement.

In the current Great Desolation, aside from Dao Ancestor Hongjun, no one surpassed him in realm.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Dijun, and the others had only reached the late Great Luo stage.

He calculated with his fingers. "The second lecture at Purple Firmament Palace is only fifty years away. I can't continue cultivating."

Nearly ten thousand years had passed since the previous lecture. If he did not leave now, he would not make it in time.

The second lecture would cover the path to Quasi-Sainthood, which would benefit him immensely.

Hong Yun rose and put away the Great Dao Cushion.

He also stored the Qiankun Cauldron, which was still refining the gourds, in his personal space.

The Qiankun Cauldron could refine the gourds just as well inside the space.

He checked its progress. "It will take another two hundred years to finish. By then, I will already be at Purple Firmament Palace."

The total time was five hundred years, and only three hundred had passed.

However, it would be inconvenient to take the treasure out at Purple Firmament Palace.

He shook his head. "I won't think about it anymore!"

The second lecture concerned the opportunity for Quasi-Sainthood and could not be missed.

He had now reached the peak of the Great Luo. The lecture was crucial to his next step toward the Primordial Unity realm.

"The Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique has reached the fifth revolution, and the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique has reached the fourth. I can listen while cultivating at Purple Firmament Palace!"

"After three thousand years of lectures, my physical body and primordial spirit will surely advance greatly. Perhaps I can charge straight into Quasi-Sainthood!"

Hong Yun secretly made his plans.

Once everything was arranged, he withdrew the restrictions.

Just as he was about to leave Fire Cloud Cave for Purple Firmament Palace, two figures suddenly appeared before him.

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, we have been waiting for you for so long!"

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, you finally came out. We nearly died of anxiety when we saw that your cave dwelling was tightly sealed!"

The visitors were none other than Jieyin and Zhunti.

They had fought Nuwa, Dijun, and the Three Pure Ones, gained a little advantage, and then rushed straight to Fire Cloud Cave.

The gourd that had originally intended to trick Hong Yun ran straight into the tightly shut cave abode.

No matter how loudly they shouted outside, Hong Yun could not hear them.

They did not dare force their way in, so they could only stand guard outside.

And so they kept watch for over three hundred years.

With the Purple Firmament Palace lecture about to begin, they were growing anxious when they finally saw Hong Yun emerge.

Hong Yun froze. "Greetings, fellow Daoists!"

He had not expected the two of them to be so persistent, still scheming to set him up.

He knew perfectly well that Jieyin and Zhunti never rose early without profit in mind. They had come to plot against him again.

But the Hong Yun of today was no longer the Hong Yun of the past.

He laughed inwardly. Trying to set me up? Be careful, or I'll turn the tables on you!

Jieyin and Zhunti cupped their hands toward Hong Yun in unison. "Greetings, fellow Daoist Hong Yun!"

Hong Yun replied indifferently, "What brings you two here? I am just on my way to Purple Firmament Palace to hear the Dao Ancestor lecture, so I'll have to decline your company."

He lifted a foot to leave, but Jieyin stopped him. "Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, what a coincidence! The two of us are going to Purple Firmament Palace as well. Why don't we travel together?"

Zhunti chimed in with a beaming smile, "It would be a great pleasure to travel with fellow Daoist Hong Yun!"

The corner of Hong Yun's mouth twitched. These two really are like sticky candy that you can't shake off.

Along the way, Jieyin and Zhunti chattered incessantly, trying to ingratiate themselves with him, but Hong Yun kept his mouth shut and did not answer.