Innate Divine Root Ginseng Fruit

Western Lands, Spirit Mountain.

High in the sky, a colossal bird with wings that blotted out the sun circled; it was Kunpeng.

With unparalleled speed, Kunpeng arrived in the Western Lands in the blink of an eye.

"Truly barren to the point of sighing!"

Kunpeng circled Spirit Mountain a few times. As far as his eyes could see, aside from boundless scorched earth exuding wisps of Demonic Qi, there was nothing else.

He recalled how, in the past, Demon Ancestor Luohu and Dao Ancestor Hongjun fought the Dao-Demon War for the position of Spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao.

Luohu detonated the spiritual veins of the Western Lands and even instigated the Dragon-Han Primordial Calamity, but in the end, he was no match for Hongjun and perished.

After this battle, the entire Western Lands turned into a scorched wasteland.

"Hmph, no matter what, I can't let these two bald Westerners have it easy!"

Kunpeng surveyed the desolate land. Though he didn't know how to proceed, he felt indignant.

Jieyin and Zhunti had snatched his great fortune. How could he not seek revenge for this grievance!

After a moment of thought, a cunning glint flashed in Kunpeng's eyes.

He then looked down at the ceaseless Demonic Qi rising from the ground. His massive wings unfurled, and he rapidly circled above Spirit Mountain.

In moments, the Demonic Qi, like a tornado whipped up by a gale, gradually gathered and enveloped Spirit Mountain entirely.

Not only that, but the Demonic Qi, now concentrated in one place, was hundreds of times more potent than before.

With a resounding cry!

As the Demonic Qi converged, Kunpeng opened his mouth and spat out a blazing True Sun Fire.

This fire was the most potent divine flame from the Solar Star.

It was a rare seed of fire gifted by Demon Emperor Dijun when he tried to win him over.

Though it was just a wisp and would vanish after use, Kunpeng could no longer afford to care about such a precious treasure.

He intended to ignite the Demonic Qi in the Western Lands and turn Spirit Mountain into ashes.

Spirit Mountain was Jieyin and Zhunti's lair.

Only by destroying their foundation could he slightly alleviate the hatred in his heart.

With a tremendous roar!

In an instant, the boundless Demonic Qi was ignited by the True Sun Fire.

The entire Western Lands were engulfed in flames reaching the sky.

The once barren Western Lands had only Spirit Mountain remaining with a sliver of spiritual energy, barely qualifying as a low-grade grotto-heaven.

But now, this great fire had utterly incinerated it.

"Hahaha, so satisfying!"

Kunpeng looked down at Spirit Mountain being swallowed by the flames, laughing wildly.

At the same time.

Jieyin and Zhunti were joyfully returning to the Western Lands.

Their gains from Purple Firmament Palace were considerable.

Although they were beaten black and blue protecting their Purple Cushion and even had their Natal Treasures snatched away.

They had become disciples of a Saint. Even if only as nominal disciples, their hopes of becoming Saints in the future had greatly increased.

Compared to becoming a Saint, a few magical treasures were nothing.

How could the two not be beaming with joy?

"Huh? What's going on!"

Jieyin, who was in high spirits, suddenly looked in the direction of Spirit Mountain.

They had been traveling for a while and were not too far from Spirit Mountain.

"This is bad! Why is our Spirit Mountain on fire?"

Zhunti also spotted the sky ablaze with fire, rising from Spirit Mountain.

The two were instantly thrown into a panic.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Jieyin and Zhunti instantly accelerated to their utmost speed, heading straight for Spirit Mountain.

In mid-air, a streak of light flashed by.

It was Kunpeng.

He flapped his massive wings, moving several times faster than Jieyin and Zhunti.

"Jieyin and Zhunti, you old thieves! Go back and clean up your broken nest! Hahaha, how dare you steal my cushion!"

Kunpeng's wild laughter echoed in their ears.

Their expressions suddenly turned grim.

At this moment, they had already guessed that the fire at Spirit Mountain was definitely Kunpeng's doing.

But they had no time to pursue him now; they had to rush back to put out the fire.

Besides, if Kunpeng didn't want to be entangled, the two of them wouldn't be able to catch up at all.

Not long after.

Above Spirit Mountain.

Jieyin and Zhunti were in disarray, their bodies covered in black, as if they had just crawled out of smoke and dust.

Their faces were so gloomy they looked like they could drip water.

"It's over, Spirit Mountain is all burned down!"

Jieyin's face was filled with grief.

"Hateful! That feathered bird, I will never let it off! Amitabha!"

Zhunti was so angry he swore and his eyes teared up.

In the vast Western Lands, only Spirit Mountain was left as a place for cultivation, and now it was burned to bareness.

Let alone grotto-heavens and blessed lands, it wasn't even as good as ordinary mountains.

All spiritual energy was gone, and residual demonic qi was still spreading everywhere.

How could they cultivate now!

They had planned to return to Spirit Mountain and go into seclusion for centuries, then advance from the early stage of Grand Unity to the middle stage.

But now...

Helpless, the two could only first extinguish the flames on Spirit Mountain and wait for it to slowly recover.

After all, Spirit Mountain was their foundation, the will of heaven.

Giving up was absolutely impossible.

As they repaired Spirit Mountain, they sighed endlessly:

"Looking across the Great Desolation, besides Dao Ancestor and Fellow Daoist Hongyun, where else are there good people!"

"Exactly, Fellow Daoist Hongyun was willing to give us the Purple Cushion, others would just snatch it!"

"Especially that Kunpeng, to actually retaliate against us like this!"

"Extremely hateful, truly hateful!"

In Wuzhuang Temple.

Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi discussed the Great Dao and tasted a few Ginseng Fruits, feeling that this was the true joy of an immortal.

After staying in Wuzhuang Temple for several months, Hongyun bid farewell to Zhenyuanzi.

"Fellow Daoist Hongyun, I have nothing much to give you as a parting gift, please accept these five Ginseng Fruits."

Zhenyuanzi escorted Hongyun to the outside of the temple and took out several Ginseng Fruits with a wave of his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi, you are too kind."

Hongyun accepted the fruits, made an appointment to meet Zhenyuanzi again, and then flew towards Fire Cloud Cave.

"Now that Dao Ancestor Hongjun's first lecture is over, I'm afraid we're about to usher in the Witch-Demon Tribulation!"

Hongyun mused as he flew.

Although he had the System by his side, and harming the Great Desolation would bring rewards.

But what time was it now, the Witch-Demon Tribulation was about to strike!

How terrifying was the power of a tribulation? Hongyun was no novice in the Great Desolation.

When it reached its peak, even powerful Quasi-Saints like the Twelve Ancestral Witches and Dijun and Taiyi would perish.

In the face of the tribulation, all would turn to dust.

"Strength, the most important thing right now is strength!"

Hongyun calculated in his heart.

Only with enough strength could he survive the tribulation.

Otherwise, he could only hide and never get involved in the affairs of the tribulation.

It was easy for others to hide, like Zhenyuanzi hiding in Wuzhuang Temple, or Minghe concealing himself in the Sea of Blood.

But he, Hongyun, couldn't.

Because he was already within Hongjun's calculations!

According to the original trajectory, he would die because of the Primordial Violet Qi.

"This Primordial Violet Qi is Hongjun's scheme against me. I wonder if I can refuse it at that time!"

Hongyun pondered inwardly.

He immediately shook his head, thinking it was as difficult as reaching heaven.

A Saint's gift, to refuse it would be to slight the Saint's face, only inviting deeper schemes.

"If all else fails, I'll turn the tables then!"

Hongyun's thoughts stirred.

He flew along, pondering, but didn't pay attention to his path.

Looking up, he saw he had already reached the Witch Clan's territory.

Further ahead.

A group of a massive race was besieging two Three-legged Golden Crows.

That giant race was the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and within their encirclement, Demon Emperor Dijun and Demon Emperor Taiyi were quite battered.

Both were in the middle stage of Grand Unity, yet they couldn't defeat the twelve Ancestral Witches, who were in the early stage of Grand Unity.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches were born from Pangu's essence and blood. Although they lacked Primordial Spirits and couldn't refine magical treasures, their physical bodies were stronger than ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasures.

They were born from the same source, and their combined might was astonishing, making them difficult to deal with even for those in the late stage of Grand Unity.

Bang bang bang!

The Ancestral Witches' attacks rained down on Dijun and Taiyi like a tide.

Fortunately, Eastern Emperor Taiyi unleashed his Natal Treasure, the Eastern Emperor Bell, blocking the fierce blows time and again.

Hongyun knew this Eastern Emperor Bell was extraordinary.

It was a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

And it was a top-tier treasure containing World-Opening Merit.

It was transformed from the World-Opening Divine Axe.

In the past, when Pangu opened the heavens, the divine axe split into three parts.

The axe face became the Taiji Diagram, capable of stabilizing the fundamental elements of the world, calming chaos wherever it went.

The axe blade became the Pangu Banner, primarily for offense, capable of cleaving chaos, its single-target power second only to the divine axe.

The axe handle became the Chaos Bell, primarily for defense, possessing the ability to suppress chaos, invert time and space, refine yin and yang, and reverse the natural order.

After the world was opened, the Chaos Bell suppressed the stars of the heavens. Upon completion, it flew to the Solar Star and became Eastern Emperor Taiyi's accompanying treasure.

Later, it was renamed the Eastern Emperor Bell.

Currently, Taiyi was only in the middle stage of Grand Unity and had not fully refined the treasure's restrictions.

Otherwise, with this supreme treasure, he would be invincible.

Alas...

However, upon closer thought, this treasure should have a deeper connection with the Witch Clan, as the Witch Clan inherited Pangu's bloodline and revered him as their Father God.

This was, after all, their Father God's relic.

"The Witch-Demon Tribulation has not yet reached its peak, and I didn't expect the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the two Demon Emperors to have already started fighting!"

"Fortunately, they are currently only in the early to middle stages of Grand Unity, not yet at the peak of Quasi-Saint, otherwise the Great Desolation would likely fall into chaos!"

Hongyun muttered.

This should be the first clash between the Witches and Demons.

He did not wish to get involved in the tribulation, and seeing this, he intended to leave.

The grudges between the Witches and Demons had nothing to do with him, Hongyun.

"Fellow Daoist Hongyun!"

Just then, a shout came, it was Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

Although suppressed by the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they still spotted Hongyun passing by.

"Fellow Daoist Hongyun, we are both of the Demon Clan. Now that you see us being bullied by the Witch Clan, why don't you lend a hand?"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi shouted loudly.

They were no match for the Twelve Ancestral Witches. If they could pull Hongyun in, the three of them fighting together might be able to fight on par, or even gain the upper hand.

After all, it was common knowledge that Hongyun had broken through to the middle stage of Grand Unity in Purple Heaven Palace.

In Taiyi's view, Hongyun was a kind-hearted person who wouldn't hold a grudge even if dragged into trouble.

"Excellent! Fellow Daoist Hongyun, we are all of the Demon Clan, we should unite to resist the Witch Clan!"

Dijun's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he quickly echoed loudly.

Their words reached the ears of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, immediately making them vigilant.

They all looked towards Hongyun, their eyes filled with caution.

If Hongyun joined, their plan to beat up the two Demon Emperors today would likely fall through.

After all, Hongyun's aura was powerful, far surpassing any of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

"Dijun, Taiyi Fellow Daoist, I am merely a cloud that took form, how can I be considered part of the Demon Clan?"

Hongyun, unhappy that the two Demon Emperors were trying to drag him in, immediately denied it.

"Haha, Dijun brat, Taiyi mongrel, did you hear that! Hongyun Fellow Daoist is not part of your Demon Clan at all!"

As soon as Hongyun finished speaking, Ancestral Witch Dijiang burst into laughter.

The other Ancestral Witches also glanced at Hongyun, giving him friendly looks.

As long as Hongyun didn't help Dijun and Taiyi, they would definitely make these two mongrel birds suffer today!

At this moment, Dijun and Taiyi's faces were grim.

They hadn't expected Hongyun to directly deny his identity as part of the Demon Clan.

But then again, Hongyun was the first cloud to take form in the Great Desolation, so no one could refute him if he said he wasn't part of the Demon Clan.

Immediately, Eastern Emperor Taiyi's gaze shifted, and he shouted at Hongyun again:

"Hongyun Fellow Daoist, you just returned from Wuzhuang Temple, you must have brought the Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Root Ginseng Fruit with you!"

"Who in the Great Desolation wouldn't covet such a treasure!"

"Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Root Ginseng Fruit?"

"Heavens!"

"What a treasure!"

Upon hearing this, the Twelve Ancestral Witches' faces showed greed.

They stared at Hongyun with bloodshot eyes, examining him up and down.

Ordinary treasures, even Innate Spiritual Treasures, were beneath their notice.

But the Ginseng Fruit was different; consuming it could increase one's cultivation.

Such spiritual items were few and far between in the Great Desolation.

If the Innate Spiritual Roots were ranked, the Ginseng Fruit would definitely be in the top ten.

"Let's see how you can stay out of this, hmph!"

Seeing the Ancestral Witches' reaction, Eastern Emperor Taiyi sneered inwardly, looking at Hongyun with a triumphant gaze.

Dijun, standing beside him, praised him inwardly, thinking his second brother's mind was indeed sharp.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist flatters me. If we're talking about treasures, how can my Ginseng Fruit compare to the Eastern Emperor Bell in your hand!"

Hongyun had already sentenced Eastern Emperor Taiyi to death in his heart, and he included Dijun along with him.