After leaving East Kunlun, Di Jiang was in an exceptionally good mood. The sky seemed bluer, the clouds whiter, and even traveling through space felt more exhilarating.
As he toyed with the Yin-Yang Banana Tree he'd just acquired, savoring its pure Yin-Yang Dao Rhyme and using it to help him comprehend the Yin-Yang Law he'd only just begun to grasp, he thought with delight:
Now I've not only got Jiu Feng's gift covered, but I can also study the Yin-Yang Great Dao. I'll give it to her after I'm done comprehending it—two birds with one stone! I'm a genius!
As for the other boys, there's that brawny brute Xing Tian. I'll have to find him an axe or shield that's tough enough and packs a punch. Hou Yi already has a bow; perhaps I can find him a few matching divine arrows? Chi You might like a big blade. And Xiangliu and Kuafu... Di Jiang began ransacking his memories for other ownerless treasures suitable for brawny men and refined scoundrels.
Di Jiang was extremely satisfied with his trip to Kunlun. He felt he'd done a flawless job without anyone noticing.
Those Three Pure Ones are probably still hopping mad and cursing, with no idea what happened! They won't have the ability to figure out I did it until they become Saints, at the very least. By then, I'll have attained the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm too. Heh. Who'll be afraid of them then?
Di Jiang conveniently forgot about Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who sat high above the clouds. After all, a Saint surely wouldn't be bored enough to meddle in something so trivial.
But for all his careful calculations, Di Jiang had overlooked one person—a neighbor who also lived on Mount Kunlun, just over the wall from the Three Pure Ones!
West Kunlun. Queen Mother of the West!
From the moment Di Jiang had sneaked into East Kunlun like a thief, found the Yin-Yang Banana Tree, uprooted it in the blink of an eye, and muddied the Heavenly Secrets before making his getaway, a dignified, aloof female immortal in Yaochi on West Kunlun had watched the whole thing through an ancient, mysterious treasure mirror!
That mirror was her innate treasure—the Kunlun Mirror!
The mirror possessed not only supreme power but also a special ability: surveillance. Of course, with Queen Mother of the West's current peak Golden Immortal cultivation, she couldn't monitor the entire Primordial World. But she could easily focus her surveillance on Mount Kunlun and the surrounding areas.
So Di Jiang's full range of expressions—from sneaking in and stealing the tree to secretly gloating afterward—as well as his practiced methods of muddying the Heavenly Secrets, had all played out live before Queen Mother of the West's eyes.
In Yaochi, Queen Mother of the West watched the direction in which Di Jiang had vanished in the Kunlun Mirror, then glanced at its reflection of East Kunlun. There, the loss of a treasure had thrown the clear qi into disarray, and faint waves of angry cursing could be sensed. An exceptionally strange look crossed her cool, beautiful face.
There was surprise, disdain, and even a hint of amusement she was struggling to suppress.
"Who is that man? How dare he steal from Fellow Daoists the Three Pure Ones in their own home? And his cultivation is even higher than mine. I didn't see him at the Purple Palace when we listened to the Dao. Could he be the mysterious master of Mount Buzhou?"
Queen Mother of the West murmured to herself as she speculated. Naturally, she didn't recognize Di Jiang. After all, the Five Elements Great Array around Mount Buzhou kept everything within isolated from the outside world, and it had long been an open secret among the Primordial World's upper echelons!
She simply hadn't expected her first close look at this mysterious powerhouse to reveal him in such a light!
Queen Mother of the West had no intention of going to East Kunlun to tell the Three Pure Ones the truth. Though she and the Three Pure Ones all lived on Mount Kunlun, they had no close ties. East Kunlun and West Kunlun were clearly divided, and there was no need for her to get involved and offend a thief who looked like trouble.
Still, knowing a little secret about this powerful figure might come in handy someday.
Queen Mother of the West gently brushed her jade finger over the smooth surface of the Kunlun Mirror, a crafty glint flashing in her eyes!
In the perilous Primordial World, it was never a bad thing to have a little leverage or know a few secrets about others—especially a powerhouse like Di Jiang, whose strength was unfathomable and whose methods were so unconventional.
Without drawing attention, Queen Mother of the West dimmed the Kunlun Mirror's radiance and quietly saved the "surveillance footage." She didn't mention it to anyone and went on with her secluded cultivation as if nothing had happened.
The waters of the Primordial World ran unfathomably deep! Sometimes, the greatest danger didn't come from a direct enemy, but from a neighbor somewhere who seemed to want nothing to do with the world yet held a "surveillance camera" in his hands!
Just as Di Jiang was studying the Banana Fan and planning his next shopping trip, the space around him suddenly froze. A completely irresistible, profound, supreme power enveloped him in an instant!
He didn't even have time to react. The scene before his eyes blurred and shifted, and in the next moment, he found himself in an ancient, majestic palace suffused with the boundless aura of the Great Dao!
Di Jiang's heart tightened. His Primordial Origin Golden Immortal cultivation seemed utterly powerless here. There was only one person in all the world who could move him here so easily, without giving him any chance to resist: Hongjun!
Why did he summon me?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Di Jiang's mind. His first reaction was a twinge of guilt. Is it because of the Banana Tree I just swiped from Mount Kunlun? Is he here to stand up for the Three Pure Ones? But that doesn't make sense. Hongjun hasn't officially taken any disciples yet.
Though he was confident in his own strength, facing the unfathomable First Saint of the Primordial World still made Di Jiang uneasy, stirring an instinctive reverence for an absolute powerhouse. He quickly reined in his aura, steadied his mind, and prepared to see how things unfolded.
The expected reprimand never came. Seated on a Cloud Bed, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had an ancient face and indifferent eyes that seemed to contain the myriad heavens, yet he showed no trace of hostility. He looked at Di Jiang and spoke first, his voice calm and far-reaching:
"Little friend Di Jiang, I hope you won't take offense at my presumptuous invitation."
He had actually begun by offering an apology!
Hongjun then said to the attendants standing nearby, "Haotian, Yaochi, prepare a seat."
A boy and a girl stepped forward in response. The boy, Haotian, was handsome and refined; the girl, Yaochi, was as lovely as carved jade. Both wore Daoist robes and had pure auras. Astonishingly, they were late-stage Golden Immortals!
They studied Di Jiang with curiosity, clearly intrigued by this guest whom the Dao Ancestor treated with such courtesy and had specifically asked them to seat. After all, many great powers came and went through the Purple Palace, but few received such treatment.
Haotian and Yaochi quickly brought over a cushion emanating a tranquil Dao Rhyme and placed it behind Di Jiang.
The string of gestures, courteous to the point of being almost deferential, left Di Jiang at a loss. But it also eased most of his worries. It seemed Hongjun hadn't summoned him to pick a fight.
Di Jiang was an open-minded man. Since he was here, he would make the best of it. Without ceremony, he cupped his hands toward Hongjun. "It's my honor to receive your invitation, Saint." Then he calmly sat down on the cushion.
He wanted to see what this Saint Hongjun was up to. Surely he hadn't summoned him just to have tea and chat?
Once Di Jiang was seated, he looked calmly at Hongjun and waited for the Saint to continue. For a moment, a peculiar silence filled the Purple Palace, with only the silent harmonies of the Great Dao echoing through it.
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