That day, Zhou Yuan was cultivating within his cave abode when he heard a commotion coming from beyond the mountain.
Shortly after, two streaks of radiant light tore through the void and descended before the mountain gate formation.
They were none other than the Black and White Divine Demon and the golden-robed being.
The black-robed divine demon spoke first, laughing heartily.
"Fellow Daoist Pure Clarity, we were worried about your injuries, so we specifically sought out a Nether Jade Fruit to help you recover."
"Please quickly open the mountain gate so we may speak."
As he spoke, a Jade Box appeared in his hand.
The Jade Box opened, and a faint blue light flickered within. An abstruse intent of icy netherworldly finality manifested, as though it could freeze heaven and earth.
Sure enough, the instant the Daoist atop Myriad Bamboo Mountain saw the Nether Jade Fruit in the box, he seemed unable to restrain the impatience in his heart. He immediately opened the gates of his abode and swiftly flew out.
The black-robed divine demon and the golden being exchanged a glance, delight appearing in both their eyes.
It worked!
If they forcefully attacked the Myriad Bamboo Mountain formation, even they would have to spend considerable effort and time.
That might attract other beings and create needless complications.
Now that they had tricked Pure Clarity into opening the formation himself, they had saved themselves quite a bit of trouble.
"So it is Brothers Black and White and Brother Golden Light."
"The two of you coming together truly brings me great joy."
Zhou Yuan hurried to the front of the mountain, his face beaming with delight.
The three beings conversed and laughed for a while before entering Myriad Bamboo Mountain together.
Once they passed through the mountain gate.
The Black and White Divine Demon handed the Jade Box to Zhou Yuan.
He said earnestly,
"During our exploration of the secret realm that day, had you not stood before us, Fellow Daoist Golden Light and I would never have escaped the calamity of the Profound Fire Divine Fiend."
"In the end, Fellow Daoist, you suffered this calamity in our stead."
"This Nether Jade Fruit is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, and it can restrain the Profound Fire Divine Fiend."
"Please take it quickly and recover your Dao body as soon as possible. It will also ease the guilt of Fellow Daoist Golden Light and me."
The Black and White Divine Demon wore an expression of utmost sincerity.
Golden Light Venerate beside him also urged him on with complete sincerity.
Hearing this, Zhou Yuan revealed a moved expression. He picked up the Nether Jade Fruit and sighed.
"A strong grass is known only in a fierce wind."
"True feelings are revealed in adversity."
"The deep kindness of you two truly leaves me at a loss as to how I might repay it."
"Very well, then. I shall shamelessly accept this spiritual item from you both."
Having said that, he hesitated no longer and swallowed the Nether Jade Fruit on the spot.
Yet after the Nether Jade Fruit entered his stomach, no netherworldly water vapor emerged to nourish his Dao body.
Instead, it was like a spark falling into dry kindling.
In an instant, it detonated the Profound Fire Divine Fiend that had lain dormant within him.
Boom!
The illusory worlds of apertures within his Divine Demon Dao Body showed signs of collapsing into annihilation beneath the corrosion of the Profound Fire Divine Fiend.
Zhou Yuan's expression turned incomparably ugly.
"What do you two mean by this?"
The Black and White Divine Demon immediately burst into laughter.
"Pure Clarity, you have fallen for our trap."
"If you obediently hand over the Innate Spiritual Treasure in your possession, then for the sake of our friendship of over a hundred thousand years, we may yet spare your life."
"Otherwise, Myriad Bamboo Mountain shall be your burial ground today."
Zhou Yuan's expression changed drastically, and he cried out,
"You actually knew that I possessed an Innate Spiritual Treasure."
He seemed to understand something at once.
"So the trip to the secret realm was also part of your scheme against me."
"Fellow Daoist, you finally realized it?"
Golden Light Venerate gave a sinister laugh, but in the next moment, overwhelming killing intent suddenly flashed across his face.
"But it is already too late."
The next second, a murderous aura filled the void. A Fang Tian Hua Ji Halberd flickering with Geng Metal Qi swept across the vast heavens.
In an instant, the celestial phenomena shifted. Faint scenes of clashing weapons, mountains of blades, and seas of blood manifested.
Metal governed slaughter.
Golden Light Venerate cultivated Geng Metal Qi.
Even among Heavenly Being Divine Demons of the same realm, his methods of slaughter were considered first-rate.
When he struck with his full strength, even the Black and White Divine Demon beside him was moved.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
A jade-green treasure light emerged around Zhou Yuan, blocking the Fang Tian Hua Ji Halberd descending from the heavens.
Yet in the next instant, the treasure light shattered, and Zhou Yuan's face grew even paler.
Without saying another word, he transformed into a streak of azure light and fled far away. He had actually chosen to run immediately.
"Hm?"
The Black and White Divine Demon's expression changed.
"Quick, stop him."
"Do not let Pure Clarity escape."
If they could not kill Pure Clarity today.
Then all their plans would come to nothing.
The prehistoric world was vast and boundless.
Once Pure Clarity left the domain of Myriad Bamboo Mountain, he would be like a dragon entering the sea or a tiger returning to the mountains, no longer constrained by anything.
And with an enemy wielding an Innate Spiritual Treasure lurking in the shadows.
The very thought of it made the Black and White Divine Demon feel a chill in his heart and his scalp go numb.
Golden Light Venerate naturally understood the stakes as well.
The next moment, the two of them moved at once.
Rumble!
Golden light flashed, and Geng Metal brought its killing intent.
Black and white qi opened the void.
Destruction, slaughter, malevolence.
Two divine lights locked onto Zhou Yuan in the distance and surged forth.
Zhou Yuan had already been plotted against, and his Dao body had yet to recover.
The protective treasure he had summoned shattered layer by layer beneath the assault of the two divine lights.
In merely a few breaths, he was struck by the divine powers.
Boom!
As though a divine mountain had collapsed, Zhou Yuan staggered. Even his Divine Demon Dao Body showed faint signs of crumbling.
"Good!"
"Fellow Daoist Golden Light, strike quickly! This wretch is already at the end of his strength."
Seeing annihilating death qi emerge around Zhou Yuan, the Black and White Divine Demon was overjoyed.
He called out to Golden Light Venerate.
The two Heavenly Being Divine Demons attacked with all their strength, intending to send Zhou Yuan into annihilation.
However, at that very moment.
Zhou Yuan, who had just been fleeing without pause, suddenly charged straight at them.
An indescribable smile still rested at the corner of his lips.
The Black and White Divine Demon and Golden Light Venerate were both slightly stunned. Doubt and unease abruptly rose in their hearts; their primordial spirits sounded warnings, their spiritual platforms were clouded, and a Great Terror surged from the depths of their hearts.
"What are you trying to do?"
The Black and White Divine Demon stared at Zhou Yuan flying toward him in shock and fury, unable to understand why his enemy not only refused to flee, but even dared to charge at him.
At the same time.
The Profound Fire Qi around Zhou Yuan suddenly surged. It faintly seemed capable of burning the void, and this stretch of space appeared to transform into a Sea of Fire Purgatory.
The Profound Fire Divine Fiend spilled from Zhou Yuan's body, while his body continued swelling like a balloon.
"You are going to trigger the Profound Fire Divine Fiend within your body!?"
In an instant, the Black and White Divine Demon and Golden Light Venerate felt as if they had fallen into an icy abyss. A suffocating sensation seized them.
The Profound Fire Divine Fiend was incomparably insidious. If he triggered the Profound Fire Divine Fiend within him, Pure Clarity would naturally die without a burial place.
They would not fare much better either.
At best, their Dao bodies would be tainted; at worst, they would return to heaven and earth.
"Your idea of perishing together is not bad, but how could I let you succeed?"
The Black and White Divine Demon roared, sending billowing waves of air rolling outward.
He lightly patted the armor on his body.
The black-and-white armor transformed into two streams of qi, one black and one white.
Profound beyond profundity, wondrous beyond wonder.
They formed a black-and-white shield within the void.
Rumble!
The next second, dark clouds gathered above all of Myriad Bamboo Mountain. A boundless sea of fire surged into the sky, and fiendish qi shot upward, churning the void into chaos.
Crack!
After a crisp sound, the black-and-white shield turned back into Yin and Yang Qi.
The Black and White Divine Demon and Golden Light Venerate, corroded by the Profound Fire Divine Fiend, were now disheveled and covered in dust.
The aura around them had become faint and weak.
Golden Light Venerate's golden crown had been knocked away. His hair hung loose, and his face was pale as he looked over the devastated Myriad Bamboo Mountain.
"Heh heh heh. It is finally over."
"In the end, we were still more skilled."
A frenzied blood-red light flickered in his eyes.
Even if his Dao body had been damaged and would require over a hundred thousand years to recover.
As long as he could obtain that Innate Spiritual Treasure, every price would be worth paying.
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