In the blink of an eye, the day of Huanglong Zhenren and Xuan Jun's duel had arrived.
"Huanglong, the Demon Race is on its way. How are your preparations?"
Yuanshi asked indifferently.
Huanglong Zhenren hurriedly replied from beside him.
"Please rest assured, Master. I will definitely defeat Xuan Jun in this battle!"
In truth, he still wasn't ready.
But could he say that?
Could he tell his Master that he hadn't obtained the Yin Yang Jiao Dan, and that he'd already used up both talismans?
He didn't know how his Master would punish him if he found out.
"Good. In this battle, you must not only win, but win convincingly, leaving the Demon Race with nothing to say!"
"Afterward, I will reward you."
Huanglong Zhenren fell silent.
He could do without a reward.
He only hoped that when he told his Master about the Xuanling Fruit and the Yin Yang Jiao Dan, his punishment would be lenient.
As for the outcome of this battle—
Although he had already used up both talismans,
he was still a Taiyi Golden Immortal. In a battle between equals, how could Xuan Jun, a mere Xuan Sha Mang, possibly defeat him, a Saint Disciple?
And with Chijingzi's Yin Yang Mirror as well, unless something unexpected happened, he was sure to win.
Just then, Yuanshi let out a soft sound of surprise and walked outside.
Huanglong Zhenren's heart lurched.
Had East Emperor Taiyi and Xuan Jun arrived?
He instinctively looked toward the entrance of Yu Xu Palace.
At the sight, he froze in place.
The arrivals weren't East Emperor Taiyi and Xuan Jun.
That figure in a blue robe looked both unfamiliar and familiar to him.
The Saint Shangqing, Tongtian!
By seniority, he should have addressed Tongtian as Martial Uncle.
But ever since the Three Pure Ones had gone their separate ways, their relationship had grown increasingly distant.
The old saying, "Red Flower, White Lotus, Green Leaf—the Three Religions were once one family," seemed to be becoming nothing more than empty words.
Why had Tongtian come to the Chan Sect at a time like this?
The same question arose in Yuanshi's mind.
"Tongtian, what brings you to my Kunlun Mountain?"
He genuinely couldn't think of a reason for Tongtian to come to Kunlun Mountain.
Tongtian didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.
"Recently, the disciples of my sect have been slacking off in their cultivation."
"I plan to bring them to Kunlun Mountain two hundred years from now to Discuss Dao with the Chan Sect Disciples. That should put them in their place and teach them that there is always someone greater, and Heaven Outside Heaven."
The moment Yuanshi heard Tongtian's purpose, he wondered if he'd misheard.
The Jie Sect Disciples and Chan Sect Disciples were going to Discuss Dao two hundred years from now?
Was Tongtian out of his mind?
The Jie Sect accepted anyone who came. It was no exaggeration to say there was no Entry Threshold at all.
How many of its disciples could contend with the Jade Void Twelve Immortals?
Of course, it wasn't as if there were none.
Duobao, Yunxiao, and Jinling Shengmu, for example, were worth watching.
But that was about it.
A Jie Chan Discuss Dao would just be an opportunity to humiliate the Jie Sect, wouldn't it?
What was Tongtian thinking?
While Yuanshi hesitated, Tongtian spoke again.
"What, the Chan Sect won't accept this Discuss Dao?"
"We accept!"
Yuanshi agreed at once.
Did he have any reason to refuse?
Wouldn't people say that the Jade Void Twelve Immortals were afraid to fight?
"I was just thinking about whom to send to participate."
By then, Yuanshi had understood.
The rumors that the Jie Sect was inferior to the Chan Sect must have reached Tongtian.
As a Saint himself, he could understand how Tongtian felt.
Tongtian wanted to use this opportunity to dispel the rumors. It wasn't a bad idea.
But that only worked if they were truly rumors—then they could be disproved.
The Chan Sect's superiority over the Jie Sect, however, was a fact.
"What's difficult about that? All of the Jade Void Twelve Immortals can take part."
Tongtian had solved the problem for Yuanshi.
In truth, he was concealing part of the story.
He hadn't come just to tell Yuanshi about the Discuss Dao.
His original plan hadn't been to inform Yuanshi in advance at all.
After all, if he agreed on a date with the Chan Sect beforehand, they would certainly make preparations.
If he surprised them by bringing his disciples to Kunlun Mountain without warning, he could catch the Chan Sect off guard.
But last time, he had used Insight to observe the battle between Huanglong Zhenren and the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons at the edge of the East Sea.
He had therefore learned of the conflict between the Demon Race Heavenly Court and the Chan Sect.
With his abilities, finding out the exact date of Huanglong Zhenren and Xuan Jun's duel was no difficult matter.
He wanted to see how the battle between Huanglong Zhenren and Xuan Jun turned out.
If Huanglong Zhenren lost, the Chan Sect would be utterly disgraced.
The odds might be low,
but how could he pass up the chance to see Yuanshi make a fool of himself?
That was why he'd come to Kunlun Mountain under the pretext of a Discuss Dao.
That way, if the Chan Sect lost at the Discuss Dao later,
Yuanshi couldn't claim that they'd lost because they hadn't had enough time to prepare.
"Very well. We'll do as you say."
"This will be the first time the Jie and Chan Sect Disciples have Discussed Dao. It's been a while since the three of us met, too. Let's invite our eldest brother as well."
Yuanshi smiled.
Tongtian wanted to use the Discuss Dao to restore the Jie Sect's reputation.
But it was also a golden opportunity for the Chan Sect to prove its superiority.
If the Chan Sect won, the Jie Sect's supposed reputation as Honghuang's foremost sect would be no more.
Tongtian knew why Yuanshi wanted to invite Laozi.
He simply wanted Laozi to witness the Chan Sect defeating the Jie Sect.
But Tongtian also wanted someone to witness this battle.
It was still uncertain which sect's disciples were stronger.
He was about to speak when he sensed something.
Tongtian and Yuanshi both turned to look into the distance.
At the far end of the sky, a red point of light suddenly appeared.
It rapidly grew larger, sweeping toward Kunlun Mountain like a blazing sun.
After just a few breaths, the sun had reached the vicinity of Kunlun Mountain.
East Emperor Taiyi had arrived with Xuan Jun.
At the sight of Tongtian, a hint of surprise clearly appeared in East Emperor Taiyi's pale golden eyes.
"I didn't expect the Saint Shangqing to be here as well."
Tongtian pretended not to know anything.
"What brings the Demon Race Heavenly Court to Kunlun Mountain?"
Inwardly, Tongtian was relieved as well.
Fortunately, East Emperor Taiyi had arrived in time.
Otherwise, he would have finished discussing the matter of the Discuss Dao and wouldn't have known what other excuse to use to stay at Kunlun Mountain.
East Emperor Taiyi briefly explained the matter of Lingganhu to Tongtian in a few words.
After hearing the whole story, Tongtian glanced at Yuanshi.
He suddenly realized that he might have overlooked something earlier.
From the sound of it, Huanglong Zhenren hadn't told Yuanshi the whole truth about what had happened at Lingganhu.
Otherwise, why hadn't Yuanshi investigated Lu Changsheng?
Lu Changsheng had taken the Xuanling Fruit, yet Huanglong Zhenren was being made to bear the consequences of the Xuan Sha Mang's death.
The Chan Sect would never stand for that.
But on second thought, how could Huanglong Zhenren dare tell Yuanshi that he'd been unable to defeat an Outer Disciple of the Jie Sect?
That made Tongtian feel even more certain that he'd made the right choice in coming here.
He really wanted to see Huanglong Zhenren lose—and to see Yuanshi's reaction when he learned the truth.
As Tongtian anticipated what was to come, Yuanshi looked at East Emperor Taiyi.
"Let's make this clear first: Huanglong and Xuan Jun will settle the grievance over Lingganhu with this battle."
"Neither of us may interfere until the winner has been decided."
At that, East Emperor Taiyi felt a surge of displeasure.
Yuanshi had said neither side could interfere before the outcome was decided.
But in truth, it was obvious those words were directed at him.
In other words, Yuanshi thought Huanglong Zhenren was certain to win.
He was looking down on the Demon Race Heavenly Court far too much.
Did he really think Huanglong Zhenren was guaranteed to defeat Xuan Jun?
East Emperor Taiyi showed no sign of displeasure, however. He merely replied coolly,
"Of course."
Then Yuanshi swept his hand, transporting everyone to the summit of Kunlun Mountain.
"You may begin."
Huanglong Zhenren and Xuan Jun each stepped forward.
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