Ungrateful

"Our king was appointed by Dao Ancestor to rule the Primordial World. If you act this way, aren't you afraid Dao Ancestor will punish you?"

East Duke had no choice but to invoke Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

"Dao Ancestor only told you to rule the Primordial World. He never said I had to serve you!"

Donghuang Taiyi shot East Duke a sidelong glance. "Don't mistake a chicken feather for an imperial decree. I am the emperor of the demon race, not one of your lackeys!"

"Dijun, is that your attitude too?"

East Duke challenged Dijun.

Dijun shook out his golden imperial robes and sneered. "East Duke, don't overreach. Just mind your own business!"

With that, he led the many powerful members of the demon race into the Chaos Void, ignoring East Duke, who was raging behind him.

After the demon race's powerful figures left, Sanqing, Jieyin, Zhunti, Ancestor Minghe, and the others departed one after another, showing East Duke, the leader of the male immortals, no respect at all.

East Duke was so furious that he roared again and again, but there was nothing he could do.

In terms of strength, he really wasn't a match for these people.

Especially Sanqing, Jieyin, Zhunti, and the others. They were all Quasi-Saints, and could suppress him with a mere gesture.

If he tried to force them to stay, he would only humiliate himself unless Dao Ancestor personally intervened.

As these powerful figures left, the onlookers who had been waiting to see what would happen noticed that Dao Ancestor didn't care at all. He hadn't even opened Zixiao Palace to send out a servant boy.

They had already made up their minds, and looked at East Duke with growing contempt.

Of course, not everyone felt that way.

Quite a few valued East Duke's status and hoped to secure important positions in the soon-to-be-established Heavenly Court. They now crowded around him, showering him with flattery.

To build up his strength and oppose Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, Sanqing, and the others, East Duke welcomed everyone without question. He didn't care what sort of people they were; instead, he valued their strength.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan couldn't help shaking his head.

He was the clearest-headed of them all.

He had seen through Hongjun's scheme as soon as Hongjun had appointed East Duke the leader of the male immortals.

Hongjun had originally intended to use the emperor to command the lords, helping East Duke secure his position as the leader of the male immortals and ruler of the Primordial World.

Unfortunately, East Duke was far too foolish and arrogant to read the situation.

Not only had he offended many powerful figures right off the bat, he was also willing to recruit just about anyone.

A man like that wasn't worth supporting.

"Let's go. We're heading back too!"

Xuanyuan waved his hand, preparing to leave with Houtu, the Six-Eared Macaque, and the others.

He remembered that after Hongjun finished his second lecture, many opportunities would appear in the Primordial World.

Whether it was the Innate Gourd Vine, the Thirty-Six-Petaled Creation Green Lotus, or the Three Immortal Islands of the Eastern Sea—

Any one of them would be an opportunity of the highest order.

He didn't want to miss out.

But just as Xuanyuan turned around, East Duke's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Xuanyuan, are you going to defy Dao Ancestor's decree too?"

Xuanyuan turned around and saw East Duke striding over with an entourage of attendants, looking haughty and self-important.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan couldn't help laughing in disbelief.

He really couldn't understand how East Duke's brain worked. Even a figure like Ancestor Minghe didn't take him seriously.

Where did this man get the nerve to speak to him like that?

Did he think a few opportunistic nobodies at his side meant he could do as he pleased?

Or did he think the Witch Clan was weaker than the demon race?

Neither, as it turned out!

Xuanyuan couldn't be bothered to deal with East Duke. He left him with a single, brazen remark: "Our Witch Clan doesn't worship Heaven and Earth. We honor only Pangu Father God. That stupid Heavenly Court can go cool its heels somewhere else!"

"How dare you!"

"Who gave you the nerve to speak to our lord like that?"

The lackeys at East Duke's side pointed at Xuanyuan and shouted angrily.

Quite a few of them were Taiyi Golden Immortals, while only a handful had reached the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

Most were nobodies Xuanyuan didn't recognize.

As for the few Daluo Golden Immortals he did recognize, they all ducked their heads and hid at the back of the crowd, trying to look inconspicuous.

At the same time, they cursed inwardly: You fools are looking for death. Don't drag me into it!

Who was Xuanyuan?

He was a ruthless figure who dared to stand against Sanqing, Jieyin, Zhunti, Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, Ancestor Minghe, Old Ancestor Kunpeng, and countless other powerful figures.

He had even dared to trick Dao Ancestor Hongjun out of his treasures.

How could nobodies like them afford to provoke someone like that?

When Xuanyuan's gaze fell on them, they could only manage awkward smiles and stay silent. A few even immediately distanced themselves from East Duke.

Clearly, they would rather offend East Duke—the male immortal leader and ruler of the Primordial World appointed by Dao Ancestor—than provoke Xuanyuan, a ruthless figure.

The lackeys at East Duke's side still hadn't figured out what was going on. Those Daluo Golden Immortals had clearly already pledged themselves to East Duke, so why had a single look from Xuanyuan scared them into leaving?

Just then, the Six-Eared Macaque, Kong Xuan, and the others stepped forward behind Xuanyuan.

Pointing at the crowd, they shouted, "You ungrateful curs! Back at the edge of the Outer Heavens, if our master hadn't taken pity on you, you wouldn't even have had the chance to enter Zixiao Palace. You received an incredible opportunity, and it would've been bad enough if you hadn't repaid his kindness—but our master couldn't care less about nobodies like you anyway. Now you even dare to berate him in public! Who gave you the nerve?"

As it turned out, many of these people, like the Six-Eared Macaque and Kong Xuan, hadn't been strong enough to cross the Chaos Void and enter Zixiao Palace to hear the lecture.

It was Xuanyuan who had brought them to Zixiao Palace by offering up the Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram.

But unlike the Six-Eared Macaque and Kong Xuan, these people had no gratitude. They thought they had latched onto East Duke, a powerful patron, and so could act without fear and disregard Xuanyuan, their former benefactor.

They had even gone so far as to insult Xuanyuan, hoping to cover up how lowly they had once been.

"Master?"

"Six-Eared Macaque, what's wrong with you four?"

"Who in the Primordial World doesn't know that Xuanyuan is only a Taiyi Golden Immortal and has no hope of ever advancing to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm? And you've actually taken him as your master?"

"That's ridiculous!"

"You're the ridiculous ones!"

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at them as if they were a bunch of fools.

Their master, Xuanyuan, was only a Taiyi Golden Immortal with no hope of reaching the Daluo Golden Immortal realm?

If these people knew what they had witnessed at Qianyuan Mountain, their jaws would probably hit the floor.

Besides, the late-stage Daluo Golden Immortal remnant of a Chaos Demon God had wreaked havoc across the Primordial World, leaving countless powerful figures helpless—and their master had killed it in an instant.

That had happened three or four thousand years ago.

Three or four thousand years had passed since then, and the four of them had long since reached the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. Yet they still couldn't tell what realm their master had reached.

Even if he hadn't achieved Quasi-Sainthood by Severing Corpse to Prove Dao, he couldn't be far from it.

These fools were a joke.

The Six-Eared Macaque and the other three exchanged glances and nodded. Then, without holding anything back, they released their full auras.

Four peak Daluo Golden Immortals unleashed their auras at once. Even East Duke, who had already reached the perfected Daluo Golden Immortal realm, was secretly shaken.

The others, who were only early-stage Daluo Golden Immortals or even Taiyi Golden Immortals, were even more horrified.

They should have been grateful that they were in Zixiao Palace, where Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already decreed that no one could fight. Otherwise, the four's display of force would have been the least of their worries.

Given how much the Six-Eared Macaque, Kong Xuan, and the other two admired Xuanyuan, they would have beaten these trash to a pulp long ago.