"Damn it! Who's targeting me?"
Randeng was shocked and furious.
He was certain this wasn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one!
Someone was using immense magical power against him!
Who could it be?
Tongtian?
It was possible. Randeng had helped Yuanshi scheme against the Interception Sect, and Tongtian held a grudge. Retaliating would make sense.
But would a Sage really stoop to something so petty?
One Immortal-Slaying Sword Qi would be enough to leave him dead or seriously wounded. Why bother with this lightning trick?
Could it be those two from the West?
That didn't seem likely either. They were busy poaching disciples and had no time to bother with him.
Randeng racked his brains, but still couldn't make sense of it.
He put away his magic treasures and continued on his way, his face dark.
He hadn't flown far when a towering wave suddenly surged up from the sea ahead.
Standing atop it was a Yaksha with a steel fork in hand and a hideous face.
"Hey! What Daoist dares trespass in the East Sea?"
The Yaksha spotted Randeng and, without asking questions, raised his fork and thrust at him.
Randeng was nearly laughing with anger.
A mere Yaksha at the Heavenly Immortal level dared attack him?
On an ordinary day, he could have blown this Yaksha's soul away with a single breath.
But today, his mood was foul.
"Get lost!"
Randeng swept out his sleeve, sending a wave of magical power toward the fool to knock him flying.
But at that very moment, another change occurred.
Eight more figures suddenly appeared behind the Yaksha.
They were the eight princes of the East Sea Dragon Palace.
Ao Bing, at their head, saw Randeng attacking his sea-patrolling Yaksha and flew into a rage.
"You wild Daoist! You dare cause trouble in my East Sea? Seize him!"
The eight Dragon Princes were all Golden Immortals. Together, they struck with tremendous force.
Randeng furrowed his brow.
It wasn't that he feared these young dragons. It was just that everything about today felt strange.
First he'd been struck by lightning, and now the East Sea Dragon Clan was picking a fight with him.
Had he somehow stumbled into a den of bad luck?
He didn't want to waste time dealing with these juniors. He was about to reveal his Quasi-Saint aura and drive them back.
But just as he was about to act—
The seawater beneath his feet suddenly formed a gigantic whirlpool.
An irresistible force pulled him down toward the ocean floor.
"Not good! The Immortal Trapping Formation!"
Randeng was aghast.
Someone had secretly laid a small Immortal Trapping Formation on the ocean floor!
The formation was crude, but its strength lay in catching him off guard.
With the eight Dragon Princes attacking him and his injuries from the divine lightning, he had let his guard down and fallen into the trap.
He was sucked into the formation, where endless sword qi and the pressure of the sea left him unable to move.
"Hahaha! We've got you!"
Ao Bing and the others were overjoyed. They activated the formation, preparing to refine Randeng.
Randeng was furious and anxious.
He was a dignified Quasi-Saint, yet today he'd fallen into the hands of a few juniors. If word got out, how could he ever show his face in the Primordial Era again?
"Break!"
Randeng roared as the Lingjiu Lamp and Qiankun Ruler erupted in brilliant light.
The might of two Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures was immense.
With a boom, the small Immortal Trapping Formation was blasted to pieces.
The eight Dragon Princes were struck by the force, spitting blood as they flew backward.
Randeng broke free, his hair disheveled and his appearance even more wretched than before.
He stared at the terrified Dragon Princes, murderous intent in his eyes.
"You're all going to die!"
Just as he was about to attack, a dignified voice came from deep within the East Sea Dragon Palace.
"Fellow Daoist, please show mercy!"
Ao Guang, the East Sea Dragon King, hurried over with a crowd of shrimp soldiers and crab generals.
Seeing his sons injured and Randeng radiating murderous intent, he felt a headache coming on.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, this is a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Ao Guang hastily put on a smile.
"A misunderstanding?" Randeng sneered. "Your sons laid an Immortal Trapping Formation to ambush me, and that's a misunderstanding?"
"An Immortal Trapping Formation?" Ao Guang was stunned. He turned to Ao Bing. "Bing'er, what happened?"
Ao Bing protested, "Father, we don't know how to set up an Immortal Trapping Formation! We were just patrolling the sea. We saw this Daoist acting suspiciously and wanted to question him. Who knew a formation would suddenly appear under the sea and suck him in?"
Randeng was stunned too.
They hadn't set the formation?
Then who had?
His divine sense swept over the area. The lingering aura of the formation didn't seem like the Dragon Clan's work. Instead, it carried a trace of... the Interception Sect's sword intent?
Could it really be Tongtian?
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.
He'd definitely left home without checking the almanac today.
"Hmph!"
Randeng snorted and couldn't be bothered to argue with the Dragon Clan.
All he wanted now was to hurry back to his cultivation abode, heal his injuries in seclusion, and figure out which immortal he had offended.
He turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.
Ao Guang watched him leave and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Father, you're just going to let him go?" Ao Bing asked, unwilling to accept it.
"What else can we do?" Ao Guang glared at him. "He's the Sect of Explanation's deputy leader, a mighty Quasi-Saint! If we truly anger him, he could turn the East Sea upside down! All of you, behave yourselves from now on! During this calamity, don't go looking for trouble!"
"Yes, Father."
Randeng sped onward, seething with anger.
He was almost at Spirit Vulture Mountain.
Suddenly, he saw a beam of treasure-light shoot up into the sky ahead.
"Hmm? A spiritual treasure has appeared?"
Randeng's spirits lifted.
Could his bad luck finally be over?
He hurried over to investigate.
On a barren mountain stood a small sapling, swaying in the breeze.
A golden fruit hung from its branches, giving off an enticing fragrance.
"An Innate Spiritual Root?"
Randeng's eyes lit up.
Even if it was only low-grade, a little was better than nothing.
It might even make up for how miserable he felt after today's injuries.
He reached out to pluck the fruit.
But just as his fingertips were about to touch it—
A brilliantly colored venomous snake suddenly shot out of the grass nearby.
It moved like lightning and sank its fangs into the back of his hand.
"Hiss!"
Randeng felt a sharp pain in his hand. Half his arm went numb in an instant.
"Die!"
He struck back with one palm, crushing the snake into a pulp.
But when he looked at the fruit again, he found it had quickly withered and turned to ash.
The wound on the back of his hand was turning black before his eyes. A deadly poison coursed through his meridians straight toward his heart.
"Not good! It's the 'Nine Nether Soul Devouring Saliva,' a poison that kills with a single drop of blood!"
Randeng was horrified.
This poison was made by gathering baleful yin energy from beneath the Nine Netherworlds and mixing it with the saliva of countless venomous creatures.
Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal who came into contact with it would turn into a puddle of pus within moments if they had no antidote.
He never imagined that simply trying to pluck a fruit would leave him poisoned by something so deadly.
"Pfft!"
Randeng spat out a mouthful of black blood. He could feel his magical power being corroded.
Daring not to waste another moment, he sat cross-legged and circulated his power to force out the poison.
But the poison clung to him like a bone-deep parasite. He couldn't force it out.
Instead, it only grew worse.
"Is Heaven trying to destroy me?"
For the first time, Randeng felt a trace of despair.
He couldn't understand what kind of terrible luck had befallen him today!
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