Gone

The five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi entered Li Xuan's body, and he shuddered all over.

Then he felt boundless pressure and heat!

It was an immense power that threatened to burst him apart and burn him to ashes!

At that moment, he could clearly and unmistakably sense where the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi were.

Four were in his limbs.

One was in his sea of consciousness!

"Ding."

"Choice System activated."

"Choice One: Fuse the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi into your body. After three hundred thousand years, become a puppet of the Heavenly Dao, with your will henceforth following the Heavenly Dao and your fate moving with its fortunes. Upon completion, gain the Daoxing of a Heavenly Dao Saint, be empowered by the boundless might of the Heavenly Dao, and become deathless and indestructible, eternally imperishable, and unharmed by the Immeasurable Kalpa."

"Choice Two: Refine the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi while concealing yourself from all divinations, calculations, and investigations by the Heavenly Dao. After a period of three million six hundred and fifty thousand years or even an Immeasurable Kalpa, sever the Heavenly Dao's will. Upon completion, you may have a chance to become a Primordial Great Dao Saint above the Heavenly Dao, deathless and indestructible, eternally imperishable, impervious to all tribulations, and able to create or destroy heaven, earth, and the universe with a single thought."

"Choice Three: Send the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi to Kunlun Mountain in the east and give them to Daoist Hongjun. Upon completion, gain Hongjun's favor and have a chance to be accepted as the Mystic Gate's eldest disciple. Randomly obtain one Innate Supreme Treasure, three Heaven Earth Creation Pills, and the divine abilities World Annihilation, Creation of Heaven, and Creation."

"Choice Four: Send the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi to Mount Sumeru in the west and give them to Demon Ancestor Luohu. Upon completion, gain Luohu's favor and have a chance to be accepted as the Demon Cult's eldest disciple. Randomly obtain one Innate Supreme Treasure, three Heaven Earth Great Demon Pills, and the divine abilities God-Slaying, Heavenly Demon, and Reincarnation."

"Choice Five: Send the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi to Void Mountain in the south and give them to Daoist Willow. Upon completion, gain Willow's favor and be guaranteed acceptance as his personal disciple. Randomly obtain one Innate Supreme Treasure, three Willow True Yang Pills, and the divine abilities Void, Hundred Absorptions, and Chaos."

"Choice Six: Send the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi to Return to Ruins Cave in the north and give them to Daoist Yin Yang and Daoist Qiankun. Upon completion, gain their favor and be guaranteed acceptance as their disciple. Randomly obtain one Innate Supreme Treasure, three Yin Yang Creation Pills, three Heaven Earth Qiankun Pills, and the divine abilities Yin Yang, Qiankun, and Life and Death."

"Choice Seven: Release the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi and let them return to the Heavenly Dao, where someone else can obtain them. Upon completion, randomly obtain three Innate Spiritual Treasures, the divine ability Five Flavors True Fire, and a thousand years' worth of cultivation experience."

Feeling feverish all over, Li Xuan looked at the seven choices before him, certain he was about to explode, and couldn't make up his mind.

Choice One?

Become a Heavenly Dao Saint in three hundred thousand years, taking Hongjun's place?

Li Xuan thought it over, then gave up on the idea.

A puppet of the Heavenly Dao? That was too miserable.

He'd lose his free will and become a plaything.

Choice Two?

It would take three million six hundred and fifty thousand years, or even an Immeasurable Kalpa?

Didn't that mean the minimum was three million six hundred and fifty thousand years?

And the upper limit was anyone's guess!

An Immeasurable Kalpa—that was an unfathomably long time!

If he chose this, who knew when he'd transcend the Heavenly Dao and become a Primordial Great Dao Saint?

And most importantly,

success was only a possibility.

It wasn't guaranteed!

As for the remaining choices, Three through Six...

Respectfully return them to those bastards?

Damn it, not one of those five was any good.

He'd rather throw them away than give them back!

He didn't give a damn about those lousy rewards!

Choice Seven...

Wouldn't letting them go just end with those five getting them anyway?

No one else could possibly take them from those guys, could they?

Li Xuan's thoughts raced. By then, the waves of scorching heat throughout his body were becoming harder and harder to suppress.

He had to choose: fuse, refine, or release!

"Damn it! So what if I throw them away for nothing!? I'm not giving them to you bastards! I choose Two!!"

Li Xuan suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed, then chose the second option!

"Ding. Successfully selected: Refine the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi."

With a prompt, Li Xuan raised his hand and formed a spell seal.

At once, the Profound Creation Marvelous Art surged into motion, driven by his vital energy and spiritual awareness.

It repeatedly washed away and suppressed the boundless scorching heat.

The waves of heat in his body gradually subsided, and Li Xuan settled into meditation, his face contorted.

Li Xuan had chosen the arduous path, even though it might take an Immeasurable Kalpa for him to become a Primordial Great Dao Saint.

It was a choice that harmed others without benefiting himself.

Meanwhile, at Phoenix Mountain.

Luohu, Hongjun, Willow, Yin Yang, and Qiankun stared at the spot where Li Xuan's Incarnation Outside the Body had been blasted to pieces and vanished, all of them momentarily stunned.

Only a Fire-Tipped Spear and a White Jade Ring remained where he'd stood.

Both had been affected by the power of the God-Slaying Spear, their radiance dimmed.

But to the five of them, these two Innate Spiritual Treasures were little better than trash—not worth a second glance.

So, from their perspective, there was nothing there at all!

Where was the violet qi?

Where the hell was the Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi!?

The kid had been beaten until not even his bones remained. The violet qi should have appeared!

But where was it?

The five stared at the empty space, stunned for a moment.

Luohu was the first to recover. He abruptly turned to Willow, his eyes filled with menace.

"Did you dare play a switcheroo on me!?"

Willow furrowed his brow and replied evenly, "I have no idea what happened. Fellow Daoist Luohu, don't slander me."

Only then did he look at Hongjun, suspicion in his eyes. "Fellow Daoist Hongjun, you know that kid, don't you?"

Hongjun looked calmly at Willow. "I've met him once, but we aren't acquainted. You were the one who brought him here today. Now he's dead, and the five Heavenly Dao Opportunities have vanished without a trace. Don't you have some explaining to do?"

Yin Yang and Qiankun also turned their gazes on Willow, their expressions openly hostile.

Clearly, they had seen Li Xuan following Willow from the start.

Since the kid had come with you, he must be your subordinate or disciple.

Now he's dead, and the five strands of violet qi have disappeared too. How can you claim to have nothing to do with it?

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Willow's expression remained composed, though his brow furrowed. He said evenly, "I'd met the kid only once as well. I simply thought he had potential and intended to keep him by my side. I never imagined he'd attract the Heavenly Dao's favor. Wait..."

At that, Willow suddenly said, "Something's wrong! We may have been set up!"

He immediately formed a spell seal and began divining.

Seeing this, Hongjun gave a slight flick of his hand and began calculating with the Jade Plate of Creation.

Whoever possessed the Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi would leave traces.

So even if they couldn't calculate its exact location, they could at least tell whether it was in Willow's possession.

But when they tried, both Willow and Hongjun's expressions changed!

They couldn't calculate anything at all!

The Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi seemed to have truly vanished from the world without a trace!

"Still pretending!?"

Seeing the two of them continue forming spell seals, Luohu flew into a rage.

His skill at calculation was inferior to theirs, but his combat strength far surpassed them both.

He roared, pointed his spear at Willow, and shouted, "Hand over the violet qi!!"