Water-Mill Work

Willow's long eyebrows twitched, and anger showed in his eyes.

He glared at Luohu and shouted, "Fellow Daoist Luohu! If I say I didn't obtain it, then I didn't obtain it! The five of us were schemed against by someone else. Can't you see that?!"

"I can see your mother!"

Luohu was furious. He raised his spear and thrust it at Willow.

At the same time, he roared, "In this Primordial Wilderness, what living being could be stronger than the five of us?! You and Hongjun planned this together, didn't you?! Die!"

Willow abruptly retreated. At the same time, a Chaos Great Willow Tree, so enormous it seemed to blot out the sky and sun, appeared above his head.

Billions of willow branches hung from the tree, shielding him.

His face full of anger, he shouted, "You really are an idiot!"

Boom!!

The power of the God-Slaying Spear collided with the myriad rays of light hanging from the Chaos Great Willow Tree, sending a thunderous crash reverberating through the heavens.

Even the void shattered, revealing dreadful, pitch-black Void Rifts.

Luohu's eyes instantly turned red, and his baleful aura surged skyward!

Willow's words had enraged him completely!

"You're asking for death!!"

With a furious roar, the God-Slaying Spear whistled through the air, spewing boundless killing intent.

Even the Chaos Great Willow Tree shook violently for a while, clearly struggling to withstand its killing power.

Hongjun watched expressionlessly from the side, but after only a moment, he made up his mind.

He moved and appeared beside Willow.

The Jade Plate of Creation floated before him, while a red cloud hung above his head: the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud.

He raised his hand and joined Willow in resisting Luohu's killing power.

At the same time, he said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Luohu! Willow and I did not conspire to seize the violet qi. Please stop!"

With two Quasi-Saints working together, Luohu—who had yet to obtain the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and establish the Path of Slaughter—couldn't break through their defenses.

He roared incessantly as his spear thundered.

Yet the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud and the light of the drooping willow branches held him back, preventing him from advancing an inch.

After attacking for a while, Luohu finally stopped. Laughing in fury, he snarled, "Fine! You two are working together, are you?! Fine, fine, fine! Today, I'll take just one strand of violet qi! But one day, I'll take it all back!!"

His words, filled with savagery, cruelty, and venomous hatred, echoed through the sky.

Luohu's blood-red eyes fixed on Hongjun and Willow for a long moment.

Then he abruptly moved, riding the Twelve Grade World Destroying Black Lotus Platform westward.

His subordinates exchanged glances, then followed him.

As Luohu disappeared into the distance, Willow sighed.

He turned to Hongjun and said, "Thank you, fellow Daoist. I'm grateful that you came to my aid."

Hongjun shook his head. "It's a pity that Fellow Daoist Luohu is so irascible. Now he believes we conspired to keep the violet qi for ourselves. I'm afraid we've made an enemy of him."

"Could it be that someone else really did scheme to take those five strands of violet qi?"

Yin Yang and Qiankun looked at Willow and Hongjun, asking thoughtfully.

Willow's expression turned solemn. "You two don't believe me either? Very well. I, Willow, swear here and now: if I kept the violet qi for myself, may my Dao Foundation shatter and kill me, and may I never rise again!"

All cultivators took their oaths extremely seriously.

An oath became a shackle upon the heart.

If one swore falsely, it would severely hinder one's Dao.

In the end, it could give rise to the terrifying thought of doubting oneself.

That was called the collapse of the Dao Heart.

So when Willow said this, Yin Yang and Qiankun believed him.

After all, they weren't violent and cruel like Luohu.

Yin Yang sighed. "Let it go, then. In the end, each of us obtained a Heavenly Dao Opportunity. This opportunity is about quality, not quantity. It all depends on one's personal comprehension!"

Qiankun nodded. "Indeed. In that case, let's part ways. We'll each comprehend the Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi and seek to prove the Heavenly Dao."

With that, Yin Yang and Qiankun rode their Auspicious Clouds north.

Only Hongjun and Willow remained.

Hongjun sighed softly, then said, "Farewell, Fellow Daoist Willow."

"Farewell."

Willow sighed as well, his eyes full of complicated emotions.

That boy had played them for fools today, turning them into pawns in his scheme.

And in the end, they'd even been wrongly accused.

The frustration was simply unbearable.

Hongjun nodded and rode his Auspicious Cloud eastward.

In no time, the area was completely deserted.

Then Willow suddenly let out a low growl, his eyes blazing with fury!

He gritted his teeth, then set off south.

The Dragon-Phoenix Calamity had finally come to an end.

But a new tribulation was slowly brewing...

"Ding."

"Choice to watch the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity complete. Reward: cultivation speed increased twentyfold for ten thousand years; divine ability: Samadhi True Fire."

As for Li Xuan, he remained motionless with his eyes closed, paying no attention to the system notification in his ear.

Refining the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi was naturally extremely difficult at first.

Their tremendous explosive power made the flesh all over Li Xuan's body tremble.

However, as the system's reward arrived, his cultivation speed instantly increased twentyfold.

Twentyfold!

Spiritual energy liquefied, and even crystallized!

The laws became directly visible!

The Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform instantly became a pool of pure liquid spiritual energy.

The laws roared as they continuously poured into Li Xuan's body.

Under the twentyfold increase to his spiritual energy absorption and comprehension speeds,

the pressure brought by the five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi was finally suppressed bit by bit.

Now that he had suppressed it, all that remained was to refine them little by little and strip away the Heavenly Dao's will.

That would take steady, painstaking effort. It might take an unknown length of time—or might never be completed at all.

Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes. A flash of purple appeared in them, then vanished.

"Phew..."

He let out a long breath and sensed within himself.

The five strands of Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi now lay quietly in his four limbs and sea of consciousness.

They were being continuously washed by boundless spiritual energy and laws.

At a glance, the Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi looked like stubborn stones.

Li Xuan's spiritual energy and laws washing over them were like drops of water.

Water dripping on stone... It made no difference at all...

Li Xuan shook his head and dismissed the thought.

At least three million six hundred and fifty thousand years...

Water wearing away stone?

Damn it...

Muttering to himself, Li Xuan closed his eyes slightly and prepared to continue cultivating.

"Ding."

"Choice System activated."

"Choice One: Go to the Primordial Wilderness and seize the essence blood and vital essence of the Three Tribes' fallen members. The more you seize, the greater the reward. The highest possible reward is a Primordial Supreme Treasure."

"Choice Two: Go to the Southern Primordial Wilderness and take away the First Peacock and First Golden-Winged Great Peng before they emerge. Upon completion, receive one random Innate Supreme Treasure, one drop of Divine Phoenix Essence Blood, and a hundred-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll."

"Choice Three: Go to the Southern Primordial Wilderness and kill the First Peacock and First Golden-Winged Great Peng before they emerge. Upon completion, receive one random Innate Supreme Treasure, one drop of Divine Phoenix Essence Blood, and a hundred-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll."

"Choice Four: Continue cultivating for two hundred and fifty thousand years. Upon completion, receive the divine ability Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Transformations and a ten-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll."

Li Xuan looked at the choices before him and blinked in surprise. "Kong Xuan and Golden Peng are about to emerge?"