"What? The Ginseng Fruit was stolen?"
Ming Yue heard the news and collapsed onto the ground, utterly distraught.
He muttered to himself, then wailed, "We're finished, we're finished! If the Ancestor finds out, he'll skin us alive and tear our tendons out!"
"How could this happen? Our Longevity Mountain has a formation set up by the Ancestor. No one should be able to just walk in." Qing Feng murmured.
"The formation around your Longevity Mountain was too fragile. This Emperor just flew through and smashed right through it."
The splendidly robed Eastern Emperor Tai Yi spoke to the two of them.
Hearing this, Li Mo covered his eyes with one hand.
[Oh, Second Brother! How could you say that? We're finished, we're finished.]
Di Jun frowned, unsure what Li Mo meant.
Then Ming Yue pointed at Di Jun and said, "So you're the ones who stole the Ginseng Fruit, aren't you? I saw it just now. That fire I couldn't put out, even with my rainmaking, you gathered up with ease. You were the one who started it!"
"Case closed! The three of you are thieves!"
"Impertinent! This Emperor is Eastern Emperor Tai Yi, and this man here is my elder brother, the Heavenly Emperor of the Celestial Court, Di Jun. Why would we resort to such sneaky deeds? If we wanted the Ginseng Fruit, I could simply ask Zhen Yuanzi for some. Do you think he'd refuse?" Eastern Emperor Tai Yi's hair and beard bristled with fury.
"Our Ginseng Fruit is one of the Ten Ultimate Innate Spiritual Roots, and it's incredibly rare. There's only one such tree in all of the Primordial World, and it flowers and bears fruit only once every ten thousand years. Just smelling one adds three hundred and sixty years to your life, while eating one lets you live for forty-seven thousand years and can even improve your cultivation! The tree bears only thirty fruits every ten thousand years!"
"Exactly! Even our Ancestor's close friend, Hong Yun, has a hard time getting just one. And you think you can get your hands on any? Dream on! You must have resorted to stealing because you couldn't get one, right?"
"I don't know anything about some Heavenly Emperor or Eastern Emperor! But I advise you to hand over the Ginseng Fruit at once. Then apologize to the Ancestor for destroying Wuzhuang Temple. Maybe he'll let you off. Otherwise, you'll be in for a world of hurt!"
Ming Yue was fearless, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger!
He nearly jumped up, pointing at Dong Huang's nose as he spoke.
After all, he had no idea who the man in front of him was.
With Tai Yi's fiery temper, he was about to explode.
Li Mo quickly stopped him and said, "Second Brother, don't lose your temper. Don't forget why we came—to win Zhen Yuanzi over. If we start a fight, it'll all be ruined."
"But I can't swallow this insult! These petty nobodies dare to shout at me? It's infuriating! Any other time, I'd have crushed you two flies with a single slap." Tai Yi was so angry his teeth ached, but there was nothing he could do.
"Tai Yi, just bear with it," Di Jun advised.
But Qing Feng and Ming Yue were vicious with their insults, too.
"What Eastern Emperor Tai Yi? What Demon Emperor Di Jun? You just came sneaking over to steal fruit while our Ancestor was away!"
"If you're gutsy enough to steal the fruit, then be gutsy enough to admit it! Just because you deny it doesn't mean I don't know you stole it. You don't have the courage to own up to what you did, yet you call yourselves Demon Emperor and Eastern Emperor?"
Li Mo saw flames leap from the tops of Di Jun and Tai Yi's heads. They were barely holding themselves back.
[Qing Feng and Ming Yue have turned into Aunt Xue! What vicious tongues.]
Di Jun finally lost his patience. He waved his hand, and two streaks of light shot out.
With a bang, the two of them were knocked unconscious. Their eyes closed, and they fell silent.
[Finally, some peace and quiet. Jun Ge really gets things done.]
Li Mo grumbled inwardly.
"Big Brother, didn't you say we should hold back?" Eastern Emperor Tai Yi asked, stunned. He hadn't expected Di Jun to make a move.
"I couldn't hold back anymore, could I?" Di Jun let out a breath.
"What do we do now?" Tai Yi asked.
[Obviously, we wait for Zhen Yuanzi to come back and explain everything.]
[Otherwise, we'll make an enemy of Zhen Yuanzi for good.]
"Wait!" Di Jun had barely finished speaking when—
Two streaks of light appeared on the horizon.
They were traveling at tremendous speed.
The two figures were close friends: Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi. They had just returned from Huoyun Palace, where they had fetched spiritual roots to make pills.
But then they saw thick black smoke billowing from Longevity Mountain, and the place was on fire.
Before they could reach it, they saw Di Jun knock their two disciples unconscious.
The Innate Supreme Spiritual Treasure Jade Ao in Zhen Yuanzi's hand transformed into ten thousand zhang of white threads and swept Qing Feng and Ming Yue toward him.
At the same time, a streak of light shot straight at Di Jun.
Di Jun didn't dare take it lightly.
Zhen Yuanzi's cultivation was now on par with his own. He, too, was at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Light flickered before Di Jun, and he brought out the Innate Supreme Spiritual Treasure, Hetu Luoshu.
A river appeared in front of Di Jun.
The streak of light struck the river, splashing water everywhere, but nothing else happened.
Seeing this, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi immediately shouted, "Zhen Yuanzi, what are you doing? How dare you attack my big brother without knowing right from wrong?"
"Did you think I didn't see Di Jun knock my two Daoist youths unconscious? My Wuzhuang Temple is in ruins, and the signs clearly show it was burned by fire. Surely you brothers did this! I've already been merciful by not killing you on the spot."
Zhen Yuanzi snorted, clearly displeased.
"Zhen Yuanzi, you've got it wrong. We came to Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain to pay you a visit. We just happened to see the temple on fire and helped put it out."
"But your two Daoist youths accused us of stealing your Ginseng Fruit. They had no respect for their elders, so I had no choice but to knock them out," Di Jun explained.
Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi both widened their eyes in shock. "What? The Ginseng Fruit was stolen?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhen Yuanzi vanished. A moment later, he returned.
His face was full of anger. "The Ginseng Fruit, which bears fruit once every ten thousand years, really was stolen."
Then he woke Qing Feng and Ming Yue and asked them what had happened.
"Please spare us, Ancestor! Please spare us! The Ginseng Fruit was stolen because we failed to guard it properly. But the thieves are right here—they're the ones who stole it."
Qing Feng and Ming Yue knelt and begged for mercy, pointing at the three men.
"Young Daoist, that's absolutely not true. You two are slandering us. Which of your eyes saw us steal it?" Li Mo asked at once.
"If it wasn't you, who else could it be? There were only a few of us in Wuzhuang Temple at the time, and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi even said he'd broken the formation! Stop making excuses and hand over the Ginseng Fruit!"
"Otherwise, once the Ancestor makes his move, you're bound to suffer," Ming Yue said confidently, sure of Zhen Yuanzi.
"So it really was you! Hand over the Ginseng Fruit at once!" Zhen Yuanzi shouted.
[Does Zhen Yuanzi have rocks for brains? How can he just decide we did it?]
Di Jun spoke up. "Zhen Yuanzi! You're being far too rash, accepting your Daoist youths' one-sided story without even finding out the facts!"
Zhen Yuanzi laughed in anger. "Hahaha! You stole my Ginseng Fruit, and now you have the nerve to argue! The formation I set up couldn't be broken by anyone below the Taiyi realm. Within a million li, aside from me, only you two Golden Crows standing here have that kind of power!"
"And you still dare deny it? Take this!"
[We're done for! Looks like we'll have to fight after all. That formation couldn't be broken by anyone below the Taiyi realm? Tai Yi really is a blockhead. He just went for a casual flight and smashed right through it.]
Before you continue