"Huh?"
Nuwa was at a loss for words at Beichen's remark and hurried closer to him.
She lowered her voice. "Mystic Turtle Daoist, Nuwa only stepped in to defend you out of goodwill. You could have simply left. Why are you still insisting on this?"
Beichen, however, showed no restraint at all and raised his voice. "Thank you, Daoist Nuwa, for standing up for Beichen today!"
"Daoist Nuwa, you deserve praise for coming to my defense, and I am deeply grateful. But I fear your three senior brothers are unhappy about it. They must be blaming you—or even resenting you—in their hearts!"
"Or they might even go to your master, Old Ancestor Hongjun, and speak ill of you!"
"By the looks of it, your coming to my defense has only put you at a disadvantage. How could I possibly leave in peace?"
With that, Beichen smiled faintly.
He remained utterly calm throughout, never once showing concern over the matter.
Hearing Beichen's words, Nuwa couldn't help thinking, This Mystic Turtle Daoist is upright and honorable. He's someone worth befriending!
"Mystic Turtle Daoist, you're in grave danger, and yet you're still thinking of Nuwa. Thank you! But you should leave at once," Nuwa said earnestly. "My master has always favored me. He likely won't punish me over this!"
Beichen waved a hand, still refusing to leave.
"But your three senior brothers care a great deal about this. If I don't fight them today, I'm afraid they won't be satisfied!"
Beichen turned to the Sanqing. "Are you content to leave without testing your strength against me?"
"Hmph! If our junior sister hadn't used her magic treasures to stop us, the three of us would have broken your turtle legs!"
Primordial Lord of Heaven spoke with deep resentment.
Grand Pure Lord of Morality gave a cold snort as well. "The Mysterious Turtle disrupted our master's lecture and deserves to be punished. If our junior sister hadn't stopped me, I would have taught him a lesson with all my strength!"
Supreme Pure Lord of Numinous Treasure also looked displeased. "Junior sister, our master usually lets you do as you please, but this concerns his dignity. You really shouldn't have stepped in!"
"Hahahaha!" Beichen laughed. "Did you hear that, Daoist Nuwa? Your three senior brothers are deeply displeased with you!"
Nuwa bit her lip, her fists clenching involuntarily.
Her bright eyes turned to Beichen. "Mystic Turtle Daoist, are you sure you want to fight my senior brothers?"
Beichen nodded without hesitation. "If I refuse this fight today, these three old Taoists may never learn that people don't give up until they've seen the coffin!"
Nuwa thought for a moment, then abruptly withdrew all her magic treasures and stepped aside. "Senior brothers, although I tried to stop you, it seems I can't. Go ahead and do as you wish!"
"Good! Junior sister, it's wonderful that you're no longer stopping us."
"You realized your mistake and corrected it. You're still our good junior sister!"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality put on a grave and dignified face, admonishing Nuwa both openly and in veiled terms.
Nuwa turned away and scoffed inwardly. She didn't think she had done anything wrong.
"Mysterious Turtle Beichen, now that your junior sister can no longer protect you, your great calamity has arrived!"
Primordial Lord of Heaven grinned and rapidly formed a jade-clear, dark-gold, purple-gold divine talisman in his hand.
Grand Pure Lord of Morality no longer hesitated. He sent the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda flying straight at Beichen.
Supreme Pure Lord of Numinous Treasure blasted out several divine talismans, each infused with his origin Dao, unleashing a devastating attack on Beichen!
In an instant, the Dao of divine talismans filled the air, and the force of their blows swept everywhere. Each talisman carried a faint Quasi-Saint killing intent, making the area before the Zixiao Palace perilous, its atmosphere terrifying.
Everyone present saw the spectacle and hurriedly dodged the talismans, fleeing in every direction.
At the same time, the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda blazed with seven-colored flames of unknown origin, which reinforced its body. It locked onto Beichen's head and came crashing down.
The Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda was Grand Pure Lord of Morality's companion treasure, and its primary purpose was defense.
But even defensive treasures concealed immense destructive power. When sent forth, the power that made them so effective at defense became an exceptionally potent attack!
As the pagoda descended, it gathered an overwhelming force of pressure. Its defensive power transformed into a killing blow in an instant. Even a Quasi-Saint powerhouse would struggle to withstand it head-on.
A Grand Unity Golden Immortal would die on contact.
"Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell!"
Beichen gave a low shout. A blue-green turtle shell shot out, growing enormous as it flew, like a heavenly mountain gliding through the primordial world. Its defensive power was in no way inferior to that of the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
"Is that Mystic Turtle Daoist's companion treasure?" Nuwa's eyes shifted. "It and Senior Brother's pagoda are both primarily defensive, but this treasure seems even stronger. And it contains the Heaven and Earth Great Dao!"
Nuwa was widely experienced and understood treasures better than the other great figures of the primordial world. She knew this magic treasure was in a league beyond the Exquisite Pagoda.
Boom!
The two treasures collided, unleashing surging rays of Dao-light that filled the world with blinding radiance.
The mountains around the Zixiao Dao Palace crumbled, clouds churned, mystic energy scattered, and laws shattered. The commotion was immense.
Amid the blinding light, the Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell overwhelmed the Exquisite Pagoda. Strands of Heaven and Earth Great Dao laws descended, and fine cracks appeared across the pagoda's body!
The Exquisite Pagoda was completely suppressed. Before the Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell, it couldn't unleash the slightest trace of its divine power.
"Return!"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality's face darkened. He hurriedly gestured, pulling the Exquisite Pagoda back into his hand.
Mystic energy rippled, and a thread of blood essence slipped from the corner of his mouth.
"My pagoda was cracked by that turtle shell! I'll have to expend a great deal of effort repairing it later!"
The Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell, by contrast, remained completely unharmed. Its boundless might and inexhaustible fighting power continued to pour forth, as if it were a treasure capable of suppressing the entire world.
Knowing that he couldn't use the Exquisite Pagoda again, Grand Pure Lord of Morality reluctantly put it away.
Seeing their senior brother suffer a setback, Yuanshi and Tongtian sent their divine talismans flying toward the turtle shell as well.
The divine talismans wielded by the two were truly formidable. When they struck the shell, they sounded like powerful Innate Spirit Treasures, booming again and again. Their power was no weaker than what the Exquisite Pagoda had unleashed!
Their talismans pounded the shell in rapid succession. The Divine Turtle Shell tumbled through the clouds, and wave after wave of retaliatory force surged toward Beichen.
"Heh, I didn't expect their divine talismans to be so powerful! But that's all they can do!"
The Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell was still not strong enough. It would need further refinement in the future!
Beichen knew the shell could only hold its own for now against the two of them and their endless barrage of divine talismans, so he recalled it.
By now, he had seen through the true nature of the Sanqing's cultivation. He gave a low shout. "Boundless Immortal Body of the Great Dao!"
"I, Beichen, have said it before: to me, the Sanqing are nothing but ants!"
As he spoke, a Dharmakaya identical in appearance to Beichen appeared, its body billions of li tall and soaring into the sky.
The Dharmakaya was suffused with the boundless, unfathomable Dao. Its pressure shook the Zixiao Palace itself, as if even Old Ancestor Hongjun were beneath its notice.
"What is that?"
The Sanqing stared at the enormous Dharmakaya. Its profound Dao-essence was beyond their understanding, and they couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
"The Mysterious Turtle actually has such a terrifying Dao Dharmakaya!"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality broke into a cold sweat. His back prickled, and his face turned ashen.
He kept working his fingers as he calculated. "This time, I'm going to disgrace our master!"
Yuanshi and Tongtian stood frozen in place. They hadn't even begun to fight, yet the mere pressure nearly forced them to their knees.
"What an impressive Dharmakaya, Mysterious Turtle!"
Tongtian couldn't help swallowing.
Just then, the enormous Dharmakaya, billions of li tall, slowly clenched its fist and swung it at the Sanqing.
At the same time, rolling Dao-sounds rang out: "Daoist Sanqing, do you still want to fight?"
The Sanqing sensed the killing intent bearing down on them, deathly energy surging as though they'd fallen into the deepest abyss. How could they dare to keep fighting?
The three even lost their wits. They each used their own techniques to flee into the Zixiao Palace. "Master, save us! Master, help!"
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