Kunpeng let out a long sigh and said, "Back then, I kept watch outside the Zixiao Palace for three thousand years. I wanted to see what level Ancestor Hong Yun had reached after listening to the Dao. I had also calculated that I had a fated connection with the Zixiao Palace, which would ultimately be fulfilled through Mystic Turtle Daoist and me. Only after Mystic Turtle Daoist gave me a trace of the Dao principles of the Immortal Islands could I find this place."
"That is all in the past!"
"Who could have guessed that, during the three thousand years I was away from the Northern Darkness, the Ancestral Witches would keep invading the Demon Race across the Primordial World? The two Ancestral Witches, Gonggong and Zhujiuyin, led their powerful subordinates Xiangliu and Fuyou in seizing my Ancestral Master's Palace."
"Gonggong and Zhujiuyin inherited Great God Pangu's formidable bloodline. Their bodies were deathless and indestructible. Though they had no primordial spirits, their combat strength was terrifying. The Ancestral Witches were especially skilled at devouring the Demon Race to increase their strength. More than half the demons in my Ancestral Master's Palace were eaten. The place was a bloodbath!"
"But was I, Old Ancestor Kunpeng, really someone to trifle with? After returning from the Zixiao Palace, I gathered my scattered generals and fought those two Ancestral Witches to the death. The battle lasted a thousand years!"
"Over the past thousand years, I, Kunpeng, employed one scheme after another and finally forced our powerful enemies to retreat. I also sank my Ancestral Master's Palace deep into the Northern Darkness, where even Gonggong and Zhujiuyin couldn't reach it!"
"The Ancestral Witches are truly powerful. They've been locked in a grudge match with me, Kunpeng, for a thousand years. Unable to reach my territory, they waited outside the Northern Darkness instead. Whenever I came out, they would join forces and attack me with all their might, determined to kill me!"
"Heh!" At this point, Old Ancestor Kunpeng gave a hearty, derisive laugh. "Unfortunately for them, my Dao is still a cut above theirs. How could Gonggong and Zhujiuyin stop me? I still managed to shake them off and make it to the Three Immortal Islands!"
Kunpeng's words revealed an important piece of information to Beichen: the Twelve Ancestral Witches had begun aggressively targeting the famous great demons of the Primordial World. This meant their campaign across the Primordial World had entered its hard-fought phase!
Kunpeng was undoubtedly one of the Primordial World's famous, powerful demons. Since the Ancestral Witches were pursuing him so relentlessly, the Witch-Demon War wasn't in its early stages anymore. It had entered its middle phase.
The Demon Race urgently needed to choose a leader and unite the myriad races!
Beichen had simply taken note of this information and wasn't particularly concerned.
After all, even without him, the Demon Race would still follow the greater course of events in the Primordial World, select a Demon Emperor, unite as one, and unleash a devastating Witch-Demon War!
All he wanted to do was save those who, in his eyes, shouldn't perish in that war!
According to the history of the Primordial World, far too many powerful beings had died in the Witch-Demon War. Even Dijun and Taiyi had perished.
Now that he, Beichen, was their master, he would certainly try to change their fate!
The other cultivators of the Primordial World connected to him would also become people he rescued!
And those cultivators would, by all rights, become the "lifeblood" of his faction.
All of this would depend on the circumstances and had to be planned step by step.
At present, Beichen couldn't see through everything, nor could he know for certain who he was "fated" to meet.
"May I ask, Old Ancestor Kunpeng, how did you escape the blockade set by the Ancestral Witches Gonggong and Zhujiuyin and their powerful allies?" Beichen wondered. "Though those two Ancestral Witches have no primordial spirits and can't cultivate the Dao, their strength must be at least on par with a Grand Unity Golden Immortal at the peak of the realm, right?"
During the Witch-Demon Great Tribulation, each of the Twelve Ancestral Witches was only slightly weaker than the Sanqing. If they joined forces, even the Sanqing would be beaten senseless and forced to flee!
Kunpeng was only in the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm, yet he had escaped the blockade of two Ancestral Witches. It was truly terrifying!
"Heh, since we've come this far, I won't hide it from you, Daoist!" Old Ancestor Kunpeng said proudly. "When Kunpeng transformed into a Divine Bird, not only did my innate nature undergo a fundamental change, but I also gained nine innate feathers. With a single flash of those feathers, I can unleash the Nine-Colored Divine Light. Everything it covers is swept away, and nothing can attack through it."
"Unless they're true Saints, beings as powerful as Dao Ancestor Hongjun, I, Kunpeng, have nothing to fear!"
"So it's because of your innate nature, Daoist Kunpeng! No wonder!"
Beichen was astonished. He couldn't help recalling the description of Kunpeng: "In the Northern Sea, there is a fish called Kun. The Kun is so huge that no one knows how many thousands of miles it spans. It transforms into a bird called Peng. The Peng's back, too, stretches for countless thousands of miles. When it rises in flight, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky..."
Kunpeng had been born as a fish and evolved into a Peng by drawing on the fortune of the Primordial World. He was one of the few rare beings in the Primordial World whose innate nature could evolve.
His innate nature had already been formidable. After that evolution, he became one of the foremost beings in the Primordial World, capable of overwhelming all rivals!
His evolution from Kun to Peng had also allowed him to comprehend countless heavenly secrets, making Kunpeng deeply calculating and extraordinarily wise. Few powerful beings in the Primordial World could outmaneuver him!
That was why he had taken River Map and Luo Book from Dijun as soon as he sensed trouble, making himself the greatest beneficiary of the Witch-Demon Great Tribulation.
It was also because of his scheming that he incited the Ancestral Witches Gonggong and Zhurong to fight. Gonggong smashed Buzhou Mountain, creating a vast hole in the heavens and causing countless demons and witches to perish. The Witch-Demon Great Tribulation came to an end, and both the witches and demons left the stage of the Primordial World.
Kunpeng, thanks to his deep cunning and astonishing wisdom, became one of the very few powerful beings to survive the Witch-Demon Great Tribulation.
Later, he remained in hiding. Even after the Saints returned to the Great Cosmos and left the Primordial World, he was still lying low, living safely.
Every one of these deeds was enough to show how terrifyingly calculating Kunpeng was!
Knowing all this, Beichen took it as a warning: he had to be wary of Kunpeng and make sure he didn't get caught in one of his schemes!
Kunpeng continued, "Alas, Mystic Turtle Daoist, let's not talk about innate nature anymore. No matter how strong it is, if one's strength isn't enough, one can still be snuffed out before reaching maturity!"
"My Nine-Colored Divine Light can only be used for defense. My cultivation is insufficient, so I can't unleash powerful attacks. When it comes to combat strength, I, Kunpeng, am truly far too weak."
"Heh, a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal... Indeed, far too weak!"
Beichen could only smile wryly. His words held both irony and mockery.
To countless Grand Unity experts, the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm was already an exceptionally high level!
But compared with the supreme powers of the Primordial World, it was a middling realm—not high, not low!
Beichen smiled faintly, took out the Divine Turtle Shell, and handed it to Kunpeng. "Daoist Kunpeng, don't worry! This Divine Turtle Shell contains a record of Hongjun's three thousand years of teachings on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Listen to it, and you'll surely reach the peak of the Grand Unity realm!"
"Ah! Many thanks, Mystic Turtle Daoist! I can never repay your great kindness!"
Kunpeng wasted no time and began listening to the Dao at once.
He skipped through the teachings again and again, choosing to start listening from the late stage of the Grand Unity realm.
If Six-Eared Macaque's accelerated listening and rapid absorption of the Dao was already heaven-defying, then Kunpeng's repeated skipping ahead was even more astonishing!
"Alas, Old Ancestor Hongjun's Dao is nothing special. It's far too basic. I have to start listening from later on!"
Kunpeng sighed with boredom as he skipped through the teachings.
Only when he reached the teachings on the peak of the Grand Unity realm did he focus. He nodded slightly again and again, absorbing every Dao principle.
It took Kunpeng only a hundred years to soar to the peak of the Grand Unity realm.
After spending another hundred years absorbing Hongjun's teachings and refining them into something new, he suddenly took a step into the Quasi-Saint Realm!
"Kunpeng is truly terrifying. With such a powerful innate nature, it's no wonder his cultivation comes so easily! It's been twelve hundred years since Hongjun's first lecture. Hong Yun has probably only just entered the Quasi-Saint Realm. He can't possibly be stronger than Kunpeng!"
Beichen couldn't help sighing.
Just then, radiant light surged from Yingzhou Island, shaking the Three Islands and covering up the commotion caused by Kunpeng attaining the Quasi-Saint Realm!
Kunpeng and Beichen turned their gazes toward it in unison...
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