"Heh..."
Hearing Hong Jun's blunt tone, Sect Leader Tongtian's lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Dao Ancestor, may I ask what authority you're speaking with?"
"Hm?"
Hong Jun raised an eyebrow, displeased. "Tongtian, what do you mean by that? Don't forget, I was the one who bestowed the Four Immortal Slaying Swords upon you!"
"No, no, no!"
Sect Leader Tongtian's expression didn't change. He waved a hand with a smile. "Dao Ancestor, it was my master, Daoist Hong Jun, who bestowed the Four Immortal Slaying Swords upon me—not the cold and heartless Heavenly Dao as it is now!"
"You?!"
Hong Jun's face darkened, and a flash of menace crossed his eyes.
But he didn't continue that topic with Tongtian. Instead, he demanded sharply, "Tongtian, are you giving me those swords today or not?!"
"Of course I am!"
The smile faded from Sect Leader Tongtian's face. He had already gotten the answer he wanted, so he formed a seal with both hands and guided the Four Immortal Slaying Swords over to Hong Jun.
"Dao Ancestor, what would you like to inspect? Go ahead!"
"Hmph!"
Hong Jun gave a quiet snort and ran a hand over the Four Immortal Slaying Swords. A hint of confusion crept into his eyes.
They were real?
How could they be real?
Their aura, Dao resonance, and laws were all exactly the same as the ones he had left with Sect Leader Tongtian. Even the mark he had secretly placed inside them was still there.
How was that possible?
Unwilling to give up, Hong Jun flashed over to Journey to the West Tongtian. Without waiting for permission, he took the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, which were still serving as the formation's eyes.
"?!"
Seeing that, Journey to the West Tongtian's eyes darkened. Someone had taken the magic treasures he had refined with such ease?
And without overpowering him?
He hadn't felt even the slightest resistance from the Four Immortal Slaying Swords!
What did that mean?
It meant the magic treasures they had obtained at Treasure Distribution Cliff had never truly been under their control.
They only had the right to use them. Their ownership still rested with Hong Jun—or rather, the Heavenly Dao!
How could that be acceptable?
He didn't want to have to worry about that man snatching his swords away whenever he fought someone.
"H-How is this possible?!"
Just as Journey to the West Tongtian was trying to figure out how to reclaim control of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, Hong Jun seemed to be questioning everything he knew.
They matched?
They damn well matched again?!
The mark he had left inside the Four Immortal Slaying Swords was actually present in another set of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords?
How could that make any sense?
Hong Jun couldn't hold back. He raised a hand, formed several seals, and began tracing backward from the moment this set of Four Immortal Slaying Swords had appeared.
He refused to believe there was anything in this primordial world he couldn't understand.
A moment later,
Hong Jun lowered the Four Immortal Slaying Swords with a blank stare, turned around, and vanished from sight. He didn't even have time to heed Jieyin's startled cry.
This was serious!
Something had appeared on this land whose origins even he, the administrator, couldn't uncover?
Damn it!
If the rules allowed it, he would have dragged that Tongtian back with him. He refused to believe the man could keep his mouth shut against his master!
"Fellow Daoist, what do you make of this?!"
Watching Hong Jun disappear into the distance, Journey to the West Tongtian forgot all about dealing with Jieyin and Zhunti. His gaze fixed on Sect Leader Tongtian.
"What?"
Sect Leader Tongtian didn't quite understand. "Fellow Daoist, are you asking about the Dao Ancestor? Or...?"
"You didn't notice?!"
Journey to the West Tongtian furrowed his brow and summoned the Four Immortal Slaying Swords that Hong Jun had touched. "They didn't resist that fellow at all!"
"Well... isn't that normal?"
Sect Leader Tongtian also felt that something was off. But these magic treasures had been given to them only because Hong Jun no longer wanted them, so it didn't seem all that strange to him.
"No, it's different!"
Journey to the West Tongtian had been persecuted before. Remembering how something had felt wrong when he'd set up the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation to face the Four Saints, his expression darkened further.
"Fellow Daoist, I suspect he tampered with every magic treasure at Treasure Distribution Cliff."
"What?!"
Hearing Journey to the West Tongtian say that, Sect Leader Tongtian was shocked. Only then did he realize that something really did seem wrong.
He had clearly refined the Six Souls Banner. So why had that man, Hong Jun, been able to take it away the moment he appeared?
Even if his strength far surpassed his own, and even if the Six Souls Banner still recognized its former master, it shouldn't have shown no reaction at all.
Unless, as Journey to the West Tongtian had said, he had planted something in all those magic treasures.
As for why?
It could only be to pull the rug out from under them when they disobeyed—or at the height of a battle.
"Ugh?!"
The possibility made Sect Leader Tongtian's expression turn grim as well.
He could hardly imagine what would happen if his magic treasures were suddenly taken away while he was fighting two enemies at once.
He'd be chopped to pieces, wouldn't he?
"Fellow Daoist..."
Journey to the West Tongtian carefully inspected his Four Immortal Slaying Swords. After a moment, he shook his head, his expression dejected.
"His cultivation far surpasses yours and mine. I can't inspect them at all!"
"No, that's not the reason!"
Sect Leader Tongtian came back to himself and slowly shook his head. "Fellow Daoist, do you remember what we discussed earlier?"
"What?"
"Whether the Heavenly Dao merged with Hong Jun, or Hong Jun merged with the Heavenly Dao!"
"Well..."
Journey to the West Tongtian hesitated. "I remember Xuanming speculated that Hong Jun in this world had probably been merged with by the Heavenly Dao."
"Exactly!"
Sect Leader Tongtian nodded. "After seeing the Dao Ancestor last time, I thought Xuanming had been mistaken."
"After all, in both his speech and his actions, the Dao Ancestor seemed perfectly normal."
"But just now, I confirmed something!"
"He is the Heavenly Dao!"
"What?!"
Journey to the West Tongtian stared at him in disbelief.
Hong Jun was the Heavenly Dao?
That didn't seem right!
The man had just been fighting him over the Four Immortal Slaying Swords...
"There's no mistake!"
Sect Leader Tongtian shook his head, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "My master may have been just as unsentimental as that fellow, but he would never have spoken to us like that!"
"..."
Journey to the West Tongtian was at a loss for words. But after thinking it over...
That was true!
The Dao Ancestor had barely spoken to him back then. Even when they met, he'd said little more than "Fine," "Very good," or "Get lost"...
"Ahem!"
Remembering how he'd gone to complain after the Four Saints had ganged up on him, Journey to the West Tongtian awkwardly rubbed his nose.
"Fellow Daoist, whether that's true or not doesn't matter right now, does it? What matters is finding a way to take control of the magic treasures!"
"Doesn't matter? No, it matters a great deal!"
Meeting Journey to the West Tongtian's puzzled gaze, Sect Leader Tongtian's lips curled into a cold smile. "If he were Daoist Hong Jun, then out of respect for the way he taught and guided us, it really wouldn't be easy for us to make a move against him."
"But now?"
"Heh!"
"Once Buddhism is wiped out, this Heavenly Dao..."
Before you continue