Hongjun is dumbfounded? Tongtian: After the Buddhist Sect is destroyed...

"Heh heh..."

Hearing Hong Jun's blunt tone, Sect Leader Tongtian smirked, his smile not reaching his eyes as he retorted.

"Dao Ancestor, I dare to ask, in what capacity are you speaking these words?"

"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 back then!"

"No, no, no!"

Sect Leader Tongtian's expression remained unchanged. He smiled and waved his hand. "Dao Ancestor, the one who bestowed the Four Immortal Slaying Swords upon this humble one was my Master, Daoist Hong Jun, not the cold-blooded and heartless Heavenly Dao of today!"

"You?!"

Hong Jun's face darkened, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

However, he didn't continue this topic with Tongtian and instead said sternly, "Tongtian, are you giving these swords today, or not?!"

"Give them, of course I'll give them!!"

Sect Leader Tongtian's smile vanished. He had already gotten the answer he wanted. He then formed a few hand seals, controlling the Four Immortal Slaying Swords to float before Hong Jun and stop.

"Dao Ancestor, what do you wish to see? Please, be my guest!"

"Hmph!"

Hong Jun snorted and gently stroked the bodies of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.

Real?

They're actually real?

Not only were their auras, dao rhymes, and laws identical to the ones he had given Sect Leader Tongtian, but even the marks he had secretly left within them were still there.

How is this possible?

Unwilling to accept it, Hong Jun flashed before Journey to the West Tongtian and, without waiting for his consent, directly took away the Four Immortal Slaying Swords that were still acting as the formation's core.

"?!"

Seeing this, a shadow crossed Journey to the West Tongtian's eyes. His refined magical artifact was taken away so easily by someone else?

And it wasn't suppressed by cultivation?

Because he hadn't felt even the slightest resistance from the Four Immortal Slaying Swords!

What did this mean?

It meant that the magical artifacts they had obtained at Treasure Distribution Cliff didn't have their ultimate control in their own hands at all.

They only possessed the right to use them; the ownership was still held by Hong Jun, or rather, by the Heavenly Dao!

How could this be?

He didn't want to have to guard against this guy snatching his swords away when he fought others in the future.

"H-how is this possible?!"

Just as Journey to the West Tongtian was pondering how to regain control of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, Hong Jun was questioning his own existence.

They matched?

They matched again?!

The mark he had left in the Four Immortal Slaying Swords had appeared in another set of Four Immortal Slaying Swords?

Is this right?

Hong Jun couldn't stand it anymore. He raised his hand and cast a few incantations, tracing back the time these Four Immortal Slaying Swords had appeared.

He refused to believe there was anything in the Primordial World he couldn't figure out.

A moment later, Hong Jun, with vacant eyes, put down the Four Immortal Slaying Swords in his hand and vanished from everyone's sight. He didn't even bother with Jieyin's exclamation.

This is a big deal!

There's something on this land that even he, the administrator, can't investigate thoroughly?

Damn it!

If the rules didn't forbid it, he really wanted to drag that brat Tongtian back. He didn't believe this person's mouth could be harder than his Master's!

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think?!"

Watching Hong Jun's retreating figure, Journey to the West Tongtian couldn't be bothered to deal with Jieyin and Zhunti anymore. His gaze fixed on Sect Leader Tongtian.

"What?"

Sect Leader Tongtian didn't quite understand his meaning. "Fellow Daoist, are you asking about the Dao Ancestor? Or...?"

"You didn't notice?!"

Journey to the West Tongtian frowned, summoning the Four Immortal Slaying Swords that Hong Jun had touched. "They didn't show any resistance to that guy at all!"

"This... is considered normal, right?"

Sect Leader Tongtian, though feeling something was amiss, didn't find it particularly strange, considering these magical treasures were originally discarded by Hong Jun before being distributed to them.

"No, this is different!"

Journey to the West Tongtian, having been persecuted before, and recalling the lingering unease from when he set up the Four Immortal Slaying Swords formation to face the Four Saints, his expression grew even more somber.

"Fellow Daoist, I strongly suspect that all the magical treasures on Treasure Distribution Cliff were tampered with by him."

"This?!"

Hearing Journey to the West Tongtian's words, Sect Leader Tongtian's heart suddenly jolted, and only then did he realize something was indeed wrong.

The Six Souls Banner had already been refined by him, so why was it so easily taken by Hong Jun the moment he appeared?

Even if his strength far surpassed his own, and even if the Six Souls Banner still recognized its old master, it shouldn't have been completely unresponsive, right?

Unless, as Journey to the West Tongtian said, he had left his mark on these magical treasures.

As for why?

It was likely to pull the rug out from under them when they became disobedient or during intense battles.

"Hiss?!"

Contemplating this possibility, Sect Leader Tongtian's expression also turned grim.

He found it hard to imagine what his fate would be if his magical treasures were suddenly seized while he was engaged in a fierce battle against two opponents.

He'd probably be chopped into mincemeat, right?

"Fellow Daoist~!"

Journey to the West Tongtian held his Four Immortal Slaying Swords, examining them carefully for a moment before shaking his head with a look of dejection.

"His cultivation far surpasses yours and mine; I can't detect anything!"

"No, that's not the reason!"

Sect Leader Tongtian, jolted awake, slowly shook his head. "Fellow Daoist, do you still remember that matter we discussed before?"

"What matter?"

"Did the Heavenly Dao merge with Hong Jun, or did Hong Jun merge with the Heavenly Dao!"

"This..."

Journey to the West Tongtian paused, then hesitantly said, "I remember Xuanming once speculated that the Hong Jun of this world was likely merged by the Heavenly Dao?"

"Exactly!"

Sect Leader Tongtian nodded. "After seeing the Dao Ancestor last time, I thought that brat Xuanming had guessed wrong."

"After all, whether in speech or action, the Dao Ancestor acted very normally."

"But I've confirmed something just now!"

"He is the Heavenly Dao!"

"This?!"

Journey to the West Tongtian was taken aback.

Hong Jun is the Heavenly Dao?

That doesn't seem right!

Just now, that guy was still trying to snatch the Four Immortal Slaying Swords from him...

"There's no mistake!"

Sect Leader Tongtian shook his head, a hint of melancholy in his tone. "Although my Master is as unreasonable as this fellow, he would never speak to us like this!"

"..."

Journey to the West Tongtian was initially speechless, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized it was true!

The Dao Ancestor hadn't said much to him back then. Even when they met, he'd only utter a few words like: "Accepted," "Well done," "Scram..."

"Cough cough!"

Recalling the scene where he went to complain after being besieged by the Four Saints, Journey to the West Tongtian awkwardly touched his nose.

"Fellow Daoist, whether it's true or false doesn't matter now, does it? The important thing is to regain control of the magical treasures!"

"Doesn't matter? No, it's very important!"

Meeting Journey to the West Tongtian's confused gaze, Sect Leader Tongtian's lips curled into a cold smile. "If he were Daoist Hong Jun, out of consideration for transmitting the Dao and teaching, we really wouldn't have been able to make a move easily."

"But now?"

"Heh heh!"

"As long as Buddhism is destroyed, this Heavenly Dao of his..."