A qilin rode the clouds, a gourd trailed flowing light, and a monkey followed alongside.
Dao Xuan sat cross-legged upon the qilin's back. His Blue Gauze Headband fluttered gently in the wind, his face as smooth as mutton fat jade, his features refined, his brows clear, and his aura tranquil.
Gourd Baby sat atop the Seven-Colored Gourd, excitement still lingering on his little face as he chattered away to the Six-Eared Macaque about what he had just seen.
"Little monkey, little monkey! Did you see it? With one wave of Teacher's fan, whoosh, all that big bird's feathers got scorched! And that big seal—boom! It sent all those bad guys flying!"
The Six-Eared Macaque ran behind and to the side of the gourd, all six ears standing straight up, his eyes filled with fanatical admiration.
"I saw it, I saw it! The Immortal's divine might is unmatched, his magic power boundless! How could those petty scoundrels possibly withstand a single move from the Immortal?"
His heart surged with excitement.
Following such a great power was truly an immense stroke of fortune!
Listening to the childish chatter and the monkey's flattery behind him, Dao Xuan's lips curved slightly.
This time, he had obtained the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin and reaped considerable rewards.
This treasure possessed endless wondrous uses. When traveling the primordial world in the future, it would provide him with another measure of support.
His divine sense lightly swept over the ancient, warm copper coin with wings on either side within his sleeve, and he felt satisfied.
However.
Dao Xuan had still underestimated the temptation a Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure held for these primordial cultivators.
Or rather...
He had overestimated the "assets" and "awareness" of these Grand Unity Golden Immortals and Great Witches.
Though the primordial world was vast, Innate Spiritual Treasures were limited in number.
A single Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was enough to drive great powers mad and make major sects covet it!
Much less a heaven-defying item like the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin, which specifically countered all treasures!
A common man committed no crime, yet he was guilty for possessing jade.
Though Dao Xuan was powerful, faced with immense greed, there would always be those willing to take desperate risks.
After traveling roughly a million li.
Ahead lay an endless stretch of crimson mountains, their rocks jagged and barren, without a blade of grass in sight. This place was called Crimson Flame Ridge.
The fire-baleful aura here was dense, and even space itself was faintly distorted.
Dao Xuan was about to detour around it.
Then a sudden change occurred!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
From every direction, twenty-four terrifying pillars of light shot into the sky!
The pillars came in different colors—Demonic Aura, baleful qi, immortal radiance, demonic flames... chaotic and jumbled, yet strangely intertwined!
In an instant, they connected into an enormous curtain of light that blotted out the heavens and sun!
Runes flowed across the light curtain, while chains of laws crisscrossed over it, radiating terrifying power capable of sealing space and suppressing magic power!
A massive formation spanning ten thousand li took shape in an instant!
Dao Xuan, the qilin, Gourd Baby, and the Six-Eared Macaque were all trapped within it!
"Not good! An ambush!" The Six-Eared Macaque's six ears trembled wildly as he cried out in horror.
"Teacher!" Gourd Baby's little face turned pale with fright, and he clutched the Seven-Colored Gourd tightly.
Dao Xuan's pupils constricted as his divine sense swept out like a tide.
Beyond the curtain of light, more than twenty figures gradually emerged through the shadows!
At their head stood the injured Great Witch from the summit of Falling Gold Mountain!
Beside him was none other than the Qingluan who should have been swept into the turbulent void currents!
Though his feathers were charred black, one wing hung limply, and his aura was weak, the vicious glint in his eyes had only intensified!
Around them stood over twenty more beings with vast, surging auras!
There was a Demon Clan giant wearing a Nine-Cloud Blazing Crown and linked chain armor, wielding a gleaming golden axe!
There was a War Witch with an indigo face, vermilion hair, exposed fangs, and baleful qi soaring into the heavens!
There were rogue cultivator old monsters in tattered daoist robes, their immortal bearing gone and their eyes brimming with hatred!
There were even several figures shrouded in black robes, their auras strange and unfathomable!
Among them were three late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals—the Great Witch, Qingluan, and one black-robed man—five at the middle stage, and more than ten at the initial stage!
This lineup was more than twice as powerful as the one at the summit of Falling Gold Mountain!
What surprised Dao Xuan even more was this.
The Great Witch represented the Witch Race, while Qingluan represented the Demon Clan!
Since their birth, the Witch and Demon Races had been sworn enemies, constantly battling one another and accumulating blood feuds!
Yet now, to deal with him and seize the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin, they had actually set aside their deep hatred from the Sea of Blood and joined forces to establish this heaven-shaking killing formation!
"A spiritual treasure truly moves the heart to such an extent..." Dao Xuan sighed inwardly, before his expression turned icy.
"Dao Xuan! Hand over the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin, and we shall spare your life!" The Great Witch's voice boomed like thunder, shaking the formation.
"Hmph! First Disciple of Xuanmen? Today, I'll make you die in body and soul, and your spiritual treasures will change owners!" Qingluan's shrill voice was filled with venom.
"Fellow Daoists! This fiend possesses great treasures. Kill him, and we shall divide the treasures among ourselves!" an old rogue cultivator clamored.
"Attack!"
Boom!
The great formation was instantly driven to its limit!
Countless chains of laws twisted down like venomous dragons!
Demon fire, baleful qi, immortal radiance, demonic lightning... all manner of terrifying divine abilities bombarded Dao Xuan, the core of the formation, like a torrential storm from every direction!
The Five Spirit Qilin roared as Five-Colored Divine Light surged around its body. It resisted with all its strength, only for the formation's power to suppress its radiance until it dimmed.
The Mysterious Yellow Ruler appeared above Dao Xuan's head, Mysterious Yellow Merit Qi cascading down to protect his body.
The Pure World White Lotus bloomed beneath his feet, its pure divine light circulating.
The Four Symbols Banana Fan in his left hand, the Nine Dragon Myriad Treasure Seal in his right!
All four great treasures emerged together, forcibly confronting this deadly formation established by more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals!
Rumble!
Terrifying explosions rang out continuously within the formation!
Space shattered inch by inch, only to be forcibly mended by the formation's power!
Dao Xuan stood unmoving like a reef amid raging waves!
But the formation's power was inexhaustible, and the joint assault of more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals was simply too terrifying!
The merit qi of the Mysterious Yellow Ruler shook violently!
The divine light of the Pure World White Lotus also wavered slightly!
Though Dao Xuan was uninjured, his magic power was being depleted at a tremendous rate. For the moment, he was trapped and unable to break free!
"Teacher, be careful!" Seeing Dao Xuan besieged, Gourd Baby was frantic with worry and tried to ride the Seven-Colored Gourd over to help.
"Young Master, don't!" The Six-Eared Macaque panicked and tried to stop him.
Just then!
Another sudden change occurred!
The black-robed man who had remained hidden outside the formation, possessing the strangest and coldest aura of all, flashed a glint of frost in his eyes!
He had not participated in the frontal assault. Instead, he secretly formed a hand seal and triggered an extremely concealed killing move within the formation!
An incomparably condensed blade of space, nearly silent, used the fluctuations of the formation as cover and suddenly struck like a venomous snake from behind Gourd Baby's side!
Its target was Gourd Baby, whose entire attention was fixed on Dao Xuan!
"Gourd Baby!" Dao Xuan's divine sense had been covering the entire battlefield all along. He noticed it instantly and shouted sharply. The Mysterious Yellow Ruler flared with light as he split off a stream of Mysterious Yellow Qi to intercept it!
But the distance was too great, and the formation's power interfered with him!
Rip!
The spatial blade was dangerously weakened by more than half by the Mysterious Yellow Qi, yet it still grazed past the edge of the Seven-Colored Gourd!
Pfft!
The immortal robe woven from Seven-Colored Gourd leaves around Gourd Baby flashed, blocking most of the power. Yet the remaining shockwave still made his little face turn pale. He groaned, and a shallow bloody wound was cut across his shoulder!
A wisp of pale golden blood seeped out!
"Ah!" Gourd Baby cried out in pain, his little face instantly turning deathly pale.
"Young Master!" The Six-Eared Macaque's eyes nearly split apart!
"You all—are courting death!!!"
Dao Xuan's voice rang through the entire formation space like the icy frost of the Nine Netherworlds!
An unprecedented killing intent, cold to the extreme and nearly tangible, erupted from Dao Xuan's body!
The killing intent was so intense that even the wildly circulating formation stalled for a moment!
The more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals attacking him all felt a chill run through their hearts!
They had never seen such terrifying killing intent!
It was as though they had touched some forbidden taboo!
Dao Xuan's eyes, always calm as still water, now blazed with rage that could Burn Heaven and Boil Sea!
Gourd Baby had been injured!
This little fellow whom he had enlightened, whom he regarded as kin, and whom he had brought along to travel the primordial world, had been injured right before his eyes!
Though it was only a superficial wound, it was an unbearable humiliation!
And it had touched his reverse scale!
"Good! Very good!" Dao Xuan laughed in extreme fury.
"Today, not one of you will leave alive!"
He no longer held anything back!
The Mysterious Yellow Ruler above his head hummed. The boundless merit qi no longer served only as defense, but transformed into a Mysterious Yellow divine radiance that tore apart heaven and earth!
"Mysterious Yellow Sky Splitting!"
Dao Xuan shouted sharply!
The Mysterious Yellow divine radiance surged, carrying the supreme will of Heaven and Earth Creation, separating the pure from the impure, and slashed fiercely toward the enormous curtain of light shrouding the heavens!
Riiip—!
Like a hot knife through butter!
The deadly formation created by more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals was forcibly cleaved open by the Mysterious Yellow divine radiance, leaving behind a massive rift!
"Gourd Baby! Six-Eared! Get out!" Dao Xuan's voice was ice-cold.
"Teacher!" Gourd Baby still wanted to say something.
"Go!" The Six-Eared Macaque reacted swiftly. Knowing that staying would only make them a burden, he grabbed Gourd Baby and activated the Seven-Colored Gourd!
Whoosh!
The Seven-Colored Gourd became a streak of light and shot through the rift, instantly leaving the formation's range. Dao Xuan secretly added his magic power and sent them ten thousand li away!
"Trying to run?!" Qingluan shrieked, intending to pursue them.
"Your opponent is this poor daoist!" Dao Xuan's cold voice exploded within Qingluan's primordial spirit like a bone-clinging curse!
The Pure World White Lotus released brilliant divine light, instantly freezing the space within the formation!
The Four Symbols Banana Fan swept fiercely toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the black-robed man who had launched the sneak attack!
Whoosh—!
This time, it was no longer a spatial tempest!
It was the purest source power of the Four Symbols of Chaos!
Earth! Fire! Wind! Water!
The four-colored source powers intertwined and transformed into a chaotic torrent, instantly engulfing Qingluan and the black-robed man!
"No—!" Qingluan only had time to let out one despairing shriek. His Qingluan true form, which he had been so proud of, melted like ice and snow within the chaotic torrent, instantly turning to ash!
The black-robed man did not even manage a scream before both body and soul were destroyed!
"Kill!" The Great Witch roared, thrusting his bone spear forward with power capable of shattering stars!
The other Grand Unity Golden Immortals also went mad, hurling every magic treasure and divine ability they possessed at Dao Xuan without regard for their lives!
"Suppress!" Dao Xuan raised his right hand and sent out the Nine Dragon Myriad Treasure Seal!
The seal transformed into a Primordial Divine Mountain. Nine dragons roared, and imperial dragon qi suppressed the heavens!
Several Innate Spiritual Treasures—mostly lower- and middle-grade—hurtling toward him were struck by the dragon qi, their light instantly dimming as they cried mournfully and flew back. Cracks even appeared directly on two of the lower-grade ones!
The Grand Unity Golden Immortals controlling those treasures suffered injuries to their minds and spat blood!
"Mysterious Yellow—Lawbreaking!" Dao Xuan formed a sword with two fingers and invoked the origin power of the Mysterious Yellow Ruler!
An extremely condensed Mysterious Yellow sword qi ignored the distance through space and instantly pierced through the brow of an old rogue cultivator!
The light in the old daoist's eyes immediately faded as his primordial spirit was directly erased by the power of merit!
"Pure World—Cleanse Demons!" The Pure World White Lotus spun, sending billions of purifying divine rays sweeping like sharp swords toward the black-robed figures with strange, demonic auras.
"Ah!" Amid screams, their demonic qi melted rapidly like snow beneath the sun, and several black-robed men instantly turned to ash!
Dao Xuan was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep!
The Mysterious Yellow Ruler above his head was his primary weapon for attack and lawbreaking, warding off all evil!
The Pure World White Lotus beneath his feet was his primary defense, stabilizing space and rendering him Invulnerable to All Laws!
The Banana Fan in his left hand invoked the Four Symbols of Chaos, able to Burn Heaven and Boil Sea!
The Myriad Treasures Seal in his right hand suppressed the heavens and commanded all treasures!
The four great treasures worked in seamless coordination in his hands, their power unleashed to the utmost!
His body flashed like lightning as he moved through the formation.
With every strike, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal fell!
Some were separated from head to body!
Some turned to ash!
Some had their primordial spirits annihilated!
Miserable!
Overbearing!
Merciless!
Inside the great formation, it had become a slaughterhouse of Asura!
That Great Witch's eyes split with rage. Regardless of the cost, he burned his blood essence, his baleful aura soaring into the heavens as his bone spear became a ten-thousand-foot black streak that stabbed toward Dao Xuan!
"Even a grain of rice dares to shine?" Dao Xuan's gaze was icy.
The Mysterious Yellow Ruler's true form flashed, carrying the power of boundless merit as it smashed viciously into the bone spear!
Crack!
That Witch Clan bone spear, which had drunk the blood of countless experts, snapped in response!
The Mysterious Yellow Ruler did not slow, crashing heavily into the Great Witch's chest!
Puh!
The Great Witch's incomparably resilient body, approaching that of an Ancestral Witch, crumpled like paper, his chest instantly caving in!
Violent power of merit surged into his body and wreaked havoc!
"Urgh..." The Great Witch's eyes were filled with unwillingness and disbelief. His massive body crashed down, and his aura was extinguished!
The last Demon Clan giant, wearing the Nine-Cloud Blazing Crown and wielding a gleaming golden axe, still wished to make a desperate final struggle.
"Roar!"
Dao Xuan did not even look at him as the Nine Dragon Myriad Treasure Seal descended!
Boom! He was smashed directly into a puddle of flesh!
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Within the great formation, corpses lay everywhere, and blood stained the sky.
More than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals and Great Witches had all been executed!
Not one survived!
A dense stench of blood and shattered spiritual essence filled the air.
Having lost those who maintained it, the enormous curtain of light gave a mournful cry before shattering inch by inch and vanishing between heaven and earth.
Crimson Flame Ridge returned to dead silence.
Only the devastation and remains covering the ground spoke of the terrible slaughter that had just taken place.
Dao Xuan stood in the void.
The Blue Gauze Headband remained in place. His face was like creamy white jade, his features refined and handsome.
Yet the icy killing intent around him had yet to fully dissipate, making him seem like a deity returned from an Asura battlefield.
The Five Spirit Qilin let out a low growl and walked to his side.
Dao Xuan swept his gaze across the battlefield.
His divine sense stirred slightly.
Several ownerless treasures were drawn into his hand.
A damaged little black banner, emanating an eerie aura capable of guiding souls and seizing spirits (Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure · Soul Guiding Banner).
A bronze ancient sword, more than half of it broken, its blade engraved with stars (Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure · damaged · Star Sword).
A small earthy-yellow seal covered in cracks (low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure · Wutu Seal).
A string of dull bone beads (low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure · Witch Bone Beads).
And a Bagua Mirror with scorched-black edges (low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure · Bagua Mirror).
Dao Xuan looked at these damaged or low-ranked spiritual treasures in his hand and frowned slightly.
"More than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals... and this is all they had?"
His tone was calm, but it carried a trace of indescribable... disdain?
"They really were... poor."
Dao Xuan shook his head and casually put away the spoils.
No matter how small a mosquito's leg was, it was still meat. He could bring them back for Yushu, Xuanji, and the others to refine for practice.
The bit of anger in his heart that had arisen from Gourd Baby's injury also subsided as these enemies were executed.
What remained was more of a sigh over these "poor bastard" Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Though the prehistoric world was vast, its resources were far from evenly distributed.
For many independent Grand Unity Golden Immortals, obtaining even one suitable low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was already a stroke of extraordinary luck.
How could they compare to him? He had Xuanmen behind him, a Saint as his master, and abundant wealth.
In this battle, he had used thunderous methods to slay more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals, including Great Witches, among them quite a few late-stage experts.
Once news spread, it would surely shake the world!
Dao Xuan's name would no longer merely be that of the "First Disciple of Xuanmen."
Rather...
The number one beneath Quasi-Saints!
He did not linger.
He patted the qilin's neck.
The Five Spirit Qilin gave a long cry and rose upon the clouds.
Dao Xuan's divine sense stirred. Sensing the auras of Gourd Baby and Six-Eared Monkey ten thousand miles away, he flew in that direction.
Crimson Flame Ridge was left with only silence and legend.
A terrifying legend of how Dao Xuan, the First Disciple of Xuanmen, had slaughtered more than twenty Grand Unity Golden Immortals in a fit of rage.
The waters of the prehistoric world had grown deeper.
Before you continue