Huoyun Cave's Layout! Brother Hongyun, I've Come to Deliver Your "Insurance"!

Inside Huoyun Cave, Old Ancestor Hongyun paced back and forth, brows tightly knit, his once ruddy complexion now tinged with pallor.

Ever since that Heavenly Dao transmission, he had felt restless and uneasy, as if an invisible sword hung over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

"How strange. I've never done anything to offend heaven or earth, nor have I made any enemies. Why do I feel such a strong sense of dread?"

He counted on his fingers to divine, but the celestial mechanism was a chaotic blur, revealing nothing.

This kind of unknown fear was the most tormenting.

Just then.

A spatial fluctuation rippled without warning on the cushion behind him. It didn't trigger any protective formations or stir even a trace of spiritual energy.

"Who?!"

Hongyun's face changed drastically. He spun around, instantly summoning the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd, red sand filling the air as he prepared to fight for his life.

"Relax, it's me."

A familiar, lazy voice sounded.

Hongyun looked closely and saw Taiyuan sitting cross-legged on his cushion, holding a cup of hot tea just brought from Mount Sumeru, blowing on it leisurely. Zhunti and Jieyin stood behind him like two guardian vajras—one with a pained expression, the other grinning mischievously.

"Daoist Taiyuan?!"

Hongyun's surprise and joy mingled, his tense nerves instantly relaxing. He put away the gourd and hurried over. "How did you get here? You didn't give me any notice—you scared me half to death!"

He truly regarded Taiyuan as a close friend. At that hotpot feast in Purple Cloud Palace, Taiyuan's carefree and unrestrained personality had struck a chord with him, not to mention Taiyuan had secretly warned him multiple times to beware of Kunpeng.

"If I'd given you notice, how could the show go on?"

Taiyuan set down his teacup, pointed outside, and his expression suddenly turned serious.

"Brother Hongyun, you're in big trouble."

"Big trouble?" Hongyun blinked, utterly confused. "What trouble could I have? I've been in seclusion lately, not stepping a foot outside."

Taiyuan sighed, looking at this first great goody-two-shoes of the Prehistoric World with a mix of pity and frustration.

"You don't go out, but someone wants you to."

He waved his hand, and the massive [Prehistoric Power Distribution Map] materialized out of thin air. On the map, centered on Huoyun Cave, dense red dots converged from all directions. Each dot represented a force capable of threatening a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Especially from the north and the direction of the Blood Sea, two enormous, blood-red skull markers were approaching at alarming speed. The overwhelming Sha Qi alone, even through the map, made one's heart race.

Hongyun stared at the scene, his pupils contracting sharply, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"This... is Kunpeng and Ming He? What are they here for?"

"What else? Killing for treasure."

Zhunti chimed in from the side, hefting the Sky-Turning Shovel with a grin. "Now the whole Prehistoric World is buzzing that you, Hongyun, have the Primordial Violet Qi, the key to becoming a saint. Those guys are mad with desire to become saints, so naturally, they see you as a piece of fat meat."

"Primordial Violet Qi?!"

Hongyun exclaimed in shock, nearly jumping up in indignation. "How could I have that? I've never even seen it myself! Which bastard is spreading these rumors?!"

"Hongjun."

Taiyuan uttered two words flatly, instantly silencing Hongyun.

"Why would the Dao Ancestor... want to harm me?" Hongyun asked bitterly, unable to comprehend.

"Because you're both a variable and a pawn." Taiyuan stood up and patted Hongyun on the shoulder. "Some things can't be explained now. Just know that if you don't do something today, this Huoyun Cave will become your grave."

Hongyun looked into Taiyuan's eyes, which seemed to see through everything. The fear in his heart gradually subsided, replaced by overwhelming gratitude.

At a time like this, others either fled or came to claim a share. Only Taiyuan had traveled a great distance with his two junior brothers to warn and rescue him.

This bond of friendship was higher than mountains, deeper than the sea.

"Daoist Taiyuan..." Hongyun's eyes reddened, his voice choked. "Though you come from the Western Lands, you're closer to me than any neighbor in the East! For this kindness today, Hongyun..."

"Stop, no sappy stuff."

Taiyuan quickly waved his hand, cutting off Hongyun's emotional outburst. "Saving lives costs money, but for the sake of our friendship, I'll give you a twenty percent discount this time."

Hongyun broke into a tearful smile, nodding repeatedly. "I'll pay! Whatever you want, I'll give!"

"Don't rush to pay up. Let's get through this first."

Taiyuan's expression turned serious as he began issuing orders. "Step one: call your good friend Zhen Yuanzi over. He has the Earth Book, the number one defensive treasure of the Prehistoric World. We need to double our insurance."

Without a word, Hongyun immediately sent out a transmission flying sword, heading straight for Wuzhuang Temple on Mount Wanshou.

"Step two: set up the formation."

Taiyuan pulled out a large pile of formation flags from his sleeve—the upgraded [Innate Five Elements Inverting Heaven and Earth Formation] rewarded by the system.

"Zhunti, you take the east Kun position; Jieyin, the west Qian position. This time, we're going to prepare a grand gift for these invaders."

Zhunti and Jieyin acknowledged and swiftly began arranging the formation.

Taiyuan personally took command at the formation's eye, infusing a trace of the Chaos Green Lotus's aura into the array. This completely concealed the entire Huoyun Cave's energy signature, even creating an illusion of "internal emptiness and lax defenses."

"Step three, and the most important one."

Taiyuan looked at Hongyun, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Acting."

"Acting?" Hongyun was confused again.

"That's right. Pretend to have gone into cultivation deviation, make your aura chaotic," Daoist Taiyuan guided step by step. "Only then will those rats hiding in the shadows be unable to resist jumping out. What we need to do isn't just defend—we need to hit them hard, make them afraid, make them shiver whenever they hear the name 'Hongyun' from now on."

Hongyun might be honest, but he was still a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal; a single hint was enough.

He took a deep breath, began adjusting his internal energy, deliberately making it chaotic and disordered, even forcing a mouthful of reversed blood to pool in his mouth, ready to spit it out at any moment.

Just then.

The unique, thick, earthy yellow light of the Earth Book tore through the sky. Zhen Yuanzi had arrived.

This Ancestor of Earth Immortals wore a face full of anxiety. The moment he landed, he saw Hongyun standing there like it was nothing, "rehearsing" spitting blood, with Taiyuan and the other two beside him.

"What... what act is this?" Zhen Yuanzi swept his sleeve, the Earth Book shielding him as he looked around warily.

Taiyuan smiled and stepped forward to explain.

After hearing the full story, Zhen Yuanzi's gaze toward Taiyuan shifted as well. From initial wariness, it turned into deep gratitude.

"Daoist Taiyuan, your plans never miss a beat. This humble one is in awe!"

Zhen Yuanzi made a Daoist salute toward Taiyuan. "Since that's the case, I'll use the Earth Book to protect the Dao field and ensure no petty scoundrel harms a single hair on Hongyun's head!"

"Good! Everything is ready, just waiting for the east wind."

Taiyuan snapped his fingers, leading the group to conceal their forms and hide within the folded space of the formation.

Not long after.

The sky outside Huoyun Cave suddenly darkened.

The once peaceful clouds were torn apart in an instant. A stench of bloody, pungent air mixed with a cold, demonic wind howled in.

Black clouds pressed down like a siege; a sea of blood churned and surged.

Two figures like demon gods manifested within the rolling Sha Qi.

On the left was Kunpeng, in human form, his wings blotting out the sky behind him, his gaze as sinister and venomous as a snake's.

On the right was Ming He, standing atop the Twelve-Grade Red Lotus of Karma Fire, wielding the twin swords Yuantu and Abi, layers of blood shadows swirling around him.

The two exchanged glances, each seeing greed and murderous intent in the other's eyes.

Though they couldn't stand each other, before profit, they were the best of allies.

"Hongyun!"

Kunpeng stepped forward, his voice like a night owl's screech, grating and harsh, echoing across the sky above Huoyun Cave.

"I know you're in there! Stop hiding!"

"Hand over the Primordial Violet Qi, and I'll spare your life! Otherwise, I'll raze this Huoyun Cave to the ground today and annihilate both your body and soul!"

Ming He cackled eerily, lightly clashing his twin swords together, producing a teeth-grinding metallic scrape.

"This old ancestor loves refining the Primordial Spirits of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals the most. Daoist Hongyun, if you don't know what's good for you, I'll refine you into this Blood River Formation and make sure you never reincarnate for eternity!"

Hidden in the folded space, Taiyuan held a handful of freshly stir-fried Five-Needle Pine Nuts, passing some to Zhunti and Jieyin beside him.

He cracked one open, pointed at the two arrogant villains outside, curled his lip, and said with disdain:

"Tsk tsk tsk, listen to that, listen to that."

"Such cliché lines, not a shred of originality."

"Watch closely, Second Brother, Third Brother. From now on, no one in our Western Sect is allowed to learn from brainless villains like that. It's too tacky."

Zhunti took a pine nut, bit it open with a crunch, and nodded in deep agreement. "Elder Brother is right. If we're going to rob someone, we do it civilized. First, we reason with them, confuse them, and then make our move. That's high-class."

Jieyin silently turned his Prayer Beads on the side. Though he didn't speak, his eyes clearly conveyed the same sentiment: "Elder Brother really is the cultured one."

Meanwhile, Hongyun, playing dead at the center of the formation, heard the clamor outside. Following the script, he suddenly let out a miserable scream:

"Ahhh—! I can't hold on!"

That shout was full of vigor yet tinged with weakness—his acting was absolutely explosive.

Outside, Kunpeng and Ming He heard it and were instantly overjoyed.

"Haha! That old pushover really has gone into cultivation deviation! Heaven helps us!"

"Kill!"

Without any further hesitation, the two turned into streaks of light and slammed viciously into Huoyun Cave's Mountain Protection Array.

A meticulously planned "sting operation" had officially begun.