Want to Pull a Crash-for-Cash Scam? Can You Even Afford This Car's Insurance?

Deep within Chaos, there was neither sun nor moon.

There were none of the dazzling colors of the Primordial World here, only gray, stagnant currents like dead water. The occasional Chaos storm curled up like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast, roaring soundlessly in the maddeningly silent darkness.

Even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal had to keep his tail tucked here.

One slip, and once the protective golden light shattered, it meant death and dissolution, returning to heaven and earth.

Yet within this perilous land riddled with danger, a sinister figure of incomparable speed tore through the Chaos Airflow like black lightning, racing toward that legendary destination.

It was none other than Bei Ming Kun Peng.

At this point, he had yet to join the Heavenly Court as its Demon Master. His baleful aura was heavy, and his nature was greedy, ruthless, and vengeful over the slightest grievance.

With his innate command of the Law of Wind, coupled with his incomparably powerful Kun Peng True Form, he considered himself unmatched in speed throughout the Primordial World.

"Hmph, those Three Pure Ones rely on Pangu's legacy and walk around with their noses in the air. Aren't they still slower than me this time?"

A cold gleam flickered in Kun Peng's gloomy eyes as he beat his wings and flew, calculating inwardly.

"And those two brothers, Di Jun and Tai Yi—they rely on their companion supreme treasures and don't even spare me a glance. At this Saint's sermon, I must seize a good seat and obtain the opportunity to prove the Dao. Then... hehehe."

Just as he dreamed of one day kicking the Three Pure Ones beneath his feet and punching Di Jun into the ground—

A streak of utterly incongruous color suddenly appeared in the dim, monotonous view ahead.

It was a ball of light.

A ball of Nine-Colored Divine Light so bright it nearly blinded him, radiating a vulgar air—yet also an overwhelming extravagance.

Kun Peng abruptly halted and focused his gaze.

He saw an enormous Purple Gold Imperial Carriage slowly... inching through Chaos?

That was right—inch by inch.

It was so slow it was practically a joke. Any bird that had yet to take human form could fly faster than it.

Yet around this carriage, wondrous phenomena abounded.

Nine Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Spirit Bodies with terrifying auras pulled the carriage, while the jeweled pearls embedded in its body emitted radiant beams that forcibly drove the surrounding violent Chaos winds tens of thousands of feet away.

Wherever it passed, it traveled as though on level ground.

"This is..."

The greed in Kun Peng's eyes instantly surged as he swallowed. "What an astonishing Magic Treasure!"

He saw it clearly.

It was not merely that the imperial carriage was luxurious—the key was its defensive power.

Even his physical body, which he took such pride in, would feel stabbing pain after traveling through the Chaos Airflow for long. Yet this carriage did not so much as sway.

Then he looked inside the carriage.

He could vaguely make out three figures. Their auras were not weak, yet they appeared extremely languid. There was even a fruity fragrance drifting out that he had never smelled before.

"Hmph, they must be some ignorant rich young masters relying on a powerful treasure bestowed by their elders to come out and flaunt themselves."

Kun Peng sneered inwardly.

There were countless experts in the Primordial World, but he had never heard of anyone so ostentatious.

They were neither the Three Pure Ones nor those barbarians of the Witch Clan, and they did not resemble those two from the Sun Palace.

What was there to fear, then?

Kun Peng had done plenty of killing and treasure-snatching in the Northern Abyss Sea.

"What Heaven grants, if one does not take it, one will instead suffer for it!"

Killing intent burst from Kun Peng's eyes. With a flicker, his form instantly changed.

His human body vanished, replaced by a terrifying giant bird with a wingspan stretching for countless tens of thousands of miles. When its wings spread, clouds hanging from the heavens instantly blanketed this stretch of Chaos.

A terrifying pressure instantly locked onto the slowly moving Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage.

"Junior! This treasure is destined for me. Hand it over at once, and I may spare your true spirits from destruction!"

His fierce shout rolled like thunder, blasting the surrounding Chaos Airflow apart inch by inch.

Before the echo faded—

Kun Peng had no intention of giving them a chance to answer.

He was an old hand at this. His creed was to strike first and seize the advantage.

He opened his great beak, and a black-hole-like vortex formed out of thin air. Terrifying suction erupted as he unleashed his innate divine ability—Heaven Swallowing Earth Devouring!

He intended to swallow the carriage and its occupants in one bite!

With the might of this treasure, after refining it, it would make the perfect sanctuary on which to stake his life!

Inside the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage.

Zhunti, who had been sitting cross-legged with one leg over the other while peeling an orange, suddenly froze.

He looked up at the sky outside the carriage window, which had gone dark in an instant, and at the enormous maw that seemed capable of swallowing heaven and earth. His brows furrowed.

"Elder Brother, someone's blocking the road."

Jieyin fingered the prayer beads in his hand and sighed with a woeful face. "In broad daylight... uh, in this chaos, there are actually bandits? Morals are declining; people's hearts are no longer what they once were."

A sharp glint flashed through Zhunti's eyes. He set down the orange and reached toward the small of his back with his right hand.

There hung a gleaming golden... shovel.

It was none other than his Dao-attaining treasure—the Blessing Divine Pestle (Farming Edition).

"Elder Brother, that bird's plumage looks pretty good. We happen to be short a watchdog at home. Let me go out, knock it unconscious, and bring it back."

Zhunti rose as he spoke, his face full of eager anticipation.

He was genuinely tempted.

That bird looked meaty. Whether they raised it or roasted it, it would be a good bargain.

"Sit down."

Taiyuan did not even raise his eyelids as he reached out and pressed Zhunti back down.

"Second Brother, we're civilized people now—scholars heading to Purple Cloud Palace to attend a lecture."

Taiyuan leisurely set down his teacup and cast a glance at the arrogant giant bird outside. "The Chaos Airflow outside is so filthy, and that bird reeks of fish besides. If you go out there fighting and killing, what if you dirty your newly made clothes?"

"Then..." Zhunti scratched his bald head. "We just let it swallow us?"

That doesn't fit our Western Lands principle of plucking every feather from a goose that flies past.

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Taiyuan's lips.

At this moment, Kunpeng's enormous maw was less than a hundred zhang from the carriage.

The horrific fishy gale had even begun to make the tassels outside the carriage sway faintly.

"Swallow us?"

"He'll need a good set of teeth for that."

Taiyuan lightly tapped the tea table before him with one finger.

"Activate [Anti-Collision Automatic Counterattack Mode]."

"Power output, maximum."

Buzzz—!!!

The Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage, which had been moving steadily and looked utterly harmless, suddenly let out a deep roar.

The next moment.

Hundreds of millions of Divine Talismans across the carriage lit up all at once. Their radiance was so brilliant that it instantly illuminated the chaotic void for a million li around!

The souls of the nine Five-Clawed Golden Dragons pulling the carriage seemed to be infused with boundless True Dragon Blood in an instant. Their bodies swelled tenfold, and their once-illusory forms condensed golden scales that seemed almost solid.

Violent! Cruel! Tyrannical!

The ferocious might of an ancient overlord burst forth without reservation.

"Roar!!!"

The nine dragons roared in unison, and the sound waves, like tangible ripples, directly shattered the black-hole vortex formed by Kunpeng's devouring divine ability.

Immediately after.

From the luxurious front of the carriage, a savage violet-gold ram suddenly extended outward.

It was wreathed in the aura of the Laws of Destruction.

"What?!"

Kunpeng, who had been preparing to feast, had the greed in his eyes freeze at once, transforming into endless terror.

He sensed the threat of death.

That slow-moving "fat sheep carriage" in his eyes had turned into an Ancient Ferocious Beast wearing sheep's clothing!

How was this some means of transportation?

This was clearly a supreme offensive treasure!

"Not good! Retreat!"

Kunpeng reacted swiftly as well. With a beat of his wings, he was about to unleash his ultimate speed and flee.

But since Taiyuan had activated counterattack mode, how could he let Kunpeng come and go as he pleased?

Boom!

The nine dragons pulling the carriage were no longer taking a leisurely stroll. In an instant, they erupted with a terrifying ramming force that surpassed the speed of light.

Space lost all meaning at that moment.

Because before absolute power, distance could be crushed to nothing.

Kunpeng only saw a blur before his eyes. That enormous violet-gold ram had already filled his entire field of vision.

"No—!!!"

A shrill scream cut off abruptly.

BANG!!!

A dull, teeth-grinding impact reverberated through the chaos.

Countless golden feathers, mixed with blood, exploded like fireworks.

The Demon Master's true form, famed for being diamond-indestructible, had its breastbone shattered and wings broken the instant it was struck by the front of the carriage. Like a kite with its string cut, Kun Peng was sent flying backward with a scream by the tremendous impact, becoming a shooting star hurtling away at a speed ten times faster than even his usual flight.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

The direction... was the depths of chaos, away from Purple Cloud Palace.

That collision had sent him flying at least hundreds of millions of li.

By the time he recovered and flew back, Hongjun's lecture would probably already be over.

The carriage slowly steadied, returning to its harmless, leisurely swaying appearance.

The nine golden dragons reined in their auras and continued pulling the carriage lazily.

Everything seemed as though it had never happened.

Only the golden feathers drifting down from the sky proved that a tragedy had just occurred here.

With a thought from Taiyuan, several of the sturdiest Natal True Feathers, radiating dense demonic aura, floated through the carriage window and landed in his hand.

[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully counterattacking Kun Peng, who attempted to rob you while the fire was raging, and sending him flying, causing him to have a high probability of missing his opportunity to hear the Dao. ]

[ Reward: Divine Ability—Space Folding Technique (Major Mastery). ]

[ Note: This technique can not only be used to shrink the earth into an inch and travel instantly, but can also be used for Spiritual Field management, folding hundreds of millions of mu of Spiritual Fields into a single corner for convenient harvesting. ]

A vast flood of profound insights into the Law of Space poured into his mind. Taiyuan felt that the world before him had become utterly different; in his eyes, distance seemed like dough that could be kneaded and shaped at will.

Good stuff!

As long as I wanted to, my next step could take me straight to the gates of Purple Cloud Palace.

But since this was also for building my "not in a hurry" persona, it was better to take things slow. It had more style that way.

Taiyuan contentedly put away his insights and turned his gaze to the several Kun Peng True Feathers in his hand.

Extremely pure Law of Wind circulated through these feathers. They were incomparably tough and even came with a dust-repelling effect.

"Tut, tut. What a pity about all that meat."

Zhunti watched the shooting star fly away, still lamenting.

Taiyuan tossed the feathers in his hand to Jieyin. "Elder Brother, these feathers are pretty good. Mount Sumeru's main hall has gathered a bit of dust lately. We can take these back and make one of those chicken-feather... no, Peng-feather dusters out of them. They'd be perfect for sweeping the floor."

Jieyin accepted the Natal True Feathers, which would have been enough to forge acquired spiritual treasures in the outside world, and nodded solemnly. "Third Brother is absolutely right. They truly are excellent material for dusting. Make the best use of everything. Excellent, excellent."

Zhunti's eyes lit up. "Elder Brother, if we run into another blind fool like this next time, can we leave the corpse intact? I want to skin him and make a rug."

Taiyuan shot him an annoyed look.

"How many times have I told you? Have some manners."

"Next time, remember to drain the blood first before skinning him. Don't dirty the floor."

The three of them chatted idly as they guided the luxurious carriage that had left a certain Demon Master with lifelong psychological trauma, swaying leisurely onward.

As for Kun Peng?

Who cared about a fly that had smashed into the windshield?

As long as the paint hadn't chipped.