"Don't hurt my elder brother!"
A furious, anguished shout ripped through the sky like thunder from the highest heavens!
"Clang—!"
As the voice rang out, a booming bell followed close behind, bringing time and space to a standstill.
Feeling the murderous intent behind him, Donghua whipped around. An ancient, unadorned bell had already torn through the air toward him, the Sun Moon Stars endlessly turning across its surface as Earth, Water, Fire, Wind swirled around it.
Behind the Chaos Bell, a figure streaked through the sky, wreathed in a golden rainbow. His sharp gaze fixed on Donghua like a tangible force, and his overwhelming killing intent, mingled with the vast toll of the bell, surged forth like a world-destroying tsunami.
With a swift hand seal, he unleashed a dazzling divine radiance from the Chaos Bell. Bearing the might to suppress the primordial chaos, it crashed down toward Donghua.
In the blink of an eye, Donghua understood the situation. This strike held Taiyi's resolute determination to save his brother. If Donghua insisted on taking Di Jun's life, the Chaos Bell would badly wound him.
What a pity.
Donghua sighed inwardly and made his decision at once. The attack he had sent toward Di Jun wheeled back like a coiling dragon.
At the same time, a clear, melodious bell rang out, though its sound was far less ancient and imposing than the Chaos Bell's.
A bell wreathed in flowing azure light appeared, its surface engraved with Pure Yang Dao Marks. It was Donghua's companion treasure, the Jingyang Bell!
The Pure Yang Dao Rhyme flowing across the Jingyang Bell's surface burned with all its might as it raced forward, like an azure sun charging against the heavens, boldly meeting the descending Chaos Bell!
In the next instant, the Chaos Bell arrived!
BOOM!!!
The two bells crashed into each other!
The Jingyang Bell wasn't shattered in a single blow as expected, nor was Donghua sent flying.
The Chaos Bell's suppressive force was peerlessly domineering, crushing the azure glow inward as ripples flashed wildly across it! Though the Jingyang Bell's light rapidly dimmed, it held firm and withstood the blow!
As the bell tones reverberated, the entire world fell into deathly silence beneath their force.
The Chaos Bell returned empty-handed, slowly flying back above Taiyi's head as its fading chime lingered.
Taiyi's gaze sharpened, and astonishment crossed his face. He had struck in anger without holding anything back, yet his opponent, clearly in poor condition, had blocked his attack with nothing but a spiritual treasure!
Donghua suppressed the churning blood in his body. The Jingyang Bell hovered above his head, its light somewhat dimmed.
He looked at Taiyi, his expression still calm, though inwardly he marveled: The Chaos Bell truly lived up to its name as an Innate Supreme Treasure.
Their exchange had ended in a draw!
The outcome took Taiyi by surprise. In the distance, Di Jun had only just regained his composure, but now his Dao Heart was shaken once more.
Di Jun quickly recovered, his gaze fixed on the retreating Donghua as he sent Taiyi an urgent transmission:
"He's not at full strength. This is our chance—we absolutely cannot let the tiger return to its den!"
At Di Jun's words, Taiyi changed his hand seal, and dazzling golden light burst from his body.
"Golden Crow Transforming Rainbow!"
He and the bell merged as one. The Chaos Bell led the way as he transformed into a golden rainbow spanning heaven and earth. Space twisted wherever he passed, and he pursued Donghua with the supreme might to suppress the cosmos.
Golden Crow Transforming Rainbow was the fastest technique in the Primordial Wilderness. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed countless rivers and mountains.
But Donghua had already fled far away with the Jingyang Bell. Where they couldn't see him, he used Sunlight Without Trace.
He became flecks of dawnlight, like morning dew, and a ripple spread through the void before he vanished without a trace.
After pursuing him for a long time, Taiyi's golden rainbow abruptly stopped. The Chaos Bell slowly spun before him.
His divine sense spread in every direction like a net, yet he could no longer detect even the slightest trace of Donghua.
BOOM!
Solar True Fire burst uncontrollably from him, evaporating the sea below into a vast whirlpool.
The East Sea boiled around him, and countless aquatic creatures fled in terror to the depths.
Taiyi stood in the void, his face ashen. After a long while, he gave a cold snort. The Chaos Bell rang out with a long, lingering chime, and at last he turned to leave.
Long after Taiyi had gone, an almost imperceptible ripple appeared in the void, and Donghua's figure slowly took shape.
He gazed in the direction the golden rainbow had disappeared, a hint of gravity in his eyes.
"As expected of Taiyi, who would one day stand against the Six Ancestor Witches. The Chaos Bell may amplify his power, but his own strength is truly extraordinary."
"Hmph..."
As Donghua was thinking, a muffled groan escaped him, and his face instantly turned paper-white.
Feeling waves of pain from his Nascent Soul, Donghua couldn't help sighing inwardly. I pushed myself too hard after all.
He had chosen to flee not only because Taiyi's arrival had made it difficult to take Di Jun's life, but also because Donghua's Nascent Soul was damaged.
Of course, this injury hadn't come from Taiyi. It was the backlash he had suffered earlier while using "Yang Yuan Dao Jie."
The reason Yang Yuan Dao Jie had made Di Jun feel as though even his true spirit would be dissolved was that it contained a trace of the profound truth of merging laws—a feat only a Saint could control.
Under normal circumstances, only Saints could control the merging of laws. All other so-called fusions merely resembled it in form.
Donghua had instead relied on his understanding of the Jade Disk of Creation Fragment, using a wisp of his own Nascent Soul as a bridge to bring together and merge the laws of Pure Yang and Lesser Yang, creating this Supernatural Ability.
Unfortunately, in his final strike against Di Jun, the two laws had abruptly split apart. Not only had he failed, but the wisp of his Nascent Soul serving as the bridge had been completely annihilated.
The damage to his Nascent Soul had left him no choice but to avoid Taiyi's sharp edge.
Donghua's figure gradually faded in the faint morning light. Only a soft murmur, imbued with Dao Rhyme, lingered in the void.
"My Supernatural Ability has only just emerged and still needs refinement. Through countless deductions, all laws return to their source."
Meanwhile, on another island in the East Sea.
Di Jun sat slumped on the ground, the Solar True Fire around him flickering as he struggled to suppress the waves of weakness and pain coming from deep within his Dao Body.
A familiar golden rainbow tore through the air and landed before him, revealing Taiyi.
The true fire around Di Jun flared. He immediately rose to meet him. Though he had absolute confidence in Taiyi's strength, for some reason an ominous feeling still lingered in his heart. He had fought Donghua for thousands of years and knew the man was crafty, elusive, and no easy opponent.
Di Jun's own combat strength was already among the best in the Primordial Wilderness. Though slightly inferior to Taiyi's, his insight and judgment remained keen.
Taiyi stopped before him. Seeing Di Jun's pale face and the turbulent energy around him, which had yet to settle, he lowered his head slightly. His usually cold voice carried a rare note of gloom.
"Elder brother... I couldn't keep him here. I've failed you."
"It's all right. As long as you're safe," Di Jun comforted him.
At his words, golden light flashed in Taiyi's eyes, and his icy killing intent sent the temperature around them soaring.
"He escaped this time, but next time I'll make sure he dies and his Dao is destroyed, to avenge you, elder brother. We still don't know the scoundrel's name, though."
Di Jun slowly regulated his breathing and said gravely, "Anyone with such abilities in the Primordial Wilderness cannot be unknown. Once we return, a little inquiry will surely reveal his origins."
He looked toward the direction where Donghua had disappeared, his gaze profound. "When that time comes, we'll repay today's humiliation a hundredfold."
With that, the two brothers rose into the sky together. Using Golden Crow Transforming Rainbow, they became two streaks of light and headed straight for the Sun Star.
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