Ghost Chariot's nine heads shrieked, sending out an eerie sound wave that struck first. It pierced straight into Donghua's Violet Palace, seeking to shatter his Nascent Soul.
A small Azure Green Small Bell appeared above Donghua's head and gave a gentle shake.
"Clang!"
An ancient, resonant chime rang out in every direction, sending ripples of profound yellow radiance outward.
Ghost Chariot's demonic sound struck the bell waves and vanished in an instant, like snow before the sun. The Jingyang Bell was the perfect counter to attacks on the Nascent Soul, making it the natural bane of Ghost Chariot's supernatural ability.
At almost the same moment, Jiu Ying's torrent of water and fire surged toward Donghua.
Yet the Daoist R obe on Donghua's body flowed with Daoist resonance. When Mysterious Nether True Water and Southern Bright Departing Fire struck it, they were like streams returning to the sea, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.
The Pure Yang Daoist Robe was impervious to all techniques. Strengthened by Donghua's magic power and Pure Yang Law, how could such supernatural abilities shake it?
Just then, Donghua turned his right hand over, and a Sky Measuring Ruler wreathed in violet energy appeared in his grasp.
He made no particular gesture, simply giving a light swing in Ci Tie's direction.
The Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler seemed to move slowly, yet it struck before its target could react.
Where the ruler passed, space collapsed and Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind surged, as if the world were being created anew.
Ci Tie realized the danger too late to dodge. He could only hold his spiked club across his body and brace for the blow.
"Boom!"
The Sky Measuring Ruler struck the club, shattering the demon weapon that had accompanied Ci Tie through ten thousand years of battle.
The force continued, driving his hundred-zhang demon body straight into the earth and leaving behind only a man-shaped crater.
With a single move, Donghua had repelled all three Great Luo Golden Immortals!
Ghost Chariot forced down his shock and moved closer to Ci Tie and Jiu Ying. The three formed a Three Talents Formation. He fixed his gaze on Donghua and spoke in a gloomy tone:
"East King Duke, you're relying on the power of your supreme treasure! With a spirit treasure in your hands, we're indeed no match for you."
He paused. Demonic energy surged around him once more, intertwining with the auras of the other two to form an impregnable barrier.
"But if the three of us join forces and fight to the death, sparing no cost, you may not escape unscathed! Why don't we let this matter rest? We'll leave at once, and you can pretend we were never here. What do you say?"
As they spoke, the pressure around the three of them surged, and even the surrounding Heaven and Earth Laws began to fluctuate violently.
Donghua merely smiled faintly. The Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler in his hand gave a clear, ringing hum.
"Is that so? Then by all means, try."
Donghua's gaze sharpened. He stepped forward, and the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler in his hand suddenly burst with boundless radiance.
With a slight turn of his wrist, the ruler traced an arcane path. In an instant, a brilliant, crescent-shaped wheel of light—like the rising sun—shot through the air.
Everything the wheel passed returned to its true form.
"Sun Wheel Slashes Delusion!"
The barrier formed by Ghost Chariot and the others shattered inch by inch like Lapis Lazuli. Before its nine heads could even cry out, the Daoist resonance ground them to ash. The wheel split Jiu Ying's torrent of water and fire in two, and his demon body crumbled on the spot.
Only Ci Tie, roaring as he transformed into his true form, burned his demonic blood, lowered his head, and charged straight at the attack instead of retreating.
The radiance of the Sun Wheel met Ci Tie's horns. It stalled only slightly before slicing through them like a hot knife through wax, then continued onward.
Just as the wheel of light was about to touch Ci Tie's brow, an Eight Trigrams Array Diagram suddenly appeared in the air, its yin-yang trigrams shifting and flowing.
Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui shone brightly, firmly holding the wheel of light within the array!
At the same time, a Dao Sound came from afar: "Fellow Daoist, please show mercy."
Donghua's gaze narrowed. The Sky Measuring Ruler continued on, and though the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram was wondrous, how could it withstand the might of a postcelestial Merit Supreme Treasure?
The ruler blazed with Clear Radiance. The yin-yang trigrams in the array let out a strained wail, and Qian, Kun, Zhen, and Xun dimmed and crumbled one after another.
"Crack!"
The Eight Trigrams Array Diagram shattered, scattering like countless fireflies. The ruler's radiance retained its force and swept across Ci Tie's demon body like a blade through bamboo.
This Great Luo, famed for his formidable physical body, couldn't even cry out before half his body was sliced away at the shoulder.
Demonic blood gushed like lava. Pale bones showed at the severed stump, and most of the demonic energy around him instantly dissipated.
Ci Tie's ruined body staggered backward, his single eye filled with terror.
The Dao body he had cultivated for several kalpas had been as fragile as paper before that flash of light from the ruler!
If the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram hadn't already reduced its power by seventy percent, his body and spirit would have been annihilated by now.
Just then, ripples spread through the air, and a figure slowly emerged, treading on starlight.
Fuxi arrived gracefully, holding the River Diagram Luo Script. The Daoist resonance of the Innate Eight Trigrams flowed around him. His gaze swept across the scene before finally settling on Donghua, and he said warmly:
"Ten thousand years have passed since we last met, Fellow Daoist Donghua. Your supernatural abilities have grown ever more unfathomable. I truly admire you."
As he spoke, he lightly flicked his sleeve, and a golden, gleaming pearl appeared in the air.
The pearl was translucent, with boundless Geng Metal Qi within. It was none other than one of the innate Five Elements spirit treasures: the Golden Spirit Pearl.
"I chanced upon this while traveling through the Primordial Wilderness. Today, I offer it to you as settlement for this karmic entanglement." Fuxi tapped it with a fingertip, and the spirit treasure slowly flew toward Donghua.
"The three of them were in the wrong to offend you. I hope you'll show me some consideration—we're all guests at the Purple Sky Palace."
Donghua reached out and accepted the spirit treasure. He felt a wave of exceptionally pure innate Five Elements Qi flow into his body, faintly resonating with the Fourth Revolution of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique he was currently cultivating.
The spirit treasure would indeed greatly aid him in tempering his five viscera.
Donghua met Fuxi's gaze. Fuxi wore a faint smile, his eyes clear as a spring. Not only had he proactively offered the Golden Spirit Pearl to settle their karmic debt, he hadn't said a word about Kong Xuan.
That gesture made his position clear.
Offering a spirit treasure to quell hostilities was both an apology on behalf of the Yao Alliance and a tactful warning to Donghua not to pursue the matter further. Saying nothing about Kong Xuan, meanwhile, meant he tacitly approved of the bond between Kong Xuan and Donghua.
By giving and taking in turn, Fuxi observed proper courtesy, left room for the future, and quietly did Donghua a favor.
Fuxi had achieved several things at once.
Donghua quickly grasped his meaning. He tucked the Golden Spirit Pearl into his sleeve and smiled calmly.
"Fellow Daoist Fuxi, you've shown such sincerity. If I continued to insist, I'd only seem unreasonable."
At those words, the tense atmosphere between heaven and earth eased at once. Fuxi smiled and clasped his hands in salute.
"You're a reasonable man, Fellow Daoist. I'll remember this. Since that's settled, I won't disturb you any further. Farewell!"
Then he swept his sleeve, taking the gravely wounded Ci Tie and the remaining true spirits of Jiu Ying and Ghost Chariot with him. Their figures gradually faded away.
Donghua watched him leave, turning the Golden Spirit Pearl over in his hand, his gaze profound.
Though it seemed he had settled one karmic debt today, his entanglements with the Demon Race had likely only just begun.
As he pondered this, he sensed a fluctuation behind him. Turning around, he saw Kong Xuan kneeling behind him, though he didn't know when Kong Xuan had arrived.
The mountain wind swept through his loose black hair, but couldn't bend his straight back.
"This junior is dull-witted. I've cultivated for tens of thousands of years, yet still haven't found the path to the Great Luo realm. Only after witnessing your peerless Daoist art today did I understand that there's always a higher heaven beyond the sky."
He bowed deeply. "I humbly beg you to take me as your disciple and teach me the true meaning of the Great Dao!"
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