West Kunlun.
Spirit deer drank from the spring, while immortal cranes danced through the air.
As the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains, Kunlun was brimming with Life Essence. Heavenly treasures and spirit beasts taking human form were commonplace there.
Even an ordinary person could become an immortal after staying here for a few days.
Amid the flowing mountain streams and lingering immortal music, two figures walked side by side.
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on condensing an Auspicious Golden Wheel. From now on, great fortune will be with you, and the Great Dao will be within reach."
West Queen Mother wore a palace gown, her hair coiled up with a golden hairpin. She looked dignified and noble, like a Divine Maiden descended into the mortal world.
Hearing this, East King Duke gave an indifferent nod, then fixed his gaze on her lovely face.
"You asked me here, fellow Daoist. Surely it wasn't just to shower me with compliments?"
West Queen Mother paused, then smiled graciously.
"Since you've spoken so plainly, I won't play any little tricks."
West Queen Mother stopped and bowed from a distance to East King Duke.
"Please, fellow Daoist, save my life!"
"Oh?"
East King Duke's gaze was like a knife, as if he meant to pry open West Queen Mother's heart and examine it closely.
West Queen Mother's heart quivered. Faced with that brazenly invasive gaze, a blush crept unconsciously across her cheeks.
But thinking of her predicament, she spoke with a hint of bitterness.
"Back then, when Dao Ancestor appointed me Chief of Female Immortals, I didn't dare ask for benefits as you did, for fear of offending everyone."
"But before this latest lecture, Di Jun sent someone to my door and demanded that I give up my position as Chief of Female Immortals and yield it to Xihe."
It was said that after Great God Pangu opened Heaven and Earth, he died from exhaustion. His body became all things in the world, the breath he exhaled became the breeze and clouds, and his voice became thunder.
His left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon.
Over countless years, two Golden Crows, Di Jun and Taiyi, were born from the Sun Star.
Meanwhile, the Taiyin Star gave birth to two Divine Maidens, Xihe and Wangshu.
West Queen Mother knew that Xihe and Di Jun had a complicated relationship. She couldn't afford to offend Di Jun, but she also didn't dare give up her position as Chief of Female Immortals.
After all, Dao Ancestor had bestowed it upon her. If she gave it up so casually, wouldn't that offend Dao Ancestor?
Before, she had planned to keep dragging things out. As long as she stayed in West Kunlun, there was nothing Di Jun and the others could do to her.
But after this latest lecture, she had been thrown into a panic.
Once Taiyi used the Eastern Emperor Bell to cut out his Three Corpses, hiding in West Kunlun would be no help at all.
With death either way, she had been ready to despair.
But when she saw East King Duke's overwhelming fortune and his Innate Supreme Treasure, the Heavenly Emperor Seal, it was as if she had grasped a lifeline.
Perhaps East King Duke was the only one who could help her now.
East King Duke wasn't surprised at all. After all, in the original course of events, West Queen Mother's fate was only slightly better than his own.
—She had been trapped in West Kunlun, unable to appear in the world.
Of course he would help her, though not because he was lusting after her. Although she was indeed graceful and breathtakingly beautiful.
Heaven and Earth were divided into yin and yang. That was why Hongjun had appointed a Head of Male Immortals and a Chief of Female Immortals, entrusting them with managing the immortals together.
And it wasn't just Hongjun. In the future, both Di Jun's Demon Court and Haotian's Heavenly Court would be governed jointly by a Heavenly Emperor and a Queen Mother.
So, as far as East King Duke was concerned, his Immortal Court still needed a Queen Mother.
And no one was more suitable than West Queen Mother.
Even so, he had no intention of agreeing too readily. That would make him seem cheap, and she wouldn't appreciate how rare and precious this opportunity was.
"Save you? What benefits would I get?"
East King Duke looked West Queen Mother up and down before asking.
"Huh?"
West Queen Mother fought down her shyness, but East King Duke's question left her momentarily stunned.
She had thought that since East King Duke had already offended Di Jun and the others, protecting her would be a small favor for him.
She hadn't expected him to ask for benefits.
West Queen Mother fell silent, ripples stirring in her lovely eyes.
She was naturally quiet and rarely left Kunlun, so she didn't have many treasures to her name.
The Kunlun Mirror was her companion Spiritual Treasure. She couldn't possibly give it to East King Duke.
That left only the Myriad Immortals Scroll and the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner.
Of these, the Myriad Immortals Scroll had been bestowed upon her by Dao Ancestor after she became Chief of Female Immortals.
The only other treasure she could offer was the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner.
But her face was full of indecision. She had intended to use the Kunlun Mirror and the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner to cut out her Three Corpses.
If she gave them away, would she be left with nothing but Houtian Spiritual Treasures to entrust her Three Corpses to?
"Fellow Daoist, I have a piece of Innate Sowing Soil in my cave abode. What do you think of that?"
West Queen Mother blinked at him pitifully, giving her an unexpectedly endearing charm.
Though the Innate Sowing Soil had "Innate" in its name, it was even inferior to an ordinary Houtian Spiritual Treasure.
It only had some use in special circumstances and possessed no offensive power at all.
Sowing Soil!
It was one of the most merit-rich treasures in the Primordial World.
Both Nuwa Creates Humans and Yu the Great's flood control had relied on it.
With it, Heavenly Dao merit and human merit would be within easy reach.
East King Duke's heart stirred, but he gave nothing away. He wanted more.
"Queen Mother, have you heard of the Heavenly Marriage?"
At those words, West Queen Mother flushed scarlet.
Was he asking her to become his Dao companion?
Thinking that, she sneaked a look at East King Duke. He was handsome and graceful, his bearing peerless.
If it were him, perhaps... she could...!
West Queen Mother, what are you thinking?!
She quickly patted her burning cheeks, forcing herself to calm down.
Once the marriages of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity were complete, they could mend the Heavenly Dao and earn abundant merit.
This was a secret that should only have come to light after Di Jun and Xihe became Dao companions.
If West Queen Mother hadn't just mentioned Xihe, he might have nearly forgotten about it.
But now that he remembered, he wasn't about to let Di Jun have the benefit.
"Think it over. I'm in no hurry."
East King Duke smiled at the woman before him.
"I... I'm willing."
West Queen Mother's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's, her tone utterly bashful.
The north.
The Demon Court stood among the immortal mountains.
But now, all living beings within a billion miles of the Demon Court stared at the sky in terror.
The aura of an Innate Supreme Treasure rampaged overhead. Cracks in space appeared and healed over and over again, without end.
Now and then, fragments of space fell to the ground, swallowing and tearing apart countless living beings nearby.
"East King Duke! East King Duke!"
Taiyi vented his fury without restraint.
All around him lay black void. Heavenly fire and gales raged within it, small worlds formed and were destroyed, and the long tolling of a bell resounded through the myriad heavens.
"I thought he was nothing but a clown. I never imagined he'd become a real threat."
Di Jun's face was just as grim as he spoke.
The rest was manageable, but East King Duke's Innate Supreme Treasure had already erased their advantage.
And that was without even mentioning his terrifying Auspicious Golden Wheel and his rightful claim to the Heavenly Emperor Position.
After a long while, Di Jun spoke again.
"We can't sit back and do nothing. East King Duke has to die!"
Before you continue