East King Duke possessed an invincible bearing. Di Jun and the others had lost to him once, and they could never be his match again.
What's more,
East King Duke looked up at the sky, his mind seeing through immeasurable space and time.
The Third Sermon was about to begin.
Going by how things were developing, the Three Pure Ones and the others would become Saints even sooner after the sermon ended.
Saints!
His gaze sharpened, and his expression grew grave.
At present, he was no match for a Saint. If he wanted to protect himself when the Age of Saints arrived, he had no choice but to hurry and acquire more cultivation resources.
Thinking of this, he looked at the charming and lovely West Queen Mother.
"Taihua, are you willing to take the seat of Queen Mother and manage the Immortal Court together with me?"
West Queen Mother's heart fluttered. Her face flushed as she lowered her head, but she couldn't even see her toes.
She had thought his earlier words had only been said in passing. After all, the Immortal Court was practically the greatest power in the Primordial World, and it possessed more of the world's fortune than any other faction.
Cultivators who joined the Immortal Court would be favored by its fortune, and their path of cultivation would be smooth, as if aided by the divine.
It could be said that even a pig could become an immortal and ancestor after joining the Immortal Court.
Let alone the seat of Queen Mother of the Immortal Court. She would rank alongside the Heavenly Emperor and receive the greatest share of its fortune.
He was just giving it to her so easily?!
At the thought, West Queen Mother lost her composure. When she looked at East King Duke again, her eyes brimmed with adoration.
"I... I am willing!"
The Primordial World.
At the foot of East Kunlun.
A brother and sister who looked to be in their early teens were fleeing for their lives. Thorns tore their clothes and left streaks of blood across their skin, but they seemed not to feel a thing, keeping their eyes fixed on the towering divine mountain ahead.
"Hold on, little brother. As long as we make it into Kunlun, that demon won't dare take another step inside."
The slightly older girl glanced back fearfully at the mass of Black Qi floating in the sky, then supported her younger brother as they hurried onward.
In the clouds overhead,
three members of the Demon Race watched the fleeing children with amused smiles, taunting them like cats toying with mice.
But when they saw the divine mountain ahead, one of them, a demon who looked like a sheep, hesitated.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, this looks like the cultivation grounds of a Great Power. Maybe we should just hurry and capture these two remnants, then take them back to the Demon Court to report in!"
"Third Brother, don't worry!"
A tiger demon transformed into a burly man. A character for "king," formed from black Dao Patterns, marked his forehead. Looking closely, one could even see countless souls wailing within it.
"Now that we've joined the Demon Race, who besides the Immortal Court would dare lay a hand on us?"
"Exactly! We're not unaffiliated wandering cultivators anymore. With the Demon Race backing us, who wouldn't show us some respect? Besides, we're carrying out a task for the Demon Court. Whoever dares stop us is opposing the Demon Court!"
A lean man with deer antlers said carelessly. When he looked down at the little girl, a lecherous gleam appeared in his eyes.
"But..."
The sheep demon still felt uneasy. Yet when he thought of the Demon Court's might and the awe-inspiring sight of countless demon gods gathered there, he buried his unease.
"We're inside!"
The older girl's face lit up with joy. Feeling the rich Spiritual Energy of the mountain range around them, she hurriedly tugged her brother down to his knees and kowtowed again and again toward the mountain.
"Senior Three Pure Ones, I am Ao Qin of the Chilong Clan. Please, save our lives!"
She kept bowing, not stopping even when her forehead had been battered until it was bloody and raw.
Seeing his sister like this, the little boy didn't understand why, but he followed her lead and kowtowed too.
At the peak of Kunlun Mountain,
Primordial Lord awoke from his seclusion. Following a subtle, mysterious sensation, he looked toward the two children.
He furrowed his brow and began calculating their fate with his fingers.
At that moment, Taishang and Tongtian, beside him, also awoke from their meditation.
When Tongtian saw the brother and sister at the foot of the mountain, then noticed the three demon immortals flying in from beyond the mountain, his face filled with anger.
"Unforgivable! A few Taiyi Golden Immortals are bullying children who haven't even become immortals!"
Tongtian was the most forthright of them all. He immediately rose, ready to intervene on their behalf.
But just then, Taishang glanced over at him unhurriedly.
"Third Brother, don't meddle."
"Calamity Qi is rising outside, and those two belong to the Dragon Race, burdened with overwhelming Karmic Debt. The Demon Race is one of the three great powers. We mustn't involve ourselves too deeply in their causes and effects."
Hearing this, Tongtian froze, then his expression gradually darkened.
But he had always trusted this Eldest Brother most, so he could only give up, unwillingly.
Just then, however, Primordial Lord stopped moving his fingers.
He stood and bowed to Taishang.
"Eldest Brother, I have determined that the little boy and I are destined for a teacher-disciple bond. I'll take responsibility for this cause and effect myself."
"Good. If that's the case, then we Three Pure Ones are not afraid of trouble. If we let the other fellow Daoists hear that juniors bullied us right at our doorstep and we didn't fight back, we'd bring shame upon the name of Pangu's True Lineage for nothing."
At Taishang's words, Primordial Lord had yet to react, but Tongtian was already delighted. He headed outside the mountain without a moment's thought about why Taishang had agreed as soon as Primordial Lord said he would save them.
At the foot of Kunlun Mountain.
The three demon immortals had already strode inside. Feeling the rich Primordial Spiritual Energy around them, they let out a contented sigh.
"It's good to be a Great Power. The Spiritual Energy in their cultivation grounds is over a hundred times richer than in my cave. The Spiritual Energy in the mountains alone rivals that of the Demon Court."
"Eldest Brother, I still think we should capture the two and leave. If we anger the master of this place, even if he doesn't kill us, we'll probably still get punished!"
The sheep demon was still cautious and urged him in a low voice.
"Enough, enough. Third Brother, you're still such a coward. How will you ever become a demon god?"
The deer demon said this, but quickened his pace all the same. He wasn't worried about some Great Power; he simply couldn't wait to seize the little girl.
When the three demons reached the foot of Kunlun, they saw Ao Qin and her brother kneeling on the ground. They appeared to have lost so much blood that their faces were pale and their bodies swayed unsteadily.
"Hahaha! Little girl, only you two are left of the Chilong Clan. If you submit to me willingly, maybe I'll let you keep your life!"
The deer demon's eyes gleamed. Rubbing his hands together, he spoke with a lecherous grin.
"You...!"
Father, Mother, Qin'er did all she could!
A flash of despair crossed Ao Qin's eyes when she saw the three demons.
Before the Chilong Clan was wiped out, her parents had sent the siblings away. They had told her that a cultivator with vast divine abilities lived on Kunlun Mountain and feared no attack from the Demon Race, and had urged them to seek refuge there.
She had never expected that after surviving countless dangers to reach this place, she would still end up being captured.
As for what the deer demon had said, she hadn't even considered it. The ancestor of their Chilong Clan had been a Great Luo Golden Immortal, yet the Demon Race had still killed him. How could a mere Taiyi Golden Immortal like the deer demon protect them?
"Don't even think about it! I'd rather die than let you have your way!"
Ao Qin looked at her little brother in her arms, her heart aching with reluctance. But she gritted her teeth and unleashed the power within her, which swelled wildly. She was on the verge of exploding at any moment.
Before you continue