Zhu Rong looked at Laozi with a cruel smile and swung his fist down.
Tongtian did not even have time to let out a miserable scream before his eyes rolled back, his legs went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Laozi was furious enough to explode; today's events were the utmost humiliation.
It could simply be called an utter disgrace!
Ever since they, the Three Pure Ones, took form, things had always gone smoothly, and they had never been so aggrieved.
Even with lingering resentment and unwillingness to accept this, there was nothing they could do!
Who told them to be inferior in strength?
Laozi silently put away his Magic Treasure, followed Zhu Rong—who was carrying Tongtian on his shoulder—and returned to Li Hao's side.
Hn... looking thoroughly well-behaved and resigned to his fate.
He had no choice but to be well-behaved; among the Three Pure Ones, Yuanshi, who excelled the most in offense, had fallen first.
Tongtian, second only to Yuanshi, had also fallen just a moment ago.
With only Laozi left among the Three Pure Ones, although Laozi was the eldest and possessed the deepest cultivation.
He was accustomed to tranquility and inaction, and usually avoided contention and fighting.
Compared to active offense, he was far better suited to passive defense.
Besides, Laozi's strongest offensive technique, the Supreme Pure Immortal Light, had already been used without causing any real damage to the other side.
Thus, he had no further means left.
Reaching the front, Laozi stared fixedly at Li Hao and said through gritted teeth, "Tell me, what else do you want?"
Li Hao grinned broadly at Laozi.
"Oh! Old man! We meet again!"
"Did you get lost?"
Laozi's expression changed drastically, his entire body stiffening, and he did not dare to say a word.
They were the cleaver and the chopping board, while he was the fish and the meat.
Aside from enduring, there was no other way.
As for arguing back stubbornly? Laozi had never even considered it.
At the end of the day, it was a matter of strength; barking impotently would only make him look even more pathetic.
Seeing Laozi stand with his neck stiff and refuse to speak, Li Hao gave a light snort.
"You Three Pure Ones sneaked into the territory of my Witch Tribe."
"Not only did you steal the Divine Powers and secret techniques of my Witch Tribe, you even attempted to forcefully seize the Supreme Treasure left to our clan by Father God!"
"Considering that though we stem from different branches, we are still of the same origin, capital punishment can be spared, but the crime of living cannot be escaped."
At this moment, Yuanshi slowly regained consciousness, just in time to hear these words.
He tremblingly raised a hand, pointed at Li Hao, and choked out, "You... you... you..."
Another mouthful of blood spewed out, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted once more.
Laozi took two or three steps forward and shoved Yuanshi.
"Second Brother! Second Brother! How are you?"
And indeed, under the shoving, Yuanshi actually woke up.
At this moment, his face was the color of golden paper, and his entire person was in a withered and listless state.
It was as if he didn't even have the strength to speak, so he merely shook his head to indicate he was fine.
A weight lifted from Laozi's heart. He turned his head to look at Li Hao and asked, "Just what do you want? Lay down your terms, and we three brothers will take them on!"
Li Hao supported his chin with a very convincing pretense of thought, looked at Zhu Rong, and said, "Third Brother, it seems to me that this old man is holding our clan's Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Seven Treasures Pagoda?"
Zhu Rong was clearly stunned. What Seven Treasures Pagoda?
He had no idea whatsoever.
Wait, are you sure the two of us returned to the same Ancestral Land?
Why is it that things you've seen and heard are completely unknown to me?
However, Houtu's words flashed through his mind.
"As long as Little Brother asks you, regardless of whether you understand or not, just nod!"
"If Third Brother messes up, I won't talk to you for a hundred thousand years!"
At the memory of these words, Zhu Rong trembled all over and decisively nodded.
"Yes, yes, yes! Looking at it, it really does resemble our clan's Seven Treasures Pagoda!"
"A few days ago, I was wondering why the pagoda had disappeared. It must have been stolen by this lit... old thief."
Laozi's entire face twitched.
Damn it!
You guys are something else!
Isn't this talking nonsense with your eyes wide open?
What Seven Treasures Pagoda? Does changing a name make it yours?
However, he could only think these words in his heart; he couldn't actually voice them.
After all, his Second Brother and Third Brother were still in the other party's hands.
Although they weren't being restrained, that was simply because the other party had no worries whatsoever.
If you weren't afraid of mental trauma, you were welcome to try running away.
As if you could possibly run away!
Otherwise, why did you think the other party was so utterly fearless?
Facing these three members of the Witch Tribe whom they could neither defeat nor escape from.
Laozi could do nothing except sigh inwardly.
Yuanshi, who had regained consciousness at the side, was on the verge of exploding.
His face was as gloomy as water and fiercely ferocious.
How could he possibly fail to understand now?
This wasn't just about snatching their destined Magic Treasure; they were even trying to snatch his Elder Brother's Merit Supreme Treasure!
"Elder Brother, leave. Leave us behind; surely they wouldn't dare to kill us."
Then, he glared viciously at Li Hao.
"If you have the guts, just kill me then. If I, Yuanshi, utter a single groan, I won't be worthy of being the continuation of Father God."
Li Hao rolled his eyes and spread his hands.
"I indeed don't dare, or rather, I cannot kill you. After all, we all stem from the same origin."
Feeling he had reason on his side, Yuanshi continued.
"Since you acknowledge our same origin, you shouldn't seize the possessions of your flesh and blood!"
Li Hao paused for a moment, then smiled.
"What do you mean by seize? Such an ugly word!"
"We are merely taking back what is ours. This is called returning things to their rightful owners, do you understand?"
"You invaded our clan's territory and stole our clan's Divine Powers and secret techniques."
"You even took the treasure used by our clan to suppress our karmic luck. Is this how you treat your own brothers of the same origin?"
"We are different from you. Out of consideration for our bonds of shared origin, not blaming you for taking things without permission is already a tremendous stroke of fortune for you!"
"It is precisely out of regard for our shared origin that we decided to let bygones be bygones!"
While Li Hao was talking, Zhu Rong secretly sidled up to Houtu.
"Little Sister, what does Thirteenth Brother mean by this?"
Houtu rolled her eyes at him, covered her mouth, and said in a low voice.
"If Little Brother says it is, then it is! Even if it isn't, it still is!"
"Third Brother, your voice is too loud, stop talking unless necessary!"
Zhu Rong nodded, uncomprehending.
"Oh! Understood, I'll listen to you. Whatever Little Sister says goes!"
Houtu rolled her eyes at him once more.
"Just watch properly over here. Don't speak, don't do anything else, and don't ruin Little Brother's affairs."
Zhu Rong nodded again, standing aside with extreme docility and directly emptying his mind.
He knew nothing!
He saw nothing!
He heard nothing!
I! Zhu Rong! Am merely a shell without thoughts!
Seeing that Zhu Rong was well-behaved, Houtu finally let out a genuine sigh of relief.
The sole uncertain factor had now been dealt with.
This time, no one would come to disrupt Little Brother's plans.
Chapter 21: Third Brother! Hurry back and gather the brothers, follow me! A huge deal is coming!
Before you continue