"Now that I've touched it, what can you do about it?"
As if deliberately provoking Taiyi, Styx directly suppressed the Eastern Emperor Bell in his hand as it struggled to break free of his control, then put it away.
Taiyi was furious, yet he did not dare make any move. Instead, he looked to Di Jun for help.
Di Jun sighed inwardly.
He still had to clean up his younger brother's mess.
The Eastern Emperor Bell was important to Taiyi, but it was equally important to Di Jun and the Demon Clan he was about to establish.
Without the Eastern Emperor Bell, Taiyi's combat strength would be greatly reduced.
When that happened, their Demon Clan would have one less figure capable of intimidating the Witch Clan.
Thus, Di Jun took the initiative to speak.
"Fellow Daoist Styx, my younger brother was too reckless just now and offended you. I hope you can forgive him and return the Eastern Emperor Bell to us."
As he spoke, he bowed to Styx. His attitude could be considered exceedingly humble.
Yet Styx pretended not to see it.
In his previous life as a human, he had held little fondness for the Demon Clan.
The Demon Clan had slaughtered countless humans to forge the Slaughter Witch Sword. That was an irreconcilable hatred between humanity and the Demon Clan.
Although that had not happened yet, Styx still disliked the two before him.
After all, before they knew he had already broken through, Di Jun had pinned the blame for taking the treasures on him in front of everyone.
If he had not appeared, and if Laozi had not exposed his cultivation, indirectly proving that he had indeed returned to the Blood Sea to cultivate in seclusion for a time—
Di Jun would likely have plotted against him without his even realizing it.
Di Jun was courteous to him now only because of his strength.
If their positions were reversed, Di Jun and Taiyi likely would not be discussing things with him so politely.
Thus, Styx sneered.
"What? Does Taiyi have no mouth, or has he not been weaned yet? Does he need his elder brother to speak for him?"
Styx truly looked down on Taiyi's arrogance.
He caused trouble, could not handle it himself, and still had his older brother stand in front of him.
Heh heh!
"You!"
How could Taiyi's pride endure Styx's mockery?
He immediately wanted to argue with Styx through force, but Di Jun stopped him in time.
Di Jun shot him a fierce glare, and Taiyi's anger gradually subsided.
Then, at Di Jun's prompting, Taiyi also bowed and apologized.
"Fellow Daoist Styx, Taiyi was too impulsive just now... Please... forgive me!"
Damn Styx! One day, when he broke through to the Quasi-Sage realm, he would make him pay!
It was not a long sentence, yet Taiyi spoke it haltingly. It was obvious he had needed no small amount of mental preparation to say it.
But Styx had no intention of letting the matter go so easily.
He took out the Eastern Emperor Bell.
Even under his suppression, the Eastern Emperor Bell continued struggling without cease.
"Taiyi, when you make a mistake, you must pay a price. You cannot act as if nothing happened with just a few words."
Styx's attitude was clear.
They could take back the Eastern Emperor Bell.
But they had to pay a price.
What? You were asking why Styx would so readily give up a Connate Supreme Treasure?
Styx was not an idiot.
If he could take away a Connate Supreme Treasure, would he refuse it?
Of course, he had just tried to erase Taiyi's imprint within the Eastern Emperor Bell.
But the Eastern Emperor Bell had resisted with all its might.
Spiritual treasures possessed spirits.
Not to mention that this was a Connate Supreme Treasure.
A Connate Supreme Treasure was an existence on the same level as a Grand Dao Golden Immortal.
With Styx's current Quasi-Sage cultivation, he clearly could not completely suppress the Eastern Emperor Bell.
Given enough time, the Eastern Emperor Bell would naturally break free.
Taiyi was still alive, and the Eastern Emperor Bell had its own pride. It was unwilling to serve another master.
Styx could do nothing about it.
He could only wait until after the Witch-Demon Calamity, when Di Jun and Taiyi were both dead, before making plans for the Eastern Emperor Bell.
As for why he did not simply kill Di Jun and Taiyi?
Heh heh, they were the chosen children of the calamity in the Witch-Demon Calamity.
As long as Styx was not insane, he would not kill them at this time.
Di Jun took out a High-Grade Connate Spiritual Treasure and handed it to Styx.
"Fellow Daoist Styx, this is the High-Grade Connate Spiritual Treasure Sun Essence Wheel. It contains Sun True Fire and possesses immense power. I offer this treasure to you."
Taiyi cried out in alarm to stop him. "Big Brother, this is one of your natal spiritual treasures. How can you give it to him..."
Although the Sun Essence Wheel appeared to be merely a High-Grade Connate Spiritual Treasure, its rank was not particularly high.
However, it was a treasure nurtured by the Sun Star. Obtaining it meant gaining the Sun Star's recognition, making it absolutely comparable in value to a Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
If the Sun Essence Wheel and Moon Essence Wheel could be combined, one could even command the stars.
And the Moon Essence Wheel was in the hands of Xi He, the Lord of Taiyin.
His elder brother had already made contact with Xi He. As long as the two could successfully become Dao companions, his brother becoming the Lord of the Starry Sky would be a certainty.
"Shut up!"
Di Jun roared.
Of course he knew how important the Sun Essence Wheel was.
But compared to the Eastern Emperor Bell, the Sun Essence Wheel was not as important.
Taiyi did not dare speak after Di Jun's rebuke.
But Styx, the other main figure in this matter, remained entirely unmoved. He did not even raise an eyelid.
Were these two brothers putting on a performance in front of him?
They wanted to retrieve the Eastern Emperor Bell from him with a single High-Grade Connate Spiritual Treasure?
What a dream.
Di Jun waited for a while. Seeing that Styx made no move, he knew Styx was dissatisfied.
Then he gritted his teeth and took out another item.
"Fellow Daoist, this is a treasure unique to my starry sky, called Star Sand. It is an excellent material for artifact refinement, and I will give it to you as well."
This time, Styx finally gave them a proper look.
That look was no small matter—he was directly dazzled by the radiance of the Star Sand!
Just as Di Jun had said, it was truly a good thing!
The smile on Styx's face was nearly impossible to contain. He promptly accepted the offer and stored away the Star Sand and the Sun Essence Wheel.
"Fellow Daoist, you are far too generous!"
Using an Eastern Emperor Bell that did not belong to him, he had swindled two good treasures from Di Jun!
Refreshing!
Once Di Jun and Taiyi saw Styx accept the items, they stared at him eagerly.
Their meaning was self-evident.
Styx did not drag things out any longer and returned the Eastern Emperor Bell to them.
The moment they got the Eastern Emperor Bell back, Di Jun and Taiyi immediately left Buzhou Mountain, not daring to linger for even a moment.
Styx did not care.
He had come to Buzhou Mountain to find Wu Mo. He had already wasted a long time and could not continue squandering it.
He returned to the place where the Gourd Vine had originally stood.
If he had guessed correctly, Wu Mo had indeed taken the Gourd Vine.
He just did not know where Wu Mo had gone now.
As Styx was puzzling over it, he sensed a faint trace of Demon Qi drifting through the air!
After the Dao-Devil War, all practitioners of the Demonic Path in the Primordial Wilderness had been suppressed by Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao until they were in a miserable state.
The only one who could still be giving off Demon Qi now was probably Wu Mo!
Without hesitation, Styx followed the direction from which the Demon Qi came.
Before you continue