Mysterious Grand Formation, Duke Dong Loses Face

But these days, few people cared about what the Eastern Duke thought.

Although the Eastern Duke was the Leader of Male Immortals personally appointed by the sage Hongjun, the Primordial Wilderness still revered strength above all.

Without strength, who would take you seriously?

Even with Hongjun's appointment, the great powers of the Primordial Wilderness said nothing openly, but behind his back, they didn't hold the Eastern Duke in much regard.

So thousands of years passed, and the only ones who gathered around the Eastern Duke were a motley crew of misfits.

Let alone Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals—there weren't even many Primordial Unity Golden Immortals.

And not a single one of the Three Thousand Great Powers who had attended the lectures at Purple Cloud Palace.

Thinking of his current pitiful situation, the Eastern Duke seethed with resentment in his heart.

He hated Di Jun and Taiyi for poaching too many people, leaving him with no one to use.

He also hated the Three Thousand Great Powers of Purple Cloud Palace—not one of them thought highly of him!

Just as he was fuming in private, one of his Primordial Unity Golden Immortal subordinates suddenly entered.

The Eastern Duke smoothed the gloom from his face and summoned the man in.

That Primordial Unity Golden Immortal said joyfully to the Eastern Duke, "Lord Immortal Chief, while our people were recruiting on the East Sea, they accidentally discovered a Primordial Formation!"

The Eastern Duke was overjoyed at this and quickly pressed, "Did you break open the formation?"

The Primordial Unity Golden Immortal shook his head: "No, this formation is profoundly mysterious. Our cultivation is insufficient to breach it; I'm afraid you, Lord Immortal Chief, will need to act in person."

"Set out immediately!"

The Eastern Duke couldn't wait a single moment and rushed off toward the East Sea at top speed.

Whenever a Primordial Spiritual Object emerged, it was always guarded by a formation.

The stronger the formation, the higher the grade of the Primordial Spiritual Object it protected.

And that profoundly mysterious Primordial Formation on the East Sea—even a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal couldn't break it—meant the worst thing inside was a High-Grade Connate Spiritual Treasure!

To be honest, the Eastern Duke was still quite poor. Aside from the Dragon Head Crutch bestowed by Hongjun, he only had one Connate Spiritual Treasure, the Pure Yang Purple Fire Sword.

If he were a lone operator, two spiritual treasures would be enough for him.

But unfortunately, he also had ambition.

If he wanted to build a faction, he needed sufficient resources.

After all, recruiting people required giving something in return. If you were stingy, who would be willing to work for you?

But once he reached the East Sea, the Eastern Duke realized he had underestimated things.

The profundity of this formation far exceeded his imagination.

This left him half delighted and half worried.

Delighted—because with such an exquisite formation, the harvest was sure to be substantial!

Worried—because it seemed he couldn't break it!

But his subordinates were all watching from the side. If the Eastern Duke admitted he couldn't break it, that would be too embarrassing and wouldn't help him establish his authority.

So, steeling himself, he raised the Dragon Head Crutch and fired a strike at the formation.

Unsurprisingly, the formation simply swallowed the attack whole.

The Eastern Duke, refusing to accept defeat, tried attacking several other suspected weak points of the formation, but with little effect.

Still, it wasn't entirely without gain.

The Eastern Duke discovered that within the formation, the power of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire was subtly at work.

This power of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire was a necessary condition for the birth of a world, so what was hidden in this formation was likely a small World Fragment!

To the Eastern Duke, this was far more valuable than a spiritual treasure.

If he could become the master of this small World Fragment, then the spiritual roots and spiritual treasures within it would become advantageous resources for his rise to dominance!

So the Eastern Duke changed his approach to breaking the formation, no longer using brute force.

Instead, he planned to open an entrance into the formation while preserving its integrity as much as possible!

Unfortunately, just as he was eager to try, a distant transmission came from Hongjun.

"The ten-thousand-year period has come. Those with destiny may come to Purple Cloud Palace to hear the Dao."

The Eastern Duke was startled. Counting on his fingers, he realized that breaking this formation had already taken several thousand years!

Attending Hongjun's lecture was clearly more important, and if he could break through his cultivation after this session, breaking the formation would also become easier.

"You all guard the formation. This Immortal Chief must first go to Purple Cloud Palace to hear the Dao, then return to break the formation. Remember, don't let anyone else approach the formation!"

"We obey the Immortal Chief's command!"

His subordinates knelt respectfully in a row.

The Eastern Duke nodded in satisfaction, then headed toward the Chaos.

By the time he arrived at the Purple Cloud Palace, quite a few people had already gathered.

He spotted a familiar figure ahead and immediately hurried over with eager attentiveness.

"Daoist Fellow Western Queen Mother..."

When the Western Queen Mother heard the Eastern Duke's voice, she maintained a kind smile on her face and responded, "Daoist Fellow Eastern Duke!"

But in her movements, she subtly pressed forward without any visible change.

She had interacted with the Eastern Duke before, and their temperaments simply did not mesh.

She had no ambition for dominance either; otherwise, she would not have secluded herself in West Kunlun and refused to emerge.

Thus, the Western Queen Mother had always adopted an attitude of keeping the Eastern Duke at a respectful distance.

Yet the Eastern Duke paid no heed to her aloofness, single-mindedly squeezing his way toward her.

The Western Queen Mother's seat in the Purple Cloud Palace was far ahead of the Eastern Duke's.

So when the Eastern Duke pushed toward her, he naturally disrupted others' positions for listening to the Dao.

But out of deference to the Eastern Duke's status as the Leader of Male Immortals appointed by Hongjun, no one wanted to cause him open embarrassment.

Still, not everyone was willing to grant him that face.

Take Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, for instance.

The Western Queen Mother's seat was just ahead of the two Lunar Goddesses, Xi He and Chang Xi.

Thus, when the Eastern Duke squeezed in, he took over the spots of Xi He and Chang Xi.

Di Jun had already made contact with Xi He, and the moment he saw the two sisters displaced by the Eastern Duke, he reacted immediately.

The Eastern Duke was tirelessly chatting with the Western Queen Mother when he suddenly felt a shadow fall over him.

He looked up in confusion and saw Di Jun staring at him with unfriendly eyes.

"Get up at once and return the seats to Daoist Fellows Xi He and Chang Xi!"

Only then did the Eastern Duke notice that the Xi He sisters were still standing.

But he was unperturbed.

"There are plenty of seats in the back. Daoist Fellows Xi He and Chang Xi can just pick any spot back there!"

Di Jun, however, did not budge, still standing before him.

Everyone in the Purple Cloud Palace instantly shifted their attention to the two of them.

Feeling the stares of the crowd, the Eastern Duke grew angry, sensing that Di Jun had made him lose face.

"Di Jun, this Seat is the Leader of Male Immortals. Are you daring to offend this Seat?"

At these words, everyone watched to see how Di Jun would respond.

Di Jun naturally intended to use this act to test the Sage's attitude toward the Eastern Duke.

If the Sage stood up for the Eastern Duke, at worst he would receive a reprimand from the Sage.

After all, during the first lecture, the Sage had expressed support for his management of the Demon Race, so it was unlikely he would be killed over such a trivial matter.

But if the Sage did not defend the Eastern Duke...

Then the Eastern Duke's good days were probably over.

Di Jun did not answer the Eastern Duke's words. Instead, Eastern Emperor Taiyi also walked over and stood behind Di Jun.

The pressure on the Eastern Duke suddenly intensified.

In terms of strength, there was no way the Eastern Duke could defeat both Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, so he could only slink back to his own seat in disgrace.

But he resolved to condemn Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's disrespectful behavior before the Sage without mercy.