Spiritual Treasure Embryo, Laozi Requests Battle

The crowd once again turned their gaze toward the center of the earlier attack.

As Styx charged over there, the attack found its target, and all its might landed squarely on him.

But clearly, Styx wasn't so easy to kill.

Sure enough, Styx's figure reappeared, standing upright in the void.

The attack didn't seem to have harmed him much.

A single thought surfaced in everyone's mind—was Styx really this hard to deal with?

And in his hand, something new had appeared.

Styx glanced with satisfaction at the Spiritual Treasure Embryo he held.

The crowd sensed the aura emanating from this Spiritual Treasure Embryo; it felt somewhat familiar.

Laozi was still the first to react: "Is that the Dragon Head Crutch?"

The crowd suddenly understood!

Had Styx used the combined Quasi-Sage power of the crowd just now to destroy the Dragon Head Crutch?

Of course, as a Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Dragon Head Crutch contained the Indestructible Divine Light of Innate Origin, so it couldn't be completely obliterated.

But its original crutch form had been destroyed, and the lingering aura of the Eastern Duke within it had been erased. In other words, this Spiritual Treasure Embryo no longer had any connection to the Eastern Duke.

Styx expressed great satisfaction—now he could use this Spiritual Treasure Embryo to forge an Innate Spiritual Treasure of his own design.

The rest of the crowd inwardly cursed his ruthlessness.

If this were merely the destruction of a Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Eastern Duke would be pained, but it wouldn't cripple him.

But the treasure Styx had destroyed was specifically the Dragon Head Crutch.

And on it was enshrined the Eastern Duke's Good Corpse!

With the Dragon Head Crutch destroyed, the Eastern Duke's Good Corpse was also annihilated, and even his cultivation was affected—no wonder he had coughed blood and fainted!

Now that the grand formation was broken, the Eastern Duke lay unconscious, and Styx had gained a Spiritual Treasure Embryo. The crowd had truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.

But clearly, none of them had given up on sniping Styx.

Laozi, the highest cultivator among them, made a decisive call.

"Everyone, act now! We have already forged enmity with Styx today. If he does not die here, we will surely face his revenge!"

At these words, the Western Queen Mother and Kunpeng, the two loners among the remaining seven, immediately grew tense.

The Three Pure Ones were bound together, and Jie Yin and Zhun Ti were inseparable, but the Western Queen Mother and Kunpeng stood alone.

Though they had disciples and followers below, those would be useless if Styx sought revenge.

Kunpeng transformed into a sky-covering giant bird, blotting out the entire heavens.

Then his massive talons reached for Styx. Beneath those enormous claws, Styx's body seemed utterly insignificant.

At the same time, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti joined forces to unleash a Secret Technique, forming a pincer blockade that left Styx no room to escape.

The Three Pure Ones and the Western Queen Mother also erupted simultaneously, every strike a killing blow.

Styx's expression grew equally serious.

Underestimating an enemy was a cardinal sin in warfare!

He ignored Jie Yin and Zhun Ti—those two were just support.

And though Kunpeng's talons carried a terrifying momentum, his massive body also made it easy for Styx to land a hit.

Now that the restraining pure qi was gone, Styx directly merged his two Killing Swords into one, forming the No Sword.

As soon as the No Sword appeared, Kunpeng sensed its boundless killing intent, but it was too late to retract his talons.

The No Sword not only pierced through Kunpeng's talons but also ran straight through his body.

Kunpeng's true form let out a sharp cry before crashing to the ground, kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

But at the same time, the attacks from the Three Pure Ones and the Western Queen Mother shattered Styx's defenses and struck him!

Though Styx's defenses had absorbed most of the damage, the impact still hit him hard.

But breaking Styx with attacks of this level was still impossible.

Styx even taunted, "Laozi, is this all the strength you have?"

The crowd's expressions soured.

Styx, alone against eight Quasi-Sages, had broken their formation, destroyed the Eastern Duke's Good Corpse, and wounded Kunpeng.

Zhun Ti retorted, "Styx, don't be so arrogant! Even if we wear you down one by one, we'll grind you to death!"

"Come at me, then!" Styx said without a care.

Zhun Ti took him up on it, and the crowd yielded the battlefield to him.

Only Jie Yin, uneasy, stepped into the fray as well.

Styx didn't mind.

Zhun Ti was beneath his notice in his eyes, even adding Jie Yin would make no difference.

"Elder Brother, let's use that move!"

Zhun Ti clearly harbored a deeper hatred for Styx, and as soon as he spoke, he proposed to Jie Yin that they unleash their ultimate killing technique.

But Jie Yin shook his head and refused.

"No, that move is not yet fully formed."

Styx was somewhat curious about what move they meant, so he spoke up: "What's this? Are you afraid?"

Jie Yin recognized this as a provocation and paid it no heed, nor did Zhun Ti respond to Styx.

Styx was not disappointed either.

If Jie Yin and Zhun Ti were so easily fooled, how could the two of them ever establish the vast Buddhist faith, and even suppress the Mystic Gate after the Investiture of the Gods Calamity?

Jie Yin and Zhun Ti closed their eyes, pressed their palms together, and murmured incantations under their breath.

Before long, a massive phantom had already appeared behind them.

It was blurry and indistinct, making it impossible to see the phantom's form clearly.

Styx was not one to sit idly by; the moment Jie Yin and Zhun Ti began their Secret Technique, he was already preparing to act.

After all, waiting for others to strike before counterattacking was not his style.

Styx lightly tapped the void with his toe, lunged forward with all his might, and charged at the two with No Sword in hand.

Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, engrossed in their Secret Technique, naturally could not attend to him, but Laozi, who had been watching Styx's movements all along, immediately stepped in to block him.

This was nothing unusual in itself, but what caught Styx completely off guard was the supreme treasure in Laozi's hand!

Laozi flung out a Golden Diagram, which instantly blazed with golden light and transformed into layers of Taiji Phantoms, barring Styx's path.

It was the Taiji Diagram!

This was one of the supreme treasures born from the Pangu Banner's Heaven Splitting Axe splitting into three, capable of pacifying Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, reversing Yin and Yang and the cosmos, with unmatched power.

But clearly, the Taiji Diagram was not supposed to be in Laozi's hands until after the Third Sermon, when Hongjun distributed the treasures.

Its appearance in Laozi's hands now made it obvious that Hongjun was determined to eliminate him.

Otherwise, he would not have entrusted such a heavy treasure to him.

Still, it was fortunate that Styx saw Yuanshi and Tongtian making no move.

If Hongjun had also handed the Pangu Banner and the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation to Yuanshi and Tongtian, then today would truly have been troublesome for Styx.

Styx temporarily set aside Jie Yin and Zhun Ti and instead locked into a fierce struggle with Laozi.

Yuanshi and Tongtian immediately wanted to go help Laozi, but he refused them.

"No need to come over!"

Laozi also had his own pride.

In his eyes, even if he was slightly inferior to Styx, it was only by a small margin.

And with the Taiji Diagram, he had completely closed the gap in cultivation between them.

He could even overpower Styx.

If, under these circumstances, he still needed Yuanshi and Tongtian's help, then what face would he have left to call himself the true heir of Pangu and the foremost of the Three Pure Ones?

Laozi emotionlessly flicked the Taiji Diagram.

"Come!"