Hongjun's Anger, A Dispute Over Seats

Haotian flung out the Taiji Diagram. This time, the suppression force of the diagram in his hands was far stronger than when it had been in Laozi's hands.

Haotian's cultivation was inferior to Laozi's; there was no way he could have unleashed such powerful suppression from the Taiji Diagram on his own.

Hongjun's hand must have been at work.

The Taiji Diagram blotted out the sky and covered the earth, forming its own space. A powerful suction force directly prevented Styx from escaping.

However, Styx didn't seem to want to flee either, so he didn't struggle much.

The Taiji Diagram hovered above Styx's head, golden light cascading down around it, forming a barrier that trapped Styx inside.

Seeing that they had effortlessly completed the Sage's orders, Haotian and Yaochi exchanged a smile.

But Yaochi still spoke up: "Great God Styx, this is the Master's command. Please forgive us, Great God. Once the Third Lecture is over, we will naturally let you leave."

Styx, however, simply closed his eyes and began to meditate, completely ignoring the two of them.

Haotian and Yaochi were still childlike at heart and didn't think much of it. They simply assumed Styx was angry and unwilling to speak.

Meanwhile, at the Purple Cloud Palace.

Almost everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived.

Most were familiar faces from the Second Lecture, but everyone's cultivation had made great breakthroughs.

The majority had already achieved Quasi-Sage, with only a small number still stuck at the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

But there were some new faces as well.

After the Second Lecture, everyone had stirred up a frenzy in the Primordial Wilderness, hunting for Innate Spiritual Treasures in order to sever their corpses.

Many Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals who possessed Innate Spiritual Treasures but lacked the strength to defend them were targeted and ambushed.

A rough glance showed that at least a third of the great powers from the Second Lecture hadn't survived to attend the Third Lecture.

Those who remained were essentially the cream of the crop among the Primordial Wilderness's mighty figures.

As for the many great powers who had broken through to Quasi-Sage during the Second Lecture at the Purple Cloud Palace, their cultivation was now even more terrifying.

Take Laozi, for example. He had already severed two corpses back then. Now, his aura was even more profound—he had likely severed all three.

The Three Pure Ones, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, Kunpeng, the Western Queen Mother, and others couldn't help but glance toward the fifth futon.

That was Styx's seat.

Since their earlier ambush on Styx had failed, they naturally wanted to know whether he was alive or dead.

Time ticked by, minute after minute. The fifth futon remained empty.

Most of them breathed a sigh of relief—it seemed Styx hadn't survived after all.

The other great powers who were unaware of the situation also began to murmur among themselves.

Time was almost up. Why hadn't Styx arrived yet?

Zhun Ti directly sent a voice transmission to Jie Yin: "Brother, now that Styx is dead, quickly take his seat. The two of us can join forces to squeeze out Kunpeng!"

Jie Yin had the same idea, so he slowly walked to the front row of the Purple Cloud Palace.

He wasn't the only one who wanted to take the seat, but the others hadn't dared to act yet. Jie Yin beat them to it.

After all, the others weren't sure if Styx would show up, but Jie Yin was already certain Styx was dead and wouldn't appear again.

Just as Jie Yin was about to sit down, Kunpeng let out a cold snort, but Jie Yin paid it no mind and prepared to take his seat.

The moment he was about to sit, a pearl struck him squarely on the head.

Caught off guard, a lump swelled up on Jie Yin's bald head.

The blow startled Jie Yin so much that he jumped up.

"Who was that?"

Jie Yin glared around furiously, only to see the person he least wanted to see standing at the entrance.

"Styx!"

Jie Yin was startled, a hint of panic on his face: "How are you still alive?!"

Styx's expression was amused as he toyed with the other eleven Sea Stabilizing Divine Pearls in his hand.

With a wave of his hand, the pearl that had struck Jie Yin flew back to him.

Styx said, "What? Jie Yin, you look surprised."

He walked forward, and the entire Purple Cloud Palace fell silent.

Not just Jie Yin—even Laozi and others in the know were astounded.

Styx was still alive?

Even Hongjun, who hadn't appeared yet, saw everything happening in the Purple Cloud Palace, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

He immediately began to calculate.

He clearly sensed that Haotian and Yaochi had used the Taiji Diagram. This time, the diagram carried a trace of his own power. There was absolutely no way Styx could have escaped. What was going on now?

Soon, a scene appeared before Hongjun.

Haotian and Yaochi were guarding a Styx by the Blood Sea, with the Taiji Diagram hovering above his head to suppress him.

Two Styxes?

Hongjun's brow furrowed, then realization struck, and his expression turned grim.

The one by the Blood Sea was merely an ordinary Blood God Doppelganger of Styx!

"Fine, fine, fine! What a Styx!"

Hongjun watched everything unfold, the killing intent on his face chilling to behold.

He used great effort to calm himself; he would soon Harmonize with the Dao and could not let excess emotions affect him.

Now that Styx had already arrived here, he couldn't simply drive him out.

After all, doing so would damage his prestige. So Hongjun had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.

Even if he couldn't extract any fortune from Styx, it would only mean imperfection.

Once he gained enough benefits from the Heavenly Dao, there would come a day to make Styx pay!

He casually shot out a strike, turning the Styx Blood God Doppelganger by the Blood Sea into a mist of blood, then summoned back the Taiji Diagram, Haotian, and Yaochi.

Styx was so deep and calculating that even he had nearly failed to notice the trick, let alone Haotian and Yaochi.

It seemed that dealing with Styx could no longer be done with half-measures; careful planning was needed.

In the Purple Cloud Palace, as Styx pressed forward step by step, Jie Yin involuntarily retreated.

Styx cast a disdainful glance at him—with such a spineless demeanor, he dared to snatch his things?

Standing before his own Futon, facing the crowd, he spoke as if warning Jie Yin and everyone else: "My things are not for anyone to covet!"

Jie Yin knew he was no match for Styx and dared not confront him directly, so he could only slink back to his own spot.

But Styx called him to a halt.

"Stop!"

Jie Yin froze, then heard Styx continue: "Earlier you tried to ambush me, and now you come to steal my things. Jie Yin, you don't think I'll just let this go, do you?"

The implication was that he intended to settle accounts with Jie Yin, which struck a nerve in everyone who had participated in the earlier ambush on Styx.

Especially Kunpeng and the Western Queen Mother.

Kunpeng spoke up directly: "Styx, why are you so overbearing! Fellow Daoist Jie Yin only wanted to sit a little closer; why must you be so aggressive here!"

Kunpeng thought that by saying this, he could place himself on the moral high ground, but no one in the Purple Cloud Palace echoed him.

For one thing, the vast majority of great powers in the Purple Cloud Palace had no standing to involve themselves in this matter.

Though all were Quasi-Sages, Quasi-Sages were also ranked in tiers, and those arguing now were among the top-tier Quasi-Sages.

Moreover, getting involved in this affair brought no benefit to anyone else, so they naturally kept their mouths shut.

Even Jie Yin and Zhun Ti had no reason to help Kunpeng.

Styx didn't even look at Kunpeng.

In his eyes, this man was practically no different from a corpse.

If it weren't for needing him to occupy a Futon in the Purple Cloud Palace to keep Jie Yin and Zhun Ti from rising, Styx likely wouldn't have let him live until the third lecture.

Seeing no one respond, Kunpeng felt his face had been slapped and nursed a secret grudge.

Jie Yin was clever; he understood that Styx's earlier words meant they would have to bleed something to settle the karmic debt.

So he spoke: "What does Daoist want?"

Styx was satisfied inwardly—this Jie Yin was indeed a smart man.