The Sage's Path, You Walked It Wrong

"After the third lecture, gather at Mount Sumeru in the Western Lands!"

What Styx wanted, Jie Yin did not currently possess.

Nor was this a good time for a transaction.

Mount Sumeru in the Western Lands was the Daoist Temple of Jie Yin and Zhun Ti in the west.

Styx had chosen Sumeru rather than the Blood Sea, which let Jie Yin and Zhun Ti breathe a sigh of relief.

At least Sumeru was their home ground; they did not fear Styx laying any ambush there.

On the other side, the Three Pure Ones sat unmoved, as if they had not heard the dispute between Styx and the others.

Meanwhile, Kunpeng and the Western Queen Mother both showed signs of panic.

If Styx settled his karmic debts with Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, and then turned on them afterward, what would they do?

Kunpeng resolved to cling to a Sage's thigh after the third lecture; he refused to believe that with a Sage as his backing, Styx would still dare to move against him.

As for the Western Queen Mother, she was truly terrified. The death of the Eastern Duke had already taught her that the title of Leader of Female Immortals was useless.

Today, Styx's display of dominance filled her with dread.

After long deliberation, she finally made up her mind...

With this incident, the Purple Cloud Palace fell into a silence so deep it was utterly soundless.

It lasted until Hongjun appeared.

Hongjun had naturally witnessed everything that had just transpired.

But now his expression had returned to calm. Regardless, on the surface, he had to maintain the image of a selfless, loving teacher imparting the Dao to all beings of the Primordial Wilderness.

Styx was also wise enough not to bring up what had happened above the Blood Sea.

Hongjun maintained his usual simplicity: "This lecture is on the Sage's Path. Listen carefully."

When they heard it was the Sage's Path, everyone present straightened their expressions.

This was the Sage's Path!

Even Styx did the same.

Of course, what he coveted was not the Sage's Path, but the final opportunity for fortune.

Sure enough, the moment Hongjun spoke, Styx's divine sense left the Purple Cloud Palace once more.

This time, he returned to the place where he had taken the two Law Leaves.

And he met the Law Envoy again.

Just as Styx was about to thank him, the other said, "You took the wrong path."

Styx did not understand. "What do you mean?"

The Law Envoy repeated seriously, "You took the wrong path."

Seeing that Styx still did not grasp it, the Law Envoy abandoned the idea of communicating with words.

He threw a punch directly at Styx. The intent of that fist was terrifying, enough to make even Styx feel a trace of fear.

Styx sidestepped, barely dodging the Law Envoy's attack, and the space where he had stood twisted under the blow.

Though he found the sudden strike puzzling, Styx knew that crossing blows with such an opponent was a rare opportunity not to be missed.

So he threw a punch of his own, meeting force with force.

The first time he had come, Styx was merely a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, with no clear concept of the Law Envoy's power.

Now, Styx was close to the peak of Quasi-Sage, yet he still felt as insignificant as an ant before the Law Envoy.

This Law Envoy was likely at the level of a Hunyuan Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, or perhaps even higher.

The other had no intention of killing him; striking out was probably meant to grant him a fortune.

Styx's punch condensed a full forty-five percent of his Creation Power, while the Law Envoy used about thirty percent.

Styx was confident. In pure cultivation, he might not be the opponent's match, but in Law power, he was clearly superior.

But when they clashed, Styx realized that was not the case.

Though the Law Envoy's Law output was weaker than his, it was far more profound and dense!

"How can this be?!"

The Law Envoy, as he had the first time, compressed his cultivation to match Styx's level.

So this situation was definitely not due to a gap in cultivation.

Styx was sent flying by the punch. Though uninjured, it was far from pleasant.

The Law Envoy repeated once more, "You took the wrong path."

This time, Styx vaguely seemed to understand what the Law Envoy meant.

Because he had taken the wrong path, the Creation Power he wielded was inferior to the Law Envoy's.

Was that it?

Styx did not ask.

The Law Envoy had not directly told him what he had done wrong, meaning he wanted Styx to realize it on his own.

He, too, wanted to figure this out himself.

For his second strike, Styx did not use any spiritual treasures, continuing instead to purely compete with Law power.

This time, Creation Power and Destruction Power emerged together, the two strands of Law power intertwining into a black-and-white flying dragon.

The flying dragon, as if alive, roared at the Law Envoy before flying toward him.

The Law Envoy unhurriedly brought forth Creation and Destruction together, just like Styx.

Again, the two strands of Law power twisted into a flying dragon.

But the Law Envoy's flying dragon was far larger than Styx's, and its presence was far more imposing.

The two flying dragons clashed, Law power flying from their clawed strikes, causing the entire heavens and earth to tremble.

The Law Envoy stamped his right foot, and an endless stream of Balance Power flowed from his right foot into the earth, calming the whole realm.

Styx watched, lost in thought.

Soon, Styx's Law dragon began to fall behind.

This time, Styx was not surprised.

He formed another hand seal, splitting his Law dragon into a black dragon and a white dragon.

Then the white dragon entangled the Law Envoy's Law dragon, while the black dragon circled behind and extended its claws!

The Law dragon cried out in pain, then turned around to furiously attack the black dragon behind it.

At the same time, the white dragon seized the opportunity, spewing Blazing Flames from its mouth onto the Law dragon's back.

The Law dragon was knocked to the ground, but not completely defeated.

The Law Envoy likewise acted, turning his dragon into black and white twin dragons.

Now the advantage of surprise that Styx had gained by splitting his dragon into two was gone.

The white dragon represented Creation, the black dragon Destruction.

Styx did not match white dragon against white dragon; instead, he pitted his white dragon against the Law Envoy's black dragon.

Although his Creation Power was at forty-five percent, it had already lost to the Law Envoy's thirty percent Law power earlier.

And the white dragon was merely the embodiment of his Law power—if he let his Creation Power face the Law Envoy's Creation Power again, the result would likely be much the same.

So it was better to mismatch them.

The Law Envoy's black dragon was probably condensed from only about thirty percent Law power as well.

There might still be a chance of victory!

The two white dragons tangled with the two black dragons, and soon Styx's black dragon was overwhelmed, its entire body covered in wounds.

On the other side, Styx's white dragon was not faring much better.

Styx fell into deep thought.

Why was this?

Creation and Destruction should be Laws of the same level—why was it that his forty-five percent comprehension of the Creation Law could not defeat the other's thirty percent Law power?