That "Pah!" rang out loud and clear, brimming with disdain and contempt. It was like a resounding slap across the faces of the Two Saints of the West.
The smiles on Jieyin and Zunti's faces froze.
The countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas behind them were so shocked their jaws nearly hit the ground.
She... she actually dared to spit at Saints?!
"Destined? You're using that line again!"
Xiruan pointed at them with her little hand and scolded them in her babyish voice.
"You bald villains, is that the only thing you know how to say?"
"You see anything and claim it's destined to be yours! I think you two shiny Big Bald Heads are the ones most destined to share a debt with our family!"
"Cut the nonsense! If you don't pay up today, I'll melt you both down, turn you into gold cakes, and take you home for my dad to use as plates!"
As soon as she said that, Spirit Mountain fell into deathly silence.
Melt... them down?
Turn them into gold cakes?
Use them as plates?
All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas felt their brains weren't up to the task.
Could a person really say something like that?
These were Heavenly Dao Saints! Supreme beings who could endure countless calamities and live as long as Heaven itself!
And she wanted to melt them down and use them as plates?
Jieyin and Zunti trembled with rage. There it was again—she'd said it again!
This was too much! She was going too far!
"Senior Brother! This wretch is beyond reason! Why waste words on her? Just subdue her!"
Zunti Daoren roared and swung the Seven Treasure Wonderful Tree at Xiruan.
"Junior Brother, wait!"
Jieyin Daoren hurriedly stopped him. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight; he didn't dare.
Last time at the Heavenly Court, the Dharma Bodies of the two of them had nearly been shattered on the spot by this Little Devil King and that bizarre Milk Bottle of hers.
Now they were at Spirit Mountain, their own stronghold.
If they fought and lost again, the Western Religious Sect would be utterly disgraced.
Besides, seeing that Little Devil King below acting so fearlessly, who knew whether that madman Tongtian was standing behind her?
Jieyin decided to struggle a little longer.
He forcibly suppressed his anger and pasted that look of pity for all living beings back onto his face.
"Young Benefactor, there's something you don't understand."
"The West is barren, and resources are scarce. My Junior Brother and I toil day and night to expand our sect and save all living beings. We often go hungry and have no proper clothes to wear..."
He began pouring out his troubles, hoping to win her sympathy with a sob story.
"Just look at how many eons I've worn these clothes. They're covered in patches."
"Look at my face. Worrying about all living beings has filled it with sorrow."
"We really are poor. Where could we possibly find the money to repay your father?"
As he spoke, he even squeezed out a few Saintly tears to sell the performance.
With anyone else, his acting might actually have moved them.
But he was facing Xiruan.
A little girl with an unusual way of thinking who only believed what she saw with her own eyes.
Xiruan listened to his sob story.
She looked down at the ground beneath her feet, paved with gold, then up at the palace in the distance, built from precious gems. Finally, her gaze settled on the enormous Twelve Grade Merit Golden Lotus in the Merit Pool behind him.
Her little face was covered in big question marks.
"Are... you joking with me?"
She pointed at the golden floor beneath her feet, then at the Seven Treasure Pavilions in the distance, and challenged him in her babyish voice, "You call this barren?"
"Your house is made of gold, and you're telling me you can't get enough to eat?"
"Do you think I'm three years old and that easy to fool?!"
Jieyin Daoren: "..."
He was at a loss for words.
He'd forgotten that this Little Devil King had no idea what Merit Golden Light or Power of Faith was.
In her eyes, all that glittering stuff was nothing but... real gold.
"Senior Brother, why waste words on her?" Zunti Daoren had reached the end of his patience.
"She's an incorrigible Little Devil King who won't listen to reason! Today, either she tears down our Spirit Mountain, or we subdue her!"
Zunti's patience had run out. He decided to hold nothing back.
The Golden Wheel of Merit behind his head suddenly blazed with light, and a terrifying Saintly pressure came crashing down!
"Wretched brat! Today I'll show you the might of a Saint!"
Zunti roared and swung the Seven Treasure Wonderful Tree once more.
This time, the Seven-Colored Divine Light held more than just Daoist runes. It was filled with visions of entire worlds being born and destroyed.
He intended to drag Xiruan straight into an endless cycle of reincarnation, where she would never find release.
Seeing this, Jieyin Daoren knew there was no way to settle things peacefully.
He sighed at last and raised the Jieyin Treasure Banner. It swelled with the wind into a golden canopy that blotted out the sky, descending over Xiruan.
The two Saints actually attacked at the same time, joining forces to subdue a three-and-a-half-year-old girl!
Everyone was stunned by the sight.
"Senior, look out!"
Holy Mother Wudang turned pale with fright and rushed forward without hesitation, trying to shield Xiruan from the devastating blow.
But Xiruan gently pushed her aside.
"Oh! Two against one? You have no honor!"
Her little face broke into a pure, innocent smile.
"But I like it!"
Before she finished speaking, a cold mechanical voice rang in her mind.
[Ding! The host has been shamelessly ganged up on, and her sense of justice is overflowing!] [Divine Counterattack Option triggered!] [Option One: Immediately kneel and beg for mercy, shouting, "Grandpas, Saints, I was wrong." Reward: Honorary Disciple of the Western Religious Sect title.] [Option Two: Turn and run, pushing Holy Mother Wudang behind you as a human shield. Reward: One Expert Teammate-Seller Medal.] [Option Three: Point at them and call them shameless, then smash their golden bodies and pluck their lotus flower, so they'll learn why flowers are red! Reward: Chaos Pearl (Fragment), which can briefly conceal your form and hide you from Heaven's scrutiny!]
Xiruan looked at the three options and pursed her lips. She didn't hesitate for even a second.
The first was too cowardly. It didn't suit her identity as the "Most Filial Daughter in the Primeval World."
The second was even worse. She'd promised to protect this old lady. How could she betray her teammate?
Only the third option suited her!
"I choose three!" Xiruan shouted in her mind without hesitation.
She lifted her head and loudly accused the two enormous Buddha figures in the sky.
"You two Big Bald Heads are so shameless! Two against one, and you even launched a sneak attack! You're rotten to the core!"
"Today, I'm not only smashing your golden bodies—I'm taking that biggest golden lotus in your house, too!"
"I'll show you why flowers are red!"
Before you continue