The intense pain twisted his face, and cold sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.
Even so, he remained kneeling where he was, not daring to move a muscle. He clamped his left hand over the wound and gritted his teeth against the pain.
"Since this is your first offense, I'll take one of your arms as punishment."
"Go to the Blood Pool later and regrow it yourself."
Ancestor Minghe's voice remained icy.
"Th-thank you, Ancestor, for sparing my life!" Indra endured the pain and stammered out his thanks.
To the Asura Clan, Ancestor Minghe was heaven itself, their one and only god. Any punishment he meted out was a gift.
After dealing with Indra, Ancestor Minghe's enormous head slowly turned, and his lifeless, blood-red eyes settled on Xuanqing, not far away.
Xuanqing's heart tightened.
Here it comes.
He put away the Jing Shi Sword and the Xuan De Merit Robe, then bowed to the enormous head without either arrogance or servility.
"This junior is Xuanqing. Greetings, Senior Minghe."
"Xuanqing?" Ancestor Minghe's voice echoed across heaven and earth. "A disciple of the Jade Void Palace?"
"That's right." Xuanqing admitted it calmly.
His Jade Clarity Immortal Light was so obvious there was no point trying to hide it.
Ancestor Minghe's gaze lingered on Xuanqing for a moment, as if sizing him up.
"What brings you to my Blood Sea?"
Xuanqing's thoughts raced, but his expression remained calm and unruffled.
"This junior was heading to the Western Lands and happened to pass through here. I intended to take this route, but seeing the Demon Qi raging throughout the area, I couldn't bear to leave it be, so I cleansed some of it."
He paused, then added, "I didn't expect it to cause a misunderstanding with your clan."
Ancestor Minghe's weathered face gave no sign of his feelings.
"Cleansed the Demon Qi?"
He seemed quite interested in the phrase.
"The divine ability you used to cleanse the Demon Qi is rather intriguing."
Xuanqing's heart stirred. He knew the other man had noticed what made his divine ability special.
"Senior, you flatter me. It's merely a small innate gift, nothing worth mentioning."
"Nothing worth mentioning?" Ancestor Minghe gave a cold snort, seemingly displeased with Xuanqing's answer. "To return Luo Hou's Demon Qi to its original state and transform it into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—this is the first time I've seen such a divine ability since the creation of the world."
Xuanqing thought to himself that, as expected, there was no fooling an old monster like him.
"Do you know what the Demon Qi in the Blood Sea means to my Asura Clan?" Ancestor Minghe continued.
"This junior does not." Xuanqing answered honestly.
He really didn't know.
"It means power," Ancestor Minghe said slowly. "The Asura Clan was born in the Blood Sea. We feed on blood fiends and Demon Qi, and that is how we grow stronger."
"By cleansing the Demon Qi, you've done no less than cut off my people's food and destroy the foundation of my Blood Sea."
His voice remained calm, but by the end, Xuanqing could feel a bone-chilling cold radiating from the surrounding Blood Sea.
Xuanqing sensed the Blood Sea pressing in on him, as if it meant to crush him to pieces.
"Since you've destroyed my foundation, leave one arm behind, and we'll call it even."
As soon as the words fell, an irresistible force of slaughter locked onto Xuanqing's right arm.
Xuanqing's expression tightened. His magic power surged wildly, and the Jing Shi Sword rang out with a clear, resonant hum, ready to meet the thunderous strike.
He knew the gap between himself and Ancestor Minghe was beyond measure. But surrendering without a fight was not in his nature.
Just as the swords were drawn and a clash seemed imminent—
"Heh heh heh... Fellow Daoist Minghe, it's been years, and you're still as hot-tempered as ever. Picking on a junior like this—aren't you worried it'll tarnish your standing as the Lord of the Blood Sea?"
A teasing laugh drifted in from the distant horizon.
The voice drew closer. It was still on the horizon one moment, then rang right beside them the next.
With the laughter, two figures came striding through the air from the western sky.
One of them walked with a lotus blooming beneath each step. Golden lotus phantoms appeared in the air, then faded away, lending him an air of Zen. His face bore an expression of suffering, but his eyes darted about, revealing a sharp, shrewd mind.
The other said nothing, quietly following at his side.
The visitors were none other than Jieyin and Zhunti of Western Mount Sumeru!
Ancestor Minghe's enormous head slowly turned toward the west.
When he saw Zhunti and Jieyin, a trace of wariness and disgust flashed through his blood-red eyes.
"Zhunti, Jieyin. Why aren't you two staying in the barren wasteland of the Western Lands? What brings you to my Blood Sea?" Minghe's voice grew even colder.
No mighty figure in Honghuang had any fondness for these two, who had wailed and cried in the Zixiao Palace until they'd managed to wheedle two Sainthood seats from the Dao Ancestor.
Especially since the two had gained so many other benefits as well.
Zhunti landed with a genial smile and stood between Xuanqing and Minghe, greeting Minghe with a bow.
"Fellow Daoist Minghe, that's not quite right. My senior brother and I sensed that immeasurable merit had descended here, so we came to pay our respects and see which virtuous being had made such a contribution to Honghuang."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward Xuanqing and looked through his Wisdom Eye.
When Zhunti saw the Merit Golden Wheel behind Xuanqing, a glint flashed through his eyes.
Well, now!
This was even more merit than he'd imagined!
Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a look, both seeing the shock and delight in the other's eyes.
It was him! It had to be him!
At first, they'd thought old Minghe had somehow lucked into a stroke of good fortune. Now it was clear: the true master of the merit was this young Daoist whom Minghe was bullying!
This young man was fated to join the Western Lands!
Ancestor Minghe disliked Zhunti even more when he saw the look on his face.
"Hmph. This is a matter of Karma between my Blood Sea and the Jade Void Palace. What does it have to do with the Western Lands?" Minghe directly revealed Xuanqing's origins.
He refused to believe that, after learning the boy was a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, Zhunti would still dare to plot against him.
Sure enough, Zhunti's smile froze slightly when he heard the words "Jade Void Palace."
Yuanshi's disciple? That made things a little tricky.
He studied Xuanqing for a few moments, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"
"So it's you, little friend Xuanqing. We met once in the Zixiao Palace, and you haven't changed a bit." Zhunti spoke as if they were old friends.
Xuanqing was taken aback.
The Zixiao Palace? Had he been there? Oh, right. He'd attended the Dao lecture there with his master, Yuanshi Tianzun. At the time, his cultivation had been low, and he'd stayed by his master's side the whole time, barely attracting any attention.
He hadn't expected this future Sage to remember him.
"This junior, Xuanqing, greets Seniors Zhunti and Jieyin." Though Xuanqing was puzzled, he still observed all the proper courtesies.
Zhunti's smile widened.
"Little friend, there's no need for formalities. After all, we're both disciples of the Dao Ancestor. By seniority, you ought to call me Uncle-Master."
At this, Minghe's face darkened even further.
Xuanqing's lips twitched slightly as well. Saint Zhunti really was shameless.
"So you're my nephew-disciple, Xuanqing." Zhunti immediately seized on the opening and changed how he addressed him. "Nephew, how did you end up in a conflict with Fellow Daoist Minghe? Why has he got you cornered here?"
Xuanqing grumbled inwardly that the reason was obvious.
Still, he honestly gave a brief account of what had happened. Of course, he left out his plan to farm merit, only saying that he'd tried to pass through, been turned away, and ended up in a misunderstanding.
After listening, Zhunti immediately put on an indignant expression.
"Outrageous!" He pointed at Ancestor Minghe and shouted, "Minghe! You've gone too far! My nephew-disciple was merely passing through. He even performed an enormous meritorious deed along the way, and instead of thanking him, you're trying to take his arm?"
"Is this how your Asura Clan treats people?"
Before you continue