Zhun Ti threw his weight around. He wouldn't dare bare his fangs at the Three Pure Ones, but he had no such reservations when it came to Di Jun and the others.
Red Cloud Daoist, standing nearby in his Nine-Layer Auspicious Cloud Robe, sighed inwardly. He knew he had little chance now. If Zhenyuanzi had come with him, they might have been able to compete.
The Western Duo didn't give Red Cloud a Gourd just because he had offered them his seat.
Di Jun and Tai Yi exchanged a glance, a plan already forming in their minds. They kept their faces impassive. "Retreating without a fight isn't our style."
They were of similar height, both tall and dashing. Their long hair streamed in the wind, shimmering with golden light, while their golden eyes gleamed like sharp swords.
"Know your place! You two ugly birds dare covet our fortune? Then don't blame me for showing you no mercy!"
Zhun Ti said coldly. Those two birds had shown him no respect.
He was flying into a rage.
Di Jun and Tai Yi grew wary, preparing to carry out their original plan: one would snatch the Gourd while the other held off their enemies.
Suddenly, their expressions froze. They sensed a familiar presence and gazed into the distance with divine eyes.
Their abrupt reaction piqued the curiosity of the powerful beings present.
Who was that?
A figure slowly approached from the horizon. He seemed to move at a leisurely pace, yet arrived in an instant, as if he had walked over from another spacetime.
"Third Brother, what brings you here?"
Di Jun and Tai Yi were both surprised and delighted, and called out to him loudly.
Zhun Ti immediately relaxed. He'd thought some formidable figure had arrived.
So it was just their little brother.
Adding another Golden Crow to the two already here wouldn't change anything.
"Nothing special..."
Zhun Ti gazed toward the figure on the horizon. Though he seemed far away, he was also close at hand. Ling Xiao gave the impression that he didn't belong to this spacetime, because his true form was still far away.
His figure seemed to walk through the river of time, leaving behind one afterimage after another until he gradually came into focus.
In the next instant, Ling Xiao suddenly appeared before Zhun Ti. His gaze was piercing, golden flames flickering in his eyes as he looked down at him.
"Repeat what you just said."
All the powerful beings were astonished. They hadn't even noticed Ling Xiao's sudden arrival.
The Three Pure Ones exchanged a silent glance, each seeing the wariness in the other's eyes.
They had clearly sensed the Law of Space in the move the newcomer had just used.
One moment, he had been far away, seemingly in another world; the next, he was right before them.
Ordinary flight could never be that fast. He had crossed space outright.
Zhun Ti's expression wavered between shock and suspicion. He still hadn't recovered from what had just happened.
In that instant, he had instinctively felt a sense of danger.
"I... What do you want?" Zhun Ti shifted backward in a flash.
Ling Xiao followed in a single step. His golden palm surged with divine might, drawing upon the power of space as it swung hard at him.
"Smack!"
The sharp crack rang out. Blood sprayed as Zhun Ti was sent flying, several teeth knocked loose.
Clutching his cheek, Zhun Ti was furious and incredulous.
"You bastard! How dare you humiliate me?" he roared, incensed beyond measure. Being slapped in front of everyone had nearly driven him mad with humiliation.
Ling Xiao's expression was cold as he said flatly, "You insulted the Golden Crow Clan. I'll give you a three-foot pit to bury your broken body in."
He hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but Zhun Ti had really been asking for a beating.
Maybe it was because of the Primordial World novels he'd read in his previous life, but just seeing those two made his blood boil.
"Fellow Daoist, you've gone too far. You've only just arrived; you should learn your place."
Jieyin stepped in front of Zhun Ti and spoke coldly. He hadn't expected Zhun Ti to be defeated in an instant—so quickly that he hadn't even had time to react.
His junior brother's cultivation was still a little lacking.
But Jieyin was already at the late Daluo Golden Immortal stage. Aside from Laozi, he feared no one present.
Without a word, Ling Xiao summoned the Primordial Cauldron and the Primordial Measuring Ruler, then launched his attack in an instant.
Jieyin's expression changed drastically. Born in the impoverished West, he didn't even have a decent magic treasure.
"Rumble!"
The Primordial Cauldron burst with boundless profound light, chaos qi billowing from it as it pressed down like an entire world.
Ling Xiao held the Primordial Measuring Ruler in his hand. It stretched like a dazzling river of stars, cleaving heaven and earth apart.
Jieyin let out a long howl. A white tuft of hair curled between his brows, releasing twelve-colored radiance as he manifested his Sixteen-Foot Golden Body.
The Sixteen-Foot Golden Body had a high, broad forehead and eyes that shone with brilliance. His hands formed a mudra, and golden light blazed around him for ten thousand zhang. Treasure lotuses, lamps, beaded garlands, and radiant light surrounded him protectively.
The powerful beings, including the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa, were all astonished. Whatever else one might say, Jieyin's magical power was truly immense.
Even Ling Xiao was rather surprised. Jieyin's cultivation was stronger than he had expected. Without using magic treasures, defeating him would not be easy.
As expected of the West's foremost figure!
Jieyin manifested his Dharma body and met the attack barehanded, his momentum surging like a rainbow. But it didn't last long before he was beaten until he coughed blood nonstop, his body on the verge of cracking.
The powerful beings were shocked. It wasn't that Jieyin was weak; those two magic treasures were simply too outrageous.
"That Cauldron is accompanied by chaos qi, and even primordial qi. It's at least an Innate Supreme Treasure—perhaps even a Chaos Spirit Treasure!" Tongtian exclaimed, envy showing in his eyes.
"It truly is a fine treasure."
Laozi and Yuanshi agreed. Though they were envious, they had no intention of seizing it. As the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, they were proud to a fault and disdained such underhanded deeds.
Elsewhere.
"I never expected this Three-Legged Golden Crow to be so powerful."
Fuxi couldn't help sighing. If he hadn't seen Ling Xiao and the others today, he would have nearly forgotten that the Sun Star had Golden Crows.
They'd nearly become outsiders.
"He truly is extraordinary. But it's strange—why didn't they go to hear the Dao Ancestor lecture?"
Nuwa stared at the figure in the sky, puzzled.
With strength like his, he could have ranked among the foremost even at the Purple Heaven Palace.
"Perhaps he went but couldn't find the Purple Heaven Palace," Fuxi joked with a shrug.
The battle between Ling Xiao and Jieyin was so tremendous that it drew the attention of many powerful beings.
They knew Jieyin, but Ling Xiao was someone they had never seen before.
At once, they all grew curious about Ling Xiao's identity. Someone with such strength couldn't possibly have gone unnoticed.
On the Lunar Star, Xi He and Changxi were dumbfounded, staring blankly at the figure shrouded in golden flames. They could hardly believe their eyes.
They had thought that after listening to the Dao at the Purple Heaven Palace and advancing to the middle Daluo Golden Immortal stage, they would leave Ling Xiao far behind.
They hadn't expected his strength to have already far surpassed theirs.
They had been evenly matched before.
"Big Sister, why is he so powerful even though he never went to hear the Dao?" Changxi asked bitterly, deeply shaken.
"How would I know?" Xi He said, exasperated and helpless, then turned and walked into the Moon Palace.
She was going into seclusion to cultivate. She wouldn't come out until she broke through.
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