Duke of the East's beloved Yang Hui, the aloof and noble Lord of Innate Ultimate Yin who ruled West Kunlun—
was actually massaging a golden beast lying atop Cloud Treasure.
Duke of the East felt a surge of blood rush straight to his head, and the Pure Yang Fire in his eyes nearly burst forth.
He stepped forward, pointed at Tianlu, and demanded furiously,
"Fellow Daoist Yang Hui, you are an Innate Divine Being of noble origins. Why are you doing something so degrading for this beast? You..."
Yet before Duke of the East could finish speaking—
Boom!
A terrifying pressure that made the entire Purple Heaven Palace hall tremble suddenly erupted from the soft Cloud Treasure.
Tianlu's half-closed golden eyes snapped open, a brutal icy gleam flashing through them.
Before Duke of the East could react, Tianlu swiped a paw. His right forepaw left behind a golden afterimage that tore through space.
The formidable mana of the Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage, mixed with a trace of the pure Law of Devouring and Law of Space,
directly formed a gigantic golden claw that blotted out the sky and struck Duke of the East squarely in the chest.
Bang!
A muffled explosion echoed through the hall.
The Pure Yang Qi protecting Duke of the East's body was utterly incapable of resisting such absolute power.
He was instantly sent flying, crashing heavily into the floor of the Purple Heaven Palace hall as he spat out a mouthful of pale golden origin blood.
Tianlu immediately rose to his feet, his four limbs planted firmly upon Cloud Treasure. Looking down at the utterly miserable Duke of the East, he began cursing angrily.
"How dare you call me a beast! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
This sudden scene was like thunder exploding on flat ground, instantly shattering the oppressive silence in the Purple Heaven Palace hall.
Yang Hui, standing beside Cloud Treasure, was also startled by the sudden turn of events.
Her eyes followed the direction of Tianlu's attack. When she saw that the one lying on the ground was Duke of the East, little emotion stirred in her eyes. Instead, a trace of displeasure flashed through them.
She had only briefly interacted with Duke of the East in West Kunlun. They were not familiar at all.
As for Duke of the East's self-indulgent thoughts, she knew nothing of them.
Right now, she was at the mercy of this overbearing and unreasonable Pixiu, with even her life held in his hands.
Duke of the East had suddenly come shouting and making a scene. If he provoked Tianlu and dragged her into it, that would truly be an undeserved disaster.
At this moment, Duke of the East, lying on the ground, finally recovered from the intense pain.
He struggled to his feet and looked up at Tianlu. When he truly sensed the terrifying aura of the Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage surrounding Tianlu, the fury in his heart was instantly doused by a bucket of cold water, and he could not help swallowing hard.
Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage.
In this era at the dawn of the Primordial World, when the Early Daluo Golden Immortal Stage was enough to dominate a region and the middle stage allowed one to look down upon the masses, the Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage was unquestionably an existence standing at the very peak of the pyramid.
He, Duke of the East, was only at the Early Daluo Golden Immortal Stage. The gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth. He simply could not afford to provoke Tianlu.
"Fellow Daoist, I was presumptuous. I failed to recognize your true magnificence. I hope you will be magnanimous."
Duke of the East forcibly suppressed the humiliation in his heart, lowered his proud head, and hurriedly cupped his hands in apology.
Seeing Duke of the East sensibly lower his head and admit defeat, Tianlu merely snorted and curled his lips in disdain.
"At least you know what's good for you. Get lost and stay out of the way. Don't ruin my mood."
With that, Tianlu lazily sprawled back down on Cloud Treasure and continued having Yang Hui do her work.
Duke of the East silently retreated to the edge of the crowd, his lowered eyes filled with unwillingness.
Though he had said that, Duke of the East had in fact developed extreme dissatisfaction toward Tianlu, and a chilling killing intent quietly arose in his heart.
He believed himself to be the transformed Innate Pure Yang Qi, with incomparably noble origins.
Yet today, before more than two thousand Innate Divine Beings, he had been humiliated so severely by a mere beast. If he did not avenge this insult, his Dao heart would know no peace.
But what he did not know was that the moment he developed killing intent toward Tianlu, the rules of the Great Dao began operating in secret.
Tianlu was a Pet of the Great Dao, a Child of the Great Dao.
One of his Innate Divine Abilities was that any living being harboring ill intent toward Tianlu would suffer qi deviation, unstable Law of Fortune, and might even face punishment from the Heavenly Dao.
At that very moment, a crack appeared in the thick pillar of Pure Yang fortune above Duke of the East's head, which had originally shone as brightly as the midday sun. Strands of misfortune began silently coiling around him.
He had now incurred the Great Dao's resentment, and his Law of Fortune had already begun to destabilize.
The surrounding divine beings were also greatly astonished by this sight, whispering among themselves.
"Hiss... Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage! Among us, such cultivation is surely second to none."
"Even more surprising, why has this fellow Daoist not taken human form despite possessing such profound cultivation?"
"A variable of the Primordial World—truly a variable of the Primordial World!"
Zhenyuanzi, Red Cloud, and the others were secretly shocked as well. They firmly engraved Tianlu's appearance in their minds, determined never to provoke him lightly in the future.
Elsewhere, on the other side of the hall,
Di Jun and Taiyi, who led Baize, Jimeng, and the other ten great strange beasts and divine beasts, were staring across the distance at the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
Although the Demon Race had not yet been formally established, nor had the Heavenly Court been founded,
in truth, because of territorial disputes and their naturally incompatible dispositions, the two sides had already formed considerable enmity on the Primordial Continent.
Di Jun wore a golden Daoist robe, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
Seeing Tianlu act with such ferocity and possess the strength of the Late Daluo Golden Immortal Stage when the two brothers were only at the Middle Daluo Golden Immortal Stage, thoughts immediately began stirring in their hearts.
A gleam flashed in Di Jun's eyes as the desire to recruit Tianlu arose within him.
Baize, standing nearby, was quick-witted and immediately saw through Di Jun's thoughts.
He waved the feather fan in his hand and quietly transmitted his voice.
"Venerable One, that golden beast has an extraordinary origin. He is an auspicious sign sent by heaven, the Auspicious Beast Pixiu."
"Though I do not know why he has yet to take human form despite being at the late Daluo stage, judging from his actions outside the hall earlier, he seems acquainted with Fellow Daoists Nuwa and Fuxi, and their relationship appears quite close."
Upon hearing this, Di Jun's heart stirred slightly, and he transmitted his reply.
"Whether he takes human form is unimportant."
"What matters is that they know one another."
"Fellow Daoists Nuwa and Fuxi are both great powers of the Middle Daluo Golden Immortal Stage. If we can recruit all three into our camp, our influence in the Primordial World will surely increase greatly, and suppressing those brutes will be no problem."
"Once the sermon ends, we can approach the three of them."
Di Jun and Taiyi thought this way, but the Twelve Ancestral Witches on the opposite side of the hall had only another thought when they saw Tianlu send Duke of the East flying with a single slap.
Zhurong, the most hot-tempered among them, grinned and said to Di Jiang beside him in a voice like a great bell,
"Big Brother, look at that glittering fellow. His physical strength is pretty good. One claw sent that Duke of the East fellow coughing blood."
Di Jiang nodded slightly, his gaze deep.
"That fellow is the ferocious beast Pixiu that the creatures of Mount Buzhou have been passing tales about? Rumor has it that he is greedy for wealth and treasures and strips even passing geese clean. Seeing him today, he truly is overbearing."
"Still, as long as he does not come provoke our Witch Race, let him be."
Before you continue