Purple-Gold Gourd

The newcomer held the Earth Book, his eyes bloodshot and brimming with killing intent. It was Zhenyuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, both mentor and friend to Red Cloud!

In the end, he had arrived one step too late!

All he saw was Red Cloud burning away everything, his friend turning into a flash of destructive radiance!

Zhenyuanzi's eyes were crimson, nearly dripping blood. He did not even glance at the more severely wounded Di Jun. All his fury locked directly onto the equally battered Kunpeng!

The Earth Book in his hand unfurled with a rustle, manifesting boundless phantom mountains that crashed viciously down upon Kunpeng!

"Kunpeng! Today, I will fight you to the death!"

Kunpeng was horrified beyond measure. He had already been wounded by Red Cloud's self-destruction, his spiritual treasures utterly destroyed. How could he possibly be a match for Zhenyuanzi now?

With a shriek, he transformed into his true form—a Peng bird that blotted out the sky and covered the earth—trying to flee at unmatched speed.

Di Jun and Taiyi were now on Kunpeng's side. They certainly would not stand by and watch Zhenyuanzi strike, each producing a spiritual treasure to stop Zhenyuanzi...!

Just then!

"Di Jun! Taiyi! You should worry about yourselves first!"

A cold voice laden with Sha Qi rang out!

Several incomparably powerful figures tore open space with their bare hands and abruptly appeared behind Di Jun, cutting off the retreat of Di Jun and Taiyi at just the right moment as they brazenly launched their attack!

The leader had the body of a yellow sack, crimson like cinnabar flames, six legs and four wings, chaotic and without a face. He was none other than Dijiang—the ancestor of space and speed among the ancestral witches!

Behind him stood Gonggong, Zhurong, Shebishi, and several other ancestral witches!

Sensing the auras of Di Jun and Taiyi appearing together, the ancestral witches had directly torn through space to rush over.

"What fine methods the Witch Race has!"

Golden blood spilled from Taiyi's mouth, his rage soaring to the heavens. Forcibly activating the equally damaged Eastern Emperor Bell, he made it ring—"Dong—!" The vast peal barely blocked the first wave of terrifying attacks unleashed by the ancestral witches working together.

They could barely protect themselves now, and had no attention left to spare for stopping Zhenyuanzi from seeking revenge against Kunpeng!

The great battle erupted once more in an instant!

And it was even more brutal than before!

On one side, Zhenyuanzi pursued Kunpeng without regard for anything else. One enormous phantom mountain after another smashed toward him, while the wounded Kunpeng could only rely on his innate speed to flee for his life.

On the other side, several ancestral witches surrounded and attacked the gravely wounded two Demon Race emperors.

Dijiang darted through space, appearing and vanishing unpredictably; Gonggong stirred the laws of water, which dissolved against the fires of the sun; Zhurong commanded blazing fire that incinerated the heavens; Shebishi manipulated celestial phenomena, spreading poisonous Sha Qi...!

All manner of powerful law energies collided and annihilated one another, plowing the already shattered primordial land over and over again!

At last!

Eastern Emperor Taiyi was covered in blood. Disregarding the damage to his Great Dao and even burning his origin, he forcibly drove the Eastern Emperor Bell's might to its utmost limit. Enduring the frenzied assault of the ancestral witches, he shielded the heavily wounded, nearly unconscious Di Jun and forcibly smashed through their blockade, charging into the chaotic currents of space.

Meanwhile, Zhenyuanzi ultimately failed to keep Kunpeng, who reigned supreme in speed. He could only let out an unwilling, grief-stricken howl toward the direction in which Kunpeng vanished, his voice shaking the primordial world.

He looked back at the place where Red Cloud had self-destructed, heartbroken beyond measure. Holding the Earth Book, he searched every inch of the shattered earth, seemingly hoping to recover even a trace of his friend's true spirit. Yet in the end, he found nothing. With wrath and killing intent soaring into the sky, he headed north!

Seeing this, the ancestral witches also knew that nothing more could be done. With a cold snort, they tore through the void and retreated separately.

They looked upon the devastation left behind, that deathly silent land where all things had perished.

The Jade Ruyi in Yuanshi Tianzun's hand gave a clear chime, and the light screen projected above Jade Pure Palace dispersed.

At that chime, Yellow Dragon and the others also came back to their senses from the great battle they had just witnessed.

"Your foundations, origins, fortunes, and blessings are all rare within the primordial world. Moreover, I have personally imparted the Great Dao to you. From this day onward, you should cultivate with calm hearts and comprehend the Great Dao. Your future attainments will certainly not be low!"

Before Yuanshi Tianzun had even finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve and moved all his disciples outside the palace.

Yellow Dragon looked at the closed doors. After bowing toward the entrance of Jade Pure Palace, he looked at Taiyi and the others still standing there in a daze, thought for a moment, and said:

"My fellow junior brothers, we have a Sage to guide us, and the Great Dao lies within reach. We should use this battle of quasi-Sages to temper our hearts in pursuit of the Dao. We should take quasi-Sages as our goal; in the end, surpassing them is not impossible!"

"Now, we should return to our respective abodes, enter seclusion to comprehend what Master has taught us, sort through the shortcomings in our cultivation, and solidify our foundations. Then, step by step, we shall climb toward the highest peak!"

As Yellow Dragon spoke, he strode into the sky...!

Taiyi and the others followed Yellow Dragon's figure with their eyes as it rose ever higher, their gazes filled with his radiant form.

At that moment, thunder was born in the void. A bolt of Jade Pure Divine Thunder suddenly appeared, striking Yellow Dragon as he climbed step by step into the air.

"Master, I was wrong... Aah..."

Only able to let out a scream, Yellow Dragon fell straight down from the sky.

"Do not aim too high and spoil your junior brothers!" Yuanshi's voice rang softly beside Yellow Dragon's ear.

After Yellow Dragon's guidance, Taiyi and the others all emerged from their earlier gloomy state of mind. They each thanked Yellow Dragon, then took their leave.

His entire body scorched black, Yellow Dragon lay on the ground and bade farewell to his junior brothers. Just as he was preparing to get up and return to his abode—

The light and shadows shifted, and he was transported from the vast grounds outside Jade Pure Palace into a palace permeated with the fragrance of pills, where the Dao's resonance was even denser than in Jade Pure Palace.

A figure sat cross-legged before an enormous pill furnace, while a familiar figure stood nearby, holding an emerald-green fan and fanning the furnace fire.

Yellow Dragon immediately rose to his feet. With his hair still charred black, he respectfully bowed.

"Disciple Yellow Dragon pays respects to Eldest Martial Uncle."

The old man before the pill furnace nodded slightly. His voice was calm and unruffled as he went straight to the point, as though discussing some trifling matter. "Yellow Dragon, I have a matter that requires you to make a trip to the Primordial Wilderness."

"Please give your instructions, First Senior Uncle."

Yellow Dragon answered respectfully, though his mind raced. What matter required a mere Golden Immortal like him to go?

"You saw the place where Fellow Daoist Red Cloud fell." As Supreme Pure Saint's words fell, Yellow Dragon's heart gave a jolt.

"Red Cloud!"

"Within Jade Pure Palace, Master used his divine ability to let all my fellow disciples and me see it." Unable to guess his First Senior Uncle's intentions, Yellow Dragon could only steady his mind and answer respectfully.

Supreme Pure Saint lightly flicked his sleeve, and a Purple-Gold Gourd covered in flowing, profound Dao-patterns slowly drifted before Yellow Dragon.

"Take this gourd to that region. Raise it above your head as an offering, and call out Red Cloud's name three times."

"Then carry this gourd and keep wandering about until the Purple-Gold Gourd returns on its own. At that point, your task will be complete. You need do nothing else."

That place... Before Yellow Dragon's eyes flashed the terrifying scene he had witnessed in Jade Pure Palace: heaven collapsing and earth splitting apart, space shattered, laws thrown into chaos, resentment soaring into the sky, Red Cloud's self-destruction, and the incomparably vicious battlefield where the Demon Emperor and the Ancestral Witches clashed!

"First Senior Uncle," Yellow Dragon said, forcing himself to speak as he carefully chose his words, trying to decline tactfully. "This disciple's cultivation is shallow. At the place where Red Cloud Patriarch fell, the aftershocks of Quasi-Saints have yet to subside, Sha Qi swirls everywhere, and dangers abound. This disciple fears he may find it difficult even to approach..."

Supreme Pure Saint wore a smile, as if he had long seen through Yellow Dragon's thoughts. Without a word, he flicked a finger. A stream of light fell into Yellow Dragon's arms, revealing a jade bottle as warm and lustrous as jade itself. Yin and Yang Qi naturally coiled around its body, faintly forming the image of Yin and Yang converging.

"A postnatal spiritual treasure..."

Holding the jade bottle in his hand, Yellow Dragon recognized its grade at a glance.