Eastern Emperor Taiyi

King of the East took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the displeasure in his heart at being interrupted in public.

Ao Guang also turned his gaze toward Lei Xiao, surprise in his eyes, but even more gratitude.

"Good, good, good."

King of the East said "good" three times in a row, with no emotion discernible in his tone. "As expected, Tongtian's disciples are all people of temperament."

"Indeed, I have kept everyone waiting. The sermon shall begin now."

With that, he ignored Ao Guang. The Law of Pure Yang erupted around him, transforming into purple clouds that blanketed the entire hall before spreading outward until they covered all of Purple Abode Island.

"Today, I shall speak of the Way of Pure Yang..."

King of the East's voice was like a great bell, echoing across Purple Abode Island and reaching the ears of every living being there.

Lei Xiao felt a buzzing in his ears, and the world before him suddenly changed.

The vaulted ceiling of the Purple Jade Pavilion vanished. The jade tables and cultivators around him became blurred phantoms of light, replaced by a vast and boundless starry sky. King of the East sat at the center of that sky, Pure Yang energy blazing around him like a great sun and illuminating the entire void.

"The Way of Pure Yang lies not in hardness, but in purity. At the beginning of heaven and earth, the first stirrings of Yang formed the root of Pure Yang..."

King of the East's voice echoed through the stars. Every word became tangible Dao runes, flowing, intertwining, and evolving through the void.

It had to be said that although King of the East was not much of a person, his cultivation and skill in expounding the Dao were truly first-rate. His Law of Pure Yang was supremely hard and supremely Yang, containing the purest power between heaven and earth. It shared many similarities with Lei Xiao's Lightning Dao.

With a thought, Lei Xiao placed the Ginseng Fruit into his mouth. He intended to use this opportunity to break through to the perfected Golden Immortal realm.

The Ginseng Fruit melted upon entering his mouth. It was not as sweet as he had imagined; instead, it transformed into a warm, enduring essence of life that flowed into his body.

In an instant, immense innate Wu Earth energy and an incomparably rich source of life exploded within him, turning into countless tiny rays of light that frantically scoured his limbs and bones.

Lei Xiao felt every pore on his body open at once. Countless streams of spiritual energy poured into him like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, merging with that life essence. His bones faintly glowed, his blood surged and roared, and even his soul was bathed in a warm light. He had never felt so comfortable.

At the same time, King of the East's voice expounding the Dao surged into his sea of consciousness like a tide.

"The Way of Pure Yang is supremely hard and supremely pure. Yet excessive hardness is easily broken, and excessive purity is easily damaged. Thus, within Pure Yang, one must conceal a measure of flexibility to endure without end..."

Lei Xiao listened intently, and enlightenment suddenly dawned upon him.

From the Way of Pure Yang taught by King of the East, he comprehended the transformations contained within the Lightning Dao...

Boom—

A muffled explosion erupted within Lei Xiao's body.

The barrier to the late Golden Immortal realm was effortlessly torn apart like paper under the dual impact of the Ginseng Fruit's terrifying spiritual power and his comprehension of the Lightning Dao.

Ten years of Dao comprehension—perfected Golden Immortal!

As expected of the fruit borne by the Ginseng Fruit, one of the ten top-grade innate spiritual roots of the Primordial World. Without its aid, I could never have broken through so quickly.

Lei Xiao clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, so abundant it nearly overflowed. An irrepressible joy appeared on his face.

But at that moment, a sudden palpitation arose in his heart.

It came without warning, yet it was like the icy tongue of a snake slithering from his tailbone to the back of his head, making every hair on his body stand on end.

Instinctively, he activated the Eye of Heavenly Retribution and looked through the hall toward the heavens.

Above the firmament, a figure stepped out of the void.

He wore an imperial robe of dark gold, embroidered with the totem of a three-legged Golden Crow. Every pattern radiated a suffocating majesty. His features were heroic and stern, his eyes like two blazing suns. Wherever his gaze fell, even the void trembled.

Above his head floated an ancient bronze bell.

The bell was only about a foot tall and entirely the color of chaos. Its surface bore no decorations, yet it exuded a terrifying aura capable of suppressing all heavens.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

The name abruptly sprang into Lei Xiao's mind, and his pupils contracted sharply.

"Oh? A mere Golden Immortal actually discovered me."

Eastern Emperor Taiyi's voice was not loud, yet it seemed to explode directly within Lei Xiao's sea of consciousness.

In that instant, the Eye of Heavenly Retribution seemed to be struck violently by an invisible sledgehammer. The violet vertical pupil, capable of piercing illusion and glimpsing heavenly secrets, flickered intensely several times before letting out an overwhelmed wail and collapsing directly at Lei Xiao's brow!

Pfft—

Sweetness filled Lei Xiao's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Within the hall, King of the East and Red Cloud both turned their eyes toward him. Yet before either could understand what had happened—

Dong—

A terrifying bell chime rippled down from the heavens, instantly sweeping across the entirety of Purple Abode Island.

The chime was ancient and vast, carrying supreme power capable of suppressing the heavens and the universe.

Wherever it passed, the void twisted violently like water ripples. The Pure Yang purple clouds that had endlessly circulated above Purple Abode Island shattered inch by inch beneath the bell chime, dispersing into countless specks of light.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Across Purple Abode Island, weaker cultivators did not even have time to scream before the bell chime shook them directly into clouds of blood.

Fortunately, Red Cloud acted in time. With a sweep of his sleeve, endless ethereal crimson clouds billowed forth, stretching across the sky above Purple Abode Island like a vast sea of clouds and forcibly catching the scattered aftershocks of the bell's sound.

Layers upon layers of soft clouds formed dense walls, completely sealing off the remaining scattered shockwaves. Only then were the surviving low-cultivation seafolk saved. Every one of them was pale-faced and shaken, slumped where they stood.

That single strike had claimed at least a tenth of the seafolk who had come to hear the Dao on Purple Abode Island.

And that was only because Red Cloud had intervened in time. Otherwise, after Eastern Emperor Taiyi's attack, the numerous seafolk outside the hall likely would not have had a single survivor.

"Eastern Emperor Taiyi—"

King of the East charged out of the hall. His white robes snapped wildly in the lingering force of the bell, while the Pure Yang purple clouds that had originally scattered surged forth from his body once more. Countless golden-purple Dao runes intertwined in the air, forming a great sun of Pure Yang above his head.

The scorching, vast Yang aura collided with the solar divine flames filling the skies. The two great powers confronted one another with a roar, warping and shattering the void without cease.

"I opened an altar on Purple Abode Island to impart the Dao. I bear you no grudge, yet the moment you appeared, you activated the Eastern Emperor Bell to harm innocents and slaughter the cultivators who came to hear the Dao. Do you take me, King of the East, for someone easily bullied?" King of the East demanded angrily.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi looked down upon King of the East from above. A trace of mockery flashed through his deep eyes, as though he were watching an ant attempting to shake a great tree.

"Easily bullied?"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi sneered, his laughter filled with contempt and ridicule.

"King of the East, you have been far too restless. One demon race in the Primordial World is enough."