Why Were You Being Hunted by the Heavenly Court? And Why Was Hundred Herbs Fairy Entangled with the Longbo Clan?

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, five hundred years went by.

During Zhu Yin's seclusion on Que Mountain, he sorted through all his gains and refined three Innate Spiritual Treasures.

Only then did he step out of the rift between reality and illusion.

The moment he appeared, three streaks of light descended from the heavens.

He reached out and caught them, only to find that they were three middle-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures... a bell, a qin, and a cauldron.

Just as he was puzzled, a stream of thought entered his mind.

A moment later, he understood.

It turned out that Demon Ancestor Rahu's karmic burden was so heavy that it far surpassed that of Ancestor Dragon, Ancestor Phoenix, and Ancestor Qilin, the three ancient great powers. Even heaven and earth despised him.

The Demon Clan was likewise steeped in sin. If they had not descended under the name of a calamity, they would have long since been reduced to ash by heavenly punishment.

This time, Zhu Yin's suppression of Mo Luo had allowed the Heavenly Dao to notice and learn the truth, while also seeing his contribution.

Thus, of the three spiritual treasures, two had been bestowed by Heavenly Dao Hongjun, while the other had been personally rewarded by Patriarch Hongjun of the Profound Sect.

Zhu Yin was delighted and immediately bowed to the heavens.

"Thank you, Heavenly Dao, for the reward! Thank you, Patriarch, for bestowing these treasures!"

After putting away the three spiritual treasures, he did not linger and immediately rode a streak of light toward the Western Lands.

Deep within Chaos, Purple Cloud Palace.

Hongjun watched the green-robed Daoist who had emerged from Que Mountain and sighed inwardly.

Though he never said it aloud, this third-generation disciple of the Profound Sect had indeed performed exceptionally well and possessed profound fortune.

Demon Ancestor Rahu was his mortal enemy. Even after merging with the Heavenly Dao, he still dared not let down his guard.

This time, Zhu Yin's suppression of Mo Luo had not only helped the Heavenly Dao, but had also brought honor to the Profound Sect.

As his patriarch, it was only natural for him to grant a reward.

Thinking of how the Demon Clan had actually been lurking within the Primordial Wilderness, Hongjun grew vigilant.

The next moment, he cast aside his distracting thoughts and continued merging with the power of the Heavenly Dao, carefully examining heaven and earth for fear that there might still be fish that had slipped through the net.

A streak of azure light cut across the sky.

Zhu Yin was traveling when, as the barrier between the Western Sea and the Western Lands drew near, he suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation of mana.

He immediately changed direction and flew toward that fluctuation.

Not long after, the sight before him made his heart tighten.

Above the Western Sea, storms churned as towering waves surged.

Divine abilities clashed between heaven and earth, spiritual treasures flew through the air, and furious roars rang out without end.

A group of Demon Clan Golden Immortals and Taiyi Monster Generals were besieging several dozen towering beings... all of them were giants!

Most of these giants were only Mysterious Immortals, though several were Golden Immortal experts. The leader was a hundred zhang tall, exuding an astonishing aura. He was already a Late Golden Immortal.

Standing atop the waves, he controlled the wind and sea, joining forces with a Grand Unity Immortal beside him to support a defensive spiritual treasure. They barely held back the Demon Clan's assault, but the protective barrier was shrinking by the moment and was on the verge of collapse.

Zhu Yin recognized that Taiyi Golden Immortal at a glance... it was Hundred Herbs Fairy!

He had also heard of the giants she was protecting. They were the Longbo Giants who lived in the Eastern Sea.

Though he did not understand why Hundred Herbs Fairy had come into conflict with the Demon Clan, he did not hesitate. With a sweep of his sleeve, he rescued them all.

At the same time, he unleashed the Dream Illusion Divine Ability, creating an illusion before the Demon Clan: Hundred Herbs Fairy and the Longbo Giants had already died in battle, and their spiritual treasures had been cast into the depths of the sea.

Whenever Zhu Yin traveled abroad, what he feared most was trouble.

Mo Luo's matter was troublesome enough already. He had no desire to draw the Demon Clan's attention as well.

So he carefully arranged the illusion, making the enemy believe their targets were dead. That was safer than directly fleeing with them or killing the Demon Clan.

If the Demon Clan truly discovered that they were still alive, there would be no end to the trouble.

Fortunately, he had spent considerable effort over the years on the Dream Illusion Divine Ability of Mount Sumeru. He had also refined the Dreamcloud Pearl, consumed Red Jade Fruit, and obtained the Dream Illusion Pearl. All of this had greatly strengthened his control over the laws of dream and illusion.

Now, he could wield the Dream Illusion Divine Ability with ease. With the cultivation of a Great Principle Golden Immortal, deceiving a group of minor demons was naturally effortless.

Before leaving, he casually killed several hundred Demon Clan Golden Immortals.

It was not to vent his anger, but to make the scene look more like a desperate battle. If the Demon Clan had escaped unharmed, that would have been far too suspicious.

Once he was done, he quietly departed, passed through the barrier, and landed on an unnamed mountain peak.

With another sweep of his sleeve, all those he had saved appeared.

The moment they appeared, Hundred Herbs Fairy's first reaction was to bring out a spiritual treasure and stand on guard.

Only after seeing Zhu Yin's face clearly did she rejoice. She hurriedly put away her treasure and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Patriarch, for saving my life!"

The Longbo Giants were initially bewildered. They had suddenly been taken away, then suddenly reappeared, and they feared they had leaped from one trap into another.

But seeing Hundred Herbs Fairy's attitude and hearing his words, they immediately dropped to their knees as well.

"Thank you, Great Immortal, for saving us!"

Zhu Yin casually raised them all and asked,

"Why were you being hunted by the Heavenly Court? And why was Hundred Herbs Fairy entangled with the Longbo Clan?"

Though he could calculate the general situation, he still needed to learn the details in person.

Hundred Herbs Fairy did not dare conceal anything and recounted the entire matter truthfully.

It turned out that after Zhu Yin left Spirit Platform Mountain, the Western Sea and Southern Sea had each sent people to invite them to attend the Dragon Clan's succession ceremony.

The Dragon Clan understood propriety and did not force the invitation. They merely said that if anyone from Spirit Platform Mountain attended, it would be an honor, and if Zhu Yin came in person, he would be treated as a distinguished guest.

After discussing the matter, the people of Spirit Platform Mountain decided to have Hundred Herbs Fairy attend as their representative. Her strength and status made her the most suitable choice.

When the time came, Hundred Herbs Fairy set out and attended the enthronement ceremonies of the Dragon Kings of the Western Sea and Southern Sea in succession, receiving lavish hospitality.

On her way back, she happened to encounter the Longbo Giants being besieged by the Demon Clan.

Ordinarily, Hundred Herbs Fairy might have watched coldly from the sidelines to avoid inviting trouble.

But the leading Longbo Giant was named Cang, and she knew him.

Back when the Flora Clan had been surrounded and hunted by the Demon Clan, they fled to the shores of the Eastern Sea. It was Cang who had saved them and sheltered them for a thousand years.

Such kindness was unforgettable, and the two had long since become friends.

Now that her friend was in danger, and the miserable sight reminded her of the Flora Clan's plight back then, Hundred Herbs Fairy could not stop herself from intervening. That was what led to the battle earlier.

As for why the Longbo Clan was being hunted, the matter was absurd.

It turned out that several Great Principle Giants from Longbo Kingdom had gone fishing in the sea on a whim because they were craving fish.

In the end, they actually caught three Giant Aos!

Those Giant Aos had originally been divine beasts supporting the Immortal Islands... Daiyu and Yuanjiao.

After the Giant Aos were caught, the Immortal Islands lost their support. Then, affected by the battle between the Monster God and the Great Shaman, Daiyu and Yuanjiao ultimately sank into the Abyssal Return and vanished completely.

When this happened, the Heavenly Emperor flew into a rage.

He took action to stabilize the remaining Immortal Islands—Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingtai—and turned the Giant Aos into enormous rocks, forever fixing them in the depths of the sea.

The Heavenly Emperor also punished the Monster God involved in the incident, executed the Ao-Raising Envoy, and shifted the blame onto the Longbo Clan.

He decreed their punishment... from then on, each generation of the Longbo Clan would be shorter than the last, until they had atoned for their sins.

Some Longbo Giants accepted the punishment and entered the deep sea as laborers to rebuild the Immortal Islands.

But others refused to submit and were hunted by the Demon Clan. Even their Great Principle ancestors were slain, while the rest of the clan scattered in desperate flight.

As for the Monster God who had battled the Great Shaman, he was personally killed by Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

Because of this, Ancestor Witch Goumang and Ancestor Witch Roushou fought a great battle in the Eastern Sea, plunging heaven and earth into darkness and blotting out the sun and moon!