Protecting the Spirit Root, Chasing Zhunti to Kunlun

As for the Three Xiao Sisters' ordeal in the Investiture of the Gods, Li Yu had merely given it a passing thought. Such troublesome matters were not his concern; they were Tongtian's concern.

After seeing Qiongxiao and Bixiao off, Li Yu turned and headed to where the Bitter Bamboo grew.

After all these years, this innate spirit root did not seem to have changed much. It had merely grown taller, thicker, and more lush with branches and leaves.

With his current Quasi-Saint cultivation, the Bitter Bamboo no longer had much effect on him. He could easily dig it up and refine it into a treasure.

Yet Li Yu had never acted. No matter how this innate spirit root was refined, it could only produce an innate spirit treasure. To be honest, Li Yu now had lofty standards; he wanted an innate supreme treasure.

But simply leaving it alone did not seem quite right either. After all, the Bitter Bamboo was not the Ginseng Fruit Tree, which could bear fruit even if left unattended.

After thinking it over, Li Yu took out the Innate Gourd, drew out a wisp of Chaos Qi, and sent it into the Bitter Bamboo's roots.

"This Chaos Qi has an extraordinary origin. Only Saints can gather it beyond the heavens. I wonder what changes the Bitter Bamboo will undergo after absorbing it?"

Li Yu was quite pleased with his idea and looked forward to the day when this innate spirit root might give him a surprise.

But at that very moment, someone ignored the island-protecting formation he had set up and forcibly barged in!

"This object is destined for me!"

Who else could it be but the Western Daoist Zhunti?

The instant he spoke, Zhunti reached out to seize the innate spirit root, the Bitter Bamboo. How could Li Yu, standing nearby, possibly let him have his way?

He immediately struck with the Cosmos Ruler!

Zhunti took out the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree and swept it toward the Cosmos Ruler!

Li Yu instantly felt the Cosmos Ruler become as heavy as a thousand jun, as though it were about to slip beyond his control. With a sweep of his sleeve, he recalled it!

The Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree was said to "sweep away anything," but Li Yu did not believe that was absolute. It depended on who the opponent was. Even if Taiqing held nothing but a fire poker, Zhunti would not be able to sweep it away.

At present, both Li Yu and Zhunti were Quasi-Saints. Although Zhunti had entered this realm earlier, Li Yu had comprehended a new Great Dao beyond the Great Dao imparted by Hongjun. After their brief exchange, the difference in their attainments had become clear.

Zhunti wielded the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree, a treasure of higher quality than the Cosmos Ruler, yet he had failed to sweep the Cosmos Ruler away. The reason was the disparity between the treasures' masters!

"This thing is in my cultivation grounds. How is it destined for you, Zhunti? Such conduct is even more shameless than fighting for seats in the Purple Cloud Palace. And you actually dared to do it?"

Li Yu mocked Zhunti as he stepped in front of the Bitter Bamboo, blocking it from view.

Zhunti naturally remembered Li Yu. He had been one of the three standing behind Hongyun back then, the ones who had made the two Westerners into a laughingstock in the Purple Cloud Palace. Though their skins were thick and they did not care about others' ridicule, that did not mean they had forgotten.

"I am a Saint's disciple. Though this object is in your cultivation grounds, it should still be destined for me. Hand it over at once, and I will overlook your disrespect toward a Saint's disciple!" Zhunti threatened.

Li Yu chuckled. "You're only an honorary disciple, yet you really dare to make such a big deal out of it!"

"You dare disrespect a Saint's disciple? Today, I shall kill you to uphold the Saint's dignity!"

After saying that, Zhunti raised the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree and swept it at Li Yu. Although he had failed to sweep away the Cosmos Ruler earlier, he would certainly succeed the second time.

Li Yu abandoned the Cosmos Ruler and directly activated the Twelve-Petal Pure World White Lotus.

The Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree struck the Pure World White Lotus, but the latter did not budge in the slightest. Instead, it erupted with powerful ripples through the void, sweeping toward Zhunti!

Ha!

Though Zhunti shouted loudly, his body retreated several steps. Had the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree not borne the brunt of it, that blow alone would have made him vomit blood.

"I cannot fully unleash my strength here. Do you dare fight me in the sky?"

"Pick the place yourself. If I don't beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth today, you can just call yourself the seventh strongest in the Primordial World!"

Zhunti had not become a Saint.

Li Yu truly had no fear of him! The two transformed into streaks of radiant light and flew into the heavens.

Zhunti then revealed his Dharma body, ten thousand zhang tall, with twenty-four heads and eighteen arms. Golden light filled the sky, and he looked solemn and majestic.

Li Yu saw that the Dharma body's eighteen hands held all kinds of treasures: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bows, banners, umbrellas, streamers...

There were many treasures, but their quality was lacking!

"This is my divine power of the Dharma form. Let's see how you deal with it!"

With that, Zhunti strode toward Li Yu. All kinds of Dharma treasures were hurled forth in succession, dancing through the sky with terrifying force!

Li Yu was not worried. He had initially planned to take out the Innate Gourd and release Chaos Qi, but then he recalled Hongjun's warning when he had Yaochi deliver the treasure, so he changed his mind.

With a sweep of his sleeve, without using any spirit treasure at all, Chaos Qi surged from within his sleeve and transformed into a wild gale. It whirled around Zhunti's ten-thousand-zhang Dharma body, and wherever the Chaos Qi passed, the twenty-four heads and eighteen arms fell away one after another. The various treasures cracked into fragments with a series of sharp snaps.

In the blink of an eye, the ten-thousand-zhang Dharma body was destroyed!

Li Yu withdrew the Chaos Qi, looked at the horrified Zhunti, and smiled. "Well? What other methods do you have? Use them all!"

At this moment, Zhunti was both terrified and hateful. He feared that Li Yu would kill him, and he hated that Li Yu had destroyed the many treasures he had painstakingly acquired over the years.

Ever since the Saint had accepted him as an honorary disciple in the Purple Cloud Palace, he and his senior brother Daoist Jieyin had made a plan: Zhunti would search the eastern lands for treasures, while Jieyin remained behind to develop the West.

Relying on his status as a Saint's honorary disciple, he had searched for treasures all the way with great success. If he encountered anyone who refused to submit, he simply killed them. He had never expected to suffer such a setback here today.

But no matter what, his life mattered most!

Zhunti immediately transformed into a streak of radiant light and fled toward the western Wild Continent.

Trying to run?

How could Li Yu let him get his way? Zhunti had come into his home and tried to rob him in broad daylight. If Li Yu did not give him a proper beating, it would be a waste of this opportunity!

Li Yu also transformed into a streak of radiant light and gave chase, shouting, "Zhunti, don't run! Take a strike from my ruler!"

Yet in truth, Li Yu released Chaos Qi again. Zhunti, who had just raised the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree, hastily withdrew his treasure. But he was too slow, and the Chaos Qi grazed it. The Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree's radiance immediately weakened greatly and dimmed.

"Despicable and shameless!" Zhunti cursed.

"Haha! Don't run! Take another strike from my ruler!"

This time, Li Yu truly unleashed the Cosmos Ruler. Zhunti did not dare use the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree and was struck across the back by the Cosmos Ruler again.

"You shameless brat!"

Li Yu paid Zhunti's curses no mind. He simply kept feinting east and striking west, mixing the real with the false as he chased Zhunti from the Eastern Sea to the Primordial Wilderness. Still unwilling to stop, he pursued him to Mount Buzhou, crossed Mount Buzhou, and drove him all the way to Mount Kunlun.

He landed blow after blow along the way, but he never managed to kill Zhunti.

Upon reaching Mount Kunlun, Li Yu stopped and allowed Zhunti to flee back west. Yet this pursuit left behind a legend across the Primordial World, and Li Yu's reputation soared for a time.

When Li Yu reached Mount Kunlun, he had originally wanted to continue the chase, but someone stopped him. The one who made him cease was Taiqing, the great mighty one with the deepest attainments in the Primordial World aside from Hongjun!