The Western Lands, Spirit Mountain.
Jieyin and Zhunti sat cross-legged, their faces so dark they seemed ready to drip water.
In the void before them, an exceedingly bizarre black shadow slowly writhed, exuding an ancient, evil, nauseating aura of chaos.
"For that so-called grand plan of yours, my senior brother and I have lost both substance and face this time!"
Zhunti stared fixedly at the shadow and said through gritted teeth, "Not only did Dijiang blast our bodies apart more than a dozen times, costing us a vast amount of Heavenly Dao Origin, we even agreed that the Western Religion would stay out of the east for ten Yuanhui!"
"For such utter humiliation and such devastating losses, you must give us an accounting-and sufficient compensation!"
Faced with Zhunti's fury, the shadow merely let out a burst of grating, sinister laughter.
"Keh keh keh... Compensation? You still have the nerve to demand compensation?"
The shadow's voice was hoarse and hollow, as though it came from the hells of the nine netherworlds. "I told you long ago that the Five Elements Origin within Kong Xuan was the perfect key to unlocking the seal on the Undying Volcano. So long as you could quietly convert him, I could use his hands to awaken the great one suppressed beneath it."
"But what did you do? You dawdled and wavered! You clearly had the chance to abduct him outright, yet you insisted on playing that hypocritical game of conversion through predestined affinity. And so you drew Dijiang there and caused the plan to fail completely!"
"You're incompetent, yet you want to blame me? How laughable!"
"You!"
These words left Zhunti so furious that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices. Light flickered from the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in his hand as he moved