Extorting Hongjun

Pangu Phantom!

The moment this phantom appeared, the entire Primordial Wilderness Continent began to tremble violently.

That terrifying pressure, originating from the depths of the bloodline and towering above Heaven's Way, made countless billions of living beings across the Primordial Wilderness Continent—whether Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals or newly advanced Quasi-Saints—feel their souls quake as they uncontrollably fell to their knees.

Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, Violet Firmament Palace.

Hongjun, who had been meditating with closed eyes as he comprehended Heaven's Way, abruptly opened them. A flash of undisguised shock passed through his profound gaze.

"Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation?!"

"Pangu True Body?!"

Stormy waves surged through Hongjun's heart.

He naturally knew that the Witch Clan possessed this trump card, but he had never imagined that those twelve fellows would deploy this peerless fiendish formation at such a time, without the slightest warning!

"Who could possibly have driven them to such lengths?"

"Could it be some old friend?"

Hongjun frowned tightly and hastily began calculating with his fingers.

The next second, the expression on his eternally calm face froze instantly, and his eyes widened involuntarily.

"Yuanshi?!"

The first thought that flashed through Hongjun's mind was: Was this really necessary?!

Yuanshi had merely severed one corpse and entered the early Quasi-Saint stage.

Not to mention an early Quasi-Saint—even if Yuanshi had severed all three corpses and reached Quasi-Saint perfection, before the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation capable of summoning Pangu True Body, he would still be nothing but trash!

This was simply using the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe to chop a mosquito!

Even killing a chicken with an ox-cleaver was not enough to describe such utterly deranged behavior!

But immediately afterward, Hongjun's second thought surfaced: Yuanshi could not die!

He had yet to complete his third sermon, and had yet to formally accept disciples and distribute the Sage positions.

As one of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, Yuanshi was an extremely important part of his future Arcane Gate plan. If Yuanshi died here, an enormous, irreparable hole would appear in his providence plan!

"Those lunatics!"

Hongjun cursed inwardly. No longer caring about any Sage's dignity, his figure vanished from Violet Firmament Palace in an instant.

At the foot of Mount Buzhou.

Yuanshi Tianzun was completely dumbfounded.

He had originally believed that after breaking through to the Quasi-Saint realm, even if he could not defeat the Twelve Ancestral Witches working together, he could at least retreat unscathed, perhaps even establish his prestige.

Yet even in his dreams, he had never imagined that they would refuse to play by the rules, flipping the table right from the start and unleashing such a heaven-destroying, earth-shattering ultimate move!

"W-What kind of monster is this?!"

Yuanshi Tianzun stared at the billion-zhang-tall Pangu Phantom above him. Feeling that terrifying pressure that made even his soul tremble, the arrogance and conceit in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by boundless terror and despair.

Thud!

Under the mere naturally emanating pressure of the Pangu Phantom, Yuanshi Tianzun's Quasi-Saint mana, which he had been so proud of, instantly collapsed. His legs gave way, and he fell stiffly to his knees!

Not only him—even Jade Pure Daoist, the evil corpse he had severed, was crushed flat against the ground, unable to move.

"No! Impossible!"

Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes were bloodshot as he struggled madly to stand.

He was of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage! A lofty Quasi-Saint great power!

And now, at the foot of Mount Buzhou, before living beings as insignificant as billions of ants, he had been forced to kneel by another's aura!

For Yuanshi Tianzun, who valued his pride even more than his life, this was ten thousand times worse than killing him outright!

"Aaaah! Dijiang! We are irreconcilable!" Yuanshi Tianzun let out a shrill roar, tears of humiliation pooling in his eyes.

"Irreconcilable? Are you worthy?"

From within the Pangu Phantom came Dijiang's cold, majestic voice.

"Since you enjoy kneeling so much, then kneel here at the foot of Mount Buzhou for a hundred thousand years and reflect properly!"

With that, the Pangu Phantom slowly raised its enormous illusory hand, preparing to suppress Yuanshi Tianzun completely.

At that critical moment, when a hair's breadth decided life and death.

Buzzz—

A gentle yet boundless Sage pressure suddenly descended from the heavens. Like spring wind and rain, it silently dissolved the Pangu Phantom's violent aura.

Immediately afterward, Hongjun, dressed in a grayish-white Daoist robe and holding the Jade Disc of Creation, appeared out of thin air before Yuanshi Tianzun.

"Dao Ancestor!"

Seeing Hongjun was like grasping a lifeline for Yuanshi. The tears of humiliation finally spilled down his face. "Dao Ancestor, please uphold justice for your disciple!"

Hongjun looked at Yuanshi, kneeling on the ground in a miserable state. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and a trace of helpless frustration at his failure to meet expectations flashed through his eyes.

Then he raised his head and calmly looked toward the Pangu Phantom in midair.

"Fellow Daoist Dijiang, spare others when you can. Though Yuanshi was reckless, his crime does not warrant death, much less such extraordinary humiliation. For my sake, let today's matter end here."

Facing Hongjun, the lofty Sage of Heaven's Way, the Pangu Phantom showed not the slightest sign of retreat. Instead, it radiated even more violent fighting intent.

"Hongjun, you finally decided to show yourself."

Dijiang's voice came from within the phantom, carrying a hint of mockery and understanding.

In truth, his decision to summon his brothers and directly form the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation had never been for the sake of dealing with a mere Yuanshi Tianzun.

His true purpose had been to force Hongjun into the open!

He wanted to use this opportunity to test Hongjun's limits and, at the same time, extort a few things.

Others might not know it, but he did—Hongjun possessed quite a few good things.

"Face? How much is your face worth, Hongjun?"

Dijiang retorted without the slightest courtesy. "Yuanshi came to Mount Buzhou to run wild, injured the living beings under our protection, and even arrogantly declared that he would teach us a lesson. If my brothers and I had not possessed a few methods, I fear we would be the ones kneeling here today!"

"With one sentence—'let it end here'—you want to wipe away this karma?

Where in this world is there such a cheap bargain!"

Hearing this, Hongjun's expression darkened slightly.

It involuntarily reminded him of how Dijiang and the others had come out to pick peaches after the final battle.

He knew that Dijiang was taking advantage of the situation to rob him.

Yet he truly could not ignore Yuanshi.

"Then in Fellow Daoist's view, how should this karma be settled?" Hongjun suppressed the displeasure in his heart and asked in a deep voice.

"Very simple."

A trace of cunning seeped into Dijiang's voice. "My brother Gonggong cultivates the Water Law and happens to lack a few handy Spirit Treasures. Dao Ancestor surely possesses Spirit Treasures of this sort. If Dao Ancestor is willing to part with them, today's matter will be written off in one stroke."

"Spirit Treasures..."

Hongjun's eye twitched slightly, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Dijiang was right. He might not have much else at present, but he truly had no shortage of Spirit Treasures.

It was merely a pity that his Spirit Treasures would reach Dijiang and the others in this manner.

"These are the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. If one has the fortune to obtain the remaining twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, they can be combined into a top-grade innate Spirit Treasure: the Thirty-Six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls."