Raising the Price on the Spot

"The Pangu Banner is an item for my own protection. It cannot be lightly bestowed."

Hongjun fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "However, if the twelve of you can attend the entire third sermon at Violet Firmament Palace, then once the sermon ends, I can lend the Pangu Banner to you for one kalpa to comprehend."

"Lend?"

Dijiang raised a brow slightly and sneered inwardly.

This old schemer truly would not release the hawk until he saw the rabbit. Even now, he was still thinking of plotting against them.

Lend it for one kalpa?

By the time that kalpa passed, he would have united with the Dao. Then, would he not be able to handle them however he pleased?

"Dao Ancestor, you jest."

"We of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage never borrow things. Either you give it to us, or we brothers will not be going to Violet Firmament Palace."

"Also, I have decided to raise the price now. One Pangu Banner is not enough. You must add either one Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure or one Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Root."

Dijiang folded his arms across his chest. A faint sneer hung on his face as he looked calmly at Hongjun.

Bargaining with me? You clearly do not know whose hands hold the initiative now.

If you are asking for help, then ask properly!

"You..."

A flash of anger passed through Hongjun's eyes.

He was a dignified Sage, and he had already yielded again and again. Yet Dijiang did not know when to stop, pushing his luck inch by inch. He was even raising the price, opening his mouth to demand a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure or Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Root. Did he take this old Daoist for a wholesaler?

But seeing Dijiang's utterly unyielding expression, Hongjun drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

"Fine!"

Hongjun ground his teeth and spat out a single word. "The Pangu Banner and a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure can both be given to you. But only after the third sermon at Violet Firmament Palace ends!"

Hongjun did not dare haggle any further. He could see that Dijiang had seen through his scheme and seized his lifeline. If he continued bargaining, Dijiang would certainly raise the price again on the spot.

"It's a deal!"

Dijiang laughed heartily, his eyes filled with the delight of having succeeded. His original target had only been the Pangu Banner, yet he had unexpectedly gained another Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. This haul was simply obscene.

"Three thousand years from now, we shall meet at Violet Firmament Palace."

Hongjun left behind those cold words, and his figure instantly vanished into thin air, as though he did not wish to remain there a moment longer.

Only after watching Hongjun depart did the eleven Ancestral Witches finally let out long breaths.

"Big Brother, you're incredible!"

Zhu Rong eagerly crowded forward. "You extorted another Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure from that old schemer Hongjun, along with the Pangu Banner! That is the Pangu Banner!"

"That's right, Big Brother. With the Pangu Banner, the power of our Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation will definitely rise another level!" Gonggong's face was also full of excitement.

"Do not celebrate too early."

Dijiang's smile faded, and his expression grew solemn. "Since Hongjun is willing to give us the Pangu Banner, it means that after uniting with the Dao, he is absolutely confident he can suppress the Pangu Phantom even when it possesses the three treasures of Creation."

"This third sermon at Violet Firmament Palace will definitely be a feast at Hongmen."

"Then are we still going?" Houtu asked with some concern.

"Go. Why would we not go?"

Confidence gleamed in Dijiang's eyes. "If one does not enter the tiger's den, how can one catch tiger cubs? Not only are we going, we will also make a fine haul within Violet Firmament Palace!"

"Let's go. Back to Pangu Hall to cultivate in seclusion!"

For the great powers of the Primordial World, thirty thousand years were no more than the time it took to enter seclusion once.

Over those thirty thousand years, the Primordial Wilderness Continent appeared calm and peaceful on the surface, yet in secret, countless great powers successfully severed one corpse and stepped into the Quasi-Saint Realm.

The Three Pure Ones, Di Jun, Taiyi, Nuwa, Fuxi, Zhen Yuanzi, Red Cloud, Minghe...

These innate sacred beings who had listened to the teachings at Violet Firmament Palace had almost all undergone an explosive surge in strength.

And during those thirty thousand years, earth-shaking changes had also taken place within the Spirit-Gathering Formation at the foot of Mount Buzhou.

Under the careful guidance of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, more than a hundred Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals were born among those ten billion living beings!

The number of Primordial Unity Golden Immortals had reached a terrifying several hundred thousand!

Although this force could not yet compare to those innate sacred beings in terms of top-tier combat power, its mid-level strength was already enough to crush any faction in the Primordial World.

"Dong—"

The thirty-thousand-year deadline had arrived.

A melodious bell rang out from the depths of chaos beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, echoing across the entire Primordial World.

"Violet Firmament Palace has opened!"

Countless great powers emerged from seclusion, transforming into streaks of light as they hurried toward the chaotic void.

Mount Buzhou, Pangu Hall.

"Let's go, brothers."

Dijiang rose to his feet, the terrifying pressure of a Late-Primordial Golden Immortal flashing and vanishing in an instant.

"Let us meet these new friends, and while we are at it, take back our Pangu Banner!"

"Yes, Big Brother!"

The eleven Ancestral Witches answered in unison, their fighting spirit soaring.

Whoosh!

Twelve streams of silver Space Law flowed, and the figures of the Twelve Ancestral Witches instantly disappeared from Pangu Hall.

Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, in the chaotic void.

Before Violet Firmament Palace, the three thousand guests of the mortal world had already gathered together.

Unlike the previous two times, everyone now radiated an elusive, profoundly mysterious Quasi-Saint Dao aura.

Especially the Six—Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti—seated at the very front. Their auras were unfathomably deep.

"Elder Brother, look over there."

Yuanshi Tianzun suddenly frowned, his gaze turning icy as he looked toward the depths of chaos.

Within the violent currents of chaotic energy, twelve towering figures strolled forward as leisurely as if walking through a garden.

The chaotic gales that could tear apart Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals were silently neutralized by invisible Space Law the moment they came within a hundred zhang of them.

"It's them!"

"The Twelve Ancestral Witches came too?!"

Everyone before Violet Firmament Palace sucked in a breath of cold air and hastily moved aside, opening a path for them.

The fierce reputation the Twelve Ancestral Witches had earned in the battle over the Mount Buzhou gourd vine, as well as from their later frenzied plundering of Spirit Treasures across the Primordial World, had long spread among these great powers.

Yuanshi Tianzun in particular turned livid the instant he saw Dijiang and the others. His fists clenched tightly, his eyes filled with humiliation and killing intent.

"Second Brother, calm yourself."

Laozi pressed a hand onto Yuanshi's shoulder and transmitted quietly, "This is Violet Firmament Palace, the Dao Ancestor's sacred ground. Do not act rashly."

Yuanshi Tianzun took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury in his heart. He snorted coldly, then turned away and no longer looked at them.

Dijiang led the eleven Ancestral Witches straight to the gates of Violet Firmament Palace with swaggering strides.

His gaze swept over the Three Pure Ones, Di Jun, and the others, while an amused smile curled across his lips.

"Well, if it isn't Fellow Daoist Yuanshi? It has been tens of thousands of years. Do your knees still hurt?"

Zhu Rong was the sort who feared the world was not chaotic enough. The moment he opened his mouth, he stabbed directly at Yuanshi Tianzun's sore spot.

"You seek death!"

Yuanshi Tianzun flew into a rage. The pressure of the Early Quasi-Saint Realm erupted with a roar as he prepared to strike.

"Silence."

At that moment, the heavy violet-gold gates of Violet Firmament Palace slowly opened.

Patriarch Hongjun's ethereal, misty voice drifted out from within the palace, instantly crushing Yuanshi Tianzun's pressure.

"The sermon is about to begin. Please enter, everyone."