Hong Jun frowned. "You didn't actually believe that rumor about breaking through by beating up Zhunti, did you?"
Dijiang shook his head. "This isn't a rumor. After trying it, we really gained some insight. For example, the Way of Space should prioritize suppression and defense..."
Houtu added, "The Six Paths of Reincarnation are endless..."
Zhu Jiuyin stroked his beard. "The River of Time can also be turned. Law of Time, halt." Immediately afterward, time around Jieyin truly froze.
The Ancestor Witches' insights made Hong Jun wonder whether beating Zhunti could really bring enlightenment. If nothing else, Houtu beginning to comprehend reincarnation was indeed a good sign.
After some thought, Hong Jun decided that he still had to save the man. Thus, he said, "You have all made some progress, and your Physical Bodies have improved as well. Shouldn't you release Zhunti first?"
Dijiang shook his head. "It's already respectful enough that we call you Dao Ancestor. You want us to let him go? Dream on."
Ever since Preaching the Dao at Zixiao Palace, Hong Jun had grown used to having the final say. Aside from the time a mysterious man came to demand merit for Bo Huang, when Hong Jun refused and got beaten up and had some blood drawn, he had never suffered a loss. Even then, Hong Jun did not think he had lost, since Bo Huang's merit had not descended after all, though he had indeed been beaten rather badly.
The more Hong Jun thought about it, the angrier he became. "I am not negotiating with you. If you still refuse to release Zhunti, I will have to use force."
The Witch Clan, put politely, was a warrior race. Put bluntly, they were a bunch of reckless brutes. Once their tempers flared, they did not care whether someone was the Dao Ancestor—they would fight him all the same...
Thus, Dijiang shouted, "This old bastard wants to ruin our opportunity! Form the Great Array of the Heavenly Gods!"
With that, the Twelve Ancestor Witches began forming the array. Streams of baleful aura surged forth, winding around their bodies. Dijiang shouted, "Pangu True Body, condense!"
With a deafening rumble, an enormous Pangu True Body appeared at the foot of Buzhou Mountain. Blood energy roiled across its body as it threw a fist at Hong Jun.
Hong Jun was unafraid. I was an Immortal Dao Chaos Demon God in my day. How could I be inferior to a bunch of juniors like you?
With that thought, Hong Jun raised a hand and pointed at the incoming fist of the Pangu True Body. A tremendous burst of energy suddenly exploded, blasting the Pangu True Body several steps back.
The Pangu True Body opened its mouth and shouted, "Pangu Hall, condense! Axe, come!"
The Pangu True Body then fused with Pangu Hall. A heartbeat sounded from within its body, and its power of blood and qi surged even higher. It condensed a phantom Axe of Creation in its hand and swung it down.
Hong Jun was startled. Immortal Dao Laws spread throughout his body as he received the attack. Then he shouted, "Break!" With the power of the Immortal Dao Laws and his Saint realm cultivation, he injured the Ancestor Witches and finally broke the formation.
However, the Ancestor Witches pulled a sly move as well, retreating directly into Pangu Hall and leaving Hong Jun outside, furious and helpless.
Seeing this, Jieyin took out the Staff of Blessing and wanted to smash it down. Hong Jun reminded him, "That is the heart of Great God Pangu. Go on, try smashing it. Forget whether you can even break it—can you bear that Karmic Debt?"
Jieyin shook his head, admitting that he had acted rashly. He could not bear such Karmic Debt. Hong Jun then said to Pangu Hall, "Fine. Do as you wish. Just release Zhunti after ten thousand years."
Inside Pangu Hall, Zhunti wore a despairing expression. I'm grateful that you came to save me, but I really don't like how you gave up halfway through. Now I'm going to get beaten even worse.
Sure enough, Dijiang and the other Witches looked at Zhunti with unfriendly expressions. Xuanming walked up and slapped him across the face. "So you have someone coming to save you, huh? Brothers, beat him!"
As the Ancestor Witch of Fire, Zhu Rong naturally had a fiery temper. He rushed over and began kicking Zhunti wildly, forgetting all about enlightenment and venting his anger purely for the sake of it. The other Ancestor Witches followed suit, giving Zhunti a round of circle kicks. At the level these Ancestor Witches were kicking him, they could play in the World Cup without any training.
Elsewhere, in the Heavenly Court, Great Immortal Zhenyuan sat with Di Jun, Tai Yi, and other great Demon Clan experts, eating ginseng fruits and discussing the battle that had just taken place.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "The Dao Ancestor truly is the Dao Ancestor. He defeated the Twelve Ancestor Witches so easily."
Tai Yi still felt lingering fear. "They could actually summon the Pangu True Body. Good thing they weren't targeting our Demon Clan."
Di Jun said, "That was bound to happen sooner or later. Who do you think the Witch Clan originally prepared this trump card for?"
Kunpeng said, "The Twelve Ancestor Witches were injured this time, which is good news for our Demon Clan. Hmm, we should also strengthen our formations."
Di Jun said, "Exactly. The Grand Formation of the Stars should be improved further as well."
"Ding! Mission issued: Establish the Heavenly Court Bank. Mission reward: advanced formation diagram for the Grand Formation of the Stars."
Before you continue