A Bountiful Harvest: Three Innate Supreme Treasures and Abundant Merit!

Boom!

A shock wave of energy spread out, shaking heaven and earth.

Luohou had long since laid an array over the West's Spiritual Veins. Seeing that defeat was inevitable, he detonated himself and every Spiritual Vein in the West along with him.

The overwhelming force could be felt even at the edges of the Primordial Continent, let alone here at the heart of the explosion.

Hongjun had no time to mourn. The wave of energy bore down on him, and he barely managed to raise the Pangu Banner before it struck, hurling him away.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the explosion, Li Yi poured his Magic Power into the Pure World White Lotus, bringing its Protective Immortal Light around himself. He spotted Luohou's treasures on the verge of being swept away by Chaos Turbulence through the shattered space. Without hesitation, he summoned the Cosmos Cauldron and collected the Array Diagram and several broken Spirit Treasures.

Terrifying as the blast was, it could not shake the Pure World White Lotus, a defensive Innate Supreme Treasure.

Once the shock waves faded, Li Yi slowly withdrew the Protective Immortal Light. A pleased smile touched his face.

At the same time, the Calamity Qi blanketing the world began to disperse. Ten thousand rays of light shone forth amid countless auspicious clouds! Golden Merit Light descended from beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens and enveloped Li Yi!

Li Yi was not the only one. Every cultivator who had survived the battle received a share of Golden Merit Light, but none of their displays could compare to his!

Even Hongjun, who had led the righteous cultivators west to slay the demon, received less than half as much Golden Merit Light as Li Yi!

The Golden Merit Light flowed into Li Yi's body and Dharma Treasures. Only half a day later did the visions finally fade.

Hongjun and Yang Mei had already come looking for him. Watching Li Yi bathe in Heavenly Dao Merit, Hongjun seethed with anger but dared not show it.

Yang Mei was still here, for one thing. For another, Li Yi now enjoyed the protection of Heavenly Dao Merit. Even Hongjun's own fortune under the Heavenly Dao fell far short of Li Yi's!

If he truly made an enemy of Li Yi, the Heavenly Dao might well take Li Yi's side...

Li Yi slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the two men before him. Smiling, he cupped his hands in greeting, then volunteered an account of how he had broken the array and fought Luohou within it.

At the end, Li Yi even put on a show of regret.

"Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, Brother Yin Yang had already fallen to that demon! By the way, why did Brother Yin Yang call out Fellow Daoist Hongjun's name before he died?"

Hongjun's heart lurched, but he forced a smile.

"I'm to blame for that. If I hadn't asked Brother Yin Yang to emerge from seclusion, he would never have faced this fatal calamity..."

There was no hiding the resentment in Yin-Yang Daoist's final cry. Hongjun could only pretend not to understand.

Then, as if something had just occurred to him, Hongjun turned to Li Yi and asked,

"Where is Yin-Yang Daoist's body? I brought about his death here, so I ought to give him a proper burial..."

Li Yi sneered inwardly. That sounds noble. What he really wants is the Taiji Diagram, doesn't he? Li Yi had already hidden it in the Cosmos Cauldron. No matter how capable Hongjun was, he would never trace it back to him.

"I wasn't strong enough to protect Fellow Daoist Yin Yang's body. That demon knocked it into a Void Rift, and it has most likely fallen beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens. Perhaps that's for the best. Yin-Yang Daoist came from chaos and has returned to chaos..."

Hongjun nearly spat blood.

Easy for him to say! My Taiji Diagram was still on Yin-Yang Daoist!

That was a World-Creation Supreme Treasure, and a great matter of Karma was bound to it in the future. Was it simply gone now!?

Hongjun strongly suspected that Li Yi had taken the Taiji Diagram. Yet no matter how he secretly tried to divine its location, he found nothing. It was as though the treasure had vanished from the Primordial Continent.

If the Taiji Diagram still belonged to him, he could have traced it. But he had previously given it to Yin-Yang Daoist, severing the thread of Karma between himself and the treasure. Even with all his abilities, he could no longer find it.

While Hongjun failed to recover his treasure, Li Yi raised a matter of his own.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist, you previously agreed that I would keep the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation. Please return the Immortal-Ending Sword to me..."

Hongjun felt stifled with frustration. But he had sworn a Heavenly Dao Oath and dared not go back on his word. Gritting his teeth, he took out the Immortal-Ending Sword and handed it to Li Yi.

Li Yi accepted the sword, his smile growing wider. After bidding Yang Mei and Hongjun farewell, he transformed into a streak of immortal light and headed back to Penglai Island.

Yang Mei gave Hongjun a meaningful look and cupped his hands. His manner had cooled considerably. Then he, too, turned into a streak of light and departed.

Clearly, Yang Mei had not believed Hongjun's explanation either. He was no longer as friendly toward Hongjun as before.

Hongjun watched them leave. At last, he let his strained smile fall and clenched his teeth in bitter resentment!

Damn it! In this Dao-Devil War, I received only thirty percent of the Heavenly Dao Merit! That Heaven-Earth Daoist took at least sixty percent for himself!

Now my plan to become a Sage may well be ruined!

Still burning with resentment, Hongjun recalled Li Yi's words. He immediately unleashed his vast Magic Power and began searching the area, even probing the Minor Worlds that had shattered into turbulent void currents!

The Taiji Diagram was both a World-Creation Supreme Treasure and a future Sage's treasure. Many of his plans depended on it.

He had already lost too much on this journey west. He could not afford to lose the Taiji Diagram as well!

Back on Penglai Immortal Island, Li Yi returned to his secluded chamber and gazed into the Cosmos Cauldron with a triumphant smile.

His journey west had yielded a tremendous haul!

The God-Slaying Spear and the Taiji Diagram were both Innate Supreme Treasures! The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation was not one itself, but the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram and the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords were all among the finest Supreme-grade Innate Spirit Treasures. Together, they were in no way inferior to an Innate Supreme Treasure.

On top of that, Luohou's and Yin-Yang Daoist's remaining treasures had all fallen into his hands! He had briefly examined them on his return. There were dozens of Innate Spiritual Treasures, including four Supreme-grade Innate Spirit Treasures. Most astonishing of all were Yin-Yang Daoist's companion treasure and the Innate Five Direction Flags!

They had all been pierced by the God-Slaying Spear and dropped in grade. But nourished within the Cosmos Cauldron, they would recover their full power sooner or later.

The Spiritual Roots and Spiritual Veins stored inside the Spirit Treasures outstripped those on his entire island combined!

Of all the Spiritual Veins in the West, Luohou had used a peerless ability to seize the half he had not detonated and placed them within a Spirit Treasure's inner space. He had intended to rebuild the West after the battle.

Instead, Li Yi had gained them all for nothing.

Yin-Yang Daoist's soul had perished, but Li Yi had recovered his body. The body of a Demon God held boundless potential. If refined into an External Incarnation, it too might someday become a Sage!

After surveying his gains, Li Yi was in no hurry to refine the treasures. Instead, he looked at the Golden Merit Light behind him, so dense it had nearly taken solid form.

If I absorb all the Merit I gained from this battle, even if I cannot become a Sage, I can certainly become one of the most powerful Primordial Unity Supreme Immortals!

With that thought, Li Yi slowly calmed his mind and began cultivating with the Merit he had gained.

On Blue Star, at the National Destiny Trial Square.

The square buzzed with voices. Every nation's National Destiny Livestream was packed with viewers.

The rankings for the first day of the National Destiny Trial were being tallied!