Hong Yun Thrashes Yuanshi! Kunpeng: "From Now On, I'm at Your Command, Big Brother!"

As Hong Yun flew through the sky, he refined the Mystic Yellow Treasure Seal and Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd that Li Yi had given him, making them his own Spirit Treasures.

As he flew, Hong Yun kept turning over his Master's earlier instructions.

His Master had said his path to the Sage Dao lay in the West?

And that he would encounter a great karmic debt on the way there?

But he had flown all this way without finding anything...

Hong Yun had just begun to feel frustrated when he sensed a faint but terrifying surge of Spiritual Power hundreds of millions of miles away.

His heart skipped a beat. Sensing a karmic connection, he sped toward the source of the disturbance without hesitation.

Kunpeng had revealed his true form. Countless wounds covered his body, and golden immortal blood spilled onto the earth of the Primordial World.

Yuanshi's Kind Corpse had returned to his body. Yuanshi himself now pursued Kunpeng, Spirit Treasure in hand.

After attending three lectures, Kunpeng had become a cultivator at the Peak Great Firmament Golden Immortal level. Yet before Yuanshi, he could not even fight back.

Yuanshi had hunted Kunpeng for two years. He had countless chances to kill him, but each time he chose to toy with him like a cat with a mouse.

Whenever Kunpeng reached the end of his rope, Yuanshi gave him a glimmer of hope. Just as Kunpeng thought he could escape, Yuanshi appeared before him and blocked his only way out.

Kunpeng had some inkling that Yuanshi was toying with him. But right now, what could he do except run?

He could hardly stand still and let Yuanshi finish him off.

After two years of pursuit, Yuanshi was growing tired of the game. Tongtian might already have returned to his Daoist Abode to continue studying the Law Dao, while he was still wasting time tormenting an enemy. His interest waned, and he stopped holding back the Spirit Treasure in his hand.

Immortal light flared from the Jade Ruyi as he struck, plainly aiming to kill Kunpeng in one blow.

Kunpeng seemed to sense Yuanshi's killing intent. Despair crossed his face.

But in the next instant...

A Treasure Seal swelled in the wind, growing as large as a mountain in a heartbeat, and slammed head-on into the Jade Ruyi!

Boom!

Endless ripples of Dao Resonance spread outward. The void of the Primordial World seemed on the verge of cracking.

Yuanshi's expression changed. Only by pouring all his Spiritual Power into the Jade Ruyi did he manage to steady it after the impact sent it flying.

Who was it?

Meanwhile, the Treasure Seal slowly shrank back to the size of a fingertip and landed in Hong Yun's hand.

Seeing that he had saved Kunpeng, Hong Yun finally understood.

Was this the great karmic debt Master had spoken of?

Ever since Dao Ancestor Hongjun had taken Laozi and three others as his direct disciples, cultivators throughout the Primordial World had come to regard the Prayer Mats deliberately placed beneath Hongjun's Jade Platform as Dao Opportunities.

Whoever sat on one would not only form a master-disciple bond with Dao Ancestor Hongjun, but also gain an advantage in the future contest for the Sage Dao.

Back then, Hong Yun and Kunpeng had each held a seat.

But Hong Yun had kindly given up his own, and Kunpeng had then been forced to give up his. In a sense, Hong Yun had cost him his Dao Opportunity.

By saving Kunpeng today, he could settle that debt.

These thoughts flashed through Hong Yun's mind. He turned to Yuanshi with his usual kindly smile.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, it's been a while!"

When Yuanshi saw that the newcomer was Hong Yun, his feelings were hard to describe.

Hong Yun might have been the first auspicious cloud formed after the creation of the world, with an extraordinary origin, but Yuanshi had always thought too highly of himself to consider Hong Yun his equal.

Even after seeing Hong Yun break through to the Quasi-Saint realm, he had believed himself a step ahead and paid him little mind.

They had exchanged only one blow today. Hong Yun might have caught him off guard, but Yuanshi had also brought his Magic Power to its peak!

Yet his weapon had been knocked away? Did that mean he was weaker than Hong Yun, who had only just broken through?

The thought frustrated Yuanshi so badly he could almost spit blood. He showed none of it, though, keeping his expression calm.

"Are you going to stand in my way?"

Hong Yun was used to playing the peacemaker and had no wish to press Yuanshi.

"Back at the Purple Cloud Palace, I incurred a great karmic debt to Fellow Daoist Kunpeng."

"Now that I've seen him in trouble, I can't stand by and do nothing."

"Whatever he did to offend you, Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, I'll take responsibility for it. How does that sound?"

Yuanshi's gaze swept over Hong Yun. When it reached the Treasure Seal in his hand, the corner of his mouth twitched.

He had never heard of that treasure before.

Could the Heaven-Earth Daoist have given it to him? The thought unsettled Yuanshi even more.

They had exchanged only one blow, but he could tell that the Treasure Seal surpassed even the treasure Hongjun had given him!

Hong Yun had only just become a disciple, yet he had received such a treasure. Meanwhile, Yuanshi's own third brother...

Yuanshi felt stifled. Recalling the blow Hong Yun had dealt, he lost all desire to fight.

"Fine. I'll remember what happened today! We'll settle this another time..."

With that, Yuanshi stopped arguing, turned into a streak of light, and flew away.

It was not that he had a good temper. He simply knew he would gain nothing by fighting today.

If his elder brother had not already returned to the Daoist Abode, he would have shown Hong Yun what two brothers could do together!

Hong Yun relaxed slightly as he watched Yuanshi leave.

He turned to Kunpeng, only to find that Kunpeng had already taken human form and dropped to his knees before him without a shred of pride.

"Big brother!"

"If not for you, I wouldn't have survived today!"

"I owe you my life. From this day on, I'll acknowledge you as my big brother."

"I'm at your command, big brother, and I'll never betray you!"

Kunpeng's eyes looked utterly sincere as he spoke.

Of course, Kunpeng was not someone who repaid kindness out of gratitude. Today's pursuit had simply terrified him!

After years of being toyed with like a mouse, he knew one thing for certain: without someone powerful behind him, he was in trouble.

Right now, the strongest backers in the Primordial World were clearly the Heaven-Earth Daoist and Daoist Hongjun.

Neither had any intention of taking him as a disciple, of course, so he had no way to rely on them.

The next best choice was their disciples, the few people in the world who had reached Primordial Unity ahead of everyone else!

Among them, the kindly Hong Yun was surely the most dependable! He could not go wrong acknowledging him as his big brother.

Besides, Hong Yun had become the Heaven-Earth Daoist's disciple. His knowledge and access to information far exceeded Kunpeng's!

By staying at Hong Yun's side, Kunpeng could build a relationship with a future Sage. He might even gain enough benefits to become a Quasi-Saint himself.

With all these calculations flashing through his mind, Kunpeng bowed his head to Hong Yun without hesitation and formally accepted him as his elder brother.

Hong Yun frowned slightly, unused to this. But remembering what his Master had said, he went along with it.

"Very well!"

Kunpeng was overjoyed and lavished him with praise.

Then he asked, as if in passing,

"Big brother, what brought you here?"

Hong Yun considered his answer, then relayed his Master's words.

"Master said my path to the Sage Dao lay in the West and told me to go to the Western Land!"

Kunpeng's eyes lit up.

The West? The Sage Dao?

"Big brother, the road ahead is sure to be perilous. Let me accompany you and protect you on your path!"

"Very well!"