Off to the Purple Firmament Palace!

Wang Shi looked up at Buzhou Mountain, where the Pangu Temple stood and Little Tu resided.

He had wanted to take them along, but then he remembered how wary those Ancestral Witches were of him.

Forget it. No point asking for trouble.

He rose from the ground and flew toward the Thirty-Three Heavens.

He hurried the entire way, not daring to slacken his pace.

A thousand years was only enough for the journey.

There was no helping it. His cultivation was low, so his speed could only be so great.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun had said that all those with the destined affinity could come and listen.

What did "destined affinity" mean? This was actually a selection process. Only those strong enough and fast enough, who also avoided danger along the way, could safely reach the Purple Firmament Palace.

The route was filled with mighty cultivators of the Primordial World heading toward the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Primordial Unity Golden Immortals like him were too numerous to count.

Even some bird demons moved so swiftly that they could very well outpace Wang Shi.

Just as he set foot in the Eighteenth Heaven, Biluotian—

A startled cry suddenly came from ahead.

The sounds of fierce fighting followed. It sounded quite lively.

Wang Shi had no desire to join that commotion. Getting to the Purple Firmament Palace was what mattered most right now.

Especially those meditation cushions, which could be said to shape everyone's future.

Wang Shi turned away, even taking a detour around the area ahead.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"Is that Daoist Stone Spirit ahead, esteemed disciple of the Three Pure Ones?"

"We are Nuwa and Fuxi. Fellow Daoist, please lend us a righteous hand. We would be moved to tears with gratitude."

Wang Shi paused slightly. Had it been anyone else, he certainly would not have intervened, but these two were actually Nuwa and Fuxi.

Then he certainly could not leave them to their fate.

He hurried over.

The two were trapped fast, with a Fierce Beast stationed on each side around them. The creatures were actually using a formation to imprison them.

Wang Shi immediately grinned.

He had not expected to run into an old friend this time.

"Is that His Excellency the Beast Emperor ahead? I wonder if you still remember me."

Beast Emperor Shen Ni, who was operating the formation, was startled and turned to look.

"Damn it, why is it you again?"

"Perfect! I'll settle our old grudges and new ones together. You can stay here too!"

At some point, several more terrifying Fierce Beasts had appeared around Wang Shi.

His expression immediately grew much graver.

He had not noticed at first, but now he realized that these clones of Shen Ni had actually reached the terrifying Great Luo realm.

How was that possible?

The last time he had seen these clones, they had only possessed ordinary Golden Immortal cultivation. How had Shen Ni become so powerful in the blink of an eye?

Although shocked and surprised, he had no intention of withdrawing.

"So it's my old friend. What a shame you still haven't died for good."

With a casual wave of Wang Shi's hand, the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls circled him, instantly blocking a Fierce Beast's sneak attack.

The Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls provided defense in every direction. The creatures could not hurt him at all.

"You still love sneak attacks, and you're still so good at hiding. Just what I'd expect from Beast Emperor Shen Ni. Tell me, if I spread word about you, do you think you'd be torn out by the roots?"

Beast Emperor Shen Ni was badly startled. After all his scheming, he had finally clawed his way up to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm and recovered a portion of his strength. If others truly learned that he was still alive, it would likely throw his plans into disarray.

Yet he could not stomach letting this brat go just like that.

The brat had ruined his grand undertaking last time, and now they had crossed paths again.

What should he do?

Wang Shi roared, "I'll break the formation! You two, charge out with me!"

He suddenly lunged forward, driving a heavy punch at one of the four Fierce Beast clones maintaining the formation.

The Fierce Beast was instantly sent flying and slammed into a crack in the rocks, wedged deep inside.

Nuwa and Fuxi exchanged a smile, then hurried out of the encirclement and reached Wang Shi.

With Wang Shi as their spearhead, the three charged fiercely and soon broke through the Fierce Beasts' encirclement.

Shen Ni cursed furiously. "You slippery brat! You played me!"

Indeed, Wang Shi had done it deliberately, throwing Shen Ni's thoughts into turmoil so that he had no chance to stop them.

But by now, Wang Shi and the others had escaped, and there was little point in pursuing them.

Shen Ni gave a cold snort.

"Hmph. The next time I see you, I'll kill you."

The Fierce Beasts slipped into the mountain forests and vanished.

Sensing no pursuit, Wang Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Nuwa and Fuxi beside him.

"How did you two fellow Daoists get tangled up with him? That fellow is terribly difficult to deal with, especially with his knack for sneak attacks."

"The real problem is how many clones he has. You can never kill them all. He's a real nuisance."

Nuwa cupped her fist in salute.

"It's a long story. When my brother and I heard that Hongjun had attained the Dao, we set out for the Thirty-Three Heavens. Unfortunately, after arriving here, we happened upon these Fierce Beasts slaughtering a Demon Tribe settlement."

"As mighty members of the Demon Tribe, we naturally couldn't stand by without helping."

"Who could have imagined that this fellow was so powerful and had so many clones? We nearly got ourselves dragged down with them."

In truth, even if Wang Shi had not come to help, the Beast Emperor's strength would not have been enough to break Fuxi's formation.

The two had already secured themselves against defeat.

It would merely have cost them some time.

"So that's what happened. This Beast Emperor really does cling like a dog-skin plaster. I ran into him once in the Primordial World too, but he wasn't this strong back then. He was only at the Golden Immortal level."

Comparing the Beast Emperor's strength back then with his strength now, Wang Shi frowned.

"That bastard is recovering his strength far too quickly. This isn't a good sign."

His concern was justified.

In the Primordial World of old, the Beast Emperor had been immensely powerful. Now he was surely striving to recover his strength continuously.

At his current rate, he would likely return to his peak before long. When that happened, he would be an enormous problem.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Stone Spirit, there's no need to worry. Now that Dao Ancestor Hongjun has become a sage, it will be difficult for the chaos of ancient times to return to the Primordial World. We need only follow the tide."

Fuxi spoke with a genial smile, a gleam of wisdom flashing in his eyes.

Wang Shi nodded thoughtfully.

Fuxi was a man of great wisdom. Though his cultivation was not high, his standing in the Primordial World was certainly far from low.

His words made considerable sense.

"Indeed. We'll follow the tide!"

"Since we're here together, let's travel to the Purple Firmament Palace as a group."

And so the three continued on together.

They were fairly fortunate along the way. They encountered no more Fierce Beasts wreaking havoc, and everyone got along reasonably well, with no unexpected incidents.

Soon, they arrived beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Yet there was still no sign of the legendary Purple Firmament Palace.

By now, a considerable number of mighty cultivators from the Primordial World had gathered in the Thirty-Three Heavens.

This grand gathering numbered far more than ten million. The mighty cultivators assembled here were packed so densely that they completely filled the area.

"It looks like the Purple Firmament Palace hasn't opened yet. Just as well. Let's wait here for now."