Outside the Upper Clarity Realm, spiritual clouds of rosy light swirled, spirit birds often roamed, and auspicious beasts appeared. It was a genuine immortal paradise in the mortal world.
Red Essence Child and Guangchengzi rarely visited the Upper Clarity Realm, for no reason other than their master's influence.
They considered everyone here creatures born of dampness or hatched from eggs, clad in fur or armor.
Such beings had no place beside people like them, with their exalted origins and profound blessings!
But now that they had come, they were bewildered again. The entire Upper Clarity Realm had long since closed its gates. The vast sacred grounds were deserted, and after waiting for ages, they found only a young attendant still there.
Never mind Daoist Lingbao-they could not even catch a glimpse of Holy Mother Guiling or Old Mother of Mount Li.
"What brings you two senior brothers here?"
Seeing Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child standing at the mountain gate, looking as though they wanted to enter yet did not, a young attendant stepped forward to ask.
"Crane Spirit Boy, why is the Upper Clarity Realm completely deserted? Where are Martial Uncle Tongtian, Senior Brother Lingbao, and the others?"
Guangchengzi asked cautiously.
"Oh, so that's why you've come. The venerable lord and the senior brothers went to the Supreme Purity Realm to help heal the Elder Lord of Supreme Purity."
Crane Spirit Boy wore an expression that said, You're only finding out now?
"What? Martial Uncle Supreme Purity was injured too?"
Red Essence Child froze at the news.
He had meant to inquire how their master Yuanshi had been injured. Instead of finding that out, he had learned that their martial uncle Laozi was injured too.
And his injuries were actually so severe that he needed others to help heal him.
There was something huge behind all this.
Who did it?
The same question appeared in both Guangchengzi's and Red Essence Child's minds.
"Don't you two senior brothers know?"
Crane Spirit Boy looked at Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child as though they were idiots.
"Well..."
Under Crane Spirit Boy's stare, Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child looked embarrassed.
They wanted to know, of course, but with Yuanshi's obsession with saving face, how could he possibly tell them?
Had his injuries not been so serious this time that he simply could not conceal them,
they would never even have known about it.
How could they know who had injured Yuanshi and Laozi?
"Could Master and our eldest martial uncle have displeased Grandmaster, so he punished them a little?"
"But wasn't that far too heavy-handed?"
Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child exchanged a glance, each seeing bewilderment on the other's face.
"You know the three lords went to Mount Buzhou, right?"
Looking thoroughly mysterious, Crane Spirit Boy leaned his head close to Guangchengzi's and Red Essence Child's ears.
"Yes, we know, we know."
Red Essence Child and Guangchengzi nodded like garlic being pounded.
"Here's what happened..."
Crane Spirit Boy immediately told them everything that had happened on Mount Buzhou.
"What? You're saying Daochen has a hairy face and a thunder god's beak, and his true form is as big as Mount Buzhou???"
"His cultivation has already broken through to Quasi-Saint???"
"He has seven or eight Xiantian Supreme Treasures on hand???"
"He fought a whole crowd of mighty figures from the Primordial World by himself???"
Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child listened as though lost in clouds and mist, occasionally crying out in surprise.
"Senior brothers, that's all I know. You mustn't spread this, or I'll be in terrible trouble if the venerable lord finds out."
Only after a long while did Crane Spirit Boy finish, still looking as though he had more to say. At the end, he even mysteriously warned Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child not to spread it.
In truth, someone of his standing should never have known anything so confidential. He had merely overheard Daoist Duobao while the latter was out delivering a message. As for the actual substance of what he had heard, that remained open to scrutiny...
"Don't worry, don't worry. Neither of us will breathe a word."
Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child wiped their old faces, which Crane Spirit Boy had sprayed with spittle. Only after a long while did they recover a little.
As for what Crane Spirit Boy had actually said, they had forgotten every last bit.
All they remembered was:
A hairy face and a thunder god's beak!
Arms as big as Mount Buzhou!
Dozens of Xiantian Supreme Treasures!
Peak Quasi-Saint cultivation!
Dozens of mighty figures from the Primordial World killed with a single palm strike!
Before long, rumors claiming to be top-secret inside information began spreading from Mount Kunlun.
The Three Pure Ones had been beaten!
Their attacker was Daochen of the Sun Star!
He possessed over a hundred Xiantian Supreme Treasures!
A hidden master who had long since attained the rank of Primordial Unity Great Luo Golden Immortal!
Even Hongjun had been defeated by him!
In the end, this sinister wind blew ever harder, until the entire Primordial World was discussing the matter.
"What, have you heard? An unparalleled mighty figure appeared on Mount Buzhou. Even Dao Ancestor Hongjun was defeated by him!"
"Never mind defeating Hongjun-I heard Daochen attained the Dao before heaven and earth were created, and he's Pangu's sworn brother!"
"Why did I hear that even Pangu was Daochen's disciple??"
"Ah, your information is wrong. I heard it wasn't just Pangu-even the three thousand Chaos Fiendgods were Daochen's disciples."
Rumors flew everywhere, growing more outlandish with every retelling.
Several decades later, immortal light flashed over Mount Kunlun. The Three Pure Ones emerged from seclusion.
"Has anything major happened in the Primordial World lately?"
Having emerged with his injuries fully healed, Yuanshi once again wore a stern expression before his disciples.
"Well..."
Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child looked at each other, both wearing expressions as though they were constipated.
"Hmm?"
Yuanshi frowned.
For some reason, seeing Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child's expressions gave him a bad feeling.
Something major had happened!
The next instant, a vast divine sense swept outward, enveloping the lands within a million li of Mount Buzhou.
"Today, we come to the thirty-second installment of Daochen, the Primordial Unity Great Luo Xiantian Dao Venerable, battling the Three Pure Ones of Mount Kunlun..."
"The eight times Daochen, the Primordial Unity Great Luo Golden Immortal, brutally slaughtered the Three Pure Ones..."
"Sun Emperor Daochen subdued the Primordial World's mighty figures with one hand and outwitted the Three Pure Ones..."
Discussions in different versions and different forms reached Yuanshi's ears.
Every version differed, but they all meant the same thing!
The Three Pure Ones had been beaten by Daochen!
That sentence struck Yuanshi's mind like a heavy hammer.
"Who did this? Who exactly did this??"
Yuanshi flew into a rage.
Previously, the grudge between the Three Pure Ones and Daochen had circulated only among the Primordial World's foremost mighty figures. He had never expected that after this battle, the Three Pure Ones would become famous throughout the entire Primordial World!
And Daochen had become a household name across the Primordial World.
"Pfft!"
Yuanshi opened his mouth and spat out blood, seeming to age several decades in an instant.
After today, the reputation of the Three Pure Ones was utterly ruined.
Beside him, Laozi's and Tongtian's mouths twitched. Without a word, they returned to seclusion.
They had no face left to stay here!
Watching the Three Pure Ones return to seclusion immediately after emerging,
Guangchengzi and Red Essence Child did not even dare breathe loudly, terrified that Laozi and Yuanshi might suddenly decide to divine the source of those rumors and discover that they had accidentally let them slip.
Then they would truly be finished...
Meanwhile, Crane Spirit Boy, the one who had started it all, knew nothing whatsoever. He was still standing lazily at the entrance to the Jade Void Palace, yawning.
At the same time, in a secluded valley somewhere in the Primordial World, dozens of great demons with unfathomable auras and demonic energy soaring into the sky had gathered.
Fuxi was conspicuously among them!
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