Everyone exchanged uneasy looks.
They all moved a little farther away from Di Jun, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and the others.
If anyone could contend for the position of heaven and earth's central protagonist, it was probably these two races.
Everyone believed these two races would continue to dominate the Primordial World until one finally emerged victorious.
After Hongjun left, before everyone had dispersed, his voice suddenly rang out again.
"I am about to merge with the Heavenly Dao. Spiritual treasures and the like are no longer of use to me. I have placed them on the Treasure Distribution Cliff behind the palace. Those with the destined affinity may take them."
Hongjun's words echoed throughout the Purple Cloud Palace.
An uproar erupted, and no one could sit still any longer.
They had thought listening to the Dao this time would bring no further rewards. Who would have expected such a pleasant surprise?
The Dao Ancestor actually intended to distribute his spiritual treasures among the inhabitants of the Primordial World.
With spiritual treasures before them, no one bothered with courtesy anymore. They all rushed toward the Treasure Distribution Cliff behind the Purple Cloud Palace with all their might.
Laozi and Yuanshi reacted fastest, followed by Zhunti and Jieyin.
Everyone else quickly caught on as well.
Hongjun concealed himself and stood in midair, looking down like a god surveying ants as he watched their disgraceful behavior.
"After the Treasure Distribution Cliff, it will be time for the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe to leave the stage of the Primordial World."
Hongjun's voice was cold, as though he were merely stating the most ordinary of facts.
In truth, he had deliberately spoken those words before leaving for the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe to hear.
The position of heaven and earth's central protagonist could indeed grant strength equal to a Sage's, but he had never said that position would be decided through conflict.
The Heavenly Dao had long since decreed that the human race would become its central protagonist in the future.
As for the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe, however fiercely they fought, they would only be overlords. They could never gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition.
Hongjun had only mentioned it as part of his scheme to make the two races destroy each other.
Unfortunately, neither race realized the peril it was in.
As he spoke, Hongjun seemed to remember something. He turned his hand over and produced four treasured swords.
Looking at the four swords, a flicker of irritation flashed through his eyes, then vanished.
"Hmph. Since that wretch Tongtian refuses to come, I might as well put the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords on the Treasure Distribution Cliff."
"If he wants to recover the Immortal Slaying Sword someday, let him find his own way."
Being repeatedly thwarted by Tongtian had made Hongjun deeply displeased, yet he had no way to retaliate.
Since he was unhappy, Hongjun decided he might as well disgust the other man too. He raised his hand, and the four swords became streaks of light before taking their positions on the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
They were placed right at the very front, too.
The four treasured swords each occupied a corner, surrounding the entire Treasure Distribution Cliff.
Anyone arriving at the Treasure Distribution Cliff would see these four swords first.
Having finished, Hongjun paid no further attention to the Purple Cloud Palace or the Treasure Distribution Cliff. With a sweep of his sleeve, he returned to the Heavenly Dao to continue his Dao integration.
Laozi, Yuanshi, and the others soon reached the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
The moment they arrived, a streak of sword qi shot toward them.
The two staggered aside, narrowly evading it.
Laozi managed to ward off the sword qi. Looking toward its source, his eyes immediately lit up.
"What a splendid treasure!"
Of course they were splendid treasures. Although the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords currently lacked their formation diagram, they were still supreme treasures of slaughter with extraordinary power.
Laozi immediately wanted to take the Immortal Slaying Sword, but before he could act, the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords struck first.
Supreme treasures possessed spirits. By the workings of destiny, these Four Immortal-Slaying Swords were meant to belong to Tongtian.
Yuanshi and Laozi had their own destined opportunities.
Unfortunately, their greed knew no bounds. The moment they saw spiritual treasures, they wanted to seize them, instantly provoking the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords' displeasure.
In an instant, sword qi crisscrossed the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
The Immortal Slaying Sword's previous master had been Demon Ancestor Luohu, a figure on equal footing with Hongjun.
Even without their formation diagram, the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords still possessed extraordinary power.
Moreover, Laozi and the others were only at the early quasi-sage level. Faced with that terrifying sword qi, their eyes filled with horror. This is bad!
"This is bad! These treasures already have a master!"
As soon as Laozi spoke, Zhunti, Jieyin, Nuwa, Fuxi, Di Jun, and the others arrived.
Seeing the two men's miserable state amid the sword qi, they shuddered in fright.
They knew Yuanshi and Laozi's cultivation was by no means weak.
Yet even they had been reduced to such a wretched state.
Everyone immediately grew afraid.
Facing the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords' sword qi, Laozi and Yuanshi hastily retreated.
But now that the four longswords had been activated, they began attacking everyone indiscriminately.
For a time, screams rang out across the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
Some cultivators with insufficient cultivation simply abandoned the treasure distribution and fled the cliff.
Although Di Jun and the others could barely hold their ground, they were deeply frustrated.
"Is the Dao Ancestor toying with us? He said he would distribute treasures, but then he set up these four Immortal-Slaying Swords. Who could possibly break through them?"
The spiritual treasures were right before their eyes, yet they could see them without being able to touch them.
Their frustration was easy to imagine.
After resisting for a while, Di Jun saw there was no hope and swept his sleeve.
"Hmph! The Demon Tribe wants none of these spiritual treasures."
With that, Di Jun turned into a streak of light and left the Treasure Distribution Cliff together with the Eastern Emperor.
Laozi and Yuanshi exchanged looks. After pondering for a long while, they could only shake their heads helplessly, planning to return and divide the spiritual treasures here once their cultivation had improved.
Zhunti and Jieyin were reluctant to leave.
With their temperaments, even an iron rooster passing by would have a layer of rust scraped off it. How could they let go when so many precious treasures lay before them?
But after several attempts, they discovered that neither of them currently possessed enough cultivation to break through the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords.
Left with no choice, they could only depart in frustration.
The treasure distribution at the Treasure Distribution Cliff became a joke, but Hongjun knew nothing of it. He still thought everything had gone smoothly.
Little did he know that, in trying to disgust Xu Tong, he had dug a pit for himself.
For a time, the inhabitants of the Primordial World curled their lips whenever the Dao Ancestor was mentioned.
"I've seen stinginess, but never anything this stingy."
"He said himself that he would distribute treasures, then set up a sword formation where he put them. If he didn't want to give them away, couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?"
Everyone who had failed to obtain a spiritual treasure secretly scorned him.
Laozi and Yuanshi returned to the Dao Field and told Xu Tong what had happened in the Purple Cloud Palace.
Xu Tong struggled to hold back his laughter.
With that, the three lectures at the Purple Cloud Palace finally came to an end.
Hongjun had announced that he would undergo Dao integration.
The Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe also began making feverish preparations to contend for the position of overlord of heaven and earth.
As for Nuwa, Laozi, and the others, having been recognized as future Sages, they felt considerably more at ease holding their primordial violet qi.
At least they no longer needed to worry about anyone else coming to seize it.
Xu Tong, meanwhile, remained in his own Dao Field, cultivating in peace.
Everything seemed to be proceeding as usual.
Only Hongjun, secluded in cultivation, kept feeling that something was not quite right, though he could not put his finger on it.
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