"Roar!" Just as the immortals reeled in shock, a beast's roar rang out. A beam of divine light descended from the sky, and a ferocious-looking Iron-Eating Beast emerged from it, carrying a stern-faced, middle-aged Daoist. It was Yuanshi... the Saint!
"Greetings, Saint!" At once, all the immortals and gods present, including Dijun and Taiyi, bowed to Yuanshi with their hands clasped.
Before attaining sainthood, Yuanshi had been no match for Taiyi. Now that he was a Saint, however, he was beyond Taiyi's power to defeat.
Taiyi was unquestionably the strongest beneath the Saints, but... he was still beneath them!
"Rise, all of you." Yuanshi swept his gaze over the immortals present, lingering a little longer on Dijun, Taiyi, Ao Yue, and Meng Zhang as he spoke coolly.
"Thank you, Saint!" the immortals answered in unison, then straightened one after another.
Once he had risen, Taiyi released the Chaos Bell's restraint on Dijun and cast him an apologetic glance. Then he asked Yuanshi, "Senior Brother, what brings you here?"
"To stop the slaughter!" Yuanshi made no attempt to conceal his purpose, stating it openly to Taiyi.
"What?" Taiyi froze.
Ignoring Taiyi's confusion, Yuanshi looked at Dijun and commanded, "The Dragon Race possesses great fortune. In the future, the Primordial World will have a great undertaking that requires their efforts. You must not make trouble for them. Withdraw your troops immediately, and never again invade any part of the Four Seas!"
"I... Senior Brother, are you trying to obstruct the great cause of our Demon Race?" Anger flared in Dijun at these words, and he wanted to lash out. But remembering that Yuanshi was no longer the Quasi-Saint he had once been-that he was now a Saint whom Dijun could not defeat-Dijun swallowed his fury, clenched both hands into fists, and posed