"Boom! Boom! Boom! ..."
Above the East Sea, where day had turned to night, countless stars blazed with dazzling light, sending down bolts of divine lightning that gathered at the tip of the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd.
The Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd was a divine weapon Eastern Emperor Taiyi had custom-made for Ao Yue, using the power of the Chaos Bell to draw upon the primordial stars. Though it was an acquired Numinous Treasure, its might surpassed that of many innate Numinous Treasures.
Indeed, much like the Immortal-Slaying Sword, which the Devil Ancestor Luo Hou had forged beneath Mount Sumeru, and Guang Chengzi's future Heaven-Flipping Seal, which the Primordial Heavenly Venerable would forge from a broken section of Mount Buzhou, these were all acquired treasures. Yet their power was enough to leave the entire Primordial World awestruck, especially the former.
To return to the matter at hand, after drawing upon the stars to form divine lightning and concentrating its power at the halberd's tip, Ao Yue swung the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd heavily downward. With a thunderous boom, a raging pillar of lightning millions of zhang in diameter flashed into existence and descended from the sky, engulfing nearly half of Penglai Immortal Island in an instant.
Of course, its primary targets were still Houtu and the Eastern King.
"Aah! Aah! Aah! ..." On Penglai Immortal Island, many beings belonging to the Immortal Court who were fighting the demon soldiers and generals were engulfed by the pillar of light. They screamed in agony, then began to perish, their cultivation extinguished with their lives.
"Hmm?" At the sight, Houtu, who had immediately pressed her hands together the moment Ao Yue raised the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd, frowned. Without hesitation, she separated her palms and raised her arms.
Bang! The earth beneath her feet shook violently. Countless rocks rose from underground and shot toward the heavens, forming an enormous stone shield that resisted the lightning pouring continuously from above.
"Aah!" Beside her, the Eastern King's eyes reddened as he watched great numbers of his Immortal Court's people die every second. He hurriedly unleashed his own techniques to help Houtu withstand the lightning.
"Heavenly soldiers, heed my command! Deploy the Lesser Stellar Formation!" In the sky, Ao Yue issued orders to the demons who had taken flight and were rapidly withdrawing from Penglai Immortal Island.
"Yes, Dharma Protector!"
The demons answered, then unleashed their magical power and shot toward their assigned positions to serve as formation nodes. Together with Ao Yue, they linked to the stars and traced out a star chart, seeking to annihilate and level Penglai in a single stroke!
The Heavenly Court, the Jade Pool.
"Elder brother, look. Isn't Yue doing very well? This time, he might even eliminate Houtu along with him." Eastern Emperor Taiyi smiled as he spoke to Dijun, who was drinking in the seat of honor.
Dijun glanced at his younger brother, who stood before him watching the battle. Lowering his head, he took another sip of immortal wine, then asked mildly, "Are you serious?"
"Uh, I..."
"I don't expect him to eliminate Houtu. As long as he destroys the Eastern King, he won't have disappointed me. Those ministers and clans questioning his position as Dharma Protector can shut their mouths and give me some peace, too." Dijun set down his wine cup and fell silent for a moment. A flicker of flame passed through his eyes before he continued, "Still, it seems he needs some help."
"Help?" Taiyi asked with a frown.
Dijun extended a finger, and an image appeared before the brothers.
Within it, tens of thousands of witches were hurrying toward Penglai, led by the Witch Race's Great Shaman-Hou Yi!
"Hmph. I was wondering why Houtu would go to save the Eastern King alone. So she had reinforcements behind her. Hou Yi? Very well. I'll go eliminate him and rid the Witch Race of one of its great generals." Taiyi spoke coldly, then made to leave.
"Wait. Let Bai Ze go," Dijun called out, stopping Taiyi.
"Elder brother, why?" Taiyi halted and turned back to ask Dijun.
"Now is not yet the time for a decisive battle with the Witch Race. Hou Yi holds a position of immense importance among them. If he dies at your hands, the Witch Race will immediately launch a decisive battle against us. And if we fight that battle now... we have no certainty of victory. So let Bai Ze go and stop them. That will suffice," Dijun said.
Hearing this, Taiyi lowered his head without speaking, tacitly accepting Dijun's reasoning.
If he took action,
even if he did not kill Hou Yi, the other Ancestral Witches would certainly rush over once they discovered what was happening. Then the decisive battle might well begin ahead of time. "Bai Ze, lead your troops west of the East Sea at once and intercept Hou Yi. You must not allow them to reinforce Penglai." Dijun's lips moved slightly as he transmitted his voice to Bai Ze.
Atop Mount Huan.
Bai Ze, who had assumed an innate Dao body, stood there watching the battle at Penglai. Suddenly, Dijun's voice reached his ears. He shook his head, stroked his graying beard, and sighed. "Alas, I have to stretch these old bones again. I thought I could stay out of this battle entirely. Who would have thought... I'm doomed to a life of toil!"
Then he raised his head and replied to Dijun, "Yes, Your Majesty. Your old servant obeys."
As his words fell, a white cloud formed beneath his feet and carried him high into the air. He turned and commanded the many demon soldiers and generals stationed within Mount Huan, "His Majesty has decreed: march out and engage the Witch Race!"
"We obey the decree! Demons! Demons! Demons! Demons! ..."
The demons within Mount Huan immediately waved their battle standards and shouted in unison, raising an immense clamor.
Before long, the demon army marched out!
Elsewhere, on the road from Mount Buzhou to Penglai Immortal Island.
Gungun sat in a palanquin, propping its head up with one paw while eating a spiritual fruit held in the other. The bear looked rather listless.
It truly did not want to fight at Penglai. Why battle through blood just to save an old man who was certain to die?
But!
It could not explain this clearly to Houtu or Hou Yi. Otherwise, if they asked how it knew what would happen in the future, then... how was it supposed to answer?
Besides, revealing heaven's secrets in the Primordial World would bring heavenly punishment. The great god Gungun did not want to suffer heavenly punishment!
"Sigh..." At that thought, even the spiritual fruit in Gungun's paw seemed to lose its flavor. It sighed for the third time.
Hou Yi, who was traveling beside it atop a dark cloud, heard Gungun sigh again. His eyes shifted, and he turned to say, "Brother Gungun, cheer up. I've heard Penglai is one of the finest grotto-heavens and blessed lands in the Primordial World, with countless spiritual plants growing there. Once we save the Eastern King, I'll have him bring out every magical treasure, spiritual fruit, and spiritual beast on Penglai and give them to us as thanks. When the time comes, you can have first pick of the spoils."
"Hmm?" Gungun's ears twitched, and the bear suddenly froze.
That's right. Whether the Eastern King dies is another matter. His Penglai Immortal Island really is one of the finest grotto-heavens and blessed lands in the Primordial World, with more treasures than anyone could count. If...
Gungun's little eyes gradually widened. Their listlessness faded, replaced in turn by excitement, exhilaration, and eager impatience.
A few seconds later, it sprang up from the palanquin, clenched its bear paws into fists, and turned to urge Hou Yi, "Great Shaman, the Ancestral Witch is still waiting for us at Penglai. Let's go faster and hurry over to rob... oh, no, hurry over to join her and save the Eastern King together!"
Hou Yi opened his mouth but did not immediately make a sound. Only after a long while did he nod and say, "All right!"
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