My name was Eastern King. I attained the Dao from the first wisp of Pure Yang Qi between heaven and earth. With extraordinary origins and profound foundations, I was a renowned Quasi-Saint powerhouse.
Not only that, the Dao Ancestor had personally appointed me Chief of the Male Immortals in the Primordial World. My status was supremely exalted!
But could someone tell me why someone as outstanding as me had been reduced to this fate, brought down by the Demon Race, by a mere dragon whelp...
I... refused to accept this!
"Aaaaah!!!" An incense stick's worth of time later, without Houtu's help, the already gravely wounded Eastern King could no longer withstand the full power of the Lesser Stellar Formation. His eyes bulged as he threw back his head and screamed. Then his body began turning into specks of Jinguang, dissipating between heaven and earth.
Beyond the thirty-three heavens, inside Zixiao Palace.
"Alas!" An aged sigh rang out. Then an old man raised two fingers and pointed forward.
"Hum~" Instantly, Eastern King's Primordial Spirit vanished from the formation. Yet Ao Yue, despite being a Quasi-Saint powerhouse, noticed nothing. He believed the Primordial Spirit was still there, dissipating along with the body.
"Below the saints, cause and effect come around again. Weigh your future for yourself~" the old man said mildly. Then he closed his eyes and continued sitting cross-legged atop an auspicious cloud.
On Penglai Immortal Island in the East Sea.
"Eastern King!" Still locked in fierce combat with Meng Zhang, Houtu saw Eastern King begin to disappear. Her delicate brows knitted, and she called out to him.
She immediately tried to rush over and save him, but Meng Zhang, who had revealed his true form, blocked her relentlessly, refusing to let her pass.
Strictly speaking, Houtu was stronger than Meng Zhang, but not by much. Defeating him in such a short time was no easy task. Helpless, she could only watch as Eastern King's "body and spirit were utterly destroyed" before her eyes.
"Whew~" Up in the sky, Ao Yue let out a heavy sigh of relief after finally eliminating Eastern King before Hou Yi, Xingtian, and the others arrived. Then he looked at Houtu, who was still battling Meng Zhang, and wanted to go lend Meng Zhang a hand, but...
He suddenly remembered how Kunpeng had once schemed to trap Meng Zhang and then ambushed him. Houtu had intervened to help. Although Eastern Emperor Taiyi had ultimately been the one to save him, Houtu had still taken action back then. This...
"Forget it." After a long while, Ao Yue murmured, then ordered Meng Zhang, "Meng Zhang, return."
"Roar!" Hearing this, Meng Zhang, who had long wanted to end the fight, immediately let out a dragon's roar and shot into the heavens. Then he assumed his Innate Dao Body and landed behind Ao Yue. His eyes were slightly bruised from the blows Houtu had just dealt him.
"Ancestral Witch Houtu, Eastern King is dead. Your purpose in coming here has already failed. Our Heavenly Court currently has no intention of fighting a decisive battle against the Witch Race, so please return to Mount Buzhou," Ao Yue called to Houtu after Meng Zhang returned.
At those words, a trace of anger appeared on Houtu's lovely face, and her hands clenched into fists.
Damn it! Why are Hou Yi and the others taking so long? Gungun, did you even notify him in time?! Houtu thought.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"The sea! I can finally see the sea! Penglai, I'm about to... achoo!" Seated on a Litter conjured with magical power, Gungun suddenly twitched its nose and sneezed, feeling as though someone was talking about it behind its back.
It immediately performed a finger calculation, only to discover that it could divine nothing.
Who dares talk about this great god behind my back? And I can't even divine who it is. Could it be... Qua... that Great Sage? Hmm, given his personality, it's perfectly normal for him to mutter about such an outstanding bear as me behind my back. Alas, I'll have to be careful from now on. In any case, there's absolutely no way I'm going to cultivate bitterly, Gungun thought, relaxing its bear paw.
Then it continued gazing ahead, eagerly hoping to reach Penglai even sooner. That way, it could...
"Hm?" It was still lost in thought,
when suddenly, Gungun froze again from head to paw. It blinked, then turned to Hou Yi beside it and asked, "Great Shaman, what's that ball of Jinguang up ahead?" "Jinguang?" Hearing Gungun's question, Hou Yi frowned. He looked carefully ahead, but saw no Jinguang.
"Right there. Could it be some treasure?" Gungun pointed in a certain direction ahead and asked Hou Yi.
"Brother Gungun, I don't see anything. Did you perhaps see... no, perhaps there really is some treasure." Hou Yi had been about to ask whether Gungun had seen wrong, but suddenly remembered that, although Gungun looked rather incapable, and was both lazy and adorable, it possessed strength utterly at odds with its appearance. It was a Great Immortal. Could a bear like that mistake what it saw?
No, unless some powerful being had cast an illusion on it, or there was something special that only it could see.
At that thought, Hou Yi hesitated, then said to Gungun, "Brother Gungun, let Xingtian accompany you over there to take a look. Be quick. We still have to hurry..."
"No need." Gungun raised a bear paw and interrupted Hou Yi. Then it hopped off the Litter onto the cloud beneath them, which was speeding toward Penglai, and took a green bamboo fishing rod out of the Minor World it carried with it.
This was the Limited-Time Special Offer it had bought from the system seventy or eighty thousand years ago: the Treasure-Fishing Rod, a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure.
"Great Shaman, there's no need for all that trouble. We can fish it over while heading to Penglai," Gungun told Hou Yi. Then it spat into its two bear paws, flexed its arms, and swung the fishing rod hard, sending the hook shooting toward the ball of Jinguang. Then...
"Hooked it! Get over here!" Gungun shouted excitedly and began hauling in the rod, but...
"Hum!!!" Suddenly, the ball of Jinguang shuddered violently and began struggling fiercely.
"Whoa, what a commotion! A treasure! It must be a treasure! It's mine! Hah!" Gungun cried happily, joy covering its entire plump face. It had never imagined that, having only just caught sight of the sea, before even entering the waters of the East Sea, it would encounter a treasure that looked extraordinary at a glance. Sure enough, its anxious wait along the way had paid off. This time, the great god Gungun was going to strike it rich!
"Hah!" Immediately, Gungun pulled even harder, hauling backward with all its might. At last, it dragged the ball of Jinguang toward them, little by little.
Now, as the Jinguang struggled fiercely, the concealment spell covering its surface was involuntarily dispelled. Hou Yi, Xingtian, and even every member of the Witch Race on the cloud could see its appearance clearly. It really was a ball of Jinguang. Perhaps it truly was some extraordinary treasure.
"Brother Gungun, I'll help you." Immediately, Xingtian swept his great hand out, planted his Warrior God Battle Axe in the cloud, and strode behind Gungun. Bending down, he grabbed its two bear arms and pulled backward hard.
"Hah! A treasure! If it's this hard to pull, it must be an extraordinary treasure! A Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure! That's right, it must be a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure!" With Xingtian's help, Gungun pulled the ball of Jinguang toward them faster, but it still took tremendous effort. It shouted excitedly.
Although it already had the Spirit-Washing Cauldron and the Vermilion Bird Banner, it possessed only five Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures in total. Gaining another one today truly made this bear overjoyed!
"A Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure?" Hearing Gungun's words, Hou Yi's expression shifted. He immediately put away the Eight-Direction Sun-Shooting Bow in his hands, strode behind Xingtian, and said to Gungun, "Brother Gungun, I'll help you too!"
Then Hou Yi grabbed Xingtian's two arms, and one bear and two Great Shamans joined forces to pull the ball of Jinguang toward them.
Before you continue