Gungun couldn't have cared less about the damned Eastern King at that moment. All he wanted was his supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure!
That clump of stinking qi had glittered with golden light earlier, making him think it was some incredible treasure. He had gone to enormous trouble to haul it over, only to be blasted away by it and wrench his bear back. And in the end... it was just this thing.
The Eastern King...
Could a dead Eastern King scare me, the great god Gungun?
You'll only end up as some Lu Dongbin in the future, while I, the great god Gungun, am a great immortal, an Ancestral Witch's battle pet, and the future... yes, the future Eastern Azure Flower Great Emperor. Why would I be afraid of you?!
"Bam! Bam! Bam!..." Gungun immediately hammered the clump of pure yang qi with punch after punch, beating it into an increasingly feeble state.
Hou Yi and Xingtian watched without stopping him. Instead, they began discussing the matter in hushed voices.
"Xingtian, the Eastern King has fallen. The Demon Race's operation has succeeded, and that puts our Witch Race at a serious disadvantage!" Hou Yi said.
"Indeed. What should we do now, then? Are we still going to Penglai?" Xingtian nodded and asked.
"Well..." At that question, Hou Yi frowned and stroked his chin, hesitating.
Just then, Gungun's ears twitched. Hearing their conversation, he hurriedly turned and rushed over to them, declaring passionately, "Yes! Why wouldn't we go? Although Lord Eastern King has died, his spirit will live forever! He was personally appointed by the Dao Ancestor as the head of all male immortals in the Primordial World, and he was a good friend of our Witch Race. Now that he's dead, we should help sort out his belongings. We absolutely cannot let the Demon Race run wild in his home even after his death!"
"Huh?" Hearing Gungun's righteous declaration, Hou Yi and Xingtian both made puzzled noises. They looked down at his great fat face, then shifted their gazes to the clump of pure yang qi he held in a firm grip and was pummeling with punch after punch.
Brother Gungun, you're saying all this while beating the Eastern King's primordial spirit black and blue. Is that... really all right?
"Buzzz..." Suddenly, the clump of pure yang qi began thrashing again.
"Bam!" Gungun landed a punch, and it immediately quieted down again.
"You deceived this great god's heartfelt feelings. This great god will never forgive you..." Gungun raised his bear arm and glared angrily at the clump of pure yang qi in his paw. Then, as Hou Yi and Xingtian stared wide-eyed, he brought his head close and inhaled hard through his nose!
"Whoosh..." The clump of pure yang qi immediately streamed up his nostrils and into his body.
"I'll inhale you!" Gungun shouted only after he had finished inhaling it.
Hou Yi: "..."
Xingtian: "..."
Both Great Shamans were stunned by this sudden turn of events.
The Eastern King, the first wisp of pure yang qi between heaven and earth, had just been... inhaled by Brother Gungun as though he were ordinary spiritual qi?
"Ow!" While the two were still standing in a daze, Gungun's expression suddenly changed. Having absorbed the clump of pure yang qi, he clutched his stomach and cried out in pain.
"Brother Gungun, what's wrong?" Hearing his cry and seeing the pained expression on his face, Hou Yi and Xingtian snapped out of their daze. They hurried forward and bent down, each supporting one of his bear arms as they questioned him.
"This... this pure yang qi... is poisonous!" Gungun said with a strange expression.
"Poisonous?" Both froze. How could pure yang qi be poisonous? That was impossible!
"Owww." Gungun had no time to explain. He wrenched himself free, covered his stomach with one bear paw and his backside with the other, and sprinted toward the rear of the army.
Turning to watch him, Hou Yi and Xingtian's expressions grew rather peculiar. They exchanged a glance, and then...
"Hahaha!" Neither could hold back their laughter.
They had been weighed down by the Demon Race's conquest of Penglai and the death of the Eastern King,
But Brother Gungun's antics had unwittingly lifted their spirits considerably. That really was... unexpected. Hou Yi shook his head, then reined in his smile and said to Xingtian, "Never mind. The Ancestral Witch should still be on Penglai. Let's continue there and join up with her before deciding anything else. Besides, we have the Eastern King's primordial spirit. As long as we can retake Penglai, we can curb the rise of the Demon Race's prestige to some extent."
"Mm." Xingtian nodded without objection.
Meanwhile, at the rear of the Witch Race's army, Gungun sprinted over, immediately pulled down his hemp shorts, and squatted, his whole bear face utterly expressionless.
"Damn you, Eastern King. You're actually indigestible! You deceived me, blasted me away, and now you've given me an upset stomach. Just you wait. Someday, I, the great god Gungun, will settle this score with you... owww!"
As he muttered, another pang struck his stomach. After a long while, he let out a bear fart and finally expelled that hateful clump of pure yang qi from his body.
At once, the entire bear felt as though he had come back to life.
Beyond the thirty-three heavens, in Zixiao Palace.
The old man seated cross-legged upon an auspicious cloud suddenly frowned. Then he made a calculation with his fingers, shook his head, and said softly, "Such is fate!"
"Master, what fate?" a young attendant beside him asked curiously.
"The Eastern King was pure yang qi, but pure yang is a pure yang immortal no more," the old man said mildly, without opening his eyes.
"Huh?" The young attendant scratched his head, looking bewildered.
What did that mean?
A few minutes later, at the front of the Witch Race's army.
Gungun returned empty-handed.
"Brother Gungun, are you all right now?" Hou Yi asked.
He and Xingtian had already joined forces to suppress the Eastern King's primordial spirit. Its remaining magical power was certainly no match for Gungun, and pure yang qi could not possibly be poisonous. The great fat bear must have suffered indigestion and gone off with an upset stomach. Having worked that out, Hou Yi had not been particularly concerned for his safety, but now that he was back, he still asked after him.
Gungun shook his head without speaking. He merely bent down to pick up the Treasure-Fishing Rod that had fallen onto the cloud, then walked toward his palanquin, his steps a little unsteady.
"Hey, Brother Gungun, where's the Eastern King's primordial spirit? Where did you put it?" Xingtian asked.
At that question, Gungun's bear face immediately darkened. He stopped, turned to look at Xingtian, and asked, "Do you want it, Great Shaman?"
"What would I want it for? Still, if we can help him reconstruct his physical body and retake Penglai Immortal Island, the Demon Race's operation won't count as a complete success. In a sense, our Witch Race will have thwarted their scheme!" Xingtian said.
"Oh. Then you can have it." With a wave of his large paw, Gungun summoned the Spirit-Washing Cauldron and sent the wisp of pure yang qi inside flying toward Xingtian.
Watching the pure yang qi fly toward him, Xingtian smiled and reached out to catch it. Once it was in his hand, however, he discovered...
"This pure yang qi... why does it feel a little impure?" Xingtian asked in confusion, looking at the clump of qi in his hand.
Hearing that, Gungun rubbed his big belly and had no desire to say a word.
Before you continue