Shangqing

The Heaven and Earth Bag was a Limited-Time Special Offer Gungun had bought from the system roughly a hundred thousand years ago. Like the Spirit-Washing Cauldron, it was a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. Its function was simple enough: bind and absorb!

However, unlike the Spirit-Washing Cauldron, it could not erase an opponent's memories and magical power. It could only imprison them. What to do with them afterward was a separate matter.

"The Heaven and Earth Bag? Brother Gungun, can this treasure subdue those two Golden Flood Dragons before Ao Yue gets to them?" Hearing Gungun's words and seeing it take the golden bag out of the box, Hou Yi's eyes lit up, and he pressed it for an answer.

"It should be fine," Gungun said, then put the box back into its Minor World.

That box was no ordinary storage box. It, too, was a Numinous Treasure: the mid-grade innate Numinous Treasure known as the Treasure-Sealing Box. It could seal away any magical treasure of a grade no higher than its own.

"Excellent! Brother Gungun, you really do hide your depths. Besides that cauldron that can absorb demon souls, you've actually been keeping another treasure I knew nothing about! What does this one do?"

"It shoots out light to immobilize someone, then takes them inside."

"Isn't that the same as your cauldron?"

"No. The Spirit-Washing Cauldron can only take in resentful qi and primordial spirits. It can erase a primordial spirit's memories and magical power, restoring it to its original Three Souls and Seven Spirits. The Heaven and Earth Bag can take in anything, but it can't inflict any further harm on the living beings it captures," Gungun explained.

"So that's how it works. All right, Brother Gungun. I'll distract Ao Yue in a moment. You subdue those two Golden Flood Dragons before he can act and crush his ambitions of finding mighty generals for the Demon Race. Then I'll accompany you to look for the Dragon Pearl." After hearing Gungun's explanation, Hou Yi nodded and spoke to it cheerfully.

"Great Shaman, I'm starting to regret this." Rather than answering Hou Yi, Gungun lowered its head and looked at the Heaven and Earth Bag in its paws.

"Regret it?"

"Yes. If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have given you the Treasure Map or told you about the Golden Dragon Pearl. Fighting a quasi-saint over a single Dragon Pearl feels like a terrible deal." As Gungun spoke, its two panda ears drooped.

At the sight, the corners of Hou Yi's eyes twitched a few times. "This isn't just about a single Dragon Pearl anymore. It concerns the decisive battle between the Shaman Race and the Demon Race a million years from now. If Ao Yue really..."

"All right, I get it. You don't have to say anything else. I'll go." Hearing Hou Yi start lecturing it on those lofty principles again, Gungun interrupted him.

Then it raised its head, looked toward the suddenly brightening exit from the void ahead, and heaved a heavy sigh. "Haa..."

Meanwhile, on the surface of the East Sea.

"Roar!" Both Golden Flood Dragons let out a heaven-shaking, earth-shuddering roar, then crossed over each other. In an instant, dazzling Jinguang blazed forth. The immortal swords in the hands of the four wandering immortals fighting them snapped at the same time, and all four were sent flying backward.

"Pfft!" As they flew backward, all four immortals spat out blood, their faces turning deathly pale. Then, with several splashes, they fell into the sea, no longer able to fight.

All four had Taiyi-level cultivation. In truth, lasting this long had already been a miracle.

As the saying went, when siblings joined their hearts, their edge could cleave metal. But... they could cleave metal, not dragons!

"Roar!" After defeating the four wandering immortals, the Golden Flood Dragons opened their enormous, blood-red maws and were about to plunge into the sea to bite them to pieces. Just then, however, a streak of halberd light shot toward them. The next second...

"Boom!" The Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd struck the golden scales covering one flood dragon's body. Though the powerful impact failed to pierce its scaled armor, it still sent the dragon flying. Not only that, the dragon slammed into the other flood dragon, sending both hurtling away together.

"Hum..." Purple divine light flashed out of the void, and Ao Yue appeared, standing in midair. He beckoned, and the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd flew back on its own.

"Whoosh!" Just as the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd returned to his hand, Hou Yi flew out of the void as well, carrying Gungun.

Hou Yi swept his gaze around, then fixed it on the two Golden Flood Dragons tumbling backward across the distant sea. He sent Gungun a voice transmission. "Brother Gungun, I'll hold Ao Yue off. The Golden Flood Dragons are up to you!"

"Great Shaman, wait. Give me a little more time to prepare myself." Gungun raised a paw as it spoke to Hou Yi.

"All right. Are you ready now?"

Gungun swallowed, took a deep breath, and tightened its grip on the Heaven and Earth Bag. "I... I suppose so."

"Then off you go, Brother Gungun!" Hou Yi immediately flexed his biceps, turned, and hurled Gungun toward the two Golden Flood Dragons. The force was so great that Gungun flew more than three times faster than it could when riding clouds and mist itself.

"Aaaaaah!!!" Gungun had never flown this fast in its life. It screamed in terror, its big, chubby face twitching violently. Still, it had not forgotten what it needed to do. After all, if it failed to capture those two flood dragons in the Heaven and Earth Bag, they might snap it in two on the spot.

The Golden Flood Dragon Scissors! These two Golden Flood Dragons must be the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors of later ages. There's no mistake. Even Randeng turned tail and fled at the sight of them, yet a cute little Iron-Eating Beast like me is actually gritting my teeth and charging straight at them. This... I must be mad!

"Hm? This is bad!" Seeing Hou Yi suddenly throw Gungun toward the two flood dragons, Ao Yue frowned. He raised the Dragon God Heaven-Slaying Halberd and was about to head over.

But!

Hou Yi blocked his path and asked, "You're a dragon, and those two flood dragons are dragons too. Why are you attacking them?"

"Can true dragons and flood dragons even be compared? Hou Yi, why did you throw Fellow Daoist Gungun toward the Golden Flood Dragons? Don't you know those two can fight a quasi-saint when they join forces?" Ao Yue demanded.

"Of course I know. But I believe in Brother Gungun! It's completely unreliable when it comes to little things. It's always falling asleep halfway through a task or simply forgetting about it. But with something like this... it definitely won't have any mishaps!" Hou Yi said with utter seriousness.

After speaking, he glanced back out of the corner of his eye. Gungun had already flown to within roughly eight hundred feet of the two Golden Flood Dragons. It raised its bear arm and shouted, "Hah! Monsters... pah, flood dragons! Behold my magical... huh? What is this? Let go of me!"

Just as it was about to finish saying "treasure," a cloud of mist suddenly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped it, giving it a fright. Then a suction force seized Gungun, sending it flying backward along the way it had come, even faster than before.

"Aaaaaah!!!" Its big, chubby face twitched even more violently.

"Vast and lofty, the eastern divine sea; fierce and mighty, its flood dragons. Shangqing now descends upon this realm, binding monsters wherever they roam!"

As Gungun flew backward, a majestic voice suddenly rang out from every direction, making both Ao Yue's and Hou Yi's expressions change.

Shangqing?!