You there, bear, are you willing to become my disciple?

"Aaaah!!!" Gungun had no inclination to listen to any poetic proclamation. Hurtling backward along the way he had come at tremendous speed, his great fat face twitched violently as he continued screaming.

Seeing this, Hou Yi recovered from his surprise at Shangqing's sudden arrival. He immediately turned and flew toward Gungun, catching him firmly.

"Phew! Phew~ I'm alive!" Once Hou Yi caught him, Gungun sucked in several deep breaths of spiritual energy and rejoiced.

"Brother Gungun, are you all right?" Hou Yi asked him.

"All right? I'm very much not all right! I nearly had a heart attack!" Gungun replied.

"Heart..."

"Whoosh!" Before Hou Yi could finish, Gungun shook his ursine body, broke free of his arms, and flew forward. Then he raised his head, looked all around, and tightened his grip on the Heaven and Earth Bag as he shouted, "Who ambushed this great god just now? Come out and fight our Great Shaman Hou Yi for three hundred rounds!"

Hou Yi: "???"

"Hahaha, amusing! What an amusing bear!" A hearty laugh rang out. Then a beam of divine light descended from the sky and transformed into a young man clad in gray-black robes, who gazed at Gungun with a smile.

"Greetings, Celestial Worthy of Shangqing!"

"Hou Yi of the Witch Race pays his respects, Celestial Worthy!"

At the young man's appearance, Ao Yue and Hou Yi both turned and bowed to him with their hands clasped.

"The Ancestral Dragon's legitimate son and the foremost Great Shaman. To think that my visit today would bring me face-to-face with so many immortals whose might shakes the Primordial World." The young man nodded to the two of them and gestured for them to rise.

"You flatter us, Celestial Worthy. Before you, this junior is hardly worth mentioning." Ao Yue and Hou Yi rose simultaneously, their bodies beyond their control. Ao Yue's pupils contracted slightly before he addressed the young man respectfully.

"If someone who brought about the Eastern King's demise is hardly worth mentioning, then few beings in the Primordial World deserve mention at all," the young man said with a smile.

Meanwhile.

"Whoosh!" Gungun turned and flew back behind Hou Yi in a flash. Hugging his thigh, he raised his head and asked quietly, "Great Shaman, the Celestial Worthy of Shangqing, he... he's Daoist Tongtian?"

"Shh!" Hou Yi raised a finger to warn Gungun.

"Oh, oh." Gungun nodded hastily and clamped his mouth shut.

The Three Pure Ones might not have become Saints yet, but they were already Quasi-Saints who had severed all three corpses, and each possessed powerful treasures. If a fight really broke out, never mind Hou Yi-even Houtu would be no match for them.

Of course, Tongtian's power was not the only reason Gungun was so nervous. The main reason was... this fellow was a walking disaster!

Among the future six Saints of the Primordial World, he would face four alone and suffer a beating so miserable that the word "miserable" could hardly do it justice. Gungun would rather deal with that shameless wretch Zhunti than have anything to do with such an ill-fated fellow. What if he became entangled in some karmic connection and got dragged into the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation in the future?

He, the great god Gungun, was extraordinary by birth. He was destined to govern the Underworld and become the Eastern Azure Flower Great Emperor. How could he let his soul end up on the Investiture of the Gods List?

"Hmm?" After chatting briefly with Ao Yue, Tongtian suddenly frowned, sensing someone was silently disparaging him behind his back. His gaze shifted and finally settled on Gungun.

"Hum~" Wisps of Dao resonance seeped from Gungun's body, enveloping his entire ursine form.

"Oh? The law of silence!" Tongtian grew interested, his eyes lighting up as he said with a smile, "To comprehend a law at the middle stage of the Great Immortal realm-you are quite an impressive bear!"

"Ugh, Great Shaman!" Gungun pulled his peeking head back in, tugging at Hou Yi's clothes as he called to him.

"Celestial Worthy, Brother Gungun is rather shy around strangers. Please forgive him if he has been discourteous!" Hou Yi glanced down at Gungun, who hid behind him and dared not emerge, then looked up at Tongtian and bowed with clasped hands.

"A Great Immortal who's shy around strangers? Who do you think you're fooling?"

"I..."

"Roar! Roar!" Just then,

Two dragon roars rang out. The two Golden Flood Dragons rolled over on the sea's surface, then opened their blood-red maws to bite at the four unaffiliated immortals who had just flown out of the sea and were trying to escape. Seeing this, Tongtian raised his hand and pointed.

"Whoosh!" In an instant, a beam of azure light shot out, forcing the Golden Flood Dragons back and saving the four unaffiliated immortals.

Then Tongtian swept his sleeve, sending twenty-four streaks of light flying. Bang, bang, bang, bang... They struck the two Golden Flood Dragons one after another, battering them until they spat blood. The sight filled Gungun's heart with fear.

What a violent sect master Tongtian is! I snapped at him just now, asked who ambushed me, and even told him to fight Hou Yi for three hundred rounds. This... won't get me into trouble, will it?

A trace of worry appeared on Gungun's great fat face, and his paw tightened still further around the Heaven and Earth Bag.

"Capture!" After beating the two flood dragons half to death with the Dinghai Pearls, Tongtian opened his hand. An invisible force acted upon them, and their bodies gradually shrank before finally turning into a streak of light that flew into his palm.

"I divined heaven's secrets and discovered that these two dragons share a destined connection with me, so I came here to subdue them. If you do not believe me, you may divine it yourselves." Tongtian tucked the two flood dragons into his sleeve, then addressed Ao Yue and Hou Yi.

Ao Yue lowered his head without performing any divination, while Hou Yi...

I don't know how to divine anything!

"Brother Gungun, divine it once we get back," Hou Yi secretly transmitted to Gungun with his head lowered.

"Great Shaman, there's no need. If he says they're destined for him, then they're destined for him. We can't beat him, after all," Gungun replied.

Hou Yi: "..."

That's both cowardly and realistic!

Tongtian, who had overheard their transmitted conversation: "..."

Does this bear take me for Zhunti?

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Tongtian was just about to say something to Gungun when the four unaffiliated immortals who had narrowly escaped disaster flew over. Kneeling on one knee before him, they said respectfully, "Thank you for saving our lives, Celestial Worthy!"

As Tongtian regarded the four unaffiliated immortals before him, a gleam of divine light flashed through his eyes. Then, looking rather pleased, he asked, "What are your names?"

The middle-aged man at their head hastily replied, "This humble immortal is Zhao Gongming, a wisp of clear breeze that attained the Dao."

An elegant female immortal behind him lowered her head and said respectfully, "This humble immortal is Yunxiao, a purple cloud that attained the Dao."

"This humble immortal is Qiongxiao, a white cloud that attained the Dao."

"This humble immortal is Bixiao, an azure cloud that attained the Dao." The other two female immortals also spoke hastily.

Hearing their answers, Tongtian nodded, a trace of satisfaction crossing his face. Then he told them, "The four of you share a destined master-disciple bond with me. Are you willing to become my disciples?"

At Tongtian's question, all four immortals were overjoyed. Without needing to discuss it, they dropped from one knee onto both and kowtowed to Tongtian, performing the disciple's rite. "Your disciples pay their respects, Master!"

"Hahaha, good, good!" Tongtian laughed heartily. Then his gaze shifted to the fat bear hiding behind Hou Yi, and he asked, "Hey, you there, bear, are you willing to become my disciple too?"

Gungun: "..."

Become your disciple, my ass!