West Kunlun, within a pool.
Queen Mother of the West's stunning face was flushed red, and her beautiful eyes brimmed with anger.
She felt certain that her guess was correct!
After all, the three fellow Daoists next door definitely met the requirements.
As long as she knew which of them was more skilled in formations, she would know who it was.
"Hmph! You think you can run after taking advantage of me? How could there be such a good deal!"
Queen Mother of the West snorted coldly. Her graceful figure immediately rose from the pool, and with a wave of her jade-like hand, she was already dressed in an elegant, luxurious gown.
Once she was properly dressed, she strode directly out of the mist.
Before leaving West Kunlun, she deliberately checked once more.
The great formation protecting West Kunlun was completely intact, without any sign of having been forcefully attacked.
This was exactly in line with her suspicions.
The intruder must have possessed an extremely deep understanding of formations as well.
Only then could someone infiltrate West Kunlun without making a sound.
Unfortunately, she had failed to catch the intruder red-handed and had instead allowed him to escape.
At that thought, Queen Mother of the West became even more embarrassed and furious. Who knew how much that person had seen in secret!
Such a detestable little thief absolutely could not be let off easily.
Thus, she flew straight toward East Kunlun.
Meanwhile, Tongtian, who had just left West Kunlun, looked back with lingering fear.
Fortunately, he had run fast enough and had not been caught on the spot by Queen Mother of the West.
A dignified Pangu Sect Disciple, peeping at a female immortal bathing.
If that rumor got out, he would be utterly humiliated.
"Damn, this is awkward! I only planned to pay a visit. Who would have thought I'd run into something like this?"
Tongtian wore a speechless expression. Had his luck gone wrong somehow?
Could he really stumble into something so unlikely?
Fortunately, he had escaped quickly. Queen Mother of the West probably did not know it was him.
Just as Tongtian was worrying over the matter, he suddenly sensed a peculiar spiritual aura coming from a distant mountain forest.
He looked surprised. Could there be an ownerless spiritual treasure within Kunlun Mountain?
He hurried in that direction and soon saw a patch of gray mist spreading across the ground.
At the center of the mist floated a grayish spiritual pearl.
"Gasp! Is my luck good or bad, exactly?"
"I just went out for a stroll, and I ran into another spiritual pearl?"
Tongtian looked bewildered. After examining it briefly, he recognized it as the Earth Elemental Pearl, one of the Innate Five Elemental Pearls.
It was also a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
It contained the heavy, profound power of the Law of Earth.
With a wave of his hand, Tongtian immediately collected the Earth Elemental Pearl.
He had obtained one spiritual pearl on the Sun Star and another on the Taiyin Star, and now he had acquired the Earth Elemental Pearl.
Three of the Innate Five Elemental Pearls had fallen directly into his hands.
This immediately made Tongtian cast aside the embarrassment he had suffered in West Kunlun, leaving him in an excellent mood instead.
It seemed that he truly had a destined connection with the Innate Five Elemental Pearls.
Three pearls had entered his possession in succession, so the final two would certainly not escape his grasp either.
Once he gathered all five Innate Five Elemental Pearls, he would gain another Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure of boundless power!
When five High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures came together, their might would surpass even that of ordinary Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
Was this the blessing possessed by a Pangu Sect Disciple?
No question about it—it felt great!
Having gained something, Tongtian did not linger further in Kunlun Mountain. Instead, he decided to return to seclusion and take the time to refine his spiritual treasures.
It was also to avoid Queen Mother of the West.
Queen Mother of the West had already realized that someone had seen her bathing. If he were caught, then even if it was a misunderstanding, he would have no way to clear himself.
For the sake of safety, returning to seclusion was the better choice.
Thus, without another word, Tongtian returned to Kunlun Mountain and began cultivating in seclusion.
The first thing he wanted to refine was the Reincarnation Seal!
The reason he had been able to earn so much Heavenly Dao Merit could be said to lie entirely with the Reincarnation Seal.
Moreover, it was a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure and possessed extraordinarily powerful might in its own right.
If he could refine it completely, Tongtian's combat strength would definitely rise once again.
However, completely refining a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was no easy matter.
Tongtian's cultivation was not weak, but to refine it completely, even a single Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure would likely take hundreds or thousands of years.
Tongtian did not wish to bear such a loss of time.
He possessed more than one Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. If he refined them all one by one, ten thousand years might not even be enough.
If that happened, he would definitely miss the Dao-Demon War.
Besides slowly refining them with magical power, Tongtian had another method: using the Heavenly Dao Merit he possessed to shorten the time needed to refine spiritual treasures.
Without much thought, Tongtian decided to use this extravagantly wasteful method.
There was no other reason. Although Heavenly Dao Merit was precious, he knew many ways to earn more.
Compared to that, time was far more precious to him now.
Thus, Tongtian immediately drew out a large amount of Heavenly Dao Merit and poured it all into the Reincarnation Seal.
The restrictions within the Reincarnation Seal were immediately refined at a rapid pace.
Spiritual treasures of every grade contained special restrictions.
To fully unleash a spiritual treasure's power, one needed to refine all of these restrictions!
Acquired Spiritual Treasures contained between one and twenty-four restrictions. The more restrictions they contained, the greater their power naturally was.
Those with twenty-five to thirty-six restrictions were Innate Spiritual Treasures!
As for Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, they possessed an astonishing thirty-seven to forty-eight restrictions!
If there were forty-nine restrictions, it would be an Innate Supreme Treasure!
A powerful treasure like the Reincarnation Seal, even among Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, contained a full forty-five restrictions.
Only by refining all forty-five restrictions could its power be brought out one hundred percent.
With the support of vast amounts of Heavenly Dao Merit, Tongtian refined thirty-five of those restrictions in one go.
However, the remaining ten restrictions were clearly on an entirely different level of difficulty from the previous ones.
Even though he still had plenty of Heavenly Dao Merit, Tongtian could only rely on time to slowly wear them down.
During the remaining time, Tongtian refined his other spiritual treasures one by one.
In particular, refining the three High-Grade Innate Spiritual Pearls in his possession was not difficult for him.
In the blink of an eye, a thousand years passed.
Tongtian's mastery over his many spiritual treasures rose to another level.
He planned to spend the remaining time cultivating and seeing whether he could gain any new insights.
However, activity arose outside his cave abode.
Tongtian sensed that Xihe, Changxi, and Ao Li had arrived outside his cave abode, which made him rather curious.
Could the three women be looking for him over some matter?
After thinking it over, he ended this period of secluded cultivation and went outside to meet them.
His gaze swept across the three women, and Tongtian's expression turned satisfied.
Xihe and Changxi, the two sisters, had already broken through to the Mid-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm.
They were only one step away from the late stage of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm.
"It seems you truly gained much from this period of seclusion."
"Congratulations, fellow Daoists."
Tongtian said with cupped hands.
Xihe hurriedly returned the gesture. "You are too polite, fellow Daoist. Without your wholehearted assistance, my sister and I would never have improved so greatly."
"We should be the ones thanking you!"
Changxi also agreed. "Not only did you bring us to the Primordial World, but you have also been so attentive toward our cultivation."
"We truly do not know how to repay such kindness."
Tongtian smiled. "You two are too polite. Since you trusted me, I naturally would not disappoint you."
"As for thanks, there is no need."
He had already made arrangements for the two women in his heart.
Given their current relationship, if he left Kunlun Mountain, the two women would likely follow him.
That way, the Jie Sect would gain two Innate Great Beings to hold the fort!
He had already made some plans for the Jie Sect. This time, the Jie Sect definitely could not accept too many disciples.
Otherwise, with good and bad mixed together, it would ultimately drag down the Jie Sect's fortune.
Ao Li and the other two women were all part of his plans.
"I also broke through to the Mid-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm."
At that moment, Ao Li stepped forward and spoke joyfully.
Tongtian nodded, then asked curiously, "You called me out. Is there something you need?"
Ao Li turned her palm over, and a Ren Water Flat Peach immediately appeared in her hand.
Spiritual aura swirled around the Ren Water Flat Peach, and its glossy appearance was extremely enticing.
The moment it appeared, a distinctive fragrance spread through the air.
With Tongtian's discernment, he naturally recognized it as a Spiritual Fruit.
And it was even a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Fruit.
He accepted it and directly tossed it into his mouth. The Ren Water Flat Peach immediately transformed into streams of incomparably pure spiritual essence that rapidly spread throughout his body.
"This is the fruit of the Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Root, the Ren Water Peach Tree."
"Where did you find it?"
Tongtian's face was full of surprise. He had been thinking of finding a few Ren Water Flat Peaches to taste.
Who would have thought that Ao Li and the others had them?
Could it be that the three women had also gone to West Kunlun?
Ao Li smiled. "The three of us met an elder sister in Kunlun Mountain."
"She chatted with us for a while, then gave each of us a Ren Water Flat Peach."
There was such a good thing?
Could it be that Queen Mother of the West had too many Ren Water Flat Peaches and gave them away to everyone she met?
At that thought, Tongtian immediately had a bad feeling.
Had his deed been exposed?
"And then?"
"Did this elder sister ask you any questions?"
Tongtian pressed.
Ao Li pondered for a moment and recalled the encounter before saying, "Yes!"
"That elder sister was very curious about the Three Pure Ones, so she kept asking about you three brothers."
Xihe smiled. "She also said that if there is time, she hopes to get to know you, Fellow Daoist Tongtian."
Tongtian froze upon hearing that. There was no need to say more—he had definitely been exposed.
Otherwise, Queen Mother of the West would not have said such things directly to the three women.
This was rather unpleasant!
But upon thinking carefully, Kunlun Mountain was only so large, and the only ones capable of entering West Kunlun were the three brothers.
The problem was that Laozi and Yuanshi had both been in seclusion during this time. Even if he wanted to pin the blame on Laozi and Yuanshi, he could not do it!
He had no idea what sort of person he had become in Queen Mother of the West's eyes.
If he could not clear up this misunderstanding, would his lifelong reputation not be ruined?
Tongtian immediately felt miserable.
If he had known, he would not have rashly entered West Kunlun. It would have been better to speak openly and ask Queen Mother of the West to come out and meet him.
But how could he have known that Queen Mother of the West would bathe outside her Daoist sanctuary?
Sigh!
In any case, saying more now was useless. Fortunately, Queen Mother of the West had still spared him some dignity and had not revealed the matter directly.
Otherwise, he would have died of embarrassment already.
"This elder sister's Daoist sanctuary is located atop West Kunlun, very close to us."
"Should we pay her a visit?"
Ao Li's eyes flickered as she looked at Tongtian's slightly troubled expression, her heart filled with doubt.
Could it be that Tongtian and Queen Mother of the West had known each other for a long time?
Xihe also smiled. "Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West said that we are welcome to visit West Kunlun at any time."
Tongtian coughed lightly and decisively refused. "Next time!"
"I still need to focus on cultivation."
"I definitely will not have time to visit her anytime soon."
"If you meet that fellow cultivator again, don't forget to thank her for her kindness on my behalf."
Upon hearing this, Xihe and Changxi had no doubts at all and nodded in agreement.
It seemed they had gotten along quite well with Queen Mother of the West.
But for Tongtian, this was somewhat troublesome.
The main issue was that he had no idea how to explain such a thing.
"It's only a visit. It shouldn't delay us for long, should it?"
Ao Li's expression turned strange.
Tongtian's repeated evasions instead made her feel that her guess was likely correct.
Tongtian glanced at her and said solemnly, "The Great Tribulation of the Worlds has not yet fully ended."
"At this time, the most important thing is to hurry and improve your cultivation."
"Only then can we protect ourselves wisely amid the tribulation."
Ao Li lowered her head and listened to Tongtian's lecture, not daring to say another word.
After all, her status was still different from that of Xihe and Changxi.
She could only obediently submit to Tongtian's authority.
"You do not know this, but there will surely be another great battle between Senior Hongjun and Rahou of the Western Region."
"That Rahou is treacherous and cunning, and he acts without restraint."
"He can be called a ruthless and merciless man. When the time comes, I may have to go to the Western World myself and lend Senior Hongjun a hand."
"So I must raise my strength as quickly as possible!"
Tongtian explained with a serious expression.
This explanation was reasonable and well-founded, so Xihe and Changxi did not dwell on the matter any further.
Kunlun Mountain was only so large, and they were all neighbors. There would surely be chances to pay a visit in the future.
Ao Li also felt that Tongtian's words made sense, but she still keenly noticed one thing.
Tongtian seemed rather resistant to going to West Kunlun.
But she had no intention of investigating such matters. She was merely a mount—what say did she have?
"Now that the war among the Three Clans has ended, how is the Dragon Clan doing?"
After thinking for a moment, Ao Li suddenly asked.
As the eldest princess of the Dragon Clan, although she had become Tongtian's mount, she still cared deeply about the Dragon Clan.
Tongtian had gone straight into seclusion before, so she had not had the chance to ask much.
Now that she had an opportunity, she immediately wanted to learn about the Dragon Clan's situation.
Tongtian shook his head. "I do not know the specifics."
"However, it is true that the Three Clan Leaders have all dissolved into heaven and earth."
"Furthermore, the war among the Three Clans swept across the entire Primordial World, turning countless living beings into wandering souls drifting between heaven and earth. All this karmic debt must be repaid by the Three Clans."
"In my view, the Three Clans will likely withdraw from the Primordial World from now on."
As soon as those words were spoken, Ao Li's expression immediately turned ugly.
By that account, none of the Three Clans had truly won!
Had all those years of conflict then been for nothing?
Xihe and Changxi were equally stunned. They had heard much over the years about just how powerful the Three Clans were.
Who could have expected such mighty clans to fall into their current state?
It was truly lamentable.
Ao Li's face turned somewhat pale as she said, "No wonder I've felt so restless these past days."
"So that was why."
Before you continue