Guanjiangkou, the dilapidated Mountain God Temple.
A blood-gold system panel suddenly illuminated the depths of the statue.
[Ding! Host protected his disciple from afar and shook Saint Zhunti's Dharma Form!] [The main course of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation has deviated drastically!] [Tribulation-level ten-thousandfold return calculated!] [Congratulations, host! You have received: three hundred million years of pure cultivation, Zhunti's Sacred Thought Fragment, Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree Dao Mark Remnant, saint might resistance insight, Heavenly Dao's trace of wariness, and one portion of tribulation fortune origin!]
Boom!
All ten Godfiend Acupores within Gu Changqing trembled in unison.
The Power Acupore anchored his Divine Embryo.
The Karma Acupore severed the Heavenly Secrets.
The Space Acupore tore open the void.
The Furnace Acupore swallowed that remnant trace of sacred thought.
His cultivation did not immediately break through to Daluo Golden Immortal, but at the very limit of Perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal, it pressed another inch forward.
That inch was the threshold of Great Luo.
At the same time, his Divine Realm expanded soundlessly.
The Divine Realm that had covered ten li around Guanjiangkou instantly spread to a hundred li.
Outside the temple, the mountains and rivers remained ordinary, and incense offerings remained sparse.
Yet deep within the Divine Realm, all karma was overlaid anew with Primordial Purple Patterns.
Gu Changqing slowly opened his eyes.
"A Saint's Dharma Form amounts to no more than this."
In his palm, a seven-colored Dao mark was crushed by primordial violet qi, becoming pure origin essence that merged into his Divine Embryo.
The next moment.
His gaze returned to Peach Mountain.
Utter silence reigned over Peach Mountain.
Seven-colored treasure light still hung among the clouds.
Zhunti's Dharma Form stood deep in the void, the expression of sorrow gone from his face.
He looked down at Nezha.
Then he looked toward the Primordial Violet Finger that had already dissipated.
That finger had not injured his true body.
But its Dao resonance had evaded the Heavenly Dao's divinations and severed a Saint's lock on its target.
That was what truly frightened him.
He could not see the other party's origins.
Nor could he calculate the other party's karma.
A Saint's intervention would stir the entire Tribulation.
Continuing this entanglement over Randeng would only expose the Western Religion to this mysterious being sooner.
Zhunti's gaze darkened.
"The Western Religion will remember this karmic debt."
Nezha's face was covered in blood, yet his grin was wild.
"Remember it well."
"One day, I'll come to the Western Religion myself and collect what you owe!"
Zhunti's Dharma Form gave him a cold look.
The phantom of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree swept once.
Seven-colored treasure light gathered up Randeng's Damaged Dao Body and most of his Primordial Spirit, retreating toward the western void.
But at that very instant.
The Demonic Mark between Nezha's brows suddenly blazed.
Self-manifestation demonic flame latched onto Randeng's Primordial Spirit and wrenched viciously!
"Aah-!"
Randeng let out an agonized scream.
Nezha had forcibly torn off a wisp of primordial spirit Dao fire.
Zhunti's eyes turned icy.
The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree was about to move again.
Deep in the void, a faint Dao resonance descended from the direction of the Purple Heaven Palace.
Zhunti paused.
In the end, he did not strike again.
The seven-colored treasure light carried Randeng into the void, leaving only a cold voice behind.
"Nezha, Yang Jian, and whoever stands behind you."
"The Western Religion will be waiting."
The Saint's might receded.
Above Peach Mountain, the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals who had been pressed into immobility finally collapsed in heaps.
Nezha raised his hand and looked at the wisp of Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire in his palm, his grin chilling.
In his other hand, the Qiankun Ruler was pinned firmly by the black-and-red Demon Flame, unable to struggle any longer.
"You ran fast enough."
"Too bad I still collected a little of your debt."
He did not refine them immediately, instead speaking respectfully in his heart.
Master.
Gu Changqing's voice reached his Divine Soul.
"How did it feel to face a Saint for the first time?"
The smile on Nezha's face faded somewhat.
"Strong."
"Absurdly strong."
"When the Saint's might descended, my demonic body, divine abilities, and Primordial Spirit all felt locked in place."
"If you hadn't intervened, Master, I couldn't have withstood it."
This battle had made Nezha understand completely.
However heaven-defying the Self-Manifestation Technique might be, it still required cultivation to support it.
As he was now, he could cut down Randeng and seize the Qiankun Ruler.
But he was still far too weak to face a Saint.
Gu Changqing said calmly, "Recognizing the gap means you are qualified to keep growing stronger."
"Keep the Qiankun Ruler and that wisp of Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire."
"Refine them slowly. Do not rush. A Quasi-Saint's karma is too heavy. Swallow it in one gulp, and it will backlash against your demonic body."
The Demon Flame in Nezha's eyes surged.
"Thank you, Master!"
The Qiankun Ruler!
Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire!
If he could fully refine these two things into his self-manifestation demonic body, his strength would surely soar.
Just as he was about to find somewhere to enter secluded cultivation, Gu Changqing's voice sounded again.
"Haotian has just witnessed a Saint's Dharma Form retreat. He will not dare make any rash moves for a while."
"While the Heavenly Court hesitates, you should settle an old debt."
Nezha's expression sharpened.
"Please give your orders, Master."
Gu Changqing said slowly, "The East Sea. The Dragon Race."
The Demon Flame in Nezha's eyes instantly turned cold and sinister.
The East Sea.
Ao Guang.
Ao Bing.
The Four Seas Dragon Kings had flooded Chentang Pass.
Li Jing had smashed the Divine Temple.
Every deed, every grievance, was carved into his soul.
Gu Changqing's voice remained utterly calm.
"The Four Seas Dragon Clan controls the world's water veins. Though their fortune has declined, their foundations remain."
"Back then, they used the people of Chentang Pass to force you to slit your own throat. That karmic debt remains unsettled."
"Now that you have rebuilt your demonic body, it is time to teach them what settling karmic accounts means."
Nezha grinned.
"Master, do you want me to slaughter my way into the Dragon Palace?"
"Killing is only the first step."
Gu Changqing said, "I want you to consolidate the Four Seas Water Veins and make the Dragon Race submit and serve you."
"If they kneel, leave them a path to survival."
"If they refuse, the Four Seas will have new masters."
The Demonic Marks on Nezha's chest lit up inch by inch.
His smile grew colder and colder.
"Your disciple obeys!"
"I will make the Four Seas Dragon Palace bow its head and force those four old dragons to kneel in person to receive the demonic god's decree!"
As his words fell.
Nezha stepped onto the Wind-Fire Wheels.
Black-and-red demonic light swept up the Qiankun Ruler and Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire, tearing across the heavens in an instant.
He was heading straight for the East Sea!
Atop the ruined peak of Peach Mountain.
Yang Jian slowly opened his eyes.
The first strength God-Demon acupoint within his body had fully formed.
The embryonic forms of nine other acupores lay deep within his flesh, bones, meridians, and Divine Soul, slowly drawing in and releasing primordial aura.
He curled his fingers slightly.
The void around his palm warped in response.
As soon as the lingering heavenly emperor runes on Peach Mountain came within three feet, the Power Acupore shattered them into fragments of light.
A flash of astonishment crossed Yang Jian's eyes.
"So this is God-Demon power."
His previous sixty divine elephant particles had already been enough to let him tear apart the Heavenly River Grand Formation.
But now, the formation of a single Godfiend Acupore had transformed the very foundations of his flesh.
If he faced the Heavenly River Sea-Covering Grand Formation again now, he would not even need the Hell Furnace.
His flesh alone would be enough to force that grand formation apart.
Yang Jian bowed his head toward Guanjiangkou.
"Your disciple Yang Jian thanks you for bestowing this technique, Master."
Gu Changqing's voice sounded in his heart.
"How do you feel?"
Yang Jian answered respectfully, "Master, I have never been stronger."
"Very good."
"Nezha has already received his orders and departed for the East Sea. Next, it is your turn."
Yang Jian's expression turned solemn.
"Please give your orders, Master."
Through their Master-Disciple Karma, Gu Changqing swept his gaze over Peach Mountain.
Yao Ji had only just escaped captivity, and her aura was weak.
Yang Chan still slept in the Ruined Temple at Guanjiangkou, unable to protect herself.
Yang Jian could continue killing.
But his family needed somewhere safe enough.
And in the Primordial World, there was only one place that could shelter Yao Ji and Yang Chan at this moment while also sharing a heaven-ordained karmic bond with Yang Jian.
Kunlun Mountain.
The Jade Void Palace.
Gu Changqing said calmly, "Your mother has only just escaped captivity. Her vitality is gravely depleted, and she needs peaceful rest."
"Your sister has yet to begin cultivating. She cannot stay in the Ruined Temple forever, either."
"Go to Kunlun."
Yang Jian's gaze flickered.
"The Jade Void Palace?"
"Precisely."
Gu Changqing said, "You were meant to join the Chan Sect and become the sharpest blade of the Jade Void Third Generation."
"Now, though you have not taken Yu Ding as your master, your karmic ties to the Chan Sect through the heavenly mandate remain unbroken."
"The Eight-Nine Arcane Art is already in your hands. It is too late for Jade Void to reclaim that karma."
Yang Jian fell silent for a moment.
He harbored no killing intent toward Yu Ding Zhenren.
The man had helped him find Peach Mountain's Array Core and had also handed over the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.
But whether Yuanshi Tianzun, the Saint of the Chan Sect, would allow him to bring Yao Ji and Yang Chan into Kunlun remained unknown.
Gu Changqing continued, "Go see Yuanshi Tianzun."
"Claim the share of fortune that belongs to you as a heaven-ordained third-generation disciple of the Chan Sect."
"And let the Twelve Golden Immortals of Jade Void see for themselves."
"Whose Dao is truly the supreme Great Dao."
Primordial Purple Patterns flashed in Yang Jian's eyes.
He slowly clenched his fist.
"This disciple understands."
Yao Ji walked to his side and said softly, "Jian'er, Kunlun is a Saint Daoist Grounds. Going there may..."
Yang Jian turned to his mother, his voice steady.
"Rest assured, Mother."
"Your son is no longer the Yang Jian who could do nothing but flee for his life."
He raised his head and looked northwest.
There lay Kunlun Mountain.
It was also where the Saint of the Chan Sect presided.
"If the Heavenly Court wants to call me to account, I will fight my way into the Heavenly Court."
"If Jade Void wants to debate the Dao, I will go to Jade Void and debate the Dao."
"If anyone still wants to use my family's fates as pieces on a chessboard..."
Yang Jian took a step forward.
The Strength God-Demon Acupoint shook with a thunderous roar, and Peach Mountain's remaining peak split open once more.
"Then I will overturn his chessboard!"
At that same moment.
Kunlun Mountain, the Jade Void Palace.
Yuanshi Tianzun slowly opened his eyes.
Jade Purity Immortal Light cascaded into the great hall.
Yu Ding Zhenren, Taiyi Zhenren, and the rest of the Twelve Golden Immortals all felt their minds quake.
The next instant.
Yuanshi Tianzun looked toward Peach Mountain, his voice impassive.
"Yang Jian is coming."