Ning Rongrong claimed a mountain as her kingdom

In the Heavenly Court, Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear noticed the anomaly on the Douluo Continent.

"The Demon Dao wants to invade the Primordial World again. To think they've learned to hide in a small world that's merging with the Primordial World this time. What should we do? Report it?"

Wind-Following Ear spoke with Thousand-Mile Eye.

Ever since Dao Ancestor Hongjun defeated Demon Ancestor Luohu, the Primordial World had belonged to the Immortal Dao. The Demon Dao was not permitted to set so much as a foot inside.

"The Great Heavenly Venerable already has a plan to lure the Demon Dao in and hit them hard. He might even be using this wisp of demonic qi as bait. Just give the higher-ups a heads-up."

"But honestly, the people of this Douluo Continent have terrible character. First that Flat-top shamelessly boasted that he would teach the Great Heavenly Venerable how to govern the Primordial World, and now this human-beast bastard has been corrupted by demonic qi. I think this world is a lost cause."

"Heh heh, don't worry. I already informed the various Great Gods. Once that Flat-top comes over, he'll have a bitter cup to swallow."

On the Douluo Continent, everyone was filled with emotion after watching what happened to Xiao Wu.

"That rabbit really had rotten luck. Still, she's escaped the sea of suffering now. She doesn't have to be used as a brush anymore."

"Not bad at all. Going from being a brush to having little demons wait on her is practically ascending to heaven in a single step."

"I just wonder who this Brother San she mentioned is. He must be from our Douluo Continent, anyway. I wonder how her Brother San feels right now."

"Frankly, that rabbit just couldn't take much. Look at Ma Hongjun. He adapted ages ago."

"Pah! Ma Hongjun is nothing but a beast."

Whenever Ma Hongjun came up, everyone on the Douluo Continent cried out for his head.

In the Western Ox Continent.

Apart from his initial difficulty adjusting, Ma Hongjun was now like a fish in water.

At Nalanda Temple, a concealed door opened, and a figure dressed as a village woman emerged, peering furtively around.

"Master, you mean three more times will turn my luck around completely?"

Before leaving, the village woman turned back to ask again, still uneasy.

Under the moonlight, Ma Hongjun's plump body looked like a mass of shadow, with only his big bald head gleaming.

"At least three times. Anyway, just come whenever I call you. Hurry home."

Ma Hongjun hitched up his trousers and impatiently shooed her away. Once the village woman had left, he rubbed his big bald head.

"Heh heh, this is even more comfortable than Shrek Academy."

Over these nearly one hundred days, he had worked with the demons to rake in money and even developed new services such as consecration and changing people's luck. His standing in Nalanda Temple had soared. He could be said to have settled fully into his role.

Or rather, he had never been any good to begin with. Now, he was the most practiced at the consecration business in the entire temple and had made a name for himself.

"Tch."

A scoff sounded behind Ma Hongjun.

"Oh? Wolf King, you're here today."

"Mm."

The Wolf Demon glanced in the direction the village woman had left and revealed a savage grin.

"Master Ma, I hear Buddhism has a Joyful Buddha. I think you have quite the aptitude for that."

"Really? Hahaha, you flatter me, Wolf King. I've only just reached Refining Essence into Qi."

"Your cultivation will rise sooner or later. Master Ma, come into the mountains with me next time. We demons need consecration too."

"Uh... certainly, certainly."

Ma Hongjun and the Wolf Demon left with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Hongjun has suffered. To survive, he's even forced himself to commit these evil deeds."

Even now, Flender defended his disciple. Then he glanced at Yu Xiaogang's ugly expression and added a few words to smooth things over.

"Just like Xiao Wu, he has no choice. It's a shame that I, their dean, have no way to save them right now."

Only then did Yu Xiaogang's expression improve. "Once I reach the Primordial World, they'll all be saved."

"I believe in you, Xiaogang."

Flender smiled and patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder, then looked toward Zhao Wuji's Light Screen.

Zhao Wuji had no fixed abode. After switching to the Qi Refining Method and becoming a cultivator, he had begun traveling through the Primordial World.

Although he had yet to enter Refining Essence into Qi, he was already beyond comparison with ordinary mortals.

Whenever he encountered people who needed help along the road, or even animals caught in hunters' traps, he would lend a hand and save them.

That day, Zhao Wuji wiped out another band of mountain bandits, gathered up all their valuables, and distributed them among nearby villages that had suffered at their hands. After simply tending his wounds, he strode away.

"Thank you for rooting out evil, brave man. Please take care on your journey."

The entire village came out to see Zhao Wuji off.

Zhao Wuji did not turn back. He simply felt a sense of accomplishment welling up inside him.

"I'm going to be a good man for the rest of my life."

"It would be even better if I could become a god too."

At the sight of Zhao Wuji's actions, killing intent flashed across Tang Hao's face.

"Daddy, don't worry. Merit isn't so easy to obtain. Besides, Zhao Wuji's intentions aren't pure to begin with. He's doing good deeds for merit. He might not earn any merit at all and even have it counted as karma."

Tang Hao nodded at those words.

"You're right. Those with impure intentions won't gain merit even by doing good deeds."

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"Rongrong is getting a little reckless."

Ning Fengzhi was at his wits' end.

Ning Rongrong left the city again and again, taking large quantities of supplies with her.

"Damn these locals. They actually set their sights on my property. All of you had better watch yourselves when you leave the city from now on."

"What is wrong with the rules in this Primordial World? When I get bullied, the City God does nothing. When I retaliate, those bailiffs want to throw me in jail. This is going too far!"

Ning Rongrong was furious.

She had kept a low enough profile lately, yet people with ulterior motives had still noticed her.

A pretty young girl with large amounts of money-it was easy to imagine how many people were secretly eyeing her.

Fortunately, Ning Rongrong had already drawn qi into her body, so these mortals could do nothing to her. But if she attacked mortals, she would violate the laws of the living world.

She was simply blocked at both ends.

Unable to bear the harassment, Ning Rongrong decided to claim a mountain as her kingdom.

She gathered a group of orphans and little beggars with no one to rely on, intending to train them from childhood to ensure their loyalty.

She had learned all this through what she had seen and heard growing up. With her own strength added to the mix, it was absolutely foolproof.

"From now on, our village will be called Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Village, and we will worship the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. I am the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's adopted daughter. All of you had better remember that."

With her hands on her hips, Ning Rongrong laid down the rules for everyone, then went back inside on her own to offer incense before the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's tablet.

Despite all this time spent worshipping him, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had never responded once.

But Ning Rongrong still refused to give up. She thought this might be a test from the Heavenly King. Qian Renxue had nearly lost her life just to become an Earth God, so what was wrong with her kowtowing a few times?

Once she passed the test, she would surely ascend to heaven in a single step.

She had even boldly raised her own familial standing, acknowledging herself as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's adopted daughter.

Since the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had not objected, that meant he had tacitly agreed.

"When my dad gets here, this will be the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's base."

On the Douluo Continent.

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi was drenched in sweat.

"That unfilial daughter!"

Who do I think I am? What qualifies me to stand in the same generation as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King?

Isn't she digging a pit for her own father?

"I can only hope the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King doesn't care about such trifles."

Ning Fengzhi felt exhausted. He did not want any entanglements with the Heavenly Court, yet could not afford to offend it. It was rather like being unable to afford offending Spirit Hall, only far more terrifying.

Yet another thought also stirred in his heart.

"If Rongrong succeeds, then even without joining the Heavenly Court, couldn't our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect flourish in the Primordial World just by relying on the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King?"

Ning Fengzhi could hardly help entertaining such fantasies.

Ning Rongrong's sky-high audacity also shocked everyone else on the continent. They each warned their sect disciples that once they reached the Primordial World, they must remember never to act as brazenly as Ning Rongrong.

In the Eastern Continent of Superior Body, inside the Earth God's Vihara.

After more than three months, Qian Renxue finally refined the last drop of wine into her body.

"My strength has improved, and even the Vihara has become much more stable."

Qian Renxue stood up. "I'm simply too strong now."

She had now entered the third stage of the mortal realms, Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness.

Only upon reaching this realm did she realize how weak she had been before.

Her current strength was something she would never have dared imagine before. Even though she had not yet had time to learn more spells, she felt that with spiritual power alone, she could shave the Douluo Continent into a flat-top if she returned, sweeping through it unopposed.

And all of this had come from a single pot of wine.

Qian Renxue looked again at the Peach of Immortality before her and swallowed.

Qian Renxue was confident that this Peach of Immortality could bring her to the threshold of the Earth Immortal realm, but she put it into her Storage Bag.

"I still know very little about becoming an immortal. It won't be too late to use it after I learn more."

Having been drunk for two straight months, Qian Renxue was also finding it a little hard to take.

"I'll go offer that monkey a stick of incense first. After all, it's because of that monkey that I've been able to improve so quickly."

Just as Qian Renxue was about to go out, a voice suddenly carried into the Vihara from outside the Earth God Temple.

"Di Tian of the Star Dou Great Forest on the Douluo Continent pays his respects to the Earth God."