Liu Mang Visits Hong Jun, Hong Jun Develops Killing Intent

"Roar!"

Liu Mang's sudden shout drew everyone's attention to him.

He jumped out of the pit, rubbing his backside as he hopped, emitting pained hisses.

He had been lying comfortably in the pit, contemplating how to reasonably help Hou Tu achieve Dao while perfecting his escape plan.

For some unknown reason, a sharp, needle-like pain suddenly erupted on his backside, comparable to having ten toenails kicked off simultaneously.

The pain made him cry out and jump out of the pit.

[It must be that earthworm Hong Jun ambushing me! Just you wait!]

Liu Mang rubbed his backside while grumbling, secretly vowing revenge.

He knew Hong Jun was aware of his existence as an anomaly of the Heavenly Dao, so if anything happened to him, Hong Jun would definitely be blamed.

Everyone had actually noticed Liu Mang faking his death long ago.

After all, even as Quasi-Saints, they couldn't withstand the pressure of achieving Dao. How could Liu Mang, a mere mortal, remain completely unharmed?

It must have been Nu Wa's intervention.

Since Liu Mang was pretending to be dead and Nu Wa acted as if she hadn't noticed, they saw no reason to interfere.

Moreover, with the Dao Ancestor's appearance and the discussion of Hongmeng Purple Qi and the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man, no one paid any further attention to Liu Mang.

These topics were far beyond Liu Mang, who hadn't even embarked on the path of cultivation.

Hong Jun had also been secretly observing Liu Mang, the anomaly of the Heavenly Dao. However, he detected nothing unusual about Liu Mang, who showed no signs of being a reincarnated great being, nor did he sense any influence from the three thousand Demon Gods.

Besides, this was merely a clone, and eliminating Liu Mang in front of Nu Wa would be quite difficult.

Liu Mang's actions were, in fact, caused by Nu Wa's secret intervention.

Everyone present was a shrewd individual. If they truly wanted to deal with someone, they would obliterate them completely. Trying to slip away by faking death was impossible.

Especially since Liu Mang was attempting to deceive the Heavenly Dao's Eye and Hong Jun, who had already departed.

Although no one exposed Liu Mang's childish behavior, it made Nu Wa feel ashamed for the first time, as if her own child was incompetent.

"If you're going to pretend to be dead, just do it quietly! Why all the fuss! Babbling in my ear like your mouth is rented and needs to be returned!"

"I kindly gave you so much Grand Dao Divine Mark that even a pig could cultivate to Quasi-Saint. It's one thing that you don't care about me, but you're actually thinking of running away after helping someone else achieve Dao!"

Nu Wa grew angrier the more she thought about it. The more she retreated, the more furious she became. If she endured it, she'd develop mastitis.

While no one was paying attention, she secretly struck Liu Mang, hitting his exposed backside with an attack, which led to the scene just witnessed.

However, Nu Wa hadn't expected Liu Mang to blame Hong Jun. If she had known, she would have struck him a few more times.

Nu Wa observed Hong Jun's every move, feeling a sense of vindication. "You tried to trick me, so I'll trick you too!"

She was curious about how Liu Mang would eventually deal with Hong Jun. He had been holding back for so long; it would surely be nothing good.

Nu Wa couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Liu Mang looked around and saw everyone staring at him. He put on a bewildered expression: "Huh? I'm alive! I'm not dead?"

Everyone (speechless): Could he be any more fake?

If Liu Mang could hear their thoughts, he would definitely say… Yes, I can.

Adhering to the principle of "as long as I'm not embarrassed, it's everyone else who is," Liu Mang continued, "I clearly saw someone slapping my face repeatedly, almost beating me to death!"

Everyone: That pressure from achieving Dao, which came in waves, was far more potent than any slap.

After speaking, Liu Mang tidied his clothes (gifts from everyone), wiped the dust from his face, and, ignoring their expressions of "keep acting," ran over to Nu Wa.

"Mother, have you achieved sainthood? Unleash your golden light to enlighten our Uncle-Masters Jieyin and Zhunti!"

"Bang!"

As soon as Liu Mang finished speaking, Nu Wa slapped him on the head, sending him stumbling to the ground.

The sound clearly indicated a good head.

Nu Wa frowned: "Nonsense, do you think I'm a peacock displaying its feathers?"

Peacock: Are you being polite?

Jieyin and Zhunti's eyes twitched slightly, and the golden light around them flickered, almost losing control.

Di Jun and Tai Yi exchanged glances, secretly feeling fortunate that they didn't have the same habit as the two Sages of the West, otherwise, they would have been caught.

[That's good! She held back. She shouldn't go berserk! Otherwise, I'll be confined to Wa Huang Palace by Hong Jun again!]

Liu Mang had clearly heard Nu Wa's question to Hong Jun. Even while pretending to be dead, he worried that Nu Wa might lose control and attack Hong Jun or the Heavenly Dao.

If that happened, the outcome would be just as described in the books: she would be confined to Wa Huang Palace for over a hundred thousand years immediately after achieving sainthood.

Hearing Liu Mang's thoughts, Nu Wa understood his intention and felt a warmth in her heart.

She raised her hand, and Liu Mang stood up. Nu Wa looked at him, rolled her eyes, and pointed at Hong Jun, saying, "The Dao Ancestor is here, do not speak carelessly."

Liu Mang followed Nu Wa's gaze and saw an elder with a graceful demeanor, stroking his beard with one hand, looking at him with a smile.

"Slap!"

Liu Mang, who had just stood up, knelt on the ground again. Then, he used his knees to move towards the Dao Ancestor and shouted loudly, "Grand-disciple Liu Mang pays respects to Grand-disciple Grandpa Dao Ancestor. I've missed you so much!"

After Liu Mang finished speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground, with his limbs spread out.

Hong Jun was stroking his beard when his hand trembled, and a strand of his beard was pulled out. The pain made the corners of his mouth twitch involuntarily.

The others looked at Liu Mang, who was kneeling so thoroughly, and were speechless for a moment.

Compared to the duo from the West, this shameless display was truly a case of the student surpassing the master.

"Get... get up!"

Hong Jun looked at Liu Mang, who was lying prostrate on the ground, and for a moment, he didn't know whether to act.

If he acted, everyone else had already done this. As the saying goes, one doesn't strike a smiling face. If he didn't act, Liu Mang was still an anomaly, even though this anomaly seemed to have no integrity.

When Liu Mang heard Hong Jun's words, he did not get up. He remained kneeling on the ground, looking at Hong Jun with an expression of adoration.

"My mother mentioned you many times,"

[Lying to you, don't take it seriously!]

"She said that the current state of Hong Huang is all thanks to you merging with the Dao with your own body, which brought about the good life for all the races in Hong Huang."

[Isn't that right? You've messed it up this badly.]

"As the saying goes, 'There was Hong Jun before Heaven'."

[Pangu came even before Hong Jun.]

"Your great contributions to Hong Huang are all remembered by your grand-disciple."

[As if!]

Nu Wa listened to his insincere flattery and didn't know what to say.

Nu Wa: "How can you praise someone with your mouth while cursing them in your heart?"

Only then did Liu Mang continue to cry out emotionally, "My reverence for the Dao Ancestor is like the endless flow of the Heavenly River, and like the uncontrollable flood of the Ming River."

After Liu Mang finished speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground again, with his limbs spread out.

However, this time was different from before. His two hands were clasped together, palms facing upwards, in a posture as if he were receiving something.

Everyone looked at Liu Mang, who was lying prostrate on the ground, with disgust.

This was no longer just kneeling and fawning; it was lying on the ground and licking.

The others: "We've seen many shameless people, but never one this shameless."

Only Jieyin and Zhunti looked delighted. "You can even do this?"

Their gazes towards Liu Mang became even more fervent: "Confirmed, this is the man we must have."

Ming He, standing alone to the side, looked as if he had crashed: "I haven't provoked any of you. Why is my Ming River uncontrollable?"

After Liu Mang finished his long speech, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"Now, Hong Jun shouldn't harbor any killing intent towards a sniveling sycophant like me who flatters and acts cute, right?"

What he didn't know was that this maneuver had backfired.

Hong Jun's killing intent had only just begun to rise.