Hong Huang's Grand Verbal Duel

"Next victim, please!"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

A domineering voice came from the distant horizon, yet every single person present heard it with perfect clarity.

"You Wu Clan barbarians sure got here fast!"

When this person first spoke, he was still far away, no bigger than a matchstick, but by the time his words ended, he stood before the crowd.

Looking up, the newcomer seemed to have walked straight out of the Sun Star. His entire body was wreathed in blazing golden light, the Heavenly Dao Imperial Mark flickering on his brow. Long, dark-yellow hair cascaded to his waist. He wore the Heaven and Earth Crown on his head, a golden battle armor on his body, and his war robe was adorned with Flame Divine Patterns.

His appearance—flashy didn't even begin to cover it. Dazzling was an understatement.

It was like a mouse biting a cow's ass—truly, *rat*her impressive.

Compared to him, the Ancestral Wu looked like the Earth God going home—earthy to the core.

Moreover, Liu Mang felt that with this man's arrival, even the air itself had turned scorching hot. Startled, he quickly ducked behind Fu Xi.

The newcomer was none other than the Demon Emperor of the Demon Race, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi. He looked down from on high, surveying all directions with contempt, not sparing the Wu Clan a single glance.

"What's this? Seeing that someone from my Demon Race has attained the Dao, you can't hold back and want to start a fight?"

As soon as Tai Yi spoke, the Ancestral Wu fell silent. They had to admit—Tai Yi had guessed right.

When they first came, the Ancestral Wu had indeed harbored that intention: to disrupt Nu Wa's enlightenment and prevent the Demon Race from gaining a saint.

After all, if the Demon Race produced a saint, it would be nothing short of a catastrophic disaster for the Wu Clan.

As the honest little gentlemen of Hong Huang, the Ancestral Wu clearly didn't have Liu Mang's shamelessness—they wouldn't do something and then deny it.

So for a moment, caught red-handed in their intentions, the Ancestral Wu didn't know how to explain themselves, and the scene fell silent.

Just as everyone was at a loss for words, Xuan Ming stepped forward first, glaring indignantly at Tai Yi, and lashed out like a broken pot thrown to the ground.

"Tai Yi, you mangy bird, you're just asking for a beating! Which of your eyes saw us sabotaging Daoist Nu Wa's enlightenment? Don't you go slandering our good name for nothing!"

As she spoke, Xuan Ming waved her hand and sent out a blast of Ice Qi. Wherever the ice passed, even the air itself seemed about to freeze.

Seeing Xuan Ming make a move, Tai Yi didn't even shift his stance. Instead, he pointed at her with a mocking laugh.

"Ooh, Big Brother, look! She's rattled! She's rattled!"

The moment Tai Yi's words fell, a figure appeared in front of him.

From Tai Yi's address, anyone could tell this was the ruler of the ancient Demon Court, Demon Emperor Di Jun.

Di Jun's attire was similar to Tai Yi's—he too wore the Heaven and Earth Crown—but his robe was the Sun Moon and Stars Robe, and his red hair streamed in the wind like a god or demon.

Compared to Tai Yi, Di Jun, bathed in the great golden light of the sun, had a far more restrained aura. His eyes seemed to hold the birth and death of countless stars, impossible to ignore.

When Xuan Ming's Ice Qi met the True Sun Flame surrounding Di Jun, it was like encountering its natural enemy. The moment they touched, it rapidly vaporized and dissolved, hissing as it vanished into thin air.

Di Jun cast a sidelong glance at the crowd and sneered contemptuously. "The Wu Clan really hasn't improved at all. Don't bother bringing out such pathetic tricks to embarrass yourselves."

Liu Mang watched Di Jun, who looked down on everything, and couldn't help but curl his lip.

[How many toads did you eat for that kind of big mouth?]

Hou Tu ignored Di Jun's mockery. Instead, she smiled gently, looked up at Di Jun and Tai Yi, and asked softly.

"You say our Wu Clan has ill intentions? Daoist Nu Wa is attaining the Dao, yet your Demon Race arrived even slower than us. Don't tell me you have a guilty conscience?"

At Hou Tu's words, Di Jun and Tai Yi exchanged a glance, then looked at Fu Xi. Fu Xi remained silent, head bowed, not saying a word.

Fu Xi had not failed to notice what Hou Tu pointed out. Di Jun and Tai Yi's tardiness said it all.

Everyone knew Di Jun and Tai Yi could travel using the light of the Sun Star, making them faster than the Wu Clan without question. Yet they had arrived so much later.

If there was nothing fishy about that, Liu Mang and Fu Xi wouldn't have believed it even if you beat them to death.

So when the Wu Clan argued with Di Jun and Tai Yi, Fu Xi didn't step in to stop them.

Di Jun and Tai Yi, for their part, had grievances they couldn't voice.

Nu Wa's enlightenment was good for the Demon Race, but for the two of them, it wasn't exactly a blessing.

If Nu Wa succeeded in attaining the Dao, who would call the shots in the Demon Race from then on?

Listen to the saint? What meaning would the Demon Court have then? How would the two brothers position themselves?

Or listen to them? Beneath a saint, all are ants. Who in all of Hong Huang would dare defy a saint's decree?

The two had traveled here with a conflicted and tangled heart, like a maiden in love waiting for her sweetheart—afraid he'd come, afraid he wouldn't, and afraid he'd come and mess everything up.

Liu Mang watched Hou Tu's excited expression and nodded approvingly. Now that's more like it! A real argument needs back-and-forth, sharp tongues and sharp words—that's the fun of it.

The other Ancestral Wu brightened at Hou Tu's words. Di Jiang couldn't help but sigh in relief, grateful he'd been clever enough to let Hou Tu lead this operation. Otherwise, they might have taken a serious loss!

As the saying goes, the one who knows you best isn't your teammate, but your enemy. Seizing on Di Jun and Tai Yi's weak spot, the Wu Clan began to unload.

Zhu Jiuyin: "Isn't this what they call the thief crying 'stop thief'?"

Tian Wu: "Exactly! Exactly!"

Zhu Rong: "Look, they're not even denying it—so that's really what they were thinking?"

Tian Wu: "Exactly! Exactly!"

Ju Mang: "Looks like they never really saw Fellow Daoist Nu Wa and Fellow Daoist Fu Xi as their own people~"

Tian Wu: "That's right, that's right!"

Gong Gong: "Old Nine, can you change your catchphrase? I'm about to throw up from hearing it!"

Tian Wu: "That's right, that's right!"

Gong Gong (a mythical figure)

"Tch, the Demon Race is the Demon Race—their hearts are just as filthy as ever!" She Bishi let out a long sigh, shaking his head with a look of deep feeling, before finally adding: "Fellow Daoist Fu Xi, I'm not including you and Sister Nu Wa in that, of course!"

Watching these instigators stir the pot, Tai Yi, already hot-tempered by nature, flew into a rage. He pointed at She Bishi and bellowed, "Who are you calling filthy-hearted? Say that again if you've got the guts!"

She Bishi showed no fear in the face of Tai Yi's reprimand, instead looking at him with a provocative grin. "What, I said it! What are you gonna do about it, you mangy bird? If you've got the balls, come down here and hit me!"

After saying this, She Bishi even crooked his finger at Tai Yi in a taunting gesture.

Tai Yi, of course, wouldn't fall for that. As a Three-Legged Golden Crow, the sky was his ideal battlefield; likewise, the Ancestral Wu's home turf was the ground.

As long as the Ancestral Wu didn't leave the earth, their bodies could be replenished by the turbid qi of the atmosphere. Even if Tai Yi fought for a whole day and night, he likely couldn't so much as budge an Ancestral Wu.

Tai Yi wasn't about to let She Bishi have the last word. With a look of utter contempt, he shot back, "If you've got the skills, come up to the sky!"

Zhu Rong: "If you've got the guts, come down to the ground! Your grandpa here will have a match with you!"

Tai Yi: "Pah! Do you think I'm stupid? You're so damn tough, why don't you fly up here yourself?"

The two sides were locked in a heated quarrel, and Liu Mang watched with great amusement.

Though it was different from the modern style of arguing—where the insults revolved around "using your mom as the center, your dad as the radius, and your ancestors eighteen generations back as the circle—win, and both parents survive; lose, and the family tree ascends to heaven"—it had the charm of primal purity.

Well, mostly because he was bored out of his mind. He couldn't run, he couldn't escape, so he might as well find something to do.

As he watched, Liu Mang pulled out something that looked like an apple from the Spiritual Fruits the Ancestral Wu had given him and started chomping down with a crunch.

The moment he took a bite, he felt something inside his body seem to sprout, a slightly swelling sensation.

[Could this be spiritual power?]

Liu Mang's eyes lit up. Like a groundhog, he hugged the Spiritual Fruit and devoured it like crazy.

"Sigh!"