Chapter 174

Yunmeng Marsh.

Qi quietly watched in the water mirror until Ao Xing died, then rose and wrote a letter to be sent beyond Yunmeng Marsh.

"It seems between us there remains a teacher‑student affinity."

If Ao Xing had encountered an ordinary Lo Golden Immortal, Qi would only feel a headache, for their cultivation time is short, they do not understand the divine path, and they always strike ruthlessly.

They did not know Qi's name, nor the significance of Yunmeng Marsh; they only knew to eradicate completely, and upon meeting these people Ao Xing's true spirit could hardly survive, with no chance of rebirth.

However, since those encountered are innate divinities, Qi is less worried; even if he has never met them, they will still give him some face.

They understand priorities; only in this way do their disciples gain a bit more protection when venturing out.

Since Ao Xing's true spirit still exists, Qi need not incur those debts; he only needs to later retrieve and extradite it.

At most it will take a little extra time to recultivate once; waiting for him to return to Golden Immortal, with his fruition consolidated, he will naturally return.

"This way we owe Shaohao a karmic debt, but it is much easier; as for what Ao Xing owes, let him repay it slowly."

Qi pondered in the Heart‑of‑the‑Pond Pavilion; though Ao Xing's few requests before his death were simple, repaying them would not be easy.

The karmic debt of innate divinities cannot be so lightly incurred; if they were fellow innate divinities it would be fine, but mortal lives are too light—any slight disturbance can cause earth‑shaking changes.

For now Qi only needs to await the end of the great calamity, then make a trip to the Western White Tiger Clan; if their ambitions are greater, perhaps he need not leave Yunmeng Marsh, for Shaohao himself would come to visit.

Shaohao has likewise made up his mind; after the great calamity ends he will go to Yunmeng Marsh for a visit, for Yunmeng Marsh is rich—even a little outflow would sustain the White Tiger Clan for a long time.

"As the core of the primordial economic and entertainment trend for thousands of yuanhui, the population and wealth gathered in Yunmeng Marsh should be enough for our clan to prosper for a long time."

Shaohao is now quite satisfied; although he killed Ao Xing, the true spirit once existed, and the divine artifact of God Qi is in his hand.

When the time comes to return the treasure and true spirit, this karmic debt will not be small.

Yunmeng Marsh has been managed by several innate divinities; it survived two great calamities unscathed, peacefully passed through, and accumulated abundant resources.

Especially since sometime unknown, Yunmeng Marsh's caravans have wandered the primordial world, spreading its song, dance, and culture.

Leading the primordial world's aesthetics and atmosphere, these have brought Yunmeng Marsh countless popularity.

Shaohao also thought that after the great calamity ends, he could use this karmic bond to establish a fixed caravan between the White Tiger Clan and Yunmeng Marsh.

He could even relocate part of the clan to settle in Yunmeng Marsh, ensuring the White Tiger Clan's Dao lineage would not be lost.

But no one imagined that the Xifang Dalu would suddenly erupt in calamity, shattering its terrestrial pulses entirely, leaving scarcely any spiritual essence.

The Xifang Dalu also, thanks to this karmic bond, gained a full pass to enter the East.

Xifang Dalu.

Hongjun and Luo Hu confronted each other in the sky, neither daring to act rashly, yet merely the clash of their auras made heaven and earth change color.

Luo Hu held the God‑Slaying Spear, with countless calamitous and murderous qi gathering around him, like a demon god intent on destroying heaven and earth.

Hongjun's body was suffused with pure light, myriad rosy clouds staining the sky; beneath his feet he trod the heavenly celebratory clouds, the Jade Disc of Creation standing behind him, truly bearing the aura of an immortal. Finally the two began to move, merely waving lightly, and heaven and earth were divided into purple‑black hues, the sky riddled with countless fissures, the earth likewise, even magma surging forth.

Hongjun waved the plain‑colored cloud‑boundary banner; instantly auspicious signs filled heaven and earth, but Luo Hu's spear‑borne murderous qi smashed through, causing all heavenly and earthly phenomena to vanish.

Yang Mei, Yin Yang, Qian Kun, and the Five Elements sat high upon the heavy clouds, their eyes also showing a hint of shock.

The two's treasures are not suited for combat; in their view, since Luo Hu obtained the God‑Slaying Spear, he should have gained some advantage.

Yet unexpectedly, Hongjun did not fall behind; those heavenly celebratory clouds are indeed a fine treasure, able to protect Hongjun under the spear's assault.

When the two clashed, heaven and earth were divided; from Mount Sumeru continually surged vast amounts of calamitous and murderous qi, boosting Luo Hu's attack, making it somewhat hard for Hongjun to withstand.

Luo Hu brandished the God‑Slaying Spear; countless streams of Heavenly God‑Slaughtering qi rushed toward Hongjun, and whatever they touched—divine power or treasure's radiance—became utterly dim.

Hongjun also felt a headache; he had not expected the Primal Qilin to have transferred so much murderous qi, enabling Luo Hu to transform it into Heavenly God‑Slaughtering qi.

Hongjun slightly turned his body, seeing only a streak of Heavenly God‑Slaughtering qi graze his side and fall to the ground.

Within a radius of hundreds of millions of li, that area instantly turned into white ground; anything contaminated there turned to white‑bone corpses in an instant.

Luo Hu lifted the spear tip; countless calamitous qi turned into a foul wind, blowing the heavenly celebratory clouds to and fro, on the verge of collapse, as if about to turn from red to black.

Helpless, Hongjun could only offer the Jade Disc of Creation, emitting a lustrous light that caused the calamitous and Heavenly God‑Slaughtering qi to actively avoid it.

Seeing the fine cracks above, Luo Hu laughed loudly: "Hongjun, do you know how this Jade Disc of Creation was broken? Though you once guessed, you never dared to be certain."

"Now I can plainly tell you: although the Divine Rebel followed my orders at the last moment to destroy your Jade Disc of Creation, earlier someone had wanted to eliminate us both."

"Aren't you curious who that person is? And aren't you afraid that, should we both suffer mutual destruction, he would strike again?"

Upon these words, Hongjun's movement slowed instantly, and likewise Luo Hu after speaking them.

At that moment Luo Hu realized that, in his effort to disturb Hongjun, he seemed to have uttered something terrible.

Above the clouds, Yin Yang, the Five Elements, and Qian Kun had already focused their gaze on Yang Mei; they initially thought it was merely an accident.

The three wore strange expressions, only Yang Mei remained quite normal, and instead he turned the tables, asking:

"How come you all act this way? Could it not be the person Luo Hu spoke of among you?"

The crowd instantly returned to normal, merely laughing: "Luo Hu has gone mad, wildly spouting nonsense, actually uttering such foolish words."

When the crowd's gaze refocused on Hongjun and Luo Hu, they also began to calculate how likely Luo Hu's words were and their chance of success.

"Luo Hu, I think you're mad; now we are about to leave the primordial realm—where would we find the leisure to deal with……"

Yang Mei had not finished speaking when Hongjun's action interrupted him; only see him lift the Jade Disc of Creation, taking advantage of Luo Hu's distraction to condense a divine light that shot straight toward Luo Hu.

A single strike knocked Luo Hu, who stood atop the twelve‑grade World‑Annihilating Black Lotus, down; his flesh shattered, striking the membrane of heaven and earth.

Just that blow sent Luo Hu flying from the Western core of Mount Sumeru out of the Xifang Dalu!

(End of Chapter)