Chapter 917: Laozi Strikes

Tianwai Hun-dun.

Yuqing Heaven.

"Big Brother, so it turns out you were the one hiding the deepest!"

Yuanshi Tianzun said gloomily, his eyes carrying a trace of chill.

Recalling the Fengshen War, the Ren Sect had suffered almost no losses, while his Twelve Golden Immortals were left in name only, and the Jie Sect had also suffered significant losses, with even Zhao Gongming, who had the potential to reach Great Luo, falling.

Everyone had been played by Laozi in the palm of his hand.

By utilizing the Fengshen War, Laozi had successfully weakened the Chan Sect and the Jie Sect, and now that he had grasped the Heavenly Dao Network, the general trend was nearly complete, which was why he did not mind exposing it.

If, under Laozi's support, the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty unified the Human Race, wouldn't Laozi then be elevated above all the other Sages?

What deep scheming.

………

Tongtian Jiaozhu, Jieyin Daoren, Zhunti Daoren, Houtu, Haotian, Minghe Laozu, and others all sighed in amazement at Laozi's profound planning; he had truly deceived everyone.

Although there were still many doubts within this.

But Seven-Turn Golden Pills, and over a hundred of them at that, were truly something only Laozi could produce.

On one hand, they regarded Laozi and the Ren Sect as their number one enemy.

On the other hand, they also scrambled to accept the bounty.

They were just branches of Spiritual Roots, after all; picking a small section wouldn't harm the main body, and a Seven-Turn Golden Pill could cultivate a perfect Golden Immortal with complete potential.

As for the purpose of collecting Spiritual Root branches, it was very likely for Refining some peerless Divine Pill.

But no matter how peerless, it could not possibly allow one to achieve the status of a Quasi-Saint.

……

Shouyang Mountain.

Eight Views Palace.

Xuandu Dafa Shi said with concern: "Master, ever since the 'bounty' officially changed the reward to Seven-Turn Golden Pills, the network is now full of rumors saying that you manipulated the Fengshen War and are also the person behind Di Qi."

Public opinion is a powerful force; should we clarify this?

Otherwise, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and the others will certainly believe it was your scheme."

As he spoke, he could not help but observe Laozi's expression.

In reality, let alone the Sages, even he himself suspected that Laozi had done it.

Seven-Turn Golden Pills, and over a hundred of them at that; in the entire Honghuang, no one other than Laozi could produce them.

And the Seven-Turn Golden Pills that had flowed out from Laozi's hands definitely did not exceed ten.

As for the pill formulas and the methods of Refining, those were even more top-secret.

Even he did not know them.

It was a pity, however, that Xuandu Dafa Shi was disappointed.

Laozi's expression remained as usual, his eyes indifferent.

He raised his brows to look at Xuandu Dafa Shi and said calmly: "The human heart is stubborn; they will not believe us just because of our clarification. They prefer to believe what they already believe."

Furthermore, how is your master to explain?

Seven-Turn Golden Pills are my signature; one or two could be explained away.

If it exceeds ten, I have no way to explain it.

Not to mention that this time, the mastermind behind the Heavenly Dao Network needs to produce over a hundred of them to exchange for various Spiritual Roots."

Xuandu Dafa Shi said unwillingly: "Master, are we just going to let it go like this?"

Laozi said: "Of course it is impossible to just let it go. According to the current situation, the mastermind controlling the Heavenly Dao Network should be the person behind the scenes supporting Di Qi. Since he is hiding, then we must find a way to force him out."

Xuandu Dafa Shi's eyes lit up: "Master, are you going to take action yourself?"

Laozi shook his head.

In the current situation of Honghuang, it is truly not appropriate for him to take action personally.

Just like how Duobao Daoren, Antarctic Immortal, and Maitreya Buddha were blackmailed by Chen Zhan for Low-Grade Post-Heaven Spiritual Roots, even Yuanshi Tianzun held back in the end and did not take action.

The Good Corpse of a Sage is like a modern nuclear bomb. It can be used for deterrence, but it really cannot be used casually.

Laozi said: "You go first to cut a piece of Banana leaf and exchange it for a Seven-Turn Golden Pill from the 'bounty'. Your master will first see if this Seven-Turn Golden Pill is indeed my Seven-Turn Golden Pill."

He still did not believe that anyone could produce so many Seven-Turn Golden Pills.

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it.

Seven-Turn Golden Pills have easy-to-find materials, but the Refining process is extremely difficult.

Even he cannot guarantee success every time.

"Yes, Master."

Xuandu Dafa Shi acknowledged the order and turned to exit the main hall.

The Banana Tree, one of the Supreme Innate Spiritual Roots, appeared on Mount Buzhou back in the day.

When he encountered it by chance, Minghe Laozu happened to be there too.

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Because he had not yet become a Sage at that time and his cultivation was on par with Minghe Laozu, it was impossible to truly monopolize it, so he yielded the two most essential Banana leaves, letting Minghe Laozu have one.

Later, he refined that Banana leaf into a Banana Fan, which belongs to the Superior Innate Spiritual Treasure.

It is just a pity that since then, the Banana Tree has never produced such miraculous Banana leaves again, though it did start bearing bananas.

These bananas mature every nine thousand years, producing three hundred each time; they have the effect of strengthening meridians, opening up the dantian, and consolidating the Purple Mansion, making them most suitable for solidifying a cultivator's foundation.

Three or four minutes later.

Xuandu Dafa Shi returned to the hall and presented an egg-sized crystal to Laozi with both hands.

"Master, this is the Seven-Turn Golden Pill that was exchanged."

Laozi gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment and took the crystal, inside which was sealed a golden Pill, roughly the size of a dragon's eye, covered in profound patterns as if naturally branded with the markings of the Great Dao.

The golden, glistening Pill radiated a hazy, celestial glow.

That celestial glow actually manifested various phenomena; one moment it was like a host of immortals roaming the mountains, the next like spiritual birds dancing in flight.

Crack!

Laozi crushed the crystal, and as he held the Seven-Turn Golden Pill, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

He discovered that, judging solely by its appearance, it was exactly the same as the ones he refined.

Afterward, he placed the Seven-Turn Golden Pill into his mouth and slowly closed his eyes.

After a long while, Laozi opened his eyes again, two beams of sharp light shooting out, and he wore a grave expression: "It is a Seven-Turn Golden Pill, only the method of Refining is somewhat different from mine; it is too heavy with craftsmanship."

"Of course, the Refining method is still highly sophisticated; I fear even your second martial uncle and the others might not necessarily be able to tell the difference."

"The person who refined it is at least of the level of a Peak Quasi-Saint."

"A Peak Quasi-Saint!"

Xuandu Dafa Shi felt his heart sink upon hearing this.

If it were a Peak Quasi-Saint, this meant that even his Master would likely be unable to do anything to the other party.

"Then Master, how should we force them to reveal themselves?"

Laozi said: "Block the Yin Shang. Since he supports the Yin Shang, then we shall block the Yin Shang. If he truly wishes to use the Yin Shang for some scheme, he will definitely reveal himself in the end."

Xuandu Dafa Shi said with difficulty: "But Master, you cannot take action personally, and I fear I am no match for Chen Zhan. Above Chen Zhan, there is still the Second and First Offering."

Laozi said indifferently: "The First Offering is not necessarily stronger than the Third Offering, and it is even possible that this was fabricated by Di Qi, with the goal of making people mistakenly believe the Yin Shang is very strong."

"Even if the so-called First Offering is a Quasi-Saint, so what?"

"I cannot take action, but I can have others do it; there are not many Quasi-Saints in the Honghuang, but there are not few either."

Speaking to this point, he took out a Talisman Edict and handed it to Xuandu Dafa Shi: "You shall make a trip to Tianyu Mountain; the master of Tianyu Mountain is named Tianyu Daoren, who also once listened to the Dao at Zixiao Palace and is a Quasi-Saint who has achieved Corpse Severing."

"Back then, he was able to sever his corpse thanks to my guidance."

"Go find him and ask him to make a trip to Zhaoge to bring Di Qi to Shouyang Mountain."

"I would like to see exactly who it is that is plotting against me." (End of chapter)