Chapter Fifteen: Zhuang Rong's Fury

  Zhuang Xiong's outburst was truly exhilarating, and he couldn't help but let out a long whistle that echoed through the sky, leaving behind a beautiful tail of sound. Nüwa saw Zhuang Xiong suddenly burst forth with his yuan energy, which transformed into five pillars that shot out of his chest, supporting a cloud of celebration on top of his head. The cloud was golden in color and thousands of acres in size, with the yuan energy surging and churning ceaselessly, as if even the sun in the sky was obscured by it. Within the cloud, three flower buds stood upright, waiting to bloom, but suddenly seemed to have been sprayed with a growth agent, rapidly blooming and gradually solidifying into three large lotus flowers - one gold, one jade, and one emerald green. These were the three flowers that had been nurtured in Zhuang Xiong's yuan spirit purple mansion, finally appearing today and breaking through the boundaries of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. As the three flowers bloomed, Zhuang Xiong's dao cultivation also rapidly ascended, from the initial stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal to the peak, then breaking through to the middle stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal, step by step climbing towards the peak. The three flowers also became increasingly resplendent and captivating as Zhuang Xiong's dao cultivation ascended, emitting a mesmerizing glow. A small tripod, a folding fan, and a long sword respectively sat atop the three flowers, happily leaping, spinning, and dancing about. These were none other than the original divine treasures of the Qiankun Ding, Qiankun Fan, and Qiankun Sword, with the Qiankun Staff standing quietly upright within the cloud, guarding the three flowers.

  Nüwa looked stunned, her eyes gleaming with a strange light, yet she couldn't help but say in a low tone: "So this fool still has a folding fan spirit treasure that he hasn't taken out. Let's see how I'll deal with you later."

  Zhuang Xiong rushed along this road, but had long forgotten his appointment with Fuxi. He had been running for three days when suddenly a Taoist appeared out of nowhere, riding on a red cloud that shone brightly like a rainbow. The Taoist's speed was only slightly inferior to Zhuang Xiong's. "Fellow practitioner, please stop!" the Taoist cried out loudly.

  Nüwa was suddenly overcome with emotion and inadvertently damaged the heavenly way.

  At the moment of breakthrough, Yuan Li suddenly heard the sentence "Daoist friend, please stay" and was greatly shocked. His mind quickly flashed with thoughts such as "Hong Huang's famous saying", "Seal God's first treasure", "Zhuanti?", "Shen Gong Bao?" and his heart skipped a beat. The promotion of his Dao line also came to an abrupt halt. Zhuang Xiong was like a fist hitting a spring, his chest's five energies and the top three flowers were like a startled rabbit, rapidly retreating back. Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but hold his breath, his chest felt suffocated, his eyes saw gold stars, and his feet also stumbled, hastily taking a few steps to regain balance, but the suffocation became even more severe, as if he was about to spit blood.

  Nüwa saw that Zhuang Xiong seemed to be in a bad state, and with the arrival of outsiders, she quickly jumped out of his arms and asked anxiously: "Brother Bear, are you alright? Let's adjust your breath first. I'll help protect you."

  Zhuang Xiong only then remembered that Nüwa was still in his arms, and it seemed that he could still smell the fragrance that had not yet dissipated in the air. He felt the soft and warm touch in his arms, and thought that this person not only interrupted his breakthrough, but also destroyed his Taoist practice, and added to the sin of ruining his good relationship with Nüwa. His anger grew even more intense, and he said, "Don't worry, Nüwa, I'm fine." After speaking, he coldly stared at the rainbow light approaching in the distance, his face ferocious, his eyes icy, and a murderous aura spreading around him.

  The man's voice was full of enthusiasm, and before he even saw the figure, he heard the sound coming from afar: "Fellow Daoist, your cultivation is impressive, your divine powers are remarkable. I, Hong Yun of Huo Yun Dong, have seen you." As soon as the words fell, Hong Yun also landed on the ground. He was surrounded by a red glow, wearing a red robe, and his smile was like a blooming flower, radiant and brilliant. A friendly aura spread out from him. The Daoist saw that the two of them were not ordinary people and couldn't help but secretly admire them. Without waiting for their response, Hong Yun said: "I won't hide it from you, fellow Daoists, among all my skills, only this cloud-driving technique is somewhat impressive. Today, I met you and realized there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens. My heart itches with excitement, so I couldn't help but stop you. If you don't mind, we can have a good exchange."

  Zhuang Xiong didn't care what he said, and didn't even listen to a single word. Before Hong Yun could get close, Zhuang Xiong had already taken a step forward with a cold face. Nüwa was shocked and quickly reached out to grab him, but it was too late. Zhuang Xiong's one step was like taking a thousand steps, and he instantly appeared in front of Hong Yun. Without saying a word, he swung his hand and slapped Hong Yun to the ground with a loud slap. Even with Hong Yun's Taizhen Golden Immortal cultivation, his mouth was filled with blood and his teeth were knocked out. Zhuang Xiong didn't wait for him to react, and kicked him again, sending Hong Yun flying out with a mouthful of fresh blood. Although Hong Yun didn't know why he was being beaten, this wasn't the time to think about it. He took advantage of the momentum to rise into the air and try to open up some distance. Zhuang Xiong wouldn't let him get away, and with a flash of spiritual light, he used the Move Mountains and Rivers technique, treating Hong Yun like a mountain, grabbing him from mid-air with one hand.

  Zhuang Xiong was already at the mid-stage peak of Daluo Jinxian, while Hong Yun had just entered the Taiyi realm. Where could he resist Zhuang Xiong's angry grab? It seemed as if there was an invisible giant hand in the void that made Hong Yun involuntarily fly back and be firmly controlled by Zhuang Xiong. It can be seen that there are no useless divine powers, it just depends on how you use them. But where did Zhuang Xiong have time to think about this now? At this moment, Zhuang Xiong had already entered the Daluo realm, enlightened his nature, and the arrogance and overbearingness in his bones were all revealed. He looked at the Heavenly Way even more clearly. You, Hong Yun, are just a discarded pawn. Without you, there would still be Kunpeng, Minghe, or some other Zi Yun Baiyun. Among the three thousand guests in the Purple Palace, only a few dozen had achieved great success and fame. Having one more of you wouldn't make a difference, and having one less of you wouldn't be a loss either. What's the hurry? With the Open Heaven Merit protecting my body, who can harm me? Why must I humiliate myself like this?

  But he said that Zhuang Xiong was furious and had already made up his mind to kill, but he didn't want to let Hong Yun off so easily. With both hands inserted into Hong Yun's hair bun, he even tore out a few pieces of scalp. Zhuang Xiong grabbed Hong Yun's hair bun and treated him like a broken sack, slamming him to the ground with all his might, swinging him back and forth, only to hear the sound of cracking bones nonstop. For a time, it was unclear how many bones Hong Yun had shattered. As for Zhuang Xiong's physical body, it was extraordinary from the start, and after being tempered for countless years, he had already reached the standard of a saint. Under this brutal beating, Hong Yun couldn't escape, and in just over a dozen blows, he became as soft as a puddle of mud. Zhuang Xiong's hands were covered in blood, which he didn't like, so he threw Hong Yun to the ground again and kicked him wildly, trampling him underfoot. In an instant, Hong Yun's bones were broken, his tendons snapped, and fresh blood spewed from his mouth as if it was worthless.

  This lasted for nearly half a day, and the red cloud had already exhausted its energy, with more going out than coming in. Its physical body was broken and disfigured, its primordial spirit fluttering about, its true spirit flickering on and off, as if it might collapse at any moment. Although Zhuang Xiong still felt unsatisfied, he saw that the red cloud had no strength to resist, so he stretched out his palm, and the Qian Kun rod appeared in his hand. With a light shake, it transformed into a wrist-thick, several-meter-long rod, which swung straight towards the top of the red cloud's head.

  Nüwa had never seen such a cruel scene before, and was already stunned. At this time, seeing Zhuang Xiong wanting to kill Hong Yun, she couldn't help but be greatly shocked, and hastily went forward to tightly grab Zhuang Xiong's hand that was holding the rod, and persuaded him: "Brother Xiong, you've already beaten him to such a state, shouldn't your anger have been vented by now? Why must you still kill him, and create more karma? It's better to just let it go like this."

  Zhuang Xiong coldly snorted and said, "If you don't kill the snake, it will bite back. Even if there's a huge karmic debt, this one strike of mine will settle it. On the contrary, sparing him today would be creating an even bigger karmic debt. As for karmic debts, from the moment he interrupted my cultivation, it has already been formed. I might as well kill him now and end this karmic debt."

  "Anyway, I won't let you kill anyone." She then turned her head to Hongyun who was lying on the ground like a puddle of mud and said: "Hongyun, my brother has a bad temper, it's better if you leave first, we'll come visit you another day to apologize."

  Zhuang Xiong flew into a rage: "What are you apologizing for? Don't you know how much this has ruined things for me?"

  That red cloud stirred and his body felt a sharp pain, thinking he would die soon. He had already resigned himself to fate, but seeing Zhuang Xiong being held by Nüwa, he suddenly gained courage and shouted loudly: "Fellow Taoist, you are indeed not a human son! I saw your escape method was swift, and at first, I thought you were a fellow practitioner, so I came forward to greet you. Although I was a bit reckless, it wasn't worth being beaten so viciously. Think of Red Cloud's friendships spanning the heavens, touring the vast wilderness, yet never having seen such a ruthless creature as you."

  "Nüwa hurriedly explained on behalf of Zhuang Xiong: 'Fellow Taoist, you don't know that my brother Xiong was just having a sudden enlightenment and breakthrough, but was disturbed by you, ruining his Taoist state and almost suffering internal injury. Ruining someone's cultivation is an unforgivable hatred, no wonder my brother Xiong was so furious.'"

  Hong Yun's eyes flashed, but he shouted: "How do I know he is breaking through? Moreover, how can a fellow Taoist suddenly enlighten and break through while running? Are you two colluding to deceive me? I won't leave today, you two must give me an explanation. I still don't believe that there's no justice in this world."

  Zhuang Xiong was furious and laughed, saying in a stern voice: "Brother Dao dares to say that I don't know I'm breaking through? At that time, my five elements were facing the origin, three flowers gathered at the top, the energy of the three flowers rose steadily, visible for thousands of miles. Brother Dao isn't speaking nonsense with his eyes open, is he?" Nüwa's mind moved and she looked at Hongyun with suspicion, but saw that Hongyun's eyes dodged, not knowing the truth.

  Zhuang Xiong was enraged, his right hand still being held by Nüwa, but with his left hand he took out the Qian Kun fan and slapped it downwards. Suddenly, a large mountain appeared in mid-air and pressed down on Hong Yun. Zhuang Xiong had somehow moved a mountain over here, as he was the spirit of the great earth, controlling rivers and land, moving mountains was something he was extremely skilled at.

  Hong Yun saw this display of power and didn't care about his pain anymore, quickly flipping his body to dodge out of the way. The large mountain crashed onto the ground, causing a landslide and earthquake. Zhuang Xiong flipped the Qian Kun fan again, and the mountain rose into the air once more, charging towards Hong Yun.

  Hong Yun gritted his teeth and endured the impact, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he used a secret technique to transform into a rainbow light and escape.

  Zhuang Xiong was enraged, and with a wave of his hand, the mountain lightly drew an arc, barely blocking the red cloud in front. The red cloud suddenly crashed into it, spewing out fresh blood.

  Nüwa thought that Hongyun deserved to be punished, but didn't know why. She really didn't want Zhuang Xiong to kill him, so she quickly stuck herself to Zhuang Xiong's back and held his arms down with both hands. "Hongyun, you'd better leave quickly," she shouted, "I won't be able to hold Brother Xiong for long!" Hongyun heard her voice and hastily ran around the stone mountain, not even having time to figure out which direction he was going in. In an instant, he accelerated his speed to the limit and fled desperately.

  But little did Nüwa know that her loud shout only fueled Zhuang Xiong's anger, making him feel even more displeased that she was helping Hongyun, someone he had just met, right in front of him. Although his hand was being held back by Nüwa, the Qiankun stick suddenly transformed into a thousand-foot-long rod, heavily striking Hongyun's waist. In his rage, Zhuang Xiong didn't realize that he had actually hurt Hongyun and made him retreat further away. Enraged, Zhuang Xiong used one hand to lift Nüwa up by her buttocks, carrying her on his back as he chased after Hongyun with the Road Opening Technique, his eyes fixed intently on his target.

  However, Zhuang Xiong's pursuit angered Nüwa. She pouted her small mouth and let out a cold hum. Seeing that Zhuang Xiong was only staring at Hongyun and running wildly, she felt angry in her heart and bit down hard on Zhuang Xiong's neck.

  Zhuang Xiong was startled for a moment, and his feet also stumbled. He hastily stopped in his tracks and turned around to gaze at Nüwa with astonishment.