Chapter 23: The Heavenly Refining Treasure, Red Cloud's Body Injured

  Penglai Island, Tongtian was now in the great hall refining a spiritual treasure. The Qiankun Ding was surrounded by flames, and in the firelight, a large black seal could be vaguely seen. Tongtian also didn't dare to slack off, his eyes were tightly fixed on the Qiankun Ding, and his hands would occasionally strike out with countless mysterious seals.

  A moment later, the flames disappeared, and a black seal flew out of the tripod. Tongtian was overjoyed to hold the seal in his hand for observation. The seal was entirely deep black, emitting a faint black glow, which was extraordinary at first glance. After a slight thought, Tongtian stretched out his hand and wiped the seal, and the three seal characters "镇神印" (Town God Seal) appeared on it. This seal was made by Tongtian using the remaining corpses after refining the Divine Dragon Tower with Fenbao Cliff as the main material. The seal was also extremely mysterious and could be large or small. At its largest, it could be as massive as Mount Tai, and with one strike, it could flatten a great mountain. Its power was no less than that of an extreme-grade pre-heavenly spiritual treasure. Compared to the "翻天印" (Heaven-Defying Seal) refined by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable using half of the Not-Week Mountain, this seal was not inferior in any way and even had a slight advantage.

  The reason for refining this treasure is somewhat related to Tongtian's past life. Growing up in an orphanage since childhood, he often fought with people when he was young, and the most commonly used thing during fights was a brick, so he refined this seal.

  At this time, Tongtian had already begun to fantasize about one of his three corpses, holding the Town God Seal, and with one strike, all enemies would be smashed into meat sauce, majestic and powerful. Thinking of this, Tongtian's saliva flowed out, completely without the demeanor a saint should have, looking like **. Tongtian didn't mind, anyway no one could see him. After Tongtian indulged in fantasy for a while, he also reined in his emotions, preparing to continue refining the spiritual treasure.

  Suddenly, Tongtian abruptly lifted his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and immediately returned to normal, saying lightly: "You can't bear the loneliness! Unfortunately, if the opportunity is not enough, all calculations are useless. In the end, it's likely that it will still be a futile effort, like trying to scoop water with a bamboo basket." After finishing speaking, Tongtian began to refine the treasure again.

  But after Kunpeng joined the Heavenly Court, Emperor Jun appointed him as the Master of All Demons, with a prestigious position in the Heavenly Court, second only to Emperor Jun and Donghuang Taiyi. Even Fuxi Daxian, the brother of Nüwa Niangniang, couldn't compare to him. However, Kunpeng was actually forced to join the Heavenly Court by Emperor Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, and he harbored resentment towards them in his heart. But now, both of them were far superior to Kunpeng in terms of cultivation and status, so Kunpeng could only endure silently.

  A few days ago, Laozi and five others became saints in succession, shocking the entire Honghuang world. Kunpeng was also extremely shocked. Afterwards, however, he felt great resentment. He thought back to when he had heard the Tao at Zixu Palace, where he too had once had a position, but was squeezed out by everyone else and could only give it up.

  Now, looking at the people who have become saints in the Purple Palace, Kunpeng's anger can be said to be overwhelming. The culprit who made him lose his position is of course Hongyun, it was because Hongyun pretended to be a good person and gave up his position to Zhunti, which forced Kunpeng to give up his position under pressure from everyone. Every time Kunpeng thinks about this, he is furious. Afterwards, Kunpeng thought that Hongyun also had a Hongmeng Purple Qi on his body, so he began to secretly plot, with the intention of robbing him.

  Since the idea of robbery arose, Kunpeng has been secretly staring at Hongyun's movements, waiting for an opportunity to seize the Hongmeng purple energy. Unfortunately, in these years, Hongyun has been closed in the cave house and has never appeared, Kunpeng is anxious but helpless, can only wait patiently.

  On this day, Kunpeng received a report from his trusted subordinate that Hongyun had left the cave mansion and was heading towards Wuzhuangguan. Kunpeng was overjoyed and sneered coldly in his heart: "Good for you, Hongyun! If it weren't for you yielding your seat back then, perhaps I would have become a saint by now. Why should I be subjected to humiliation in the heavenly court? The one who has achieved sainthood is not someone to be trifled with, but what virtue or ability do you possess, Hongyun, that you dare to usurp the precious Hongmeng Purple Qi? Today will be the day we settle this great karma between us, and when you turn to dust!" Kunpeng's face was filled with sinister intent.

  Kunpeng made an excuse to avoid Emperor Jun's surveillance, and he left the Heavenly Court alone. He came to the place where Hongyun had to pass by Wuzhuangguan, hiding his figure and waiting for Hongyun's arrival. However, after he left, a little demon came out of the Demon Master Palace, looked around, saw no one, and rushed straight to the Sun Palace.

  Hongyun returned to his cave after obtaining the Hongmeng Purple Qi from the Ziyu Palace and closed himself off, intending to refine the Hongmeng Purple Qi. However, six people had already become saints by now, but he still hadn't made any progress. Among those who possessed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, only he and Hou Tu hadn't become saints yet. Hongyun was anxious about this, but he indeed couldn't do anything about that Hongmeng Purple Qi. He also wasn't someone who could stay idle, so after calculating the time, it just so happened to be when Zhenyuanzi's ginseng fruit ripened. He ended his useless closed-door training and left his cave, heading towards Wanshou Mountain's Wuzhuang Temple.

  Red Cloud walked along the way, admiring the beautiful scenery of the vast continent while reminiscing about the delicious taste of Ren Shen Guo. However, his frustration and anxiety about being unable to refine the Hong Meng Purple Qi had been thrown far away. As he was walking, a sudden sense of foreboding arose in his heart, but before he could react, a swift bolt of heavenly lightning struck him on the head, exploding violently on his body. When the dust settled, Red Cloud's Daoist robe was tattered, his hair disheveled, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he had suffered severe internal injuries. Enraged, Red Cloud cursed:

  "What kind of rat is secretly plotting against me?" As soon as the words fell, a burst of eerie laughter came from above, and Hongyun looked up to see that it was the demon master Kunpeng. At this time, Kunpeng's eyes were icy cold, filled with endless killing intent.

  Hongyun seemed to have not noticed, and with a full fury said: "Kunpeng, what enmity do I have with you that you would set an ambush here?"

  "Ha ha, Hongyun, you still dare to pretend in front of the old ancestor? If it wasn't for you yielding to Zhunti at the Purple Cloud Palace back then, I wouldn't have been ostracized by everyone and lost that first-row seat. Who knows, maybe by now I would already be the high-and-mighty Hunyuan Saint? You say, how do you plan to repay such a great karma?" He didn't wait for Hongyun to respond before continuing: "What virtue or ability do you have, Hongyun, to obtain the precious Hongmeng Purple Qi? If you know what's good for you, hand over the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Perhaps the old ancestor will be pleased and spare your life, ha ha ha ha!"

  Hongyun was taken aback at first, then burst into anger: "You're outrageous, Kunpeng! You're completely unreasonable! What does the Daoist Ancestor granting me the Hongmeng Purple Qi have to do with you? Even if I were to turn into dust, I wouldn't give you the Hongmeng Purple Qi."

  A cold glint flashed in Kunpeng's eyes, and he sneered: "Heh heh, then you'll die." As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a pre-heavenly treasure sword and slashed it at Hongyun. Hongyun also took out his own magic weapon, the 99 Soul-scattering Gourd, and from the gourd sprayed out countless red sands, which in an instant covered up the entire sky.

  This broken gourd is the Red Cloud's pre-heavenly treasure gourd, refined from the roots of the calabaza. The red sand that spews out can pollute a person's primordial spirit and also harm their physical body, causing it to rot. Its power is astonishing, ranking second only to the Beheading Gourd in terms of attack among the seven gourds. Suddenly, the red sand covered the sky and earth, rushing towards Kunpeng. Not daring to be careless, Kunpeng released countless divine thunderbolts to strike the red sand. The rumbling sound was incessant, and instantly, a path was blasted out through the enveloping red sand.

  Hongyun saw that this matter was not going to end, and he was filled with great hatred for Kunpeng. Seeing that the red silks could not hold down Kunpeng, he immediately used his strongest attack method, the divine thunderbolt that he had gained insight into from Hongjun's teachings, releasing it in all directions, filling the entire sky, and the red sand in the gourd also poured out piece by piece, surrounding Kunpeng once again, putting him at a disadvantage.

  Kunpeng's theory of law power is considered strong among the many great gods in Honghuang, but unfortunately, he does not have a congenital spiritual treasure on his body. Kunpeng saw that the Red Cloud Treasure's divine ability was formidable, and after being injured, he found himself unable to match it, with a hint of jealousy flashing in his eyes. With a loud roar, he released his own cut-off good thoughts, and suddenly, an enormous fish appeared above Kunpeng's head, its body so massive that its tail could not be seen from its head, with a pair of flesh wings on its back.

  Kunpeng pointed at his incarnation and flew towards the red cloud. It was seen that neither the divine thunder nor the scattered red sand falling on his incarnation could harm it in the slightest. The red cloud saw that he couldn't stop Kunpeng's incarnation, so he also released his own incarnation formed by cutting off evil thoughts with a single red cloud. He wanted to hold back Kunpeng to avoid hurting himself. Unexpectedly, when his incarnation collided with Kunpeng's incarnation, it was like an ant shaking a tree, unable to stop Kunpeng's physical body from advancing.

  Kunpeng burst into laughter after transforming, "Hongyun, you can't escape today." Hongyun saw that he couldn't stop Kunpeng's corpse, so he withdrew his transformation and quickly released the red sand again in an attempt to block Kunpeng for a moment. He then set up a cloud and fled towards Wuzhuangguan with all his might.

  Still less than a thousand miles away, he suddenly found that the flags in front of him were fluttering and the killing intent was pervasive. Tens of millions of heavenly soldiers formed a large array, surrounding him in an arc. Hongyun exclaimed: "Emperor Jun, Dong Huang Taiyi!" As soon as his voice fell, a loud laughter came from the front: "Hongyun, if you hand over the Hongmeng Purple Qi, this emperor will spare your life." It was Dong Huang Taiyi who laughed and said so. Seeing that Hongyun was already at the end of his strength, Dong Huang Taiyi had already regarded the Hongmeng Purple Qi as something in his pocket.

  Hongyun said loudly: "Emperor Jun, Dong Huang Taiyi. The Hongmong Purple Qi is a gift from the Ancestor of Taoism. Are you really daring to rob it by force? Don't you fear the Ancestor's blame?"

  Di Jun sneered, "Others I wouldn't dare to snatch. But you, Hongyun... Hmph! What if I did snatch it? Was it bestowed by the Dao Ancestor? Hongyun, wake up! Did the Dao Ancestor say you could become a saint? If I recall correctly, he never said that, right? You demon master, don't you think what I'm saying is correct?" Kunpeng's face had already turned extremely ugly upon seeing Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi also lying in wait to ambush Hongyun.

  Never thought that his every move was under the control of Emperor Jun and Dong Huang Tai Yi. Fortunately, he still thought he was being stealthy. But it turned out he had become a scapegoat. When Emperor Jun teased him, his face turned iron blue. He suppressed his anger, bowed his head and saluted:

  "I, Kun Peng, pay my respects to Your Majesty. What you said is correct. Hong Yun has no virtue and no ability. How can he enjoy the auspicious clouds and purple energy? Even the Taoist founder never said that Hong Yun could become a saint. I only heard the Taoist founder say that everyone relies on their own destiny. I thought that as Your Majesty is the revered Heavenly Emperor, you naturally have this destiny. That's why I thought of taking it to present to Your Majesty. Unexpectedly, Your Majesty had already set up an ambush here. I am not a match for you!"

  Di Jun smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying Kun Peng's sophistry. After all, Kun Peng was a demon master and had some prestige in the demon clan, and he still had some use for the demon clan; otherwise, Di Jun would have killed him long ago, how could he leave such a disaster behind?

  At this time, Hongyun's face was furious, knowing that today was probably doomed to escape. A flash of viciousness flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "You shameless villains, even if I die today, I won't let you succeed!" After speaking, he urged the full force of his spiritual power to expand, a strong whirlwind rose from his body, and his whole body swelled up like an inflated balloon.

  A deafening boom, a massive shockwave erupted from where Hongyun was, the shockwave instantly spreading in all directions. Each wave was enough to destroy a Taiyi Golden Immortal. The dense waves crashed into the large formation, instantly creating a gap, dozens of waves rushed in, and thousands of demon tribes were reduced to ashes. It was Hongyun's burning magic power, self-destructing his primordial spirit, refusing to let the demon tribes have an easy time!

  Di Jun, Dong Huang Tai Yi and others couldn't care less about the losses of the demon tribe at this moment. They were staring intently at the place where Hong Yun self-destructed, hoping to find the Hong Meng purple energy bestowed upon Hong Yun by Hong Yuan Lao Zu. However, even after the dust had settled, Di Jun and the others still couldn't find any trace of the Hong Meng purple energy. Di Jun was furious, having made multiple plans only to see them foiled at the last moment. He hadn't expected Hong Yun to be so resolute, self-destructing his primordial spirit. Di Jun shouted loudly:

  "Find it for me, dig three feet underground if you have to, and bring back that Hongmeng Purple Qi." The demons had no choice but to go search. However, they all did so stealthily, after all, the Desolate Expanse was the domain of the Witch Clan, and if they weren't careful and attracted the attention of the Witch Clan, these people wouldn't be enough for the Witch Clan to even bother looking at. So, the demons were all extremely cautious as they searched extensively in the surrounding area, but unfortunately, the Hongmeng Purple Qi was still nowhere to be found.

  The eyes saw the hands of the sacred machine fly away without warning, and even Emperor Jun was furious and scolded endlessly. Searching for nothing, he had no choice but to return to the Heavenly Court.

  Penglai Island, in the grand hall, Tongtian was refining a spiritual treasure. At the moment when Hongyun's body was damaged, he had already sensed something. His hand paused slightly, and he looked up at a distance, saying lightly: "Hongyun, stupid, foolish, worthless, not worth pitying." After finishing speaking, he ignored him and continued to refine the treasure.

  divider

  Chapter 1 is online, Xiaocai has created a group chat, the link is in the book review section, everyone can join to discuss and exchange ideas. Also, I'm asking for votes, Xiaocai thanks you all in advance!

  Voting, collecting, recommending, commenting... please give some, Xiaocai's recommendations are so pitiful!