NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: New and Old Enmities
The Chaos Bell flew back to Taiyi and rested behind his back. Taiyi glanced at Kong Xuan before turning his attention to Redcloud Ancestor.
"Even Heavenly Court wants my Grandmist Violet Qi?" Redcloud Ancestor helplessly said.
"Daoist Redcloud, did you forget how you came into possession of that gourd?" Taiyi suddenly asked. "We asked you to become one of the four demon emperors, but you rejected us. Now, it's time to pay back your debt."
Redcloud Ancestor opened his mouth but shut it. He knew that it was useless. Heavenly Court just found a reason so that they could steal his Grandmist Violet Qi in a righteous manner.
"That's good and all, but that is not your decision whether you can take Redcloud's Grandmist Violet Qi or not," Tongtian said as she blocked Taiyi's line of sight.
"Daoist Tongtian, this has nothing to do with you. Leave; I don't want to hurt you," Taiyi said.
Tongtian laughed. It was a beautiful laughter like bell chimes, but anyone who heard would feel a chill in their hearts. The Qingping Sword left its sheathe with an audible sharpness.
"Die."
Tongtian thrust the Qingping Sword forward. The space in front of her twisted and shattered, and she moved like she teleported in front of Taiyi. Taiyi felt as if an invisible force was pulling his body toward the sword tip, and there was nothing he could do to escape.
Gong~!
The Qingping Sword struck the Chaos Bell, shattering the surrounding space like a popped bubble and sending the Chaos Bell crashing into Taiyi. After being sent over a li, Taiyi managed to stabilize himself, but a trail of blood leaked down his lips.
In a burst of flames, Taiyi flew back towards Tongtian. Unwillingness and a sense of loss lingered in his eyes, but those emotions quickly disappeared.
Tongtian just rested the Qingping Sword over her shoulder and scanned her surroundings. More and more gods were appearing due to the commotion caused by the constant battles, and she even recognized an old acquaintance, Qiankun Ancestor.
"You leave me no choice," Taiyi said as he sent the Chaos Bell crashing toward her.
It acted as a signal for everyone to attack. Kong Xuan and Jinchi charged forward with spears in hand. Minghe sent his Yuanti and Abi Swords flying towards Tongtian, and Kunpeng unleashed a piercing shriek in his true form and dived with talons aimed at Tongtian.
Tongtian brandished her sword as she focused on the Chaos Bell. Despite how she easily sent Taiyi flying earlier, but that attack used all her qi and understanding of the Law of Space, yet it resulted in Taiyi leaking only a little blood.
She could use the Law of Time, but trump cards only worked because no one knew about them.
However, as the Chaos Bell neared her, Tongtian sighed and lost interest. Her sword pierced toward the black spear in Kong Xuan's hand.
Sword tip met spear head, and the world lost color for an instant. Both Tongtian and Kong Xuan were sent flying back into the distance, Kong Xuan more so than Tongtian.
Kunpeng's eyes lit up with glee as his claws inched near Redcloud Ancestor. Red clouds emerged and formed a barrier, which Kunpeng easily destroyed. Suddenly, warning bells went off in his head as he turned to see the Chaos Bell crashing into him. He didn't have time to dodge and was sent flying with heavy injuries.
Jinchi was the next to arrive, and his gold spear pierced the air toward Redcloud Ancestor. Redcloud Ancestor gritted his teeth as the spear pierced his shoulder. His body transformed into red clouds and flew away but was blocked by a wall of blood.
The red clouds reformed into Redcloud Ancestor, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Hatred spewed forth from his eyes as he glared at Minghe. Then, Tongtian appeared in front of Redcloud Ancestor out of thin air, swinging her sword.
Sword light erupted, vaporizing eighty percent of Minghe's blood sea. Tongtian didn’t press the attack but instead observed her surroundings. Taiyi was still flying in the sky; Kong Xuan had returned; Kunpeng, Minghe, and Jinchi had returned to their original positions; not to mention all the loose cultivators drawn by the battle.
"Haha, such an exciting battle, and you didn't invite us?"
Tongtian sighed and turned towards the source of the sound, where she saw six of the twelve titans. Zhurong was the source of the words, but Di Jiang led the group. Alongside them were Jumang, Xuanming, Qiangliang, and Shebisi.
"Tongtian, hand over Redcloud, or don't blame us for being impolite," Di Jiang ordered.
"Geez, you really burned the bridge after all the partnership we had," Tongtian joked. "Well, I can see that I'm unwanted. Redcloud and I will leave now."
Di Jiang felt the spatial fluctuations and stretched his hands to stop Tongtian, activating his ability in the process. "Stop her!"
However, a titan's ability was more short-ranged and relied on the body, so he could do nothing as he watched Tongtian grab Redcloud Ancestor and disappear. The air swallowed their bodies, akin to them disappearing under waves of water.
When Tongtian left, the atmosphere turned sullen and tense. Di Jiang gritted his teeth and glared hatefully at where Tongtian had been. He focused his eyes on Taiyi, not bothering to mask his killing intent.
Taiyi glared back, his expression equally as ugly. The demons that had been hiding appeared one after the other behind Taiyi. Among whom were half of the Ten Demon Sages, equalizing the force between him and the titans.
Kunpeng took this chance to escape into the distance, likely to chase after Tongtian or heal his injuries. Taiyi glanced at him but did not give chase.
Minghe also flew off with his treasures and blood sea. Kong Xuan and Jinchi did the same, as did all the spectators hoping to get lucky during the clash between Tongtian and Redcloud against everyone else. This left only the members of Heavenly Court and the Titan Tribe.
Just as it seemed the third battle or war between Heavenly Court and the Titan Tribe would erupt, Di Jiang raised his arm and motioned the titans to return.
"But," Zhurong started to speak, but Di Jiang cut him off.
"If we start the third battle, then Hongjun might directly kill us."
"I'm not afraid of the Dao Ancestor. If he wants to fight, let's fight!" Zhurong said.
"Stupid!" Di Jiang said. "Even after we get the new Titanomachy Flags from Yuanshi, it still isn't enough to fight Hongjun. He can take the third ax strike without any effort, so we'd only lose. I don't fear losing, but if we are all killed, what about the tribe?"
Zhurong, who was confounded by Di Jiang's logic, gritted his teeth and grumbled but did not argue. He quietly followed after the rest of the titans but not before giving Taiyi one last provocative glare.
Taiyi only snorted and ordered the demon clan to retreat. Before returning to Thirty-Three Heaven, Taiyi glanced toward where Kunpeng had fled.
While Minghe was flying back to the Blood Sea to replenish the blood he lost battling Tongtian, a green-gold wind outspeed him and appeared in front of him, revealing Kong Xuan and Jinchi.
Minghe furrowed his brows. "What are Daoist Kong Xuan and Jinchi blocking my way for?"
"It's nothing," Kong Xuan said. "I traded my Twelfth-Ranked Black Lotus of Destruction to Daoist Tongtian, so I need a replacement."
Minghe's expression immediately turned sullen. He didn't say anything else and used the remaining blood sea that he carried with him to transform into bloodgod incarnations and set up the Blood God Formation.
Kong Xuan snorted. "If you still had the whole sea of blood you began with, I might have had some trouble, but you don't."
He waved the Five Element Fan in his hand, and five rays of light shot out. They intersected with each other to form the Five Element Line Formation. It trapped Minghe's formation within it and used the five elements to deconstruct the Blood God Formation like a millstone.
Within the Blood God Formation, Minghe struggled like crazy. With each passing second, his formation weakened as the blood rapidly evaporated under Kong Xuan's Five Element Line Formation. Finally, the formation could not be sustained any longer and completely collapsed.
Minghe glared at Kong Xuan and Jinchi as he resisted the Five Element Line Formation using the Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma. "Kong Xuan, I won't forgive you!"
"Say all you want, but your end is still the same," Kong Xuan said as he continued to attack Minghe. His attack was weak enough that Minghe could resist but it would drain his qi reserves rapidly. His goal was to take the red lotus, not destroy it after all.
"Haha, don't you know? I am eternal as long as the Blood Sea does not dry!" Minghe shouted. "Do you really want me to scheme against you from now on?"
"I already attacked, do you think I don't know that you would seek revenge even if I let you go?" Kong Xuan asked. "Furthermore, you're weaker than me. Without your Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma and Yuanti and Abi Swords, you are nothing to me!"
"If I can't have it, no one can!"
Kong Xuan's eyes turned ruthless as he appeared in front of Minghe. A black spear appeared in his hand and pierced through the Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma's defenses and through Minghe's head. Minghe's body dissolved into blood and fell onto the ground, soaking into the dirt.
The Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma's light flickered, obviously damaged by Kong Xuan's attack. It and the Yuanti and Abi Swords tried to fly to the Blood Sea, but Kong Xuan captured both of them. He gave the Yuanti and Abi Swords to Jinchi and started to refine the Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma.
"Once I nurture the Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma back to its peak condition, I'll give you red lotus seed to cut off your second Corpse," Kong Xuan said.
"Thank you, brother," Jinchi happily said as he followed after him back to the South.
Far away in the Blood Sea, a figure emerged. It was Minghe!
He had an ugly expression as he glared in Kong Xuan's and Jinchi's direction. "Kong Xuan, Jinchi, this isn't over!"
Minghe flew back to Crimsonsap Palace. Inside, he saw his three Corpses. He could reform his original body anytime, but his Corpses were another story, so he always left them in the safety of the Blood Sea. He sat down and began to raise the bloodgod incarnation he had taken over to his previous power.
Kunpeng grunted as he suppressed the injury threatening to burst in his body. After fleeing a certain distance, he transformed back into a humanoid form. His eyes flashed with hatred as he recalled how Taiyi had sneak attacked him. It was as if he was Taiyi's target all along!
He paused when he saw a figure wearing a yellow robe with nine dragons, each with nine claws on each hand, blocking his path. "Daoist Di Jun, why are you here?"
Di Jun smiled, but it had no warmth. "Don't you already know? You rejected Heavenly Court's invitation and established a demon clan in the North. Aren't you splitting the Demon Clan's power and affecting our ability to fight the Titan Tribe?"
"Why would the Darknorth Demon Clan fight the Titan Tribe? This is the Heavenly Court's duty; we have nothing to do with the battle," Kunpeng said. He tried to flee, but Di Jun blocked him again.
"Defeating the Titan Tribe is the duty of all demons, including you." An orange flagged banner appeared in Di Jun's hand. "Now, you have two options, either place a strand of your truesoul into the Demon Summoning Banner or die."
"Di Jun!" Kunpeng roared. "Aren't you afraid of people calling you a tyrant, forcing others to place their truesoul into the Demon Summoning Banner and holding their lives in your hand?"
Di Jun smiled. "Since you chose death, don't blame Us. And you don't need to worry about tarnishing Our reputation. With how injured you are, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you got ambushed by a sinister rogue, dying in the process."
Kunpeng roared as three thousand characters wrapped around him. It was the Three Thousand Demon Script. Not only did it have a stalwart defense, but it was most effective against other demons!
Di Jun snorted. "Against others, it may suppress them, but have you forgotten who We are? I am Di Jun, the Heavenly Emperor, and ruler of all demons!"
Under Di Jun's aura, the Three Thousand Demon Script quivered and cowered in front of the Heavenly Emperor's presence. Kunpeng wanted to cry; his trump card turned out to be useless. Still, he didn't give up, fleeing once more.
"You think We will let you escape?!" Di Jun roared as he used the Celestial River Diagram to smash Kunpeng into the ground. Blood continuously leaked from his mouth as his new and old injuries from Taiyi erupted simultaneously.
"Wait, wait!" Kunpeng said as Di Jun neared. "I'm willing to serve you!"
Di Jun waved the Demon Summoning Banner, and Kunpeng hesitated. Seeing the increased killing intent in Di Jun's eyes, he could only place a strand of his truesoul into the Demon Summoning Banner with a bitter smile. It was true that his act would allow him a chance at revival, but it would come at a cost. There was no free lunch in the world, and Kunpeng couldn't trust Di Jun to revive him if he were to die.
"If you knew when to surrender, it would have never come to this," Di Jun said. He ordered Kunpeng to take him to Darknorth Palace and subjugate the Darknorth Demon Clan. During this process, the hatred in Kunpeng's eyes increased as he watched Di Jun take everything that was once his.
One day, one day, he would get his revenge!
Qiankun Ancestor left with disappointment. He had hoped that Tongtian would fall under the siege, but she escaped. Although the former fiendgod still couldn't remember that the Qiankun Cauldron had once belonged to him, hatred still existed within him. If he had the strength to kill Tongtian, he would have done so long ago.
But now, it seemed impossible. With a Saint of Heaven as her brother, who would dare kill her? Defeat her, yes. But kill her? Definitely not unless they wanted to die too.
His expression changed when he saw Tongtian appear in front of him. "We meet again, Qiankun Ancestor."