Tongtian clearly underestimated Xihe’s wit. Xihe, seething with anger, began fabricating a story on the spot.
“Good, finally someone reasonable. Then let everyone judge this fairly. After the last Dao discussion ended, Tongtian demanded leaves from the Moon Cassia Tree. I already explained that my sister suffers from a Primordial Deficiency, and the Moon Cassia leaves are simply insufficient to replenish her foundational essence.”
“Yet Tongtian, relying on his cultivation, trailed me all the way and forcibly invaded my Dao domain while I was moving and had not yet activated the Great Formation, seizing branches and leaves from the Moon Cassia Tree. I pursued him for a hundred years seeking justice—what wrong have I done?”
Nuwa frowned. “Such bullying tarnishes the name of the Three Pure Ones.”
Fuxi gave his sister a look, signaling her to stay silent. Without having been present, it wasn’t their place to comment on the truth of the matter.
The murmurs remained subdued, largely out of deference to the Three Pure Ones.
Upon hearing “Moon Cassia Tree branches and leaves,” Yuanshi, the second eldest, stirred and sneered, “If your skills are inferior, what does it matter if they were taken? Do you think we’re your elders to complain to?”
Xihe scoffed. “I knew it would come to this. I couldn’t be bothered to explain in the first place. What Three Pure Ones? Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, should really see how you disgrace the name of the Father God!”
“You’re asking for death!” Yuanshi, the most hot-tempered, immediately summoned his Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Jade Ruyi, ready to strike.
Tongtian and Taishang simultaneously intervened to restrain him.
“Unacceptable! How dare you cause trouble in the Dao Ancestor’s domain!” Chastised by his elder brother, Yuanshi gloomily withdrew his treasure, casting a look at Xihe that clearly implied he was letting her off this time.
After restraining Yuanshi, Taishang turned to Xihe.
“Fellow Daoist, since Tongtian has not refuted this, it must be true. Although heavenly treasures belong to those capable of claiming them, this matter has indeed disturbed you. I shall have Tongtian apologize, and let us consider it settled, shall we?”
This highlighted the disparity in cultivation. An apology was offered, but compensation wasn’t even mentioned—clearly, they didn’t regard a mere Taiyi Golden Immortal like her as worthy of consideration.
Xihe sneered. “An apology is entirely unnecessary. The karma from this will naturally be settled in due time.”
As she spoke, she materialized the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Pure World White Lotus, from her primordial spirit and, with a single palm strike, infused it into the Green Lotus Sword. Suppressed in this manner, the sword would be rendered ineffective even if returned to its owner.
“How dare you!” Yuanshi roared with fury.
Xihe replied calmly, “What’s all the barking about?”
The onlookers collectively gasped and stepped back. This woman was truly venomous—was there anything she wouldn’t say?
Clearly, such humiliation was more than Yuanshi could bear. He summoned his treasure again, only to be restrained once more.
His expression darkened. “Tongtian! How dare you still stop me? You’ve utterly disgraced the Three Pure Ones! Retrieve your sword at once!”
Expressionless, Tongtian walked up to Xihe.
In his hand appeared a peculiar fruit inscribed with characters. Upon recognizing the script, Xihe and many others exclaimed simultaneously, “Yellow Center Plum!”
This was the fruit of one of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots.
The Yellow Center Plum blossoms cast three shadows, and its fruits cast nine. Both flowers and fruits bear the characters “Yellow Center.” It blooms once every cosmic cycle, bears fruit once every cosmic cycle, ripens once every cosmic cycle, and becomes edible only after one cosmic cycle. It takes four cosmic cycles to produce nine fruits.
Legend has it that merely smelling this fruit could allow a mortal to ascend to immortality in broad daylight. Though exaggerated, if Xihe consumed it now, she would face no bottlenecks until reaching the Daluo realm!
Tongtian stared at her. “Exchange it for the Green Lotus Sword!”
Before Yuanshi could fully utter the words, “What madness is this?” Xihe snatched the fruit, stuffed it into her mouth, swallowed it in a few bites, then took out the Pure World White Lotus, tossed the Green Lotus Sword back, and sat cross-legged on the spot to meditate and digest it.
Under the gaze of various eyes, Tongtian burst into wild laughter.
Only after laughing his fill did he return to the ranks of the Three Pure Ones, resuming his usual casual and dignified demeanor, though… he would occasionally glance at Xihe for a while.
Taishang transmitted a voice message: “What exactly happened? How was your sword taken?”
“It was just a momentary lapse, Elder Brother. No need to worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Taishang nodded slightly and said nothing more. Yuanshi then transmitted a voice message: “Third Brother, could you spare some Moon Cassia Tree branches and leaves for your elder brothers? I’ve been refining a magical treasure lately and am in need of some spiritual herbs with Taiyin Power.”
With a thought from Tongtian, a silver leaf appeared in the hands of both his elder brothers.
He had asked for three leaves precisely to give to his two brothers. The three of them were all born from the Primordial Spirit of the Father God, and whenever he had something good, he naturally thought of them.
“Just one leaf? Didn’t you seize the Moon Cassia Tree? Surely you must have gained quite a bit. Why give your elder brothers only one leaf? Are you unwilling to share?” Yuanshi was extremely displeased. Though Taishang remained silent, dissatisfaction was evident in his eyes.
Seeing their expressions, Tongtian suddenly smiled faintly. “If you don’t want it, give it back.”
“You… utterly incomprehensible!” Yuanshi scolded, but still pocketed the silver leaf and fell silent.
The smile faded from Tongtian’s face, and he suddenly felt it was all rather pointless. Watching that little rabbit was far more interesting.
To weave a lie so seamlessly—that little rabbit’s mind was quite sharp.
After absorbing the fruit’s power into her body and suppressing it, Xihe opened her eyes. Tongtian truly must have had his head squeezed by a door, casually handing out such a spiritual fruit. Luckily, she was quick to act, or she might have missed out today.
With several decades left before the second sermon, should she… try socializing a bit? She couldn’t afford to offend everyone, after all.
[Congratulations, Host. The System has detected the completion of a random show-off task. Reward: 3 drops of Ancestral Dragon’s Essence Blood.]
Xihe was surprised. The random show-off task referred to her earlier confrontation with the Three Pure Ones—it certainly had been a display of bravado. Who would have thought it could also yield benefits? This was truly an unexpected delight!
Ancestral Dragon’s Essence Blood—this was a treasure. As everyone knew, during the previous Dragon-Han Tribulation, the protagonists of heaven and earth were the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins. The three clans fought for supremacy, and their most powerful members perished, leaving their once-dominant forces in decline.
With their elders dead and their bloodlines growing increasingly diluted, the three clans now occupied an awkward position in the Primordial World.
In short, the former overlords had become insignificant, easy prey for anyone to capture, roast, and taste.
The Ancestral Dragon’s Essence Blood in Xihe’s hands could fully revive the dragon clan. If the dragons knew of its existence, they would go mad!
Xihe glanced around. Sure enough, there wasn’t a single dragon, phoenix, or qilin in sight. They had already retreated so far that they didn’t even dare to show their faces. How pitiful.
Well, as a being of Taiyin, her body wasn’t suited for physical cultivation. She would keep it for now.
Though she had intended to socialize with everyone, perhaps her nature was too perfect—whoever she looked at would avert their gaze, showing no interest in engaging with her.
With a sigh, Xihe closed her eyes to cultivate.
Decades flowed by like water until Xihe was startled awake by a distant voice transmission.
“This humble Daoist, Hongyunzi, and Zhenyuanzi are being pursued by Kunpeng. Whoever can stop Kunpeng and allow us to safely enter the Purple Heaven Palace will earn a favor from us!”
Everyone exchanged glances. Kunpeng—that fellow was petty and vengeful, not to mention his solid Root and Foundation and his status as one of the top-tier old-timers. Among those present who were qualified to intervene, who would care about the two’s favors?
Zhunti, who had failed to secure a Prayer Mat and still hadn’t broken through to Daluo, was filled with malice.
“Fellow Daoist Xihe, if I recall correctly, your seat originally belonged to Fellow Daoist Kunpeng. Now, Hongyun and Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi are being hunted down precisely because of the seat exchange. Can you truly cultivate with a clear conscience?”
Everyone inwardly grumbled: How dare he say that? Wasn’t Kunpeng forced out by him?
And now he’s digging a pit for others—what normal person would fall for it?
But to their astonishment once again, Xihe rose with a look of guilt. “You speak the truth, Fellow Daoist. I truly should not stand idly by.”