Zhunti originally wanted to turn around and give chase immediately, but since he was already here, it wouldn’t be right to leave in such a pathetic manner. He could only maintain his compassionate smile.
“So that is how it is.”
“Since this poor Daoist has arrived late, I wish the Chancellor success in his endeavors and the early completion of the great task of the Investiture of the Gods.”
Having said that, Zhunti could not wait to drift away. He transformed into a streak of golden light and chased toward the south like a madman!
He could feel that the thread of fate connecting him to Kong Xuan was getting weaker and weaker, almost to the point of disappearing.
That would not do—that was his future mount!
‘Don’t run!’
Daoist Zhunti did not believe for a second that Yuan Feng was still alive. That phoenix had to be a fake!
Everyone in the Great Desolation knew that Yuan Feng had died long ago.
Jiang Ziya and the others must have been fooled.
He was so angry his head was spinning. ‘Just who is so shameless that they dare to hijack my opportunity?!’
He suddenly recalled the recent experiences of Yuanshi Tianzun, Laozi, and others.
First, Yuanshi Tianzun’s treasury was looted, and then Laozi’s innate supreme treasure, the Taiji Diagram, was intercepted by someone…
‘Wait, no way?!’ Daoist Zhunti’s face turned ashen. ‘Now it is my turn? My mount is being hijacked?!’
‘This infuriates me!’
‘This must be the work of Grandmaster Tongtian!’
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He accelerated frantically, vowing to catch up to that fake phoenix and see exactly what was going on.
***
Meanwhile, the Great Desolation Channel had already gone crazy.
【Speaking of which… don’t you guys think that phoenix looks a bit familiar?】
【Yes, yes, yes! I was just about to say that! I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere?】
【Wait, do you guys remember Su Fu?】
【Holy crap! Now that you mention it… that phoenix looks exactly like Su Fu’s phoenix phantom!】
【It’s more than just looking like it! That clearly is her!】
【I remember the video of her Phoenix Nirvana stayed on the hot search for several days. I watched it so many times. I definitely remember it correctly. They’re exactly the same!】
【… Oh my god, no wonder we haven’t seen Su Fu. It turns out she ran off to the Phoenix Clan to develop herself?】
【The most ridiculous thing is that this phoenix actually became Kong Xuan’s mother???】
【This is insane! This is simply against the natural order!】
【We’re all part of the same batch of test takers. How are we still serving as foot soldiers while she’s already become an ancient Divine Beast?!】
【My mental state has collapsed! We’re working ourselves to death fighting for the Investiture of the Gods, and she’s off on a leisurely vacation with the Phoenix Clan?】
【The key point is, when we couldn’t beat Kong Xuan, she just came out, slapped him twice, and took him away?!】
【The gap is way too large, isn’t it?】
**[Great Desolation Announcement: Saint Zhunti has arrived at the Xiqi Military Camp]**
**[Great Desolation Announcement: Saint Zhunti has left the Xiqi Military Camp]**
【??? Who?】
【…】
***
Su Fu was flying toward the Nanming Undying Volcano, carrying the dejected Kong Xuan.
Chesia’s perception was the widest, and she suddenly screamed, “Not good! Su Fu! That shameless Zhunti is actually catching up!”
Su Fu’s brows furrowed. ‘Sure enough, this old geezer reacts fast.’
Kong Xuan was still being stubborn. “Mother, I have already promised King Zhou to guard the pass. Isn’t what you’re doing making your son go back on his word?”
Su Fu thought, ‘I’m trying to save you some suffering and you’re still unhappy about it. Fine then.’
She said expressionlessly, “Fine, then you go back.”
‘He won’t learn until he sees the coffin, will he?’
She would let him meet Zhunti and take a good beating.
Kong Xuan had only said that on a whim and never expected his mother would actually agree.
He was overjoyed and asked tentatively, “Really? Then I’m going back?”
Su Fu stopped immediately. “Yes, go back.”
Though Kong Xuan was puzzled, he couldn’t afford to think too much. Regardless, he had to go back and guard Golden Chicken Ridge.
As for his mother… he would apologize properly after the war.
With that, he turned and transformed into a rainbow light, rushing straight for Golden Chicken Ridge.
As a result, Kong Xuan hadn’t been flying for long when he suddenly saw a flash of golden light in front of him. A Daoist appeared before him.
Kong Xuan braked sharply and said warily, “Who are you?”
The moment Zhunti saw him, his eyes lit up. He said compassionately, “I am Daoist Zhunti of the Western Sect.”
“Fellow Daoist, you have a predestined fate with my West.”
“I have specifically come to deliver you to my West, to enjoy the Great Dao of Ultimate Bliss!”
Kong Xuan was furious. “Absurd! I am a great general of the Shang Dynasty. How could I have a predestined fate with your West?!”
Zhunti was not flustered and remained smiling. “Fate is determined by heaven; it is not for you to refuse.”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Kong Xuan roared, and the Five-Colored Divine Light around him flared brilliantly. “Witness my Five-Colored Divine Light!”
The two immediately engaged in battle.
However, Zhunti was a Saint, after all. Once his Divine Manifestation appeared, it directly broke the Five-Colored Divine Light.
With a sweep of the Seven Treasures Tree, he took away all the weapons in Kong Xuan’s hands.
Kong Xuan was shocked. ‘How is this possible?’
He started to panic.
Before he could react, another silk cord appeared in Zhunti’s hand. With a gentle flick, it wrapped directly around Kong Xuan’s neck.
Zhunti smiled as he led Kong Xuan, preparing to force him away as a mount. “Come, come, follow me to the Western Pure Land!”
“Ugh!” Kong Xuan felt his neck tighten and struggled desperately, but the cord only wrapped tighter. No matter what methods he used, he couldn’t break free.
He was finally scared.
“Mother!!!”
“Save your son!”
He finally understood why his mother insisted on taking him away. It turned out she had predicted this calamity in advance!
He regretted it. He truly regretted it. If he had known, he would have obediently followed his mother back. Now he was going to be forcibly captured to serve as a mount.
This Western baldy was too terrifying. Who just says “we have a fate” and then forcibly takes someone away?
He didn’t dare to be stubborn anymore.
“Mother! Help me!!!”
Seeing Zhunti about to climb onto his back and take him back to the West, Kong Xuan’s heart was filled with despair. ‘It’s over! It’s really over this time!’
At this critical moment, a golden-red flame suddenly lit up the sky.
*Boom!*
The Nirvana Fire burned through the sky!
The blazing flames swept through everything, even incinerating the silk cord binding Kong Xuan into ashes instantly.
Kong Xuan felt his neck loosen and immediately broke free, turning around and flying away without a word.
He was truly terrified. This Western Saint was too unscrupulous!
Su Fu’s figure emerged from the flames, her gaze coldly sweeping over Zhunti.
“Zhunti, enough is enough,” she said, her voice freezing. As soon as she finished speaking, she fled.
Although she now possessed the power of the Phoenix’s Nirvana, she was by no means a match for a Saint.
Furthermore, the Zhunti in front of her was a ruthless character among Saints. That Divine Manifestation could transform into eighteen hands and twenty-four heads, with a dharma treasure in every hand. Why bother fighting?
She slipped away, of course, instantly transforming into a streak of red-gold light!
Fortunately, Kong Xuan had learned his lesson this time. Without needing her to lead him, he took the initiative to chase after her desperately. “Mother, wait for me!”
The peacock and the phoenix, one after the other, transformed into two streaks of rainbow light and soon disappeared into the horizon.
Zhunti was stunned for a moment. When he looked up again, the phoenix and the peacock were gone.
“Wait… Nirvana Fire? It really is a phoenix?!” Zhunti was incredibly shocked.
“Didn’t Yuan Feng fall during the Great War of the Three Clans? How is she still alive?”
“What they said was actually true? A phoenix really took Kong Xuan away?”
He suddenly hesitated. Should he continue the chase?
In terms of combat power, a Saint had nothing to fear.
The gap between a Saint and a non-Saint was not even on the same level; the outcome would be without suspense.
But the key was that the Phoenix Clan guarded the Nanming Undying Volcano and possessed Great Merit.
They worked for the Heavenly Dao, suppressing the subterranean fires and maintaining the stability of the Great Desolation.
Originally, Kong Xuan insisted on helping the Shang Dynasty and defying the mandate of heaven, so Zhunti could have used “following the Heavenly Dao” as a reason to forcibly take him.
But now that Yuan Feng had personally intervened to take the peacock back, what did that mean?
It meant the Phoenix Clan had stepped in to discipline him. Kong Xuan was no longer defying the mandate of heaven, and the Heavenly Dao had tacitly allowed this arrangement.
If he stepped in again to forcibly take the peacock, wouldn’t he be going against the Heavenly Dao?
Thinking of this, Zhunti was truly conflicted.
This was his opportunity.
If he chased, that was Yuan Feng. If he provoked the karma behind Yuan Feng and angered the Heavenly Dao…
If he didn’t chase, the peacock in his hands had flown away. To let him go just like that was too frustrating!
Just as he was hesitating —
*Rumble!*
Violent thunder erupted in the sky, and purple lightning crossed the heavens. The pressure of the Heavenly Dao suddenly descended.
Zhunti’s heart shuddered. This was the Heavenly Dao warning him.
His expression became extremely unsightly as he stared fixedly at the direction where the phoenix and peacock had disappeared, his heart struggling.
They were clearly right before his eyes, but he truly didn’t dare to take them by force.
When Yuanshi Tianzun acted against the Sect of Interception, he at least had the excuse of the “Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.”
If he acted against the Phoenix Clan, who possessed Great Merit, his reasoning would be gone. Karmic backlash would surely descend. From then on, nothing would go smoothly, and it might even implicate the Western Sect.
A Saint must follow the Heavenly Dao, otherwise, they would be plagued by karma and their cultivation would be damaged. This was no joke.
Moreover, there was something else that made him even more wary.
‘How could this phoenix… suddenly be resurrected?’
Yuan Feng had clearly been dead for so many years. She had suddenly come back to life?
The world wanted her dead, unless… there was a Saint intervening behind the scenes.
‘Who could it be?’ Zhunti’s brow furrowed as he calculated the movements of the various Saints in the Great Desolation.
The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and give up, leaving resentfully.
***
Nanming Undying Volcano.
Su Fu stood at the crater and let out a long sigh of relief.
The fact that Zhunti didn’t chase them meant she had guessed correctly. From now on, Kong Xuan was safe.
She really didn’t want the Phoenix Clan to come out in full force and use their merit as a threat. After all, that would be a lose-lose situation. Although they could forcibly keep Kong Xuan, there would be endless trouble later, which wouldn’t be good for the upcoming war of the Saints.
Fortunately, Zhunti likely thought the same. The most important thing now was the Investiture of the Gods.
Just then, Kong Xuan followed closely behind, flying back desperately.
Su Fu gave him a sidelong glance.
Kong Xuan immediately wilted, standing timidly to the side, not daring to speak.
He had no choice. Just a moment ago, he was clamoring to go back to Golden Chicken Ridge to be his commander, only to almost be caught and used as a mount in the blink of an eye.
His mother had even risked going head-to-head with a Saint to save him.
Thinking of this, Kong Xuan’s heart was filled with guilt and fear. He no longer dared to have even a hint of dissatisfaction.