“Incorporating this? Hai…look it’s bit on the. How should I put it, lower quality side.”

“Sixteen thousand years and you came up with…I suppose it’ll do for you.”

“I’m speechless…yeah just think what you will.”

“Foolish junior brother, you’ve always been blind but I did not expect you to be so foolish as to not see the benefits.”

Hands tightened into fists. Clouds of miasma around the unlit chamber echoed distant cries. For the single individual sitting in a lotus position, breathing quickened.

Surrounding him, four floating swords without a single blemish hummed an irritating metallic scraping sound. Numerous strange Dao phenomena, representative of billions upon billions, perhaps even trillions of immortal cultivators struggled against one another.

The Devilish Dao’s core teachings continued to be read out over and over again, emanating from a Dao fruit above the individual. Serving as a core, it bound together all the Daos ever cultivated throughout the lineage’s history into a state resembling a cosmos.

But Luohu’s eyelids quivered and he struggled to stay still. The qi around him changed from one state to another state creating a state of confusion not unlike the Chaos Sea. But it became clear that Luohu was not feeling stable.

“No…no…get out of my head.”

Invisible to all but the Devil Ancestor, the dissatisfied look of an ancient burly daoist dressed in purple continued to haunt his mind. The purple clouds surrounding this old man spoke up texts upon texts of celestial concepts. But to Luohu, it all sounded like drivel.

“You know nothing…I’m better.”

“I surpassed you.”

Veins bludged of the young looking cultivator’s neck and elbows. Glistening sweat somehow seeped from his immortal body. A reflection of his mental state than true excrement of impurities.

A slight squeaking sound due to the forced opening of his private cultivation chambers caused him to cry out. Luohu’s eyes opened to reveal a reddened gaze mixed with humiliation, agony, and indignant anger.

THOOM!

His power was forced out, manifesting into concussive force blowing the individual who’d dared disturb him. Hundun found himself unsteady, nearly knocked flying out of the mountain if it weren’t for his own resistance. As Mara made no attempts to help the godfiend, Hundun still slammed into a wall.

“Brother, you’re…” Mara frowned in open distress upon seeing Luohu’s body. Previously, he’d trusted the devil to recover to peak condition and to emerge looking like his old self. But currently, Luohu appeared more like a street beggar.

“Good to see you my lord,” Hundun grunted out. “Now can you please lessen the pressure? I’m not keen to fight my own friend.”

Luohu scanned around before the madness in his gaze dissipated. He frowned and immediately attempted so basic divination to tell time and world events. Immediately his head was assaulted with static.

“The interference from tribulation qi is calamitous especially to divinations,” Hundun made sure to remind the godfiend.

“I know, but I’m a third order celestial lifeform. A Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal unrestricted by a mere Chaos World!” Luohu snarled while rising up. “What is it you both want? I ordered myself not to be disturbed until I recovered.”

“There’s been issues,” Mara said. Understanding what Luohu would bring up next next, he immediately continued. “My ghost devils are doing well and did prevent our enemies to encroach on Sumeru for a time. But unfortunately, I believe they may’ve found a way to not only take down all our defences.”

“Technically the two revolutionary innate gods had a way to deal with ghost devils,” Hundun muttered.

“Hongjun’s gotta be behind this,” Luohu immediately concluded. “Fucking old bastard, always meddling, always interfering, always with that smug…” the entirety of Mt Sumeru shook according to Luohu’s inability to control himself.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Brother control yourself,” Mara urged.

“Who the fuck is your brother…ah.” Luohu took a deep breath. “Sorry, that was not meant for you.”

“I know. But we need to do something. I saw the dragon and phoenix pulling back earlier. Hundun is telling me large forces are retreating towards the Netherworld. The flow of yin qi is also being distrusted. I do not trust our own forces to be strong enough to fight back that kind of firepower if they are performing a counter measure and putting their all into protecting it.”

Luohu was silently seething as he listened. For some reason his mind always went back to the thought of Hongjun. Their final meeting and break up before Pangu’s massacring of their people. The events leading up to that eventuality. All the way back to their first meeting and their ‘partnership’.

…

“I see, while it’s unfortunate I would not be able to defend the oceans for the time being. I will do as my sovereign commands.”

Zhunti nodded along with Taishang who stood alongside him. The two did not plan to meet up, merely bumping into each other on their way to fulfil Da Hai’s orders. The booming voice they were speaking to was Jiang koilong who roosted within his own layer of auspicious clouds.

The ascended dragon’s army was significantly smaller as they had split up over time to better protect vast areas across the Four Seas. The Primal Zenith dragon had stationed himself on the shoreline of the Eastern Sea when Zhunti and Taishang found him.

“You’ve also informed her majesty as well?”

“I informed prince Chi Wen who said he would inform his mother,” Taishang said. Zhunti looked in astonishment as the amount of people Taishang managed to spread the news to was staggeringly higher than himself. He wondered how fast was the guy.

“But before I can get there, I have to relieve some of my friends first,” Jiang Koilong said. “The old ghost Rippling Reflection resurrected again and now assaults Yugong village. Some of my fellow dragons are trapped there.”

Taishang read the deep look of distress on his dragonic face and nodded. He calculated that this was probably because the trapped dragons were also ascendant dragons with no dragon ancestry.

“Alright then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Me too benefactors.”

“Take you two, we’re still at war.”

The gargantuan dragon uncoiled to fly away. As he moved, his clouds took the form of a school of carps. Even his scales started showing imagery of similar fishes. His posture while flying also resembled a carp swaying its body while swimming.

The elderly looking Taishang couldn’t help but be entranced.

“Are his movements that interesting?” Zhunti found himself asking aloud.

“I found it beautiful just now. Nothing else really.”

The two, daoist and monk turned around to leave. The vast majority of their people had been informed and the top powers now made their way towards the Netherworld. Every sign pointed towards there being the next largest battle since the opening of the war.

Zhunti sighed, he was looking forward to it. Not just because things seem to be ending soon, but that he’d have a chance to reunite with Jieyin again. Ever since Da Hai co-opted him to the Netherworld, he had not seen his senior brother.

Unlike Zhunti, Taishang found time to track down Tongtian. His ability to teleport across the Great Wilderness was unlike Zhunti had ever seen.

The two passed a fair distance out from the shoreline into swampy territory. Even as the qi in the area changed, neither noticed as it was too similar to the natural disposition of the Primitive World.

“Hm, I could’ve helped him out with that ghost devil,” Zhunti suddenly murmured. He regretted not thinking about it at the time.

Since birth to now, Zhunti thought himself thoughtful and kind. True, he had to be devious in order to survive a West Continent who prosecuted him. But he fought back for a freer world where the Devilish Dao no longer oppressed everyone.

To Zhunti, it was imperative that the Devilish Dao is vanquished off the face of the earth. Their teachings preached not only excess, but encouraged bloody power struggles that endlessly ground down the foundation of his homeland. If one did not join in their bandwagon, then they’d be exterminated with extreme prejudice. Nothing but the Devilish Dao can ever be entertained.

‘Senior brother Jieyin, sooner then later this tribulation will be over. Then the West Continent can finally be free and…and…and…’

‘Oh woo wooo woooo. The west is poor and I’m so weak and pathetic. I need to hide and kiss daddy Hongjun’s ass. Ah wooo woooo woooo!’

Beside him, Taishang sensed the emergence of water. He noticed Zhunti’s expression changing, from one of hopeful optimism to something akin to one of self pity. The innate god had started crying.

“Ah…ah…ah…the west is bar…,” Zhunti slurred out uncontrollably. His hairline also started thinning. Outside he could barely speak, yet internally. ‘Barren barren so barren. I suffer so much. All treasures in the world should have destiny with me. I will rob the robbery and take babies to revitalize the west.’

“Wooo wooo wooo. I hide and scheme against the robbery. Amitabha, this pathetic bald donkey has destiny with your treasures. Please sacrifice babies to me to revive the the poor barren west.”

Taishang flung out his hand and stopped Zhunti mid flight. The sudden shock of the hit stopped Zhunti mid speech causing him to tumble through the air before crashing into a foothill. This was because Zhunti had suddenly motioned to attack the innate god.

“Fellow daoist what is the matter with…I will cultivate the most ruthless of the Heavenly Dao and scheme to absorb the Yuan Yuan and th.” Taishang raised his right hand and harshly rubbed his nose bridge with a groan. “Why did I suddenly think that?”

What occurred in the recess of his mind was suddenly piles upon piles of complex yet silly schemes. All to cultivate a caricature of his ‘inaction Dao’ where he would claim to do nothing but scheme against everyone and everything. It grew so needlessly complex that Taishang immediately recognized that as wholly unlike himself.

“The most ruthless? Why would I need to…” He stopped and turned to a rising Zhunti. He had assumed his golden eighteen armed for and grew monstrously big. Yet despite the size of mountain ranges, he was still crying and begging.

Taishang naturally grew alarmed. His senses flexed hard as he took in his entire surroundings. He began noticing little things he hadn’t bothered paying attention to. Things such as village fifty kilometres away inhabited by mortal cultivators.

A confrontation which he immediately divined as between a brother sister duo, and a friend. Their histories told him they were friendly with each other since childhood with no ill will. But mere hours ago their attitudes changed.

Now the two boys were fighting over who gets to use the ‘cauldron’ while the girl was spouting how she’ll betray the two for treasures. This was not an isolated case as across hundreds of thousands of kilometres, numerous living beings were arguing or fighting for bizarre out of character reasons devoid of their previous dispositions.

Thud!

A food step stomped pass the foothill and a tiny figure summersaulted towards Zhunti’s crying balding head.

“As pathetic as always the teacher. I saw the mountains and sea stomp by robbery. The teacher unworthy of three thousand avenue try steal from the east. The bald donkeys from the west deserve death!”

Taishang moved immediately to interfere. Black and white extremities flashed across his body as he transformed into a massive rippling barrier in front of the golden innate god. This caused the assaulter to bounce off and land in a crater.

“The audacity!” The figure got up, revealing a six eared macaque holding a cudgel. Meanwhile the black and white barrier reformed into a startled Taishang. He gripped his chest as his skin was paler than usual.

‘The force behind that jump. It could’ve shattered a Chaos Immortal’s body like sand. Even my Grand Purity Body nearly.’

“Liu Er, why did you attack your own ally?” Taishang landed and said. When Liu Er’s gaze zeroed in on him, the Grand Pure One felt a sense of existential dread.

“Ah…” Liu Er’s mouth turned into a smirk.

“Daddy.”

“Huh?”