Furthermore, Emperor Xin was not a man of indulgence, so Daji found her task of seducing him would be much harder without her magical powers.
Meanwhile, Xuandu flew away from Chaoge City towards Shouyang Mountain.
However, at this moment, a giant unicorn demon beast blocked Xuandu's path, its eyes flashing fiercely.
Xuandu snorted coldly. Were demons so bold nowadays as to dare block him, the first disciple of a Saint? It was important to remember that Xuandu was currently at the early stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, wielding the supreme innate spiritual treasure, the Li Di Yan Guang Banner, which could be used for both offense and defense. He was considered a powerful figure in the Great Desolation.
After all, by assisting the Heavenly Emperor, Xuandu had accumulated vast amounts of merit and fortune. With this, he had advanced rapidly, breaking through Golden Immortal, entering Taiyi, and then, in recent years, reaching the early stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. His cultivation progress was incredibly swift.
The unicorn demon beast was quite powerful, possessing cultivation at the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. It let out a roar to the heavens and charged at Xuandu.
With lightning speed, it lashed out a claw towards Xuandu.
Xuandu sneered, dodging to the side. With a flick of his hand, the Li Di Yan Guang Banner appeared, and waves of fiery lotus flowers enveloped the approaching unicorn demon beast. The beast roared in anger, and the horn on its head pulsed with golden light.
It soon shattered the fiery lotus flowers. Simultaneously, a beam of golden light shot from its horn, directly at Xuandu.
Around Xuandu, a giant red lotus phantom appeared, blocking the golden light. This was the Li Di Yan Guang Banner, a supreme innate spiritual treasure, capable of both offense and defense.
Seeing that its attacks could not breach Xuandu's artifact, a flicker of surprise appeared in the unicorn demon beast's eyes. Xuandu then waved the small banner again, sending a pillar of red flame towards the beast.
Facing the pillar of flame, the unicorn demon beast, without a second thought, employed the Rainbow Transformation technique and vanished before Xuandu.
Xuandu was momentarily stunned, then thoughtful. He knew that the Rainbow Transformation technique was no simple feat; it was created by the Demon Emperor Di Jun and Dong Huang Tai Yi in ancient times. Its speed was incredibly fast, making it a renowned ability in the Great Desolation.
Xuandu had initially assumed it was a wild demon, but now it seemed it had a notable background.
Putting this matter aside, Xuandu continued his journey towards Shouyang Mountain.
Soon, upon arriving at Shouyang Mountain, Xuandu met with Grand Pure Laozi.
"Master, I have returned!" Xuandu announced, tossing out the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness with the Sleeve Universe technique of the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi.
Upon being released, the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness surveyed her surroundings. When she saw Grand Pure Laozi, she collapsed onto the ground. This was a Saint, the foremost of the Three Pure Ones, and a being far more powerful than Empress Nuwa.
Grand Pure Laozi merely glanced at the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness and fell silent. If he hadn't been certain before, he was now. This was one of the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb. Moreover, after a recent divination, he found he could not calculate anything, indicating that Nuwa had already made her choice.
"Mercy, oh Saint!" the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness quickly knelt and kowtowed. Facing Grand Pure Laozi, it was impossible for such a minor demon to escape.
"Since you were acting under the orders of fellow Daoist Nuwa, and it was not entirely your choice, I can spare you. Go back and tell fellow Daoist Nuwa that since she has made her choice, she should not regret it!" Grand Pure Laozi said indifferently.
The Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness was terrified but dared not speak. At this moment, Xuandu waved his hand and flung the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness out of Shouyang Mountain.
The Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness, cast out, dared not seek out Nuwa, nor did she dare return to Chaoge City. She decided to find a secluded mountain corner to hide. Whether she could evade detection would depend on fate.
"How did the West persuade Nuwa?" Grand Pure Laozi frowned, unable to comprehend it. Their side could easily defeat them, so Nuwa should not have been so foolish. Yet, she had dispatched the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb, clearly indicating her alliance with the West.
"In this Great Desolation, ultimately, strength speaks louder than words!" Grand Pure Laozi sighed. He was now at the late stage of Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal, also known as the late stage of Saint, yet he was unable to break through to the realm of Patriarch Hongjun, the Heavenly Dao realm.
Having attained enlightenment by severing three corpses, his three corpses were now immensely powerful. Firstly, his Self-Corpse, Li Er, had become a Heavenly Dao Saint with the strength of a mid-stage Saint. This rapid cultivation was due to the influence of human fortune.
His Good-Corpse, the Great Emperor of Fengdu, possessed the strength of the late stage Quasi-Saint. Over the years, he had accumulated considerable merit, but he was still far from reaching the strength of a Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
At this moment, Grand Pure Laozi pondered whether his prolonged inability to break through to the late Hunyuan stage was due to the imbalance in the strength of his three corpses.
However, the path ahead was one he had to explore himself. Even Hongjun could not offer him assistance. Indeed, Hongjun, despite severing three corpses to attain enlightenment, had only reached the Saint realm. He had only become a Heavenly Dao realm cultivator after completely merging with the Heavenly Dao.
He had not achieved it through his own cultivation.
It could be said that on the path of severing three corpses, Grand Pure Laozi had journeyed further than Hongjun.
But if his strength could not keep pace, he would ultimately be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao.
"Master, on my way back, I was attacked by a unicorn demon beast. It eventually used the Rainbow Transformation technique to escape!" Xuandu suddenly said. Seeing Grand Pure Laozi lost in contemplation, he decided to recount his encounter with the demon.
Grand Pure Laozi nodded, not overly concerned. It was merely the demons making a move, but could they change the outcome? Grand Pure Laozi did not believe that no matter how much they plotted, without strength, it would all be in vain.
Moreover, the most crucial point was that he, Grand Pure Laozi, was not a Heavenly Dao Saint, which was his greatest source of confidence.
However, since Nuwa had joined their side, this matter had to be conveyed to his second and third brothers.
"Xuandu, go and inform Yuan Shi and Tong Tian of the alliance between Nuwa and the Two Sages of the West!" Grand Pure Laozi instructed. Xuandu then took his leave.
He had sent Xuandu specifically to foster better relations between Xuandu and the other two sects. As the first disciple of the Three Teachings, Xuandu was expected to fulfill the role of the senior disciple.
And Xuandu had never disappointed him in this regard, which Grand Pure Laozi was quite pleased with.
Xuandu tidied himself up and departed Shouyang Mountain, heading towards Kunlun Mountain. Given the routes, Kunlun was undoubtedly the first stop.
Thus, Xuandu arrived at Kunlun Mountain. The mountain was now mostly inhabited by disciples of the third generation. The second-generation disciples, such as the registered disciple Antarctic Immortal Weng, were present. The others had all ventured out to find their own cave dwellings. As for Xuandu, since Grand Pure Laozi had only one disciple, he cultivated at Shouyang Mountain and did not seek out a separate abode.