Primordial Era: I, Tongtian, will slay all enemies!

The next day, the Qiankun Ruler in Randeng's hand trembled slightly. Beside him, the Coffin Lamp floated in mid-air, and the ghostly flames inside the lamp leaped incessantly, as if ready to break free of its restraints and wreak havoc on the human world at any moment.

With a stern expression, Ran Deng walked step by step toward the front of the formation. Each step seemed to carry immense weight, causing the ground beneath his feet to tremble slightly.

As he stood before the enemy formation, he swung the Qiankun Ruler with a mighty force. In an instant, an aura of power capable of severing two corpses and reaching the level of a Quasi-Saint swept outwards. "Who dares to fight!"

At that moment, Grand Master Xuandu appeared in front of the formation, his Taoist robes swaying gently in the breeze, exuding an extraordinary and otherworldly air.

Ran Deng looked up and felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that Xuan Du, as Tai Qing's personal disciple and one of the first humans in the world, had a profound background and was far more complex than he appeared.

"Vice Leader Ran Deng, what's wrong? Although I am not talented, I am still a human, and one of the first humans in this world. Today I would like to learn from your skills."

Upon hearing this, Ran Deng's face flashed with embarrassment. He chuckled twice and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "It's nothing. I've long admired the name of Grand Master Xuandu, and I'm honored to meet you today."

Having said that, Randeng no longer hesitated and suddenly activated the Coffin Lamp. He quickly formed hand seals and chanted incantations. In an instant, the Netherworld Ghost Fire within the Coffin Lamp received a decree and transformed into a giant fire serpent, rushing towards Xuandu.

The flames burned fiercely, and wherever they passed, the air was rapidly heated, instantly distorted and deformed, forming visible vortexes of heat waves.

Even those standing at a distance could clearly feel the intense heat emanating from the two sides, as if it were about to turn everything in the world to ashes.

This fire truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Four Heavenly Fires; its power was enough to change the very fabric of the world. Everyone was horrified and retreated hastily, fearing that they might be caught in the flames.

Xuan Du remained calm and composed. The Tai Chi diagram beneath his feet trembled slightly and then began to operate on its own, forming an indestructible shield that enveloped Xuan Du.

The ghostly flames roared in and crashed violently into the light screen of the Taiji diagram. A deafening roar, as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had split open, was heard at the point where the flames and the light screen intersected.

However, the flames seemed to have struck an impenetrable wall, failing to harm Xuandu in the slightest, and quickly dissipated into nothingness.

When Ran Deng saw that his attack had missed, he was secretly alarmed, but he was not willing to give up. His figure blurred and he appeared in front of Xuan Du in an instant.

He raised the Qiankun Ruler high in his hand, which now expanded to hundreds of feet in size, and smashed down with tremendous force toward the Taiji diagram above Xuandu's head.

"This Qiankun Ruler is a top-grade innate spiritual treasure. Even in Xuandu's hands, the Taiji Diagram can't unleash much power. Although I dare not say I can definitely break it, I don't believe it will be completely useless. Today, I will definitely fight to the death and see how much of the Taiji Diagram's power you can achieve!"

However, when the Qiankun Ruler fell, it only made a muffled loud noise. The Taiji diagram remained completely still, steadily protecting Xuandu.

Ran Deng was greatly shocked. He hadn't expected that the Tai Chi diagram could be so powerful in his hands, and he was at a loss for what to do.

In that instant of his momentary lapse in concentration, Xuandu had already manipulated the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda, which crashed down upon him with immense force.

The lamp-bearer's heart tightened, and he dared not take the blow head-on. He quickly retreated, dodging the attack in a sorry state, and it took him several breaths to barely regain his footing.

Just as he dodged the pagoda, Ran Deng felt a strong gust of wind coming from behind him. He turned around and saw a futon flying towards him.

Ran Deng thought to himself that something was wrong and hurriedly dodged, changing his body shape in mid-air to narrowly avoid the attack from the prayer mat.

"The Grand Master is truly favored. All the treasures of the Supreme Saint have been given to the Grand Master. It's truly enviable."

While there was a hint of teasing in his words, there was more of a sense of helplessness and jealousy towards the powerful backing Xuandu had.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Du remained calm and said indifferently, "The Vice Sect Leader is not bad either, after all, he is second only to the leader in the Chan Sect."

These words, spoken in a plain and simple manner, were like a sharp blade, piercing straight into the heart of Ran Deng. He knew that although he was the vice leader of the Chan Sect, his position in the sect was awkward. Guang Chengzi and the other twelve Golden Immortals were disrespectful to him and did not take his orders to heart.

Just as he was pondering, the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda crashed down again. Left with no other choice, Randeng had to raise the Qiankun Ruler to defend himself.

With a loud "bang," the Qiankun Ruler struck the pagoda. Randeng felt a tremendous force surge through him, causing his arms to go numb. He staggered back several steps before barely managing to regain his balance.

He secretly lamented his misfortune, realizing that being passively attacked like this was not a long-term solution. So, he made a snap decision and separated his two bodies.

The two clones were identical to the original body, emanating eighty percent of the original's aura. They formed a pincer movement with the original body, operating the Spirit Coffin Lamp and the Qiankun Ruler together, and attacked Xuandu once again.

Xuan Du remained standing motionless, his feet firmly planted on the Taiji diagram. Watching Randeng's attack, a slight smirk played on his lips as he said, "Fellow Daoist Randeng, you are also a guest of the Three Thousand Purple Cloud Palace, so why are you so pathetic now? The great figures of your era have either become saints or are already three-corpse quasi-saints. How come you're still only a two-corpse quasi-saint?"

Having said that, he changed the hand seals, controlling the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and the Wind and Fire Futon, increasing the intensity of his attack.

Randeng was so angry at Xuandu's mockery that his face turned red. He was burning with rage, but he was helpless.

He suppressed his anger and commanded his two avatars to cooperate with his main body. The ghostly flames of the coffin lamp and the attacks of the Qiankun Ruler intertwined, attempting to resist Xuandu's fierce offensive.

However, Xuan Du's magic weapon was too powerful, and his own cultivation was also unfathomable. Randeng gradually felt powerless and could only barely hold on.

Seeing that Randeng was already at his limit, Grand Master Xuandu did not rush to end the battle. As if toying with Randeng, he manipulated his magic weapon to attack fiercely at times and strike slowly at others, playing with Randeng in the palm of his hand.

Randeng grew increasingly anxious, yet he was helpless and could only watch as Xuandu humiliated him in front of everyone.

After a while, Xuandu seemed to have gotten tired of playing. He changed his hand seals, and the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda and the Wind and Fire Futon simultaneously surged towards Randeng.

Unable to dodge in time, Randeng was struck by the force, immediately spitting out blood and crashing heavily to the ground. In this battle, Randeng had utterly lost face.

At this moment, Guang Chengzi, seeing Randeng's defeat, couldn't help but mock his incompetence: "Vice Leader Randeng, you're usually so imposing, how come you're so pathetic today? You've truly opened our eyes!"

Hearing Guang Chengzi's mockery, Randeng was furious, but he was powerless to refute it. He could only glare at Guang Chengzi, force himself to stand up, and drag his exhausted body back to Yuxu Palace.

Upon returning to Yuxu Palace, Randeng went straight to Yuanshi Tianzun, his face full of shame and resentment, and recounted the entire Battle of Jinji Ridge to him.

Yuanshi Tianzun sat on his lotus throne. After listening to Randeng's account, he pondered for a moment, then summoned Lu Ya and said in a deep voice, "Lu Ya, you will go to Jinji Ridge with Randeng. You must be careful on this trip and never again disgrace the Chan Sect!"

"We will obey the decree of the sage." After saying this, he exchanged a glance with Ran Deng, and the two of them headed towards Jinji Ridge together again.

At this moment, Randeng was filled with resentment towards Xuandu and a desire to save face, while Lu Ya remained calm.

When Randeng and Lu Ya returned to the Xiqi camp, they were met with Guang Chengzi's endless mockery: "Oh, I thought the Vice Leader had fled in the face of battle. What, who is this person?"

Lu Ya remained silent, only giving Guang Chengzi a cold look filled with killing intent before walking into the camp.

"Vice Master, this is the Seven Swords of Nailhead. As long as you set up a camp, with a platform inside, and a straw effigy with the enemy's name written on it, a lamp above its head and a lamp below its feet, perform the Dipper dance, write talismans, seal and burn it, and worship it three times a day, you can kill someone without them even seeing it at noon on the twenty-first day!"

"Then I will trouble Fellow Daoist Lu Ya to cast this spell to kill the King of Murder!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ya was slightly taken aback, then smiled awkwardly and said, "Fellow Daoist Ran Deng, this technique requires someone with great fortune to perform. It's best to leave it to someone else; I am not suitable for it."

Upon hearing this, Ran Deng instantly realized that this technique had a tremendous causal relationship; whoever used it would suffer misfortune. "Perfect, let's leave this great task to Guang Chengzi!"

"Ahem, as the senior disciple of the Chan Sect, let's leave this technique to Guang Chengzi!"

Upon hearing this, Guang Chengzi waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, as the senior brother, how can I steal the credit? Let's leave it to the vice leader!"

Everyone pushed and shoved, unwilling to use the technique, as no one wanted to get involved in such a huge karmic consequence.

"Let's just let Ji Fa perform it; after all, his luck is stronger!"

At this moment, everyone stopped arguing and exclaimed in unison, "Junior Brother Yu Ding is truly talented!"

Afterwards, Randeng straightened his clothes, endured the pain in his body, and flew towards the Shang camp. He secretly vowed to agree on a truce date and sent someone to summon Ji Fa.