Thinking of this, Zhunti looked up at Li Qingming, and indeed, Li Qingming, who initially exhibited Taiyi Cultivation, now appeared completely hazy, indistinguishable. Greatly alarmed, "Fellow Daoist, can we talk this out? Why resort to such hurtful words?"
"Talk this out my ass!" Li Qingming exclaimed, his figure suddenly bursting forward, as he threw a Direct Punch straight at Zhunti's face.
Zhunti placed the Purple Gold Bowl over his head, and streams of golden light spilled from the bowl, enveloping his entire body.
"Clang!" A clear, pleasing sound rang out where Li Qingming's fist met the Bowl's golden light!
Zhunti revealed a sleazy smile from within the light barrier, saying, "Come on then, Fellow Daoist! If you can break through my defense, do as you will with me! Hahaha" To Li Qingming, that expression couldn't be more detestable.
"Hahaha, alright! Those are your words. Hope you don't regret it later!" Li Qingming laughed wildly. Summoning Green Bamboo, he channeled the Yuqing True Essence, infusing it into the Green Bamboo.
The Green Bamboo visibly widened and thickened at a speed noticeable to the naked eye. Eventually, it transformed into an object resembling a green brick, which Li Qingming swung vigorously, "clang clang clang," smashing it down fiercely.
Zhunti, looking at the massive green brick, suddenly had a terrible premonition, and this feeling grew increasingly intense!
"Clang" "Clang" "Clang"...
Li Qingming, while smashing with the brick, shouted angrily, "To think you have the nerve, I'll crush you, crush you to death!"
Zhunti, on the verge of tears, watched as the thin light barrier started to display cracks, bit by bit. The "clang" "clang" of the impacts sounded like a death knell, hammering at his very soul.
At this moment, Zhunti deeply regretted his earlier actions. Why couldn't he have controlled his desires?
"Crack!" "Crash!"
Two distinct crisp sounds pulled the daydreaming Zhunti back to reality. Looking up, he saw an enormous green brick descending from the sky. And just like that, Zhunti was in for a misery—smack onto the ground by a brick.
Li Qingming was thrilled. With the brick pressing down repeatedly, and the continuous "ah!" "ah!" screams from below. Especially when the one screaming was his own enemy, the sensation was pure enjoyment. Some might say Li Qingming is twisted, but human nature is just like that.
After a while of smashing, the ground ceased to emit any more screams. Confused, Li Qingming mumbled, "Shit, could I have killed him? That would be a big deal!" Retracting the brick transformed from Green Bamboo, Li Qingming flew down, guiding his Primordial Spirit into the square pit that had been smashed down dozens of meters deep by the brick.
There he saw Zhunti, lying at the bottom of the pit sprawled out like a dead dog, his hair in Buddha's bun completely disheveled, his saffron Daoist robe tattered, his nose collapsed, and even a trickle of golden blood by his mouth. To Li Qingming's surprise, the Purple Gold Bowl appeared undamaged - an Innate Spiritual Treasure made of who knows what, utterly unscathed, its quality clearly revealed.
Li Qingming softly murmured, "Such a Spiritual Treasure ending up in his hands. Truly a case of pearls cast before swine!" Although it was an Innate Spiritual Treasure, Li Qingming harbored no intention to snatch it. One, because the Bowl was a symbol of the future Buddhist Sect; two, he disliked its appearance.
Casually gathering a handful of rainwater, Li Qingming sprinkled it onto Zhunti's face. The first thing the sobering Zhunti did left Li Qingming quite speechless.
Zhunti immediately scattered his Primordial Spirit to search for the Purple Gold Bowl upon waking up, while muttering, "My bowl! It's my only treasure!"
Watching this, Li Qingming felt contempt in his heart, "Damn, is this the Zhunti Sect Leader who presides over a realm? Really fucking blindsided!"
"Hey! Are you awake yet? If you're awake, it's time to honor your earlier words!" Li Qingming kicked at Zhunti's thigh.
"Ah? You, don't come any closer! A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists!" Zhunti, upon seeing Li Qingming nearby, was immediately scared out of his wits, blurting out the words in panic.
"I don't want your life, I've hit you enough, and vented my anger! Now, let's discuss how to resolve this matter!" Looking at the utterly disgraceful Zhunti, Li Qingming was full of doubts. The Saintly Western Sect Leader... is this how he acts?
"How do you want to resolve it?" Straightening his appearance, Zhunti stood up and said indifferently.
"Turns out you're quite resilient, managing to get your emotions under control so quickly! Now, that's more like Zhunti!" thought Li Qingming.
"Come, let's go up and talk! Don't even think about escaping, you can't possibly get away from me!" Li Qingming leaped onto the ground and spoke to the Zhunti below.
With his plan exposed, Zhunti had no choice but to follow Li Qingming into the air.
"Why did you leave the West, where you were well settled, to come to the East for no reason?" Li Qingming asked as soon as Zhunti had ascended, starting the conversation.
"I see that the East is vast and rich in resources, many of which are fated for me!..." Zhunti articulated casually.
"Hold on!" Li Qingming interrupted him halfway through his sentence, saying, "It's our business that the East is vast and rich in resources, what fate do you Westerners have to speak of here?"
"Fellow Daoist, this view is mistaken. The Primordial Land was opened up by the Pan Gu God, with no distinction between East and West," Zhunti retorted, "Moreover, those with virtue occupy the Spiritual Treasures. Is there anything wrong with me coming to the East seeking treasures?"
"Oh, so you mean to say that might makes right, that's the hard truth?" Li Qingming said with a sinister smile.
"It can be put that way! The vast Primordial, survival of the fittest, the victor thrives!" Zhunti seemed not to notice the trickery in Li Qingming's words as he spoke.
"Haha! Good!" Li Qingming laughed heartily and said, "Since Fellow Daoist speaks so, then it's easy to talk! I noticed you have something on you that is fated for me, I wonder if you are willing to part with it?"
Zhunti's eyes panicked as he thought to himself, "This is bad! I've been tricked by this Daoist!"
With a forced smile and a shake of his head, Zhunti said, "Fellow Daoist truly flatters me, what is it that you wish to have?"
"I see the Reverend Daoist seems to possess nothing of value. It's heard that your true form is the Chaos Spirit Root, the Bodhi Tree! Is this true?" Li Qingming asked with a beaming smile.
"Hm?" Zhunti's complexion changed as he said, "Fellow Daoist has quite the calculation! How did you know that my true form is the Bodhi Spiritual Root?" No wonder Zhunti was so troubled; anyone would feel the same. The two had not met before, and after only a brief encounter followed by a fight, his adversary was able to divine his origin in such a brief time, which was utterly terrifying! If he could escape this ordeal, he would never provoke him again!
If Li Qingming knew what Zhunti was thinking, he would probably have laughed heartily. An offhandedly mentioned word had unknowingly saved him a lot of trouble in his future life in the Primordial Land.
"Hahaha, never mind how I came to know! I want just one thing from you!" Li Qingming burst into a long howl to the sky.
"What is it?" Zhunti looked extremely wary.
"The Bodhi Seed!" Li Qingming's eyes twinkled.
"What? You might as well kill me!" Zhunti, who was originally seated in meditation, suddenly stood up and yelled angrily.
"Oh, then okay! If you don't wish to part with the Bodhi Seed and settle this cause and effect, then I can only let you fall here! Even if you die, I can still get the Bodhi Seed!" Li Qingming's tone was cold and dark as he spoke slowly.
"You're dreaming! If I fall, the Bodhi Tree will surely turn to ash and smoke, leaving not a single Bodhi Seed behind!" Zhunti's eyes were blood-red, looking almost crazed.
Li Qingming looked at Zhunti indifferently and casually summoned the Qiankun Tripod, asking, "Do you see what this is?"
Zhunti's eyes bulged out as he said hoarsely, "The Qiankun Tripod! How is that possible?"
"Will you give it or not?" Li Qingming's expression turned grim, ready to make a move.
Defeated, Zhunti sat down and said, "Fellow Daoist truly has a good strategy!" A golden light exploded from his right hand, and a brown Bodhi Seed with a Buddha seemingly sitting within it, shining with golden light, appeared out of nowhere. Zhunti, who was as pale as a ghost and devoid of all color, tossed the Bodhi Seed to Li Qingming and said, "Fellow Daoist! Let this item resolve the karma between us! From now on, we owe each other nothing!"
Li Qingming held the Bodhi Seed in his hand, nodded calmly, and said, "Good, we owe each other nothing!"