Bullying my disciple, do you take me for dead?

In the vast expanse of the universe, though countless stars and myriad realms exist, they can ultimately scarcely illuminate the dimness of the void.

Holding a walking stick, Lao Dan paced slowly, walking among the myriad heavens and realms. With a single step, he could traverse infinite distances.

Until he reached the depths of the universe and beheld that sun radiating vast and boundless light.

The lord of the solar pantheon, the very first sun in the universe, the true Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

"Your Sagehood's arrival, I have failed to..."

Seeing Lao Dan descend, a figure stepped out from within the sun, raising his hands in a bow.

Before he could finish his words, however, Lao Dan had already swung his walking stick down upon him.

"Whatever tricks you have, use them on me fair and square."

"Bullying my disciple, who has not even achieved the Dao of Immortality, what kind of ability is that?"

"At your advanced age, have you lived your entire life in vain?"

With a roar from Lao Dan, the walking stick fell like Mount Buzhou collapsing, directly shattering the sun into pieces.

The first sun of the universe was thus broken apart.

The figure that had stepped out from the sun simultaneously spewed a torrent of blood, scattering it across the void.

Those tiny droplets of quintessential solar blood fled into the darkness, instantly transforming into countless suns.

After endless ages, they might perhaps give birth to many more worlds.

"May the Sage appease his wrath."

Taiyi could not care for his own injuries; he repeatedly raised his hands in a bow to plead for mercy.

Lao Dan had still shown restraint, merely destroying the true form of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi once.

Otherwise, with a single thought, the myriad realms and the great suns would be extinguished—enough to make the Eastern Emperor Taiyi vanish completely.

"You bully my disciple, and take it that I am dead?"

Lao Dan spoke in a cold voice.

"You killed my disciple once, and now I have killed you once. Are you convinced?"

It is often said that like master, like disciple.

How you treat me is how I will treat you.

The core principle here is absolute fairness.

"Convinced, I am convinced."

Taiyi nodded repeatedly.

Lao Dan withdrew his walking stick and spoke again: "Since you are convinced, that is good."

"Let me ask you, who told you to go and kill him?"

Taiyi's expression remained unchanged, save for a look of utter bewilderment.

"Who told me to go?"

"My believer, of course."

"In his moment of life-and-death crisis, he sacrificed his remaining lifespan to summon me to act."

"I could hardly stand by and watch him die."

Lao Dan's expression was indifferent as his walking stick struck out once more.

The greatest sound is a formless silence, rippling like waves across the cosmos.

The sun, already shattered, was this time brought to the brink of complete dissolution.

Taiyi hurriedly reached out a hand, crying, "Sage, spare me! Please spare my life!"

Originally, with his solar true form shattered, it would require endless ages for him to slowly repair it.

Lao Dan had now delivered a second blow, meaning the time required would be even greater.

If the attacks continued, he would likely have to abandon his countless alternative avatars just to re-condense his true form.

By then, the Taiyi Dao Fruit that he had cultivated with such painstaking effort would probably be impossible to retain.

The Daluo Dao Fruit is anchored in the Daluo Heaven and protected by the Primordial, hence it can be proven once and for all and never fall from grace.

Yet the Taiyi Dao Fruit possesses no such capability.

"Sparing you is possible, but then you must speak."

"I refuse to believe you would dare to provoke me of your own accord."

Taiyi wore a bitter expression.

He was the lord of the solar pantheon, a Taiyi Golden Immortal, and an overlord of the universe.

In the eyes of all living beings, he was a supreme and magnificent existence.

Yet before Lao Dan at this moment, he felt like a mere recruit.

"Sage, truly no one instigated me."

"Had I known he was your disciple, I would never have made a move."

"I implore the Sage to show mercy."

Lao Dan's face was expressionless as he softly said, "To make you willing to discard even your true form, it seems he gave you quite a bounty."

"If you do not speak today, it matters little."

"Ultimately, there are only those few individuals."

"I already have a clear idea in my mind."

Taiyi lowered his head and remained silent.

"You killed my disciple once, and I killed you once. Though the karmic debt is erased—"

"Yet with your profound cultivation, you possess your own methods of resurrection."

"Pity my disciple, who has not even achieved the Dao of Immortality; resurrection is all the more difficult for him."

Lao Dan spoke as he stepped forward.

Taiyi felt a wave of speechlessness wash over him.

Your disciple might lack the ability to resurrect, but you certainly do not!

Yet at the same time, a heavy burden lifted from his heart.

The moment Lao Dan said those words, he knew he would likely survive this ordeal.

However, bleeding a substantial price was unavoidable.

Sure enough, Lao Dan stepped right into the shattered sun and made a casual grab.

A divine tree was uprooted from the earth.

The ancient Fusang tree, a supreme divine object and先天 primordial spiritual root.

"Sage, you cannot do this!"

Taiyi's eyes split with grief and rage.

The ancient Fusang tree was inextricably linked to his true form, and the core of his cultivated Dao of avatar-manifestation was anchored within this tree.

Should Lao Dan take it away, forget about future cultivation; even repairing his own true form would become a monumental challenge.

"Rest assured."

"I do not want your entire tree."

With that, Lao Dan reached out and snapped a branch off by force.

He then tossed the ancient tree back into the shattered sun.

"Today I take a single branch of your Fusang tree, to serve as compensation for my disciple."

Taiyi turned ashen, his teeth clenched tight, but powerless to resist, he could only nod in silence.

Ancient Fusang Tree: An impotent husband... master.

Having taken the Fusang tree branch, Lao Dan lingered no longer; he turned, took a step, and vanished from the spot.

Within the boundless, hazy expanse of heaven and earth, Lu Ge was still chatting with the green ox.

In a flash, Lao Dan rent the void and arrived.

"Master!"

Lu Ge leaped up and bounded toward Lao Dan.

Lao Dan raised his walking stick, pressing the tip directly against Lu Ge's chest.

Lu Ge spread his arms wide, only to lunge into empty air.

"At my age, I can hardly handle such embraces."

"Don't go breaking these old bones of mine."

Lu Ge chuckled and said, "Master jests."

Lao Dan glared at him.

"You still have the nerve to laugh."

"I told you long ago, those who kill others must be prepared to be killed themselves."

"Today you finally got a taste of what it feels like to be killed, didn't you?"

Lu Ge lowered his head in silence and muttered, "It wasn't me who started it."

"They were the ones who wanted to kill me first."

Lao Dan stroked his beard and said, "Naturally I know that."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with you."

"Remember for next time: once you've made your move, speak less and give the enemy no openings."

"Even a lion uses its full strength to capture a rabbit."

"If you hadn't played around this time and instead struck with full force to kill instantly, how could you have suffered a mortal calamity?"

"When all is said and done, you brought this upon yourself."

Though his disciple had been bullied and Lao Dan would naturally help him seek justice, once behind closed doors, his reprimands were merciless.

He did not blame Lu Ge for stirring up trouble, nor would he teach Lu Ge to cower from matters in the future.

He simply wanted Lu Ge to understand that once a struggle begins, one must attack with all their might.

The enemy dies and you live—that is the only optimal outcome.

"Disciple will remember this."

Lu Ge would certainly remember; this was a lesson bought with his own life.

Lao Dan nodded slightly and retrieved a tree branch from his sleeve.

"Your death this time, while largely due to your own faults, cannot be blamed entirely on you."

"That Taiyi accepted heavy bribes and took orders to take your life."

"Even if you escaped this time, there would be a next time, and a time after that."

"This is a branch of the ancient Fusang tree I took from him; take it."

"Refine and comprehend it well, and you will naturally cultivate a great divine power."