Praise the Sun
The era in which the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin had been the protagonists had come to an end.
As the saying went, when one side finished its performance, the other took the stage in full makeup. The next era belonged to Hongjun and Luohou.
Before those two Dao Ancestors formally fought to the death, however, the Primordial World entered a vigorous period of peaceful development and recuperation, bursting with life.
None of this had anything to do with Xiang Dong, though. Because of the light screen's spoilers, his energy reserves were severely depleted, so his consciousness had never awakened during this time. He had remained asleep.
In the mountains, time passed unnoticed; in the Primordial World, the years went uncounted.
Inside Pangu Hall, the blood pool churned. A mass of raging flames burst from its cocoon and condensed into a figure with a beast's head and a human body, clad in red scales, with fire serpents through his ears and fire dragons beneath his feet.
The moment he appeared, the temperature throughout Pangu Hall soared, and the air warped from the scorching heat.
"Father God Pangu above, I, Zhurong, am born today!"
A towering wave followed close behind, transforming into a figure with a human face and a serpent's body, pitch-black from head to toe and standing atop two black dragons. He faced Zhurong from a distance.
If Xiang Dong had been awake to see this, he would surely have quipped, How is this not a red-and-blue CP? I'm shipping them first.
"Father God Pangu above, I, Gonggong, am born today!"
Zhurong and Gonggong had been like needle points against wheat awns since they were in the womb, at odds over just about everything. Now they had been born almost simultaneously, one right after the other, but Zhurong had announced his birth to Pangu first and thus claimed the rank of third brother.
That left Gonggong thoroughly displeased. He glared at Zhurong, who grinned back, his eyes full of provocation.
Even while he was still in his flesh cocoon, Zhurong had wanted to fight Gonggong. Now was the perfect chance.
"Fourth brother, not satisfied? If you're not, then fight me. If you win, I'll give you the third brother's place."
"You said it."
Just as Zhurong and Gonggong were about to come to blows, Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin abruptly appeared between them, separating the two.
"You can't even behave yourselves after being born? You want to fight as soon as you come out? Take care of the important business first."
And so, it was the same familiar procedure, the same familiar recipe.
They pounded their chests, forcing out their heart's blood and the power of their Principles' origins.
"Little brother, this is your third brother's fire (water) origin."
The two spoke in unison, then glanced at each other and both snorted.
The important business came first. They could settle the matter of their rankings slowly after their injuries had healed.
Two drops of heart's blood containing the origins of utterly different Principles entered Xiang Dong's flesh cocoon one after the other.
Within Xiang Dong's Primordial Spirit, two new Principle imprints representing water and fire slowly formed.
And that was not the end of it. It was only the beginning.
For the next to take the stage were six Ancestral Witches: Jumang, Rushou, Qiangliang, Tianwu, Yanzi, and Shebishi.
They too were born one right after another, but they were not keen on fighting over rank. They could not be the eldest anyway, and the second and third spots were impossible too. There was not much point in fighting for fifth place, and were they supposed to fight for sixth?
Though their personalities differed, the first thing they did after being born was offer up their heart's blood and origin Principles.
Metal, wood, wind, thunder, lightning, weather, poison...
Thus, the Principle imprints within Xiang Dong's Primordial Spirit had nearly formed a complete circle around the Light Principle at their core.
Of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, only Xuanming and Houtu remained unborn.
At this time, the births of Innate Divine Beings also entered a period of explosive growth. Like bamboo shoots after the rain, they stepped onto the stage of history one after another.
At Eastern Kunlun Mountain, three streams of pure Qi soared into the sky, announcing the formal births of three authentic descendants of Pangu.
Grand Pure One Laozi, Jade Pure Yuanshi, and Supreme Pure Tongtian.
Born alongside them were the Taiji Diagram and the Pangu Banner, two of the Creation-Heaven Three Treasures.
Next, over in Western Kunlun, came the Queen Mother of the West, who took form from innate supreme yin Qi.
Where there was innate supreme yin, there was innate supreme yang. Influenced by the karmic connection between their Qi, a strand of innate supreme yang Qi took form above the East Sea. He was Dongwanggong, whom Xiang Dong had labeled an unlucky fellow.
Then, on the Moon Star, two incomparably beautiful figures appeared: Xihe and Changxi, a pair of lovely sisters formed from innate lunar Qi.
One was cool and aloof as the moon, holding dominion over the laurel tree; the other was gentle as water, encircled by the river of stars.
With them on the Moon Star, the nights throughout the Primordial World seemed to have become less monotonous.
Even the cool moonlight gained a touch of softness and poetry.
Pangu Hall blocked the Heavenly Dao's perception, so no matter how much of a commotion the Ancestral Witches made, the outside world knew nothing of it. The births of the Three Pure Ones, Dongwanggong, the Queen Mother of the West, Xihe, and Changxi had mostly been announcements, letting the Primordial World know that such figures had taken form and been born, and would soon venture out to explore.
As for the next two to appear, the commotion they caused could only be described as explosive.
Yes, explosive in the literal sense.
Boom!!!
A tremendous boom erupted from the Sun Star. The enormous impact even shook the entire Primordial World.
Two masses of golden Solar True Fire rose from deep within the Sun Star's core, then plummeted straight toward the Primordial World like two newborn suns.
The beings of the Primordial World then discovered that two more suns had appeared in the sky.
Endless Solar True Fire descended from the heavens, as though it would reduce the entire Primordial World to scorched earth.
Just as countless beings trembled in fear, the plummeting Solar True Fire transformed into two Three-legged Golden Crows. They let out piercing, resounding cries, announcing the birth of new overlords to the entire Primordial World.
These two Three-legged Golden Crows were naturally the future Demon Emperor Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, accompanied by the last supreme creation-heaven treasure, the Chaos Bell.
That incomparably domineering Solar True Fire and their bearing as rulers overlooking all under heaven made them impossible for any being in the Primordial World to ignore.
The Three Pure Ones and the other Innate Divine Beings all looked solemn. These two brothers really were domineering, but they did indeed have the strength to back it up.
To everyone else, Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's Solar True Fire, originating from the Sun Star, was scorching hot and domineering; they could not even approach it.
But to a certain sunflower, it was... warm light, an all-purpose miracle tonic pill dropped from the heavens.
A huge tonic!
A super tonic!
In Nuwa's spirit field, the innate sunflower that had drooped its head and remained asleep ever since returning from the East Sea suddenly straightened its stalk and raised its flower head.
Its dim, lusterless flower head turned toward the direction in which Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had appeared. With their appearance, the flower head seemed to be infused with boundless energy, and every petal shone brilliantly.
That purest power of the sun's origin, from the core of the Sun Star, crossed boundless space and poured into Xiang Dong's true body, rapidly replenishing his own power of origin.
Current charging progress: 19%... 70%... 100%.
Super flash charging, resurrection at full health, booting up.
Awakening, Xiang Dong shouted, "Praise the sun!"