Hongjun nodded slightly, raised his hand with a wave, and two spiritual treasures emerged from the void, landing slowly before the two.
A cane, golden in its entirety and carved with dragon patterns, and a bowl, white and glossy like jade with a faint mist of water rolling over it.
"These two objects are both top-grade innate spiritual treasures. The dragon-headed crutch is given to East King Duke as a symbol of the head of male immortals, which can draw in innate Yang Qi and deter the petty."
"The pure water alms bowl is given to West Queen Mother as a symbol of the head of female immortals, which can transform innate Yin Qi and purify evil spirits."
Top-grade innate spiritual treasures! Envy flashed instantly in the eyes of everyone within the palace.
Such supreme treasures were few and far between in the Primordial Wilderness, so how could anyone not be red-eyed when East King Duke and West Queen Mother were granted them simply by virtue of their immortal-head positions?
Yet no one dared to show their dissatisfaction; after all, this was Hongjun's decision, and the qualifications and true forms of East King Duke and West Queen Mother truly matched this reward.
East King Duke and West Queen Mother accepted the spiritual treasures, felt the dense law power contained within them, and bowed once more in salute. "We disciples thank Dao Ancestor for bestowing the treasures!"
"You two must bear in mind that the position of immortal head is not for power, but to safeguard the order of the Primordial Wilderness."
Hongjun looked at them and exhorted, "If you lose yourselves to power in days to come and violate the Heavenly Dao, you will naturally suffer tribulation."
"We disciples shall keep Master's teachings in mind!" The two responded in unison.
Hongjun nodded slightly and was about to rise and leave when he saw two figures stride out from the crowd; they were none other than Dijun and Taiyi.
Dijun bowed in salute, his voice respectful yet carrying a trace of unperceived ambition.
"Dao Ancestor, this disciple observes that the many beast and bird transformation beings in the Primordial Wilderness frequently suffer unprovoked oppression and find themselves displaced."
"My brother Taiyi and I have felt this in our hearts, and we wish to gather such beings to establish a clan called the Demon Race, to protect our kindred, and to safeguard the living spaces of beasts and birds. We earnestly request Dao Ancestor's permission!"
As soon as these words fell, the expressions of quite a few beast-transformed innate deities in the hall turned unsightly.
Dijun's action, while seeming to protect his kindred, was actually an attempt to bring all beast and bird transformation beings under his command and form a faction!
Yet when they saw the Eastern Emperor Bell in Taiyi's hand pulsing with terrifying might, along with the cold light in Dijun's eyes, they lowered their heads one after another, not daring to retort.
Hongjun's gaze flickered slightly, as though he had seen through Dijun's ambition, yet he merely uttered a single, indifferent word of permission.
As his voice fell, Hongjun's figure vanished from atop the high platform, leaving only a faint Dao Rhythm lingering within the hall.
Joy bordering on frenzy appeared on the faces of Dijun and Taiyi, and as they exchanged glances, both saw triumph in each other's eyes.
With Hongjun's permission, the establishment of the Demon Race became entirely justified.
In the days to come, they could use this to rally the beings of the Primordial Wilderness and contend against the Witch Clan!
The two turned and swaggered away, and as they passed the area where the Witch Clan sat, Taiyi even deliberately shook the Eastern Emperor Bell in his hand, his provocative intent glaringly obvious.
"Absurd! This Dijun and Taiyi are clearly trying to vie for hegemony over the Primordial Wilderness!"
Zhurong instantly flew into a rage, stood up abruptly with flames surging all over his body, and was about to go up and argue with the two when he was grabbed tightly by Houtu at his side.
"Brother Zhurong, you must not act rashly!" Houtu advised in a low voice.
"This is the Purple Palace, and Dao Ancestor has just left. If we make a move here, we will anger Dao Ancestor."
"But they..." Zhurong was burning with anger, yet he knew Houtu was right, so he could only force down his fiery temper and glare fiercely at the departing backs of Dijun and Taiyi.
Although the hearts of the Twelve Ancestral Witches were filled with rage, they were helpless to do otherwise and could only follow the rest of the crowd as they left the Purple Palace, fuming.
Inside the Purple Palace, Haotian and Jade Pool rose last. Gazing at the residual Dao Rhythm in the hall, Haotian's eyes flashed with a hint of understanding.
The curtain on the Witch-Demon Hegemony had quietly drawn back from this very moment.
And he, too, needed to elevate his strength as quickly as possible over these ten thousand years to prepare for consolidating the order of the Primordial Wilderness and establishing the Heavenly Court in the future.
Naturally, the prerequisite for being well-prepared was to collect more resources and spiritual treasures.
For instance, the innate gourd vine of Buzhou Mountain was itself a top-grade innate spiritual root.
It also bore seven gourds upon it, each of which was a high-grade innate spiritual treasure, and if cultivated well, could even be nurtured into a top-grade innate spiritual treasure.
He could entirely make plans for it, though he harbored no intention of monopolizing them.
He had no desire to play Gourd Grandpa; what would he do with so many gourds? Obtaining his own share was enough, and the rest didn't matter.
After all, what use was monopolization? He might not even have a use for them himself, and it would only stir up displeasure among others.
Though given his current strength, he didn't care much about such things, he still needed to mind his image to some extent.
Therefore, after tidying up the now completely empty Purple Palace slightly, he turned his gaze toward Jade Pool at his side.
"Let's go, Junior Sister. There's nothing much left to do anyway, so how about we go take a stroll around Zhou Mountain?"
"Alright, alright! Come to think of it, we've never been to Buzhou Mountain before."
Hearing this, Jade Pool's eyes lit up, and she nodded hurriedly. The two then seated themselves upon the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud and sped away toward Buzhou Mountain.
Meanwhile, the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Hongyun, Dijun, and others—who all sensed in their hearts that an opportunity awaited at Buzhou Mountain—likewise headed toward Zhou Mountain in a unanimous accord.
And the prerequisite for being well-prepared was, naturally, to collect more resources and spiritual treasures capable of solidifying one's foundation.
With the Primordial Wilderness newly settled, many innate spiritual roots and supreme treasures left over from the creation of heaven and earth still drifted scattered across the world.
Among them, quite a few were renowned, such as that innate gourd vine standing upon Zhou Mountain.
This vine was one of the ten top-grade innate spiritual roots, rooted within the core spirit veins of Buzhou Mountain, absorbing hundreds of millions of years of chaos spiritual energy and earth vein essence.
By now, seven gourds of varying forms had already borne fruit upon the vine.
These seven gourds all contained pure laws, and upon their initial maturation, they were high-grade innate spiritual treasures.
If nurtured carefully with Three Lights Divine Water or Heavenly Dao Merit, they had an even greater chance of advancing into top-grade innate spiritual treasures, rendering them a rare cluster of supreme treasures in the Primordial Wilderness.
Haotian had long since made plans in his heart, yet he had no intention of monopolizing them.
He didn't want to be Gourd Grandpa, so what was he to do with so many gourds?
Furthermore, the Primordial Heart Sutra he practiced already relied far less on magic treasures than the methods of other mighty figures.
He already possessed top supreme treasures about his person, such as the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler and the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure-Colored Flag.
For him, out of the seven gourds, taking the single one that resonated with his own space law was quite enough.
Distributing the rest to others or leaving them in the Primordial Wilderness would instead prevent unnecessary conflicts sparked by treasures.
After all, given his current cultivation, while he feared no challenge from his peers,
his identity as a personal disciple of the Mystic Gate and his overarching stance toward establishing the Heavenly Court in the future both required him to maintain the demeanor of one who would merge with the Dao; pointless squabbling over treasures would only invite criticism, which would be unseemly.
He lowered his gaze to glance at the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler in his palm, his fingertips gently rubbing the merit patterns carved along the ruler's body, before turning his head to look at Jade Pool beside him.
Jade Pool was gazing at the swirling chaos airflow outside the hall, her eyes brimming with curiosity toward the Primordial Wilderness.
Ren Water spiritual Qi coiled around the tips of her hair, making her look precisely as she had when she first entered the Primordial Wilderness.
"Junior Sister, there is nothing left to attend to in the Purple Palace." Haotian spoke softly, his tone carrying a touch of gentleness.
"Since there are still ten thousand years until the next lecture, how about accompanying me for a stroll around Zhou Mountain?"
"Rumor has it that place was formed from Pangu's spine, boasting flourishing spirit veins, and perhaps we can unearth some spiritual materials to our liking."
"Buzhou Mountain?" Hearing this, Jade Pool's eyes flashed brilliantly, and as she turned, the Ren Water spiritual Qi at her skirt hem rippled lightly. She walked briskly to Haotian's side, her tone full of expectation.
"Alright! I've long heard Senior Brother mention that Zhou Mountain is the foremost divine mountain in the Primordial Wilderness."
"I simply never had the chance to go; this time I shall just accompany Senior Brother to witness it firsthand!"
Haotian smiled faintly and raised a hand to summon the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud.
This heavenly treasure was wreathed in seven-colored rosy clouds, with golden lamps slowly revolving amidst the auspicious vapor.
The two stepped side by side onto the auspicious cloud, which transformed into a streak of flowing light that pierced through the chaos airflow and sped rapidly toward Zhou Mountain in the center of the Primordial Wilderness.
Meanwhile, across various regions of the Primordial Wilderness, several mighty figures simultaneously felt a stir in their hearts.
Within the chaos void, Laozi manipulated the Taiji Seal, a flash of enlightenment crossing his eyes as he spoke to Yuanshi and Tongtian beside him.
"An innate spiritual root has manifested at Zhou Mountain, and it faintly resonates with our Dao paths. You and I, brothers, shall go together; perhaps we may acquire a share of destiny."
Yuanshi nodded while holding the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, and Tongtian was already unable to restrain himself; the three stepped upon purple Qi and sped straight toward the center of the Primordial Wilderness.
Not only the Three Pure Ones, but Nuwa, Fuxi, Dijun, Taiyi, Zhenyuanzi, and Hongyun—who were likewise within the chaos void—also sensed it, and consequently set off one after another toward Zhou Mountain.
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