Time passed without record in the Primordial World.
Several thousand years flew by in the blink of an eye.
During this time, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had long since completed their special training.
Yet halfway up Buzhou Mountain, things were unusually lively.
Looking around, the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, Zhunti, Dijun, Bai Ze, Hongyun, Zhen Yuanzi, and even the sisters Xihe and Changxi...
Nearly every prominent mighty figure in the Primordial World had gathered here.
Nüwa and Fuxi's Daoist grounds had originally been on Buzhou Mountain, so they had arrived several thousand years ago.
But when the siblings saw Qin Xuan and the Twelve Ancestral Witches guarding the Innate Gourd Vine, though their hearts stirred, they did not dare act rashly.
Not far away, beneath the Gourd Vine, a crude yet enormous grill gave off wisps of smoke.
Tied to it was the very wing Qin Xuan had forcibly broken off Kunpeng at Zixiao Palace.
The wing had been roasted golden and glistening with oil, sizzling as the fragrance of meat wafted through the air, making quite a few mighty figures watching in secret quietly swallow.
Qin Xuan and the Twelve Ancestral Witches sat in a circle around the grill, their eyes glowing green as they stared fixedly at the wing.
Hou Tu even kept raising her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, afraid that if she failed to hold back, drool would spill out.
They utterly ignored the growing number of mighty figures around them.
After years of Qin Xuan's "special training," the Twelve Ancestral Witches had all broken through, entering the late stage of the Great Golden Immortal realm!
Together with Qin Xuan, who stood at the peak of the Great Golden Immortal realm... the auras of thirteen supreme experts intertwined and spread, invisibly forming a suffocating pressure.
Every mighty figure present was shaken to the core, their faces turning pale in alarm!
They had thought Qin Xuan and Hou Tu were already strong enough!
Who would have thought there were another eleven people just as badass as them?
How were they supposed to compete for this opportunity?
Within the crowd, Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a quiet glance. Their years of tacit understanding let them immediately grasp each other's intent.
Their gazes swept over the differently composed crowd as they secretly transmitted their voices, inciting them:
"Fellow Daoists, if we fight alone, we are absolutely no match for these Ancestral Witches!"
"This Innate Gourd Vine is one of the ten great Innate Spiritual Roots. The seven gourds it bears are all extraordinary, each a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. Are we truly going to stand by and watch them all fall into the hands of these barbarians?"
"If we join forces, we may not lack the strength to contend!"
Their words were immensely tempting, setting many hearts ablaze and plunging them into thought.
With Innate Spiritual Treasures right before them, who could truly accept returning empty-handed?
Seeing the restless auras of the crowd, Zhunti smiled smugly.
With the little strength the two of them possessed, trying to snatch gourds from thirteen fiends was nothing but a fool's dream.
But if they could stir every mighty figure present into attacking together, then once chaos broke out, would they not have an opportunity to fish in troubled waters?
If the Ancestral Witches were defeated, they might truly be able to seize one or two gourds and bring them back to the west.
And if their luck was even better, perhaps they could take advantage of the chaos to beat up Qin Xuan and wash away the humiliation from Zixiao Palace!
Yuanshi was the first to lose his composure, his heart blazing with fervor!
He immediately transmitted his reply:
"That makes sense! Innate treasures belong to those with virtue! We Three Pure Ones are Pangu's Orthodoxy, so we ought to have a share! How could such savage, crude barbarians, innately incomplete and ignorant of Heaven's design, deserve such supreme treasures?"
After Yuanshi finished speaking, his gaze swept across the crowd as he waited for everyone to respond.
Yet the impassioned scene he had expected, with everyone eagerly answering his call, did not appear.
At this moment, aside from Yuanshi himself overflowing with excitement, not a single other mighty figure spoke...
Nüwa secretly glanced at Yuanshi and muttered inwardly:
"My brother and I live on Buzhou Mountain alongside these Thirteenth Ancestral Witch. We see one another every day."
"You people can snatch the treasures and pat your asses as you leave, but if the two of us remain here, how are we supposed to live afterward?"
Dijun, meanwhile, thought that a single Innate Spiritual Treasure-level gourd did not seem worth completely antagonizing the Thirteenth Ancestral Witch over.
As for Kunpeng... Qin Xuan had long since beaten him into a psychological shadow.
Right now, the Thirteenth Ancestral Witch were gnawing wildly on his wing.
Moreover, he noticed that Hou Tu's large eyes would occasionally glance at his other wing, shining brightly.
He was already trying to hide from them. How could he dare involve himself in such muddy waters?
For a time, the atmosphere was somewhat stifling and strange.
Just then, Qin Xuan's thoughts stirred, and a soft, sweet Divine Sense quietly entered his sea of consciousness:
"Handsome... fellow daoist, be careful. Jieyin and Zhunti are secretly inciting everyone to join forces and seize the treasures. Yuanshi has already agreed!"
Qin Xuan looked around, his gaze passing over the only three women present: Nüwa, Xihe, and Changxi.
At last, his eyes settled on the soft and adorable Changxi. A trace of concern flickered in her bright eyes, as though she were silently warning him.
"Thank you for the warning, fellow daoist. It is nothing. A pack of worthless rabble cannot stir up any trouble." Qin Xuan confidently transmitted back, giving her a reassuring look in passing.
Then his gaze shifted to Yuanshi. Seeing the nearly undisguised greed and fervor in the other man's eyes, a teasing curve rose at the corner of his lips.
He wiped the grease from his mouth and casually waved his arm. The seven gourds immediately shook violently, as though they might detach from the vine at any moment.
At the sight, Yuanshi's already blazing eyes instantly turned bloodshot. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he shot forward and roared:
"How dare you!"
"With so many fellow Daoists present, how dare you Ancestral Witches monopolize the treasures!"
"We Three Pure Ones are Pangu's Orthodoxy. We should receive three of those gourds!"
Taiqing watched his second brother behave so rashly, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He cultivated the Dao of Wu Wei.
What was Wu Wei?
When one's strength was inferior, one should naturally remain calm and inactive, protecting oneself with wisdom.
When one's strength was superior, one could act according to the situation and do anything!
At present, these Thirteenth Ancestral Witch were all immensely powerful, their momentum towering to the heavens. By Taiqing's original intention, he truly did not wish to create unnecessary complications.
Although he vaguely sensed that one of the gourds was fated with him, at most it could be used to store some medicinal pills. It was not indispensable.
However, Yuanshi had already rushed out. The Three Pure Ones were one entity, and as the eldest brother, he could not simply stand aside.
Left with no choice, the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Pagoda appeared above Taiqing's head, streams of dark-yellow qi falling to protect his body. He stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yuanshi.
Seeing this, Tongtian's fighting spirit surged. Yet when he looked at the thirteen fiends opposite them, he still felt a little apprehensive. Nevertheless, he followed closely behind and stood beside his two elder brothers.
When Yuanshi saw that only the three brothers had stepped forward, panic rose in his heart as well. He hurriedly looked toward Jieyin and Zhunti.
But those two had already slipped away to the distance, standing together with Nüwa and the others with an expression that said this had nothing to do with them.
Yuanshi immediately flew into a rage and shouted:
"Jieyin! Zhunti! Did you not propose that we contend for the treasures together? Why are you shrinking back at the crucial moment?"
Hearing this, Jieyin and Zhunti spoke in perfect unison, flatly denying it:
"Not me!"
"I didn't!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
The two saw that the situation was hopeless and had long since decided to retreat.
Offending the Three Pure Ones was certainly troublesome, but that was still better than clashing head-on with the thirteen vicious Ancestral Witches.
Yuanshi was furious. He knew he had been played by these two shameless bastards.
But things had already come to this. The three brothers had stepped forward.
He was Pangu's Orthodoxy. How could he retreat in disgrace like everyone else?
Yuanshi stared fixedly at Qin Xuan, gritted his teeth, and said in a deep voice:
"We Three Pure Ones are Pangu's Orthodoxy, so we should take three gourds! The remaining four will belong to you Ancestral Witches!"
Before you continue