Merits of Creation, Law of Strength!

In the Primordial Continent, years went uncounted; time flowed on without end.

Several Era Cycles passed in silence. (One Era Cycle: 129,600 years.)

During this time, storms raged across the Primordial Continent.

First came the struggle for supremacy among the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans, leaving the living beings of the Primordial Continent devastated. Boundless Karma burned away the three clans' fortune, and in the end, they withdrew from the stage in bleak defeat.

Then came the Dao-Demon Conflict. Hongjun and Luo Hou fought their decisive battle in the west, ending with Luo Hou's self-destruction detonating the Western Earth Veins. Though Hongjun won, the entire Western Continent was reduced to ruin.

On this day.

Within Pangu Temple.

The Blood Pool, silent for countless years, suddenly churned with towering waves without warning.

A terrifying suction force appeared from nowhere. In an instant, the dense Primordial Aura within the temple was swept completely clean.

But this was only the beginning!

Outside the temple, centered around Pangu Temple, the Primordial Aura throughout hundreds of millions of li of Buzhou Mountain seemed to answer an invisible summons. It transformed into a vast torrent of spiritual energy and surged madly into the temple, all of it pouring into the Blood Pool!

Above the Blood Pool, the Blood Cocoon formed by Qin Xuan hung silently in the air.

At this moment, the cocoon's surface was already covered in dense cracks, spreading like a spiderweb, as though it might shatter completely at any moment!

In an instant, heaven and earth resonated together!

Countless golden lotuses condensed from the purest Primordial Aura manifested from thin air, filling the temple. Auspicious energy spread everywhere, mist curling and rising in a dreamlike haze!

Three thousand Great Dao Runes, profound and unfathomable, revolved slowly around the Blood Cocoon like stars encircling the moon, emanating an ancient, vast, and supremely exalted aura!

"Hiss... what a powerful phenomenon!"

Within the temple, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had long since been alerted. Seeing the sight before them, their faces were filled with shock, which quickly turned into deep delight and anticipation.

"Golden lotuses filling the sky in celebration, three thousand laws circling him... Little Thirteenth's foundation and talent are likely... far beyond those of us siblings!" Hou Tu sighed softly, her eyes smiling.

As she watched Little Thirteenth, surrounded by endless phenomena, her heart held only joy.

As the youngest sister among the Twelve Ancestral Witches, she had been doted on by her brothers ever since her birth.

Now, thinking that she would soon become an elder sister as well, an unprecedented surge of excitement and tenderness welled up in her heart. The corners of her lips lifted unconsciously into a lovely, faint smile.

Inside the Blood Cocoon.

"Great Golden Immortal... late stage!"

Qin Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, sensing the surging power within his body as he murmured to himself.

After cultivating bitterly through countless ages, he had finally brought the first level of the Primordial Creation Art to major completion and attained the late stage of the Great Golden Immortal realm!

Both his Primordial Spirit and physical body had reached an unprecedented height of power.

Yet he still seemed to be faintly lacking that final sliver of opportunity before the first level could achieve true perfection.

"But it is enough."

Feeling the unbearable pressure coming from the Blood Cocoon, Qin Xuan's lips curved into a confident smile.

"It is time... to go out and meet my twelve elder brothers and sister!"

With that thought, he hesitated no longer.

He gathered all the strength in his body into his right fist and smashed it fiercely into the cocoon wall before him!

With a thunderous boom, the enormous Blood Cocoon exploded, turning into a sky full of blood mist.

From within the mist, a tall, straight figure slowly stepped out.

His frame was slender and well-proportioned, his features handsome and naturally sharply defined. Beneath the dim light of Pangu Temple, his bronze skin seemed to flow with a sense of unyielding, explosive strength.

The next moment, a tyrannical voice echoed through Pangu Temple:

"Father God Pangu above, I am the Thirteenth Ancestral Witch. Today I take form, and my name is Xuan!"

The moment his voice fell, the entire Pangu Temple began to tremble faintly. Great Dao Runes within the temple manifested and flowed of their own accord, as though acknowledging Qin Xuan's identity as Pangu's Orthodoxy.

Pangu's Heart, which had lain dormant for endless years, suddenly erupted with a dazzling pillar of golden light. Ignoring the distance of space and time, it plunged into Qin Xuan's brow in an instant.

Merits of Creation!

Qin Xuan understood at once. This was recognition from Father God Pangu's will.

From this day onward, he was the true Thirteenth Ancestral Witch, Pangu's Orthodoxy!

However, in the very next instant after the merits entered his body!

Within Qin Xuan, it was as though hundreds of millions of stars had exploded at once. An unimaginable agony rose from the depths of his bloodline, as if it would tear both his soul and body completely apart!

Amid the excruciating pain, a terrifying force that seemed capable of ripping apart chaos and reopening heaven and earth was born from the deepest reaches of his bloodline.

In an instant, the endless spacetime around Qin Xuan shattered with a deafening crash!

"Careful!"

The Twelve Ancestral Witches' expressions changed drastically. They had no choice but to unleash the power of their respective laws and retreat at top speed, barely managing to steady themselves as they stared in horror toward the center of that force.

Only after a long while did that violent power, nearly capable of destroying heaven and earth, slowly subside and return to Qin Xuan's body.

At this moment, he looked as though he had just been hauled out of the water, his entire body drenched in sweat.

Just then, a massive torrent of information surged into his sea of consciousness.

Qin Xuan's body shook. After a brief daze, his eyes were instantly filled with overwhelming ecstasy.

The Law of Strength!

That terrifying power which had nearly torn him apart just now was actually the Law of Strength!

This was the foremost of the laws of the Primordial World!

No, it could even be called the foremost among the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws since the opening of the primordial chaos!

It was also the Dao-proving law of Pangu!

Just as Qin Xuan's heart surged with emotion, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had already gathered around him.

Their burning gazes fell upon him one after another, scrutinizing him closely. Their eyes were filled with curiosity, along with an almost unbelievable shock.

"Thirteenth Brother's... this cultivation..." Zhurong's eyes widened, and even his voice trembled slightly, as if he could not believe what he was sensing.

In his perception, the aura of this little brother who had just taken form was so vast that he had already reached the late stage of the Great Golden Immortal realm, nearly on par with the strongest among them, Eldest Brother Dijiang!

Dijiang's expression shifted as well, his heart equally shaken.

Though he had long expected this little brother's cultivation to be far from weak upon his birth, he had never imagined that he would be this powerful!

After all, the twelve of them, himself included, had only been at the early stage of the Great Golden Immortal realm when they were born. Only after cultivating through endless years had they attained their present realms.

Yet Qin Xuan had entered the world already at the late stage of the Great Golden Immortal realm!

This was... outrageously powerful!

Qin Xuan came back to himself. Looking at the twelve powerful brothers and sisters around him, each with a different form, he could clearly feel the natural closeness born from the depths of their bloodline. He immediately composed himself, bowed, and cupped his hands toward them.

"Qin Xuan greets all my brothers. Greetings, Sister Xuan Ming, Sister Hou Tu."

"We're all family. No need for such formality!" Smiles appeared on the faces of the Twelve Ancestral Witches as they all nodded.

Zhurong laughed heartily. With a sweep of his palm-leaf-sized hand, he directly threw an arm around Qin Xuan's shoulders and boomed with laughter.

"Haha! Our Ancestral Witches have gained another brother!"

"Qin Xuan, you have only just taken form, so you should not deplete your vital essence and blood. Stand to the side and watch your brothers use their essence blood to nurture our clansmen!"

As he spoke, that palm-leaf-sized hand unhesitatingly struck toward his own chest. Clearly, he was preparing to force out the essence blood from his heart at once.

"Brother, don't!"

Qin Xuan's gaze sharpened. His movements were astonishingly swift; though he moved later, he arrived first, firmly seizing Zhurong's arm, which contained terrifying power.