The Primordial Thirteen Ruffians?

After the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation and the struggle between Dao and Demon, nearly all of the older generation of innate great powers in the Primordial Chaos World had perished.

The few Primordial Golden Immortals fortunate enough to survive were also burdened by Karma, leaving them no choice but to withdraw from the world.

From then on, the path of cultivation for the Primordial Chaos World's living beings seemed to have been invisibly cut off, with Great Golden Immortals appearing to be the ultimate peak.

Yet as time passed, a new generation of innate sacred beings emerged one after another.

On Kunlun Mountain, three streams of clear qi shot into the heavens, transforming into the three brothers Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Tongtian.

They proclaimed themselves transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, the legitimate and pure-blooded Pangu's Orthodoxy, calling themselves the "Three Pure Ones." Their fame soared at once, spreading throughout the Primordial Chaos World.

Upon the Sun Star, the two brothers Dijun and Duke Dong Taiyi burst onto the scene. Duke Dong Taiyi in particular wielded the Primordial Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Bell; his majestic might made countless living beings turn their eyes toward him.

Zhen Yuanzi of Five Manor Temple shared a deep friendship with Hongyun. Hongyun was especially warmhearted, earning himself the title of "the Primordial Chaos World's number one good old man."

Innate beings with profound foundations, such as Nüwa, Fuxi, and Nether River, also began to reveal their brilliance.

A new era was about to begin.

After the great war between Dao and Demon, the Primordial Chaos World enjoyed a rare stretch of peace.

Then one day—

BOOM!

A tremendous blast shook the entire Primordial Chaos World violently!

The next instant, boundless purple qi came rolling in from the depths of Chaos, dyeing the entire firmament.

Purple divine radiance swirled and flowed. Wherever it passed, space froze, and even time seemed to slow by half a beat.

At the same time, heavenly flowers rained down upon the earth, golden lotuses surged from the ground, and wondrous phenomena arose in abundance.

Immediately afterward, a majestic and vast voice rang out, spreading through heaven and earth and falling clearly into every living being's ears:

"High I recline upon nine layers of cloud, upon a prayer mat attaining the true Dao.

"Beyond Heaven and Earth's dark and yellow, I alone shall hold the honored seat of teaching.

"I am Hongjun. Today, I have attained the Saint's fruition. Three thousand years hence, I shall expound the Great Dao at Zixiao Palace beyond Chaos. All those fated may come and listen!"

The voice was vast and solemn, accompanied by an indescribably immense pressure that instantly swept across the entire Primordial Chaos World.

Beneath that pressure, countless living beings involuntarily prostrated themselves, reverence rising in their hearts.

For a time, the entire Primordial Chaos World boiled over.

Countless cultivators transformed into streaks of light and rushed desperately toward Zixiao Palace beyond Chaos, hoping only to hear a Saint expound the Dao.

At the same time, within Pangu Temple.

Qin Xuan rose to his feet. Feeling the surging, boundless power within his body, he finally felt at ease.

After years of bitter cultivation, he had cultivated the Law of Strength to thirty percent comprehension. The Primordial Creation Art had also naturally reached the perfected first layer, while his cultivation had advanced to the peak of Great Golden Immortal.

Once his comprehension of the Law of Strength reached forty percent, he would be able to break through to the Primordial Golden Immortal realm.

But after thirty percent, comprehending the law had become increasingly slow.

Under his guidance, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had also abandoned their sole focus on cultivating the flesh, turning instead to cultivate the law powers inherent in their bloodlines.

Now, Zhu Jiuyin, Zhurong, Gonggong, and Xuan Ming had all reached the late stage of Great Golden Immortal, while the other Ancestral Witches were not far from a breakthrough either.

Although Hongjun's Saintly might could not approach Pangu Temple by even half a step, the voice announcing it to heaven and earth still reached the ears of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

The Ancestral Witches were shaken. They recalled that countless years ago, Qin Xuan had foretold that Hongjun would become a Saint.

Now that it had come true, could it be that their Little Thirteenth truly possessed the ability to foresee the future?

Zhurong scratched his head, staring Qin Xuan up and down as he muttered to himself:

"Doesn't look like he's got an extra head or anything... so how does he know everything?"

"Really makes me want to crack it open and see what's inside!"

Xuan Ming shot Zhurong a sidelong glance. Her hands clenched tightly, and each time her fingers pressed down, a series of "crack... crack..." sounds rang out.

At the sight, Zhurong reflexively clasped both hands over his head, the movement practiced beyond belief.

The corner of Xuan Ming's lips curled as she said with a smile that was not quite a smile:

"Don't be nervous. I'm just loosening up my bones!"

At this moment, Hou Tu said softly:

"Little Brother Xuan, should we go listen to Hongjun's exposition as well?"

Qin Xuan looked toward his other brothers and sisters.

Most of them wore expressions of utter disinterest, clearly unimpressed by the thought of listening to a Saint expound the Dao.

That was only natural. They had no Primordial Spirits—what the hell were they supposed to listen to the Dao with?

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

He would probably fall asleep on the spot the moment he got to Zixiao Palace.

Besides, with him watching over her, he could keep Hou Tu from falling victim to Hongjun's schemes.

Thinking of this, Qin Xuan smiled faintly and said, "Brothers, there's no need for all of you to go. Sister Hou Tu and I will go together."

Just then.

Zhurong's eyes rolled around, as though he had thought of some brilliant idea, and he shouted in his deep, booming voice, "Perfect! You two can go listen to the Dao in peace. The rest of us brothers and sisters will go raid the nests of those fellows who ran off to hear the Dao!"

As he spoke, he somehow produced an enormous sack and slung it over his left shoulder. He hoisted an iron shovel onto his right shoulder, and a brick engraved with the character "Virtue" hung from his waist.

Nor was he the only one. The other Ancestral Witches also each had a brick hanging at their waists, engraved with characters such as "Righteousness," "Propriety," "Wisdom," and "Trust"...

These oddly shaped bricks were "magic treasures" Qin Xuan had specially refined for them in his spare time.

Although the Twelve Ancestral Witches could not make sense of those strange symbols, they all felt that these bricks suited their tastes perfectly.

Qin Xuan had not initially intended to refine magic treasures for the Ancestral Witches. After all, they had no Primordial Spirits and could not wield magic treasures like ordinary cultivators.

But when he happened to discover that Pangu Temple's treasury was piled with mountain-like heaps of fragments from all kinds of Chaos spiritual treasures, he could not help feeling it was a terrible waste.

Those had all been treasures shattered when Pangu Father God battled the Three Thousand Demon Gods!

Unfortunately, he himself knew nothing whatsoever about the art of refining, despite pondering over it for a long time.

In the end, he could only use the power of laws in a simple and brutal fashion to forcibly melt and compress those incomparably precious fragments. And ultimately... he refined them into this whole pile of bricks.

Well, although the Ancestral Witches could not activate a magic treasure's power, using bricks made from fragments of Chaos spiritual treasures to smack people...

That should hurt quite a bit, right?

As for the sack and the shovel...

Duang~

Xuan Ming could no longer stand watching. Raising her hand, she thumped Zhurong on the forehead.

"Nothing but rotten ideas! We are dignified Ancestral Witches—if word gets out that we're doing something as sneaky as stealing chickens and dogs, wouldn't that smear the faces of us Thirteenth Ancestral Witches?"

Zhurong clutched his head, his face full of grievance, just about to argue.

But the next instant, he froze completely, his mouth opening into a huge O.

Xuan Ming pulled out a neat stack of black veils from her robes and handed them out to every one of her brothers. "Come on, put these on!"

She tied one on herself first, concealing most of her face and revealing only a pair of cool, aloof eyes.

Seeing Zhurong's baffled expression, she laughed softly.

"Little Xuan said it before: sneak quietly into the village, and don't fire the guns!"

Upon hearing this, the Ancestral Witches all revealed looks of sudden enlightenment and swiftly tied on their veils.

A moment later, apart from Hou Tu and Qin Xuan, every Ancestral Witch had a shovel over their shoulder, a sack on their back, black gauze over their head, and a brick tucked at their waist—looking exactly like a band of bandits.

Looking at the sight before him, Qin Xuan abruptly slapped his forehead and muttered inwardly, "Oh no, something's wrong with this bunch of Ancestral Witches!"

That veil... he had really only casually refined it as a little accessory for Sister Xuan Ming and Sister Hou Tu!

And that saying...

Cultivation was truly boring. It could last tens of thousands of years at a stretch, so whenever he was bored, he often told his brothers and sisters some "allusions" from his past life to relieve the tedium...

Watching his brothers gradually veer off into increasingly strange territory, Qin Xuan's mouth twitched. He quickly coughed twice, forcibly changing the subject.

"Ahem, brothers, don't rush off just yet."

"By my calculations, several thousand years from now, an Innate Spiritual Root will emerge right here on our Buzhou Mountain!"

"That spiritual root is no ordinary thing. It is the Gourd Vine, one of the Primordial World's ten great Innate Spiritual Roots, and it will bear seven Innate Gourds with boundless wondrous uses."

"This matter is of great importance. I'll have to trouble you brothers to work hard and keep watch near Buzhou Mountain, carefully searching for its whereabouts."

"Buzhou Mountain was formed from Father God's spine. Everything on that mountain naturally belongs to us brothers!"

As Eldest Brother, Dijiang immediately nodded heavily in agreement.

Then, out of habit, he waved the shovel in his hand.

"No problem! You two go listen to the Dao without worry. We'll stand guard at Buzhou Mountain! Once we find that Gourd Vine or whatever it is, we'll shovel it up, roots and all, and plant it in our temple!"

Qin Xuan, however, slowly shook his head.

"That won't be necessary. If you brothers find the Gourd Vine, just guard it and wait for my return."

Afterward, he and Hou Tu headed straight into the chaos.

At the same time, outside the chaos, within Zixiao Palace.

Hongjun was completely numb!