In Zixiao Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat high upon his cloud couch, Dao rhythms circulating around him as he looked down upon the changing of epochs and the rise and fall of calamities.
To him, all things were but straw dogs, and all living beings were chess pieces.
Yet today, this chess player felt a "backstab" from the chessboard itself for the first time!
"Bzzzz—!"
An utterly abrupt hum shattered the ancient silence of Zixiao Palace. Before Hongjun, the Jade Plate of Creation—which carried the mysteries of the Three Thousand Great Daos, its brilliance contained within—began to tremble violently!
Light and shadow raced across the jade plate. One clearly defined core karmic line pointing toward "Gonggong Angrily Collides with Buzhou Mountain, the heavens tilt northwest, and the earth sinks southeast" was now so dim it seemed on the verge of going out!
What made Hongjun's eyelids twitch even more wildly was that this core karmic line was being forcibly dragged by several "diamond ropes" that had appeared from nowhere, wrapped in dense Merit Golden Light and Pangu's aura, gradually veering away from its fated course!
"Hmm?"
A crack called "surprise" appeared in Hongjun's eternally unruffled eyes.
How many years had it been? Since becoming a saint, how long had it been since he had felt something beyond his control?
He instinctively raised a hand, attempting to stir the River of Destiny and deduce the source of this sudden variable.
Yet the River of Destiny, which had once come and gone at his command, was now like a pot of boiling Chaos Porridge—an utter mess!
A strange force, vast beyond measure yet gentle enough to leave him unable to exert any strength, mixed with a staggering quantity of Heavenly Dao Merit that could make even saints bleed with envy, as well as Pangu's Legacy. It rudely yet "politely" escorted the divine sense of a dignified saint right back out!
"Pfft!"
Even with Hongjun's steadfast Dao heart, his blood and qi churned slightly from that blow.
This was absolutely not the Heavenly Dao evolving and perfecting itself! It was more like... some audacious brat who had appeared from who knew where, wielding the "Creation GM Authority" left behind by Great God Pangu, was madly patching the Primordial World right under his nose—fixing all the necessary "loopholes" and "BUGs" he had carefully planted to advance the "plot" and ensure the "calamities proceeded smoothly"!
Most outrageous of all, this had actually bypassed him, the nominal Heavenly Dao System Administrator and Chief Designer!
Hongjun slowly rose from his cloud couch. With one step, he arrived at the edge of Zixiao Palace, his gaze piercing endless void as he looked down upon the Primordial World that was "growing wildly" right under his watch.
The Dao Ancestor's will, carrying pressure enough to shatter the minds of even Quasi-Saints, tore through layers of space and stabbed straight toward the source of the mist that made him feel "out of control"—Buzhou Mountain!
He wanted to see exactly which fool dared tamper with his chessboard!
Yet just as his will was about to descend upon the Buzhou Mountain region and Check the Meter!
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion detonated directly within the depths of his primordial spirit!
A golden barrier formed from the interwoven condensation of the purest, densest Heavenly Dao Merit and the aura of Pangu's World Creation rebounded fiercely, like a mother hen protecting her chicks after someone had stepped on her tail!
Hongjun's figure actually swayed violently, though almost imperceptibly, and the entire Zixiao Palace shook three times along with him!
"How outrageous!"
Hongjun's Dao robe billowed without wind. At last, his gaze forcibly pierced that absurdly thick "merit shield."
Then he saw a scene that made even his Dao heart begin to convulse.
How could that Witch Clan Ancestral Land, which ought to have been filled with soaring baleful aura and resentful souls everywhere, retain even the slightest trace of decline?
In its place rose Mysterious Yellow Destiny, soaring into the heavens and nearly solidifying into substance!
Its weight, purity, and stability were comparable to a Saint's Dojo!
What made Hongjun's mouth twitch even more was that the foundation of this enormous, utterly unreasonable Witch Clan Destiny was rooted, like the tangled roots of an ancient tree, firmly and inseparably within Buzhou Mountain's Mountain's Fate!
That stance clearly declared: "As long as the mountain stands, I stand. If the mountain falls, I die. If I prosper, the mountain prospers even more"—a shamelessly thuggish binding!
Hongjun's brows finally knotted together tightly enough to crush a Chaos Mosquito.
The Witch Clan!
In Hongjun's script, these reckless brutes who did not cultivate primordial spirits and had nothing in their heads but muscles and fighting were destined to perish together with those Feathered Beasts, clearing the stage of history for the human race—the Protagonist of the New Era he had carefully chosen! They were consumables! Cannon Fodder! Tool Witches!
This was fate! It was an Open Scheme personally planned by him, Hongjun, and acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao!
But now, this chess piece that should have followed the script toward self-destruction was not only refusing to obediently court death, it had actually started reinforcing the chessboard itself!
What the hell was this?!
If Buzhou Mountain truly got repaired by those fools with some kind of "Pangu Divine Concrete" until it was impregnable, perhaps even sturdier than before...
Then how was his appointed classic scene of "Gonggong Angrily Collides with Buzhou Mountain" supposed to play out?
Even if actor Gonggong swallowed ten catties of Hongmeng Purple Qi and rammed his head into it, he would probably only knock out a few of his own teeth and provide Buzhou Mountain with a free "impact test," wouldn't he?
If the Heavenly Pillar did not collapse and the Water of the Heavenly River did not pour back into the Primordial World, where would his destined disciple Nuwa obtain the sky-high merit of Nuwa Mends the Heavens? How would the saintly positions be filled?
If the Witch and Demon Clans did not fight until both sides were badly battered and their vitality greatly depleted, how could the human race pick up the bargain and smoothly rise to become the Protagonists of Heaven and Earth?
The script for the entire Hongmeng Calamity was being washed beyond recognition from its very foundations by a mudslide-like force!
"A variable... what a variable!"
Hongjun muttered under his breath, his eyes icy to the bone. He was indeed a saint and indeed controlled the Heavenly Dao Grand Trend, but he was not omniscient or omnipotent.
Fifty Great Daos, Heavenly Evolution Forty-Nine—there was always that single thread of life that escaped beyond all knowledge, coming up with something new to trouble him.
The variables before had been mere minor disturbances, things he could erase with a flick of his finger.
But this variable before him... was fucking enormous! So enormous that even if he wanted to erase it directly, he had to weigh the consequences!
Should he directly send down Zixiao Divine Thunder and blast the source of this trouble into ashes?
No!
For the first time, Hongjun felt profound powerlessness.
Everything the other party had done, from beginning to end, had been under the righteous banners of "making up for the Primordial World's deficiencies," "stabilizing heaven and earth," and "fulfilling Father God Pangu's wishes."
Every action was accompanied by an immense descent of Heavenly Dao Merit, enough to make even his eyelids jump.
If he forcibly intervened, it would be equivalent to a System Administrator attacking an official "optimization program" currently applying the highest-priority security patch to the system, one that had received the highest authorization from the system's founder!
The result would inevitably be a frenzied backlash from the entire Heavenly Dao Rules!
This was the very definition of being unable to act for fear of harming what one cared about!
Hongjun slowly closed his eyes, his clenched fists gradually relaxing.
His Dao heart, which had long been as still as an ancient well, was already churning with monstrous waves that refused to settle for a long time.
He decided to... wait and see for now.
He wanted to see exactly where this chess piece that refused to follow the script intended to take this game he had managed for countless yuanhui—to what utterly absurd destination!
At last, his gaze pierced layer upon layer of obstacles and locked firmly onto the core point of light at the Buzhou Mountain Construction Site, the one currently sitting cross-legged and looking harmless to man and beast, yet sneakier than anyone else.
At the same time, atop the temporary observation platform at the highest point of the Buzhou Mountain Super Construction Site.
Xuanzheng was lounging contentedly in a recliner covered with the fur of some unknown fierce beast. Holding a foxtail grass stem, he swayed it as he "supervised" Zhunti, who was surrounded by more than a dozen great witches in the distance, carrying bricks and digging ore with a mournful face. He calculated whether today's KPI had met its target.
Mm, not bad. Fellow Daoist Zhunti's enthusiasm for labor remained high. He was another small step closer to the goal of Hundred Thousand Year Contract Laborer.
Suddenly!
Xuanzheng sprang up from the recliner. The "simple and honest" smile on his face instantly froze, replaced by astonishment and... a trace of barely perceptible wild delight!
Because the Primordial World Bug Fixing Manual in his mind was frantically flashing dazzling Bloody Warnings. The interface effects were cranked to the max, livelier than fireworks on New Year's!
[Alert! Alert!] [The Heavenly Dao Chief Engineer (verified ID: Old Thief Hongjun... no, Dao Ancestor) has marked your 'Buzhou Mountain Reinforcement Project' as 'highly concerning, pending review, recommended for special attention'!] [Warning! Warning! A gaze from the strongest Backend Will has been detected conducting an all-encompassing, blind-spot-free scan and lock-on of you! The other party's intentions are unclear and may include options such as 'Invite for Tea,' 'Check the Meter,' and 'Physical Deterrence'!]
An invisible and intangible supreme pressure, majestic enough to make even Grand Unity Golden Immortals kneel and sing surrender, descended like the collapse of heaven and earth.
Xuanzheng felt as though he were a celebrity standing at center stage in the heart of the universe, illuminated by countless spotlights!
Yet strangely, when this terrifying pressure reached within three feet of him, a faint golden light woven from Pangu's Legacy and Heavenly Dao Merit gently yet firmly... dissolved it like spring wind turning rain?
Huh? That was it? All thunder and no rain!
Xuanzheng first shuddered instinctively. Then, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably stretched into a wild smile that looked even uglier than crying!
Hongjun?!
The final boss said to control the Heavenly Dao, to have schemed against the entire Primordial World, and to have played every saint like a monkey—the Director General behind the scenes—had personally come to keep watch over him?
Perfect! This was fucking perfect!
He had been worried that the audience for this "Primordial World Infrastructure Grand Play" of his was not prestigious enough, that its publicity was not broad enough, and that he could not attract the highest-level Angel Investment!
Now it was all good. The Director General had personally certified it, bringing Top Traffic with him!
Xuanzheng raised his head toward the sky. Though it was clear for thousands of miles, it was plainly under the focused cover of an invisible will. It was as if he could already see a broader, more thrilling grand stage upon which he could unleash his tricks to his heart's content!
"Elder Brother Dijiang!" Without turning his head, Xuanzheng's voice carried irrepressible excitement as it spread through the entire observation platform. "Transmit my latest orders!"
"Have That Kid Bai Ze's Advance Reconnaissance Unit... mm, that so-called Honor Guard tasked with 'patrolling the Primordial World and proclaiming the majesty of our Heavenly Court'—move a little closer, make their movements bigger, and their noise louder!"
"Make absolutely sure! Absolutely sure they 'accidentally' see the 'tip of the iceberg' of our project, and preferably let them 'inadvertently' 'mistakenly believe' that some earth-shattering treasure is about to emerge here!"
Xuanzheng's face resumed that trademark "pure and harmless" smile. Yet deep within it gleamed a light a hundred times craftier than a fox's.
"After all, His Majesty the Demon Emperor sent people all this way to 'Delivering Warmth.' We can't let them return empty-handed, can we?"
"We must show enough sincerity and let them willingly... deliver the 'investment funds' and 'high-grade construction materials' right to our doorstep!"
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