Xuanzheng Takes the Director's Chair! Buzhou Mountain Certification Conference Sends Hongjun's Blood Pressure Soaring!

The Buzhou Mountain project had reached preliminary completion. Looking at the Sky-Pillar before him, now completely renewed and even more imposing than before, Xuanzheng felt a modest sense of accomplishment well up within him.

Of course, that tiny sense of accomplishment was nothing compared to the Sky-High Merit and Pangu's Legacy that were about to fall into his hands.

"Almost done. It's time to make a big splash, give the Desolate Realm some entertainment, and add another feather to our witch clan's cap."

With a thought, the [Karma Scale] quietly appeared in Xuanzheng's left hand.

He carefully "mortgaged" a small portion of the immense, still-unsettled karma from Buzhou Mountain's eternal stability and its merit of supporting the heavens to the unseen Heavenly Dao.

"Brother Heavenly Dao, lend me some special effects. I guarantee a grand spectacle. It'll make you look good too, right?"

The [Karma Scale] trembled slightly, its beam swaying as a thread of mysterious aura merged into heaven and earth.

In the next instant, the winds and clouds Above the Nine Heavens shifted. Purple Qi Coming from the East stretched for thirty thousand miles, golden lotuses bloomed one after another in the void, immortal music filled the air, heavenly maidens scattered flowers, and countless blurry phantoms of immortals and gods bowed toward Buzhou Mountain in worship.

These special effects had a fifty-cent budget and a million-dollar presentation!

Xuanzheng nodded in satisfaction. This round was worth it.

"Someone, send invitations far and wide. Tell them that our witch clan's Buzhou Mountain restoration project has been successfully completed, and invite all the great powers of the Desolate Realm to attend the 'First Desolate Realm Buzhou Mountain Structural Reinforcement Project Quality Certification Conference and Pangu's World Creation Spirit Study Seminar'!"

He paused, then added, "Just make sure the invitations are delivered. Whether they come or not doesn't matter. The reputation has to get out there!"

The witch clan worked with remarkable efficiency. In only a few days, countless gilded invitations had reached the leaders of every major force in the Desolate Realm.

For a time, the entire Desolate Realm was in an uproar.

"The witch clan's bunch of blockheads can do something like this?"

"A quality certification conference? A Pangu's Spirit seminar? It actually sounds pretty convincing!"

The conference was held as scheduled in the enormous new plaza opened beneath Buzhou Mountain.

On the high platform, Xuanzheng wore a plain witch robe, his smile looking utterly "honest."

Dijiang, the ancestral witch, cleared his throat and stepped forward, facing the sparse but extremely influential representatives of the various races below, along with even more spectators who had come to watch the show.

"Fellow Daoists, we have gathered everyone here today to announce to the Desolate Realm that our witch clan loves peace!" Dijiang declared with a solemn expression.

The moment those words fell, silence descended below the stage, followed by several snickers that people could not suppress.

Without changing expression, Dijiang continued, "Father God created the world and transformed into all things in the Desolate Realm. As Father God's descendants, we of the witch clan must naturally inherit his will and protect the peace of the Desolate Realm. Repairing Buzhou Mountain this time is merely a tiny contribution our witch clan has made toward the harmony and stability of the Desolate Realm!"

He spoke so convincingly that he was nearly beginning to believe it himself.

Xuanzheng nodded to himself from behind. Big Brother Dijiang's acting had improved.

Then Houtu, the ancestral witch, stepped forward with graceful steps, her face carrying just the right measure of "compassion" and "relief."

"Back then, Father God created the world and transformed into mountains and rivers. How arduous that was! We descendants were born beneath Father God's blessings. How could we know only internal strife and disregard heaven and earth?"

Her voice choked, and her eyes reddened.

"To repair this Buzhou Mountain, the sons of our witch clan toiled day and night without rest, using their flesh and blood to transport divine materials and pour Divine Concrete... How many clansmen collapsed at the construction site? How many persisted despite their injuries..."

The more Houtu spoke, the more "emotional" she became. Several crystalline "tears" slid down her cheeks, moving many of the more sentimental beings below the stage.

[Ding! Absorbed 0.05 threads of 'karma from the emotions of all living beings'!]

[Ding! Heavenly Dao Merit has increased slightly!]

Xuanzheng secretly praised her. Sister Houtu's eye drops—no, her sincere emotional display—were perfect!

Next, Jumang, the ancestral witch, stepped forward. Behind him, countless phantoms of spirit roots and immortal herbs appeared, bursting with life.

"Everyone, please look. Ever since our witch clan repaired Buzhou Mountain, the mountain has become stable, the earth veins have been harmonized, and the spiritual energy concentration within ten thousand miles around Buzhou Mountain has increased by thirty percent. Countless withered spirit roots have regained their vitality, while new immortal herbs and spiritual medicines are growing everywhere! This is the achievement of Pangu Father God, as well as the effort our witch clan has made for the Desolate Realm's ecology!"

With a wave of Jumang's hand, several thousand-year Scarlet Fruits that had just ripened flew into the hands of several great powers below.

"Have a taste. These are spiritual fruits infused with Pangu's aura. They're great for you!"

At this point, Zhurong and Gonggong could no longer hold themselves back and leaped onto the high platform.

With a loud roar, Zhurong grabbed a piece of [Pangu Divine Concrete] the size of a washbasin.

"Old Zhurong doesn't understand all those twists and turns. I only know one thing: the stuff our witch clan makes is sturdy!"

He swung his fist, fist wind howling as it slammed viciously into the Divine Concrete!

Bang—!

A dull impact rang out. The Divine Concrete did not budge in the slightest, without even a pale mark on it.

Zhurong shook his hand and bared his teeth. "Ow! It's damn hard!"

A wave of exclamations rose from below the stage.

Gonggong also picked up a piece of [Immortal Grade Geng Metal], a top-tier material obtained as "compensation" from the demon clan.

Zhurong opened his mouth and sprayed out a stream of Southern Bright Lihuo, burning the Geng Metal red-hot until it looked ready to melt.

Gonggong then summoned a stream of Elite Kui Water. When water and fire collided, there was not only no explosion, but a strange cycle formed instead. Tempered by water and fire, the Geng Metal was purged of all impurities, its radiance becoming even more brilliant.

"Watch closely, everyone! This is called 'water and fire complementing each other to temper true gold'! It's a new craft Brother Zhurong and I developed!" Gonggong said proudly.

Zhurong nodded along. "That's right! We used to fight the moment we met, but not anymore! For the harmony of the Desolate Realm and Father God's glory, we can live in peace now—and even build things together!"

This scene nearly made the great powers below pop their eyes out.

Water and fire complementing each other? Zhurong and Gonggong living in harmony? This was even more outrageous than Pangu coming back to life!

Inside Zixiao Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun silently watched the farce beneath Buzhou Mountain through a water mirror. He nearly failed to hold on to the Jade Plate of Creation in his hand.

He had deduced the heavenly secrets countless times, yet he had never seen a witch clan that played by the rules so little... so little!

This Desolate Realm... this Desolate Realm was completely beyond saving! Xuanzheng had utterly ruined it!

Heavenly Dao Merit poured down as though it cost nothing, transforming into golden pillars of light that flooded Buzhou Mountain and entered the bodies of every witch clansman who had participated in the restoration project.

Bathed in Merit Golden Light, Xuanzheng's "honest" smile became increasingly "pure."

"Aiya, this is all the result of everyone's hard work. How could I, Xuanzheng, dare claim any credit?"

Though humble in words, he was calculating how much this wave of merit could raise the witch clan's overall strength.

As the conference neared its end, Xuanzheng "accidentally" tripped over a stone. A jade slip tucked in his robe, containing part of the formula for [Pangu Divine Concrete], fell to the ground with a smack and shattered into several pieces.

"Aiya!" Xuanzheng cried out in "shock," scrambling to pick them up.

But several sharp-eyed great powers had already taken advantage of the chaos to snatch one or two fingernail-sized fragments.

"Fellow Daoists, don't snatch them! This is a secret art never passed down by our witch clan. How careless of me... sigh!" Xuanzheng wore an expression of "annoyance" and "heartbroken regret."

The great powers who had seized the fragments treated them as priceless treasures and hurried away, intending to study the mysteries of this "Pangu Divine Concrete" after returning home.

Naturally, they did not know that the formulas on those fragments were deliberately altered, incorrect versions specially prepared by Xuanzheng. Whoever followed them in refining would be in for a disaster.

In Zixiao Palace, Hongjun watched the scene, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He had never seen such a shameless witch!

Xuanzheng watched the departing figures and sneered inwardly.

"Want to steal my techniques? Go ahead and study them slowly! By the time you figure them out, it'll be far too late!"

He turned around, waved broadly at the witch clansmen still immersed in the joy of their improved merit, and declared, "Wrap it up! Let's go to the victory banquet!"