Chapter 31

The three Heaven-Opening Innate Supreme Treasures formed from the Pangu Axe held the highest rank in the Primordial World because of their special significance and contribution to heaven and earth.

Li Er had such a thought because he possessed the supreme treasure that could return things to their original state—the Qiankun Cauldron.

No one knew whether the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and Chaos Bell could be restored to their origins and fused back into a Chaos Supreme Treasure.

As a transmigrator, Li Er understood what a Chaos Supreme Treasure represented—it was the ultimate power of the entire chaos.

If he could unite the three and restore them to the form of the Chaos Supreme Treasure, the Pangu Axe, it would mean possessing the strongest power between heaven and earth.

Li Er seized the opportunity. He did not stop at the achievements of his former self, Laozi.

Within the Eight Sceneries Palace, the Taiji Diagram and Chaos Bell revolved before him, releasing an aura of chaos.

After a long process of refinement, he finally gained complete control over the Chaos Bell.

At that moment, the Chaos Bell trembled, unleashing the might of an Innate Supreme Treasure and containing the power to twist space and time.

As the master of the Chaos Bell, Li Er clearly sensed the supreme aura emanating from this treasure.

He had successfully refined his second Innate Supreme Treasure.

All five Saints sensed the changes within the Eight Sceneries Palace. The revived, mysterious, and profound aura left them unable to remain calm.

Li Er chuckled softly and concealed the heavenly secrets.

The five Saints could only withdraw their divine senses, their hearts far from tranquil.

They knew that Li Er had refined the Chaos Bell. Though it had been expected, they were still shocked and solemn.

After all, Li Er's abilities had long surpassed the limits of their expectations.

Even after sensing the aura of the Chaos Bell, they remained deeply shaken.

Because an Innate Supreme Treasure in the hands of a Saint was an entirely different matter from one in the hands of East Emperor Taiyi.

They realized that the days ahead might become difficult.

After refining the Chaos Bell, Li Er chose to leave seclusion.

Barring any surprises, he would once again become the second Co-Lord of Humanity and establish his Imperial Dao.

Humanity's development had already passed through the stages of the first Co-Lord's self-reliance and the second Co-Lord's independence. Now, it was about to enter the struggle for the Human Emperor.

Although Li Er possessed the Pangu Imprint and had deep ties to the Witch Clan, he had no intention of offering them much help.

He believed that whether the Witch Clan could grow strong was one matter, while their own efforts were another.

This was, after all, the inevitable battlefield for the position of Human Emperor. The victor would be king; there was nothing more to say.

Whether it was Xuanyuan or Chiyou, their struggle was merely an unavoidable process in the contest for the Human Emperor's position.

No matter who won or lost, humanity would continue to develop.

At this time, under the leadership of the Shennong Clan, humanity was flourishing.

The Shennong Clan had also fulfilled his merit and virtue, merely waiting for the successor to the next Co-Lord of Humanity.

The Shennong Clan decided to follow the example of the previous Co-Lord, Fuxi, and seek a suitable great sage among the new generation of humanity.

Among them, Xuanyuan of the Youxiong Tribe and Chiyou of the Jiuli Tribe possessed the greatest prestige.

Both had displayed the signs of great sages and had been taken as disciples by mighty figures from birth.

According to convention, the next Co-Lord of Humanity would most likely be Xuanyuan.

But now, Chiyou's emergence had made him a formidable competitor.

His master was Gonggong, a hegemon of heaven and earth as powerful as Xuandu's great sage master.

It was the first time the Shennong Clan had heard the name Gonggong, yet deep within his heart, he felt an illusion of familiarity.

As the Co-Lord of Humanity who had led humanity to rise independently, the Shennong Clan faced an important choice when deciding his next move.

Although he was compassionate and merciful, having planted the Five Grains and tasted a hundred herbs, he still needed to consider carefully when choosing between Xuanyuan and Chiyou as successors.

If he did not give Chiyou a fair chance, how would humanity view him? Moreover, Fuxi, he, and Xuanyuan all came from under Dao Venerable Xuandu, belonging to the same lineage.

If he unfairly chose Xuanyuan, the meaning of abdication would become blurred, and people would easily mistake it for an inheritance within the family.

Thus, he hesitated.

In the end, he decided not to bring Xuanyuan to Chen City for the time being. Instead, he would seek guidance from his teacher Xuandu and wait to see how things developed.

Xuandu had long foreseen Chiyou's reincarnation. The struggle for the Human Emperor was the final stage in humanity's path toward self-strengthening and the beginning of its road of conquest.

Xuandu advised him not to concern himself with the matter and to let the two sides contend naturally, allowing one final battle to determine all.

At that moment, humanity's struggle for the Human Emperor grew increasingly intense. The Jiuli Tribe was not as singular as the Youxiong Tribe led by Xuanyuan; it contained far more complicated conflicts between different forces.

The Nine Yi Tribes were formed from the union of nine tribes, including Quan Yi and Yu Yi. Since they all bore the surname Li, they were also called Jiuli.

These tribes were the best destination Houtu had arranged for Chiyou.

Across the Primordial World, humanity and the Witch Clan lived beside one another, gradually forming combined tribes. The Jiuli Tribe was the most perfect fusion of human and witch bloodlines.

They possessed humanity's wisdom and the Witch Clan's powerful physiques. Born with immense strength, they could tear apart savage beasts with their bare hands.

Houtu not only placed Chiyou among the Jiuli, but also arranged for Gonggong, the last remaining Ancestral Witch of the Witch Clan, to go there and accept Chiyou as his disciple.

Though Gonggong did not bear the title of Imperial Tutor, his guidance of Chiyou was equivalent to Xuandu's.

He led Chiyou in developing agriculture, metallurgy, weapon-making, and the various arts, allowing the Jiuli Tribe to prosper.

Thus, Chiyou enjoyed extremely high prestige among the human tribes.

The Shennong Clan's difficulty lay in the fact that Chiyou had inherited Houtu's blood essence. Even after reincarnating as a human, he still possessed the destiny of earth virtue.

As the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan had likewise been born with the destiny of earth virtue.

The struggle for the Human Emperor could be said to be a contest between these two bodies of earth virtue.

It was worth noting that from Fuxi, the reincarnated first Co-Lord of Humanity, to the Shennong Clan, and then to the struggle between Xuanyuan and Chiyou, the Demon, Human, and Witch Clans were all involved.

This rise of humanity was both a continuation of the previous calamity and a new beginning.

The decline of the Wu Yao Tribes and the rise of humanity were both the center of the stage at this moment.

There was no doubt that Chiyou, as the Witch Clan's only Ancestral Witch with a primordial spirit, possessed extraordinary strength.

He had not exerted his full strength during the Witch-Demon Calamity merely because he had been born too late. It did not mean that he was weak.

This time, Chiyou truly displayed his dominance.

In his conflict with Xuanyuan's Youxiong Tribe, Chiyou displayed such overwhelming power that Xuanyuan failed to win any of their nine battles.

Because the human tribes revered the strong, they honored Chiyou as the Lord of Soldiers, his might shaking the world.

But the Witch Clan's bloodthirsty nature gradually revealed itself as well. The weapons, blades, and halberds forged by Chiyou and his eighty-one brothers shook the world, yet they were accompanied by ruthless slaughter.

Although Xuanyuan suffered defeats on the battlefield, his virtuous reputation still allowed him to win people's hearts.

Chiyou firmly believed that the winner of the struggle for the Human Emperor would be king, while the loser would be a bandit. He resolved to crush the Youxiong Tribe and secure the Human Emperor's position of earth virtue.

The Battle of Zhuolu erupted. As the war progressed, Xuanyuan invited his teacher Xuandu, while Chiyou summoned the Ancestral Witch Gonggong.

On the battlefield, the waters of the Ninth Heaven descended from above. Ancestral Witch Gonggong stood proudly within them, his mastery over water exuding terrifying pressure.

Xuandu, once a Quasi-Saint hegemon, faced Gonggong, the newly risen Dao Venerable of the Grand Pure lineage.

This Battle of Zhuolu was both a contest between old and new Quasi-Saints and a clash between two eras.

The battle between the two hegemons shook the entire battlefield, and endless anticipation gathered around this fight.

Above the void, Gonggong and Xuandu faced one another.

Having endured the Witch-Demon Calamity, Gonggong's temperament had become somewhat restrained, though he still concealed the dominance of his past.

In Xuandu's eyes, Gonggong had become even more composed after weathering calamity.

The Witch Clan's circumstances were poor now, and Gonggong knew that he needed to keep a low profile.

Their gazes met. Gonggong looked deeply at Xuandu, sensed his formidable aura, and said in a deep voice, "Having entered beneath the Supreme Saint's sect, you truly are no ordinary man."

Xuandu replied, "Ancestral Witch Gonggong, being one of the hegemons of the previous calamity also proves that you are no ordinary figure."

He had no desire to contend with Gonggong, but he had to act in the struggle for the Human Emperor, for he was Xuanyuan's Imperial Tutor.

This battle concerned neither grudges, interests, nor eras. Their camps were simply different.

Xuandu gave Gonggong the greatest respect and invited him to strike first.

Gonggong answered gravely, "Fight!"

The waters of the Ninth Heaven surged through the void as though the world itself were ending.

When Quasi-Saints fought, heaven and earth were moved.

Gonggong directed the waters of the Ninth Heaven to crash toward Xuandu, while Xuandu answered with the Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp. Its radiance shone across heaven and earth.

Purple fire burned the heavens with boundless might, carrying the power to scorch the sky and boil the seas.

Gonggong sensed the scorching aura. Even the waters of the Ninth Heaven seemed to be burning away.

He recalled how irreconcilable he and Zhurong had once been, with water and fire eternally opposed. Now, only he remained to lead the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Yet that only stirred his fighting spirit even further.

The waters of the Ninth Heaven transformed into a great river that swept toward Xuandu, only to be shattered in an instant by immeasurable firelight.

Gonggong laughed loudly and challenged Xuandu. "Will fire extinguish water, or will water smother fire?"

Xuandu did not yield. Taiji yin-yang fish manifested around him, their radiance blazing in every direction.

Gonggong's fighting intent surged to its peak.

Yet as the seemingly evenly matched battle unfolded, Houtu silently observed everything.

She knew that although Gonggong was highly experienced, he would likely struggle to defeat Xuandu, a Quasi-Saint giant who had inherited the full teachings of the Grand Pure lineage.

Xuandu possessed not only the Witch-Slaying Sword, but also top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures such as the Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp, the Lotus Lamp, and the Yin-Yang Furnace.

Sure enough, Gonggong fell into defeat after their exchange.

"Xuanyuan, sword!"

With a wave of Xuandu's hand, the Xuanyuan Sword rose like a dragon. Roar! Its cry resounded through the heavens, stirring boundless killing intent as it cleaved toward the great river of the Ninth Heaven.

In an instant, a dazzling sword light tore through the sky. As stunning as the Witch-Slaying Sword once wielded by Demon Emperor Di Jun, it stabbed directly toward Gonggong.

Facing the reappearance of the Witch-Slaying Sword, Gonggong was immensely shocked and understood that his defeat had been decided.

Although his strength had greatly increased after the Witch-Demon Calamity, the Witch-Slaying Sword's fearsome reputation made him understand that he could not resist it.

The sword Xuandu unleashed possessed astonishing power, enough to shake the world.

Gonggong's expression was complicated. He knew that defeat was inevitable when facing Xuandu.

There was regret in his heart, but also a sense of release.

He understood that this was the power of the Grand Pure lineage. He had truly lost.

Gravely wounded, Gonggong returned to the Six Paths Reincarnation.

This also meant that Chiyou had suffered his first setback.

Although Gonggong, the Ancestral Witch and powerful Quasi-Saint, had been defeated, Chiyou did not give up.

He gathered Feng Bo, Yu Shi, and the other Innate Great Witches once more, launching another fierce battle against Xuanyuan at Zhuolu.

Yet the result remained unchanged. Chiyou was still defeated by Xuanyuan.

Sometimes, no matter how great one's initial advantage, it could not overcome the power of destiny.

Xuanyuan was humanity's chosen one of destiny.

Sensing Chiyou's fighting spirit, as well as the connection between Xuandu and Houtu of the Six Paths Reincarnation, Xuanyuan did not utterly destroy him.

Thus, only the reputation of Chiyou, the Lord of Soldiers, remained to be passed down among humanity.

After Chiyou died, when the world fell into chaos once more, Xuanyuan ordered people to paint his likeness, making the world believe that Chiyou had not died. His title as Lord of Soldiers intimidated the four seas.

Thus, the struggle for the Human Emperor came to an end.

Emperor Xuanyuan ultimately established himself in the central plains, prompting the Shennong Clan to decide to abdicate the position of Co-Lord of Humanity.

All Three Sovereigns came from the Grand Pure lineage, spreading Li Er's name as Taishang throughout humanity. Everyone knew Taishang to be an invincible Saint.

Yet few knew that the Three Sovereigns of humanity cultivated by the Grand Pure lineage possessed incomparably exalted status.

Several decades passed in the blink of an eye. After bringing Emperor Xuanyuan to Chen City, the Shennong Clan gradually allowed him to take over humanity, just as Fuxi had once taught him.

During that time, Xuanyuan lived up to expectations, establishing systems of weights and measures and creating formations to protect humanity.