For a Time

For a time, the two races chased each other, with one saying, "Today we open up a world, tomorrow I'll immediately follow!"

The Golden Light of Merit that landed on the Witch Clan today would descend upon the Demon Clan tomorrow.

This left all beings in the Primordial World dumbfounded.

Good heavens, these two overlords are actually competing to this extent?

Seeing that the advantage was difficult to widen, the Witch Clan also grew anxious.

They wanted to be first, and more importantly, to surpass the Demon Clan!

"Brothers, we can lose to anyone but those two mangy birds of the Demon Clan!"

"Set up the Great Heavenly Fiend Array!"

At Di Jiang's command, the Twelve Ancestral Witches rose simultaneously.

Rumble—

In an instant, immense pressure swept across the Primordial World.

Billions of living beings were shocked, casting surprised glances everywhere.

Immediately after, a colossal giant, reaching the heavens and supporting the earth, stood tall.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches formed the Great Heavenly Fiend Array, summoning Pangu's phantom to frantically create.

The phantom of Pangu swung its giant axe, and with a single cleave, a Middle Thousand World was born.

One axe strike after another, countless Middle Thousand Worlds emerged in succession.

Witnessing this scene, Di Jun was stunned at first, then flew into a rage.

You wretched Witch Clan, must you compete to this degree?

You've even brought out the Great Heavenly Fiend Array and are using Pangu's phantom to create worlds!

Your Witch Clan's way of thinking is truly bizarre!

Following this, Di Jun also became ruthless.

"All demons, heed my command, set up the Grand Star Array of the Heavens!"

At Di Jun's order, the entire Demon Clan Heavenly Court responded immediately.

The Three Hundred and Sixty Righteous Gods, along with Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Demon Emperor Di Jun, and Fu Xi, and other great powers, each guarded a crucial position in the formation.

In an instant, the Thirty-three Heavens erupted with earth-shattering power.

As long as the beings of the Primordial World looked up, they could see the myriad stars being connected into one by the Demon Clan.

Brilliant starlight converged into a destructive force.

Empowered thus, the Demon Clan immediately began its frantic creation.

The Witch and Demon clans then engaged in a fierce contest.

Both sides fell into a state of frenzied internal competition.

This spectacle left all beings in the Primordial World dumbfounded.

Please, stop competing!

Are you leaving anyone else any room to live?

However, the matter was far from over.

Seeing the Demon Clan catch up again, the Witch Clan decided to go all out.

They brought out all their treasured elixirs and miraculous medicines, heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Even the most precious immortal fruits were swallowed whole.

All for the sake of temporarily boosting their strength and continuing this creation battle.

Pangu's phantom grew increasingly solid.

The speed of world creation accelerated once more!

This contest was clearly going to last until the very end!

On the Demon Clan's side, Di Jun was furious.

He immediately opened his treasury and took out all the treasures that could enhance cultivation!

"If you want to fight, let's fight!"

"Who's afraid of whom!"

"Since the Witch Clan wants to compete, the Demon Clan will see it through to the end!"

With both races fighting so desperately, it wasn't just the beings of the Primordial World, but even the Saints, who turned their heads to watch.

Fortunately, they could not yet open up Great Thousand Worlds.

In the Eight Sceneries Palace, Taiqing witnessed the conflict between the Witches and Demons and secretly rejoiced.

If things continued at this pace, and they could truly open up Great Thousand Worlds, the leisurely days of the Saints would likely come to an end.

The other Saints also breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside Biyou Palace.

Sect Master Tongtian observed the two clans fighting, deep in thought.

Not long after.

A shocking immortal light suddenly erupted from the direction of Golden Ao Island.

This commotion immediately drew the attention of all the Saints.

Sect Master Tongtian was seen summoning all of the Intercepting Sect's disciples, setting up the Myriad Immortals Formation!

Using the full power of the sect to create a Great Thousand World!

In an instant, the East Sea's waves surged violently, and Saintly Might shook the heavens and earth!

Seeing this situation.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate was stunned on the spot!

Tongtian! That's enough! Do Saints also need to engage in such internal competition?

Yuanshi, Nuwa, Taiqing, and the other Saints stared at the immortal light erupting from Golden Ao Island, utterly shocked.

No one had expected the Intercepting Sect to pull this off.

Just moments ago, they were still relieved that the Witch and Demon clans' conflict wouldn't affect the Saints.

And now, Tongtian was leading his disciples to create a Great Thousand World.

Was this going to trigger competition among the Saints?

Taiqing, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti were all bewildered.

Yuanshi even directly reprimanded him.

Tongtian, that's enough! It's one thing for others to compete, but must Saints join in too?

Tongtian, who was prepared, explained to the Saints:

It is truly out of necessity. My Intercepting Sect has numerous disciples, and countless disciples and grandchildren to support. It would be better to work together to create a great endeavor, and accumulate more Merit!

Hearing this, the Saints' eyes twitched.

Now they all understood. Tongtian was determined to accelerate the creation of a Great Thousand World.

The other Saints had no choice for the moment.

After all, it was his own prerogative.

There were now only two options: either observe as before, or join this competition.

At this moment.

The Heavenly Origin Sect's disciples also learned of the Intercepting Sect's actions.

Upon hearing that the Intercepting Sect had set up the Myriad Immortals Formation to create a world, they felt very displeased.

A bunch of creatures with fur and horns, they just got lucky!

Even if they gained Merit, so what? Could they use it to achieve Dao?

Someone said sourly.

Even more so, Taiyi Zhenren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals, scoffed:

Creatures born of wetness and eggs, aspiring to seek the Dao, what a joke! They will only tarnish the pure reputation of our Xuanmen!

As soon as these words were spoken, the Intercepting Sect's side erupted in an uproar.

The Heavenly Origin Sect's people were going too far!

Among the Intercepting Sect's disciples, three young women with outstanding auras were indignant.

They were the outer sect elites, the Three Sisters of Sanxiao.

Are the Heavenly Origin Sect's disciples inherently superior? Why do they look down on our origins?

In fact, the Intercepting Sect and Heavenly Origin Sect had long-standing grievances.

The root cause lay in the divergence of ideals between the two Saints when they established their sects.

Initially, the conflict was not obvious.

But as time passed, the Saints' ideals influenced their disciples.

Friction between the disciples of the two sects intensified.

This ultimately led to the separation of the Three Pure Ones.

After the separation, the overt conflict eased.

But in reality, undercurrents surged, and the situation escalated.

The hostility between the disciples of the two sects grew deeper.

At this moment, this hostility completely erupted.

With both sects on the verge of drawing swords and clashing.

Tongtian quickly stopped them, calming his agitated disciples.

"Hold your hands for now. Opening up worlds is the priority. We can settle other grievances later."

Although the disciples of the Intercepting Sect were unwilling, they understood the importance of the situation.

Once they opened up worlds and gained merit to increase their strength, it wouldn't be too late to settle scores with the Heavenly Origin Sect.

Thus, they all agreed.

"We obey our Master's decree."

On Primordial Heavenly Venerate's side, he also stopped his disciples.

He had also come to a realization.

If the Intercepting Sect was going all out, he couldn't remain as carefree as before.

The Heavenly Origin Sect also had to take action.

After all, his disciples were all elites; how could they lose to Tongtian's unorthodox path?

But soon, Primordial Heavenly Venerate sighed.

Alas, his disciples were indeed not as numerous as those of the Intercepting Sect!

At Shouyang Mountain, within the Eight Sceneries Palace.

The Grand Pure One Laozi looked at his two disciples, Xuan Du and Du E, his gaze profound.

The two disciples exchanged wry smiles and shrugged simultaneously.

"Master, please don't count on us. We are truly powerless."

In the Wa Imperial Palace.

Nuwa looked around her Daoist field and saw only her mount, Jin Ning, and her Daoist boy, Ling Zhuzi.

She was silent for a long time.

Finally, she could only sigh faintly.

"Forget it, I'll just have to work hard on my own."

In the Western Pure Land.

Jieyin and Zhunti, the two Venerables, brushed up their sleeves and rose, gathering all the Buddhist disciples and commanding all beings in the west, intending to use the full power of the region to seize the initiative in this grand creation event!

Instantly, a competition spanning the Primordial World began. From the Hunyuan Saints above to the mortal beings below, all threw themselves into it.

The Primordial World thus changed with each passing day.

In a short moment, tens of thousands of worlds were born.

In the endless void, great worlds dotted it like stars, middle worlds hung like the Milky Way, and small worlds were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges!

The Golden Light of Merit flowed continuously, like heavenly rain.

Within Wuji Heaven.

Lu Changqing leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance, a smile on his lips.

He watched the Golden Light of Merit continuously emerging between heaven and earth, each strand signifying a reduction in his own merit—

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh.

"This plan is truly brilliant.

It's truly ingenious."

It seemed that depleting those trillions of merits was already within sight!

Suddenly, Daoist Shenmu respectfully entered and reported:

"Reporting to Saintly Venerable, the cultivator Kong Xuan from the Primordial World is here to see you.

May I summon him?"

Lu Changqing's eyebrows twitched slightly.

This son of the Primordial Phoenix, known as the foremost figure below the Saints during the Investiture of the Gods calamity, whose Five-Colored Divine Light shook the heavens and earth, what business did he have visiting at this time?

After a moment's thought, he issued an order to summon him.

A handsome cultivator, dressed in a five-colored feathered robe, gracefully arrived.

"Kong Xuan pays his respects to the Saintly Venerable!

The Saintly Venerable is compassionate and benefits all living beings. Kong Xuan has admired you for a long time!"

Lu Changqing calmly accepted the gift, but his gaze carefully scrutinized this future peerless powerhouse.

At this moment, Kong Xuan had only just entered the Quasi-Saint realm, still far from his future fame.

"State your purpose directly."

Kong Xuan took a deep breath and said solemnly, "To be frank, Kong Xuan is here on behalf of the Phoenix Race!"

It turns out that after the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, the three races made a Heavenly Dao Oath to preserve their bloodlines--

The Dragon race would forever guard the four seas, the Kirin would transform into auspiciousness, and the Phoenix race would be confined to the Immortal Volcano for generations.

"We humbly implore Saintly Venerable for mercy, to help our race escape this shackle!"

After speaking, they kowtowed heavily.

Lu Changqing's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

The Phoenix race... wasn't this a ready-made force?

Looking at Kong Xuan, with his innate Five Elements body, born from the Primordial Phoenix's essence, he was truly a talent that could be molded.

Why must they be slaves?

Lu Changqing smiled and helped Kong Xuan up: "Are you willing to achieve Dao and become a Saint?"

Kong Xuan was stunned for a moment.

This gaze... it's like a hunter spotting prey?

But for the sake of his kin, he still nodded firmly.

Lu Changqing then took out a contract, its terms shocking Kong Xuan--

It actually contained a promise to help him become a Saint?

Despite his doubts, to save his kin, Kong Xuan resolutely signed the Daoist Contract.

Lu Changqing immediately took him to the Immortal Volcano.

This source of the Primordial World's fire veins was engulfed in raging flames year-round.

"Is this the place?"

Lu Changqing asked.

Seeing Kong Xuan nod, he immediately summoned the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff.

"In the name of the Heavenly Dao, I command the Phoenix race to reappear in the world!"

As soon as his voice fell, bursts of clear cries echoed from the depths of the volcano.

Hundreds of fire-bathed figures soared into the sky!

All beings in the Primordial World were astonished.

Saint Changqing has actually lifted the Phoenix race's seal?

"Welcome, Phoenix race, to join this grand endeavor of creation!"

All beings heard this and suddenly understood--

As expected, this is that Saint's style!

Even the long-dormant Phoenix race has been brought in to participate in this unprecedented undertaking!

The majestic figures that flew out of the Immortal Volcano cried out:

"Our race can finally see the light of day again!"

As the flames surged, Nine Heavens Divine Phoenixes cried out in unison, their clear phoenix cries echoing throughout the universe.

The sky was dyed crimson--The Phoenix race, reborn from the fire!

Lu Changqing stood in the air, the Heavenly Dao Scepter in his hand.

He lightly waved the scepter, and the Heavenly Dao Restriction sealing the Immortal Volcano shattered.

The Phoenix race was finally freed.

All beings in the Primordial World witnessed this scene, their hearts filled with awe.

The Heavenly Dao Restriction was actually broken?

As expected of Immortal Venerable Changqing!

He had so easily broken the Heavenly Dao shackles of the Phoenix race.

One must know that the sealing of the Phoenix race back then was a decree from the Heavenly Dao.

Even a Saint would find it difficult to break it so easily.

Only Immortal Venerable Changqing, who wielded the Heavenly Dao Scepter, could do it!

The Six Saints gazed at the scene, their eyes filled with envy.

The Heavenly Dao Scepter--this was a supreme treasure that wielded the authority of the Heavenly Dao.

Without it, even as Saints, it would be difficult to shake the Heavenly Dao's restrictions.

After all, they were ultimately subordinate to the Heavenly Dao.

Unless they were Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortals, there might be a slim chance.

This treasure symbolizing the authority of the Heavenly Dao was uniquely possessed by fellow Daoist Lu Changqing in the Primordial World!

Truly enviable.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate sighed softly.

Jieyin and Zhunti were also filled with emotion.

Envy was futile.

Who could compare to Lu Changqing's unique existence in the entire Primordial World?

He treated the Heavenly Dao as a brother, and regarded it as a nephew.

Such a figure had never been seen before!

It was simply inconceivable!

If not for the immense gifts Lu Changqing had bestowed, the Six Saints would have found it difficult to accept this reality.

Alas...

"We are all impoverished scholars!"

Sect Master Tongtian spoke his mind.

This made Laozi and the other Saints unable to laugh or cry.

Who in the Primordial World dared to call a Saint impoverished? They would surely face heavenly retribution.

But compared to Lu Changqing...

They were indeed poor.

After all, compared to Lu Changqing's casual bestowal of Merit, they were truly outshone.

Still, Tongtian's words were ultimately disheartening.

The Phoenix Race reappeared in the world.

Flames burned the heavens.

Their clan leader, Yuan Qing, transformed into human form and respectfully knelt before Lu Changqing.

He declared loudly: "The entire Phoenix Race thanks Saint Changqing for the grace of rebirth!"

Behind him, thousands of Phoenix Clan members knelt in unison.

"We thank Saint Changqing!"

The crowd was impassioned.

They had been imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao in the Immortal Volcano for countless years.