Her earlier loss of composure had all been seen by Saint Changqing!
Would he think she was too fierce and barbaric?
At the foot of Buzhou Mountain.
Noticing Lu Changqing's gaze, Houtu's cheeks flushed crimson.
She secretly regretted it. It was all Zhu Rong's fault!
He had ruined her image before Fellow Daoist Changqing.
Suppressing her embarrassment, she returned to Lu Changqing and said with a faint smile, "I have made you laugh, Fellow Daoist."
"Witch Clan sparring has always been like this."
Lu Changqing smiled. "It is nothing. This battle was truly magnificent!"
It was his first time witnessing the Witch Clan in battle.
They truly deserved their reputation as a race famed for their physical bodies.
Their fists and feet clashed, relying on no external objects, only their bodies striking head-on.
They were truly valiant!
After hesitating for a moment, Houtu asked softly, "Was I... too rash just now?"
"Would Fellow Daoist think I was unreasonable and savage?"
Lu Changqing replied warmly, "How could I?"
"This is simply your true nature."
"Being straightforward is best. I admire your temperament—gentle on the outside, strong on the inside!"
They had merely been words of comfort.
After all, no woman wished to be seen as fierce and violent.
Yet when Houtu heard those words, they took on an entirely different meaning.
Hearing Lu Changqing say that he admired her, Houtu's heartbeat quickened and her cheeks burned.
What Fellow Daoist Changqing said... could it be...
Did he truly mean it?
Did this count as revealing his feelings?
If he was sincere, then I...
Houtu secretly glanced at Lu Changqing, the blush on her face deepening.
In her eyes, Lu Changqing was refined and elegant, possessing extraordinary bearing.
For the sake of benefiting the Primordial Wilderness, he had not hesitated to use his own merit to inspire all living beings.
Such breadth of heart was deeply admirable.
The more she thought about it, the more perfect Lu Changqing seemed in every way.
To say she was unmoved would have been self-deception.
Seeing Houtu remain silent for so long, Lu Changqing looked up at her and could not help feeling puzzled.
What was wrong with this girl?
Her face was red like a ripe apple!
"What's wrong, Fellow Daoist?"
"Why is your complexion so flushed?"
Lu Changqing asked in confusion.
Too embarrassed to speak of it, Houtu murmured, "Perhaps it is because our exchange just now stirred my blood and qi!"
"I shall take my leave for a moment!"
With that, she hurried away.
Lu Changqing stood there in a daze.
Caused by their exchange?
Wasn't that reaction a little too delayed?
Besides, why was she blushing? Zhu Rong was clearly the one who had been beaten.
Could he have seen it wrong?
In the shadows.
Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin had been observing in secret.
The two had originally intended to mediate the dispute.
But they had arrived too late. Seeing Lu Changqing present, they concealed themselves and watched from the sidelines.
"Little sister blushed just now?"
"How strange! How many years has it been since we last saw her so shy?"
Zhu Jiuyin said in surprise.
Having spent countless years with their sister, they had never seen Houtu act so bashfully.
From the way she left, she was clearly unable to contain her feelings.
There had to be something strange going on!
Di Jiang pondered. "Could little sister... have developed feelings for Saint Changqing?"
"She is in love with Saint Changqing?"
Zhu Jiuyin was first stunned, then delighted. "Wonderful! This is tremendous news!"
"If they become Dao companions, would that not be an immense blessing for our Witch Clan?"
"Then the Witch Clan would have a Sage son-in-law!"
"More importantly, if they joined Wuji Heaven, it would not count as living under another's roof."
"Between relatives, how could there be any talk of dependence?"
Though Di Jiang had considered this as well, it would ultimately depend on Saint Changqing's wishes.
There was no use thinking too much about it now.
A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Witch Clan prepared for a grand sacrificial ceremony.
Before Pangu Hall stood a towering altar.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches stood solemnly before it, their expressions devout.
Behind them stood countless members of the Witch Clan, grave and reverent.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches stood atop the altar, chanting ancient incantations while moving in strange postures.
To Lu Changqing, the sight resembled mortal shamans performing a spirit dance.
Yet this was no ordinary sacrifice—every incantation stirred a resonance with the laws of heaven and earth.
As the ritual continued, the fluctuations of the laws grew ever stronger.
Countless Witch Clan members knelt in devout worship.
With a thunderous boom!
Vast blood and qi erupted from Pangu Hall, instantly enveloping the entire altar.
The cultivation of all Witch Clan members advanced, and those with purer bloodlines benefited even more.
Though the Twelve Ancestral Witches possessed the purest bloodlines, they could no longer make any further progress.
They were separated from the realm of Hunyuan Great Luo by only a thin sheet of paper, their physical cultivation having reached its peak.
Lu Changqing stood quietly and watched the ceremony, a trace of interest flashing through his eyes.
What mysteries did this ancient hall conceal?
Pangu had fallen countless ages ago. Even if remnants of his legacy remained, they should have dissipated without anyone to sustain them.
Yet the Witch Clan held this sacrifice once every ten thousand years without interruption, proving that the hall's mysteries still remained.
This made him even more curious—what profound secrets lay within?
A faint feeling seemed to arise within him: this hall might bring him an unexpected delight.
"Brother Dao, may I enter the hall and take a look?"
Lu Changqing asked Di Jiang directly.
All the Ancestral Witches showed surprise upon hearing this.
There was only Father God's heart within the hall, nothing else.
Yet they were likewise unable to help outsiders enter it.
"Saint Changqing may not know this, but none outside my clan may enter Pangu Hall."
"Even a Sage would find it difficult to force his way in."
"The pressure of Pangu within the hall is beyond what even the Sage realm can withstand."
Di Jiang told him truthfully.
Though he wished to grant the request, he was powerless to do so.
Pangu's pressure was so immense that even Sages had to retreat before it.
Lu Changqing nodded slightly.
With Pangu's pressure present, it truly was not a place a Sage could enter.
Pangu had reached the Half-Step Great Dao realm in those days, far beyond any Hunyuan Great Luo.
Yet at this moment, he vaguely sensed a summons from within the hall.
After pondering briefly, he said, "In that case, allow me to try."
"If I cannot enter, I shall naturally give up."
"What do you all think?"
Di Jiang and the other Ancestral Witches exchanged silent glances.
Pangu Hall was the sacred ground of the Witch Clan and did not ordinarily permit outsiders to enter.
But Lu Changqing's kindness toward the Witch Clan was as weighty as a mountain—he had helped the Twelve Ancestral Witches condense their primordial spirits and bestowed blessings upon countless Witch Clan members.
Di Jiang said solemnly:
"Saint Changqing may enter."
"However, whether you can fulfill your wish depends entirely on your own opportunity, Sage."
The others had no objections.
Lu Changqing nodded. This promise was enough.
The faint summons had not been an illusion, and it only deepened his desire to investigate.
His connection to Pangu had been nothing but a fabrication. What within the hall could possibly sense him?
He walked straight toward Pangu Hall.
The instant he stepped through the entrance, immense pressure surged toward him like a tidal wave, more overwhelming even than the Heavenly Dao.
Lu Changqing's body halted.
Seeing this, the Twelve Ancestral Witches knew that he had encountered Father God's pressure.
"If not for Father God's pressure protecting this place,"
"Yuanshi and the other Sages would likely have long been unable to suppress their desire to pry into it."
Zhu Rong said in a deep voice.
It was precisely because Pangu's pressure had endured since ancient times that even Sages found it impossible to cross the line.
Even if the Dao Ancestor came in person, he could do nothing!
As they spoke, they suddenly saw Lu Changqing take another step forward.
Behind him, nine hundred and ninety-nine Golden Lights of Merit appeared.
The golden wheel shone brilliantly, like the sun hanging high in the sky.
Its radiance stretched for thousands of miles, making it impossible to look at directly.
That resplendent golden light left the Witch Clan members present dizzy and awestruck.
Heavens!
Such vast Golden Light of Merit!
Was it all formed from merit?
It was unbelievable...
He had actually accumulated such an oceanic amount of merit!
The Twelve Ancestral Witches also revealed shocked expressions.
Was this the method of one with profound merit?!
Lu Changqing had actually used Golden Light of Merit to protect himself and entered unharmed?
"Brother Dao Changqing truly went in!"
Houtu cried out in astonishment.
Bearing nine hundred and ninety-nine Golden Lights of Merit, Lu Changqing encountered no obstruction whatsoever from Pangu's pressure.
He calmly walked into the depths of the hall.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches were all dumbfounded.
So those with profound merit truly faced no restrictions!
They had once held doubts, but after witnessing it with their own eyes today, they finally knew the rumors were true!!!
At the summit of Buzhou Mountain.
Inside Pangu Hall.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine Golden Lights of Merit hung behind him, and the vast power of merit swirled around Lu Changqing.
It made his entire body feel as though he were basking in warm sunlight.
The power of merit was indeed extraordinarily mysterious!
Its uses were too numerous to describe.
The Primordial Wilderness was so vast that there was almost nowhere he could not go.
Lu Changqing marveled inwardly.
With such immense merit upon him, even the chaos beyond the heavens could not hinder his comings and goings.
As he walked deep into the heart of the hall,
he saw a colossal crimson heart, still beating.
This was Pangu's heart. With every beat, layers of bloody mist rippled outward.
Even after countless ages, the heart remained brimming with vitality.
The blood pool beneath it had been formed from Pangu's blood.
Though it was not gathered from essence blood, it could still nurture members of the Witch Clan.
Great Witches such as Xing Tian and Kuafu had all been born here, which was why their foundations were extraordinary.
With a slight stir of his divine sense, Lu Changqing realized that the mysterious summons came from within the heart—
not from its surface, but from inside!
His figure flashed, and he plunged directly into Pangu's heart.
His surroundings suddenly opened up, revealing an endless crimson world.
Blood-red hues stained every direction,
yet the space was exceptionally stable, without the slightest sign of collapse.
Vast surges of blood and vitality filled the heavens and earth,
leaving Lu Changqing doubtful. Had Great God Pangu truly fallen?
If his Dao had already vanished, how could the inner world of his heart be like this?
Could he still possess a trace of life?
Lu Changqing circulated his divine ability and called out, "Great God Pangu! Are you still here?"
"If you are, please show yourself!"
Buzz—
The blood and vitality filling the sky abruptly gathered, condensing into a towering figure.
Pangu's features gradually came into clear view.
Lu Changqing was slightly stunned.
"You are certainly straightforward... I merely called out casually, and you actually appeared?"
Pangu looked solemnly at Lu Changqing. "Was it not you who called for me to appear?"
Lu Changqing fell silent.
Faced with such a blunt Pangu, he found himself speechless for a moment.
Indeed... he had been the one to call him forth.
He simply had not expected his face to carry such weight.
Besides, was this way of meeting not a little too direct?
Lu Changqing's expression turned subtle as several strange thoughts crossed his mind.
Why did the Great God Pangu before him seem so simple and honest?
Could the creator god who had split open heaven and earth truly have been so straightforward?
That did not seem right...
If he had truly been so innocent, why would the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods have trembled at the mere mention of his name?
Could it be that, like those Ancestral Witches, he would swing an axe and chop people apart at the slightest disagreement?
Lu Changqing stared at Pangu and asked, "Why did you not show yourself when the Ancestral Witches came in earlier?"
From the fact that the Twelve Ancestral Witches had allowed him into the hall, it was clear—
these descendants had no idea Pangu still existed.
They all believed that Father God had perished and his Dao had dissipated after opening the heavens,
or they would never have allowed him to step even half a pace into this sacred place.
Pangu calmly asked in return, "What would showing myself accomplish?"
"I am merely a lingering obsession, not yet scattered but soon to fade.
"I should have vanished along with the workings of heaven and earth. It was only because you caused the Primordial Wilderness to transform that I was able to gather my essence blood again and take form."
Lu Changqing immediately understood.
This remnant will should originally have dispersed into nothingness,
but because he had advanced the world's evolution,
Pangu's will had been able to endure.
Perhaps that was precisely why Pangu had been willing to meet him.
"I appeared mainly because I wished to ask you something."
Pangu fixed him with a blazing gaze.
"Fellow Daoist... who exactly are you?"
He had never encountered an existence like this—
someone who could so easily expand the boundaries of the Primordial Wilderness,
create several Heavenly Dao Sages out of thin air,
make even the world's will bow obediently before him,
and leave Dao Ancestor Hongjun in such a miserable state...
This was certainly not something an ordinary mighty expert could accomplish.
Lu Changqing sighed faintly. "It is embarrassing to say,
but I am merely an ordinary cultivator,
spending all day wondering how to squander merit."
Boom!
Even though only an imprint of his primordial spirit remained,
Pangu's spiritual light still trembled violently from those words.
This was called ordinary?
This was called wanting only to squander his wealth?
Since opening heaven and earth, he had never met anyone so infuriating!
Back then, he had battled through chaos,
split three thousand divine demons with his axe,
and stood alone against the Great Dao to open the Primordial Wilderness. When had he ever seen such a person?
"Since Fellow Daoist is devoted to seeking the Dao,
why not let me lend you a hand?"
As Pangu spoke, two clusters of Dao essence appeared in his palm—
Hunyuan Nine Revolutions Heavenly Skill shone brilliantly,
while Sky-Opening Nine Forms revealed unparalleled sharpness.
These were both the inheritances he had kept in reserve.
Lu Changqing swept them with his divine sense and was secretly astonished.
Though the former was inferior to his Great Dao-level cultivation method,
the Sky-Opening Nine Forms were indeed extraordinarily profound.
"There is also an origin Dao seal."
Pangu said solemnly,
"After refining it, you will be able to wield the authority of the Primordial Wilderness."
The origin of the world he had created in the past
was now being offered up without hesitation.
Immediately afterward, the Ancestral Witch Token appeared as well.
"With this, you may command the entire Witch Clan."
"I have no connection with the Witch Clan. Why are you..."
Lu Changqing was truly confused.
Good heavens—
Pangu even wanted to force the authority of the ruler of the Primordial Wilderness upon him?
This treatment was practically more generous than the system!
Pangu said in a deep voice, "Back then, I stopped at the half-step Great Dao
only because the Primordial Wilderness had not truly reached perfection.
"If Fellow Daoist can make the Myriad Worlds surround and uphold the Primordial Wilderness—
perhaps there may yet come a day when I see the light of day again."
Lu Changqing suddenly understood.
So that was it!
Pangu had failed to fully complete his work of opening heaven and earth back then,
which was why chaos and the Primordial Wilderness stood opposed to one another.
Now that Lu Changqing was advancing the world's evolution,
he was precisely making up for that great undertaking of opening heaven and earth!
When the Primordial Wilderness truly reached perfection—
Before you continue