Fuxi's figure appeared soundlessly at Nuwa's side.
His brows furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a trace of worry and inquiry.
Nuwa did not turn around. She merely shook her head lightly, her red lips parting to utter two words: "Not going."
She had already become a Saint, her primordial spirit entrusted to the Heavenly Dao. Her perception of Heavenly Secrets was exceptionally keen.
Not long ago, an extremely obscure warning that made her Saint Heart tremble slightly had crossed her mind.
It seemed that some crisis targeting the Human Race she had created was quietly brewing.
Though this warning was vague, it was enough to make her vigilant.
Leaving Fengqi Mountain now and distancing herself from the Human Race she had personally created, which was still frail and weak, was by no means a wise choice.
The Human Race was the foundation of her sainthood and her deepest concern. She could not allow the slightest mishap to befall them.
Upon hearing this, the worry on Fuxi's face deepened. "Sister, you are the Empress Wa of the Demon Race, and also its only Saint."
"This time, the Witch Race acted brazenly and nearly left Di Jun and Tai Yi without heirs, shaking the Heavenly Court."
"Now that the Golden Crows are undergoing nirvana, it concerns the future fortune of the Demon Race."
"If we show no response at all, not only might Di Jun and Tai Yi harbor resentment, but all living beings of the Prehistoric World will think that we siblings have become estranged from the Demon Race."
"The reputation of the Demon Race's two emperors concerns their fortune. It cannot be taken lightly."
Nuwa finally turned her head slightly. Her clear, beautiful eyes regarded Fuxi with the composure and insight unique to a Saint.
"Elder Brother, you are too fixated on the reputation of being an emperor of the Demon Race. It is ultimately an external thing. Rather than spending your thoughts on such empty prestige, you should... think more about your own Dao."
She paused, her tone filled with concern and an imperceptible urging. "How to attain Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal is your most pressing matter now!"
"Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal?"
Bitterness and profound helplessness instantly surfaced on Fuxi's face.
"How could it be easy? How could it be easy?!"
He gazed into the void, his eyes filled with boundless yearning for that supreme realm, yet also tangled with frustration that he could not overcome.
"That step is like a heavenly chasm! Every time I try to break through that invisible barrier, all I feel is the vast Heavenly Dao's merciless suppression and rejection!"
"My primordial spirit trembles, my Dao foundation wavers, as though the weight of the entire Prehistoric World is pressing down to crush me! It is a despairing gap born from the difference in our very levels of existence!"
Fuxi's voice lowered, carrying unprecedented urgency and anxiety.
"Di Jun and Tai Yi were already peerless in talent, and now they have gained enlightenment from Lu Jun's Nirvana Method!"
"Their chances of succeeding are tremendous! Once they succeed, there will be two new Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals!"
His fists clenched unconsciously, faint Spiritual Light bursting from between his fingers.
"By then, among the Four Demon Emperors, Sister, you will be a Heavenly Dao Saint, while Di Jun and Tai Yi may become Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals... leaving only me, Fuxi, trapped at Quasi-Saint Peak, unable to advance another step!"
"Four Emperors? Heh, heh. I fear it will become 'Three Sovereigns'!"
"Wouldn't this title of Empress Wa's elder brother become the greatest joke in the Prehistoric World?"
"Even Demon Master Kun Peng would probably mock me in his heart!"
His fierce pride and terror over his future status gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes.
Nuwa watched the pain and unwillingness in her elder brother's eyes and sighed softly within.
She extended her slender jade hand and gently placed it over Fuxi's clenched fist.
A warm, peaceful Saint power containing the life opportunity of creation slowly flowed into him, soothing his agitated mind and spirit.
"Elder Brother, though the path of Hunyuan is difficult, it is not a dead end. Your Dao lies in deduction and planning. By accumulating strength and striking late, you may not be unable to surpass others in the end."
Her gaze was firm. "With me here to protect you with the power of a Saint, even if your breakthrough fails, I can ensure your life remains unharmed and your Dao foundation unbroken. You... need only try boldly."
Feeling the warmth from his sister's palm and that unquestionable Saint Path power, the tightly drawn string in Fuxi's heart finally eased slightly.
That vast Saint power was like a Sea-Calming Divine Needle, giving him the courage to continue onward.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and nodded heavily. "Good! Sister, with those words from you, I can rest easy."
"Then I will first go to the Demon Court and see how Di Jun and Tai Yi are doing. Perhaps I can glimpse a trace of Spiritual Light useful to me from their Nirvana Method!"
Fighting spirit reignited in Fuxi's eyes. His body transformed into a streak of profound light and shot into the heavens, racing toward the Demon Race's Heavenly Court beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Nuwa watched her elder brother depart, but her delicate brows gradually furrowed again.
That ominous warning concerning the Human Race did not seem to weaken in the slightest because of Fuxi's departure.
She looked down at the flourishing Human Race tribes beneath Fengqi Mountain. Deep within her clear eyes flashed a worry that even a Saint could not unravel.
Zixiao Palace.
Chaos filled the place, ten thousand Daos lay silent, mysterious beyond mystery.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat upon a Cloud Bed, his figure seeming to merge with the entire Great Desolation Heavenly Dao.
Without sorrow or joy, his indifferent gaze pierced through endless space and time.
Everything happening across the lands of the Prehistoric World, the Thirty-Three Heavens, and even the Sun Star lay fully within his sight.
"The Ten Princes of the Golden Crow Clan suffering this calamity was originally predetermined, and it was also the trigger for the opening of this Cataclysmic Tribulation."
"Yet they actually seized that sliver of life opportunity, the one that escapes, from within a dead end, and practiced this Golden Crow Nirvana that defies fate."
Even Hongjun's placid state of mind rippled slightly because of this enormous variable.
His fingertips unconsciously traced through the void, setting the laws of the Heavenly Dao silently flowing as he conducted a vast and precise deduction.
"The Great Dao has fifty; Heaven derives forty-nine, with one escaping."
"This sliver of life opportunity has actually been obtained by the Golden Crows. This variable has already disrupted the predetermined course of calamity."
Hongjun's thoughts were cold and vast, like the Heavenly Dao itself contemplating.
"Must my plan for the continuation of the Prehistoric World still proceed along its original course?"
His thoughts returned to the distant past.
That world-destroying battle atop Western Mount Sumeru with Demon Ancestor Luohu had nearly shattered the Prehistoric World.
It was then that he had deeply sensed the fragile nature of the Great Desolation World.
After becoming a Saint and entrusting his primordial spirit to the Heavenly Dao, that feeling had become clearer than ever.
The power this world that nurtured all living beings could bear at its source was limited!
The Great Desolation World was growing, but its growth could not keep pace with the proliferation of living beings!
Now that Saints had emerged, the world had completely reached the brink of collapse!
With a single thought, a Saint could reshape Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. The entire Great Desolation World already faced the danger of crumbling and returning to Guixu!
The Heavenly Dao possessed awareness and generated calamities to save itself—the Immeasurable Tribulation!
Every eruption of a Cataclysmic Tribulation was the Heavenly Dao using the hands of all beings to eliminate those powerful creatures burdened by deep Karmic Force, who excessively seized the world's origin and might threaten its stability.
Like pruning branches that had grown too lush, it bought the Great Desolation World precious time to catch its breath and continue.
The multiplication of living beings was like a wildfire sweeping across the plains, growing exponentially and soon reaching the limits of what the Heavenly Dao could tolerate.
Thus, a new Cataclysmic Tribulation would arise naturally, over and over again.
"The Witch and Demon Races possess blood energy that pierces the sky, and murderous aura that fills the heavens. They have already approached the limit of what the Prehistoric World can sustain. This tribulation was originally meant to diminish their Clan Fortune and balance Heaven and Earth."
Hongjun's gaze turned toward the murderous aura soaring beneath Buzhou Mountain and the raging Nirvana Fire upon the Sun Star.
"The Golden Crows' nirvana, Di Jun and Tai Yi glimpsing an opportunity for Hunyuan... this variable has made the Calamity Qi even more chaotic and the opportunity for slaughter even stronger."
He fell silent for a moment. The result of his deduction was already clear.
Hongjun's indifferent voice rang through the empty Zixiao Palace like Heavenly Dao Sound. "The Great Dao has fifty; Heaven derives forty-nine, with one escaping."
"Since the Golden Crows have seized this sliver of life opportunity, their fortune has not yet run out. This is also a variable that this tribulation ought to possess."
"You... may contend for that sliver of life opportunity amid this variable. The greater course of the Prehistoric World's continuation cannot be changed. Everything shall proceed according to plan."
In an instant, Hongjun had settled his plan.
Everything would remain as before.
After an unknown amount of time, two figures pierced through Chaos and arrived before Zixiao Palace.
"Master, your disciples Jieyin and Zhunti request an audience!"
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