Saints Annihilated!

Before the words had even faded, the figure traveling against the current had already broken through the final chaotic torrent and revealed herself.

It was Houtu, who had transformed herself into Reincarnation and taken command of the Underworld. Yet now, her appearance had changed drastically—she had become Empress Pingxin!

However, her face no longer held its usual compassion and serenity. There was only a heart-palpitating pallor.

Within those deep eyes, like the Underworld itself, she could clearly see three streams of pure qi slowly being absorbed into and imprinted upon the Great Desolation Origin.

She could also see Great God Pangu's towering figure, not yet fully dispersed, as well as the words echoing through time and space: "You three are my true lineage."

Her gaze instantly dimmed, filled with helplessness and bitterness that seeped into her bones. She murmured,

"I never thought... I would still be one step too late."

That sigh contained the Witch Race's obsession and hopes of hundreds of millions of years, only for them to fall short at the very origin of the Opening of Heaven and Earth and vanish like bubbles.

Empress Nuwa, who had witnessed the entire earth-shaking scene from the side, was now overwhelmed by shock like a towering tsunami.

Laozi's words were like the final key, completely unlocking her understanding!

So that was it!

Everything Laozi had done just now, that seemingly mad rush toward death, had never truly been about crossing the moment of creation and returning to primordial Chaos!

What he had fought for were the four words: Pangu's True Lineage!

He had sought the indisputable title of Pangu's True Lineage, personally acknowledged and personally imprinted by Pangu Father God at the very origin of the Opening of Heaven and Earth, where the myriad Daos were first born!

This acknowledgment, this imprint, would exist eternally alongside the birth of the Great Desolation World, spanning past and future and becoming the most unshakable foundation for the Three Pure Ones as Pangu's True Lineage!

Just now...

If Laozi had not chosen to seek death beneath Pangu's Axe, but had instead, as Yuanshi and Tongtian had imagined, attempted to pass beyond the moment of Creation of Heaven and return to the beginning of Chaos in search of the origins of a Chaos Demon God...

Then Houtu, arriving afterward, would very likely have stood before Pangu as an Ancestral Witch formed from Pangu's essence blood and requested the same acknowledgment!

If Pangu had likewise told Houtu, "You are my true lineage"...

Then, throughout the endless future, in the hearts of all beings of the Prehistoric World, the true Pangu's True Lineage would belong to the Witch Race!

The Three Pure Ones, born from his primordial spirit, would be completely overshadowed!

This was a struggle that had been destined from the very beginning of the Opening of Heaven and Earth, one that would continue into the endless future!

A struggle stretching across the River of Time over who was Pangu's true orthodox successor!

And in this most crucial battle, fought at the source of time itself, the victors were Laozi and the Three Pure Ones!

This enormous realization shook Nuwa's mind and spirit, giving her an unprecedented understanding of "time" and "eternity."

Time was not a straight river!

It possessed countless branches, and among those branches were some that formed rings with the main current, connected end to end and mutually bound by Karma!

The past determined the future, but a powerful future could likewise affect and even "lock in" the past!

Eternal Grand Unity, One Attainment, Eternal Attainment—perhaps that was its essence!

If one could attain Eternal Grand Unity in the future, then across the endless past, there had to be decisive traces left behind by that existence!

At the same time, the eternal Dao Fruit of the future would surely stabilize one's existence in the past!

Past and future anchored each other, fulfilled each other, and formed an unbreakable closed loop!

"So that was it... so that was it!"

Nuwa murmured softly. The anxiety, concern, and calculations in her eyes melted away as swiftly as ice and snow.

In their place came an unprecedented sense of ease and relief.

Since the past and future had already become "fixed" to some extent, then no matter what she did in the "present," which lay midway along the Timeline, it seemed she could not truly change that predetermined "result."

Or rather, was everything she did now itself part of that fixed result?

Then what was there to worry about?

What was there to be anxious about?

What was there to painstakingly scheme over?

"Let it be, let it be!" Nuwa could not help but laugh softly. Her smile was pure and relaxed, carrying the carefree air of someone who had seen through the affairs of the world.

The creation she had once worried over constantly, the one she had been willing to defy fate itself to protect, now also seemed to lift a tremendous burden from her heart.

Death was a destined path.

Life was also a destined blessing.

Since it was destined, why not simply follow her heart and live however she pleased?

Forcing things would only invite more trouble.

Houtu did not know of the upheaval taking place within Nuwa's heart.

As she watched the Three Pure Ones' pure qi completely merge into the Great Desolation Origin and felt Pangu's imprint solidify, the helplessness on her pale face gradually turned into resolute calm.

She turned toward Nuwa, the Saint who had likewise witnessed the secret of Creation of Heaven, her voice carrying an air that pierced through time and space.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, since you witnessed everything with your own eyes, you should understand the Karma involved. Though I arrived a step too late, the Witch Race's will cannot be lightly insulted."

She paused, her gaze falling upon Pangu's back as he once again immersed himself in the great work of Creation of Heaven. She declared resolutely, "I go!"

Before her words had faded, Houtu transformed into a stream of dark-yellow light carrying the Power of Reincarnation of the earth and charged resolutely toward Pangu!

Just as she was about to enter the reach of the axe intent of the Sky-Opening Axe, enough to reduce even a Saint to ashes, she seemed to remember something. Without turning her head, she spoke clearly into Nuwa's ears:

"Nuwa, if I were you, I would also take a walk beneath Father God's axe."

Those words were like a stone cast into a tranquil lake, stirring fresh ripples across the lake of Nuwa's heart that had only just decided to let everything be.

She had originally intended to follow the River of Time directly back to the future, to continue watching over the Human Race she had created and fulfill her duty as a Saint.

But Houtu's words and the principles Nuwa had just realized—the "ring of time" and the mutual anchoring of past and future—instantly collided and merged within her mind.

Watch over them?

Or not watch over them?

If the past and future were already fixed, then whether she chose to return and watch over the Human Race or chose to do something else, was it not already part of that fixed trajectory?

Then why not try another possibility?

Why had Houtu deliberately reminded her?

To take a walk beneath Father God's axe... aside from fighting for a title like the Three Pure Ones, or expressing one's will like Houtu, could there be another opportunity she had yet to comprehend?

"Interesting!" A glimmer of almost mischievous light, something Nuwa had never possessed before, flashed through her eyes.

The "responsibility" she had just put down now seemed to have become "paint" she could freely splash across the canvas.

Since everything lay within the loop, why not make this part of her own experience a little more "exciting"?

"Houtu, little sister! Wait for me!"

Nuwa gave a clear cry, her face bearing a relaxed smile of sudden enlightenment.

The Divine Light of Creation around her shone brilliantly as she, too, transformed into a stream of light brimming with life.

Following Houtu's path, she charged without hesitation into the axe light of the Opening of Heaven and Earth!

As Houtu watched Nuwa enter Pangu's attack range, there was no longer any chance for Nuwa to retreat.

Only then did she slowly speak. "Sister Nuwa, when you awaken in the future, the Human Race will bring you a surprise."

On the Sun Star, Lu Jun looked helplessly at Tai Yi.

"Uncle, since even you do not know what happened at the time of Creation of Heaven, how can you be so certain that the cultivation method of One Attainment, Eternal Attainment is feasible?"

At that moment, he felt that Tai Yi had set him up a little.

Sure, you had told me so much today, and this so-called One Attainment, Eternal Attainment even sounded very similar to the cultivation method I knew.

But!

This cultivation method was far too difficult.

There was simply no way to cultivate it.

Even Saints could not cross the moment when Pangu created heaven. Could he possibly manage it?

Tai Yi remained calm and did not grow angry at Lu Jun's doubts.

"Then... are you willing to continue cultivating like this? To spend your whole life unable to surpass either me or your Imperial Father?"

Lu Jun: "..."

The way you put that...