Houtu, Incarnation Reincarnation!

Zhen Yuanzi nodded. "The root cause, one could say, was the Way of Nirvana."

He knew that the root of it all truly was the Way of Nirvana.

It was all because Sixth Prince Golden Crow of the Golden Crow clan had undergone Nirvana Rebirth, giving Tai Yi and the others a certain measure of confidence.

More importantly, after his nirvana, Sixth Prince Golden Crow had displayed strength that completely surpassed that of ordinary Primordial Unity Golden Immortals!

That was what steeled Tai Yi's resolve to have the Sixth Prince walk the path of One Attainment, Eternal Attainment.

And what had happened on the Sun Star made Zhen Yuanzi even more certain.

Even if the Sixth Prince could not become a Great Luo through One Attainment, Eternal Attainment, he was highly likely to become a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal capable of Manifesting Billions of Avatars.

When that time came, the Sixth Prince alone would be an army!

He alone might even be able to set up the Great Array of the Stars of Heaven!

No one could possibly guess what the Demon Race would do in the future under the Sixth Prince's leadership.

But even if the Demon Race was destined for destruction, it could only perish upon the road of pursuing the Great Dao and pursuing One Attainment, Eternal Attainment.

It would never be destroyed at the hands of the Witch Race.

Seeing Zhen Yuanzi's answer, Houtu already had her answer in her heart.

"Thank you, Dao Friend Zhen Yuanzi, for your heartfelt words today. Farewell."

There was a trace of exhaustion and heaviness in Houtu's voice, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

She needed time to digest this earth-shattering information. More than that, she needed to see for herself, to verify it, and to consider where the Witch Race's true path forward lay.

"Dao Friend, take care of yourself." Zhen Yuanzi gave a slight nod, but did not rise to see her off.

He had said all there was to say. The fate of the Witch Race would ultimately have to be chosen by themselves.

Houtu's figure merged into the earth, leaving Mount Longevity without a sound.

Yet her heart felt as heavy as though Buzhou Mountain had been laid upon it.

Zhen Yuanzi's words echoed through her mind again and again:

The Witch Race had been the instigators of the blood feud...

The Demon Race was already exploring the path to eternity...

Blinded by vengeance, the Witch Race was heading toward the abyss of destruction...

Painfully, she realized that the despairing future Zhen Yuanzi had described was very likely real.

The Witch Race's pride, their obsession with being Pangu's True Lineage, had blinded them over the long years.

They had fixated on competing with the Three Pure Ones for the title of "Pangu's True Lineage," then gradually lost themselves in their struggle against the Demon Race.

They had forgotten to revere Heaven and Earth, forgotten to show compassion for all living things.

It was precisely this arrogance and obstinacy that had pushed them to the brink of eternal damnation.

Driven by the confusion and heaviness in her heart, she did not immediately return to Buzhou Mountain. Instead, she concealed her aura and quietly walked across the Great Desolation World.

She wanted to see with her own eyes what the Great Desolation had become—the Great Desolation under the Witch Race's "rule."

The sight before her made her feel as though she had fallen into an ice cavern.

The Great Desolation, once brimming with life, was now scarred and devastated.

The smoke of war had not yet fully dispersed, but even more horrifying were the traces of slaughter visible everywhere.

This was not hunting for survival, but naked, wanton killing born of pure venting!

Among the mountains and forests, beside streams, across the plains... the torn corpses of worthless living beings lay everywhere.

Their blood essence had been drained, their inner cores gouged out, portions of their flesh devoured. Their remaining mangled bodies had been discarded carelessly, drawing carrion vultures and swarms of flies, filling the air with waves of stench.

Yet even more chilling than the corpses was the resentment and deathly aura permeating Heaven and Earth, so dense it had nearly solidified!

The unwillingness, terror, and hatred of countless beings who had died miserable deaths gathered without dispersing, forming innumerable lost souls.

Like gray mist, they drifted aimlessly over the Great Desolation, howling and struggling.

With her Ancestral Witch eyes, Houtu could clearly "see" them:

Some souls clutched their heads and let out soundless shrieks, their eyes filled with the terror of their final moments.

Some wandered blankly through the ruins of the homes they had known in life, futilely searching for something over and over again.

Others, their resentment too deep, had twisted forms and blood-red eyes. Gradually losing all reason, they became ferocious, solitary ghosts filled with aggression, instinctively attacking the remaining living beings nearby and creating fresh slaughter and resentment...

The entire Great Desolation World seemed shrouded in a layer of cold, filthy gray gauze.

Even the sunlight appeared dimmer, while the air was filled with a sickening blend of bloody sweetness and decay.

The earth was moaning, the mountains and rivers weeping blood.

How could this still be the magnificent world of infinite possibility created by Pangu Father God?

This was clearly a vast tomb, slowly rotting away!

Houtu's heart sank to the very bottom. An unprecedented coldness and piercing pain seized her.

Was this the "rule" the Witch Race had brought?

Was this the "Great Earth Sovereign" they had been so proud of?

Watching those souls sink into boundless suffering, only to eventually vanish into heaven and earth or transform into vengeful ghosts, a fierce compassion and an indescribable sense of guilt churned within her heart.

The sins wrought by the Witch Race ran too deep, weighed too heavily!

"Atonement... I must atone..."

A thought, like a Seed breaking through the soil, began growing wildly in her heart.

Not to save the Witch Race, whose destruction was already fated, but for these innocent beings who had died such miserable deaths—for this Father God's world, trampled by the Witch Race until it was riddled with wounds!

These souls could not be allowed to wander forever, to suffer forever!

They needed a destination—a place where their sins could be cleansed and they could be reborn!

The filth of the Great Desolation needed to be purified!

Heaven and earth needed to regain their serenity!

A thought, hazy yet incomparably clear, exploded through her Sea of Consciousness like a thunderclap: reincarnation!

Yes!

Reincarnation!

A mechanism that would allow departed souls to rest, be reborn, and rejoin the ranks of Great Desolation life!

This was the key to completing Great Desolation Heaven and Earth, allowing the world to possess Endless Vitality and cycle without end!

This... perhaps this was the true mission Pangu Father God had bestowed upon them, the "Sons of the Earth"?

To protect the earth did not merely mean occupying it. It also meant preserving its order and perfecting its laws!

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be restrained.

The pure Turbid Qi origin of earth within her body seemed to resonate strangely with the countless departed souls across the Great Desolation, trembling faintly.

An ancient, boundless will seemed to awaken in the depths of her bloodline, guiding her.

Become Incarnation Reincarnation, complete the Great Desolation!

This thought was so powerful that she nearly put it into action at once.

Yet before taking that final step, another powerful longing remained in her heart.

She wanted to see with her own eyes the variable who had brought Nirvana to the Demon Race, who had given Tai Yi and Di Jun hope of "One Attainment, Eternal Attainment"—Sixth Prince Golden Crow, Lu Jun!

What kind of being was he, exactly?

And what sort of path did he walk?

With these tangled, indescribable feelings, Houtu followed the information Zhen Yuanzi's earlier words had revealed, along with her own senses of the subtle fluctuations in Great Desolation Star Power, and silently made her way to the Void Wasteland at the border between the Great Desolation and chaos.

There, she witnessed a sight she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Amid the chaotic energy storms, Star Eggs of every shape, each radiating a different brilliance of origin, dotted the void like pearls.

At the center of these newborn stars, a Golden Figure tirelessly darted back and forth.

At times, he slipped like a fish into the violent Chaos Gas Flow, precisely seizing a faint thread of stellar Dao Rhythm.

At other times, he paused at nodes of Great Desolation Star Power, his hands flashing as he formed profound seals and forcibly sorted out chaotic energy, enlightening new embryos into being.

With every successful capture or enlightenment, the Star Egg would bear an origin mark belonging to him.

Behind him, Star Eggs greedily devoured Chaos Gas Flow and Great Desolation Star Power, growing slowly yet steadfastly.

The edge of the Great Desolation's starry sky was expanding because of him!

Houtu concealed her form, merging her aura with the Turbid Qi of earth extending beneath her feet and hiding herself perfectly within the void.

As she watched that busy, focused Golden Figure and felt the soaring fighting spirit and majestic aura of blazing new frontiers emanating from him, monstrous waves rose in her heart.

So this was Sixth Prince Golden Crow Lu Jun, returned through Nirvana?

This was the Demon Race's hope for the future?

He was creating stars?

Herding the starry sky?

Houtu drew a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart. Her form slowly emerged not far from Lu Jun.

With the solidity and serenity of the earth, she spoke softly, her voice piercing through the howling void energies:

"You are... Lu Jun, Sixth Prince of the Golden Crow Clan?"