Houtu Bows Her Head: I Beg You...

Houtu's enormous eyes locked tightly onto Lu Jun, as though she meant to squeeze every truth about the future from his mouth.

At this moment, any disguise, any identity as an "Eastern Emperor's guard," had become utterly insignificant before her desperate thirst for answers.

She only wanted—and had to know—where the path of reincarnation she envisioned would ultimately lead.

To the Other Shore of salvation, or the abyss of despair?

Lu Jun was taken aback by her sudden, vehement questioning, which had completely surpassed the bounds of a mere "guard."

He looked at the nearly burning light in the eyes of this "Demon Race guard"—a light mingling fear, unwillingness, and the desperate resolve of staking everything on a single throw.

An overwhelmingly jarring sense of incongruity finally shattered his habitual assumptions and exploded within his heart!

That gaze, that almost obsessive concern for "Houtu Transforms into Reincarnation"—that was absolutely not a reaction a minor Demon Race guard should have!

That aura, as weighty as the earth and as profound as the Nine Netherworlds, was no longer concealed!

The star power in Lu Jun's hand abruptly halted, and the Nascent Star gathered at his fingertips silently dispersed.

His golden pupils suddenly contracted. An unbelievable thought, one that instantly linked every suspicious clue together, struck into his Sea of Consciousness like lightning!

He stared at Houtu's massive, oppressive body, enunciating each word as his voice carried unprecedented shock and coldness.

"Who exactly are you?"

Lu Jun's icy voice was like tempered fragments of stars, slicing through the silence of chaos.

His golden pupils were sharp as swords, piercing through the surging airflow and fastening firmly upon that enormous figure.

Houtu's huge body trembled slightly.

That urgent gaze, which had nearly seemed capable of burning away everything, was like a bucket of icy Nine Netherworld spring water had been poured over it beneath Lu Jun's frigid interrogation. It instantly cooled and froze.

All disguises appeared pale and laughable before the other party's all-seeing gaze and decisive question.

She fell silent.

Her enormous head slowly lowered, and the light in her huge eyes—a blend of fear, unwillingness, and resolve—gradually settled.

In its place came an acceptance of fate, along with an even deeper, weighty majesty belonging to an Ancestral Witch.

The Chaos Gas Flow slowly settled around her, as if it too were holding its breath in wait.

At last, a low and majestic voice carrying the pulse of the Prehistoric World's earth rang out clearly at the boundary between chaos and the Prehistoric World.

"My name is Houtu."

BOOM!!!

Though he had already been ninety percent certain in his heart, when the two words "Houtu" truly left her mouth, Lu Jun's Sea of Consciousness was still violently shaken, as if the Chaos Bell had struck it head-on!

It was her!

It truly was her!

One of the Twelve Ancestral Witches—Ancestral Witch Houtu, who commanded the power of the earth!

How could it be her?

Why was she here?

And disguised as a guard sent by Eastern Emperor Tai Yi?

Lu Jun's heart instantly sank to the bottom. An unprecedented torrent of tangled emotions surged forth, nearly drowning his reason.

Everything was in chaos!

It was all chaos!

Because of his transmigration, he had saved the Nine Golden Crows, who should have perished!

Di Jun and Tai Yi had therefore become convinced of the theory of "Golden Crow Nirvana," abandoning their original plan to hunt the Human Race and forge the Witch-Slaying Sword. Instead, they had poured all their efforts into researching the Way of Nirvana.

This dramatic shift in the Demon Race leadership's strategy had led them to respond entirely differently to the Witch Race's "retaliatory" slaughter. They had chosen strategic contraction and retreat!

But what about the Witch Race?

Hatred had not faded merely because the Demon Race retreated.

To avenge the horrific consequences caused by the Golden Crow Patrols the Sky, the various Witch Race tribes—especially those hot-tempered Great Witches—were still unleashing a bloody massacre against the Demon Race across the Prehistoric World!

Countless Demon Race tribes were washed in blood. Countless living beings suffered devastation. Vengeful Souls blanketed the wilderness...

According to the original course of events, it was precisely when Houtu witnessed this monstrous Slaughter Calamity, wrought jointly by the Witch and Demon Races and sweeping across the entire Prehistoric World—

When boundless yin souls and resentful energy corroded heaven and earth—that, amid immense grief and sorrow, immense compassion and pity, her Spiritual Light had suddenly flashed, and she had conceived the thought of Incarnation Reincarnation.

She had ultimately put it into action, paying for it with her own fall to complete the Prehistoric World's order of reincarnation.

But now!

Houtu had somehow learned in advance of "Incarnation Reincarnation," a concept that should only have flashed into her mind in the future!

Moreover, rather than remaining in the Prehistoric World, grieving for all living beings and agonizing over a solution, she had crossed the endless chaos and come directly to find him—the "variable" who should never have existed.

She knew!

She had learned of her own Destiny ahead of time!

What would happen after that?

If Houtu's kind heart remained unchanged, and she chose Incarnation Reincarnation as she had in the original course of events, then the order of reincarnation could be established, the Heavenly Dao completed, and the Great Desolation World could still maintain its operation.

Though her own ending would remain unchanged, the overall state of the Great Desolation did not seem to have completely collapsed.

But what if—what if Houtu, having learned in advance of the "failure" of her Incarnation Reincarnation, became afraid or hesitant, or even abandoned the thought of Incarnation Reincarnation altogether?

That possibility sent a bone-deep chill through Lu Jun!

If reincarnation was not established—

The Vengeful Souls of countless living beings who died in the Witch-Demon War and the conflicts of the Great Desolation would never be reborn for all eternity!

Their resentment would continue to accumulate, eventually corroding the Great Desolation's earth veins completely, contaminating the Spirit Energy of heaven and earth, perhaps even triggering a backlash from the Heavenly Dao and causing heaven and earth to collapse ahead of time!

The entire Great Desolation World would accelerate toward its end!

Then would he, Lu Jun—the "butterfly" who had changed the destiny of the Golden Crow, indirectly caused the Demon Race to shift its strategy, and ultimately led Houtu to learn of her fate in advance and possibly abandon reincarnation—not become the sinner of the ages who buried the Great Desolation?

The immense pressure crashed down upon his heart like the collapse of Buzhou Mountain, nearly suffocating him.

For the first time, his golden eyes revealed the heavy helplessness of a Transmigrator who still could not change everything.

Just as Lu Jun's thoughts were a tangled mess and the terrifying deduction of the future was crushing the breath from him, Houtu's voice rang out once more.

This time, there was no disguise left—only candor and a plea that was almost devout.

"Sixth Prince."

Houtu's enormous body slowly lowered. That head which symbolized the backbone of the Great Desolation's earth bowed toward Lu Jun, the crown prince of the Demon Race, in a solemn and ancient gesture of respect.

The Chaos Gas Flow around her naturally retreated, as if it too were paying tribute to this Ancestral Witch who held all living beings in her heart.

"Since you too know of reincarnation and can see into the future, perhaps this is the Heavenly Dao guiding me to stand before you."

"I have indeed conceived the thought of Incarnation Reincarnation. I wish to use my body to complete the Great Desolation, to find a home for countless Vengeful Souls, and also to repay the blood debt for the boundless slaughter wrought by my Witch Race, thereby lessening our Karmic Force."

Her gaze rose once more, meeting Lu Jun's directly, carrying an unquestionable resolve and a sincere thirst for wisdom.

"Yet what you said just now—'It succeeded, yet it did not succeed.' Those words are like thorns at my back, leaving my heart ablaze with worry."

"My death alone is nothing to fear. But I fear that the method I undertake contains some flaw—that not only will it fail to truly redeem all living beings and perfect heaven and earth, but instead leave behind endless calamity!"

"Sixth Prince! Where exactly did my Incarnation Reincarnation go wrong? How can I avoid that ending of 'not succeeding'?"

"How can I live up to the Pangu bloodline I bear, and truly make the contribution I should to this world created by Father God?"

"Please, Crown Prince, do not begrudge me your guidance. Speak plainly and tell me!"

As he looked at Houtu before him—who had cast aside the dignity of an Ancestral Witch and bowed her head to him, an "enemy," for the living beings of the Great Desolation and the completion of heaven and earth—the shock in Lu Jun's heart was beyond measure.

That compassion, that sense of responsibility, that sincerity which transcended racial hatred and existed solely for the greater good of heaven and earth...

She was no different from the Empress Pingxin in his memories, who had undergone Dao Dissolution with her body and eternally guarded the Netherworld!

She was still that same Houtu!

Even though she had learned of the future in advance, even though she knew of the possible "failure," her heart—which sought deliverance for the living beings of the Great Desolation and completion of heaven and earth for Father God—had never changed!

What she sought was not escape, but how to do better!

The immense pressure had not vanished, but as he looked into Houtu's eyes at that pure, untainted light of seeking the Dao, Lu Jun's chaotic thoughts miraculously settled.

Should I... really tell her?