"Indeed. What I have to tell you concerns the Primordial Wilderness and the fate of us descendants of Pangu Father God. It concerns that villain."
Taiqing did not keep them in suspense. He spoke plainly.
"We Sanqing were once caught in that villain's schemes. His ambitions are vast, and all of us descendants of Pangu Father God are caught in his web!"
Taiqing told them how Old Thief Hongjun had used Heavenly Dao Power to enter the Innate Great Formation where the Sanqing had been gestating.
He told them how Hongjun had plotted to seize the World-Opening Supreme Treasures born alongside them.
He also recounted how he had climbed to the summit of Buzhou Mountain to pay homage to Pangu Father God.
And how Old Thief Hongjun had come to investigate, then pursued him.
Taiqing counted everything Hongjun had done atop Buzhou Mountain as another crime in his plot against Pangu's descendants.
"That wretched Hongjun has some nerve! How dare he scheme against us descendants of Pangu Father God?
We'll fight him to the death!"
After hearing Taiqing's account, all twelve Ancestral Witches seethed with righteous fury.
Even Houtu, the gentlest among them, radiated intense anger.
Yuqing and Shangqing were swept up in that fury as well.
Taiqing, however, was delighted. This would bind the Sanqing and the twelve Ancestral Witches even more tightly together.
Old Thief Hongjun was the one left holding the blame.
Heavenly Dao, Old Thief Hongjun, you want to divide us Sanqing and twelve Ancestral Witches? I won't let you have your way.
Taiqing savored his success. He had all but achieved his goal of uniting them.
"That villain is Old Thief Hongjun, and he has never abandoned his designs on us descendants of Pangu Father God.
Even though we have emerged into the world, he certainly won't leave us alone.
We fifteen siblings—the Sanqing and the twelve Ancestral Witches—must stand together against Old Thief Hongjun.
As far as I know, Old Thief Hongjun has already reached Peak Hunyuan Golden Immortal.
If we descendants of Pangu Father God fail to unite, we'll be no more than ants before him."
Taiqing threw more fuel on the fire.
"What?! That wretch is a mighty Peak Hunyuan Golden Immortal?
Doesn't that mean he'll soon attain the realm of Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal Celestial Venerable?"
The twelve Ancestral Witches, Yuqing, and Shangqing were even more shocked by Taiqing's words.
This was the first time Yuqing and Shangqing had learned Old Thief Hongjun's exact cultivation level.
They had never imagined he was a mighty Peak Hunyuan Golden Immortal.
Does that damned old thief have no regard at all for a powerful cultivator's dignity?
He's targeting us descendants of Pangu Father God when we've only just emerged into the world.
The hatred the twelve Ancestral Witches, Yuqing, and Shangqing bore Old Thief Hongjun deepened further.
"Siblings, faced with a world as vast as the Primordial Wilderness, why would Old Thief Hongjun care about a powerful cultivator's dignity?
When I paid homage to Father God, his will revealed that Hongjun intends to plot against the whole Primordial Wilderness.
What he covets is the entire Great Desolation World Father God created.
To control the whole Great Desolation World, he must first strike at us descendants of Pangu Father God.
Only by erasing every trace of Father God's influence in the Primordial Wilderness can he seize control of it!"
Taiqing revealed the purpose he knew Hongjun had pursued in his previous life, but laid the source of that knowledge at Pangu Father God's feet.
Whenever he could not explain something, he blamed Pangu Father God.
Father God, please understand. I'm only doing this to unite our siblings.
You're no longer in the Primordial Wilderness. You don't know how hard things are for your descendants.
In his heart, Taiqing hurriedly put on a weeping plea to Pangu.
Whether Pangu's will could hear him or not, he decided to plead his case first.
"Horrible Hongjun! His audacity knows no bounds!
Brother Taiqing, rest assured. We Ancestral Witches will support you. We Sanqing and twelve Ancestral Witches must stand together against Old Thief Hongjun!"
"Exactly, Brother Taiqing. We must stand together!"
Hearing that Hongjun's ambitions were so vast, and that he even meant to erase Pangu Father God's influence from the Primordial Wilderness, the twelve Ancestral Witches burned with righteous anger.
Had some ordinary being said this, the twelve Ancestral Witches might not have believed it.
After all, why would a mighty Peak Hunyuan Golden Immortal take an interest in the newly emerged Sanqing and twelve Ancestral Witches?
But these words came from Taiqing, who said Pangu Father God himself had revealed them.
Besides, Hongjun truly had schemed against the Sanqing and the twelve Ancestral Witches.
How could the twelve Ancestral Witches, Yuqing Yuanshi, and Shangqing Lingbao not believe him?
Hongjun's schemes against them had been real enough.
Because of Hongjun, the bonds between the Sanqing and their twelve Ancestral Witch siblings tightened rapidly.
Their hatred of Hongjun and their desire to kill him rose with them.
"Siblings, we must not let hatred of Hongjun blind us.
A greater danger still awaits us!"
Now that Taiqing had made Hongjun the object of their hatred, he naturally would not spare the Heavenly Dao.
The tragic ends that ultimately awaited the Sanqing and the twelve Ancestral Witches all led back to the Heavenly Dao.
Though the Heavenly Dao had never stepped onto the stage itself,
after Hongjun became a Dao Integrator, it had done plenty through him.
The first instance was the First Wu-Yao War, when Hongjun, acting for the Heavenly Dao, personally intervened to favor one side.
In that war, the Witch Race could have annihilated the Demon Race with the Dutian God-Demon Great Formation.
But Old Thief Hongjun forcibly dispersed the Pangu True Body summoned by the Ancestral Witches.
He compelled the Witch Race and the Demon Race to stop fighting.
Thus, instead of falling in the First Wu-Yao War,
the Demon Race gained a chance to catch its breath.
Taiqing also suspected that, after the First Wu-Yao War, the Demon Race had developed so swiftly
because the Heavenly Dao had secretly favored it.
Only then had the Demon Race grown rapidly enough to catch up with the Witch Race.
Moreover, Di Jun and Tai Yi of the Demon Race discovered the Heavenly Court and comprehended the Great Formation of the Stars.
Most likely, that too was a result of the Heavenly Dao's secret favor.
The clearest proof of the Heavenly Dao's interference, however, was how it lured Houtu into sacrificing herself to become Reincarnation.
It then replaced the position she should have held as the Earthly Dao's Dao Integrator with a Heavenly Dao Saint Position.
Houtu ceased to be; only Empress Pingxin remained.
The Heavenly Dao also confined Empress Pingxin within Reincarnation.
Each of these acts laid bare the Heavenly Dao's terrifying schemes and power.
"Brother Taiqing, do you mean the Heavenly Dao?
I remember you saying that Hongjun could enter the Innate Great Formation on Kunlun Mountain only by drawing on Heavenly Dao Power.
It was also because of the Heavenly Dao that Hongjun found Pangu Hall."
Houtu lived up to her title of Ancestral Witch Strategist. She grasped the crux of it at once.
"Indeed. Little Sister Houtu, your mind is as clear as ice and snow. One hint is all you need.
The greatest danger to us descendants of Pangu Father God comes from the Heavenly Dao.
It, too, is scheming against us descendants of Pangu Father God.
To gain complete control of the Primordial Wilderness, the Heavenly Dao must erase every trace Father God left there.
That naturally includes us, his descendants.
According to Father God's revelation, if we fifteen siblings—the Sanqing and the twelve Ancestral Witches—stand together,
we can study Father God's legacy together.
If we obtain that legacy, then given time, even the Heavenly Dao will be no match for us siblings.
To prevent such an uncontrollable force from arising, the Heavenly Dao will surely seek to eliminate us, Father God's descendants.
It will inevitably try to divide us Sanqing and twelve Ancestral Witch siblings, then devour us one by one.
Once it does, we will no longer pose a problem in the Heavenly Dao's eyes."
Before you continue