The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Elders Set Out

On the day the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Elders departed from Witch City, the gray-white clouds that had accumulated tens of Eon in the sky above Witch City suddenly split open from the center. What shone through the crack was not light, but streaks of gray-white and earthy yellow witch patterns. The witch patterns spread outwards from the top of the Tongtian Tower in the city center, and wherever they spread, the clouds automatically converged into an archway. The thirty-six elders each stepped out through an archway. The six in the lead were Cangwu, Chixiao, Xuan Ming, Bai Ze, Yinghuo, and Zhenyue. Behind them, the thirty elders stood according to the Heavenly Spirit positions, their witch patterns flowing around them, their auras forming a unified whole, causing the earth veins within a thousand miles of Witch City to sink three inches simultaneously.

Cangwu wielded the first technique of the Heavenly Spirit, "Wu Xuan Zao Hua." He emerged carrying a grayish-white cocoon, its shell etched with patterns of Creation, within which countless small worlds could be faintly discerned, rising and falling in Reincarnation. He tucked the cocoon into his sleeve and turned to the thirty-five Human Dao, saying, "The Supreme Taiqing One has issued a summons; it's time to collect the scraps of Pangu from the Chaos. The Witch Race's strength is now unparalleled in the primordial world. Even the combined strength of the Human Race, Phoenix Qilin Clan, Black Tortoise Patriarch White Tiger), the Immortal Clan Primordial Wilderness, the Spirit Race, and the Demon Race cannot match the Witch Race's foundation. "With the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Elders of the Heavenly Gang presiding over the Eon Gathering in Witch City, and now the Sanqing Twelve Ancestral Witches guarding the Primordial Witch City Primordial Wilderness longer needs our protection. This time, we will venture into the Ten Directions Universe Worlds. The thirty-six of us will split into ten groups. The first six groups will each take on a specific area, while the remaining four groups of thirty will go to collect resources in twos and threes. The Witch Race does not cultivate the Primordial Spirit, but only the bloodline. However, each of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Gang Techniques is a complete Great Dao, so don't be stingy when it's time to use it. When the patterns on the shell are spinning wildly, don't try to withstand it with your physical body; look for the rare patterns in the core of the shell.

The Witch Race possesses a violent bloodline and acts ruthlessly, but conquering a world is not the same as destroying it; any living beings within its shell will be spared if possible.

Chixiao, Heavenly Spirit the second technique of the Heavenly Gang, "Reverse Yin Yang," thrust his crimson sword into the ground. The Yin-Yang Qi on the sword reversed, stirring the surrounding Chaos air into a swirling vortex. "I'm heading due south. The Yin Yang are most reversed in the southern Chaos. There should be someone cultivating Yin Yang in that shell. I'll go and meet them."

Xuan Ming, wielding the third technique of the Heavenly Spirit, "Shift Stars and Move Constellations," raised his hand and flicked it in the void. The illusory stars above his head shifted on their own, seven gray-white stars forming the handle of the Big Dipper pointing east. "I'm heading due east. The stars shift most frequently in the Chaos to the east; I'll go take a look."

Elder Bai Ze wielded the fourth technique of the Heavenly Spirit, "Turn Back Heaven and Return the Sun." He clasped his hands together, and a gray-white light flowed backward from his palms, pulling the surrounding Chaos energy back half an inch. "I'm going due west. The time distortion is most severe in the western Chaos; I'll go and confront them."

Elder Yinghuo, Yinghuo the fifth technique of the Heavenly Spirit, "Summon Rain and Call Wind," flicked his sleeve, and a gray-white wind and rain surged forth, swirling around him in a ring of storm. "I'm heading due north. The wind and rain are most violent in the Chaos to the north; I'll go and calm it down."

Zhenyue, wielding the sixth technique of the Heavenly Spirit, "Shake Mountains and Quake the Earth," stomped his foot, and a gray-white mountain phantom materialized in the Chaos Void. The mountain sank downwards, causing the Chaos air currents within a radius of ten thousand miles to pause in unison. "I'm going to the center. The center of the five directions is the most chaotic; I'll go and suppress it."

The six individuals split into six groups and entered the Chaos, while the remaining thirty elders formed groups of two or three, each leading a different direction, and went to the remaining four groups and the flanks. Within the Chaos, a hazy, swirling current of air surged ceaselessly, with world shells of varying sizes floating within them. Some shells had patterns that moved slowly across their surfaces like the breathing of living beings; others were entwined with half-withered, half-flourishing vines; and still others would pause periodically, as if something had struck them from within. When the Witch Race's command talisman unfolded in the Chaos, the Heavenly Spirit runes on its surface would slightly shift according to the direction each person was heading, and the corner of the talisman would point to a point where members of the same clan would respond to each other.

Elder Cangwu traveled southwest for forty-nine Eon, collecting over fifty Great Thousand World and over one hundred and sixty Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the talisman in his sleeve rolled up by itself, its corner shifting three inches to the southwest. Cangwu stepped forward and saw a gigantic shell floating deep within the Chaos, five times larger than any shell he had seen along the way. The shell's surface was covered with gray-white Creation patterns, arranged in a cocoon-like spiral from the shell's core to its surface, each pattern representing a complete Law of Creation. Every three zhang (approximately 10 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a Creation crystal, each crystal containing... A primordial Origin Creation, from afar resembling a giant, grayish-white cocoon coiled over countless Eon, appeared. Cangwu pressed his hand against the shell, feeling a tearing force of Creation emanating from his palm. The patterns of Creation on the shell suddenly accelerated their rotation, converging from all directions towards his palm. When they reached the center, they transformed into nine chains of Creation, binding his five fingers, each chain pulling his Creation Power outwards. He withdrew his hand and crushed the Creation Bead. The divine sense of the Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable emerged from the fragments, slow and profound, like the soft sound of a cocoon being peeled away layer by layer, "The Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable is here. Who comes?"

Cangwu flicked away the fragments. "Cangwu, the Creation patterns on your shell are quite impressive. They can spin on their own and even actively wrap around people's hands. Unfortunately, what wraps around you is your own Creation. If I crush you, you'll sink even deeper."

A long, cracking sound came from within the shell, and the Creation patterns on its surface simultaneously exploded, transforming into a gigantic, greyish-white cocoon phantom that enveloped the giant shell. From within the phantom emerged an old man in a greyish-white cocoon robe, surrounded by nine cocoon pythons, each holding a rotating cocoon bead in its mouth, each bead sealing a complete Law of Creation. The Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable spoke, his voice like the soft sound of a cocoon being peeled away layer by layer, "This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million Daoist patterns, each formed from a wisp of Creation I released. For every cocoon bead you crush, I release ten more Creation."

Cangwu didn't pry it open forcefully. As the master of the Wu Xuan Zao Hua, he knew best that transformation was inherent in nature, and that change inevitably brought stagnation. He circled half the shell and saw that the cocoon-like spiral of the transformation patterns was extremely dense, but there was a line of stagnation in the gaps of the spiral; the stagnation converged at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Cangwu 'Origin transformed blood into the sparse pattern, and a small transformation hole appeared on the shell surface. The Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable groaned inside. Cangwu followed the seam and entered.

The Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable, his hair and beard all gray, stared at the bottom of the pool for a long time before saying, "Transformation itself is suffocating. I blocked the Transformation Eye, but I blocked my own breathing passage." Cangwu explained the method of adjustment, "Transformation is born, seven-tenths of the shell's surface blocks external evils, and three-tenths of the shell's interior nourishes the transformation within the pool. The Transformation Eye must be half-open and half-closed to prevent the shell from becoming rigid. Come with me to the City of Ten Thousand Crafts and soak this dead knot open." The Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable handed over the Cocoon Pearl and the World Seal.

Elder Chixiao traveled due south for forty-nine Eon, collecting over forty Great Thousand World and over one hundred and thirty Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the command talisman shifted three inches due south. Floating deep within the Chaos was a gigantic shell, its surface covered with gray-white Yin Yang patterns. These patterns, arranged in a double-fish shape from the shell's core to its surface, each represented a complete Yin-Yang Law. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell's surface was inlaid a Yin Yang crystal, each crystal sealing a Yin Yang Origin, resembling a giant Yin-Yang Mirror spanning countless Eon from afar. Chixiao pressed his palm against it, and a tearing sensation of yin Yin Yang arose. The Yin Yang patterns accelerated their rotation, converging into nine Yin Yang chains that wrapped around his five fingers. He withdrew his hand, crushing the yin beads. The divine sense of the Myriad Yin Dao Venerable emerged from the fragments, reversible and cold, like the crisp sound of Yin Yang being reversed, "The Myriad Yin Dao Venerable is here. This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million yin patterns, each formed from a wisp of Yin Yang I released. For every yin bead you crush, I will release ten more Yin Yang."

Chixiao did not forcefully dismantle it. He possessed the technique of Reverse Yin Yang, knowing that Yin is cold when reversed, and where there is coldness, there must be stagnation. He circled the shell three times and saw that the Yin patterns at the twin fish were extremely dense, but there was a sliver of Yang in the gap between the twin fish; the Yang gap converged at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Chixiao's Origin Yin blood into the sparse area, and a small Yin hole appeared on the shell surface, where Myriad Yin Dao Venerable groaned. Chixiao followed the seam and entered.

Myriad Yin Dao Venerable, his hair and beard all turned upside down, squatted on the bottom of the pool and pondered for a long time before saying, "Yin going upside down is stagnant. I thought going upside down meant being strong." Chixiao said, "When Yin goes upside down, the shell's surface is 70% used to block external evils, while the inside of the shell is 30% used to nourish the pool's Yin. The Yin eyes are half-open and half-closed, so the shell doesn't stagnate. Going upside down doesn't mean dying; it means turning around." Myriad Yin Dao Venerable handed over the Yin Pearl and the World Seal.

Elder Xuanming traveled due Xuan Ming for forty-nine Eon, collecting over thirty Great Thousand World and over ninety Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the command talisman shifted three inches due east. Floating deep within the Chaos was a gigantic shell, its surface covered with gray-white star patterns. These patterns, arranged in a dipper-like shape from the shell's core to its surface, each represented a complete Star Law. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a star crystal, each crystal sealing a stellar Origin, resembling a giant star map spanning countless Eon from afar. Xuan Ming pressed his palm against it, and a tearing sensation from the stars emanated. The star patterns accelerated their rotation, converging into nine star chains that wrapped around his five fingers. He withdrew his hand, crushing the star beads. The divine sense of the Myriad Stars Dao Venerable emerged from the fragments, distant and steady, like the soft sound of stars shifting, "The Myriad Stars Dao Venerable is here. This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million star patterns, each formed from a wisp of star I released. For every star bead you crush, I release ten more wisps of star."

Xuan Ming didn't pry it open forcefully. He possessed the skill of Shift Stars and Move Constellations, knowing that the nature of stars is distant and stable, and where there is stability, there must be stagnation. He circled the shell three times and saw that the star patterns were extremely dense at the handle of the Big Dipper, but there was a slight gap in the seam where the handles were joined; the gap converged at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Xuan Ming's Origin star blood into the sparse area, and a small star hole appeared on the shell surface, where the Myriad Stars Dao Venerable groaned. Xuan Ming slipped into the hole.

Myriad Stars Dao Venerable, his hair and beard gleaming with starlight, squatted on the plate at the bottom of the pool, pondering for a long time. He said, "The stars shift and become disordered. I thought shifting meant life." Xuan Ming said, "The nature of stars is far-reaching. Seventy percent of the shell's surface is used to block external evils, while the remaining three-tenths nourish the pool's stars. Only when the Star Eye is half-open and half-closed can the shell remain in order. Shifting is not a death exchange; it means returning to its original position." Myriad Stars Dao Venerable handed over the Star Pearl and the World Seal.

Elder Bai Ze traveled due west for forty-nine Eon, collecting over thirty Great Thousand World and over eighty Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the command talisman shifted three inches due west. Deep within the Chaos floated a gigantic shell, its surface covered with gray-white time patterns. These patterns, arranged in a sundial pattern from the shell's core to its surface, each represented a complete Time Law. Every three zhang (approximately 10 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a time crystal, each crystal sealing a primordial Origin time. From afar, it appeared as a surface paved with... The giant sundial of the Hundred Eon. Bai Ze pressed his palm against it, and a tearing sensation of time emanated from it. The time patterns spun faster, converging into nine chains of time that wrapped around his five fingers. He withdrew his hand and crushed the light beads. The divine sense of the Myriad Light Dao Venerable returned from the fragments, rushing back against the current, like the soft sound of time flowing backward, "The Myriad Light Dao Venerable is here. My shell is covered with ninety-nine million light patterns, each one formed from a wisp of time I released. For every light bead you crush, I release ten more wisps of time."

Bai Ze did not forcefully dismantle it. He possessed the power to Turn Back Heaven and Return the Sun and knew that light's nature was reversed and rapid, and where there was rapidity, there would inevitably be stagnation. He circled the shell three times and saw that the light patterns at the sundial were extremely dense, but there was a dark gap in the seam where the sundial connected; the dark gap converged at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Bai Ze's Origin light blood into the sparse area, and a small light hole appeared on the shell surface, where Myriad Light Dao Venerable groaned. Bai Ze followed the seam and entered.

Myriad Light Dao Venerable, his hair and beard all standing on end, squatted on the bottom of the pool and pondered for a long time before saying, "Reversed light is inherently stagnant. I thought reversal meant strength." Bai Ze said, "Light is inherently reversible. Seventy percent of the outer shell blocks external evils, while the remaining three-tenths nourish the pool's light. Only when the light's eye is half-open and half-closed can the shell not stagnate. Reversal is not about dying or falling; it's about moving in the right direction." Myriad Light Dao Venerable handed over the Light Pearl and the World Seal.

Elder Yinghuo traveled due north for forty-nine Eon, collecting over thirty Great Thousand World and over ninety Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the command talisman shifted three inches due north. Floating deep within the Chaos was a gigantic shell, its surface covered with gray-white wind and rain patterns. These patterns swirled from the shell's core towards the surface, each a complete Wind and Rain Law. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a wind and rain crystal, each crystal sealing a wind and rain Origin. From afar, it resembled a giant wind and rain field spanning countless Eon. Yinghuo pressed his palm against it, and the wind and rain tore through him. The wind and rain patterns accelerated their rotation, converging into nine wind and rain chains that wrapped around his five fingers. He withdrew his hand and crushed the wind pearls. The divine sense of the Dao of Ten Thousand Winds Venerable Daoist surged forth from the fragments, urgent and chaotic, like the howling of Gale: "The Dao of Ten Thousand Winds Venerable is here. This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million wind patterns, each formed from a wisp of wind and rain I released. For every wind pearl you crush, I release ten more wisps of wind and rain."

Yinghuo did not resist directly. He possessed the power to Summon Rain and Call Wind, and knew that wind was swift and chaotic, and where there was chaos, there was bound to be stagnation. He circled the shell three times and saw that the wind patterns were extremely dense where they swirled, but there was a sliver of still wind in the gaps between the swirling patterns; the still wind gathered at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Yinghuo 'Origin wind blood into the sparse area, and a small wind hole appeared on the shell surface, where Dao of Ten Thousand Winds Venerable groaned. Yinghuo went into the hole.

Dao of Ten Thousand Winds Venerable, his hair and beard disheveled, squatted on the bottom of the pool and pondered for a long time before saying, "The wind is chaotic when it is urgent. I thought 'urgent' meant 'fast'." Yinghuo said, "The wind is urgent. Seventy percent of the shell's surface is used to block external evils, and the other three-tenths is used to nurture the pool's wind. The wind's eye is half-open and half-closed so that the shell doesn't become chaotic. Urgent doesn't mean forcing the wind; it means knowing when to stop." Dao of Ten Thousand Winds Venerable handed over the Wind Pearl and the World Seal.

Elder Zhenyue walked towards the center for forty-nine Eon, collecting over thirty Great Thousand World and over eighty Middle Thousand World. At the end of the Eon, the command talisman shifted three inches directly downwards. Floating in the deepest part of the Chaos was a gigantic shell, its surface covered with gray-white mountain patterns. These patterns, arranged in a mountain range from the core to the surface, each represented a complete Mountain Law. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a mountain crystal, each crystal sealing a mountain's Origin. From afar, it resembled a giant mountain range spanning countless Eon. Zhenyue pressed his palm down, and a tearing sensation from the mountains resonated. The mountain patterns accelerated their rotation, converging into nine mountain chains that wrapped around his five fingers. He withdrew his hand, crushing the mountain beads. The divine sense of the Myriad Mountains Dao Venerable sank from the fragments, steady and heavy, like the muffled thud of a mountain pressing down on the ground. "The Myriad Mountains Dao Venerable is here. This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million mountain patterns, each formed from a strand of mountain I released. For every mountain bead you crush, I will release ten more strands of mountain."

Zhenyue did not confront it head-on. He possessed the technique of Shake Mountains and Quake the Earth, knowing that mountains are stable and heavy, and where there is heaviness, there will be stagnation. He circled the shell three times and saw that the mountain patterns were extremely dense, but there was a narrow valley in the gap between the mountain peaks; the valley converged at the center of the shell, which was a sparse pattern. He dripped a drop of Zhenyue's Origin mountain blood into the sparse area, and a small cave appeared on the shell surface. Myriad Mountains Dao Venerable groaned inside. Zhenyue followed the seam and entered.

Myriad Mountains Dao Venerable, whose beard and hair were all made of mountain stone, squatted on the bottom of the pool and pondered for a long time before saying, "The weight of a mountain is self-sufficient. I thought that weight meant stability." Zhenyue said, "The nature of a mountain is stable. Seventy percent of its outer shell blocks external evils, and the other threety percent nourishes the pool and the mountain. The mountain's eyes are half-open and half-closed so that the shell will not collapse. Weight is not a dead pressure, but rather a dynamic movement." Myriad Mountains Dao Venerable handed over the Mountain Pearl and the World Seal.

The remaining thirty elders split into four groups and flanked the others, encountering several hard shells along the way. Some shells were covered with lightning patterns, some with ice patterns, some with poison patterns, and one shell was even covered with half-withered, half-flourishing patterns of life and death. The thirty elders each responded according to the Heavenly Spirit Method: some used "Command the Five Thunders" to draw thunder to break the shell, some used "Dive into the Abyss and Shrink the Earth" to shrink into the shell, some used "Flying Sand and Rolling Stones" to grind the shell and find gaps, and some used "Flowers Bloom in an Instant" to make the shell create gaps. Each person's method was different, but the root was the same: first find the sparse patterns in the shell's core, then find the counterweight hole at the bottom of the pool, and once the method of "half-open pool eye, three-tenths of the inner treasury, seven-tenths of the shell surface" was explained, the Daoist inside the shell released his grip. The Ten Directions Universe Worlds was completely gathered.

When Cangwu led the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Elders to move the worlds back to the Primordial Wilderness, ten jade tables were set up in front of the Tongtian Tower in Witch City. The six Dao Venerables— Myriad Transformations, Myriad Yin, Myriad Stars, Myriad Light, Ten Thousand Winds, and Myriad Mountains— stood beneath their banners, each followed by the remaining Dao Venerables and beings of their respective worlds. Cangwu looked at them one by one, then turned to the Old Priest and said, "One Universe World be collected in each of the southwest, south, east, west, north, and center directions, and one in each of the other four directions, for a total of ten. Where will we place these worlds after we bring them back?"

The Old Priest transmitted Dao Ancestor Witch Gods into the Tongtian Tower, and the gray-white light at the top of the tower flashed three times. He turned back and said, "The Ancestral Witch said that the one in the southwest should be placed in the southwest of the Western Ox Continent, the one in the due south should be placed in the south of Nanzhan Divine Continent, the one in the due Southern Continent of Jambu should be placed in the east of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the one in the due west should be placed in the west of the Western Ox Continent, the one in the due Northern Julu Continent should be placed in the north of Beijulu Continent, and the one in the center should be placed at the Kunlun Mountain in the Central Continent. The remaining four should be placed at the corners of the five continents according to the directions the elders traveled. After the worlds are brought back, they should be dismantled first, and then classified according to size: the large worlds should be merged with the continents, the medium worlds should be dismantled for materials, and the small worlds should be used to feed the ley lines."

The six Dao Venerables each took on their assigned tasks, borrowing the adjustment method for three days. After three days, they all went to City of Ten Thousand Crafts to find Yin Xi to break through their barriers. Cangwu sat in front of the Tongtian Tower and sent a message to the Human Dao Heavenly Net: "The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirit Elders of the Witch Race's Heavenly Gang divided into ten routes to collect ten Great Universe World. The Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal within these worlds have returned to the Primordial Wilderness World. Any Witch Race disciple who wishes to learn how to collect worlds can go to the southwest of the Western Ox Continent, the Southern Continent of Jambu, the east of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the west of the Western Ox Continent, the north of the Northern Julu Continent, or the Kunlun Mountain in the Central Continent to see the worlds."

The message was sent out in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea when Yin Xi replied from below, "Lord Cangwu, the six Dao Venerables have arrived at City of Ten Thousand Crafts and are squatting in front of the first level, the Character Recognition Pass. Myriad Transformations Dao Venerable said he will start from the first level and work his way up to the ten thousandth level. The other five said they will borrow their respective patterns to practice for three days before attempting to break through."

Cangwu replied, "Let them break it. After they're done, come find me at the Tongtian Tower, and I'll assign them tasks."