Wangshu's ambition! Zhou Ming's bottom line

A Tongtian Moon Laurel Tree stands at the heart of the moon, its swaying branches radiating the purest and most potent Taiyin Origin.

Zhou Ming's figure appeared silently under the Moon Laurel Tree.

As Zhou Ming arrived, the ancient and enormous Moon Laurel Tree swayed slightly, and a wisp of cool moonlight condensed, transforming into the blurry phantom of Wangshu.

"Fellow Daoist has arrived."

Zhou Ming looked at the Wangshu's remnant soul emerging from the Moon Laurel Tree, and without any further pleasantries, spoke directly.

"After all these years, is the Fortune and Merit you've accumulated enough for you to recover?"

The illusory image of Wangshu swayed gently, as if carefully sensing something.

After a moment, she spoke again.

"Still a little short."

"Probably... another tens of thousands of years of accumulation should be enough."

Upon hearing this answer, Zhou Ming frowned slightly.

Tens of thousands of years.

For him, this time was but a fleeting moment.

The problem isn't time, but the total amount of Merit and Fortune she needs.

He sacrificed so much, not to raise an unrestrained glutton.

He looked at Wangshu, his tone becoming somewhat serious.

"Fellow Daoist, that's enough."

"I promised to help you recover, but I didn't say I'd help you get back to your peak condition."

"You only need to return to the basics of Primordial Lifeforms; there's no need to strive to become a top-tier Primordial Lifeforms."

Zhou Ming's words were very direct, even somewhat impolite.

"That would consume far too much of the Primordial Origin."

"You should know that restoring the Primordial Origin is inherently difficult, and the world today is no longer what it was at the beginning."

"If too much Primordial Origin is absorbed for your sake alone, it will not be a good thing for the entire Primordial World."

Zhou Ming's subtext was clear.

Don't be too greedy.

I saved you so you could work for me, not so you could drain the Primordial Wilderness.

My ultimate goal is to defy the Heavenly Dao, and the Primordial World is my largest base.

Weakening the Primordial Wilderness to benefit you is a losing proposition for me, Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming's words silenced Wangshu's Remnant Soul.

She understood this principle perfectly well.

To restore one to the origins of a top-tier Primordial Lifeforms, the amount of Origin Essence power needed to be extracted from the Primordial World would be astronomical.

In the Primordial Wilderness today, why are there almost no new Innate Divine being born, but only endless Houtian beings?

It's because the Origin Essence is insufficient.

The universe needs to function, and living beings need to reproduce; neither of these requires the consumption of Origin Essence.

The birth of an ordinary Primordial Lifeforms is already a tremendous burden, let alone the elite ones.

The birth of each of those top-tier Primordial Lifeforms with profound roots and boundless potential means that the Primordial Wilderness has to pay an irreparable Origin Essence in terms of its own essence.

Pangu Heaven-Cleaving Earth-Splitting, and his body transformed into all things, thus creating the first batch of Innate Divine.

But that magnificent scene is long gone and will never return.

The Origin Essence heaven and earth has been continuously depleted in Tribulation, and is no longer as abundant as it was at the beginning of creation.

But... she wasn't willing to give up.

This recovery is her last chance.

If she cannot use this opportunity to rebuild a powerful Innate Dao Body, then she would rather not have been revived at all.

"Fellow Daoist, I missed the best opportunity to be born as Primordial Lifeforms at the time of Heaven-Cleaving Earth-Splitting."

"If this revival fails to establish a strong foundation from the ground up, then I'm afraid I'll never have another chance."

"Being reduced to an ordinary, acquired being with such a weak foundation would be a huge obstacle to my Houtian cultivation path."

"In the future, it will take countless Eon time and enormous resources to bridge the gap in our foundations."

She knew Zhou Ming's concerns, but she also had her own principles.

This is not greed, but for the future.

Even if one cannot become one of the top Primordial Lifeforms, at least... one should reach the upper-middle level.

"Otherwise, all my years of persistence and waiting would have been in vain."

She had promised Zhou Ming that she would become the Moon of the World to help him evolve the world.

The purpose was to get Zhou Ming to help her collect a massive amount of Merit Fortune.

Only by accumulating a vast amount of Merit Fortune can she minimize the rejection and backlash from the Primordial World when she absorbs the Primordial Origin to reshape her Dao Body.

Without this premise, as an outsider Remnant Soul of Chaos Demon God, let alone reshaping a top-tier Dao Body, she would probably be crushed by the will of heaven and earth as soon as she began to absorb the Origin Essence.

Zhou Ming stared at her violently fluctuating phantom and fell silent for a moment.

He could understand Wangshu's thoughts.

For any cultivator pursuing the Great Dao, the importance of their foundation is self-evident.

This determines the upper limit of the future.

Even with extraordinary luck, an ordinary person Houtian can hardly reach the starting point of a top-tier Innate Divine, no matter how hard they try.

As a former Chaos Demon God, Wangshu was extremely proud and naturally unwilling to accept a mediocre start.

But while we may understand, rules still need to be established.

The world doesn't revolve around her alone.

The depletion of the Primordial Origin is related to the stability of the entire Primordial Wilderness, and even more so to his grand future plans.

If the Primordial World were to suffer excessive depletion of its Origin Essence, leading to a weakening of the Father God's Will, this would be absolutely unacceptable to him.

Therefore, Wangshu's personal pursuits must give way to his overall strategy.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Ming slowly spoke.

I understand how you feel.

"But you should also understand the importance of the Primordial Origin."

"I cannot sacrifice the foundation of the entire Primordial World for the sake of your own future."

"Therefore, don't even think about the origins of top-tier Primordial Lifeforms."

"A mid-level Primordial Lifeforms foundation is enough for you to establish yourself in the Primordial Wilderness."

"This is the greatest sincerity I can offer."

"If there are any more, it might affect the very foundation of our cooperation."

This statement already carries a hint of warning.

Wangshu's illusory image trembled violently.

She understood that this was Zhou Ming's ultimatum.

What is the foundation of cooperation?

It's about interests.

Zhou Ming was willing to pay the price to revive her in order to make her a fighting force against the Heavenly Dao and to have her help evolve the world.

If the cost of reviving her has become so great that it has damaged Zhou Ming's own interests.

If it even affects his ultimate goal, then this cooperation could be terminated at any time.

For Zhou Ming, a Chaos Demon God is reduced to a Remnant Soul is not irreplaceable.

She remained silent for a very long time, so long that even the Moon Laurel Tree seemed to freeze.

Finally, her Divine Sense slowly transmitted, carrying a hint of compromise.

"I... understand your good intentions, fellow Daoist."

Zhou Ming sensed the resentment in her words, but did not point it out.

When dealing with intelligent people, it's best to stop short of making a point.

As long as she makes the "right" choice, the process doesn't matter.

"I'm glad you understand."

Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly.

"While background is important, it's not the only factor that determines everything."

"With my Wu Clan as your backing, you won't lack resources."

"As long as you serve me diligently, you may have the opportunity to make up for your shortcomings in the future, and even go further."

This is a sweet treat given after the beating.

A combination of kindness and severity is the way to manage subordinates.

Wangshu's illusory figure rippled slightly, as if accepting this reassurance.

What else could she say?

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

"Good."

"Thank you, fellow Daoist."

Zhou Ming nodded, his expression softening slightly.

"In that case, let's prepare as soon as possible."

"Once you feel you have accumulated enough Merit Fortune, have Chang Xi notify me."

"At that time, I will come personally to protect you and help you rebuild your Dao Body."

Wangshu's Divine Sense arrived.

"Alright, thank you, fellow Daoist."

Zhou Ming nodded and said no more.

He glanced at this world; everything here was running smoothly thanks to the efforts of Chang Xi and the Golden Crow.

The "working team" led by Di Jun and the Others group has also fully integrated into the operation of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array.

It continuously draws energy from the Chaos, transforming it into Innate Spiritual Qi that nourishes this newly born world.

Everything was developing in the direction he had envisioned.

His figure slowly faded, leaving this world and returning to the Pangu Hall Buzhou Mountain.