She abruptly looked up, her gaze piercing like lightning towards the direction of the Netherworld Sea of Blood. Although her vision was obstructed by endless space, she clearly "sense" it—
The aura of a colossal force that shook the Primordial Earth rapidly decaying and dissipating after a collision, along with another foul and domineering force, filled with the overwhelming ferocity of a victor, was slowly subsiding deep within the Blood Sea.
"Such a powerful clash of energies... Are top-tier experts locked in a life-or-death struggle in the Blood Sea?"
Houtu frowned, her unease suddenly reaching its peak.
Does the unusual movement of that malevolent energy crystal foreshadow anything?
What is the connection between this sudden turn of events and the divine secret that drew him in?
Will the turmoil in the sea of the Blood Sea trigger a chain reaction?
A jumble of thoughts churned in her mind, and the Gale Wind atop Qilin Mountain seemed to carry a hint of impending bloodshed.
Having escaped the Netherworld Sea of Blood in a sorry state, Zhenyuanzi is currently hiding in a secluded mountain range, trying his best to stabilize his damaged Dao Foundation.
This battle was a complete and utter defeat. It was the first time since he had taken human Transformation that he had been beaten so badly that he even had to burn his life essence to escape.
Zhenyuanzi was filled with confusion as to why the Minghe River possessed two Innate Gourd, which had been refined into incredibly powerful spiritual treasures.
Thinking back to the days on Buzhou Mountain, the six Innate Gourd each found their own home: the Three Pure Ones took three, Nuwa, Hong Yun, and Di Jun each received one.
Logically speaking, one of the gourds in Minghe's possession should have Laozi Taiqing, so where did the other gourd come from?
"You old scoundrel from the Minghe, I, Zhenyuanzi, swear that if I do not kill you, I will be unworthy of being Innate Deities!"
Zhenyuanzi gritted his teeth and made a silent vow.
"Puff..."
Another mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth. This time, it had damaged his very essence. Without tens of Kalpa of recuperation, he would likely not recover.
"Forget it, let's go back to Wuzhuang Temple to recover first! If we encounter other Innate Deities here, it could really be dangerous."
Zhenyuanzi was thinking to himself, and was about to get up and leave when a voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"Go? Where to go? I think this place is perfect for your demise, and your spiritual treasures and Dao Field are also perfect for me to own."
Zhenyuanzi suddenly turned around and saw that the Ancestral Witch Houtu in front of him had a playful smile on her lips.
Houtu sensed a faint divine guidance from the west, but after searching in vain, she was about to give up when the battle fluctuations emanating from the Blood Sea caught her attention.
Houtu was all too familiar with this feeling; it was a sign that Zhenyuanzi Earth Book to mobilize the power of the earth's veins.
The Witch Clan suffered a great loss because of this. When they besieged Wuzhuang Temple, they not only failed to break through Zhenyuanzi's defenses, but also accumulated a lot of karma.
Seeing Zhenyuanzi in such a sorry state today, how could Houtu let him off so easily?
The Hongmeng Measuring Heaven Ruler slowly appeared in her hand, and her expression turned fierce.
"You... you actually have a primordial spirit? That's impossible!"
Zhenyuanzi's eyes widened in disbelief. Weren't the Witch Clan born without a primordial spirit? So where did Houtu's primordial spirit come from?
"Heh heh, you're all going to die anyway, so there's no need for you to know so much. Today, this Ancestral Witch will send you to your death!"
Before she finished speaking, Houtu suddenly erupted, raising the Hongmeng Measuring Heaven Ruler in her hand high and slashing it directly at Zhenyuanzi.
The Hongmeng Measuring Heaven Ruler is held high, its body ancient and Xuan Huang, imbued with a vast and Universe power that can shatter chaos and measure the universe.
Houtu's eyes were devoid of any playfulness, filled only with a chilling killing intent, as if the space itself had been frozen by ancient ice.
Her slash, seemingly simple and direct, contained the terrifying power of the Ancestral Witch's physical body, enough to tear apart stars, and stirred up the turbid Turbid Qi of the entire world.
Wherever the ruler pointed, a deep black rift silently split open in space—not shattered, but utterly annihilated!
The boundless Xuanhuang Merit Qi transformed into a tangible sharpness, locking onto all the energy within Zhenyuanzi's body.
"Not good!"
Zhenyuanzi's spirit was greatly disturbed.
Severely injured, his reactions were significantly slower than at his peak.
Faced with this life-threatening Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure, any hesitation would mean annihilation.
The instinct to survive overwhelmed the excruciating pain of his severe injuries and the turmoil in his heart.
"Earth Book, protect my true form!"
He let out a roar, forcefully urging his remaining pure magical Magic Power, ignoring the violent tremors of his fundamental Dao Foundation.
With a sudden burst of earthy yellow light, the ancient and profound <Earth Book> unfolded above his head. As the pages turned, endless phantoms of mountains and rivers seemed to surge forth, spreading an atmosphere of weight, vastness, and all-encompassing grandeur.
The mountain range's veins roared in response, and the boundless spiritual energy of the earth veins was frantically extracted, transforming into nine solidified Xuanhuang Earth Dragon that roared and coiled around Zhenyuanzi's body, forming a huge, thick light shield engraved with Innate Dao Patterns — the Earth Yuan Wutu Divine Gang!
Boom--Crack--!!!
The Hongmeng Measuring Heaven Ruler Xuan Huang slashed fiercely at the Earth Yuan Wutu Divine Gang!
An indescribable roar erupted! It sounded like the Chaos Divine Thunder of Heaven-Opening.
An invisible shockwave spread out in a ring, and wherever it passed, the majestic mountain ranges stretching for thousands of miles collapsed silently like sandcastles, turning into dust! The earth's tectonic plates were forcibly lifted and torn apart, forming huge, bottomless canyons.
The sky instantly darkened, the sun and moon lost their light, leaving only the intense light that erupted from the core of the collision—a light powerful enough to blind even immortals and gods!
Zhenyuanzi felt an irresistible, immense force coming through the Earth Book, as if a portion of the weight of the entire Primordial Earth was pressing down on him!
The already cracked primordial Dao Foundation groaned under the strain, a sweet taste rose in its throat, and it spat out another mouthful of Essence Blood, which spilled onto the Earth Book, staining its earthy yellow light with a chilling golden-red hue.
The Earth Yuan Wutu Divine Gang trembled violently, and the nine Xuanhuang Earth Dragon let out painful cries, two of which instantly collapsed!
Although the sharpness of the Hongmeng Measuring Heaven Ruler was blocked, its ability to annihilate all things left a Shangqing the Divine Aura Shield. The Xuanhuang Merit Qi was frantically eroding the defense formed by the power of the earth veins.
"Hmph! The tortoise shell is still as hard as ever! Unfortunately, things are different now!"
Houtu snorted coldly, a strange light flashing in her eyes. She did not retract the Heaven Measuring Ruler, but instead her arms bulged with muscles, and the turbid evil energy around her surged like boiling water. The pure power belonging to the Ancestral Witch and originating from the Great God Pangu erupted once again!
The Heaven Measuring Ruler emitted a buzzing sound, and its body surged with a Xuan Huang light, actually resisting the downward pressure of the Earth Yuan Wutu Divine Gang!
"Pfft--!"
Zhenyuanzi's bones cracked and popped, and he was forced to kneel on the ground, his knees sinking deep into the rock.
His eyes were bloodshot as he clearly felt the mournful cries emanating from the Earth Book, and his own Magic Power being frantically drained away like a burst dam.
What chilled him to the bone even more was that Houtu's cold eyes were now flashing with a kind of light that he was extremely familiar with, yet should never have appeared on the Ancestral Witch —it was the light of her primordial spirit power being pushed to its limit, making precise calculations and controls!