Deep within Pangu Hall, Zhou Ming emerged from his secluded cultivation.
Dijiang, Zhujiuyin, Zhurong, Gonggong, and the other Twelve Ancestor Witches sensed that Zhou Ming had ended his seclusion and hurried over one after another.
"Big Brother! You've come out!" Zhurong's booming voice rang out first, brimming with undisguised excitement.
"Congratulations on your great progress, Big Brother!" Dijiang also wore a smile.
The other Ancestral Witches stepped forward as well, their eyes filled with respect and delight.
Zhou Ming's strength was the Witch Clan's strength.
After their brief rejoicing, Dijiang scratched his head and spoke somewhat awkwardly. "Big Brother, besides congratulating you on your great progress, we also have something we'd like to discuss with you."
"Oh? What is it?" Zhou Ming asked.
Dijiang glanced at the other Ancestral Witches before saying, "It concerns the reproduction of the Witch Clan."
He paused, then continued, "Over the years, we've traveled outside and seen more and more living beings appearing throughout the Primordial Wilderness. Various races have also begun to emerge. Our Witch Clan... Father God created us, and including Big Brother, there are only thirteen of us."
"The Blood Pool in Pangu Hall was formed from Father God's Essence Blood and contains boundless vitality." Dijiang continued, "We discussed it and want to borrow the Blood Pool's power to create members of our Witch Clan!"
"That's right, Big Brother!" Zhurong added in his deep voice. "Relying on just the thirteen of us, our numbers are far too small! We need to create more clan members and strengthen the might of our Witch Clan!"
"Create clan members?" Zhou Ming had anticipated this. He looked at the twelve pairs of expectant eyes and gave a slight nod.
"Of course. However, I have one condition."
"Please, Big Brother!"
"After creating the clan members, the twelve of you must enter seclusion with me inside Pangu Hall and comprehend Father God's inheritance. Before Hongjun attains Sainthood, none of you may leave!"
"What? We still have to enter seclusion?" Zhurong immediately looked displeased.
"Big Brother, why?" Houtu asked in confusion. "We're just about to create the clan members. This is precisely when they need our guidance."
"It is precisely because of that that you must enter seclusion." Zhou Ming's tone was firm and unquestionable.
"The waters of the Primordial Wilderness run deeper than you imagine. An unprecedented upheaval is about to arrive. Before then, we must raise our strength as much as possible!"
"Don't worry. I'll leave an Avatar behind to care for the newborn clan members."
"But all of you must devote yourselves entirely to cultivation and awaken the inheritance imprint of Father God hidden deep within your bloodlines as soon as possible!"
"Only if we become strong enough can we truly protect the Witch Clan!"
Although the Twelve Ancestor Witches were still somewhat confused, they trusted Zhou Ming and nodded in unison. "Yes! We will obey Big Brother's orders!"
Afterward, Zhou Ming and the Twelve Ancestor Witches arrived beside the Blood Pool deep within Pangu Hall.
The Blood Pool churned, radiating an intense aura of life.
The twelve Ancestral Witches simultaneously forced out their own Essence Blood and merged it into the Blood Pool.
However, Zhou Ming stood motionless at the pool's edge.
He quietly watched everything. Unlike the other Ancestral Witches, he did not offer his own Essence Blood, because he had no intention of using it to create the Witch Clan.
Zhou Ming controlled the Dao Origin Divine Pearl and sent the improved Nine Revolutions Sha Quenching Art into the blood cocoons that were being nurtured, one after another.
At the same time, the Dao Origin Divine Pearl floated above the Blood Pool, sprinkling down a gentle, clear light to aid the blood cocoons' gestation.
One blood cocoon after another bobbed in the Blood Pool, radiating auras of varying strength.
Time passed.
When the first batch of members of the Witch Clan transformed out of their blood cocoons, Zhou Ming immediately used his Divine Thought to examine them.
These newborn members of the Witch Clan all possessed extraordinarily powerful bodies.
However, without exception, none of them had given birth to a Primordial Spirit.
"Sigh... As expected, it still doesn't work?" Zhou Ming sighed inwardly. Even after improving the cultivation art, he still could not enable the Witch Clan to give birth to Primordial Spirits.
"Forget it. The gap in innate foundations is ultimately difficult to make up for."
The fact that the twelve Ancestral Witches had been able to give birth to Primordial Spirits was already a miracle brought about by Father God's favor. He could not ask for too much.
After confirming that the newborn members of the Witch Clan could not give birth to Primordial Spirits, Zhou Ming completely abandoned any further thought in that direction.
He began carrying out the next step of his plan.
Splitting his Primordial Spirit!
He sat cross-legged, and his Primordial Spirit left his body and hovered above his head, radiating powerful fluctuations at the level of a Primordial Golden Immortal.
"Sever!"
Zhou Ming shouted in a low voice. His face instantly turned pale, and his Primordial Spirit trembled violently.
He had actually forcibly severed two small portions from his own Primordial Spirit!
Indescribable agony instantly swept through his consciousness, as if it would tear his soul into pieces.
But he clenched his teeth and endured it by force.
A moment later, his Primordial Spirit successfully split into two small portions.
One portion accounted for roughly one-tenth of his Primordial Spirit's power. Using his tremendous Magic Power, he fused it with a drop of his own Essence Blood and began shaping an Avatar!
The other portion was even smaller. He nurtured it with a secret technique, keeping it for another use in the future.
Soon, a figure whose appearance resembled Zhou Ming's by eighty to ninety percent, but whose bearing was gentler and more reserved, appeared in the main hall.
This Avatar's aura stabilized at the early stage of an Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal!
That was sufficient.
"Fellow Daoist, from today onward, you are me. Act in my stead throughout the Primordial Wilderness and manage the affairs of the Witch Clan." Zhou Ming spoke to the Avatar.
The Avatar bowed slightly. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. You and I are one. The affairs of the Witch Clan and my travels through the Primordial Wilderness shall all be entrusted to me."
"Go. Act discreetly, form good connections, and especially... the one at Wuzhuang Temple." Zhou Ming waved his hand.
The Avatar nodded, turned, and left Pangu Hall to begin fulfilling his duties.
Zhou Ming's true body, meanwhile, brought the Twelve Ancestor Witches into the deepest part of Pangu Hall once more. The heavy hall doors slowly closed, cutting off the inside from the outside, and their long seclusion began.
Their primary task was to comprehend the supreme inheritance from Great God Pangu hidden deep within their bloodlines!
The Primordial Wilderness kept no record of years.
Zhou Ming's Avatar traveled across the lands of the Primordial Wilderness under the name "Wu Ming," discreetly handling the affairs of the Witch Clan while observing the situation and forming connections with various factions.
He was steady by nature and thorough in his actions, and he made a few friends along the way.
For example, there was the Earth Immortal Ancestor, Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, as well as the famous good-natured Daoist Hongyun who stayed by his side.
The Avatar discussed the Dao and drank tea with them, and their relationship became quite harmonious.
Zhou Ming's true body and the Twelve Ancestor Witches, meanwhile, were completely immersed in comprehending Pangu's inheritance, and their cultivation steadily advanced.
On this day.
The Heavenly Dao rumbled and sent down showers of golden flowers. Above the Nine Heavens, rays of rosy light filled the sky, and auspicious colors stretched across the horizon. A faint figure stood in the sky, with vast purple Qi extending ninety thousand miles behind him.
Immediately afterward, a dignified voice resounded through every corner of the Primordial Wilderness and entered the hearts of every living being:
"I recline high upon the ninth layer of clouds, with the Cushion containing the true Dao."
"Beyond Heaven and Earth's black and yellow, I shall hold the honored position of ruler."
"I am Hongjun. Today, I have attained Sainthood!"
"Three thousand years from now, I shall preach the Dao at Zixiao Palace and impart the Great Dao."
"All who are fated may come and listen!"
When the voice faded, the phenomena between Heaven and Earth slowly dissipated.
But the pressure of attaining the Dao and the proclamation of becoming a Saint exploded like thunder in the hearts of every great power in the Primordial Wilderness!