The "Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy" clung to Zhou Ming like maggots burrowing into bone, madly battering his fragile Primordial Spirit embryo.
Every impact brought a soul-deep tearing pain.
It was as if his consciousness would be utterly submerged in the boundless fiendish energy the next second.
Zhou Ming's Primordial Spirit embryo flickered uncertainly like a dying candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished completely at any moment.
The excruciating pain constantly challenged the limits of his endurance.
"Can't... I can't give up!" Zhou Ming guarded the last trace of clarity with all his might.
Once he lost himself, his Primordial Spirit would completely dissipate. His advantage of transmigrating, his modern memories, his foresight into the Witch Clan's future... everything would vanish without a trace!
At the critical moment, the System Core fused into the depths of his True Spirit emitted a gentle yet profound fluctuation.
The fluctuation was like an unbreakable dam, struggling to withstand the impact of the fiendish-energy flood.
At the same time, the insight into the Law of Strength belonging to Father God Pangu, engraved deep within his True Spirit, also lit up with a faint glow.
Although it was only a trace of a law imprint, it carried supreme majesty. It naturally suppressed the berserk fiendish energy to a certain extent.
"Now!" Zhou Ming keenly seized this glimmer of hope. Enduring the excruciating pain of his Primordial Spirit tearing apart, he concentrated all his mind.
Using the System Core as a shield, he protected his Primordial Spirit from destruction. Using his insight into the Law of Strength as a guide, he attempted to direct and refine the omnipresent Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy.
This was an extremely difficult and painful process.
The fiendish energy was incomparably berserk. Its very essence was destruction and chaos.
Every refinement was like cutting his soul with a dull knife.
Failure, then another attempt.
Failure, then another attempt.
His consciousness repeatedly bounced between clarity and collapse. But he had only one thought in his heart: survive and preserve himself!
No one knew how much time passed. It seemed like an instant, yet it also seemed like billions of years.
Buzz!
A faint tremor came from the depths of his Primordial Spirit.
A wisp of Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy had finally been painstakingly refined and absorbed by him.
Though it was negligible, after being refined, the wisp of fiendish energy transformed into pure energy that nourished his Primordial Spirit embryo.
The originally berserk flood of fiendish energy consequently developed a tiny opening.
The pressure on his Primordial Spirit suddenly eased!
Zhou Ming gained a moment to catch his breath, and his consciousness became much clearer as well.
"It worked... The first step!"
With this successful beginning, Zhou Ming's confidence soared. He continued enduring the pain, immersing himself in the great undertaking of refinement.
His Primordial Spirit was like a starving, thirsty sponge, greedily absorbing this energy and gradually growing stronger.
Time passed amid the monotonous and painful refinement. It might have been several years, or perhaps several Kalpas. Zhou Ming had completely forgotten the passage of time.
Finally, the last wisp of fiendish energy was completely refined and merged into his Primordial Spirit.
Zhou Ming's Primordial Spirit embryo had now grown several times larger, radiating a stability and vitality it had never possessed before.
As the fiendish energy within his body was refined, his perception also improved and began to spread outward.
Through the thick blood cocoon and the barriers of Pangu Hall, he could vaguely sense a trace of the outside world's aura.
It was an aura of... chaos and slaughter, filled with boundless bloodshed and resentment!
Vaguely, the earth-shaking roars of dragons, phoenixes, and qilins seemed to cross endless spacetime and resound as if right beside his ears!
Those voices were filled with brutality and madness.
"Dragons... phoenixes... qilins?" Zhou Ming's heart sank.
Combining this with the fragments of his memories concerning the Primordial Wilderness, a terrifying term instantly surfaced in his mind—
The Dragon-Phoenix-Qilin Calamity!
The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans contended for dominion over heaven and earth, slaughtering one another until heaven and earth dimmed, rivers of blood flowed, and countless living beings perished!
No wonder the fiendish energy outside was so dense. The aura of slaughter had practically solidified.
Zhou Ming's heart sank completely to the bottom.
The Dragon-Phoenix-Qilin Calamity! This was the terrifying Tribulation that crippled even the three Primordial Clans, caused countless mighty figures to perish, and reshaped the structure of heaven and earth!
It was an era when no Saints had emerged, Da Luo cultivators were everywhere, and Tai Yi cultivators were worth less than dogs.
The current Primordial Wilderness was one enormous, bloody, and brutally cruel meat grinder!
The brutal Dragon-Phoenix-Qilin Calamity reminded him of the Tribulation of Witch and Demon. This Tribulation was in no way inferior to the Dragon-Phoenix-Qilin Calamity: the Primordial Wilderness would shatter, the Pillar of Heaven would collapse, and the Witch Clan would come close to extinction.
An overwhelming Sense of Crisis instantly swallowed Zhou Ming.
The tragic fate awaiting the Witch Clan seemed to turn into a tangible shadow that loomed over his heart.
Zhou Ming forced down the shock and fear in his heart and swiftly began sorting out his situation.
His advantages were obvious:
He possessed knowledge surpassing that of this era and knew the direction in which the general situation of the Primordial Wilderness would develop. He had the System Core refined by Father God Pangu protecting his Primordial Spirit, affinity with the Great Dao, and limitless potential.
He had inherited a trace of Father God Pangu's insight into the Law of Strength, giving him a profound foundation. He was situated in Pangu Hall, the Witch Clan's sacred ground—a natural refuge where he was temporarily safe.
But his disadvantages were equally fatal:
His current strength was weak. He had not even completed his transformation and was still at the initial stage of refining the fiendish energy.
Looking across the Primordial Wilderness, he was alone, without a single ally.
What worried him even more was that refining the Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy was already so difficult and dangerous for him. What about the future Twelve Ancestor Witches?
They had no System Core to protect their True Spirits and no clear consciousness from the future world.
Would they truly have a chance to give birth to Primordial Spirits?
Zhou Ming did not dare imagine it.
If the Twelve Ancestor Witches were all unable to give birth to Primordial Spirits and could not engage in deeper thought and planning, then the Witch Clan's fate would probably be extremely difficult to change!
How could he alone contend with the general trend of the entire Primordial Wilderness?
"No! I have to think of a way!"
He not only had to survive himself, but also protect these twelve "younger brothers and sisters" who shared his bloodline!
To change the fate of the Witch Clan, he had to solve the problem at its root!
And this Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy was the greatest shackles restricting the Witch Clan!
The System Core could protect his True Spirit... so could it also assist others in some way?
Since his insight into the Law of Strength could naturally suppress fiendish energy at its very essence...
Then could he deduce a more broadly applicable method to help the other Ancestor Witches suppress, or even refine, the fiendish energy and condense their Primordial Spirits?
Although doing so would divide his attention and slow his own cultivation, Zhou Ming did not hesitate in the slightest.
After all, he had no confidence that he could become a Saint before Hongjun. Advancing a little earlier or later might not be crucial. The Witch Clan's overall future was what mattered.
A preliminary plan gradually took shape in his mind.
First, he would increase his strength as quickly as possible and complete his transformation early!
Second, he would study the System Core and the Law of Strength, deducing a method that could help the other Ancestor Witches refine the fiendish energy and condense their Primordial Spirits! Even if it only increased the possibility by a fraction, he had to try!
Finally, and most importantly: lie low! Before he possessed enough power to protect himself, he absolutely must not leave Pangu Hall lightly. He would quietly accumulate wealth and strength while waiting for the right opportunity!
He carefully extended the consciousness that had only just regained clarity, probing toward the twelve other enormous blood cocoons in the Blood Pool of Pangu Hall.
His consciousness was like a stone tossed into the sea, instantly swallowed by the equally berserk and chaotic fiendish energy within the blood cocoons.
Yet he still caught twelve faint but potential-filled sources of life.
They were all asleep, instinctively absorbing Pangu's essence blood and the Blood Pool's energy, nurturing themselves.
But at the same time, they were unconsciously enduring the erosion of the Heaven-Opening Fiendish Energy.
"Wait for me..." Zhou Ming silently withdrew his consciousness.
"No matter how difficult it is, I will try. For our Witch Clan, I will fight for a different future."