Taiyi Comprehended the Innate Five Elements Law; the Immortal Court Went Head-to-Head with the Witch Clan

"Kunpeng and Hongyun were bound to fight, and Red Cloud Hermit would surely perish!"

Laozi delivered this judgment with absolute certainty.

Yuanshi and Tongtian were both secretly puzzled.

They did not understand why their eldest brother had reached such a conclusion in such a decisive tone.

"Did you think Hongjun Daozu's Saint cushions were so easily yielded?"

Laozi smiled faintly. Within his wise, time-worn eyes seemed to be reflected the sun, moon, universe, and heaven and earth, while a glimmer of insight into worldly affairs flashed past.

"Are we really going to stand by and watch Red Cloud Hermit perish?"

Tongtian asked somewhat gloomily.

"This is karmic fate ordained by Heaven. We brothers must not interfere."

"As for compensation, we can always lend him some support later."

"Our friendship with those three from Red Cloud's side has not reached the point where we would risk our lives for them."

Laozi said indifferently.

It was merely an opportunity to obtain an Innate Spiritual Treasure.

Even if Red Cloud Hermit refused to give it up, once he perished, it would naturally still fall into their hands.

Such was the destiny ordained by Heaven.

"Fine."

Seeing that his elder brother Laozi had put it this way, Tongtian could do nothing but sigh regretfully.

For Tongtian Jiaozhu, whose loves and hates were clear and whose temperament was forthright, Red Cloud Hermit's character suited his taste quite well.

But Tongtian also knew that in the Primordial Wilderness, many matters were beyond one's control. The Mandate of Heaven had its constants, and even he had to follow Heaven and act according to the times.

Thus, the three brothers of the Three Pure Ones temporarily gave up the thought of befriending Red Cloud Hermit.

They each returned to their caves to enter seclusion and cultivate.

Meanwhile, Taiyi remained in seclusion within the Sun Palace, diligently cultivating as he refined the Innate Five Elements Spiritual Fruit borne by the Five-Needle Pine, replenishing his cultivation.

As Taiyi sat cross-legged, Innate Five Elements spiritual energy flickered around him. At times, it became weapons of metal; at times, lush green wood; at times, surging waters; at times, blazing flames; at times, heavy masses of earth—each taking a different form.

Perhaps the time had come. The Innate Five Elements spiritual energy was gradually absorbed into Taiyi's body. After circulating through one heavenly cycle, it transformed into surging mana that raised his cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, Taiyi's mana cultivation had reached the peak of the late Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Then, once all the Innate Five Elements spiritual energy around him had been fully absorbed, Taiyi slowly opened his previously shut eyes, and a streak of five-colored divine light flashed through them.

"I never expected that, through such a twist of fate, I would cultivate the path of the Innate Five Elements Law."

"Even though the Innate Five Elements Law has only reached minor attainment, it is still greatly beneficial to me."

"I will have a few more methods to deal with enemies in the future."

Taiyi rose to his feet, tall and poised. His handsome yet alluring face gave him the incomparably elegant bearing of a young man.

Even an immortal who had stepped out of a painting could not compare to Taiyi's current bearing and presence.

"Still, without cultivation at the Saint level, it remains difficult to fully refine the Eastern Emperor Bell!"

"Otherwise, we brothers would have one more trump card to preserve our lives."

Holding a small exquisite bell in his palm, Taiyi looked at it and sighed inwardly.

Though an Innate Supreme Treasure possessed terrifying power, it could not be fully controlled without the cultivation of a Saint.

"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time."

"It is time to raise my brother Dijun's cultivation as well."

Taking out a set of Innate Five Elements Spiritual Fruit and placing them in a precious bottle, Taiyi headed toward Dijun Palace.

While Taiyi and Dijun remained peacefully secluded in their palaces, cultivating without emerging, the Primordial Continent began to stir with wind and clouds.

The instigator was Duke of the East, who had received the Dao Ancestor's personal appointment as the leader of the male immortals.

Duke of the East had truly taken the saying about wielding a chicken feather as an imperial arrow to its fullest extent.

Any Innate beings of the Primordial Wilderness who refused his summons were branded by Duke of the East with the crime of disrespecting the Dao Ancestor. He then oppressed them with force, cast spellfire torture upon them, and crushed all defiance.

As for those Primordial Powerhouses he could not deal with for the time being, he adopted a slow, grinding approach: win over one faction, suppress another, and split apart a third.

Under Duke of the East's meticulous maneuvering, nearly half the Primordial Wilderness trembled beneath the fearsome name of the "Immortal Court."

Many Primordial Powerhouses were deeply dissatisfied with Duke of the East.

Yet, intimidated by the Dao Ancestor's name, they did not dare confront him.

They therefore shut their palace gates and ignored worldly matters, waiting only for the second lecture at Purple Cloud Palace so they could complain to the Dao Ancestor and have Duke of the East stripped of his title as leader of the male immortals.

In the original history of the Primordial Wilderness, it had been Taiyi and Dijun who went head-to-head with Duke of the East, waging mutual campaigns and battling with their spells.

This time, however, the brothers Taiyi and Dijun remained hidden in the Sun Palace and did not emerge. They had not even attended Hongjun Daozu's lecture at Purple Cloud Palace, thereby dissolving the karmic ties.

With no other choice, the workings of fate allowed another force to gradually rise up and contend with Duke of the East's Immortal Court, provoking conflicts and accumulating the Tribulation Qi required for the great tribulation.

It was the Witch Clan beneath Buzhou Mountain.

After appearing upon the Primordial Continent, the Witch Clan proclaimed themselves Pangu's orthodox lineage. They revered Pangu as Father God and respected neither Heaven nor Earth.

Every member of the Witch Clan possessed an exceptionally powerful physical body, comparable to an Innate God or Demon.

Thus, the Witch Clan was also known as the clan of Demon Gods.

Aside from the Twelve Ancestral Witches, whose cultivation rivaled the peak of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, they had Great Witches at the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, as well as countless lesser Witches with Grand Yi Golden Immortal and Golden Immortal cultivation.

In less than a thousand years, they had firmly established themselves upon Buzhou Mountain and become its dominant force.

The Witch Clan's sudden rise greatly enraged the complacent Duke of the East.

Using their disrespect for Heaven, Earth, and the Dao Ancestor as a pretext, he placed them among those to be suppressed and conquered.

A battle between the Immortal Court and the Witch Clan was on the verge of erupting.

However, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, also known to outsiders as the Twelve Demon Gods, were born with incomparably powerful bodies. They could devour Heaven and Earth, command wind, water, thunder, and lightning, fill seas, move mountains, and alter the very heavens and earth.

When all twelve Ancestral Witches gathered without a single one missing and deployed the Twelve Divine Demon Grand Formation, they could condense the Pangu True Body, capable of Pangu Creates the World and destroying Heaven and Earth. Beneath Saints, few could match them.

Duke of the East had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea and seek a way to break the deadlock.

The first person he thought of was Queen Mother of the West, who was likewise the leader of the female immortals.

But when Duke of the East went to West Kunlun Mountain, he met with a rebuff.

He did not even get to see Queen Mother of the West before being sent away.

This secretly infuriated Duke of the East, but there was nothing he could do.

As the respective leaders of the male Dao cultivators and female Dao cultivators of the Primordial Wilderness, Queen Mother of the West had no need to obey his orders.

How Queen Mother of the West conducted herself was not for Duke of the East, leader of the male immortals, to dictate.

After being turned away at the door, Duke of the East left with his pride wounded.

Duke of the East's Immortal Court forces traveled everywhere, seeking to win over Primordial Powerhouses to jointly subdue the disloyal Witch Clan. This also alerted the Witch Clan beneath Buzhou Mountain.

When the Twelve Ancestral Witches heard the report from their clan's spies, they were filled with rage.

Their Witch Clan had not even gone looking for trouble with Duke of the East's Immortal Court, yet Duke of the East dared to pluck their tiger whiskers.

After a brief discussion, the Twelve Ancestral Witches decided to strike first.

After all, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had gained nothing from Hongjun Daozu's lecture, nor had they acknowledged Hongjun as their master. They had no need to care about Hongjun Daozu's opinion.

They, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, were descendants of Great God Pangu. Who could make them bow their heads and submit?

Therefore, Duke of the East had to die!

This Immortal Court had to be destroyed as well!

The Twelve Ancestral Witches led hundreds of Great Witches and lesser Witches as they charged furiously toward the Immortal Court.