Inside the main hall of the Crystal Palace, fine wine and delicacies gave off a hazy spiritual aura. Di Jiang and Candle Dragon sat facing each other. They seemed to be chatting idly, but beneath their words lay hidden barbs.
After a few rounds of polite small talk about the Dao and the sights of the Primordial World, Di Jiang shifted the conversation. He cast a seemingly casual glance at Candle Dragon, lifted his jade cup for a sip, and said slowly:
"Fellow Daoist Candle Dragon, Senior Hongjun has now attained Primordial Sagehood, and the Purple Heavens Palace has opened its doors to expound the Great Dao. The landscape of the Primordial World has been transformed. I wonder, under this new order, who do you think might claim authority over Heaven and Earth and become the hegemon of this Tribulation Cycle?"
Candle Dragon's heart stirred at the question. He couldn't tell what Di Jiang was getting at. After a moment's thought, he cautiously offered a few possibilities:
"The Primordial World is full of capable figures. The Three Pure Ones of Mount Kunlun are the orthodox successors of Pangu's Primordial Spirit. Their Origin is extraordinary, their blessings profound, and they are united as brothers. Once they have cultivated to maturity, they may well have a chance."
Di Jiang set down his wine cup and gave a soft laugh, shaking his head with a trace of disdain.
"The Three Pure Ones? They may have Pangu's True Lineage, but they are ultimately beings of the Primordial Spirit. They lack the grandeur and boldness of those who split Heaven and Earth. They keep to Mount Kunlun, cultivating in seclusion and guarding their own peace. They are not fit to be hegemons. Like a flood dragon lurking in a deep pool, they may soar into the clouds, but they will never become true dragons of the Nine Heavens."
A flicker of surprise crossed Candle Dragon's eyes. He hadn't expected Di Jiang to think so poorly of the Three Pure Ones. After a moment's thought, he continued:
"Then what of Di Jun and Taiyi of the Sun Star? They harbor great ambitions and have now consolidated their power in the Southern Wilderness. Their ranks are filled with powerful figures, and they have treasures such as He Tu Luo Shu to suppress their destiny. Their influence is vast, and they seem poised to sweep across the Primordial World."
Di Jiang shook his head again, a hint of amusement at the corner of his mouth. "Di Jun and Taiyi? They rose in the Southern Wilderness while the Phoenix Clan was in decline. They appear mighty, but their foundations are unstable. Their followers are a motley assortment, each with their own agenda, and they can hardly be said to stand united."
"Their power is like a spark setting the prairie ablaze: it may burn fiercely for a time, but it cannot last. One great wave would snuff it out in an instant. They are not fit to be hegemons. They are merely watchdogs guarding their own doors."
Candle Dragon furrowed his brow. Di Jiang's words were cutting. He thought for a moment, then brought up the two figures from the West:
"What of Jieyin and Zhunti in the West? Though born into poverty, they possess great resolve and wisdom. They endure hardship, seek a way forward, and guide Sentient Beings. Their ambitions are no small thing. Perhaps they might forge a new path and become hegemons in their own right."
At this, Di Jiang nearly laughed aloud. He waved a hand. "Jieyin and Zhunti? Those two are indeed exceptionally tenacious. Their thick skin—cough, I mean, their resolve—is also remarkably firm. But their Dao is focused on conversion, and they excel at scheming. Their vision is ultimately too narrow. They are like dried bones in a grave: even if they catch a whiff of opportunity, they cannot change their nature. How could they command the rise and fall of Heaven and Earth?"
Candle Dragon named one faction after another, and Di Jiang rejected each of them without the slightest courtesy, his judgments growing sharper with every one. Candle Dragon grew increasingly puzzled, and a trace of wariness stirred in him. Looking at Di Jiang, who sat at ease as if everything were under his control, he couldn't help asking outright:
"In your view, Fellow Daoist Di Jiang, the Three Pure Ones are no true dragons, Di Jun and Taiyi are no more than barking dogs, and the two from the West are like dried bones... Is there truly no one in this vast Primordial World who meets your standards and is fit to be a hegemon?"
Di Jiang saw that Candle Dragon had finally reached the heart of the matter. The moment was right. Instead of answering at once, he rose slowly and walked to the middle of the hall, standing with his hands behind his back. His gaze seemed to pierce the resplendent Crystal Palace and fall upon the unseen River of Destiny flowing through the Primordial World.
The vast aura of a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal and the majestic authority of Pangu's True Lineage no longer remained concealed. Like a sleeping dragon slowly awakening, it weighed upon the hall. Though it wasn't directed at Candle Dragon, the air itself seemed to grow heavier.
Di Jiang turned and fixed Candle Dragon with a burning gaze. His voice was not loud, but it carried an ironclad, undeniable force as he spoke, each word deliberate:
"A supreme hegemon of the Primordial World must possess the ambition to order Heaven and Earth, the power to shape creation, the breadth of heart to swallow worlds and stars, and the grand vision to encompass the six directions..."
Di Jiang paused, pointing first toward the hall's entrance, then slowly toward himself. At last, his gaze settled on Candle Dragon, as tangible as a physical force. "In my eyes, the so-called mighty figures of the Primordial World are nothing but clay chickens and straw dogs! Those fit to be hegemons—"
"Are none other than you and me!"
His words crashed through the hall like a bolt of thunder! In an instant, the entire Crystal Palace fell silent. The four Dragon Clan elders standing below blanched in shock, not even daring to breathe!
Candle Dragon's pupils contracted sharply. At last, his usually placid face betrayed undisguised astonishment. He had never imagined that after circling around the subject for so long, Di Jiang would say something like this!
Di Jiang's gaze locked firmly onto Candle Dragon, as if he meant to see through him completely. He thought to himself:
Candle Dragon, my words aren't empty flattery. I've raised you to such lofty heights. When I ask you for a few spiritual treasures next, you can hardly fob me off with some worthless junk, can you?
Di Jiang's declaration that "none other than you and me" had struck Candle Dragon hard, leaving him uncertain and suspicious. Instinctively, he activated the Time Law, sinking his divine sense into the boundless river of time in an attempt to peer into the Dragon Clan's future destiny.
Yet wherever his gaze fell, the Dragon Clan's destiny remained shrouded beneath dense clouds of karmic burden. Though its foundations had kept it from being extinguished, there was no sign of it rising again to dominate the Primordial World.
Could this boy simply be making things up?
The thought had barely arisen when Candle Dragon dismissed it. As a bearer of Pangu's True Lineage and a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal, Di Jiang's words carried the rhythm of the Dao. He didn't seem like someone who spoke without reason. Suppressing his doubts, Candle Dragon decided to test him directly. He cupped his hands and asked:
"Fellow Daoist Di Jiang, you flatter me. I hardly dare accept such praise. My Dragon Clan is weighed down by karmic debt, and our path forward has been cut off. How could we still contend for supremacy in this new order? I ask you to enlighten me."
His question left Di Jiang at a loss. Di Jiang's heart gave a little jump.
Oh no, I've overdone the boasting! Why did this old dragon take me seriously? The Dragon Clan is drowning in karmic debt. They should be repenting in the Blood Sea, not competing for supremacy! Are they trying to win a contest to see who gets reincarnated first?
But the words had already left his mouth. To preserve his image as someone inscrutable who saw through Heaven's secrets, Di Jiang dared not let anything show. Instead, he shook his head gravely and uttered six words:
"Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."
Just as disappointment appeared on Candle Dragon's face, inspiration struck Di Jiang! He recalled what he knew from his previous life about the Lich Tribulation Cycle, along with his current understanding of Heaven's secrets. Di Jun and Taiyi had yet to formally establish the name "Demon Clan." A brilliant idea took shape in an instant!
Di Jiang changed the subject, bringing it up as if in passing. "Still, something occurs to me. I've heard that in ancient times, your elder brother, Ancestor Dragon, unified the Primordial World's scale-bearing creatures. Heaven's approval brought down immeasurable merit, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. That was how the Dragon Clan reached its golden age. First Qilin unified the walking beasts, while Yuanfeng united the flying birds. Their circumstances were much the same."
A flash of light shone in Candle Dragon's eyes. Of course he knew about Ancestor Dragon's deeds. That had been the Dragon Clan's most glorious era. Why was Di Jiang bringing it up now?
Seeing Candle Dragon lost in thought, Di Jiang knew he was getting somewhere and continued to guide him. "The ancient tribulation has passed. The flying birds and walking beasts have fallen into decline, and they lack leaders. Beyond the innate divine beings in the heavens, countless postnatal living beings have multiplied across the cosmos—the Five Worms of Heaven and Earth: the scaled, shelled, furred, feathered, and winged. Their numbers are boundless, and the destiny they command is equally immense!"
Di Jiang deliberately stressed the words "equally immense." Seeing Candle Dragon's gaze grow sharper, he finally revealed his plan:
"Why not follow Ancestor Dragon's example? Use the Dragon Clan's might to unite the flying birds, walking beasts, and even all the postnatal living beings and Five Worms of Heaven and Earth beneath a single banner!"
"This would follow the great trend of living beings' evolution. Once accomplished, Heaven's approval would surely bring down supreme merit! Then the Dragon Clan's karmic debt from the past could be cleansed by that merit, allowing it to be reborn. You would also command the destiny of this new, unified race. To say that you could rule the Primordial World would be no empty boast!"
Di Jiang's words were half true and half false. The true part was that this Tribulation Cycle was indeed the time for "the rise of the Witch and Demon Clans." The Witch Clan belonged to his Mount Buzhou lineage, while the vast race known as the "Demon Clan," made up of countless postnatal living beings, flying birds, and walking beasts, had indeed arisen in accordance with destiny and possessed overwhelming fortune.
Whether Di Jun and Taiyi ultimately established the Demon Clan or Candle Dragon did so, it would still accord with the grand trend of Heaven's Dao. What was false was that he had concealed the existence of Di Jun and Taiyi, the Heaven-appointed heirs bearing the fate of supreme sovereigns, and handed the opportunity directly to Candle Dragon.
And in the future, neither Di Jiang nor Taiyi would accept being subordinate to Candle Dragon. Once Candle Dragon washed away his karmic debt, his Time Law would surely help his cultivation advance. The Dragon Clan would then be no weaker than Di Jun and Taiyi. A civil war within the Demon Clan could very well break out, leaving Di Jiang free to sit back and watch.
Candle Dragon was deeply shaken by Di Jiang's words! Once again, heedless of the cost, he fully activated the Time Law and turned his gaze toward the even more indistinct tributaries of the future.
This time, he saw it—faintly. A vast, indistinct phantom, formed from the converging destiny of countless races, so immense it was beyond imagination. Its destiny truly surpassed that of every faction in the present day! Though he couldn't make out the details, Di Jiang had spoken no falsehood about its immense power.
"Could this really be true?"
Waves of shock surged through Candle Dragon's heart. He had been unable to fully glimpse the future trend even by relying on the Time Law, yet Di Jiang had revealed it with such casual ease! His grasp of Heaven's secrets was truly terrifying!
For a moment, Candle Dragon regarded Di Jiang with more than the equality he had shown before. There was genuine respect now, and even a measure of wariness. Di Jiang was not only powerful and of extraordinary Origin, but possessed such foresight as well! Befriending him might truly be a great opportunity for the Dragon Clan.
Candle Dragon suppressed his excitement and bowed solemnly to Di Jiang. "Your words have cleared the clouds and revealed the sun, Fellow Daoist. You've opened my eyes! The Dragon Clan will remember this kindness!"
Di Jiang saw that he had successfully bluffed Candle Dragon. He felt secretly pleased, but remained composed on the surface and waved a hand. "You're too kind, Fellow Daoist. It was only an idle thought, a few shallow observations."
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