"Excellent!"
Aura of Creation permeated the cloud couch.
Golden lotuses bloomed one after another from the ground.
Empress Nuwa parted her crimson lips slightly, a smile on her face.
"This Taiyuanzi is quite a courageous and decisive fellow."
Dao Lord Fuxi also smiled.
"Come to think of it, Taiyuanzi is fated to be connected with the two of us."
"That day, we preached the Dao in the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range."
"This child possessed keen talent and extraordinary Dao nature."
"He left quite an impression on me."
The memories of an Innate Dao Lord were terrifyingly clear.
Empress Nuwa considered it briefly, then nodded.
"So it was him."
That made things even better.
After giving it some thought, Empress Nuwa summoned Fairy Cai Feng.
"Once Taiyuanzi has settled the matters at the Water Mansion."
"Bring him to Phoenix Perch Mountain."
"Di Jun has ascended as the Heavenly Emperor and is conferring ranks upon the demons beneath him."
"Our Phoenix Perch Mountain lineage contributed greatly."
"When it comes time to reward merit, that Majesty should also produce something."
Fairy Cai Feng was surprised.
From the sound of it.
Empress Nuwa seemed to intend to bring Taiyuanzi into Phoenix Perch Mountain's inner circle as well.
When she saw Empress Nuwa's gaze sweep toward her, she dared not think further.
"Yes!"
"Empress, I shall go seek Taiyuanzi at once."
With that, Fairy Cai Feng took her leave.
Watching Fairy Cai Feng's departing figure.
Empress Nuwa sneered.
"For the sake of the demon race's greater cause, my brother and I have retreated time and again."
"And yet they have come to think our Phoenix Perch Mountain lineage is easy to bully."
Dao Lord Fuxi said calmly.
"You have won the Dao Ancestor's favor and received a strand of Primordial Violet Qi."
"This is the foundation for becoming a saint."
"Who knew how many Great Divine Ability Users throughout the Myriad Heavens and Universes were watching greedily."
"Joining the demon race can also draw away some of their attention."
"With the Great Dao before us, everything else is but a trivial matter."
As long as she comprehended the Primordial Violet Qi and attained the Dao to become a saint.
Everything that had happened before was merely a touch of wind and frost.
What was there to dwell upon?
"Still, Taiyuanzi has helped the two of us vent some anger."
"We can also use this opportunity to clear out a batch of vermin."
"So those petty scoundrels will stop stirring up trouble."
"Since he has good judgment and decent talent, what is wrong with giving him a share of the benefits?"
Dao Lord Fuxi smiled faintly.
They were unwilling to fight for it, not incapable of doing so.
Empress Nuwa nodded.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan cleanly reduced the Demon King blocking his path to ashes.
"The two at Phoenix Perch Mountain should have seen my performance just now, right?"
"I am a loyal and honest young man."
Zhou Yuan muttered.
"But even if they did not see it, it is not a big problem."
"That brainless Demon King dared to casually slander the Sun Palace and the Phoenix Perch Mountain Dao Lineage. If he died, then he died."
"Even Ji Meng cannot openly come looking for trouble with me."
After all, this involved the conflict between the big shots above.
Even Ji Meng would have to keep his hands tied.
Once these matters were settled, he would enter seclusion.
When he emerged next time, he might not necessarily fear Dao Lord Ji Meng anymore.
After weighing the pros and cons in an instant, Zhou Yuan tossed the matter aside.
It was not a big problem.
He continued onward.
The Wei River Water Mansion's ranks grew ever larger.
The Grotto-heaven Cultivators subdued along the way were as numerous as clouds, Celestial beings, gods, and demons fell like rain, and even two great cultivators of the True One Realm had come to submit.
He still employed the same three measures.
Cultivators who did not belong to the demon race, such as remnants of the god race and wandering Grand Unity cultivators, were all slain and refined into the Myriad Spirits Banner.
Those of the demon race, friendly Grand Unity Great Sages, were persuaded with kind words and offered mutual benefits.
As for beings like the foul-mouthed Demon King, they could naturally only enter the Myriad Spirits Banner.
That day.
Zhou Yuan unfurled the Myriad Spirits Banner and collected the remnant souls of the Grand Unity cultivators who had died by his hand.
The golden-red great banner fluttered in the wind, and its howl churned the heavens.
For an instant, it seemed as though a pitch-black, sinister hall manifested in the void.
Upon a blood-red throne in the great hall sat a little girl wearing a red bellyband, her hair tied into twin buns that pointed skyward.
At her feet knelt ten enormous black shadows whose features could not be seen.
Behind those shadows stood densely packed vicious ghosts, baring their fangs and claws.
For a moment, gusts of sinister wind swept through the void, accompanied by the wails and howls of ghosts.
"This..."
Where had this old demon come from?!
Many living beings stared at the green-robed Daoist standing atop the waves, their eyes filled with horror.
Even the cultivators of the Wei River Water Mansion were startled.
That bearing, that aura—he was unmistakably an old demon of the demonic path.
Zhou Yuan did not care what those below thought.
He sensed the Myriad Spirits Banner in his palm.
A trace of melancholy appeared in his eyes.
"So it still will not work?"
According to his calculations.
Ten Grand Unity cultivators and a hundred million vicious ghosts should have been enough to raise the Banner Spirit, Su Nu, to the Dao Lord realm.
But now, it was clear that this would not work.
After all, Innate Dao Lords were different from Grand Unity Great Sages.
They had attained the fruition of a Dao.
They were beings capable of leaping free of the Spacetime Long River and opening a tiny tributary of their own.
Such existences differed fundamentally from those below the Dao Lord realm.
It was not merely a difference in quantity.
One could not pile up enough numbers to create an Innate Dao Lord.
"Still, it is not as though there were no gains."
"With Su Nu's current state, she should be able to exchange three or two moves with an Innate Dao Lord?"
Zhou Yuan pondered inwardly, but having never truly fought an Innate Dao Lord, he could only guess.
He put away the Myriad Spirits Banner.
Zhou Yuan stood with his hands behind his back.
After subduing this waterway, he had completely occupied the upper reaches of the Huai River.
He could feel it.
Streams of fortune were flowing toward him.
The seal formed from the water god's authority within his Primordial Spirit Consciousness Sea also emitted a dim glow.
Clearly, he had gained considerable benefits and was advancing toward a higher level.
"The feeling of growing stronger every moment is truly wonderful."
"If I can completely occupy the Wei River, I may even ascend directly to the Innate Dao Lord realm."
Such was the terror of authority, and the treatment enjoyed by first-generation players before the server's Heavenly Dao was officially activated.
"My lord."
"Do we need to continue onward?"
Continue opening up new territory.
Unify the Huai River.
Guizhenzi stepped forward and bowed.
Zhou Yuan shook his head.
"Enough is as good as a feast."
"Let us return now."
"The upper reaches of the Huai River are vast. Governing them will require some thought."
Some eager generals still wanted to persuade him otherwise.
They had not earned enough Military Merit yet.
But when they met Zhou Yuan's indifferent gaze.
They wisely swallowed the words that had nearly left their mouths.
Before long.
The waves surged, and divine light blazed.
The people of the Wei River Water Mansion returned in triumph.
After Zhou Yuan departed.
Clouds and mist churned high in the sky.
Two flashes of azure light streaked through the air.
Two enormous blue-green dragons transformed into Daoist forms.
The old dragon with white hair and a long white beard, holding a dark and mysterious pearl in his hand, gazed at Zhou Yuan's departing figure and sighed.
"What a pity. This child is far too cautious."
The two from Phoenix Perch Mountain had taken the Five Directions Imperial Dynasty.
And handed the upper reaches of the Huai River over to Taiyuanzi.
At such a time, who would dare bully the young and seize the Authority of Water Element over the upper reaches of the Huai River?
He was certain that the Red Embroidered Ball was already spinning in the void.
It was merely waiting for some fool.
Because that would be a provocation against the authority of the Phoenix Perch Mountain Dao Lineage.
But if Taiyuanzi took the initiative to start a dispute.
And entered the lower reaches of the Wei River.
Then things would be different.
"I failed to take him down this time."
"For a while, I will have no opportunity to act."
The white-haired old dragon's gaze was deep, as though it concealed ten thousand years of ice.
"The Four Seas are not peaceful either."
"I must remain in Dragon Abyss and cannot stay long."
"The Huai River is vast and one of the Four Waterways. Ao Yuan, make good use of this opportunity."
Ao Yuan, who appeared middle-aged, nodded.
"Rest assured, Ancestor. I know the gravity of the situation."
"Now is a sensitive time. I will not casually start a war and draw the demon race's attention."
But the two at Phoenix Perch Mountain would not keep their eyes on this place forever.
When that time came, he would deal with Taiyuanzi properly.
Seeing this, the old dragon said no more.
By setting out to sea on his own to help his child, he had already violated the taboo of the Four Seas Dragon Palaces.
He would still have to explain himself properly when he returned.
"Since that is the case, I shall return to the East Sea first!"
With that said.
The old man immediately transformed into an azure dragon, riding the clouds and mist as he flew toward the East Sea.
After Ao Yuan watched him leave.
He cast a calm glance toward the upper reaches of the Huai River, then turned into a streak of light and entered the water.
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