The Two Pures Arrived Late

The lotus seed shimmered with the aura of creation. Every pulse seemed to beat against the very source of Heaven and Earth.

Xuanyuan's eyes burned with excitement. The Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler shot skyward as a streak of violet light, merging with the Chaos World Projection to form a gigantic vortex that enveloped all of Time and Space.

"Come out!"

Xuanyuan reached out and seized at the air. A terrifying force of suction erupted from the vortex.

The lotus seed struggled violently, but it could not withstand the added might of Pangu's Residual Might and the power of a Chaos Supreme Treasure. It was forcibly dragged out.

In an instant, all of Buzhou Mountain trembled faintly. Dark clouds filled the sky, and bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder gathered overhead. Yet, protected by Pangu's Residual Might, they hesitated to descend.

"Is this a seed from the Creation Green Lotus?"

Tongtian came closer and asked uncertainly.

The sight of the seed transforming into a Twenty-Four Petaled Creation Green Lotus and emerging moments ago was still fresh in his mind. Why had another one appeared?

Could they possibly obtain three more Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures?

"Creation is the source of vitality. This is a seed of creation. If it finds a suitable fate, it may grow into a Twelve-Petaled Creation Green Lotus. It has the potential to develop spiritual awareness and take physical form. But clearly, it was destined to be mine."

After storing the lotus seed in his Chaos World, Xuanyuan was in high spirits.

The Creation Lotus Seed could help him comprehend the Great Dao Law of Creation, one of the ten fundamental Great Daos of the Chaos World. The benefits it offered could not be matched by one or two Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.

If the Creation Green Lotus took physical form, its roots would be those of an Innate Divine Being, and it would become Xuanyuan's disciple.

Today, you help me comprehend the Dao; one day, I will help you prove it.

If it ultimately could not take physical form, it would still make a Treasure for Proving the Dao no weaker than the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi.

"The Green Lotus gave birth to four treasures, and we each got two. What a wonderful turn of events!" Tongtian exclaimed.

"Fate is a wondrous thing, beyond words." Xuanyuan smiled calmly and led Tongtian toward Pangu Hall at the foot of the mountain.

The two of them had obtained the four treasures. Was it Heaven's will?

Xuanyuan didn't think so.

The Four Treasures of the Green Lotus corresponded to the Four Pangu Purities...

But now that all four treasures had fallen into his and Tongtian's hands, they had nothing to do with those two "elder brothers."

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

Not long after Xuanyuan and Tongtian had left, two clear streams of energy suddenly surged up in the distance and came to a stop at Buzhou Mountain Peak.

Grand Pure Qi flowed like a steady river over the scorched earth, then coalesced into an old man with white hair and beard. His crane-feather robe fluttered in the wind, revealing flashes of Mysterious Yellow Qi. Jade Pure Qi transformed into a middle-aged man clad in rosy robes, innate spiritual light shimmering in the Dao patterns between his brows.

The newcomers were none other than Laozi and Yuanshi.

"Alas."

The Spiritual Sense of Yuanshi, whose cultivation was at the Mid Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal level, burst forth. But when it touched the shattered fabric of Time and Space, it dwindled into a helpless sigh.

Laozi could sense that the treasure born this time had a deep affinity with him.

"How swift they were. The treasure appeared, and we were only a step behind. We missed our chance!"

Gazing at the lingering celestial phenomena in the sky, Yuanshi tried to divine the secrets of Heaven. But the threads of fate tangled like a ball of yarn, sending a sharp pain through his mind. His expression changed.

Then, his vast Spiritual Sense swept across a radius of ten million li, yet he found no trace of the mysterious powerhouse who had obtained the treasure.

"Let it be. That is Heaven's decree; we mustn't force it."

Laozi shook his head, then vanished as a stream of pure energy.

Seeing this, Yuanshi was unwilling to give up, but still followed him away from Buzhou Mountain.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan naturally had no idea that Laozi and Yuanshi had arrived after them. Since Pangu Hall could sever the secrets of Heaven and conceal karmic ties, they also hadn't discovered that the treasures had fallen into his and Tongtian's hands.

Of course, even if Laozi and Yuanshi had known, Xuanyuan wouldn't have cared.

The brothers' travels through the Primordial World these past years had been eventful enough, especially their meeting with Zhen Yuanzi and their fight against Zhun Ti and Jie Yin.

But the Twelve Ancestral Witches had also made gains of their own in Pangu Hall.

There was no need to mention their progress in cultivating the Nine Revolutions Profound Art. As for the Indestructible True Spirit, all but Zhurong, the Fire Ancestral Witch, had succeeded in cultivating it for the first time, forming a layer of Indestructible Will around their True Spirits.

Meanwhile, every Ancestral Witch had reached either the Mid Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal or the Late Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal level.

"Damn Zhun Ti and Jie Yin! I'll tear their heads off!"

"Those shameless bastards! If our strength were fully developed, we'd have killed them and destroyed their cultivation!"

As Xuanyuan and Tongtian shared what they had seen on their journey, the Ancestral Witches were all incensed when they heard how the brothers Zhun Ti and Jie Yin had bullied the Great Witches and Lesser Witches.

If Di Jiang hadn't held them back, and Xuanyuan hadn't talked them down, Gonggong's fiery temper would have sent him rushing to the Western Land with Zhurong in tow.

"It's nothing serious. We'll settle the score someday. These are Ginseng Fruits, one of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots. We should share them with our brothers and sisters."

Xuanyuan waved a hand. His sleeve swept out, and fourteen Ginseng Fruits wrapped in the Innate Ice Silkworm Silk Scarf appeared in Pangu Hall, filling it with a refreshing fragrance.

He and Tongtian had already eaten some at Wuzhuang Temple, but the Ginseng Fruits were still excellent for savoring their flavor.

"Brother Xuanyuan, that ability of yours is rather interesting."

The other Ancestral Witches were focused on the Ginseng Fruits. Only Di Jiang stared at Xuanyuan's sleeve, his expression thoughtful.

"Haha, during my exchange with Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, I learned two abilities. I was hoping to discuss them with you, Brother Di Jiang."

Xuanyuan distributed the Ginseng Fruits to the Ancestral Witches, then took out fourteen porcelain cups and dissolved the fruits in water. After that, he went over to Di Jiang and sat down cross-legged.

His discussion of the Dao with Zhen Yuanzi had yielded benefits in several areas.

But aside from the Great Dao of Earth and the Great Dao of Wood, most of his insights into the Space Great Dao had come from deducing it through the power of Wutu, which represented the earth's ley lines. Even Zhen Yuanzi himself understood the principles without fully understanding their underlying reasons.

After all, the Space Great Dao wasn't his main path of cultivation.

So Xuanyuan needed to discuss the inspiration and questions he had accumulated with Di Jiang, the Space Ancestral Shaman.

"Zhen Yuanzi is certainly worth befriending. If we get the chance, we should meet him too," Di Jiang said with a nod.

Xuanyuan and Di Jiang didn't eat the Ginseng Fruits right away. They used the power of Space to separate themselves from the others so they wouldn't disturb the other Ancestral Witches, then began discussing the Space Great Dao.

Seeing this, Tongtian thought for a moment, then began refining the newly acquired Qing Ping Sword and Dragon-Headed Walking Stick.

As the Ancestral Witches ate the Ginseng Fruits one after another, rich Innate Wood Qi and Wutu spiritual energy filled Pangu Hall. The fruits' fragrance, imbued with Dao rhythms, drifted through the hall.

After refining the Ginseng Fruits, the other Ancestral Witches saw only a slight improvement in their cultivation and a strengthening of their bodies. They gained no other benefits.

But Gou Mang, the Ancestral Witch of Wood, and Houtu, the Ancestral Witch of Earth, were different.

Countless emerald vines and towering trees burst from the earth around Gou Mang. Green divine markings raced beneath his skin, and he threw back his head and let out a long roar. His normally restrained true form, ten thousand zhang tall, swelled to one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred zhang.

He had a human body and a bird's face, green scales covering his body, and two Azure Dragons beneath his feet.

Houtu's aura grew heavier still. The earth beneath her feet split with a deafening rumble, and countless bands of ochre light coiled around her. She too transformed into the twelve-wan-nine-thousand-six-hundred-zhang true form of the Ancestral Witch of Earth. The land quaked whenever she opened or closed her eyes.

She had a human body and a serpent's tail, seven arms growing from her back and two from her chest, and she held two Teng Snakes.

"Rumble!"

Two vast auras erupted at once. Space shook inside Pangu Hall as boundless spiritual energy converged from all directions.

The law markings on the two Ancestral Witches shone ever brighter. Their powerful auras surged into the sky, and the pressure of the Late Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal level swept in every direction like a hurricane!