The two Immortal Islands shook violently at this, their spiritual energy thrown into chaos and colliding. Luckily, the brothers had collected their spiritual plants and treasures beforehand.
Otherwise, few would have survived such harsh conditions.
Then the Chaos Pearl erupted with boundless power, drawing in and assimilating Chaos Qi as the Chaos World Projection turned from illusion to reality.
Boom!
Xuanyuan slammed his hands together. Like Taotie's gaping maw, the Chaos World Projection swallowed both Immortal Islands whole.
At the instant Xuanyuan put the islands away, he had no idea that outside the Return to Ruins, the entire Primordial World shuddered as if an invisible hand had shaken it. Heaven and earth changed color, and the Sun, Moon, and Stars lost their light.
The Return to Ruins almost completely cut off the workings of heaven, but it was still part of the Primordial World. Though the Immortal Islands had sunk into it, they retained a faint connection to the world.
Now, however, Xuanyuan had placed Yuanqiao and Dai Yu inside the Chaos Pearl, which severed all ties of karma and the workings of heaven. The consequences were naturally different.
The Five Elements had been diminished. Heavenly Condemnation would follow.
Even the mighty Dragon-Kin Giant had met a miserable end.
Thanks to the Chaos Pearl, the Heavenly Dao would not notice Xuanyuan.
But Old Ancestor Five Elements, who had originally played only a minor part, had now become the chief culprit in the Heavenly Dao's eyes. He suffered for it.
He was no match for Hongjun to begin with. Once the Heavenly Dao sent down Heavenly Condemnation, he was left in an even sorrier state.
Within the Return to Ruins, Xuanyuan put away the two islands. He glanced at the six enormous turtle shells radiating dense baleful energy but left them where they were.
Taking Tongtian with him, he swung his ruler, punched through boundless Time and Space, broke past the barrier of the Return to Ruins, and returned to the Primordial World.
They emerged over the East Sea.
The brothers resumed tracing its waterways, hoping to find the remaining Three Immortal Islands still adrift upon it.
But the earlier upheaval had thrown the waterways of the four seas into disorder. They traveled for three thousand years, and the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler detected no other unusual space-time.
"The time isn't right yet. It seems the Three Immortal Islands won't emerge for now." Xuanyuan sighed.
They had come to the East Sea for the Three Immortal Islands. In the end, they never saw them. Instead, they entered the Return to Ruins, disrupted Old Ancestor Five Elements' plans, and obtained Yuanqiao and Dai Yu.
Fortune had its own workings. Without the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler and the Chaos Pearl, the brothers likely would never have fallen into the Guixu Land, no matter how long they wandered the East Sea.
It was just like their fruitless search of Buzhou Mountain. Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures each had their destined time to appear.
Xuanyuan could change some things, but not everything.
The Three Immortal Islands would likely become the foundation of Dong Wang Gong's Immortal Court.
Originally, even with the Witch Race present, the Heavenly Court founded by the Demon Race had refused to tolerate Dong Wang Gong's Immortal Court. Now that there was no Witch Race...
A flash of insight came to Xuanyuan. The Calamity Qi of the Kalpa Tribulation had already reached a tipping point. Its eruption was inevitable.
If the Ancestral Witches did not establish their clan, other great cultivators would have to be drawn into the calamity to disperse its Calamity Qi.
Dong Wang Gong was destined to lead all male immortals and was ambitious to boot. In all likelihood, he would be the one to face Di Jun and Tai Yi across the Primordial World's chessboard.
"What a pity. If Old Ancestor Five Elements truly hasn't plundered the Three Immortal Islands, there must be Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures on them," Tongtian said.
"We can come back later. For now, let's return to Pangu Hall. I have something to discuss with Sister Houtu." Xuanyuan shook his head.
Houtu and Nuwa were the best candidates for the Human Path. As an Ancestral Witch, Xuanyuan knew its establishment would have to follow Houtu's creation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Would she have to become the Six Paths of Reincarnation herself, unable ever to leave?
Xuanyuan did not like that outcome.
The Return to Ruins already carried the power of extinction and devoured departed souls without pause. Why not have Houtu cultivate there? When the time came, she could use that half-formed place of reincarnation to create the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Golden Ao's six turtle shells could be put to use as well, one for each of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Wasn't that a fitting coincidence?
Tongtian had no objections.
The two headed straight for Buzhou Mountain.
This time, Xuanyuan did not travel at a leisurely pace. He combined his command of spatial power with the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler, a Merit Spiritual Treasure of Houtu capable of piercing space.
Before long, they reached the foot of Buzhou Mountain and entered Pangu Hall through the Gate of the Mysterious Female.
The two entered Pangu Hall, which was sealed off from the workings of heaven, and paid no heed to worldly affairs. Outside, however, the earlier upheaval had stirred the entire Primordial World Earth into action.
On the Sun Star, the brothers Di Jun and Tai Yi grew restless. Taking the Chaos Bell and the River Diagram and Luo Book, they set out to travel the Primordial World Earth—and to make trouble for Dong Wang Gong and Ziwei Star Lord.
After Pangu Opens Heaven, the Chaos Supreme Treasure known as the Sky-Opening Axe had split into three Innate Supreme Treasures:
Its Axe Blade became the Pangu Banner, the most powerful treasure for attacking.
Its axe head became the Taiji Diagram, which could suppress Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind.
Both treasures were still in Hongjun's hands. Only later would he distribute them to Laozi and Yuanshi at the Treasure Distribution Rock.
The Axe Handle became the Chaos Bell, a treasure suited to both attack and defense. After it was used to stabilize the starry sky, it fell onto the Sun Star and became Tai Yi's Companion Treasure. It was also the only Innate Supreme Treasure currently in the Primordial World Earth.
The God-Slaying Spear, Pangu Banner, and Taiji Diagram were all in Hongjun's hands, while Hongjun resided high in the Purple Heaven Palace.
Setting Xuanyuan aside, Tai Yi's Chaos Bell was the strongest treasure in the Primordial World Earth at that moment.
The last time, the brothers had only just taken form and had not fully refined their treasures' restrictions. That was why Dong Wang Gong had managed to rescue Ziwei Star Lord.
Now, after several Eons in seclusion, they could bring out part of an Innate Supreme Treasure's true power.
The Chaos Bell was a deep, chaotic yellow. The Sun, Moon, and Stars and Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind circled its outer surface, while mountains, rivers, and the myriad races of the Primordial World flickered within. Five-Colored Radiance illuminated the heavens, and its Chaos Saintly Might shook the universe.
It could suppress the "primordial world," reverse "the heavens and Time and Space," reveal "the Heavenly Dao's mysteries," and refine "Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind."
Driven at full power, it could lock time, suppress space, and rebound attacks from any treasure or divine weapon, along with the force of every divine ability and spell. Combining offense and defense, it made its bearer all but unbeatable once raised above his head.
Faced with Tai Yi and Di Jun and their mighty treasures, Dong Wang Gong—though born from the first strand of Pure Yang Qi and possessed of extraordinary origins—could only fight while retreating. He and Ziwei Star Lord eventually withdrew to the East Sea, where they used its boundless Water Qi to hold their opponents off.
The Great Sun Golden Flame and True Sun Fire burned the sky and boiled the sea. As the battle dragged on, the scaled creatures beneath the waves suffered terrible losses from its aftermath.
The Dragon Race, overlords of the East Sea, could hardly avoid being drawn into the four great cultivators' fight.
At first, the four paid them little mind. But as more Dragon Race experts died, Candle Dragon, recently emerged from seclusion, and the Nine Sons of the Dragon could no longer sit still.
That battle also forced the many great cultivators who had taken form only after the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity to take the fallen former overlords seriously.
One Primordial Golden Immortal and nine at Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfection!
Even with the Chaos Bell and the River Diagram and Luo Book, Tai Yi and Di Jun had no choice but to withdraw for the moment.
The broad course of events could not be changed, but the effects of many smaller changes were growing ever more significant.
Hidden currents surged through the Primordial World Earth, while peace reigned inside Pangu Hall.
"Brothers and sisters, my elder brother and I traveled the East Sea and obtained two Top-level Blessed Lands. They have an affinity with Gou Mang, Zhurong, Gonggong, Rushou, and Houtu."
Pangu Hall had formed from Pangu's Heart and contained a world of its own. The two Immortal Islands were large, but it could easily hold them.
As soon as the islands appeared, Xuanyuan took out a pagoda and a pine tree.
In an instant, the aura of the Five Elements filled Pangu Hall. The rich Innate Five Elements Essence Qi made Zhurong and the other four Ancestral Witches stare in awe.
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