32. Earth Path and Human Path, Old Ancestor Yang Mei

"What a treacherous thief!"

"That old thief Hongjun actually stole the protective treasures Father God left for us—truly detestable!"

"The old scoundrel has no shame! If we ever get the chance, we'll deal him a vicious blow!"

The Ancestral Witches fumed with indignation.

"As for the other two treasures, one is the Heaven Suppressing Coffin, and the other is the Six Souls Banner. Both can threaten even a Heavenly Dao Saint, but where they are now, I do not know." Xuanyuan sighed.

A foot may be short, an inch may be long—he was not omniscient.

Still, though he knew not the Coffin's whereabouts, the Six Souls Banner was destined to be linked to Tong Tian.

In the future Investiture of the Gods Calamity, that baleful treasure of Heavenly Dao malice would appear within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, only to be stolen by the traitor Long-ear Dingguang Immortal, leading to Sect Master Tong Tian's ultimate failure.

"In truth, being a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin is not so bad. As long as one is strong enough, who can slay us?" Tong Tian said with a light laugh, brimming with confidence.

He did not believe he could never Prove Dao Hunyuan.

"Indeed."

"Hongjun walks the Heavenly Dao; we can also walk the Earth Path and the Human Path." Xuanyuan nodded.

He himself trod the Great Dao of Chaos, but he could not neglect the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Aside from the Five Elements Ancestral Witch, whose bloodline power had greatly increased through fortune, the remaining seven Ancestral Witches, without other opportunities, could only cultivate to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin at most. To go further would be merely half-step Heavenly Dao level.

But if, like Hongjun, they could become a master of a Path, they might even touch upon the Dao Level.

The Dao was lonely, and Xuanyuan still hoped his siblings could walk to the end together, climbing to the Peak of the Great Dao together.

"What do you mean by the Earth Path and the Human Path?" Di Jiang asked.

The other Ancestral Witches pricked up their ears as well.

"Where willpower flows, where living beings dwell, where reward and punishment, life and death, sin and reincarnation reside—the will of all beings is the Human Path."

"Where the Primordial World Earth lies, where mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas cycle, bearing countless beings and spiritual roots—the material world is the Earth Path."

"Both the Earth Path and the Human Path have paths that can be walked."

Xuanyuan sat cross-legged and began to expound on the Dao.

In truth, his versions of the Earth Path and Human Path differed from those implemented in the Primordial World, having been modified to better suit the Ancestral Witches.

Otherwise, the Earth Path would include the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the earth veins, while the Human Path would be mere competition among All Races to gather their willpower.

Since the Ancestral Witches did not establish a clan or vie for supremacy, the conventional path was not for them.

Yet the Great Dao is formless, giving birth to heaven and earth; the Great Dao is nameless, nurturing all things.

The Dao is everywhere, with no absolute boundaries. Man can conquer heaven; things are achieved by effort.

At the Primordial World's Beginning, Xuanyuan, Tong Tian, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches were all of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, bearing Heaven-Opening Merit and fortune. They were shareholders of this Primordial World Heaven and Earth.

By status and foundation, Xuanyuan had the right to steer the Earth Path and Human Path in the direction he envisioned.

Just as Hongjun integrated with the Dao, shaping the Heavenly Dao into his desired form.

If Hongjun could do it, why could Xuanyuan not?

Moreover, without a fate-nullifier like Xuanyuan as a force outside the established board, the Earth Path and Human Path could never truly emerge.

Gonggong's Angry Collision with Buzhou Mountain, Tong Tian's reenactment of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, Sun Wukong's toppling of the Ginseng Fruit Tree... in each Calamity, the foundation of the Earth Path was shaken, so that even until the Age of Dharma's End, it never emerged.

The Human Path was the same.

In the Fierce Beast Calamity, the fierce beasts had just risen to dominance, yet before they could gather willpower, the Heavenly Dao drove the Hundred Innate Races to attack them en masse. The same happened in the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity and the Witch-Demon Tribulation.

By the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the human race had become the Primordial World's protagonists, qualified to be overlords—only for King Wu's campaign against King Zhou to arrive, reducing the Human Emperor to a Son of Heaven. From then on, the Human Path never sprouted.

The Primordial World had always been a state where the Human Path and Earth Path were suppressed, with the Heavenly Dao reigning supreme.

It was precisely because the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man were imbalanced that, after each Immeasurable Calamity, this world would sink entirely into the Age of Dharma's End.

The Heavenly Dao, Earth Path, and Human Path were unbalanced, causing All Beings of the Primordial World and even the Primordial World Origin to constantly consume themselves internally. Decline became inevitable.

Only when man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature could balance and a virtuous cycle form.

Simply put, less internal strife, and turn one's gaze to the boundless Chaos—to expand, to explore. Only then would the Primordial World grow stronger.

Establishing the Human Path and Earth Path would be absolutely beneficial to the Primordial World as a whole, bringing great merit.

Of course, at that time, the merit bestowed would not be Heavenly Dao merit—the Heavenly Dao had no such qualification—but Great Dao merit.

But that is a tale for later.

"My view is to take the Human Path as the primary and the Earth Path as the auxiliary."

"When the time is right, Sister Houtu can enter Guixu Land and use the remnant shells of the Six Golden Ao to establish the Six Paths of Reincarnation."

"As for the Earth Path, you all know that I have formed a bond with Zhen Yuanzi, the Essence of Innate Wutu. The Earth Book and the spiritual root Ginseng Fruit Tree are also key to establishing the Earth Path." Xuanyuan spoke with ease.

Regarding the Earth Path and Human Path, he had long held a certain plan in his heart. Now, using the opportunity to introduce them to the Ancestral Witches, he was also refining and organizing those plans once more.

In the original course, Houtu would have had to sacrifice herself to incarnate the cycle of reincarnation. Now, that was no longer necessary.

No place within the Primordial World was more suited for establishing the Six Paths of Reincarnation than Guixu Land.

Of course, because of the Asura Path, Old Ancestor Ming He, who was born in the Netherworld Blood Sea, was also destined to have this opportunity. At that time, perhaps some plans could be made.

And so, after a brief discussion, the brothers made the decision to ignore Hongjun. Inside Pangu Hall, they discussed the Earth Path and the Human Path.

As for the Great Witches Kuafu and Da Yi outside, they were left to decide for themselves whether to go to Purple Firmament Palace to attend the lectures.

They had established the Witch Ancestor Tribe and had to consider all the Great Witches and Lesser Witches. Naturally, their situation could not be lumped together with that of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Xuanyuan only reminded them, "Attending lectures is one thing, but the important thing is to exchange ideas with Great Divine Powers, not to cultivate Hongjun's methods."

To put it bluntly, Severing Three Corpses was a wrong path. Besides the trap Hongjun had left—that without slaying the corpse with a homologous treasure, one could never achieve Three Corpses United...

This method of proving the Dao was ultimately created by Hongjun himself. It suited him, but it might not suit others. Moreover, who knew what other backup plans Hongjun had hidden in it?

"I wonder if Eldest Brother and Second Brother will go." Tongtian sighed.

Though he sighed, he had no intention of seeking out his two brothers to persuade them not to attend the lectures at Purple Firmament Palace.

He himself wasn't going because he trusted Xuanyuan. But what about Laozi and Yuanshi?

Since they had Formed and Born, they had never been close to him. If he truly went to persuade them, he would probably be accused of not wanting to see them do well...

Tongtian had come to terms with it now. After all, his two elder brothers had never looked after him or Xuanyuan.

To be honest, they were familiar strangers. There was no need for him to risk leaving Pangu Hall when Hongjun's gaze was fixed on the Primordial World.

Let go of the urge to help others; respect their own fates.

"Let things take their course. Act without acting." Xuanyuan smiled, then continued discussing the Earth Path and the Human Path.

The atmosphere in Pangu Hall was lively. But in the vast, boundless Primordial World, besides their brothers, there was another Great Divine Power who had not knelt under the pressure of the Heavenly Dao Saint's might.

This Great Divine Power was none other than the Hollow Willow, one of the Ten Great Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots, reborn from the Space Demon God in the Primordial World—that...

Old Ancestor Yang Mei!

When Luohu wreaked havoc and Old Ancestor Five Elements fell in battle, Hongjun found Qiankun, Yin Yang, and Old Ancestor Yang Mei, pushing the Demon Dao Struggle to its climax.

Although Old Ancestor Yang Mei had fallen in battle alongside Qiankun and Yin Yang, he had left a backup plan. What doesn't break doesn't build; breaking and then rebuilding allowed him to advance directly from his previous realm of Golden Immortal of the Origin.

Calculating this way, his time of proving the Dao was actually earlier than Hongjun's.

Moreover, Old Ancestor Yang Mei did not prove the Dao as a Heavenly Dao Saint. Instead, by relying on the legacy of the Space Demon God, he opened Heaven and Earth within the Hollow Willow's internal space, proving the Dao by Force to become a Great Unbound, Great Free Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin.

At this moment, Hongjun's proclamation of his sainthood through the voice of the Heavenly Dao also caught Old Ancestor Yang Mei's attention.

This Great Divine Power, who had proven the Dao one step earlier, learned that Hongjun had become a saint. Finally, a Strong Practitioner of the same level had appeared, and he was eager to test his skills.

Immediately, without alarming anyone, he left the Primordial World and found the Purple Firmament Palace deep within the Chaos, intending to have a bout with Hongjun.