Xuanyuan knew exactly what consequences his actions would bring.
But he had no choice.
Because just moments ago, Houtu had actually begun Severing Corpse to Prove Dao.
With no other option, Xuanyuan could only resort to this desperate measure.
He wasn't deliberately targeting Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and the others. He was simply trying to interrupt Houtu's Severing Corpse to Prove Dao.
Although Severing Corpse to Prove Dao was the path he had planned for Houtu, and the main reason he had brought her to Zixiao Palace.
But the timing was all wrong!
After all, this was Zixiao Palace, right under Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao's noses. If Houtu really Severed Her Corpse to Prove Dao, Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao would notice something amiss immediately and learn of their plans.
Houtu becoming the reincarnation cycle would not only benefit the Primordial World, giving its living beings a chance to reincarnate after death, but would also leave the Witch Clan without Houtu, their Ancestor Witch. They would be unable to perform the Twelve Capital Celestial Evil Array, leading to the final War between the Witches and Demons, in which both sides suffered devastating losses and nearly all their powerful figures perished.
These were all things the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun had settled long ago. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
Xuanyuan himself was already an unforeseen variable, giving Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao no end of headaches. They had yet to come up with a better solution and could only tilt things in the Demon Clan's favor to balance the overall strength of the Witches and Demons.
If they learned that Houtu had already completed her Nascent Soul and intended to Sever Her Corpse to Prove Dao, then use one of her Three Corpses to become the reincarnation cycle, allowing her true body to escape disaster—
Houtu would surpass Xuanyuan and become the greatest variable in Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao's eyes.
They might even wonder: since Houtu had completed her Nascent Soul and could cultivate the method of Severing the Three Corpses, could Dijiang and the other Ancestor Witches do the same?
The Witch Clan's Ancestor Witches were born with command over one Great Dao Law each. If they could now cultivate the method of Severing the Three Corpses as well, their strength would surely increase further.
Just how terrifying would the Witch Clan's overall strength become?
It wasn't impossible that a single Ancestor Witch could suppress Dijun or Donghuang Taiyi.
If that really happened, the coming War between the Witches and Demons would be completely one-sided.
It was even possible that after witnessing the Witch Clan's strength, Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and the other Demon Clan powerhouses would simply surrender, leaving the Witches-and-Demons calamity unable to proceed.
Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao could never tolerate that.
Xuanyuan had no doubt that if things came to that, Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao might drop all pretenses and intervene personally.
Therefore, Xuanyuan had no choice but to interrupt Houtu's Severing Corpse to Prove Dao in this way.
Although Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao would still notice something was amiss afterward, as long as they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no matter how unwilling they were or how many schemes they plotted behind the scenes,
they wouldn't dare target the Witch Clan directly.
After all, the Primordial World had been created by Pangu.
And the Witch Clan—especially the Ancestor Witches—had been formed from Great God Pangu's blood essence. They carried immense merit for opening the world.
Even Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao couldn't bear the immense karmic burden of directly exterminating an Ancestor Witch.
Seeing Houtu come to her senses after emerging from her state of Severing Corpse to Prove Dao, Xuanyuan let out a long breath of relief.
When he noticed Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Fuxi, and the others staring at him with reproachful expressions, he could only give an awkward smile.
"Sorry. I thought I was about to Sever My Corpse to Prove Dao, and I couldn't help shouting. Please, carry on. Don't mind me!"
Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Fuxi, and the others all shook their heads with wry smiles. There was nothing they could do when faced with such a scoundrel.
Since Xuanyuan had already apologized, what else could they do?
It wasn't as if they could drag him outside and beat him up.
They didn't have any major grudges against Xuanyuan, anyway. They might as well leave it to Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and the other members of the Demon Clan.
Seeing Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Fuxi, and the others stop paying attention to him and return to meditating on the Dao, Xuanyuan smiled and shook his head.
He'd incurred quite a debt of karma this time. He'd have to find some way to make it up to them later.
As for Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and the other Demon Clan powerhouses, he simply ignored them.
The two sides had been enemies for a long time. They had even fought a major battle, starting the first War between the Witches and Demons. Xuanyuan felt no sympathy for his enemies.
If not for Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Fuxi, and the others, Xuanyuan would have tried to stop the Demon Clan powerhouses from Severing Their Corpses to Prove Dao even without Houtu having attempted it early.
He just couldn't stand seeing the Demon Clan doing well. What were they going to do about it?
Seeing that Xuanyuan had apologized to Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Fuxi, and the others while ignoring him—and was even looking at him with an expression that made his skin crawl—Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi's already gloomy faces turned pitch-black.
If Dao Ancestor Hongjun hadn't been watching from his cloud couch, they would have been unable to resist attacking Xuanyuan and beating him up to vent the anger bottled up inside them.
Of course, even if they couldn't attack him directly, that didn't stop them from trading barbs.
Ci Tie, a powerful figure who had recently joined the Demon Clan, once again took the lead.
He glared at Xuanyuan and sneered, "Some people really have no self-awareness. Talking about Severing Corpse to Prove Dao—why not break through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm first?"
Another Daluo Golden Immortal powerhouse of the Demon Clan, Fei Lian, shook his head in agreement. "How could someone like that have any self-awareness? If I were him, I'd be too embarrassed to walk through the gates of Zixiao Palace!"
Ji Meng, a Demon Clan powerhouse seated beside Fei Lian, asked as if he didn't already know, "Why do you say that, Brother Fei Lian?"
Fei Lian's lips curled into a smile. "Think about it. When Dao Ancestor gave his first lecture, he was already a powerful Taiyi Golden Immortal who looked down on everyone. How spirited and full of himself he was! And now, he still hasn't broken through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. Forget being a powerhouse—among all the people in Zixiao Palace, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone weaker than him. Yet he's still just as arrogant. How could someone like that have even the slightest self-awareness?"
The Demon Clan members asked and answered their own questions, amusing themselves. No one else joined in.
After all, no one in the Primordial World was a fool.
Although they couldn't see Xuanyuan's exact cultivation, no one thought he was still a Taiyi Golden Immortal.
After all, he was an Ancestor Witch of the Witch Clan, with roots and aptitude among the very best in the entire Primordial World.
Besides, someone as infuriating as Xuanyuan couldn't have survived this long without strength.
In fact, Fei Lian, Ji Meng, and the other Demon Clan powerhouses all knew that Xuanyuan was definitely no weakling. He was far beyond a Taiyi Golden Immortal; even among Daluo Golden Immortals, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest.
They mocked him like this just to provoke him and make him lose his temper, so that he would attack first inside Zixiao Palace.
Then Dao Ancestor would surely step in and punish Xuanyuan.
They would have done the Demon Clan a great service.
Unfortunately, they had still underestimated Xuanyuan.
His expression didn't change in the slightest. If anything, the corners of his mouth curled up even higher.
"Some people are just meddling in matters that don't concern them. I'm not your father, so there's no need to wait on me around the clock!"
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