After chatting and joking for a while, Xuanyuan steered the conversation to more serious matters.
"After the Dao-Devil War, most of the Primordial World's powerful cultivators were killed or wounded, leaving a gap in the ranks."
"Other than a handful of old relics who survived from ancient times, everyone else—including Sanqing, Nuwa, and Dijun—is utterly lost. They've reached the Great Perfection of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, but that's their limit. The path of cultivation has been cut off!"
"Without a goal, of course they don't know how to keep advancing!"
The other Ancestor Witches listened intently. Zhurong and Gonggong, the two simpletons, scratched their heads in confusion.
Xuanyuan ignored the pair of livewires and continued, "Next, let's go over the cultivation levels of the Primordial World."
"Broadly speaking, they can be divided into three major realms: the Mortal Realm, the Immortal Realm, and the Saint Realm."
"There's no need to discuss the Mortal Realm. Once you reach the peak of the Immortal Realm—the Great Perfection of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm—you must prepare to break through to the Saint Realm."
"In the Primordial World, there are four ways to break through to the Saint Realm: Prove Dao by Force, Prove Dao by Law, Prove Dao by Merit, and Prove Dao by Severing Three Corpses!"
"Prove Dao by Force is the hardest. Only Pangu Father God ever achieved it. Prove Dao by Law is next. So far, only Old Ancestor Yang Mei has become a Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal by Proving Dao by Law. Prove Dao by Merit is the easiest, but our Witch Clan can't take that path."
"Lastly, I'll explain Prove Dao by Severing Three Corpses. This is a method Hongjun devised himself. The three corpses correspond to goodness, evil, and the self. Severing one corpse makes you an early-stage Quasi-Saint; severing two makes you a mid-stage or late-stage Quasi-Saint; severing all three makes you a peak Quasi-Saint. When the three corpses unite, you reach the Great Perfection of the Quasi-Saint realm and can prepare to prove the Dao of Sainthood."
Xuanyuan's mouth had gone dry from talking. He casually picked up a Ginseng Fruit, took a bite, and continued, "We're only early-stage Daluo Golden Immortals right now, still a hundred and eight thousand miles from Sainthood. If we pick a fight with Hongjun now, aren't we just asking to die?"
"Prove Dao by Severing Three Corpses? Quasi-Saints?"
Dijiang asked in confusion, "Xuanyuan, do you mean we should go listen to that old Hongjun's lecture and take the path of Prove Dao by Severing Three Corpses?"
"We can go to Zixiao Palace to hear his lecture, but as for Proving Dao by Severing Three Corpses, forget it. That path doesn't suit our Witch Clan!"
"Why?"
Dijiang and the others were even more confused.
Xuanyuan had said so much that they were all thoroughly muddled.
"To Prove Dao by Severing Three Corpses, you need a powerful Nascent Soul to support you. Our people don't have Nascent Souls, and ours are too weak. That path won't work for us. We'd better stick to tempering our bodies!"
Qiangliang said, "If we're not taking that path, why bother listening to old Hongjun's lecture? What's in it for us?"
Zhurong said, "If you ask me, we should go back and cultivate in seclusion. We have Father God's Nine Revolutions Mysterious Origin Technique. We can prove the Dao of the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal directly and scare old Hongjun to death!"
Gonggong said, "That's a good idea! Thirteen Ancestor Witches, thirteen Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals. We'll beat up Hongjun, flatten the demon clan, and rule the Primordial World!"
Zhurong, Gonggong, and the other Ancestor Witches eagerly discussed their glorious future.
Dijiang smiled and nodded now and then.
Only Zhujiuyin frowned and remained silent.
Xuanyuan shook his head to himself. The Witch Clan was still too naive. If becoming a Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal were that easy, Old Ancestor Yang Mei wouldn't be the only one in the entire Primordial World.
After they had talked it over, Dijiang crushed the Huazi in his hand. "Brother Xuanyuan, you decide."
The other Ancestor Witches were used to this. They fixed their eager eyes on Xuanyuan, waiting for him to make the call.
An outsider who saw this would have been dumbstruck.
Had the Witch Clan really begun to take Xuanyuan as their leader?
Xuanyuan pondered for a moment. "Big Brother, we should go and see for ourselves."
Hongjun's lecture was one of the Primordial World's most famous events, and Xuanyuan didn't want to miss it.
Besides, in the current Primordial World, the Heavenly Dao had awakened first. It was using Hongjun to suppress the Earthly Dao and the Human Dao.
It had even gone so far as to set one tribulation after another in motion, killing innate beings to make up for the Heavenly Dao's deficiencies.
Once Hongjun's lecture ended, the Lich Tribulation would officially begin.
As the main characters of the tribulation, the Witch Clan couldn't escape no matter what. Better to make plans early.
Xuanyuan hoped to meet Nuwa, Zhen Yuanzi, and the others during the lecture, and make preparations in advance for what came next.
He looked around, wondering how to persuade them all to go with him to Zixiao Palace. To his surprise, Dijiang nodded at once. "Then we'll go!"
"We'll follow Brother Xuanyuan's lead!"
"It'll be good to go take a look. Those two feathered birds, Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi, will definitely be there too. I'm itching for a fight!"
"Hahaha!"
Xuanyuan couldn't help feeling moved by the Twelve Ancestor Witches' trust in him.
He decided to help them out a little more.
The Merit Disc appeared, shining brilliantly with golden light.
Xuanyuan divided it into twelve portions, each containing one hundred million Great Dao Merits, and sent one to each of the Twelve Ancestor Witches.
"Our Ancestor Witches are born with powerful bodies, but our Nascent Souls are too weak to use spiritual treasures. That puts us at a disadvantage. One hundred million Great Dao Merits should be enough to repair your Nascent Souls!"
The Ancestor Witches stared at the Great Dao Merit before them, each portion as large as a millstone, and were too shocked to speak.
After a long while, Dijiang gave a bitter smile. "Xuanyuan, we know you care about us, but one hundred million Great Dao Merits is far too precious. Take it back!"
Xuanyuan reached out and patted Dijiang on the shoulder. "Big Brother, we Ancestor Witches are one. When one prospers, we all prosper; when one suffers, we all suffer. Only if we all grow stronger can we find our footing in the Primordial World!"
He looked at the others. "To put it bluntly, if things go on like this, it won't just be Hongjun. Even Sanqing and Nuwa will leave us far behind."
After Xuanyuan urged them again and again, the Twelve Ancestor Witches finally accepted the one hundred million Great Dao Merits and immediately began repairing their Nascent Souls.
Xuanyuan left Qianyuan Palace, closed the doors, then leaned back on a lounge chair and rested with his eyes closed.
He was eager to see how the Twelve Ancestor Witches would change once they had repaired their Nascent Souls.
Everyone believed the Twelve Ancestor Witches had weak Nascent Souls and couldn't use magical treasures. Just imagine their faces when the Ancestor Witches whipped out treasures to fight.
"System, check in!"
When the next day came and Xuanyuan checked in again, something unexpected happened.
"Ding! The host has checked in for one million consecutive years. The system has been upgraded!"
"After the upgrade, daily check-ins have been discontinued and replaced with check-ins at specific locations."
"Meanwhile, the mission system has been activated. The system will issue missions from time to time. Completing them will earn generous rewards; failing them will incur no penalty!"
The system had upgraded?
Xuanyuan sat up straight and asked curiously, "System, where's the next check-in location?"
"Ding! A new check-in location has been announced. Please go to Zixiao Palace to check in. Upon completing the check-in, you will be rewarded with ten thousand years of cultivation and a Space Law Fragment."
Zixiao Palace?
Looks like he had no choice but to go!
"Ding! The system has issued a mission—Saint Cushion. Please go to Zixiao Palace and claim a cushion before Hongjun begins his lecture. Upon completing the mission, you will be rewarded with the Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure—the Hong Meng Measuring Heaven Ruler. Host, do you accept the mission?"
"Accept!"
Xuanyuan accepted the mission without hesitation.
He was going to Zixiao Palace anyway. With his current strength, grabbing a cushion to sit on would be easy.
And he'd get a Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure—the Hong Meng Measuring Heaven Ruler—for free. Why not?
Before you continue