Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. They had a bad feeling that their indifference had somehow released a Chaos Demon God from its prison.
Xuanyuan ignored them. After making his threat, he began to claim his daily reward.
"System, claim reward!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have completed your check-in. Reward: ten thousand years of cultivation and a Space Law Fragment!"
"Host detected to possess a Space Law Fragment. Would you like to fuse with it?"
"Fuse!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have fused with the Space Law Fragment and comprehended the Space Law!"
Host: Xuanyuan
Race: Ancestor Witch of the Witch Clan
Cultivation: Late Daluo Golden Immortal
Origin: Innate Demon God
Cultivation Technique: Nine Revolutions Mysterious Origin Technique (Late Fourth Revolution)
Laws: Sword Law (30|100), Time Law (20|100), Space Law (20|100), Pill Law (20|100), Lightning Law (40|100)
Treasures: Chaos Spiritual Treasure—Chaos Bead; Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure—Kunwu Sword (damaged); Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure—Taiji Diagram; Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—Twelve-grade Pure World White Lotus; Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—Enlightenment Chair...
Ten thousand years of cultivation and a Space Law Fragment!
They directly pushed Xuanyuan from the mid-stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm to its late stage.
In an instant, auspicious signs descended from the heavens, golden lotuses surged from the earth, and the sound of the Great Dao rang throughout Zixiao Palace. Xuanyuan's aura grew ever more profound, like an unfathomable abyss, leaving everyone afraid to look directly at him.
As the one at the center of it all, Xuanyuan glanced around, finding the whole thing quite novel.
He had spent a million years cultivating—or checking in—in the Primordial World, progressing all the way from the early Taiyi Golden Immortal stage to the late Daluo Golden Immortal stage. This was the first time he had ever witnessed such heavenly phenomena.
It wasn't that Xuanyuan lacked talent or that his breakthroughs had gone unnoticed.
Previously, he had secluded himself on Qianyuan Mountain. Every time he broke through, the Chaos Great Array concealed the heavenly secrets, keeping him hidden from view.
This time, he had broken through in Zixiao Palace, closest to the Heavenly Dao. The breakthrough had immediately triggered a heavenly phenomenon.
Xuanyuan had suddenly broken through, and the terrifying spectacle that followed left everyone present utterly dumbfounded.
"Above the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm... Xuanyuan must have broken through it and entered an entirely new realm!"
"How is that possible? How did he manage it?"
"This is truly terrifying!"
Once the shock wore off, deep regret took its place.
"It's over! We're finished!"
"Now that he's got his eye on us, who'll be safe from him?"
"This is all Hong Yun's fault! If he'd answered earlier, Xuanyuan wouldn't have been provoked into a breakthrough!"
"Exactly! It's all Hong Yun's fault. Fellow Daoists, bear witness: if we get robbed from now on, Hong Yun will be held responsible!"
Everyone turned their accusations on Hong Yun, blaming him for playing deaf and dumb.
Hong Yun was furious. "What does this have to do with me? When Xuanyuan asked the first time, none of you answered either. Besides, this whole mess started because Sanqing, Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, Minghe, and the others wanted to seize the Taiji Diagram. If anyone's to blame, blame them! I'm not taking the fall for this!"
Hong Yun was practically bursting with anger.
When all was said and done, Sanqing and the others had caused this trouble. Why blame him, an innocent bystander?
Was an honest man just meant to be bullied?
I'm done being an honest man!
"What's everyone panicking about?"
Yuanshi sneered, as arrogant as ever. "Old Ancestor Hongjun is about to give his lecture. When the time comes, anyone may break through. Xuanyuan has merely taken the first step. He might even have gone astray. What is there to fear?"
Donghuang Taiyi chimed in, his bravado masking his fear. "Don't forget, this is Zixiao Palace, the Sage's sanctuary. No matter how strong Xuanyuan is, would he really dare attack here?"
Although everyone disliked Yuanshi and Donghuang Taiyi, they had to admit that the two had a point. Their anxious hearts settled somewhat.
"Exactly. With a Sage right here, who would dare attack?"
"Don't panic. Maybe he only broke through to a minor stage within the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm!"
Donghuang Taiyi smirked smugly and continued shamelessly, "Xuanyuan, the Witch Clan can't use spiritual treasures anyway. Why not hand over the Taiji Diagram and make a friend?"
"So you want the Taiji Diagram!"
Xuanyuan smiled amiably, as if they could work something out.
Suddenly—
"Attack!"
He sneered contemptuously and barked the command, launching a fierce assault.
The Twelve Ancestor Witches had already received Xuanyuan's message. They attacked at once, concentrating their fire on Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi.
Xuanyuan had made this choice after careful deliberation.
Sanqing had been formed from the primordial spirit of Pangu Father God. They were destined to become Sages and were all Pangu Orthodox. Attacking them would incur too great a karmic debt. Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao would certainly not stand by and do nothing.
Ancestor Minghe was a loner, and his treasures weren't particularly powerful. Besides, though he wasn't good at much else, he was exceptionally skilled at staying alive. Having refined the entire Netherworld Blood Sea and created four hundred and eighty million Blood God Child clones, he was known as one who would not die as long as the Blood Sea remained. He was a nuisance, but not worth Xuanyuan's painstaking efforts to target.
What was more, Xuanyuan would need Ancestor Minghe for his plans later. A simple warning would do no harm. If he actually took Minghe's treasures and completely broke with him, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
That left Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi. They were the Demon Court's Demon Emperors and would one day rule the Demon Court. Once the calamity between the Witch Clan and the demons began, they would be the Witch Clan's greatest opponents. Giving them a thorough lesson would benefit the Witch-Demon Calamity to come.
Besides, one of them wielded the River Diagram and Luo Book, while the other held the Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Bell. Even Xuanyuan couldn't help coveting them.
Targeting the two would establish his authority and win him powerful treasures—a strategy that maximized his gains.
Xuanyuan took on Donghuang Taiyi alone, while the Twelve Ancestor Witches joined forces against Dijun.
Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi had never imagined that Xuanyuan and the others would actually dare attack outside Zixiao Palace. Caught completely off guard, they were subdued in an instant.
Xuanyuan had no time to concern himself with anything else. He quickly stowed the Chaos Bell, the River Diagram, and the Luo Book inside the Chaos Bead, a Chaos Spiritual Treasure.
The Chaos Bead contained a world of its own and was a Chaos Spiritual Treasure. Anything placed inside it could not be viewed by anyone without its owner's permission. Even Old Ancestor Hongjun, the only Heavenly Dao Sage in the Primordial World, couldn't do it by borrowing the power of the Heavenly Dao.
Only then did Xuanyuan have time to look at Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi.
Their clothes were in tatters, their faces bruised and swollen, and their crowns had fallen somewhere. They stood disheveled and miserable.
Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi glared at Xuanyuan, their eyes blazing with fury. They looked ready to skin him alive and tear him limb from limb.
Xuanyuan chuckled. "Glaring won't do you any good. We in the Witch Clan believe in fairness. You two scruffy birds wanted to steal our treasures, so you should've been ready to have yours stolen."
With that, Xuanyuan ignored Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi and turned his gaze to Sanqing, Ancestor Minghe, and the others.
"And the rest of you—hand over your treasures, and we'll let bygones be bygones. We're magnanimous, and we won't come after you later."
"In your dreams!"
"You only managed to ambush those two scruffy birds. Don't tell me you think you're invincible in the Primordial World?"
"We are Sanqing, formed from Pangu's primordial spirit. How could we be compared to two scruffy birds?"
Even after seeing Xuanyuan and the Twelve Ancestor Witches subdue Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi in an instant, Yuanshi remained arrogant.
His pride was practically carved into his bones.
As one of the strongest people present, Yuanshi could see the situation clearly.
All twelve Ancestor Witches appeared to be at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. They were no weaklings, but they were certainly not stronger than Sanqing.
The only one whose cultivation Yuanshi couldn't see through was Xuanyuan.
However, he had already assumed Xuanyuan couldn't have been stronger than Dijiang before his breakthrough. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Dijiang remain the Witch Clan's foremost Ancestor Witch.
Even after breaking through, Xuanyuan still couldn't overpower Sanqing.
All they had to do was stall until Zixiao Palace opened. With Old Ancestor Hongjun there, even Xuanyuan wouldn't dare attack, no matter how arrogant he was.
Yuanshi had no idea what kind of opponent he had provoked.
All twelve Ancestor Witches were Daluo Golden Immortals, and Xuanyuan was a late-stage Daluo Golden Immortal.
Any one of them could overwhelm Sanqing as they were now.
Before you continue