The ultimate silence of death and the flourishing of life collided thunderously between heaven and earth.
On one side was the Gray White Death Domain, devouring vitality. All vegetation withered, mountains and rivers faded, and even time was stripped of its life force. On the other side was azure-green divine radiance nourishing heaven and earth. Withered wood returned to spring, lotuses bloomed in the void, and every wisp of Dao rhythm urged forth new life.
The Lesser Yang Law and Wood Law clashed fiercely, eroding and transforming each other.
This battlefield was no longer a contest of which Supernatural Ability was stronger. It was a comparison of the strength of the laws controlled by Donghua and Jumang. The boundary between withering and flourishing blurred here, while the cycle of life and death manifested before them.
For a moment, heaven and earth fell silent. Only the roar of the Dao rhythm remained.
As a tender shoot broke through the soil, the balance of the battle began to tilt.
Breaking through the soil represented more than vitality. It also heralded that the Lesser Yang Law controlled by Donghua had surpassed the Wood Law controlled by Jumang.
At once, all things responded.
Countless tender green shoots broke through the cracked earth and transformed in the blink of an eye into towering ancient trees. Clear springs surged anew through the dried riverbeds, while golden lotuses bloomed across the water.
The originally gloomy sky was pierced by myriad rays of multicolored light. Every beam contained vigorous life Dao rhythm, transforming this desolate land into a vibrant paradise.
Donghua stood with his hands behind his back at the center of the world, where all things had renewed themselves. Behind him, the Azure Emperor Dharma Image held spring in its hands and scattered endless vitality.
Jumang stared blankly at the surging emerald divine radiance around him. Then he slowly raised his head and looked toward Donghua, who stood motionless in the void. The battle intent in his eyes had completely faded, replaced by a trace of enlightenment.
At this moment, victory and defeat had been decided.
It was not because either side had exhausted their strength. The higher and lower paths had simply been determined.
Looking around, the surrounding thousand li had transformed into a secret realm of life. Jade grass covered the ground, exquisite flowers bloomed in profusion, clear springs tinkled against the stones, and spiritual energy condensed into a thin mist that drifted through the woods.
Even the shattered battlefield beneath his feet had now sprouted crystalline moss, blooming with specks of Dao-rhythm flowers.
Jumang withdrew his ten-thousand-zhang Ancestor Witch True Body and returned to the form of an Innate Dao Body. He slowly walked toward the tender shoot that had first broken through the soil, reached out to touch its new leaves, and sensed the endlessly renewing Dao within. A trace of relief appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"I lost this battle."
He looked directly at Donghua. There was no longer any gloom in his eyes. Instead, they held the clarity unique to a seeker of the Dao.
"But being able to witness the truth of the Great Dao makes this defeat worthwhile."
In an instant, the tender shoot at his fingertip blossomed with warm, clear light, as though responding to his heart of enlightenment.
Jumang withdrew his hand and stood upright. A feeling of mutual appreciation appeared in his eyes as he invited Donghua loudly.
"Daoist Friend Donghua, would you care to visit my tribe for a chat? We can drink three cups to our hearts' content, and after we've rested, you and I can fight again!"
Jumang had his own plans. Though he had lost the previous contest of laws, the Witch Clan's true foundation lay in close-quarters combat.
If he could invite Donghua to exchange blows at close range, he would surely let him witness the intricacies of the Witch Clan's battle techniques.
Hearing this, Donghua cupped his hands. His sleeves fluttered slightly in the clear breeze. "I appreciate the kindness of Ancestor Witch Jumang, but I wish to go to Buzhou Mountain and see the legacy left behind by Pangu Father God. I won't trouble you this time."
Donghua raised his eyes toward the towering silhouette at the center of the Primordial Wilderness. His voice carried a hint of ethereal distance. "Though the Primordial Wilderness is vast, those destined to meet will meet again."
When he heard the words "Father God," a flash of light crossed Jumang's eyes, and his appreciation for Donghua deepened further. He clapped his hands and laughed loudly, his voice shaking the surrounding wilderness.
"Good! Since Daoist Friend wishes to pay respects to Father God, I won't force you to stay. When we meet again, we must fight another battle!"
Donghua was just about to take his leave when he saw Jumang hesitate, as though he wanted to speak. His rugged face even showed a trace of uncertainty.
"Does Daoist Friend have some further instruction?" Donghua asked gently.
Upon hearing Donghua's question, Jumang's large hands, capable of lifting mountains, rubbed together unconsciously. His throat bobbed several times before he finally spoke.
"It is embarrassing to say, but my Witch Clan is born without cultivating the Nascent Soul and knows nothing of deduction. A hundred years ago, when heaven and earth mourned together, all twelve Ancestor Witches sensed it, yet to this day, we still don't know what actually happened."
Jumang's tiger eyes burned as he looked toward Donghua. "Would Daoist Friend be willing to perform a deduction for us? My Witch Clan will certainly offer a generous reward."
Donghua's gaze shifted slightly. His thoughts spun rapidly, and he immediately understood the crux of the matter.
The Witch Clan occupied the area around Buzhou Mountain and had always respected strength above all else. They viewed the Myriad Races as food and frequently waged wars and slaughtered others. Their ferocity was so great that all living beings of the Primordial Wilderness avoided their Ancestral Land whenever possible. How could any creature come here and voluntarily inform the Witch Clan of such matters?
As for those Innate Divine Beings who lived in Grotto-heaven Blessed Lands, they usually did nothing more than visit friends, discuss the Dao, and wander among the mountains and rivers. Though they had no direct conflicts with the Witch Clan, they kept their distance and never formed close ties.
Thinking of this, Donghua could not help sighing inwardly.
The Western spiritual ley lines had been destroyed for nearly a century, yet the Witch Clan still knew nothing about it.
This isolation from the outside world was certainly due to their failure to cultivate the Nascent Soul, but it also exposed the Witch Clan's fatal weakness within the overall order of heaven and earth.
Donghua's gaze shifted slightly. After thinking for a moment, he lightly pinched a Dao spell inside his sleeve. After a brief silence, he slowly said, "Since Ancestor Witch Jumang has asked, I'll tell you plainly. A hundred years ago, Demon Ancestor Luohu self-detonated his demonic body in the west while secretly laying out a scheme that destroyed all the ley lines of the Western Continent. That was why heaven and earth mourned together."
"What?!" Donghua's words caused Jumang's expression to change violently. Malignant energy surged uncontrollably around him. "That bastard Luohu actually dared to destroy the world Father God created!"
"Daoist Friend Donghua, can you help deduce the location of that bastard Luohu? My Witch Clan will make him pay."
"Ancestor Witch, please calm down. Demon Ancestor Luohu is already dead. As for what remains, I know nothing."
The Green Wood Dao runes around Jumang flickered erratically, and his voice was filled with grief. "We Ancestor Witches have failed Father God! As Father God's descendants, someone destroyed heaven and earth, yet we knew nothing..."
"Ancestor Witch Jumang, sinking into grief now will accomplish nothing." Donghua's voice rang clear as a bell, rousing Jumang from his sorrow and fury. "The urgent matter is to immediately go to the west, restore the ley lines, and pacify the turbid energy."
"Turbid baleful energy has already formed where the ley lines were severed. If it is allowed to spread, the remaining spiritual ley lines in the west will also be contaminated. By then, the west will completely become barren land."
"I've heard that the Witch Clan can absorb turbid energy to temper their bodies. If an Ancestor Witch personally suppresses it, the disaster should be delayed."
"Thank you for the reminder, Daoist Friend!" A brilliant light erupted from Jumang's eyes, and the Green Wood Dao runes around him began to flow. He then turned to Donghua and said, "Daoist Friend Donghua, the ley lines are of tremendous importance. I must immediately summon the other Ancestor Witches to discuss this! I failed to properly host you today, but once this matter is settled, I will certainly prepare a banquet to apologize!"
Before his voice had even faded, he manifested his ten-thousand-zhang Ancestor Witch True Body, then transformed into a streak of azure light that tore through the sky and departed.
Donghua watched the green rainbow formed by Jumang vanish into the horizon, deep in thought.
The Twelve Ancestor Witches had been transformed from Pangu's blood essence and originally enjoyed the protection of the merits of the world's creation. All the living beings of the Primordial Wilderness found it difficult to harm them in the slightest.
But ever since they established the Witch Clan and wantonly hunted all living creatures, those merits had been rapidly draining away.
When the day came that their merits were exhausted and their fortune dispersed, then even beings as powerful as the Ancestor Witches would be unable to escape heaven and earth's rejection. In the end, they would perish.
"Just like Di Jun and Taiyi..." Donghua's gaze turned cold.
The Demon Race slaughtered living beings as well, likewise consuming its own fortune.
Perhaps this was why, according to the original trajectory of destiny, both sides would ultimately perish together during the Great Tribulation.
Donghua had enlightened Jumang today precisely to give the Witch Clan an opportunity to regain merit.
Suppressing the ley lines and purifying the turbid energy were acts that followed the will of Heaven's Dao and would surely earn the support of merit. When the Witch Clan fought the Demon Race in the future, who knew what the outcome would look like?
Since he had already made enemies of Di Jun and Taiyi, he naturally had to find them some trouble.
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