Primordial Era: The Dao Wasn't Finished, Yet the Ancestor Witches Became Saints

Yuanshi had always prided himself on his eloquence, but after this speech.

Even someone as skilled in debate as him couldn't help feeling a bit dumbfounded.

Because this speech was indeed a mess of sophistry, twisting black into white.

Yet only those involved truly understood.

If an outsider unaware of the situation were to hear it, they might actually believe it.

For a moment, Yuanshi didn't know what to do.

Laozi sighed, patted Yuanshi on the shoulder, and shook his head.

The meaning was clear: just let it go! Arguing further was pointless.

After all, if they didn't satisfy the other party today, the three of them definitely weren't leaving.

At this moment, Laozi's heart ached terribly.

This Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, while not exactly a Companion Treasure.

Wasn't far off.

This pagoda was the very first thing Laozi saw after he took form.

It seemed to be a treasure that had been guarding him even before his transformation.

It was formed from Mysterious Yellow Qi and also carried a portion of the Heavenly Merits from the creation of the world—a Merit Treasure.

Painful, reluctant, yet there was no other way.

Second Brother and Third Brother were in the other's hands.

As their elder brother, he was powerless to rescue them.

Though the other party wouldn't kill his brothers, a fate worse than death was even more agonizing, wasn't it?

How could he, as the eldest brother, value a treasure over his brothers' lives?

In other words, no matter how precious the treasure, it wasn't as important as his two younger brothers.

Laozi sighed, took out the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.

He looked at Li Hao, hatred nearly bursting from his eyes.

"Take it!"

Of course, the reason Laozi could be so decisive.

Was mainly because this Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda bore the Heavenly Merits of creation, making it the foremost Merit Treasure of the primordial era.

It was also one of the wondrous treasures formed from Mysterious Yellow Qi.

How could such a heavy treasure be casually taken?

It contained Laozi's Origin Brand; even if he gave it away, the other couldn't use it.

Just take it back as an ornament. When the three brothers grew stronger in the future.

They would settle the score. If they didn't avenge this grievance, the three brothers would never have peace of mind.

Li Hao had no idea what Laozi was thinking. Delighted, he took the pagoda.

Just as he was wondering how to use it, the system notification sounded.

[Ding! Detected that the host has obtained a primordial Merit Treasure.]

[This treasure still bears another's Origin Brand, preventing outsiders from using it.]

Hearing this, Li Hao instinctively asked aloud.

"What is this Origin Brand? A treasure restriction?"

He waited a moment, but got no answer. Li Hao felt a bit annoyed.

But he quickly figured it out. Right.

The system no longer had a Smart Component, so asking was pointless. It would be a miracle if it answered.

Laozi watched Li Hao's actions, sneering inwardly.

Go on, use it? Try it.

Think just because you snatched it, it's yours?

Naive!

But Laozi's smugness didn't last long. A sharp pain shot through his Sea of Consciousness.

His expression instantly changed.

His face visibly paled, and a look of panic spread across it.

Just now, he had clearly suffered a backlash.

The kind of backlash that only appeared when the Origin Brand left on a treasure was forcibly erased.

As the backlash hit, a surge of blood rushed up.

Laozi forced himself to swallow the blood to avoid making a scene, but a single trickle still escaped down the corner of his mouth.

He stared at Li Hao in shock and disbelief.

He simply could not understand what had just happened.

An Origin Brand and a Primordial Spirit Brand were not the same thing at all.

A Primordial Spirit Brand was something inevitably left behind when refining a treasure.

When seizing a treasure, naturally one would erase another's brand, causing backlash, but it was not severe.

An Origin Brand was different—it was a mark left only when origins intertwined, most often occurring with Companion Treasures.

Although the Exquisite Pagoda could not be called a Companion Treasure, it had still existed alongside him for a long time.

That was why it bore Laozi's Origin Brand.

Ordinary treasures did not possess such a thing, and this kind of brand could not be erased.

This meant that unless the holder perished, a treasure bearing an Origin Brand could never be used by an outsider for the rest of its life.

Yet here, just now, the Origin Brand on the Exquisite Pagoda had actually been erased.

How could Laozi believe this?

And how could he not be horrified?

At this moment, Laozi desperately wanted to ask Li Hao.

"How the hell did you do that?"

Unfortunately, he could not do so.

Even if he asked, Li Hao would not be able to answer.

To be honest, Li Hao himself had no idea what had happened.

After he asked the question and received no answer, he figured it out—the system had no Smart Component, so how could it answer anything?

So he stopped caring about it.

He had to admit, whether it was people or other things, sometimes they were just gluttons for punishment.

If you ignored them, they'd come crawling to you.

The system was the same. After Li Hao withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness, the system prompt rang out again.

[Ding! Detected that the host has Points available. Would you like to spend Points to erase the Origin Brand on the treasure?]

Li Hao rolled his eyes. Was there even a need to ask? Of course, erase it.

Without thinking much, without asking further, he decisively answered to erase it.

But immediately, he regretted it. He felt like he had been set up, trapped in a pit.

Why did he say that? Because...

[Ding! Host agreed to spend Points to erase the treasure's Origin Brand. Deducting two hundred thousand Points.]

Two hundred thousand! A full two hundred thousand Points!

Wasn't this a setup? If he had been told it was two hundred thousand earlier, he might have actually had to think it over.

But the system hadn't mentioned anything, hadn't said a word—just asked if he wanted to?

Li Hao subconsciously assumed that since the system didn't mention the Points cost, it must be too little to bother with.

Besides, erasing a brand—how much could it possibly cost?

And so, he miscalculated!

But since he had already chosen, and the Points were deducted, regret was useless.

Anyway, knowing the system's nature, once it swallowed something, it would never spit it back out.

The most likely outcome was that the brand erasure task would be terminated, but the Points would not be refunded.

Wouldn't that be an even bigger loss?

Seeing Laozi's face full of impossibility and disbelief, Li Hao smiled happily.

Can't believe it, huh? Confused, huh?

Can't understand it, huh?

Go ahead and think with that little head of yours—even if it explodes, you still won't figure it out.

He naturally had no intention of explaining the reason the brand was erased.

No need, and no obligation.

Besides, he couldn't explain it anyway.

How would he explain it?

"Actually, I'm a cheater?"