The Three Pure Ones had always looked down on the Twelve Ancestral Witches, believing they were unworthy of being Pangu Descendants. After all, how could a bunch of brutes who cultivated only their Physical Bodies and not their Nascent Souls understand the Heavenly Dao?
So when Yuanshi Tianzun learned Houtu's identity, he let out a cold snort. "You bunch of brutes dare criticize my brothers? Since we've crossed paths today, I can save myself a trip to the Ancestral Witch Hall."
As he spoke, Yuanshi Tianzun was already charging at Houtu. Laozi and Tongtian Jiaozhu, however, had no intention of joining the fight.
After all, in their minds, Houtu was no match for Yuanshi Tianzun. There was nothing wrong with letting Yuanshi Tianzun teach her a lesson.
But Houtu showed no fear as Yuanshi Tianzun charged toward her. Her hands swiftly formed earth-yellow Law Power, which she hurled at him.
A wall of earth appeared in front of Yuanshi Tianzun, and boulders surged skyward from the ground, trapping him inside.
Yuanshi Tianzun swept his horsetail whisk, shattering all the boulders. He then charged straight into the earthen wall, making it collapse in an instant.
At that point, Yuanshi Tianzun had no decent Innate Spiritual Treasure in hand, so he had no real advantage against Houtu.
For a while, they fought to a standstill. But when Houtu manifested her Ancestral Witch True Body, Yuanshi Tianzun began to struggle.
Yuanshi Tianzun soon spotted the problem and stopped fighting Houtu at close range. He pulled back and began attacking her from a distance with the Innate Spiritual Treasure in his hand, the horsetail whisk.
Though the Ancestral Witch True Body was immensely powerful and capable of Destroying Heaven and Earth, its enormous size inevitably made its movements sluggish.
After Yuanshi Tianzun struck her back several times, Houtu was wounded. This immediately sent her into a fury.
Unfortunately, she was still no match for Yuanshi Tianzun and was on the verge of defeat. She even considered burning her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood, which greatly alarmed Nuwa.
After all, if Houtu burned her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood, she might defeat Yuanshi Tianzun, but she would also suffer a tremendous backlash.
Nuwa could no longer stand by and watch. She charged straight at Yuanshi Tianzun, helping Houtu block his attack.
Seeing Nuwa intervene, Laozi and Tongtian naturally couldn't stand by either. They stepped forward and blocked her.
Their two horsetail whisks sealed off both Nuwa's way forward and her retreat, leaving her no chance to help Houtu.
Nuwa, however, wore a look of disdain. Her cultivation had reached the Late-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm; how could two Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals hold her back?
Hong Jun had yet to begin lecturing at Zixiao Palace, and nearly all the cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness were stuck at the Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal level. But that didn't mean they had stopped advancing.
Their realms might not have broken through, but their accumulated Dao Cultivation remained. So even though the Three Pure Ones were Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, their combat strength was no less than that of Mid Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, and perhaps even greater.
So even though Nuwa could defeat Laozi and Tongtian working together, she couldn't do it in an instant.
That was more than enough time for Yuanshi Tianzun to badly wound Houtu, perhaps even forcing her to burn her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood.
Just then, the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus in the pool finally ripened. Boundless Creation Power poured out all at once.
Even the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Houtu, who had been fighting, were affected by the Creation Power and forgot to attack one another.
As the Creation Qi drew back in, dark clouds filled the sky and gathered into a gigantic Purple Single Eye.
At the sight, the Three Pure Ones retreated without hesitation, reaching ten thousand miles away in the blink of an eye.
After all, the Purple Single Eye represented Heavenly Punishment. Once it descended, everything within its range would be attacked indiscriminately.
The Three Pure Ones had no desire to be caught up in Heavenly Punishment. The slightest misstep could cost them their lives and cultivation.
Nuwa and Houtu, however, didn't retreat from the area covered by the Heavenly Punishment as the Three Pure Ones had. Qing Xuan was still beneath the Azure Lotus.
Nuwa called out to Qing Xuan, "Heavenly Punishment is about to descend. If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
Qing Xuan had slowly opened his eyes on a lotus leaf, but he showed no intention of retreating.
He simply said, "This is the fate of the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus, and my own fortune as well."
"Quickly, retreat ten thousand miles. Don't worry about me. I have a way to withstand this Heavenly Punishment. I guarantee I won't perish beneath it."
Since Qing Xuan had said this, Nuwa couldn't stop him. Though worried, she led Houtu back ten thousand miles.
Just as Nuwa and Houtu reached that distance, a bolt of purple Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning shot down from the Eye of Heavenly Punishment.
The enormous phantom of the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus soared into the air and intercepted the bolt.
One bolt of Heavenly Punishment after another came down, and the enormous lotus phantom began to waver. At last, it shattered with a crisp crack.
By then, it had endured only thirty-six bolts of Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning, while the full tribulation consisted of eighty-one.
In other words, the Creation Green Lotus hadn't even endured half the tribulation before it was already gravely damaged. Now all it could do was rely on its true form to withstand the remaining lightning.
Just then, a vine rose from the Azure Lotus. It rapidly extended through the air as tender leaves slowly unfurled along it.
Nuwa and Houtu knew Qing Xuan had made his move. The vine in the air was the source of the Innate Gourd Vine.
At the same time, another bolt of Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning descended, striking toward the Gourd Vine. But unlike the Azure Lotus, the Gourd Vine didn't passively endure the attack.
The Gourd Vine traced a strange curve through the air, then lashed sideways at the Heavenly Thunder.
Like a soft whip, the Gourd Vine struck the Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning in the middle, forcibly dispersing it.
The Gourd Vine dispersed thirty-six more bolts of Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning the same way. By then, its luster had grown incredibly dim.
"Brother Green Lotus, this is all I can do for you. You'll have to endure the remaining nine bolts yourself. Don't give up. I'll be waiting for you so we can roam the Primordial Wilderness together."
As soon as Qing Xuan finished speaking, the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus began to sway violently. At last, a lotus seed brimming with Creation Qi fell from the Lotus Platform and landed in Qing Xuan's hand.
"For Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots like us to undergo Form Transformation is no different from acting against Heaven. And I'm an anomaly among Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots. The Heavenly Dao won't allow me to undergo Form Transformation."
"This lotus seed can never grow into a Twenty-Four Grade Lotus, nor can it develop intelligence. But it is still my legacy. I entrust it to you today."
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