Yuanshi Battles Houtu, Azure Lotus Entrusts the Orphan

The Sanqing had always looked down on the Twelve Ancestral Witches, believing they were unworthy of being Pangu Descendants. After all, a bunch of brutes who cultivated only the Physical Body and neglected the Primordial Spirit could hardly comprehend the Heavenly Dao.

Thus, upon learning Houtu's identity, Yuanshi Tianzun let out a cold snort and said, "A bunch of brutes like you dare to accuse my brothers? Since we've met today, it saves This Daoist the trouble of visiting the Ancestral Witch Hall."

As he spoke, Yuanshi Tianzun had already charged at Houtu. As for Laozi and Tongtian Jiaozhu, they had no intention of joining the fight.

After all, in their understanding, Houtu was no match for Yuanshi Tianzun. Letting Yuanshi Tianzun teach her a lesson was not unacceptable.

Watching Yuanshi Tianzun rush toward her, Houtu showed no fear. Her hands instantly formed Earth Yellow Law Power and struck at Yuanshi Tianzun.

A wall of earth appeared before Yuanshi Tianzun, and giant stones shot up from the ground, trapping him in the middle.

Yuanshi Tianzun waved his Fly Whisk, shattering all the giant stones. At the same time, he crashed straight into the earth wall, causing it to collapse instantly.

At this moment, Yuanshi Tianzun had no decent Innate Spiritual Treasure in hand, so he held no advantage against Houtu.

For a time, the two were locked in a stalemate. However, as Houtu manifested her Ancestral Witch True Body, Yuanshi Tianzun began to struggle.

But Yuanshi Tianzun quickly spotted the problem and stopped engaging Houtu in close combat. He pulled back and used his Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Fly Whisk, to attack Houtu from a distance.

Though the Ancestral Witch True Body possessed immense physical strength and the power to Destroy Heaven and Earth, its massive size made movements somewhat sluggish.

Struck several times on the back by Yuanshi Tianzun's attacks, Houtu sustained a certain degree of injury. This infuriated her instantly.

Unfortunately, her strength was ultimately inferior to Yuanshi Tianzun's, and she was on the verge of defeat. Houtu was about to burn her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood, which startled Nuwa greatly.

After all, if Houtu burned her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood, she could defeat Yuanshi Tianzun, but she would inevitably suffer severe backlash.

Unable to stand by and watch, Nuwa charged straight at Yuanshi Tianzun, blocking his attack for Houtu.

Seeing Nuwa intervene, Laozi and Tongtian naturally wouldn't stand idly by. They stepped forward to intercept Nuwa.

Two Fly Whisks sealed off both Nuwa's forward and retreat paths, leaving her no chance to aid Houtu.

At this point, Nuwa's face showed a hint of disdain. After all, her cultivation was at the Late-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal; how could she be stopped by two Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals?

At that time, Hong Jun had not yet begun his lectures at Zixiao Palace, and almost all Primordial World Cultivators were stuck at the Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal stage. But that didn't mean they had stagnated.

They simply hadn't broken through in realm, but the Dao Cultivation they had accumulated remained. Thus, even at Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, the Sanqing could unleash combat power no less than Mid Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, or even higher.

So even if Nuwa had the strength to defeat the combined forces of Laozi and Tongtian, it couldn't be done in a short time.

And in that time, Yuanshi Tianzun could severely wound Houtu, or even force her to burn her Ancestral Witch Essence Blood.

Just then, the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus in the pond finally reached maturity. Boundless Creation Power poured forth.

Even the Sanqing, Nuwa, and Houtu, locked in battle, were affected by this Creation Power and forgot to attack each other.

As the Creation Qi converged, dark clouds gathered in the sky, forming a massive Purple Single Eye.

Seeing this, the Sanqing retreated without hesitation, vanishing to tens of thousands of li away in an instant.

After all, this Purple Single Eye represented the Heavenly Punishment. Once the Heavenly Punishment descended, everything within its range would be indiscriminately struck.

The Sanqing had no desire to be caught up in the Heavenly Punishment; one misstep could mean Death and Dao Annihilation.

But Nuwa and Houtu did not retreat from the Heavenly Punishment's range like the Sanqing, because Qing Xuan was still beneath the green lotus.

Nuwa directly called out to Qing Xuan, "The Heavenly Punishment is about to fall. If you don't leave now, it will be too late."

By now, Qing Xuan had slowly opened his eyes on the lotus leaf, but showed no intention of retreating.

He directly said, "This is the fate of the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus, and also my opportunity, Qing Xuan's."

"Both of you retreat to tens of thousands of li away. Don't worry about me; I have my own way to deal with this Heavenly Punishment and ensure I won't fall under it."

Since Qing Xuan had said so, Nuwa couldn't stop him. Though worried, she pulled Houtu and retreated tens of thousands of li away.

The moment Nuwa and Houtu retreated to tens of thousands of li, a purple Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning shot straight down from the Eye of Heavenly Punishment.

A massive phantom of the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus rose into the air, catching this Heavenly Punishment mid-air.

One after another, Heavenly Punishments fell, and the giant green lotus phantom began to sway. Finally, with a crisp sound, the lotus phantom shattered.

By then, only thirty-six Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightnings had been endured, but the Heavenly Punishment totaled a full ninety-nine and eighty-one strikes.

In other words, not even half had been withstood, and the Creation Green Lotus was already severely damaged. All that remained was to rely on its Main Body to endure the remaining tribulation lightning.

Just then, a vine rose from the green lotus. The vine rapidly extended through the air, and tender leaves slowly unfurled.

Nuwa and Houtu knew this was Qing Xuan making his move. The vine in mid-air was the essence of the Innate Gourd Vine.

At the same time, another Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning descended, striking directly at the gourd vine. But unlike the green lotus, the vine did not passively endure the attack.

The vine traced a strange arc and struck the Heavenly Thunder from the side.

Like a soft whip, the vine lashed the middle of the Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightning, forcibly dispersing it.

Another thirty-six Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Lightnings were dispersed by the vine in the same manner. But by then, the vine's luster had become extremely dim.

"Brother Green Lotus, this is all I can do for you. The remaining nine tribulation lightnings, you'll have to endure on your own. Don't give up; I'm waiting for us to roam the Primordial World together."

As Qing Xuan's words fell, the Twenty-Four Grade Creation Green Lotus began to shake incessantly. Finally, a lotus seed radiating Creation Qi detached from the lotus platform and landed in Qing Xuan's hand.

"For us Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots to undergo Form Transformation is no different from Acting Against Heaven. And I am an anomaly among the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots; the Heavenly Dao will never allow me to transform."

"This lotus seed, though it cannot grow to twenty-four grades or be Born Sentience, is still my legacy. I entrust it to you today."