But if he didn't beat Tongtian, then putting aside whether it was fair, Qing Xuan himself would feel that things were left unfinished. So he simply said, "You deserve to be punished."
Then he swung the ruler once, knocking Tongtian straight to his knees. After that, he said "You deserve to be punished" twice more, each time accompanied by another strike.
Kneeling on the ground, Tongtian felt utterly aggrieved. You had an excuse, at least, for beating Big Brother and Second Brother. How come when it's my turn, all you have to say is "You deserve to be punished"?
Only after striking each of the Three Pure Ones three times did Qing Xuan put away the Hongmeng Liangtian Ruler. He opened his Folding Fan and said,
"Remember, it wasn't I, Qing Xuan, who beat you today. It was Pangu. I hope you'll learn from this and understand what it means to be Pangu Orthodox."
With that, Qing Xuan turned and headed toward Nuwa and Houtu. He gave the two women a relaxed smile. "Let's go."
Those two casual words sounded incomparably carefree and unrestrained. Then, under Houtu and Nuwa's astonished gazes, he strode toward the Foot of Buzhou Mountain.
Watching the backs of Qing Xuan and the others as they left, the Three Pure Ones remained kneeling in place, motionless. Only when the trio had disappeared from sight did they finally come back to their senses.
The three strikes Qing Xuan had dealt Tongtian had been lighter than the ones he'd given Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun. So Tongtian was the first to speak.
"Two elder brothers, who exactly is this Qing Xuan? What gives him the right to punish us? And what did we do wrong?"
Tongtian's words nearly made Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun's noses twist with anger. What did we do wrong? Hadn't he already explained it perfectly clearly?
At most, Tongtian himself didn't know why he'd been beaten. The other two, however, understood all too well.
After all, every word Qing Xuan had spoken had struck straight at their souls. How could they not know that the Three Pure Ones and the Twelve Ancestral Witches were all direct descendants of Pangu?
It was their own pride that made them unwilling to acknowledge those twelve as their brothers. To some extent, they had even wanted to get rid of them.
So neither Laozi nor Yuanshi Tianzun answered Tongtian. They only stared blankly toward the summit of Buzhou Mountain.
"Elder Brother, as Pangu Orthodox, is it wrong for us to be a little proud? What right do those lowly creatures have to put themselves on our level?"
Yuanshi Tianzun's words drew a sigh from Laozi, but he said nothing. He, too, didn't believe other living beings could compare to them.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Let's return to Kunlun Mountain and refine our Spiritual Treasures. We must not miss the Dao Ancestor's Sermon."
"As Pangu Orthodox, only those with strength unrivaled across the Primordial Wilderness have the right to look down on the Ten Thousand Races."
That was what Laozi believed. He didn't think he had been wrong. He thought he lacked the strength to avoid today's humiliation.
If they could easily suppress Qing Xuan, how would he dare act so arrogantly in front of them? How would he dare punish them in Pangu's name?
That's right—invoke Pangu's name. In the hearts of the Three Pure Ones, they had been formed from Pangu's Three Souls, so they were Pangu himself.
That was also why the Three Pure Ones had always called themselves Pangu Orthodox, and had never once called Pangu their Father God.
At the same time, Laozi was troubled by one other thing: how had Qing Xuan known that he had taken a trace of the Nascent Soul from Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian?
After all, even Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian hadn't noticed the slightest thing. Could Qing Xuan have witnessed Pangu transform into the Primordial Wilderness with his own eyes?
The thought lodged in Laozi's heart like a thorn. It only made him more determined to eliminate Qing Xuan.
As for Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian, they had heard what Qing Xuan said as well. But they had instinctively ignored it, since neither of them had noticed any loss in their Nascent Souls.
Meanwhile, Qing Xuan and the others had reached the area near the Ancestral Witch Hall. Houtu warmly invited the two of them to visit the hall.
Qing Xuan naturally accepted. After all, the Ancestral Witch Hall had been formed from Pangu's heart. Since he was already here, he might as well take a look around.
As soon as he stepped inside the Ancestral Witch Hall, Qing Xuan felt a powerful pressure. It was identical to the pressure on Buzhou Mountain, thick with Pangu's aura.
The pressure came from the Blood Pool inside the Ancestral Witch Hall. Blood churned within it, giving off waves of baleful energy.
The Ancestral Witch Hall was simply laid out. Apart from the Blood Pool in the center, there were only twelve Stone Platforms surrounding it.
At that moment, eleven of the Stone Platforms were occupied by Ancestral Witches. The vacant one naturally belonged to Houtu.
While Qing Xuan looked around the Ancestral Witch Hall, Houtu spoke up. "Elder brothers, Sister Xuan Ming, look who your little sister brought along."
The Twelve Ancestral Witches opened their eyes in unison. Their gazes first fell on Nuwa, then shifted to Qing Xuan.
They weren't unfamiliar with Nuwa. After all, she had stayed in the Ancestral Witch Hall for two hundred years. So naturally, they paid Qing Xuan a little more attention.
Houtu hurriedly introduced Qing Xuan to the Eleven Ancestral Witches. Then she told them how Qing Xuan had beaten the Three Pure Ones.
This couldn't help but earn Qing Xuan the Ancestral Witches' admiration, and they grew a little warmer toward him than before. Zhu Rong was the first to speak.
"Serves them right! I've wanted to teach those three unfilial sons a lesson for ages. Unfortunately, I still haven't found the chance."
Gonggong, standing nearby, curled his lip. "Zhu Rong, quit bragging. With your abilities, you'd struggle to beat even one of the Three Pure Ones. And you think you can teach all three of them a lesson?"
Zhu Rong flew into a rage on the spot. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to fight Gonggong, so he could show him just how strong he was.
Houtu didn't take it seriously. This was standard behavior for Zhu Rong and Gonggong, after all. So she simply turned to Qing Xuan and asked,
"Little Gourd... Daoist Qing Xuan, you said just now that before Laozi's Form Transformation, he had already taken a trace of his brothers' Nascent Souls. What exactly happened?"
"Did you see it with your own eyes? But you hadn't even sprouted back then. How could you know what happened when Father God transformed into the Primordial Wilderness?"
Qing Xuan didn't hide anything. He told Houtu and the other Ancestral Witches how he had found Pangu Marrow inside Buzhou Mountain.
He also took out the Hongmeng Liangtian Ruler and activated the Pangu Imprint on it, letting every Ancestral Witch truly feel how that trace of Pangu's imprint suppressed them.
This convinced all the Ancestral Witches that Qing Xuan was telling the truth. Zhu Jiuyin was the first to speak. "According to what Daoist Qing Xuan says, aren't there still eleven drops of Pangu Marrow inside Buzhou Mountain?"
Qing Xuan nodded. "That's right. Pangu left them for you. Unfortunately, you were too busy seizing the Heaven Opening Merit back then and missed this tremendous opportunity."
Seeing everyone sigh, Houtu said, "Actually, we can't be blamed. We weren't conscious back then. Everything we did was purely instinctive."
Houtu's words finally eased the other Ancestral Witches' regrets. They also began discussing how they might find the remaining Pangu Marrow.
Before you continue