Meanwhile.
On the Sun Star.
"The Twelve Ancestral Witches have all come out. What are they up to?"
Not long ago, Ling Xiao had awakened from his seclusion and happened to see the Twelve Ancestral Witches advancing toward Mount Buzhou with murderous force.
The aura gathered by the Twelve Ancestral Witches rose like beacon smoke into the sky above the Primordial Land, surging straight up to the Ninth Heaven. It had even spread as far as the Sun Star.
Across the eastern Primordial World, all living beings trembled in fear. Countless creatures felt doomsday closing in. The Twelve Ancestral Witches towered so high they could not be seen from the ground, like Chaos demons striding between heaven and earth. With every casual gesture, they could destroy everything.
Fortunately, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were not targeting the ants beneath their feet.
Standing on the Sun Star, Ling Xiao looked down at the twelve towering figures. He had to admit, the Twelve Ancestral Witches' true forms were uglier than the last. Just their looks alone could scare an opponent half to death.
One of them drew a second glance from Ling Xiao. This Ancestral Witch had a human body and a serpent's tail, seven hands on her back and two on her chest, with both hands gripping Tengshe. She looked ferocious beyond measure.
"That should be Houtu..."
Ling Xiao muttered to himself and couldn't help curling his lip.
So the novels from his previous life had all been lying. They'd gone on and on about how beautiful Houtu was, but one look at her now, and she could scare a man impotent.
Maybe she had another side to her?
Thinking this, Ling Xiao couldn't help laughing.
Who knew what had gotten into this group of Ancestral Witches? All twelve had suddenly set out together, making a menacing beeline for Mount Buzhou.
What was on Mount Buzhou?
The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Fuxi.
"Could the Ancestral Witches be planning to attack them?"
Were they so desperate for opponents that they had to create some for themselves?
That was what Ling Xiao thought. After all, if things had followed the original plot, Di Jun and Tai Yi would have crossed paths with the Witch Clan around this time.
But things had changed now.
Di Jun and Tai Yi had abandoned their ambition to dominate and turned to cultivating the Dao instead.
Ever since Ling Xiao had brainwashed them last time, those two had been even more enthusiastic about cultivation than he was.
Ling Xiao didn't understand why the Twelve Ancestral Witches would have this idea, so he simply stopped wondering.
As long as they didn't come looking for trouble on the Sun Star, that was all that mattered.
Everything else had nothing to do with him.
Mount Buzhou.
Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian had already risen to their feet, their expressions grave as they stared in one direction.
Twelve figures wreathed in baleful energy were drawing near at great speed. They had already arrived.
"Why have the Twelve Ancestral Witches come?"
Laozi and Yuanshi exchanged a glance in silence. They had only just mentioned the Ancestral Witches, and now the lot of them had shown up.
Could they have sensed that someone was talking about them behind their backs?
That was absurd!
"They come with hostile intent," Laozi said gravely.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches were surrounded by baleful energy. They certainly didn't look as if they had come to enjoy the scenery.
What on Mount Buzhou would be worth bringing all of them out together for?
There was only them—the Three Pure Ones.
As they pondered this, a voice like a clap of thunder rang out.
"Three Pure Ones, get out here!"
The Thunder Ancestral Witch bellowed. The winds and clouds changed color, and thunder rolled across the sky. The sight was terrifying.
The Three Pure Ones' expressions darkened. They stepped forward, appearing outside the hall.
"Fellow Daoists, you've arrived in such imposing fashion. May I ask what brings you here?"
Laozi looked solemnly at Dijiang, who stood at the front, and asked.
"Of course there's a reason. Let me ask you: have you been in private contact with Baize?"
Dijiang spoke calmly, but his voice boomed like a heavenly drum, shaking the world for countless miles and carrying everywhere.
He was warning all unrelated powerful cultivators: dare to meddle, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches would come knocking at their doors.
"Baize?"
The Three Pure Ones paused, looking at one another as if to ask whether any of them had ever met Baize.
"Fellow Daoist Dijiang, I don't understand what you mean. We've been cultivating in seclusion and haven't met Baize."
Laozi answered, finding the whole thing rather baffling.
"Lies! Countless eyes saw Baize come to Mount Buzhou, and you still think you can fool us?" Zhu Jiuyin sneered and shouted.
Laozi paused, then patiently explained, "I don't understand what you mean, but we truly haven't met Baize."
"Besides, Mount Buzhou is so vast. How can you be sure Baize came to us?"
"I won't listen!"
Dijiang waved a hand and sneered. "You three shameless men are still trying to argue. I've decided Baize came to you, and that's that."
"If you're on good terms with Baize, you're our enemy, the Witch Clan's. There's no way this ends peacefully today."
Their main goal this time was to suppress the Three Pure Ones. They only needed an excuse to start a fight.
The Three Pure Ones understood now. The Twelve Ancestral Witches had come looking for trouble.
Had they taken leave of their senses?
Why were they kicking up a fuss out of nowhere?
"Twelve Ancestral Witches! Do you really think we fear you?"
Yuanshi shouted coldly. He had long since found them unpleasant.
"If you're not afraid, come here and meet your death!"
Gonggong stepped forward, making the earth tremble. Even with the Three Pure Ones halfway up Mount Buzhou, they had to look up at his towering body.
"Second Brother, calm down." Laozi stopped Yuanshi from acting rashly. He didn't want to fight.
One on one, they naturally had nothing to fear from an Ancestral Witch. But with all twelve coming at once, it was a different matter.
In the entire Primordial World, no one but the Dao Ancestor could take on the Twelve Ancestral Witches alone.
Even all three of them together wouldn't be enough.
"Dijiang, let's be frank. What do you want?"
Laozi spoke evenly, hoping to turn a big matter into a small one and a small matter into nothing. He planned to swallow his pride for now.
That wasn't cowardice; it was knowing how to read the situation.
Dijiang sneered. "You Three Pure Ones have always called yourselves the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, using Father God's legacy to swagger about and deceive others, yet you've never kept Father God in your hearts."
"That's why we've come today."
"There can only be one Pangu Orthodox Lineage."
At those words, the Three Pure Ones' expressions shifted. After a brief silence, Laozi said flatly,
"Fellow Daoist Dijiang, you're mistaken. We Three Pure Ones were formed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. The three of us together are Pangu."
That was an unchanging fact. Even if the sky fell, the Three Pure Ones would still be the Pangu Orthodox Lineage. That would never change.
They had claimed that title ever since they took form. No one could take it away from them.
"Laozi, are you saying Pangu's flesh isn't Pangu? I say you're looking down on us!"
Zhurong roared, his baleful aura churning the winds and clouds.
"Outrageous!"
The hot-tempered Tongtian could no longer hold back. The Green Duckweed Sword hummed with a ringing sword cry.
"A pitiful lot, incomplete from birth, ignorant of Heaven's decree, yet you still hope to claim the title of Pangu Orthodox Lineage. Are you worthy?"
Yuanshi snapped coldly, his eyes full of arrogance. Even if he couldn't beat the Twelve Ancestral Witches, that didn't stop him from looking down on them.
There were two kinds of witches. One was the Ancestral Witches, who had Primordial Spirits but were born incomplete and unable to cultivate.
The other kind were ordinary witches, who had no Primordial Spirits at all. The Great Witches were included among them.
In Yuanshi's eyes, how could creatures that lacked even a complete Primordial Spirit, that could hardly make sense of their own lives, possibly deserve the title of Pangu Orthodox Lineage?
Forget deserving it—even mentioning it was an insult to Pangu.
"Bastards! I'll kill you!"
Yuanshi's words instantly enraged every Ancestral Witch. In the blink of an eye, all twelve moved together, closing in on the Three Pure Ones.
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