Di Jun and Tai Yi looked astonished. They hadn't expected Ling Xiao to discover an innate spiritual root—the Stellar Tree—while they were away listening to the Dao.
Ling Xiao didn't think much of it. There was still a Yellow Plum growing in his Chaos Bead, after all, and it ranked first among the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots.
"Eldest brother, second brother, I've been studying the Primordial Cauldron lately and gained insight into a formation. I suspect that each of our innate treasures contains a formation of its own, so you should study yours diligently too. Don't slack off."
Mentioning the Stellar Tree reminded Ling Xiao of the Grand Stellar Array. He wanted to give Di Jun and Tai Yi a subtle nudge: whenever they had time, they should study their treasures and figure out the Grand Stellar Array and the Primordial River-Luo Array.
Having a sword and choosing not to use it were two different things.
With these two top-tier arrays, at least they'd have another trump card in their hands.
"Really? Then we'll have to study them properly."
Di Jun and Tai Yi were overjoyed. They immediately headed back to cultivate in seclusion.
"We won't come out until we reach the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm!"
That was what they said before leaving.
Ling Xiao smiled wryly and sat down to cultivate as well. With a thought, he absorbed the Pangu Essence Blood rewarded by the system.
Pangu Essence Blood represented the power of Pangu's physical body. Its greatest use was to cultivate the body.
The moment he swallowed the essence blood, Ling Xiao felt as if his bloodline were swelling.
It was as though billions of volcanoes had erupted inside him. A surging, violent power coursed through his limbs and every inch of his flesh.
Through introspection, Ling Xiao saw that every strand of his flesh, spurred on by the Pangu Essence Blood, seemed to be present at the birth of chaos, evolving into a world. Vast power continued to pour out from within him.
The hidden treasures in his body were steadily opening. Each pore contained a small world, and as his physical body ascended, those small worlds would evolve toward becoming great thousand worlds.
In other words, at that moment, even without using the power of any laws, Ling Xiao could shatter a great thousand world with nothing but his physical strength, with a casual gesture.
Of course, once his physical strength reached a certain level, he might be able to comprehend the Law of Strength.
"The Law of Strength..." Ling Xiao's eyes glimmered as countless laws flashed through his mind.
He drew on the Chaos Bead and pursued his insight into the Law of Strength from both directions at once.
Ever since breaking through to the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm, he had refined a thousand of the Chaos Bead's three thousand restrictions.
Now, the Chaos World inside the bead stretched boundlessly. The expanse he could sense was countless times greater than before.
Within the chaos, the Yellow Plum grew amid chaotic gales, a sea of ninefold thunder, and all sorts of destructive forces. It had already borne nine tiny fruits. Once ripe, a single fruit would be enough to create a Daluo Golden Immortal.
Ling Xiao focused completely on comprehending the laws, while the Pangu Essence Blood within him was slowly consumed.
As Ling Xiao refined the Pangu Essence Blood, Dijiang suddenly lifted his head in the Witch Clan Ancestral Land and looked toward the Sun Star.
"Strange. I think I just sensed Father God's aura?"
"It also felt like a brother who shares my origin..."
Dijiang spoke slowly, muttering to himself. Doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Could it have been my imagination?"
Unable to make sense of it, he lowered his head and pondered, falling into self-doubt.
Whether it was Father God's aura or that of a brother who shared his origin, neither should have appeared.
But soon, he figured it out.
The Sun Star had formed from Father God's left eye, so it was only natural for it to carry Father God's aura.
That was the only explanation he could come up with.
After Hongjun's second lecture, the powerful figures who returned from the Purple Heaven Palace all went into seclusion to study the Dao of Slashing the Three Corpses.
Only the Witch Clan and the Ten Thousand Races continued their endless slaughter. The entire Primordial World was at once calm and chaotic.
This continued for a full three thousand years.
One day.
On a celestial mountain along the Coast of the East Sea.
Three Daoists sat cross-legged on the Azure Sea Tide Cloud Bed. Their Auspicious Clouds gathered together, forming a vast expanse of chaotic-colored clouds stretching ten thousand mu. Above the clouds, a world took shape.
Pangu appeared, wielding the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe to cleave through chaos and create the world, establishing the scenes of earth, wind, fire, and water.
These three Daoists were Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian. Ever since returning from the Purple Heaven Palace, they had been studying the art of slashing their corpses, and now at last, something was happening.
Suddenly, the Auspicious Cloud above Laozi's head churned without end, rising and falling like a storm-tossed sea. One moment it showed the creation of the world; the next, the interplay of Taiji and the two polarities; then it displayed the myriad things arising from the One, the Two, and the Three.
A moment later, a ripple passed through the clouds, and an elderly, white-haired Daoist appeared above them. He wore a nine-cloud crown and a crimson-and-white crane-patterned immortal robe of purple gauze. His face resembled Laozi's in nine parts, though he looked more benevolent. He stepped down from the clouds and addressed Laozi in midair. "Congratulations, fellow Daoist!"
Laozi beamed and replied, "Congratulations to you as well!"
Then the Daoist merged into Laozi's body. At the same time, a vast aura shot straight into the sky. In that instant, every living being along the Coast of the East Sea felt their souls tremble with fear, and nearly choked.
Many powerful figures were even more horrified.
"Who has become a Quasi-Sage?!"
But it didn't end there. Not long after, a stern-faced Daoist emerged above Yuanshi's head. An air of evil radiated from him, as though he were the source of all wickedness, striking terror into the heart. He cupped his hands, merged into Yuanshi's body, and entrusted himself to a spiritual treasure.
A mighty aura swept across the heavens and earth without restraint, shaking all the powerful figures.
Close behind, a tall young man with sharp brows and bright eyes appeared in the Auspicious Clouds above Tongtian. A fierce sword intent radiated from him. He took one step forward and merged into Tongtian's body without any unnecessary gestures.
The Three Pure Ones had successfully slashed their corpses. Their vast auras pierced the firmament, while immortal light atop their heads illuminated the nine heavens like pillars holding up the sky.
They didn't conceal their auras, as if proclaiming the return of the Three Pure Ones, the orthodox heirs of Pangu.
The Quasi-Sage aura pressed down on heaven and earth. The powerful figures who sensed it all wore troubled expressions, gripped by a sense of urgency.
"As expected of the Three Pure Ones. They returned from the Purple Heaven Palace and succeeded in slashing their corpses in just three thousand years!"
Having felt the power of a Quasi-Sage, they were even more eager to slash their corpses and attain sagehood.
"We finally did it!"
At that moment, Tongtian let out a long breath and reined in his aura.
"We must be the first to succeed in slashing our corpses. The power of a Quasi-Sage is beyond anything I imagined," Yuanshi said, feeling the vast power within him. His expression grew even more arrogant.
"Let's attack the Witch Clan Ancestral Land, settle the score from the past, and seize the Pangu Temple while we're at it!"
The humiliation inflicted on him by the Ancestral Witches had carved itself into his bones. Whenever he remembered that battle, he wanted to tear the Twelve Ancestral Witches limb from limb.
"That would be unwise. Our strength has grown tremendously, but do you think the Twelve Ancestral Witches have stood still? They control most of the fortune of Pangu's Orthodox Lineage. Their cultivation may not have advanced much more slowly than ours!"
Laozi was more cautious. Though he wanted revenge too, he absolutely didn't approve of attacking the Witch Clan's stronghold.
"Are we supposed to let it go, then?" Yuanshi asked, unwilling to accept it.
"Of course not. First, we'll take back our own cultivation grounds," Laozi said gravely.
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