Nuwa's Resolve

In the eastern Primordial World.

The great battle between the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Pure Ones had reached a turning point; Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian knew they could no longer gain the upper hand and were already preparing to slip away.

They retreated as they fought, while the Twelve Ancestral Witches, brimming with murderous intent, shattered the void and pursued them relentlessly.

"Three Pure Ones! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will not let you go!"

Dijiang roared in fury. He had become hot-headed this time; they were unwilling to let the Three Pure Ones escape, determined to nip this future threat in the bud.

Compared to their last encounter, the Three Pure Ones were significantly stronger, and they could no longer be easily crushed. Dijiang had a premonition that if they failed to finish off the Three Pure Ones now, it would only lead to greater trouble later.

"You three shameless things, do you dare to face me head-on?" the Thunder Ancestral Witch Qiangliang bellowed, his voice rolling like thunder across the land, reaching far and wide.

"You incomplete savage, in a one-on-one fight, I could beat you into dust!" Yuanshi retorted with arrogance and disdain.

"BOOM..."

This pursuit had long since left the vicinity of Mount Buzhou. The battle raged on without pause, the Twelve Ancestral Witches firm in their resolve to slay the Three Pure Ones, showing no intention of stopping.

Not long after they departed from Mount Buzhou, Baize led Jiuying into the mountain range, moving in complete silence.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, Fellow Daoist Fuxi, it has been a long time!"

Upon seeing the siblings Nuwa and Fuxi, Baize immediately cupped his hands in greeting, his face wreathed in a warm smile.

"Fellow Daoist Baize, are you here today regarding the matter of the Ten Thousand Races?"

Nuwa asked with a faint smile. She naturally knew the purpose of Baize's visit; he certainly wasn't here to reminisce or discuss the Dao.

"Good news, good news! Not long ago, I persuaded Fellow Daoist Kunpeng, and he has agreed to join us!" Baize said, cutting straight to the point.

He had not yet mentioned Kunpeng's inclusion to Nuwa.

"Kunpeng?" Nuwa frowned slightly, a strange smile touching the corners of her lips. "Fellow Daoist Baize, you truly have impressive means if even Kunpeng can be persuaded by you."

"However, if Kunpeng joins, who shall be the leader between him and me?"

Kunpeng was ruthless and cunning; it was unlikely he would be willing to submit to another. Even if he agreed on the surface, he was likely harboring his own schemes.

Baize's move was a fait accompli, bringing Kunpeng into the fold without her prior consent.

Nuwa felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. Her phoenix eyes held a hint of authority as she stared at Baize, waiting for his explanation.

"Naturally, you shall be the leader, Fellow Daoist Nuwa. I have already settled this point with Kunpeng."

Baize explained with a smile. He did not overthink things as Nuwa did; he only knew that the Ten Thousand Races currently needed the protection of powerful beings. Though Kunpeng's personality was a bit perverse, his strength was beyond doubt.

"Hmm, that is well." Nuwa paused, saying nothing more.

The sermons at Purple Heaven Palace had allowed her to perceive a glimmer of heavenly secrets—for instance, Hongjun's intention to establish a Heavenly Court to maintain order in the Primordial World.

From a certain perspective, this was similar to the integration of the Ten Thousand Races.

Even the appointment of the leaders of the male and female immortals was meant to preserve order in the Primordial World, which showed just how important this was.

Perhaps this is a great opportunity!

Nuwa thought to herself. Consequently, she was no longer angry at Baize's unilateral decision; instead, she felt even more inclined to integrate the Ten Thousand Races.

She suspected that Kunpeng had also sensed this heavenly secret, which was why he had agreed to Baize's proposal.

Otherwise, given Kunpeng's temperament, he would never have done such thankless work for no reason.

"The Twelve Ancestral Witches are currently dealing with the Three Pure Ones; this is our golden opportunity to unite the Ten Thousand Races!"

Baize continued, his eyes burning with a brilliant, intense light—the light of wisdom.

He was a beast of auspiciousness by nature, capable of foreseeing fortune and disaster. Had the heavenly secrets not been so chaotic recently, he would have been able to perceive even more.

Thus, based on his current intuition, this was the best possible time.

"Fellow Daoist Baize, isn't this a bit too hasty? We have yet to reach the Quasi-Sage realm. If the Ancestral Witches come knocking, wouldn't we be doomed?"

Fuxi spoke slowly, his expression grave. He did not believe this was a good time at all.

In his view, they needed to at least become Quasi-Sages to have any room to maneuver.

Nuwa had originally thought the same.

"Bah! What is there to fear? We aren't Quasi-Sages, yet we're still alive and well, aren't we? Those Ancestral Witches are just brutes. If you want to hide, they have no way of finding you."

At this, Jiuying spoke up, his tone blunt and dismissive. They had been playing cat-and-mouse with the Ancestral Witches for so long, and they were still alive, weren't they?

"Hide?"

Nuwa and Fuxi looked at him with strange expressions. Was the purpose of integrating the Ten Thousand Races just to hide? How was that any different from their current situation?

They might as well all just go into hiding and do nothing at all.

You don't come looking for me, and I won't go provoking you.

"Ahem!" Baize nudged Jiuying, signaling him to stop talking nonsense.

He was still alright, certainly better than Jimeng!

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, Fellow Daoist Fuxi, may I ask when you expect to be able to sever your obsessions?"

Baize asked solemnly.

"At least a thousand years." Nuwa paused, her expression turning grave as she spoke.

After hearing this, Baize remained silent for a moment before saying, "That should be enough time. Within these thousand years, I will ensure the preparations for the Ten Thousand Races are completed."

"When the time comes, once Fellow Daoist Nuwa makes her breakthrough, everything will fall into place naturally."

He was highly capable; these tedious matters were effortless for him.

"By the way, have you ever been to the Sun Star?" Nuwa asked suddenly, her eyes flickering.

"No." Baize shook his head immediately, without a hint of hesitation.

"Since I have requested Fellow Daoist Nuwa to step forward, I naturally would not go to contact the Three Crows."

Nuwa did not reply, instead gazing at the Sun Star, lost in thought.

She still did not quite understand why Ling Xiao would have Baize come to find her.

"Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao has likely already attained the Quasi-Sage realm. If you could persuade him to join us, perhaps it would truly be possible to contend with the Witch Clan."

Nuwa withdrew her gaze and said with a faint smile.

As soon as these words were spoken, Baize let out a bitter laugh and said, "Fellow Daoist Nuwa, let's forget about that."

"They are unwilling to even establish the Heavenly Court, so how could they join us in ruling over the Ten Thousand Races?"

"That is a pity." Nuwa nodded, understanding herself that this idea was unlikely to come to fruition.

As soon as the words fell, Jiuying took up the conversation:

"There is nothing to pity. Fellow Daoist Kunpeng will break through to the Quasi-Sage realm in a few days. By then, we will also have a Quasi-Sage holding the fort, and even if..."

He did not finish his sentence, for he felt an unfriendly gaze coming from the side, and he immediately became displeased.

"Baize, why are you looking at me like that?"

At this moment, Nuwa's expression had already turned unsightly. "Baize, why didn't you tell me that Kunpeng was about to break through to the Quasi-Sage realm?"

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, please don't overthink it. I simply didn't want to put you under any pressure; there really was no other motive."

Baize explained with a dry laugh. That was indeed his intention, but whether Nuwa believed him or not was up to her.

He glanced at Jiuying and cursed inwardly.

What a bunch of pig-headed teammates!

They have no sense of the situation and don't know when to keep their mouths shut.

"Baize, are you planning to make whoever breaks through first the leader?"

Fuxi spoke indifferently, also beginning to show his dissatisfaction.