The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains had originally been the territory of the Pan Hu Clan, but after Old Ancestor Panwang fell, this place became a deadly land no living being dared approach.
The remaining members of the Pan Hu Clan either chose death over surrender, fled into the Primordial Wilderness, or, if they were more timid, followed Demon God Xiao Mang and pledged themselves to the Demon Clan.
"Selling off his grandfather's land without a second thought!"
Listening to the tales surrounding Demon God Xiao Mang, Xuan Qing could not help shaking his head, feeling regret for Old Ancestor Panwang.
Demon God Xiao Mang had originally been a direct descendant of the Pan Hu Clan. After advancing to Daluo, he took part of his clansmen and split away, establishing the Xiaomang Divine Clan. Later, when the Demon Clan rose to power, he saw great prospects in it and led the entire Xiaomang Divine Clan into the newly established Heavenly Court!
Such things were hardly unusual in the Primordial Wilderness. Most races were born this way, and being annexed or assimilated by other races was equally commonplace.
However, when Demon God Xiao Mang's descendant was slain by Ancestor Shaman Qiangliang of Thunder during the last Witch-Demon War, he became utterly determined to seek revenge against the Witch Race.
When he heard that Di Jun had deduced the complete Great Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation and needed more Daluo powerhouses, he immediately thought of his own ancestor.
Did he not realize that King Pan had allowed him to establish his own branch precisely because he feared Xiao Mang would cause trouble and wipe out the Pan Hu Clan's bloodline?
Yet now, for the sake of a single descendant, he had not only dragged the entire Xiaomang Divine Clan into this, but had also brought a catastrophic disaster upon the Pan Hu Clan behind them.
That was right!
It was Demon God Xiao Mang who had led the Demon Clan army and Demon Emperor Jun to attack the Pan Hu Clan, demanding that the clan's Daluo Golden Immortals join the Demon Clan.
Who could have expected King Pan to have such a fiery temper? He had taken form several epochs before Di Jun and was likewise one of the Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao Palace. How could he willingly submit to Di Jun?
Thus came the great battle that later shocked countless mighty figures across the Primordial Wilderness.
"Search for them!"
"Find Old Ancestor's magic treasures no matter what!"
This was also Demon God Xiao Mang's first time witnessing his ancestor's true strength.
Even Di Jun, who ruled the Demon Clan, had nearly suffered at King Pan's hands. This stirred Demon God Xiao Mang's greed for several of King Pan's Innate Spiritual Treasures.
Therefore, after Eastern Emperor Taiyi led the Demon Clan army away, Xiao Mang remained behind with some Demon Clan members, moving through the poison-miasma-filled Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in hopes of finding the Innate Spiritual Treasures King Pan had left behind.
At the same time, quite a few independent cultivators from the Primordial Wilderness came here in search of fortuitous opportunities.
However, the poisonous miasma formed after King Pan's death was simply too terrifying. These so-called independent cultivators only dared wander around its outskirts!
Only Demon God Xiao Mang relied on his Daluo body to charge into the depths of the poison miasma several times.
Unfortunately, he still found nothing!
Using the Golden Cloud Crown and the Innate Eight Trigrams to conceal himself in the void, Xuan Qing successfully entered the depths of the poison miasma without alerting the Demon God.
Plague and poison were inseparable. With Yu Jiang's authority as the Plague God, the poison miasma that ordinary Taiyi cultivators avoided at all costs had no effect on him whatsoever.
He moved through the poison miasma, calmly comprehending the Way of Plague Poison while searching for the Heavenly Gu Yuan Yu Banner and the King Pan Yuan Gu Sword.
Yu Jiang had, after all, lived several hundred epochs ago. Though he possessed the authority of the Plague God, his path as a Plague God was less complete than Old Ancestor Panwang's.
The times were advancing. As generation after generation developed the various Great Daos, they became increasingly complete, even giving rise to entirely new branches.
King Pan's Great Dao encompassed the Way of Plague Poison, the Way of Curse, the Way of Enslavement, and the Way of Gu Worms. It could no longer be considered the primordial Way of Plague Poison!
Perhaps it would be more fitting to call it the Great Dao of Plague and Pestilence.
Within the poison miasma at the heart of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, gu worms swarmed everywhere and noxious vapors spread through the air. Xuan Qing suddenly understood: these were gu worms evolved from the Heavenly Gu Yuan Yu Banner.
"Found it without any effort!"
Xuan Qing tried using the Plague God authority to refine several gu worms. Through their connection to the Heavenly Gu Yuan Yu Banner, he located a Minor World.
The King Pan Bead!
This was a treasure bead condensed from King Pan's own Great Dao. It was neither innate nor acquired, and contained a world of its own. It could be considered a rare treasure!
The King Pan Bead was not large, only the size of a fist. Its spiritual light was concealed within itself; without the gu worms' guidance, Xuan Qing might not have discovered this bead hidden in the poison miasma.
The moment he grasped the King Pan Bead, it erupted with a terrifying suction force and pulled him into a Minor World filled with all kinds of poisonous miasma.
Compared to the poison miasma outside, that within this Minor World made the former seem insignificant. The terrifying poisonous vapors had nearly condensed into droplets of water.
At that moment, an aged voice sounded. "I never expected a living being of the Taiyi Realm to enter the King Pan Bead, condensed from this Old Ancestor's lifelong cultivation!"
"King Pan?"
Xuan Qing called out tentatively.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi had personally acted and even used the supreme treasure, the Chaos Bell. King Pan could not possibly have survived. What remained here could only be King Pan's remnant soul.
Of that, he was certain!
"A human?"
That voice was equally astonished. "It is truly unbelievable. A mere human is not only unafraid of plague poison, but also dares call this Old Ancestor by name?"
"This poor Daoist is Xuan Qing, disciple of Saint Tongtian!"
Without hesitation, Xuan Qing invoked his backing. "I heard that Old Ancestor was also one of the Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao Palace. I never imagined you would fall to such a state!"
"So you are a Sage's disciple!" King Pan's remnant soul spoke again. "But Tongtian attained the Dao through the sword. How could he have a disciple like you, one who enjoys plague poison?"
While raising his guard, Xuan Qing searched for King Pan's remnant soul with his divine sense. "My master advocates teaching without discrimination, so naturally he would not interfere with his disciples' choices!"
Though it was merely a remnant soul, there was no harm in being cautious, especially when he stood within the other party's domain.
The moment he spoke, he had announced Sect Master Tongtian's name precisely to make the other party wary.
"That is true!"
King Pan's remnant soul seemed wary of Xuan Qing's status as a Sage's disciple and did not dare act rashly. "Little friend, I will give you the Heavenly Gu Yuan Yu Banner and the King Pan Yuan Gu Sword. Help me do one thing. How about it?"
"What is it?"
"Help me kill that little bastard Xiao Mang!"
Xuan Qing remained unmoved. "Senior, surely you are joking? This junior is merely a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. How could I possibly kill Demon God Xiao Mang, who is in the Daluo Realm?"
There was something he did not say aloud: once he dealt with this remnant soul of yours, would not the Heavenly Gu Yuan Yu Banner and King Pan Yuan Gu Sword become mine anyway?
Between a remnant soul of a mighty figure and a Daluo Golden Immortal, he could still tell which would be easier to deal with.
King Pan might have been powerful, but that was when he was alive. What waves could a mere remnant soul possibly stir up?
"You need not act personally!" King Pan's remnant soul tempted him. "As long as you lure him into this Minor World, this Old Ancestor naturally has a way to restrain him!"
Xuan Qing still remained unmoved.
Seeing this, King Pan's remnant soul could only say, "I see that you do not fear plague poison because you inherited the Plague God authority, correct? As long as you help me accomplish this, this Old Ancestor will not only give you those two Innate Spiritual Treasures, but also grant you my entire Great Dao!"
"Truly?"
"Truly!"
"Then swear a Heavenly Dao Oath first!"
To Xuan Qing, King Pan's Great Dao was even more valuable than the two spiritual treasures. Yet he did not fully trust the other party and demanded that he first swear a Heavenly Dao Oath.
As a quasi-Sage, King Pan had long condensed his Innate Undying Spiritual Light. Even after falling, only his physical body and primordial spirit had been forcibly ground away by the Chaos Bell!
His true spirit had long been branded into the River of Time and Space. Should he encounter a great opportunity in the future, he might not be unable to return. The Heavenly Dao Oath still bound him.
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