That was Pangu.
Pangu, whose strength surpassed the Three Thousand Chaos Demon Gods and who stood just a hair's breadth from the Great Dao Realm.
To put it this way, any Chaos Demon God plucked at random could have easily wiped out the Primordial World's Heavenly Dao as it was now.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun, whose name now shook the Primordial World, had once been nothing more than a Chaos Earthworm.
Just as there were Innate Demon Gods and Innate Beings in the Primordial World, Hongjun's origins made him a Chaos Being.
Even the weakest Innate Demon Gods, those with the lowest-grade innate roots, could attain the Golden Immortal realm as soon as they emerged into the world.
As for Innate Beings, even one in a million who managed to cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm was already a generous estimate.
More importantly, the Daluo Golden Immortal realm was the limit for Innate Beings. But as long as an Innate Demon God didn't perish along the way, even one with a little luck could grind their way to the Quasi-Sage realm given enough time.
That was the difference between Innate Demon Gods and Innate Beings.
The gap between Chaos Beings and Chaos Demon Gods was even greater.
Chaos Demon Gods emerged with the strength of Primordial Daluo Golden Immortals. Hongjun, on the other hand, had cultivated painstakingly for countless ages and endured countless tribulations before he could barely attain Chaos and claim the honored seat of a Sage.
Someone else's starting point was the finish line you struggled toward through endless ages and tribulations. How could you possibly compare?
And when you considered how the Chaos Demon Gods had been nothing more than a platter of meat before Pangu, laid flat after just a few swings of his axe, you could scarcely imagine how terrifying his strength had been. The thought alone sent a chill down your spine; he was unfathomably deep.
On the other hand, even Daluo Golden Immortals could reincarnate and cultivate anew after death. Primordial Daluo Golden Immortals had gathered all their timelines—past, present, and future—into one. Even if they were slain, they would live on forever throughout the countless ages before their death, almost like another form of immortality.
But Pangu?
In any case, the present-day Zhu Jiuyin absolutely refused to believe that Pangu had died in the tribulation of Creation.
For one thing, from the moment the world had been created until now, plenty of Chaos Demon Gods' remains—and beings who had inherited some of their legacies—were still active in the Primordial World.
If those Chaos Demon Gods had left themselves hidden cards, then surely the more powerful Pangu had as well.
So whether out of absolute reverence for Pangu, their Father God, or absolute faith in his strength, Zhu Jiuyin didn't believe Pangu was truly dead.
Back to Pangu Hall.
As an Ancestral Witch, Zhu Jiuyin knew full well that Pangu Hall, a spiritual treasure personally forged by Pangu, held a trace of his divine sense and will.
That alone was terrifying. More terrifying still, that trace of divine sense and will seemed faintly connected to Pangu's perceptions from countless ages ago.
And that was before even considering that, because Pangu Hall had been forged by Pangu himself, it was in truth a complete Chaos Spiritual Treasure.
A Chaos Spiritual Treasure! Even simply sitting there, it was beyond the power of Sages and Hongjun to shake in the slightest. Zhu Jiuyin even suspected that not even the Heavenly Dao could do anything to Pangu Hall.
And even if someone managed to break through its defenses, what if it caught the attention of Pangu from countless ages ago? A single glance from him would turn Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao alike into passing clouds.
That was precisely why the Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race revered Pangu so deeply.
The only catch was that activating Pangu Hall required all twelve Ancestral Witches to work together. So after they had all perished and Houtu had transformed into Reincarnation, Pangu Hall had gradually vanished into the Primordial World.
This Chaos Spiritual Treasure had slowly faded from people's knowledge.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jiuyin couldn't help but scoff again.
He suddenly thought of the Three Pure Ones.
In truth, as members of the Orthodox Pangu Lineage, it was impossible that Pangu had left the Ancestral Witches his most fundamental trump card but given the Three Pure Ones nothing at all.
Anyone who had truly studied the myths of the Primordial World would know that, in the earliest days, the Three Pure Ones really had possessed a Chaos Spiritual Treasure—the 24th-Grade Creation Green Lotus.
Yes, it was the very treasure that the Three Pure Ones had split into three: its flower became the Coiling Dragon Staff, its root became the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, and its leaves became the Qingping Sword.
Unlike what novels about the Primordial World claimed, in the memories inherited by Zhu Jiuyin, this treasure had actually been forged by Pangu. He had modeled it after the 36th-Grade Chaos Green Lotus, using a Chaos Green Lotus seed to create a Chaos Spiritual Treasure.
"Such a pity, Three Pure Ones. I suppose you've never sincerely worshipped Father God since the day you were born."
Because they had worshipped Pangu and earned his recognition, the Ancestral Witches had gained the right to use Pangu Hall and make it the foundation of their standing.
But the Three Pure Ones might never have sincerely worshipped Pangu. That was why, in their hands, the 24th-Grade Creation Green Lotus had never displayed the power it ought to have.
And because the Three Pure Ones trusted one another far less than the Ancestral Witches trusted each other, the three brothers had ultimately split this Chaos Spiritual Treasure in three.
Just like that, a perfectly good Chaos Spiritual Treasure was ruined, becoming three Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
Honestly, the fact that a Chaos Spiritual Treasure could still give rise to three Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures after being split in three meant the Three Pure Ones had gotten incredibly lucky.
Just think of the Pangu Axe, a Chaos Supreme Treasure. After it was split in three, it had only become three Innate Supreme Treasures: the Chaos Bell, the Taiji Diagram, and the Pangu Banner.
The logic was simple. If a perfectly intact object was suddenly split in three and still retained some of its power, that was already quite an achievement.
Immersed in his insights and thoughts, Zhu Jiuyin had no idea how he appeared to everyone else. One moment he burst into laughter, the next he wept aloud, then he sighed toward the heavens, then he wore a scoffing expression. His face shifted through a tangle of emotions—joy, sorrow, shock, and anger.
If the others in the hall hadn't known Zhu Jiuyin possessed the Merit of Opening the Heavens, and that no demon or monster would dare bewitch the mind of an Ancestral Witch, they might have thought he had gone mad cultivating.
But because they knew no external demon could invade Zhu Jiuyin's mind, the Ancestral Witches, including Zhurong and Qiangliang, felt nothing but heartache for him.
"Judging from Second Brother's state, he must have seen something again in the River of Time."
"Alas, everyone says I, Gonggong, have no brains. But ever since I stopped absorbing Turbid Qi, I've suddenly found my head working just fine. Now I can understand how hard things were for Second Brother, how much he agonized over it all."
"Smack! I, Qiangliang, am a damn fool! I even dared to lay a hand on Second Brother back then. I deserve to die!"
"I really don't understand why Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao are so set against our Witch Race. I mean, what for?"
"Because we only revere Father God and refuse to worship the Heavenly Dao. We won't submit to its control, so of course it can't tolerate rebels like us!"
"Exactly. Second Brother is right. The best thing for us Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race is to stop meddling in the Primordial World's affairs from now on. In Second Brother's words, we should just lie low!"
"Eldest Brother is right. These past thirty thousand years have been the most comfortable I've had since I first gained sentience. Most importantly, I feel like even I, Shebishi, have grown a brain!"
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