A Single "Little Friend" Shocks the Primordial World, Do You Dare Leave the Ancestral Land?

"You have earned my recognition. From this moment on, I, Hongjun, shall regard you as an existence capable of standing on equal footing with me. I hope you do not disappoint me."

In truth, the moment Hongjun and Zhu Jiuyin locked eyes, the attention of every great power across the Primordial World had already converged upon them.

Yet, no one could have anticipated that the first to speak would be Hongjun himself.

More importantly, the implication of Hongjun's words was that he viewed Zhu Jiuyin as an equal.

This was preposterous.

In the current Primordial World, Hongjun stood as an existence of such transcendence!

Even the status of a Sage was merely the most minor of his many identities.

But that very distinction between Sage and non-Sage was enough to render Hongjun and Zhu Jiuyin beings of two entirely different tiers.

"Beneath the Sages, all are ants"—this had never been an empty phrase.

The reason the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun had repeatedly suffered setbacks before Zhu Jiuyin was not because Zhu Jiuyin was more powerful than Hongjun, but because Zhu Jiuyin, and indeed all the Twelve Ancestral Witches, had a formidable father.

The legacy left behind by this father for the Twelve Ancestral Witches was so profound that even the Heavenly Dao had to concede.

If Zhu Jiuyin were truly forced to face Hongjun alone, lasting three rounds would be his absolute limit.

Beyond the level of Sage, Hongjun was the Dao Ancestor, the teacher of all Sages, and the future spokesperson for the Heavenly Dao.

In other words, throughout the entire Primordial World, the minimum requirement for an existence to interact with Hongjun as an equal was to be a Sage, and even then, Sages had to perform the rites of a disciple before him.

It could be said that with this statement, Hongjun had elevated Zhu Jiuyin's status by more than a few rungs.

Zhu Jiuyin frowned.

He sensed that Hongjun's words were ill-intentioned, a calculated move to place him on a pedestal only to roast him over a fire.

"The Dao Ancestor is too kind. I, Zhu Jiuyin, am but a mere Ancestral Witch; I am unworthy of such high regard from the Dao Ancestor! However, you could certainly treat my Witch Race as an existence capable of standing on equal footing with you. In fact, you have always done so, have you not?"

Hongjun smiled. "Clever. However, in my view, there is currently only one and a half people in the Witch Race who truly matter. You are one..."

At this point, Hongjun cast a meaningful glance at Houtu, who stood beside Zhu Jiuyin. "Houtu counts as half."

Having said this, Hongjun looked back at Zhu Jiuyin. "I am a man who never speaks empty words. When I say I regard you as an existence capable of standing on equal footing with me, it means you possess the potential to do so."

This exchange between Zhu Jiuyin and Hongjun left the great powers lurking in the shadows feeling incredibly bitter.

Yuanshi was so furious his stomach ached. On what grounds? On what grounds is this happening! "Standing on equal footing"? Master, why don't you just say you're treating Zhu Jiuyin as your peer! The problem is, if you, an elder, treat him as a peer, what am I supposed to do?

Am I to call Zhu Jiuyin 'Uncle-Master' when I see him in the future?!

The more Yuanshi thought about it, the angrier and more fearful he became.

There was no helping it; for someone like Yuanshi, who valued his reputation above all else, the mere thought of having to address Zhu Jiuyin as "Uncle-Master" made him feel as though his inner demons were about to manifest.

With Yuanshi in such a state, it was likely that Laozi, who adhered to the Dao of Non-Action, was also struggling to maintain his composure.

He, too, was thinking: Must I call Zhu Jiuyin 'Uncle-Master' in the future?

Do not be fooled by Laozi's "non-action"; deep down, he was proud to the extreme.

He called Hongjun "Master" because Hongjun truly possessed the strength to utterly crush him, and because Hongjun had bestowed upon him both the status of a Sage and supreme treasures—a combination of grace and power.

But when it came to Zhu Jiuyin, there was only one question: On what grounds?

In fact, even Tongtian was struggling to keep his cool.

However, Tongtian lived up to his reputation as the one with the best temperament and the highest fighting spirit among the Three Pure Ones.

A fine Master, a fine Zhu Jiuyin. You have joined forces to teach me, Tongtian, a lesson—in the Primordial World, strength is what matters most.

Indeed, even the Heavenly Dao has suffered setbacks before the Ancestral Witches; Zhu Jiuyin, who orchestrates it all, is truly worthy of such praise from Master.

But do not underestimate me, Tongtian, because of this. One day, I, too, shall become an existence that even Master and the Heavenly Dao must hold in high regard!

While the Three Pure Ones were spiraling into madness, resentment, and newfound resolve, the other Innate Demon Gods were a different story.

Di Jun and Tai Yi should have been furious; after all, the Dao Ancestor's praise for Zhu Jiuyin made them, the Emperors of the Demon Race, seem far inferior to an Ancestral Witch.

Yet, having witnessed the Heavenly Dao itself suffer setbacks before the Witch Race, no matter how proud they were, they had to admit a single fact.

That was, in terms of foundation, the Demon Race was indeed far inferior to the Witch Race.

"Sigh, having a good father is truly too important."

Di Jun and Tai Yi were brothers indeed; after a long silence, they uttered these exact words in unison.

Back to Zhu Jiuyin.

Seeing that no matter what he said, Hongjun insisted on placing him on a pedestal to roast him, Zhu Jiuyin felt helpless.

When it came down to it, Hongjun was praising him—what could he do?

This was a "killing with kindness," the most disgusting tactic of all.

It was like a person starting a business, only for a titan of industry to suddenly announce that they were very optimistic about your current venture and that you might one day reach a level comparable to their own. What do you think would happen?

The ancients said: "If one's virtue does not match their position, disaster will surely follow." That was exactly what this meant.

Zhu Jiuyin did not want to continue bickering with Hongjun over this matter.

"The Heavenly Dao has already departed. Why does the Dao Ancestor still linger outside my Ancestral Land?"

Zhu Jiuyin's words were far too blunt; he was practically shooing the man away.

Unfortunately, given Hongjun's vast experience, such remarks had absolutely no effect on him.

In fact, a faint, almost imperceptible smile even appeared on his otherwise unchanging face.

"Little friend, do not be impatient!"

As soon as these four words were uttered, the great powers felt a wave of cringing—Dao Ancestor, are you for real?

Calling him "little friend"—that was just too absurd!

Seeing that Zhu Jiuyin was already losing his patience, Hongjun knew that if he continued to beat around the bush, Zhu Jiuyin might truly dare to take the other Ancestral Witches and the billions of the Witch Race back to the Ancestral Land to lie flat. If that happened, it would be he, the Dao Ancestor, who lost face.

Hongjun spoke directly: "You are a clever man. You must know why the Heavenly Dao came here this time.

Regarding this, I will say only one thing: your schemes are not permitted by the Heavenly Dao, nor are they permitted by me!"

Zhu Jiuyin laughed: "Does the Dao Ancestor truly believe that a single sentence from you is enough to make me back down? Even the Heavenly Dao lacks the strength to do so, let alone you!"

Zhu Jiuyin remained utterly discourteous, yet Hongjun's expression did not change: "Very well, then I shall be even clearer. Even if you have held the temporary upper hand in these few confrontations against the Heavenly Dao and myself, one thing remains unchanged: when all is said and done, your Witch Race is still fighting a passive defense!

Do you even dare to step out of your Ancestral Land?!"