Chapter 45

Lu Tian paid his respects to Ancestor Witch Houtu. "You are..."

Before he could finish, heaven and earth spun around him, and Houtu had already teleported him to the edge of the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.

Amid the drifting lotus fragrance, the Dharma forms of Jieyin and Zhunti gradually solidified from the void.

"Greetings, Masters."

Just as Lu Tian was about to bow, Houtu interrupted him. "Forget the formalities! Brother Dijiang sent me to ask: how exactly has that major matter been decided?"

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged glances, and surprise flashed through all three pairs of eyes.

The two Saints wondered why Houtu wanted to involve herself in Witch Clan Karma, while Lu Tian did not understand why his masters had specifically waited for him to make the decision.

"Please wait a moment." Jieyin rolled a Bodhi Bead between his fingers, then instantly fled into the Mount Meru Secret Realm with Lu Tian and Zhunti. Before leaving, Buddha Pharmacist quietly appeared, holding Sweet Dew as he stood beside Houtu.

Within the Chaos Barrier, the River of Time and Space formed a whirlpool here.

"Foolish child, is the Witch Clan's muddy water truly so easy to wade into?" Zhunti swept his fly whisk, and a Twelve-grade Golden Lotus slowly bloomed beneath the three of them.

The Chaos Bead in Lu Tian's arms glowed with clear light. He calmly asked, "Master, may I ask who will win and who will lose in the conflict between the Witches and the demons?"

The two Saints exchanged bitter smiles. "Within a tribulation, the heavenly secrets are chaotic. Even Saints cannot glimpse the full picture."

"While traveling, I glimpsed a fraction of the heavenly secrets." Dao Charm gathered at Lu Tian's fingertips. "Now, the Heavenly Dao shines brightly, and the Human Dao flourishes gloriously, yet the Earthly Dao alone remains hidden. The dead souls of the primordial world have nowhere to return to, which is why resentment reaches the heavens..."

"To be precise, they should be called all living beings, the countless creatures of the primordial world."

"At this moment, the Witch Clan and demon race are both at the height of their power. Life flourishes between heaven and earth, and the Human Dao's fortune naturally grows stronger as well."

Jieyin and Zhunti remained silent, waiting for Lu Tian to continue.

After pondering for a long time, I believe that if we wish to revive the West, perhaps we can make plans by borrowing the power of the Earthly Dao.

"Thus, I thought of Ancestor Witch Houtu."

"Houtu was born with authority over the Netherworld. If she can establish a place of reincarnation in the West, draw upon the great power of the Earthly Dao, and allow wandering souls and resentful spirits to be reborn, it will surely be an immense merit..."

Lu Tian succinctly explained his idea, presenting it only as a sudden inspiration.

Such mysteries could not be verified by outsiders.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance, deep contemplation flashing through their eyes.

"According to what you say..."

"It is indeed something worth pursuing. We may as well try."

Lu Tian had already laid out the plan, and the two immediately understood. Only by drawing Houtu and part of the Witch Clan into the West could this plan possibly be carried out. Whether the matter of reincarnation succeeded or not, Houtu's achievement in repairing the Earth Veins alone would be a great benefit to the West.

"This matter carries immense Karma. You are already involved, so do not interfere further." Jieyin solemnly warned him. "Zhunti and I will discuss it with Houtu."

A moment later.

The three figures reappeared before Houtu.

Houtu's eyes brightened at once. "Is there a result?"

Jieyin stroked his long beard, putting on an unfathomable expression. "The Western Teachings were once plotted against by the demon race. We are willing to lend the Witch Clan a hand."

Then his tone suddenly shifted. "However..."

"The time has not yet come!"

Seeing Houtu's expression abruptly change, he hurriedly smiled. "Once the time is ripe, my junior brother and I will naturally throw the Heavenly Court into chaos."

"Then the Witch Clan will not only be able to destroy the Witch Slaying Sword, but also launch a surprise attack on the Heavenly Court!"

As for how they would throw it into chaos?

Jieyin remained evasive, merely telling Houtu to focus on repairing the Western Earth Veins and promising to act within a Kalpa.

Yet inwardly, he was calculating around the ten Golden Crows on the Sun Star—if Di Jun lost his beloved sons, how could he possibly remain unmoved?

Under Jieyin and Zhunti's firm insistence that the heavenly secrets could not be revealed, Houtu ultimately did not cause trouble at Spirit Mountain. She went to repair the Earth Veins as agreed. After all, their earlier agreement had been to exchange information about the Witch Slaying Sword for the repair of the Earth Veins; everything else was an additional gift.

It had to be said...

This Ancestor Witch was truly honest and straightforward.

Her efficiency in repairing the Earth Veins was astonishing, surpassing Lu Tian's by hundreds or even thousands of times. One day of her work equaled a thousand years of Lu Tian's labor.

What was a true expert?

This was a true expert!

After watching for several days, Lu Tian could not help but feel admiration.

As expected of the future Empress Pingxin, Houtu's attainments in this regard had truly reached the pinnacle.

It so happened that Saints Jieyin and Zhunti had nothing else to do, so they joined her in repairing the Earth Veins.

With the two Saints and Houtu working together, the restoration of the Western Earth Veins advanced by leaps and bounds. Vast regions regained vitality every day.

However, the Western territory was boundlessly vast.

Even with the three working together, it would still take a long time.

Moreover, after the Earth Veins were repaired, time would still be needed to nurture spiritual energy and restore ecological balance.

Lu Tian no longer involved himself in these subsequent matters.

He personally settled the Witch Clan tribe Houtu had brought and relocated them to a restored region.

The environment there still appeared desolate.

But the Witch Clan was highly adaptable and did not care about the harsh conditions at all. Instead, they clamored about finding demons to fight.

After helplessly settling them in, Lu Tian turned and left.

These low-ranking Witch Clan members could simply be left here to live and multiply.

The Witch Clan reproduced with difficulty, and their population grew slowly.

Unlike the human race Lu Tian had previously settled, whose population had doubled within only a few thousand years.

Fortunately, spiritual energy in the West was still insufficient, limiting the human race's cultivation. Coupled with several wars sparked by internal conflict, their population had sharply declined. Otherwise, the territory originally allocated to them would have long been overwhelmed.

The human cultivators Lu Tian had enlightened back then still led their people, guiding the human race through thorns and brambles as they opened up new spaces to survive.

After settling the Witch Clan, Lu Tian secluded himself within the Western Teachings and focused on cultivation.

He needed to adjust his condition and prepare to obtain Luohu's inheritance.

Whenever a cycle of the Temporary Palace's operation ended, Golden Light of Merit descended from the sky and merged into Lu Tian's body.

Heavenly Dao Merit descended almost every day, making his senior brothers envious and secretly regretful that they had no chance at such fortune.

Though the merit gained each time was not much, the accumulated amount was still considerable.

This merit came from the Heavenly Dao's reward for Houtu repairing the Earth Veins.

For the Witch Clan...

This thing had no value whatsoever.

The Witch Clan had no primordial spirits and did not cultivate the Heavenly Dao, so they naturally regarded merit as nothing.

Otherwise, when Houtu transformed herself into reincarnation and gained immense merit, she would not have been surprised to discover that merit could help her condense a primordial spirit and break through the Witch Clan's shackles.

Naturally, Lu Tian would not point that out now.

After all, this unending stream of merit was benefiting him immensely.

To Lu Tian, Houtu, this top-tier tool, was practically divine assistance sent by heaven!

After finishing his meditation that day, Lu Tian felt it was time to obtain Luohu's second inheritance.

Luohu's inheritance had three locations in total:

The first was the Demon Heart Swallowing Heaven Scripture he had obtained earlier. That True Spirit had even helped Lu Tian deduce the Demon Heart secret art.

The remaining two could only be opened upon reaching the Taiyi Realm and Grand Unity Realm.

Lu Tian had now spent a long time consolidating his cultivation in the Taiyi Realm, and his foundation was stable. It was the perfect time to set out.

Before leaving, he deliberately contacted his masters through a secret art to report his plans—

If something happened, at least Saints Jieyin and Zhunti could cover for him.

This journey went exceptionally smoothly.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Tian entered an inheritance secret realm overflowing with sinister demonic energy.

Before him lay an endless abyss, where thick, ink-black demonic waves churned beneath his feet.

Luohu's Divine Sense incarnation sat within it. Sensing Lu Tian's aura, he abruptly opened his eyes.

"Your innate foundation has improved to such an extent?"

"Compared to my state after the creation of heaven and earth, it is no less impressive."

Luohu, reincarnated from a Chaos Demon God, rarely showed surprise at this moment.

"I was fortunate enough to encounter a few opportunities." Lu Tian cupped his hands with a smile. "It was thanks to the foundation laid by Senior's Demon Heart secret art."

He secretly examined the incarnation and found that this Divine Sense was precisely at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

"I thought you would cultivate to the peak of Taiyi before returning." Luohu lightly tapped the demonic abyss with his fingers. "It seems you have great confidence in your own combat power?"

Lu Tian only smiled without answering.

He had confidence, but how could he dare be arrogant before the Demon Ancestor?

To this day, he had yet to surpass this legend in any respect.

"The condition for the previous inheritance was mastering the Swallowing Heaven Scripture."

"This time, it is even simpler." Luohu suddenly leaped into the demonic waves. "Defeat me at the Taiyi Realm, and the entire inheritance will be yours!"

Within the pitch-black demonic abyss, an overwhelming aura erupted.

Only then did Lu Tian realize that beneath Luohu was not churning demonic energy, but a twelve-petaled lotus platform stained ink-black.

The Twelve-Petaled World Destroying Black Lotus!

A cold glint flashed through his eyes.

It was actually this thing...

Among the supreme treasures in his possession, only the Chaos Bead could suppress it slightly. At the same level, only the Twelve-Grade Void Clarity Spiritual Lotus and the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner could compare.

Everything else fell far short.

What was more, this lotus was an anomaly among the Twelve-Grade Lotus Platforms—

Ordinary lotus platforms specialized in defense and support, but the World Destroying Black Lotus was a weapon of pure slaughter!

If he obtained it, it would surely become the sharpest god-slaying blade in his hand!

Luohu at the extreme limit of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm...

Lu Tian slowly clenched his five fingers, his battle intent boiling. He wanted to see exactly how great the gap was between himself and the Demon Ancestor at such a level.

The Vajra Dharma Form erupted into existence, while every Dharma treasure except the Chaos Bead floated in the air.

Its resplendent pressure tore open a patch of clarity in the ten-thousand-foot demonic abyss.

"Please instruct me."

Before his words fell, the Moon Washing Blade had already slashed out a blade radiance like a falling river of stars!

A smile rested at the corner of Luohu's lips as demonic flames surged around him. The churning murky mist instantly condensed into a seven-foot demonic spear, colliding head-on with the blade light—

Crack!

The aftershock from the shattering blade light churned the entire demonic abyss upside down.

"Not bad, but still not enough."

As the Demon Ancestor chuckled, hundreds and thousands of demonic spears emerged from the void.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The black rain of spears blotted out the sky as it descended, its might surpassing even the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation by a measure!

Lu Tian's pupils contracted sharply. The Plain Cloud Boundary Banner and Kunyuan Dao Robe shone at the same time. The Moon Washing Blade danced into a wheel of light, its snow-bright blade radiance cleaving violently against demonic energy as dark as eternal night.

He received this attack without letting a single drop slip through.

Luohu nodded slightly.

Then the World Destroying Black Lotus suddenly burst forth with dim light!

Lu Tian was about to defend himself when his spiritual platform was abruptly clouded.

The events of Golden Ao Island crawled into his heart like a disease clinging to his bones—

Clang!

His Spiritual Sense turned into a blade and shattered the illusion.

Those old events no longer deserved to become obstacles in his heart!

When he came back to his senses, his entire body was already trapped within the strange domain of light blooming from the black lotus.

Lu Tian narrowed his eyes.

What sinister divine ability was this?

The mysteries of the World Destroying Black Lotus were unfathomable. What kind of killing intent was hidden within this dim light?

Luohu let out a soft laugh.

The demonic energy surrounding him was black as ink, entirely different from the black light enveloping his body. The boundaries between the two darknesses were distinct, and their auras completely different.

Suddenly, Luohu opened his mouth and inhaled—

Lu Tian's pupils shrank. He was all too familiar with this scene.

The Demon Heart Swallowing Heaven Scripture!

Luohu had actually devoured all the black light summoned by the Twelve-Petaled World Destroying Black Lotus!

A sense of crisis surged through him. Without hesitation, Lu Tian burned his lifespan, increasing his combat power fifteenfold.

Nine fire dragons rose into the sky with furious roars. Samadhi True Fire ignited the demonic energy filling the heavens, transforming it into black flames that coiled around the dragons' bodies as they tore toward Luohu. Primordial Heavy Water poured from the Twelve-Grade Void Clarity Spiritual Lotus like a waterfall, becoming a water dragon that broke through the demonic barrier. Its enormous tail raised towering waves before smashing down!

At the same time, the Moon Washing Blade slashed out moon-bright blade radiance, dispersing all demonic energy in its path.

Luohu merely condensed a long spear from demonic energy.

As his fingers lightly stroked the spear shaft, the instant he thrust it forward—