The Ancestral Witches' spirits lifted.
Pan Xuan rose and stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze swept over every Ancestral Witch, his voice steady and solemn:
"Will refining means condensing your own will into a 'manifestation.'
A manifestation is the expression of will, the outward form of the soul. It is neither a spell nor a divine ability, but the embodiment of a living being's most fundamental will.
Every living being has a manifestation of their own, but the vast majority can never bring it forth in their entire lives.
Will refining turns a manifestation from formless to tangible, from hidden to revealed."
He paused before continuing, "Once a manifestation takes shape, your will has a vessel.
At that point, you can use your will to commune with the laws of heaven and earth, and to influence reality.
This is not a primordial spirit, yet it surpasses one. A primordial spirit is condensed from an external spiritual light, while a manifestation is the expression of your own will.
A primordial spirit can be stripped away or suppressed, but a manifestation is carved into your bones and rooted in your soul. No one can take it away."
Zhu Rong's eyes shone as he listened. "A manifestation? What is mine?"
Pan Xuan smiled faintly. "Brother Zhu Rong, your manifestation takes shape from your own will.
As for exactly what it is, you must condense it and discover it yourself.
But there is something I can tell all my elder brothers and sisters.
A manifestation is intimately connected to oneself and inseparable from one's origin.
You are Ancestral Witches born from Father God's blood essence. Your true forms are already among the most powerful forms in heaven and earth.
If my guess is correct, my elder brothers' manifestations should be related to their respective true forms."
He walked up to Zhu Rong and said solemnly, "I will teach all my elder brothers and sisters the Intent Refinement Method.
This method uses merit as its guide, will as its foundation, and the Great Dao as its mirror.
By cultivating according to this method, you can condense your own will into manifestations."
Pan Xuan extended a finger, and a speck of golden light gathered at its tip.
Within that golden light lay all the mysteries of the Intent Refinement Method.
How to stir the will, how to condense it, and how to embody it as a manifestation.
He touched that speck of golden light to the space between each of the Twelve Ancestral Witches' brows, imparting the Intent Refinement Method to them.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches closed their eyes and focused, receiving the Intent Refinement Method Pan Xuan imparted.
The method was profound and wondrous, yet every step was clear and easy to understand.
They could feel that the method seemed tailor-made for the Witch Clan, fitting their bodies, wills, and origins perfectly.
"Excellent!" Di Jiang opened his eyes, light flickering within them. "This Intent Refinement Method is truly exquisite.
It relies not on the primordial spirit, but on will. This is precisely the path of our Witch Clan."
Zhu Rong laughed heartily. "Brother Pan Xuan, you're incredible!
With this method, I feel I'll soon be able to condense my will of fire!"
Even Gong Gong showed a rare smile. "The will of water... I finally know how to condense it."
Xuan Ming said coldly, "Then let's not delay. Begin refining your wills."
The Twelve Ancestral Witches settled down in Pangu Hall, each closing their eyes and focusing as they began cultivating according to the Intent Refinement Method Pan Xuan had taught them.
Pan Xuan also sat cross-legged and began condensing his own manifestation.
His will was vast righteous qi, the merit of opening heaven, and the profound yellow of heaven and earth.
His origin had taken shape from Father God Pangu's vast righteous qi, fused with the merit of opening heaven and Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Qi.
What should my manifestation be?
Pan Xuan closed his eyes and sank his awareness into the depths of his soul.
There, he saw his own will. It was golden, vast, upright, and unyielding, like Father God's unwavering resolve to forge ahead when he opened heaven.
Within that will lay reverence for heaven and earth, compassion for all living beings, and steadfast devotion to justice.
Following the Intent Refinement Method, he began to condense it.
As his will condensed, it grew ever more concentrated, ever more sublimated.
The golden light grew brighter and more brilliant, as though something was about to break out of its shell within that radiance.
Time passed slowly.
After an unknown length of time, Pan Xuan suddenly felt that his will had condensed to its utmost limit.
At that moment, a shaft of golden light shot skyward behind him.
Within the golden light, a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon soared into the air.
The Metal Dragon radiated vast righteous qi and the Merit Profound Yellow Light. His nine claws spread wide, and his eyes were like golden suns, majestic and compassionate.
He circled behind Pan Xuan, his draconic cries echoing through Pangu Hall and making the entire hall tremble slightly.
That was Pan Xuan's true form, the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon.
His manifestation was himself.
Pan Xuan opened his eyes and looked at the resplendent Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon behind him, understanding welling up within him.
A manifestation was the expression of will, and his will was itself the origin of the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon.
His manifestation was himself. Nothing could have been more reasonable.
He withdrew his manifestation, and the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon became a streak of golden light that sank into his body.
Meanwhile, the Twelve Ancestral Witches began to stir one after another.
Behind Di Jiang, a shaft of chaos-colored light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared, shaped like a yellow sack and red as cinnabar fire, with six legs, four wings, and a rounded body without a face.
That was Di Jiang's true form, the actual body of the Ancestral Witch of Space and Speed.
The spectral figure radiated terrifying fluctuations that warped space, as though he could shatter the void and roam the boundless emptiness.
Behind Zhu Jiuyin, a shaft of crimson light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared, with a human face and a serpent's body, crimson all over and stretching for untold thousands of li.
That was Zhu Jiuyin's true form, the actual body of the Ancestral Witch of Time.
As the spectral figure's eyes opened and closed, the power of revolving ages seemed to surge within them, as though he could see through the past and future.
Behind Zhu Rong, a shaft of fiery-red light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared, with a beast's head and a human body covered in red scales, fire serpents piercing his ears and fire dragons beneath his feet.
That was Zhu Rong's true form, the actual body of the Fire Ancestral Witch.
Flames blazed around the spectral figure, as though he could burn all things to ash and melt heaven and earth.
Behind Gong Gong, a shaft of deep black light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared.
He had a python's head and a human body covered in black scales, with black dragons beneath his feet and green pythons coiled around his hands.
That was Gong Gong's true form, the actual body of the Ancestral Witch of Water. Water vapor wreathed the spectral figure, as though he could submerge everything and devour all things.
Behind Xuan Ming, a shaft of icy-white light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared-a ferocious giant beast with bone spurs growing all over her body and a chilling aura surrounding her.
That was Xuan Ming's true form, the actual body of the Ancestral Witch of Rain. The spectral figure radiated a cold that could freeze everything, as though she could congeal heaven and earth and stabilize the four poles.
Behind Houtu, a shaft of earthen-yellow light shot skyward.
Within the light, a spectral god-demon appeared, with a human face and a serpent's body, seven hands growing from her back and two hands before her chest grasping flying serpents.
That was Houtu's true form, the actual body of the Earth Ancestral Witch. The spectral figure radiated pressure as massive as a mountain, as though she could bear all things and encompass everything.
Jumang, Rushou, Qiangliang, Xizi, Shebishi, Tianwu.
Behind every Ancestral Witch, a spectral image of their respective true form appeared.
Those were their manifestations, the expressions of their wills, the embodiments of their origins.
The twelve spectral true forms of the Ancestral Witches, together with Pan Xuan's spectral Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon-thirteen manifestations appeared simultaneously within Pangu Hall.
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