Pan Xuan's Proposal: Climbing Mount Buzhou

Zhu Jiuyin nodded as well.

"Indeed. I can feel that my power of time has fused more closely with myself.

"In the past, using the power of time required deliberate activation.

"Now, it comes as naturally as breathing. With a single thought, I can invoke the laws of time."

Zhu Rong laughed heartily. "No wonder I feel so much stronger! So we've reached the realm of Mixed Origin Golden Immortals!"

Gong Gong rarely refrained from pouring cold water on things, and his face was likewise full of smiles. "Mixed Origin Golden Immortals... a fine realm. If we can take another step forward in the future, I wonder what sights await us."

Di Jiang shook his head. "Our inherited memories contain only descriptions of Mixed Origin Golden Immortals. Beyond that lies nothing but chaos.

"Perhaps that realm is beyond even our imagination."

The Ancestral Witches all fell into thoughtful silence.

Pan Xuan stood to one side, listening to their discussion as he silently pondered.

Mixed Origin Golden Immortal... he had heard of this realm in memories from his previous life.

Beyond Great Luo lay Mixed Origin.

After Mixed Origin Golden Immortal came Mixed Origin Great Luo Golden Immortal—the realm of Saints.

However, Hong Jun had yet to give his teachings, so the names of these realms might not yet have spread through the Primordial World.

For the Ancestral Witches to know the name "Mixed Origin Golden Immortal" from their inherited memories was already no easy feat.

Houtu said softly, "Elder brothers, your breakthrough into the Mixed Origin Golden Immortal realm is a great joy for our Witch Clan.

"However..." She paused and looked at Di Jiang. "Brother Di Jiang, should we continue collecting corpses throughout the Primordial World?"

Di Jiang pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Now that we are Mixed Origin Golden Immortals, there is no need to keep doing such trivial things as collecting corpses. Besides, it could easily expose us.

"After the seal was broken, those mighty beings may be investigating in secret.

"If we continue venturing out so frequently, we may invite unnecessary trouble."

Hearing this, Zhu Rong muttered in boredom, "Then what are we supposed to do? Staying in Pangu Hall cultivating all day is far too dull.

"If I don't go out and stretch these muscles, they'll start to rust."

Gong Gong unexpectedly agreed. "Indeed. We cultivated for so many yuanhui, and after finally breaking through, we cannot even go out and test our skills. It is truly stifling."

The other Ancestral Witches nodded in agreement, clearly feeling rather bored as well.

Seeing their listless expressions, Pan Xuan found it amusing.

Even the most powerful beings in heaven and earth could get bored.

After pondering for a moment, something suddenly occurred to him, and he said, "Elder brothers and sisters, Pan Xuan has a proposal."

The Ancestral Witches looked toward him.

Pan Xuan walked to the center of the hall and stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze turned toward the towering mountain beyond Pangu Hall as he slowly said, "Have any of you ever reached the summit of Mount Buzhou?"

The Ancestral Witches were startled.

Houtu said softly, "Mount Buzhou was formed from Father God's spine. It is the pillar supporting heaven, too lofty to climb.

"Though we were nurtured beneath Mount Buzhou, we have never climbed this mountain.

"Pangu's pressure upon that mountain is exceedingly strong. Ordinary living beings cannot even approach it. Though it does not affect us, we have never considered reaching its summit."

Zhu Rong scratched his head. "That mountain is too high. Just looking at it makes me dizzy.

"And it is covered in Father God's pressure. Though it does us no harm, it still inspires a certain... reverence. So we've never gone up."

Pan Xuan smiled. "Now that you have all broken through to the Mixed Origin Golden Immortal realm, and Sister Houtu's primordial spirit is slowly growing, we happen to have nothing else to do.

"Why not climb Mount Buzhou and see what lies at its summit?

"It will pass the time, temper us in the process, and Mount Buzhou was formed from Father God's spine. Climbing it can also be considered a form of reverence toward Father God."

A gleam flashed in Di Jiang's eyes. He rose to his feet, walked to the hall entrance, and looked up at the towering Mount Buzhou.

"Brother Pan Xuan speaks reasonably. We were nurtured beneath Mount Buzhou, yet we have never climbed it. Since we have nothing else to do, we might as well give it a try."

Zhu Rong was the first to leap up, laughing loudly. "Good idea! I've long wanted to go up and take a look! Let's see what mysteries the summit holds!"

Gong Gong also stood, a rare look of anticipation appearing on his face. "Mount Buzhou was formed from Father God's spine. Reaching its summit may allow us to sense more of Father God's aura. This is indeed a good proposal."

Xuan Ming nodded. "It is feasible."

Houtu smiled faintly and said gently, "Since all of you elder brothers wish it, then let us go together."

The Ancestral Witches all agreed. Thus, the thirteen of them left Pangu Hall and arrived at the foot of Mount Buzhou.

Mount Buzhou stood majestic and towering, rising straight into the clouds like a colossal pillar that held up the heavens, connecting the earth and sky.

The mountain was blue-gray, its rocks as hard as iron, their surfaces covered in countless cracks and marks left by the ages.

At the foot of the mountain, vegetation was sparse. Only the hardiest plants could survive amid the lingering effects of Pangu's pressure.

Standing at its base, they could already feel Pangu's heavy pressure.

The pressure was almost tangible, pouring down from the summit and enveloping the entire mountain.

To ordinary living beings, this pressure was enough to crush them to dust. They would not even dare approach.

Yet for the Twelve Ancestral Witches and Pan Xuan, it was not oppressive in the slightest. Instead, it gave them a sense of warmth and familiarity.

It was Father God's aura, power born from the same source as theirs.

"What intense pressure." Zhu Rong drew a deep breath and grinned.

"But it isn't uncomfortable at all. It makes my whole body feel at ease. It is like... returning to the womb."

Gong Gong nodded. "Indeed. Father God's will is contained within this pressure.

"We were formed from Father God's essence blood, so naturally we are not oppressed by it."

Di Jiang said solemnly, "Let us go. Today, we shall see what sight truly awaits at the summit of Mount Buzhou."

The thirteen began their ascent.

Mount Buzhou was exceptionally steep, nearly vertical. There were no paths or stairways, only jagged rocks and sheer cliffs.

But none of this posed a problem for the thirteen.

Some walked through the air, some climbed the rocks, and some transformed directly into streaks of light and flew upward. They moved with effortless ease, as though walking on level ground.

The higher they climbed, the heavier Pangu's pressure became. Like an invisible giant hand, it pressed down from the summit; the higher they went, the greater the pressure.

Yet for the Twelve Ancestral Witches and Pan Xuan, this pressure was not an obstacle. Instead, it nourished them.

With every step upward, they could sense Father God Pangu's will and aura within that pressure.

That aura was vast, boundless, and ancient. It held the immense power to split heaven and earth, as well as the compassion of transforming one's body into all creation.

Immersed in this aura, the Twelve Ancestral Witches seemed able to feel Father God's hardship and resolve when he opened heaven and earth, as well as his selflessness and greatness when he transformed into all things.

Zhu Rong suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and murmured, "I can feel it... Father God's fire. It is not ordinary fire. It is the fire that opened heaven and earth, the fire that created all things. I have never felt such fire before..."

Gong Gong also stopped and said quietly, "Water... Father God's water is the source of life, the mother of all things.

"I only knew how to use Weak Water for destruction before. I had never considered that water could also create..."

A rare softness appeared on Xuan Ming's cold face. "Ice... Father God's ice is not ice of destruction. It is ice that solidifies heaven and earth and stabilizes the four poles. So that is how it is..."

Tears glimmered in Houtu's eyes as she softly murmured, "Earth... Father God's earth bears all things and embraces everything. I only knew the earth's solidity before, but I did not know of the earth's compassion..."

Di Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin exchanged a glance, and both saw the shock and realization in the other's eyes.

From that pressure, they had also sensed Father God's space and time.

It was not mere power, but the foundation of heaven and earth's operation, the cornerstone upon which all things existed.

Pan Xuan walked among them as the Righteous Vitality Formula circulated automatically, keeping him at his peak state.

He too sensed Father God Pangu's righteous vitality within that pressure.

It was the root of his existence, the foundation of his divine abilities.

That righteous vitality was supremely vast and unyielding, upright and selfless. It could restrain all evil and suppress all sinister malice.

He could feel his Righteous Vitality Formula becoming purer and stronger beneath the nourishment of that pressure.