Pangu Hall.
Boundless baleful energy and blood qi constantly billowed through the air.
The central Blood Pool bubbled and churned.
Twelve blood spheres were absorbing the power within the pool.
Just then, a somewhat bewildered voice sounded from deep within one of the spheres, which glowed with a gentle red light.
"Where am I?"
Di Jiang's voice was filled with confusion.
In the next instant, a flood of memories surged into his mind.
Then Di Jiang spoke again.
"I'm Di Jiang!"
"I've transmigrated to the Primordial World and become Di Jiang, one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches."
In his previous life, Di Jiang had been an ordinary wage slave.
But what he loved most was reading novels. He'd even been an online writer himself.
And his favorite novels were tales of the Primordial World.
Soon, Di Jiang accepted his new identity.
"From now on, I'm Di Jiang!"
Di Jiang said this to himself.
Then he began to think.
They had yet to be born.
The current timeline should be after the Dao-Devil War and before the Witch-Demon Calamity.
"The Witch-Demon Calamity leaves the Witch Clan with a truly tragic fate!"
"As the chief of the Ancestral Witches, I have to change that destiny."
Di Jiang thought to himself.
But how could he change their fate?
It would be incredibly difficult!
Without becoming a Sage, one was nothing but an ant!
Deep within the blood sphere, Di Jiang let out a quiet sigh.
"Forget it!"
"It's too early to worry about all that!"
"I should focus on cultivating and transforming as soon as possible."
With that, Di Jiang began actively absorbing the power within the Blood Pool.
Time passed without measure in the Primordial World. In the blink of an eye, a hundred thousand years went by.
One day, in Pangu Hall, the life force within one of the blood spheres grew stronger and stronger. Boundless baleful energy and blood qi surged into it in a mighty torrent.
At the peak, a thunderous boom rang out. The Blood Pool suddenly exploded, and an Innate Divine Saint appeared: shaped like a yellow sack, red as cinnabar, with six legs and four wings, and a blurred, featureless face.
It was the true form of Di Jiang, Ancestral Witch of Space and Speed.
Di Jiang transformed into human form, revealing himself as a handsome man.
His body was sharply defined and powerfully built, like a statue forged from strength and beauty.
His face was as sharply carved as a blade, yet a mild smile was never far from his lips. He wore a red Daoist robe, his hair bound with a jade hairpin, and a green jade pendant hung at his waist.
"A hundred thousand years!"
"I've finally emerged!"
Di Jiang exclaimed.
He examined his cultivation, only to find that he had already reached the Mid-Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.
Such was the nature of an Innate Divine Saint: one emerged already a Daluo Golden Immortal.
As he spoke, thoughts rippled from the other eleven blood spheres above the Blood Pool.
"Congratulations on your transformation, Big Brother!"
"Congratulations, Big Brother!"
"I wish I could transform already!"
"..."
These were the thoughts of the other Eleven Ancestral Witches.
They had already gained sentience.
But it wasn't yet time for them to emerge.
When they sensed that their elder brother, Di Jiang, had emerged, they sent him their congratulations one after another.
Di Jiang smiled and addressed the eleven blood spheres before him.
"Cultivate diligently, and you'll transform in time!"
"Especially you, Zhurong. You're far too impatient. When you emerge, I'll have to put you through some proper training!"
Zhurong sent back a plaintive thought.
"Big Brother, Gong Gong said the same thing! Why aren't you telling him off?"
"Gong Gong too!" Di Jiang replied. "Both of you, don't cause trouble for me!"
Gong Gong snapped furiously, "Zhurong, if you don't shut up, nobody will mistake you for a mute!"
Zhurong snorted. "Once we emerge, let's fight!"
"Like I'd be afraid of you!" Gong Gong shot back.
The other Ancestral Witches all began to egg them on.
Di Jiang shook his head.
As expected, water and fire were natural enemies.
Zhurong and Gong Gong hadn't even emerged yet, and they were already at each other's throats.
Di Jiang ignored them and sat down cross-legged to cultivate.
But then he suddenly noticed something.
The Primordial Spirit in his sea of consciousness was being worn away by the baleful energy.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before his Primordial Spirit was completely destroyed.
"Could it be that we Ancestral Witches truly can't have Primordial Spirits?"
Di Jiang thought, his expression darkening.
Without Primordial Spirits, the Ancestral Witches couldn't comprehend the Heavenly Dao or understand how to seek fortune and avoid disaster. They were nothing but reckless brutes, naturally easy for others to manipulate.
That was why the Witch-Demon Calamity had come to pass.
If they had Primordial Spirits and knew how to avoid danger, who could so easily scheme against the Witch Clan, with all its strength?
How could the Witch Clan have come so close to extinction?
"No!"
"I have to find a way to preserve my Primordial Spirit."
"Even a weak one would do."
Desperate to change the Witch Clan's fate, Di Jiang racked his brains.
But he tried one method after another.
The boundless baleful energy seemed corrosive.
It inevitably began to consume his Primordial Spirit.
"Is there really no way?"
Di Jiang clenched his fists, unwilling to accept it.
But as he pondered,
suddenly,
he sensed a wondrous treasure deep within his sea of consciousness.
It was about the size of his palm, its patterns mysterious and profound, and it was divided evenly into six sections.
The instant Di Jiang made contact with the treasure—
Boom!
A flood of information poured into his mind.
"This is...!"
"The opportunity Father God left for us!"
Di Jiang's face lit up with delight.
The instant he touched the treasure, a flood of memories had made everything clear to him.
This treasure was called the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror, and it was the physical manifestation of the Earthly Dao.
By refining the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror, one could merge with the Earthly Dao—yes, just as Hongjun had merged with the Heavenly Dao—and take control of its authority.
If one could fully master it, one would become the master of the Earthly Dao!
Just before Father God Pangu perished, he seemed to have sensed the Witch Clan's fate and left them the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror.
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
Di Jiang exclaimed, overjoyed.
"With the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror, our Witch Clan can preserve our Primordial Spirits!"
The Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror had many functions.
Among them was the ability to protect Primordial Spirits from the baleful energy.
The Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror was bound to his true spirit.
He didn't even need a Primordial Spirit to refine it.
That must have been Father God Pangu's care for the Witch Clan.
With that thought, Di Jiang's mind stirred, and the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror released a profound power.
It began winding around the Primordial Spirit that was being worn away.
In an instant, the Primordial Spirit was protected by that mysterious power.
It withstood the boundless baleful energy and began to grow stronger at a visible rate.
Di Jiang possessed the roots of a top-tier Innate Divine Demon.
Naturally, his Primordial Spirit would continue to grow.
Within a few breaths,
his Primordial Spirit's cultivation had reached the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Just as Di Jiang was using the Earthly Dao Treasured Mirror to protect his Primordial Spirit—
Jade Capital Mountain.
Immortal light shimmered here, auspicious clouds soared into the sky, auspicious beasts roamed the land, and spirit birds took wing...
On a Meditation Cushion in the center,
an old man with a full head of white hair sat cross-legged in meditation.
Before him, the Creation Jade Disc radiated boundless Daoist aura and laws.
This old man was none other than Daoist Hongjun!
Just then,
a mighty pressure descended upon Jade Capital Mountain.
All living beings within a hundred million li prostrated themselves, their hearts filled with fear.
A gigantic purple eye, cold and emotionless, slowly appeared in the sky above Jade Capital Mountain.
It was the Eye of the Heavenly Dao!
Hongjun's eyes snapped open. Three thousand laws swirled within them. Frowning, he looked into the void and asked,
"Heavenly Dao?"
"What have you come here for?"
Before you continue