Heavenly Dao Joins Forces with Hongjun!

Hongjun sat upright on the Meditation Cushion, his face full of mockery and his heart brimming with scorn.

Looking at the heavily wounded Eye of the Heavenly Dao that had returned, he threw back his head and laughed.

"Hahaha! The lofty supreme Heavenly Dao, ruler of the Primordial World for countless ages, was actually struck down by an Ancestral Witch today, its incarnation shattered and its origin gravely wounded. What a disgrace!"

Hongjun felt incomparably satisfied, the frustration he had suppressed for ten thousand years swept away in an instant.

"You stood high above all, suppressing me for endless years, and now you have fallen to such a state. You brought this upon yourself!"

The Eye of the Heavenly Dao trembled violently, its gaze blazing with fury as killing intent boiled to its peak.

Its origin was now riddled with cracks, and its injuries were exceedingly severe.

If it were to recover on its own, it would likely require hundreds of millions upon hundreds of millions of years.

Therefore!

The Heavenly Dao had only one thought: it had to swiftly restore its origin and return to its peak!

And Hongjun, who had merged with the Heavenly Dao and stood right before it, was its finest medicinal supplement for healing!

In an instant, terrifying refining power locked onto Hongjun, crushing and coiling around him madly, seeking to melt him down completely!

Rumble—

Feeling the refining restraint rushing toward him, Hongjun was not afraid. Instead, a chilling sneer appeared on his face.

"Heavenly Dao, do you think I do not know what you are thinking?"

"You underestimate me too greatly!"

With a thought from him, the Creation Jade Disc floated before him. Its mystic yellow Dao aura firmly withstood the Heavenly Dao's assault, holding the deadlock steady.

Hongjun raised his eyes to stare directly at the Heavenly Dao, his tone cold and mocking.

"Heavenly Dao, are you planning to refine me and use my Dao foundation to replenish your origin?"

The killing intent in the Eye of the Heavenly Dao did not diminish. Its refining power surged again, its stance incomparably domineering.

Hongjun sneered and continued.

"Hmph, I know you are now severely wounded and weakened, desperate to restore your strength."

"You want to swallow me by brute force, repair yourself, and return to your position as the sole sovereign of all? That is nothing but wishful thinking!"

The Heavenly Dao's mind shook, and the anger in its eyes froze.

Seeing this, a calculating look appeared on Hongjun's face as he said,

"I admit that in my current state, I cannot completely refine and suppress your Heavenly Dao origin."

"But do not even think of harming me in the slightest! With the Creation Jade Disc in hand, you will never refine me in this lifetime!"

The Heavenly Dao's gaze deepened as it weighed the pros and cons.

Its injuries were grave. Continuing this fight to the death would only drain its origin further, with no chance of victory.

It was simply unwilling to let Hongjun go like this!

Pangu's appearance, Di Jiang becoming a Sage—every development had exceeded its expectations.

If it did not recover from its injuries,

it feared it would no longer be able to control the entire Primordial World.

Seeing this, the corners of Hongjun's lips curled into a confident smile as he struck while the iron was hot.

"Your crushing defeat today was not a defeat at Di Jiang's hands at all. You lost to the Twelve-Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation left behind by Pangu!"

"If even one Ancestral Witch were removed, how could the Twelve-Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation possibly be formed? At that time, would you still be unable to defeat Di Jiang?"

"And I can help you!"

The Eye of the Heavenly Dao instantly fell silent.

Hongjun softened his tone, carrying the calm composure of a negotiator.

"You and I have fought for hundreds of millions of years, checking and balancing each other. It is meaningless."

"Our greatest enemy now is the Earthly Dao, and Di Jiang!"

"If you still wish to maintain the Heavenly Dao's supreme authority and do not wish to fall completely from your altar, then stop and cooperate with me!"

"You and I will join forces, suppress the Earthly Dao, destroy the Witch Clan's rising momentum, and restore the order of the Heavenly Dao! This is your only path forward!"

As his words fell,

the violent power around the Heavenly Dao gradually withdrew, completely halting its refining assault.

Its endless fury faded, replaced by deep contemplation and calculation.

It remained silent, but it had already been thoroughly tempted.

Watching the Heavenly Dao's hesitant, contemplative appearance, a faint, assured smile flashed through Hongjun's eyes.

He knew that the Heavenly Dao had compromised.

The Eye of the Heavenly Dao before him remained silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Hongjun sat upon the Meditation Cushion, his expression mocking, a deep chill hidden in his eyes.

He snorted coldly in his heart.

For hundreds of millions of years, he had laid his plans, endured step by step, and calculated step by step.

He had always believed the Heavenly Dao to be nothing more than an emotionless rule, without thought or will, allowing him to borrow its power to merge with the Dao and secretly erode it.

But only when Di Jiang cleaved the Heavenly Dao's incarnation apart with a single strike today did he finally see the truth clearly.

The Heavenly Dao possessed self-awareness!

A living Heavenly Dao with independent thought, one that understood selfishness, the seizure of power, and devouring others to nourish itself, was ten thousand times more terrifying than an emotionless rule.

One careless step, and his plans of ten thousand years would all be rendered void.

But he was absolutely unwilling to accept that.

Through countless Chaos Eras, he had lurked in the shadows, endured, calculated, laid plans, and outlasted countless prodigies. What he sought had never been the mere status of a Dao-Unifying Sage.

What he wanted was to ascend to the Great Dao Realm, transcend the myriad Daos of the Primordial World, and attain true freedom!

If he retreated now, gave in to fear, and abandoned everything, then all his endurance and schemes across countless eras would become a joke!

Even if the Heavenly Dao possessed intelligence and the road ahead was fraught with danger, he had to walk it to the very end!

After a long silence, the Eye of the Heavenly Dao released its restraint on Hongjun.

Hongjun burst into laughter.

"Heavenly Dao!"

"You made the right choice!"

At the same time,

the twelve Ancestral Witches all took their seats within Pangu Hall.

Zhurong was so excited that he could not suppress his joy and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! This is wonderful, Big Brother! You finally became a Sage! Our Witch Clan has truly risen now! We will never have to take anyone else's abuse again!"

Gong Gong immediately rolled his eyes at him, his face full of disdain.

"Isn't it just Big Brother making a breakthrough? Why are you shouting? You do not have the slightest bit of composure."

Zhurong was instantly displeased and fired back directly.

"What is wrong with me being happy? Our Witch Clan has been stifled for so long. Today, we have finally held our heads high and exhaled our grievances. Is it wrong for me to be happy?"

"You are simply impetuous. You get smug over every little thing. Sooner or later, you will stumble."

"Stop pretending to be so aloof! If it were you, you would be even more excited than I am!"

The two bickered as usual, neither willing to yield, as though they had been born at odds with each other.

The other Ancestral Witches beside them watched the pair quarrel with familiar smiles, too lazy to mediate.

Just as the two were about to start fighting, Di Jiang, seated in the main seat, helplessly rubbed his forehead.

With a light flick of his finger, two wisps of spatial power flew out instantly, striking Gong Gong and Zhurong squarely on their foreheads.

"Ow!"

Their foreheads hurt at the same time. They instinctively clutched their heads and immediately fell silent, no longer daring to argue.

However, Zhurong and Gong Gong exchanged a glance, both snorted, then turned their heads away.

Di Jiang shook his head and spoke calmly.

"Enough. Stop fooling around."

Seeing Di Jiang turn serious, everyone instantly put away their playful attitudes. They all sat up straight, their expressions solemn as they quietly waited for him to speak.

Di Jiang's gaze swept over everyone, his mind exceptionally clear.

He had indeed become a Sage, his cultivation fixed at the Sage Seventh Heaven. He appeared infinitely glorious, having shattered the Heavenly Dao's incarnation with one strike and intimidated the entire Primordial World.

But how could the Heavenly Dao possibly sit still and wait for death?

Di Jiang spoke slowly.

"I know you are all excited right now. You think we have turned things around, and no one can suppress our Witch Clan anymore."

"But I am telling you: do not get carried away!"

"In today's battle, I completely revealed our Witch Clan's greatest trump card—the Twelve-Capital Heavenly Fiend Primordial World God-Slaying Formation."

"In the past, outsiders only knew that our Witch Clan had powerful physical bodies. They did not understand the true might of the formation. Now the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun, and every Sage have seen it clearly."

"I gravely wounded the Heavenly Dao and made it lose all face. It will absolutely not let this matter end here."

"It has survived through countless eras, and its foundation runs terrifyingly deep. It is merely injured for now; it is not crippled."

"Once it recovers, it will certainly do everything possible to target us. It will not give us time to develop in peace."