Qing Xuanzi's premonition had been accurate. Something had gone wrong with the Demon Clan—something seriously wrong.
"Qing Xuanzi, half of the Demon Clan primordial spirits in the Demon Refining Pot are gone."
"Mm? What do you mean, half are gone?"
"Exactly what it says. Apart from Teacher, the only one capable of this is..." Nüwa glanced upward.
Upon hearing this, Qing Xuanzi hurriedly summoned the Chaos Clock and pulled both Nüwa and himself into its inner world.
"Senior Sister, are you saying Heavenly Dao made a move?"
"Mm. There is a strong possibility that Heavenly Dao tampered with those Star Officials."
"Can we tell?"
"That is the problem. See for yourself." Nüwa handed the Demon Refining Pot to Qing Xuanzi.
Qing Xuanzi probed it with his primordial spirit. Good heavens—how was this merely half missing? There was clearly only one enormous primordial spirit left.
Heavenly Dao had fused them all together. Trying to distinguish them now would be difficult.
Qing Xuanzi's expression turned exceptionally grim. "This is the Heavenly Demon Curse, the signature art of the Chaos Demon God Heavenly Demon. How did Heavenly Dao get mixed up with it?"
"Oh? You recognize this method? Is there a cure?" Nüwa was rather surprised that Qing Xuanzi possessed such knowledge.
Qing Xuanzi nodded. "There is, but it is somewhat difficult. To undo this curse, we need the caster's essence blood."
Nüwa chuckled upon hearing that. "Are you stupid? Where would Heavenly Dao get essence blood? At most, it has Heavenly Dao Source. We can ask Teacher about this."
Qing Xuanzi's eyes lit up. Wasn't that right? What essence blood could Heavenly Dao possess now? It was merely Heavenly Dao Source.
He only needed the tiniest thread of Heavenly Dao Source to resolve this matter.
"Good. This cannot be delayed. I'll go find Master immediately."
"Don't rush. First, tell me about the problem you encountered."
Qing Xuanzi considered it and agreed. Nüwa's knowledge was not necessarily less than his, especially when it came to the Primordial World. She surpassed him by far.
"Senior Sister, I fear Heavenly Dao truly has taken notice. The Four Sacred Beasts guarding the Primordial Membrane may have already become Heavenly Dao puppets."
"What makes you say that?"
"Heavenly Dao's aura was far too dense. What living being could possess such a dense Heavenly Dao aura? It's not like they're Heavenly Dao's children."
Qing Xuanzi also told her how the White Tiger had attacked the moment he arrived.
That was even more abnormal. He could be said to have had no dealings at all with the White Tiger.
They had not even met before.
How could it try to kill him the moment they met?
After pondering for a moment, Nüwa slowly said, "The Four Sacred Beasts guard the Primordial Membrane. Senior Brother Laozi and I once discussed how to break the Four Symbols Grand Formation. Looking at things now, it should work perfectly."
"Senior Sister, isn't this..."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Let me finish." Nüwa glared with her beautiful eyes, glaring Qing Xuanzi's remaining words back down his throat.
Qing Xuanzi muttered to himself. They were discussing how to subdue the Four Sacred Beasts, not break the formation. But after Nüwa shot him a glare, he shut his mouth.
"The Four Symbols Grand Formation secretly accords with the Five Elements, yet lacks one. The Eastern Azure Dragon belongs to wood, the Southern Vermilion Bird to fire, the Western White Tiger to metal, and the Northern Black Tortoise to water. Only earth is missing. Its strength lies in that missing element, and its flaw lies there as well."
"If there is earth corresponding to it, the Four Symbols Grand Formation can immediately be broken. More importantly, one can control the Four Symbols and use them for oneself."
Nüwa spoke her final sentence slowly, word by word. "Control the Four Symbols and use them for oneself."
Qing Xuanzi instantly understood. She meant controlling them through this method.
"It really has such a great use?"
"Do you doubt your Eldest Senior Brother's attainment in formations? His One Qi Taiji Micro Dust Grand Formation was formed on this very principle. Why don't you enter it and have a look someday?"
"No need." Qing Xuanzi was not a masochist. As long as there was a finished product, it proved the plan was feasible.
As for someone who had mastered the Dao of earth, he already had a candidate in mind.
It could be none other than Houtu, the ancestral witch of earth.
He now understood that Pangu Hall was not merely meant to create the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
It had another function. As long as Houtu sat within it and connected it to the Primordial Membrane, the Four Sacred Beasts would be mere decorations.
Qing Xuanzi secretly admired Pangu's calculations. One scheme followed another, leaving Heavenly Dao completely trapped.
Qing Xuanzi could not help observing three minutes of silence for Heavenly Dao. It had actually plotted against the Primordial World.
"What? You should already have someone in mind who has mastered earth, right?"
"Mm."
"Actually, we should make a slight change to our plan and settle the matter of the Nine Netherworld first."
"Right. We can settle the Nine Netherworld matter first. That should be much easier."
"Good. Then go obtain some Heavenly Dao Source from Teacher, undo this curse, and then handle the matter of the Nine Netherworld."
"Hehe, Senior Sister, there's no need to go to Purple Cloud Palace. Have you forgotten the Creation Jade Plate Fragment?"
Nüwa's eyes lit up. "There is Heavenly Dao Source in there?"
"Yes. Although there isn't much, extracting the tiniest thread will be easy."
No sooner said than done. Qing Xuanzi raised his hand, and a streak of green spiritual light appeared in his palm.
Qing Xuanzi directly intended to use brute force to break the restriction on the Creation Jade Plate Fragment and obtain the Heavenly Dao Source within.
Nüwa shook her head at the sight and stopped him with a pained expression.
"Qing Xuanzi, that nouveau riche look of yours is revolting. Can't you use some skill? This is a fragment of a Chaos Treasure, after all. There must be fragments of Great Dao laws or something inside. It would be such a waste."
After saying that, Nüwa snatched the green light from Qing Xuanzi's hand and began carefully grinding away at it.
"Well, Senior Sister, you handle it, then. I'll head to the Witch Race."
"Go, go. Those who do not manage a household truly do not know the value of rice and firewood. Those are fragments of Great Dao laws, and you were going to destroy them directly with brute force. What a pity."
After giving him a thorough scolding, Nüwa gathered her focus and began stripping away the fragments of Great Dao laws.
Removing the restriction and obtaining the source.
Qing Xuanzi smiled but said nothing. In any case, he did not need that stuff.
All he had to do was keep advancing, and Great Dao laws and the like would come to him automatically.
Qing Xuanzi arrived at the Ancestral Witch Land and received a warm welcome.
The welcoming ceremony was a massive brawl.
After a group of ancestral witches had been beaten black and blue, they finally settled down.
"Brother Dijiang, where is Sister Houtu?"
"I don't know. I've rarely seen her recently. She seems to be busy with something. Ask Sister Xuan Ming."
Qing Xuanzi turned to look at Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming said, "Houtu has indeed been rather strange lately. She always likes wandering around the Primordial World alone. I have no idea what she is thinking about. She's probably off wandering somewhere right now."
Upon hearing this, Qing Xuanzi vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
Damn it, Heavenly Dao. Don't tell me you started plotting this early.
The Witch-Demon War was still a hundred thousand years away.
"Nether River, I'm only taking a look. It's not like you'll lose a piece of flesh. What are you doing? Looking to die?" Just as Qing Xuanzi was feeling puzzled,
Houtu's furious shout rang out across the Primordial World.
Qing Xuanzi shuddered. Damn it, it really was happening. Just as he feared, the very thing he dreaded had come.
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