Yuanshi Fell into Self-Doubt

Lu Chen and Nuwa followed Tongtian back to Kunlun Mountain, and a momentous event shook the entire Primordial World three times over.

The Witch Clan, the sole overlord of the Primordial World, did not expand in all directions at the height of its prestige. Instead, it unexpectedly relinquished the Heavenly Court, leaving only a small group of Witches to guard Buzhou Mountain while the rest, led by the twelve—no, eleven Ancestral Witches, departed for the Netherworld.

Could the Netherworld be better than the Primordial World?

Some great powers went to inspect the Blood Sea and discovered that... for the Witch Clan, the Blood Sea's environment truly was better than that of the Primordial World.

The Blood Sea contained inexhaustible Killing Intent. It could be said that vengeful resentment and Killing Intent were what it lacked least.

Killing Intent was a great calamity to cultivators, but to the Witch Clan, it was a cultivation resource.

The Solar Star was blanketed in Solar True Fire, and a crimson-gold palace stood in its depths.

The palace had clearly been refined from superb materials and feared not the tempering of Solar True Fire.

A scarlet rainbow pierced through the Solar True Fire and entered the palace.

"Big Brother, why did the Witch Clan withdraw from the Heavenly Court at such a time? They gave up their position as masters of Heaven and Earth and moved to a small world instead. Could it be that they intend to live in seclusion?"

Taiyi flew anxiously into the palace and told Dijun the news from the Primordial World, his face brimming with excitement.

If the Witch Clan was going into seclusion, then once the Demon Race emerged from the Starry Sky, who in the Primordial World could stop them?

"This should have been Houtu's plan."

After digesting Taiyi's information, Dijun immediately guessed whose handiwork lay behind the Witch Clan's actions. As for Taiyi's later words, Dijun did not answer. Instead, he threw back a question.

"Taiyi, why do you think the Witch Clan wishes to withdraw from the world?"

That question truly stumped Taiyi.

"Big Brother, I do not know."

"The Demon Race has already been defeated. Do not think of contending for supremacy again."

Dijun had never expected Taiyi to understand all the twists and turns within. Taiyi's cultivation was high, and with the Chaos Bell his combat strength was ferocious beyond measure, but in terms of wisdom... he was only slightly stronger than the Ancestral Witches, and not by much.

Dijun did not explain it to Taiyi. He was merely guessing himself and had reached no conclusion, so he simply changed the subject.

"How is the development of the Starry Sky proceeding?"

"The three hundred and sixty-five major stars have been fully occupied, and thirty percent of the surrounding stars have also been developed."

"By the way, Big Brother, I want to visit the Lunar Star. If we can bring them into the Demon Race, we can take the Lunar Star under our command without shedding a drop of blood."

"Xihe and Changxi?"

Ever since bringing the Demon Race into the Starry Sky, Dijun had remained behind the scenes on the Solar Star, holding the overall situation in his grasp while Taiyi led the Demon Race's members to open up territory.

As a star equal in status to the Solar Star where they resided, he had naturally looked into the Lunar Star.

Bringing the Lunar Star under their command would naturally be a good thing, but...

What Taiyi had said just now was negotiate, not fight!

This left Dijun somewhat stunned. Since when had his younger brother become so amicable?

Something was wrong...

Dijun took out the River Diagram and Luo Writing and began his divination.

!

He... had actually divined a destined marriage?

And it was fated!!!!

"Taiyi, you want to go to the Lunar Star, right? Your elder brother will go with you."

Dijun rose from his meditation cushion.

"Oh, all right."

Still dazed, Taiyi was pulled along by Dijun toward the Lunar Star.

"Heavenly Dao above, a lone yang cannot endure, a lone yin cannot be born. I, Dijun of the Solar Star, am willing to become Dao companions with Xihe of the Lunar Star, branches joined in season, cultivating the Great Dao together. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"

"I, Taiyi of the Solar Star, am willing to become Dao companions with Changxi of the Lunar Star, sharing life and death, cultivating the Great Dao together. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"

The two declarations spread throughout the Primordial World. As this was a Heavenly Marriage, the Heavenly Dao bestowed a reward of Merit.

Kunlun Mountain.

Lu Chen was awakened by Dijun and Taiyi's declarations. He simply emerged from seclusion, stroking his chin as he sorted through his thoughts.

"Originally, the Heavenly Marriage was supposed to be Dijun taking two wives by himself. I never expected the two brothers to take one each.

It seems that after losing the qualifications to contend for supremacy, Taiyi's thoughts have shifted from cultivation to matters of love as well."

"The Witch Clan's dramatic exit and the Demon Race shifting its gaze from the lands of the Primordial World to the Starry Sky mean that the rise of the Human Race will face far fewer hardships this time. The Human Dao has awakened, the Earthly Dao has emerged, and this is no longer an era where the Heavenly Dao covers the sky with one hand. Though the Witch-Demon Calamity ended with a roaring head and a feeble tail, and Gonggong did not crash Buzhou Mountain down, Houtu still transformed into Samsara, and the Witch Clan withdrew from the world. By that reckoning, the Witch-Demon Calamity should have just passed like that, fresh and clean."

"Next will be the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. With the Kongtong Seal in my hands, I can be said to hold every advantage from the start. I should make proper plans for my junior brothers and sisters."

In the past, Lu Chen had been too weak and could only be a spectator, but now he could at least be counted as a player moving pieces on the board.

The era of the Human Race would come next, and he was the Human Race's Holy Father, while also possessing the Kongtong Seal.

If the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were to take their places, they could never avoid him.

"Next are the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? Since that rebellious disciple has already planned it out, I can enter seclusion in peace."

In the Upper Clarity Palace, Tongtian, who was helping Nuwa sort out the Primordial Unity Path, paused briefly in his Dao voice upon hearing Lu Chen's inner thoughts, then resumed.

Nuwa slowly opened her eyes. "What is wrong, Senior Brother Tongtian?"

"Nothing. Continue."

Within Yuqing Palace.

Yuanshi was expounding the Dao to Ran Deng and the Twelve Golden Immortals.

Golden lotuses surged from the earth, and Dao voices filled the air. The Twelve Golden Immortals listened as though drunk and entranced, while Ran Deng continuously absorbed the golden lotuses to strengthen his mana and deepen his foundation.

Ran Deng had originally returned to his own Dao field, Cosmos Cave, but after hearing that the Twelve Golden Immortals had long resided in Yuqing Palace, he shamelessly came crawling back.

His Cosmos Cave might be good, but it could not compare to Yuqing Palace.

After finishing his lecture, Yuanshi glanced toward the Upper Clarity Palace, then looked at the Twelve Golden Immortals, whose cultivation had barely improved. A trace of gloom involuntarily arose in his eyes.

"In cultivating the Dao, impatience is the greatest taboo. The path must be walked step by step; it cannot be rushed."

Seeing the gloom in Yuanshi's eyes, Laozi knew what had caused it and spoke to comfort him.

"Eldest Brother, I cannot accept this! Tongtian has many disciples and lectures once every ten thousand years. I only have these twelve personal disciples, and I also lecture to them once every ten thousand years. Why is their cultivation still weaker than Tongtian's disciples?"

Yuanshi could not accept it. The disciples he had taken possessed fine talent, so how could they be inferior to Tongtian's disciples?

He was not even comparing Guangchengzi with Lu Chen and Duobao. He knew there was no comparison to make, but why were they even worse than Jin Ling?

Jin Ling was now at the Middle Primordial Unity Stage, while Guangchengzi, the strongest among his Twelve Golden Immortals, had only barely reached the Early Taiyi Stage. The others were another notch below Guangchengzi, merely at the Peak Golden Immortal stage.

After Tongtian walked the Primordial Unity Path and attained the Dao, Yuanshi knew that he would have no chance of surpassing Tongtian in this lifetime.

Yet he would not admit that he was weaker than Tongtian. He had only lost to Tongtian because the Three Corpses Method had trapped him and shaken his Dao heart.

In other aspects, he had to prove that he was stronger than Tongtian.

Had his elite path been wrong? Was he truly inferior to Tongtian in every aspect?