Reunion

She Bishi, the Weather Ancestor Witch, had a human head and beast's body as he stood at the very peak of the storm.

With both hands waving, he summoned howling gales and torrential poisonous rain, turning every bird and beast that tried to approach Thunder Marsh for easy gains into puddles of pus.

The three of them controlled celestial phenomena and lightning, making them utterly at home within Thunder Marsh.

Not only did they encounter no danger, but they used the endless lightning to temper their bodies and primordial spirits until they grew ever stronger. Deep within Thunder Marsh, they even found a Thunder Pool that was nurturing Innate Thunderfluid!

"Xi Zi, She Bishi, we've absorbed nearly all of the Thunder Pool's origin."

"Should we continue traveling, or..."

Xi Zi opened her eyes, lightning bursting from her pupils. "Along the way, the three clans have been fighting without end. One misstep and we could be dragged into their conflict. With our current strength, we can at most ensure that we won't be killed outright. I think we should return to Pangu Hall, continue improving our cultivation, and only then resume our travels."

On an unnamed solitary peak in the center of the Primordial World.

Dijiang sat cross-legged, using the power of the Creation Jade Disk to regulate his breathing for a while. At last, some color returned to his face.

He slowly opened his eyes and formed an ancient hand seal. He forced out a drop of blood from his fingertip, using his Great Firmament Realm primordial spirit to stir a resonance within the Pangu Bloodline.

"Buzz—"

An invisible ripple of bloodline power spread from him, instantly crossing boundless distances and reaching the hearts of the Ancestor Witches throughout the Primordial World.

"Return to Pangu Hall at once!"

After doing all this, Dijiang rose to his feet. Looking at his younger siblings' concerned expressions, a weak yet reassuring smile curled onto his lips.

"Let's go. They're all safe and are on their way back."

"Let's go home."

The return journey went surprisingly smoothly. Although they encountered the three clans fighting over territory, those combatants were not particularly strong, so they easily avoided them. As six Daluo Golden Immortals, no one foolishly took the initiative to provoke them either.

When they returned beneath Mount Buzhou and looked upon its towering peak, Dijiang saw the phantom of a palace within the mountain.

That was where they had been born—Pangu Hall!

Within the hall, the once-rampant World-Opening Turbid Qi and Earthly Killing Intent had been transformed into spiritual qi by the Creation Jade Disk. Now that Dijiang had taken the Creation Jade Disk away and spent years outside, the hall had once again become shrouded in turbid qi and Baleful Energy.

Upon returning here, the nerves Dijiang had kept taut finally relaxed completely. He let out a long breath and sat cross-legged directly on the Jade Platform at the center of the Main Hall.

He activated the Creation Jade Disk, transforming the turbid qi and Baleful Energy into spiritual qi once more.

Before long, two successive bursts of violent air-tearing sounds rang out beyond Pangu Hall.

"Big Brother!"

Accompanied by a rough shout, Gonggong, Ru Shou, Jumang, Qiang Liang, Xi Zi, and She Bishi rushed into the Main Hall almost one after another.

They had originally been eager to show off the gains from their journey, but when they saw Dijiang's pale face and unsteady aura atop the Jade Platform, every smile instantly froze.

"Big Brother! Who did this?!"

Gonggong, whose temper was just as fiery, instantly had bloodshot eyes. The trident formed from Extreme Cold Heavy Water in his hand slammed into the ground, making the entire Main Hall hum.

Lightning flared wildly around Qiang Liang's body as he gritted his teeth. "Anyone who dared injure Big Brother—I'll go wipe out his entire clan!"

"Enough. All of you, quiet down."

Dijiang weakly waved a hand, suppressing their agitation.

Zhu Rong stepped forward with a face full of guilt and recounted everything: how they encountered the Phoenix Clan elder on the Southern Continent, and how Dijiang had burned his origin blood essence without hesitation to forcefully slay two Late Daluo cultivators in order to save them.

After Zhu Rong finished, deathly silence fell over the Main Hall.

Gonggong clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh. Though he had always been at odds with Zhu Rong, he did not utter a single mocking word now. He merely stared at Dijiang on the Jade Platform with reddened eyes.

The other Ancestor Witches were also filled with shock and emotion.

For his own brothers and sisters, he had burned his blood essence and slain enemies across realms in an instant!

That was their big brother!

"Alright, why are you all acting as if we're parting in life and death? I'm not dead yet."

Looking at these younger siblings who were usually wild and unruly but now resembled children who had done something wrong, Dijiang felt warmth rise in his heart. He forced himself to smile.

"This journey was dangerous, but it also showed us the cruelty of the Primordial World. Strength is the foundation of everything."

With that, Dijiang waved a hand, and treasure light immediately shot into the sky from the open ground before him.

Countless Innate Spiritual Roots, divine metal ores, and clumps of dragon, phoenix, and qilin blood essence radiating terrifying pressure were piled into a small mountain.

"These are the gains we made along the way. Jiu Yin, you are prudent in your affairs, so you will distribute these materials. Use the three clans' blood essence and bones to temper your bodies."

Then Dijiang flipped his palm, sending three pearls radiating soft blue light and that mass of Seven-Colored Fire Li Stone toward Gonggong and Zhu Rong respectively.

"Gonggong, these three Sea-Calming Divine Pearls are components of a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. They contain an immense amount of Water Origin and are most compatible with you. Take them and refine them properly."

"Zhu Rong, keep this Seven-Colored Fire Li Stone safe. Enter seclusion with it, and your Southern Bright Flame will surely undergo a transformation."

Gonggong and Zhu Rong accepted the Spirit Treasures with trembling hands and nodded heavily.

The remaining Ancestor Witches also brought out the gains from their own journeys and gathered them together.

The resources of the Twelve Ancestral Witches instantly reached an utterly terrifying level.

"Big Brother, what about you?" Houtu looked at Dijiang worriedly.

"I need to enter seclusion in the depths of the Blood Pool."

Dijiang stood up and swept his gaze over the eleven Ancestor Witches before him, his expression becoming more solemn than ever.

"While I am in seclusion, Pangu Hall will be completely sealed!"

"The great war among the three clans has reached its final stage, and the Tribulation Aura of the Epochal Tribulation is about to reach its peak. More than that, I have sensed peerless mighty beings secretly fanning the flames."

"The Primordial World will become even more dangerous from here on."

Dijiang's voice echoed through the Main Hall as he spoke in an unquestionable tone. "Remember this: no matter how earth-shattering the battles outside become, without my order, none of you may take even half a step out of Pangu Hall!"

"Until you reach Late Daluo, you are absolutely not permitted to leave seclusion!"

"We obey Big Brother's decree!" The eleven Ancestor Witches bowed in unison, their voices ringing like great bells.

Seeing that his younger siblings had taken his warning to heart, Dijiang said no more and turned toward the deepest part of Pangu Hall.

There lay the Pangu Blood Pool, formed from Pangu's Heart.

Dijiang took a deep breath, removed his clothes, and stepped into the Blood Pool.

"Buzz—"

As he sank to the bottom, the Creation Jade Disk within his sea of consciousness flew out on its own and hovered above the Blood Pool. Creation qi descended from it, working with the blood qi within the pool to help Dijiang repair the deficit and damage caused by burning his blood essence.

Outside, after witnessing the cruelty of the Primordial World, Zhu Jiuyin and the others did not begin cultivating right away. Instead, they first shared the sights and experiences from their years of travel.