The Struggle for Survival, the Laws of the Primordial World

Qiang Liang pointed at a purple divine mountain in the heart of the Purple Star, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Come on, let's take a look."

Dijiang led the others to the summit of the divine mountain.

The mountaintop was covered in dense innate formation patterns, sealing off the entire peak completely.

"Break!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Dijiang directly activated the Space Law.

"Crack—"

The innate formation patterns, powerful enough to trap a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal to death, shattered inch by inch like fragile glass beneath the Space Severing of a Primordial Golden Immortal.

The instant the formation broke, two incomparably dazzling purple beams shot into the heavens, illuminating the entire Purple Star.

"Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures!"

All the Ancestral Witches drew in sharp breaths.

Two supreme treasures radiating boundless pressure floated in midair.

One was a purple star chart, engraved with the paths of the Cosmic Star Chart's celestial circulation and emanating vast power from the origin of the stars.

The other was an emperor's sword of violet-gold throughout. One side of its blade was engraved with the sun, moon, and stars, while the other bore mountains, rivers, vegetation, and trees. As its edge flickered, it exuded an unparalleled dominance capable of commanding all beneath heaven.

"The Cosmic Star Chart, the Purple Tenuity Emperor Sword!"

"This Cosmic Star Chart contains the principles behind the circulation of the myriad stars. It has the same wondrous effect through different paths as the Time Law."

With a wave of his hand, Dijiang drew the Cosmic Star Chart into his grasp and handed it to Zhu Jiuyin. "Second Brother, you shall wield this chart. Combined with your Time Law, it will surely allow you to deduce deeper heavenly secrets."

"Thank you, Eldest Brother." Zhu Jiuyin solemnly accepted the chart, a strange light flashing through his eyes.

Afterward, Dijiang grasped the Purple Tenuity Emperor Sword.

The instant the sword entered his hand, a vast aura of imperial majesty surged into his body, as though it sought to make him submit.

"Hmph! A mere sword dares put on airs before the Pangu Orthodox Lineage?"

Dijiang gave a cold snort, and the terrifying pressure of a Primordial Golden Immortal erupted with a roar, forcibly suppressing that imperial aura.

"This Purple Tenuity Emperor Sword governs slaughter and command. I shall wield it myself."

Dijiang stored the Purple Tenuity Emperor Sword within his spatial storage and nodded in satisfaction.

By this point, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had not only swept through the Primordial Wilderness Continent, but had also left no opportunity untouched in this boundless starry sky.

"Let's go. By my reckoning, Zhu Rong should be emerging from seclusion as well."

Dijiang led the others as they transformed into streams of light once more and flew toward the Sun Star.

Beneath the Fusang Tree on the Sun Star.

"Boom—!"

Flames several times more violent than before soared into the sky, forcing the surrounding Solar True Fire back tens of thousands of zhang.

Zhu Rong abruptly opened his eyes. Two flames, one gold and one red, danced wildly within them.

His aura had astonishingly reached the Mid-Primordial Golden Immortal realm!

"Hahaha! Eldest Brother, I succeeded!"

Seeing Dijiang and the others return, Zhu Rong laughed excitedly. "This Solar True Fire truly is tyrannical! After fusing it with the Southern Bright Flame, not only did my cultivation break through, even my Flame Law advanced another step!"

"Not bad."

Dijiang looked at Zhu Rong, whose aura had become ever more unfathomable, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Since you have emerged from seclusion, it is time for us to return."

At the foot of Mount Buzhou, within the Spirit-Gathering Formation.

Several tens of thousands of years had passed since the Twelve Ancestral Witches left.

Over those tens of thousands of years, untouched by the war among the three clans and free from outside disturbances, this blessed paradise shrouded by the Spirit-Gathering Formation had welcomed unprecedented prosperity.

Tens of millions of living beings had multiplied and flourished here, their cultivation all making progress.

Yet when Dijiang led the eleven Ancestral Witches through the formation and descended above Mount Buzhou, the scene below left them slightly stunned.

Within the formation, it was not the peaceful, harmonious sight they had imagined.

In the eastern Yi Wood region, countless plant spirits quietly drew in spiritual energy and lived in peace. Yet in a vast mountain forest where the western Geng Metal and southern Li Fire regions met, a brutal hunt was unfolding.

A massive Blackflame Tiger, possessing early Golden Immortal cultivation, had opened its blood-filled maw and clamped down tightly on an Azure Jade Deer at the Mysterious Immortal realm.

The Azure Jade Deer let out a miserable cry, its blood staining the grass red. Yet the other living beings nearby merely watched coldly. Some even lay hidden in ambush, preparing to snatch the scraps once the Blackflame Tiger had finished feeding.

"This..."

Seeing this, Houtu's beautiful brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of pity flashed through her eyes.

Born with command over the Earth Law, she possessed the most compassionate nature and could not bear to witness such a tragedy where the strong devoured the weak.

"Eldest Brother, they are living beings under our protection. How can they slaughter one another like this?"

As Houtu spoke, she raised her hand, intending to bring down the Earth Law and suppress the Blackflame Tiger, saving the Azure Jade Deer.

"Wait."

Dijiang reached out to stop her, his gaze calmly fixed on the scene below.

"Eldest Brother?" Houtu looked at Dijiang in confusion.

"Houtu, what do you think we protect them for?" Dijiang asked mildly.

"Naturally, so they may be spared the suffering of harm and have a place to settle down and survive in this Primordial World," Houtu answered.

"Indeed. We gave them a place to settle down and survive, gave them abundant spiritual energy, and even bestowed the Pangu Heart-Clearing Formula upon them."

"But we cannot give them absolute peace."

"The essence of the Primordial World is that things compete and nature selects; the fit survive. The Blackflame Tiger eating meat is its nature. If the Azure Jade Deer cannot run fast enough, it becomes food upon the plate. This is the law of Heaven's Way's operation, and also the instinct by which living beings multiply."

Dijiang pointed at the forest below. "If you save this deer today, that tiger will still hunt something else. You can save it for a moment, but not for a lifetime. If we pen them up and erase their ferocity, they will ultimately become a pack of useless creatures stripped of claw and fang."

"We protect them so they may have the right to fight, to seize, and to survive in this cruel Primordial World—not so they become flowers raised in a greenhouse!"

Dijiang's words rang through the hearts of Houtu and the other Ancestral Witches like the tolling of a great bell.

Houtu fell silent.

She looked at the Azure Jade Deer below, which had already breathed its last, then at the Blackflame Tiger feasting heartily. The pity in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a trace of understanding.

"Eldest Brother is right. I was trapped by appearances." Houtu gave a soft sigh and lowered her hand.

At that moment, the Blackflame Tiger feeding below, along with the living beings lying in ambush nearby, suddenly sensed the twelve terrifying pressures in the sky, vast and deep as an abyss.

They abruptly raised their heads. Upon seeing those twelve towering figures, every living being—whether fighting or cultivating—came to a halt.

"It is the Ancestral Witch Lords!"

"The Ancestral Witch Lords have returned!"

After a brief silence, cheers like mountain cries and tsunami waves erupted throughout the Spirit-Gathering Formation.

Tens of millions of living beings fell to their knees without the slightest hesitation, worshipping the Twelve Ancestral Witches in the sky with utmost reverence.

"We pay respects to the Ancestral Witch Lords! May the Ancestral Witch Lords enjoy boundless holy longevity!"

The sound shook the heavens and surged straight into the clouds.

At that moment, there was no distinction between hunter and prey—only absolute awe and devotion toward Dijiang and the others, who had granted them new life and protection.