Houtu, Ancestral Witch of Earth

As time passed, more and more great powers arrived before Zixiao Palace.

Naturally, everyone immediately noticed the profundity of the three words "Zixiao Palace."

However, the divine ability of Zixiao Divine Thunder contained within those three words was not so easy to comprehend.

Even Dao Xuan, after contemplating it for a long time, had only learned some sixty to seventy percent of Zixiao Divine Thunder.

That was already Dao Xuan's limit.

Dao Xuan did not force the matter. He withdrew his gaze. Though he had not completely mastered Zixiao Divine Thunder, this was already enough.

After all, expecting to fully understand such a great divine ability after contemplating it only once was far too unrealistic.

Even the Three Pure Ones, with their formidable talent, could not possibly possess such comprehension.

Since Dao Xuan had now learned sixty to seventy percent of it, he could later combine it with his own knowledge to create a lightning art of his own.

Besides the Zixiao Divine Thunder contained within the words "Zixiao Palace," everyone also discovered that numerous Dao arts and divine abilities were inscribed upon the palace gates, walls, and other places.

Thus, after reaching their limits in comprehending Zixiao Divine Thunder and finding themselves unable to progress further, many people turned to study other Dao arts and divine abilities.

After Dao Xuan finished comprehending Zixiao Divine Thunder, he was in no hurry to examine the other Dao arts and divine abilities.

After all, he had already learned the Saint's foremost divine ability. Though the other Dao arts and divine abilities each had their own mysteries, greedily learning too much would only lead to poor mastery.

Moreover, Dao Xuan had always understood that Dao arts and divine abilities were ultimately nothing more than extensions of the Great Dao's laws.

They were not the foundation.

Only one's own Great Dao was the foundation. The various Dao arts and divine abilities were merely means to protect one's Dao and cultivate.

Coveting methods while forgetting the Great Dao was putting the cart before the horse.

He had come this time to hear the Dao, not to learn these Dao arts and divine abilities.

Therefore, after briefly looking over several Dao arts and divine abilities, Dao Xuan simply withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and sat quietly to rest.

Unlike Dao Xuan, however, most of the others did not possess such composure.

Seeing the countless Dao arts and divine abilities inscribed upon the walls of Zixiao Palace, they only thought of learning as many as they could, completely forgetting why they had come to Zixiao Palace.

Of course, a small number quickly came to their senses. These people possessed steadfast Dao hearts and sought the Dao wholeheartedly.

After awakening to this, they followed Dao Xuan's example. They no longer coveted Dao arts and divine abilities, but sat quietly and waited for the gates of Zixiao Palace to open.

Thus, as time passed, more and more great powers gathered before Zixiao Palace.

Finally, with a creak, the gates of Zixiao Palace opened.

Two exquisitely carved, jade-like children emerged from within. They were the two Dao children who served Saint Hongjun: the boy was Haotian, while the girl was Yaochi.

Ordinarily, once the gates of Zixiao Palace opened, everyone should have reacted immediately.

But at that moment, most people were still immersed in comprehending those Dao arts and divine abilities.

Thus, although the gates of Zixiao Palace had opened, some were still reluctant to part with those Dao arts and divine abilities, hoping to comprehend a little more.

And that doomed them to miss their opportunity.

After Haotian and Yaochi opened the gates, they immediately invited everyone inside. Those great powers who had long been prepared promptly rose and entered.

Dao Xuan naturally knew what opportunity lay within Zixiao Palace.

But he had already embarked upon his own path. He had no intention of becoming a Heavenly Dao Saint and being bound by the Great Desolate Heavenly Dao.

Therefore, he did not covet the opportunity for sainthood within Zixiao Palace.

Although he was among the first group to enter Zixiao Palace, he deliberately lagged slightly behind the Three Pure Ones and the others.

Watching the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Kunpeng, and Hong Yun take the six meditation cushions, Dao Xuan merely blended into the crowd, casually found a seat, and sat down.

Yet not long after Dao Xuan took his seat, another woman suddenly sat down beside him.

Dao Xuan had not cared at first, but he quickly realized that something was wrong.

The woman beside him, dressed in a yellow palace gown, seemed somewhat different.

She had no mana?

It was as though a bolt from a clear sky had flashed through Dao Xuan's mind, instantly jolting him awake.

This was Houtu.

The Ancestral Witch of Earth among the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the Houtu who would later transform into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, whose compassion was boundless and whose merit immeasurable!

What a coincidence, for her to sit right beside him?

If he stood up and moved away now, that would obviously be inappropriate.

Dao Xuan's thoughts stirred, countless notions flashing through his mind.

Including Houtu, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had all been formed from Pangu's essence blood, and thus were born without Primordial Spirits.

Unable to cultivate Primordial Spirits, they could not calculate heavenly secrets, nor could they absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine mana.

It could be said that the Twelve Ancestral Witches followed a cultivation system entirely contrary to the mainstream of the Primordial World.

They did not cultivate Primordial Spirits, only their physical bodies. Though they possessed no mana, they were born wielding the laws of the Great Dao.

For example, Houtu wielded the Earth Law of the Five Elements; Gonggong wielded the Water Law, Zhurong the Law of Fire, Jumang the Wood Law, Roushou the Law of Metal, Dijiang the Space Law, Qiangliang the Law of Lightning, and so on.

With every gesture, they could command the Great Dao of heaven and earth, summon mountains, seas, raging tides, and blazing flames that scorched the sky. Their power was not the least bit inferior to that of the Primordial World's great powers, and with the strength of their physical bodies added in, they could crush the vast majority of those great powers.

In short, if the Twelve Ancestral Witches were compared with others, they were absolutely no weaker than the foremost great powers of the Primordial World, such as the Three Pure Ones, Fuxi, Nuwa, Dijun, and Taiyi.

Though Dao Xuan thought this, he remained outwardly calm and had no intention of engaging with Houtu. While he greatly admired Houtu's future transformation into Reincarnation,

that was, after all, something that would happen in the future. The current Houtu was still the Ancestral Witch of Earth.

Before long, the Twelve Ancestral Witches would join the Calamity Cycle and even become its central figures.

Dao Xuan had no desire whatsoever to become entangled in that karma.

Thus, he chose to keep a respectful distance from Houtu!

What Dao Xuan did not know was that Houtu sitting beside him was no coincidence.

Outside Zixiao Palace, Houtu had noticed Dao Xuan early on.

After all, Houtu had no Primordial Spirit. While she could not refine mana, she naturally could not comprehend and cultivate the various Dao arts and divine abilities outside Zixiao Palace either.

Thus, while she waited in boredom, Houtu noticed Dao Xuan's difference from the others.

After comprehending Zixiao Divine Thunder, Dao Xuan had directly given up on the other Dao arts and divine abilities and quietly sat in meditation.

Dao Xuan was not the only person to do this, but aside from comprehending Zixiao Divine Thunder, most of the others had also gone on to study several other divine abilities.

Dao Xuan alone had comprehended only Zixiao Divine Thunder and then ceased studying any other divine abilities.

Dao Xuan did not know that because of this, Houtu had taken notice of him.

Then, when the gates of Zixiao Palace opened, Houtu saw Dao Xuan quietly find himself a seat, which made her even more curious. That was how the current situation came about.

She sat down beside Dao Xuan as well.

However, Dao Xuan did not speak with her, and Houtu did not take the initiative to strike up a conversation. They merely sat quietly, each absorbed in their own thoughts.