When Xu Tong learned what had happened at the Treasure Distribution Cliff, he struggled to hold back his laughter.
The Four Immortal-Slaying Swords were treasures the Heavenly Dao had intended for the original Tongtian-in other words, himself.
But he had never shown his face, and Hongjun's repeated attempts to spy on him had yielded nothing useful. The old man had probably grown anxious and wanted to spite him deliberately.
Yet Hongjun had failed to consider something: how could anyone else covet treasures whose ownership the Heavenly Dao had already ordained?
Through a combination of circumstances, the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation had ended up protecting the entire Treasure Distribution Cliff.
When Hongjun realizes he's changed the course of the Primordial World himself, he'll probably be so furious he spits blood.
That was what Xu Tong thought.
Many of the spiritual treasures on the Treasure Distribution Cliff were connected to the future tribulations; some would even play pivotal roles.
But now, none of the people who were supposed to receive them had gotten their hands on them.
Once the time came, Hongjun would have his work cut out for him.
Xu Tong would like to see how Hongjun swallowed his pride and handed those spiritual treasures out again.
Just thinking about it filled Xu Tong with satisfaction.
"Forget it. So what if they're the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords? So what if it takes four Sages to break the formation?"
"Whoever takes them becomes the target of every arrow."
Xu Tong was no fool. The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation might look powerful, but once its capabilities were exposed, it would only serve as a deterrent under ordinary circumstances.
Once enough was at stake, whoever held the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation would become the greatest threat.
And they would be the first to be eliminated.
One could say that Hongjun had already foreseen that future when he first placed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation in Tongtian's hands.
At that thought, Xu Tong shook his head.
"That scheming old bastard Hongjun is far too calculating. Every step is a pitfall. Best to keep my distance."
"I'll just stay in my Dao Field and cultivate. You lot can act out this grand drama in the Primordial World yourselves."
With that, Xu Tong entered secluded cultivation once more and stopped thinking about the Purple Cloud Palace.
Across the Primordial World, the mighty cultivators had finished listening to the lecture and returned to their own cultivation grounds.
Naturally, that included the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe.
The Dao Ancestor had previously decreed that the two races were forbidden from fighting for a thousand years.
He had also stated clearly that the demons would rule the heavens, while the witches would rule the earth.
But those thousand years had actually already passed.
The two races had refrained from going to war again because they feared Hongjun.
After this lecture, however, things were different.
Whichever race became the leading race of heaven and earth would gain power to rival the Sages.
What an enormous temptation that was.
At once, the atmosphere between heaven and earth grew extraordinarily tense.
It seemed a single spark could ignite the flames of war throughout the Primordial World.
So much time had passed since the last great battle between the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe that the demons had recovered their strength.
Under Di Jun's deliberate orders, the Demon Tribe also began expanding relentlessly.
Any territory that did not belong to the Witch Clan became a target for expansion.
The Witch Clan did the same.
In this way, the two races carved up the entire Primordial World.
Yet both tacitly refrained from attacking the other.
At that rate of expansion, however, the Primordial World soon had no room left for either race to expand.
Apart from the great races that had already withdrawn into seclusion.
Now, aside from the Demon Tribe, only the Witch Clan remained in the Primordial World.
Still, neither side made a move.
After all, neither race was confident it could wipe out the other in one stroke.
This brought the Primordial World a brief spell of peace.
But that peace seemed so fragile.
On Buzhou Mountain lay Nuwa and Fuxi's cultivation grounds.
At that moment, the two sat facing each other.
A pot of clear tea stood between them.
Fuxi took a sip of tea, then asked, "Little sister, how is it going? Is there still no response from the primordial violet qi?"
Nuwa shook her head in disappointment.
"No. Perhaps the time hasn't come yet."
Nuwa spoke casually. After so many years, she no longer held out much hope.
At one point, she had even wondered whether the Dao Ancestor had remembered incorrectly and she could not become a Sage at all.
Fortunately, although she had not attained Sagehood, neither had Laozi, Zhunti, or the others. They were all in the same boat, so none of them could hurry the others along.
Hearing that Nuwa still had no idea what to do, Fuxi felt a little disappointed, but quickly composed himself.
After all, he had long since grown accustomed to this.
Fuxi then changed the subject.
Looking toward the foot of the mountain, he remarked casually.
"The Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe have now grown into the largest races in the Primordial World. Even the ancient races can no longer compare with the Demon Tribe. I expect the witches and demons will soon launch their final showdown."
"A final showdown? Who knows how many will die or be wounded then?"
Nuwa could hardly bear the thought.
Hearing her tone, Fuxi shook his head.
His little sister was simply too kindhearted.
"Things will be better after the final battle. Whether the Witch Clan or the Demon Tribe remains, once there is only one leading race of heaven and earth, there will naturally be no more fighting."
Fuxi could only try to comfort her, but unfortunately, his words had no effect.
Instead, Nuwa grew even more despondent.
"Just one race? How lonely that would be in this vast Primordial World."
"If only there could be more races in the Primordial World."
Nuwa murmured to herself.
Suddenly, she raised her head, her eyes shining so brightly that Fuxi froze.
"Little sister, what's wrong?"
Excitement filled Nuwa's eyes as she spoke.
"Elder brother, I think I've realized what my Dao is."
"What!"
Fuxi sprang to his feet with a bang.
"Little sister, have you really realized your Dao?"
Fuxi could scarcely believe it.
Nuwa had made no progress at all for so many years. How had she suddenly comprehended her Dao after drinking tea with him for a while today?
If only I'd known, we should have drunk more tea.
Of course, that was only a joke.
Still, knowing that Nuwa had comprehended her Dao made Fuxi immensely happy.
Seeing his excitement, Nuwa nodded.
"My Dao is to create races."
"Elder brother, I want to create another race in the Primordial World."
As she spoke, Nuwa could no longer sit still and began making preparations.
Fuxi watched her movements closely from beside her.
He saw Nuwa begin shaping little figures out of mud.
Yet once she had formed them, the mud figures did not smoothly become a new race as she had imagined. Instead, they soon burst apart.
She tried several in succession, all with the same result.
Nuwa grew troubled.
"This ordinary mud seems unable to withstand the laws bestowed by the Heavenly Dao when a new race is born."
Beside her, Fuxi could also see that she had encountered a difficulty.
But he said nothing, not daring to disturb her. Only after Nuwa explained the problem did he venture to speak.
"Little sister, since ordinary mud can't withstand it, why not use another material?"
Fuxi offered his suggestion.
Yet after Nuwa tried all sorts of materials, every attempt ended in failure without exception.
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