Mid-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal

Inside the great hall, Houtu spoke with a serious expression.

The other Ancestral Witches were taken aback by her words.

Dijiang looked at Houtu.

"Little sister, is that true? Did the merit that vanished from Nuwa really go to Daoist Tongtian?"

"Little sister, this is no joking matter. Daoist Tongtian has never shown himself in the Primordial World. How could he have received merit when Saint Nuwa attained sagehood?"

"Exactly, exactly. With so much merit involved, wouldn't that mean Tongtian helped Nuwa become a Sage?"

None of them quite believed it.

But Houtu shook her head.

"Brothers, I'm not talking nonsense."

"In fact, a hundred years ago, members of the Witch Clan reported to me that Nuwa was trying to create a new race on Buzhou Mountain. But she never succeeded, so I paid it no further attention."

"Only now have I realized that this was her path to attaining the Dao."

"The reason Nuwa failed before was that she had the wrong materials."

"But after going out this time, she returned with this Nine Heavens Breathing Soil."

"I checked. Originally, thirty-five percent of that merit should have entered the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil."

"But the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil was all consumed and transformed into the Human Race."

"If that breathing soil really belonged to Nuwa, or had been bestowed upon her by the Dao Ancestor, the merit should have gone to them. It wouldn't have fallen into Tongtian's hands as it did."

"So I suspect he knew long ago that Nuwa would become a Sage this time. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil ended up in his hands?"

"And think about it, brothers. Laozi and Yuanshi have both become Sages. Tongtian was also formed from Father God's primordial spirit, so there's no reason he couldn't become one. Yet he never once appeared in the Purple Cloud Palace, almost as though he were deliberately avoiding it."

"I would never believe that he has no secrets. And from what I can tell, that secret is almost certainly connected to Sages."

After hearing Houtu out, they felt her reasoning was rather like a heavenly steed galloping through the skies, unfettered by reality. Still, recalling Hongjun's and Tongtian's various actions, they had to admit that Tongtian really did seem to be deliberately avoiding becoming a Sage.

That meant Tongtian must know something others did not.

If so, might he also know how the Witch Clan could attain the Dao?

After all, that was much the same as becoming a Sage.

After turning it over in their minds, the Ancestral Witches began to waver.

They exchanged glances.

After a long silence, Dijiang spoke.

"Even if Tongtian knows the secrets of Sages, why would he tell us?"

That was true enough. After all, this was one of the deepest secrets of heaven and earth in the Primordial World.

Why should he tell us? Do we think we're his relatives?

The same thought crossed all their minds.

Suddenly, they looked at Houtu.

They seemed to be considering something.

The looks her brothers gave her made Houtu's skin crawl.

It seemed they were brewing up something unpleasant.

Fortunately, they soon shook their heads and abandoned the idea.

Just as everyone was at a loss, Dijiang spoke.

"All right, I have a way. Father God left behind a few drops of blood essence. If Tongtian really knows about this, we'll give him a drop of Father God's blood essence. As another descendant of Father God, he will surely find it immensely useful."

The other Ancestral Witches grew agitated at those words. They were about to speak, but Dijiang silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Enough. I've decided. Say no more."

"If Tongtian really knows, exchanging one drop of Father God's blood essence for that information will be no loss to us."

The Ancestral Witches nodded and fell silent.

Seeing that no one continued to object, Dijiang looked at Houtu and said, "Since you brought this up, little sister, I'll leave it to you."

Houtu nodded.

"All right. Since you and the others agree, eldest brother, I'll make a trip to Kunlun Mountain."

On Kunlun Mountain, inside Tongtian's Dao Field.

Seated on the Prayer Cushion, Xu Tong slowly opened his eyes.

"With the Chaos Bead and the world tree, my cultivation speed is truly frightening."

"In such a short time, I've already reached the mid-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm."

"If I keep progressing at this rate, perhaps by the time of the Investiture Calamity, I'll be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Limitless Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm."

As his cultivation rose, Xu Tong's understanding of the Great Dao grew ever deeper.

Above the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm lay the Limitless Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

That was precisely the realm of the Three Thousand Chaos Fiends.

As for Pangu's realm, one level higher still, Xu Tong could not yet comprehend it.

Still, having a goal was a good thing.

If the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm corresponded to sagehood, then...

The Limitless Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm corresponded to the Dao Integration realm.

But as for which of the two was stronger...

Xu Tong did not know.

By his reckoning, however, within the bounds of the Primordial World, a Dao Integration expert who could wield the power of the Heavenly Dao should have the upper hand.

In the boundless chaos, a Limitless Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal should be somewhat stronger.

Looking at the Chaos Bead in his hand, Xu Tong shook his head.

"There are still too few laws inside the Chaos Bead. Even with the seed of the Force Great Dao's laws slowly evolving into the three thousand Great Daos, it will take far too long."

"Once Hongjun sends over the Innate Five Directions Banners, I'll put them into the Chaos Bead to derive the corresponding laws. Then both the Chaos Bead's evolution and the world tree can advance further, and I'll improve along with them."

Xu Tong had planned this from the very beginning.

There were actually two reasons he had asked Hongjun for the Innate Five Directions Banners.

One was that most of Hongjun's Spiritual Treasures would have important roles to play in the future.

The Qiankun Cauldron, for instance.

It would later have to be delivered to Nuwa to help her refine the North Sea Black Tortoise's four legs into the four pillars supporting heaven and earth.

The laws contained within the Qiankun Cauldron were surely far more numerous than those within the Innate Five Directions Banners.

But Hongjun would never give it to him.

Likewise, Hongjun was even less likely to hand over the Investiture List or the God-Beating Whip.

If Hongjun really gave those things to Xu Tong, he would have no need to remain in seclusion.

He could come straight out. As for the Investiture Calamity, he could simply have Laozi's and Yuanshi's disciples fill its ranks.

The list would be in my hands, after all.

But clearly, that was impossible.

With all those Spiritual Treasures out of reach, Xu Tong had weighed his options and could only set his sights on the Innate Five Directions Banners.

After all, if quality fell short, he could only make up for it with quantity.

Xu Tong smacked his lips.

"In the end, I'm still not strong enough."

Xu Tong muttered to himself.

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"That's right. There may be another source of merit I can scheme for without even leaving home."

With a turn of his hand, Xu Tong took out a small lump of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil.

Had Hongjun been there to witness this, he might have died of rage.

He had paid such an enormous price to obtain that Nine Heavens Breathing Soil.

Yet Xu Tong had secretly kept a small portion for himself.