High above the nine heavens stood the Eight Sceneries Palace, the Jade Void Palace, and the Jade Touring Palace.
Within the Dao domains established by the Three Pure Ones, the three looked at one another across the distance, disbelief written all over their faces.
The three brothers were the orthodox heirs to Pangu's primordial spirit, and now stood only one final step away from Severing the Three Corpses and attaining sagehood.
Whether in aptitude, foundations in the Dao, or accumulated reserves, no one in the Primordial World could match them.
Nüwa had mended the heavens and overtaken them on the bend through her unparalleled merit. They had not expected it, but they could understand it.
Though envious, they could only long for such an opportunity.
After all, the three of them had ultimately played no real role during the Primordial World's apocalypse.
But who did this second sage's presence belong to?
Yuanshi's voice held a note of disbelief.
"Could it be those two?"
"Impossible!" Tongtian laughed outright beside him, his heart filled with disdain.
"Ridiculous. What sort of trash are Jieyin and Zhunti? Are they worthy of attaining the Dao before us Three Pure Ones?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
That was indeed the case.
As far as the Three Pure Ones could sense, that presence did not belong to the familiar Jieyin or Zhunti.
But who else could it be besides those two?
Surely it could not be Ancestor Hongyun?
No, had he not already been ambushed and killed?
Had the person who stole the Purple Qi become a sage ahead of time?
But that was impossible too.
Meanwhile, amid the distant, barren lands of the west, Jieyin and Zhunti stood side by side above a sea of clouds, gazing eastward with equally dumbfounded expressions.
"This second sage's presence-could the Three Pure Ones have attained sagehood?"
They did indeed believe themselves inferior to the Three Pure Ones.
It was only a matter of time before the Three Pure Ones attained sagehood.
But no matter how they sensed it, this presence did not seem to belong to the Three Pure Ones.
And who could have done it this quickly?
What distressed them even more, however, was that the western lands had already been terribly barren. Now, after Gonggong's brainless act of smashing Mount Buzhou apart-
Which had brought about the Primordial World's apocalypse-the already unstable west was even more shattered this time.
Their faces could not have been darker.
Because the heavenly pillar Gonggong had shattered was precisely the one in the northwest.
That beast!
They even wanted to kill Gonggong.
Now, throughout the entire Primordial World, everyone was caught up in guessing one another's identities.
They were guessing just who had become a sage this time.
Xu You was also high in the sky at this moment. He had not expected Houtu to be so fast.
"That was certainly decisive. But there shouldn't be any problems, right?"
After all, he had given her the Purple Qi. When the time came, he would preside over reincarnation himself, so it was really much the same.
After all, Houtu had no primordial spirit and truly could not refine the Purple Qi.
At that moment, Gu Yuena stood on Xu You's head, her fair, tender little hands gripping his dragon horns.
Her eyes were filled with wonder.
"A sage?"
"If I could become a sage, wouldn't I be able to surpass the Dragon God?"
Although in Gu Yuena's mind, the Dragon God was already the strongest.
But he certainly wanted to become the Dragon God and surpass the Dragon God.
To become an existence even stronger than the Dragon God.
And in this world, there really was such an opportunity.
This forced her to admit that this world was indeed more powerful than the Douluo World she had been in before.
So Gu Yuena turned her gaze toward the master she had picked up on the cheap.
"Master, can you fight a sage?"
Xu You: ?
What was that supposed to mean?
"I'm no match."
Gu Yuena asked again, "Then what about the Ancestral Dragon?"
Xu You answered, "Only one step short."
Then he was still inferior to the Dragon God.
Xu You: ?
Amid the speculation of the Primordial World's living beings, a gentle, compassionate voice resounded across the eight wildernesses.
"Heavenly Dao above, the Primordial World is flawed. The metal heavenly pillar has collapsed, leaving countless living beings dead or wounded."
"The souls of the dead wander the lands of the Primordial World, with no one and nothing to rely on, their resentment long accumulated!"
"I am Houtu of the Witch Clan. Out of compassion for all living beings, I make a great vow today: to transform my body into the Dao, open the Netherworld Underworld, and forge the Six Paths of Reincarnation."
"Let the dead have somewhere to return, and souls somewhere to dwell!"
In an instant, radiant clouds of merit, far surpassing those from Nüwa's mending of the heavens, poured down from the nine heavens and flooded into the earth.
Ever since the Primordial World's establishment, there had been Luohou's destruction of the world, the Dragon-Han Great Calamity, and the struggle between the Witch and Demon Clans.
The Primordial World Continent had never known peace, and countless living beings had died.
Wronged souls littered the land, unable to rest.
Now, through Houtu's great vow, she sacrificed her body to the Dao.
She created the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the souls of the Primordial World's great emperors were all drawn into the Netherworld Underworld.
It was just like coming home.
And what Houtu had done was naturally no less significant than Nüwa's mending of the heavens.
But the Primordial World's living beings were still stunned.
"How did she do that? Houtu-the Witch Clan's Houtu."
"Doesn't the Witch Clan lack primordial spirits?"
It was not just the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, and Zhunti.
Or the other living beings of the Primordial World's lands?
They were all stunned by that voice.
"He doesn't have a primordial spirit. How could he attain sagehood?"
Was the path to sagehood not Severing the Three Corpses?
Then how had Houtu done it?
The smiles on the Demon Clan's faces had never faded since Nüwa attained sagehood.
At this moment, they instantly shifted elsewhere.
Wait, what?
Nüwa had just become a sage, and the Demon Clan was about to rise.
They were about to become the overlords of the Primordial World again.
And now you were telling them that a Witch Clan sage had suddenly popped up too?
Wasn't this just messing with them?
Many could not accept it, especially the Demon Clan and the Demon Court.
But the Witch Clan could not have been happier.
Dijiang laughed loudly. "Houtu! Our Houtu actually became a sage! Our Witch Clan has a sage too!"
At that moment, Houtu, suspended between heaven and earth, summoned the Twelve Ancestral Wu.
Now the Twelve Ancestral Wu were all gathered together. Even the half-dead Gonggong had been dragged over.
"Sister Houtu, you actually became a sage."
Dijiang could not contain his wild joy.
"Congratulations on attaining sagehood, little sister Houtu."
"Our Witch Clan has attained sagehood."
For a while, everyone offered their heartfelt congratulations.
After all, Houtu truly was the youngest sister among the Twelve Ancestral Wu, and everyone was very close to her.
Although her attaining sagehood had been unexpected, they were sincerely delighted.
At the very least, if Gonggong had become a sage instead, they might have felt as though the sky had fallen.
Only the half-dead Gonggong huddled at the back of the group. When he saw Houtu's icy eyes, his entire body stiffened.
After all, he truly had been brainless enough to do such a thing.
But Houtu had no time to settle accounts with Gonggong just yet.
Instead, she spoke calmly.
"My brothers, thank you for coming."
"Although I have now attained sagehood, it is not complete."
"Because I transformed my body into reincarnation and took root in the underworld, I am an Earthly Dao Saint and will be trapped in the Netherworld for all eternity."
"So I need your help, my brothers."
Dijiang was somewhat taken aback. "An Earthly Dao Saint? You have already attained sagehood. Why would you still need our help?"
But Dijiang quickly came to his senses.
"All right, we'll all listen to our little sister-the sage!"
Houtu nodded slightly. The next instant, she drew out a strand of Primordial Purple Qi.
"Form the formation!"
The twelve Ancestral Witches gathered once more.
Activate the great formation!
The Twelve Heavenly Gods and Fiends Great Formation!
Summon the phantom of the great god Pangu.
At the same time, Nüwa used the Primordial Purple Qi to absorb the phantom of the great god Pangu, taking it as her own primordial spirit and lodging her Dao fruit within it.
She sent it into the Heavenly Dao, seeking to attain the status of a Heavenly Dao Sage.
The Heavenly Dao had initially refused. You don't even have a primordial spirit, and you haven't achieved Severing the Three Corpses. How are you supposed to become a sage?
But the moment the Heavenly Dao saw Pangu, it fell silent.
No, tell me-what did you just send up here?