Despair!
This was true despair!
Was there anything more despairing than knowing the target you were chasing, only to watch that target grow stronger and stronger?
Gu Yuena suddenly felt as though her bargain-bin master would keep her under his thumb for the rest of her life.
"No, I don't want that!"
"I will become the Dragon God of the Primordial Dragon Clan!"
However, after obtaining the Dao Fruit of the Quasi-Sage Gonggong, Xu You had indeed received a tremendous boost.
He possessed three Great Daos himself.
The vast seas and true dragons-the Great Dao of Water.
Thunder and myriad tribulations-the Great Dao of Lightning.
Soaring skies, wind, and clouds-the Great Dao of Wind.
These were essentially the Dragon Clan's three most common paths.
They were essentially the quickest ways to develop combat strength and reliably produce Daluo Golden Immortals.
Almost any true dragon could eventually cultivate to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm with a little cultivation.
With a little luck, they could directly become Hunyuan Golden Immortals.
This was the Dragon Clan's foundation, as well as the confidence behind its former position as overlord of the Primordial World.
Basically, choosing a single Great Dao was enough for a true dragon.
But with karma clinging to him, he could advance no further and could only cultivate Great Daos instead.
As a result, he had cultivated all three of the Dragon Clan's smoothest paths.
"Hmm?"
Xu You frowned slightly, for he noticed that something was amiss across the Primordial World now.
Originally, Nüwa's ascension to Sagehood had given the Demon Clan hope.
Now that Houtu had followed close behind and become a Sage as well, the Demon Clan and Witch Clan had actually returned to the same starting line.
In reality, however, this had still weakened the Witch Clan.
Nüwa's position in the Demon Court was nominal. Without her, the Demon Clan's strength was scarcely affected; what they needed more was her name.
The Witch Clan was different. Its Twelve Heavenly Gods and Fiends Great Formation could not do without even one of the Twelve Ancestral Wu.
Now Gonggong had only a wisp of true spirit remaining and had been imprisoned in the Underworld. Zhurong should originally have been grievously wounded, and, likewise affected by Gonggong, he was burdened with karma, with less than a tenth of his peak strength remaining.
For the Witch Clan, this was a massive weakening.
The Demon Court had the Zhou Heaven Star Dou Great Formation, the innate supreme treasure Chaos Bell, and the River Chart and Luo Book.
It had the Demon Sages of the Ten Directions, while the Witch Clan now had nothing.
Thus, the Witch-Demon War was still inevitable.
Kunpeng, however, was furious. Back then, he had gone to great lengths to seize the Primordial Purple Qi from Ancestor Hongyun.
He had wanted to comprehend the Dao and become a Sage.
Yet the moment that damned Houtu established reincarnation and the Underworld and became a Sage, she had directly pinpointed Zi JI and snatched away his Primordial Purple Qi.
"Impossible! The Purple Qi was in my hands. No one knew about it!"
"Even if Houtu became a Sage, she doesn't cultivate a primordial spirit. How could she know karma?"
Kunpeng could not understand. How had Houtu managed to locate him so precisely among the countless hundreds of millions of living beings throughout the Primordial World?
My Purple Qi!
Yet Kunpeng could not say much. Surely he could not tell Eastern Emperor Taiyi or Di Jun now that Houtu had stolen his Purple Qi?
Otherwise, they would think he harbored ulterior motives. He had encountered such a treasure without reporting it?
Kunpeng could only bottle up his misery.
And so, even with the birth of two Sages,
the Witch-Demon War still broke out.
Because Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had gone to discuss matters with Sage Nüwa, Di Jun's ten sons slipped out to play together.
Originally, serving as the blazing suns of the Primordial World, bringing it light and warmth, had been a cushy job.
A day on duty meant a share of merit.
It was something others could only envy.
Yet all ten little fellows ran out together.
The consequence, naturally, was suffering for countless living beings throughout the Primordial World. Wherever they passed, solar fire scorched the earth, vegetation withered and charred, and rivers evaporated.
The Witch Clan's tribes suffered countless casualties.
As for why the ten great Golden Crows had gone out to play together? Naturally, Kunpeng had egged them on behind the scenes.
He wanted revenge on Houtu of the Witch Clan for seizing his Purple Qi.
The Hunyuan Golden Immortal Kuafu tried to stop them, only to be surrounded and killed by the ten great Golden Crows.
This led Hou Yi to borrow a secret art, summon the Pangu Divine Bow, and shoot down nine of the ten great Golden Crows. Only the youngest Golden Crow, Lu Ya, escaped.
When Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi learned of this, they were naturally enraged.
Thus began the Witch-Demon War.
At that moment, beyond the thirty-three heavens, in the Purple Cloud Palace.
Hongjun, the Three Pure Ones, Zhunti, Jieyin, and Nüwa were there.
Naturally, there was also Houtu, who had come from behind to overtake the others.
Hongjun's face was expressionless, but deep down, he had long since wanted to curse.
Didn't the Witch Clan revere Father God Pangu above all?
Which lunatic had thought of using Pangu's phantom in place of a primordial spirit, presenting it before the Heavenly Dao, and declaring that they wanted to become a Heavenly Dao Sage?
With Pangu right in its face, could the Heavenly Dao refuse?
Hongjun had originally thought Houtu would merely become an Earthly Dao Saint, trapped within reincarnation, unable to affect the Primordial World and, naturally, unable to affect the Witch-Demon War.
But now everything had changed.
Nothing was proceeding according to his plans.
Even Houtu's unexpected attainment of Sagehood would have remained within his grasp.
But now Houtu had become not an Earthly Dao Saint, but a Heavenly Dao Sage.
Most outrageous of all, she had not even become a Sage through his method of Severing the Three Corpses.
Severing the Three Corpses meant severing goodness, severing evil, and severing the self.
Put plainly, it meant severing everything about oneself and submitting to the Heavenly Dao.
To put it nicely, it was acting on Heaven's behalf. Put plainly, wasn't it still being the Heavenly Dao's puppet?
Otherwise, why weren't they Hunyuan Daluo, at the level of the Three Thousand Demon Gods and Pangu?
Yet Houtu had become a Sage without Severing the Three Corpses.
She possessed her own feelings and could affect the Primordial World Continent at any moment.
Wasn't this just like the Demon Gods of old?
Pangu! Was this what you wanted to see?
Wasn't it said that no more beings at the Hunyuan Golden Immortal level would appear on the Primordial World Continent?
Although Hongjun thought this, his expression remained calm and unruffled.
"Congratulations to Sage Houtu on attaining the Dao and becoming a Sage."
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations, Sage Houtu!"
In truth, apart from Nüwa, practically no one here had a hostile relationship with Houtu.
And even with Nüwa, it was only because of their respective identities.
In reality, both were kindhearted people who loved others. In the past, they would surely have been able to sit and chat together.
But the current Nüwa was Nüwa who had already completed Severing the Three Corpses, attained the Dao, and become a Sage.
Uh-actually, Nüwa had not Severed the Three Corpses either, but had become a Sage through tremendous merit.
Yet she was still the Heavenly Dao's puppet, affected by its shackles.
Despite becoming a Sage, she could not intervene in the affairs of the Primordial World.
Whether it concerned the Demon Clan or the Human Clan.
Otherwise, he would not have created the Human Clan yet chosen not to shelter it.
Everyone had little hostility toward Houtu; instead, they sincerely celebrated her attainment of Sagehood.
After all, since they were not enemies and had no conflict over the Great Dao, they naturally ought to treat her amicably.
Wherever one went, having another friend meant having another path. It was sound reasoning.
Houtu merely nodded slightly. It was not that he was putting on airs, but a Sage's prestige was what it was.
Apart from Nüwa and Hongjun, none of the others had become Sages yet.
With their current strength, they were not yet qualified for her to take the initiative to show goodwill.
Even after becoming a Sage, Houtu remained straightforward by nature.
She spoke directly to Hongjun. "Do you truly intend to destroy my Witch Clan?"
Hongjun: ...
What kind of accusation was that? When had he ever wanted to destroy the Witch Clan? Accusations required evidence.