Primordial Era: Starting with the repair of Penglai Immortal Island

Absolute silence.

Whether it was the desperate demons in front of the South Heavenly Gate, the twelve Ancestral Witches in the great formation, or the saints in the void, they were all frozen in place.

Their gazes were fixed on the figure that appeared before the South Heavenly Gate after the hand shattered, facing the phantom of Pangu with its back to all living beings.

He wore a hempen robe, his white hair was as white as snow, and his face was blurred as if shrouded in ancient times.

Only those eyes calmly gazed at the phantom of Pangu, letting out a soft sigh!

"Why!!!"

Dao Ancestor, Hongjun.

"Hongjun—!!!"

The first to react was Dijiang, the head of the Ancestral Witches.

This ancestral witch, who controls the power of space, trembled violently with rage in her true form, which had four wings and six legs.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse like a ferocious beast: "You have already aligned yourself with the Heavenly Dao, and should not concern yourself with matters of the primordial era! Why do you obstruct my Wu Clan!"

Hongjun looked at the twelve Ancestral Witches under the phantom of Pangu, and then turned his gaze to the phantom of Pangu.

He simply watched the phantom of Pangu, and the giant axe that the phantom slowly raised again.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches were about to unleash a third axe strike!

The twelve Ancestral Witches once again unleashed their immense blood energy, channeling it into the phantom of Pangu through the grand formation.

The axe in the phantom of Pangu's hand emanated an even stronger aura of bloodlust!

At that moment, Hongjun finally spoke.

The voice was not loud, yet it resonated deep within the hearts of every living being, as if the very essence of Heaven itself was speaking:

"If you can unleash this axe, I might be in some trouble."

The tone was flat.

But the next sentence made all the ancestral witches pause in their actions:

"But among you twelve Ancestral Witches, at least three of them will die by burning out their life essence."

Hongjun's gaze fell upon Qiangliang, the Ancestral Witch of Thunder.

"Brother! No!" Houtu suddenly shouted.

The only ancestral witch with a compassionate heart was now deathly pale.

She sensed that the blood essence required for the third axe blow was several times greater than that required for the second!

The twelve Ancestral Witches share the same origin. The amount of blood energy one person infuses into the great formation must be the same amount of blood energy infused into the Ancestral Witch. If it is insufficient, the formation will forcibly extract it.

Several ancestral witches had already consumed a portion of their primordial essence and blood during the great battle. After the battle of the Heavenly Gods and Demons, the Pangu phantom they condensed cleaved out with two axe blows, which truly consumed a large amount of their primordial essence and blood.

"Qiangliang is nearly exhausted!" Houtu hissed. "If this axe strikes, Qiangliang will surely die! Xizi and Tianwu will also be in grave danger!"

"What does death matter!" roared Zhurong, the ancestral sorcerer of fire, his blazing flames turning a dark red—a sign of burning his very essence. "Let this old Daoist Hongjun witness the power of us descendants of Pangu!"

"Yes! What does it matter if we die!" Gonggong's ferocity was fully unleashed. "The Father God's true form is here; let's see how many axe blows Hongjun can withstand!"

The blood energy of the great formation surged once more!

The Ancestral Witch Qiangliang felt the great formation squeezing his blood energy again, but he also cooperated by burning his own essence!

This was something the other Ancestral Witches also "saw" clearly: the originally violent and incomparably powerful Thunderous Blood Qi around Qiang Liang was no longer dense and abundant.

They could even sense the slow-beating heart of the Ancestral Witch within his body, each beat squeezing out the last drop of dark golden essence blood, which transformed into wisps of blood energy and flowed into the great formation.

Qiangliang's skin had turned from bronze to grayish-white, and dense cracks had appeared, like the earth that had been scorched by the sun.

If the third axe blow is delivered, Qiangliang will be the first to turn into a dried-up corpse.

Next came Xi Zi, the ancestral sorcerer of electricity, and Tian Wu, the ancestral sorcerer of wind...!

"Big brother!"

Houtu's voice trembled with a hint of tears, "Stop! There's no point in continuing!"

Dijiang stared intently at Hongjun's figure, then looked at Dijun, who was fleeing in a sorry state in front of the South Heavenly Gate, and then at the saints who were summoning spiritual treasures and supreme treasures in the void!

He knew that no matter what, the Witch Clan would not be able to kill Di Jun and the others!

If they were to forcefully unleash a third axe blow, it would still be the twelve Ancestral Witches who would fall first!

He suddenly gave a bitter laugh.

"Hahahaha—the Way of Heaven! This is the Way of Heaven!"

Dijiang roared to the sky, his four wings outstretched in anger, "We, the Wu tribe, do not respect Heaven, nor worship Earth, but only honor our Father God! Yet today we are obstructed by this so-called Heavenly Way!"

"Big brother...!" Houtu whispered, trying to dissuade him.

Dijiang slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, all that remained was endless sorrow and exhaustion.

"Disperse the formation."

Those two words exhausted all his strength.

"Big brother!" Zhu Rong roared in resentment.

"We are still able to fight!" Gonggong roared, pounding his chest.

"Disperse!" Dijiang's voice suddenly rose, carrying the unquestionable majesty of the head of the Ancestral Witches. "This is... an order!"

Dead silence.

A moment later, Houtu was the first to withdraw her blood energy!

Qiangliang beside her had already begun to sway. If she did not withdraw the formation soon, and the phantom of Pangu were to extract all the energy, Qiangliang would perish on the spot.

Following that, Tianwu, Rushou, Jumang...

One by one, the pillars of blood-red light extinguished.

On the ground, array patterns dissipated beneath the feet of the Ancestral Witch, transforming into bloodthirsty energy that re-integrated into the Ancestral Witch's body.

In the void, as the blood energy of the twelve ancestral witches dissipated, the towering Pangu phantom seemed to let out a long sigh!

"..."

The phantom began to dissipate.

Starting from the feet, it transformed into specks of blood, scattering across the primordial wilderness.

The instant the phantom completely vanished—

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

......

Of the ten figures, only Dijiang and Houtu were still able to stand; the other ten Ancestral Witches collapsed to the ground!

Clearly, apart from Dijiang and Houtu, the rest of the tribes were at their last gasp!

The three mentioned by Dao Ancestor Hongjun were still too few. If the third axe blow were to be forcibly unleashed, half of the twelve Ancestral Witches might perish here!

Dijiang looked at his brothers who had collapsed, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he took a long breath!

Houtu stood beside Qiangliang, and the vast laws of the earth drew in the turbid energy of the earth, pouring it into Qiangliang's body.

As the turbid energy surged in, a trace of color returned to Qiangliang's ashen skin, but he still couldn't stand up—what he had depleted was not the power of the Ancestral Witch, but his essence and blood.

"Absorbing the earth's turbid energy... slowly recovering." Di Jiang's voice was hoarse. "This battle... is over for now."

He emphasized the word "for the time being".

Ripples spread across the void.

The Three Pure Ones fell first.

The Sage of Taiqing put away the Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth and the Primordial Treasure Taiji Diagram, restoring the calm and still state of the ancient well.

Yuanshi Tianzun put away the Pangu Banner, glanced at Huanglong, and seeing that his disciple was unharmed, he breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

The four swords of Zhuxian behind the Tongtian Sect Leader were sheathed, but he still stared at the place where the Pangu phantom had disappeared, his fighting spirit undiminished.

Huanglong followed closely behind his master, his cultivation as a Great Luo Golden Immortal appearing so insignificant at this moment.

As the two Western Saints descended, golden lotuses bloomed beneath their feet.

Jieyin's face grew even more bitter, while Zhunti felt extremely guilty and dared not look directly at Daozu Hongjun.

Nuwa, her breath weak, landed behind her brother Fuxi. Fuxi's injury was caused by his deduction of Pangu, a wound to the Great Dao, which would be difficult to heal without a long period of time, and this time was measured in huiyuan!

He looked at Di Jun and the others, his eyes filled with intense hatred.

The six sages, along with Huanglong and Fuxi, approached Hongjun from behind and bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Master (Grandmaster)!"