Primordial Era: The Three Senior Brothers of the Taiqing Clan

The twelve Ancestral Witches exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with resolve. At this point, there was no way to retreat, no way to escape.

"Fight to the death! One last strike—it's all or nothing!"

Dijiang roared angrily and raised his hand first. A drop of crimson blood essence floated out from between his eyebrows, hovering in the air and radiating astonishing energy fluctuations.

The other Ancestral Witches followed closely behind, and eleven drops of essence blood appeared one after another, each drop containing the essence of a Ancestral Witch's life's laws and bloodline origin.

The twelve drops of essence blood transformed into twelve streams of blood-red light, which simultaneously disappeared into the space between the eyebrows of Pangu's true form in the sky.

In an instant, Pangu's true form seemed to come alive.

The towering giant suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils reflecting the scene of the creation of chaos. An even more violent and primal aura erupted from his body, sweeping in all directions.

His muscles swelled again, every vein bulged like a dragon, and countless mysterious laws and patterns appeared on his skin.

The giant raised his massive axe.

This axe strike was silent, without a whoosh or a roar. Yet, the very moment the axe blade was raised, the entire primordial world let out a mournful cry—as if even heaven and earth feared the power of this axe strike.

The void split open automatically before the axe blade, not because it was cleaved, but because it actively avoided it, as if even space itself dared not stand in its way.

Di Jun's pupils constricted sharply, and he shouted sternly, "Defend with all your might!"

He bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the array's core. All 365 Star Banners trembled simultaneously, and the 365 illusory images of ancient stars shone with unprecedented brilliance, as if real ancient stars had descended to earth.

Without hesitation, Donghuang Taiyi sprinkled a mouthful of his essence blood into the Chaos Bell. The innate treasure emitted a deafening bell sound, and the space solidified like iron wherever the sound waves passed.

Three hundred and sixty-five illusory stars spun rapidly within the formation, eventually converging into a giant star that blotted out the sky, carrying the full power of the entire Zhou Tian Star Array as it slowly fell from the heavens.

That giant star was so big that it stretched as far as the eye could see, as if the entire starry sky had pressed down on it.

As Pangu's true form cleaved down with its giant axe, the giant star rushed forward to meet it.

The moment the two collided, time and space seemed to freeze on the entire battlefield. Shouts of battle, the sound of wind, the sound of breathing—all sounds vanished. It was an absolute silence that instilled a terror deep within one's soul.

Then—"Boom—"

A deafening roar echoed throughout the entire primordial world. From the shores of the Eastern Sea to the Western Paradise, from the icy plains of the Northern Underworld to the fiery domains of the Southern Frontier, every corner resounded with this thunderous sound. Countless beings looked up towards Mount Buzhou, their faces filled with horror and bewilderment.

Immediately afterwards, a soft "click" sounded, which was particularly clear and jarring in the otherwise silent battlefield.

That was the sound of Mount Buzhou breaking.

The aftershocks of the collision between Pangu's true form and the Zhou Tian Star Array exceeded the limits that heaven and earth could withstand. The primordial pillar supporting the sky, Mount Buzhou, which was formed from Pangu's spine, was already covered with cracks under the combined attack of the two forces.

"boom!"

Space shattered, and black spatial rifts instantly spread outwards from the battlefield, like countless venomous snakes slithering through the void.

The earth trembled violently, and deep, bottomless cracks crisscrossed the land, like the claw marks of a giant beast. Volcanoes erupted, floods reversed, and the entire primordial world seemed poised to shatter at any moment.

At this critical moment—

From the direction of Kunlun Mountain, a gigantic banner appeared out of nowhere, hanging in the sky. It was none other than the Pangu Banner of the Primordial Celestial Venerable. Streams of chaotic sword energy shot out from the banner, intercepting the spreading aftershocks like a net, protecting most of the primordial world.

On Shouyang Mountain, a Tai Chi diagram flew out and transformed into a golden bridge spanning heaven and earth, steadily suppressing the surging spatial turbulence and smoothing out the shattered void bit by bit.

From the direction of Jin'ao Island, four sword lights soared into the sky. The four swords, Zhuxian, Luxian, Xianxian, and Juexian, stood in four directions, their sword intents intertwined, stabilizing the heavens and earth.

In the Western Sumeru Mountain, Jieyin and Zhunti also acted simultaneously, their twelve-petaled golden lotus of merit radiating boundless Buddhist light, echoing the power of the saints in the East, and together maintaining the stability of this world.

However, due to the tacit understanding among the sages, no one intervened in the core battlefield of Buzhou Mountain.

They all chose to turn a blind eye, letting this battlefield teeter on the brink of destruction. This was the destiny of the Lich and Demon races, an arrangement of Heaven, and it was not appropriate for the sages to interfere.

After unleashing his full power, Pangu's true form vanished with a roar after shielding the many warriors of the Wu tribe from the final aftershocks.

The twelve Ancestral Witches plummeted from the void, crashing heavily to the ground. Their faces were deathly pale, blood trickling from their lips, and their bodies were covered in cracks, as if they might shatter at any moment. The loss of twelve drops of their life essence had severely damaged their vitality, leaving them with less than a tenth of their former strength.

The demon race is also suffering.

The Zhou Tian Star Array completely collapsed. Di Jun was backfired by the array and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His aura instantly plummeted to the bottom, and he was even on the verge of collapse.

All 365 demon generals who had formed the formation, along with the Star Banners in their hands, were reduced to ashes in the aftershocks of that attack, without even having time to scream.

In order to protect the remaining members of the demon race, Donghuang Taiyi forcibly activated the Chaos Bell to resist the aftershocks. At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. He was obviously seriously injured.

The entire battlefield was deathly silent, littered with corpses and rivers of blood.

The Lich and the Lich races suffered heavy losses.

After the great formation shattered, the Hetu Luoshu let out a mournful cry, transforming into two streams of light that flew towards Di Jun. These were his innate spiritual treasures, connected to his very being; sensing their master's grave injury, they automatically returned to their places.

However, something unexpected happened.

The demon master Kunpeng, who had been hovering on the sidelines and not putting in much effort throughout the entire battle, finally made his move at this moment.

His speed was already unparalleled in the primordial world, and now he pushed it to its limit. He transformed into a streak of light almost invisible to the naked eye, instantly appearing beside the Hetu Luoshu, and with a swift reach, firmly grasped the two spiritual treasures in his hands.

"How dare you!"

Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi roared in unison. Di Jun was so enraged that he spat out another mouthful of blood, not from his injuries, but from his fury.

The fact that Kunpeng dared to steal his life-bound spiritual treasure right under his nose was a betrayal that pierced his heart even more than the attack by the Wu Clan.

Despite his injuries, Taiyi suddenly shook the Chaos Bell, sending a wave of energy towards Kunpeng.

But Kunpeng was prepared. After succeeding, he didn't stop, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye. His speed was so fast that even the suppression of the Chaos Bell couldn't keep up.

The Hetu and Luoshu were stolen.

Di Jun stared in the direction where Kunpeng had disappeared, his eyes bloodshot, filled with boundless hatred. But he had no time to give chase; twelve Ancestral Witches were still watching him intently. Although they were all severely injured, their desperate fighting spirit was still terrifying.

In the distant void, Chen Qing gazed in the direction Kunpeng had fled, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

The Hetu and Luoshu are rare treasures—they can be used for both offense and defense, for setting up formations, and for deducing celestial secrets; they are truly all-purpose spiritual treasures.

It's impossible for him not to have any thoughts about this thing, but unfortunately, even with the Qiankun Cauldron protecting him, he was still affected by the aftershocks and was too far from the battlefield to make a move.

Moreover, he had something even more important to do at the moment: to secretly collect the corpses of the Lich and Demon races.

Every race possesses a unique primal power. If these corpses can be restored to their original state using the Qiankun Cauldron, their essence analyzed, it can be used to strengthen the 840 million worlds within their bodies. How could he miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? No spiritual treasure could compare to this.

"clang--"

The bells rang again, and the battle resumed.

This time, Donghuang Taiyi single-handedly overwhelmed the six Ancestral Witches in a fierce attack. Although he was seriously injured, the Ancestral Witches were also severely weakened, and they held their own against six opponents.

The Chaos Bell seemed to come alive in his hands, its resounding toll causing the ancestral witches' blood to surge with each ring.

On the other side, Di Jun, Fu Xi, and the remaining powerful demons faced off against the remaining six Ancestral Witches.

Even though these Ancestral Witches were all severely injured, they were still beyond the capacity of Fuxi to withstand. Although Fuxi possessed profound cultivation, he could only barely hold on against the Ancestral Witches' fearless attacks.

After a desperate struggle, a fist carrying intense killing intent suddenly pierced through the layers of defense and smashed into Fuxi's chest.

Blood splattered, and Fuxi's body stiffened abruptly. He didn't give the Ancestral Witch a chance to finish him off, and decisively detonated his own primordial spirit.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Fuxi's entire body exploded, and the powerful shockwave forced the surrounding Ancestral Witches back several steps.

His true spirit, carrying fragments of the Great Dao he had cultivated throughout his life, transformed into a stream of light and fled into the distance.

Enraged, Zhu Rong dragged his wounded body and chased after the streak of light.

In the void, Chen Qing's eyes flashed, and he silently waved the apricot-yellow flag in his hand. Ten thousand golden flowers, carrying Fuxi's true spirit, flashed and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Zhu Rong chased after them for a short distance but lost sight of them. Hearing the fierce battle behind him, he had no choice but to turn back in frustration.

Di Jun was now at his limit. Although he had the Witch-Slaying Sword in his hand, which caused considerable trouble for the Ancestral Witches, his injuries were too severe. Every swing of the sword aggravated his wounds, and blood kept spilling from the corners of his mouth.

"Taiichi! Take the sword!"

With a roar, Di Jun used his last strength to hurl the Slaughtering Witch Sword at Donghuang Taiyi. The longsword sliced ​​through the air and landed steadily in Taiyi's hand.

Then, Di Jun turned around and looked at the few ancestral witches in front of him who were already at their last gasp, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.

His body began to glow, first a faint gold, then brighter and brighter, more and more intense, as if a sun were rising on earth.

His entire being transformed into a gigantic three-legged golden crow, its wings spread wide, blotting out the sky. Solar fire erupted from its body, burning the surrounding space into nothingness. An aura of world-destroying destruction emanated from the golden crow.

"Oh no! He's going to self-destruct!" Zhu Rong shouted in horror.

The Ancestral Witches were all severely injured at this moment and could not withstand the self-destruction of a late-stage Quasi-Saint. Moreover, Di Jun was not an ordinary Quasi-Saint; he was a primordial deity born from the Sun Star, the Sun Star God. His self-destruction would release the primordial power of the Sun Star contained within him.

The Golden Crow swooped down on the Ancestral Witches with a resolute determination to die.

Just then, a figure suddenly rushed out and stood in front of the ancestral witches.

"My brothers, it is I, Chi You, who have dragged you down. Since that is the case, let me do one last thing for you!"

Chi You's body expanded rapidly, his Ancestral Witch True Form pushed to its limit, even exceeding his own capacity. He spread his arms wide, like a shield of flesh and blood, to meet the falling sun.

"Boom—"

A tremendous roar shook the heavens and the earth, causing everything to lose its color.

Chi You's entire body turned to ashes in an instant, leaving not even a trace, completely evaporated by the true fire of the sun. His sacrifice blocked nearly half the power of Di Jun's self-destruction.

But the aftershocks remained violent. Zhu Rong, his eyes bloodshot, roared and charged forward, using his body to block most of the remaining impact. Like Chi You, he too was reduced to ashes in the flames.

The sacrifice of the two Ancestral Witches finally eliminated the power of Di Jun's self-destruction.

Although the Ancestral Witches such as Ru Shou, Xuan Ming, Ju Mang, and Tian Wu survived, they were all physically broken, barely breathing, and collapsed in the ruins, unable to even move a finger.

Di Jun's self-destruction directly burned away all of his Dao essence, leaving him no chance to return. Therefore, its power far exceeded that of an ordinary self-destruction.

If it weren't for Chi You and Zhu Rong risking their lives to protect them, none of these ancestral witches would have survived.

A demon emperor, along with two ancestral witches, perished together.

The fall of Di Jun drove Donghuang Taiyi completely mad.

"Big Brother!" Taiyi roared to the sky, his voice filled with grief and anger. He shook the Chaos Bell in his hand wildly, and the bell rang out like thunder, crashing down on the remaining Ancestral Witches.

The ancestral witches were also enraged. Zhu Rong was dead, Chi You was dead, and these brothers who had shared countless years of life and death with them had turned to ashes before their very eyes.

The remaining ancestral witches, including Ru Shou, Xuan Ming, and Ju Mang, dragged their broken bodies and rushed towards Tai Yi with reckless abandon.

Every move is a suicidal attack, and every strike leaves no room for retreat.

Although Taiyi was consumed by rage, he did not lose his reason. Holding the Witch-Slaying Sword and with the Chaos Bell above his head, he withstood the frenzied attacks of the Ancestral Witches, searching for an opportunity to counterattack.

What no one noticed was that at the place where Chi You fell, a faint light quietly flickered—it was a wisp of true spirit.

The Wu tribe originally had no true spirit; their true spirit was integrated with their body, a unity of body and spirit. The true spirit and the laws of the Great Dao resided in the physical body, and the death of the physical body meant complete annihilation.

When Houtu was reincarnated, it was because she had performed great deeds for heaven and earth that her true spirit was separated from her physical body through the power of those deeds.

However, for some reason, Chi You's true spirit did not completely merge with his body. In that great explosion, his body turned to ashes, but his true spirit remained, flashing through the void in an instant.

That glimmer of light vanished in some corner of the primordial wilderness, awaiting an unknown destiny.