Primordial Era: The Witch Clan's Dog-Headed Strategist

The fused phantom of Pangu stood beneath the dome of the Pangu Palace.

Its body stands tall and upright, yet it does not exceed the boundaries of the main hall.

The spatial laws of the Heart of Pangu extended spontaneously within the hall, encompassing the illusory figures.

The phantom's right hand grasped the outline of Pangu's axe, the yin and yang energies on the back of the axe and the chaotic light of the axe handle reflecting each other, only the position of the axe blade remained empty.

Although the features of the phantom were blurry, its eyes shone like the sun and moon, radiating a light that seemed to see through everything.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Pure Ones stood on either side, each maintaining the operation of the Capital Heaven Divine Array and the Three Pure Ones Three Talents Array.

Pan Xuan stood directly in front of the phantom, with the Star God Seal floating above his head, the purple-gold divine light intertwining with the chaotic light of the phantom.

His consciousness maintained a subtle connection with the illusory figure.

Although he was not the summoner of the phantom, he was the master of the divine path and the nine-clawed golden dragon transformed from the righteous energy of Pangu.

He also shares an unbreakable connection with the phantom of the Father God.

"Using the power of the Father God as a mirror, we can see the Way of Heaven and explore the true spirit and the primordial spirit."

Pan Xuan's voice was calm and solemn, "Let's start with the Three Pure Ones."

Taiqing Laozi, Yuqing Yuanshi, and Shangqing Tongtian simultaneously closed their eyes, immersing their minds completely in the phantom of Pangu.

The phantom's eyes, as bright as the sun and moon, slowly lit up, shooting out three beams of chaotic light that entered the brows of the Three Pure Ones.

The light pierced through the physical body, penetrated the primordial spirit, and reached the deepest point of the primordial spirit, the connection point with the laws of heaven.

Pan Xuan could see the situation deep within the Three Pure Ones' primordial spirits clearly through the perspective of the illusory image.

The primordial spirits of the Three Pure Ones are pure and vast, like three surging rivers, containing all the wisdom and laws left behind when Pangu's primordial spirit differentiated.

However, in the deepest part of the primordial spirit, in the layer intertwined with the laws of heaven, there is indeed an extremely faint mark.

The mark was as thin as a hair, with a dark gray color, clinging tightly to the connection point between the primordial spirit and the Heavenly Dao like a parasite.

Without careful investigation, it would be impossible to discover.

This is the mark that Hongjun planted.

It can subtly amplify the Three Pure Ones' aversion to the Wu Clan, while also causing the Wu Clan to develop the same aversion towards the Three Pure Ones.

For countless years, this mark has been the building of an invisible wall of separation between the two lineages of Pangu's descendants.

However, the Three Pure Ones were already mentally prepared; although the mark was hidden, it was no longer a secret.

Pan Xuan continued to explore deeper.

He needed to confirm whether there were any other things that shouldn't exist within the primordial spirits of the Three Pure Ones.

As his divine sense continued to penetrate deeper along the meridians of his primordial spirit, passing over the dark mark and entering the core area of ​​his primordial spirit, an unexpected discovery made his pupils shrink suddenly.

At the very core of the Three Pure Ones' primordial spirit, in a position almost fused with the origin of the primordial spirit, the three strands of primordial purple energy were quietly suspended.

The Primordial Purple Qi should be a pure purple color, containing the primordial power of the Great Dao Laws.

But under the illumination of Pangu's phantom, Pan Xuan could clearly see that each strand of primordial purple energy contained densely packed restriction patterns.

Those restrictive patterns were extremely well hidden, completely integrated with the laws and structure of the Primordial Purple Qi itself. If one did not use the illusory image of the Father God as a mirror, it would be impossible to detect them.

They coiled around every inch of the Primordial Purple Qi like blood vessels, each pattern emitting extremely faint fluctuations that were perfectly in sync with the frequency of the Heavenly Dao core.

These restrictive patterns do not exist in isolation; they intertwine to form an extremely complex and intricate network, the core of which is subtly connected to Hongjun's will.

Pan Xuan's expression darkened. He continued to activate the power of his phantom, expanding the scope of his investigation to include the twelve Ancestral Witches.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches did not have primordial spirits, but they possessed true spirits.

That is the most fundamental life imprint of the Wu tribe, the foundation formed from the essence and blood of Pangu.

A similar discovery occurred when the light of the phantom swept across the true spirits of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Deep within the true spirits of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, there also exist restrictions.

It's not the kind of dark imprint in the primordial spirit, but a more hidden, more fundamental limitation.

This limitation was not something imposed later in life, but rather it was born simultaneously with the true spirits of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

It is rooted in the fusion of Pangu's essence and blood with the laws of Heaven.

It is a rule that has existed since the birth of the Heavenly Dao: the Wu Clan has no primordial spirit.

The malevolent energy contained in the essence and blood of the Twelve Ancestral Witches was indeed the direct cause of suppressing the primordial spirit.

However, under the influence of the malevolent energy, at a deeper level of the true spirit, this rule of heaven is like an invisible shackle, completely locking away the possibility of the witch clan possessing a primordial spirit.

Houtu was able to give birth to a primordial spirit because she absorbed less evil energy and, with the help of Pan Xuan's divine wisdom, broke through a gap in this shackle.

Even with the divine beings of laws as substitutes, the physical bodies of the Twelve Ancestral Witches could never truly bear the primordial spirit.

This shackle echoes the restrictions within the Primordial Purple Qi.

They all come from the same source.

Pan Xuan recounted all his discoveries. A deathly silence fell over the hall.

Taiqing Laozi's white eyebrows trembled slightly.

His voice remained calm, but every word seemed to be carved from ancient ice:

"I have always believed that the Primordial Purple Qi is the foundation for enlightenment bestowed by my master, and the greatest fortune for any disciple of the Xuanmen sect."

In retrospect, this very creation is the greatest shackle.

He accepted us as his disciples in the Purple Cloud Palace and bestowed upon us the Primordial Purple Qi.

It's not to help us attain enlightenment, but to firmly control us before we even attain enlightenment.

Yuqing Yuanshi's fingers, which were holding the Pangu Banner, trembled slightly.

The trembling wasn't from fear, but from anger.

He lived for countless years, valued orthodoxy above all else, and hated being used by others.

Now, he discovers that the master he was most grateful to had been using him from the very beginning.

"The Primordial Purple Qi is the foundation for attaining enlightenment."

Shangqing Tongtian's voice was as cold as a sword's edge: "But what is being proven is not our Dao, but his Dao."

He planted a restriction within the primordial purple energy, and the day we use it to prove our Dao will be the day we are utterly reduced to puppets of the Heavenly Dao.

He shared the three people's speculations.

It is true that the Primordial Purple Qi helps its holder comprehend the laws of heaven, accelerates cultivation, and breaks through bottlenecks.

However, in this process, the holder's primordial spirit will become increasingly dependent on the Primordial Purple Qi, and its integration with the Heavenly Dao will become deeper and deeper.

When the fusion of the Heavenly Dao and the Primordial Spirit reaches a certain level...

The restriction will then be fully activated, firmly locking the holder's primordial spirit within the Heavenly Dao, making it a part of the Heavenly Dao and an extension of Hongjun's will.

The moment one attains sainthood is the moment the restrictions are fully activated.

Pan Xuan nodded: "The three fellow Daoists' speculations are consistent with my deductions."

The Primordial Purple Qi is the tool used by Hongjun to control the Heavenly Dao.

Every sage who attains enlightenment through the Primordial Purple Qi becomes an extension of Hongjun's will.

This was his true purpose in bestowing the seven strands of primordial purple energy.

It's not for the purpose of educating the masses, but to completely seize the Heavenly Way for his own use.

"Then Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti are also in danger."

Zhu Jiuyin's hoarse voice echoed in the hall.

"They also possess the Primordial Purple Qi. If the Primordial Purple Qi is truly as Pan Xuan said, then the day Nuwa attains enlightenment will be the day she becomes Hongjun's puppet."

"Not only Nuwa," Pan Xuan's voice was low and solemn, "Di Jun also possesses a wisp of Primordial Purple Qi. The restrictions within the Primordial Purple Qi will also limit him, preventing him from escaping Hongjun's control at crucial moments."

Hongjun's chess game was far more complex than he had previously anticipated.

Seven wisps of primordial purple energy, seven chess pieces, each firmly held in his hand.

"If it weren't for the illusory image of the Father God probing today, this secret would probably not have been revealed until after the first saint attained enlightenment."

"It's not too late to discover this now."

Taiqing Laozi spoke slowly, his tone returning to its usual composure, but the flow of Yin and Yang energies in his eyes had reached its limit, "Now that the restriction has been discovered, it must be removed."