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

One, two, three... Suddenly, countless blood-red, pulsating points of light appeared in that sea of ​​blood.

Those points of light, like dancing seeds, were slowly growing in that sea of ​​blood.

They absorbed the power of the sea of ​​blood and the power of the divine way, growing stronger, more solid, and taking shape little by little.

Gradually, those points of light transformed into blurry human figures.

Those human figures slowly grew and took shape in that sea of ​​blood.

First the hands and feet, then the torso, then the head.

One after another, the newly born Asuras broke out of the sea of ​​blood!

Some of them were tall and burly, with bulging muscles, ferocious faces, and eyes full of fighting spirit.

Some are slender and graceful, charming and alluring, yet they are also first-rate killers.

From the moment they were born from the sea of ​​blood, they seemed to be born knowing how to fight, how to kill, and how to transform their endless fighting spirit into earth-shattering power!

One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million... The newly born Asura race surged forth from the sea of ​​blood like a tide!

They stood in formation above the sea of ​​blood, their vast fighting spirit almost tangible, dyeing the sky above the sea of ​​blood with a chilling color!

Standing atop the sea of ​​blood, the Styx Ancestor gazed upon the endless stream of Asuras, his eyes flashing with crimson light, his heart brimming with boundless pride.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! From this moment on, our Asura race will truly prosper! With such a mighty army, how can we fear defeat in the war of chaos?!"

With the army assembled, Pan Xuan and the Styx Ancestor returned to the Blood Sea Palace.

The Styx Ancestor gazed at the endless Asura army atop the sea of ​​blood, his eyes filled with heroic pride. However, Pan Xuan noticed a faint, lingering worry deep within his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Styx, is something on your mind?" Pan Xuan asked.

The Styx Ancestor remained silent for a long time before slowly saying:

"To be honest, fellow Daoist, I, Styx, was born in the Sea of ​​Blood and grew up in the Sea of ​​Blood. I have cultivated for countless epochs, but I am always stuck at the threshold of the Primordial Golden Immortal, unable to make any progress."

The path to enlightenment and sainthood seems to me to be separated by an insurmountable chasm.

I created the Asura race in order to use the merit of that creation to seek a chance to attain enlightenment.

However, the merits of founding the clan are ultimately limited and insufficient to help me break through that final barrier.

Now that you, my fellow Daoist, have allowed me to create the Asura race on a large scale, I, Styx, am eternally grateful.

But... I still have a question in my heart: where exactly is the Way of the River Styx?

Upon hearing this, Pan Xuan remained silent for a moment before slowly saying:

"Fellow Daoist Styx, do you know that your Dao has always resided within yourself?"

"Oh?" Old Ancestor Styx was taken aback.

Pan Xuandao:

"You were born in a sea of ​​blood, which was formed from the filthy blood in the navel of the great god Pangu. It contains endless malevolent energy and murderous intent."

You created the Asura race, and those Asuras are born to fight, born to kill. Fellow Daoist, your very essence is that word 'kill'! Your path is the path of killing!

"The Path of Slaughter?" Old Ancestor Styx murmured, his eyes flashing with blood-red light.

"Not bad." Pan Xuan nodded. "Prove your Dao through killing! Fellow Daoist, that sea of ​​blood, that Asura race, that endless baleful aura and killing intent are all the foundation of your Dao of Killing."

However, all these years, you have used that killing path to create the Asura race and conquer the primordial world.

The battles within the primordial world were ultimately just minor skirmishes; no matter how many were killed, they could not lead to the Great Dao.

He paused, his gaze intense: "But what if you, fellow Daoist, could slay a god within that chaos?"

The Styx Ancestor's pupils constricted sharply: "Slayed a god?!"

"That's right," Pan Xuan said slowly. "In that chaos, there was Hongjun and the four rulers."

Zeus, God, Odin, and Brahma are all the supreme gods of that otherworldly realm, beings of the sacred world.

If you, fellow Daoist, can use your killing path to slay a god in the future Chaos War,

What was slain was no longer an ordinary being within the primordial world, but a chaotic ruler of the Saint Realm who ruled over a divine domain!

With the blood of the Holy Realm, I will sacrifice your path of slaughter, and that path of slaughter will surely be perfected in one fell swoop!

At that time, you, fellow Daoist, will be able to break through the bottleneck of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm by taking advantage of the power of perfected Slaughter Dao, and attain sainthood, becoming a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal who proves their Dao through slaughter!

Upon hearing this, the Styx Ancestor abruptly stood up, his eyes blazing with bloodlust, his chest churning with turmoil that he could not calm down for a long time.

"Prove the Way through killing... Slay gods and become a saint..."

He murmured, his voice gradually rising in pitch.

"Good! Good! Good! I, Styx, was born in the sea of ​​blood and cultivated the path of killing, but I have never been able to enter it."

Your words today have been like a sudden awakening!

In that chaotic war, I, Styx, will surely slay a god, using the blood of that saint to sacrifice for my path of slaughter, and prove myself a saint!

Pan Xuan smiled slightly: "In that case, I will make an agreement with you in advance."

The day the chaotic war begins will be the day you, fellow Daoist, prove your Dao through slaughter and become a saint by slaying gods!

The Styx Ancestor clasped his hands in a deep fist salute: "Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist! Styx will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Pan Xuan left the Blood Sea and returned to the Great Luo Heaven.

He stood atop the Great Luo Heaven, overlooking the vast and primordial wilderness.

Within that boundless sea of ​​blood, the newly formed Asura army was training and practicing day and night on the surface of the blood sea.

That boundless fighting spirit seemed to have even tinged the sky with a chilling aura.

"The Asura army is complete."

Pan Xuan slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Styx, you also understand your own path. In that Chaos War, the primordial army gained another unstoppable blade."

He raised his eyes and gazed into the boundless, chaotic depths, his gaze distant and profound.

With the coexistence of the four schools of thought, education flourished.

The primordial energy of education grew stronger day by day.

And those three saints who founded the religion.

Lao Tzu, Yuan Shi, and Tong Tian, ​​in the process of educating all living beings, gradually grasped the opportunity to attain enlightenment.

The Three Pure Ones were originally transformed from the primordial spirit of Pangu. They were born as revered beings and cultivated for countless epochs, yet they never managed to take that final step.

Back then, they were misled by Hongjun's sermons in Zixiao Palace, and their primordial spirits were sealed by the Primordial Purple Qi, making them subject to Hongjun and unable to transcend.

Later, Pan Xuan helped them remove the purple aura and abandon the method of severing the three corpses, which freed them from their shackles and restored their freedom.

Even so, the threshold to enlightenment and sainthood was still just a step away for them.

It wasn't until the four religions coexisted and education flourished that the Three Pure Ones vaguely sensed that the opportunity to attain enlightenment was quietly emerging.

The first to realize this was Laozi of Taiqing.

On this day, Lao Tzu was in the Kunlun Mountains, lecturing on the text of the Tao Te Ching.

Below the platform, disciples gathered, all of whom were his followers over the past thousands of years.

He spoke of "The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things," and of "Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs," and of "doing nothing, yet nothing is left undone."

On that platform, the flow of Taoist energy seemed to resonate with the great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Suddenly, Lao Tzu's voice came to an abrupt halt.

He slowly closed his eyes, as if in that instant he sensed something.

The disciples below the platform were all startled, but dared not utter a sound, only silently gazing at their master sitting high on the platform.

Lao Tzu closed his eyes for a long time, then suddenly opened them slowly.

In his eyes, there was no longer any turbidity, only a clear and bright light that seemed to penetrate the ultimate truth of all things in the world.

"I understand."

Lao Tzu spoke slowly, his voice calm, yet seemingly able to penetrate the heavens.

"I have preached for countless years, teaching all beings to 'follow the natural way,' yet they still cannot understand."

What exactly is this 'Tao'?

Only now do I realize that it is everywhere, yet nowhere to be found.

The Tao gives birth to and nurtures all things, yet does not claim credit for them.

The Tao is non-action yet accomplishes everything, but it does not cling to the appearance of action.

I preach the word, and that is the word.

The Dharma I transmit is the Dharma itself.

My teaching and guiding of all beings is the practice of the Way.

I, Lao Tzu, am the embodiment of the Tao; why should I seek the Tao externally?!