Primordial Era: I, the auspicious beast Pixiu, am the darling of the Great Dao.

Tianlu's words startled Houtu.

In the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun sat high in the Ninth Heaven and once personally declared that the Wu Clan did not cultivate their primordial spirit, did not understand the Heavenly Mandate, and had no chance of attaining sainthood.

The words of the Dao Ancestor were like a divine decree, almost sentencing the entire Wu Clan to death and cutting off their hope of pursuing the Primordial Dao.

But now, Brother Tianlu actually says he has a solution?

If anyone else had said this, Houtu would have scoffed and even thought the other party was making fun of the Wu tribe, but it was Tianlu who said it!

Who is Tianlu?

That was the second-generation Son of the Great Dao, whom even the Heavenly Dao had to be wary of, and whom even the Dao Ancestor Hongjun treated with utmost respect!

Since he dared to say that, it was definitely not without reason.

"Brother Tianlu...is this true?"

"I never lie."

Houtu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her excitement, and respectfully bowed.

"Please enlighten me, Brother Tianlu, what method can save my Wu tribe?"

Tianlu lazily lay back on the cloud bed, its front paws crossed, looking unfathomable.

"When the old man Hongjun was preaching in Zixiao Palace, he said that there are three ways to attain enlightenment: the first is to attain enlightenment through the Three Corpses, the second is to attain enlightenment through merit, and the third is to attain enlightenment through force."

"Your witch clan lacks a primordial spirit and cannot sever the three corpses, so this first path is naturally blocked."

"But you seem to have some misunderstanding about proving the truth by force."

Houtu was taken aback and asked in confusion.

"Isn't proving the Dao through force like Father God Pangu, who used supreme power to break through chaos, create heaven and earth, and thus attain the Primordial Dao?"

Upon hearing this, Tianlu couldn't help but roll his eyes and said irritably.

"Create the world? If you twelve ancestral witches dared to try creating the world, you'd be torn to shreds by the chaotic currents in no time. Pangu was a god of immense power, and you dare to try to emulate him?"

Houtu blushed at Tianlu's words, but she knew he was telling the truth.

"The so-called 'proving the Dao through force' doesn't refer to mere brute force, but rather the power of laws!"

"It is about comprehending the Great Laws, mastering the Great Laws, and ultimately proving one's Dao through the Laws!"

"You twelve Ancestral Witches were formed from the essence and blood of Pangu. You were born to be the darlings of the laws, and you were born to wield your respective Great Dao Laws."

"For example, you, Houtu, were born to govern the Great Dao of Earth."

"You don't need to cultivate any primordial spirit, nor do you need to comprehend the workings of the Heavenly Dao. You only need to continuously comprehend the Earth Law that you are born with!"

"When you comprehend the Earth Law to its fullest extent, reaching the level of a Primordial Golden Immortal, you will naturally be able to prove your Dao through the Law and achieve the Primordial Realm!"

Tianlu continued.

"Besides, the path to enlightenment through merit is also feasible for your witch clan."

Houtu was even more confused.

"Attaining enlightenment through merit? Our Wu clan is inherently warlike, we don't cultivate our primordial spirit, and we don't understand the secrets of heaven. How can we possibly acquire that immeasurable merit?"

Tianlu grinned and pointed at himself with a claw.

"You guys can't do it, but I can!"

"All I need is for you, Fellow Daoist Houtu, to have your Wu Clan travel around the prehistoric world more often in the future, find those top-grade innate spiritual fruits, and then supply them to me."

Houtu was completely bewildered, her face full of confusion.

"What... what is this? Offering top-grade innate spiritual fruits can earn merit?"

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Tianlu snorted coldly.

"Just you wait and see!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tianlu suddenly opened his mouth wide.

The next moment, his abdomen swelled slightly, and a dazzling stream of primordial energy of merit spewed from his mouth.

As soon as this aura appeared, the entire hall was dyed a sacred, dark yellow color, and the vast golden light of merit shone in all directions, making people unable to resist the urge to bow down and worship.

"This is the power of merit?!"

Houtu gasped in shock, her eyes fixed on the swirling yellow and black energy.

Tianlu smugly absorbed the ball of merit back into his body and said slowly.

"I, this great one, control the world's fortune and blessings. Besides that, I possess another innate supernatural power: by devouring the fruits of top-grade innate spiritual roots, I can reap immeasurable merit!"

"As long as your witch clan keeps sending me top-grade innate spiritual fruits, I will naturally give you my merits."

"Now, do you understand?"

After hearing these words, Houtu suddenly felt enlightened.

She finally understood!

Tianlu pointed out two paths to heaven for her.

The former means that the twelve ancestral witches should abandon those unrealistic fantasies and concentrate on comprehending the laws and great Dao that they are born with, so as to prove the Dao of the Primordial Golden Immortal with the power of the laws.

The latter, by relying on the heaven-defying innate divine power of Tianlu, collects top-grade innate spiritual fruits to exchange for merit power and walks the path of merit-based enlightenment.

Both of these paths are far brighter than the dead end that Hongjun Daozu described.

Houtu felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. With a solemn expression, she bowed deeply to Tianlu.

"Brother Tianlu's great kindness and virtue will be forever remembered by Houtu. Our Wu clan will never forget your guidance today!"

Tianlu waved its paws nonchalantly, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're too kind. I'm just doing my job because I'm being paid."

"You twelve Ancestral Witches are even willing to give me your most core treasure, the essence of Pangu's blood. If I don't repay you with something good, you'll really think I'm a gluttonous beast that only takes and never gives, instead of a wealth-bringing Pixiu?"

Tianlu understood this perfectly.

If the Ancestral Witches were to become Primordial Golden Immortals and follow the path of proving the Dao through the laws, would it cause a dramatic change in the prehistoric world, or even break free from the control of the Heavenly Dao?

What does this have to do with Tianlu?

The general trend of the Heavenly Dao is something that Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao need to worry about; it is not the general trend of the prehistoric world, much less the general trend of his Tianlu.

As long as he can benefit from it, he'd be happy to see the whole world turned into a mess.

Houtu was extremely anxious and couldn't wait to bring this wonderful news back to the Pangu Palace.

She spoke again.

"Thank you again, Brother Tianlu. This matter is of great importance. I will go back now and inform my brothers about it so that we can finalize the future plans for our Wu clan as soon as possible."

Tianlu nodded and waved its claws.

"Go, go! Remember to send plenty of people to find top-grade innate spiritual fruits!"

Watching Houtu's figure disappear into the spatial passage, Tianlu yawned and returned to his comfortable cloud bed.

He rolled over, lay down, and shouted at the Three Immortals of Sanxiao in the corner of the main hall.

"My good disciples, come here and give your master a back massage."

Upon hearing this, the three immortals exchanged a glance, sighed helplessly, and obediently walked to the cloud bed.

The eldest sister, Yunxiao, was dignified and composed. She walked to Tianlu's left side, stretched out her slender hand, and gently pinched the golden scales on Tianlu's shoulder.

The second sister, Qiongxiao, was gentle and quiet. She walked to the right side and gently massaged Tianlu's back.

The third sister, Bixiao, was mischievous by nature. She jumped next to Tianlu's tail, pressed it down hard, and couldn't help but complain.

"Master, since you've taken us three sisters as your disciples, shouldn't you teach us cultivation?!"

"Why do I feel like the three of us sisters aren't your personal disciples, but rather like celestial maidens serving you on this Chaos Immortal Island?"

Bixiao pouted, her face full of reluctance.