My classmates chose martial arts and fantasy, but I chose the prehistoric world.

Beyond Mount Buzhou, a vast sea of ​​clouds stretches for thousands of miles.

Sanqing hurried back to Kunlun.

Yuanshi's face was gloomy, and his body was surrounded by shimmering jade-pure immortal light, clearly indicating that he was having trouble calming down.

The hand hidden in the sleeve gripped the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi tightly, the knuckles turning white.

The humiliation I suffered today will be unforgettable for the rest of my life.

He was forced to back down in front of everyone by Meng Chuan, and even needed his elder brother to speak up to save face...

Finally, they watched helplessly as the purplish-black gourd fell into Houtu's hands.

That was a top-grade innate spiritual treasure containing the origin of chaos, which greatly helped him comprehend the Great Dao and sever his third corpse.

"Second brother."

Tongtian's voice rang out from the side, carrying his usual straightforwardness, "In today's matter, Fellow Daoist Meng Chuan has already shown mercy. If he hadn't refrained from making a direct attack, you probably would have really taken a bullet from him."

"Shut up!"

Yuan Shi suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing with a cold light like knives.

"You call Meng Chuan your brother, but have you forgotten your origins? Have you forgotten who your elder brother is?"

Tongtian frowned, not backing down at all: "Second brother, that's going too far. Fellow Daoist Meng Chuan and I have had the pleasure of discussing and exchanging Dao, and he is certainly not a wicked person. Today's contest is merely about the opportunity to obtain a spiritual treasure, and each side must rely on their own methods. Now that he has broken through to the next realm and his strength is unparalleled in the world, what's wrong with us taking a step back?"

"Back down? That's humiliating!"

The Primordial One growled.

That's enough.

Lao Tzu's calm voice rang out, carrying an undeniable authority.

The two immediately fell silent.

Lao Tzu gazed into the distance at the churning sea of ​​clouds and slowly said, "Meng Chuan is no longer comparable to what he once was. He proved the Dao with force, becoming a Quasi-Saint. His power can shake heaven and earth, and his influence has already suppressed the primordial world."

He looked at Yuanshi, his voice turning deep.

"Second brother, let today's humiliation stay in your heart for now. The most urgent task is to sever the third corpse as soon as possible and step into the late stage of Quasi-Saint. Once the three of us have all reached the late stage, and the Three Pure Ones are one, what do we have to fear from Meng Chuan alone?"

Yuan Shi's chest heaved for a long time before he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. The resentment in his eyes subsided, turning into a cold and resolute expression.

"What you say is absolutely right, elder brother. This humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold in the future!"

Lao Tzu said no more and quickened his pace.

Tongtian watched the two figures disappear into the distance, shook his head inwardly, and said nothing more.

……

The Sun Star, the Palace of the Sun God.

The crimson divine fire blazed fiercely, yet it could not dispel the chill in the hall.

Taiyi lay on the jade couch, his body covered in blood, his breath faint.

Although the bleeding from the terrifying fist mark on his chest had stopped, his bones were shattered, his internal organs were damaged, and a wisp of the Dao of Power, as solid as a tangible substance, lingered and continued to erode his life force.

Di Jun's face was gloomy as he continuously channeled his own Solar True Fire into Taiyi's body to help him heal. At the same time, he used the Hetu Luoshu to deduce and dissolve that wisp of Daoist charm.

Kunpeng, Jimeng, Yingzhao, and other demons stood below, all bowing their heads and remaining silent. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy.

After a long while, Di Jun withdrew his hand, sweat beading on his forehead.

"My second brother's injuries have stabilized, but his Dao foundation has been damaged. Without a thousand or two thousand years of nurturing, he may not fully recover. Meng Chuan's Dao of Power is far too domineering..."

His voice was hoarse, and his eyes held suppressed anger and heartache.

"Big brother...cough cough..."

Taiyi struggled to open his eyes, his crimson-gold pupils dimmed, yet burning with hatred. "...Kill...him!"

With each word he uttered, he coughed up a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

"Don't worry, second brother."

Di Jun grasped his hand, his voice as cold as ice, "The demon race will remember this grudge. Once you recover and the Zhou Tian Star Array is complete, it will be time for the witch race and Meng Chuan to pay the price!"

He turned his head and looked at Kunpeng and the others.

"Issue the order: all demon tribes shall consolidate their forces and retreat into seclusion for intensive cultivation. Without my brother's command, they shall not easily engage in conflict with the witch tribe again."

"yes!"

The demons responded solemnly.

Di Jun looked out of the palace, his gaze seemingly piercing through the void and landing in the direction of Buzhou Mountain.

Meng Chuan... Hou Tu... the Witch Clan... and those two gourds that were stolen...

"The humiliation inflicted upon the demon race will be avenged in blood!"

……

The West, Mount Ling.

Jieyin and Zhunti sat facing each other, their faces showing signs of distress.

"Senior brother, that Meng Chuan is going too far!"

Zhunti gritted his teeth, his eyes devoid of any smile, only filled with cold resentment. "The purple and white gourds were clearly destined for me, yet he forcibly took them! And that purple and green gourds... these two treasures should have belonged to my Western Paradise!"

He sighed, and the prayer beads in his hand slowly turned.

"Junior brother, calm down. Meng Chuan is too powerful to fight by force. He has already shown mercy by letting Yuan Shi go this time. If we insist, we may end up like Tai Yi."

"Are we just going to let it go like this?" Zhunti asked unwillingly.

Jieyin said in a deep voice, "Even if we are unwilling, we must endure it. Right now, the West needs to accumulate strength and wait for the right opportunity."

Zhunti took a few deep breaths, suppressed the resentment in his heart, and nodded heavily.

"What you say is absolutely right, senior brother. I was too impatient."

The two fell silent, closing their eyes to chant scriptures. Beneath the lingering Buddhist chants lay a turbulent web of calculation and resentment.

……

Near Buzhou Mountain is the site of Nuwa's Daoist practice.

Nuwa sat quietly on her cloud bed, a faint trace of melancholy between her brows.

Fuxi sat to one side, the Bagua compass slowly rotating in his palm, deducing the secrets of heaven.

After a long pause, he stopped his deductions, looked at his sister, and said gently, "The heavenly secrets show that the Purple-Green Gourd is indeed destined for you. But matters of destiny cannot be forced, much less defied the general trend. Fellow Daoist Meng Chuan's power today is extraordinary. Perhaps... there is a deeper meaning behind his taking this gourd."

"A deeper meaning?" Nuwa raised an eyebrow.

"The conflict between the Lich and the Demon race is intensifying. The Purple-Green Gourd is a treasure for summoning demons. If it falls into the hands of the demon race, it will surely increase their strength and exacerbate the conflict between the two races."

Fuxi said slowly, "Meng Chuan took this gourd perhaps because he did not want the conflict between the witches and demons to get out of control too early, causing great suffering to the people."

Nuwa remained silent.

After a long silence, she sighed softly.

"Perhaps. But... there's still some regret in my heart."

"If the time is not right, there's no need to force it."

Fuxi comforted him, saying, "Your path lies in creation and in all living beings, not in a single treasure or gourd. Quietly contemplate it, and the opportunity will come naturally in the future."

Nuwa nodded, saying nothing more, but her gaze towards the depths of Buzhou Mountain remained complex.

……

The Netherworld Blood Sea, the Styx Palace.

Styx sat cross-legged atop a ten-thousand-foot-tall blood lotus, with Yuan Tu Abi lying across his knees, their scarlet eyes flashing with blood-red light as they opened and closed.

"Meng Chuan... a Quasi-Saint of Power..."

He repeated it in a low voice, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

In this struggle, he suffered the least loss, yet he remained the most clear-headed. The purple-red gourd was valuable, but compared to his life, it was insignificant.

The scene of Meng Chuan severely injuring Taiyi with a punch and forcing Yuanshi back with a palm strike was deeply imprinted in his mind.

That was an absolute power disparity.

"The sea of ​​blood will never dry up, the River Styx will never die... but if he sets his sights on you, you'll probably suffer a fate worse than death."

He muttered to himself, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

"Enough. Let's observe the matter of the lich for now. Although Yuan Tu Abi has been completely refined, the Blood God Child is not yet perfected... We'll make further plans after I sever my second corpse."

He closed his eyes, and the sea of ​​blood churned, with endless blood energy surging into his body, beginning his healing and cultivation.

……

The powerful figures from all sides, with different thoughts—some resentful, some fearful, some regretful, and some calculating—returned to the temple one after another to process the gains and losses, lick their wounds, and accumulate strength.

And then, we await the arrival of the Three Lectures at Zixiao Palace two thousand years later.

The primordial land, after a brief period of fervor due to the gourd dispute, fell into an even deeper sense of oppression and tranquility.

Deep within Buzhou Mountain, in the ancestral land of the Wu tribe, within the Pangu Palace, a secret meeting that would truly alter the landscape of the primordial world was just beginning.

Meng Chuan, Hou Tu, Di Jiang, Zhu Jiuyin and twelve other ancestral witches gathered together.

The palace doors were tightly shut, enveloped by the will of Pangu, preventing any glimpse into the secrets of heaven.

To be on the safe side, Meng Chuan also used a fragment of the Chaos Pearl. Although it was a fragment, it could still demonstrate one of the main abilities of the Chaos Pearl—concealing and isolating the secrets of heaven!

His gaze swept over the twelve Ancestral Witches, finally settling on Houtu's serene face. He spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the empty hall:

"Everyone, I will assist Houtu in perfecting the Earthly Dao, evolving the cycle of reincarnation, and through the supreme merit of the Great Dao... to achieve the ultimate sainthood of the Primordial Chaos of the Earthly Dao!"

"At that time, beneath the Great Dao, the Earthly Dao will stand alone, revered alongside the Heavenly Dao. Houtu will be on equal footing with Hongjun!"

After he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Dijiang and the other ancestral witches were horrified, their eyes flashing with disbelief.

Houtu's delicate body trembled slightly as she looked up at Meng Chuan. For the first time, a monstrous wave surged within her calm eyes!