Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Dijiang struck out with the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler again and again, ruthlessly hammering Yuanshi!
Yet the onlookers paid no attention to the beating.
All eyes were fixed on the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Dijiang's hand. After a moment of stunned silence, someone asked in confusion, "Wait, don't the Ancestral Witches lack Primordial Spirits? How is he wielding the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler?"
"Lacking a Primordial Spirit, yet wielding the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler? Could it be? Gasp!"
The realization struck them within a breath. Someone immediately thought of a terrifying possibility, drawing a sharp breath as they stared at Dijiang in utter disbelief!
They had just realized the only reason Dijiang could possibly use the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler: this Ancestral Witch possessed a Primordial Spirit!
That was right—a Primordial Spirit!
How could an Ancestral Witch have a Primordial Spirit? How was that even possible?!
Shock and disbelief were etched on every single face present.
Even Dao Ancestor Hongjun's expression shifted dramatically. "Damn it! This Dijiang has a Primordial Spirit... He is a variable! A complete variable! How could a Tribulation produce a variable, of all places, within the Wu Clan?"
"Is this the 'one' escaped from the Great Dao, or..."
Dao Ancestor Hongjun could no longer maintain his composure. He was entirely shaken, because no one understood better than he what a Tribulation variable implied!
"Creation Jade Disc!"
Without hesitation, Hongjun summoned the Creation Jade Disc once more and began frantically calculating!
"Pfft!"
A moment later, he spat a mouthful of blood, sitting there with a gaze as chilling and venomous as a beast ready to devour a man.
Meanwhile, Mother Nuwa, Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, Jieyin, Zunti, Dijun, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were all stunned. Even Taishang Laojun—who had been locked in combat with the other Ancestral Witches—and Tongtian, who was anxiously racing over from Kunlun Mountain, along with Houtu and the rest of the Ancestral Witches, stood frozen, staring blankly at the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Dijiang's hand.
"That's wonderful! Big Brother has a Primordial Spirit! Our Big Brother has a Primordial Spirit!"
Houtu burst out with joyful laughter!
"Bless Father God! Thank Father God for protecting our Wu Clan!"
The other Ancestral Witches dropped to their knees in overwhelming emotion!
No one else could possibly understand what a Primordial Spirit meant to them, the Ancestral Witches, and to the entire Wu Clan!
It meant they would never again be mindless brutes relying solely on brute physical strength!
They had all resigned themselves to the belief that lacking a Primordial Spirit was simply their inescapable fate.
Yet now, their Big Brother actually possessed a Primordial Spirit!
This was an occasion worthy of celebration by the entire clan!
In stark contrast to their jubilation, Yuanshi's expression was as dark as a thunderstorm.
Whether from his physical injuries or the humiliation heaped upon him by Dijiang, his fury reached a boiling point.
He roared at the top of his lungs, "No! Why?! How could you have a Primordial Spirit? How on earth could an Ancestral Witch have a Primordial Spirit?!"
Yuanshi could not fathom it, no matter how hard he tried.
Neither could anyone else present.
"Heh, why shouldn't an Ancestral Witch have a Primordial Spirit?"
Dijiang chuckled mockingly. "Didn't you say you were going to execute me just a moment ago? Since that's the case, you can go ahead and die!"
Boom!
As the words left his lips, the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Dijiang's hand flared with blinding power, as if he truly intended to finish Yuanshi off!
"Stop!"
Seeing this, Taishang Laojun immediately moved to intervene!
"Stop him!"
At Dijiang's single command, the other eleven Ancestral Witches charged forward without hesitation!
"Die!"
Dijiang bellowed, pushing the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler to its absolute limit. A terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe surged toward Yuanshi to crush him!
"Hah!"
Right at that critical, split-second juncture—
A sigh suddenly echoed through the void. Following that, everyone watched as a figure materialized in the sky: a woman in white, holy and exquisitely beautiful, possessing a grace so transcendent that every laudatory word in the world seemed inadequate to describe her.
The moment she appeared, a vast, saintly pressure swept across the entire Primordial World. At the same time, the very space and time around Mount Buzhou seemed to freeze solid!
Accompanying these miraculous sights were golden lotus blossoms springing from the earth, ten thousand streams of rosy clouds, circling qilin, and soaring golden dragons!
The figure was none other than the sole remaining Saint under the Dao Ancestor in the Primordial World: Mother Nuwa!
"Greetings, Mother Nuwa!"
All the members of the Yao Clan immediately dropped to their knees in kowtow!
Even high personages like Laojun, Yuanshi, Dijun, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi bowed with hands cupped in respect.
The Wu Clan alone remained standing.
Every single member of the Wu Clan looked to Dijiang, waiting for his cue.
Dijiang, for his part, showed little outward reaction. He simply gazed quietly at Mother Nuwa, privately fascinated to lay eyes upon this legendary Mother of the Human Clan!
"Let this matter end here. Yuanshi must not die, and neither must the Yao Emperor!"
"Both bear great karmic fortune. If they fall, the Heavenly Dao will destabilize; and if the Heavenly Dao destabilizes, the living beings will suffer utter devastation!"
Mother Nuwa spoke in a calm, flat tone.
In truth, she had not wanted to come. After all, the Dao Ancestor had previously instructed her not to meddle in these affairs. But since the Dao Ancestor had just ordered her here, she had no choice but to comply.
"Is the Goddess here to stand with the Yao Clan?"
Dijiang looked at Mother Nuwa and let out a soft sigh.
Although seeing the Mother of the Human Clan in person stirred a degree of excitement within him, hearing those words cooled his heart significantly.
After all, in the history of his past life, when the Yao Clan slaughtered the Human Clan and refined their souls to forge the Witch-Slaying Swords, this very Mother of the Human Clan had never once shown her face!
If she had not appeared then, she had no business appearing now!
"Is there a problem?"
Mother Nuwa clearly failed to grasp the underlying meaning of Dijiang's words; she merely furrowed her brows slightly and asked.
Naturally, that was to be expected—she was not a time-traveling cheat like Dijiang who knew the entire trajectory of the Primordial World!
"No problem!"
"Of course there's no problem!"
Dijiang nodded, a smile touching his face!
Yet within a breath, the smile vanished entirely as he spoke again: "If that is the case, what about the Human Clan? Where does the Goddess place the Human Clan?"
"The Human Clan?"
Mother Nuwa's brows knitted tighter. She had never paid the Human Clan any mind. In her eyes, they were merely a minor race she had casually created, hardly worthy of her attention.
Observing her reaction, Dijiang seemed to grasp something. He suggested, "I advise the Goddess to find time to visit the Human Clan, and then..."
A faint speculation began to take root in his mind.
"Insolent!"
Before he could finish, a thunderous roar blasted through the void. Following that, everyone saw a figure in coarse burlap robes materialize out of thin air!
The moment the elder appeared, his terrifying pressure instantly eclipsed the saintly might radiating from Mother Nuwa, causing everyone present to shiver in terror!
Even Mother Nuwa turned pale!
Yet a heartbeat later, the gathered figures hurriedly bowed in reverence: "Greetings, Dao Ancestor!"
"Greetings, Master!"
Mother Nuwa, Laojun, and the others echoed the sentiment.
Even the other Ancestral Witches and the rest of the Wu Clan were forced straight to the ground under the sheer crushing weight of Dao Ancestor Hongjun's pressure!
Dijiang alone remained standing!
Not only did he refuse to bow, but he even gritted his teeth, holding his ground as his gaze locked onto Hongjun—the ultimate manipulator of the Primordial World!
And as Dijiang stared at Hongjun, Hongjun stared right back at him!
Within Hongjun's eyes, galaxies seemed to collapse and yin and yang reversed, as if he were determined to peer straight through Dijiang's soul!
Finally, Hongjun let out a cold, stern shout: "The Heavenly Dao Saints represent the Heavenly Dao itself, and the words of a Saint are the Will of Heaven! By defying a Saint's decree, does your Wu Clan intend to defy the Heavenly Dao?!"
Hongjun was truly furious!
Originally, he had sent Nuwa simply to rescue Yuanshi, Dijun, and the others!
He never could have anticipated that Dijiang would bring up the Human Clan to Nuwa!
The affairs of the Human Clan—others might be clueless, but how could he not know?
Every single piece of that puzzle had been painstakingly arranged by his own hand!
And now, Dijiang had actually brought up the Human Clan to Mother Nuwa, directly threatening to unravel his grand scheme!
Thus, even he had been forced to step in personally!
After all, facing a variable like Dijiang, he could not risk Mother Nuwa discovering the true nature of his plots.
"The words of a Saint are the Will of Heaven?"
Hearing this, Dijiang suddenly laughed—a bright, brilliant laugh!
Then his smile abruptly vanished, and he roared aloud: "My Wu Clan was born from the willpower of Father God Pangu! Our people bow to neither Heaven nor Earth; we revere only Father God Pangu!"
Boom!
As Dijiang's words rang out, everyone's hearts violently shuddered as they stared at him in utter disbelief!
Had this fellow lost his mind?!
While it was true that the Wu Clan held such beliefs, not a single soul had ever dared to voice them aloud!
Yet Dijiang had actually said it! Not just the outsiders—even the other Ancestral Witches were stunned!
They all looked at Dijiang in shock!
"That's right! Big Brother is right! Our Wu Clan bows to neither Heaven nor Earth; we revere only Father God Pangu!"
"Right! We revere only Father God Pangu!"
"Only Father God Pangu!"
After a momentary pause, the members of the Wu Clan gritted their teeth, hoisted themselves back to their feet, and roared their fury into the heavens, one after another!
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
In that instant, their unified roar echoed across the entire Primordial World!
And Dao Ancestor Hongjun ground his teeth in rage, snapping, "You Wu Clan—do you wish to be annihilated?!"
With that, a crushing pressure crashed down upon them like a tidal wave!