"This item is called the Qiankun Cauldron, an Innate Supreme Treasure."
With a wave of Hongjun's hand, a chaotic cauldron materialized and flew toward Pangu True Form.
Panshi: "..."
Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi: "..."
All the Primordial World mighty figures: "..."
After a few moments, everyone finally reacted: Hongjun was conceding defeat.
"The Qiankun Cauldron—"
Panshi raised his hand, and the Qiankun Cauldron fell into his grasp. A stream of purple energy surged out from the Heart of Pangu, merging directly into the Qiankun Cauldron. Upon entering the cauldron, this purple energy completely ignored layer after layer of innate restrictions and integrated straight into the cauldron's origin space.
Opposite him, Hongjun felt the spiritual imprint he had left inside the Qiankun Cauldron being erased, and his expression changed drastically once again. From the moment Panshi took the cauldron, a little over ten breaths had passed in total.
To forcibly refine an Innate Supreme Treasure in just over ten breaths—Hongjun knew he could never accomplish such a feat.
"If I remember correctly, this Qiankun Cauldron was originally the treasure of Ancestor Qiankun. During the last calamity, he even joined Daoist Hongjun to crusade against the Demon Ancestor Luohua..."
At this point, Panshi stopped, but the Primordial World mighty figures were not stupid; they could easily fill in the rest of the story themselves.
Indeed, he was deliberately disgusting Hongjun.
"How did you know... Ancestor Qiankun was a close and dear friend of mine. When he was unfortunately slain by Luohua, I merely kept the Qiankun Cauldron on his behalf."
Hongjun's expression turned extremely unsightly, filled with suspicion and uncertainty. The specific details of the final battle against Luohua should have been known only to the few individuals involved, and apart from him, all the other participants had perished.
As for deducing secrets through divination, that battle had taken place amid a kalpa when heavenly secrets were utterly chaotic. Coupled with his own concealment efforts, no one should have been able to divine the truth of it.
Watching Hongjun's expression shift, Panshi smiled faintly and said, "What a wonderful way of 'keeping it'. Ancestor Qiankun would probably still need to say thank you to Daoist Hongjun. Oh right, the owners of the Taiji Diagram and the Pangu Banner must also be kept by Daoist Hongjun. Come to think of it, I am their original owner. I wonder if Daoist Hongjun might return them to their rightful master..."
"This matter is concluded. I am returning to Zixiao Palace to comprehend the Dao. Remember your promise."
Hongjun interrupted Panshi, and without waiting for a reply, he directly utilized the power of the Heavenly Dao to return to Zixiao Palace.
He had just fled like that.
Panshi sneered inwardly while also letting out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Hongjun had been bluffed, and on top of that, he had secured an Innate Supreme Treasure.
"From this day forth, the entire Primordial land belongs to the Wu Clan." Panshi's voice echoed across the Primordial World.
Dijun: "..."
Donghuang Taiyi: "..."
All the Demon Clan members: "..."
The entire Demon Clan fell into silence. Facing Pangu True Form, they didn't even dare let out a peep at this moment.
Having said that, Panshi didn't even bother looking at the reactions of Dijun and the rest of the Demon Clan. With a single step, he vanished into the Primordial starry sky.
"Brother, what should we do now?" Donghuang Taiyi asked, looking somewhat bewildered.
Dijun was equally lost. Should they continue fighting the Wu Clan for supremacy over the Primordial World, or concede?
This seemed to be a multiple-choice question with only one path.
Right at that moment, Dijun's body suddenly trembled, and the aura around him flared instantly, only to be reined back in the next fraction of a second.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Donghuang Taiyi asked, startled by the sight.
"I'm fine."
Dijun shook his head, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. Just moments ago, Hongjun's voice had sounded directly in his mind.
Hongjun had imparted two pieces of information to him.
First, there was a Great Chiliocosm within the Primordial World known as the Celestial Realm. Its entrance was located at the peak of Mount Buzhou, and by opening the Gate of Heavenly Dimensions with the Eastern Emperor Bell, one could enter the Celestial Realm, which could serve as the new stronghold for the Demon Clan.
Second, the Hetu Luoshu concealed a top-tier Innate Grand Array capable of countering the Wu Clan's Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches summoning Pangu True Form came with severe limitations.
These two pieces of news swept away the confusion in Dijun's heart, reigniting his hope for the future.
Sweeping his gaze across the dejected Demon Clan powerhouses surrounding him, Dijun declared:
"The Wu Clan defies the heavenly mandate, disrespects the Sages, and revels in slaughter. Sooner or later, the Primordial World will no longer tolerate them. Our Demon Clan, however, enjoys the protection of a Sage, and furthermore, I have already found a way to counter the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array."
...
Meanwhile, within the Pangu Temple.
"Stop operating the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array now. If you keep going, it will consume your origins," Panshi said into the void, sounding as though he were talking to himself.
"We cannot stop the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array! Once we stop, Father God, you will dissipate," Dijiang said.
"Indeed, Father God! Even if it kills us, we will not let you dissipate."
"Father God..."
If it had merely been summoning Pangu True Form, that would have been one thing, but the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array had also summoned Father God's consciousness along with it.
To the Twelve Ancestral Witches, this was the resurrection of Father God. Therefore, even though the array had already begun devouring their vital origins, not a single one of them voluntarily stopped running the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array.
To the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Pangu was their supreme faith—far more important than their own lives.
Hearing this, Panshi shook his head slightly.
"Disperse—"
With that word, the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Array was forcibly halted, and twelve streams of light shot backward out from Pangu True Form.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches tumbled to the ground, every single one of them limp and utterly drained—clearly from an excessive consumption of their energy. Yet, paying no heed to their own condition, they anxiously looked toward the Pangu True Form at the very center.
As the array stopped and the Twelve Ancestral Witches detached from Pangu True Form, the giant entity began to grow illusory, as if it was about to dissolve completely between heaven and earth.
"Father God—"
"Father God—"
"Father God..."
"Rest assured, I am not going to die."
As this voice fell, the previously illusory Pangu True Form solidified once again, no longer formed merely of the energy of heaven and earth as before; flesh and blood began to grow upon it.
Witnessing this scene, the Twelve Ancestral Witches scarcely dared to draw a full breath, watching with intense suspense.
"Thump, thump, thump—"
The exact moment the Pangu True Form was fully shaped, a thunderous heartbeat echoed from within it. The newly formed flesh and blood seemed unable to bear it, and dense spiderwebs of cracks instantly appeared across the body, resembling a shattered porcelain vessel.
"Oh no, this fleshly body cannot withstand the Heart of Pangu." Panshi's expression changed drastically.
He watched helplessly as the "Pangu True Form" he had just molded began to fall apart piece by piece under the shockwaves of the Heart of Pangu.
"I thought things would be too simple. I originally assumed shaping a complete Pangu True Form would suffice, but I didn't expect the Heart of Pangu to harbor some rejection toward the form I created. Although it's only a trace of rejection, it's still more than the Pangu True Form I molded can endure..."
Just as Panshi fell into despair, he suddenly felt a drop of primordial blood enter his body. The very instant that drop of blood entered the Pangu True Form, he sensed the Heart of Pangu's rejection lessen dramatically.
Then came the second drop of primordial blood, the third drop... all the way to the twelfth drop, entering his body almost back-to-back.
And the moment the twelfth drop of primordial blood entered Pangu True Form, the Heart of Pangu's rejection vanished completely.
"Father God, we have come to lend you a hand!" The voices of the Twelve Ancestral Witches rang out from the outside.
"These are the primordial bloodlines of the Twelve Ancestral Witches..."
Understanding dawned on Panshi. These were the quintessential blood drops of the Twelve Ancestral Witches. He immediately hastened to guide these drops of blood to converge toward the Heart of Pangu. As these drops of ancestral witch blood—imbued with the baleful aura of creation—entered the Heart of Pangu, their creation-slaying baleful Qi was refined away, and the remaining pure ancestral witch blood began to merge...
Outside, seeing the cracks on the surface of Pangu True Form rapidly vanish, the Twelve Ancestral Witches finally let out collective sighs of relief.