"Wu Emperor, this is the Wu Clan treasury."
Following the direction Houtu was pointing, Panshi looked over and could not help being slightly stunned.
The so-called Wu Clan treasury turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary-looking cave. If Houtu had not pointed it out, Panshi would never have connected it to the treasury of the Wu Clan.
This Wu Clan treasury was far too humble.
With an expressionless face, Panshi lifted his foot and walked toward the cave.
Passing through an invisible barrier, a multicolored radiance rushed into his field of vision, causing Panshi to squint slightly before he could clearly make out the scene inside the cave.
Panshi admitted that he had been a bit shallow before.
The cave, which originally looked unremarkable, contained a whole other world within. It was like a miniature realm, where post-natal spiritual roots and herbs covered the ground, among which even pre-natal spiritual roots could be found.
In the void, clusters of light drifted about, all transformed from heavenly treasures. Among them, thirty-one clusters of light shone the brightest, resembling thirty-one small suns.
"Innate Spiritual Treasures."
In the Primordial World, Innate Spiritual Treasures were few in number. Moreover, most of them had already fallen into Hongjun's hands, making it extremely difficult for other cultivators to acquire even a single one.
Take Kunpeng, for instance. Even as a top-tier mighty figure of the Primordial World, he did not possess a single Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Later on, because he lacked an Innate Spiritual Treasure to sever his corpses, Kunpeng was ultimately forced to join the Demon Clan.
Yet the Wu Clan had quietly amassed thirty-one Innate Spiritual Treasures. However, because the Wu Clan possessed no primordial spirits, these thirty-one Innate Spiritual Treasures could only gather dust in the treasury.
Of course, the reason the Wu Clan was able to collect so many Innate Spiritual Treasures might also be related to the immense Pangu destiny they inherited.
After all, although the Wu Clan was one of the overlords of the Primordial World, they had no advantage in searching for Innate Spiritual Treasures due to their lack of primordial spirits. Finding these thirty-one treasures was probably just a matter of good luck.
"Could the Wu Emperor possess a primordial spirit?"
Seeing the excited look on Panshi's face as he gazed at the thirty-one Innate Spiritual Treasures in the void, Houtu could not help asking.
"Indeed, I have a primordial spirit."
Panshi nodded. Wanting to see if there were any top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures among the thirty-one, he quickly walked toward them. After a few breaths, a faint throb suddenly stirred in his heart.
"Oh!"
Panshi stopped in his tracks. At that very instant, something seemed to resonate with the Heart of Pangu.
Given the grade of the Heart of Pangu, anything capable of triggering its resonance was bound to be extraordinary.
Yet it lasted only a moment. A split second later, that sense of resonance vanished without a trace, as if it had been nothing more than an illusion.
Of course, Panshi did not believe it was an illusion.
He immediately unleashed his divine sense, quickly sweeping across the entire Wu Clan treasury, but discovered nothing at all.
What was going on?
Panshi frowned. He trusted the reaction of the Heart of Pangu; there was definitely some supreme treasure in this treasury that had caused the resonance.
However, the deeper it was hidden, the more powerful that supreme treasure must be.
Withdrawing his divine sense, Panshi looked at Houtu beside him and said, "Houtu, you should go heal your injuries as well!"
"Yes..."
Houtu replied, but she did not leave immediately.
"Is there anything else on your mind?" Panshi asked, looking at her.
"Wu Emperor, does our Wu Clan have a path to enlightenment?"
Pausing as if afraid Panshi would misunderstand, Houtu explained, "During his first lecture, the Sage stated that there are three paths to enlightenment: the first is enlightenment through sheer force; the second is enlightenment by severing the three corpses; and the third is enlightenment through merit. But the Sage said that the Wu Clan cannot walk any of these three paths."
During Hongjun's first lecture, among the Twelve Ancestral Witches, only Houtu had traveled to Zixiao Palace. Hongjun's answer had filled her with confusion regarding the future of the Wu Clan.
However, she had not shared this with the other Ancestral Witches, as she did not want them to fall into the same confusion.
Right now, only she and Panshi were present, which was why she finally voiced the question, hoping to get a different answer from him, yet fearing that his reply would be the same as Hongjun's.
"There are countless paths to enlightenment. Enlightenment through sheer force, severing the three corpses, and merit are merely three of them."
"Of course, if your definition of enlightenment is attaining the fruit status of a Heavenly Dao Sage, then the Wu Clan indeed has not the slightest hope," Panshi said.
"Is that really how it is?"
The hopeful look in Houtu's eyes dimmed.
The next moment, however, she heard Panshi continue: "However, the Heavenly Dao Sage is not the only path to enlightenment. Aside from the Heavenly Dao, the Primordial World also possesses the Earth Dao and the Human Dao. Therefore, there must also be Earth Dao Saints and Human Dao Saints. And you are the destined future Lord of the Earth Dao."
According to normal development, the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity in the Primordial World should have advanced side by side. However, the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World had suppressed the Earth Dao and Human Dao, reducing them to mere vassals of the Heavenly Dao.
Because of this, Houtu, who should have achieved the fruit status of the Lord of the Earth Dao by opening up the Earth Dao Reincarnation, was instead reduced to a puppet of the Earth Dao.
This was clearly abnormal.
By doing this, the Heavenly Dao had undoubtedly locked the upper limit of the Primordial World.
Yet since he had arrived, he would certainly not let the Primordial World continue to develop in this direction.
"I am the future Lord of the Earth Dao."
Hearing this, Houtu's previously dimmed eyes instantly brightened. She looked at Panshi and asked, "Then what should I do now?"
"You don't need to do anything for now. Go back and heal your injuries first. Once your injuries have fully recovered, I will tell you what to do next," Panshi said.
"Yes."
The troubled expression vanished from Houtu's face, and she left with light steps.
With Houtu's departure, Panshi was left alone in the vast Wu Clan treasury. Ignoring the thirty-one Innate Spiritual Treasures entirely, he sat cross-legged on the spot, closed his eyes, and began to sense the supreme treasure that had stirred the Heart of Pangu.
His intuition told him that this supreme treasure was immensely important to him.
One day, two days, three days...
Panshi sat with his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep. The entire Wu Clan treasury was filled with nothing but the sound of his heartbeat, each beat carrying a profound rhythm. The light clusters formed by the thirty-one Innate Spiritual Treasures drifted closer to him, eventually revolving around him like imperial concubines awaiting his favor.
As time passed, the sound of his heartbeat pervaded the entire Wu Clan treasury, echoing deep into the spatial void.
Thump, thump, thump—
Panshi remained with his eyes closed, unmoved.
Time trickled by slowly.
One year... two years... ten years......... a hundred years.
On a day three hundred years later, a trace of familiar palpitation arose in Panshi's heart. Without hesitation, and even without opening his eyes, he directly reached out his palm and grabbed toward the direction he sensed.
When he withdrew his hand, an ancient, unadorned bead had appeared in his palm.
Panshi opened his eyes and looked at the bead in his hand for the very first time.
"To think... to think it is this item."
"My Dao is achieved!"