The war among the three clans raged for tens of thousands of years. Having long since abandoned all restraint and driven to a blind fury, they were locked in a fight to the death.
After millennia of brutal warfare, all three clans had suffered devastating casualties. Those beneath the Daluo Golden Immortal realm were nearly wiped out, leaving only a meager handful of survivors, all severely wounded with flickering, feeble auras.
High above in the nine heavens, Ancestral Dragon manipulated the Ancestral Dragon Pearl to fight two opponents at once. Taking on Tianfeng and Wuxing Qilin single-handedly, he held his ground without showing a disadvantage, yet remained unable to subdue either of them.
The shockwaves of the three-way battle shook heaven and earth with overwhelming might, their divine power saturating the cosmos. Within a radius of ten thousand miles centered on the combatants, all life was utterly extinguished.
Ancestral Dragon was draped in the supreme Xiantian Spirit Treasure, the Eastern Qinglian Treasured Color Flag, with blossoming green lotuses guarding his body. He controlled the Ancestral Dragon Pearl to dart unpredictably up and down, striking left and right, leaving Tianfeng and Wuxing Qilin with no defense against his elusive attacks.
Wuxing Qilin was shrouded in the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag, protected by blooming yellow lotuses. His Qilin Seal, as massive as a mountain and carrying the crushing momentum of thunder, shook space itself as it pressed down toward Ancestral Dragon.
Meanwhile, Tianfeng was likewise wrapped in the Southern Ground Fire Flag—one of the Five Directions Flags of Heaven and Earth—for her defense. Surrounded by blossoming red lotuses and wielding the Nanming Lihuo Sword, she unleashed torrents of glazed Nanming Lihuo sword qi that flooded heaven and earth, charging at Ancestral Dragon with boundless killing intent.
Having fought for tens of thousands of years, the three had long since exhausted all their tricks and knew each other inside out. They remained locked in a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.
By this stage of the war, everyone in the three clans had slaughter-reddened eyes. Influenced by the baleful qi of the great tribulation, every member of the three clans had lost the capacity to feel fear, terror, or death; they knew only the urge to annihilate every enemy within their field of vision.
Even the three clan chiefs high above in the nine heavens had blood-red eyes and ferocious expressions, knowing nothing but slaughter, entirely unaware of how deeply the tribulation had corrupted them.
With a thunderous roar, Ancestral Dragon instantly transformed back into his true form—a nine-clawed divine dragon stretching for countless thousands of miles across the nine heavens. His roar shook heaven and earth for tens of thousands of miles, churning the very elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.
With wide, glaring eyes, Ancestral Dragon stared furiously at Tianfeng and Wuxing Qilin, roaring, "Tianfeng, Wuxing! I have one final move left. Let me use it to send you and your two clans on your final journey, and show you that in this world, only my Dragon Clan are the true masters of heaven and earth!"
"Hmph! Insolent boasting, beyond your capabilities! Do you take me for a coward?"
"You wish to exterminate my Qilin Clan? Ancestral Dragon, you are utterly delusional!"
Tianfeng and Wuxing Qilin shouted in simultaneous fury.
Almost at the exact same moment, both transformed into their true forms, their towering rage unleashing an awe-inspiring, world-destroying might.
The natal dharma treasures of the three collided with the overwhelming, world-shattering momentum of a thunderbolt.
Instantly, terrifying divine power burst outward in all directions. Countless unprepared members of the three clans had their physical bodies instantly obliterated, leaving not even a shred of their primordial spirits behind.
Ancestral Dragon, Tianfeng, and Wuxing Qilin were also instantly grievously wounded, their latest clash ending once again in a dead heat.
Though severely injured, the three had inadvertently pierced through a sliver of heavenly secrets during the heat of battle.
As top-tier masters of the Primordial World, all three instantly caught a glimpse of their respective clans' futures within that sliver of destiny. Never had they imagined that the mutual slaughter of the three clans would spark the Primordial Great Tribulation, plunging all living beings into misery with barely one in ten surviving.
The Qi Fortune of the three clans was draining away—they were doomed to perish.
At this realization, a wave of profound grief welled up within Ancestral Dragon, Tianfeng, and Wuxing Qilin. Looking at the boundless corpses of their clansmen strewn across the ground, their hearts ached bitterly. They wanted to call a halt to the clansmen still locked in combat, but lacked the power to do so; after all, until the tribulation qi dissipated, the catastrophe would rage on until the three clans were utterly extinct.
Exchanging a grief-stricken look, Ancestral Dragon's eyes suddenly hardened with resolve. Trembling, he rose into the air, pointed toward the heavens, and swore an oath: "Heavenly Dao above! I, Ancestral Dragon of the Dragon Clan, have failed the Heavenly Dao by stirring up warfare and causing the Primordial Great Tribulation to rage endlessly, leaving barely one in ten living beings alive. Knowing the depths of my heavy sins, I am now willing to let my body perish to dissolve the baleful qi of the tribulation. From this day forth, the Dragon Clan shall dwell within the Four Seas, bringing clouds and rain across the Primordial World to repay our karma. May the Heavenly Dao grant permission!"
The moment Ancestral Dragon's voice fell, a beam of light shone down upon him. His gigantic body vanished in an instant, and well over half of the Primordial Great Tribulation's baleful qi dissipated.
Shortly after, Tianfeng and Wuxing Qilin exchanged a glance, and dragging their heavily wounded bodies, they too swore oaths to the Heavenly Dao.
"Heavenly Dao above! I, Tianfeng of the Phoenix Clan, have failed the Heavenly Dao by stirring up warfare and causing the Primordial Great Tribulation to rage endlessly, leaving barely one in ten living beings alive. Knowing the depths of my heavy sins, I am now willing to let my body perish to dissolve the baleful qi of the tribulation. From this day forth, the Phoenix Clan shall dwell at Mount Buzhou, never stepping out into the world again. May the Heavenly Dao grant permission!"
"Heavenly Dao above! I, Wuxing Qilin of the Qilin Clan, have failed the Heavenly Dao by stirring up warfare and causing the Primordial Great Tribulation to rage endlessly, leaving barely one in ten living beings alive. Knowing the depths of my heavy sins, I am now willing to let my body perish to dissolve the baleful qi of the tribulation. From this day forth, the Qilins shall cease their contentions and serve as portents of auspiciousness. May the Heavenly Dao grant permission!"
Just as the two finished speaking, two beams of light similarly descended upon them, their bodies vanishing as well. The baleful qi of the Primordial Great Tribulation faded away, the catastrophe receded, and the first calamity of the Primordial World came to an end.
Yet the war of the three clans had nearly wiped out all life in the Primordial World, accumulating karma so immense that even the self-sacrifice of the three clan chiefs was not enough to settle it. With no other choice, the three clans had to select members to suppress the four poles of heaven and earth: the Azure Dragon in the East, the White Tiger in the West, the Vermilion Bird in the South, and the Black Tortoise in the North.
These Four Auspicious Beasts suppressed the four poles of heaven and earth, gathering Qi Fortune to help their respective tribes settle their karma so they would not be weighed down by it and find their cultivation permanently stalled.
However, while the dispersal of the Primordial baleful qi allowed everyone in the Primordial World to heave a sigh of relief, rejoicing that the great tribulation had finally ended and their lives had been spared, there was one person in the extreme West of the Primordial World cursing the three clan chiefs in a frenzy of frustration.
In the extreme West of the Primordial World stood a mountain known as Mount Xumi. Within the mountain resided an Xiantian divine demon—the manifestation of the resentment of the three thousand divine demons slain long ago by Pangu. Named Luo Hou, he practiced the Dao of Demons and sought to destroy the Heavenly Dao.
Though the outbreak of the three clan tribulation was ultimately mandated by the Heavenly Dao, Luo Hou had secretly fomented discord behind the scenes.
His goal was to use the baleful qi of the heaven-and-earth calamity to nurture the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords and refine the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram, destroying heaven and earth to return the Primordial World to Chaos, thereby proving his Dao as a Saint.
Yet the actions of the three clan chiefs had utterly ruined Luo Hou's schemes of several dozen yuanhui.
Looking at the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram, which was just a hair's breadth away from completion, even the most patient person would have snapped—let alone Luo Hou, the Lord of the Demon Dao.
Yet even as Luo Hou sat cross-legged atop the 12th-Grade Dark Lotus, pointing toward the East and cursing in bitter rage, it was all useless. The baleful qi of the calamity had dissipated, the catastrophe had passed, and by the decree of the Heavenly Dao, the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram could never be completed.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Dao was no fool. If Luo Hou were allowed to attain the Dao and return heaven and earth to Chaos, the very first casualty would be the Heavenly Dao itself. Although the Heavenly Dao was utterly impartial and just, it had no suicidal hobbies; thus, Luo Hou was destined to fail.
"Wuliang Tianzun."
At the sound of a Daoist greeting, a white-haired elder dressed in a Taiji bagua robe appeared upon the summit of Mount Xumi.
Luo Hou glared at the elder with a gloomy expression.
The elder offered Luo Hou a Daoist obeisance and said, "Wuliang Tianzun. Fellow Daoist Luo Hou, to achieve your ends you have stopped at nothing, wantonly instigating the war of the three clans and plunging all living beings into misery, unleashing endless warfare across the Primordial World. With the calamity ceaseless, fellow Daoists have been unable to cultivate in peace."
"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Luo Hou might give this poor Daoist an explanation!"
"Hmph! Old man Hongjun, spare me the sanctimonious hypocrisy! If you want an explanation from this seat, you aren't qualified."
"Everything this seat has done is for the sake of proving the Dao. Anyone who blocks my path to the Dao, I will slaughter without exception."
"The struggle for the Dao is a life-or-death battle from the start. Talk to me of no grand righteousness."
"If you, old man Hongjun, were so righteous and awe-inspiring, you could have appeared to stop it back during the war of the three clans."
"Yet now you come here to wag your tongue before me. What this seat loathes most is this exact posturing of yours."
Luo Hou unleashed a torrent of grievances at Hongjun, as if venting all his bottled-up frustration upon him.
Faced with Luo Hou's consecutive tirade, Hongjun merely smiled from beginning to end and said, "Ever since Pangu opened heaven and earth, all beings of the Primordial World have looked to the Heavenly Dao, cultivating themselves in pursuit of the Dao of Saints."
"Unlike you, who stirs up monstrous carnage and causes countless living beings of the Primordial World to suffer disaster and death."
"Hmph! Those traveling different paths cannot make plans together. If I can attain the Dao, what does it matter to this seat even if every living being in the Primordial World is wiped out?" Luo Hou sneered.
"Ah, Wuliang Tianzun. Fellow Daoist is truly hopelessly deluded!" Hongjun sighed, shaking his head.
"Fellow Daoist Hongjun, since this scoundrel is so hopelessly deluded, why waste words on him? Now that we have come here, we should conclude this matter swiftly. Returning early to our mountains to cultivate is the proper path."
Another Daoist emerged from the void and spoke to Hongjun.
With that, he glanced around and called out, "Fellow Daoist Yinyang, Fellow Daoist Yangmei, why don't you show yourselves?"
As his voice fell, two more figures stepped out from the void, joining forces with Hongjun and the other to surround Luo Hou in the center.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Good! Today I shall use the four of you to test the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation I have prepared over dozens of yuanhui."
"Walking over the corpses of the four of you, I shall consummate my Saintly Dao."
"Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, rise!"
Luo Hou laughed uproariously.