A desolate, boundless Aura suddenly erupted from Mount Buzhou. It was Supreme and vast beyond measure, permeating the eight directions of the heavens and sweeping across the entire Primordial Great Earth.
This Aura arrived with the suddenness of a lightning strike and departed just as swiftly. Like a cooling wind, it brushed past the gathered host of the Wu Clan, lingering for a mere heartbeat upon the forms of the Twelve Ancestral Witches before vanishing into the ether.
"This... this is the Aura of Father God?"
The Twelve Ancestral Witches were struck dumb. They stared blankly at Mount Buzhou, and for a fleeting, hallucinatory second, they seemed to see a gargantuan figure standing between heaven and earth, looking down upon them with a gaze of infinite, paternal love.
"Is this... truly real?"
They could scarcely believe their own senses. It felt like a dream, yet the shock left them physically petrified, like stone statues.
Di Jiang's body trembled with an uncontrollable excitement. He had not expected that a simple ritual of sacrifice would truly invoke a response from Father Pangu.
The moment that Aura brushed past him, he felt his mind suddenly clear, as if he had instantly comprehended something profound and hidden.
He could feel it in his marrow—this was a gift bestowed upon them by Father Pangu.
"Father God! Qiang Liang kowtows to you!" The Ancestral Witch Qiang Liang finally snapped back to reality. In his fervor, he began to slam his head against the earth with such force that the ground groaned and shattered, sending fissures snaking out in every direction.
He shared Di Jiang's sensation; it was as if a hidden lock in his soul had been burst open.
In a heartbeat, all the Ancestral Witches and the tens of millions of their kin resumed their worship with a newfound, terrifying fanaticism.
The vast Aura that had leaked from Mount Buzhou was sensed by every living being within the Great Desolation.
At Yujing Mountain, the Sanqing were so shocked that they stood up from their prayer mats in unison, staring toward Mount Buzhou with expressions of deep suspicion and alarm.
"Big Brother, was that... truly the Aura of Father Pangu?" Yuanshi asked, his voice heavy. Deep within his eyes was a flicker of profound disbelief. He simply did not want to believe it.
Could it be that Father Pangu... is not truly dead?
"It should be him," Laozi said in a deep voice. His eyes flickered as he stared at Mount Buzhou, his face a mask of calculated indifference.
"If that is the case, does it mean those wretched, pitiable Witches have received some kind of gift or benefit from Father Pangu?"
Yuanshi's voice was cold, laced with a mounting, sharp anger. Why should those "pitiable things" be the ones to receive a blessing from the Father? By what right?
"It is highly probable. I did not expect that the Witches' sacrifice at Mount Buzhou would be capable of invoking Pangu's Will," Laozi noted.
He was not foolish enough to believe that Pangu had physically resurrected.
Mount Buzhou was the spine of Pangu; it was perfectly logical that a trace of unextinguished Will might be hidden within its depths.
"If the Wu Clan has truly received a blessing from Father Pangu, what are we to do?" Yuanshi asked, a strange, acquisitive light flashing in his eyes.
"We are the orthodox lineage of Pangu. Naturally, we are the ones meant to inherit everything of the Father."
"Perhaps... we should find an opportunity to pay the Wu Clan a visit?"
Yuanshi asked the question tentatively. Laozi froze at the suggestion and remained silent, offering no immediate rebuttal.
Tongtian hesitated, glancing at the reactions of his two older brothers. He already knew the answer they had reached in their hearts, and he eventually swallowed the words he had been about to speak.
Upon the Sun Star, Ling Xiao was also physically startled by his own deductions.
"A trace of Pangu's undying Will?"
Watching the Twelve Ancestral Witches engage in their frantic worship, a surge of curiosity filled his mind.
Did Pangu's Will truly grant the Witches a tangible benefit?
That Aura from moments ago was merely a shred of Will—a lingering instinct. But even such a fragment might have bestowed a peerless Opportunity upon the Wu Clan.
"Wait... was that Aura truly Pangu?" Ling Xiao suddenly had a strange, stray thought.
"Whatever. Whether it was him or not has nothing to do with me. I must focus on my Cultivation."
He let out a light laugh and sank back into a deep meditative state. The tension between the Yao and Wu was reaching a breaking point; the final act of their drama could begin at any moment.
In this interval, he had to achieve the rank of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal as quickly as possible to face the coming cataclysm.
At Mount Buzhou, the feverish worship of the Wu Clan lasted for a long time before the host finally began to disperse.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches immediately hurried back to the Pangu Temple.
"Did you all receive an instruction from Father God as well?" Di Jiang asked the moment they were inside, his voice full of urgent expectation.
the Ancestral Witches exchanged looks and then nodded heavily, their eyes filled with a shimmering joy.
Some of them had assumed the blessing was a private gift; they hadn't realized all twelve of them had received it.
Qiang Liang, for instance, had kowtowed so violently because he believed he was Father Pangu's favorite child. It turned out he was just one of twelve.
"According to my perception, this appears to be a type of Formation—one that requires the twelve of us to act as a unified whole," Di Jiang continued. Through his own careful analysis, he had already identified the essence of the gift.
"Indeed, I feel the same!" Candle Nine Nethers added, a trace of excitement bleeding through his usually calm Dao-sound.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches were already practically invincible when working together; if they added a formation bestowed by Pangu himself, the world would have no answer for them.
"Hehe. It seems the East King Duke did not lie to me. The path for the Witches to reach the peak is twofold: first, worship; second, collect the remnants of Father God's legacy. We have received the blessing; now we must take the next step."
Di Jiang spoke with a satisfied smile. The Duke had been "sensible" enough not to deceive him.
Houtu listened to her brother's words, her eyes flickering. She had always been skeptical of the East King Duke's "advice," but now that the first half had manifested as truth, there was nothing left for her to say.
The proof was undeniable.
"Big Brother, what is the next step?" one of the Witches asked impatiently. The blessing had caused his confidence to swell; his heart was pounding, and he felt a primal urge to unleash his power.
The corners of Di Jiang's mouth curled into a terrifying smile. "Naturally, we must collect the remnants of Father God's legacy!"
"Excellent! Let us do it!"
"Where do we start?"
The siblings voiced their unanimous agreement. At this moment, if you ordered them to storm the Zixiao Palace, they wouldn't even hesitate.
"I propose we first strike the Taiyin and Sun Stars. Those were Father God's eyes; their significance is absolute!" Ju Mang suggested, his voice carrying a distinct hint of personal vendetta.
"If we are to collect the legacy, we ought to start at the top. The Sun and Moon are indeed a perfect choice!"
This suggestion was immediately met with the approval of nearly every Ancestral Witch. In the past, they were missing three of their number, but now that the Twelve were reunited, who in the Great Desolation could possibly stand against them?
"Brother, I believe the Sun and Moon can wait. The Golden Crows of the Sun Star are not easily dealt with; we should proceed step-by-step. If we push them into a corner, they might join the Yao Race host, and that would create a significant problem for us."
Houtu stood up once again to offer her opposition. She still felt that the Three Crows were not to be trifled with. A rash move against them would invite disaster.
"Sister, you worry far too much!" one of the Witches laughed, dismissing her concern.
One by one, the Ancestral Witches turned their gaze toward Di Jiang, waiting for their eldest brother to issue the command.