Deep within the heart of the Pangu Temple, the Twelve Ancestral Witches sat in a circle of primal power. The air was heavy with the scent of ancient earth and blood as Houtu recounted the events of Zixiao Palace.
"Hongjun actually proposed that the Golden Crows establish a 'Heavenly Court'?"
Di Jiang's features shifted with genuine surprise. The move was as transparent as mountain water; the Saint was clearly dissatisfied with the rising tide of the Witch Clan and intended to use a formal celestial government to leash them.
"The Crows refused," Houtu continued, her voice echoing off the living stone of the temple. "Following that, Saint Hongjun appointed a Head of the Female Immortals and a Head of the Male Immortals. Their purpose is the same—to lead the cultivators of the Honghuang world and 'maintain the primordial order.'"
She laid out every detail of the sermon, leaving her siblings in a state of brooding silence.
"Those Golden Crows have more sense than I gave them credit for," one brother grunted.
"But this 'Head of Immortals' business is curious," another added, his voice low and gravelly. "Maintaining the order... it's a blade forged specifically to strike at us, isn't it?"
"Aimed at us?" Qiang Liang's roar was like the grinding of tectonic plates. He flexed his massive arms, sparks of blue lightning dancing across his knuckles. "If they dare to stick their noses into our territory, I'll twist their heads off their shoulders!"
"The real concern is the next sermon," Houtu reminded them, her expression grave. "Hongjun intends to preach the Way of the Saint. If any of these great powers actually achieve a breakthrough and become a Saint, the balance will tilt. It could be disastrous for our clan."
The temple erupted into a fervent debate. The information Houtu had brought back was a catalyst, forcing the Witches to look beyond their borders.
"They say the one named Ling Xiao may have already stepped into the Quasi-Saint realm," Candle Nine Nethers mused. His eyes, weathered and ancient, seemed to pierce through the stone walls. "Coupled with the Saint's desire to put them in the Heavenly Court... there are secrets buried there."
"Does the Saint truly believe three Crows can suppress the Twelve of us?" He paused, his gaze flickering with a rare suspicion. "Perhaps he has peered into the river of time and seen a future we have not..."
"I think you're overcomplicating it," Gonggong interjected with a dismissive wave. "It's simpler. The Saint knows the Crows have reached the Quasi-Saint level, so he's trying to use the nearest available hammer to hit us. In this world, Quasi-Saints are rare. Hongjun is just picking the tallest among the dwarves."
"I believe we should find an opening to visit the Sun Star," Candle Nine Nethers suggested, his voice dropping to a predatory chill. "We must test these Golden Crows. If they truly pose a threat to our future, we should extinguish their light before it grows any brighter."
"It matters not," Di Jiang said, his voice cutting through the tension with the weight of absolute authority. "Even if there are three of them at the Quasi-Saint level, it changes nothing. Their refusal to lead the court and their previous rejection of Bai Ze proves they have no stomach for a war with us."
He stood, his presence filling the chamber. "The priority is expansion. Once Hongjun finishes his third sermon, a Saint might actually walk the earth. We must gorging our strength now—immediately—to prepare for the changes to come."
The Ancestral Witches nodded in unison, the logic of the hunt resonating with them.
"I have a premonition," the God of Fire added, his eyes burning with an intense, flickering light. "The Three Pure Ones are close to a breakthrough. They are our true enemies. Those three shameless wretches have been suppressed by us time and again, yet their Luck remains disgustingly profound."
"Next time we find an opening, we kill them," Qiang Liang growled. "We seize every scrap of Father God's legacy they carry and bring it back to this temple!"
The suggestion was met with a chorus of approval. For the Witches, there was no greater law than the inheritance of Pangu.
"Expansion is the foundation," Di Jiang reminded them one last time. "Move."
With the meeting adjourned, the Twelve Ancestral Witches surged out of the Pangu Temple. Within hours, the warriors of their respective tribes were mobilized, launching a fresh, brutal offensive across the Great Desolation.
Meanwhile, the solar heat of the Sun Star rippled with the return of its masters.
As soon as they landed, Di Jun and Tai Yi pulled Ling Xiao into the inner sanctum, their voices hushed but excited as they recounted the Saint's proposal. When Ling Xiao heard about the offer to lead the Heavenly Court, he felt a surge of relief so strong he couldn't help but give a mental thumbs-up.
He had predicted this move, but seeing Hongjun take such an aggressive initiative was still a jolt.
He's anxious, Ling Xiao thought. The Saint is losing his cool.
"You did well to refuse," Ling Xiao said, a small, approving smile playing on his lips. "Establishing the Heavenly Court might sound like a path to glory, but it's a poisoned chalice. It's a thankless, exhausting trap."
He felt a genuine sense of gratitude for his own foresight. If he hadn't warned them, Di Jun and Tai Yi—with their natural thirst for leadership—would have likely walked straight into the cage. The thought of them returning home boasting about a fancy new title and a mountain of administrative paperwork was enough to make his skin crawl.
"Third Brother, you were absolutely right," Dijun laughed, the sound booming through the solar halls. "What is so grand about a Heavenly Court? To be busy every moment with the trifles of the world... how can that compare to the serenity of cultivating at home? But I'll admit, in the heat of the moment, I might have said yes if you hadn't warned us!"
"The funniest part," Tai Yi added, his eyes dancing with amusement, "is that when the Saint saw we wouldn't take the bait, he just gave up on the Court entirely. Instead, he created these 'Heads of Immortals' to do the dirty work. I still don't quite get why he was so desperate for someone to manage the order."
Ling Xiao nodded, his suspicions confirmed. "Did he try to pin the 'Head of Male Immortals' title on you as well?"
Dijun waved the question away. "No. He actually tried to give it to Hongyun. But strangely enough, Fellow Daoist Hongyun refused him flat out!"
"Hongyun?" Ling Xiao's expression went through a series of subtle, strange shifts. He hadn't expected that. Hongjun was truly being unscrupulous, trying to trap the Red Cloud?
The Primordial Violet Qi is meant for him later anyway, Ling Xiao mused. Hongjun likely realized he couldn't move us, so he tried to use Hongyun as a tether to drag us into the storm.
But it seemed the "Good Old Man" of the Honghuang world had finally grown a spine.
"Hongyun must have sensed the trouble," Tai Yi continued. "Since he wouldn't take it, East King Duke stepped forward and practically begged for the job. So, the Saint handed it to him."
"That sounds about right," Ling Xiao murmured. If there was a list of those with a terminal case of overambition, East King Duke was firmly at the top.
"The Saint also announced a third sermon," Tai Yi added. "He'll be teaching the complete Way of the Saint and taking in disciples."
"Do you have any desire to be his disciples?" Ling Xiao asked, his voice light.
Both brothers waved their hands in immediate, nonchalant dismissal. "Being a Saint's disciple is nothing special," Dijun said, his face hardening with a fierce, independent pride. "We will find our own way to that height."
They were firm. After seeing the Saint's methods—and his claim that Law cultivation was a dead end—they had lost their awe. Especially since they knew their own brother was already a living counter-proof to the Saint's words.
"I'm glad to hear it," Ling Xiao said. The trip to Zixiao Palace hadn't been a waste; it had stripped away their illusions and forged their resolve into iron.
"Once I reach the Hun Yuan realm," Dijun added, his aura momentarily flaring with a cold, murderous heat, "I am going to personally twist the heads off those two Western thieves."
"By the way, Third Brother," Tai Yi said, shifting the subject as his curiosity finally boiled over. "How exactly did the Ziwei Star God end up as your errand boy?"
The Ziwei Star was the pinnacle of the celestial bodies, second only to the Sun and Moon. They couldn't understand how such a noble spirit had been subdued.
"It went like this..." Ling Xiao began, offering a brief, understated explanation of the encounter.
As the story unfolded, the casual interest on his brothers' faces transformed into masks of pure, unadulterated shock.
"The Zhou Tian Star Tree!?"