Many children, many blessings; the twelve ancestral witches forced marriages throughout the primordi

Mount Sumeru.

Chamber of Secrets.

Zhunti sat cross-legged on the futon.

His right arm was still half a dark gold color. It had grown a little longer, but very slowly. The wound on his sacred body, severed by Lin Xuan's axe strike, combined with the continuous damage from the giant beast's occasional nibbles, meant that its recovery speed was roughly equivalent to—it would take three months to grow a finger.

Now—the first joint of the thumb has just emerged.

A web of cause and effect floated before him.

The lines on the legal net are densely interwoven, crisscrossing and intersecting.

This represents the chess pieces that Western religions have laid in various places throughout the primordial world.

Most of the wires are broken.

The line to the East China Sea was severed. It was severed by Lin Wu's spear.

The internal workings of the Great Shang Dynasty are broken. The reincarnation of Maitreya was killed by Lin Tian with a brick.

The line of Qishan —

It's broken too.

It just broke.

Burned by the purple fire of the Burning Karma.

Zhunti stared at the few charred, broken threads on the net. He remained silent for a long time.

His temples were still throbbing. The echo of that phrase, "Bald monk, don't touch me like that," hadn't completely faded. It would pop into his head every now and then.

The guide walked in from outside.

He held a cup of cold tea in his hand. He didn't know how long it had been sitting there. It was cold. Jieyin couldn't even get hot tea anymore—the spirit fire stove on Mount Sumeru was trampled down by the giant beast last month. It hadn't been repaired since.

Jieyin glanced at Zhunti's expression.

"It broke again?"

"Um."

Which one?

"Qishan".

Jieyin remained silent for two seconds.

"Then Xiqi..."

"It's over. My luck has dropped to zero."

Jieyin put down his teacup. He leaned against the wall of the secret chamber. There was a crack in the ceiling. It was from when the Big Mouth Beast rolled on the roof of the main hall last time.

He sighed.

"Junior brother."

"Um."

"We can't win if we keep going like this."

Zhunti remained silent.

The guide continued.

"East China Sea. It's a mess. It's a complete disaster. The roc has been reduced to a naked chicken."

"Within the Great Shang Dynasty. It's a mess. It's a disaster. Maitreya was killed during his reincarnation."

"Qishan. It's a disaster. A complete mess. Three disciples of the Chan Sect ran back naked."

He counted on his fingers.

"Every time it's the same: they mess it up, they lose money, and they even have to pay out of pocket."

"If this cycle continues for a few more rounds—even Mount Sumeru won't be able to protect this secret chamber."

Zhunti's brows furrowed more and more.

He knew that what the guide said was right.

A head-on confrontation—you can't win.

The conspiracy was exposed.

They planted an undercover agent—who was wiped out.

A sneak attack using a mount—the mount was stripped naked and roasted.

He was almost at his wit's end.

But Zhunti has one advantage.

Never admit defeat.

He rose from the barren wasteland of the West, a place so impoverished that even ghosts wouldn't venture there. His success was built on this one spirit—the kind that says, "You can hit me a hundred times, but I'll get up a hundred and one times."

"It cannot be broken from the inside."

Zhunti spoke.

"Then cut them off from the outside."

Jieyin looked up at him.

"What root?"

"Money root".

Zhunti tapped his finger on the web of cause and effect.

One dot lit up.

That point is not in the East China Sea.

In the West Sea.

"The third brother of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the West Sea - the Dragon King of the West Sea."

Jieyin frowned. "You want to attack the Western Sea?"

"I didn't hit him." Zhunti lightly flicked his finger across the net of law. Several dark purple causal lines extended from that point, connecting to the depths of the sea.

"I've been raising a few creatures in the deep sea for several years. They're deep-sea demons at the early stage of Quasi-Saint level. I control them with causal threads."

Jieyin looked at those lines. His expression changed.

"Junior brother. When did you—"

"It was prepared a long time ago. I haven't used it yet. I'm saving it as a trump card."

A glint flashed in Zhunti's eyes.

"Now—the time has come to use it."

His plan was simple.

The treasure trove of the East Sea Dragon Clan is one of the most important logistical sources for the Pangu Palace. Spirit stones, ores, and spirit iron—most of them come from the Dragon Clan's mines.

Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, has completely sided with the Witch Clan. They can't defeat them there. The defenses are too strong.

But the West Sea—

The relationship between the West Sea Dragon King and Ao Guang wasn't that close. The West Sea's defenses were far inferior to those of the East Sea.

As long as we take the West Sea.

They forced Ao Guang to hand over joint control of the Four Seas Treasure Trove.

Even if they can't take the treasure vault, they can still throw the dragon race into chaos.

Internal strife within the dragon race. Supply chain disruption.

Logistics of Pangu Temple —

That will cause problems.

"When will you make your move?" Jieyin asked.

"Now."

Zhunti flicked his finger along the causal line.

Somewhere in the deep sea—

Several enormous monsters that had been dormant for years...

He opened his eyes.

-

Pangu Hall.

in the afternoon.

The autumn sun shone warmly on the backyard.

Lin Xuan held Caiyun Fairy's hand with his right hand. Jin Ning followed beside him on his left.

Fairy Caiyun had just given birth to Lin Xia and was still recovering. However, her complexion had improved considerably, with a healthy glow on her cheeks. She wore a light purple dress and walked quietly beside Lin Xuan.

Jin Ning walked on the other side. She no longer wore the golden-red envoy's robes. Instead, she wore a simple white dress. Her hair was loose. Faint red marks from last night's Nirvana Fire still lingered on her collarbone.

She's pregnant. She just conceived.

When walking, I unconsciously place one hand on my lower abdomen.

The three of them walked slowly along the path in the backyard.

Saplings of the Crimson Flame Sycamore tree, transplanted from the immortal volcano, line both sides of the road. The saplings are only half a person tall. Faint flames shimmer along the edges of their leaves.

Lin Xia floated three feet above the head of the Fairy of Colorful Clouds. The little girl was wrapped in a purple swaddling cloth made by Houtu. She was half asleep and half awake. Occasionally, she would open her mouth and "poof" out a purple bubble. The bubble would float several feet away before "pop" and burst.

"It's peaceful and quiet. The wind isn't strong either. I can soak up some sun."

Lin Xuan said it casually.

Fairy Caiyun hummed in agreement. She moved a little closer to Lin Xuan, her shoulder brushing against his arm.

Jin Ning walked on the other side without saying a word, but her eyes were constantly scanning everything in the backyard of the Pangu Temple.

The ancient warm jade-colored paving stones by the roadside.

The five-element fruits hanging on the five-needle pine.

Under the yellow plum tree in the distance, Bixiao and Linxiao were folding paper airplanes.

All of this was completely different from the Nuwa Palace where she had lived for thousands of years.

The Nuwa Palace was deserted. Orderly. Quiet, like a museum.

It's noisy here. It's chaotic. Everywhere you look, there are children's voices and adults' laughter and scolding.

But—it's warm.

Jin Ning secretly glanced at Lin Xuan.

This man.

last night--

Her face flushed again.

Just at this time.

"Bang—"

The east gate to the backyard was kicked open.

Ao Ling rushed in from outside the door.

She wore pale gold dragon scale armor. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was frighteningly pale.

She ran up to Lin Xuan.

"My husband!"

Her voice was trembling.

Lin Xuan stopped. He looked at her expression.

"What's wrong?"

"My third uncle—the Dragon King of the West Sea—sent a message—the West Sea is under siege by an unknown powerful demon—the clan's protective formation is about to break—"

Ao Ling's lips were trembling.

"My cousin Cunxin is on the front lines—she can't hold on much longer—"

Her tears fell.