Primordial Era: I am a treasure trove, full of magical treasures.

Di Jun understood the importance of striking while the iron was hot. After gaining Wang Shu's initial trust and overcoming her initial hesitation, he did not rush things. Instead, he demonstrated the magnanimity and patience befitting the Sun Star Lord and the ruler of Heaven. He did not urge Wang Shu to make an immediate decision. Instead, he offered to use his own pure solar essence to help her stabilize her newly awakened and still somewhat restless lunar essence and guide her to gain initial control over the lunar star power.

At birth, Wang Shu felt both unfamiliar with her immense power and slightly uneasy about the future. Di Jun's suggestion was exactly what she wanted. Although she remained wary, the attraction stemming from their shared origin and Di Jun's sincerity made it difficult for her to refuse. Thus, for the next hundred years, Di Jun used the Taiyin Star as his Daoist temple, concealing the secrets of heaven with the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams. Every day, he carefully guided and harmonized the surging Taiyin Moon Essence within Wang Shu with his own Solar True Fire. Solar True Fire is extremely Yang and intense, while Taiyin Moon Essence is extremely Yin and cold. The two should have been mutually destructive, but under Di Jun's exquisite control and the natural attraction of the Solar Star Lord's origin, they strangely achieved a balance of Yin and Yang, water and fire. Wang Shu could clearly feel that, with the help of this "Solar Star Lord," her control over the Taiyin Star's power was improving rapidly. Her previously obscure inherited memories became clearer, and her cultivation level steadily increased, quickly stabilizing at the mid-stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

In this process, Di Jun was not only a guide but also a learned and gentle "teacher." He explained to Wang Shu the principles of the movement of the stars in the celestial sphere, elucidating the irreplaceable position and responsibility of the sun and moon in the starry sky. Of course, he would also inadvertently mention the current situation in the prehistoric world, the barbarity of the Wu tribe, the "power" of the Three Pure Ones, and the efforts and sacrifices made by the demon tribe to maintain the order of the stars and fight against "injustice." His words were half fact and half guidance; in short, they were all forms of manipulation.

In the blank heart of Wangshu, the words "The demon race fights for justice," "The sun and moon are of one spirit," and "The stars in the heavens need order" were quietly etched...

Having spent a century together, facing each other every day, the fusion and complementarity of Yin and Yang essences have fostered an extraordinary understanding and closeness between the two. Di Jun is no longer just the "Heavenly Emperor of the Demon Clan." In Wang Shu's eyes, he has gradually become someone she can trust, rely on, and whose fate is inextricably linked to her own.

Wang Shu's aloof and exquisitely beautiful face, untouched by worldly dust, and her pure and innocent spirit stirred a different kind of ripple in Di Jun's heart. The initial scheming and manipulation remained, but perhaps mixed in was also a genuine appreciation and possessiveness that even he himself was not fully aware of.

As the centennial approached, Wang Shu could now freely manipulate the power of the Taiyin Star. Her aura was deep and concentrated, and moonlight flowed around her, exuding a cool yet majestic presence, already possessing the bearing of the Taiyin Star Lord. On this day, Di Jun finished his practice, stood with his hands behind his back before the Guanghan Palace of the Taiyin Star, gazing at the distant, floating sea of ​​stars, and slowly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible emotion and anticipation:

"Wangshu, a century has passed, your origins are firm, and you have just begun to wield the power of the Star Lord. It is time... to make a choice."

Wang Shu stood beside him, dressed in a white moon-white gown, bathed in the soft moonlight. Her exquisite face, once filled with the bewilderment of newborn, now held a serenity and contemplation. She remained silent for a moment before her clear, cold voice rang out: "Di Jun, I am aware of what you said about the order of the celestial bodies and the duties of the Sun and Moon. To stand shoulder to shoulder with you, to harmonize Yin and Yang, and to stabilize the stellar order, is also the responsibility of the Moon Goddess, a duty I cannot shirk. However, the Heavenly Court… the Demon Emperor's consort…" She frowned slightly, seemingly still harboring doubts.

Di Jun turned, his gaze fixed intently on her, golden flames blazing in his eyes, filled with utmost solemnity and sincerity: "Wang Shu, I know you are noble and pure, disliking the entanglements of worldly power and position. However, the Heavenly Court is no ordinary force; it was established by me to govern the heavens and maintain the order of the stars. Making you my Imperial Consort is not an ordinary marriage, but a declaration to the primordial world that the sun and moon have returned to one, and the stars have regained their master! This is a symbol, a responsibility, and above all, the Great Dao! Only in this way can the combined power of Yin and Yang between you and me maximize the strength of the Heavenly Star Array, deterring evildoers and protecting the starry sky! I can reaffirm my Heavenly Oath: after entering the Heavenly Court, your status will be equal to mine. You will have autonomy over Heavenly Court affairs, and we will share the power over the stars. I will never use my position as the Heavenly Emperor to force you to do anything, nor will I allow you to be involved in conflicts you dislike. Our Daoist partnership is solely for the Great Dao, solely for the stars!"

Having said that, Di Jun raised his hand, forcing out a point of golden essence blood that was as dazzling as the sun and contained boundless Dao principles. At the same time, a vast Heavenly Dao sense descended, and an invisible yet solemn binding force spread out—he was actually going to make a Heavenly Dao oath on the spot!

"Wait." Wang Shu suddenly spoke, stopping Di Jun. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Di Jun, the moonlight shimmering within them, as if trying to see into his heart. "There's no need to rush a vow. I believe in your sincerity now. But..." She paused, gazing at the vast starry sky, her voice ethereal, "I was born of the moon, raised by the stars, seeking only the freedom of the Great Dao and the order of the stars. Entering the Heavenly Court and wielding power is not my desire, yet it seems to be my destiny. Di Jun, I hope you will not betray me, will not betray these stars of the heavens."

The implication was... tacit approval!

Overjoyed, Di Jun sang a heart full of elation, yet he struggled to maintain composure, even revealing a hint of emotion at having found a kindred spirit. He nodded emphatically, his voice resounding: "I, Di Jun, in the name of the Sun Star Lord, and on the throne of the Demon Emperor, swear that in this life I will never betray Wang Shu, nor the stars of the heavens! If I break this oath, may my star fall, my path vanish, and my true spirit perish forever!"

Although there was no formal oath of Heavenly Dao binding him, the Great Dao oath that Di Jun made with his own position carried considerable weight. Wang Shu quietly looked at him for a moment, and a faint smile slowly bloomed on her cool face, a smile that seemed to dim the stars in the sky. She nodded gently.

"In that case... I'll go with you to the Heavenly Court."

……

A century later, a beam of cool moonlight rose from the Moon Star, streaking across the sky and entering the Southern Heavenly Gate. Wherever this moonlight passed, all the stars in the heavens shone brightly, showering down endless starlight, as if welcoming the return of their long-lost king. Outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court, having already received the news, welcomed him with the highest honors.

Donghuang Taiyi, leading all the demon saints, 365 Zhou Tian Star Lords, 48,000 evil spirits, and countless demon soldiers and generals, arrayed themselves outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, stretching for billions of miles. Upon seeing the moonlight descend, Taiyi bowed first, his voice resounding throughout the universe: "Welcome back to the position of the Taiyin Star Lord! Congratulations to the Heavenly Emperor and the Star Lord, for the harmony of Yin and Yang, and the return of the stars to their proper order!"

"Welcome back to the position of the Moon Lord! Congratulations to the Heavenly Emperor and the Star Lord!" Hundreds of millions of demons shouted in unison, their voices rolling and soaring into the sky, stirring up the winds and clouds of the Thirty-Three Heavens. This momentum was no less than that of when they conquered all directions and destroyed the Celestial Court, and even had a greater sense of solemnity and holiness.

The moonlight faded, revealing Wang Shu's true form. She was still dressed in her moonlit white gown, her body enveloped in its gentle glow. Her beauty was exquisite and aloof, her gaze calmly sweeping over the dark, imposing army of demons below, devoid of joy or sorrow. Beside her stood Emperor Jun, clad in golden robes and crown, his true solar fire subdued yet radiating unparalleled majesty and joy. He took Wang Shu's hand and proclaimed loudly, "From this day forth, Wang Shu, the Lady of the Moon, is my Imperial Consort, Mother of Heaven, sharing my supreme authority and jointly governing the celestial sphere! May all stars bear witness, and may Heaven itself bear witness!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty enjoy eternal bliss and boundless longevity!" The millions of demons roared once more.

Wang Shu felt the warmth of the true fire of the sun resonating subtly with her own moonlight emanating from her palm, and listened to the deafening sounds of worship. A complex emotion flashed in her clear, cold eyes, but it quickly subsided. She slightly raised her hand, and her clear, cold voice echoed in all directions: "Rise."

The two simple words carried the unique tranquility and majesty of the Taiyin star, instantly silencing the noisy scene.

From this moment on, the newly appointed Taiyin Star Lord, Wangshu, officially entered the Heavenly Court of the Demon Clan, with the title "Taiyin Imperial Consort." Emperor Jun fulfilled his promise, using Taiyin star power combined with countless treasures to build her the "Guanghan Heavenly Palace," a palace no less magnificent than the Lingxiao Palace, as her training ground in the Heavenly Court. Emperor Jun indeed did not impose Heavenly Court affairs upon her, only entrusting her with the complete control over the operation of the celestial sphere and the management of stellar power. Wangshu did not refuse; born and raised among the stars, commanding stellar power was second nature to her. Under her guidance, the celestial order, slightly disrupted by the departure of Changxi and Xihe, quickly returned to normal, the flow of stellar power became smoother and more powerful, and the operation of the Celestial Star Array became several times smoother, showing signs of perfection.

The grand wedding ceremony of Di Jun and Wang Shu was held in the Lingxiao Palace a hundred years later. The Heavenly Dao manifested, and all the stars shone. All the powerful beings of the primordial world received invitations. However, given the reputation of the demon race, those with slightly weaker strength might not come themselves, but they would still send envoys and gifts. The powerful ones, on the other hand, would completely ignore the demon race.

However, the demon race didn't care whether they came or not—at least on the surface, no one objected, which was tantamount to approval. At the grand ceremony, Di Jun held Wang Shu's hand, jointly offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, the stars, and establishing a great oath, declaring the union of Yin and Yang, and jointly governing the heavens. Against the backdrop of countless stars and the magnificent celestial scene, Wang Shu's cool and beautiful face lost some of the bewilderment of her early life, gaining more of the grace and majesty befitting the Moon Goddess and the Heavenly Empress. Yet, in her eyes, reflecting the stars of the heavens, there remained a subtle, almost imperceptible, tranquility, incongruous with the clamor.

……

After the Heavenly Marriage, Di Jun was not in a hurry to achieve quick results. He knew that making the Zhou Tian Star Array truly perfect was not something that could be accomplished overnight. It also required Wang Shu, the newly appointed Taiyin Star Lord, to thoroughly familiarize herself with the authority and to work seamlessly with him, Taiyi, and the 365 Zhou Tian Star Lords. Thus, the prehistoric world entered a rare period of relative "peace" that lasted for nearly ten thousand years, since the Three Pure Ones forcibly seized Penglai.

This calm is merely the suffocating tension before the storm.

Above the Heavenly Court, starlight never ceases, day and night. Di Jun, Tai Yi, and Wang Shu, high in the depths of the starry sky, use the Hetu Luoshu, the Chaos Bell, and the Taiyin Star Core as their core, drawing upon the power of the celestial sphere to repeatedly refine and perfect the now-completed Zhou Tian Star Array. Three hundred and sixty-five Zhou Tian Star Lords at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, forty-eight thousand Star Evil Spirits at the Golden Immortal realm and above, and billions of elite demons practice and refine the array amidst the endless starlight. Initially, there was some stagnation; occasional clashes occurred as star power flowed, and flaws appeared in the array's transformations. However, as time passed, under the harmonizing influence of Wang Shu's pure Taiyin essence and the full guidance of Di Jun and Tai Yi, the array's operation became increasingly seamless.

The stellar power flowed like a boundless sea, ceaselessly surging. The 365 star banners shone ever brighter, their connection to their corresponding main stars so tight they seemed to be one. The solar stellar power blazed like the sun, while the lunar stellar power flowed like clear water; yin and yang intertwined, complementing each other, guiding the celestial stars to their respective positions and duties. As the formation unfolded, boundless starlight descended from the heavens, enveloping the celestial court, demonstrating the mysteries of the birth and death of the stars and the rotation of time and space. In defense, it was as solid as a rock, impervious to all magic; in attack, stars fell, destroying heaven and earth. Its power far surpassed that of the past, faintly showing the nascent form of what the Dao Ancestor had described as "below the sage, no one can break it." Di Jun stood at the center of the formation, feeling the immense, unparalleled, and all-encompassing stellar power. Golden flames blazed in his eyes; the flames of ambition and revenge, far from being extinguished in the millennia of silence, burned even more fiercely.

Buzhou Mountain, Pangu Temple.

The tranquility here was a deathly stillness, like the surging magma within a volcano. Within the blood pool, the crimson cocoon, pulsating for millennia, had already reached its peak, its rhythm like the heartbeat of the primordial earth—heavy, powerful, carrying a savage, warlike ferocity. The Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Banners floated in the twelve directions of the blood pool. After ten thousand years of nurturing, they had long since become spiritually connected with the eleven Ancestral Witches. Their banners fluttered, their malevolent aura soaring to the heavens, each radiating terrifying fluctuations comparable to top-grade innate spiritual treasures. Their auras intertwined, subtly forming a destructive array, poised to be unleashed.

The ancestral witches, including Dijiang, Zhurong, and Gonggong, had already used the spiritual artifacts left behind by Xuanbao and their own arduous cultivation to stabilize their realms, which had fallen due to the depletion of their essence and blood. They even benefited from this misfortune, gaining a deeper understanding of their own laws. Day and night, they nourished and refined the corresponding Divine Banner with their own essence and blood and malevolent energy, achieving perfect harmony and coordination. Now, everything is ready, only the east wind is lacking—Xingtian, break free from your cocoon!

Finally, one day, the malevolent energy within the Pangu Palace suddenly surged! In the center of the blood pool, the enormous blood-red cocoon suddenly expanded to its limit, and countless fine cracks appeared on its surface. Rays of dark gold light, containing pure earth malevolent energy and indomitable fighting spirit, shone through the cracks!

"roar--!!!"

A roar that seemed to have been suppressed for eternity exploded from within the cocoon, the sound waves mixed with the majestic aura of the ancestral witches, sweeping across the entire Pangu Palace, even causing Mount Buzhou to tremble slightly! The cocoon burst open with a bang, and endless blood light and dark golden evil energy soared into the sky, transforming into a towering and majestic figure!

The figure was ten thousand feet tall, with muscles bulging like dragons, and skin a dark gold, as if cast from the most resilient divine iron. He had no head, using his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth. He wielded a phantom of a giant axe formed from condensed baleful energy, and his body radiated a pure, powerful, and in no way inferior to other Ancestral Witches' aura of earth, along with an overwhelming fighting spirit forged in blood and fire, unyielding through countless trials! This was none other than Xing Tian, ​​a Great Witch of the Witch Clan who defied fate to become an Ancestral Witch!

"Xingtian!" Dijiang was the first to step forward, his voice filled with excitement.

"Hahaha! Good! Good Xingtian! You have finally been born, and your realm has reached the mid-stage of Quasi-Saint, not bad, not bad...!" Zhurong laughed loudly.

Xing Tian swept his gaze across the eleven Ancestral Witches, finally landing on the floating, earthen-yellow Divine Fiend Banner corresponding to him. A feeling of blood connection and shared origin arose spontaneously. He stretched out his giant hand, and the Divine Fiend Banner automatically flew into his palm. The banner unfurled, and its immense, earth-like aura of malevolence perfectly merged with his own aura. The flagpole solidified, transforming into an extension of his body and will.

"Ancestors and Ancestral Witches!" Xing Tian's deep voice resounded from within his abdomen, carrying a metallic clang and boundless fighting spirit. "I have achieved Ancestral Witch status, and the Heavenly Divine Fiend Banner is complete! The axe of the Witch Clan should now be pointed at the Heavenly Court!"

With Xing Tian's return to his position, the twelve Ancestral Witches gathered, and the twelve Divine Banners of the Capital Gods and Demons each took their place. Without further ado, twelve powerful auras of the Ancestral Witches surged into the sky, connecting with the twelve Divine Banners. In an instant, the malevolent energy within the Pangu Palace erupted like a tsunami. A blurry yet infinitely majestic giant phantom, radiating the aura of creation, appeared and disappeared among the twelve banners. Though not fully solidified, the pressure revealed in that fleeting glimpse resonated throughout the entire Buzhou Mountain's earth veins, causing countless powerful beings in the primordial world to sense it and gaze in horror towards the direction of the Witch Clan.

In the primordial world, the undercurrents had reached their limit. The Heavenly Court shone brightly, the Zhou Tian Star Array perfected to perfection; Mount Buzhou exuded malevolent energy, the Twelve Heavenly Gods' Banners and the newly born Ancestral Witch Xing Tian were ready. The fragile peace, maintained for tens of thousands of years, was stretched to its limit, like a fully drawn bowstring. A suffocating sense of oppression enveloped the entire primordial world. All races fell silent, all beings lay dormant, and all eyes were fixed on the starry sky and the earth. They knew that the war destined to tear the heavens apart and engulf the entire primordial world could erupt at any moment.