Chapter 1034

Ji Bai Jie smoothly entered the Ji Clan Holy Land.

That night, the night sky over Mu Dalu glittered with stars, a bright moon hung high, starlight and moonlight shone, countless visible light threads streamed down, within the light could be seen spindle-shaped great lights falling like rain.

In the mountains and forests, fierce beasts roared in joy.

In the high heavens, mighty birds cried out long.

In the water systems of rivers, lakes, and seas, countless violent and ferocious aquatic creatures leapt and flew.

On the hunting grounds and battlefields opened up by Wa Island, countless people of the human race caught in the flames of war wailed and shouted. The essence of the stars, tempering the flesh, gave no immediate help to human combat strength, merely adding to the unborn fetuses in their wombs an innate potential out of thin air.

Since these innate potentials cannot be turned into combat strength in a short time, these infants will in the future merely become more delicious fodder in the mouths of demons and monsters, and more valuable sacrifices in the hands of certain human traitors.

And those demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits that already possessed spiritual intelligence directly absorbed the stellar essence, making themselves even stronger.

Those that had not yet given rise to spiritual intelligence, in that night, after being tempered by the stars, suddenly awakened, took shape, condensed magical power, and on the spot turned into demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits.

This night's stellar tempering was over a thousand times the scale of previous years.

The entire sky was illuminated by starlight, the vast Mu Dalu trembled gently, and when starlight shone upon the void, a tremendous chaotic power surged forth from the void, which Mu Dalu frantically devoured.

The rapid growth of Mu Dalu.

The edges of Mu Dalu spread rapidly in all directions, and on the boundless sea, dozens of new land masses quickly sprouted.

On Wa Island, atop a high mountain, several old women clad in hemp long skirts held wooden staffs, dazedly lifting their heads to gaze at the sky. After a long, long while, as the east showed a faint red glow, the heavens' starlight and moonlight remained brilliantly dazzling, undiminished.

"They, too, have laid down their stakes." an old woman muttered: "It seems that these days, our people are deep in water and fire, while those extraterrestrial demons... are living quite comfortably."

"One human state after another has fallen, countless commoners have become the blood food of demons and monsters, and are even wildly sacrificed." an old woman whispered: "The more our people die and are wounded, the stronger the extraterrestrial demons become, our human race..."

"Let us wait for the meaning of the old matriarchs." an old woman slowly shook her head: "Stay calm, stay calm, do not panic. Back then in such dire straits, they could not exterminate our human lineage, and now they still cannot..."

In a certain cave dwelling, a dim oil lamp swayed, illuminating a small stone cavern only a few zhang in size.

An old woman with ivory-yellow hair, feeble and bent, unable to straighten her back, sat at a stone table, before her a plate of orchid beans, which she slowly chewed with her only two remaining teeth, the fried beans.

A young woman dressed in blue cloth, of exquisite beauty and graceful bearing, stood beside the old woman and spoke softly: "Old matriarch, Ji Bai Jie has indeed temporarily transferred the authority of the Grand Heavenly Sovereign of the Heavenly Court... he should now have entered the Ji Clan Holy Land."

The old woman set down the half-eaten orchid bean she had been chewing, lifted her head, and glanced at the young woman.

Though she was feeble, her voice was as clear and sweet as a girl of sixteen or seventeen; the old woman said gently: "This little wretch is ruthless, she's borrowing a knife to kill... Ji Kui and his son entering the Heavenly Court, they're likely done for."

She shook her head and said calmly: "Besides, they've done plenty of absurd things over the years; dying would be a relief. The Heavenly Court's origins are inscrutable, and Ji Bai Jie is no obedient child... such power must not be left in the hands of this greenhorn."

She picked up the half-eaten orchid bean again and put it in her mouth, speaking indistinctly: "It's also strange—these years, those who entered the Heavenly Court clearly lived well, yet each one was cut off, with no news returning."

"Strange... does Ji Bai Jie really have such a bewitching talent?"

"But no matter how capable he is, the Heavenly Court should not be let loose for him to wreak havoc; it should be used against the extraterrestrial demons."

The old woman swallowed an orchid bean after chewing it thoroughly, then continued: "All of humanity's power should be coordinated and allocated by the Wa Clan; it's not for these youngsters to mess around with."

The woman in blue smiled faintly, pursing her lips, and said softly: "But now, the heads of all departments are very impatient. Old matriarch, what do you think?"

"Impatient? What's there to be impatient about?" the old woman snorted coldly: "Yes, it looks like our human situation is not good, very bad. But the more critical the moment, the more opportunity we humans have."

"After accumulating power for so many years, do they have no idea at all?"

"We have expended great effort, wasted many resources, used fragments of ancient holy weapons to escort them through countless reincarnations, accumulating all that power—has it all been for nothing?"

"Tell them: avoid haste, use patience—opportunity will come right away."

"The more dire the situation for humanity, the sooner an opportunity will arise."

The woman in blue gave a slight smile and said softly: "Then... what about Ji Bai Jie's side?"

The old woman remained silent for a long, long while before slowly saying: "I can roughly guess what he wants to do. He's also afraid we'll intervene, isn't he?"

"He probably also realized that Ji Kui and his son were sent over by us on purpose to torment him."

"So he wants to appear weak while borrowing a knife to kill, then immediately take over the magpie's nest... Do you believe it? If we let him continue his meddling, in less than half a year the entire upper echelon of the Ji Clan will die off cleanly, and the whole Ji Clan will be absorbed by him."

"If the entire Ji Clan joins the Heavenly Court... hum."

"The Heavenly Court's foundation is still rather weak—manpower, materials, connections, all aspects are lacking. This youngster is going with the flow, borrowing our strength to make up for his shortcomings."

The old woman lifted her head; her yellowish eyes were very murky, with not a glimmer of light.

She sighed: "But after all, he is still too young... such a rash, reckless youngster might well turn out to be another of the former Dragon-Raising Clan."

The woman in blue exhaled: "Back then, the Dragon-Raising Clan truly nurtured several venerable-level experts."

The old woman gave a cold laugh: "So what? Even if the Dragon-Raising Clan broke our human taboos, crossed our bottom line, and produced venerable-level masters, they were still exterminated by the clan."

"The rules set by our ancestors must not be altered in the slightest." the old woman murmured: "If we change them, are we still human?"

"All human power should be uniformly allocated by Wa Island. All human people should follow the rules set by our ancestors." the old woman said solemnly: "No deviation is allowed; this is the bottom line."

The woman in blue hurriedly said: "Then, what about Ji Bai Jie's side? Should we... just..."

The old woman fell silent for a moment, then lightly waved her hand: "We need some pretext, after all. Let's wait and see how Ji Kui and his son fare, then we'll speak once we have an excuse."

The woman in blue gave a soft acknowledgment and bowed to the old woman.

The old woman sighed, shook her head, waved her hand: "I'm tired, going to sleep—you may leave."

She sighed again heavily, lightly pounding her waist, murmuring: "Old, old, relying on the protection of the ancestral land's holy weapon fragments, I've survived that lifespan limit, but I've also grown old to a sorry state... this flesh and blood can't hold up much longer; it seems the limit is still coming."

"When my old body finally wastes away, I too will go to the ancestral spirit realm to wait. Qing'er, from now on the human race will have to rely on you to steer."

The old woman looked deeply at the woman in blue: "Remember, remember, everything else can be discussed, but the ancestors' rules must not be changed—do you understand?"

The woman in blue solemnly bowed to the old woman, helped her to the stone pallet in the corner of the cavern, assisted her to lie down slowly, then extinguished the oil lamp and walked out slowly.

The old woman's breathing became long and faint.

The woman in blue stood quietly at the entrance of the old woman's cave dwelling for a moment, then hurried away; soon a flowing cloud rose beneath her feet, carrying her as a blue streak straight into the heavens.

In the high sky, several figures hid among the clouds, silently waiting for the woman in blue.

The woman in blue approached the few people, then flew with them swiftly toward a deep valley on Wa Island; as they sped along, she laughed: "At this point, still clinging to the ancestors' rules? I like this approach."

"Well, that Heavenly Court always gives me a bad feeling, urging one to strike—let's assassinate Ji Bai Jie in the Ji Clan Holy Land."

"At the same time, we will use our power within the great clans such as the Ji, Gui, and Yao families, pick the elite, and bring them into the Heavenly Court... as the old matriarch herself said, this Heavenly Court force must be held by Wa Island... so let it be in my hands."

"Ah, who knows—those 'divine schemes' of the old matriarchs who control humanity's fate, the day I stab them in the back with a knife, will they not be greatly shocked, stunned, astonished, and despairing?"

The woman in blue clothes hee-hee'd, she let out a light sigh, and said slowly: "Go, the fir chickens from White Lotus Mountain are not bad; go catch two, these days Yao'er has been working hard, make him a bowl of chicken soup to nourish him well."

Two silhouettes instantly turned into a raging wind, howling as they swept off into the distance.

A figure whispered respectfully: "Honored master, you are noble…"

The woman in blue clothes' tone suddenly turned icy and ruthless: "What do you want to say? Speak only after you've thought it through!"

That silhouette immediately fell silent.

The woman in blue clothes said coldly: "Have you thought it through? I now allow you to speak."

That silhouette did not speak.

The woman in blue clothes gave a cold snort, lifted her head, gazed at the dazzling starlight that completely suppressed the just‑rising morning sun in the east, and lightly shook her head: "Idiot… I mean, you lot, and those up above, are all a bunch of idiots."

Nüwa Island, a deep valley.

Ancient trees towered, orchids fragranced the air, a stream babbled by, and a delicate manor lay quietly amid the forest.

Outside the manor, beneath the waterfall, on a protruding Eagle's Beak Rock, a well‑built, handsome youth bared his upper body and sat cross‑legged motionless on the rock.

Behind him, three thousand strands of white vapor rose, coiling and unfurling like flood dragons.

Several strands of spiraling divine light surrounded the youth, continually emitting pulses of Great Dao resonance that pierced his soul, nourishing both body and spirit to extraordinary strength.

On the youth's body, faint traces of dozens of top‑tier body‑refining cultivation methods could be seen.

Lustre like glazed jade, radiance like pearls, jade‑bone golden flesh, lotus‑shielded body…

If Wu Tie were here, he would notice that the youth's fundamental cultivation method is likewise the Primordial Classic.

Yet the resources the youth gains from cultivating the Primordial Classic are ten million times greater than what Wu Tie ever had.

The several clusters of divine light surrounding him each exude an ancient, mystical aura, not inferior to the treasures Wu Tie commands—the Vast Sea Divine Pearl, the Yin‑Yang Two‑Qi Vessel, the Primordial Crown, the Great Dao Forge, the Black Sword, the Yellow Sword, and others.

The woman in blue clothes stepped upon cloud‑light, hovering above the deep valley, looking down at the youth seated cross‑legged on Eagle's Beak Rock, and smiled with satisfaction.

"The Primordial Classic is indeed wondrous, yet it is also a sheer waste of effort—nothing more than adding feet to a snake."

"Pangu's legacy, the Three Thousand Great Dao is the foundation; mastering the Three Thousand Great Dao is enough to sweep away everything."

"Those eighty‑four thousand heterodox paths—divination, feng shu, extracting and filling, external alchemy and the like—are nothing but evil heretical ways, unworthy of notice."

"Yao'er has the Three Thousand Great Dao as his basis; hehe, once he condenses a Dao seal…"

The woman in blue clothes said softly: "Let chaos reign, let chaos reign, the more chaos the better… the old devout women are right—unless the human race falls into ruin and the brink of extinction, how can one show Yao'er's talent for turning the tide?"

"By then we will accumulate boundless merit of the human race, ascend to become the human emperor… then we will slaughter that motley bunch of meddling brats, relying on the human race's potential and foundation, hehe."

"So‑called gods high above, shall I choose to exterminate you, or let you kneel at my feet as my slaves?"

The woman in blue clothes smiled enchantingly, her gaze flowing, and instantly a myriad of charms stirred, leaving the few figures beside her dazed.

A light cough sounded, and a sturdy, handsome, hard‑featured middle‑aged man with a mountain‑like aura walked out of the delicate manor, hands behind his back.

He glanced up, waved at the woman in blue clothes, and said: "Qing'er, did you spend another night serving the old matriarch?"

The woman in blue clothes smiled enchantingly, a gentle breeze carried her down as she said: "Brother Jun, nothing serious—everything is under the old matriarchs' control, you can relax. Well, I had someone fetch two fir chickens from White Lotus Mountain, made chicken soup, one each for you and Yao'er."

In the cave abode, the oil lamp that the woman in blue clothes had blown out flared back to life.

Beside the already‑asleep old woman on the stone bed, silently appeared another dozen equally ancient old women.

The old woman on the stone bed opened her eyes, struggled to sit up, and let out a soft sigh.

"Can we basically confirm it now?" the old woman looked at her longtime sister‑in‑arms.

"After ruling out everything else, it's her." an old woman sighed heavily: "Over the past months, ninety percent of hunting grounds and seventy percent of battlefields held by the human race have been utterly destroyed due to traitors colluding with foreign foes."

"Even if we gave the order ourselves, we probably couldn't achieve this." another old woman said solemnly: "On the whole Wa Island, hardly anyone could manage this… not to mention, the ancestral spirit space has been infiltrated, and much of the ancestral spirits' innate light is subtly turning toward extraterrestrial demons."

"We must speed up." the old woman seated on the stone bed said gravely: "A sliver of hope now lies on the Earth Class Yi Nine battlefield; give it your full support."

"But that little brat… he too has broken the bottom line." an old woman hesitated.

The old woman seated on the stone bed, full of charm and myriad styles, glanced at her old sisters and said: "Sister, whether he has broken the bottom line is not for us to decide—you say, does that little brat count as violating the ancestors' precepts?"

A dozen old women fell silent for a moment, then shook their heads in unison.

"Of course not."