When Hongjun released them, the West gained three thousand worlds, and the Western world returned anew.
However, it was a land of corpses, devoid of life for billions of miles.
Only Mount Sumeru remained, and at its summit, a white lotus spun, a Bodhi tree swayed, and two middle-aged Daoists emerged.
They appeared as middle-aged from their birth, a deficiency in their origin, as the spiritual脉 of the West had vanished.
Yet, it was also because they had experienced too much, witnessed the immense changes of heaven and earth, their hearts no longer that of newborns, thus their appearance reflected their inner state, that of middle age.
A Daoist in yellow robes with benevolent eyes descended from the Bodhi tree, a smile naturally etched on his brows. "Sadhu, sadhu. The Bodhi sees me, I see the Bodhi. Zhunti greets you, brother Daoist."
The other Daoist, emerging from the white lotus, had brows naturally etched with sorrow. He clasped his hands together. "Jieyin greets Zhunti!"
In the heavens, Hongjun glanced at the two, then turned away. With a wave of his sleeve, wind and clouds surged, and the innate objects scattered across the lands returned to him.
Hongjun said faintly, "The Three Corpses unite!"
In the Chaos, a pure and unblemished figure stepped into the Primordial World.
From the shattered Great Demon Heaven world, a man in black robes emerged.
In the Eastern Wilds, from within the Yellow Springs Great Formation, a Daoist in white robes stepped out.
But at this moment, the void collapsed, and a chaos swallowed Xuanji Laozu.
Qing Ling watched all this silently, unmoving.
A figure vanished into the void.
Hongjun Laozu's expression changed. He extended a hand, shattering the void, and the figure of Chaos Tai Mo appeared.
Chaos let out a cold laugh and once again stepped into the void.
Hongjun Laozu struck out again, a palm as vast as the heavens, empowered by the Heavenly Dao, crushing Chaos Tai Mo.
But the body of Chaos Tai Mo transformed into the corpse of Kuring Tai Shen, which then merged into Hongjun's Good Corpse.
Xuanji Laozu reappeared, now with two Nascent Souls. "Hongjun, you wished to unite the origins of the nine Great Tai Shen, did you not? I have given them to you. You need not trouble yourself searching for me."
Hongjun frowned. "Such cunning!"
Xuanji Laozu chuckled. "Luohu was calculated to death by you, Yin Yang Qian Kun were also calculated to death by you, and Tai Li's origin was long ago taken by you. Even if I concealed my actions as best I could, it was still difficult to escape you, so I naturally had to fight for my life."
Hongjun shook his head, flicked his sleeve, collected Xuanji Laozu, and returned to Yujing.
Hongjun had won. The Heavenly Dao succeeded the paths of the Qilin, Dragon, and Phoenix tribes, and the demonic path, becoming the master of heaven and earth. Hongjun became the foremost being in the world!
In the eyes of all living beings, Hongjun Laozu had gained the greatest benefits without any calculation.
Yet, Hongjun Laozu was constantly calculating, though few knew of it. The Heavenly Dao was ceaselessly plotting within the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity. The destinies of countless individuals were being deduced by the Heavenly Dao. Hongjun did not act directly, but he had orchestrated everything within the Heavenly Dao's deductions.
The only deviations were the identity of the White Dragon and the emergence of Kuring Tai Shen as an anomaly. With the Nascent Soul of Kuring Tai Shen residing in the Good Corpse, the Three Corpses could not be merged into the main body. The Primordial World should have achieved Hunyuan perfection, but it was delayed because of this.
The Primordial World was on the verge of destruction. Hongjun bore the karmic burden of three thousand great powers' Daoist traditions to evolve three thousand worlds to complete the West. But the Primordial World still needed someone to save it.
Hongjun did not intervene; some matters were not his to manage.
On the Jianmu tree, Qing Ling gazed west. All the warriors of Xishan had perished in the southwestern lands, along with Granny Huageng. He silently suppressed all emotions within him: anger, powerlessness, sorrow, numbness. He was now a great power of heaven and earth, learning to bear his own burdens.
In the heavens, Qing Long stood alone for a long time. He slowly removed his hair tie, let his battle sword hang from his waist, shed his armor, and appeared in a long-robed blue garment, his hair flowing. The God of War of the Dragon tribe was now a thing of the past. The Dragon tribe was gone; for whom would he still fight?
Qing Ling had never seen Qing Long like this. His heart was empty; his heart had died. Qing Ling was filled with worry but had no way to comfort him, wondering if there was anything in the world that could console him.
Qing Long's hair cascaded around him, his eyes indifferent, devoid of any emotion. He walked eastward from the West, barefoot, step by step across the firmament. Droplets of blood fell, the void mended, the heavens were restored. The battle raged in the wilderness, its blood, yellow and black, patching the heavens above and uniting the earth below.
He walked numbly past Jianmu. His vacant eyes reflected Qing Ling's image. He slowly said to Qing Ling, "Watch over the Dragon tribe for me!"
Qing Ling nodded, his eyes welling up. "I will do my utmost."
A hint of solace appeared in Qing Long's eyes as he handed something to Qing Ling. Qing Ling's hand grew heavy, but he could not see through the object, which was veiled by Qing Hua. He could only accept it for now.
Qing Long smiled, unlike the smile of a God of War in the Three Tribes era that captivated all females. It was the smile of a lonely dragon, bringing heartache. In the Three Tribes era, dragons soared across the four seas, dominated the world, and the five primal ancestors shook the Primordial World for eight hundred Yuan. Now, he was a solitary dragon, entrusting his offspring to him.
Qing Ling did not try to stop him. He knew what Qing Long was going to do. Though extremely reluctant, he could not stop him; this was Qing Long's choice.
The Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors had destroyed their own origins, shattering the Immortal Vanquishing Formation and, in doing so, destroying the Primordial World. The Dragon tribe, now on the verge of extinction, could not bear this immense karma. Once the Heavenly Dao returned to become the master of heaven and earth, the Dragon tribe would be utterly annihilated.
The Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors destroyed their own origins, not hesitating to harm the very roots of the Primordial World, all to avenge the billions of Dragon and Phoenix tribe members who had died in the Immortal Vanquishing Formation. Their tribesmen were willing to die for their ancestors. Their ancestors were willing to suffer for them.
There was no need for reasons, no talk of ants or great powers, nor of whether it was worth it or not. It was simply because they shared the same bloodline. This was the civilization of ancient races, the most primal, the purest.
Those who had died had found release. But those who lived still had to march forward, bearing their burdens.
Qing Long walked into the Eastern extreme, transforming into a cerulean dragon, using his body to suppress the shattered heaven and earth. His cold voice echoed throughout the world: "From this day forth, our Dragon tribe shall withdraw from the Primordial World, return to the four seas, govern the rivers and lakes of heaven and earth, bring forth clouds and rain, bestow blessings upon all living beings, and be auspicious beasts of heaven and earth, not to be killed!"
The Heavenly Dao responded, and yellow and black essence descended. The Earthly Dao responded, and Qing Ling added a few more words. "The Earthly Dao permits, and the Dragon tribe shall prosper forever."
With these few words, or rather, half a sentence, four characters, it represented Qing Ling's full effort.
Qing Long smiled faintly. He remembered when he used to pat the head of this snake, like a younger brother. He had truly grown up.
In the South, the Phoenix Ancestor Qing Luan vowed to heaven and earth: "Today, our Phoenix tribe shall guard the Southern Heaven, and with the strength of the entire tribe, suppress the Undying Volcano in the Southern Heaven. We shall be auspicious beasts of heaven and earth, not to be killed!"
The Heavenly Dao sensed this, and yellow and black essence descended. The Earthly Dao sensed this, and Qing Ling granted her assent with a single word.
Dozens of young dragons of the Dragon tribe returned to the East Sea. The Phoenix Ancestor had only over a hundred Heavenly Phoenixes reborn through nirvana, yet they had to perpetually suppress the earth fire's eye and were unable to emerge. Compared to the Dragon and Phoenix tribes' declarations of withdrawal from the world, the Qilin tribe had the advantage. Although their numbers were few, they had preserved the most members. However, they were destined to never leave Qilin Cliff, guarding the central lands. The Phoenix tribe's suppression of the Undying Volcano, with the efforts of the entire tribe, was unlikely to be easy.
Only the Dragon tribe, although they declared their withdrawal from the Primordial World, did not promise to do so permanently. Furthermore, they retained the responsibility of controlling the rain and governing the rivers and lakes. Although the Dragon tribe's bloodline was now scarce, relatively speaking, they were the best off among the three tribes.
Qing Long took a step forward and spoke to heaven and earth again: "I am Qing Long, willing to use my body to suppress the Eastern extreme of heaven and earth in place of the Dragon tribe, to stabilize the Primordial World, and never emerge for eternity!"
As his voice fell, the cerulean dragon headed east, retreating from the mortal world. In the Eastern extreme, a dragon resided.
In the West, the White Tiger Ancestor glanced at Qing Long and similarly said, "I am the White Tiger, willing to use my body to suppress the Western extreme of heaven and earth, and stabilize the Primordial World!"
In the South, Qing Luan stepped forward, about to speak, but someone spoke first, declaring, "I am Zhu Que, willing to suppress the Southern extreme of heaven and earth for the Phoenix tribe, stabilize the Primordial World, and never emerge for eternity!"
In the North, Xuanwu Zhizun hurriedly made his oath, as if afraid of being preempted, "I am Xuanwu, willing to use my body to suppress the Northern extreme of heaven and earth, and stabilize the Primordial World!"
As their words fell, the four great powers of the thirty-third heaven each went to the four extremes, suppressing the Primordial World, and the Four Symbols returned to their positions!
Heaven and earth stabilized, the elemental forces ceased their rampage, and the Primordial World was re-established. All beings thanked the Four Symbols for suppressing heaven and earth, honoring them as the Sacred Beasts of the Four Directions.
However, they did not know that Zhu Que and Qing Long were repaying the karma of the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors. Although they gained fortune and merit, they were forbidden from emerging for eternity. The White Tiger and Xuanwu, on the other hand, had actively filled the deficiencies of heaven and earth, a task that brought great fortune.
The Heavenly Dao bestowed vast amounts of yellow and black essence upon the four directions, and the cultivation of all four simultaneously broke through one level, reaching the Half-step Hunyuan. However, even for the White Tiger and Xuanwu, having suppressed the four extremes, it was difficult to re-enter the Primordial World.
Heaven and earth returned to silence, and the Primordial World returned to peace. The great powers and ancestors of the Dragon-Phoenix era had all fallen. The supreme beings had mostly perished, and the great powers of heaven and earth were nearly extinct. The remaining ones were either suppressed or had retired. Great powers were now rarely seen in the world.
The Heavenly Dao controlled the Primordial World. The killing tribulation had just ended, and the great tribulation had concluded. The heavens bestowed yellow and black essence, rewarding all living beings and mending the Primordial World.
As the vast rain of yellow and black essence fell, Qing Ling descended from Jianmu, returned to Xishan, and ascended to the position of tribal chief, taking up the Ten Thousand Snakes Mystic Staff left by Granny Huageng in the tribe. The nearly one hundred tribesmen remaining in the tribe trembled and bowed when they saw Qing Ling, tears flowing incessantly. Qing Ling looked at the Heavenly Rank tribesmen, numbering less than a hundred, and felt sorrow. Fortunately, as long as he was here, all was not lost.
Qing Ling called out, "Rise. All tribesmen, follow me to welcome back our heroic souls!"
The Heavenly Rank tribesmen rose one after another, standing respectfully. Qing Ling slowly walked out of Xishan, followed by a short procession of several dozen people, including children who had just begun to take human form and young tribesmen who remained.
The yellow and black rain poured down; it was the Heavenly Dao rewarding all living beings. Yet, the beings it rewarded were weeping because of all that it had caused. In the wind and rain, Qing Ling led his people out of Xishan. The wind and rain soaked their clothes. He held the Mystic Staff and walked step by step towards the West.
"Ding~"
"Dang~"
The beings born in the aftermath of the tribulation saw a group of snakes walking in the wind and rain, unheeding, moving forward. The clear sound of golden bells echoed, touching their hearts. Golden bells hung on the Ten Thousand Snakes Mystic Staff. The Tai Xu Bell rang in the wind and rain, its sound calling out to the heroic souls of the Eight Desolations' snake tribe, guiding them home. Qing Ling followed the path the Xishan snake tribe's army had taken. He intended to bring every lost tribesman home. As long as they heard the ringing of the bells, the heroic souls of the snake tribe would return. For back then, when millions of snake soldiers, magnificent and heroic, were about to set out, he had promised his tribesmen on the peak of Tai Chong Mountain that no matter where they were, alive or dead, or in any of the ten directions of heaven and earth, the moment the golden bells rang, Xishan would welcome them home!