Deep beneath the earth, beside the Three Lives Stone, Qing Ling slowly opened his eyes.
His profound gaze turned towards Penglai. After a moment of silence, he understood the will of the Heavenly Dao.
In the struggle between the Heavenly and Earthly Daos, the Heavenly Dao would not intervene directly but would release a gesture of good will.
However, the Heavenly Dao, or rather Hongjun, would not stop the beings under the Heavenly Dao.
The claws and teeth of the Heavenly Dao would act on its behalf, and whether they could suppress the Earthly Dao or not, weakening it would suffice.
The Heavenly Dao allowed and had always fostered an Earthly Dao that existed but would not become powerful.
The Great Dao numbered fifty, and the Heavenly Dao's evolution yielded forty-nine, yet it ultimately lacked one.
Qing Ling rose and walked into the void.
He reappeared standing on the walls of Senluo City.
The city gates were already tightly shut, and at every formation eye around the city walls stood a Golden Immortal.
Along the eight thousand li of the city walls, no less than several hundred Golden Immortals stood!
These Golden Immortals were not only from the Xishan Ancient Snake clan but also from the Giant Crocodile clan, the Mountain River Giant Ape clan, and the Black Lizard clan.
The four great ancient clans, once subservient to the Dragon clan, were long gone. Only by relying on the Dao Master of the Eastern Wasteland did the four ancient clans of the Eastern Wasteland coexist.
Naturally, the four clans were led by Xishan.
Among the four clans, only Shan Kun the old ape and Chao Sheng had survived.
Shan Kun, the Giant Ape, was cunning and entered tribulation using a clone to substitute for death. He only needed to cultivate for over twenty Yuanhui to regain his Great Luo eighth-heaven cultivation.
As for the Giant Crocodile clan, only Chao Sheng, a young Great Luo, survived. It was Qing Ling who used his Wood Dao's creation to mend his incomplete Dao body.
As for the three great figures of the Black Lizard clan, they all perished unfortunately in the great tribulation. As for why they were so unfortunate, Shan Kun and Chao Sheng were both clear-headed individuals.
Therefore, Shan Kun and Chao Sheng, having received favor and been terrified, dared not harbor any further dissent.
Moreover, the four clans had been refined by Qing Ling into a single grotto-heaven using the Innate Azure Flower Grand Formation. The four clans now coexisted, united in heart.
When the five Ancestral Witches arrived before Senluo City, they saw two great figures bowing to another great figure who had just emerged from the void.
Gonggong mused, "It seems this Eastern Wasteland still conceals one or two great figures, and this one is not simple."
Zhurong laughed heartily, "There are only three great figures. Even if that cultivator is a quasi-saint, with our five brothers, each delivering one punch, we'll surely make him spit out three liters of blood."
Qiangliang also chuckled, "Exactly! This time, all five of our great Wu tribes have emerged. This mere Eastern Wasteland will be easily conquered!"
Yanzi, however, frowned, "It is still best to be cautious."
Shebishi grinned sinisterly, "I can't wait to refine all the beings in this sky into Corpse Witches!"
Gonggong raised his voice, "You beings of the Eastern Wasteland, if you wish to survive, quickly dismantle your great formation and flee for your lives."
Above the city gate's plaque, Qing Ling heard this and couldn't help but chuckle. "Shan Kun, look. They've already reached our doorstep."
Shan Kun smiled and said, "That's because they don't know the Master's divine abilities."
Chao Sheng, standing to Qing Ling's right, sized up the Ancestral Witches. "These are the renowned Ancestral Witches of the Primordial World in the last few tens of Yuanhui."
Shan Kun shook his head and laughed, "They are just hot-blooded, reckless beasts."
Their conversation was not concealed. Even without intentionally raising their voices, the Ancestral Witches could hear them clearly from a hundred li away.
Zhurong's heart blazed with anger upon hearing this. He opened his mouth and spewed forth rolling flames, which transformed into a sea of fire and burned towards them.
Qing Ling flicked a single finger, and a pure white galaxy cascaded down. The silver starlit curtain parted the rolling flames. With a single finger's separation, the boundless sea of fire was blocked.
Zhurong, seeing such contempt, was consumed by rage. He summoned the Zhurong Fire Banner in his hand, and his terrifying witch power drew forth the myriad Southern Illumination Innate Fires from beneath the earth, which erupted forth.
"Boom~"
The terrifying fire spirit incinerated the void for ten thousand li, capable of melting all things even across space.
Yet, outside the city walls, the silver radiance, thin as gossamer, still blocked the myriad earthly fires.
Gonggong frowned deeply. It seemed this Daoist was a troublesome character.
On the city walls, Qing Ling smiled and said, "You, along with the Golden Immortals, return to your respective clans and protect your ancestral grounds."
Chao Sheng nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Shan Kun, the old ape, inquired, "Then what about Xishan?"
"No need to worry. Ke has already made preparations."
The two bowed and retreated, as did the Golden Immortals on the city walls, returning to their clans to defend.
A cold glint appeared and then vanished in Qing Ling's eyes. Since the Eastern Prince had painstakingly schemed a game, he would enter it and play a round, so as not to betray his intentions.
He lightly flicked his sleeve, and a gust of wind swept across the land.
The silver radiance of the Taiyin vanished along with the scorching flames, only to be replaced by a mist, which was the fusion of the Taiyin and the Li Fire.
Tian Wu let out a cold snort, and gales from all four directions arose, scattering the mist.
However, the scenery that reappeared in everyone's eyes had changed its meaning.
On the ancient city gate, bathed in the setting sun, a man in red lay leisurely on his side, took a jade gourd from his waist, slowly raised it, and drank, letting the wine spill down his neck and drip into the dust on the ground.
Qing Ling sighed and smiled, "Turbid wine boils, clear wine burns. I use the River of Oblivion as water, love as the brew, and the flowers on the other shore as the allure. Thus, this wine is named 'Red Dust.' Distinguished guests, would you care to taste the Red Dust?"
Shebishi said coldly, "Tricks and schemes abound. Watch my煞尸..."
"Wait!" Gonggong stopped him and said, "This person's strength is extremely high. Let us not hold back any longer. Let us attack together."
With that, he took a step forward, and his body grew to ten thousand zhang, instantly transforming into a giant of a hundred million zhang. His foot landed on the dust, stirring up the vast oceans. Waters from all directions gathered like mountains and crushed forward.
Seeing this, the other four Ancestral Witches also ceased to hold back.
Tian Wu summoned the Gales of the Nine Heavens. The violent winds darkened the heavens and hid the sun and moon. Terrifying hurricanes were like the end of days, the wind driving the world.
Zhurong shook his witch banner, and the myriad fires became a sea. Meteorites fell from the sky, and lava erupted from the earth. The scorching sea of fire advanced alongside the sea of water, red and blue combining, with the winds of the firmament adding to their might!
Thunderbolts flashed across the heavens. The lightning vibrated, and myriad thunders surged. Qiangliang unleashed thunder, terrifying lightning that shocked all beings and stole the ears of all spirits, leaving them deafened and mute.
Yanzi gathered countless currents in her hands, which descended upon the earth like a waterfall of electricity, destroying all life. Flashing electric light illuminated the heavens and earth, its blinding radiance causing all beings to lose their sight, creating an endless day, the terrifying light of electricity!
Shebishi grinned sinisterly, transforming into his Ancestral Witch true form. Beneath the electric light, strange black mist gathered and moved. Wherever it passed, all became decay, life was extinguished, mountains and rivers vanished, returning to corrupted soil!
Amidst a scene of world-ending destruction, Qing Ling smiled and drank his wine, as if observing the rolling red dust, its fleeting vanity, appearing elegant and detached yet dwelling within the mortal realm.
Qing Ling reached out and tossed his hand. A skein of red thread flew out, traversing heaven and earth, crossing yin and yang. The heavens became brocade, the earth the warp. Water and fire provided the colors, the sun and moon the embroidery, and the red thread became the needle, weaving a tapestry of mountains and rivers, a realm of nations.
When the red thread stopped, Qing Ling smiled and reclined, drinking his wine. He then poured the ethereal blue liquid onto the mountains and rivers, coloring the heavens black, the earth yellow, and the mountains and rivers azure.
A magnificent, apocalyptic tapestry of mountains, rivers, and nations was thus created outside the Eastern Wasteland, suspended between heaven and earth.
The Sky-Enveloping Rope, a supreme spiritual treasure, his companion spiritual treasure, displayed a true world within the Sumeru, encompassing all beings.
Even the Ancestral Witches, drawn into the fray, were woven into this embroidered brocade!
Qing Ling smiled and stood up. His gaze swept over the countless divine senses observing from the void.
Many beings were astonished, realizing that this was none other than the Immortal of Marriage Under the Moon!