Houtu's eyelids twitched violently upon hearing this. "If the Dao Master insists, then by all means, capture me. Though Houtu is no match for you, even if suppressed, my ten elder brothers and younger sister will arrive immediately, and Dijiang, my eldest brother, should also be at Kunlun Mountain by now."
Qing Ling narrowed his eyes. "Does Ancestral Witch Houtu believe the Sanqing will attack me?"
"That is not necessarily the case. It's just that while the Sanqing will not act against you due to the Pangu luck you possess, they will intervene due to the conflict over the Grand Ultimate Dao. Laozi will surely stop the Five Emperors. The Sanqing are one. If the demon race is held back, then our ten thousand kin, whether they are slaughtering the demon race or attacking Jianmu, will all suffer three defeats and one injury!" Houtu stared at him, speaking out the meticulously prepared plan word by word.
Qing Ling did not pick up on this thread of conversation. Instead, he said directly, "Fifteen drops! Not one less."
Seeing this, Houtu felt a sense of relief. After all, she never wanted things to escalate to the worst possible outcome.
"And the head of Shebishi, plus Jumang, fifteen drops!"
Qing Ling sneered. "Fifteen drops of Pangu's blood are the limit to exchange for two Ancestral Witches!"
"What two Ancestral Witches?" Houtu was shocked and immediately took a step back, intending to retreat. She had only been thinking of a plan to rescue them, never imagining that by stepping onto Jianmu, she had become his bargaining chip.
Unfortunately, her reaction was a step too slow. Or rather, no matter how the Wu clan planned and schemed, when they sent someone for the exchange, they had already fallen into his trap.
Qing Ling pointed at the starry sky beneath him. The vast sea of stars suddenly shimmered, and the ten thousand stars shifted, arranging themselves according to the Heavenly Stems. The immense weight of Jianmu, coupled with the technique of displacement, was used to suppress them out of thin air!
The weight of the thirty-one layers of heaven was displaced and landed on Houtu. Before she could even manifest her Ancestral Witch true form, she was suppressed and sent plummeting to the realm of Dugong.
Qing Ling glanced at the panicked Jumang and said, "Although no one will be sent to relay the message, the twelve Ancestral Witches are connected by their heart meridians. I imagine the other ten have already learned of this. Bring fifteen drops of Pangu's blood, and you may have two Ancestral Witches back."
At the same moment, in the Pangu Palace, nine Ancestral Witches were furious. They had been solely focused on calculating whether Qing Ling would agree or not, never realizing he was merely fishing. And the Wu clan had once again been lured in by Houtu, an indispensable figure.
Qing Ling had never expected to obtain thirty-six drops of Pangu's blood. Even three to five drops would have been enough for him to negotiate for someone. However, he had started with an exorbitant demand, and even after halving it, the Wu clan would never agree. But now, with Ancestral Witch Houtu in his possession, the Wu clan would have to agree to fifteen drops of Pangu's blood, whether they wanted to or not.
On Kunlun Mountain, Dijiang flashed out, looking towards the direction of Jianmu with eyes full of rage. But recalling what the Sanqing had said in Kunlun Mountain, his gaze turned cold. There would be time in the future!
Dijiang returned to the Ancestral Witch Hall. The nine Ancestral Witches all looked at him, awaiting his decision. Dijiang, as the leader of the twelve Ancestral Witches and the Emperor of the Wu clan, held the most authority. Following him were Houtu, then Zhujiuyin, along with the three Ancestral Witches of Wind, Water, and Fire, and finally the other six Ancestral Witches.
Dijiang looked at his brothers and younger sister Xuanming and sighed. "Take fifteen drops of Father God's blood and exchange them for my sister Houtu and fifth brother."
"What! Are we just going to swallow this bitter pill?" Gonggong roared.
"Big Brother, let's go directly and slay him, destroy him!" Zhurong said ferociously.
Dijiang's brows furrowed. "Silence! Are you not listening to my words?" The indignation of the nine Ancestral Witches was suppressed.
Dijiang then slowly said, "Heh, he wants Father God's blood, but he must also have the life to enjoy it! We not only have to give it, but we must also give him three drops of essence blood!"
"Big Brother! How can you do this?" Even Zhujiuyin couldn't help but interject.
Rushou also shouted, "Yes, Big Brother, Father God's blood can only belong to our Wu clan!"
"Don't rush," Dijiang waved his hand, stopping them. "Rushou also said, Father God's blood can only belong to our Wu clan. Having benefited from our Wu clan, how can he remain untouched?"
Xuanming was startled. "Big Brother, are you planning to assimilate him?"
"Precisely! He will undoubtedly use the essence blood for Jianmu, or for himself. At that time, we will activate the Heart of Father God to help him transform into a Wu. Even with Father God's essence blood, he will only be a Great Wu, and will naturally be limited by our Ancestral Witch status..."
Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches discussed at length in the Pangu Palace, in a manner unknown to others.
In Dugong, Qing Ling descended Jianmu. He, like the suppressed Houtu, was also engaged in a conversation unknown to others.
"Houtu," Qing Ling's face was not one of indifference, but of solemnity. "Do you still remember what I said back then about the Earth Dao?"
Although Houtu was surprised by his seriousness, her heart, filled with the feeling of being tricked, was still unwilling to converse with him further.
"As the Ancestral Witch of the Great Earth, you naturally possess one-tenth of the Great Earth's luck, in addition to the luck of Pangu and the Wu clan. Do you know this?" Qing Ling looked steadily at Houtu and spoke directly.
"Your Wu clan does not cultivate the primordial spirit, nor do you have souls. Have you ever considered a fallback for your Wu clan should it one day decline?"
"Though your Wu clan's physical bodies are strong, they cannot achieve Hunyuan through the flesh. This is an innate restriction. Have you ever considered how the Wu clan will fare after the six Sages attain their enlightenment?"
Houtu was silenced by Qing Ling's words and asked, "What does this have to do with you?"
"Because although I am the Lord of the Earth Dao, I am merely the first one, the beginning of the Earth Dao. This is the limit of my power. The Earth Dao needs successors!"
"You have your eye on me?" Houtu chuckled softly. "Demon Ancestor, give up this idea. Unless I, Houtu, one day cease to be Wu! The Wu clan still needs me. Without me, the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Array cannot be formed. How will my billions of Wu clan subjects survive? Although the living beings of heaven and earth suffer from the incomplete Earth Dao, and I am willing to sympathize with all beings, I am first an Ancestral Witch, and then Houtu. The billions of the Wu clan are all my children. I am their mother, and my ten elder brothers are their father. A parent's love for their child is profound. I am Ancestral Witch Houtu. I am biased towards the Wu clan. Even if I have a premonition of the Heavenly Mandate or an intimation from the will of heaven and earth, I will not consider that so-called Earth Dao."
Qing Ling felt a knot in his heart. He had originally thought Houtu was unaware of the Heavenly Mandate, but she already had a vague sense of the Earth Dao. It was understandable, as the Ancestral Witch of the Great Earth, she would naturally lean towards the will of the earth. However, this was different from the history of the Primordial World that he remembered.
Qing Ling turned and left. After much thought, he suddenly realized! This Primordial World had indeed undergone significant changes because of him! During the War between the Wu and Demon races, Nuwa should have attained Sainthood, but up until now, she had not. If Nuwa alone was delayed, then all six Sages would be delayed. The reason, it turned out, lay with himself! Tracing back to the ancient times, if Qing Ling had not appeared, the Snake clan would have declined. The lineage of Xi Mountain, the sect of ten thousand snakes, should have merged with the Tengshe lineage and been incorporated into Fengqi Mountain. The luck of the Snake clan would have gone to Nuwa. But with Qing Ling's presence, the Snake clan's influence was divided, and Nuwa's luck was also divided, thus slowing her cultivation. Upon the establishment of the Demon clan, with the Five Emperors and one Grand Preceptor, there was an additional Demon Ancestor! Merit and luck were further divided, naturally affecting Nuwa's cultivation. She had not attained Sainthood before the War between the Wu and Demon races. Without the Demon clan possessing Hunyuan Sages, the Wu clan would not have been panicked, and Houtu would naturally not have taken the risk of throwing herself into the Earth Dao to confront a Demon clan with Sages. Currently, Houtu still had confidence in defeating the Demon clan, as in the two great wars between the Wu and Demon races, the Wu had always triumphed over the Demon. Consequently, Houtu would likely have no inclination towards the Earth Dao, and would not abandon the Wu clan to enter reincarnation until the very last moment of the Wu-Demon tribulation. In that case, he, the initial Lord of the Earth Dao, would likely have to endure for some more time before the true lord of the Earth Dao's prosperity would arrive!