Chapter 28: The Twelve Divine Celestial Formations

Above the East Sea, space rippled, and Bai Jing appeared.

He cast a glance at the sea below and casually grabbed an aquatic creature of the Golden Immortal realm to inquire about any major events in the Primordial World. From this creature, Bai Jing confirmed that his integration of the origin had taken nearly twenty thousand years. Over these two millennia, many mighty figures of the Quasi-Saint realm had emerged in the Primordial world.

Since the three lectures at Zixiao Palace and the distribution of treasures, hundreds of the three thousand guests who had attained the Dao possessed innate spiritual treasures. Consequently, countless individuals had successfully cut off their obsessions to become Quasi-Saints. Half of the ten Demon Sages of the Demon Race had achieved this level. Later, Di Jun and Tai Yi personally visited Fuxi and Nuwa; through unknown means, they finally persuaded these two to join the Heavenly Court. With Fuxi titled the Xi Emperor and Nuwa the Wa Emperor—standing on equal footing with Di Jun and Tai Yi—and with the addition of Nuwa, a direct disciple of the Dao Ancestor and a predestined Saint, the prestige of the Demon Race became universally known, and the Demon Heavenly Court grew increasingly powerful.

About three thousand years ago, Di Jun and Tai Yi went to Mount Buzhou to negotiate with the Wu Clan. The talks collapsed, and they parted on bad terms. Since then, the Demon Race had begun targeting Wu Clan tribes outside of Mount Buzhou while simultaneously accelerating their annexation of other major forces in the Primordial World.

Bai Jing sighed upon hearing this. It seemed that war between the Wu and Demon clans was inevitable. Once the Demon Race cleared away the major powers that refused to submit, they would inevitably turn their blades toward the Wu Clan. The Wu Clan, having secured a sufficient food supply, no longer needed to hunt the Demon Race for sustenance, meaning there was no blood feud between them. However, for the Demon Race to unify the Primordial World, the Wu Clan was an obstacle that could not be bypassed. Furthermore, as the Wu Clan worshipped neither heaven nor earth nor the Saints, how could they ever submit to the Demon Race?

Thinking of this, Bai Jing decided to visit the Wu Clan first, at the very least to determine how they intended to respond to the Demon Race.

Upon reaching the ancestral land of the Wu Clan at the foot of Mount Buzhou, he happened to run into Xuan Ming, who was returning from outside.

"Oh? Bai Jing? Have you finished your seclusion?" Xuan Ming asked after looking him up and down.

"Yes, I have just emerged. Fellow Daoist Xuan Ming, these past few years..."

"Don't call me 'Fellow Daoist' this and that; it sounds awkward. Just call me by my name," Xuan Ming interrupted.

Bai Jing paused, then smiled and nodded. "Xuan Ming, you haven't been idle these years either! Has your physical strength reached the mid-stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm?"

Xuan Ming did not answer directly but led Bai Jing back to the Pangu Hall before replying, "I haven't been working hard on cultivation. It was when we were repairing the ley lines of the Western lands that the Earthly Dao gave us some feedback."

"The Earthly Dao?"

"Yes. When we repaired about ten percent of the Western ley lines, the Earthly Dao bestowed upon us a great amount of merit. After refining this merit, the physical strength of both Zhu Jiuyin and myself broke through to the mid-stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm. Our eldest brother and Gong Gong, who also helped with the repairs, received plenty of merit as well. Our eldest brother is now in the late-stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, and Gong Gong is just a step away from the mid-stage."

"So, the Earthly Dao is already reviving," Bai Jing said with a smile.

"That should be the case. According to our eldest brother's deductions, once the Western ley lines are fully repaired, the Earthly Dao should be largely restored."

Bai Jing said nothing in response. How could the restoration of the Earthly Dao be so simple? To truly revive it, the cycle of reincarnation would have to manifest to complete what the Earthly Dao lacked. If one were to view the Earthly Dao as a person, repairing the ley lines was merely reshaping the body, whereas reincarnation was the vital heart; only with a heart could the person truly come to life.

Bai Jing's arrival naturally drew the attention of the other nine Ancestral Witches. Di Jiang was the first to walk over, followed by the others.

"Brother Bai Jing, you have gained quite a lot from this seclusion!" Di Jiang remarked after assessing him.

"That is thanks to Fellow Daoist Houtu helping me obtain the Azure Lotus Flag of the East."

Di Jiang smiled, then shifted the topic. "I assume Brother Bai Jing already knows about our situation with the Demon Race?"

"I have heard, but I am not aware of the specific details."

"Actually, there is nothing much to tell. The Demon Race wanted to invite our Wu Clan to join the Heavenly Court and promised us a position as a Demon Emperor. We of the Wu Clan worship only Father Pangu; how could we possibly join such a court? So I flatly refused them. Since then, they have been suppressing our tribes outside Mount Buzhou, and many of our clansmen have been injured.

"I had intended to call all our brothers back and engage the Demon Race in a full-scale battle to strike fear into them. But just then, we reached ten percent completion on the Western ley lines, and the Earthly Dao bestowed upon us immense merit, allowing my cultivation to break through. I decided to stall for time until we finish repairing the Western ley lines. If the Earthly Dao revives then, our Wu Clan will have a fallback and will fear the Demon Race even less. Even if it doesn't fully revive, we can use the merit to further strengthen our clansmen, giving us a better chance of victory when we do fight."

Listening to Di Jiang, Bai Jing gained a new respect for him. Who said the Wu Clan were mere brutes? Di Jiang clearly possessed a keen mind beneath his rough exterior. It was no wonder the other Ancestral Witches were so loyal to their eldest brother.

"Fellow Daoist Di Jiang's reasoning is sound. In any case, the Demon Race is currently busy eliminating other major forces; they will not confront the Wu Clan just yet. The Wu Clan can continue to accumulate strength, and when they do eventually attack, you will be able to strike them a heavy blow."

Di Jiang nodded in satisfaction, seeing that Bai Jing agreed with his perspective.

"By the way, Brother Bai Jing, Sister Houtu mentioned to me before that she wanted you to study our Twelve Divine Heavens Array. I discussed it with the others, and they have all agreed. If you are interested, you need only swear an oath to the Great Dao that you will not pass on this array without our consent, and I will teach it to you."

Bai Jing's eyes lit up, and he swore the oath to the Great Dao without hesitation.

Di Jiang promptly imparted the secrets of the Twelve Divine Heavens Array to Bai Jing and designated a small area in the Pangu Hall for him to study it. Bai Jing did not stand on ceremony; he sat down in the designated spot, brewed a pot of Enlightenment Tea, drank it in one gulp, and began his attempt to comprehend the array.

Just as Houtu had said, having refined Di Jiang's blood essence and the blood from the Wu Clan's pool, and having cultivated the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, Bai Jing was effectively half-Wu. He was indeed capable of understanding the array, though without the blood essence of the other Ancestral Witches, he would be unable to deploy it with them.