After the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation ended, peace and quiet returned to the Great Desolation. After many years, the damage brought about by the war between the three clans slowly healed.
This ushered in a new birth of congenital gods. Their origin wasn't as pure and powerful as those born in the previous era, like the Three Purities, Di Jun, Taiyi, and many others, but they were still born as Golden Immortals.
In the Darknorth Sea, farther than the North Sea, a gigantic fish swam through the icy waters. Its body was longer than a thousand li, and it suddenly leaped into the air. Once in the air, it transformed into a giant bird. With a flap of its wings, hurricanes formed.
Its name was Kunpeng.
Inside a cave on Buzhou Mountain, two eggs cracked and out slithered two figures. One was a man with the lower half of a snake, and the other was a woman with the lower half of a snake.
Their names were Fuxi and Nuwa.
At the base of Buzhou Mountain, hidden within a valley, existed a temple. Formed from Pangu's heart, this was the Pangu Temple!
In the heart of the temple was a pool of blood. The blood pool started to churn, and multiple beings crawled out of it.
The first creature resembled a yellow sac with six legs and four wings. His name was Di Jiang, created from the Law of Space mixing with Pangu's blood.
The second being had a red serpentine body with the head of a man. He was Jiuyin, born from the Law of Time mixing with Pangu's blood.
The third had the body of a bird with a human head, riding on two dragons. He was Jumang, and he was born from the Law of Wood mixing with Pangu's blood.
The fourth had the body of a tiger but the head of a man. Instead of fur, silver scales lined his body, and two snakes slithered out of his ears. He was Rushou, formed from the Law of Metal mixing with Pangu's blood.
The fifth had the head of a snake, black scales, a dragon under his feet, and a blue python wrapping around his arm. He was Gonggong and he was born from the Law of Water mixing with Pangu's blood.
The sixth had red scales instead of black, the body of a man with the head of a beast. Two snakes pierced his ears, and he rode atop a fire dragon. His name was Zhurong, and he was born from the Law of Fire mixing with Pangu's blood.
The seventh possessed the body of a tiger, eight heads, and ten tails. His name was Tianwu, and he was born from the Law of Wind mixing with Pangu's blood.
The eighth had a human body, a snake in his mouth, a tiger's head in his hand, hoofed feet, and long arms. He was Qiangliang, and he was born from the Law of Thunder mixing with Pangu's blood.
The ninth came in a bird's form, with a human head, green snakes around his ears, and a red snake in his talons. His name was Jizi, and he was born from the Law of Lightning mixing with Pangu's blood.
The tenth had a man's head but long dog-like ears and a beast's body. He was Shebisi, and he was born from the Law of Storm mixing with Pangu's blood.
The eleventh had the body of a beast covered in spikes. Her name was Xuanming, and she was born from the Law of Rain mixing with Pangu's blood.
The twelfth and last had a snake's lower half and a woman's upper half. In addition to her two arms, seven more sprouted from her back, each holding a snake. Her name was Houtu, and she was born from the Law of Earth mixing with Pangu's blood.
These were the twelve titans, beings that gained life from the twelve drops of Pangu's blood, akin to how his spirit formed the Three Purities. They announced their presence to the Great Desolation, aided by the Way of Heaven.
In the barren West, where Rahu had once made his headquarters in Mount Sumeru, a Bodhi Tree shivered. It was one of the top ten connate spiritual roots of heaven and earth.
A man wearing golden-yellow robes walked up. He had no hair on his head but exuded a calming and peaceful aura. "Don't be afraid, I'm here to enlighten you."
He sat down and began to preach to the Bodhi Tree. Many years later, the Bodhi Tree passed the heavenly tribulation and transformed. He clapped his hands together and thanked the golden-robed man.
"Zhunti thanks Senior Brother Jieyin."
Near the Undying Volcano in the South were two bird eggs. One was golden with green light emitting from it, while the other was blue but shone with the light of five different colors.
The second egg wobbled, and a crack appeared not longer after. Soon, a beak pushed through the crack, the rest of its body following soon after. It was a peacock with five tails: a red tail, black tail, yellow tail, white tail, and green tail.
The peacock’s eyes revealed confusion, as if it had just woken up from its dreams. Suddenly, black tribulation clouds began to gather above it. The peacock looked up, and all confusion vanished instantly.
It spread its wings and fanned out its tails. "I am Kong Xuan!"
The tribulation clouds stopped gathering and, with one thunderous roar, disappeared.
Kong Xuan sighed in relief and turned its gaze towards the golden egg.
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Inside the Three Purity Palace, Tongtian opened her eyes. She had sensed that the secrets of heaven were no longer obscured. Plus, she had to be deaf not to hear Rahu's or the three overlord's heavenly oaths.
She closed her eyes and began to calculate with her fingers again. After battling Qiankun Ancestor, Tongtian realized that her battle methods were too crude and she needed to improve. Since she specialized in sword arts and formation, she'll create a supreme sword formation.
Tongtian called her newly created formation the Myriad Sword Formation because it primarily relied on the number of swords used to form it. Currently, she had already deduced three levels: the Ten Sword Formation, the Hundred Sword Formation, and the Thousand Sword Formation.
Currently, she was deducing the fourth level, the Ten Thousand Sword Formation. According to her estimation, its power should surpass Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, like Qilin Ancestor.
Although she focused on creating the Myriad Sword Formation, Tongtian's cultivation did not stagnate, and she reached the peak of Advanced Great Firmament Realm.
After many years, Tongtian could not deduce the fourth level of the Myriad Sword Formation. She decided to leave it at that and left her room.
When she arrived in the grand hall, she saw Yuanshi sitting alone. When she sat down next to him, Yuanshi opened his eyes and waved his hand. Hundreds of sword-shaped spiritual artifacts appeared in the air.
Tongtian accepted all of them and closed her eyes to cultivate. She could smell a medicinal fragrance, so Laozi had probably borrowed the Qiankun Cauldron to concoct some pills or elixirs again.
Many years later, Laozi exited his room. He returned the Qiankun Cauldron to Yuanshi and sat down on his prayer mat. While Tongtian tried to create her Myriad Sword Formation, both Yuanshi and Laozi focused more on their cultivation and reached the Peak Great Firmament Realm.
Tongtian took this time to speak. "Let's leave Kunlun Mountain and explore the rest of the Great Desolation. Last time, we had to return because of the tribulation, but the next tribulation should be far off into the future."
"We have reached a bottleneck in our way. Perhaps we may find inspiration in this trip," Laozi said. Since Laozi had already agreed, Yuanshi nodded.
"Should we visit the Titan Tribe then?" Tongtian asked.
"Hmpf," Yuanshi turned his head. "Who are they to claim the orthodox lineage in front of us?"
"Don't say that. Since they are born from Father God's blood, they must have their own uniqueness compared to us," Tongtian said. "I noticed this previously when I entered the chaotic space to search for Fangzhang Island, but our bodies are too weak. We may gain something out of it."
"Third Sister's words have some merit. Let's visit the Titan Tribe and see their abilities." With Laozi's words, the decision was already set in stone. The three departed from Kunlun Mountain and arrived at the base of Buzhou Mountain.
It wasn't hard to find the exact location of the Titan Tribe because they had eliminated all the beasts within ten thousand li. The Three Purities had chanced upon a member of the Titan Tribe exploring the land with a bow and arrow in hand. Unlike the twelve titans, the Titan Tribe members only inherited a fraction of their strength and were not formed from any laws, so they became giants.
The giant looked up to see the Three Purities looking down on him. Although he could discern that he was weaker than them, he still notched an arrow and aimed it at them. "Who are you? Don't you know this is the territory of the Titan Tribe?"
Yuanshi snorted. The giant below him wasn't an immortal, but he had the power of a Golden Immortal of the Great Unity. Before he could punish the fool, Tongtian raised her hand and stopped Yuanshi.
Tongtian looked at the giant with interest. She could feel a vague sense of familiarity like that of a family member, although it was closer to a nephew than a cousin. "Take us to your leaders. Tell them that the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu, the Three Purities, are here."
The giant immediately said, “Impossible. The titans are the only descendants of Father God! Scram, or don't blame me for being rude!"
Not only did Laozi and Yuanshi frown, but so did Tongtian. All three released the aura hidden in their body. Their aura pressed down upon the giant, causing him to fall onto his knees.
The giant's eyes widened in shock. He had felt this sensation before when he interacted with the twelve titans. But instead of the sensation of boiling blood he felt, he felt something deeper originating inside him.
"Are you titans that were born outside the tribe?" the giant asked deferentially after the Three Purities hid their aura again.
"We aren't titans, but the Three Purities," Yuanshi impatiently said. "Now, take us to your leaders."
The giant nodded. "Please follow me."
Along the way, Tongtian asked. "What's your name?"
The giant paused for a bit and said, “Houyi."
An explosion went off in Tongtian's mind. 'He's that Houyi? The one that shot down nine out of ten suns?'
Although she was shocked for a bit, Tongtian calmed down. No matter who she met, could it beat the shock the moment she discovered that she had become the future Heavenly Venerable of Numinous Treasures?
As they ventured deeper into the Titan Tribe's territory, the Three Purities saw more and more giants. Not all of them possessed the power of a Golden Immortal of the Great Unity, but the weakest were still on the same levels as Golden Immortals. If you ignored the Qilin Ancestor, the Titan Tribe was capable of equalling the Qilin Clan and might even surpass them.
Before they even reached the core of the Titan Tribe, Tongtian already felt a sense of danger, but more than that, there was something calling out to her, attracting her. She wasn't the only one, as Laozi and Yuanshi felt this sensation too.
They entered a valley and were greeted by twelve towering titans. Tongtian realized what was calling out to them: the twelve titans.Or more specifically, the blood in their bodies.
All things are divided into yin and yang. Pangu's spirit is yin while his blood is yang. If they could absorb the titan's blood essence, they would be able to enrich their source and foundation.
Still, outright asking for their blood essence was impossible. A war might directly erupt. Although judging from a few of their belligerent expressions, a battle could not be avoided.
As the eldest and leader of the Three Purity, Laozi stepped forward. "We have long heard of your fame. We are the Three Purities, the orthodox lineage of Pangu–"
He never had a chance to finish as Zhurong stepped forward and jabbed his finger at them, and growled, "Shut up! What orthodox lineage of Pangu? We are his only inheritors. Fakes like you should scram while you still can."
Yuanshi sneered. "Who are you calling fakes, you fake? I don't mind showing the difference between a real and a fake."
Tongtian sighed. It was evident that both of them felt the traces of Pangu on the other, yet they still clung to their false beliefs out of pride. She watched helplessly as Yuanshi sent his Three-Treasured Jade Scepter at Zhurong, who met it with a fiery punch.
Her eyes brightened when she saw Houtu, who exuded a down-to-earth and motherly aura. Tongtian was quite interested in this titan, who would sacrifice her life to form the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the Underworld.