Sun Star.
Di Jun and Tai Yi had emerged from their seclusion. It wasn't because they had successfully broken through to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm; it was simply because they couldn't stand being cooped up any longer.
"Third Brother, it's not that I wanted to come out, but you once said that cultivation requires a balance of 'work and rest.' I find that perspective very profound, so I've decided to come out today for a stroll to clear my mind."
The moment Di Jun saw Ling Xiao, he began to explain himself, as if terrified of being teased for his lack of progress.
"I understand, I understand," Ling Xiao nodded with a smile, choosing not to expose him. The concept of "balancing labor and leisure" was indeed a theory he had proposed.
"Third Brother, while we were in seclusion... did something major happen?"
Tai Yi had a feeling. Invisibly, he sensed that the resonance of heaven and earth had changed recently, and his intuition prompted the question.
They had completely severed their Divine Sense during their meditation to prevent any distractions during critical moments, so they were entirely unaware of the external shifts.
Hearing this, Ling Xiao nodded. "Big events indeed. Pangu has returned to the world..."
Di Jun and Tai Yi froze instantly, staring at each other with looks of utter bewilderment.
Of all the absurd things in the Great Desolation, this was the peak. Pangu... ran out?
What kind of nonsense was their Third Brother spouting?
Perhaps being alone all these years had caused his mind to become a bit... abnormal. They blamed themselves; they had been in seclusion too long, neglecting their younger brother. They really should have "visited home" more often.
"What is with those expressions?" Ling Xiao let out an amused laugh, realizing his explanation had been too concise. Without context, he had essentially told them a horror story.
Thus, he patiently recounted the major upheavals that had occurred during their absence.
By the time he finished, Di Jun and Tai Yi were shaken once again.
"The Witches can actually summon Pangu? That's cheating! How is the Yao Race supposed to fight that?" Di Jun exclaimed, his mind already conjuring images of the Pangu Dharmakaya.
"The Wu Clan truly possesses great Luck and Opportunity. In the past, the Dao Ancestor said the Witches could not achieve Sainthood without great opportunity and perseverance. Does condensing the Pangu avatar count as an 'alternative' path to Sainthood?"
Tai Yi mused with a smile. He didn't think it was "too much," mainly because when it came to being "overpowered," he felt Ling Xiao wasn't a shred behind the Witches.
"In the end, it is merely a Formation. It is still a far cry from a true Saint," Ling Xiao noted.
It was a pity the current Yao Race lacked the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array or the Hun Yuan He Luo Great Array. If they had those, they could truly hold their own.
"A Formation? Wait, Third Brother! During this seclusion, I was contemplating the River Chart and Luo Scroll. I had a breakthrough—it felt like I was perceiving a massive array, though I haven't fully grasped it yet. It's hard to judge its scale."
Hearing the word "Formation," Di Jun spoke up immediately, sharing his meditative insights.
"It's a Formation, no doubt about it," Ling Xiao's eyes lit up, the words escaping him instantly.
A formation derived from the River Chart and Luo Scroll? That was absolutely the Hun Yuan He Luo Great Array.
"Really?" Di Jun's face brightened with joy. He was intensely interested in the Dao of Formations, and hearing Ling Xiao's confirmation made his heart skip a beat.
"I wonder how this array compares to our Yin and Yang Array."
Di Jun spoke with anticipation. His so-called "Yin and Yang Array" was a lethal formation formed by the fusion of the Sun Star and Taiyin Star energies. Its power was quite remarkable; once activated, it could easily grind a Grand Unity Golden Immortal to dust and even pose a threat to a Quasi-Saint. Currently, that array was hidden upon the Sun Star, unused and unseen.
"Brother, rest assured. It will definitely be stronger than the Yin and Yang Array," Ling Xiao said with a knowing smile. The Hun Yuan He Luo Great Array was one of the four great lethal arrays of the Honghuang; very few formations could claim to surpass it. At most, they were peers with different strengths.
"Third Brother, how can you be so certain?" Di Jun was happy, but also confused.
How was it that he was the one who had the insight, yet his Third Brother seemed to know more about it than he did?
"Big Brother, after all this time, do you still not understand our brother's capabilities?" Tai Yi interjected. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to Ling Xiao's uncanny insights.
"True enough," Di Jun nodded, his doubts vanishing.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao silently gave Tai Yi a thumbs-up. He hadn't even had to come up with an excuse; his brother had done the work for him.
"Third Brother, Tai Yi and I were planning to go to the Three Immortals Island to have a look around—clear our heads and maybe scavenge some treasures. Do you want to come along?"
Di Jun revealed the true intent behind their emergence. They planned to conduct their "rest and relaxation" at the island.
Go to the Three Immortals Island?
Ling Xiao paused for a moment before responding, "Then let us go together."
As their private "back garden," they hadn't visited the Three Immortals Island in tens of thousands of years. In that span, many Heaven and Earth Treasures must have matured. It would be a good time for a harvest.
He could feed the Sky-Swallowing Gourd to convert them into Innate Spirit Liquid, which he could then use to nurture the Chaos Green Lotus and the Yellow Core Plum.
With Di Jun's array about to manifest, he might need a loyal workforce in the future. He could cultivate several crops of Yellow Core Plums; each fruit could instantly produce a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. When he needed hands, he could just feed them to a chosen few.
Though he might not necessarily need it, Ling Xiao preferred to "prevent trouble before it happens." Being prepared was always superior to being caught off guard.
"Haha! It's rare for Third Brother to agree so readily. Shall we depart now?"
Di Jun laughed. If his memory served him right, this was only the fourth time Ling Xiao had ever left the Sun Star. Given that he had been conscious for hundreds of thousands of years, his brother really was a shut-in.
"Let's go!" Tai Yi said a single word, walking outward with his usual cool demeanor.
Ling Xiao smiled and stood up. However, he walked very slowly, like a slow-motion replay.
It wasn't because his legs were numb from sitting; he was "fishing" for a System prompt. By logic, since he was about to leave the Sun Star and officially "enter the world," a Choice should have appeared.
But this time, there was nothing. It was as if the System knew he was going out anyway and refused to give him a "free" reward.
"The System isn't 'sensible' today. It doesn't know how to act; it lacks vision..."
Ling Xiao grumbled internally. Seeing that there was no opportunity for a reward, he stopped pretending and picked up his pace. If he kept walking like that, his brothers would think he had a physical ailment.
Soon, the Three Crows left the Sun Star and flew toward the Three Immortals Island.
Along the way, Evil Qi billowed. Beneath the coverage of their Divine Sense, the sound of slaughter shook the heavens; combat was erupting everywhere. The war between the Wu and Yao was ongoing, though it had devolved into a one-sided slaughter by the Witches.
"Was that gorge carved out by the Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation?"
Tai Yi's Divine Sense swept across the Primordial Great Earth. He suddenly saw a series of endless cracks in the Central Plains—they looked like abyssal scars, terrifying to behold.
Even across the vast distance of space-time, the mesh-like battlefield was clearly visible, exhaling starlight and Evil Qi. The land was devastated beyond belief.
"Indeed. And that was only the collateral shockwave. Had the Pangu avatar exerted its full power, the entire earth might have been split into four," Ling Xiao said gravely.
"Too powerful! I suddenly feel my own weakness again... I want to go back to seclusion!"
Di Jun said with a solemn face. Living in the Honghuang meant feeling pressure every second; only in the void of meditation could he temporarily forget the weight of the world.
"Not yet. We visit the island first, then I'll accompany you," Tai Yi said, pulling on Di Jun and advising him seriously.
"Haha..."
Ling Xiao couldn't help but chuckle.
Without further delay, the three of them flew toward the Three Immortals Island.