Volume 1: The Calamity of the Liches, 225: Xihe Establishes the Calendar, Emperor Jun Battles the Wu Clan

As Xihe grasped her opportunity, she repeated the same work day after day. Gradually, she gained new insights, which were continuously imprinted upon her primordial spirit. Meanwhile, as Xihe drove the sun to bring light and warmth to the vast Primordial world, she earned a brand-new title among the countless living beings: Goddess of the Sun, Goddess of the Solar Chariot! This was not only a gesture of gratitude from the myriad creatures of the Primordial world, but also a sign that she had gained the recognition of countless beings.

As more and more beings acknowledged her, she discovered a strange power manifesting within her primordial spirit. Because this energy was too complex and chaotic, Xihe did not pay much attention to it at first. However, by chance, she discovered that this power could be purified and integrated into her own strength. Although the process was laborious, it was better than nothing.

Simultaneously, as time passed, Xihe realized that both she and the young Golden Crows could earn merit. This was also a process of cultivation, which explained why Xihe, despite the tedious and repetitive nature of the work, persisted.

"I never imagined I could gain insights into the Laws of the Sun!"

As time progressed, Xihe found that she was gradually comprehending the Laws of the Sun, yet these insights were entirely different from those grasped by Emperor Jun and others. One day, as she contemplated the changes in time and the act of guiding the Golden Crows to illuminate the earth, she reached a deeper understanding.

"So that is how it is—the division of time?"

At that moment, struck by a sudden inspiration, Xihe murmured to herself. A unique aura of the Great Dao flickered around her. As this occurred, the Ancestral Witch Zhu Jiuyin in the Pangu Hall of the Wu Clan, and Qingxuan on Mount Buzhou, both sensed something and looked toward the direction where Xihe was located. Both were beings who had traveled extremely far along the path of time. Meanwhile, beneath the East Sea, the Candle Dragon, which suppressed a mysterious existence, also felt that the Primordial world's Laws of Time had gained much; they were more complete than ever before!

As the aura of the laws surrounding her grew more intense, Xihe seemed to fall into a state of sudden enlightenment. When the laws she had personally derived reached the threshold and attained the level of minor accomplishment, Xihe suddenly stood up, and her voice resonated throughout the Primordial land:

"I, Xihe, sensing that the laws of the Primordial Heaven and Earth are incomplete, hereby create the calendar and establish the system of time! I shall bring the concept of time to the Primordial world!"

Simultaneously, Xihe continued:

"Each year is divided into twelve months, and each month into thirty days! Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai shall constitute the twelve double-hours of a day!"

As Xihe established the twelve double-hours, twelve powerful auras suddenly erupted across the Primordial world.

"We, the twelve Yuanchen Star Lords of the starry sky, today define the twelve months for the Primordial world."

"The twelve Yuanchen shall govern the twelve months; we are both the twelve Yuanchen Star Lords and the twelve Monthly Generals!"

"Born in the hour of Zi, the Rat, the Shenhou Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Chou, the Ox, the Daji Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Yin, the Tiger, the Gongcao Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Mao, the Rabbit, the Taichong Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Chen, the Dragon, the Tiangang Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Si, the Snake, the Taiyi Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Wu, the Horse, the Shengguang Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Wei, the Sheep, the Xiaoji Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Shen, the Monkey, the Chuansong Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of You, the Rooster, the Congkui Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Xu, the Dog, the Hekui Yuanchen;
Born in the hour of Hai, the Pig, the Dengming Yuanchen.
Twelve signs of the zodiac, governing the fate of the six spirits."

"Twelve Yuanchen, take your positions!"

Following this, twelve figures rose rapidly from the Primordial land and headed straight toward the ancient starry sky. Immediately, countless creatures noticed that from this moment on, twelve stars in the firmament shone with extraordinary brightness. They knew these were the stars corresponding to the twelve Yuanchen. Xihe looked up at the starry sky, her expression calm and unreadable.

With the completion of the twelve months and twelve double-hours, a vast amount of merit condensed between heaven and earth. Thirty percent flew toward the starry sky, while of the remaining seventy percent, twenty percent descended upon the ten Golden Crows, and the rest was fully absorbed by Xihe.

In an instant, the strength of the ten Golden Crows rose directly from the Profound Immortal stage to the early stage of the Taiyi Profound Immortal. After absorbing and digesting all the merit, Xihe, though she had not yet severed her third corpse, reached the late stage of the Quasi-Sage, nearly touching the realm of the Great Perfection of the Quasi-Sage. Upon her promotion, Xihe looked at the ten Golden Crows and, seeing that their sudden increase in power had primarily strengthened their foundation rather than forcing growth, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, in the Heavenly Court, Emperor Jun had fully assembled his army and was marching toward the Wu Clan. On this expedition, the Demon Clan's Taiyi had reached the Great Perfection of the Quasi-Sage, while Kunpeng and Fuxi, both powerful late-stage Quasi-Sages, were only a step away from perfection. The remaining Demon Sages were all at the mid-stage of the Quasi-Sage, having severed one corpse. There were also over a dozen early-stage Quasi-Sage Demon Kings and newly joined experts.

Looking at these powerful warriors, Emperor Jun’s confidence swelled.

At the Wu Clan:

"Emperor Jun is attacking again. It seems the last lesson wasn't enough to make him learn!" the Great Witch Xing Tian and others exclaimed with fiery tempers.

Hou Yi frowned upon hearing this. "Do not be careless. This time, Emperor Jun's strength has increased significantly compared to before—he is on par with me! Taiyi has also grown much stronger. It seems both of them have made great progress recently."

"What is there to fear? We of the Wu Clan are not cowards who fear death!"

Seeing this, Hou Yi felt a headache. "While we of the Wu Clan are indeed not cowards, we must consider the others!"

"Then do we fight or not? How will outsiders view our Wu Clan if we hesitate?" the Great Witches said irritably.

"We must fight, of course. But our Wu Clan is small in number and reproduction is difficult; we cannot afford reckless losses. Everyone, keep a close watch on our kin during the battle!"

After the Great Witches nodded in agreement, Hou Yi led the Wu warriors to meet Emperor Jun and his forces.

"Emperor Jun, it seems you have a short memory! Time and again you lose to our Wu Clan, yet you show no sign of reflection!"

"Hmph! Hou Yi, this time I will let you know my power. Do you think you can still be as arrogant as before? You will suffer soon!"

After speaking, Emperor Jun transformed into a three-legged Golden Crow, his entire body enveloped in scorching purple-red flames. In an instant, countless purple-red fireballs rained down toward the Wu warriors.

Seeing this, Hou Yi planted his feet firmly on the ground, and it was as if infinite power poured into him. His aura intensified several times over, and the earth began to tremble. Countless earthen walls rose from the ground, shielding all the Wu people.

Simultaneously, the other Great Witches engaged Taiyi and the others. The Great Witches all possessed the strength of the mid-to-late stage of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal, and one of them could easily handle several Quasi-Sage Demon experts. The rest of the warriors, some of whom had already stepped into the Hunyuan Golden Immortal stage, also clashed with the Demon Kings and others.

"The strength of the Wu Clan is truly formidable. Fortunately, their numbers have always been small; otherwise, there would be no chance for us of the Demon Clan!" many demons remarked with deep emotion regarding the powerful Wu Clan.