Chapter 20: The Fifth Orthodoxy
“The first is righteousness, the second is arms, the third is proliferation, the fourth is resources!”
Ancestor Wu Dijian smiled and said, “With these four, all is perfect. I am truly curious, as our Wu clan seems flawless from every angle—what else must be improved or supplemented?”
Di Cang replied respectfully, “The fifth is legitimacy, or perhaps destiny!”
The Twelve Ancestor Wus all showed interest and surprise, inquiring, “What is legitimacy? What is destiny?”
“Legitimacy is to be justified in name and deed; destiny is recognition by the Great Dao and approval by the Heavenly Dao,” Di Cang explained. “If the Wu clan wishes to reign eternally over the wilderness, it must earn the recognition of the Great Dao and the endorsement of the Heavenly Dao. Only then can we be justified, leaving the myriad beings of the world no reason to object.”
“This…” Each of the Twelve Ancestor Wus was deeply shocked.
Ancestor Wu Dijian hesitated, “For our Wu clan to gain the recognition of the Great Dao and the Heavenly Dao—how difficult! Is it not impossible?”
“It is certainly possible,” Di Cang analyzed solemnly. “Earlier, the Ancestor Wus mentioned that the wilderness is our Father God’s realm, and as his descendants, it is our right to rule.”
“In fact,” Di Cang continued, “this is the greatest legitimacy, and the most justified reason.”
“So that’s it.” Each of the Twelve Ancestor Wus breathed a long sigh of relief. It was simply that.
If so, it was nothing remarkable.
Soon, they would proclaim to the world that they were of Pangu’s bloodline, inheriting the Father God’s task to guard the wilderness.
The so-called Eight Laws to Guard the Wilderness—this law was the least important!
The Twelve Ancestor Wus had already planned as much.
...
Yet, as soon as their thoughts settled, Di Cang spoke respectfully, “Your intentions are noble. However, to have all accept our Wu clan’s legitimacy, it is far from sufficient to simply proclaim our bloodline, brandish the name, and claim to be Pangu’s descendants!”
“What?” The faces of the Twelve Ancestor Wus changed subtly.
Moments before, they felt their strategy was peerless, only for Di Cang to dismiss it so swiftly.
---
Di Cang continued, “To borrow the name of Father God Pangu, mere blood relations are not enough. In the wilderness, every innate god and demon has some connection to Pangu. If we can claim his name, so can others.”
“Therefore!” Di Cang declared earnestly, “We need a reason that all in the wilderness must accept.”
Ancestor Wu Dijian asked gravely, “What is your plan?”
Di Cang pondered, “Only if Father God Pangu is present in the Wu clan, standing as its pillar, will all others be compelled to believe!”
“This…” The Twelve Ancestor Wus were utterly stunned.
Pangu perished opening the heavens; all know this. How could Father God Pangu become the Wu clan’s pillar? It seemed impossible!
Di Cang said, “To achieve this, two steps are needed!”
“First, we build the Pangu Hall, erecting a statue of Father God Pangu, worshiped with faith and spiritual offerings year after year.”
“Second, we establish a sect—the Ancestral Sect—whose doctrine is to worship Father God Pangu and to guard the wilderness in his stead!”
“Building the Pangu Hall is an act of filial piety, unassailable by anyone!”
“By voluntarily undertaking the duty to safeguard the wilderness, combining filial piety and our righteous deeds, we become the legitimate rulers—who could contest us?”
“Excellent, excellent!” The Twelve Ancestor Wus praised endlessly.
To build the Pangu Hall and establish the Ancestral Sect to guard the wilderness would wield astonishing influence!
It would perfectly channel the power of Pangu, the one who split heaven and earth—who could oppose or rival such authority?
Ancestor Wu Zhu Jiuyin could not help but sigh, “This is truly our clan’s unshakable destiny!”
...
“In that case!” Ancestor Wu Dijian declared, “Let us erect the statue of Father God and establish the Ancestral Sect. The Twelve Ancestor Wus and the hundred and eight Great Wus shall accomplish this together; once complete, we shall resume our respective duties!”
“However!” Dijian added, “Previously, Dijian and Zhu Jiuyin’s tribes guarded the Pangu Hall, Gonggong and Tianwu’s tribes monitored externally, and Rushou and Zhurong’s tribes led campaigns. These six tribes must now take on the task of promoting the Ancestral Sect and gathering faith.”
---
At once, the Twelve Ancestor Wus requested Rushou to act.
Rushou, the Ancestor Wu of Metal, famed for his divine power to turn beans into soldiers, was a master of puppetry. He possessed three golden beans, each forged with his heart’s blood, containing boundless laws within. Once activated, each could unleash power one tier beneath Rushou himself, at the level of a newly ascended Hunyuan God-Demon.
In other words, if Rushou went all out, though a single Ancestor Wu, he could display the strength of one quasi-saint and three quasi-sect masters—an astonishing force!
With Rushou’s skills, forging a lifelike statue was no challenge.
Moreover, the Twelve Ancestor Wus sought to imbue the statue with greater majesty—not solely by Rushou’s craftsmanship, but through the essence blood of the Twelve Ancestor Wus and the hundred and eight Great Wus.
...
First, Rushou forged a lifelike statue of Pangu.
Then, each of the Twelve Ancestor Wus condensed their essence blood and offered it to the statue, followed by the hundred and eight Great Wus.
Finally, it was Di Cang’s turn.
Di Cang’s bloodline encompassed all, melding every strand of Pangu’s lineage and embracing other bloodlines of the wilderness. He was the future protagonist of the wilderness—of the human race.
Di Cang likewise condensed a drop of essence blood and offered it to the Pangu statue.
Originally, even when the Twelve Ancestor Wus each offered their essence blood, there was no visible effect—the Pangu statue showed no reaction.
Yet as Di Cang’s essence blood seeped in, its encompassing nature began to merge with the Twelve Ancestor Wus’ blood, borrowing their power to manifest an aura of swallowing heavens and devouring earth, gradually absorbing and fusing the essence blood of the hundred and eight Great Wus.
Of course, this process was extremely slow, unnoticed by outsiders in the short term.
Even the Twelve Ancestor Wus, at first, merely sensed that Di Cang, the weakest of the Great Wus, after infusing his essence blood, could connect with the statue’s bloodline to a degree equal to a Great Wu—truly incredible!
Some among the Twelve Ancestor Wus found it hard to believe.
However, more were thoughtful.
This scene was proof enough that Di Cang’s physical bloodline was extraordinary; possessing a primordial spirit was no accident. Though a Great Wu, he could not be regarded as ordinary.