"Little sister, why are you looking at me with such hostility?
Being able to resurrect our other brothers and sisters, isn't that a cause for great joy? Aren't you happy?
For this day, your brother has planned for a hundred thousand years. Have you forgotten the love your brothers and sisters showered upon you?
Don't you want to see them again? To recreate the glorious era of the Wu Clan, just like before?"
Seeing Mingyue's wary expression, Xuan Ming was displeased.
Everything he did was for the Wu Clan. Why couldn't his sister understand?
During the ancient war between the Wu and Yao clans, watching his kin fall one by one, he had even dragged Di Jun into a mutual self-destruction.
Fortunately, his divine soul was powerful. Although his physical body was lost and his soul was damaged, it was not completely destroyed, merely entering a coma.
When he awoke, he found himself a mere wisp of a soul, without a physical body to anchor him, on the verge of dissipation.
To survive, he cast a witchcraft spell and possessed the corpse of a random person.
When he returned to the Wu Clan's territory, he found only scorched earth. The Wu Clan was annihilated, with not a single survivor.
Everything was destroyed, save for the divine temple. He ran inside and wept bitterly, mourning his fallen kin.
By chance, he caused Xianyun to recognize him as its master, which he found very perplexing at the time.
Of the Wu Clan's seven sacrificial artifacts, only Wangshu had recognized his little sister Mingyue as its master. The entire Wu Clan had tried the others, but none could be recognized.
Now that he had changed bodies, why could he so easily have an artifact recognize him?
After communicating with Xianyun, he finally understood. These seven sacrificial artifacts had a profound origin.
These seven artifacts, which appeared at the birth of the Wu Clan, were not naturally formed by heaven and earth.
Instead, they were gifts from various tribal groups as a gesture of respect for Pangu the Great God and as protection for the Wu Clan, as prompted by the Heavenly Dao.
Each artifact contained immense power. For instance, Wangshu was refined by the Moon Goddess using her moon soul.
However, the Wu Clan was formidable and feared by other tribes. Though they dared not disobey the Heavenly Dao's decree, they also feared that the Wu Clan, with these artifacts, would become even more powerful. Thus, they secretly interfered.
Consequently, several tribes privately conferred and reached a consensus: these artifacts they gifted could only be recognized by those possessing their respective bloodlines.
Therefore, even with the Heavenly Dao's prompt, the Wu people, knowing these artifacts were crucial to the Wu Clan's destiny, could not successfully recognize them as masters.
Only the Moon Goddess, who kept to herself and rarely interacted with others, had not tampered with Wangshu.
However, Wangshu hailed from the Moon Palace and possessed a cold disposition. It found none of the Wu people to its liking.
It was only when Mingyue took form that she struck its fancy, and thus it voluntarily recognized her as its master.
Xuan Ming discovered these truths because the person he hastily possessed to return to the Wu Clan was a member of the Shen clan, the one who refined Xianyun. The Shen clan's power lay in spewing clouds and mist, thus refining Xianyun with the ability to devour and fuse.
Furthermore, Xianyun retained a secret technique, which Xuan Ming discovered with great surprise and joy.
The secret technique recorded that by combining the seven artifacts in their peak states through Xianyun, immense power could be generated.
This power was so great that it could restore a world or bring back to life those whose souls had been utterly annihilated.
Having lost his kin, Xuan Ming's greatest desire was to resurrect them.
After his excitement subsided, he gathered the artifacts from the divine temple and examined them carefully.
But he was immediately disappointed. To resurrect the Wu Clan and the Primordial World, the seven treasures had to be combined in their peak states.
The immense destructive force of the Wu-Yao war had reduced the Primordial World to ruins.
To resist such power and prevent themselves from being destroyed, these artifacts had essentially exhausted their power.
This was why the entire Wu Clan territory had turned to scorched earth, with only the divine temple remaining standing.
This was entirely due to the artifacts releasing their power externally. Moreover, even if the artifacts' power were restored, Mingyue's Wangshu was still missing.
The Wu-Yao war had disrupted the world's order, and innate power had dissipated.
To repair the artifacts, Xuan Ming, carrying the six artifacts, wandered through various worlds in the vast universe.
He sought ways to restore the artifacts' power, searched for Wangshu, and most importantly, looked for individuals who could make the artifacts recognize them as masters.
Since Xianyun was of the same level as the other artifacts, it could not directly devour them.
Only by having the other artifacts recognize their masters, and then having Xianyun devour those masters, could all their powers be fused together.
He searched tirelessly, and his efforts were rewarded. He found Zhao Wumian, who could make Fuyao recognize him as master.
Zhao Wumian craved power and possessed considerable ability, which gave Xuan Ming another plan.
He would utilize Zhao Wumian's ambition to help him repair the artifacts and find individuals capable of making the artifacts recognize them as masters.
He, in turn, could focus on finding Wangshu, thereby doubling his efficiency and saving time.
Zhao Wumian did not disappoint him. The entire plan proceeded smoothly, and he also discovered Wangshu's existence in this world.
He hadn't expected that Mingyue had also survived, reincarnating into someone else's body, just like him.
Upon seeing Mingyue, he hesitated, for to implement his resurrection plan, he would have to kill Mingyue.
Only then could Xianyun fully fuse the seven treasures. He felt a pang of reluctance, as Mingyue was now his only kin.
But then he thought that even if he killed Mingyue now, once he gained the power to resurrect the other Ancestral Witches, he could also resurrect Mingyue.
He decided not to alter his plan. Thus, he transformed into Ci Shi and hid in the City of Hope.
He did not wish to kill Mingyue with his own hands, and he knew Zhao Wumian would eventually come to claim the Golden Crow and Fu Guang.
Therefore, he patiently played the role of a mantis stalking a cicada, confident that the final victory would be his.
Another reason he remained in the City of Hope was the Boundless Sea of Clouds.
Xianyun's power had not been restored, but the Boundless Sea of Clouds contained abundant Five Elements power.
Thus, when Zhao Wumian attacked the city, he controlled the sea of clouds amidst the chaos, secretly aiding Zhao Wumian.
He was waiting for Zhao Wumian to kill everyone and gather the six treasures, after which he would devour the sea of clouds to restore Xianyun.
Finally, he would kill Zhao Wumian and execute his resurrection plan. Victory was within his grasp.
Who could have foreseen that Ji Shiyou would emerge, not only killing Zhao Wumian and the others but also seizing all the artifacts?
This disrupted his plan. Xuan Ming had no choice but to secretly employ witchcraft to collect the souls of Zhao Wumian and the others.
Then, during Mingyue and Ji Shiyou's wedding night, he seized the opportunity to absorb the sea of clouds, bringing it to its peak state.
After devouring the souls of Zhao Wumian and the others, his next step was to reclaim the artifacts.
However, with Ji Shiyou present, he dared not act rashly and had been waiting for an opportunity.
Finally, Mingyue and the others were about to rebuild the apocalypse and reconstruct their homeland, with everyone going out to help.
Only Mingyue and Baobao remained in the base. He felt the time was ripe and prepared to act.
He entered the divine temple and stole the other five artifacts. As the temple's restrictions were similar to those of the Primordial World, he could enter and exit freely without being attacked, thus obtaining them with ease.
As he was about to find a secluded spot to absorb the power of the five artifacts, he encountered Baobao, who had run away from home.
He then captured Baobao and devoured him, obtaining Fu Guang.
He released the power of the artifacts externally, intending to lure Mingyue and obtain Wangshu. Once he had Wangshu, his plan would be complete.
"You want to resurrect the other Ancestral Witches, and it's not just about the power of the artifacts, is it? Otherwise, why wouldn't you reveal yourself to me directly?
There must be other conditions that I cannot accept, right?"
Mingyue looked at Xuan Ming and said coldly.