Meeting Old Acquaintances After Leaving Seclusion, Where Are the Wu Tribe Villages Now?

With his cultivation greatly advanced, Li Wuyang was eager to return home. He bowed to Green Lotus and the meditation cushion once more, then activated the purple token.

Ripples reappeared on the wall, and he cautiously led his team out of the cave dwelling.

The outside was still the same region of spatial turbulence, shrouded in mist and fraught with danger. But now, with Li Wuyang's cultivation reaching the Earth Immortal (Spirit Refinement and Void Return) stage, his divine sense was powerful, and his perception of spatial fluctuations had become much keener. Coupled with the initial mastery of the Huang Ting Jing, which was excellent at concealing his aura, he carefully avoided several obvious spatial rifts and passed through the turbulent zone without incident.

Seeing daylight again, the sun was a little blinding.

Breathing the (relatively) thin spiritual energy of the outside world, Li Wuyang felt as if he had lived through another lifetime. He carefully identified his direction and found that he was not too far from the Myriad Spirits Market and the Houtu Tribe where he had been before.

"Let's head back to the Houtu Tribe first and see how Chief Hou Yuan and the others are doing," he decided.

Mounting Huaihuai, the group flew towards the direction they remembered. Their speed was more than several times faster than before their seclusion.

The scenery along the way had not changed much; the Primordial World remained vast and desolate. However, Li Wuyang keenly felt that the malevolent energy in the air seemed to have intensified, and occasionally he could see traces of battles, indicating that the conflict between the Witch and Demon races was becoming more frequent.

Several days later, they arrived at the location of the Houtu Tribe's former camp.

However, the scene before them stunned Li Wuyang.

The camp... was gone.

The original stone houses and campfire remnants had all vanished without a trace, leaving only some broken foundations and burn marks. The surroundings were quiet, with no one in sight.

"Did they move? Or..." Li Wuyang's heart sank, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

He unleashed his divine sense, carefully searching the surrounding area.

Finally, in a valley about a hundred miles away, he detected a faint Witch Clan aura, but it was very scattered and carried a sense of... decay and sorrow.

He immediately rushed over.

Witch Clan warriors guarded the entrance to the valley, but their numbers were few, and each of them was injured, their expressions weary yet vigilant. They were startled to see Li Wuyang's strange entourage, and even more so when they recognized Li Wuyang's face, their expressions shifting to disbelief.

"Is... is it Dao Child Your Excellency?! You... you're still alive?!" a Witch Clan warrior with a broken horn recognized him and shouted excitedly.

Li Wuyang recognized him as a young warrior from the tribe back then.

"It's me. Where is Chief Hou Yuan? What happened to the tribe?" Li Wuyang asked urgently.

The warrior's expression immediately dimmed, and he led Li Wuyang into the valley.

The situation inside the valley was even more desolate. The number of Witch Clan members had drastically decreased, most were injured, the women and children had looks of fear on their faces, and the atmosphere was oppressive. The prosperity of the past was gone.

In the largest stone house, Li Wuyang met Hou Yuan.

Hou Yuan looked much older, his body wrapped in bandages, his aura weak, but his eyes remained sharp. Seeing Li Wuyang, he was first shocked, then his expression became complex, a mixture of surprise and bitterness.

"Dao Child Your Excellency... Fifty years! We... we all thought you perished in that spatial turbulence!" Hou Yuan's voice was hoarse.

"Fifty years... So that's how it is," Li Wuyang sighed inwardly and asked, "Chief Hou Yuan, what exactly happened? Why did the tribe migrate here, and..."

Hou Yuan sighed deeply, grief and anger flashing in his eyes. "It was the Demon Race! About thirty years ago, the Demon Heavenly Court's influence grew, constantly encroaching on our Witch Clan's living space. Our tribe was attacked by a Demon Race army, suffering heavy casualties... We had no choice but to abandon our ancestral land and migrate to this remote valley to eke out an existence."

He paused, looked at Li Wuyang, and gave a wry smile. "Speaking of which, it's somewhat related to you, Dao Child Your Excellency."

"Related to me?" Li Wuyang was taken aback.

"After you disappeared that year, the fragments of Demon Ancestor Luohu's weapon also went missing. The Demon Race somehow got wind of it and suspected our tribe was involved, repeatedly pressuring us to hand them over... Although it eventually blew over, the hatred had already been sown." Hou Yuan explained.

Li Wuyang fell silent. He hadn't expected his past experiences to indirectly implicate the Houtu Tribe. A sense of guilt arose within him.

"Chief Hou Yuan, I'm sorry..."

Hou Yuan waved his hand. "It's not your fault. The animosity between the Witches and Demons has been building for a long time; conflict was inevitable. It's just that now... our Witch Clan's situation is becoming increasingly difficult." His tone was filled with worry.

Li Wuyang felt the pervasive pessimism emanating from Hou Yuan and the entire tribe, and a thought struck him. His strength had greatly increased; perhaps he could offer some assistance?

(End of Chapter 24)