After leaving the Houtu Tribe, Li Wuyang headed straight for Buzhou Mountain's main peak. According to Hou Yuan, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun would soon expound the Great Dao at Zixiao Palace atop Buzhou Mountain, and anyone with the right affinity could go listen. By his reckoning, the time seemed to be near!
This was an enormous opportunity! Perhaps he could learn something about Primordial Father there, or find clues that would lead him back "home."
His cultivation had advanced greatly, and Huaihuai was even faster now, carrying them along like the wind.
Along the way, the traces of conflict between the Witch Clan and the demon race became increasingly obvious. Shattered mountains and rivers, scorched black earth—occasionally, small-scale battles would erupt in the distance, their baleful aura soaring into the sky.
Li Wuyang kept firmly to his principle of lying low, avoiding places of trouble whenever possible and taking detours.
One day, they passed through a desolate mountain range. Suddenly, fierce energy fluctuations and cries of battle came from ahead!
Sweeping the area with his divine sense, he saw a group of demon cultivators with sinister auras besieging a small squad of Witch Clan warriors. The Witch Clan squad was clearly at a disadvantage, suffering terrible casualties as they were trapped in the middle, on the verge of being wiped out.
Among the surrounded Witch Clan warriors, Li Wuyang spotted a familiar small figure—the tiger-headed, tiger-brained little Witch Clan boy with the missing front tooth who had given him fruit back in the Houtu Tribe! He had grown into a youth now, though the childishness had yet to leave his face. Covered in blood, he swung a stone axe and resisted desperately, his eyes filled with fear and defiance.
Li Wuyang frowned deeply.
Should he save them? Or not?
If he saved them, he would be drawn into the vortex of the conflict between the Witch Clan and the demon race. He might expose his whereabouts and invite even greater trouble.
But if he did not? How could he stand by and watch that once-innocent little boy die? Besides, the Witch Clan had shown him kindness.
"Damn it! I can't worry about all that!" Li Wuyang gritted his teeth. "Little Fire! Go! Save them!"
"Roar!" Little Fire had long been unable to hold itself back. Upon receiving the command, it transformed into a crimson streak of lightning and charged into the battle with a roar! Flames spewed from its mouth, instantly burning several demon cultivators to ash!
With an Earth Immortal-level Sky-Gazing Roarer joining the battlefield, the situation was reversed in an instant!
The demon cultivators turned pale with fright. "A Sky-Gazing Roarer?! Witch Clan reinforcements! Retreat!"
But it was already too late. Little Fire was ferocious beyond compare, while Li Wuyang brought out his axe and slashed out several sharp bursts of force from afar. Huaihuai trampled the clouds to disrupt the enemy, Yingying scattered glowing powder to heal the wounded Witch Clan warriors, and even Jinbao took the opportunity to knock a demon soldier unconscious with a rock.
In the blink of an eye, the demon squad had been completely slaughtered.
The Witch Clan youth had survived the tribulation. Leaning on his stone axe and gasping for breath, he stared in disbelief at Li Wuyang and his powerful companions.
"D-Daoist Child?! It's you! You really came back!" He recognized Li Wuyang and cried out excitedly, tears nearly spilling from his eyes.
Li Wuyang walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "It's all right now. How did you end up getting ambushed here?"
The youth said bitterly, "We're a patrol squad from the tribe. We never expected the demon race to have infiltrated this deeply... Thank you, Daoist Child, for saving our lives!"
The way he looked at Li Wuyang was filled with worship and gratitude.
Li Wuyang helped them tend their wounds and was just about to leave when he suddenly frowned.
He sensed a powerful demonic aura rapidly closing in from afar! It was incredibly fast, far beyond those insignificant soldiers from before!
"An expert is coming! Run!" Li Wuyang's expression changed as he urged the Witch Clan youths to retreat at once.
However, it was already too late.
A golden streak of light tore across the sky like a meteor and landed not far in front of them.
As the light faded, it revealed a young demon in golden robes, with a gloomy face and a single horn growing from his forehead. His aura was powerful—he was at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, only one step away from becoming a Celestial Immortal!
His cold gaze swept over the demon corpses strewn across the ground before settling on Li Wuyang and Little Fire, his killing intent chilling.
"You dare kill the demon generals under Golden Suan King's command? You... have some nerve!"
(End of Chapter 26)
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