The campfire crackled as enormous slabs of beast meat roasted, grease dripping from them. The aroma mingled with the Witch Clan's distinctive rugged scent and filled the night air.
Li Wuyang gnawed on meat, savoring the complicated looks from the burly Witch Clan men—a mix of awe, curiosity, and "just who the hell is this guy?"—and felt thoroughly pleased with himself.
It seemed the "Primordial Dao Child" tiger skin worked pretty well among the Witch Clan too.
Chief Hou Yuan handed him another clay bowl of potent fruit brew and asked tentatively, "Dao Child, you have traveled the prehistoric world and must possess broad knowledge. What are your thoughts on the current grand situation?"
Li Wuyang accepted the bowl and took a small sip. The spicy burn made him grimace, but he put on a profound expression and mused, "The grand situation... The Dragon-Han Tribulation has only recently passed, and the hundred races have withered. Yet heaven and earth cycle on, life endlessly renews itself, and the old gives way to the new—this is the natural order of the Heavenly Dao. The Witch and Demon Clans were born bearing Great Destiny and dominate heaven and earth, but... hardness cannot endure forever, nor can softness hold its ground. When prosperity reaches its peak, decline follows. You must all contemplate this carefully."
He had simply mashed together the settings from the prehistoric novels he had read with a little Daoist philosophy and made it up on the spot. Yet combined with his "unfathomable" origins and the "miracles" he had just displayed, it sounded to Hou Yuan and the others like heavenly words containing supreme wisdom!
Prosperity reaching its peak meant decline? The Witch and Demon Clans?
Hou Yuan and several elders became solemn, exchanging glances. This Dao Child seemed to see the state of the prehistoric world with extraordinary clarity! He had even exposed, with a single sentence, certain worries within the Witch Clan about the rise of the Demon Clan!
Hou Yuan became even more respectful. "Dao Child's words are deeply enlightening. Then regarding the future path of our Witch Clan..."
Li Wuyang waved a hand, cutting him off. "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed too freely. The path lies beneath one's feet and within one's heart. A mighty body may hold up the heavens, but one must also possess the virtue to bear all things." He pointed to his chest, wearing an expression that said, "This is all I can tell you."
Hou Yuan and the others only half understood, but they all felt his words made profound sense. They nodded repeatedly, and their gazes toward Li Wuyang now carried the admiration reserved for a wise man.
Li Wuyang secretly laughed and quickly lowered his head to eat meat in concealment. Keep bluffing! It wasn't like boasting cost him anything.
At that moment, a Witch Clan boy who looked only seven or eight years old, with a tigerish little face and a small beast-hide skirt, curiously edged up beside Li Wuyang. His large eyes blinked as he looked at the broken axe by Li Wuyang's side, then at Li Wuyang himself. In a childish voice, he asked, "Lord Dao Child, did you... did you really just trip and pick up this treasure?"
The instant those words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent. Every Witch Clan member, including Hou Yuan, pricked up their ears. This question had truly baffled them beyond measure and left them unbearably curious.
Li Wuyang looked into the child's innocent eyes, laughed heartily, and reached out to rub his head—his hair felt a little prickly. "Of course it's true. Otherwise, where do you think this axe came from? Do you think I robbed or stole it?"
He said it as though it were only natural.
The little boy's eyes widened, and his tiny mouth formed an O. His face was filled with envy. "Wow! You can find treasure just by tripping! That's amazing! I fell yesterday, and all I got was a chipped tooth!" As he spoke, he grinned, revealing that one of his front teeth was indeed missing.
All the Witch Clan members: "..."
Hou Yuan's mouth twitched as he struggled to keep a serious expression. The other burly Witch Clan men looked deeply devastated. They hunted, fought, and searched dangerous lands far and wide, yet even finding a decent refining material was difficult. This guy tripped once and got a divine weapon?
Comparing people really could make a witch furious!
The child amused Li Wuyang, putting him in an even better mood. He took out a red fruit brimming with spiritual energy from the Void-Concealing Pouch—the kind that had previously been snatched from him—and stuffed it into the little boy's hands. "Here, eat this. It's very sweet. Think of it as a meeting gift."
One could tell at a glance that the fruit was no ordinary item; spiritual energy radiated from it.
The boy accepted it in delight, sniffed it, and nearly drooled. Still, he looked first toward Hou Yuan.
Hou Yuan glanced at the fruit, surprise flashing in his eyes, then nodded. "Why haven't you thanked Dao Child?"
"Thank you, Lord Dao Child!" the boy cheered. He immediately took a huge bite with a crunch, juice running down his face as happiness filled his little features.
The other Witch Clan children nearby all looked over enviously.
Seeing this, Li Wuyang simply took out more spiritual fruits and ordinary spirit stones, handing them out to the children who gathered around. Cheers rang out, and the adults' gazes grew friendlier as well. This Dao Child might have mysterious origins and strange methods, but he seemed... rather generous and easygoing?
The atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.
Seeing the opportunity, Hou Yuan said, "If Dao Child does not mind, why not stay in our tribe a few more days? We could properly fulfill our duties as hosts, and perhaps... ask you about certain matters of the prehistoric world." What he truly wanted was to glean more information and observe this mysterious "Dao Child" further.
Li Wuyang had been worrying about where to go, so he immediately went along with it. "Very well. Then I shall impose upon you for a few days."
Thus, Li Wuyang settled in this branch camp of the Houtu Tribe. The Witch Clan cleared out their best stone house for him—though it was still quite crude—and Huaihuai was given fodder as well. It seemed rather interested in the enormous stone locks the Witch Clan warriors used for training and occasionally kicked them with its hooves.
For the next few days, Li Wuyang lived the most comfortable life he had enjoyed since crossing over. He had no worries about food or drink—the Witch Clan provided all the roasted meat he could eat—and no concerns for his safety, with the entire tribe serving as his bodyguards. From time to time, he could even put on the airs of a "Dao Child" and offer Hou Yuan and the others a few vague, deliberately mysterious "heavenly secrets," leaving them utterly fooled and earning countless reverent looks.
He was even so bored that he watched the Witch Clan warriors polish stone tools and practice battle techniques. Occasionally, inspiration would strike, and he would take his axe over to some huge boulder and give it a casual chop.
More often than not, he would split open a rare metal core or jade embryo hidden within—things the Witch Clan could not sense. Cries of astonishment would erupt, after which he would "casually" give the items to the Witch Clan, calling it, "This item is destined for you." That only further cemented his image as a "treasure-seeking rat" and a "treasure-delivering boy."
Hou Yuan and the others practically regarded him as the tribe's auspicious omen!
However, after only a few days of comfort, Li Wuyang's bizarre "Destined by Fate" physique began causing trouble again.
That day, he was sitting by the river with a homemade fishing rod—made from tough vines and sharpened beast bone—imitating Jiang Taigong fishing, waiting for those willing to take the bait. In truth, he was dozing off.
Huaihuai leisurely grazed on spirit-infused grass nearby.
Suddenly!
The previously calm river abruptly began flowing backward upstream, as though some tremendous force were pulling it!
Immediately afterward, an incomparably terrifying pressure that made souls tremble swept in from an immense distance like a tangible tsunami!
The sky darkened in an instant as black clouds gathered and thunder roared! Gale-force winds howled, whipping sand and stones into the air!
The Witch Clan warriors in camp were instantly alerted. Hou Yuan's expression changed drastically as he rushed from his stone house and looked toward the source of the pressure. His voice carried unprecedented horror. "This... this is... the aura of the Great Luo level?! No... even stronger! Are peerless mighty figures fighting?!"
Li Wuyang was also startled awake by the sudden disturbance, and his fishing rod dropped into the river.
The pressure was far more terrifying than Demon Ancestor Luohu had been before—Luohu had not released his full power at the time—and it nearly left him unable to breathe. The Great Dao Imprint within his sea of consciousness activated on its own, violet radiance flowing forth and barely managing to resist it.
Far off on the horizon, laws were in chaos and spiritual light flashed explosively. Two indistinct figures could faintly be seen clashing fiercely! Every collision caused vast stretches of space to collapse, while countless Dao principles wailed! The phantom of a Blood-colored River and the outline of a Black Lotus Platform could even be vaguely seen!
The mere aftershocks spilling out were enough to make the mountains quake, the earth shudder, and the rivers change course!
"Quick! Activate the tribe's protective formation!" Hou Yuan roared himself hoarse. The Witch Clan warriors rushed in panicked but orderly fashion toward the various nodes, igniting their blood qi. A crude yet heavy blood-red barrier slowly rose, enveloping the tribe.
Huaihuai also seized Li Wuyang's clothes in its teeth and dragged him back inside the barrier.
Li Wuyang stared at the world-destroying scene in the distance, his face pale and his heart pounding wildly.
One of the combatants... that bloody, slaughterous aura... seemed somewhat familiar to him?
Could it be...
Before he could figure it out, another fierce collision between the two figures erupted with blinding light. A tiny black streak, containing a terrifying killing sword intent, seemed to have shattered off some broken weapon. It was flung away by the force of the impact like a meteor, shooting directly toward the tribe!
The black streak moved faster than thought itself. The sword intent it contained, even though it was only a trace, made the tribe's protective barrier twist violently and emit a groan as though it were about to collapse!
Hou Yuan and the other Witch Clan members went deathly pale. Before such power, they were like ants!
Li Wuyang's scalp went numb too, and he instinctively reached for another slip of paper!
But this time, the streak was too fast!
At that critical moment—
The incoming black streak, just as it was about to strike the blood-red barrier, seemed to be drawn by the Primordial Dao Rhyme flowing autonomously around Li Wuyang—or perhaps pulled by some kind of "fate." Its trajectory shifted ever so slightly!
Whoosh!
It skimmed past the edge of the barrier, then...
"Pfft!"
A soft sound rang out.
It embedded itself deeply in the mud... less than three feet in front of Li Wuyang's feet!
It was a Sword Tip Fragment only the length of a finger, pitch-black throughout, its surface covered in fine cracks, emanating an endless aura of slaughter and destruction...
The instant the fragment entered the soil, its terrifying sword intent withdrew and condensed inward. Yet the earth around it still silently turned to powder.
And the world-destroying battle in the distance seemed to have temporarily separated after that collision. The two figures each retreated into the void and vanished. The terrifying pressure ebbed away like the tide, and the sky gradually cleared, leaving behind only a devastated land.
The tribe's barrier swayed a few times before stabilizing.
Every Witch Clan member, including Chief Hou Yuan, remained frozen in terrified poses, their dull eyes... fixed on the black Sword Tip Fragment deeply embedded in the earth at Li Wuyang's feet.
Again... again?!
Li Wuyang stared at the fragment so close to him, its aura making his heart race. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
One side in that battle... had definitely been Demon Ancestor Luohu! The aura on this fragment came from the same source as his! Then who was the other one? Someone capable of fighting Luohu to such a degree...
And this fragment... had crossed thousands of miles and landed so precisely at his feet?
Li Wuyang swallowed with difficulty. Looking at the nearly numb yet worshipful gazes Hou Yuan and the others directed at him, he gave a couple of dry laughs, bent down, and carefully pulled out the Sword Tip Fragment.
It was icy cold in his hand. Its killing aura tried to invade his body, only to be effortlessly dissolved by the violet Great Dao radiance.
Holding the fragment, he gave Hou Yuan and the others a smile uglier than crying.
"Hehe... haha... Um... if I said... this time, it really flew here by itself... would you believe me?"
Hou Yuan and the Witch Clan elders looked at the fragment in Li Wuyang's hand, which clearly contained supreme demonic slaughter laws, then at Li Wuyang's "pure and innocent" face. Together, they sank into a long, silent daze.
Believe him?
Would we dare not believe you, Lord Dao Child?!
This was no longer just profound good fortune... Wherever you went, treasures followed, landing wherever you did! Even fragments of the Demon Ancestor's weapon could be delivered straight to you?!
What kind of auspicious omen—no, disaster star—was this generation's Dao Child?!
Before you continue