After surviving a terrifying ordeal comparable to an apocalyptic disaster, the witches of the Houtu Tribe looked at Li Wuyang completely differently.
They had once regarded him with reverence mixed with curiosity. Now, that reverence contained... a little terror and immense relief.
They were relieved that this Dao Child was in their tribe rather than an enemy tribe. His constitution of "windfall riches—or disasters—falling from the sky" wherever he went was simply too frightening for witches.
Naturally, no one dared claim that fragment of Demon Ancestor Luohu's God-Slaying Spear. Li Wuyang himself was somewhat apprehensive as he tried tossing it into the Void-Concealing Pouch. This time, the pouch did not resist and obediently accepted it, though a faint black line appeared on its surface, giving it an eerie appearance.
Li Wuyang could not worry about that now. He only wanted to put away this hot potato as soon as possible.
Chief Hou Yuan became even more determined to befriend this mysterious Dao Child. He treated him with increasing attentiveness and fulfilled almost every request.
Li Wuyang was happy to take it easy and continued enjoying his tribal vacation. Every so often, when "inspiration struck," he helped the witches "point out" the locations of several mineral veins or spiritual treasures. He was uncannily accurate every time, bringing the witches great harvests and causing them to revere him as a god.
But he knew perfectly well that he could not remain in the Witch Clan's territory forever. The Primordial World was so vast; he had to go see it... more importantly, he needed to find somewhere safer and more comfortable, or perhaps a way back "home"... uh, back to the Primordial Great Dao, though that seemed unlikely.
That day, he bade Hou Yuan farewell.
Though Hou Yuan was reluctant to see him leave, he knew he could not keep him. So he prepared a lavish farewell feast and gave Li Wuyang some Witch Clan specialties—several large chunks of smoked ferocious-beast jerky infused with the power of blood and vitality, as well as a crude map marking the nearby mountains, rivers, and dangerous regions in the Witch Clan's abstract artistic style.
"Should you ever need anything, Dao Child, just come to the Houtu Tribe!" Hou Yuan promised, thumping his chest.
Li Wuyang thanked him, put away the gifts, and rode off on the now plump and well-fed Huaihuai. Amid the gazes of Witch Clan elders and children seeing off their "auspicious omen," he left the tribal camp and set out once more.
Though the Witch Clan map was abstract, it at least gave him a general direction. Li Wuyang decided to head toward an area marked as "relatively safe." Supposedly, it was close to the region influenced by Buzhou Mountain, where living beings were stronger and conflicts somewhat fewer.
Huaihuai trod on clouds at a considerable speed.
Several days passed in peace. Perhaps misfortune had finally turned to fortune—Li Wuyang's "Destined by Fate" constitution had been especially quiet lately. Not to mention treasures, he had not even encountered a decent spiritual beast.
"Ah, I got used to windfalls dropping from the sky. Now that things are suddenly so peaceful, it feels a little strange." Li Wuyang sat on Huaihuai's back, talking to himself as he boredly waved that broken axe around.
Just then, Huaihuai suddenly let out an alert neigh, stopped, and pawed uneasily at the ground.
"Hm? What is it?" Li Wuyang snapped back to attention and looked ahead.
Before them lay a vast expanse of charred ruins. Crumbled walls, shattered armor, enormous beast bones... It was just barely possible to tell that this had once been a sizable demon settlement. Yet it seemed to have just suffered a brutal massacre. The air still carried the faint smell of blood, along with lingering demon aura and killing intent.
"The front line of a Witch-Demon conflict?" Li Wuyang's heart tightened as he became vigilant. "Go around it, go around it! We absolutely cannot get entangled in karma!"
He hurriedly urged Huaihuai to take a detour.
As they traveled along the edge of the ruins, Li Wuyang's sharp eyes caught a faint glimmer of golden light beneath a broken wall.
"Huh?" Curiosity stirred, and he had Huaihuai move closer.
Beneath the broken wall lay a palm-sized antique Bronze Mirror, half-buried in rubble. Its edges were carved with profound bird-script runes. The mirror surface seemed cracked, but it still emitted faint spatial ripples and golden light.
"Another treasure?" Li Wuyang was delighted, but having learned his lesson, he did not immediately pick it up. Instead, he cautiously looked around and had Huaihuai sense the area.
After confirming that there were no hidden enemies nearby, nor any strange force that would snatch the item away in a flash, he carefully jumped down from Huaihuai and walked over.
Using his axe, he cautiously nudged the Bronze Mirror.
The mirror did not react.
He waited a while longer, but there was still no movement.
"Looks like this one has no owner?" Only then did Li Wuyang bend down and reach for it.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the Bronze Mirror—
A sudden change occurred!
The Bronze Mirror abruptly erupted with blinding golden light! Though its surface was cracked, it rippled like water, reflecting not the scene before them but a sinister, terrifying Netherworld Blood Sea! Countless savage demonic shadows rose and fell within the sea of blood, roaring wildly!
A cold, evil spiritual wave with overwhelming seductive power burst from the mirror and stabbed straight toward Li Wuyang's brow!
"Hehehe... What a pure spirit body! What extraordinary origins! Boy, offer up your flesh and soul! Merge with this ancestor and let us comprehend the supreme demonic path together!!"
A sharp, piercing voice filled with greed and wickedness rang directly within Li Wuyang's sea of consciousness!
Possession! A classic Demon Lord possession scenario!
Li Wuyang was scared out of his wits! He wanted to resist, but that spiritual force was incredibly powerful and evil. In an instant, it broke through his mental defenses and lunged directly for the core of his soul!
At that most critical moment—
"Buzz!"
Deep within Li Wuyang's sea of consciousness, the Great Dao Imprint that had remained as quiet as a chicken seemed to have been provoked by that filthy evil force. It erupted with unprecedented, resplendent purple light, like a blazing sun that illuminated and destroyed countless evil demons!
"Ah—!! What is this?! The power of the Primordial Great Dao?! No—!!!"
The invading Demon Lord let out a shriek of utter despair. That evil, powerful spiritual force melted, purified, and evaporated into nothing beneath the Primordial purple radiance, like snow beneath a blazing sun!
At the same time, the cracked Bronze Mirror outside shattered with a crack, turning into a pile of ordinary copper fragments devoid of any spirituality.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Li Wuyang suddenly came back to his senses, his face pale as he gasped for breath. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
Just now... he had nearly died!
If not for Primordial Father's imprint protecting him...
"That scared the life out of me..." He patted his chest with lingering fear.
This Primordial World really was full of pitfalls! He could pick up some trash and end up finding an ancient Demon Lord!
It seemed he would have to be even more careful when picking things up in the future! Not everything that glimmered was a treasure; it might be a trap!
Looking at the pile of Bronze Mirror fragments on the ground, he felt sick and quickly had Huaihuai move farther away.
After that fright, Li Wuyang became even more cautious. He would rather travel more slowly than casually approach anything suspicious.
Several more days later, as they passed through a dense primeval forest, Huaihuai suddenly stopped again and let out a warning rumble toward a patch of unusually vivid, enormous flowers ahead.
The flowers were seven-colored and bewitchingly beautiful, giving off a rich, dizzying fragrance.
"Man-eating flowers?" Li Wuyang became alert and gripped his axe tightly.
Just as he was about to take a detour, the heart of one enormous flower suddenly wriggled. With a pop, it spat something out.
It was a cocoon. A cocoon wrapped in white threads of light, exuding a gentle life aura and faint Dao resonance.
The cocoon of light fell to the ground and rolled a few times. Then, beneath Li Wuyang's dumbfounded gaze, it cracked open down the middle.
A tiny figure no larger than a palm sat up groggily from within. Her entire body was white as jade, two pairs of translucent wings grew from her back, and her features were as exquisite as those of a porcelain doll. She rubbed her eyes and gave a tiny yawn.
She opened her sapphire-blue eyes and saw Li Wuyang for the first time, sitting atop Huaihuai's back with a blank expression.
Their eyes met.
The little sprite-like creature tilted her head curiously, then fluttered her wings and wobbled into the air. She flew before Li Wuyang, circled him twice, and then actually landed on his... nose?
She stretched out a tiny hand, curiously touched the tip of Li Wuyang's nose, and made a delicate, pleasant sound like a wind chime. "Eeya?"
Li Wuyang: "!!!"
What was this supposed to be?! He could pick up... a Poké Ball just by walking around?! No, an elf?!
Huaihuai also curiously leaned over with his huge head and sniffed the little elf.
The little elf did not seem afraid of Huaihuai. Instead, she giggled, flew up, and landed on Huaihuai's horn, happily swinging from it like it was a swing.
Li Wuyang watched the harmonious scene, then sensed the pure life aura and faint natural Dao resonance around the little elf. It seemed... harmless?
He tentatively extended a finger.
The little elf flew over, stood on his fingertip, and affectionately rubbed against it.
A wonderfully comfortable sensation spread from his fingertip.
Li Wuyang did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Well then, this "Destined by Fate" thing... had started randomly delivering goods again. This time, it had sent him... a pet elf?
He looked at the little thing playing on his finger and sighed. "Fine. It seems you and I are 'fated' too... Then follow me from now on. You're so small, so I'll call you... Yingying, how about that?"
The little elf, Yingying, seemed to like the name very much. She happily flew in a circle, scattering specks of glowing dust.
And so, Li Wuyang gained another companion on his journey.
With a horse and an elf in tow, Li Wuyang continued toward Buzhou Mountain.
According to the map, he would need to pass through a massive canyon ahead.
The canyon was deep and shadowy, its cliffs towering into the clouds on either side.
Not long after entering the canyon, a violent clash and a series of roars suddenly sounded ahead!
Spiritual light flashed wildly, demon aura surged into the sky, and a scorching fiery presence mingled within it all.
"Something's happening!" Li Wuyang's heart tightened. He immediately had Huaihuai stop, carefully hid behind a huge boulder, and peeked out to observe.
A chaotic battle was taking place farther ahead in the canyon.
One side consisted of several demon cultivators dressed in matching uniforms and emanating dense stellar power. They were besieging a... strange beast?
The strange beast resembled a lion. It was enormous, covered in crimson scales, and its four hooves stepped upon blazing flames. Its mane flickered like dancing fire, while its roar shook heaven and earth. It continuously spat scorching fireballs from its mouth, their power immense enough to leave the demon cultivators in a sorry state.
"That is... a Kirin? No, aren't Kirin auspicious beasts? This thing looks awfully violent..." Li Wuyang muttered to himself.
Though the fiery beast was fierce, it seemed wounded, and its movements were somewhat sluggish. Moreover, the demon cultivators coordinated seamlessly and had formed an array. Chains of starlight wrapped around the beast, continuously weakening and suppressing it.
The strange beast was about to collapse.
One of the leading demon cultivators laughed loudly. "Hahaha! This wounded Sky-Gazing Roarer deserves to be captured by us! We'll extract its bloodline, refine its fire core, and present them to the Demon Saint!"
Sky-Gazing Roarer? Li Wuyang remembered the name. It sounded rather formidable.
The Sky-Gazing Roarer let out an unwilling, mournful cry and struggled even harder, flames surging toward the heavens.
Li Wuyang could not bear to watch. He had no favorable impression of demons, largely due to the Witch Clan's influence and his memories of myths, and this was clearly many against one...
But he did not want to invite trouble either. These demon cultivators did not look weak.
As he hesitated, Yingying, who had been sitting on his shoulder, suddenly flew up. She let out anxious "eeya" cries toward the Sky-Gazing Roarer, pointed her little hand in that direction, then turned back to Li Wuyang with pleading sapphire-blue eyes.
"Hm? Yingying, you... want to save it?" Li Wuyang froze.
Yingying nodded hard, her little face full of urgency.
Li Wuyang frowned. How was he supposed to save it? Run out there and shout, "My father is the Primordial Great Dao"?
The Sky-Gazing Roarer was about to be completely bound by the starlight chains.
Just then, another sudden change occurred!
As if driven into a desperate corner, the Sky-Gazing Roarer suddenly threw back its head and unleashed an earth-shattering roar!
Before you continue