Busy Working to Repay Loans, First Trial at the Witch Tribe Village

Seeing the glaring negative numbers and the "daily interest of 50,000" notification on the system panel, Xuan Wazi felt his heart bleeding. Although he believed that with his "troublemaking" abilities, earning back this small amount wouldn't be difficult, it was the first time in his life he had incurred "usury," and from the system, no less – a black-hearted loan that left him quite displeased.

"No, I need to get moving quickly! This system's interest is probably crueler than that of a Chaos Demon God!" Xuan Wazi slapped his thigh, no longer able to sit still. He hadn't even had time to fully digest the recently acquired [Innate Array Dao Comprehension (Complete)] and [Chaos Alchemy Technique (Full Text)] before being forced to put them into practice!

His figure flickered, and he left the Carefree Residence once more, his target clear – the area around Mount Buzhou, where the Witch Tribe tribes were gathered.

Based on the markers and observations he'd made during his previous "map running," he knew that although the Witch Tribe had formidable physical bodies and didn't cultivate the Primordial Spirit, they had a great demand for any natural treasures that could strengthen their bodies or heal injuries. Moreover, most of the Witch Tribe people were straightforward and didn't engage in much scheming, making them the ideal target for him to experiment with new techniques and perhaps gain some benefits.

He first arrived at a medium-sized branch of a Houtu tribe located at the foot of Mount Buzhou. From afar, he could feel the surging Bloodline Power, and within the tribe, Witchfolk were either honing their bodies or practicing combat techniques, their shouts echoing thunderously.

Xuan Wazi concealed his presence and quietly infiltrated the outskirts of the tribe. He had his eye on a small medicinal garden near the tribe's edge, guarded by several Witch Generals whose strength was roughly equivalent to that of a True Immortal. Several types of Witch Medicine, emitting a rich Bloodline Power, were planted inside. Although their grade wasn't high, they were abundant. One of them, "Blood Essence Grass," was a basic auxiliary ingredient for a technique called "Blood Strengthening Pill" from the Chaos Alchemy Technique he had just obtained.

"Perfect for practicing, and I can 'optimize' their medicinal properties while I'm at it." Xuan Wazi chuckled, his fingertips moving slightly as the knowledge of the Innate Array Dao he had just comprehended flowed through his mind. He didn't set up any killing or trapping formations; instead, he silently laid down a small "Spirit Gathering and Rain Transformation Array" and a miniature "Time Flow Rate Array" around the medicinal garden.

The Spirit Gathering Array collected spiritual energy and earth essence from the surroundings to nourish the Witch Medicine, while the miniature Time Array accelerated these nourishing effects within a localized area. The Blood Essence Grass in that patch of the garden visibly became plumper, its color a more vibrant crimson, and the Bloodline Power it emitted increased by nearly thirty percent!

"Done!" Xuan Wazi nodded with satisfaction. His method was equivalent to helping the Witch Tribe accelerate the ripening and improve the quality of this batch of Witch Medicine – definitely "doing a good deed with good intentions." Of course, he wouldn't do it for free.

He carefully sneaked into the medicinal garden. Using the concealment and spatial abilities of the Chaos Bead, he moved like a ghost, his fingers flicking to silently collect about a third of the Blood Essence Grass, the ones whose quality had improved the most. What remained were still well-grown Witch Medicines, even better than before, just in slightly smaller quantities.

"Equivalent exchange, it's equivalent exchange." Xuan Wazi felt no guilt. "I helped you improve the quality, so taking a small fee for handling and materials, that's not too much, right?"

[Ding! The host, under the guise of 'optimization,' committed theft. The methods were covert and the execution meticulous, fitting the criteria for Unfilial behavior. Reward: Unfilial Points +5000!]

[Notification: Debt reduced by 5000 points. Current outstanding debt: -437,157 points.]

"Only five thousand?" Xuan Wazi pouted, slightly dissatisfied. "It seems this petty little scheme is too inefficient. I need to do something big."

His gaze shifted towards the center of the tribe, where the Bloodline Power was even more immense, and he could vaguely sense the fluctuations of powerful Witch Tribe warriors, likely Witch Tribes of Profound Immortal or even Golden Immortal level. There were definitely better things there, but the risk was also greater.

Just as he was contemplating whether to go to another tribe and repeat his actions or risk venturing into the central area of the tribe, a wave of intense energy fluctuations and commotion erupted from another direction of the tribe.

"Quick! Stop it! That beast stole the Blood Jade Marrow we offered to the Ancestral Witch!"

"Watch out for its venom!"

"Form the array! Don't let it escape!"

Xuan Wazi swept his divine sense over and saw a fierce beast, resembling a lizard with bone spurs on its back and covered in dark scales. It was roaring as it broke through the obstruction of several Witch Tribe warriors, a fist-sized crystal emitting an alluring red light still in its mouth. That was the "Blood Jade Marrow," capable of greatly strengthening the physical bodies of the Witch Tribe!

This fierce beast was not weak, its strength roughly equivalent to an early-stage Golden Immortal. Its hide was thick and tough, and the venom it spat from its mouth possessed strong corrosive properties, making it quite troublesome for the Witch Tribe warriors surrounding it.

"Opportunity has arrived!" Xuan Wazi's eyes lit up. This was a chance to "help" openly and also reap benefits (Blood Jade Marrow and the fierce beast's materials)!

He didn't reveal himself immediately but quietly circled around to the path the fierce beast was fleeing. He rapidly formed hand seals, using his Hunyuan magical power as a catalyst, combined with the Innate Array Dao he had just comprehended, and instantly set up a simple composite formation of "Imprisonment on the Ground" and "Gravity Amplification" in front of the fierce beast.

The fierce beast was fleeing for its life, about to break out of the tribal area, when it suddenly felt its four limbs grow heavy, as if sinking into an invisible mire. Its speed dropped drastically! It struggled in shock and anger, but found it difficult to break free from this sudden restraint.

The Witch Tribe warriors following closely behind saw this. Although they didn't understand what was happening, their combat instincts allowed them to seize the opportunity. Various powerful combat techniques and javelins rained down on the fierce beast, shattering its scales and drawing blood.

Xuan Wazi seized the moment. As the fierce beast was being focused-fired and its attention completely drawn by the Witch Tribe warriors, his figure flashed like lightning to its side. With his fingers forming a sword, an invisible force imbued with a Great Dao of Strength Fragment accurately pierced the fierce beast's relatively vulnerable eye, directly penetrating its brain!

"Pfft!"

The fierce beast's massive body stiffened abruptly. It let out a shrill, mournful cry and crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before becoming still.

The entire process was lightning-fast, from setting up the formation to making the strike, it took only an instant. Those Witch Tribe warriors didn't even see how Xuan Wazi appeared; they only saw the fierce beast suddenly restrained, and then instantly killed by a blurry figure.

Xuan Wazi succeeded in one strike and didn't linger. With a sweep of his sleeve, the fierce beast's corpse and the Blood Jade Marrow it had been holding in its mouth were directly collected into his Chaos Bead. After doing all this, he flashed a grin at the still somewhat stunned Witch Tribe warriors, waved his hand, and his figure blurred again, disappearing from the spot like a gentle breeze.

All that remained were a group of dumbfounded Witch Tribe warriors, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Who... who was that just now?"

"So... so strong! Killed that vicious lizard in one move!"

"He took the Blood Jade Marrow and the fierce beast's corpse..."

"Forget it, at least he solved a big problem for us, and he did retrieve the Blood Jade Marrow from the fierce beast's mouth... let's consider it his reward."

The Witch Tribe people were relatively simple-minded. Although they found the person's appearance and disappearance a bit strange, he had helped them after all, so they didn't investigate further and began cleaning up the aftermath.

From a distance, Xuan Wazi looked at the new fierce beast materials and the decent quality Blood Jade Marrow within the Chaos Bead and nodded with satisfaction.

[Ding! The host took advantage of the chaos to act, seize spoils of war, and successfully put on a show in front of the Witch Tribe before making a dashing departure. Behavior evaluation: Excellent! Reward: Unfilial Points +30,000! Fierce beast materials have been automatically converted to points +15,000, Blood Jade Marrow (can be used personally or exchanged)!]

[Debt reduced by 45,000 points. Current outstanding debt: -392,157 points.]

"Now that's more like it!" Xuan Wazi's mood improved considerably. "It seems I need to find these kinds of opportunities to 'act heroically' and 'help the needy' to recover quickly!"

He weighed the Blood Jade Marrow in his hand, then looked in a certain direction, deciding to head towards another Ancestral Witch tribe. After all, the Primordial Era was vast, and there should be many more Witch Tribe tribes needing "help"