Witch Tribe Alchemy Surprises Houtu, Karma Entangles One Entering the Great Tribulation

Having tasted the sweetness of "helping others," Xuan Wazi was full of energy, moving between several different Witch Tribe tribes around Mount Buzhou. He was no longer satisfied with minor "optimizations" of medicinal gardens; instead, he specifically sought out places harassed by powerful fierce beasts or where friction arose between tribes over resource competition.

Sometimes, he would conceal himself and, at a critical moment during a conflict between both sides, secretly set up a "Tripwire Formation" or "Bewitching Formation," causing the dominant side to suffer an inexplicable minor setback, allowing the weaker side to gain breathing room or even turn the tide. Then, he would take advantage of the chaos to snatch a few "ownerless" items that caught his eye, such as fallen fierce beast materials or roughly made Witch Artifacts that were knocked flying. These were all points, truly like leaving a name after passing and plucking feathers from a flying goose.

Other times, he would deliberately leak a trace of his aura to lure certain fierce beasts, lacking in intelligence but strong in power, to attack the Witch Tribe's supply depots. When the Witch Tribe and the fierce beasts were both weakened, he would appear like a ghost, "help" resolve the remaining fierce beasts, and then "casually" take away a portion of the spoils as payment.

His methods became increasingly skilled, applying the newly comprehended Innate Formation Dao to perfection, often achieving his goals without attracting much attention. He also didn't neglect the Chaos Alchemy Technique. The low-level fierce beast essence blood, bones, and some spirit herbs with extreme and violent properties that he collected, which the Witch Tribe disdained or didn't know how to handle, were all put into the Eight Trigrams Furnace for him to experiment with.

The first time he opened the furnace, he didn't control the heat well, and a batch of "Blood Quenching Pills" turned directly into charcoal, losing several materials.

The second time, his fire control improved, but the medicinal properties conflicted and couldn't be reconciled, causing the furnace to explode. Although he wasn't injured, he was covered in soot.

The third time, he was even more cautious, meticulously adjusting with Primordial Chaos Magic Power and continuously modifying it with the superb comprehension of his Primordial Dao Body. Finally... he refined a batch of dark, strangely smelling "unknown objects."

[System Notification: Host has successfully refined 'Unknown Pill (Suspected Poisonous)', Alchemy Entry-Level Evaluation: Barely Passing. Reward: Improper Human Points +100 (Encouragement Award).]

Xuan Wazi's mouth twitched as he looked at the few pills with extremely poor appearance, but he was still not discouraged. He found an opportunity and mixed one "Unknown Pill" into the food of a fierce beast that had been injured by the Witch Tribe and abandoned. After eating it, the fierce beast first convulsed all over and foamed at the mouth. Just as Xuan Wazi thought it was going to die from poisoning, the fierce beast suddenly stood up, its eyes blood red, its Blood Essence surging, and it charged madly into the forest. Its strength temporarily increased significantly, but half an hour later, it died from exhaustion, its body shrunken considerably.

A stimulant? Such a strong after-effect.

"Uh... it seems to have some effect, but the side effects are even greater," Xuan Wazi rubbed his chin. "It looks like I need to find some milder pill recipes, more suitable for the Witch Tribe's physique, to practice with."

Hard work pays off. With his persistent "practice" and the "destruction" of materials, coupled with occasional "friendly reminders" from the system, his alchemy skills finally began to get on the right track. He successfully refined basic pills like "Blood Replenishing Powder," which could quickly restore Blood Essence, and "Bone Strengthening Pills," which could slightly strengthen the physical body.

One day, near a branch of the Gonggong Tribe, he had just "exchanged" a piece of "Mysterious Yin Stone," which they found useless but contained pure Gui Water Qi, from a simple-minded Witch Tribe minor leader with a few bottles of his homemade "Blood Replenishing Powder." Just as he was about to slip away, a vast, heavy pressure, carrying an unparalleled aura of the earth, suddenly enveloped the area.

Space rippled slightly, and a woman with a human body and a snake's tail, a dignified and kind face, and emanating a majestic aura of earth laws, quietly appeared before Xuan Wazi. She was none other than Houtu, one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, who governed Earth and Reincarnation!

Xuan Wazi's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "So it is Ancestral Witch Houtu gracing us with her presence. I am Xuan Wazi, greetings."

Houtu looked at him with a calm gaze, a hint of inquiry and understanding in her eyes. "Fellow Daoist Xuan Wazi, you have been frequently moving among our Witch Tribe tribes recently, either secretly assisting or trading. Our Witch Tribe's children have indeed incurred many debts of gratitude."

Xuan Wazi chuckled dryly, "Haha, I am but a carefree wanderer, passing through your lands. Seeing the Witch Tribe's children possess straightforward temperaments and extraordinary bravery, I felt a desire to befriend them. These small favors are nothing, truly nothing." He secretly thought, this Empress Houtu is indeed not like the other Ancestral Witches who only focus on the physical body. Her Primordial Spirit perception seems to have a special mystery, as she noticed my little actions. As expected of the Ancestral Witch least affected by the Earthly Fiend Tainted Qi.

Houtu nodded slightly, not delving deeper into his "insignificant" actions. Instead, her gaze fell upon the "Mysterious Yin Stone" in his hand that he hadn't had time to put away and the jade bottles containing the pills.

"The items in Fellow Daoist's hand seem to contain an energy different from the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, gentle and full of vitality. It appears beneficial to the Witch Tribe's physical bodies?" Houtu asked gently.

Xuan Wazi's heart stirred. He calmly handed over a bottle of "Bone Strengthening Pills." "These are some little trinkets I've been tinkering with in my leisure time, called 'pills.' They are refined from the essence of heaven and earth's spiritual materials using special methods. This 'Bone Strengthening Pill' has a mild medicinal property, and long-term consumption can subtly strengthen bones and sinews. If Ancestral Witch Houtu is interested, you might as well try it."

Houtu took the jade bottle, poured out a pill the size of a longan, with a warm luster, and carefully examined it with her powerful perception, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She could feel that although the energy contained in this pill was not vast, it was extremely pure and gentle, and it also contained a trace of peculiar "Creation" power. It indeed had a tangible nourishing effect on the Witch Tribe's physical bodies, and it seemed... not as violent and mixed as ordinary spiritual essences of heaven and earth, making it easier to absorb.

"Fellow Daoist's method is indeed novel," Houtu put the pill back and looked at Xuan Wazi with increased solemnity. "Our Witch Tribe does not cultivate the Primordial Spirit, only the physical body. We are indeed not proficient in this art of extracting essence and harmonizing medicinal properties. If there were more pills like yours, Fellow Daoist, it would undoubtedly lead to a significant improvement in the overall strength of our Witch Tribe."

Xuan Wazi was secretly delighted but maintained a calm expression. "Mere trivial skills. It is my honor that they have caught the eye of an Ancestral Witch. However, refining these items consumes considerable mental energy and spiritual materials..."

Houtu understood and directly said, "Please tell me what kind of spiritual materials Fellow Daoist needs. Our Witch Tribe occupies Mount Buzhou and the Primordial Era lands. I dare not say much else, but we are not lacking in various naturally generated spiritual materials, fierce beast essence blood, and bodies. I am willing to exchange these for your pills, how does that sound?"

[Ding! Long-term cooperative task triggered: 'Witch Tribe's Pill Supplier'.

Task Requirements: Provide the Witch Tribe with various enhancement and healing pills in exchange for spiritual materials, fierce beast materials, etc. collected by the Witch Tribe.

Task Rewards: Based on the scale of the transaction and the quality of the pills, continuously receive Improper Human Points and Postnatal Merit. First large-scale successful transaction, can additionally receive: Ancestral Witch Essence Blood (Choose One) ×1!]

[Hint: This task can effectively alleviate the host's debt pressure, deepen karma with the Witch Tribe, and provide convenience for subsequent Great Tribulation arrangements. Host, please seize this stable source of 'Improper Human' income!]

When Xuan Wazi saw "Ancestral Witch Essence Blood" in the task rewards, his mouth twitched. Although this thing was good, whether used for cultivating the Nine Revolutions Primordial Profound Art or researching the mysteries of the Witch Tribe's physical body, it was priceless! However, system, come out. The Twelve Ancestral Witches aren't dead yet. Where did these reward Ancestral Witch Essence Blood come from? Are you going to extract it on the spot? I think before you extract it, the Ancestral Witches will beat me senseless. The system replied in a dissatisfied and slightly cheeky tone: Use it if you are given it. The Ancestral Witches haven't been born yet... Anyway, it's not me extracting it on the spot.

"It is my earnest wish, I dare not ask for more!" Xuan Wazi immediately agreed with a beaming smile. "It is my destiny to cooperate with the Witch Tribe. Ancestral Witch Houtu, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to refine more and better pills to help the Witch Tribe's children strengthen their bodies!"

Thus, the two roughly settled on the intention of cooperation. Houtu promised to notify the various tribes to collect the specified spiritual materials for Xuan Wazi, while Xuan Wazi would need to provide a certain quantity and quality of pills regularly.

Looking at Houtu's steady back, tinged with a hint of expectation, as she departed, Xuan Wazi weighed the Mysterious Yin Stone in his hand, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

"Who would have thought, who would have thought, getting involved in a side business could lead me to connect with an Ancestral Witch. It seems that not only can my debt problem be solved, but my confidence in stirring up trouble... ah, no, in going with the flow during the Witch-Demon Great Tribulation will also be significantly boosted."

He could already see vast amounts of Witch Tribe spiritual materials and Improper Human Points rolling in towards him. And the karmic entanglement between him and the Primordial Era's foremost power, the Witch Tribe, began from this point, deepening further.