Chapter 46

At the foot of towering Buzhou Mountain lay the Witch Clan's territory.

Tai Cang arrived through the void, carrying the severely wounded Great Witch, and in the blink of an eye reached the vicinity of Pangu Hall.

Who goes there!

A furious shout suddenly rang out from the ground, followed by an arrow tearing through the air.

Not good!

Tai Cang twisted aside and hurriedly called out, "Great Witch Hou Yi, hold your hand! It's me!"

He had assumed that Hou Yi was the only one in the Witch Clan with such archery, but his judgment had been wrong.

"You know Hou Yi?"

A burly man emerged from the mountaintop and asked in surprise, "Since you are not an enemy, why have you trespassed into my clan's territory?"

"Not Hou Yi?"

Tai Cang landed with the wounded man and cupped his hands. "Tai Cang of Cang Gate greets you, Great Witch."

Upon closer inspection, this man resembled Hou Yi in appearance, but he was even more powerfully built, and the surging blood energy around him was no weaker than Hou Yi's.

"So it is Fellow Daoist Tai Cang."

The man put away his longbow and smiled. "I am Da Yi of the Houtu Tribe. Hou Yi and I are both innate Great Witches. I nearly injured you by mistake just now. Please forgive me."

Da Yi!

Tai Cang's heart jolted. Legend said the Witch Clan had two divine archers. Besides Hou Yi, there was Da Yi. Judging by his aura, his attainments in archery might even surpass Hou Yi's.

At that moment, the severely wounded Great Witch on the ground suddenly woke and weakly cried, "Quick... take me to see the Ancestral Witches..." Before he could finish, he fell unconscious again.

"Do not move recklessly!"

Tai Cang hurriedly cast a spell to protect his heart meridians. "Great Witch Chi Yu has been poisoned. We need Ancestral Witch Cangming to remove the poison."

Tai Cang frowned slightly, sensing that Chi Yu's condition was growing increasingly dire. Even though he was suppressing it with his mana, the poisonous energy only became more violent. Chi Yu was likely in grave danger.

"I'll be implicated too!"

Hearing this, Da Yi's outstretched hand suddenly froze. Fear flashed through his eyes as he stepped back twice. "Brother Tai Cang, I'll leave Chi Yu to you."

"I'll go find Ancestral Witch Cangming at once!"

Before he finished speaking, Da Yi had already turned and charged toward Pangu Hall. Every obstacle in his path was smashed apart by his brute force, completely unlike his usual calm demeanor.

"What a brute."

Tai Cang's mouth twitched at the sight. But he had no time to care. His gaze fell upon Chi Yu as he continued treating him, using the laws of space and time to protect his heart meridians. He murmured, "You can't die."

"If you die, how will the Witch Clan collect the essence of earth for me?"

He had already calculated it all. By saving a top-tier Great Witch, he could use the Witch Clan's strength to obtain the essence of earth, sparing himself the trouble of alchemy trades and deceiving the Ancestral Witches.

"Chi Yu!"

"Chi Yu!"

Urgent shouts drew closer and closer.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches hurried over, followed by a top-tier Great Witch with an anxious expression.

"They're finally here."

Tai Cang let out a breath of relief. With Cangming, the Ancestral Witch of Poison, taking action, Chi Yu's life should no longer be in danger. His efforts had not been in vain.

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang!"

The Twelve Ancestral Witches cupped their hands in greeting, then all turned their gazes toward Chi Yu on the ground.

"It is the Law of Poison!"

"Damn it! Someone actually dared to use the Law of Poison to ambush a Great Witch of our clan!"

Cangming saw through the source of the injury at once. He strode forward, pressed his palm against Chi Yu's body, and unleashed the Law of Poison to begin treating him.

Seeing this, Tai Cang withdrew his mana and rose to his feet. He cupped his hands toward Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches. "Greetings, Ancestral Witches."

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang, what exactly happened?"

Dijiang and the others pulled Tai Cang aside and urgently asked, "Do you know who attacked Chi Yu? If not for you bringing him back, we would still be completely unaware."

The Ancestral Witches were deeply worried. Chi Yu's attack had left them uneasy. Quite a few Great Witches had gone missing recently, and now Chi Yu's life hung by a thread. The other Great Witches were likely in grave danger as well.

"Ancestral Witches, this is what happened..."

Tai Cang briefly recounted how he had encountered Chi Yu, then added, "From what I observed, that wild beast seemed intelligent. It was very likely being controlled by someone."

"Otherwise, with a wild beast's stupidity, how could it precisely locate us? It certainly would not have been so eager to silence us."

"Bastard!"

"Damn it!"

Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches were enraged after hearing this.

Dijiang and the others were exceptionally wise. How could they fail to see the oddity of the matter? He smashed a massive boulder beside him with one punch and roared in fury, "No matter who it is, anyone who dares oppose my Witch Clan will be reduced to ashes!"

At this moment, the Ancestral Witches could no longer suppress their anger. Had the beast that attacked Chi Yu and its mastermind been present, they would have fought them to the death immediately.

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang!" Zhu Jiuyin suddenly stepped forward, surprise flashing through his eyes. "Did you use the laws of space and time just now?"

The moment he spoke, Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches were all shaken. As the Ancestral Witch of Time, Zhu Jiuyin had keenly detected the fluctuations of the Law of Time. Only then did they recall Tai Cang's past exchange for Ancestral Witch essence blood. Could he have comprehended both laws through it?

"Indeed." Tai Cang calmly cupped his hands. "Thanks to Ancestral Witches Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin granting me essence blood and helping me improve my bloodline, I was able to comprehend the laws of space and time."

Zhu Jiuyin exchanged a glance with Dijiang and said in amazement, "You are too modest, Fellow Daoist. This is your own fortune. Many in our clan have received essence blood, yet none have grasped the laws of space and time as you have. However..." He changed the subject. "Since you mentioned that your bloodline has improved, might we take a look?"

Tai Cang hesitated slightly. His bloodline had now reached the level of Pangu pure blood. In terms of origin, he even surpassed the Ancestral Witches by a measure. After all, although the Ancestral Witches had been formed from Pangu pure blood, their primordial spirits had been lost to the erosion of innate turbid energy.

Seeing Tai Cang hesitate, Dijiang waved his hand. "If it is inconvenient, we will not force you." In his view, Tai Cang had ultimately been formed from Pangu's blood. No matter how strong his bloodline was, it could hardly rival the Ancestral Witches'.

"Thank you for your understanding, Ancestral Witches." Tai Cang secretly sighed in relief. If his origin were truly exposed, not only the Ancestral Witches but even the Three Pure Ones would become wary of him.

At that moment, Cangming had already purged the deadly poison from Chi Yu's body. Supported by his clansmen, Chi Yu weakly rose to his feet, his face deathly pale.

"Chi Yu!" The Ancestral Witches immediately surrounded him. "Who exactly injured you? Tell us what happened!"

"Chi Yu, who dared to attack you?"

After a moment of silence, Chi Yu struggled to rise and bowed to the Twelve Ancestral Witches. "A wild beast attacked us. Its movements were elusive, and it was difficult to track. Several tribes have already fallen victim to it. It can cross tens of millions of miles in a short time to launch attacks. I once set an ambush in my tribe, but I underestimated its strength. That wild beast has already reached the level of a top-tier Great Witch, and its Law of Poison is especially fierce. Even my innate turbid energy defense was completely corroded."

At this point, Chi Yu looked toward Tai Cang and said gratefully, "Thanks to Brother Tai Cang saving me, otherwise I would not have escaped this disaster either."

Tai Cang responded calmly, "Great Witch Chi Yu, there is no need to be so polite. From what you have said, that wild beast is definitely not wild. Someone raised it. It feeds on the Witch Clan to strengthen itself. The person behind it may bear a grudge against the Witch Clan and seek revenge."

Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches' faces darkened. Someone was secretly targeting the Witch Clan. The enemy clearly intended to slaughter their clansmen and Great Witches.

"Damn it!" Dijiang roared and turned to Zhu Jiuyin. "Second Brother, can you use the Law of Time to find the mastermind?"

The Ancestral Witches all focused their gazes on Zhu Jiuyin, while Tai Cang also revealed a curious look. Could the Law of Time trace cause and effect? Had Zhu Jiuyin already glimpsed the mysteries of space and time?

Zhu Jiuyin pondered briefly, then nodded. "I can, but it will take time. My current control over the Law of Time is still insufficient to lock onto the target immediately."

"Good!" Dijiang said decisively. "Act at once! Once we find this person, we will make sure both body and soul are destroyed!"

The Ancestral Witches all voiced their agreement. "That's right, blood must be paid for with blood!"

"Anyone who dares slaughter the Witch Clan will pay the price, no matter who they are!"

Zhu Jiuyin solemnly accepted and turned toward Pangu Hall. The other Ancestral Witches followed close behind, and Houtu stepped forward as well.

Seeing this, Tai Cang hurried forward. "Ancestral Witch Houtu, please wait! Tai Cang came here this time to ask for a favor. I hope you can help me collect the essence of earth."

"The essence of earth?" Houtu stopped and looked at Tai Cang in confusion, then glanced at Dijiang and the others as if weighing the matter.

After a moment, she nodded. "Very well."

Seeing this, Dijiang readily agreed. "Fellow Daoist Tai Cang has shown kindness to our Witch Clan and has saved one of our Great Witches this time. A mere amount of essence of earth is naturally no trouble."

"However, we Ancestral Witches must now investigate the mastermind, so I fear we have no time to assist you."

"Chi You, take Fellow Daoist Tai Cang to see Da Yi and the others. With the strength of you top-tier Great Witches, gathering the essence of earth will be easy."

"Yes, Ancestral Witch!"

Chi You supported Chi Yu and solemnly accepted the order. "Rest assured, Ancestral Witch. Chi You will certainly handle this matter properly for Brother Tai Cang."

His gaze toward Tai Cang was full of gratitude. Chi Yu was his younger brother. If Tai Cang had not saved him, he would have long since perished. Now that he had a chance to help his benefactor, it was the perfect opportunity to repay him.

"Thank you, Ancestral Witch Dijiang."

Tai Cang breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands toward the Ancestral Witches. When his gaze swept over Chi You, he was secretly surprised.

This was the figure who would later contend with Xuanyuan for the position of Human Emperor. Though he would ultimately lose, the fact that he could participate in the struggle for the Human Emperor's throne showed the greatness of his fortune.

Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches nodded slightly before leading the group away. Compared with the trivial matter of gathering the essence of earth, finding the mastermind was clearly far more urgent.

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang."

After the Ancestral Witches had gone far away, Chi You supported Chi Yu as he stepped forward. "Please follow me. Once I settle Chi Yu down, I will take you to see Da Yi and the others."

"With our strength, gathering the essence of earth is no more than a simple task."

Tai Cang nodded in agreement and followed the two toward a Witch Clan tribe. After Chi Yu was settled, Chi You led Tai Cang toward the area where the Great Witches lived.

Along the way, Witch Clan members bowed to Chi You, their eyes filled with respect. Chi You returned their greetings with a smile and got along very well with them, appearing more approachable than the other Great Witches.

"We're here."

Before long, the two arrived before a valley. Chi You pointed inside and said, "This is where the top-tier Great Witches reside. As long as we persuade everyone to help, we will soon gather everything you need."

As they walked, Tai Cang suddenly asked, "Since Chi Yu is a top-tier Great Witch, why does he not live here?"

Chi You looked slightly embarrassed. "To be honest, this place is not open to ordinary top-tier Great Witches. Only those whose bloodlines have reached a certain level may reside here."

"Though Chi Yu has advanced to the level of a top-tier Great Witch, his bloodline is still lacking, so he cannot move in."

Tai Cang understood at once. This was clearly an internal hierarchy within the Witch Clan—it maintained the prestige of the established Great Witches while motivating newcomers to strive harder.

Because of the Bloodline Pills, many Great Witches in the Witch Clan had broken through to the level of top-tier Great Witches. Without control, chaos would likely arise.

It was like Xing Tian. The reason he had fallen into darkness and even reached a deal with Tai Cang back then was precisely because the Ancestral Witches were unwilling to grant Bloodline Pills to veteran top-tier Great Witches like them, cutting off their path to further advancement.

"Chi You!"

"Chi You!"

Several calls came from the distance.

Turning to look, they saw several top-tier Great Witches discussing something. Upon seeing Chi You, they immediately greeted him warmly.

Soon, those men walked up to Chi You and asked with smiles, "Why aren't you guarding Pangu Hall properly, kid? What are you doing back here?"

"Chi You, don't tell me you angered the Ancestral Witches again and got sent back?"

As they spoke, their gazes fell upon Tai Cang.

Tai Cang was not a member of the Witch Clan. The men frowned slightly and quietly reminded him, "Chi You, why have you brought a cultivator here?"

"Since when have you been associating with cultivators?"

"You're being so open about it. Aren't you afraid the Ancestral Witches will punish you?"