Chapter 48

Amid miserable screams, flesh and blood exploded from Gong Xin's chest, and blood poured down like a torrential rain. His Great Witch true body collapsed, and he crashed heavily to the ground. After struggling several times, he still could not get back up.

Huff...

Tai Cang let out a long breath, withdrew his Heaven and Earth Manifestation, and looked at Gong Xin on the ground. "You lost."

Gong Xin's body trembled at his words. Then, as if relieved, he lay back on the ground. "I lost. I never expected a cultivator's physical body to be this strong." Before he could finish speaking, he fainted.

"Gong Xin!"

The other nineteen Great Witches' expressions changed drastically. Several hurried forward to inspect him. After a moment, they sighed in relief. "He's fine. He's only seriously injured. He'll recover after resting for some time."

Only then did the Great Witches relax. To them, injuries were commonplace, especially in an honorable spar.

When they looked at Tai Cang again, their eyes were filled with respect. Previously, they had acknowledged him because of the Bloodline Pills. Now, they sincerely admired his strength.

"Tai Cang wins!"

Hou Yi announced loudly, though waves crashed through his heart. He had never expected Tai Cang to truly win, much less display a Heaven and Earth Manifestation comparable to a Great Witch's true body. If cultivators could all master such a divine ability, the Witch Clan's advantage would cease to exist.

After regulating his breathing for a moment, Tai Cang's mana had already recovered. The terrifying recovery power of the Nine Revolutions Cang Skill allowed him to quickly replenish himself even after such an intense battle.

"Everyone." His blazing gaze swept over the remaining Great Witches. "Shall we continue?"

Facing the challenge, the nineteen Great Witches were shocked by Tai Cang's strength, but none showed any intention of retreating.

"Let me test you."

Before the words faded, a Great Witch had already leaped forward and launched a fierce assault at Tai Cang without hesitation.

"Just what I wanted!"

Tai Cang calmly met the attack and engaged his opponent in a fierce clash. During the battle, he clearly felt the Grand Clarity Bright Jade Body operating more and more smoothly, while his physical strength continued to rise.

"It actually has such an effect."

"Battle truly can awaken one's potential."

Noticing the changes in himself, Tai Cang secretly rejoiced. His strength, defense, and physique continued to grow during battle, leaving him stronger the longer he fought.

This discovery further ignited Tai Cang's fighting spirit. He completely let loose and immersed himself in battle as if entranced. As time passed, that Great Witch gradually began to show signs of exhaustion.

Tai Cang's rate of improvement was astounding. Not only was his physical body becoming stronger, but his close-combat techniques were also becoming increasingly refined. Drawing on what he had seen in his previous life, he created many ingenious moves. With only the circulation of his vital energy and blood, he displayed the bearing of a grandmaster.

A fierce eagle claw pierced through the Great Witch's chest. Before his opponent could react, a chain of kicks sent him flying and crashing to the ground, utterly losing his ability to fight.

"That's impossible!"

"What exactly are those moves?"

"They're incomparably exquisite! They can concentrate the power of the entire body into a single point and unleash it!"

The observing Great Witches were all stunned, and even Hou Yi wore an incredulous expression. At first, the two sides had been evenly matched. But as Tai Cang continuously displayed his self-created moves, even Great Witches skilled in close combat found it difficult to withstand him.

"This is martial arts!"

After his victory, Tai Cang suddenly understood. He realized that this method of combat, regarded as a minor path in this world, could unleash such power when paired with a formidable physical body.

He was certain that if he taught martial arts to the Witch Clan, it would greatly increase their combat power and make spells and divine abilities pale in comparison. If the exquisite moves from the countless martial arts manuals he had read in his previous life could be reproduced here, then even without primordial spirits to assist them, the Witch Clan would become unstoppable.

"Martial arts!"

"I must perfect it!"

A scorching light burned in Tai Cang's eyes. Though his primordial spirit cultivation was superior, if he could combine it with martial arts, the potential of his physical body would be completely unleashed.

With that thought, he looked eagerly at the remaining eighteen Great Witches. "Again!"

"Continue the sparring!"

The Great Witches looked at one another. Having witnessed those wondrous techniques, they no longer retained their earlier composure. Their faces were filled with solemnity and wariness.

"I'll learn from you."

A Great Witch with a powerful aura stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Brother Tai Cang, allow me to witness your brilliant techniques."

Before his words faded, he had already summoned innate turbid qi to protect his body and charged at Tai Cang without hesitation.

"Just what I wanted!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Tai Cang's eyes as he rushed forward like lightning. His hands danced through the air as he consecutively unleashed many martial arts techniques from his previous life: Flower Plucking Finger! Great Compassion Palm! Fire-Blowing Palm! Eight Extremes Collapse! Heavenly Frost Fist! Wind God Leg!

With his fighting spirit rising ever higher, Tai Cang continuously perfected the martial arts system amid fierce combat. As one Great Witch after another fell in defeat, his moves gradually ascended and evolved into ultimate techniques at the Cang Illusion level.

Nine Secret Divine Abilities!

Primordial Treasure Arts!

Heaven-Smiting Secret Method!

In an instant, all twenty Great Witches lay on the ground.

Ding! Mission completed. One-Click Max Level Privilege obtained.

Ding! Martial arts mastered.

The system's notification awakened Tai Cang from his epiphany. Looking up, he saw the twenty Great Witches sprawled across the ground. Though shock was written on their faces, blazing light flickered in their eyes.

"I won just like that?"

Tai Cang felt somewhat dazed. The martial arts he had created to complete the mission had unexpectedly opened up an entirely new path. Though this method was unsuitable for cultivators, it was perfectly suited to the Witch Clan and the human race.

"The essence of humanity..."

"It seems I have an idea of how to obtain it."

Tai Cang turned his gaze toward Hou Yi. "Fellow Daoist Hou Yi, where is my residence? I need to enter seclusion immediately."

At this moment, his heart surged with excitement. If he could pass martial arts on to the human race, he could gain both fortune and the essence of humanity while also helping the Innate Human Race grow. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

"Follow me."

Hou Yi withdrew his complicated gaze and led Tai Cang away. Before long, the Witch Clan members helped the wounded away one after another.

After this battle, Tai Cang's name resounded throughout the Witch Clan. His feat of defeating twenty Great Witches in succession through physical strength alone spread like wildfire, drawing more and more powerful figures to seek him out.

Meanwhile, Tai Cang was already sitting cross-legged in the quiet chamber Hou Yi had arranged for him. "System, use One-Click Max Level on martial arts."

Ding! Privilege consumed. Martial arts has reached its peak!

In an instant, an immense amount of martial arts true intent flooded into his sea of consciousness. Tai Cang focused completely on digesting those profound principles, wholly unaware of time passing.

In the blink of an eye, eight hundred years quietly passed.

On this day, Tai Cang's tightly shut eyes suddenly opened. He let out a long breath and said, "I've finally finished digesting it."

"The end of martial arts actually possesses such power that even the system cannot fully deduce it."

"If I can cultivate these martial arts secret methods to the highest realm, then even without using mana, I'll be able to contend with a top-tier Great Witch through my physical body alone!"

Tai Cang's gaze flickered.

"This unexpected gain has far exceeded my expectations."

"Many of the deduced martial arts methods can also complement cultivator techniques. Not only can they greatly increase combat power, they also carry no hidden dangers."

"Physical body realm..."

"It seems body-tempering cultivation cannot be neglected."

He muttered softly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "System, directly raise Heaven and Earth Manifestation to the perfected realm."

Now that he had confirmed the power of martial arts, the value of this divine ability, improved by a Saint, was beyond measure. Combined with his current martial arts cultivation, its power could rival that of a great divine ability practitioner.

Ding! One max-level privilege consumed. Heaven and Earth Manifestation has reached perfection.

In an instant, the profound principles of Heaven and Earth Manifestation flooded into Tai Cang's sea of consciousness.

His understanding of this improved divine ability deepened continuously, while its original flaw of requiring an enormous amount of mana to maintain was gradually improved.

Huff—

After a long while, Tai Cang slowly opened his eyes, unable to conceal his delight.

The perfected Heaven and Earth Manifestation had reached flawless completion. Using it now required only one-tenth of its original mana consumption. With the Nine Revolutions Cang Skill's self-circulating recovery speed, that expenditure could be fully offset.

This meant that Heaven and Earth Manifestation could now be used as freely as a Great Witch's true body, without requiring additional control. More importantly, the divine ability had perfectly fused with his physical body, allowing it to fully unleash the strength of his current physique when activated.

In a sense, Tai Cang was now comparable to a Great Witch capable of freely wielding his true body in battle.

"Wonderful!"

After examining the changes in himself, Tai Cang could not help laughing aloud.

The gains from these two upgrades were no less than his previous mastery of the laws of time and space. At his current stage, they would better enable his physical body to clash head-on with a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. When using Heaven and Earth Manifestation, he could even contend against one.

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang!"

Hou Yi's call came from outside the barrier.

Tai Cang turned and saw Hou Yi blocked outside the door by the spatial barrier.

With a wave of his hand, he removed the barrier.

Hou Yi hurried forward and cupped his fists. "The essence of earth you requested has been gathered. The Ancestral Witches have also prepared heavenly treasures and their natal essence blood. They respectfully ask you to refine another batch of Bloodline Pills."

After speaking, he clapped his hands as a signal.

A large number of Witch Clan warriors filed in, carrying vessels filled with the essence of earth and various precious materials.

A trace of delight flashed through Tai Cang's eyes at the sight.

The essence of earth had already been gathered, and the Supreme Earth Flower was about to take shape. Together with the martial arts he had created, which could help him quickly obtain the essence of humanity, he was another step closer to condensing the Supreme Three Flowers and advancing to the Grand Unity realm.

Tai Cang immediately agreed readily. "This is no difficult matter!"

"I can refine another batch of Bloodline Pills for the Witch Clan."

"But why have none of the Ancestral Witches come this time?"

"That is indeed strange."

"In the past, the Ancestral Witches always came in person when Bloodline Pills were refined, and their control over them was extremely strict."

"This time, they have actually handed the entire matter over to Hou Yi. It is truly difficult to understand."

"Could it be that the Ancestral Witches are not worried that top Great Witches like Hou Yi will secretly keep the Bloodline Pills for themselves?"

"Thank you, Brother Tai Cang."

Seeing Tai Cang agree, Hou Yi sighed in relief. His expression turned solemn as he said, "The Ancestral Witches have gone to investigate the one behind this and cannot return for the time being."

"Fellow Daoist Tai Cang, have you heard of this person Pan Wang?"

"Pan Wang?!"

"He is the one behind it!"

Tai Cang's pupils contracted, and surprise appeared on his face.

As far as he knew, there truly was a great divine ability practitioner named Pan Wang in the prehistoric world, one of the Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao Palace. This person was solitary and poor at socializing. He had few friends in the prehistoric world, and almost no one remembered his existence.

Yet the records contained detailed accounts of Pan Wang.

What earned him the most renown was his art of poisons and gu insects. It was said that he had once refined gu poison capable of harming Quasi-Saints, causing panic among the gods of the prehistoric world. In the end, he was besieged by many and perished.

The records also mentioned that Pan Wang seemed to harbor improper intentions toward Queen Mother of the West. He had repeatedly plotted against others for her sake, and even the death of East Prince Gong was related to him.

"I know a little about him."

Tai Cang steadied himself and looked at Hou Yi. "If the one behind this is truly Pan Wang, it will not be easy for the Ancestral Witches to find him."

Pan Wang was proficient in the path of poisons and gu insects. His poison arts were so powerful that even top Great Witches found it difficult to withstand the savage beasts he cultivated, much less his own poison techniques.

Most troublesome of all were his gu arts. As long as a single gu insect survived, he could use it as a vessel to be reborn. He was nearly on par with Senior Minghe's divine ability: Blood Sea does not dry up, Minghe does not die.

At this point, Tai Cang hesitated.

He secretly guessed that, given the current situation, even if the Twelve Ancestral Witches found Pan Wang, they would likely gain no advantage. If things went badly, they might even suffer serious injuries.

"Such a thing exists?!"

Hou Yi was greatly shocked and found it hard to believe.

Who would have thought that an obscure Pan Wang could be so terrifying? Judging from Tai Cang's attitude, the Ancestral Witches' expedition would likely end in vain.

Thinking of this, Hou Yi grew even more anxious. "Brother Tai Cang, I'll leave the Bloodline Pills to you. I'll gather my brothers at once to discuss supporting the Ancestral Witches."

After saying this, Hou Yi hurriedly handed twelve drops of Ancestral Witch essence blood to Tai Cang, then turned and quickly left.

The other Witch Clan members also departed one after another. Before leaving, however, they all unconsciously gave Tai Cang several extra glances, their eyes filled with curiosity.

That battle had long since been exaggerated into legend.

In particular, the twenty defeated Great Witches had begun practicing martial techniques by imitating him afterward. Though they were far from Tai Cang's mastery, their combat power had still increased greatly.