The two ripped golden rays on the western horizon, like painful scars, faded into the gradually closing clouds.
Qing Huan stood on the dilapidated eaves of Wuzhuang Temple, the nebula patterns flowing along the sleeves of his Green Daoist Robe slowly sinking into the depths.
Golden leaves fell like rain, but when they touched the area three inches around the body, they silently turned into wisps of blue smoke and vanished without a trace.
A barely perceptible, icy tremor ran through my fingertips--
The void rippled like a mirror, and the dark, Netherworld Tide silently rolled out, leaving behind fine black frost crystals that condensed on the broken walls and ruins.
Houtu stepped barefoot out of the earth's veins, her toes lightly touching the void. Ripples of earthy yellow spread out, silently smoothing the earth's veins that had been disordered by the fierce battle.
The winding mountain-like veins on her skirt seemed to come alive. As soon as they came into contact with the Primordial Pure Qi surrounding Qing Huan, they emitted a deep, muffled hum, like the throbbing of the earth. The surrounding spiritual dust instantly froze and settled.
Their gazes met across the distance, focusing on the verdant tree that had contained its dazzling radiance yet still exhaled a vast amount of Innate Yi Wood Essence Qi.
The air seemed to have solidified into glass, so heavy it was suffocating.
"Qing Huan, your supernatural abilities are truly remarkable."
Houtu spoke first, her voice as steady as the earth, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible admiration and caution.
"To fight two against one and still manage to make those two bald monks from the West flee in such a sorry state, I have truly broadened my horizons today."
A slight smile played on her lips, and the twelve phantom totems representing the Ancestral Witch Authority flashed by along the hem of her skirt before quickly disappearing into the Netherworld Qi.
His gaze seemed to be fixed on Qing Huan, but the corner of his eye precisely swept over a faint yet stubborn mark of Annihilation Buddha Light remaining on the fallen branches of the Ginseng Fruit Tree — Dao Scars left by the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree of Zhunti.
Qing Huan casually brushed his right hand across a piece of ancient jade with Chaos Hue hanging at his waist. The stellar river within the jade spun almost imperceptibly faster for a moment, and his aura became increasingly restrained and serene, as deep and imposing as a mountain.
"Ah, Fellow Houtu, you flatter me."
Qing Huan's voice was calm and even, but the sharp light in his eyes flashed like starlight, piercing through space with undisguised scrutiny, and stabbing straight at Houtu.
"They're nothing but a bunch of clowns, relying on a few cunning tricks. But the timing of your appearance, fellow Daoist, is quite delicate... I wonder if you've also come for this Innate Spiritual Root?"
Qing Huan's words were straightforward, laying bare the underlying tension and probing.
After all, Houtu was no longer the ignorant and unaware Ancestral Witch who had not yet developed a primordial spirit. The allure of this Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root was enough to tempt any powerful being in the Primordial Wilderness.
Houtu chuckled softly, her laughter clear and melodious yet carrying the weight of the earth, and took a step forward barefoot.
With this step, the ground beneath Qing Huan's feet, which had been cracked from the battle, silently healed, sprouting tender green grass shoots. However, when the grass shoots touched his dissipating Primordial Pure Qi, they quickly withered and turned into ashes, forming a delicate boundary between life and death.
"Hehe, Qing Huan, you underestimate me."
She shook her head slightly, deliberately calming the surging Netherworld Qi around her, and the mountain-like patterns on her skirt also returned to calm, revealing a sincere demeanor.
"Fellow Daoist, you have just been fighting fiercely. If I were to take advantage of your weakness now, wouldn't I be making a poor move? How would such an action differ from that of those two bald monks from the West?"
His gaze met Qing Huan's probing eyes with composure, his sincerity tinged with a perfectly measured weight.
"Speaking of which, I still owe you a considerable debt of Karma. If it weren't for your guidance in the Purple Cloud Palace back then, we Ancestral Witch would probably still be wandering in ignorance, unaware of the dangers ahead. I will Houtu remember this kindness of guidance."
She skillfully avoided the direct question of spiritual root affiliation, shifting the topic to a deeper connection:
"I just wonder... Qing Huan, besides this opportunity with your spiritual root at Longevity Mountain, have you... found a glimmer of hope to solve our Witch Clan's food crisis?"
This is her deepest concern at this moment, and it is also the real weapon she uses to break the current stalemate.
Houtu's longing for the Ginseng Fruit Tree was like the surging magma Houtu, burning intensely.
The boundless vitality of Creation contained within her Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root complemented her Great Dao, but...!
But reason prevailed, suppressing this impulse.
Facing Qing Huan, who had just effortlessly defeated two bald Western monks, she was not confident of victory.
Moreover, after the fierce battle, the opponent was surrounded by Pure Light, calm and composed. He did not even reveal the Innate Supreme Treasure that had once broken through the true body of his Eldest Brother Ancestral Witch True Body. This deep concealment was obviously a way of guarding against this potential "competitor".
Instead of recklessly forcing things, it's better to take a step back and revisit the weighty Karma and effect and the predicament. This is not only a genuine sentiment but also the safest strategy at present.
When the plight of the Witch Clan was mentioned, the sharp, scrutinizing light in Qing Huan's eyes slowly faded, replaced by a deep sense of heaviness and helplessness.
He shook his head slightly, letting out a long and melancholic sigh. This sigh seemed to stir the lingering aura of annihilation in the surroundings, and a few falling ginkgo leaves instantly vanished into nothingness in mid-air.
"Never..."
The two words, uttered, carried the dust and desolation of tens of thousands of years of solitary journey through the Primordial Wilderness.
"I have traversed the Nine Netherworlds and Ten Lands, searched the Blessed Land to the ends of the earth, and even ventured alone into the edge of chaos to observe the remnants of the creation of heaven and earth and to observe the cycle of birth and death of all things... but I have never found the answer."
Like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone, it is present in the Fundamental Great Dao of the Primordial Wilderness world's operation...
Qing Huan raised his eyes to look at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the Chaos Barrier Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, his voice carrying a hint of insignificance and unyielding spirit, like an ant beneath the Heavenly Dao:
"I know that your worries, fellow Daoist, are not just about the troubles of your Ancestral Witch!"
However... Heavenly Dao's will is clear: the opposing forces of Witch and Demon are like yin and yang, mutually generating and restraining each other, as well as clashing and killing each other.
Even if I possess the power to move mountains and fill seas, I can only slightly alter minor trends and changes, but I cannot shake the inevitable, overwhelming tide of history.
The workings of Heavenly Dao, like an invisible giant net, have long since entangled the Witch and Demon and Yao races...
This situation is almost unsolvable... Perhaps, this is simply the Heavenly Mandate!
Qing Huan's words revealed a deep sense of powerlessness and worry about the impending Witch-Demon Calamity.
The earthen ripples beneath Houtu's feet trembled violently, just like her heart suddenly tightening.
The chilling shadow of despair that the Twelve Ancestral Witches faced when confronting the future once again loomed over their hearts in the Pangu Hall.
This was an answer that was somewhat expected... But hearing this unfathomable fellow Daoist utter the words "no solution" still weighed heavily on the Ancestral Witch's heart, causing a dull ache.
Silence, like an invisible mountain, stood between the two, with only the faint hissing of the remaining energy in the shattered space.
"Now that this tree has been obtained by you, fellow Daoist, and its energy resonates with yours, it is destined by Heavenly Mandate!"
Regardless of the immense Creation and life force it contains, Houtu hereby swears on this earth, with the bloodline of Father God Pangu as her witness, that she will never have any disloyal intentions and will never covet it!
This oath is witnessed by heaven and earth, and proclaimed by the sun and moon!
Fellow Daoist, you can rest assured!