Such a Treasure

Hong Yun's brows furrowed slightly.

If they really waited until then, Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, Dijun, and the others would probably come rushing over just as they had in the original timeline, all fighting over this opportunity.

After pondering for a moment, Hong Yun turned around.

Behind him, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were curiously examining the Innate Gourd Vine.

However, they had little interest in such a spiritual root.

If it had been an edible Innate Spiritual Treasure like the Ginseng Fruit, the Twelve Ancestral Witches could have used it to improve their cultivation.

But this Gourd Vine could clearly only be refined into magical treasures.

The Witch Clan had no primordial spirits and was fundamentally incapable of controlling magical treasures.

"Fellow Ancestral Witches, sorry for the trouble, but please guard this Gourd Vine for me here. Don't let anyone else approach!"

Hong Yun addressed the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

"Divine Son, rest assured. Whoever dares to snatch it, we Twelve Ancestral Witches will make sure he suffers for it!"

Ancestral Witch Dijiang answered with great bravado.

"Divine Son, this treasure belongs to our Witch Clan's territory. We might have let it go had we not known about it before, but now that we do, whoever dares to take it will never return!"

Ancestral Witch Zhurong had a fiery temper, and his voice rang like metal.

"Mm!"

Hong Yun nodded slightly, but secretly began planning how to deal with Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, Dijun, and the others.

He knew that according to the original timeline, the gourds on this Gourd Vine would be divided among several people.

The orange gourd would fall into Nuwa's hands and be refined into the Demon-Summoning Gourd.

The yellow one would belong to Dijun and be refined into the Flying Saber for Slaying Immortals.

The green, cyan, and purple gourds would be obtained by the Three Pure Ones.

Even the Gourd Vine itself would eventually be taken by Nuwa, used to create humanity, and transformed into the merit treasure, the Human-Creating Whip.

But now...

Hong Yun would never let these people get what they wanted.

Afterward, he whispered a few words into the ears of the Twelve Ancestral Witches and carefully gave them several more instructions.

Whoosh!

Once he had finished explaining everything, Hong Yun transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

After circling Buzhou Mountain once, he quietly returned and found a hidden cave nearby, where he secluded himself.

Meanwhile, the Twelve Ancestral Witches led several Great Witches of the Witch Clan and firmly guarded the Innate Gourd Vine.

Only a few decades remained before this Innate Gourd Vine fully matured.

To the Twelve Ancestral Witches, several decades passed in the blink of an eye.

From time to time, Hong Yun released his spiritual sense from within the cave, watching the Gourd Vine's growth.

Time passed, and the Innate Gourd Vine grew increasingly mature.

In the blink of an eye, thirty-six years passed.

At this moment, only a few days remained before the Gourd Vine fully matured.

Whoosh!

On this day, a figure suddenly appeared, descending into the valley where the Gourd Vine grew.

"Hahaha, this opportunity truly belongs to this Emperor! I've finally found it!"

"Uh... the Twelve Ancestral Witches!"

A wild laugh rang out, then abruptly stopped, like a duck being strangled by the throat.

Dijun immediately sensed that something was wrong.

He had just discovered this great opportunity, but his gaze collided with the Twelve Ancestral Witches beside it.

He really had encountered exactly what he feared.

"Dijun, you little brat! You don't stay huddled on the Solar Star, yet you actually dare to set foot on our Witch Clan's territory!"

Ancestral Witch Dijiang stared at Demon Emperor Dijun, amusement showing in his eyes.

"Dijun, you little brat! Last time, you still weren't beaten enough. This time, you've actually delivered yourself to our doorstep! This Witch will satisfy you!"

Ancestral Witch Zhurong had a fiery temper. He strode forward and threw a punch.

In an instant, Zhurong and Dijun clashed fiercely.

Although Dijun had already reached the late stage of the Great Firmament realm, Ancestral Witch Zhurong was no weaker.

Now, all twelve Ancestral Witches had reached the mid-stage of the Great Firmament realm.

Ever since they learned the complete Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, their comprehension of the technique had risen to another level.

It was as if their minds had suddenly opened. All the obscure and difficult passages from the past were now completely understood.

Over the past several thousand years, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique to the fourth revolution. Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin were even attempting to break through to the fifth.

Boom!

Ancestral Witch Zhurong's fist slammed into Dijun's Innate Spiritual Treasure.

Crack!

That High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was shattered by Zhurong's punch.

At the same time, Dijun was struck in the face by the shockwave. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious.

He merely looked rather disheveled.

Dijun's face was pale. The Twelve Ancestral Witches were simply humanoid weapons.

Even a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was inferior to their physical bodies in toughness.

Retreat!

Dijun understood that there was no longer any possibility of seizing this opportunity.

If he did not leave now, being beaten would be the least of his concerns.

If a real fight broke out, he could still deal with Zhurong alone, but he had no chance at all against the combined Twelve Ancestral Witches.

"Hahaha, Dijun, you little brat! Good that you came. Don't come again next time!"

Seeing Dijun flee, Zhurong did not pursue him. He merely mocked him.

Their mission was to guard the Innate Gourd Vine.

As for their grudge with the Demon Clan, there would be plenty of opportunities to settle it in the future.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Not long after Dijun left, three figures descended into the valley.

They were none other than the Three Pure Ones.

"This is actually a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Root!"

Upon seeing the Gourd Vine, Taishang Laojun could not hide his excitement.

"Wonderful! This is precisely our opportunity!"

Yuanshi praised it repeatedly as well.

"But why are the Twelve Ancestral Witches here?"

Tongtian looked toward the Twelve Ancestral Witches guarding the side, and a trace of unease rose in his heart.

"There's no time to worry about that. Treasures of the Great Desolation go to those with the destiny to obtain them."

"The Twelve Ancestral Witches have no primordial spirits. This spiritual root is useless to them!"

Taishang Laojun spoke at once.

This Supreme Grade Spiritual Root was clearly not something meant for consumption, but material for refining treasures.

The Witch Clan had no use for it at all.

Yuanshi and Tongtian nodded in agreement.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Before the Three Pure Ones could step forward, another three figures appeared.

The newcomers were Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, I didn't expect to encounter you here. What a coincidence!"

Taishang glanced at Nuwa. His tone was cordial, but his face carried a trace of displeasure.

"Nuwa greets all fellow Daoists!"

Nuwa nodded slightly in greeting.

Her gaze then fell upon the Innate Gourd Vine, divine light flowing through her eyes.

"Jieyin, Zhunti, what are you two doing here?"

Tongtian turned toward Jieyin and Zhunti beside Nuwa and demanded sternly.

The Three Pure Ones had no fondness for Nuwa, but they loathed these two even more.

Now that they had discovered the Innate Gourd Vine, the Three Pure Ones could still be satisfied if they divided it among themselves.

But if Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti were added to the mix, only scraps would remain.

"This object is fated to be mine, so I came to take it!"

Jieyin pointed at the Gourd Vine and shamelessly declared.

"Indeed. The two of us sensed it while at Spirit Mountain. This object is fated for the Western Lands!"

Zhunti echoed him.

"Shameless!"

Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa rebuked them in unison.

Even the Twelve Ancestral Witches nearby could hardly stand listening to them.

"Everyone, this is the territory of our Witch Clan! This object is also a treasure of our Witch Clan!"

Ancestral Witch Dijiang stepped forward and looked around at everyone as he spoke.

"Before we drive you out, you'd better leave at once!"

Zhurong's temper flared, and he roared.

The other Ancestral Witches released their powerful auras one after another, revealing their massive true forms as they glared furiously at everyone.

They looked ready to start a huge battle at any moment.

"A bunch of soulless fools!"

Nuwa frowned and muttered under her breath.

As a member of the Demon Clan, she had always looked down on the Twelve Ancestral Witches, with Houtu being the sole exception.

"Though this place belongs to the Witch Clan, this object is fated to be mine!"

Even faced with the Ancestral Witches' words, Jieyin still forced himself to speak.

Smack!

Before he could finish speaking, a massive palm came down and sent the caught-off-guard Jieyin flying.

"What the hell do you mean, 'fated to be yours'?"

Zhurong withdrew his hand and blew on his palm.

"You!"

"Senior Brother, are you all right?"

Zhunti glared furiously at Zhurong. He wanted to strike, but ultimately stopped himself.

He quickly flew into the distance to examine Jieyin's injuries.

Fortunately, that palm had not injured Jieyin's foundation. He had merely been caught off guard by Zhurong's sudden attack and suffered for it.

The two soon returned to the valley.

At this moment, the Three Pure Ones wore solemn expressions.

They had originally thought that the Twelve Ancestral Witches would not care about this spiritual root.

Now, it seemed they had miscalculated.

"Fellow Ancestral Witches, this object was nurtured by Heaven and Earth. Whoever sees it should receive a share. Since you are interested as well, why don't we discuss how to divide it?"

Taishang Laojun proposed.

If everyone divided it equally, the Three Pure Ones should be able to obtain a share.

Otherwise, they could only fight the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

But the Ancestral Witches were incomparably powerful, and the Three Pure Ones knew they had no chance of winning.

Even with Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti added, they would at best be evenly matched with the Ancestral Witches.

At present, they had yet to become Saints and had not even reached the quasi-Saint realm.

In the Great Desolation, aside from Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the Witch Clan remained the overlord.

"Divide it? This object was born on our Witch Clan's territory, so it belongs to our Witch Clan!"

Ancestral Witch Dijiang rejected him decisively.

"But you have no use for it at all!"

Yuanshi retorted.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This object was completely useless to the Witch Clan.

"Whether we can use it is our business. But this object belongs to our Witch Clan. We can give it to whoever we want!"

Ancestral Witch Dijiang reiterated his position.

The crowd argued without reaching an agreement.

Given the current situation, unless the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and the others went to war with the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they could forget about touching this Innate Gourd Vine.

But if they really fought, setting aside whether they could defeat the Ancestral Witches, if the Gourd Vine were destroyed in the battle, all their efforts would amount to nothing.

Whoosh!

Just as everyone found themselves caught between advancing and retreating, a figure flew over.

Taking a closer look, they found it was none other than the famous good-natured man of the Great Desolation—Hong Yun.

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun!"

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Hong Yun!"

When Hong Yun appeared, the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti all stepped forward to salute and greet him.

Jieyin and Zhunti were especially enthusiastic toward Hong Yun, their faces wreathed in smiles.

Earlier, at Purple Cloud Palace, they had received Hong Yun's favor and taken those precious Purple Cushions.

In their eyes, Hong Yun's arrival was practically a gift delivered to their doorstep.

The others also wore friendly expressions.

In everyone's eyes, Hong Yun was a rare and genuinely kind-hearted person.

However, the Twelve Ancestral Witches remained indifferent, as though they were not familiar with Hong Yun at all.

"Recently, I sensed something in my heart and realized that fate was hidden here, so I came especially. I didn't expect to run into all of you, fellow Daoists."

Hong Yun swept his gaze over everyone, a gentle smile on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, you must have sensed this top-grade Innate Spiritual Root too, right?"

"We sensed this opportunity while we were at Spirit Mountain and came here especially to seek the treasure!"

Jieyin's cheeks were slightly swollen, and he spoke with his mouth crooked to one side.

Zhunti nodded repeatedly in agreement beside him.

"However, the Twelve Ancestral Witches of the Witch Clan claim that this is their territory and refuse to let us harvest the Spiritual Root!"

"Since treasures in the Great Desolation have always belonged to those with the fated connection, when did they become the private property of the Witch Clan?"

Taishang Laojun of the Three Pure Ones spoke calmly.

"Exactly. They're being completely unreasonable! Do we really have to fight over it?"

Yuanshi could not help complaining as well.

"This place is originally the territory of our Witch Clan. If you want to take the treasure, you might as well be breaking into our home to steal!"

The Ancestral Witch Dijiang spoke with fury in his voice.

"But you have no use for a treasure like this at all!"

Tongtian's face was filled with displeasure.

The Witch Clan had no use for the Innate Gourd Vine, yet they stubbornly refused to let it go. It was an utter waste.

Seeing that everyone was about to start arguing again, Hong Yun hurriedly waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.

"Everyone, I believe this Spiritual Root does indeed belong to the Witch Clan."

When Hong Yun said this, he looked around. Seeing the Three Pure Ones and the others' expressions change slightly, he quickly added:

"However, since the Witch Clan has no use for it, why not divide it among the fellow Daoists? What do you think?"

After hearing this, the expressions of the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti eased considerably.

They were naturally happy to accept Hong Yun's proposal.

They even muttered inwardly that Hong Yun truly had a good temper and was unwilling to offend either side.

However, they had no idea whether the Twelve Ancestral Witches would agree.

Everyone's eyes turned toward the Twelve Ancestral Witches in unison.

"Since Fellow Daoist Hong Yun has made this proposal, our Witch Clan has no objection. This thing is useless to us anyway. But we do have one request!"

The Ancestral Witch Dijiang spoke loudly.

"Please, go ahead."

Everyone responded in unison.