Tigress Houtu

At the foot of Buzhou Mountain, twelve figures charged forward like a raging gale, racing toward the Primordial Wilderness.

Everywhere they went, no matter what they encountered, there was only one outcome—it was swallowed into their bellies.

They had even tasted the precious Innate Spirit Treasures, sampling their flavors. Only after discovering that they could not digest them did they stop.

In the Primordial World, the only thing they dared not touch recklessly was the Savage Qi permeating heaven and earth.

For some unknown reason, they instinctively felt deep disgust and fear toward the Savage Qi.

Gonggong frowned as he looked at the dense Savage Qi filling the surroundings and began grumbling unhappily:

"Big Brother, the Primordial Wilderness is a world carefully nurtured by Father God. So how did it end up filled with this disgusting Savage Qi everywhere? Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable all over, and it even ruins my appetite."

As he spoke, Gonggong took a vicious bite out of the Qilin leg in his hand. Judging by the way he wolfed it down, he looked nothing like someone who had lost his appetite.

"Exactly. In the Primordial Wilderness, even if it's an Innate Spirit Treasure, as long as we can digest it, we don't find anything wrong with eating it.

"But this Savage Qi is strange. The moment I see it, I feel unbearable pain throughout my body.

"And I always feel as if someone once specifically warned us never to absorb this Savage Qi." After hearing Gonggong's words, the other Ancestral Witches nodded in agreement.

Zhu Jiuyin also knitted his brows tightly and said gravely:

"This matter is indeed extremely strange. I've racked my brains and deduced it in every way possible, but I still can't find the reason. Moreover, every time I make a deduction, I can sense a teasing gaze watching me from the shadows."

"However, the Primordial Wilderness was created by Father God. Now it has been made a complete mess by this Savage Qi, and it's truly unpleasant to look at. I wonder if there's any way to purify it?" Houtu gazed at the nauseating Savage Qi around her and murmured softly.

"But to purify the Savage Qi, we must first understand it." Houtu pondered for a moment, gritted her teeth, then suddenly reached out, grabbed a strand of Savage Qi, and swallowed it without hesitation.

When the Savage Qi first entered her mouth, Houtu did not find it particularly unpleasant—after all, there was practically nothing Ancestral Witches found hard to eat.

However, only a moment later, Houtu felt that something was terribly wrong.

She could clearly feel her entire body instinctively rejecting the Savage Qi.

When the other Ancestral Witches saw Houtu swallow the Savage Qi, expressions of horror instantly appeared on their faces.

"Little Sister, have you gone crazy? This Savage Qi is so disgusting! How could you eat it? If you're too hungry, I have phoenix claws here. I'll give them to you!" Shebishi hurriedly held out the phoenix claw in his hand to Houtu as he spoke.

This was not an ordinary chicken foot commonly seen in later generations, but a phoenix claw from the true Phoenix Clan. Moreover, the phoenix had been a powerful expert in the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm while alive.

Houtu looked at the phoenix claw Shebishi held out and gently shook her head. "Brother, no need. Keep it for yourself. I..."

Houtu paused, then hurriedly explained, "No, this doesn't count as eating. I'm absorbing the Savage Qi because I want to see whether I can find a way to purify it. If the Primordial Wilderness remains shrouded in this Savage Qi, it will be harmful to the entire world."

Shebishi scratched his honest head with a confused look. "Little Sister, I don't really understand what you're saying. But you'd better stop eating this Savage Qi. It's too dangerous."

Houtu gently nodded after hearing Shebishi's words.

Yet her resolute gaze made it clear that she had not given up on purifying the Savage Qi.

At the moment Houtu ate—or absorbed—the Savage Qi, Xuanxiao, who was discussing the Dao with Yang Mei, suddenly changed expression and blurted out furiously, "Which idiot still dares to eat Savage Qi under the influence of the Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse I placed?"

It turned out that the reason the Twelve Ancestral Witches avoided the Savage Qi of heaven and earth so desperately was partly because Xuanxiao's beating had left them traumatized, but mainly because Xuanxiao had placed a Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse on each of them.

The Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse was a powerful Divine Ability Xuanxiao had comprehended by combining the Mind Great Dao with the Thunder Great Dao.

Not only could it make the Ancestral Witches instinctively loathe the Savage Qi of heaven and earth, but the Thunder Great Dao contained within it could also purify the impurities in all the food they ate. It had been specifically designed by Xuanxiao for the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

"It's Houtu? How could it be her?" After sensing that Houtu was the Ancestral Witch devouring the Savage Qi, Xuanxiao was rather surprised.

Although the Twelve Ancestral Witches had now all developed primordial spirits because of Xuanxiao, their personalities had not changed much.

Among all the Ancestral Witches, Houtu's personality remained the gentlest. This was closely related to the Great Dao each of them cultivated.

"How can this girl be so reckless? With her like this, she still wants to research a method to purify the Savage Qi? That's simply wishful thinking." Xuanxiao helplessly shook his head as he looked at the results of his deduction, utterly speechless.

"It seems Fellow Daoist no longer has the heart to continue discussing the Dao." Across from him, Yang Mei slowly opened his eyes when Xuanxiao's voice fell silent again. He looked at Xuanxiao and gently shook his head with a smile.

"I'm truly sorry, Fellow Daoist Yang Mei. These juniors are far too unruly, and I have to go deal with it. If there's another opportunity, I'll discuss the Dao with you again." Xuanxiao looked at Yang Mei apologetically.

Yang Mei smiled and waved his hand. "It's fine, it's fine. If you have something to handle, go ahead."

Xuanxiao nodded, then turned to Gou Chen beside him and said, "Let's go. I'll take you to meet your junior brothers and sisters."

Upon hearing Xuanxiao's words, joy immediately appeared on Gou Chen's face. He asked excitedly:

"Master, are they the ones you mentioned to me before?" Gou Chen had long heard Xuanxiao speak of the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Pure Ones. However, Xuanxiao had never intended to seek them out before, so Gou Chen could only force down his curiosity.

"Mm, let's go. I need to hurry over and take a look. I'm really afraid that if I'm any later, that reckless Houtu will cause some even greater disaster." Xuanxiao helplessly shook his head.

He had never imagined that the first of the Twelve Ancestral Witches to cause him trouble would be Houtu, the gentlest one in his impression.

As he spoke, Xuanxiao and Gou Chen's figures soon vanished from the spot.

Watching the two figures gradually recede into the distance, Yang Mei slowly turned his gaze toward the vast void and fell into deep thought.

He murmured to himself:

"The Primordial Wilderness is indeed beautiful. It's just a pity that this place ultimately has no room for us Chaos Demon Gods to establish ourselves. Then let me make one last attempt. If I still fail after coming so close, I can only give up completely and return to Chaos."

After saying this, Yang Mei let out a deep sigh. His sigh was filled with helplessness and loneliness.