Houtu Was Scared to Tears

The Twelve Ancestral Witches exchanged glances, their eyes filled with hesitation and conflict. Then they began shoving one another around.

After a round of jostling, Dijiang, as the eldest brother, was pushed to the front by everyone.

Dijiang cautiously looked at Xuanxiao and asked uneasily, "Second Uncle, did you come to see us this time because something happened?"

Hearing Dijiang's question, Xuanxiao turned his gaze toward Houtu. "For that, you'll have to ask your little sister."

"Me?" Houtu froze at Xuanxiao's words, then her heart skipped a beat as panic rose within her. Oh no, could I have offended Second Uncle somehow without realizing it?

The other Ancestral Witches looked at Houtu with pity and sighed. "Sigh, looks like Little Sister is in trouble. If anyone else wanted to teach her a lesson, we brothers and sisters would certainly step up to protect her. But now Second Uncle is getting involved. Little Sister, don't blame us for standing by and doing nothing."

Although Xuanxiao wore a gentle, jade-like smile, the Ancestral Witches clearly remembered the ruthless side he had displayed just moments ago. The lingering fear remained in their hearts.

Houtu was terrified. Trembling, she walked up to Xuanxiao, her voice carrying a sob as she choked out, "Second Uncle, y-you... what did you need me for? Please, don't shock me again."

Seeing how frightened Houtu was, the other Ancestral Witches instantly assumed expressions of heroic resolve. Without hesitation, they stepped before Xuanxiao and firmly shielded Houtu behind them. "Second Uncle, if you want to make a move, come at us! Little Sister is still young. She can't withstand this kind of torment!"

Looking at the scene before him, Xuanxiao felt utterly helpless. I only smiled. Did I really scare these children that badly? Was I really that terrifying just now?

If the Ancestral Witches had known what Xuanxiao was thinking, they would have nodded frantically and answered in unison, "Yes, you really were that terrifying!"

After all, not long ago, Xuanxiao's lightning had scorched them black from head to toe, leaving their bodies smelling like roasted meat. Even now, the horrifying sensation of their primordial spirits nearly being blasted out of their fleshly bodies still made them shudder.

Standing beside Xuanxiao, Gou Chen found the Ancestral Witches' appearance somewhat amusing. It seems Master truly scared these junior brothers and sisters. But he probably did it to temper their fiery tempers.

Xuanxiao's thoughts were indeed the same as Gou Chen's. He wanted to take this opportunity to temper the Ancestral Witches' natures.

The current Ancestral Witches acted far too recklessly. They might barely manage during the tribulation, but once it ended, with their present lack of restraint and their habit of casually becoming entangled in Karma, trouble would surely come one after another.

Even as Pangu's descendants, they would likely find it difficult to withstand it.

Xuanxiao had not used similar methods on the Three Pure Ones because they knew how to think and acted relatively cautiously. They would not easily become excessively entangled in Karma.

However, the Three Pure Ones were not without their own problems. They were far too stubborn in their pursuit of the Dao, especially Yuanshi and Tongtian. Their paths were completely opposed, and that would become a major problem later on as well.

At that moment, Xuanxiao gently placed his hand on Houtu's head.

At this sight, every Ancestral Witch's heart leaped into their throat, and they became unbearably tense.

They silently prayed for Houtu, hoping Xuanxiao would not do anything too extreme.

Yet Xuanxiao was not as ruthless as they feared. He merely gently rubbed Houtu's hair and comforted her in a soft voice. "Don't worry. I'm not here to blame you."

Feeling the gentle touch atop her head and hearing Xuanxiao's tender voice, Houtu froze. A strange feeling welled up in her heart. Second Uncle doesn't seem so fierce after all. And this feels so nice... I want to stay by Second Uncle's side forever. The expression on Houtu's face gradually returned to normal, and she looked at Xuanxiao with a trace of attachment.

Seeing that Xuanxiao had merely rubbed Houtu's hair and done nothing else, Dijiang and the others finally let out sighs of relief.

"What's wrong with Little Sister? Could Second Uncle have used some Divine Ability? Why does her expression look so strange?" Xuanming looked at Houtu's expression with confusion.

But when Xuanming looked toward Xuanxiao, her face stiffened. Forget it. I'd better not try it. Second Uncle looks far too frightening.

Xuanxiao gently wiped away the remaining tears from Houtu's face and asked curiously, "Houtu, I've always wondered about something. I previously placed the Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse within your bodies. Normally, you should have felt intense disgust toward Savage Qi. So why did you still go and devour the Savage Qi between heaven and earth?"

Realizing that Xuanxiao was not as frightening as she had imagined, Houtu grew bolder.

She said seriously, "Second Uncle, I think this Savage Qi does far more harm than good to the Primordial World. And I can sense that our Witch Clan seems to share some close connection with it. I devoured this Savage Qi because I wanted to find a way to purify it."

After hearing Houtu's explanation, Xuanxiao nodded. "So that's how it is. You're quite a clever child. Your fleshly bodies can indeed absorb Savage Qi. Without my intervention, before you were born, you would have devoured large amounts of Savage Qi and Turbid Qi from heaven and earth, causing spirit and flesh to merge as one and ultimately preventing primordial spirits from being born."

"Moreover, it was precisely because I considered that you might uncontrollably absorb Savage Qi that I placed the Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse within your bodies, causing you to instinctively feel disgust toward Savage Qi."

"However, your current method of directly devouring Savage Qi is wrong. If you keep this up, it will bring you nothing but harm." Xuanxiao gently shook his head as he looked at Houtu.

Upon hearing Xuanxiao's words, Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhu Jiuyin all showed looks of sudden realization.

They were considered the more intelligent members among the Ancestral Witches. The rest, however, still looked utterly bewildered, their eyes carrying the clear and foolish innocence of college students.

Seeing them like this, Xuanxiao could not help showing a troubled expression. This team is really hard to lead. With brains like theirs, even if they had primordial spirits, anyone trying to scheme against them would succeed every time.

Houtu looked at Xuanxiao expectantly and asked, "Then, Second Uncle, do you have a way to purify this Savage Qi?"

After pondering for a moment, Xuanxiao said, "I placed the Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse before because you had not yet developed consciousness and could not restrain the urge to absorb Savage Qi. Now that you have been born, the Thunder Nightmare Heart Curse no longer serves much purpose for you."

If you can't find a book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may have simply been renamed!