Buzhou Mountain was so vast that its size defied description, stretching across hundreds of billions of li. Even though the Kirin Clan had made Buzhou its foundation, they occupied only a portion of the mountain range where Spiritual Qi was relatively abundant.
Countless mighty beings were cultivating in seclusion on Buzhou Mountain. Though the Kirin Tribe was powerful now, it clearly didn't want to offend so many formidable cultivators too badly. Besides, there was no need. The Primordial World was vast and bountiful, more than enough for the three clans to divide among themselves.
At that moment, inside a colossal, mysterious cave on Buzhou Mountain, twelve enormous heartbeats rang out again and again—thump! thump! thump! Their rhythm was growing faster.
If a pale-golden barrier hadn't sealed off the cave, the thunderous beats could probably have been heard a hundred li away.
Inside the Small World in Blood Prison City, the Main Body suddenly opened his eyes. Two faint golden glimmers flashed through his silver-white pupils, and a vast, exalted pressure spread out from the blood-red tower.
The Main Body tore open space with both hands. A black hole appeared, and he stepped through it, vanishing from sight. The hole gradually disappeared, and space returned to stillness.
On Penglai Island, Li Yi was seated beneath a spiritual tree, while several Lotus Root Saplings played beside him. It was a peaceful, leisurely scene.
Without a sound, ripples stirred through the space before him, gradually forming a pitch-black void. A blurred figure stepped across and appeared in front of Li Yi, startling the Lotus Root Saplings. They grabbed his clothes and hid behind him.
Since the clone and the Main Body shared information, Li Yi knew as soon as the Main Body appeared that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were about to awaken.
It's time to take the next step in my plans. A glint flashed in Li Yi's eyes. He nodded at the Main Body. "Let's go!"
The Main Body said nothing. He simply cast out a beam of light that enveloped Li Yi, then tore through space and traveled away. When they appeared again, they were inside the enormous cave on Buzhou Mountain.
Twelve blood cocoons, each ten thousand zhang tall, stood before Li Yi. A desolate, primordial aura emanated from them, and the sound of thump! thump! thump! rang out, as if they were nurturing twelve ancient beasts.
Though the Main Body's memories had already told him what to expect, seeing it with his own eyes still left Li Yi marveling. The Twelve Ancestral Witches truly were blessed by heaven. Just from the auras they exuded, he could tell they would likely emerge at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.
Even the Four Supremes and other mighty beings had cultivated step by step. Their extraordinary opportunities and noble origins had made their progress astonishingly fast, and their divine powers were terrifying, but they still couldn't simply leap past the Golden Immortal realm.
Of course, that didn't mean the Twelve Ancestral Witches had better aptitude than the Four Supremes. On the contrary, Li Yi, Hongjun, and Yang Mei, who were Spirits of Chaos, as well as Luo Hou, born from the gathered remnants of a Spirit of Chaos, all had far greater aptitude than the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
However, Pangu had been far too powerful in life, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches had inherited too much of his legacy. That was why they might emerge at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm the moment they appeared in the world.
Thinking of this, Li Yi mused, "The Twelve Ancestral Witches will emerge at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm. The Three Pure Ones should have reached that level too. They must have taken form by now, right?"
"ROAR! ROAR!"
Twelve roars poured from the blood cocoons, as if twelve enormous savage beasts were howling at the moon. Thump, thump, thump... The twelve cocoons pulsed like enormous hearts, swelling and shrinking.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..." Cracks began to spread across the huge blood cocoons, growing wider and wider until, at last, BANG!!! The cocoons burst apart. The lingering shockwave kicked up clouds of dust, which gradually settled, revealing twelve enormous figures before Li Yi.
At last, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had taken form, each with a different appearance.
The first was shaped like a yellow sack, crimson as a blazing flame, with six legs and four wings, and no discernible face. He was Dijiang (space and speed).
The second was green as a jade bamboo, with a bird's body and a human face, and rode two dragons. He was Jumang (wood).
The third had a human face and tiger's body, was covered in golden scales, and had wings growing from his shoulders. A snake pierced his left ear, and he rode two dragons. He was Rushou (metal).
The fourth had a python's head and a human body. Covered in black scales, he stood atop a black dragon, with a green python coiled around his hand. He was Gonggong (water).
The fifth had a beast's head and a human body. Covered in red scales, he had a fiery serpent piercing each ear and stood atop a fire dragon. He was Zhurong (fire).
The sixth had eight heads with human faces, a tiger's body, and ten tails. He was Tianwu (wind).
The seventh held a snake in his mouth and another in his hand. He had a tiger's head, a human body, four hooved feet, and long arms. He was Qiangliang (thunder).
The eighth had a human face and a bird's body, with a green serpent hanging from each ear and a red serpent in each hand. She was Xizi (lightning).
The ninth had a human face and a serpent's body, and was entirely red. He was Zhujiuyin (time).
The tenth had a human face and a beast's body, with doglike ears and green serpents hanging from them. He was Shebishi (weather).
The eleventh had a human body and a serpent's tail, with seven hands on her back and two on her chest. A flying serpent coiled in each hand. She was Houtu (earth).
The twelfth was a fearsome giant beast, covered in bony spikes. She was Xuanming (rain).
Even before taking form, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had known of the Main Body's existence. Now, they didn't dare show the slightest disrespect. Dijiang, Jumang, Gonggong, and the others transformed into ten burly men, while Houtu and Xuanming became two graceful, dignified women. They stepped before the Main Body and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Great Venerable." Then they looked toward Li Yi, their expressions curious.
Li Yi smiled. "The Main Body and I came from the same source. We're one and two, two and one."
The Twelve Ancestral Witches glanced at the Main Body. When he gave a slight nod, they respectfully greeted Li Yi as well. "Greetings, Great Venerable." Their expressions still seemed a little strange.
Li Yi pondered for a moment. "How about this? From now on, just call me Green Lotus Sword Master. Also, don't let anyone know about my connection to the Main Body. Don't reveal anything about him, either."
Though Dijiang and the others didn't understand Li Yi's intentions, they all agreed.
Then Li Yi suddenly remembered the rumor from later generations that the Witch Clan couldn't cultivate the Dao. He nodded at the Main Body, who immediately understood. The Main Body's eyes suddenly blazed with a brilliant white light.
Through their shared vision, Li Yi saw that Dijiang and the others' souls were unlike those of ordinary beings. They were not only saturated with baleful energy, but spread throughout their bodies, tightly fused with their flesh. No wonder they couldn't cultivate the immortal Dao.
The Witch Clan of later generations seemed to have relied on a fragment of Pangu's inheritance to figure out a method of cultivating the body. But since they couldn't cultivate the Dao and lacked skill in divination, the techniques they created were riddled with flaws. Few ever achieved much through cultivation.
But with the Main Body here, Li Yi wasn't too concerned. His ability to divine was unquestionably the best in the entire Primordial World. And since he focused on cultivating the body himself, creating a sound cultivation method for Dijiang and the others would be easy.
As Li Yi looked at Dijiang and the others, he suddenly realized he'd overlooked something important. Why were there only the Twelve Ancestral Witches? What about the rest of the Witch Clan? Even if the other members of the Witch Clan were formed from the Ancestral Witches' Essence Blood, they couldn't possibly have produced over a hundred billion Witch People.
Just as Li Yi was racking his brain over it, a terrifying fluctuation arose in the space where the Twelve Ancestral Witches had taken form. Ripples stirred through the air.
Li Yi's heart skipped a beat. What else was hidden here, something even the Main Body couldn't detect? He already had a vague suspicion. If it really was that thing, he'd struck it rich.
At the thought, Li Yi's heart couldn't help but pound.
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