Ancestor Witch Houtu

On a hill not far from the battlefield stood a woman in palace robes, watching the battle below.

This woman was none other than Ancestor Witch Houtu! She had originally thought the demon race was attacking, but to her surprise, it was a battle with a Human Race cultivator.

"The combat techniques this Human Race cultivator uses are quite exquisite and have their merits. Though they would not be of much use to Great Witches and above, if ordinary Wu Race members learned these techniques, their combat strength would greatly increase." Houtu's eyes lit up as she watched Jiang He employ his martial skills.

At this moment, Jiang He and Houyi both swallowed hard as they stared at the aftermath of the battle before them. Neither had expected this to happen. It was not the massive crater on the ground that shocked them, but the spatial rift that had flashed into existence and vanished in an instant!

By rights, only those who had reached the Great Luo Realm could tear open the space of the Primordial World. In other words, the power the two of them had just unleashed had already reached the Great Luo Realm!

In Houyi's heart, he had become deeply wary of Jiang He's True Sun Fire, the flame that burned everything without exception. He had seen this flame on Di Jun and Taiyi during the first Witch-Demon War. He had never expected a member of the Human Race to wield it as well.

Likewise, Jiang He had grown wary of Houyi. That use of laws was utterly unlike anything he knew! Houyi had seemingly only fired a few simple arrows, but his Nine Arrows United was actually much like the compression principle Jiang He had used just now. Yet that sensation of being locked onto still lingered in his heart. As expected, none of these innate races were easy prey!

Just as the two were considering whether to continue, Ancestor Witch Houtu suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield. With a wave of her delicate hand, earth-element laws spread out, and the crater blasted out by their battle was restored to its original state.

"You two, come with me."

Upon hearing Houtu's voice, Houyi grabbed Jiang He and quickly followed before Jiang He could even react.

Houtu Tribe, Ancestral Witch Hall

"You are the Human Race created by Empress Nuwa?" Houtu did not radiate the baleful qi typical of other Wu Race members. Instead, she appeared somewhat loving and gentle.

"I am Jiang He, the first member of the Human Race created by Mother Goddess Nuwa." Jiang He did not hesitate to reveal his identity. After all, quite a few people had seen him when Empress Nuwa opened up Wa Huang Tian. He might as well come clean.

"I see that your combat techniques are well-structured. Do they have an inheritance?"

Hearing Ancestor Witch Houtu so directly inquire about the foundation of another's inheritance, Jiang He was instantly speechless!

Sure enough, an Ancestor Witch was an Ancestor Witch. Even the legendary wisest Ancestor Witch, Houtu, was this straightforward!

"In reply to Ancestor Witch Houtu, after the Human Race was born, our bodies were weak and frail. Thus, I summarized a set of techniques suitable for the Human Race based on the fighting methods of Primordial World Demonic Beasts! Later, after Empress Nuwa improved them, they ultimately became the combat techniques they are today! Our Human Race calls them the Martial Way."

Jiang He spun nine parts falsehood and one part truth. He could not expose the Red Dust Pearl, so he could only borrow Empress Nuwa's banner.

"Martial Way! A good name. I see that this Martial Way is equally suitable for my Wu Race. Would young friend Jiang He be willing to pass it on to my Wu Race? Do not worry! My Wu Race certainly will not let you suffer a loss."

Jiang He's thoughts raced. Should he teach them or not? If he did, would the Wu Race become even stronger in the future? Forget it, he would teach them! He had never said he would teach them the Martial Codex. Teaching a few ordinary martial skills should be fine!

The Human Race was destined to clash with the demon race in the future. Helping the Wu Race strengthen themselves now seemed like it could inflict greater losses on the demon race! Besides, even if he did not teach them, the Human Race could not defeat the current Wu Race. Teaching them now could at least earn him some benefits!

"Very well! Since Ancestor Witch Houtu has asked, I cannot refuse you this courtesy. Besides, Eldest Brother Kuafu and I hit it off at first sight. This is no great matter!"

Jiang He then taught Kuafu all manner of close-combat martial skills, and Kuafu would pass them on to the other Wu Race members.

After seeing Jiang He impart the Martial Way, Ancestor Witch Houtu brought out a pile of spoils seized from the demon race. The Wu Race could not use magical treasures anyway, so she did not feel the slightest heartache giving them away as a gesture of goodwill!

Jiang He looked at the enormous pile of spiritual treasures before him. There had to be several hundred of them, and there even seemed to be some Innate Spiritual Treasures among them! This—this Wu Race was far too lavish!

A thought suddenly rose in Jiang He's heart. The Wu Race had no way to use these spiritual treasures, but the Human Race could! The Human Race was currently short on magical treasures. Jiang He had traveled the Primordial World for two thousand years and only obtained a few ordinary spiritual treasures, none of which even counted as Acquired Spiritual Treasures. After all, everything that could be looted had already been looted. Who could blame the Human Race for being born late?

However, the spiritual treasures gathered by the Wu Race through their frequent wars against the demon race were surely no small number! If the Wu Race could exchange these spiritual treasures with the Human Race... wait... what good things could the Human Race offer to move the Wu Race?

He quickly scanned the interface of the Red Dust Pearl. Over two thousand years, the Human Race had developed many new things!

Rune Crossbows—those counted.

Rune Flying Boats? Uh... forget it. The Wu Race probably would not think much of them!

Five Elements Talismans? Those would work!

Five Elements Grand Formations? Forget it, they did not like using them!

After looking through a whole list of things, Jiang He picked out three items suitable for trading with the Wu Race: Rune Weapons, talismans with various effects, and Elixirs that could quickly restore injuries. All were high-consumption goods, so the trade could continue without end. I provide the money, and you provide the manpower to help me gather spiritual treasures. Mm, not bad. Hehe!

After Jiang He explained his thoughts to Ancestor Witch Houtu and presented samples of the three items, tests showed that the Rune Weapons could increase the combat strength of ordinary Wu Race members by nearly twenty percent. The talismans and Elixirs also made Houtu beam with delight. With these three things, the combat ability of Wu Race warriors would rise greatly. This Human Race cultivator had truly given her a tremendous surprise!

After negotiation, the two sides agreed that the Wu Race would establish an outpost not far from Human Race territory. The Human Race only needed to deliver supplies there, since they were still too weak! Jiang He also sent the news back through the Red Dust Pearl.

The first batch of transactions was soon completed. The Human Race obtained more than a thousand Acquired Spiritual Treasures, while paying only mass-produced weapons, talismans, and Elixirs. Da Shan, who was responsible for this matter, was grinning so broadly his mouth could not close, feeling that he had made an absolute killing! (Oh, right—Da Shan should be called Jiang Shan now. He had joined the Jiang Shi alongside Jiang He! With the development of the Human Race, the Hundred Family Surnames had long since emerged, so they would not be introduced one by one here!)

The Wu Race also felt they had profited, trading a pile of useless junk for so many weapons. Both sides believed they had come out ahead—so who had lost out?

That question would have to be asked of the suffering demon race in the surrounding areas!

As the Wu Race of the Houtu Tribe, armed with their new weapons, repeatedly engaged the demon race in small-scale battles, the Wu Race found that the Human Race weapons were truly useful. They decisively expanded the scale of their trade. Gradually, other Wu Race tribes also joined in, and small-scale battles increased exponentially!

Demon Heavenly Court

"Have those barbarian Wu Race brutes gone mad? Do they intend to provoke the second Witch-Demon War already?" Upon receiving the report, Di Jun cursed furiously.

"Eldest Brother! Why not let me lead troops down and fight the Wu Race? We can properly crush their arrogance!" Taiyi was also enraged. He was hot-tempered by nature, so how could he possibly remain seated now?

At this moment, Bai Ze stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Wu Race's sudden launch of war is highly strange! It would be better to investigate first, lest we fall into a scheme!"

"Bai Ze, what are you talking about? Do those Wu Race barbarians have the brains for that?" Taiyi snapped at Bai Ze in displeasure. "I think the Ancestor Witches saw that the hundred-thousand-year truce period is nearing its end and want to test the demon race's attitude. We must strike back, or the prestige of our Demon Court will be gone!"

Ji Meng suddenly spoke from below. "According to reports from our clansmen below, not a single Great Witch participated in this round of fighting. It was all ordinary Wu soldiers and Wu generals! Moreover, the source seems to have begun with the Houtu Tribe. Why not first investigate the Houtu Tribe?"

Di Jun pondered for a moment before saying, "Bai Ze, Ji Meng, you two will investigate first and see what exactly has happened. Taiyi, lead the other Demon Gods in continuing to familiarize yourselves with and drill the Star Array of the Heavens. At this critical moment, do not cause trouble for me!"

Meanwhile, Jiang He met the other eleven Ancestor Witches in the Wu Race ancestral land, and both sides reached an agreement regarding the exchange of weapons, talismans, and other supplies!

During this time, Jiang He proposed downplaying the Human Race's role in the trade. They would publicly claim that the goods were forged by the Wu Race themselves, while the Human Race had merely purchased them from nearby Wu Race tribes. Reversing this order was meant to protect the still-weak Human Race!

Afterward, under the pretext of admiring the Ancestor Witches, Jiang He asked them for guidance on the use of laws! The twelve Ancestor Witches did not hold back, each teaching Jiang He their own experience with their respective laws!

As time flowed on, Jiang He had already stayed with the Wu Race for three thousand years. During this time, he followed the Ancestor Witches and learned twelve types of law power! His own laws also grew increasingly complete, and his Cultivation Level soared directly to the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm!

Jiang He was equally generous in revealing and deducing many future trends for the Wu Race! In the Wu Race's Pangu Hall, no one could calculate anything—not even the Heavenly Dao!

For example, he told the Ancestor Witches that they could try obtaining Merit to dispel the baleful qi within themselves! He told them that Great God Pangu could manifest his will only through Buzhou Mountain, and urged them to protect Buzhou Mountain well!

The Wu Race's primary duty was to guard the Primordial World, and so on! In any case, Jiang He told them everything he could from the parts about the Wu Race in the novels he had read before!

Jiang He then bade farewell to the Wu Race and continued wandering the Primordial World!