Invited to the Tribe, Surrounded by Witches and Stirring Up Trouble / Overpowering the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the Possibility of the Three-Life Body

Chapter 27: Invited to the Tribe, Surrounded by Witches and Stirring Up Trouble

As they traveled, the closer they drew to the Flame Tribe's territory, the more violent and scorching the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth grew.

Giant volcanic rocks and rivers of flowing lava were everywhere. The air was thick with the power of the Fire Law and the wild, baleful aura unique to the Wu Clan.

Utterly unlike the serene, ethereal abodes of immortals, everything here brimmed with a primitive, rugged, savage strength.

Before long, an immense tribe nestled among a vast range of volcanoes appeared before Ao Chen.

Great stone halls stood like mountains, their surfaces carved with flame totems;

flags made from the pelts of unknown ferocious beasts fluttered atop bone flagpoles tens of thousands of feet tall;

across the broad open grounds, countless powerfully built Witch-Humans, their muscles knotted, trained, fought, or used enormous stone tools to shape bone weapons. The whole place pulsed with strength and vitality.

With Ao Chen in tow, Zhu Rong swaggered through the outskirts of the tribe and headed straight for the most magnificent structure at its center: the Ancestral Witch Hall, built entirely of crimson volcanic crystal, with an undying divine flame burning atop it.

Ao Chen's arrival immediately caused a stir throughout the Flame Tribe.

"Look! Who's that?"

"Why is he here with Lord Zhu Rong?"

"What a powerful aura! He feels even more terrifying than the Great Witches in the tribe!"

Countless curious, wary, and even faintly hostile gazes fell on Ao Chen.

The enmity between the Wu and the demons had long been ingrained in everyone's minds. Although the Dragon Race's position was ambiguous, in the eyes of ordinary Witch-Humans, anyone who wasn't one of their own could be an enemy.

Ao Chen paid them no heed, following Zhu Rong with a calm expression. His formidable divine sense had already taken in the entire tribe—the strength and auras of the ordinary Witch-Humans, as well as the layout of the settlement.

Just as they were about to reach the vast plaza in front of the Ancestral Witch Hall—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Eleven terrifying pressures, almost tangible in their intensity, descended at nearly the same moment from every direction and even from the depths of the void!

Each pressure embodied an ultimate Primordial Law. In an instant, they locked onto Ao Chen at the center of the plaza!

Space froze, time slowed, the sharpness of metal cleaved through the void, life and decay shifted in the blink of an eye, a flood surged toward the world's destruction, and the pulse of the earth suppressed all things.

Eleven utterly different, surging auras intertwined, forming a terrifying domain that could make even Heaven and Earth change color!

The eleven Ancestor Witches had arrived together!

Their figures slowly emerged from the void, surrounding Ao Chen and Zhu Rong, who had brought him back.

Space twisted around Dijiang, as if he existed beyond this world;

whenever Zhu Jiuyin opened or closed his eyes, the phantom of the river of time flickered into view;

raging waves surged beneath Gong Gong's feet, roaring deafeningly;

Ru Shou rested a hand on his Golden Spear, its keen aura piercing the heavens;

Gou Mang was protected by a green radiance, his aura combining vitality with killing intent;

Hou Tu was solemn and compassionate, one with the earth;

the remaining Ancestor Witches—Qiang Liang, Tian Wu, Xi Zi, She Bi Shi, and Xuan Ming—were equally awe-inspiring, surrounded by laws and radiating an earth-shaking might!

This was the Wu Clan's greatest strength: the most powerful beings on the Primordial Wilderness. Gathered here, their invisible pressure was enough to leave any Grand Unity Golden Immortal trembling with terror!

When Zhu Rong saw his brothers and sisters had all come, he looked a little embarrassed and hurriedly called out,

"Er, brothers and sisters, this is... uh, fellow Daoist Ao Chen! I invited him to visit our tribe!"

"Visit?"

Gong Gong, the Water Ancestor Witch, was the first to express his suspicion. He sized up Ao Chen, then glanced at Zhu Rong, who looked distinctly uneasy, and snorted.

"Zhu Rong, you oaf, did someone beat you up again, so you brought an outsider back to save face?"

Zhu Rong flew into a rage. "Bullshit! Who got beaten up? I saw this fellow Daoist's extraordinary physique, so I specially invited him here to exchange pointers with everyone!"

"Oh? An extraordinary physique?"

Gong Gong looked at Ao Chen, his eyes full of scrutiny and unmistakable provocation.

"If he's impressive enough to impress even you, Zhu Rong, and the two of you fought for hundreds of years without a winner, then I'd like to see whether it's true!"

The other Ancestor Witches remained silent, but their expressions made their doubts plain. Most of them were skeptical of Zhu Rong's description.

After all, they knew Zhu Rong's strength. For a member of the Dragon Race to withstand him in a contest of pure physical strength for hundreds of years without losing was truly hard to believe.

"Boy!"

Gong Gong stepped forward, the violent power of the Gui Water Law surging out as he bore down on Ao Chen.

"Zhu Rong says you're powerful, but I don't believe him! Unless you can take three punches from me, we won't acknowledge you as someone worthy of standing on equal terms with the Wu Clan!"

"If you can't... heh heh!"

His words sounded domineering, but he had no real intent to kill.

It was more a direct challenge and test, born of his doubts about Zhu Rong's account and the Wu Clan's natural reverence for strength—not an attempt to make an enemy for life.

Faced with the Twelve Ancestral Witches' scrutiny, curiosity, suspicion, and barely veiled fighting spirit—and Gong Gong's direct provocation—Ao Chen stood calmly in the plaza.

He slowly raised his eyes to meet Gong Gong's gaze. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Three punches?" Ao Chen shook his head lightly, his tone mild but filled with undeniable confidence. "That's too few."

"Come at me together. Let's see what makes the Ancestor Witches, who call themselves the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, so special."

At those words, not only Gong Gong, the one who had issued the challenge, but even the other Ancestor Witches, who had merely been watching, instantly sharpened their gazes!

What a boastful member of the Dragon Race!

Still, although Ao Chen's words were infuriating, not everyone present was as straightforward as Gong Gong and Zhu Rong.

The Wu Clan were forthright, but that didn't mean they lacked clever minds.

For example, Dijiang, the leader of the Twelve Ancestral Witches; Zhu Jiuyin, the Wu Clan's strategist; and Hou Tu...

So Dijiang soon stepped forward.

"Fellow Daoist, you..."

But before he could finish, Ao Chen cut him off.

"Enough talk. Since when did the Wu Clan get so long-winded?"

At those words, Gong Gong could no longer restrain himself.

He had mocked Ao Chen more out of habit than malice. After all, he was used to trading barbs with Zhu Rong, and he hadn't really held anything against Ao Chen.

But now Ao Chen was openly belittling the Wu Clan. How could Gong Gong possibly tolerate that?

"You've got nerve."

Gong Gong roared. His great hand swept across the sky, interwoven with boundless water laws, and slammed down on Ao Chen.

"Just what I wanted."

Ao Chen's eyes lit up.

He had deliberately taunted the Twelve Ancestral Witches. It wasn't that he was acting thoughtlessly; he had his own calculations.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches rarely gathered together unless a world-shaking battle was underway.

He was only here as a guest. If he let this opportunity pass, thoroughly studying all Twelve Ancestral Witches later would be extremely troublesome.

So he might as well take advantage of their presence and get it all done at once.

Just as he'd expected, Gong Gong had taken the bait.

"Rise!"

Ao Chen gave a soft shout. His qi and blood surged as the body of a Mythical Heavenly Immortal erupted with power. Starry rivers turned within him, and a terrifying aura intertwined, as if it would crush the void.

Then he formed a fist seal and swung his fist straight at Gong Gong.

Chapter 28: Overpowering the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the Possibility of the Three-Life Body

Just as Gong Gong's terrifying hand seal, seemingly capable of annihilating an entire great world, was about to come down, Ao Chen's seemingly ordinary fist—without even a trace of magical power—struck the center of the giant palm first.

There was no earth-shaking clash of laws, no deafening explosion of energy!

To the astonishment of all the Ancestor Witches, the Gui Water Great Hand Seal, powerful enough to shatter stars, vanished without a sound the instant it touched Ao Chen's fist. It completely dissolved and fell apart!

It was as if the water laws that formed it had been erased from existence by a higher level of power!

"Pfft—!"

The backlash from having his laws broken, combined with an irresistible physical force like the impact of an entire Starry River World, pierced through every defense and slammed squarely into Gong Gong's chest!

Gong Gong couldn't even manage a full scream. His enormous Ancestor Witch True Body had been struck head-on by a rapidly falling Primeval Star. His chest shattered, his ribs breaking one by one as it caved inward!

He spewed out mouthfuls of Witch Clan blood infused with his essence and flew backward like a kite with its strings cut. He smashed through space and crashed into the Buzhou Mountain range tens of thousands of miles away, triggering a violent landslide.

His aura immediately weakened. He had clearly suffered the worst injury of his life!