The Twelve Ancestral Witches were beings born from Pangu's blood essence and the turbid qi present when Heaven and Earth were created. Each Ancestral Witch was naturally close to a particular law. To improve their cultivation, they only needed to keep strengthening their bloodlines, which in turn increased their mastery over the power of those laws.
They were Dijiang, the Space Ancestral Witch; Zhujiuyin, the Ancestral Witch of Time; Jumang, the Wood Ancestral Witch; Zhurong, the Fire Ancestral Witch; Gonggong, the Water Ancestral Witch; Rushou, the Metal Ancestral Witch; Houtu, the Earth Ancestral Witch; Qiangliang, the Ancestral Witch of Thunder; Xizi, the Ancestral Witch of Lightning; Tianwu, the Wind Ancestral Witch; Xuanming, the Ancestral Witch of Rain; and Shebishi, the Ancestral Witch of Poison.
Randeng estimated that Dijiang, the foremost of the Ancestral Witches, had probably already reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. Zhujiuyin was likely not far from advancing, and the other ten Ancestral Witches should have at least been late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortals. They were undoubtedly the most formidable gang in the Primordial World at the moment.
Houtu wanted him to persuade those violent brutes to get along peacefully with the Demon Clan. Wouldn't that be like walking into a tiger's den and barely making it out with his skin intact? Still, he'd gotten a Spiritual Treasure for nothing, so he couldn't very well refuse to show some appreciation.
Randeng reached out and took a Spiritual Root from the space within the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, then offered it to Houtu.
"Fellow Daoist Houtu, this is a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root, Laimu. Perhaps it can solve the food shortage among ordinary members of the Witch Clan."
Laimu was what later generations called wheat. Randeng had come across it while repairing the spiritual ley lines in the West. Its fruit could only strengthen one's vital energy and blood, so it wasn't much use to him.
Although it could reproduce on its own, the quality of its offspring would steadily decline. For the Witch Clan, however, it was an excellent food source.
Houtu took the Spiritual Root and examined it carefully, delight shining in her eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, if this Spiritual Root is cultivated well, it could provide food for more than half of my clan's members below the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm."
Randeng hesitated. Though everyone was a Taiyi Golden Immortal now, once the Dao Ancestor began preaching, Golden Immortals would be as common as dogs and Great Luos would roam everywhere. It wasn't enough to meet the needs of Golden Immortals alone.
He reached out and took back the Innate Spiritual Root, Laimu. The Precious Mirror of Merit revolved within his Spiritual Platform, pouring merit into it without pause until it advanced to a Houtian Superior Spiritual Root. This improved the quality of its fruit and made it easier to cultivate its offspring.
"Fellow Daoist Houtu, the fruit it produces now should be of some help to you, right?"
Randeng handed the Spiritual Root to Houtu for her to examine again. This should be enough to offset much of the karma from obtaining the Enlightenment Tea Tree and the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin.
After inspecting it, Houtu looked surprised.
"Fellow Daoist, did you use up your own merit to improve its grade?"
In the Primordial World, merit was far more valuable than ordinary Spiritual Treasures and Spiritual Roots, because it could help living beings improve their cultivation.
"It's nothing, as long as it helps you. Otherwise, I wouldn't feel at ease keeping the Enlightenment Tea Tree and the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin."
Randeng sidestepped the subject of merit. In that regard, he truly had more than any of the other Innate Divine Saints at the moment.
"Also, the Primordial World is home to many clans. There are bound to be spirit beasts with deteriorated bloodlines. The Witch Clan could choose some that breed quickly and raise them in captivity. That would be another source of food."
He offered Houtu another suggestion. As for whether this would prevent the Witch-Demon War from happening—
The answer was no. Eating and being eaten were merely the surface-level conflict between the Demon Clan and the Witch Clan. At their core, both clans wanted the fortune of ruling the Primordial World.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, you truly are wise. I'll tell my brothers all of this as soon as I return. The Witch Clan welcomes you to visit whenever you like."
Houtu spoke sincerely. She felt that setting out to find a hunting ground had been a wise choice after all. She hadn't found one, but she had encountered Randeng, who had solved the urgent problem facing her clan.
She clasped her hands toward Randeng, then vanished in a flash, fleeing into the distance along the ley lines.
Seeing how eager Houtu was, Randeng couldn't help smiling. He'd originally wanted to invite her to taste some Enlightenment Tea.
He took out a piece of Earth Marrow Spirit Jade left over from artifact refining and shaped it into a tea set with a spell. He placed a dozen or so Enlightenment Tea Leaves inside, then gathered water vapor from the air and sent the resulting stream into the tea set.
A flash of light came from the Jade Void Glazed Lamp on his shoulder, and a wisp of Eternal Spirit Flame fell into the water. Before long, the tea boiled, sending a unique fragrance wafting toward him.
He took a sip. The tea flowed into his stomach like a warm current, spreading gentle spiritual power through him. A clear, lucid qi rose upward and merged into his Spiritual Platform. It was like rain falling upon a parched world, and Randeng felt himself draw closer to Heaven and Earth.
Taking advantage of this state, Randeng brought out the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin and tried to refine it in one go.
The coin was golden all over, as if cast from pure gold. It was round on the inside and square on the outside, with the words "Treasure Dropping Golden Coin" engraved on its face. When activated with magical power, a pair of transparent wings appeared on either side.
Strangely, it had no Innate Restrictions like ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasures. Instead, it bore some Innate Dao Patterns, which seemed unique to Innate Exotic Treasures. With his knowledge of artifact refining, Randeng could roughly discern their meaning: "sever" and "knock down."
With the help of the Enlightenment Tea, Randeng spent a thousand years refining the Innate Dao Patterns one by one, and gained complete control of the coin.
He had no target to test its power on just then, but he confirmed that it could indeed be activated with merit.
Randeng rose and cast a spell, moving the Innate Great Formation from within the ley lines to the outside, where it enveloped all of Wuyi Mountain. This was also a blessed grotto-heaven, and he could keep it as his Dojo in the East.
His trip to Wuyi Mountain had thus ended perfectly: a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, an Innate Exotic Treasure, and a future Dojo. He didn't know how good his fortune was, but thanks to his foreknowledge, he'd managed to gather treasures ahead of time.
Without lingering, Randeng summoned the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler and continued on his journey. After roughly a hundred years, he finally arrived at Kunlun Mountain.
Second only to Buzhou Mountain, Kunlun Mountain was the second great mountain of the Primordial World, stretching for tens of millions of miles. It was divided into East Kunlun and West Kunlun. East Kunlun was the Dojo of the Three Pure Ones, while West Kunlun was occupied by the Daoist of Jade Pool, the future Queen Mother of the West. The mountain was filled with spiritual energy and countless rays of rosy light; its peaks, rivers, and streams looked like an immortal realm.
The moment Randeng entered East Kunlun, Taishang opened his eyes in the Three Pure Ones Palace atop the mountain and turned to the two beside him.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, we have an honored guest today. Make haste and prepare to welcome him."
Tongtian made a quick calculation and realized that Randeng had come to honor their invitation. He laughed heartily.
"Second Brother, your long-awaited fellow Daoist Randeng has arrived. Hurry and get your artifact-refining tools ready."
Yuanshi knew Randeng was coming and smiled. Few people in the Primordial World could refine Houtian Spiritual Treasures at the moment. He'd finally found a like-minded Daoist, and he had missed Randeng for a long time. He was eager to discuss the Way of Artifact Refining with him.
Randeng stopped at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. Three streaks of light flew down from its peak, and before their owners arrived, Tongtian's laughter reached him.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, you've finally arrived! I've been bored to death staying at Kunlun Mountain all this time."
The light faded, revealing three Daoists—a young, a middle-aged, and an old one. All three were in the Great Luo realm.
It seems the Primordial World's new era of Great Luos is about to begin.
Randeng realized that the lowest cultivation needed to enter Chaos was the Great Luo realm. It seemed the Sermon at Purple Cloud Palace was not far off.
The Three Pure Ones were even more surprised than Randeng.
Yuanshi looked Randeng up and down. His aura was steady, and he'd evidently been at the mid-stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm for some time. But how long had it been since they last parted?
Tongtian, meanwhile, was genuinely happy for Randeng. He stepped forward, clapped him on the shoulder, and laughed.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, well done! You've been cultivating in secret behind my back again."
The classic dilemma: fearing that a fellow Daoist was too weak, but also fearing that he cultivated too quickly.
Taishang, meanwhile, quietly wondered how much longer it would take him to reach the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm.