Primordial Era: The Dao Wasn't Finished, Yet the Ancestor Witches Became Saints

"Speak!"

"Are you going to talk or not?"

Iron fists rained down blow after blow. With every question asked, Laozi took another punch.

At this moment, Laozi wanted to cry but had no tears.

Talk about what?

"You... you haven't even asked yet? If... if you don't... what do you want me to say?"

Hearing this, Li Hao paused, his fist stopping mid-swing.

Then he said, "Oh, got it."

Of course, that fist still landed. A task must be finished from start to end—how could it be abandoned halfway?

After that punch, Laozi was dumbfounded.

You got it, so what?

Why hit me?

Before, you had a reason to hit me, and I accepted it!

But this time, you had no reason! I! Laozi! Would rather die than admit it!

Thus, he looked at Li Hao with a face full of grievance.

Li Hao, in turn, shuddered under that gaze.

Damn! What's going on?

Could this old man be a masochist?

Or maybe it's that thing—Stockholm syndrome, the hostage identification complex.

Otherwise, why would he act like this?

Thinking of this, Li Hao's scalp tingled.

But... the Divine Power was right before him. Let it go?

Was that possible?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

So, he swung his fist at Laozi again.

"Speak! Did you steal my tribe's Divine Power?"

"Confess honestly!"

Laozi wanted to hold out stubbornly, but the iron fists fell like rain.

He really couldn't take it anymore.

This member of the Witch Tribe wasn't striking with full force.

But while it wasn't heavy, it wasn't light either. Each blow brought pain, yet never truly injured him.

The humiliation far outweighed the harm.

Laozi could imagine that at this moment, his face must be a mess of black and blue, completely unrecognizable.

And these injuries—they probably wouldn't heal for a thousand or ten thousand years.

If this kept up, how could it end?

I! Taishang Laozi! Don't I have any face to save?

As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield.

Laozi decisively chose to chicken out... pfft!

I mean, this is a tactical retreat!

As long as the green hills remain, there's no shortage of firewood.

It's definitely not chickening out.

"Yes, yes, yes! I did steal your Witch Tribe's Divine Power! Please, stop hitting me!"

Li Hao nodded with satisfaction. "I noticed your Divine Power has been slightly modified. Did you modify it yourselves?"

How would Laozi dare to disagree? Was he not afraid of getting beaten?

He nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! We modified it!"

"Then why don't you write it out? Let me see how your incantation differs from ours!"

When Laozi heard this, he was startled!

Wasn't admitting it enough?

Before, there was no talk of writing it out!

Aren't you just lying through your teeth?

What comparison? This is outright robbery!

Laozi stared at Li Hao, whose eyes gleamed with greed, as if catching a certain meaning in his gaze.

That meaning was: You guessed right! Otherwise, what do you think I'm doing now?

Of course, Li Hao would never express it that way.

How could matters of Divine Powers and Magic Treasures be called robbery?

Eh? No!

Nothing the Witch Tribe does can be called robbery!

Clearly, you stole our Witch Tribe's things, and now we're just taking them back.

We are all civilized witches—strong-arming and plundering are absolutely forbidden.

Seeing the look in Li Hao's eyes, a flicker of ruthlessness passed through Laozi's heart.

Fine! You want it, don't you?

Then I'll give it to you!

But... be careful not to fall into demonic deviation!

With that thought, he didn't hesitate. He immediately took out a Jade Slip and inscribed the Divine Power onto it with his Primordial Spirit.

It wasn't complete nonsense—seven parts true, three parts false, to be precise.

After all, everyone here was a cultivator; if the thing were utter gibberish, a quick glance would reveal it.

Just as Laozi expected, Li Hao took the Jade Slip, skimmed through it briefly, and then tucked it away with satisfaction.

Laozi breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, sneering coldly in his heart.

Go ahead and cultivate it. Let's see if it doesn't wipe out your Witch Tribe.

"Can I leave now?"

Laozi looked up at Li Hao and asked.

Li Hao turned his head with an innocent expression, feigning great surprise.

"Oh my! What's this? How did an old grandpa end up lying here?"

With that, he quickly reached out, helped Laozi up, and even kindly brushed the dust off his clothes.

Clicking his tongue, he said, "Oh dear! Old grandpa! How could you be so careless? Look at how you've fallen—your face is all bruised and swollen!"

Laozi's nose twisted in fury. How dare you say that?

Do you have no idea in your heart who caused me to look like this?

He had never seen such a shameless person!

Laozi shook off Li Hao's hand, straightened his appearance, and slowly walked toward the unconscious Yuanshi.

But... gone was the smugness and high spirits from before.

When he reached him, he nudged Yuanshi. Seeing that he didn't wake, Laozi sighed helplessly and hoisted him up to leave.

Before he could act, Li Hao's voice rang out again.

"Hey? Old man, if you're fine, you can go. But this old fellow here is my tribe's enemy—don't go being kind-hearted!"

Laozi's eyes nearly split at the edges!

He cursed inwardly.

Bastard!

He knew full well the three of them had come together, yet he was splitting them apart to settle accounts!

Are you going to keep shaking me down endlessly?

At that moment, Laozi suddenly understood why his second brother had passed out.

Recklessly unleashing his Divine Power was certainly one reason.

But more than that, it was the torment of this shameless man's tongue.

Even he, who had always held himself with a pure, tranquil mind, couldn't help but feel a surge of stifling anger.

Suppressing his rage, Laozi was about to argue when he heard the miserable cry of his third brother, Tongtian.

"Ah! Elder Brother! Quickly... come help me!"

Laozi's heart jolted. He immediately set down Yuanshi and rushed toward Tongtian's direction.

It wasn't that Tongtian was more important than Yuanshi.

Rather, although Yuanshi wasn't restrained, he was essentially already captured.

Which meant he would inevitably be shaken down again.