Alliance

After his physical body broke through to the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal realm with the sixth turn of the Profound Art, Bai Jing's greatest realization was that he could travel much faster. It took him only a hundred years to get from Yingzhou Immortal Island to the foot of Mount Buzhou.

The Witch Clan was far more harmonious than Bai Jing had imagined. Witches whose physical bodies rivaled Golden Immortals squatted by the millet fields, boasting about how brave they had been during their hunts. Before them stood juniors of the Witch Clan who had just been born from the blood pool, watching these elders with worshipful expressions.

Even more Witch Clan members came and went in groups of two or three. Some harvested millet, while others carried all manner of bloody prey back toward the tribe.

Such harmony clearly meant that no war had broken out. Bai Jing finally felt reassured.

"Friend, you are not one of the Witch Clan, are you?" A Witch Clan member who looked to be in his twenties noticed Bai Jing and walked over to ask.

Bai Jing sized up the Witch Clan member. His face was stern, his upper body bare, and a divine bow rested on his back. Muscles bulged all over him, veins winding across his body like coiling dragons, brimming with explosive strength. Judging by his appearance, Bai Jing guessed that this man was most likely Yi, the Witch Clan's great shaman.

While Bai Jing assessed Yi, Yi was also staring intently at Bai Jing.

Yet no matter how Yi looked, he could not detect the slightest trace of an aura from the man before him. This person was like a bottomless abyss capable of swallowing everything.

Alarm bells rang in Yi's heart. This man was absolutely stronger than him. At that thought, Yi slowly moved his hand toward the divine bow on his back.

Seeing this, Bai Jing quickly introduced himself. "I am Bai Jing. I mean no harm. I have come to visit the Twelve Ancestral Witches."

Yi clearly knew of Bai Jing. The moment he heard the name, his attitude immediately changed. "So it is Senior Bai Jing. The Ancestral Witches are currently in seclusion. Please wait a moment, Senior Bai Jing. I will go report your arrival."

With that, Yi hurried toward Pangu Hall.

A moment later, a yellow-brown streak of escaping light flashed by, and Houtu appeared before Bai Jing.

Bai Jing was just about to exchange a few pleasantries with Houtu.

Houtu's surprised voice reached his ears first. "Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, you have reached the sixth turn of the Profound Art?"

"Fellow Daoist Houtu has sharp eyes."

When Houtu saw Bai Jing nod in acknowledgment, she did not know what to say for a moment.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches had cultivated arduously for over a dozen epochs since taking form before they had all reached the sixth turn of the Profound Art more than twenty thousand years ago, their physical bodies breaking through to the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal level.

How long had it been since Bai Jing took form? Yet he had already reached the sixth turn of the Profound Art.

Moreover, Houtu could sense that Bai Jing's physical body, like those of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, had fused with the laws.

They had all taken the same path, but Bai Jing's breakthrough speed was far too fast. Were she and her siblings the Ancestral Witches, or was Bai Jing the Ancestral Witch?

Only after quite some time did Houtu sigh. "Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, you truly are astonishing."

Bai Jing smiled. His rapid breakthroughs were the result of devouring plus purification.

The Great Dao of Devouring only cared about eating, while White Lotus's properties could purify all things and remove harmful substances consumed into the body. Combined, their effect was certainly greater than one plus one.

"Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, did you come to the Witch Clan because you wish to travel with us to Zixiao Palace?" Houtu asked.

Bai Jing nodded. "That is indeed my intention. By my reckoning, there are now less than three thousand years until Zixiao Palace's third lecture. It is about time to set out. However, before leaving, I have some matters I wish to discuss with the Ancestral Witches."

"You have matters to discuss? Then follow me, Fellow Daoist Bai Jing!"

Bai Jing returned to Pangu Hall with Houtu.

When the other Ancestral Witches saw Bai Jing, their eyes too filled with shock.

"Kid, how did you do it? How did you reach the sixth turn of the Profound Art in such a short time?" Zhurong, ever blunt, asked without a second thought.

"Zhurong, shut up! Do you not know that probing another's divine abilities and spells is a great taboo?" After rebuking him, Di Jiang cupped his hands toward Bai Jing. "Brother Bai Jing, please do not take offense!"

Di Jiang's manner clearly showed that he regarded Bai Jing as an equal.

Bai Jing waved his hand. "It is a trivial matter, hardly worth mentioning."

Seeing that the matter had passed, Di Jiang changed the subject. "Brother Bai Jing, did you come to discuss something with us?"

"To be honest, I came this time to form an alliance with the Witch Clan!"

At the word "alliance," the Ancestral Witches looked at one another. They had clearly not expected this to be Bai Jing's purpose in coming to the Witch Clan.

In truth, Bai Jing had considered an alliance with the Witch Clan carefully.

First, if Bai Jing wanted to obtain the Five Direction Flags on Treasure-Splitting Cliff, he would need help. Bai Jing alone could not handle those two from the west.

Second, Bai Jing already owed Pangu a great karmic debt, and that debt had now fallen upon the Witch Clan. With this karmic debt hanging over him, Bai Jing could not simply watch the Witch Clan be destroyed. He would have to find a way to save them. Since that was the case, he might as well form an alliance with the Witch Clan early on.

"I wonder what Fellow Daoist Bai Jing means by this. How are we to form this alliance?" Houtu broke the silence and asked.

Rather than answer Houtu's question directly, Bai Jing asked, "You were formed from Pangu Blood Essence and possess Pangu's inheritance. You should know that when the Primordial World was first opened, the Three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity were meant to emerge and jointly govern the Primordial World. Yet now, only the Heavenly Dao has emerged and governs the Primordial World alone. Do you not find that strange?"

At Bai Jing's words, the Twelve Ancestral Witches finally seemed to realize it belatedly.

The Three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity had been established when Pangu created Heaven and Earth. Clear qi became Heaven, while turbid qi became Earth. Where there was the Heavenly Dao, there was naturally the Earthly Dao as well. The Dao of Humanity did not merely refer to the human race of later generations, but to all living beings of the Primordial World. The power of all living beings was the Dao of Humanity.

Had the Heavenly Dao deliberately suppressed the emergence of the Earthly Dao and the Dao of Humanity? Bai Jing did not know. But he knew that the Witch Clan's only path to survival lay in the Earthly Dao. That was why he had brought it up now.

"Could it be that Fellow Daoist Bai Jing believes the Heavenly Dao is biased and deliberately suppressed the Earthly Dao and the Dao of Humanity?" Houtu continued.

Bai Jing shook his head. "I do not know whether the Heavenly Dao has deliberately suppressed the Earthly Dao and the Dao of Humanity, but I do know that you wish to follow Pangu's path and prove the Dao through strength. The Heavenly Dao likely cannot tolerate such a path."

"Why is that?" Di Jiang asked.

"Because the Mixed Yuan Great Luo Golden Immortals attained through proving the Dao by strength are beings beyond the Heavenly Dao's control. When faced with such beings, the Heavenly Dao will choose to drive them out of the Primordial World.

"Before Hongjun became a saint, someone had already attained the Mixed Yuan Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. His name was Yangmei. The true spirit of the Space Demon God had attached itself to Hollow Willow, one of the ten innate spiritual roots. His cultivation speed was even slightly faster than Hongjun's, and he proved the Dao before Hongjun did. Yet he was driven out of this world by the Heavenly Dao.

"If you prove the Dao through strength, I fear you will meet the same end. Either you will be unable to prove the Dao, or once you do, you will be driven out of the Primordial World. To change that outcome, the only things you can rely on are the Earthly Dao and the Dao of Humanity, which stand on the same level as the Heavenly Dao." Bai Jing spoke half-truths and half-lies.