The Twelve Ancestral Witches' Doubts

The Ancestral Witches all looked at her.

Houtu's gaze fell upon the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon. Her snake tail swayed gently as a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes:

"When I discovered this thing while climbing Mount Buzhou, it was still asleep. Its aura was steady, no different from that of an ordinary treasure.

But just now... I seemed to sense a brief fluctuation in its aura."

"A fluctuation?" Di Jiang raised a brow.

"Yes." Houtu nodded. "It was extremely faint. If I hadn't been watching it all along, I wouldn't have noticed it.

That fluctuation... didn't seem like something naturally emitted by a treasure. It was more like... the aura of a living thing."

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of the Ancestral Witches changed.

"A living thing?" Zhu Rong's enormous flame-burning eyes widened. "You're saying this little thing is alive?"

Gong Gong no longer bothered bickering with Zhu Rong. He leaned forward to examine it closely, the huge eyes on his python head gleaming with ghostly light:

"Let me see, let me see! A living thing? The twelve of us couldn't tell it was alive, but you could?"

Xuan Ming's ferocious beastly body leaned forward slightly, the bone spurs across her body glinting coldly as she stared at Pan Xuan.

"If it truly is alive, then being able to play dead beneath our very eyes for so long means it has some skill."

Houtu shook her head. "I'm not sure either. It's just that the fluctuation was too strange. We must be cautious."

Pan Xuan groaned inwardly.

This Ancestral Witch Houtu truly lived up to the legends—kindhearted and compassionate, yet meticulous enough to notice even such a faint fluctuation in his aura.

Now he was in trouble. Should he keep playing dead, or...

"Let me try."

Shebishi stepped forward. His true form, with a tiger's head, a human body, and four hooves, was wreathed in eerie mist. Even the snake clenched in his mouth stared intently at Pan Xuan.

He extended a massive hand and pressed it against the layer of Mysterious Yellow energy encasing Pan Xuan, closing his eyes to sense it.

Pan Xuan felt a cold, sinister aura seep inside and roam across his body.

That aura carried the stench of death and decay, instinctively stirring resistance within him.

But he forcibly suppressed the urge, keeping his aura steady and even deliberately imitating the utterly lifeless state of a treasure.

After a long while, Shebishi withdrew his hand and shook his head. "I can't sense any life force. Either my cultivation is insufficient, or... it truly isn't alive."

Houtu frowned slightly but said nothing.

"Since even Shebishi says so, there should be no problem."

Jumang spoke. His true form, with the body of a bird, the face of a man, and twin dragons beneath his feet, radiated abundant vitality. Since even he had sensed nothing unusual, Houtu had most likely been overthinking it.

The Ancestral Witches nodded and continued studying the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon.

"Since this thing shares the same origin as us, why don't we try refining it with our Ancestral Witch blood essence?"

Qiangliang suggested. His tiger-headed, human-bodied form, with a snake in his mouth, looked especially savage.

"No." Houtu immediately objected. "Since it is related to Father God, it is one of our kin. How can we refine it?"

"Sister Houtu is right." Di Jiang agreed. "Father God's relic must not be lightly desecrated. Let us first determine its origins and purpose before making plans."

Pan Xuan relaxed slightly.

Fortunately, though these Ancestral Witches looked fierce and terrifying, their reverence for Father God Pangu came from the heart. They would not casually destroy anything related to him.

But before he could fully relax, Zhu Rong began shouting, "Study, study! We've been studying it for three days and still haven't figured out a damn thing!

I say we toss it into my Southern Illumination Divine Flame and burn it. Maybe that'll reveal its true form!"

"Bullshit!" Gong Gong immediately retorted. "Your lousy fire will ruin even the finest treasure! It should be soaked in my Weak Water instead!"

"Will you two shut the hell up!" Lightning crackled around Qiangliang as he roared. "All you ever know is burning and soaking things. Can't you use your brains for once?"

"Xizi, who are you calling brainless?" Zhu Rong glared at him.

Just as several Ancestral Witches were about to start arguing again, Xuan Ming spoke coldly:

"All of you, settle down. If you disturb this thing and ruin something important, who will take responsibility?"

Her icy voice seemed to possess the power to freeze all things. Zhu Rong and Gong Gong both shuddered at once, not daring to argue further.

Watching this scene, Pan Xuan felt strangely moved. These were the legendary Twelve Ancestral Witches—the overlords of the Primordial World, the rulers of the Witch Clan—yet they bickered and squabbled just like ordinary people.

Though they were lofty Ancestral Witches, the bond between them was sincere.

Just then, Zhu Jiuyin suddenly spoke. "Wait."

The Ancestral Witches froze and all turned to look at him.

Zhu Jiuyin's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through time itself, were fixed on the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon. A strange glint flashed through them.

"Its aura... fluctuated again."

What?

All the Ancestral Witches' gazes instantly converged on Pan Xuan.

Pan Xuan inwardly cried out in alarm. Just now, the Ancestral Witches' argument had amused him, and his aura had involuntarily fluctuated. He had not expected Zhu Jiuyin to catch it.

Now he was done for.

"There really was a fluctuation!" Di Jiang's expression turned stern. Spatial power surged as his six legs moved, instantly sealing off the surrounding space. "Everyone, be careful. There is something strange about this thing!"

The Twelve Ancestral Witches immediately entered combat stance. Their auras surged as they surrounded Pan Xuan so completely that not even water could pass through.

The chill around Xuan Ming intensified, layer upon layer of frost forming over her bone spurs as she said coldly:

"If it dares make any unusual move, my ice spines will pierce straight through it."

Feeling the twelve terrifying auras, Pan Xuan smiled bitterly.

He had barely escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair.

How long had it been since he transmigrated, and he was already facing the combined assault of the Twelve Ancestral Witches? What an "honor."

But he also knew he could no longer keep playing dead.

Playing dead would only make things worse.

Now that they had discovered he possessed intelligence—

If he continued pretending, these Ancestral Witches would only think he harbored ill intent. If they truly mistook him for some evil creature and destroyed him, he would be wronged beyond measure.

To hell with it!

Pan Xuan took a deep breath. Then, within that layer of Mysterious Yellow energy, he slowly opened his eyes.

They were a pair of golden eyes, like two miniature suns—dazzling and brilliant, yet upright and peaceful, without the slightest trace of malice.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches all took a step back, their eyes filled with shock.

"It... it opened its eyes!" Houtu cried out.

Pan Xuan's gaze swept across the Twelve Ancestral Witches before finally settling on Houtu.

He knew that she was the only Ancestral Witch who bore him goodwill, and his only opening at this moment.

"Everyone..." Pan Xuan spoke, his voice somewhat stiff, as though he had not used it for a long time. "Brothers and sisters, please do not attack just yet."

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly entered the ears of every Ancestral Witch.

Di Jiang's faceless head turned slightly as he stared at Pan Xuan. "What are you? Why do you carry the aura of our Father God?"

Pan Xuan tried to make his posture appear peaceful and respectful. He lowered his head slightly before speaking slowly:

"I was formed from Father God Pangu's righteous aura, taking shape through the fusion of the merit of opening heaven and the Mysterious Yellow energy of heaven and earth.

The twelve Ancestral Witches were born from Father God's blood essence. By that reckoning, I am kin to all of you."

The moment those words were spoken, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were stunned.

Kin?

This tiny Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon, which had only just opened its eyes, was claiming to be their kin?

"Bullshit!" Zhu Rong was the first to leap up, flames surging wildly across his beast-headed, human-bodied form.

"We were formed from Father God's blood essence. We are Father God's direct descendants! What are you to dare call yourself our kin?"