The Twelve Ancestral Witches as Sparring Partners

The next moment, Dijiang appeared within the Pangu World-Opening Map. From afar, he saw Pangu sitting cross-legged. That familiar aura could not possibly be faked.

At the same time, Dijiang could clearly sense that Pangu's aura was unstable, as though he had suffered grave injuries.

He immediately said to Lu Xuan, "Brother, hurry and take me out of here. We absolutely cannot allow Father God to suffer even the slightest further drain."

At this point, Dijiang had completely acknowledged Lu Xuan. He had even begun calling him brother.

Lu Xuan did not refuse. He immediately took Dijiang out of the Pangu World-Opening Map. The moment they returned to the Ancestral Witch Hall, Dijiang appeared beside Zhu Rong.

Without another word, he began raining punches and kicks on Zhu Rong, all while saying,

"If not for you, why would Father God have been forced to act? Now even that final wisp of divine consciousness is unstable and could dissipate at any moment."

Upon hearing Dijiang's words, Gong Gong rushed over at once. He too began punching and kicking Zhu Rong, cursing nonstop as he did.

Zhu Rong truly was unlucky. If the Ancestral Witches' bodies had not been so formidable, he would likely have been beaten into a pig's head by now.

Only after a long while did Dijiang finally stop. He then bowed to Lu Xuan and said, "Brother, please do not take offense."

"Didn't you need our essence blood, Brother? We will draw it for you now. If one drop is not enough, we can give you several more."

Lu Xuan had not expected things to go so smoothly. However, he was not a greedy man. One drop was already more than enough for him.

Moreover, what Lu Xuan needed was not Ancestral Witch Essence Blood, but blood from their fingertips. The difference between the two was anything but small.

Thus, he said, "One drop is enough. After all, I am not asking you for Ancestral Witch Essence Blood. I am merely acting on someone else's behalf."

As he spoke, Lu Xuan took out the Pangu World-Opening Map and said, "First, cut your middle fingers and place a drop of fingertip blood onto this map."

"Then draw out your essence blood and merge it into the Pangu World-Opening Map. At that time, Uncle Pangu will be able to receive your essence blood."

The moment Lu Xuan said this, Dijiang followed his instructions without hesitation. At this time, Dijiang suspected that Pangu needed their essence blood to recover from his injuries.

Dijiang was not the only one who thought so. The other Ancestral Witches had the same suspicion as well. One after another, they stepped forward and followed Lu Xuan's instructions.

At this moment, Lu Xuan could clearly see that the progress bar of the Pangu World-Opening Map had reached 14/19.

As for its functions after advancing, they were naturally incomparable to before. It had now truly reached the level of a Chaos Spirit Treasure.

At the same time, Lu Xuan could confirm that his guess had been correct. The seal on the Pangu World-Opening Map could indeed only be lifted with the fingertip blood of Pangu's descendants.

However, the lack of people still troubled Lu Xuan. After all, among Pangu's descendants, the only ones he knew of were Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Yet fully unsealing the Pangu World-Opening Map required five more people. He was short by three—where was he supposed to find them?

As the Pangu World-Opening Map turned into a streak of light and flew back into Lu Xuan's body, Lu Xuan was pulled from his thoughts.

At that moment, Houtu said to Lu Xuan, "Should I call you brother as well? Then please tell your little sister, Brother, how can the Witch Race give birth to Primordial Spirits?"

Lu Xuan looked at Houtu before him and said, "The descendants born from unions between the Human Race and the Witch Race will gradually develop complete Primordial Spirits. At that time, the Witch Race will no longer be an anomaly that cultivates only the body and not the Primordial Spirit."

"However, this method cannot be used on Ancestral Witches or Great Shamans. Unless, in the future, some clansman reverts to their ancestors and awakens a Great Shaman or Ancestral Witch bloodline. But the odds of that are minuscule."

Lu Xuan was not deceiving Houtu. In the original course of the Primordial World, such a thing had indeed happened. The one who awakened a Great Shaman bloodline was the Ancestor of War, Chi You.

However, Lu Xuan's words brought a trace of disappointment to Houtu's face. Still, it vanished in an instant.

"Being able to let the Witch Race's clansmen develop Primordial Spirits is better than things being as they are now. Without Primordial Spirits, we cannot use spirit treasures and suffer losses against the Demon Race for nothing."

Seeing the regret on Houtu's face, Lu Xuan said directly, "Though this method is unsuitable for the Twelve Ancestral Witches, there is another way for the Twelve Ancestral Witches to develop Primordial Spirits."

"Before Uncle Pangu transformed into Buzhou Mountain, he had already anticipated that the Twelve Ancestral Witches would have such a flaw. Thus, he divided his own soul and condensed it into twelve drops of Pangu Jade Marrow."

"As long as you can find those twelve drops of Pangu Jade Marrow within Buzhou Mountain and merge them into your bodies, Primordial Spirits will naturally begin to develop."

"However, there is currently no way to help the Great Shamans you created with Ancestral Witch Essence Blood develop Primordial Spirits. We can only take things one step at a time and think of a solution in the future."

Lu Xuan's words instantly turned the Twelve Ancestral Witches' sorrow into joy, and bright smiles appeared on every face. Though they usually acted as if they did not care, only they knew how much they had suffered from lacking Primordial Spirits.

Houtu immediately said, "Since there is already a solution, your little sister will go search for the Pangu Jade Marrow at once."

As she spoke, she turned to head out of the Ancestral Witch Hall, only for Dijiang to stop her and say,

"This matter cannot be rushed, and it must be carried out in secret. Otherwise, if someone with ill intentions learns of it, they may seize the Pangu Jade Marrow first."

Lu Xuan could not help nodding. "Ancestral Witch Dijiang is right. This matter must be handled slowly. We absolutely cannot act rashly."

"Do not forget that the one in Zixiao Palace does not wish to see Pangu's bloodline continue living in the Primordial World."

"If he learns of the Pangu Jade Marrow, I fear you will not obtain even a single drop. After all, he is currently the strongest being in the Primordial World."

Upon hearing this, the Ancestral Witches all nodded and stated that they would never reveal this matter. Nor would they deliberately search for the Pangu Jade Marrow.

Afterward, Dijiang ordered someone to warmly entertain Lu Xuan. Unexpectedly, Lu Xuan made a request: he wished to test the strength of his body against the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

After all, Lu Xuan had not forgotten the Four Chaos Monkeys' greatest advantage: their powerful physical combat ability. With the Twelve Ancestral Witches as sparring partners, he could improve by leaps and bounds.

Over the following days, Lu Xuan was beaten until his entire body ached every day by the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Yet he never gave up.

Naturally, for Lu Xuan to spar with the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they had to suppress their cultivation. As time passed, the extent to which they suppressed it gradually decreased.

This represented the rapid improvement of Lu Xuan's physical strength and combat power. Though his cultivation was still at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, his combat power already rivaled that of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

In this way, Lu Xuan remained in the Ancestral Witch Hall for a full ten thousand years. Now, even when sparring with Gong Gong without him suppressing his cultivation, he could endure five hundred exchanges without being defeated.

Lu Xuan knew it was time for him to leave. After all, merely improving his physical strength was not everything to him.

Just as Lu Xuan was preparing to bid farewell, Houtu returned to the Ancestral Witch Hall with delight in her heart. She spread open her palm before Lu Xuan.

In Houtu's palm lay a crystal-clear piece of jade containing an immense power of the Primordial Spirit.

With only one glance, Lu Xuan guessed that this jade might be the Pangu Jade Marrow capable of allowing the Twelve Ancestral Witches to develop Primordial Spirits.

However, whether it truly was or not could only be confirmed after it was consumed. Thus, he told Houtu to consume the Pangu Jade Marrow on the spot.

Yet Houtu shook her head. She was unwilling to consume this drop of Pangu Jade Marrow herself and wished to give it to her elder brother, Dijiang.