Mount Sumeru Remained Neutral, Neither Siding with the Demon Clan nor Befriending the Witch Clan

After Jade Chick was born, Spirit Platform Mountain immediately became lively.

The little fellow was exceptionally lively and restless, completely unlike the creatures on the mountain who cultivated quietly.

Other than during cultivation, she had practically run across all of Spirit Platform Mountain. Dragonfish Lake, Whitewater Lake, Hundred Flowers Valley, Mountain Lord Cave, the Primordial Lotus Pool—her shadow could be found everywhere.

She also became close with the butterfly hatchlings and little dragons of Illusory Spirit Valley. Later, the Earthworm Clan from Spirit Marsh joined their "rowdy little squad" as well.

Zhu Yin had sent these earthworms back fifteen hundred years ago. They had fully adapted and multiplied five hundred years ago, and now more than a dozen earthworms lived on the mountain. Their cultivation method was especially peculiar... they spent all day burrowing through the soil.

After growing familiar with Jade Chick, these earthworms became even more active than before.

Later on, even Jin Tu, who had always been rather composed, joined them. What he loved most was flying high into the sky, grabbing Jade Chick and releasing her, then catching her again, repeating it over and over as he played to his heart's content.

Zhu Yin did not interfere with their noisy antics. Instead, he regarded them as part of cultivation.

He thought, If one could remain as calm as still water amid all this chaos, that would be true firmness of the Dao heart.

Thus, he continued doing what he needed to do: tasting tea, comprehending the Dao, repairing the earth veins, tending spiritual herbs, accumulating magic power, tempering his body, refining his spirit and concocting pills, setting formations and brewing wine... His days were peaceful, yet full and unrestrained.

In his view, the Great Dao was everywhere. Even a blade of grass, a tree, a grain of sand, or a stone contained endless mysteries.

Spirit Platform Mountain was the most ideal place for cultivation in his heart, his own "Land of Ultimate Bliss."

In the blink of an eye, five hundred years passed.

That day, just after Zhu Yin finished cultivating, his heart suddenly stirred. His gaze pierced through the void and looked a million li away.

Golden light shot into the heavens from that direction, accompanied by a powerful metallic aura rising into the sky.

A Great Shaman was striding over, green snake ornaments hanging from her ears and a golden long dress draped over her body. Her presence was imposing as she headed straight for Spirit Platform Mountain.

With every step, she crossed a hundred thousand li. Her speed was astonishing.

Zhu Yin was somewhat surprised.

Although Spirit Platform Mountain had the Hundred Treasures Hall, which occasionally attracted Witch Clan cultivators seeking to trade for treasures, they were mostly minor figures at the Divine Shaman level. Great Shamans of such stature rarely appeared.

Moreover, Spirit Platform Mountain did not share a close relationship with the Witch Clan. Why had this Great Shaman come to visit? It was indeed intriguing.

Zhu Yin began calculating the heavenly secrets.

Although a Great Shaman was not weak, at least comparable to the mid-stage of the Great Principle, Zhu Yin was now at the peak of the Great Principle Golden Immortal realm. Naturally, he could discern some clues.

A moment later, his eyes lit up, and he immediately instructed Wuxin, the Boy Attendant, to receive her.

Before long, the Great Shaman reached the foot of the mountain and was led into Spirit Platform Mountain.

Zhu Yin had already been waiting in a small pavilion beside the Primordial Lotus Pool.

This time, he did not brew tea. Instead, he had prepared spiritual wine in advance. Its fragrance filled the air, carrying a faint aura of the Metal-Water Law.

The moment the Great Shaman entered, delight appeared on her face.

Her features were well-proportioned, and she possessed a forthright temperament. Upon seeing Zhu Yin, she first performed a Witch Clan greeting.

"Lord of Spirit Platform Mountain, Yan Zi greets you!"

Zhu Yin rose with a smile and returned a Profound Sect salute.

"This poor Daoist is Zhu Yin. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yan Zi."

Both were rather straightforward by nature, so they did not waste words on pleasantries. Yan Zi directly stated the purpose of her visit.

She said that a thousand years ago, the Witch Clan had auctioned a spiritual wine called Azure Water Golden Essence Wine at the Hundred Treasures Hall. Its potency was exceptional, and it contained the Metal-Water Law, making it deeply popular among Witch Clan cultivators.

This time, she had specifically come to purchase a full thousand jars of that spiritual wine.

She also said that the Witch Clan would not let anyone suffer a loss. They could exchange mid-grade Innate spiritual fruits for it, or were even willing to trade an Innate Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure.

Zhu Yin was naturally willing to cooperate, but he frankly stated that there were currently only eight hundred jars of Azure Water Golden Essence Wine ready in the mountain. They were still short by two hundred jars.

He then took out another kind of spiritual wine from his sleeve and said it could serve as a replacement.

This wine was called Golden Crystal Fire Saliva. It was brewed primarily from Geng Metal Fruit and Fire Jujubes, combined with the Metal-Fire Law. Its color was orange-red like amber. It was fiery upon entry, yet brimming with the power of laws.

Yan Zi took a sip, and her eyes immediately lit up.

She secretly thought, The Witch Clan does not only have cultivators of Metal-Water; there are also those who cultivate Metal-Fire. This wine can perfectly meet the needs of another group of clansmen.

Thus, the deal was settled.

Before Yan Zi departed, she readily handed Zhu Yin an invitation, saying that the Witch Clan was preparing to establish the King of the Twelve Earthly Branches and inviting him to attend the ceremony.

Zhu Yin watched her leave, his heart filled with emotion.

He had long calculated that she had come for the spiritual wine. Upon thinking it over carefully, this wine had indeed been brewed from Geng Metal Fruit and Water Origin Fruit, with a trace of the Metal-Water Law deliberately added. To ordinary living beings, it mainly tempered the body, but to the Witch Clan, the power of law within was what truly mattered.

This transaction was not merely about selling wine. It had also established a deeper connection with the Witch Clan.

Looking at the invitation in his hand, Zhu Yin fell into thought.

The Witch Clan would change within a thousand years. It seemed that something significant was about to happen...

More than two thousand years ago, when Zhu Yin had left Spirit Platform Mountain to cultivate at Mount Sumeru, a great change had also occurred within the Witch Clan.

The entire Witch Clan underwent a massive migration, with the vast majority of its members leaving Buzhou Mountain. Led by the twelve Ancestral Witches, they each established a great tribe, distributed across the twelve directions of the Primordial World. Every tribe built an "Ancestral Witch Hall," collectively known as the Twelve Earthly Palaces, which together guarded Pangu Hall atop Buzhou Mountain.

Among them, Roushou, the Ancestral Witch who controlled the Law of Metal, used great divine powers to bring his clansmen to a vast region at the border between east and west, where they began building their tribe and settling down.

He had not established the tribe in the true Western Lands, and Zhu Yin could understand why.

The Western Lands were barren, with thin spiritual energy. Not only were there few resources of creation, but there were also few demon beasts. The Witch Clan was born with hearty appetites, and if they truly lived in such a place, sooner or later they would cause major trouble over food. Unless they wished to go hungry, they could only provoke Mount Sumeru, Spirit Platform Mountain, or the White Tiger Clan of the Western Lands.

Not to mention that the Witch Clan itself was not skilled at creation and only excelled at destruction. The Metal Witches, in particular, caused the greatest commotion.

Taking all factors into account, the border between east and west was an ideal location. It had abundant resources, rich spiritual energy, and plentiful demon beasts. It was suitable for cultivation and ensured they could eat their fill.

Zhu Yin was naturally pleased with Roushou's decision. If the Witch Clan did not settle in the Western Lands, the Demon Clan would not move in by the masses. That place could remain peaceful. Even if the Witch Clan grew stronger in the future, only a small number would enter, and the overall balance would not be disrupted.

Interestingly, although the Metal Witch tribe was located at the border, its Ancestral Witch Hall was built on a node of the Western Spiritual Vein. If all Twelve Earthly Palaces were completed in the future, heaven and earth would bestow merit, and the spiritual energy of that region would recover as well.

Several decades later, a Divine Shaman arrived at Spirit Platform Mountain.

He exchanged an Innate Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure for a batch of spiritual wine from Spirit Platform Mountain.

At the time, Zhu Yin was sitting in a pavilion by the Primordial Lotus Pool, turning the spiritual treasure over in his hand with a broad smile.

That batch of spiritual fruits was not bad either, but they were fundamentally consumables. Once eaten, they were gone. Though their seeds could be used to cultivate spiritual roots, the resulting products were mostly acquired-grade, and the success rate was low.

To cultivate an Innate Low-Grade spiritual root from a seed, merely having Spirit Platform Mountain advance into an Upper-grade Grotto-heaven Blessed Land was not enough. It also required large quantities of Innate divine water and divine soil, making the process both laborious and time-consuming.

In contrast, exchanging for a spiritual treasure was far more worthwhile. Spiritual treasures possessed indestructible Innate spiritual light. Their value was comparable to spiritual roots, but they were more enduring and could also be used to comprehend the Great Dao of laws within them. Most importantly, they did not consume the mountain's resources.

Only the Witch Clan, with its peculiar cultivation and lack of Primordial Spirits, would consider Innate Spiritual Treasures tasteless. For other factions, how could such things be acquired so easily? Obtaining one in exchange for a thousand jars of spiritual wine was simply an enormous profit.

Zhu Yin put away the spiritual treasure. Then inspiration struck him, and a new idea emerged.

Although the Witch Clan was the protagonist of this era, occupying more than half the land of the Primordial Wilderness and possessing unfathomable foundations, its peculiar cultivation method meant it must have stockpiled many treasures useless to it—such as spiritual objects meant exclusively for Primordial Spirit cultivators, or unneeded Innate Spiritual Treasures. To them, such treasures were merely things gathering dust.

If he could reach a cooperative arrangement with them and exchange what each side needed, would that not benefit both parties?

However, this matter could not be rushed. He had to consider it carefully, choose his words well, and brew spiritual wine that made the Witch Clan even more eager—or find other things that interested them—before cooperation could be achieved.

As for the Heavenly Court, Zhu Yin was not worried.

The Hundred Treasures Hall did business with all under heaven; anyone could come. Spirit Platform Mountain's dealings with the Witch Clan were normal transactions, not an alliance. If the Demon Clan's higher-ups could not even understand that, they were unfit to preside over the Nine Heavens, much less control the Heavenly Court.

Even if the Heavenly Court felt uneasy, Zhu Yin had ways of dealing with it. If necessary, Spirit Platform Mountain could fully cooperate with the Heavenly Court. With his current cultivation, along with Mount Sumeru's support, even if the Heavenly Court was dissatisfied, it would not dare act recklessly. It could only choose friendship, lest it truly push Mount Sumeru toward the Witch Clan.

Several hundred years later, there was even less need to worry about his attending the Witch Clan ceremony. Mount Sumeru neither sided with the Demon Clan nor befriended the Witch Clan, always remaining neutral. If the Heavenly Court could invite him, then naturally the Witch Clan could as well.