After receiving Xu Tong's guidance, Houtu returned to the Witch Clan.
Inside the Ancestral Witch Hall, all the Ancestral Witches turned to look at her.
Zhurong was the most impatient of them. Before Houtu could speak, he pressed her. "Little sister, how did it go? Does Tongtian really have a method for our Witch Clan to prove our Dao?"
The other Ancestral Witches all pricked up their ears, unwilling to miss a single word.
Seeing their expressions, Houtu smiled.
"Brothers, there's no need to be so anxious."
"Oh, little sister, how could we not be anxious? Now that the Demon Tribe has Nuwa, they're pressing our Witch Clan harder at every turn. If we really can't find a way, we'll be defeated by that birdman Di Jun!"
To the members of the Witch Clan, victory and defeat mattered more than anything.
Houtu sat down, and the other eleven Ancestral Witches crowded around her.
Then Houtu softly uttered two words.
"It worked."
As those two words fell, the hall instantly sank into silence.
"It... it worked?"
Dijiang asked, scarcely able to believe it.
Houtu smiled and nodded.
"It worked."
She confirmed it once more.
"Hahaha, good! Wonderful! Our Witch Clan has a Sainthood-Proving Method too!"
"Little sister, tell us what this Sainthood-Proving Method is so we can all study it together."
Now that they had hope, none of them could sit still.
Seated in her chair, Houtu recounted the few things Xu Tong had told her.
After hearing her out, the other eleven Ancestral Witches exchanged bewildered looks.
Only after a long silence did Dijiang speak.
"Little sister, surely Tongtian hasn't deceived you?"
"Exactly, little sister. How is that a Sainthood-Proving Method? Who doesn't know you can become a Sage by accumulating merit? The question is, how do we accumulate it?"
"That scoundrel Tongtian must have coveted the Pangu Blood Essence! Our little sister is innocent, and that thief tricked her!"
"Let's go find him! How dare he deceive our sister!"
As they spoke, the other eleven prepared to set out.
Seeing how aggressively they were behaving, Houtu grew displeased.
"Enough!"
Houtu gave a sharp, low shout!
An oppressive aura instantly rose within the hall.
Under its pressure, even the Ancestral Witches staggered.
That pressure actually carried a faint trace of a Sage's presence.
Having experienced Hongjun's sagely might before, the Ancestral Witches' eyes immediately lit up.
"Little sister! Have you become a Sage?"
The thickheaded Ancestral Witches promptly forgot all about their plan to make trouble for Xu Tong.
Only when everyone had quieted down did Houtu withdraw her aura.
"Brothers, I haven't become a Sage. But after Tongtian said those words to me, I gained a little insight, and my cultivation improved somewhat."
"I can feel that my Dao lies within those few words, so Tongtian didn't deceive me. But I truly don't know why none of you could improve."
"Perhaps those words only work when Tongtian himself says them."
Houtu explained to them, guilt showing in her eyes.
The secret method she had obtained in exchange for a drop of Pangu Blood Essence had turned out to be utterly useless to her brothers.
Only after hearing Houtu's explanation did the other Ancestral Witches settle down.
Yet a trace of horror lingered in their eyes.
The twelve Ancestral Witches were branches of the same tree, sharing the same breath. They trusted that Houtu would never deceive them.
But if everything Houtu said was true, that was even more terrifying.
Tongtian, who remained in seclusion and never showed himself in the Primordial World, actually possessed such abilities.
With just a few words, he had nearly raised their little sister's cultivation to that of a Sage.
Then how high must Tongtian's own cultivation be?
Recalling their rashness just moments earlier, the Ancestral Witches could not help feeling a chill of belated fear.
Thank goodness we didn't go. If we had, wouldn't we have simply offered ourselves up for a beating?
After hearing Houtu's account, Dijiang, the leader of the Ancestral Witches, considered it for a moment.
"Little sister, don't take it to heart."
"Whether those words only work when spoken by Tongtian, or whether you alone can prove your Dao, it doesn't matter."
"Whatever the case, your cultivation improving is a good thing."
"Even if you're the only one who can become a Sage, that drop of Father God's blood essence was well spent."
Dijiang comforted Houtu.
Hearing Dijiang's words and noticing the guilt on Houtu's face, the other Ancestral Witches also offered their reassurance.
"That's right, Sister Houtu. Having even one Sage in our Witch Clan is a good thing. We'll be relying on you to lead our clan in the future."
"Haha, our Sister Houtu will become a Sage someday! When I go out into the Primordial World, that'll give me plenty of face. Let's see whether that birdman Di Jun still dares provoke me then!"
They chimed in one after another, and soon they had Houtu smiling.
Once they knew Xu Tong had not deceived them, the Ancestral Witches behaved themselves.
Mostly, they were wary of Xu Tong's strength.
Just a couple of sentences had improved Houtu's cultivation so much.
Xu Tong's cultivation was undoubtedly unfathomable.
None of them had expected a freak like Tongtian to be hiding among the Three Pure Ones.
All the Ancestral Witches secretly vowed that unless absolutely necessary, they would never provoke Tongtian.
Time flew by.
With Nuwa as their Sage, the Demon Tribe now strutted through the Primordial World with their noses in the air.
Even when they encountered the Witch Clan, they showed no fear at all. Their confidence had truly risen a great deal.
But they knew their own affairs best. Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor had already brought gifts to visit Nuwa.
They had hoped to persuade Nuwa to act, using a Sage's power to simply sweep away the Witch Clan.
In the end, however, Nuwa refused.
Her answer was simple.
Although Sages were not tainted by karma, they still had to abide by its laws.
If she acted to destroy the Witch Clan...
As a Sage, she herself would suffer no consequences, but the Heavenly Dao would come for the Demon Tribe.
The karmic burden of the Witch Clan's deaths would be exacted from the Demon Tribe.
That was because Nuwa would be acting as the Demon Tribe's Sage.
The Heavenly Dao would settle that karmic debt on her behalf.
After hearing this, Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor immediately abandoned the idea of having Nuwa act.
They knew that, in the end, they would still have to rely on their own strength to destroy the Witch Clan.
At most, Nuwa could serve as a deterrent for the Demon Tribe.
If the Demon Tribe truly could not hold on, then at worst, they could perish together with the Witch Clan.
Di Jun did not know that his words would ultimately become a prophecy.
The Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe would both leave the stage of history.
Before that, however, it was still useful to ride the wave of Nuwa's ascension to bolster the Demon Tribe's confidence.
After all, the Demon Tribe had lain quiet for far too long.
Di Jun did not know that, under his deliberate indulgence, the Demon Tribe's provocations against the Witch Clan were growing increasingly severe.
Eventually, they would lead to a grave mistake.
One that would cost the Demon Tribe a Demon Emperor and even drive a wedge between them and a Sage.
But all that lay in the future.
On the land below, a Demon Tribe commander suddenly barged into a Witch Tribe settled at the foot of a mountain.
"Listen up, you Witch Clan brats! From this day onward, this land belongs to the Demon Tribe!"
"You have half an hour to leave, every last one of you, or you'll be killed without mercy!"
The Demon General wore an arrogant expression.
Just then, a burly man nearly a hundred feet tall stepped out.
"Let's see what piece of trash dares run wild in my tribe! I am Kuafu-are you tired of living?"
Before you continue