Of course, his plan was indeed a good one.
But he still needed the Twelve Ancestral Witches' agreement.
They had already put their past grievances behind them.
Surely they would not fight the Twelve Ancestral Witches again over a single Blood Pool.
After all, it was merely an ordinary Blood Pool, not Pangu's essence blood!
Hearing Tongtian's words, the Ancestral Witches were all somewhat surprised.
They had not expected Tongtian to suddenly make such a request.
If it had been any other living being, then no matter how powerful that person was, they definitely would not have agreed to such a thing.
But Tongtian was different.
"I cannot agree to this directly."
"We need to discuss it first."
Dijiang said with a serious expression.
Tongtian naturally did not mind. He believed that the Twelve Ancestral Witches would not refuse this request of his.
Dijiang and the others stepped back a little and began discussing the matter.
"This Blood Pool was left to us by Father God."
"Would it not be inappropriate to lend it out?"
Jumang said hesitantly.
Zhurong said in a low voice, "If we were lending it to an outsider, we would never agree."
"But Fellow Daoist Tongtian is not an outsider."
"Like us, he is a Pangu Sect Disciple and a descendant of Father God. He is fully qualified to use the Blood Pool."
Gonggong also said, "That is right. He clearly could have killed us."
"Yet he spared us."
"How can our Witch Race fail to repay such a favor?"
Zhu Jiuyin also agreed. "Indeed."
"With the talent and methods he has displayed, he is in no way inferior to us."
"Besides, we are all Pangu Sect Disciples, sharing the same roots and origin. He is someone worth befriending."
"I also agree to lend him the Blood Pool."
Hearing the words of the three, the other Ancestral Witches quickly made their choices as well.
Seeing this, Jumang said nothing more and turned his gaze toward Dijiang.
He waited for his eldest brother to make the final decision.
Dijiang was also considering the matter. Lending the Blood Pool to Tongtian would certainly allow them to befriend him.
The Witch Race was still very weak in the Primordial World.
Befriending such a powerful expert would undoubtedly bring great benefits to their future development.
Moreover, he held no ill will toward the Witch Race. By both reason and sentiment, they should lend him the Blood Pool.
He only wanted to use it to cleanse his body. It was no great matter.
With that thought, Dijiang stepped before Tongtian and said with a smile, "Like us, Fellow Daoist, you are a descendant of Pangu."
"Since the Blood Pool was left behind by Father God, you naturally have the right to use it."
"We have no objections."
Tongtian's face lit up with delight. "Then I must thank you all, Fellow Daoists!"
After saying that, he impatiently walked to the edge of the Blood Pool.
Examining the Blood Pool from up close, he could sense the vast power of blood and qi contained within it.
This was precisely what Tongtian needed!
Bang!
Without hesitation, Tongtian leaped up and plunged directly into the Blood Pool.
The splashing blood water immediately enveloped his body.
Sitting cross-legged within the Blood Pool, Tongtian circulated the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill and began using the immense blood and qi within the pool to cleanse his body.
As the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill circulated, layer after layer of ripples spread across the Blood Pool.
At the same time, Tongtian's body continued to strengthen.
He was reborn, his marrow cleansed and his tendons reforged.
The impurities contained within his body were swiftly washed away by the blood and qi until not a trace remained.
At the same time, every meridian and every bone in his body received an enormous enhancement.
They became purer and stronger.
But that was not all. After absorbing a vast amount of the Blood Pool's blood and qi power,
a drop of golden blood slowly condensed above his heart.
There was only one drop of golden blood, yet it released incomparably astonishing blood and qi power.
Tongtian's heart stirred with excitement. Pangu's essence blood!
This drop of golden blood had condensed from his physical body as its foundation, supplemented by the power of his sea of blood. It was Pangu's essence blood.
This was only a single drop, yet it had already brought earth-shaking changes to his body.
It was difficult to imagine just how powerful Pangu had been in the past.
Perhaps a single drop of his essence blood had been enough to suppress the universe and shake the heavens!
He did not know whether he could ever catch up.
But no matter what, the condensation of this drop of Pangu essence blood had greatly increased Tongtian's combat strength once more.
At the same time, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had been closely watching Tongtian cultivate in the sea of blood.
The vast blood and qi power radiating from him also let the Twelve Ancestral Witches know what had happened.
"This familiar aura cannot be mistaken."
"He must have successfully condensed a drop of Father God's heartblood!"
Zhu Jiuyin said with a grave expression.
Heartblood!
No one understood the astonishing effects of Pangu's essence blood better than the Ancestral Witches.
After all, they themselves had been transformed from heartblood as their foundation.
"It is truly incredible! Even as a Pangu Sect Disciple, condensing a drop of heartblood..."
"...is no simple matter."
Xuan Ming said in astonishment.
The other Ancestral Witches were also deeply shocked, marveling at the physical talent Tongtian had displayed.
Not only did he possess a powerful body, but he also possessed a powerful primordial spirit and cultivation.
Given enough time, he would certainly become one of the foremost experts between heaven and earth.
Looking at it this way, their Witch Race had indeed made the right choice in befriending him.
Dijiang said solemnly, "Once he successfully refines that drop of heartblood, his body will become even stronger than ours is now!"
None of the Ancestral Witches doubted it.
As long as Tongtian successfully refined that drop of heartblood into his body,
his physical body would certainly be no weaker than theirs, and likely stronger.
"Someone formed from Father God's primordial spirit truly possesses extraordinary talent."
"Yes. We thought our Witch Race had been uniquely blessed by heaven, yet there is always a higher heaven and someone stronger."
"In my opinion, it also has much to do with his own talent for cultivation."
"Naturally. One's foundation is only one part of it; talent is equally important."
"If one has only a foundation but no talent, who knows how long it would take to become a top expert between heaven and earth."
As they conversed, time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed.
On this day, countless ripples rose across the Blood Pool. The next moment, an imposing aura erupted from Tongtian's body.
His accumulated strength had finally burst forth.
As his body continuously strengthened, Tongtian's cultivation finally advanced another step.
He successfully broke through to the late stage of Grand Luo Golden Immortal!
Though his cultivation had only advanced by a single step, Tongtian's foundation had increased countless times over!
His body had now reached a level where nothing short of an Innate Spiritual Treasure could harm it.
Even a casual strike from him was comparable to a lower-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
He was truly a humanoid spiritual treasure!
With nothing but ordinary attacks, he could unleash critical damage.
Looking inward with his primordial spirit, Tongtian could see the drop of golden essence blood floating above his heart.
His physical strength had yet to reach its limit.
Once he completely refined that drop of golden essence blood, he would be able to successfully condense his own Ancestral Witch True Body!
Once he unleashed it, his strength could double yet again.
Having successfully cleansed his body, Tongtian did not grow overly greedy. He rose directly from the Blood Pool and left it.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoists!"
"Without the Blood Pool to cleanse my body, I fear I would have found it difficult to locate more suitable heavenly treasures for this step."
Tongtian looked at Dijiang and the others, expressing his gratitude.
Dijiang smiled. "You are too courteous, Fellow Daoist! This is all due to your own exceptional talent."
"We truly dare not claim the credit."
Zhu Jiuyin said, "If it were any other Innate God, this Blood Pool likely would not have been nearly as useful to them."
"Besides, we are all descendants of Father God. Fellow Daoist, there is no need to be so polite with us."
Tongtian had shown them mercy, and they had lent him the Blood Pool to cleanse his body.
In this way, they had repaid the favor they owed Tongtian.
What the Ancestral Witches disliked most was owing favors to others.
But being able to become acquainted with Tongtian through this was also worthwhile.
"Fellow Daoist, your body is already extremely powerful."
"Once you refine the heartblood, you will surpass us even further."
"I suggest that you try tempering your body with the laws of heaven and earth."
"This is how we Ancestral Witches temper our bodies. It can speed up your refinement of that drop of heartblood."
After pondering for a moment, Dijiang decided to see his good deed through to the end.
Thus, he gave Tongtian a suggestion for tempering his body.
Tongtian understood what he meant.
Each of the Twelve Ancestral Witches controlled a different Great Dao law, and their powerful bodies were related to this as well.
Though there was considerable baleful qi between heaven and earth, it was generally difficult to gather in one place.
Thus, it was impossible to continuously temper one's body with baleful qi.
But using the naturally existing laws of heaven and earth to temper the body was much easier.
They were simply common forces such as wind, fire, thunder, and lightning!
Tempering the body with these forces was not only effective, but they were also extremely easy to find.
This reminded Tongtian that he had once tempered his body with lightning on Buzhou Mountain.
He had to admit that although lightning tempering was painful, its effects were excellent.
"Thank you for the reminder!"
"If the opportunity arises, I will try it myself."
"I have gained much from this journey, so I will not remain here any longer to disturb you, Fellow Daoists."
Tongtian said after some thought.
His body had successfully improved, and his cultivation had advanced greatly as well.
Even if he remained, he likely would not find any further opportunities.
Upon hearing this, Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches were delighted. Though Tongtian was, like them, a Pangu Sect Disciple and a descendant of Father God,
they were not ultimately of the same race.
If he continued staying here, they would likely feel restrained in whatever they wished to do.
Fortunately, before they needed to say anything, he had decided to leave. This was good for everyone.
"Then we shall see you off, Fellow Daoist."
"When the chance arises in the future, we will certainly visit you to exchange pointers."
"Indeed. We hope there will be another chance for us to spar."
The Ancestral Witches all spoke in turn.
Tongtian smiled and nodded in agreement, fully aware of the Twelve Ancestral Witches' thoughts.
These people were merely worried that he might covet something of theirs.
After all, with the Twelve Ancestral Witches' current combat strength, they were no match for him at all.
But he was not someone who seized others' possessions through trickery or force.
Moreover, the Witch Race would be one of the protagonists of a future Great Tribulation of the Worlds.
Added to the fact that they were all Pangu Sect Disciples, he had no desire to make things too tense with the Witch Race.
Their current relationship was already sufficient.
"Farewell, Fellow Daoists."
"Then I'll take my leave!"
Having walked to the entrance of the Ancestral Witch Palace, Tongtian cupped his hands as he spoke, then took the initiative to leave.
Watching him depart, Dijiang and the others exchanged glances and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Houtu said softly, "In my view, Fellow Daoist Tongtian is not the sort to bully the weak with his strength."
"Elder brothers, you're being far too unreasonable."
Dijiang coughed lightly. "Little sister, we had no choice!"
"Besides, we are about to use the Blood Pool to bring forth more members of the Witch Race."
"If he remained here, wouldn't it be far too inconvenient?"
Zhurong also agreed. "That's right!"
"Little sister, you're speaking up for him like this... could it be that you've taken a liking to Fellow Daoist Tongtian?"
Houtu's pretty face flushed slightly as she snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about, brother?"
"I'm merely speaking the truth!"
Dijiang and the others wore teasing expressions, but they did not say anything more.
Given the temperaments of their siblings, if they continued, Houtu would likely start throwing punches.
After leaving the Ancestral Witch Palace, Tongtian found Ao Li, who was admiring the scenery.
"We can leave Buzhou Mountain now!"
Tongtian said directly.
Overall, this trip to Buzhou Mountain had been extremely fruitful.
Not only had his physical body improved greatly, but he had also obtained a top-grade Innate Spiritual Root on Buzhou Mountain!
Most importantly, he had found the Twelve Ancestral Witches and finally obtained the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill.
As for the Ancestral Witch True Body and the heart's blood essence, those were unexpected additional gains.
"Where are we going next?"
Ao Li asked.
Tongtian pondered for a moment. Though he wanted to return to Kunlun Mountain, he knew there would be nothing to do once he got back.
Rather than cultivate in seclusion on Kunlun Mountain, he might as well continue traveling through the Primordial World.
He could also see whether he could find a place rich in the elements of heaven and earth to temper his physical body further.
At the mention of a place rich in the elements of heaven and earth, a location immediately sprang to Tongtian's mind.
The Phoenix Clan's territory was Undying Volcano.
The ceaseless surging undying flames there would surely be effective for tempering the body.
Besides that, there was also the Sun Star, which possessed endless Solar True Fire. Compared to the elemental power of Undying Volcano, it was in no way inferior.
Moreover, the Sun Star was located in the Outer Starry Skies, where the Taiyin Star was equally formidable!
The Taiyin Star contained endless Profound Yin Divine Water, making it another superb place for tempering the body.
Not to mention the stellar gale winds that existed in the Outer Starry Skies.
After comparing them, the Outer Starry Skies were clearly the best choice.
Undying Volcano possessed only a single fire element, while the countless stars in the Outer Starry Skies contained the power of many different elements!
Furthermore, Undying Volcano was currently the territory of the Phoenix Clan, and it had many powerful experts.
Even if he went there and explained his intentions, the Phoenix Clan would likely refuse.
He had already offended the Dragon Clan, so there was no need to provoke the Phoenix Clan as well.
Even with his current combat strength, he did not fear the experts of the Three Clans.
But he did not wish to become too deeply entangled with the Three Clans, lest he be affected by the great calamity.
"Let's go to the Outer Starry Skies!"
After a brief moment of contemplation, Tongtian made his decision.
Compared with the Primordial World, tempering his physical body in the Outer Starry Skies would undoubtedly be more convenient.
It would also be safer.
Ao Li did not say much upon hearing this. She was his mount, after all; wherever Tongtian said to go, she would go.
The next moment, Ao Li let out a low dragon cry.
Her enormous body immediately manifested once more between heaven and earth.
Tongtian took a single step and arrived atop her body. As he sat cross-legged and cultivated, Ao Li's aura surged as she shot straight toward the heavens.
With a true dragon's flying speed, they soon arrived at the Outer Barrier of the Primordial World.
Without pausing, Ao Li charged directly through the Outer Barrier.
In the blink of an eye, they were already in the Outer Starry Skies, where the entire void was incomparably silent.
Looking into the distance, all he could see was boundless darkness.
Within the vast empty void, only the enormous stars emitted faint glimmers of light.
Other than that, there was nothing but silence.
Buzzz! Buzzz! Buzzz!
Before the silence could last long, a roar resounded ahead as Ao Li continued onward.
Before you continue