Yuan Heng followed the Ancestral Witches to a place that was completely different from the ruggedness she had seen earlier.
It was backed by a vibrant forest, and not far away stood a grand hall that looked exceptionally solemn and mysterious.
Yuan Heng silently wondered in her heart if this was Pangu Hall.
But she didn't ask. In her memory, Pangu Hall was the most secret and core location of the Wu tribe.
She was not someone with zero emotional intelligence, after all.
Looking at that land of hope for the Wu tribe's future, Houtu introduced it to Yuan Heng. “The children here are the more talented of our tribe. And the rest... are those who have born a Primeval Spirit.”
Houtu pointed at the group of children who were wrestling and fighting in pairs. “Compared to the children without a Primeval Spirit, they are gentler... and also, well, how should I put it? They tend to use their brains a bit more??”
Yuan Heng: “...”
What a thoroughly satisfying and wonderfully down-to-earth assessment.
Houtu waved her hand casually, and two children—a boy and a girl—walked over. They raised their right hands and struck their chests heavily in salute. “Ancestral Witch!”
It sounded incredibly solid and honest.
Yuan Heng lowered her head slightly to look at them. Of course, the reason she only lowered it slightly was because they didn't look much shorter than her.
This couldn't help but make her sigh with emotion. As expected of the Wu tribe, even their children were so massive.
Houtu nodded at them and acknowledged, “Mm.”
The two children looked at Yuan Heng standing beside their Ancestral Witches, their eyes uncontrollably drifting toward her.
She was so tiny and thin. Did her tribe not feed her?
Still, she looked so sweet and soft, and the aura about her was so welcoming. Mm... they kind of liked her.
Yuan Heng, who had been petite in her past life and hadn't grown much taller in this life: “...”
Houtu looked at Yuan Heng. “These two can be considered part of that group. Please have a look, Fellow Daoist.”
Yuan Heng nodded gently. Smiling at the boy and girl in front of her, she lightly raised her hand. A thread of extremely pure Dao Rhyme of Life instantly condensed at her fingertips.
She tapped the brow of one of the Wu children. “Don't be afraid. Relax, and let me examine your Primeval Spirit.”
Huh?
Why was this strand of Primeval Spirit a bit green? Well, it wasn't important. Let her take a proper look.
In the next second, Yuan Heng saw a dark cloud of mist eroding the child's strand of Primeval Spirit.
Was this... Earthly Evil Qi?
Yuan Heng withdrew her consciousness. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw twelve massive faces looming right in front of her.
“...”
The atmosphere suddenly became a tiny bit awkward.
Yuan Heng blinked, taking in the expressions of curiosity, worry, and anticipation before her. She fell into deep thought.
Wait, did everyone really have to stand this close to interact?
Oh well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Yuan Heng then went to examine the other boy. Unsurprisingly, the result was exactly the same.
The Wu tribe was naturally in tune with and carried Earthly Evil Qi. Although it had the effect of tempering their bones and strengthening their blood, it would also wear away the Primeval Spirit, permanently suppressing its creation.
In that case... the situation was a bit troublesome.
Yuan Heng looked at the Twelve Ancestral Witches standing like majestic mountains in front of her, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a while, Zhurong grew anxious. “Hey, Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, you should say something... That expression of yours is making us feel really uneasy...”
Yuan Heng glanced at Zhurong, who was currently sizzling with flames atop his head. Mm... she could tell he was very anxious.
She spoke, a trace of dismay in her voice. “The Primeval Spirits of these two children are being eroded by the Earthly Evil Qi they naturally carry. It probably won't be long before they end up like the other Wu who don't have Primeval Spirits.”
Hearing this, Houtu could not bear to listen any longer, her body trembling slightly... The expressions on the faces of the other massive hulks were also extremely grim, making their dark complexions look even gloomier.
The air suddenly fell silent. After a moment, Houtu spoke.
“Now that the Dao Ancestor has achieved sainthood, it has been shown that the method of cultivating the Primeval Spirit leads to the path of sages... Who could have thought that our Wu tribe would have our upper limit locked since the very moment of our birth...”
Once Houtu said this, a trace of desolation inexplicably filled the atmosphere.
The two children looked at the silent adults before them with wide, innocent eyes. After a brief hesitation, the boy was the first to speak. “Ancestral Witch... What's wrong? Is it because our cultivation isn't good enough?”
“Why do all the lords have such expressions...”
The children didn't understand what Ancestral Witch Houtu meant, but intuition told them it was something very bad.
It was only after the person brought by the Ancestral Witch examined their bodies that the Ancestral Witches became unhappy. Thus, they assumed it was because their cultivation wasn't good enough and their physical bodies weren't strong enough that the adults had such a reaction...
Looking at the cautious children, even the Wu tribe, who highly championed the ethos of 'bleeding but not crying,' couldn't help but be deeply moved.
Gonggong slapped the boy's back with a massive hand like a cattail leaf fan. “Bah, little guy, the business of adults has nothing to do with you. Just focus on your cultivation. In the future, you will all be the brave sons of our Wu tribe!”
The young Wu boy: Pfft—
Wow... Lord Gonggong certainly had quite a strong grip.
Yuan Heng: “...”
To tell the truth, she felt the little fellow was practically about to die.
Resuscitate him, quickly resuscitate him!
Yuan Heng quickly pulled out the meeting gift Tongtian had given her earlier and swiftly fed it into the child's mouth.
Seeing this, Zhurong smacked Gonggong's large head hard. “You blockhead, you almost slapped him to death with that one blow!”
Gonggong's face turned red and his neck bulged, the water vapor around him surging as the power of his law manifested. “How could our Wu tribe be so fragile?!”
“Enough! Stop arguing!”
Dijiang stepped forward to stop the two from bickering further. He looked at Yuan Heng. “Since Fellow Daoist cultivates the Dao of Life, I wonder if there is any way you can save our Wu tribe?”
They themselves were fine, but if the Wu tribe continued like this generation after generation, what future would there be to speak of?
Yuan Heng exercised her clever little brain. Hm... would the future intermarriage between humans and the Wu tribe count as a future?
And also...
Yuan Heng's gaze landed on Houtu. The Ancestral Witch Houtu would sacrifice herself to transform into the Samsara and become a Sage of the Earth Path—did that count as a future?
It was a pity... with the exception of Empress Houtu, all Twelve Ancestral Witches would...
This puzzled Yuan Heng. Why did the Heavenly Dao have to consume the Primordial World's fighting force in this manner?
Suddenly, a loud thunderclap rumbled in the heavens. Hearing this, Yuan Heng instantly kneeled in her mind: Ahhhh, please don't take offense, Lord Heavenly Dao! Please don't take offense, Dao Ancestor! I was just thinking out loud.
I won't do it again, I won't do it again.
But... hehe, when it came to the Wu tribe, she still had a trick up her sleeve!
Yuan Heng looked up at the twelve "hulks" gathered around her. A slight smile played at the corners of her lips, and her eyes were full of confidence. “Do not panic, Fellow Daoists. Since I have come, I naturally have a way to address this to the best of my ability.”
A trace of urgency filled Houtu's voice. “Really? If that is true, then the entire Wu tribe will surely remember your great kindness forever, and we will mobilize our whole tribe to repay you!!”
Because she was born the latest, her older brothers and sisters had shielded her from most of it... The erosion of Earthly Evil Qi had left her a bit of leeway, allowing her to retain a sliver of her Primeval Spirit. As a result, she was more acutely aware of the existential crisis facing the Wu tribe under the operations of the Heavenly Dao.
Furthermore, with the current confrontation between the Wu and Demon races, things were already heading down the path of the three-way hegemony seen during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity. She didn't even dare to think any further.
Yuan Heng shook her head gently. “There is no need to be so polite, Fellow Daoist Houtu. I cultivate the Dao of Life, so it is only natural for me to sustain the vitality of all living spirits in the Primordial World. Besides, the Wu tribe was transformed from the essence blood of the Great God Pangu, so you are naturally protected by my Dao.”
After all, that was Papa Pangu, who had treated her so well and given her that novice gift pack.
Yuan Heng took out her scepter and scanned the protected land set aside beside Pangu Hall, specifically designated for the exceptionally talented children.
“Fellow Daoists, please step back!”
Hearing her words, the Twelve Ancestral Witches feared they might delay her work and jeopardize the future of the Wu tribe. Drawing upon Dijiang's spatial power, all twelve of them retreated more than ten li back.
They dispatched Zhurong, who had the loudest voice, to use the most primitive form of communication with her: “Fellow Daoist! We've stepped back to here... Is this far enough?!!!!”
Listening to Zhurong's extremely booming shout, Yuan Heng rubbed her slightly ringing ears and yelled back, “Yes! It! Is!!”
Speaking of which, why didn't they just use sound transmission??
Yuan Heng suspected that this Wu tribe territory had a way of lowering one's IQ. Could it be that her own brain had also been slightly worn down by the Earthly Evil Qi??
Truly terrifying.
Yuan Heng pulled out her intrinsic magic treasure, the Scepter of All-Spirits Creation, as the full power of the White Lotus of World Cleansing manifested, quietly shielding her from above.
Soon, she made her move. Standing high above the Wu tribe, her gaze was filled with compassion, yet firm.
“I have always believed that Heaven has the virtue of loving life.”
As soon as her words fell, the boundless and vast Dao of Life descended over the Wu tribe's territory, blotting out the sky... Gentle, pure, and endless, layer upon layer of Dao Rhyme enveloped every member of the Wu tribe.
The Twelve-Petaled White Lotus of World Cleansing floated above. The lotus pedestal bloomed layer by layer, and thousands of zhang of world-cleansing lotus light cascaded down, washing away all hostility, turbid energy, and calamitous impurities in the world...
This open area near Pangu Hall was no longer just a nurturing ground for the highly talented Wu children.
Borrowing the power of the White Lotus of World Cleansing, Yuan Heng isolated and purified the vast majority of the Earthly Evil Qi in this territory. Guided by her own Dao of Life, she made one translucent, emerald-green flower of life after another bloom here.
Slowly, the place transformed into a sea of emerald-green flowers.
Yuan Heng stared in contemplation at the green covering the ground. So, it turned out that the Wu tribe's flowers of life really were green?
Was it because they lacked a Primeval Spirit and had mutated?
But then, why were the ones for Dijun, Taiyi, and the others all pink?
Rate on N.U.
