The Demon Suppression Division was a massive pit.
Specifically, it was a bottomless pit covered in bait on the surface, and once you fell in, you couldn't escape the trouble that clung to you.
How had she been so blinded by that long list of rewards on the military merit exchange list that she had jumped in with single-minded focus?
Now, she hadn't even gotten the mirage pearl she wanted, yet she was covered in the stench of trouble, being hunted across the world as a defector.
Nan Zhi lay on the floor playing dead, not moving for a long time.
Beside her, the floor was covered in a thick layer of discarded drawing paper—crooked flowers, birds, fish, and insects, distorted line-drawn faces, and abstract sketches of foxes and tigers.
If the Painted Skin Ghost knew that Nan Zhi's artistic skills were learned from him, he would probably be so angry he'd come back to life.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
A paper figure with a dot of blood on its head ran over with incredible diligence, gathering the discarded papers one by one, stacking them neatly on the coffee table.
The other paper figure wasn't idle either; it watered the plants, mopped the floor, did the laundry, unpacked deliveries, and fed the treasure-seeking mouse. Its movements were so practiced they would make a late-stage "lazy cancer" patient die of shame.
Fortunately, the windows in Nan Zhi's home were covered with reflective film. Otherwise, if anyone saw two pieces of paper bustling around the house, another supernatural incident would be added to the local records.
Corn was extremely curious about the new family members. He sat in his hamster ball and watched for a long time before pouncing and biting the ankle of one of the paper figures.
"Snap."
"Snap."
With that momentary distraction, the two paper figures Nan Zhi was controlling instantly lost all vitality, falling limply to the ground and turning back into ordinary inanimate objects.
"Corn, don't cause trouble."
Nan Zhi rolled over lazily, caught her pet as it tried to flee in panic, and buried her head in his soft golden fur, taking two deep breaths before sighing contentedly.
As expected, at the Qi Refinement stage, controlling two paper figures at once was her limit.
Although Taoism had techniques like "sowing beans to sprout soldiers" and "giving eyes to paper figures," those were ultimately inanimate objects with low flexibility.
However, paper figures made with the Painted Skin Art were naturally connected to the artist's mind. The practitioner could even open eyes and ears for the paper figure, using them to scout and listen for information.
The best part was that the paper figures themselves were made of the most common white paper, and the dharma power fluctuations on them were miniscule.
Therefore, even if an enemy's cultivation was far beyond Nan Zhi's, it was very difficult for these paper figures to be detected.
Nan Zhi had already verified this.
It was simply the perfect method for gathering intelligence, escaping, snatching treasures, and launching sneak attacks—cough, cough—sudden ambushes.
As for the treasure she had snatched this time...
Nan Zhi did a kip-up and sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the items in her bag in deep thought.
In her bag, amidst a pile of Blood Supplementing Pills, Yin Niangzi Brand Stinky Tofu, and Qi-Supplementing Pills, lay a chubby, fleshy little infant.
The child was completely naked, with only a single dot of cinnabar as red as blood on his forehead. He looked harmless and adorable, very much like the chubby babies holding large carps in New Year paintings.
But Nan Zhi didn't dare underestimate this thing in the slightest.
【Corpse of Old Nan (Quality: ???): Witch, Pangu's bloodline, favorite of heaven and earth. His corpse is as eternal as the world, remaining uncorrupted through the ages.】
This was the corpse of a member of the Witch race.
The corpse of a Witch named "Old Nan."
"I really want to see with my own eyes what a Great Witch from the Primordial era actually looked like—even a soulless corpse can devour thousands of souls. Even a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage has no power to fight back before it."
"If it weren't for the system bag, I really wouldn't dare to just pick this thing up."
Nan Zhi rubbed her chin, still feeling a bit of lingering fear when she remembered the way Prince Nine of the West Sea and the others had died.
"It seems Huiyuan really has gone mad. If this thing falls into the mortal realm, it will only cause widespread suffering and death. Even ordinary immortals and gods are nothing more than slightly larger snacks in front of this thing..."
She had seen its power with her own eyes, so during this time, even when she was hunted to a dead end, Nan Zhi had never taken it out of her bag.
As she watched, she suddenly noticed two sparkling points of light circling the infant's body.
【Flesh Sacrifice, current extractable divine abilities: 2】
【Divine Ability: Call Wind (Learnable)】
【Divine Ability: Summon Rain (Not Learnable)】
【Do you choose to learn the divine ability "Call Wind"?】
The second after Nan Zhi clicked to learn, her eyes froze, and she fell straight onto the floor—
"Thud!"
"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"
The treasure-seeking mouse let out a series of sharp, explosive squeaks.
...
...
Nan Zhi realized clearly that she was dreaming.
In the dream, mulberry trees towered into the clouds, the forest was a sea of azure waves, and long-tailed birds with human faces sang loudly. Sibuxiang, resembling both oxen and deer, rode on clouds and mist, their hooves treading on snow as they wandered contentedly.
Rare treasures, exotic beasts, precious birds, and strange fish were everywhere.
In the mountain valleys, tall members of the Witch race rode exotic beasts to herd and hunt, shouting in a language others could not understand.
In the tribal settlements, countless Witches gathered outside a palace, stacking the flesh of exotic beasts onto a white stone altar:
Large red fish with pure white wings; rabbits with horse ears that spoke in human tongues; massive strange birds with a single horn that looked like cranes but had only one leg; giant red dogs with fur like iron needles—
A Great Witch stood atop the altar, hands spread flat toward the sky, letting out a wild and strange howl:
【...Come...】
【Come...】
【Wind come! Wind come! Wind come!】
Nan Zhi was like a soul possessing someone else's body, observing everything from a third-person perspective.
She didn't understand why she appeared at this strange altar, but in her heart, she had a faint realization.
This was a Witch praying for rain.
The Witch race was born with the ability to communicate with heaven and earth, able to call wind and summon rain. This was their innate divine ability, tied to their bloodline and passed down through generations.
It had nothing to do with spells or spiritual energy; this talent was buried deep within the bloodline of the Witch race.
It could not be separated or lost.
Even the most ordinary Witch could commune with mountains and rivers, sensing the world.
Calling wind and summoning rain was exactly like this.
"Drip."
A drop of rain suddenly fell on the corner of Nan Zhi's eye. She looked up and saw that the wind in the sky seemed to have taken shape, whirling and howling as it charged straight toward her!
"Whoosh—"
Nan Zhi couldn't describe the feeling.
The wind seemed to fill her limbs, surging and flowing everywhere in her body along with her blood. In this instant, the invisible wind transformed into a mass of white mist, tightly wrapping around her and carrying her up to the clouds!
Above the clouds, Nan Zhi saw countless blurred figures of the Witch race. She felt as if she had become a feather, rising and falling with the wind, moving according to her will.
At this moment, she was the wind, yet the wind was not her.
"Sigh..."
At the very top of the heavy clouds, someone seemed to let out a heavy sigh. Nan Zhi was suddenly jolted awake, falling heavily from the clouds!
Rate on N.U.
