Chapter Sixty: The Ancient Shaman’s Remains

The vast world of the Primordial Era possessed its own set of rules, among which was the mutual repulsion between Chaos and the Primal Origin. Thus, when Pangu first sought to prevent the three thousand ancient demon gods from influencing the world he arduously opened, he spared no effort, expending immense power to slay them before the creation of Heaven and Earth. Yet, the ancient demon gods themselves were born from the Great Dao; despite Pangu being the child of the Dao, to eradicate them all in a single stroke was a formidable task.

Among the three thousand ancient demon gods, dozens were fortunate enough to escape Pangu’s axe with their souls and demonic essences intact. The most notable among them were Hongjun and Luo Hou, the very paragons of those who survived.

Cultivation itself offers myriad paths, vast as a sea of clouds, yet ultimately falls into three categories: cultivation of the mysteries, cultivation of the body, and cultivation of the spirit. Body cultivators focus on their physical form, integrating their three souls, seven spirits, and true essence into their flesh and bones, striving for the immortality of the golden body. Many among the Witch Tribe and Demonic Path are obsessed with this approach. Cultivation of the mysteries refines the golden core and primordial spirit, a balanced and orthodox method, though its progress is slow. Spirit cultivation, in stark contrast to body cultivation, pursues the extreme, refining spiritual relics in hopes of eternal consciousness.

The three thousand ancient demon gods practiced their own distinct methods—some the body, some the mysteries, some the spirit—each reaching their pinnacle, possessing boundless powers. Yet, Pangu cultivated all three simultaneously, his strength nearly rivaling the Great Dao itself. Otherwise, the demon gods might have stood a chance.

“In truth, those body cultivators among the ancient demon gods who survived Pangu’s axe are the most pitiable. All their power resides in their chaotic primordial bodies, while their souls and demonic essences are feeble. Without their bodies, they are likely inferior even to the first generation of beings in the Primordial Era.” Although body cultivators merge their souls and true essence, upon reaching the peak, the essence can detach from the constraints of the flesh, though it gains no further strength within the perfected body.

Regarding the affairs of the ancient demon gods, Qingxu only had a vague understanding. For reasons unknown, whenever he inquired of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, the latter always skirted around matters of the ancient past.

“The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans rose only in the late ancient era. As for what Hongjun and Luo Hou experienced before that, no one truly knows. Perhaps the Three Pure Ones are aware, but they refuse to speak.” Qingxu’s curiosity was piqued; the three calamities at the dawn of Pangu’s creation are a blank slate, with no clues to be found. Only a few involved parties and the Three Pure Ones born from Pangu’s primordial spirit might know, but they divulge nothing.

“Why concern myself with such mysteries? It’s better to focus on the matter at hand! This trace of earth vein origin will not be easy to obtain!”

With earth escape technique, Qingxu traveled downward. His innate talent for concealment was already superb, and his earth escape was perfected; in a single breath, he entered the earth vein tunnel. He saw clearly that this passage was artificially made, and appeared ancient. Connecting it to the matter of the Witch Tribe’s bones, it was unsurprising that this passage was excavated by those witches.

The entire earth vein tunnel was filled with a faint, turbid, yin earth fiend energy, growing ever denser the deeper he went.

“Good heavens, this is remarkable. Early earth immortals could only penetrate several dozen feet. Even mid-stage earth immortals could not go a hundred feet.” Qingxu sighed, drawing forth his Profound Demon Sword. As soon as this innate fierce weapon appeared, the yin earth fiend energy in the passage surged into it as birds flocking to a nest.

The Profound Demon Sword drank in the vast, abundant yin earth fiend energy like a whale swallowing water.

It tempered the sword’s body, increasing its hardness!

Merged with innate demonic energy, its power grew further!

Postnatal restrictions also began to form!

Qingxu used the Profound Demon Sword to blaze a trail ahead, following behind it as he journeyed downward, toward the earth veins of the Desolate Mountains.

The tunnel was not a straight descent; it twisted and turned, sometimes wide, sometimes requiring him to stoop, the path growing ever more rugged. Without the Profound Demon Sword, even if Qingxu’s cultivation were ten times greater, he would never have reached the earth veins.

He wound through countless bends, stooped several times, until the passage suddenly opened into a vast subterranean space. The expanse was enormous, the sloping passage opposite barely visible even with the eyesight of a mid-stage earth immortal.

The underground cavern was filled with pitch-black, turbid, yin earth fiend energy, thick and viscous, so potent that a celestial immortal entering would not last more than a short while.

“Bones?” Qingxu exclaimed in surprise. He saw distinctly that within the yin earth fiend energy, there was a source—a massive skeleton lying on the ground, neither wholly human nor beast, its skull crowned with three bone horns, four arms, two legs, at least five or six meters tall.

Ancient and formidable energies were restrained within the bones. This was a complete Witch Tribe skeleton, preserved from the ancient era.

Excitement!

Exhilaration!

Before him was a genuine relic of the ancient Witch Tribe, a treasure for one so curious about primordial secrets as Qingxu. Perhaps he could uncover some mysteries!

Whoosh!

A flash of dark light as the Profound Demon Sword shot into the underground space, devouring the yin earth fiend energy at its source with maximum efficiency. Yet progress was slow; the yin earth fiend energy in this cavern had accumulated over thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of aeons, its richness far beyond imagination.

“At this rate, to devour all the yin earth fiend energy in the cavern will take at least several days. But I can afford the time.” With that thought, Qingxu sat cross-legged, regulating his breath and spirit, directing the Profound Demon Sword with his consciousness to absorb the energy.

Time passed swiftly; before he knew it, three days had gone by. In those three days, the outside valley was anything but peaceful—the tribesmen of the Youqiong clan rejoiced, while the likes of Wanchou Taiyi were troubled; even the northern wars reached their peak.

Swish!

The last trace of yin earth fiend energy entered the Profound Demon Sword, which halted its absorption. Now, the entire tunnel was rid of all yin earth fiend energy.

Ingesting such an immense amount, the Profound Demon Sword’s postnatal restrictions reached twenty-eight layers, plus two innate restrictions—a total of thirty, making it a spiritual treasure whose power rivaled Qingxu’s other treasures. Moreover, three fierce beasts—Chaos, Gluttonous, and Taowu—manifested, each able to emerge to aid in battle, all possessing early spirit transformation strength.

To gain three undying, indestructible beings of early spirit transformation was indeed a cause for delight.

“Yet just now, when the three beasts manifested, something seemed off—it felt as if there was some connection beneath the earth vein tunnel, something important, urgent... unclear and unspeakable. Perhaps I’m overthinking it! No matter, I should first examine that ancient Witch Tribe skeleton. It may warrant thorough study.” Thinking of the ancient bones, Qingxu’s enthusiasm soared, forgetting he was already an immortal.

As he approached the ancient skeleton, a wave of oppressive force swept over him. Unprepared, Qingxu’s knees buckled, nearly tumbling to the ground. He barely steadied himself, circulating his immortal essence to resist the pressure, yet his astonishment was beyond words.

“The lingering pressure from this ancient Witch Tribe skeleton, dead since the primordial era, is no less than that of an early earth immortal—its power is unfathomable. I can scarcely imagine how formidable its former self must have been. Heaven Witch secret arts? Heaven Witch? This skeleton must have belonged to a Heaven Witch. But what was the Heaven Witch’s standing among the Witch Tribe? How did it compare to the Great Witches? Judging by its cultivation, it must have been no weaker!” Qingxu resisted the pressure, step by step approaching the ancient Witch Tribe skeleton, his mind teeming with thoughts.