Chapter 53: The Western Lands

A century passed swiftly.

According to the agreement, Nuwa had finished healing the members of the Witch Clan and then immediately flew to the Heavenly Court, claiming she needed to treat the injured of the Demon Clan.

However, this sequence of events caused a delay of a hundred years. Many injured demons had already perished before Nuwa could come to their aid.

Nuwa was powerless to change this. After all, the last great battle had ultimately been won by the Witch Clan. If the Emperor Jiang had not agreed to cease hostilities, he would never have allowed her to heal the witches before the demons.

During these hundred years, Emperor Jun had been filled with regret. Before the Demon Clan launched their massive assault on the Witch Clan, Fuxi had warned him that the timing was not right. If only he had fully comprehended the grand formation, then subduing the Witch Clan would have been effortless.

But Emperor Jun had been too arrogant, believing the Demon Clan’s strength far surpassed that of the witches, and thus he had not taken them seriously.

Moreover, after annihilating the Eastern King’s Celestial Court, the Demon Heavenly Court’s fortune had soared significantly. Even the injuries Emperor Jun and Taiyi sustained while jointly preventing the Eastern King’s self-destruction healed rapidly under the nourishing aura of this fortune.

Having tasted the benefits of harnessing fortune, Emperor Jun was unwilling to halt his progress.

Above all, his greatest desire was to unify the primordial world—a mission that seemed ingrained in his very nature.

So, Emperor Jun could not wait. Yet, he never anticipated how formidable the Witch Clan truly was. Despite the Demon Clan’s full might, their attacks barely made a dent, and they were ultimately soundly defeated.

Fortunately, realization came in time. Once Emperor Jun understood the Witch Clan’s strength, he began wholeheartedly supporting Fuxi’s comprehension of the grand formation, hoping that next time they could eliminate the witches entirely.

As for the Witch Clan, shortly after Nuwa’s departure, half of the Twelve Ancestor Witches journeyed to the Western Land to continue repairing the remaining ley lines, just in case. Bai Jing accompanied them.

Leaving the Pangu Hall, the road ahead was scarred by the marks of the two clans’ fierce battles. Though the bodies had been collected, vast swathes of land remained soaked in blood.

At a glance, boundless malevolent energy and karmic force congealed together, interwoven with faint threads of cataclysmic aura.

Immortal cultivators below the Golden Immortal level, who had yet to nurture the true meaning of immortality, would quickly lose their sanity if they dared venture deep into this place.

The Witch Clan passed through this battlefield in silence, likely mourning their fallen kin.

By calculation, the Witch Clan had been away from the Western Land for over six thousand years.

During this time, Jieyin and Zhunti had anxiously awaited their return every day.

Now that over eighty percent of the ley lines had been restored, the most obvious change was the thickened spiritual energy across the Western Land.

Many creatures seized this opportunity to take shape, and Jieyin and Zhunti took the chance to recruit numerous disciples. It seemed the great revival of the West was imminent.

Therefore, Jieyin and Zhunti looked forward even more eagerly to the Witch Clan’s return to complete the ley line restoration.

Once the ley lines were fully repaired, the Western Land would undoubtedly reap even greater benefits.

Yet, their anticipation was interrupted when news of the Witch-Demon War reached them.

“Damn those demons! No wonder the witches hastily left our Western Land—it was because the demons were about to wage war! Senior Brother, if the Witch Clan were wiped out by the demons, what would happen to our ley lines?”

Jieyin’s face was filled with worry. Like Zhunti, he feared the witches might fall to the demons.

However, neither Jieyin nor Zhunti sought to aid the Witch Clan.

To them, both the witches and demons were forces of the East. Their conflict was beneficial—as long as they weakened each other, it would prevent either from obstructing the future flourishing of the West.

If it weren’t for the witches’ ability to repair the Western ley lines, Jieyin and Zhunti would be delighted to watch the chaos unfold.

Fortunately, they later learned that Nuwa had intervened to halt the war, and the Witch Clan’s casualties were not severe. This eased their anxious minds.

Since the witches suffered little damage, they would likely come soon to continue repairing the ley lines.

Thus, Jieyin and Zhunti’s hope was rekindled.

“Master, they have arrived! Members of the Witch Clan are here!”

Upon hearing the news brought by disciples sent out earlier, Jieyin and Zhunti smiled.

“Senior Brother, should we go greet them?” Zhunti asked.

“We should. After all, the Witch Clan is helping us restore the ley lines. Out of courtesy and reason, we ought to welcome them.”

“What kind of gifts should we prepare?”

“The witches lack primordial spirits and wouldn’t use valuable items. Perhaps some healing spiritual fruits would be appropriate.”

“Senior Brother, wise words. I’ll prepare them immediately.”

The scene shifts back to Bai Jing and the Witch Clan.

As they stepped into the Witch Clan’s territory, they encountered a Daoist.

This Daoist was gaunt, clad in a brown robe, with a square face, broad temples, drooping ears, and a bronze lantern hanging from his shoulder. His cultivation was that of a late-stage Great Daoist Immortal.

The more Bai Jing looked, the more familiar the Daoist seemed. After some calculation, realization dawned upon him: this was none other than Ran Deng, the future Deputy Leader of the Enlightenment Sect and one of the Three Thousand Worldly Visitors of the Purple Dawn Palace.

Like Bai Jing, Ran Deng had missed the first lecture due to his late physical transformation. However, unlike Bai Jing, who had the entire Yingzhou Immortal Island and abundant cultivation resources, Ran Deng’s foundation was weaker. Hence, after many years of cultivation, he remained a late-stage Great Daoist Immortal.

“Daoist Bai Jing, do you know this man?” Hou Tu whispered, noticing Bai Jing’s fixed gaze on Ran Deng.

“Daoist Hou Tu, you don’t recognize him?”

Hou Tu shook her head.

“He also attended teachings at the Purple Dawn Palace.”

Hou Tu suddenly understood. “I see, he must have sat quite far back, so I never noticed. Should we greet him, Daoist Bai Jing?”

“No need,” Bai Jing replied.

He had no interest in Ran Deng. To be precise, Ran Deng’s poverty-stricken state rendered him unworthy of Bai Jing’s attention.

The only thing about Ran Deng that sparked slight interest was his Cosmic Yardstick.

Yet, Bai Jing did not possess the Sea-Calming Pearl, nor was his path to enlightenment related to it. Thus, the Cosmic Yardstick was insignificant to him. Ran Deng was merely a passerby of no consequence.

That said, it was notable that Ran Deng was already active in the Western territory so early. Perhaps he had long since colluded with Jieyin and Zhunti, which explained his later betrayal of the Enlightenment Sect.

Seeing Bai Jing had no intention of approaching, Hou Tu said, “Then, Daoist Bai Jing, shall we depart?”

Bai Jing nodded.

Soon, Bai Jing and the Witch Clan arrived at the ley lines needing repair.

Bai Jing immediately understood why only the Witch Clan could restore them.

Logically, the two Western cultivators, possessing primordial purple aura, had likely broken through to the late Quasi-Saint stage. Even if Zhunti’s comprehension was lacking, he should have reached mid Quasi-Saint.

The Western ley lines had been damaged by Luo Hou’s self-detonation. Luo Hou had not attained sainthood; his realm should have been at the pinnacle of the Primordial Golden Immortal.

Given that the Western cultivators were mighty Quasi-Saints, repairing ley lines destroyed by cultivators of their own level should be no problem.

Yet, upon seeing the devastated ley lines, Bai Jing realized he had been naive.