Primordial World: The Green Snake Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality, the northern boundary of the Ice Flame Tribe, one of the seventy-three divisions under His Highness Xuanming.
The strong wind howled, and blizzards raged. The accumulated snow on the ground had pressed into the earth.
"Creak"
"Creak"
A group of witch-people, clad in animal skins, shouldering bows and arrows, and armed with knives and axes, pressed forward against the wind and snow, leaving a long trail of footprints behind them.
The leader was a stooped old witch, his face a mask of wrinkles, followed by dozens of burly witch-people with broad backs and sturdy waists.
"Uncle Kanbei, we've been traveling for days, why haven't we reached the tribe yet?" a strong witch-person asked, his tone laced with impatience.
The stooped old witch, Kanbei, heard this, his expression turning grim. "I fear we've lost our way in the blizzard. We can only wait for this snow to stop and find our way back when it lessens."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the dozens of witch-people turned grim. To be lost in a blizzard was a dire omen.
Elder Witch Kanbei sighed, "Let's build a snow den here and rest for the night."
Just then, a witch-person exclaimed, "Uncle Kanbei, look ahead!"
Kanbei strained his eyes and looked in the direction indicated.
Through the raging blizzard, a unique white figure was slowly approaching from afar. Due to the intensity of the snowstorm, the figure's appearance was unclear for the moment.
Kanbei's face changed dramatically, and he shouted, "Alert! It might be a snow demon! Beware of ambushes!"
As his words fell, the dozens of witch-people became solemn, standing ready. They aimed their powerful bows and crossbows at the approaching figure.
Kanbei slowly drew a short blade from his person, his gaze fixed on the approaching person.
As the figure drew closer, a handsome youth was revealed, walking unhurriedly through the blizzard.
He was accompanied by two snow-white foxes. The man and the two foxes moved as one with the snow and ice.
The witch-people's faces darkened. Elder Witch Kanbei declared, "The one approaching is likely a celestial demon that has taken human form. We cannot defeat it! You all retreat quickly, I will hold this demon back."
The white-clothed youth approached. A smile flickered across his handsome face. "It seems you two can have a good feast today!"
The two white foxes whined excitedly upon hearing this, even drooling.
The white-clothed youth extended a palm, transforming it into a claw. The sharp, luminous claws were particularly conspicuous and dazzling amidst the swirling snow.
Kanbei slashed with his blade. His witch-body was pushed to its limit. The blade moved like an avalanche, its strike cutting through the snow and light.
The white-clothed youth chuckled, "It's not easy for a Earth Witch to withstand my attack."
Kanbei roared, "A mere fox dares to scorn my witch-folk?"
The white-clothed youth's face contorted in anger. A giant white tail suddenly appeared behind him, its sweep bringing an icy chill.
Elder Witch Kanbei's blood boiled. He roared, but before he could act, he was frozen solid.
Seeing their elder freeze to death, the dozens of witch-people's eyes turned bloodshot. None retreated in fear. They charged forward, weapons in hand, determined to kill the demon.
The white-clothed youth said coldly, "Foxes, kill them all."
The two small white foxes instantly lunged forward, growing to a hundred feet in size. Their sharp fox claws soon stained the snow-covered ground red.
The white-clothed youth praised, "Not bad!"
But then, a voice from behind him said, "Not bad."
The white-clothed youth's face changed drastically. He turned to see a man in green slowly approaching, who had appeared beside him without him realizing it.
He was greatly alarmed. Someone who could get so close to him must be at least a great demon!
The youth quickly bowed and said, "May I know, senior, what great being you are?"
The green-clothed man smiled and said, "No need to be nervous. You can call me Mu Daoist."
The white-clothed youth heard this and respectfully replied, "This humble demon, Bai Li, is a celestial demon under the command of Saint Ji Meng. Greetings, Daoist Mu."
The green-clothed man nodded. "Saint Ji Meng is stationed in the Beidou Division?"
Bai Li respectfully replied, "Precisely so. Senior, are you an old friend of the Saint?"
The green-clothed man shook his head without speaking and turned to look at the two white foxes gnawing on the witch-people's corpses.
Seeing that his expression held no disgust, Bai Li felt a sense of relief. He feared this senior might be an immortal who abhorred demons.
Qing Ling had traveled north from the Netherworld for nine hundred years and had encountered living beings for the first time.
It seemed that both the demon and witch races avoided the Netherworld, with their spheres of influence far from this region.
Watching the white foxes devour the witches below, he felt no emotion. He shook his head and continued his journey.
Bai Li, however, quickly bowed, saying, "This humble demon, Bai Li, wishes senior a smooth journey!"
Qing Ling, who had already taken a few steps, chuckled. This little demon was quite clever.
Without turning back, a trace of green qi, the qi of vitality, appeared above Bai Li's head.
If it were any other living being, encountering a benevolent senior, they might have sought apprenticeship or opportunities. But this little demon was unique.
Qing Ling had not granted him any favor, yet simply for that blessing of a great being, he had received an opportunity.
Qing Ling gradually moved away, heading south. He mused that the twenty-eight divisions of the demon race likely corresponded to the future twenty-eight constellations.
Ji Meng was a fierce general of the demon race. Though not prominent now, he would undoubtedly become renowned among countless demons in the future.
Qing Ling continued his leisurely journey. After some time, he encountered a witch tribe, one of the seventy-three divisions of Xuanming Hall, a tribe with a Witch Venerable.
He saw captured demonic beasts being brought back. The witch-people lit fires, sang in circles, drank heartily from their crude wine, and feasted on cooked meat with unrestrained vigor.
Qing Ling stood outside the tribe, watching calmly, his heart unmoved.
A half-grown witch child curiously approached, looking at him and saying, "Uncle, whose tribe are you from?"
Qing Ling smiled and asked, "Why?"
The witch child shook his head pitifully. "Uncle, you are so thin, I doubt any auntie would want you. Look at my father, so strong. He once personally killed an Earth Demon!"
Qing Ling chuckled and looked at the muscular, half-bare-tall witch-person the child pointed to. To the eyes of immortal cultivators, such a person was a brute, but to the witch-people, he was the perfect witch-person.
He patted the witch child's head and asked, "Then your mother must be a very beautiful auntie, right?"
The witch child grinned. "Of course! My mother is also the bravest young auntie in the tribe. Uncle, why don't you come into our tribe and rest for a night?"
Qing Ling shook his head. "No, thank you. I still need to travel south."
The witch child tilted his head. "Further south are Xuefeng Tribe, Qianxue Tribe... and finally, the Ancestral Witch Hall of Lord Xuanming! There are no more great demons on this path, so you can travel with peace of mind, Uncle."
Qing Ling said, "Thank you, young brother. You will surely be a warrior in the future!"
The witch child smiled shyly, and when he looked up again, the person was gone.
His eyes widened in surprise. "Did a great demon come to eat witches?" Thinking of this, he ran away in fear, shouting, "Father, Father, a great demon has come! I'm so scared!"
Qing Ling chuckled upon hearing this and continued walking. He did not use his "Shrink to an Inch" divine ability, but walked step by step, his feet pressing into the earth, each step sinking into the soil.
The witch child saw him disappear, but Qing Ling did not wish for the witch child to see him again.
Without destiny, great beings traveling the Dao would pass each other by, even if walking towards each other, without ever meeting.
At the same moment, an old man sat on a green ox. His eyes were deep, his beard and hair moved with the wind. With each rise and fall of the ox's hooves, dust was stirred, landing on grass and flowers. Tiny ants marched in formations, yet did not collide with the ox's hooves.
Even the sun's rays and wind did not impede the old man as he rode past.
His every movement was natural and spontaneous. With each breath, he reflected the sun and moon. The profound principles of heaven and earth were revealed in his every gesture.
However, not far behind the old man, a grey-robed woman, stumbling like a toddler, had trampled countless flowers and killed innumerable ants.
Alas, the old man did not spare the woman a glance, nor did the woman presume to step even half a pace ahead.
To the east, a Daoist, wearing a jade crown, held a Ruyi in one hand and a whisk in the other. He trod upon auspicious clouds, accompanied by golden lamps.
The common ants could not see him, but in the eyes of those with destiny, he was a sage.
The Daoist arrived at a mountain. It was a barren mountain with dead water, desolate and lonely.
Only a small Daoist nunnery was nestled deep within the mountains. Amidst a patch of withered vegetation, a small nunnery guarded the last trace of life on this mountain, willing to waste away for ten thousand years in this desolation.
Seeing this, the Daoist said, "Rare indeed is such a Daoist heart."
As his words fell, the Daoist stepped onto the mountain. Instantly, all the withered trees on the mountain regained their spring. It was as if a spring breeze had arrived overnight, causing thousands of trees to bloom with peach blossoms.
The Daoist nunnery, nestled amidst the singing birds and fragrant flowers of the peach forest, had become a realm of paradise.
In the Peach Blossom Valley, a peach blossom nunnery. In the peach blossom nunnery, a peach blossom immortal.
The old door of the nunnery opened wide. A young Daoist rushed out, his face filled with joy as he looked at the revitalized landscape of the mountain. He bowed respectfully to the Daoist, saying, "This humble Daoist, Guang Chengzi, thanks the Daoist for saving my mountain of peach trees and grass."
A hint of a smile appeared on the Daoist's solemn face. "Are you willing to be my disciple?"
The young Daoist performed a solemn kneeling bow. "This humble Daoist is willing to be your disciple, senior."
The Daoist smiled with satisfaction and helped him up.
A gentle breeze blew through the mountain, and peach blossoms rained down like snow, perfuming the robes of the master and disciple.
To the south, amidst the chaotic conflicts between witches and demons, a Daoist walked, carrying a sword. Along his path, blades clashed and flames of war raged, yet the Daoist's sword never left its sheath. Even though the blood and grime of the mortal world soiled his robes, his Qing Ping sword had never harmed an innocent being.
The Daoist smiled as he walked through the world. Though his sword was never drawn and never honed, he refined his heart in the mortal realm, his sword severing the vanity of a thousand worldly desires.
To the west, a Daoist in hempen clothes and barefooted entered a sea of blood. The stench of blood and the fury of the waves washed past his feet. The corrosive water of the blood sea repeatedly ravaged the Daoist's feet.
Yet, a compassionate smile remained on the Daoist's face as he crossed the boundless sea of blood, solely for the purpose of reaching a single glazed flower on the other shore.
To the southwest, an elder Daoist with long eyebrows sat in meditation beneath a weeping willow tree. White catkins fluttered down. The old Daoist had fallen asleep, and a peaceful and serene aura surrounded him. Only a small cicada on the tree chirped incessantly, thus generating stillness amidst movement. The white clouds in the sky, the old willow, the small cicada, and the gentle breeze all seemed to have drifted into a light sleep.
In the chaos, earth, wind, water, and fire raged. The immense and terrifying power was enough to shatter weak minds.
Nuwa wandered through the chaos, heading towards unknown mysteries. Her face was filled with the pursuit of the profound essence of creation. Standing in the uncharted chaos, Nuwa gazed at the boundless void and whispered, "Chaos has no boundaries, and creation is endless."