Chapter 177 — One Hundred and Seventy-Seven

"The Witch Clan of high antiquity..."

The Blue God said in surprise, "The sect master is indeed widely learned. Hearing you speak of it, disciple recalls it now—an ancient rumor holds that this method of gathering the primal force of the Five Elements and returning them to primordial chaos is indeed a technique of the Witch Clan of high antiquity. Only the age is truly too distant; even the Yin Courts of the Underworld had not yet been established, and disciple had not yet been born into the world. I had only heard rumors. Yet ever since the Yellow Emperor slew the Great Shaman Chiyou, the Immortal Way rose, and the Witch Clan was wiped out. How is it that they appear even now? This is a thing the Immortal Way cannot tolerate!"

"Oh? There is such a tale? Even Chiyou was of the Witch Clan?" Zhou Xuan said in astonishment, profoundly puzzled within: "That old wretch Yun Cen only touched on it lightly, and it was only because that fellow Xiang Hui of Mount Shu spoke of an 'Esoteric Ability Group' that I learned those born with esoteric powers are descendants of the Witch Clan of high antiquity. Hearing the Blue God speak of it now, the Witch Clan truly was no simple matter."

Zhou Xuan kept his own counsel, watching Yun Xiuzi and the Rainbow Immortal below chatting merrily, and did not disturb them. He simply wished to question the Blue God clearly on certain matters of high antiquity.

In Yun Cen's records, concerning ancient treasures and artifacts, materials and spirit medicines, there was everything one could wish for; but certain persons and events were strangely blurred, especially the rise of the Immortal Way and the extinction of the Witch Clan. Zhou Xuan, whose cultivation now reached the workings of Heaven and Man, felt that hidden in this matter there was something worth probing.

"The Witch Clan of high antiquity were born with divine powers, and without any cultivation at all their strength was no less than any cultivator's. Together with the demon clans of old they oversaw the Six Paths of Reincarnation. In truth, disciple does not know the details clearly either; it is only that having served so many years in the Underworld, certain bits of gossip have come down. The great shamans of old—their strength and divine powers swept across Heaven and Earth; I fear they were on a par with the Three Pure Ones, the Daoist Lords." The Blue God furrowed his brow, as though straining to recall.

"On a par with the Three Pure Ones!? You cannot be joking. Were the great shamans of old born with such ferocity?" Zhou Xuan did not believe it, and was greatly astonished.

"Disciple speaks only from rumor and does not know the true circumstances. Has the sect master heard the names Gonggong and Zhurong? Those two were great shamans of the Witch Clan. As for Houyi, Kuafu, Chiyou, and Xingtian—all were of the Witch Clan. Later, for reasons unknown, the two great shamans Gonggong and Zhurong fought a great battle at Mount Buzhou, and both perished; thereafter the Witch Clan declined. In the end, Guangheng, a golden immortal of the Exposition Sect, aided his disciple Xuanyuan in slaying Chiyou, then leader of the Witch Clan, at Zhuolu, and the Witch Clan was extinguished and the Immortal Way rose. That is all disciple knows concerning the Witch Clan."

The Blue God told Zhou Xuan all the rumors he knew, though whether they were true or false he could not say.

Hearing the Blue God's words, Zhou Xuan understood a few things: "These are all matters of high antiquity, of an age so distant they cannot be verified; who knows if they are true or false. Now is not the time to discuss such things. Those five idlers just now were plainly controlled in mind by Witch Clan methods. Hmph! They even dared attempt to attack this seat—and fled quickly enough. But I already know their lair. When the time comes, we shall settle all accounts together." As Zhou Xuan spoke, his expression was not pleasant, and the Blue God dared not question further, but stood sulkily to one side.

"So that is how it is. No wonder Yun Cen did not mention these things. That Yellow Emperor was a disciple of Guangcheng; at the battle of Zhuolu, the Exposition Sect must not have acted entirely honorably—some tricks were surely played. Heh heh. Now the Esoteric Ability Group of the National Security Bureau is undoubtedly descended from the Witch Clan of high antiquity. The Witch Clan did bear some grievance against the Immortal Way; a pity that the various peaks' sects have long forgotten it all, and have let the Witch Clan's juniors grow great for nothing. But why would the Esoteric Ability Group now move against the Palace of Great Freedom? I cannot fathom it, cannot fathom it."

Zhou Xuan shook his head. The two who had attacked him just now had used cunning methods to escape; as for their strength, it was not worth mentioning to Zhou Xuan, and he did not take it to heart.

Seeing that Zhou Xuan and the Blue God had finished speaking, Yun Xiuzi and the Rainbow Immortal had likewise made the situation clear between them. The Rainbow Immortal now knew the reason for Yun Xia's great advance in cultivation and Dao; yet certain matters Yun Xia would not fully disclose without Zhou Xuan's consent.

Zhou Xuan and the Rainbow Immortal exchanged formal greetings, and Zhou Xuan discovered that the Rainbow Immortal had already reached the late stage of Spirit Transformation. In his heart he greatly admired the Palace of Great Freedom; setting aside this freak that was himself, in sheer numbers they far surpassed his own Shaft Radiance Sect.

"Yes—at present I lack neither spirit pills, cave abode, cultivation methods, nor artifacts and treasures; I lack only disciples. It seems I must recruit more, and loyal ones at that. But where to find them now? That is a difficult problem. I cannot remain merely two or three cats, great and small. Numbers are the foundation!" Zhou Xuan considered, yet truly had no solution, and could only take one step and see, since it was not an urgent matter in any case.

The Rainbow Immortal and Yun Xia were as close as sisters, and in speech she had never been one for restraint. She was just about to tease this cheap brother-in-law of hers a few words in jest, when she saw Zhou Xuan's bearing—his expression grave and commanding without anger, every inch the air of a grandmaster and an exalted one. Her heart gave a start, and the teasing words that had reached her lips were swallowed back. She performed the standard Daoist salute with proper solemnity.

Yun Xia watched, greatly puzzled: "Why is elder sister so proper today?"

To make it brief, the four of them raised their escape-lights and flew into the dunes, entering the illusion formation. Yun Xia and the Rainbow Immortal wove left and right, and the scenery before their eyes shifted continuously. Zhou Xuan and the Blue God followed at an unhurried pace, composed and at ease, in no way bewitched by the illusions. In truth, with Zhou Xuan's present means, he had long since fathomed the mysteries of this illusion formation—likely to the equal of the one who had laid it—and even a formation ten times as fierce could not trap him.

The Blue God was a heavenly ghost by nature; so long as space was not sealed by a restriction, he could come and go freely, and he too was quite at leisure.

Yun Xia had not told the Rainbow Immortal that the Blue God was a Yin deity of the Underworld, and the ghost qi of his original heavenly-ghost body had been wholly transmuted by the Seven Treasures Wondrous Tree, leaving no trace to be seen. The Rainbow Immortal knew only that the Blue God was Zhou Xuan's disciple and a most formidable cultivator from beyond the seas. Seeing Zhou Xuan and the Blue God strolling idly through the formation, the Rainbow Immortal thought: "This sect master of the Shaft Radiance Sect is far more formidable than the rumors say; even his disciple is of the highest caliber. Sister Yun Xia is truly blessed."