Primordial Era: The Giant Turtle Returning from Immortality

Deep within the ruined mountains, the malevolent aura had lessened.

Guiyuan put the heavily injured Xuanming down and stepped back a few paces to keep his distance.

Xuanming steadied himself, his cold eyes immediately locking onto Guiyuan, filled with scrutiny and undisguised vigilance.

Her aura was naturally filled with murderous intent, and although her injuries were not light, her imposing presence remained overwhelming.

"Who are you?" Her voice was icy, like ice striking.

Seeing her wary posture, Guiyuan chuckled and retorted, "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking about someone's background?"

Xuanming narrowed his eyes, his chill intensifying, but he still held his head high, displaying an arrogance stemming from his origins, and said in a deep voice, "I am Xuanming, one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches of Zhou Mountain, formed from the essence and blood of Father Pangu!"

She announced her name, her gaze fixed on Guiyuan, as if trying to see the expected shock or awe on his face.

"The Twelve Ancestral Witches?"

Guiyuan's face revealed a perfectly appropriate hint of doubt, as if searching through his memories.

"Never heard of it. More powerful than the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans...?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanming fell silent, his expression growing even colder.

Guiyuan understood perfectly.

After the initial calamity of the Dragon-Han era, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were indeed exceptionally domineering, roaming the land freely.

But don't forget, this is still the era when dragons, phoenixes, and qilin dominate the primordial world. Even the newly formed Wu tribe is currently confined to the Zhou Mountain area to accumulate strength and remains unknown.

His gaze fell on Xuanming, his mind racing.

If it were an ordinary innate deity, suffering such severe injuries, he might very well have considered killing it and seizing its essence. But this was one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

The cause and effect are too great.

He possesses mastery of the art of destiny, and his spiritual perception far surpasses that of ordinary people.

Looking at him now, Xuanming's aura was as majestic as a pillar of heaven, closely connected with the legacy of Pangu and the veins of the earth, incredibly heavy and untouchable.

Even the future Dao Ancestor Hongjun had to devise a series of elaborate plans to deal with the Wu Clan, causing them to exhaust their own fortune and merits before he could finally dismantle them.

A direct confrontation? It would be a losing proposition.

Guiyuan composed himself, smiled slightly, and said frankly, "I am a giant tortoise from the North Sea in human form, and my Daoist name is Guiyuan."

He looked towards the ancestral veins of Changbai Mountain and asked directly, "You were just fighting the King of Taotie, were you trying to kill it?"

Xuanming snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with extreme disgust for the ferocious beast: "It occupies the ancestral vein formed from the body of the Father God, absorbing spiritual energy, spreading baleful energy, and ruining the legacy left by the Father God! Naturally, I must kill it!"

"Perfect." Guiyuan clapped his hands. "I also want to kill it. How about we join forces?"

A hint of hesitation flashed in Xuanming's eyes.

She probably didn't have much affection for innate deities.

Especially when dealing with a guy of unknown origin and with strange methods.

Just as she was weighing her options...

"Buzz!"

A sharp, oppressive aura, carrying a strong sense of bloodshed and slaughter, rapidly approached from afar!

Guiyuan and Xuanming turned their heads at the same time, looking towards the source of that aura.

A thick, blood-red cloud rolled in from the horizon, exuding a menacing aura.

A primordial deity stood atop the clouds, his long hair flowing like blood, his face handsome to the point of being bewitching, and his pupils containing endless killing intent.

Most striking were the two illusory longswords floating and swirling behind him.

The sword hummed continuously.

It was actively absorbing the remaining malevolent killing intent and endless death aura in the northern world, as if it were food for them.

The eerie figure arrived riding on blood-red clouds, its gaze sweeping over Guiyuan and Xuanming with clear eyes. It cupped its hands and said, "I am Blood Sea Styx. I came to the north because I was too still to think of anything else."

I was overjoyed to find two fellow Daoists and came here so abruptly; please forgive my surprise!

The red-haired Taoist priest who introduced himself as "Minghe" landed not far away.

He exuded a chilling killing intent, yet strangely, he carried not a trace of filth or resentment; instead, he possessed a dignified and upright aura.

Guiyuan's mind raced with thoughts.

Styx Ancestor?

I never expected to run into you here.

This person's background is extremely high, probably ranking among the top in the prehistoric world.

Born from the sea of ​​blood, it is naturally sacred. The accompanying Karmic Fire Red Lotus and the Yuan Tu A Bi twin swords are both extraordinary innate spiritual treasures. In particular, the Yuan Tu A Bi sword can kill without being tainted by karma, which can be called defying the heavens.

Unfortunately... Guiyuan thought of the rumors from later generations, that this person was always a step behind others in everything he did, and that he tried to create humans and Asuras like Nuwa, but failed to become a saint.

He tried to establish a religion based on Lao Tzu's teachings, including the Asura religion, but he didn't become a saint.

Even its old lair, the Blood Sea, was later partially taken over by Houtu's reincarnation, turning it from a powerful force into a notorious "laughing stock" in the prehistoric world.

However, relying on his divine power of "the sea of ​​blood never dries up, the river of the underworld never dies", he was a renowned powerhouse throughout the prehistoric world.

But looking at the Styx River before him, although its aura was filled with murderous intent, its eyes were quite clear, even carrying a bit of... the curiosity and naivety of someone just starting out.

This path of killing is actually walked with integrity, only slaying those who deserve to be killed, without getting tainted by innocent karma.

interesting.

Seeing Guiyuan scrutinizing him, Styx wasn't annoyed. Instead, he cupped his hands in greeting again, his gaze shifting between Guiyuan and the icy-cold Xuanming, before asking curiously, "Are you two here because of that ferocious beast in the mountains?"

His gaze swept over Xuanming's injuries and the still-lingering malevolent energy emanating from the Changbai Mountains in the distance, and he suddenly realized, "It seems that the King of Taotie is indeed ferocious; even this fellow Daoist suffered a loss."

Xuanming snorted coldly, and although he did not answer, his guard relaxed slightly.

She could sense that although the Styx River cultivated the path of slaughter, it was not a wicked person.

Well then, being born from a sea of ​​blood, I must have some connection with them. I'll suppress my pride for now.

Guiyuan smiled and continued, "Fellow Daoist Styx has sharp eyes. Indeed, we two are just about to eliminate this scourge and restore peace to the ancestral veins in the north."

"Fellow Daoist has come from afar, from the Sea of ​​Blood; are you perhaps also interested in this ferocious beast?"

Styx was quite frank, pointing to the buzzing phantom of Yuan Tu Abi behind him: "My twin swords need to be tempered with fierce killing intent to become sharper."

Ordinary malevolent energy is not worth looking at; only the essence of ferocious beasts at the Great Luo level is the best resource.

I'd heard that the north was once a battlefield for ferocious beasts, so I came to try my luck, but I never expected to run into such a tough opponent.

He looked at Guiyuan with a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "Just now I sensed your power from afar, your supernatural abilities are profound."

He was truly impressed that he was able to save people from the claws of the Taotie King and even set up a magical array to temporarily trap the ferocious beast.

May I ask your name, friend?

"Beihai Guiyuan." Guiyuan announced his name, already having made up his mind.

This Styx River may seem simple and straightforward, but his strength is undeniable. If we can get him to join forces with us to deal with the heavily injured Taotie King, our chances of success will undoubtedly increase significantly.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Guiyuan." Styx nodded, then looked intently toward Changbai Mountain.

"The Taotie King devoured the essence of his own kind and forcibly activated the power of the Great Luo. This move was fierce, but it could not last long."

If the three of us join forces, we might be able to cut him down with our swords!

His words carried the fearless spirit of a newborn calf and a pure desire to improve his magical artifact.

Guiyuan and Xuanming exchanged a glance.

Although Xuanming was arrogant, he knew that he had just narrowly escaped death, and that he and Guiyuan alone could not be completely confident of survival.

The Styx River is quite powerful and has a clear objective, so it wouldn't hurt to make them allies for now.

She nodded slightly, which could be considered as acquiescence.

Seeing this, Guiyuan felt reassured, looked at the Styx River, and laughed, "Good! Since that's the case, let's join forces and meet this King of Taotie!"

"Take its essence, refine its malevolent spirit—perfect for everyone to get what they need!"

Upon hearing this, Styx smiled broadly. The phantom images of the Yuan Tu and A Bi swords behind him trembled even more violently, and a chilling killing intent soared into the sky, causing the surrounding evil energy to scatter in its wake.

"That's exactly right!"

Xuanming paused for a moment, then said, "Please don't get agitated yet. Let me recover from my injuries first."