Honghuang Town Yuanzi.

Chapter 40 The Gourd Vine and the Ancestral Witch Houtu (Combined Chapter)

Seeing that Hongjun Daozu had left, the group of innate gods and demons also did not stay in Zixiao Palace any longer, and began to get up and return to the prehistoric world.

Many innate gods and demons have not yet fully comprehended the various laws, principles, and cultivation methods that Hongjun Daozu has expounded. They need to return to seclusion to study and comprehend them, and organize what they have learned.

Jieyin and Zhunti also got up and left Zixiao Palace, without even glancing at Hongyun, as if they had long forgotten about the matter of the ministers giving up the prayer mat.

As Kunpeng was leaving, he gave Hongyun a gloomy look, clearly not intending to let the matter rest.

Hongyun remained silent about this.

Seeing that Sanqing and Hongyun had not yet left, Zhen Yuanzi was about to invite Sanqing, Hongyun and the others to return to the prehistoric world when Taiqing Daoist let out a soft exclamation and began to calculate.

Seeing this, Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Fellow Daoist, why are you making these calculations?"

"There is a spiritual root in Buzhou Mountain that has recently matured. We can try our luck!" Daoist Taiqing said with a face full of joy.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask what kind of spiritual root you possess?" Hongyun couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe, you'll know soon enough, fellow Daoist." Daoist Taiqing chuckled lightly.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be the innate gourd vine?

This innate gourd vine is also one of the ten innate spiritual roots of the primordial world. It bears seven gourds, all of which can be counted as innate.

Legend has it that the first purple-gold gourd was obtained by the Taoist Taiqing. It was the Purple-Gold Gourd, and it was the best for cultivating elixirs. Divine elixirs were placed inside, and they would be reborn in a cycle. Nine cycles were the ultimate, and it was named the Nine-Cycle Golden Elixir.

This Nine-Turn Golden Elixir is extremely profound; even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would benefit greatly from consuming one.

"Since we have this opportunity, we should go." Zhen Yuanzi also wanted to see what was so special about the innate gourd vine.

Zhen Yuanzi, the Three Pure Ones, and Hongyun left Zixiao Palace together. Relying on their unseen connection, they passed through the chaos and returned to Buzhou Mountain.

Upon arriving at Buzhou Mountain, Zhen Yuanzi and the others sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual light within the mountain. In a short while, they landed in a valley.

On the rocky cliff of the valley, there grew an extremely lush gourd vine, with seven gourds of different colors, all displaying innate spiritual light. They were seven innate spiritual gourds.

"What an extraordinary innate spiritual root!"

"These seven gourds can all be considered to be of the innate number. With just a little refinement, they can be used as magical artifacts for achieving enlightenment." Zhen Yuanzi looked at the seven gourds on the gourd vine and exclaimed in admiration.

Refining a magical artifact into a Dao artifact is no easy task.

Even if it is refined with innate spiritual materials, it may still fall into inferior quality and become an acquired spiritual treasure.

Only those like Zhen Yuanzi who refine with innate energy, or the Three Pure Ones who refine with extremely rare innate spiritual materials, could possibly be somewhere between innate and acquired.

The seven gourds before us are not only naturally formed spiritual objects, but each also contains a Dao law. With a little refinement, they can be used as Dao-attaining artifacts or protective spiritual treasures.

Sanqing and Hongyun were also delighted, their eyes lighting up.

Innate spiritual treasures are hard to come by, and such excellent innate spiritual objects are equally rare.

At this moment, several divine lights descended from the void and arrived in front of Zhen Yuanzi and the others. They were none other than the four great saints of the demon race: Fuxi, Nuwa, Dijun, and Taiyi.

Upon seeing the gourd vines in the valley, Fuxi, Nuwa, Dijun, and Taiyi all showed joy on their faces.

However, before the others could speak, the Taoist Taiqing walked straight to the gourd vine, reached out and picked a purple-gold gourd, and said with a smile, "This purple-gold gourd is destined for me; I can take it back and refine it into a magic artifact."

Seeing that the Taoist Taiqing had taken down a gourd, the Taoist Yuqing and the Taoist Shangqing also stepped forward and each took down a gourd.

It's just unknown what the mystery is behind the gourds they picked.

The three Pure Ones each stepped forward and picked a gourd, and the others naturally had no objections, since Mount Buzhou was the Pure Ones' sacred site.

At this point, four gourds remained on the gourd vine. Nuwa stepped forward and picked one gourd herself, saying, "My brother and I will only pick one gourd each; we hope you fellow Daoists will grant our request!"

This gourd was later refined by Nuwa into the Demon-Summoning Banner, a supreme treasure of the demon race, containing the divine souls and true spirits of all demons, and capable of controlling all demons in the primordial world.

Hearing Nuwa say this, the others naturally didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, Hongyun was about to step forward and pick a gourd when a red cloud suddenly emerged from one of the three remaining gourds on the gourd vine, detached itself, and drifted down towards the red cloud.

As soon as Hongyun reached out to take it, the red gourd transformed into a beam of light and rushed into the three flowers of Hongyun's primordial spirit.

This red gourd was later refined by Hongyun into a magical artifact for attaining enlightenment, named the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd. It contains red divine sand that can harm a person's primordial spirit and corrode their body, making it a rather good spiritual treasure.

"Innate spiritual objects choose their own masters!" The Taiqing Daoist exclaimed in surprise, "Fellow Daoist, what an auspicious opportunity!"

"Fellow Daoist, with such a naturally born spiritual object choosing its master, the path to the Great Dao is truly promising," Zhen Yuanzi congratulated.

The selection of a master by an innate spiritual object or an innate spiritual treasure is extremely rare, saving a great deal of time in the refining process. Moreover, any innate spiritual object or innate spiritual treasure that chooses a master is bound to share the same Dao Laws, making it most suitable for refining into a Dao artifact and serving as a vessel for the primordial spirit and the three corpses.

"We two Taoist priests will only pick one gourd." Di Jun stepped forward and picked a golden gourd.

This golden gourd was later refined by Di Jun into a spiritual treasure called the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, a renowned killing treasure in the prehistoric world, whose power surpasses that of some innate spiritual treasures.

At this moment, only one green gourd remained on the gourd vine, its entire body as clear as jade, with a shimmering sheen on its surface.

"This humble Taoist will also pick a gourd," Zhen Yuanzi said with a chuckle as he stepped forward.

However, Zhen Yuanzi did not pluck the green gourd directly. Instead, he waved his sleeve and collected the gourd vine and the soil along with it.

Seeing that Zhen Yuanzi had put the gourd vine away along with the gourd, Shangqing Daoist couldn't help but ask curiously, "This gourd vine has exhausted its spiritual power, fellow Daoist, why did you put it away?"

Only the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa could see the preciousness of the gourd vine.

Rather, the gourd vine that produced seven innate gourds had already exhausted its own innate spiritual light, so even if it were taken back and planted, it would be of no use.

"That being said, this gourd vine is, after all, an innate spiritual root. I intend to plant it in a place where chaotic energy gathers, and see if it can recover somewhat."

"Even if it cannot be restored in the future, it can still be appreciated as a spiritual root." Zhen Yuanzi did not expect the gourd vine to bloom and bear fruit again. He would be satisfied as long as it could be restored to some extent.

Whether it is used as a spiritual material to refine a spiritual treasure or simply regarded as a spiritual root for appreciation, it is superior to all other acquired spiritual roots.

Moreover, when Zhen Yuanzi was collecting the gourd vine and soil together, he suddenly remembered something: the soil under the ginseng fruit tree was innate Wu soil.

The soil beneath this gourd vine is probably no ordinary soil either.

Zhen Yuanzi had some vague guesses, and it was probably the legendary Nine Heavens Breath Soil.

"Fellow Daoist, you have quite the refined taste." Yuqing Daoist thought of the various spiritual roots and immortal herbs planted in Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, which showed that Zhen Yuanzi usually liked to collect spiritual roots.

"Fellow Daoists, let Zhen Yuanzi plant his spiritual root gourd vine. We should go back and refine our treasures as soon as possible." Hongyun felt the gourd in his primordial spirit and was already impatient to refine it into a Dao-attaining magic weapon.

"That's excellent!" Daoist Shangqing nodded in approval.

Although the Three Pure Ones each possessed magical artifacts for attaining enlightenment, apart from the Taiqing Daoist, the Yuqing and Shangqing Daoists lacked innate spiritual treasures for protection, as did Nuwa. Therefore, they all wanted to return as soon as possible to refine their treasures into spiritual treasures for protection.

After all, not every innate god or demon has a companion spirit treasure. In addition to the companion spirit treasure Earth Book and the innate spirit root Ginseng Fruit Tree, Zhen Yuanzi also has the Yin-Yang Two Elements Lamp, the Southern Li Earth Flame Banner, and the innate twelve-grade Pure World White Lotus and the innate twelve-grade Destruction Black Lotus, which are not yet mature.

In addition, there are two innate ninth-grade black lotuses and several innate white jade lotuses.

Only then did he stop in a hurry to pick the gourd.

The Three Pure Ones and the others bid farewell to Zhen Yuanzi, and Hongyun also said goodbye before returning to the Fire Cloud Cave in the Thirty-Three Outer Heavens to cultivate and refine a Dao-enhancing magical artifact.

As the Three Pure Ones and the others rode away on auspicious clouds, a strange light flashed in Zhen Yuanzi's eyes. "If it weren't for the fact that Dao Ancestor Hongjun didn't explain the method of severing the three corpses and the quasi-saint path this time, I'm afraid I would have had to fight against the great saints of the demon race, such as Nuwa, Fuxi, Dijun, and Taiyi."

"Moreover, the Taoist Taiqing in Zixiao Palace will not reveal this matter."

At this time, the crowd was unaware of the method of severing the three corpses and the path of quasi-saints, and did not understand the preciousness of the innate gourd. They only regarded it as a rare innate spiritual material that could be used to refine spiritual treasures for protection.

This innate gourd can not only be refined into a magical artifact, but also be used to entrust the primordial spirit and the three corpses.

This is the most precious aspect of this innate gourd.

Even the gourd vines that Zhen Yuanzi collected, once they recover somewhat in the future, can be used to entrust the three corpses of the primordial spirit.

Of course, the higher the quality of the innate spiritual treasure that entrusts the primordial spirit and three corpses, the higher the cultivation level of the primordial spirit and three corpses that are severed will be.

This innate gourd and gourd vine are naturally inferior to some precious innate spiritual treasures.

However, even if Zhen Yuanzi and others don't need it, they can still bestow it upon their disciples to entrust their primordial spirits and three corpses.

After a while, Zhen Yuanzi withdrew his thoughts and flew towards Wanshou Mountain without stopping. He planned to go back and cultivate in seclusion for a period of time to organize what he had learned from this lecture.

Since Zhen Yuanzi went to Zixiao Palace in the Thirty-Three Heavens to listen to the Dao, Wuzhuang Temple has only had Qingfeng and Mingyue, the two boys, and the nine-headed beast left. They are quite leisurely and carefree. Apart from taking care of the spiritual roots and immortal herbs every day, they spend the rest of their time wandering around the mountains.

On this day, Qingfeng and Mingyue, having nothing to do, came to the edge of Longevity Mountain with the nine-headed beast. They found a large mountain to play in and collect some rare spiritual roots.

The nine-headed beast was initially unwilling to go, as the innate spiritual energy outside was scarce, and nothing was as suitable for cultivation as Longevity Mountain.

However, Qingfeng and Mingyue did not give the nine-headed beast a chance to refuse, and directly used the technique of riding the clouds and mist to arrive at the edge of Longevity Mountain.

Seeing this, the nine-headed beast could only mutter something, shake its nine enormous heads, and follow them out.

However, as soon as Qingfeng and Mingyue arrived in the mountains, they were startled by the scene before them.

In a place in the mountains where the innate spiritual energy was slightly dense, there was a huge ball of light floating in mid-air, breathing in and out innate spiritual energy and the essence of the five elements, faintly emitting a trace of the innate five elements' great law aura.

"You two boys, why did you steal the master's treasure?"

The nine-headed beast stared in alarm at the enormous ball of light before it, sensing the faint aura of the innate Five Elements Dao Laws emanating from it. "If the master finds out about this, it will be disastrous. We'd better put it back quickly."

"Nine Barbarians, stop talking nonsense! How dare we steal the master's treasure?" Qingfeng was startled by the nine-headed beast's words and quickly explained to it.

"Indeed, how dare we steal Master's treasures?" Mingyue, slightly bolder, stepped forward to examine the items and muttered to herself, "Could it be that we've encountered some kind of fortuitous opportunity?"

Upon hearing this, the nine-headed beast's enormous eyes flickered, and it immediately said, "Why don't we take this thing back to the temple first? When the master returns, he will naturally know what it is."

"If it really is some kind of treasure!" The nine-headed beast couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "If the master is in a good mood, perhaps he can bestow a few fruits upon us."

Since arriving at Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, the nine-headed beast has witnessed the preciousness of the ginseng fruit and has been hoping that Zhen Yuanzi would bestow one upon it so that it could taste its freshness.

"You nine-headed beast! So that's why you've been wandering around the orchard all day. You were thinking of stealing the master's fruit!" Qingfeng glared at the nine-headed beast, his little face full of vigilance.

"When Master returns, I'm going to tell him that you not only stole the spiritual roots and herbs from the temple, but you also tried to take the ginseng fruit." Mingyue glared at the nine-headed beast, not to be outdone.

Upon seeing this, the nine-headed beast's face fell, and it quickly begged for mercy, saying, "Gentlemen, please don't misunderstand. I, the Nine Barbarians, would never dare to covet the ginseng fruit."

At this point, the nine-headed beast quickly changed the subject, saying, "Have you two ever tasted the ginseng fruit?"

"Hmph, of course we have eaten it." Qingfeng Mingyue snorted coldly.

It would have been better if Qingfeng and Mingyue hadn't mentioned it. The nine-headed beast felt its mouth water and wished it could immediately take the ball of light in front of it back to the temple so that when Zhen Yuanzi returned, it could present the treasure before Qingfeng and Mingyue and maybe even get a few fruits to taste.

"Huh, a savage beast!" Suddenly, a woman appeared in the air, dressed in an earth-yellow palace gown, with a graceful appearance and an air of nobility.

The visitor was Houtu, one of the twelve ancestral witches of the witch clan.

Houtu was on her way to the Ancestral Witch Hall to discuss matters with the other Ancestral Witches when she unexpectedly saw the enormous body of the nine-headed beast in the distance.

Upon hearing Houtu's voice, the nine-headed beast looked up and was immediately terrified, shouting in panic, "You two children, be careful! This is a high shaman of the Wu tribe!"

The nine-headed beast did not recognize Houtu, nor did it know that she was the ancestral witch of the witch clan.

But it recognized the identity of the Houtu Witch Clan.

The Wu tribe enjoys hunting wild beasts for food. The Nine Barbarians have encountered the Wu tribe several times and have dealt with some of the Wu people. They know that the Wu tribe's Great Witch is far more powerful than they and Qingfeng Mingyue can handle.

The Great Witch of the Witch Clan!

Far from being afraid, Qingfeng and Mingyue bowed respectfully and said, "Qingfeng and Mingyue greet the Great Shaman!"

Looking at the clear breeze and bright moon before her, Houtu couldn't help but nod to herself. Although these two boys only had the cultivation of Golden Immortals, their foundations were very deep, their magical power was pure, and their divine light was hidden. Clearly, their cultivation methods were extraordinary.

Even knowing that she was a high-ranking witch of the witch clan, he showed no fear whatsoever, but instead remained polite and courteous. One wonders which powerful being had trained him.

"Houtu of the Wu Clan greets the two boys. May I ask who the master you two mentioned is?" Houtu asked curiously.

Houtu!

The Ancestral Witch of the Witch Clan!

The nine-headed beast let out a mournful howl, its nine enormous heads revealing expressions of terror, as if it had encountered a natural enemy. It wished it could immediately return to Longevity Mountain and vowed never to come out with Qingfeng and Mingyue again.

"Greetings, Ancestral Witch Houtu!" Upon learning that the woman before him was Houtu, one of the twelve Ancestral Witches of the Witch Clan, Qingfeng Mingyue immediately bowed deeply again and said, "Reporting to Ancestral Witch Houtu, my master is Zhenyuanzi Zhenren of Wuzhuang Temple on Wanshou Mountain. He has not yet returned from listening to a lecture at Zixiao Palace in the Thirty-Three Outer Heavens."

Upon hearing this, the nine-headed beast was so frightened that it almost collapsed to the ground, letting out a silent lament: "It's over, it's over. This time, I've been killed by Qingfeng and Mingyue."

(End of this chapter)