"Ancestor Master above! Could that be Buzhou Mountain?"

Huo Ling'er also spotted the Buzhou Mountain and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Yu Yuan's eyes twinkled with astonishment, and numerous thoughts surged in his heart.

It is an ancient legend that after the Pangu God opened up the Primordial Heaven and Earth, he died from exhaustion, his physical body evolving into everything in the world.

His eyes became the sun and moon, his muscle the farmlands, his limbs and body the extremities and the five sacred mountains… and his spine transformed into the Buzhou Mountain.

Reaching to the heavens and grounded in the yellow earth.

It is truly a Sky-Supporting Giant Pillar!

But wasn't this Buzhou Mountain already destroyed in the Witch Demon Calamity?

At this moment, a shocked cry from a distance caught his attention.

"My god, what is this place?"

Yu Yuan looked up, and saw a True Immortal riding a Golden-Eyed Beast flying through the sky a hundred miles away, all wearing expressions of disbelief.

Clearly, he too had just entered this "Grotto Heaven" and was shocked by the sight of the Buzhou Mountain.

Perhaps noticing Yu Yuan and others, the True Immortal riding a Water Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast flew towards them, calling out from afar: "Fellow Daoists ahead, please hold, I am an Independent Immortal from the East Sea..."

Suddenly, two massive, black-haired hands each dozens of yards wide abruptly reached out from the forests below, then slammed together in the air like swatting a mosquito.

"Bang—" Thanks for reading—brought to you by *.

Like a thunderclap in a clear sky, the impact created visible white shockwaves spreading outward from those giant hands.

At the same time, the True Immortal's words abruptly cut off.

"That is…"

Huo Ling'er, having witnessed this scene, widened her eyes in horror and amazement.

In the next instant, the giant hands rapidly shrank, and a large mass of indistinguishable "meat patty" exposed to the air, which then plummeted straight down into the forest under the law of gravity.

However, the expected loud crash of heavy impact did not occur, because a burly giant dressed in beast skins appeared on a peak, skillfully opening his mouth to inhale.

A violent wind arose, curling around the "meat patty" which rapidly decreased in size, finally disappearing into his mouth.

The giant chewed a few times, and soon a stream of fresh blood dripped from the corner of his lips, trickling down his chin to create a wave of blood upon the ground.

Faintly, one could see a True Immortal's Primordial Spirit struggling painfully next to his mouth, but it quickly disappeared with the giant's swallowing.

"Did he… eat it?"

Huo Ling'er turned pale, turning her head away, unable to bear watching anymore.

Just now, that True Immortal had been greeting her, and in the blink of an eye, he ended up as a meal in that burly giant's mouth, with even his Primordial Spirit being consumed alive!

Even though she was an Immortal Golden Immortal, she still felt nauseated and frightened by such a brutal scene.

"Hmm, he ate it."

Yu Yuan nodded, his gaze still fixed intently on the burly giant, sizing him up carefully.

The giant was over twelve feet tall, robustly built with long limbs, disheveled, resembling a humanoid Fierce Beast, and his entire presence exuded a murderous aura.

All these signs confirmed his identity—a member of the Witch Clan!

In the Primordial multitude of races, all cultivate by absorbing Spiritual Energy, except for the Witch Clan who do not cultivate the Primordial Spirit or absorb Spiritual Energy, but instead cultivate by drawing murderous aura into their bodies.

As Yu Yuan contemplated silently, the giant took a step and appeared on a peak only a few hundred yards away.

Shrinking the earth to an inch!

Yu Yuan immediately recognized the Divine Skill the other used, and at the same time stretched out his hand to stop Huo Ling'er, who instinctively wanted to fight as she felt the giant's approach, transmitting a message, "Don't rush, he has no intent to kill us."

Indeed, as he said, the Witch Clan giant did not attack but instead looked up curiously at them, his voice boomy and muffled: "Why did you two just watch me eat that little demon, neither helping nor thinking to run?

Could it be that you two are not from the Demon Clan?"

Little demon? Demon Clan?

Indeed, that True Immortal had achieved enlightenment as a member of the Water Clan of East Sea and could be called a Demon God in the Ancient Era.

But now, regardless of origin, as long as one has passed the Immortal Formation Tribulation, all can be called "Immortals"!

This reference to a "little demon" certainly does not sound like today's terminology.

Yu Yuan quickly processed this internally, yet calmly replied: "We two are Innate Spirits who have transformed, naturally not from the Demon Clan."

The Witch Clan man nodded, responding with sudden realization, "So the two of you are Innate Divine Spirits, then indeed you are not from the Demon Clan… Were those two Demon Clan members just now chasing after you?

I've heard that the Heavenly Court is currently expanding aggressively, waging wars everywhere, and forcing all the clans in Primordial Heaven and Earth to join the Heavenly Court. I suppose the two of you had no choice but to flee to Buzhou Mountain, right?

Rest assured and stay here; Buzhou Mountain is the territory of our Witch Clan, with the Twelve Ancestor Witches in charge. No matter how much commotion the Demon Court may cause, they will surely not dare to be enemies with our Witch Clan!"

"Huh?"

Huo Ling'er blinked and whispered to Yu Yuan, "What is he babbling about? Demon Court, Ancestor Witches, haven't they all vanished long ago?"

Yu Yuan ignored her question, focusing intently on the Witch Clan man, and asked, "The Heavenly Court you mentioned just now, is it the one established by Emperor Jun of the Demon Clan?"

The Witch Clan man looked at him curiously and replied in a sonorous tone, "Apart from the Demon Clan Heavenly Court, could there be another Heavenly Court?"

Yu Yuan shuddered slightly and then shook his head.

"Well, that settles it then." The Witch Clan man pointed to the sun in the sky and said in a sonorous voice, "Isn't that Heavenly Court just concocted by a tiny bird living on the sun?"

Pausing, he looked at Yu Yuan and Huo Ling'er, "By the way, I am a Great Witch of the Houtu Tribe; you can call me Da Pan. What are your names?"

"I..."

Yu Yuan had just begun to speak when he suddenly felt an overwhelming and invisible force enveloping and pulling him, whisking him away rapidly—or rather, pulling him back!

In that instant, he felt as though he was aboard the "Curved Realm Ark", though the view before him was not of dark void, but a colorfully vivid tunnel.

Unfortunately, this scene only lasted a moment before disappearing without a trace. He was now seeing the blue sky and white clouds again, and below him was a deep, bottomless dark abyss.

They had been "bounced" back!

And it seemed they weren't the only ones.

A few miles away, a faint trail of Chaotic Divine Light flickered momentarily, followed abruptly by a figure appearing in midair.

The figure clutched a water bucket-sized, flame-like red jade in his hands, his face filled with delight.

"That's a Red Sunstone!"

Huo Ling'er recognized the origin of the stone, exclaiming in surprise, "My master once used a Red Sunstone to craft a treasure for me. He said that Red Sunstones are plentiful in Buzhou Mountains, containing extreme yang power, useful for crafting treasures and alchemy.

Such Red Sunstones were not originally precious, but since the collapse of Buzhou Mountains, they have become extremely rare, a piece the size of a fingernail could be exchanged for ten pounds of Xuanyin Essence Gold.

He actually has such a large piece... Ah, he must have found it just now in that 'Grotto Heaven'!"

Saying this, she expressed some annoyance, "It's all Da Pan's fault! If he hadn't delayed us, we could have definitely found a lot of treasures!"

The person in the distance, hearing the noise, glanced this way and quickly tucked the Red Sunstone into his sleeve and boarded a white cloud, intending to leave.

Just then, an unexpected thick bolt of crimson lightning struck from the sky.

"BOOM—"

After a loud noise, only a few wisps of blue smoke drifted in the air.

Huo Ling'er: Σ(°△°|||)︴

"What happened? What's going on? Why was he suddenly struck by lightning? I didn't sense anyone using thunder within a thousand miles?"

Yu Yuan arched an eyebrow and glanced at her, "Heavenly punishment strikes, how could you sense it?"

"Hm? What did he do to trigger the Heavenly Dao to summon a thunder punishment?"

Curiosity flashed in Huo Ling'er's eyes as she looked at Yu Yuan, only to unexpectedly find him rather relaxed, a hint of pleasure flitting across his features.

She hooked her hand around Yu Yuan's neck, feigning fierceness, and threatened with a harsh tone, "Spill it, what did you find out?"

Yu Yuan rolled his eyes, somewhat irritably replied, "Use that brain of yours. If you don't start thinking, you'll become as dumb as Wen Zhong's disciple Kang."

"You're comparing me to that pig?! Believe it or not, I'll bite you!"

Huo Ling'er, frustrated and itching to bite, suddenly had an epiphany, exclaiming, "I get it, it was the Red Sunstone! That heavenly retribution was actually aimed at the Red Sunstone!"

Yu Yuan nodded approvingly, "Then why did the Red Sunstone attract heavenly retribution?"

"Because... because..."

Huo Ling'er hesitated, reluctant to voice her speculation.

Recognizing her concern, Yu Yuan replied with a smile, "Rule out all the impossible options, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Affirming his words, Huo Ling'er nodded earnestly and said, "The Red Sunstone attracted heavenly retribution because it should not exist in this era… The place we visited earlier wasn't any 'Grotto Heaven' at all, but rather, we had returned to the Ancient Era!"

Yu Yuan nodded, his face carrying a serious expression, then patted her head appreciatively, "Not bad, your brain is definitely much smarter than that of Kang."

Huo Ling'er: o(￣ヘ￣o＃)

"I'll bite you, I swear!"