Turning to serious matters, the Ancestral Witches all quieted down one by one, looking solemnly at Xuanjian and awaiting his words.
Even after birthing Essence Souls, the Ancestral Witches still possessed fiery tempers, but they were already far better than before.
At the very least, Gonggong and Zhurong were merely bickering this time, rather than staging an all-out brawl over a single disagreement.
Regarding this matter, Xuanjian did not answer immediately. He pondered for a moment before slowly nodding. “My previous advice for you to rein in your clansmen was indeed based on such considerations.
“A tribulation is perilous beyond measure. The slightest carelessness will lead to death and the destruction of one's Dao. Even the three Innate clans of the Dragon-Han era suffered catastrophic devastation in their tribulation; we cannot follow in their footsteps.”
“However...” Houtu's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her tone laced with worry. “Little Brother Xuanjian, our Wu tribe lacks Essence Souls and cannot absorb spiritual energy to cultivate. If we wish to grow stronger, our only path is to absorb fiend qi and blood vitality to temper our physical bodies. If we don't hunt for flesh and blood, merely absorbing fiend qi won't allow our clansmen to increase their strength at all. And... they would starve to death.”
The Wu tribe was unlike cultivators of the Essence Soul.
Once Essence Soul cultivators reached the Earth Immortal realm, they could essentially abstain from food entirely.
The Wu tribe, however, could not.
The Wu tribe needed to consume vast quantities of flesh and blood to sustain their physical vitality.
If they went without food for a prolonged period, their blood vitality would wither, and starvation would be inevitable.
Although the Twelve Ancestral Witches had birthed Essence Souls and could draw spiritual energy into their bodies to cultivate as immortals, the countless billions of their clansmen had no Essence Souls.
“Houtu makes a valid point.” Dijiang spoke with a grave expression. “Brother Xuanjian, do you have any solutions?”
“I have three methods that can resolve the Wu tribe's dilemma,” Xuanjian said, raising three fingers.
The moment these words were spoken, the Ancestral Witches were astonished.
Xuanjian actually had a way?
And he offered three all at once!
Truly incredible.
His brain was simply far sharper than those of the Ancestral Witches.
Gonggong could not wait. “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and tell us!”
Zhurong snapped back, “What the hell are you rushing for? Don't rush him, let Brother Xuanjian explain at his own pace!”
Bang!
Bang!
Houtu appeared behind Gonggong and Zhurong. Grabbing one with each hand, she slammed their heads together. “Be quiet! It's always you two making a racket.”
Xuanjian smiled faintly at the sight. The way the Ancestral Witches interacted... really couldn't do without fists and physical blows.
“Ahem.”
Xuanjian cleared his throat twice. Without keeping them in suspense, he got straight to the point: “The first method is quite simple: establish deep cooperation with Minghe of the Blood Sea.
“What kind of place is the Netherworld Blood Sea? It is the most foul and chaotic region in Honghuang. Since ancient times, from the Creation Tribulation to the Ferocious Beast Tribulation, and up to the most recent Dragon-Han Tribulation, countless beings of Honghuang have perished. Their blood and souls have all gathered in the Netherworld Blood Sea.
“Accumulated over endless ages, the blood vitality and fiend qi amassed within the Blood Sea are unimaginably vast!
“Although it is mingled with the most yin, evil, and filthy substances, intertwined with blood vitality and fiend qi, you only need to set up a formation to separate them.
“For the Wu tribe, the Blood Sea is an inexhaustible treasure vault.”
The Netherworld Blood Sea.
Formed from the navel of the great deity Pangu, it was colloquially known as Honghuang's garbage dump.
Ever since creation, it had gathered the foul blood from within the great deity Pangu's navel, Creation Fiend Qi, Innate Turbid Qi, and various other impure energies. Later, after countless years of accumulation—with various races slaughtering one another and mighty experts shedding their blood—the spilled blood and lingering grievances all converged into the Netherworld Blood Sea. Over time, the Blood Sea became Honghuang's most yin, malevolent, fiendish, filthy, and slaughterous place!
Every single drop of blood sea water contained terrifying negative energies such as resentment, turbid qi, fiend qi, and killing intent. It was incomparably toxic and exceedingly corrosive; touching it brought instant death, dissolving the victim into pus and blood to be assimilated by the Blood Sea.
Even Daluo Golden Immortals and Innate Spiritual Treasures could not withstand the corrosion of the Blood Sea's water.
Aside from Minghe, an Innate Sacred Being nurtured from the core origin of the Blood Sea, who else could roam freely within it?
No, while the Blood Sea was a forbidden zone for others, to a race like the Wu tribe who needed blood vitality and fiend qi to cultivate their physical bodies, it was a colossal treasure trove.
The only condition was that they must not step inside it.
“The Blood Sea?”
Hearing Xuanjian's first method, the Ancestral Witches looked at one another. Setting their newly birthed brains into motion, they unleashed their super-intellect!
Then, they arrived at a settled conclusion.
This method was feasible!
“However, I've heard that Minghe of the Blood Sea has always been deceitful and unpredictable, treating the Blood Sea as his exclusive domain and tolerating no intrusion. If we enter rashly, we might antagonize Minghe and sever this path entirely,” Dijiang noted.
Look at that—this was Dijiang after birthing an Essence Soul, already weighing pros and cons.
Had it been before, Dijiang would have undoubtedly gathered his brothers and sisters without a second word to beat Minghe to a pulp first.
Outside, Minghe's capabilities could rival at most two Ancestral Witches; any more, and he would definitely be hammered into paste. But within the Blood Sea... even if all twelve Ancestral Witches attacked together, they likely would not be able to overcome this Innate Sacred Being.
Others might not know, but Xuanjian knew full well.
Minghe possessed a divine ability known as the Blood God Son Avatars!
There were a total of 840 million Blood God Son Avatars, and each avatar was equivalent to Minghe himself.
Though they could not all appear simultaneously, they granted Minghe 840 million lives.
In the Blood Sea, Minghe could whittle the Ancestral Witches down with chip damage until they questioned their very existence.
In the future, there was a saying that described Minghe's might: “As long as the Blood Sea does not dry up, Minghe shall never die!”
From this, one could see just how formidable Minghe was.
“We truly cannot resort to brute force,” Zhujiuyin analyzed. “If we could kill Minghe in a single strike, that would be fine. Otherwise, if we offend him this time, Minghe will surely spare no effort to thwart us whenever we try to tap into the Blood Sea.”
Houtu said, “Minghe cannot be offended. We must win him over.”
Regarding Xuanjian's first method concerning the Blood Sea, brute force? Unviable.
Only strategy would do.
On this matter, Xuanjian already had a strategy prepared for Minghe.
“No need to worry about that.” Xuanjian smiled calmly, speaking with confidence. “I have my own ways to make Minghe cooperate with us.”
“How could we trouble you with that? Brother Xuanjian has already devised plans for us; how could we impose on you to step forward and handle the legwork as well?” Dijiang said somewhat sheepishly.
The other Ancestral Witches felt the same.
Xuanjian waved his hand. “It doesn't matter. We are brothers; refusing any further would only make us strangers.”
Would Xuanjian ever engage in a losing deal?
No, he would not.
As a merchant, pursuing profit was his very essence.
It might seem as though the Ancestral Witches were freeloading off Xuanjian, but in truth, what Xuanjian had his eyes on was the Ancestral Witches themselves.
“Next, I'll explain the second and third methods. These two are relatively simpler, and you can carry them out on your own,” Xuanjian added.
Hearing this, the Ancestral Witches' eyes lit up, and they looked at Xuanjian with immense excitement.
Xuanjian continued, “The second method...”
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