The Rise of the Witch

"First, let's talk about the essence blood. Once you step into the Great Witch Realm, all your supernatural powers will undergo a transformation, and what you need to activate these supernatural powers is the essence blood of the Witch Clan."

Mi Xiaoling frowned slightly, chewing vigorously, her expression somewhat displeased: "Refining essence blood requires a special essence refining technique. You'll have to ask your own witch spirit about that, just like your war dance... By the way, do you still need to perform the war dance now?"

Xing Yang didn't notice the strange look on Mi Xiaoling's face and shook his head, saying, "I incorporated the battle dance into combat and created a set of fist techniques called 'Thirty-Six Forms of Heaven-Shattering.' Later, Wa Xin gave me a battle axe, which I nurtured into a witch weapon, and created another set of axe techniques called 'Thirty-Six Forms of Heaven-Opening'..."

Now I no longer need to specifically practice war dances; simply performing these two "Thirty-Six Forms" is equivalent to war dance, making me stronger in battle.

"What a terrible name!"

Mi Xiaoling complained, "Just like me, I don't need Nuo opera anymore. I just need to accept faith to slowly transform into a witch spirit... Ugh!"

Xing Yang asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Mi Xiaoling tilted her head, spat to the side, and said, "This is awful!" before throwing the piece of meat back to him.

Xing Yang took the meat, and said thoughtfully, "Can't you chew it?"

Mi Xiaoling pretended not to hear and didn't respond, saying, "In short, to enter the Purple Pattern Realm, you not only need to refine your essence, but also need to transform your witch spirit. You need to work hard on both of these things yourself."

Xing Yang nodded: "Understood."

He then began to ponder.

Mi Xiaoling fell silent, her gaze fixed on the roasted meat in front of her, but her eyes kept glancing at Xing Yang, as if she were thinking about something.

  

……

After a while, Xing Yang suddenly came to his senses and asked, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, how did you end up here?"

Mi Xiaoling paused for a moment, then said, "I came here specifically after receiving the distress call."

Xing Yang recalled the four who had escaped and suddenly realized, "You know those four who ran back?"

"Um."

Mi Xiaoling nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Yanzi clan is a clan that has been passed down since ancient times, but it has long since died out and has never been able to awaken its shamanic powers."

Until more than two hundred years ago, she married a member of the Xuanyuan clan and gave birth to this generation's Xuan Nu, who possessed the bloodline closest to that of a witch. Although she still could not become a witch, she possessed the best talent for cultivation. In just one hundred years, she became a great cultivator. After that, she settled in the Great Wilderness and gathered together many small and medium-sized clans...

As she spoke, Mi Xiaoling glanced at the shattered demon corpse beside her and sighed, "I never imagined that the Mystic Maiden would fall at the hands of a demon saint. There must have been some scheming involved!"

Xing Yang asked curiously, "What's there to scheme about?"

Mi Xiaoling snorted and said, "Although the Yanzi clan only has Xuan Nu as a great cultivator, it has the backing of the Xuanyuan clan and the Suiren clan, and has connected with at least twenty medium-sized clans and hundreds of small clans."

If anyone were to challenge me for the throne, the Mystic Maiden would never support anyone else, only me! But if the Mystic Maiden were to fall, the fate of those smaller clans would be uncertain. Isn't that something worth scheming against?

Xing Yang couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise, "You know so much!"

Mi Xiaoling raised her head and said, "I have established an academy and have cultivated many talents over the years. A little analysis will make this clear."

Xing Yang praised sincerely, "Impressive! Really! With your efficiency, you really have a fighting chance at the throne!"

"That's right!"

Mi Xiaoling continued with great pride, "And here is this place, called Xuan Su Valley. It has a special environment, with spring-like weather all year round. There are fewer than ten places with such an environment in the Great Wilderness, and this is the only place in Kunlun Mountain. There are more than a dozen special medicinal herbs in the valley that can only grow in such an environment."

With the support of Xuanyuan and Suiren, Xuan Nu was able to defend this place. But now that Xuan Nu has perished, Xuanyuan and Suiren can't find anyone to support them, which gives many people an opportunity to take advantage of the situation... This is something worth scheming about.

Xing Yang nodded and said, "With the support of the smaller clans and the Yanzi clan's territory and resources, Xuan Nu's death wasn't unjust... But since you've explained it to me in such detail, is there something you want me to do?"

Mi Xiaoling smiled and said, "You're really smart; you guessed it right away!"

Xing Yang was speechless and said, "Don't flatter me... Do you want me to help you guard Xuan Su Valley? I'm just a minor witch, am I qualified?"

Mi Xiaoling pouted and said, "You still don't realize the importance of shamans... I became a shaman when I was one year old and was taken to the Xuanyuan clan, where I received the support of the entire clan!"

Xing Yang said helplessly, "You have the bloodline of the Xuanyuan clan, so it's natural that you'd easily gain support, but I don't have the bloodline of the Yanzi clan!"

Mi Xiaoling sighed and said, "As long as you're a shaman, no clan will care about bloodlines... Besides, it's not like you're going to be stationed here forever. As long as the cultivation resources in Xuan Su Valley can be distributed to your clans as usual, and you appease them a little, those people will have the patience to wait for the next Xuan Nu to grow up!"

Xing Yang exclaimed in surprise, "There's another next generation of Mystic Maidens? Then this Mystic Maiden who hasn't even come of age yet is in danger!"

Even the great cultivator Xuan Nu was schemed against and perished, so this one, who hasn't even grown up yet, probably won't live much longer either!

Mi Xiaoling said solemnly, "Yes! That's why we need you to help her hold off the enemy and prevent her from perishing halfway through."

Xing Yang thought for a moment and decided it wasn't a big deal, so he said, "Okay, I'll keep her by my side to protect her from now on. There shouldn't be any major problems."

Mi Xiaoling didn't speak, but looked at him with a strange expression.

Xing Yang was puzzled and asked, "What? Do you expect me to go and stay by her side?"

Mi Xiaoling hesitated for a moment, then said, "More or less..."

Xing Yang: "...It's a bit troublesome, but it's not impossible."

After hesitating for a long time, Mi Xiaoling said, "Have you ever thought that if someone schemes to marry her, they can take over the Yanzi clan and gain the support of all the smaller clans under the Yanzi clan...?"

Xing Yang finally realized what was happening and exclaimed in shock, "You want me to marry her?"

"No!" Mi Xiaoling shook her head.

Xing Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could even finish, he heard Mi Xiaoling continue, "You're the one who married her!"

Holding his fist right in front of Mi Xiaoling's eyes, Xing Yang gritted his teeth and said, "See that? A fist the size of a sandbag. Believe me or not, I can punch you until you cry!"

"It's only nominal; this way, we can protect her and thwart the schemes of those with ulterior motives..."

"I won't do it!"

"I guarantee that while the next generation of Mystic Maidens may not be as talented as this generation, they will still be exceptionally gifted, and each of them will be extremely beautiful..."

"I won't do it!"

"You may take all the provisions from Xuan Su Valley, and enjoy spiritual food at every meal..."

"I won't do it!"

"This generation's Mystic Maiden has a spirit chef by her side who will follow the next Mystic Maiden..."

"No... um? A spirit chef?" Xing Yang choked, swallowed hard, and couldn't help but ask, "How does he compare to Sister Qing?"

Mi Xiaoling chuckled, "She's followed the Goddess of Mystic Arts for at least fifty years, always in charge of her meals. What do you think?"

Xing Yang couldn't help but recall the days of living like a hunter in the mountains these past few years, and began to hesitate: "This... still won't work..."

Mi Xiaoling added another bargaining chip: "Within the Xuanyuan Clan, I will have all records concerning the War Witches copied and sent to you!"

Xing Yang immediately thought of his current predicament, stuck at the red mark and unable to advance to the purple mark, and gritted his teeth: "Tell me first, how long exactly do I have to wait? It can't be a hundred years, can it?"

"Wait until you step into the realm of colored patterns and become a Great Wizard, or until she achieves her final form!"

"What level is she at now?"

"The initial stage of immortal cultivation."

"I'm starting to regret it."