Chapter 543: The Oracle of the Witch God; A Shadow from the unknown Realm; Reversal of Time

The Witch God was an ancient deity. In ages past, it had been exceedingly powerful, with vast numbers of believers in the mortal world and flourishing incense offerings.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the Witch God had long since been submerged in the river of time, fading into obscurity.

However, Prince Qing’s heir had mastered certain ancient secret arts. Through them, he established a connection with the Witch God and became its emissary.

All this time, he had cultivated various secret techniques using essence blood and souls, offering them as sustenance to the Witch God. At last, he constructed this blood-sacrifice formation, using the lives of the captured civilians to summon the Witch God.

As Prince Qing’s heir finished speaking, dark clouds rolled across the sky. What had been bright daylight instantly turned pitch-black, as though a torrential downpour were about to fall.

A gigantic ghostly face appeared, formed entirely from clouds. Its expression was cold and emotionless as it gazed down upon the entirety of Liang County.

“Why have you summoned me?” The Witch God’s voice boomed like summer thunder.

“My god, in recent days the Prince’s forces have faced encirclement by the court and suffered heavy losses. In the battle at Qingfeng Ridge alone, casualties were immense.”

Prince Qing’s heir continued cautiously, testing the waters. “I beg the Witch God to intervene, to blunt the court’s advance and protect the Prince’s household!”

When news of the defeat at Qingfeng Ridge first reached him, Prince Qing’s heir had been utterly stunned.

Troops from the White Marsh Demon Kingdom, heterodox illegitimate gods of the Kingdom of Qian, three lords from the Demon Kingdom, as well as Daoist Spiritual Master Jiugong and Yin Xuansheng, two third-realm Yang Spirit experts... Such overwhelming power had been completely annihilated?! It was simply unbelievable!

“For such trivial matters, you dare disturb me!” The Witch God’s voice came from the horizon, cold beyond measure.

Prince Qing’s heir’s heart skipped.

“However, since this is your first offense, I will not pursue it. If there is a next time, I will kill you first!” the Witch God spoke indifferently.

Prince Qing’s heir finally let out a breath of relief. The Witch God was notorious for casually cutting away lifespan; yet this time, it had been unexpectedly lenient.

“My god, this time the court has dispatched at least three Yang Spirit experts. If you do not act, the Prince’s household will surely be destroyed, and we may lack the strength to continue our offerings in the future.”

“Immortal gods cannot casually intervene in mortal affairs. I can, however, guide you to seek out several sources of aid.” The Witch God’s voice echoed across the skies of Liang County.

When he heard this, Prince Qing’s heir’s heart stirred. Even if the Witch God did not act personally, being able to find several additional Yang Spirit experts would greatly increase their chances. Dealing with such an ancient deity left him with little confidence to begin with.

Moments later, several divine revelations were directly transmitted into Prince Qing’s heir’s mind.

His eyes immediately lit up, and he said, “Many thanks, my god!”

Prince Qing’s heir, dressed in white robes, bowed respectfully. The dark clouds dispersed, and the ghostly face in the sky vanished. The ancient deity had delivered only its oracle before departing, unwilling to interfere further in mortal affairs.

Still, Prince Qing’s heir was extremely satisfied with what he had gained. According to the Witch God’s guidance, he could at the very least enlist two hidden cultivation giants.

***

In an unknown place within a mysterious space, two indistinct figures were engaged in conversation.

Suddenly, another blurred figure appeared within this unknown realm.

“Number Three, you’re back?”

“Yes.”

The two indistinct figures moved closer.

“What happened?”

“My emissary ran into some trouble and wanted me to act, to help him deal with a mortal dynasty.”

“And you agreed?”

“Of course not. It’s not time yet. We’ll wait until the cracks grow a little larger.”

The third figure replied calmly.

“Number Two, any findings? What happened to Number Four? Why did they disappear?” Number Three’s shadow asked.

Number Two shook their head. “It’s strange. They vanished without a trace. In this regard, Number Four should be an immortal, undying existence. Why would they suddenly disappear?”

“Unless one of you two intervened,” the previously silent blurred figure suddenly spoke.

“If you put it that way, Number One, I’d think you devoured Number Four yourself! You have the most marks on you,” Number Three, who had been summoned by Prince Qing’s heir, replied coldly.

“Enough, stop arguing. This matter reeks of strangeness. If any of us had devoured another, there would have been a reaction. It’s clearly not that simple,” Number Two said.

The unknown space fell silent once more.

“Number Four’s power is limited, but he can grow by consuming fate. I heard him mention before that he seems bound to the bloodline the Witch God left in the mortal world. His sudden disappearance may well be connected to that bloodline,” Number Two continued.

“Shall we use Time Reversal to investigate?” Number Three suggested.

The other two remained silent.

Time Reversal would require all three to act together, consuming a portion of their primordial power. Having found their mortal devotees, Number Three was not afraid of the expenditure.

Still, in order to locate the suddenly vanished Number Four within this unknown space, Number One and Number Two agreed to Number Three’s proposal. With that, the three shadows linked their auras.

Soon, an ancient and powerful energy emanated from all three, appearing to share a single origin, yet each slightly distinct. Each of their auras seemed incomplete, only holding a portion of the whole.

Then, a light screen appeared, and the scene rendered them silent.

A young Daoist, with sharp, striking features and extraordinary looks, had been forcibly brought into this unknown space.

“Eh? How did Number Four bring someone in?” Number Three asked in surprise.

“Number Four can consume fate. It’s irreversible and cannot be detected. All it needs is to wait and absorb the ambient energy. Why bring someone in?”

Then, they witnessed a scene that shocked them profoundly.

The young Daoist took out a powerful ink brush, imbued with immense sealing power.

“A brush from the underworld?” Number Three was astonished again.

After using Time Reversal to observe the entire process, the unknown space remained silent for a long time, and no one spoke. The event seemed to have deeply shaken all three of them.

In this space, the passage of time could not be sensed, and they had no idea how long had passed.

“Who on earth is this young Daoist?” Number Three asked, astonished.

“This one is terrifying. Absolutely do not make an enemy of him. Number Four brought this upon himself; do not interfere,” Number One concluded decisively.

A remarkably steady judgment!

The other two mysterious blurred figures exchanged glances, nodded, and quickly left the area where Number Four had been, careful not to touch his ill fortune.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

***

At Qingfeng Ridge military camp, Li Yanchu was cultivating within the camp. His eyes were tightly closed, and he had laid down a formation that cut off all connection with the world.

This formation had been set up by Shen Hongye. Unless Li Yanchu opened it himself, even a Yang Spirit expert would not easily detect it.

Shen Hongye was indeed a prodigy with formations, a fact that left Li Yanchu genuinely impressed. Truly, there were experts in every field.

Then, he swallowed the second Blood-Qi Pill.

Thump, thump, thump!

His heart began to pound with terrifying force. If not for the formation isolating the space, that sound would have echoed throughout the entire Qingfeng Ridge military camp...