Chapter 122: The Origin of Witches

"Viliat, just resign yourself to your fate. You cannot escape, hehehe." The demon flapped its wings, looking at Viliat with an exaggerated expression, seemingly convinced that victory was already his.

"Oh? Is that so? You think you can capture me with just that?" Viliat turned around, her face filled with disdain.

Only then did the demon notice that his companions were nowhere to be seen; he was now alone. Just as he prepared to flee, a beam of blue light illuminated him, and his figure gradually vanished into the forest.

"Hmph, even when bizarre creatures awaken their intelligence, they remain just as stupid." She sat on her broom, hands on her hips, looking quite smug.

"Just because they are stupid does not mean all bizarre creatures are," a strange voice interjected.

The voice seemed to come from right behind her. She instinctively looked back to see a large tree with a human face smiling at her. Startled, she immediately tried to escape. However, the tree's branches lashed out, slamming her to the ground and forming a cage that trapped her tightly. The tree slowly shrank, eventually transforming into a doll.

Watching Viliat struggle continuously within the cage, Feng Tianlin chuckled. "I thought those demons would catch you, but I didn't expect them to be so pathetic."

He had originally intended to disguise himself as a tree to observe the witch's combat style, but the demons had proven so incompetent that they were finished off in no time. Feng Tianlin dissolved the cage, and without waiting for her to react, he grabbed the young witch by the scruff of her neck. A burst of flame erupted behind him, and with a leap, he soared high into the sky.

Viliat was held like a chick, struggling incessantly, but it was entirely futile.

"Tell me, where are your witches hiding?" Feng Tianlin asked slowly.

"Why should I tell you? You hateful doll!" She turned her head, glaring at Feng Tianlin with fury as she shouted.

A cryptic smile curled at the corners of Feng Tianlin's mouth as he muttered, "Soul Torture."

Five seconds later, Viliat’s expression went blank, her mouth hung open, drooling, as she used all her strength to point in a certain direction.

"Th... there."

Looking in the direction she pointed, there stood an exceptionally massive tree, highly conspicuous even within the forest.

"We witches were initially scattered, but once those bizarre creatures arrived, they wiped out several groups living on the forest outskirts without a word. That is why we have gathered there," Viliat added.

"Oh? Then how did you manage to escape?" Feng Tianlin asked curiously.

"Our witches cannot last for many more days. They need to preserve a foundation. As long as I escaped, I could take on apprentices throughout the Sunset Kingdom and rebuild the witches' power." She had been thoroughly broken by the Soul Torture and answered every question Feng Tianlin asked.

"Interesting." Feng Tianlin was quite intrigued by these witches. He was curious what kind of group could manage to offend both the bizarre creatures and the humans simultaneously.

He dropped Viliat from high in the air. She hit the ground with a thud, dying instantly.

Feng Tianlin had lost interest in the witch, but as she fell, a book dropped from her robe. Its cover was plastered with strange symbols, as if it were desperate to ensure everyone knew it was a spellbook.

"A magic book?" Feng Tianlin paused. A good find indeed. Acting on the principle that one shouldn't refuse a free gift, he descended to the ground, picked up the book, and began to read.

When he opened it, he was stunned. Why were all the incantations in Chinese? He flipped through several pages and found that, without exception, every spell was written in Chinese. Aside from the usage precautions, Feng Tianlin started to suspect this was actually a Chinese book.

Finally, in the last few pages, he discovered the shocking secret of the witches' origin.

In the Sunset Kingdom during the Era of the Bizarre, most people chose to submit to the slaughter of the bizarre creatures, but there were always those with ambition. The progenitor of the witches was one such person. She knew that the Sunset Kingdom could not resist the bizarre creatures on its own, so she sought help from the mysterious East.

At that time, before the bizarre creatures had dominated all of humanity, China was already locked in a stalemate against them. The witch progenitor reached China through unknown means and sought ways to combat the creatures. Eventually, she discovered a miraculous group: the Taoists.

To save her country, she knelt at the foot of a sect's mountain for three days and nights. The sect elders, intrigued by this foreigner, allowed her to become an outer disciple. Her daily task was to sweep the floor—nothing but sweeping.

However, perseverance pays off. Through her persistence, the sect finally bestowed upon her some of their lesser-regarded cultivation methods and spells. She began to practice diligently. Lacking a flying sword, she set her sights on her broom, independently developing a spell to fly upon it—which is the reason witches ride brooms today.

After completing her training, she returned to the Sunset Kingdom to take on apprentices. But the nature of the people there was set; they began researching the "side-door" paths of these Taoist arts to quickly increase their power, ultimately leading to their universal revulsion. After the Era of the Bizarre ended and a new era arrived, these witches—like their ancestors—remained shortsighted, continuing down the same path, using any means necessary to boost their strength.

Closing the magic book, Feng Tianlin remained stunned for a long time before blurting out two words: "Holy shit!"

He looked toward the distant tree. "I am becoming increasingly interested in these witches."

At the base of the giant tree, a group of witches stood holding staffs, fighting off bizarre creatures within a formation-like area. Swarms of creatures had surrounded them, as if they could breach the formation at any moment. Beside the formation sat several Loldo Demon Boxes; clearly, the creatures were harvesting their terror.

"Viliat has escaped; our persistence was not in vain," a white-haired witch shouted. Witches and Taoists shared many similarities, one of which was their sense of legacy. Just as a Taoist sect facing extinction would choose to preserve a talented junior, they had done the same.

Behind the bizarre creatures stood three distinct beings: Gothner, the Gluttonous High Priest with the body of a man and the head of a pig; Anger, the Wrathful High Priest with the head of a red bird; and Arit, the Arrogant High Priest with the face of a cat. They watched the desperate struggle of the witches, smiling silently.

After a long while, Gothner spoke: "These witches, both their flesh and their terror, are quite delicious. You must try some later."

Anger frowned, looking at him with fury. "I spent so much effort helping you; tasting them is only right! What else would you expect?"

Arit, who had been holding his head high with arrogance the entire time, replied, "Even if you hadn't said it, I would have tasted them anyway."

Gothner wasn't offended by their words; he merely rubbed his belly. "Fine, I don't want to wait. I'm going to grab one and have a taste!"

With that, he lunged toward the witches, eating the corpses of fallen bizarre creatures as he ran—his method for rapidly replenishing energy.

As he reached the formation, he leaped. The white-haired witch, the strongest among them and a Fourth-Stage Kaiyuan realm powerhouse, swung her staff, launching a sphere of light at Gothner.

Seeing the light, Gothner didn't dodge; he swallowed it whole. His belly expanded momentarily, a wisp of blue smoke drifted from his mouth, and he licked his lips.

"That's got some kick!"

Seeing Gothner had already struck, Anger and Arit no longer intended to watch from the sidelines; they charged toward the witches as well.