One night passed.

  When the morning star appeared on the horizon, Micah, seated atop the mountain peak, slowly opened his eyes.

  A cold wind blew past him. For the first time in ages, he actually felt… chilly.

  Cold?

  He had forgotten how many years it had been since he last experienced cold.

  With a Quasi-Emperor's flesh, even plunging into absolute zero would not faze him. Yet now, he truly felt a chill.

  Sunlight pierced through thick clouds, falling like a heavy veil upon his body.

  As though draping him in a robe.

  Rising from the peak, Micah lifted his hand. His flesh felt heavy. The cultivation that had accompanied him for hundreds of thousands of years had been severed last night—three slashes, completely eradicated.

  Now, even his divine soul felt somewhat muddled.

  “Restarting the path of cultivation…”

  Micah smiled. No reluctance. No regret.

  He was that kind of person. Once a decision was made, there would be no second-guessing.

  He slowly descended the mountain.

  When ascending, he had flown directly.

  Now, descending, he felt the strain.

  He had scattered all his cultivation. Yet his Quasi-Emperor flesh—tempered over countless years—was not so easily diminished.

  Thus, he was far from a true mortal.

  As he walked down, tigers, leopards, and wild beasts roamed the mountain.

  Micah felt no fear.

  Though his cultivation was gone, the lingering pressure deep in his soul remained.

  The beasts dared not approach.

  At the mountain's base, Micah did not head toward the Great Xuan Divine Dynasty—though that direction teemed with people.

  “To cultivate the Great Luo Immortal Scripture, one must walk their own path…”

  Micah's eyes gleamed.

  “Only then can one gather vast fortune when transmitting the Dao.”

  He thought.

  A surge of excitement rose within him—something he had not felt in a long time.

  It was as though he had regained the exhilaration of his early cultivation days.

  He traveled across mountains and rivers, starting anew.

  The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant. He began with the Five Emperors Scripture.

  Step by step—methodical.

  Combined with his vast experience from previous cultivation,

  His progress was astonishing.

  In one month, he crossed from Qi Core to Body Concealment realms. If not for wanting to perfectly temper his Body Concealment, he could have broken through to Heavenly Lock long ago.

  Besides cultivating the basic scripture, Micah contemplated his own path.

  He altered his appearance and began visiting various cultivation sects—studying their methods for insight.

  He visited countless sects.

  Some welcomed him courteously.

  Others ignored him completely.

  A few hot-tempered cultivators attacked him on sight.

  With no cultivation left, Micah started from scratch.

  Against peers, he had no fear. Against higher realms, his experience allowed him to dominate.

  But without cultivation, he still suffered heavy injuries at times.

  He fled, battered and bruised.

  Yet through this process, his cultivation rose steadily. His foundation grew increasingly solid.

  In truth, he could have rapidly recovered his strength—having once reached Quasi-Emperor.

  But he was in no hurry. He even slowed down, savoring every realm's changes.

  He had never realized how many secrets each realm held.

  In his youth, he had advanced too quickly—hailed as possessing Ancient Emperor potential.

  Back then, he had been proud and complacent—never truly immersing himself in each realm.

  Now, starting over, he discovered the depth of every stage.

  His cultivation path resembled Lu Jiulian's—pushing each realm to its absolute limit.

  “Let us call this… ‘Extreme Realm Cultivation.’”

  Micah opened his eyes and spoke softly.

  Each extreme realm seemed to stir the Heavenly Dao.

  In truth, this was not merely a cultivation method—it was an entire system.

  It was as though he had carved out an additional realm within the existing path.

  Extreme Realm—the pinnacle of every stage.

  Micah felt anticipation.

  If he could reach the end of the path through Extreme Realms, could he achieve ultimate transcendence?

  Qi Core had no Extreme Realm—or rather, its Extreme Realm was talent itself.

  Body Concealment tempered the five viscera and six bowels.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Micah not only completed the tempering but linked the qi of his organs, allowing spiritual energy to circulate in a minor cycle.

  This was his Body Concealment Extreme Realm.

  Heavenly Lock, Nascent Soul…

  Micah plunged into frenzied research of cultivation.

  He sensed… this might be his path.

  Breaking through each realm at its extreme—forging an ultimate cultivation path!

  This could become the foundation for gathering vast heavenly fortune in the future!

  …

  Even Lu admired Micah's audacity in starting over.

  If possible, Lu would happily sip Heavenly Immortal Wine and watch Micah's journey from scratch.

  But Lu was too busy—so he did not pay attention to Micah's path.

  His divine sense sank into the Transmission Platform.

  He intended to create a powerful, perfect race—the Witch Clan.

  He sliced open the flesh of his fingertip. Blood cells scattered and floated within the platform.

  Lu's blood contained terrifying power.

  Under the infusion of boundless energy, the cells rapidly divided and transformed.

  Energy within the cells swelled and surged.

  Lu raised his hand. His palm—white as jade, veiled in faint light.

  He continuously struck the massive cluster of energy cells, infusing it with immense power.

  Lu did not fix a form—letting the energy evolve freely.

  Withdrawing his hand, Lu began deducing.

  Besides his own flesh and blood, Lu infused vast chaos power.

  Boom!

  The immense energy poured in—like flooding a pond with raging river water.

  The cluster of chaotic energy cells expanded to an enormous size.

  Lu sat calmly. Heavenly Dao essence surged around him, faintly drawing down the Heavenly Dao star's reflection.

  The chaotic energy cluster continued to transform.

  Faintly, Lu seemed to see a blurry embryonic figure within the cells.

  This was a being born from countless perfect energies.

  “The first Witch between heaven and earth.”

  Lu smiled.

  As time passed and deductions continued,

  The figure in the embryo gradually awakened. It opened its eyes—possessing an incredibly powerful body, faint divine soul fluctuations, and even blessed by the Heavenly Dao with innate divine abilities.

  What a perfect existence.

  Lu gazed at the figure and slowly lifted it.

  “The Heavenly Dao is fair. Such a perfect being naturally requires restrictions…”

  Lu pondered.

  Soon, he raised his hand and grasped at the void. Heavenly Dao power surged, forming a Heavenly Dao seal.

  He imprinted this seal into the massive energy embryo.

  “Though the race is perfect, it carries a restriction: unable to transcend the Heavenly Dao. Even at the peak of cultivation, they remain beneath the Dao. Their upper limit is sealed.”

  The Heavenly Dao seal Lu implanted vanished into the embryo.

  Boom!

  It seemed to resonate with the Heavenly Dao star.

  Having done this, Lu exhaled slowly.

  This was perhaps the Witch Clan's greatest restriction—unable to transcend the Heavenly Dao. Compared to humanity, who could cultivate freely, this was the ultimate limitation.

  Boom!

  Exiting the Transmission Platform.

  Lu returned to White Jade Capital pavilion.

  Ning Zhao was brewing plum wine in the distance. Seeing Lu open his eyes, she smiled gently.

  “Go cultivate.”

  “I may need to leave for a while.”

  Lu waved lazily.

  Ning Zhao paused.

  “You three—stay on the island and cultivate. Ni Yu has already reached Xuan Immortal. Don't slack off.”

  Lu said.

  Ning Zhao and Yi Yue—who had been about to follow—immediately fell silent.

  Unknowingly, Ni Yu had surpassed them.

  The two pursed their lips, bowed to Lu, and departed to focus on cultivation.

  Lu smiled.

  He swept his gaze across Origin Island.

  He wanted to see what Ni Yu was doing.

  He found her—now a Xuan Immortal—lying listlessly on a haystack, black pot on her back.

  In her palm, she held several pills, eyes teary.

  “One hundred and eighty-ninth day without Little Yellow. Miss him.”

  With that, she popped a pill into her mouth.

  As though swallowing not pills—but longing.

  Lu was speechless.

  Was becoming a Xuan Immortal… this boring?

  Lu shook his head and raised a hand.

  The thousand-blade chair soared into the air, carrying Lu away.

  …

  Western Continent, Five Phoenixes.

  The current Five Phoenixes was vast—encompassing all of Void Heaven.

  Though Void Heaven had begun expanding since becoming independent, the Five Phoenixes expanded no slower.

  Thus, the continent remained sparsely populated.

  Humans and demons lived in the Eastern Continent. The West was largely untouched wilderness and primal forest.

  Boom!

  Silver light exploded.

  Lu tore through the void and appeared.

  Seated in his thousand-blade chair, white robes fluttering.

  He raised a hand.

  Soon, a mass of flesh enveloped in boundless energy appeared.

  “From my flesh and blood… shall be born the Witch Clan.”

  Lu tossed it gently.

  The mass plummeted toward the vast primal forest of the Western Continent.

  Boom!

  In an instant, the energy flesh expanded—growing into a mountain-sized entity that towered into the sky.

  Lu did not interfere with its evolution.

  Within, a figure struggled to break free from the flesh and energy.

  But it was too difficult.

  The chaotic energy clouded its vision, leaving it unable to see.

  It roared—but could not tear through the barrier.

  Lu watched with some concern.

  After a long while,

  The figure seemed exhausted. Realizing brute force would not work,

  It raised its hand and began gathering energy within its body.

  Bit by bit, energy condensed—forming a giant axe.

  Pfft!

  The axe struck the flesh-energy barrier.

  It sounded like chopping solid material.

  And the figure saw hope—because it noticed a tiny crack in the barrier.

  Then came endless chopping.

  The figure swung the axe again and again, hacking at the barrier.

  Slowly, it carved out a large fissure.

  In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

  Finally, with one mighty swing, the figure cleaved open the barrier.

  Boom!

  Vast energy surged outward.

  The flesh-energy barrier began to collapse.

  The figure stumbled out. Terrifying aura shook the primal forest of the Western Continent. Even the Heavenly Dao faintly stirred.

  Forest creatures and beasts trembled under the pressure.

  The figure staggered forward.

  Breaking free of the barrier had drained it completely.

  Boom!

  It knelt—then collapsed.

  Lu—hovering in the sky—was stunned. He had not expected the figure to collapse from exhaustion the moment it emerged.

  It might even die from fatigue.

  Lu's lips twitched. He felt faintly slapped in the face.

  He had painstakingly created what he called a perfect race.

  Yet the moment the first member was born, it nearly died from exhaustion. His beloved Witch Clan might go extinct like this.

  Lu shook his head.

  Of course he could not allow the Witch Clan to perish.

  Raising his hand, he flicked a strand of pure energy into the exhausted figure.

  Buzz…

  The figure revived as though on the verge of death.

  The next moment, the flesh began to transform.

  The colossal figure vanished. The flesh split into twelve crying newborn infants.

  As they cried, more light clusters burst forth—forming more crying infants.

  Of course, most infants looked ordinary.

  But the first twelve born were distinctly different.

  One infant burned with flames.

  One was born wreathed in toxic water.

  One was cradled by ten thousand trees.

  One had wings sprouting from its back, skin purple and green.

  Lu flicked his finger again.

  The infants fell to the ground—yet stood upright and ran immediately.

  Starving beasts sensed the infants and pounced to devour them.

  But the immensely strong infants beat the beasts to death.

  The scene… was utterly brutal.

  Lu imprinted the concept of “Witch” into their memories—along with the actions of the first Witch upon its birth.

  These young Witch Clan children grew peacefully in the Western Continent.

  They hunted beasts when hungry, drank from mountain springs when thirsty.

  Their physiques were incredibly strong—free from sickness or disaster.

  Lu hovered in the nine heavens, watching the children.

  The Witch Clan grew quickly.

  They absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth to temper their bodies and strengthen themselves.

  They lived carefree lives—yet learned many things. They wove ramie into clothing to cover themselves, learning shame and propriety.

  The Witch Clan was warlike.

  The children often fought. Among them, the twelve strangely formed children grew exceptionally powerful.

  They possessed strength unmatched by ordinary Witches.

  They each established tribes—and became the kings of those Witch tribes.

  With the time array running, ten years passed in a flash.

  The Witch Clan tribes took root in the Western Continent.

  They multiplied and grew incredibly strong.

  The twelve tribes—each led by their king.

  Every tribe worshipped the “Heavenly Witch”—the figure in their memories who had split chaos and transformed into myriad forms.

  Every Witch was a born fighter. They did not cultivate divine souls—yet their divine souls were incredibly strong, granting them innate divine abilities. Their flesh was invincible.

  Life for the Witch Clan was simple.

  Sleep. Hunt. Fight.

  Day after day—repeating.

  In their constant battles, their strength grew ever greater.

  …

  Lu returned to Origin Island.

  Through the Spirit-Pressure Chessboard, he observed the Witch Clan.

  Because the Witch Clan’s cultivation system differed from humanity’s, there was no direct comparison.

  Moreover, due to the Heavenly Dao seal, the Witch Clan did not draw upon heavenly fortune—so their strength could not be judged by fortune levels.

  Leaning back in his thousand-blade chair, Lu smiled.

  His purpose in creating the Witch Clan was to accelerate spiritual energy contributions. Now that the clan had been born, he needed them to grow stronger.

  Watching the twelve tribes constantly fighting—yet unable to overpower each other due to their kings’ similar strength—

  Lu pondered giving them some pressure.

  As for where to apply that pressure…

  Lu suddenly had an idea.

  Overlord had established the Body Refining lineage in the Western Domain, hadn’t he?

  The Witch Clan also possessed powerful flesh. This was perfect—throw Overlord into the Witch Clan and let him bring some pressure to their powerhouses.

  As for who would beat whom… time would tell.