Chapter 207: Chapter 207: First Unlocking of Witch Fire and Tongzhen’s Gift

After speaking, Tongzhen rose and walked to a wooden cabinet in the corner of the tea room. He opened the cabinet door and retrieved a sandalwood box from inside.

The box wasn’t large, about the size of a palm, and was engraved with intricate Array Patterns from which Spiritual Qi faintly flowed.

"Palace Master Zhu, this is a little something Mengzi City has accumulated over the years. It may not be worth much, but perhaps it will be of use to you." Tongzhen pushed the box in front of Zhu Ge.

Zhu Ge opened the box. Inside lay three items.

The first was a yellowed animal hide scroll, upon which was written *An Introduction to Witch Fire* in an ancient script.

Tongzhen explained, "This is a fundamental Cultivation Technique of my Witch Dao lineage. It records the cultivation methods for a Fire Witch."

Witch Dao!

Zhu Ge’s eyes lit up.

He had obtained many memories concerning the Witch Dao from his Bone Monster Avatar.

However, most of it was knowledge related to the raising and nurturing of Gu Insects.

It contained nothing about combat or cultivation methods.

Tongzhen smiled. "Since Palace Master Zhu wishes to learn the Witch Dao, please accept this hand-copied scroll. With your current Cultivation, you should be able to grasp the fundamentals after reading it. Consider it a partial repayment for saving my life."

After he finished, his gaze turned to the next item.

The second item was a dark-green, thumb-sized bead. It was perfectly smooth and emitted a faint glow.

Tongzhen said, "This is the demon heart of a Three Realms Poison Python, condensed into a Demon Core through the methods of an Alchemy Master. I obtained it by slaying the python in my youth and could never bring myself to use it. Today, I present it to you, Palace Master Zhu."

"A Demon Core can be used in Alchemy or Artifact Refining, or it can be absorbed directly. It has miraculous effects for tempering the physical body."

The demon heart of a Three Realms Poison Python!

Zhu Ge had just been lamenting the loss of the two Third Realm beasts outside, especially the demon heart of the great python.

After all, rumor had it that snake galls and hearts were beneficial for Body Refinement.

He never expected Tongzhen to turn around and give him one just like that.

The third item was a map, marking the locations of the various cities in Red River Prefecture and the distribution of the surrounding tribes.

Pointing to several marks on the map, Tongzhen said, "These are the major tribes that still exist within Red River Prefecture. If Palace Master Zhu is so inclined, you could pay them a visit. However..."

He paused for a moment. "These tribes hold deep grudges against the Da Sheng Dynasty. They may not be willing to help."

Zhu Ge nodded, put the three items away, and cupped his fist. "Thank you, City Lord Tong. These items will be of great benefit to me."

"You are too kind, Palace Master Zhu." Tongzhen shook his head. "You saved all the people of Mengzi City, and you saved me. What are these trifles in comparison?"

"Besides, I can see you have a heroic bearing, Palace Master Zhu. Your future accomplishments will be limitless. Consider this my investment in the future of the Human Race!"

"I hope that one day, Young Master Zhu, you will become like one of the great sages of old and carve out a place for our Human Race to survive among the myriad races."

Tongzhen clasped his hands in a formal salute and bowed, bending nearly ninety degrees.

A look of solemn respect appeared on Zhu Ge’s face as he returned the bow. "I will do everything in my power to deliver the people from their suffering."

The two chatted a while longer before Zhu Ge rose to take his leave.

Outside the tea room, the night wind was cool.

In the courtyard, Zhao Tieshan and several other Martial Artists were gathered around a bonfire, warming themselves.

Yu the Scholar sat on the steps, his snow-white hair glinting as he read a book by the firelight.

Liu Jianjian was crouched in a corner, still busy subjugating the captured Demon Beasts. Strands of her hair floated down, transforming into fine needles that pierced the creatures’ bodies.

Her eyes, however, shone with excitement.

Meanwhile, the Black-Horned Bull was lounging in the cattle pen, surrounded by a group of Ox Demons, smugly boasting about his "wise and heroic" decision to submit to Zhu Ge.

"Starting tomorrow, we rest for three days," Zhu Ge announced to the group. "Liu Jianjian, you’ll subjugate the Demon Beasts. Yu the Scholar and Li Qingquan, train the Confucian Scholars. Zhao Tieshan, ready the troops. In three days, we set out for Yilong City."

"We must be quick. Every day we delay is another day people will die."

Everyone agreed.

Zhu Ge then returned to his guest room and began to read the scroll, *An Introduction to Witch Fire*.

The cultivation method of the Witch Dao was completely different from that of the Martial Dao and the Confucian Dao.

The Martial Dao refines the body, the Confucian Dao cultivates the mind, and the Witch Dao uses blood essence as a conduit to commune with the powers between heaven and earth.

The Gu Insect lineage, for example, communes with insects and feeds them with blood essence.

The Fire Witch lineage, on the other hand, focuses on using one’s own blood essence to fuel the Witch Fire. The stronger the blood essence, the more potent the Witch Fire.

Zhu Ge’s Heart of Martial Arts Origin had already tempered his physical body to an incredibly formidable state, making the vitality of his blood essence far surpass that of an ordinary person.

Following the method in *An Introduction to Witch Fire*, he guided a strand of blood essence from his heart to his fingertip.

"TSS—"

A tiny flame, no bigger than a fingernail, appeared on his fingertip. It was crimson red and flickered gently.

Zhu Ge stared for a moment, then smiled.

’That’s all it took to get started?’

He tried infusing more blood essence, and the flame gradually grew from the size of a fingernail to the size of a fist, its color changing from crimson to orange-yellow.

"WHOOMPH—"

The flame erupted violently, nearly setting the room on fire. It extinguished the instant Zhu Ge withdrew his blood essence.

Within his body, a strand of Witch Power and his Literary Energy took separate paths, both nourishing his physical body.

’Damn, getting started with the Witch Dao is even faster than the Confucian Dao.’ Zhu Ge figured it was because his physical body was so strong and his blood essence so potent that cultivating the Fire Witch arts yielded twice the results with half the effort.

He tried a few more times, gradually getting the hang of it.

Two hours later, he could already steadily conjure a bowl-sized mass of Witch Fire with his Witch Power. Its temperature was high enough to melt gold and liquify iron.

’I’ll practice this properly once I’m back in Six Paths Valley.’ Zhu Ge put away *An Introduction to Witch Fire* and took out the Demon Core of the Three Realms Poison Python.

The Demon Core was cold to the touch and emanated a soft, ethereal glow.

He hesitated for a moment, but instead of absorbing it directly, he placed it inside the grass bowl.

’It would be better to wait until I find a suitable pill formula to process something like this. The effect will be much greater.’

...

For the next three days, Zhu Ge was unbelievably busy.

By day, he would ask Tongzhen for guidance on the various arts of the Witch Dao: the application of Witch Fire, the nurturing of Gu Insects, and the properties of medicinal herbs.

Tongzhen held nothing back, sharing all he knew. He was, however, astonished that Zhu Ge already knew so much about the Witch Dao.

Since Zhu Ge was only at the First Realm in the Witch Dao, Tongzhen’s teachings were a profound revelation to him.

He spent his days alternating between chatting with Tongzhen and discussing Confucian principles with the Scholar, and his Literary Energy and Witch Power both improved rapidly.

Most of his time, however, was devoted to the *Great Sun Glaze Body*.

The more he practiced it, the more he realized just how formidable the *Great Sun Glaze Body* was.

In fact, a large part of why his Martial Dao was so strong was because of this Cultivation Technique.

The very same technique Yu the Scholar and his master had found in a remote mountain cave.

It was supposedly a Cultivation Technique left behind by its creator upon his death.

His master and Yu the Scholar had originally planned to sell the technique, but the Fungus God incident erupted before they had the chance.

Its creator had likely never even practiced it himself; it was all theory, conjecture, and deduction.

Therefore, Zhu Ge was likely the only person who had ever actually cultivated this technique.

This meant he had to find his own way forward, but it also meant he didn’t need to worry about others knowing its origins or weaknesses.

’Starting today, it’s time to move on to the next stage after Wind Refining.’

’Water Refining!’

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