With the East Sea storm settled, Tang Xiao Qi declined Ao Qin's repeated invitations to stay, and with Zhao Tiezhu, rode escaping light continuing south. The further south, the more humid and hot the climate became, the air filled with rich vegetation fragrance and faint miasma qi. Below, mountains overlapped, forests deep and mossy, completely different from the north's vast magnificence and the East Sea's boundless vastness, having its own mysterious and deep scenery.
Not a day later, the three followed their map, passing through layers of poisonous miasma and maze formations, again arriving at that isolated Southern Frontier Witch Village. The village was still hidden in green mountains' embrace, bamboo buildings built along the mountain, row upon row, but compared to the last visit, the village seemed to have more vitality, less of the decline after being eroded by demonic fire.
Before approaching the village gate, an urgent and long ox horn sounded, then the gate opened wide. Led by the old village chief, dozens of village elders and elite warriors surged out, their faces filled with irrepressible excitement and reverence. Many ordinary villagers also came out from bamboo buildings, gathering on both sides of the road, their eyes hot as they looked at that familiar figure in the air.
"Holy Master! The Holy Master has returned!" Someone first shouted, instantly the whole village boiled, cheers rising one after another.
Xiao Qi pressed down his escaping light, landing before the village gate. The old village chief, white hair and beard but spirit vigorous, was now excitedly tearful, coming forward to perform a grand bow: "Holy Master! You've finally returned! The village has been waiting day and night, finally awaiting you!"
Xiao Qi hurriedly reached out to support him, gently saying: "Village Chief need not be so polite, we are old friends, why such ceremony."
The old village chief insisted on a deep bow: "Holy Master's grace to my Witch Village is like recreating it! If not for your purifying the demonic fire and saving the sacred ground back then, and bestowing spiritual pills and precious medicines, my Witch Village would long have ceased to exist. This grace and virtue will never be forgotten!" Behind him, villagers also kneeled in a row, calling "Holy Master."
Xiao Qi felt emotional in his heart. Back then he had first entered the Southern Frontier seeking the Vermillion Bird Soul Crystal, by chance purified the demonic fire, saved the Witch Village's sacred ground and the chief's daughter, forming deep fate with this place. Now returning, seeing the villagers living and working in peace, the sacred ground's aura serene, he also felt gratified.
He helped the old village chief and all villagers up one by one, smiling: "It seems the village has developed quite well these years."
The old village chief nodded repeatedly, leading Xiao Qi toward the village while walking and saying: "Thanks to the Holy Master! Since the Holy Master left, the sacred ground's spiritual qi has recovered, the herbs bred are of even better quality than before, and the village youths' cultivation of witch arts has become much smoother. However..." His tone turned, his face showing a trace of hidden worry, "My Witch Village's inheritance is from ancient Witch Clan, many exquisite witch arts have been lost due to age and incomplete texts, the younger generation, though eager to learn, often cannot find the door, if this continues, I fear the inheritance will wither..."
Xiao Qi hearing this, his heart moved. In the Heavenly Dao Palace's scripture pavilion, he had not only obtained supreme realizations about purification origin, but also read countless ancient miscellaneous jade slips, among which were several recording extremely ancient, even traceable to the Witch-Demon Era's witch art runes, sacrificial dances, and methods of communicating with heaven and earth's nature. This knowledge for him might just broaden horizons, but for the Southern Frontier Witch Village specialized in this path, it was priceless treasure.
Everyone arrived at the village's largest meeting bamboo building, sitting in host and guest positions. Village maidens served fragrant hundred-flower tea and various Southern Frontier specialty fruits.
Xiao Qi drank a sip of tea, the fragrance penetrating the heart. He put down the teacup, looking at the old village chief, seriously saying: "Village Chief, in my wanderings, I chanced upon some ancient legacies, among which happens to be part concerning witch art origin Dao. If Village Chief doesn't mind, I am willing to pass on this knowledge entirely, perhaps helping the Witch Village complete its inheritance and restore ancient witch glory."
The old village chief hearing this, first froze, then suddenly stood up, his whole body trembling from excitement, his voice choking: "Holy... Holy Master! You... you really mean this?! Ancient witch art origin... this, for my Witch Village, is simply... is a heaven-bestowed great grace!" Behind him, several elders also stood up one after another, their eyes bursting with incredible wild joy.
Witch art inheritance was a tribe's root! If the missing parts could be completed, the Witch Village would surely welcome unprecedented prosperity!
Xiao Qi smiled and nodded: "Naturally I mean it. However, ancient witch arts are vast and profound, and the ages are distant, needing to verify against the village's existing inheritance, removing the dross and keeping the essence, to truly make it your own."
"Understood! Understood!" The old village chief repeatedly agreed, not knowing what to do from excitement.
Immediately, Xiao Qi decided to stay temporarily in the Witch Village for a while. He didn't choose to directly copy the jade slip contents, but adopted an even more ancient and effective method—oral transmission and heart instruction, combined with his own understanding to explain.
In the following days, Xiao Qi stayed in a quiet bamboo building at the sacred ground's edge. Every day, the old village chief personally led all the village's witch masters, priests, and most talented young disciples to gather at the open space before the bamboo building, like the most devout students, listening to Xiao Qi's teaching.
Xiao Qi first taught not specific killing witch arts, but the most fundamental principles about witch power's resonance and communication with heaven and earth's nature and all living beings. Combined with his own realization of laws, he disassembled those obscure ancient witch texts and twisted rune lines into easily understood imagery and rhythms.
He spoke of wind's lightness, fire's explosiveness, water's flexibility, earth's heaviness; spoke of how to sense vegetation's breathing, listen to mountains' heartbeats, understand wild beasts' emotions. He even at night led everyone under the starry sky to practice ancient sacrificial dances, every step, every gesture containing mysteries of communing with star power.
At first, some young disciples felt these foundational principles were too vague and impractical, far less substantial than directly learning a powerful curse or summoning art. But soon they discovered they were wrong. When they truly calmed down and followed Xiao Qi's taught methods to sense nature, their originally sluggish witch power actually became lively, and when casting familiar low-level witch arts, the power also increased by thirty percent for no reason!
The old village chief and several elder witch masters were even more excitedly tearful. Many concepts Xiao Qi spoke of completely matched with their orally transmitted, long-uncomprehended fragments, and were even more systematic, more profound! They seemed to see the magnificent scene before the witch art inheritance broke off.
Xiao Qi seeing everyone gradually getting the hang of it, began teaching more practical ancient witch arts. There was the "Nature Alliance" that could summon mountain and forest spirits to assist in battle, the "Rock Wall" that could condense earth power to form guardian barriers, the "Rejuvenation Secret Curse" that could guide life energy to accelerate wound healing, and even some ancient rituals involving divination, praying for rain, and driving away epidemics for daily life.
He didn't teach by rote, but guided villagers to appropriately adjust and innovate these witch arts according to their own characteristics and the Southern Frontier's unique environment. For a time, the entire Witch Village seemed to transform into a huge witch art laboratory, everywhere visible were lights of trying new arts and discussion sounds, the learning atmosphere unprecedentedly high.
Zhao Tiezhu also didn't idle. He was quite interested in some ancient methods of tempering the body circulated in the Witch Village, exchanging and sparring with village warriors, having a great time. He also helped villagers find several previously undiscovered precious medicine gardens and mineral veins deep in the old forests with his keen sense for heavenly materials and earthly treasures, making the old village chief grin ear to ear, calling Brother Rabbit the Witch Village's lucky star.
Time flew, in a blink Xiao Qi had stayed in the Witch Village for over a month. One day, he passed on the final and most core part he had obtained in the Heavenly Dao Palace—the origin heart method about "Witch Offering" and "Heaven and Earth Communion"—completely to the old village chief and several core elders.
After the transmission was complete, Xiao Qi looked at these villagers before him whose eyes were clear and auras already completely different from a month ago, feeling gratified in his heart. He knew the seeds of knowledge had been planted; given time, they would surely bloom into brilliant witch art flowers again on this ancient land of the Southern Frontier.
The old village chief led the whole village's clansmen, again before the sacred ground's altar, holding the most grand sacrificial ceremony. This time, they not only worshipped ancestor spirits but also engraved Xiao Qi's grace in their hearts.
At the ceremony's end, the old village chief faced all villagers, his voice solemn, spreading in all directions: "Holy Master Tang Xiao Qi, saved my Witch Village from crisis, taught my Witch Village the true transmission, grace like parents, virtue matching heaven and earth! From today on, the Holy Master is my Southern Frontier Witch Village's eternal 'Holy Master,' his position equal to ancestor spirits! All my Witch Village's descendants, seeing the Holy Master is like seeing ancestor spirits, forever honoring him, not to be violated!"
"Honor the Holy Master! Never forget!" Thousands of villagers shouted in unison, shaking the mountain forest, filled with heartfelt gratitude and reverence.
Xiao Qi stood before the altar, accepting this great courtesy, his heart also completely clear. He didn't pursue empty fame, but being able to help an ancient civilization continue and rejuvenate in this way, this itself was the best practice of the "guardian" Dao.
After staying in the Southern Frontier Witch Village for several more days and pointing out some cultivation details, Xiao Qi bid farewell to the old village chief. The villagers were reluctant to part, sending Xiao Qi's party a hundred li away before tearfully bidding goodbye under the old village chief's command.
Standing on clouds, looking back at the gradually vanishing bonfires in the layered mountains, Xiao Qi knew the Southern Frontier Witch Village's "Inheritance Fire" had been reignited and would surely burn brighter. And his own path to Deity Transformation, after experiencing the East Sea chaos's "virtuous conquest" and the Southern Frontier transmission's "enlightenment," that final bottleneck membrane seemed to become even clearer, within reach.