The Demon Race is Established, Reactions from All Sides!

The Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud carried Haotian and Jade Pool as they returned from the Purple Firmament Palace to the East Sea.

Unlike their hurried departure, this journey home they deliberately slowed their pace.

The auspicious cloud drifted like a patch of multicolored clouds above the East Sea, passing over small islands with sparse spiritual energy and skirting hidden spiritual veins beneath the sea.

Over a thousand years, Jade Pool often leaned against the cloud's edge, condensing a thread of Ren Water Spiritual Qi at her fingertip to tease the spiritual whales leaping from the sea's surface.

Haotian sat nearby, occasionally taking out a Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation to comprehend Space Law using the Chaos Spiritual Energy of the East Sea.

Or he would point out innate spiritual materials on the seabed for Jade Pool—like Sea Soul Pearls hidden in coral clusters or Water Condensing Ganoderma growing on reefs.

"Senior Brother, are we almost there? I can faintly see the formation of Penglai Immortal Island."

Jade Pool held a freshly gathered Sea Soul Pearl, her eyes full of anticipation as she gazed at the barely visible spiritual mist in the distance.

She was still thinking about the Yellow Middle Plum in the spirit garden, eager to return early and check the newly sprouted branches.

"Almost there." Haotian smiled, taking the Sea Soul Pearl and casually merging it into the defensive array of the auspicious cloud.

"Penglai's spiritual mist is already visible. When we get back, let's properly tend to the spirit garden."

Jade Pool nodded lightly at his words. Then, carried by the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud, they spent a hundred years returning to Penglai Immortal Island.

As soon as they arrived, Haotian raised his hand to lay down a spatial formation.

Pale cyan space runes swirled around the island's perimeter, shielding the core area.

Jade Pool, carrying a prepared jade hoe, headed straight for the spirit garden at the island's center.

The Yellow Middle Plum did not disappoint; two more tender leaves had appeared on the new branch.

The Three Lights Divine Water in the pond had also accumulated considerably, and several Nine-Petal White Lotuses were slowly rotating, their fragrance spreading through the garden.

"Lingxiao, Youming, Fengyin, come out." Haotian called into the void.

As his words fell, three figures emerged from his Primordial Spirit.

Lingxiao wore a cyan robe tinged with spatial spiritual energy, his brows carrying a gentle smile. He nodded to Jade Pool in greeting.

Youming's black robe hung low, his gaze calm and unruffled. The Youming Chain around his fingertip looped once, exuding steadiness.

Fengyin's white robe fluttered, the Fengyin flute slanted at his right waist. His fingers unconsciously spun the flute, his eyes lively, as if hiding a hint of mischief.

"Honored One," the three called in unison. "What matter do you summon us for?"

"There's something I need your help with." Haotian sat on a stone by the spiritual spring, pointing toward the East Sea.

"Of the three immortal islands in the East Sea, we occupy Penglai Immortal Island. Yingzhou is taken by East King Duke. Only Fangzhang Island remains masterless."

"So if you three have nothing to do, you can go search for it. You might find something."

Lingxiao and Youming nodded at his words. Fengyin smiled and said, "Rest assured, Honored One. Leave it to us—nothing will go wrong."

With that, the three turned into streaks of light and departed.

Watching them leave, Jade Pool had just finished watering the spiritual herbs. She straightened up and said, "Senior Brother, do you think they'll find it? What if someone else gets to Fangzhang Island first?"

Haotian, however, looked completely relaxed. "If we gain it, it's our fortune; if we lose it, it's our fate. Besides, even if Fengyin and the others can't find it, no one else will either."

"When we have more time later, we can put more effort into searching."

"In the meantime, there's no need to worry about being discovered. Fangzhang Island shares the same origin as Penglai Immortal Island—both are protected by Chaos formations. Ordinary great powers can't even touch their edges, let alone find them."

"Moreover, letting them go out and explore will give them more experience. Staying in my Primordial Spirit all the time won't help them advance in their Law comprehension."

Jade Pool nodded at this. Just as she was about to tend to the innate spiritual roots, a heavy rumble of thunder came from the Chaos Void above the East Sea.

It wasn't the biting chill of heavenly punishment, but rather a warmth that carried the approval of the Heavenly Dao.

Then, a golden pillar of merit light fell from the chaos, like a golden river, shooting straight toward the Sun Star.

The light pillar was wrapped in dense Demon Race fortune, spreading across the Primordial Wilderness sky and stirring the spiritual energy of the sea into restlessness.

"Is this... someone swearing an oath to the Heavenly Dao?" Jade Pool looked up, her eyes full of surprise.

Haotian stopped what he was doing. The Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation between his brows grew slightly warm, instantly sensing the commotion on the Sun Star.

Dijun held the River Diagram and Luo Book, Taiyi gripped the Chaos Bell Prototype, and behind them stood Bai Ze, Ji Meng, and other great Demon Race powers. They spoke loudly toward the Chaos Void.

"Heavenly Dao above! I, Dijun, sense that the myriad beings of the Primordial Wilderness have no one to rely on and are often bullied."

"Today, I gather the beasts of land and air, the scaled and shelled, to establish the Demon Race! Protect our kin, unify order. From now on, all beings of the Primordial Wilderness may join the Demon Race! May the Heavenly Dao witness this!"

As the oath fell, the chaos thunder grew louder. Golden merit rained down like a downpour, most of it surging into Dijun's body.

His original Early Quasi-Saint aura surged sharply, stabilizing at Mid Quasi-Saint.

A smaller portion entered Taiyi's body, and his aura also advanced in step.

But the two had only recently broken through to Quasi-Saint; their foundation for severing the corpse was not yet stable. For the time being, they couldn't sever the evil corpse, so they had to suppress their cultivation and stabilize their realm.

The remaining merit drifted toward the Demon Race members. Even Primordial Unity Golden Immortal demon generals felt their cultivation rise slightly.

Feeling their improved cultivation, many Demon Race members were thrilled.

But while they were excited, others were not pleased. In the Ancestor Witch Hall of the Witch Clan, the hot-tempered Zhurong slammed a stone table to pieces, flames leaping.

"Dijun, you brat, dares to claim all beings are demons? Our Witch Clan was born from Pangu's essence blood—how can he lump us together with beasts! Let's march to the Sun Star and annihilate the Demon Race!"

Gonggong beside him also chimed in to agree, but Dijiang held him down and spoke in a deep voice.

"The Demon Race just gained merit. Dijun and Taiyi have broken through to Mid Quasi-Saint, and the Great Luo Demon Sage is still backing them. If we start a war now, both sides will suffer."

Houtu, recalling the Dao Ancestor's words, nodded in agreement as well.

"The eldest brother is right. Let's first stabilize the Witch Clan's foundation and figure out the Demon Race's true situation before anything else."

Though the Ancestral Witches were unwilling, they had to suppress their anger and discuss other matters.

On Yingzhou Immortal Island, East King Duke stood on the Observation Deck, staring at the pillar of light from the Sun Star, his brows tightly knit.

A subordinate behind him saw this and quickly stepped forward to speak.

"Master, although the Demon Race has been established, the Immortal Alliance's members are mostly Innate Deities with a solid foundation. There's no need to worry."

"Why not strengthen the Immortal Alliance's defenses first, and wait for the conflict between the Witch Clan and Demon Race before making a move?"

East King Duke gripped the Dragon Head Crutch, and after a moment of silence, voiced his concern.

"What worries me is that the Demon Race will use this merit to expand their ranks. In the future, the Immortal Alliance's foothold may be squeezed... Forget it, let's do as you suggest."

The subordinate respectfully acknowledged and then withdrew.

On Penglai Immortal Island, Jade Pool looked at the pillar of merit with some worry. "Senior Brother, with the Demon Race this strong, will it trigger a great war?"

Haotian wiped the dirt off his jade hoe, then said with a light laugh.

"The position of overlord in the Primordial Wilderness was always meant to be contested. The Demon Race stepped up first, and the Witch Clan will surely respond. There's no avoiding it."

"For now, we don't need to bother with that. Let's focus on managing Penglai, stockpiling spiritual materials, and improving our strength—that's what really matters."

Jade Pool nodded and crouched down to tend to the spiritual herbs, while Haotian walked over to the Yellow Middle Plum tree. He gathered Chaos Spiritual Energy at his fingertip and slowly infused it into the trunk.

Nourished by the Chaos Spiritual Energy, the branches of the Yellow Middle Plum swayed continuously, appearing quite delighted. The entire Penglai Immortal Island gradually settled into tranquility.