Kunpeng looked at the Golden Immortal Army kneeling below, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He merely nodded slightly, then bowed to Dijun and Taiyi. "This subject thanks Your Majesties for your heavenly grace."
As soon as the words fell, a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes, and he stepped forward.
"Your Majesties, there are still many clans in the Primordial Wilderness unwilling to submit. This subject proposes dividing our forces to subdue them."
"This will display the Demon Clan's might and clear the way for our future rule over the Four Seas!"
As he spoke, a sharp glint flashed in Kunpeng's eyes.
In his view, since he had already submitted, those clans unwilling to surrender should not be allowed an easy time either!
Dijun had already intended to expand, and hearing this delighted him even more.
"Good! We shall proceed as the Demon Master suggests! Taiyi, lead five million soldiers and one hundred Great Luo cultivators to subdue those clans that dare oppose our Demon Clan."
Taiyi respectfully acknowledged the order, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
He had long wanted an opportunity to properly test the Eastern Emperor Bell's power. Now that he had been given a campaign of conquest, it suited him perfectly.
After accepting the task, he led the five-million-strong army and the Great Unity Golden Immortals away, transforming into a blazing stream of light that swept off in magnificent force.
Above the North Sea, spies from the other clans inwardly sighed at the sight.
A dignified Quasi-Sage who had severed one corpse had ultimately been subdued by the Demon Clan. The balance of the Primordial Wilderness seemed to have begun tilting toward them.
Top Great Powers across the Primordial Wilderness also turned their attention toward the events in the North Sea.
At the peak of Kunlun Mountain, Laozi stroked his beard and said blandly, "Though the Demon Clan's military strength is formidable, Taiyi relies on his Innate Supreme Treasure and has grown arrogant. I fear they will not endure for long."
Yuanshi merely snorted. "Though Kunpeng is a Quasi-Sage, he has no backbone. There is nothing impressive about the Demon Clan taking in such a person."
Tongtian watched the distant stream of light, a trace of battle intent flashing through his eyes.
He truly wanted to see just how powerful Taiyi's Eastern Emperor Bell was.
But he also knew that this was not the time to clash with the Demon Clan.
Thus, after rubbing the Green Apple Sword, he resumed comprehending the Quasi-Saint Path.
Above the North Sea, Dijun watched Taiyi depart, ambition flashing through his eyes.
"Once we have pacified those clans that refuse to submit, we should begin trying to win over some Sea Tribe members and clear the way for pacifying the Four Seas in the future!"
Kunpeng stood silently at the side, only tightening his grip on the Innate Spiritual Treasure.
His path as a Quasi-Sage would have to continue beneath the Demon Clan's wings. Perhaps this was his fate.
With that thought, he sighed inwardly and returned to the Sun Star with Dijun and the others.
Just as the stream of light carrying Taiyi and the Demon Clan army swept across the East Sea's surface—
A faint fluctuation of Spirit Veins rippled through the Dragon Clan Ancestral Land beneath the deep sea.
This Ancestral Land was hidden in the deepest reaches of the Four Seas Abyss. Pitch-black Dark Water surrounded it, while only the remnants of an Innate Spiritual Vein sustained a feeble light.
Cracks left behind during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity still marked the rock walls, and decay and silence permeated every corner.
Beside the Crystal Coffin at the center of the Ancestral Land, Zhu Rong slowly opened his eyes.
Pale gold dragon aura coiled around him, while traces of Chaos Qi from the earliest days of creation still lingered upon his scales.
There was not the slightest emotional ripple in those vertical pupils, as though they could see through the endless ages.
As his fingers formed a seal, a Water Mirror appeared out of thin air.
Within the mirror, the rise of Dijun and Taiyi from the Sun Star played out clearly.
The two gathered the weak clans around them and used the River Diagram and Luo Book and the Chaos Bell Prototype to intimidate the Primordial Wilderness.
Then, using joint rule over the Demon Clan as bait, they won over Kunpeng and gradually forged the Demon Clan into one of the Primordial Wilderness's top powers.
Only after the Water Mirror faded did Zhu Rong speak in a low voice, his words carrying the weariness of countless ages. "The Witch Clan, the Demon Clan... another cycle of reincarnation. They are walking the same old road once taken by our Three Clans."
"Ancestor, what do you mean by that?" Ao Guang, Dragon King of the East Sea, who had been bowing at the side to make his report, abruptly raised his head, his eyes full of shock.
He had only just reported how the Demon Clan had subdued Kunpeng and intimidated the East Sea. How had the matter suddenly turned to reincarnation?
At last, a trace of emotion entered Zhu Rong's voice, accompanied by unconcealable regret.
"Can't you see it? How similar are today's Witch-Demon Two Clans to the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Clan of old?"
"At the dawn of the Primordial Wilderness, the Fierce Beast Clan dominated heaven and earth, only to end in the extinction of their clan and the destruction of their path."
"After the Fierce Beasts were destroyed, our Three Clans rose to power, each ruling one region. Yet because of ambition and the Demon Clan's provocation, we ended up both losing, condemned to guard desolate lands."
"Now that we have retreated from the world, the Witch-Demon Two Clans have risen with the tide."
"One dominates the Central Continent through its physical bodies, while the other rules the starry sky through stellar Authority. If this is not reincarnation, then what is?"
He paused, and a cold glint flashed through those vertical pupils. "But who can guarantee that the Witch-Demon Two Clans will become eternal overlords?"
"When our Three Clans stood at the height of our glory, had we ever imagined we would fall into such silence one day?"
"Perhaps someday in the future, a new clan will rise and replace the Witch-Demon Two Clans."
Ao Guang's heart trembled, and his face suddenly turned pale. He instinctively clenched his sleeves.
Naturally, this expression could not escape Zhu Rong's notice. Zhu Rong cast him a calm glance, his tone carrying unquestionable authority.
"Are there people in the clan again fantasizing about using the Demon Clan's strength to restore the Dragon Clan's former glory?"
Ao Guang stiffened. In the end, he nodded with a bitter smile, his voice filled with helplessness.
"Yes... some clan members have seen how powerful the Demon Clan is now and suggested befriending them."
"They wish to offer some of our treasured items as gifts in exchange for the Demon Clan's help in freeing us from the Four Seas Abyss and restoring the glory of ruling the Four Seas."
"Absurd!" Zhu Rong suddenly raised his hand and slammed his palm against the Crystal Coffin, sending ripples through the surrounding Dark Water.
"Was the tragedy of the Three Clans' great war not memorable enough? Or have they forgotten Ancestral Dragon's instructions?"
His voice abruptly rose, carrying suppressed fury.
"After the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, Lord Ancestral Dragon used his broken body to make an oath, commanding our clan to guard the Four Seas Abyss."
"First, to repay the Karmic Debt our war had incurred upon the Primordial Wilderness. Second, to recuperate and await the recovery of the Spirit Veins and the dissipation of our Karmic Debt before planning for the future. Yet now, some actually wish to borrow the Demon Clan's power?"
"No borrowed power can ever be relied upon!" Zhu Rong's words weighed as heavily as a thousand tons.
"If the Demon Clan truly wishes to help us, then either they want our clan to serve as cannon fodder and shield them from the Witch Clan's physical assaults."
"Or they have set their sights on the treasures our clan has accumulated over endless Yuanhui."
"Those Chaos Spiritual Materials from the earliest days of creation and Innate Spiritual Treasures—what among them do they not covet?"
"What they value has never been our Dragon Clan itself, only our usefulness!"
Ao Guang lowered his head, cold sweat seeping across his forehead. He no longer had the slightest thought of arguing.
He knew Zhu Rong spoke the truth. Some within the clan had merely been blinded by the delusion of restoring their former glory.
"Those who proposed such absurd ideas are either foolish or idiotic."
Zhu Rong's anger gradually subsided. His tone became calm again, yet his command allowed no disobedience. "Relay my words exactly and make them wake up properly."
"If anyone dares mention borrowing the Demon Clan's power again, follow the instructions Ancestral Dragon left behind. Expel them from the Dragon Clan Ancestral Land, never to return."
"Yes, Ancestor." Ao Guang respectfully bowed and slowly withdrew from the Ancestral Land.
The moment he stepped outside the cave, he heard a long sigh from behind him.
That sigh was filled with helplessness toward reincarnation and worry for the clan's future.
The Dark Water flowed slowly. Beside the Crystal Coffin, Zhu Rong closed his eyes once more, and the Dragon Clan Ancestral Land sank back into silence.
Only the cracks upon the rock walls silently recounted the glory of the past and the forbearance of the present.
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