Second Brother, I'm doing this for your own good, let me slap you twice!

Li Yuan watched Hou Yi's retreating back as he led many of the Witch Race away, feeling a surge of satisfaction in his heart.

Sure enough, in the early days of the Primordial World, when interests weren't yet deeply entangled.

Everyone was still quite simple with each other.

Hou Yi wasn't the same Hou Yi who would nock an arrow and shoot at the slightest disagreement.

At the same time, he casually wrote this down in his diary.

[Even if the Demon Court truly continues the Witch Slaughtering Sword plan, now that the Witch Race is applying pressure, they can only deal with the Witch Race first—a clear scheme]

Inside a side hall of the Eight Scenery Palace, Laozi glanced at the diary, a smile curling at his brows, and thought to himself.

"This silly child probably doesn't know that We have already resolved the Demon Court's Witch Slaughtering Sword plan."

"Crushing it while the plan is still in its infancy is the way."

"Still, for Yuan'er to have such foresight truly brings this teacher comfort."

He had always excelled in the way of deduction and strategy, and now it seemed Li Yuan had inherited some of it.

To have achieved this level was already extremely impressive.

In a sense, Li Yuan's method could also temporarily ease the conflict between the Witch Race and the Demon Race.

[The Human Race, as I said before, can be either a point of conflict between the Witch and Demon or a point of reconciliation. But how can I make the Demon Court see the benefits of the Human Race beyond the Witch Slaughtering Sword?]

This was what Li Yuan was considering—the Witch and Demon were the black and white sides of the Taiji.

As for the Human Race, they could serve as the central point for balancing Yin and Yang.

Laozi's face still held a smile as he murmured to himself.

"With Our move to go to the Demon Court and protect the Human Race, Fellow Daoist Dijun should be able to realize the Human Race's significance."

"And Fellow Daoist Fuxi, after taking two slaps from Third Brother, probably won't be so extreme anymore."

"Sigh, such extreme thinking—isn't it itself a kind of heart demon, an obstacle?"

Inside the Eight Scenery Palace, the Three Pure Ones each had different thoughts after reading the diary, though their expressions remained unchanged.

Laozi, rare for him, smiled at Tongtian and praised.

"Third Brother, those two slaps you gave Fuxi at the Demon Court—well done. They broke through the heart demon within Fellow Daoist Fuxi."

Tongtian looked utterly bewildered; it was the first time he'd been praised by his eldest brother for fighting.

Could it be... that slapping someone could break their inner heart demon?

His face lit up with excitement as he stared intently at Yuanshi's profile, his hands twitching with eagerness.

Yuanshi, with his keen perception, suddenly turned his head to meet Tongtian's gaze, frowning as he asked.

"What does Third Brother intend to do?"

Tongtian replied with fervent enthusiasm.

"Second Brother, it's for your own good—let me slap you twice."

Yuanshi shook his head helplessly and sighed, then slowly raised his hand.

Slap! Slap!

"Ah! Second Brother, Second Brother, stop hitting! I know I was wrong! Second Brother, dear Second Brother!"

"..."

Over on the Human Race side, they had found a few sharp-witted, silver-tongued matchmakers.

They were responsible for the matchmaking affairs between the Witch and Demon Races.

At the same time, everything had to be fair, just, and transparent. If the two parties weren't suited, all gifts brought had to be returned, with nothing kept in secret.

As a result, there had recently been a great many intermarriages between the Witch and Demon Races.

"Come, drink!"

Li Yuan, along with a few fellow disciples, spent their days attending wedding banquets and more wedding banquets.

Even though the Primordial World still lacked seasonings, the food made with immortal techniques was still delicious.

"Senior Brother, pass me that pork knuckle."

Xuandu helplessly handed the knuckle to Li Yuan, who devoured it ravenously, caring nothing for appearances.

Hou Yi then brought the groom and bride over to offer a toast.

"For the Witch Race to marry so smoothly, we have much to thank this young friend's ideas for, hahahaha."

"I'll down mine; you do as you please."

Li Yuan and the others also stood, raising their cups in congratulations.

"Wishing the newlyweds a perfect union!"

The original blessing was "a hundred years of harmony," but the problem was that even ordinary mortals in the Primordial World lived for several hundred years.

Isn't that just a straightforward curse wishing for an early divorce?

One Primordial World epoch is one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years.

Thus, an epoch of harmonious union seems especially fitting.

Meanwhile, the movements of the Human Race and the Witch Race were keenly detected by the Demon Court.

Naturally, intermarriage between the two sides wouldn't be done in secret.

In the grand hall of the Demon Court, Dijun frowned as he listened to the report from his advisor, Baize.

"You're saying the Human Race and the Witch Race are intermarrying, and with full ceremonial propriety?"

Advisor Baize's expression was complex as he gave a slight nod.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have personally witnessed it—it is absolutely true."

Dijun slammed the table in shock and stood up, exclaiming loudly.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. The Witch Race are all a bunch of brainless brutes."

"Their brains are made of muscle—can you understand that? Made of muscle, nothing else."

"When did these crude oafs ever learn to act with courtesy?"

Baize sighed and replied.

"I've gathered that it seems to be Li Yuan, the personal disciple of the Humanity Sect, who is deliberately promoting intermarriage between the Wu and the Humans."

"For the Witch Race to be this reasonable now, it's likely Li Yuan's idea."

"Xuandu and Li Yuan are both disciples of the Humanity Sect. Both hail from the Human Race, and the Humanity Sect is people-oriented. So, it's understandable that they'd use the Witch Race's power to support the Human Race."

Dijun's eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly waved his hand and shouted.

"No, things are definitely not as simple as you or I imagine."

"The visit of the four Sages earlier was enough to prove the importance of the Human Race."

"It seems the Human Race harbors some great hidden secret."

Eastern Emperor Taiyi wore a puzzled expression as he glanced sideways at Dijun.

"Big Brother, even I can see that. You're not that dense, are you?"

Dijun scolded him with a tone of frustration, as if disappointed in a lost cause.

"Shut up. You've shattered the Imperial We's accumulated imperial dignity!"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi pressed his lips helplessly and thought to himself.

"With the Chaos Bell around, what dignity? One swing of the Chaos Bell, and everyone behaves."

He suddenly snapped back to attention and asked.

"Big Brother, how are things progressing with the two sisters-in-law from the Lunar Star?"

Dijun waved his hand casually and said with a smile.

"What status does your elder brother have? Quasi-Sage peak, a graduate of the first class from Purple Cloud Palace, Demon Emperor of the Demon Court, radiating charm—we'll marry on a chosen day."

"No, don't keep sidetracking me. We're talking about the intermarriage between the Human Race and the Witch Race."

"Baize, you're clever. Since the Witch Race and the Human Race are intermarrying, then our Demon Race will intermarry with the Human Race too. You're in charge of it."

Baize gave a slight nod in agreement. He had been thinking the same thing—letting the Demon Race intermarry with the Human Race.

With that, he took some of the more talented younger Demon Race members under his command and descended to the mortal world.

Just then, Li Yuan had finished attending the wedding feast and had just returned to the Ancestral Hall.

"Demon Court Advisor Baize, here to pay respects to the personal disciples of the Sages."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly and thought to himself.

"Could the Demon Court be initiating the Witch Slaughtering Sword plan, preparing to use courtesy before force?"

His heart tightened, but with the Witch Race drawing the attention now, maneuvering between them to defuse the Wu-Demon conflict might still be possible.

Li Yuan and a few fellow disciples appeared outside the Ancestral Land.

"May I ask, Senior, what business brings you to the Human Race?"

Baize looked at the Sage's personal disciple before him and said with a smile.

"A personal disciple of the Sages—truly outstanding in appearance and bearing. I come this time with the Demon Court's sincerity, wishing to propose to the Human Race—"

"Intermarriage!"