Xuanzheng's "Father God Care and Pangu Hall Construction Advance Survey Team" wandered across the Primordial World, having the time of their lives.
They called it "archaeology," but in truth, they went wherever there were BUGs to fix and wherever there were "holdouts" to pay "friendly visits" to.
"BUG in the alignment between a spiritual vein and the dragon qi of the earth veins somewhere along the Eastern Sea coast has been fixed! Manual reward: 'Trace Merit' and 'Water Affinity +0.1%'!"
Not bad, not bad. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat. It all adds up. Next!
After traveling several hundred more li, they saw a pitch-black mountain ahead, faintly wreathed in Demonic Energy.
"Report! An unidentified demon has occupied the mountain ahead. It is suspected to be a 'Taiyi Golden Immortal-level holdout.' A sign hangs outside its cave abode reading: 'Private territory. Witches and dogs forbidden entry!'"
A glint of professional "construction crew captain" brilliance flashed through Xuanzheng's "innocent" eyes. "Oh? That arrogant? Come on, brothers. Let's give him a proper lesson on the Primordial Demolition Law and the Witch-Demon Peaceful Coexistence Principles. Make sure he deeply understands the spirit of 'a harmonious Primordial World is everyone's responsibility.'"
Half an hour later, the battered and bruised "holdout" Demon King wept and wailed as he "voluntarily donated" the junk he had accumulated in his cave abode over many years—scrap material for repairing Pangu Hall in Xuanzheng's eyes—to the Witch Clan's construction efforts. He also declared that he would turn over a new leaf and strive to become a good, civilized demon of the Primordial World.
Thus, Xuanzheng and his group "scavenged bargains" and "begged for alms" all the way along. Wherever they passed, either the laws of heaven and earth became just a tiny bit smoother, or certain stubborn fellows learned what "physical persuasion" meant. They kept things under excellent control, each incident only a minor scuffle, but there were simply too many of them!
The first place to change from all these piecemeal "good deeds" was naturally the Witch Clan's headquarters—Pangu Hall.
Due to the erosion of time and its Congenital Defect, the Primordial Ancestral Qi within Pangu Hall had originally been leaking away at an alarming rate, like wind through a sieve.
But after receiving the first batch of basic materials "crowdfunded" by the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and after Xuanzheng fixed several minor BUGs such as "leaky corners" and "aging wiring" that only he could discover with the [Primordial World Bug Fixing Manual], things quietly began to change.
The old witches responsible for sweeping and cleaning the hall had recently felt that the air was much fresher. Pangu Hall's efficiency in gathering Father God's lingering grace and Primordial Ancestral Qi had visibly improved by a tiny bit. Though it was only a tiny bit, for the entire Witch Clan, that intangible destiny seemed to have solidified ever so slightly as well.
For ordinary living beings, such a change was practically negligible. But for certain existences standing at the top of the Primordial World's food chain, even the faintest ripple on a calm lake could be detected with precision.
Deep within Zixiao Palace, amid the eternally unchanging currents of chaos, Hongjun was roaming beyond the heavens and sorting through the threads of the Heavenly Dao. Suddenly, in the River of Destiny representing the fate of countless living beings in the Primordial World, the tributary symbolizing the Witch Clan—usually muddy and wildly rampaging—seemed... somewhat off.
Usually, this tributary was either "passionately colliding" with the Demon Clan's tributary, splashing up a torrent of "mudslides," or "growing wildly" on its own in complete disorder. But today, its waters seemed... just a little clearer? And its flow also seemed... just a tiny bit stronger?
Hongjun silently calculated with his fingers.
A moment later, his fingertips paused. Heavenly secrets were shrouded in chaos, as though covered in mosaic blur. No matter how he deduced it, he could not determine the Witch Clan's internal situation.
"Hm?" For the first time, a faint fluctuation appeared on Hongjun's eternally unchanging face, and one eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly.
Had this bunch of witches, who cultivated no primordial spirit, respected no Heavenly Dao, and relied solely on brute force to stomp around the Primordial World, recently taken some new brand of tonic? Or had they... collectively attained enlightenment regarding some profound principle like "use chopsticks when eating"?
He frowned slightly, feeling that this matter had strayed somewhat beyond his previous understanding of the Witch Clan. However, he had not yet fully merged with the Dao, and his powers of deduction were indeed limited.
"Never mind." Hongjun quickly calmed himself. The Witch Clan's brains were nothing but muscle. They had probably stumbled into some absurdly good luck and hunted an especially fat vicious beast, letting the entire clan eat its fill, so their destiny had risen a little. It was ultimately an irregularity, but the great tribulation had not yet arrived; it could not stir up much trouble. Once he merged with the Dao, everything would be under his control.
Hongjun closed his eyes and continued roaming beyond the heavens, as though everything just now had been an illusion.
However, while Hongjun could "ignore it for the time being," Di Jun of the Demon Clan Heavenly Court could not remain so calm.
Within Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun sat high upon his imperial throne. Before him, the River Diagram and Luo Script slowly revolved, while the radiance of the Myriad Stars Array flowed through the hall, reflecting every change in the Primordial World's destiny.
Suddenly, Di Jun's gaze froze on the area representing the Witch Clan's destiny.
"Hm?" he murmured in surprise.
Beside him, Eastern Emperor Taiyi was polishing the Eastern Emperor Bell. Hearing this, he asked casually, "Brother, what is it this time? Did those Witch Clan barbarians relieve themselves wherever they pleased again and pollute the Primordial World's feng shui, causing their destiny to fluctuate?" In his eyes, that was about the extent of what the Witch Clan could accomplish.
Di Jun shook his head, his expression somewhat grave. "No. This growth in the Witch Clan's destiny is extremely faint, almost impossible to detect. Yet within it... there is a trace of stability and vitality that has never existed before. It does not resemble the violent growth they gain from their usual fighting and slaughtering vicious beasts. It is more like... more like they are consolidating their foundation and cultivating their origin?"
"Consolidating their foundation and cultivating their origin?" Taiyi stopped polishing the bell. "What the hell is that? Those simple-minded brutes with well-developed limbs understand something like that? Shouldn't they be unable to count how many strokes are in the character for 'origin'? Brother, are you sure you didn't see it wrong? Maybe they have been eating particularly nourishing vicious beasts lately, so they merely look 'full of vitality'?"
Di Jun ignored Taiyi's joking. The more he deduced, the tighter his brow furrowed. If the Witch Clan, the Primordial World's greatest source of instability, had truly begun to understand "sustainable development," it would be no good news for the Demon Clan.
"Brother, if you ask me, those fools from the Witch Clan probably dug up some treasure Great God Pangu hid away long ago and took a few bites, so they have a bit more pep." Taiyi was still trying to explain it with his simple logic. "How about I take a few demon gods down there to have a look? If there really is something good, we can snatch it and bring it back to nourish you?"
"Enough, Taiyi." Di Jun's voice sank as he turned his gaze toward Demon Master Kunpeng, who had remained silent at the side.
A sinister gleam flashed through Kunpeng's eyes as he spoke at the right moment. "Your Majesty, though the Eastern Emperor's words are crude, his reasoning is sound. The Witch Clan is powerful and poses a grave threat to our Demon Clan. Any slight movement from them deserves our utmost vigilance. A thousand-li dike can collapse from an ant hole. If they truly possess some unknown change, we must be on guard."
Di Jun nodded slightly. Kunpeng's words had struck directly at his heart. With the great tribulation approaching, even the smallest variable could affect the Demon Clan's grand plan to unify the Primordial World.
"The Demon Master is correct." Di Jun looked down at the assembled demon gods. "Leave this matter to Baize."
Baize, renowned for his wisdom among the Ten Great Demon Sages of the Demon Clan, stepped forward and bowed to accept the order. "This minister obeys the decree."
Di Jun's gaze was profound as he slowly said, "Baize, immediately lead an elite team to secretly investigate what abnormalities the Witch Clan has experienced recently. You must determine the source of this sudden 'vitality.' Remember: investigate only in secret. Do not alert them."
"This minister understands!" Baize answered again.
Thus, under the command of the Demon Clan Heavenly Court, a covert investigation targeting the Witch Clan quietly began.
Di Jun watched the rolling sea of clouds beyond the hall and thought to himself, Witch Clan, you barbarians had better merely be lucky. Otherwise... hmph!
Meanwhile, Xuanzheng, who was somewhere in a remote mountain ravine of the Primordial World directing the great witches under his command to apply "Bug Fix patches" to a mountain on the verge of collapse, suddenly felt his nose itch.
"Ah-choo!" Xuanzheng rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's talking about me? Could one of my brothers have found more good materials for me?"
Before you continue