Chapter 26

Therefore, before clearing out the surrounding forces, it was not advisable to make a move against the Wu Clan."

After hearing this, Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi both nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Bai Ze continued, "As for the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Kirin Clan, they were all dominant powers of the previous calamity. Their foundations run unfathomably deep, and no one knows what trump cards they possess.

"If we rashly go to war with them, the losses may be impossible to estimate."

Most importantly, the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Kirin Clan had all gone into seclusion. They posed little threat to our domination of the prehistoric world.

But the Loose Immortal Alliance was different. It posed an enormous threat to us.

Bai Ze deliberately paused here.

Di Jun asked curiously, "What makes them different?"

"First, King Father of the East was personally appointed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun as the Head of Male Immortals. Nominally, he is our superior.

"Second, most of King Father of the East's Loose Immortal Alliance consists of members of our demon race. He is clearly competing with us for troops and powerful experts.

"Therefore, if the demon race wishes to continue growing, we must destroy the Loose Immortal Alliance, and King Father of the East must die!

"Otherwise, the demon race's fortune cannot be unified, nor can all faith be gathered upon the demon race's Heavenly Court."

Bai Ze explained.

After listening to Bai Ze's analysis, murderous glints appeared in Di Jun and Tai Yi's eyes.

"Bai Ze truly deserves to be the strategist of our demon race. Your analysis makes perfect sense!" Di Jun laughed heartily.

"Thank you for Your Majesty's praise," Bai Ze replied calmly.

"Ji Meng, Ying Zhao, Fei Dan, Bai Ze, Fei Lian, Shang Yang, immediately muster one billion demon soldiers and follow us to subdue the Loose Immortal Alliance!" Di Jun ordered.

"Yes!" The six replied in unison.

"Qin Yuan, Ci Tie, Gui Che, Jiu Ying, guard the Heavenly Court well. Do not give the Wu Clan any opportunity to exploit!" Di Jun ordered again.

"Yes!" The four accepted the order simultaneously.

Three days later, Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi led the Six Great Demon Sages and one billion demon soldiers toward the prehistoric continent in a mighty procession.

Such a massive movement from the demon race immediately drew the attention of countless great powers across the prehistoric world.

For a time, every race was on edge.

Wherever the army passed, whether powerful cultivators or ordinary living beings, all kept far away.

With such momentum from the demon race, another great war was clearly about to erupt.

The living beings feared being caught in the crossfire and ending up dead, their souls scattered and their bodies reduced to ashes.

Inside the Ancestor Witch Hall of the Wu Clan,

Bang!

Zhu Rong slammed his hand onto the table and roared, "The demon race actually dares to enter the prehistoric lands in force. This is a declaration of war against our Wu Clan!

"Today, I will slaughter those two mangy birds and bring them back to make soup!"

After hearing this, Gonggong mocked him without restraint. "Heh heh, Zhu Rong, you talk big. Why don't you go kill one and let me see?"

"Gonggong, are you looking for a fight?" Zhu Rong snapped.

"Bring it on. Who's afraid of whom?" Gonggong retorted without yielding.

Seeing this, Di Jiang abruptly slammed the table and shouted, "With enemies at our doorstep, you still have the mood to quarrel here?"

Seeing their eldest brother angered, Zhu Rong and Gonggong immediately lost all their swagger and obediently returned to their seats.

"Set up the defenses first. If the demon race dares attack us, we will strike back with everything we have. If they are looking for trouble with other races, there is no need for us to interfere. We have few allies in the prehistoric world anyway. Let them fight among themselves," Zhu Jiuyin said calmly.

"Fine, we'll do as you say!" Di Jiang nodded.

At the same time, news of the demon race's movements reached Bucephalus Volcano.

After learning of it, the Third Elder and the Phoenix Clan's upper ranks hurried to find Kong Xuan.

Seeing everyone arrive, Kong Xuan looked puzzled. "Why have you all come to see me?"

"The demon race army has entered the prehistoric lands. We do not know who their target is this time. If they are coming for the Phoenix Clan, our clan is in grave danger," the Third Elder said anxiously.

Kong Xuan was startled upon hearing this. Then he thought of how he was only at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. What use was there in the higher-ups coming to him?

He simply asked directly, "What do the Third Elder and the rest of you need me to do?"

"We merely wish to ask you to report this to the Clan Leader," the Third Elder said, somewhat embarrassed.

Clearly, the Third Elder still feared Li Peng somewhat and did not dare report it personally.

Kong Xuan felt rather helpless after hearing this. He had not expected to be used as a messenger.

But with the Phoenix Clan facing a crisis, Kong Xuan had no mind to argue over it. He agreed, "All right, I'll go find my elder brother now!"

With that, he immediately flew toward Li Peng's place of seclusion.

A moment later, Kong Xuan arrived outside Li Peng's secluded cultivation grounds.

He took a deep breath and shouted outside the formation, "Elder Brother! Come out quickly, something major has happened!"

Yet no matter how he shouted, there was no response from within.

Looking at the formation before him and thinking of the demon race army's impending arrival, Kong Xuan steeled himself and threw a punch at the formation.

Boom—!

The formation restrictions collided with his fist wind, unleashing a thunderous blast.

Li Peng, who was opening up a world inside the Sea-Calming Pearl, suddenly sensed the restrictions he had set up being attacked. His expression immediately changed.

He was currently within Bucephalus Volcano. There were only two possibilities for his restrictions to be disturbed:

Either an outside enemy had invaded and was attacking the restrictions he had set;

Or the Phoenix Clan had encountered a crisis they could not resolve and was using this method to call him out.

No matter which it was, it was anything but ordinary.

Li Peng had no choice but to suspend his world creation and immediately go outside to investigate.

However, this newly opened middle thousand world had not yet stabilized. After a brief thought, he summoned Daoist Jinlian.

"I'll have to trouble you with the rest," Li Peng said to Daoist Jinlian.

"Go on, go on. It isn't like the clone has ** anyway," Daoist Jinlian replied with a wave of his hand.

Li Peng said nothing more and directly left the inner space of the Sea-Calming Pearl.

After coming out, he first took the Sea-Calming Pearl floating in the air back into his body, then opened the restrictions and stepped outside.

The moment he emerged, he saw Kong Xuan's anxious face.

"Elder Brother! You've finally come out! Hurry and come with me, the Third Elder and the others are waiting for you in the discussion hall!" Kong Xuan said urgently.

Without waiting for Li Peng's response, he grabbed Li Peng and flew toward the discussion hall.

Li Peng smiled helplessly. He simply grabbed Kong Xuan by the collar and sped toward the hall.

A moment later, the two had arrived at the discussion hall.

Seeing the Phoenix Clan's upper ranks gathered together, Li Peng asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened?"

The Third Elder urgently reported, "Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi of the demon race have led the Six Great Demon Sages and one billion troops into the prehistoric lands. We do not know where they intend to attack this time!"

Li Peng did not panic upon hearing this. He knew that in the original prehistoric history, the demon race had not attacked the Phoenix Clan. With him guarding it now, Di Jun and Tai Yi dreaming of touching the Phoenix Clan was even more impossible.

He was not worried about the Phoenix Clan's safety. Instead, he became interested in the demon race's target this time.

According to the original prehistoric history, the demon race and the Wu Clan fought most frequently. But it was still too early now. Di Jun and Tai Yi should not yet be leading an army into a decisive battle against the Wu Clan.

Then aside from the Wu Clan, what other force was worth such a massive mobilization?

The Dragon Clan?

But the Dragon Clan currently seemed to have few experts in the open.

If the demon race truly intended to campaign against the Dragon Clan, dispatching six Demon Sages alone should have been enough. Why would they need to make such a huge show and go personally?

The capable one—King Father of the East!

The instant Li Peng thought of King Father of the East, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

"Ding! The host's current circumstances have been detected. Please make a choice as soon as possible!"

"Choice One: King Father of the East was personally appointed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun as the Head of Male Immortals. How could Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi be allowed to act so recklessly? Please rescue King Father of the East and teach Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi a lesson, thereby upholding the Dao Ancestor's dignity!

Reward: Hongjun's favorability increased by 10 points, one identity as Dao Ancestor Hongjun's personal ** disciple!"

"Choice Two: King Father of the East harbors resentment toward the host. Please assist Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi in completely eliminating King Father of the East!

Reward: one hundred thousand years of cultivation, one random High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure!"

"Choice Three: Let them fight endlessly, and the host may profit from the chaos. Please take advantage of King Father of the East's fierce battle against Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi to loot all the treasures within Loose Immortal Island!

Reward: one hundred thousand years of cultivation, one Spiritual Treasure Restriction Refining Card."

"Please make a choice as soon as possible."

Hearing the system prompt, Li Peng could not help but be stunned. He had not expected this matter to trigger a choice as well.

He immediately began examining the three choices.

When he saw Choice One, Li Peng felt utterly miserable.

Uphold Hongjun's dignity? Save King Father of the East?

Heh heh.

Li Peng considered himself someone with a system, someone who would surpass the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun in the future. Why would he uphold Hongjun's dignity?

Of course, those lofty words were merely excuses.

The real reason was that the rewards were far too useless. Li Peng did not care for them at all.

What was the use of ten additional points of Hongjun's favorability or an identity as a personal ** disciple to him?

Thus, he gave up Choice One without the slightest hesitation.

Next, he looked at Choice Two.

This was clearly asking him to steal a kill.

The mission reward was also ** unremarkable, so he temporarily kept it in consideration.

Finally, Li Peng turned his attention to Choice Three.

The moment he saw its contents, his eyes lit up.

He would not have to fight to the death, and he could even reap benefits along the way. Where else could he find such a good deal?

Looking at the reward again, Li Peng noticed something he had never seen before.

"Hm? What is this 'Spiritual Treasure Restriction Refining Card'?" he muttered, then opened the detailed description.

A Spiritual Treasure Restriction Refining Card could instantly refine all restrictions within any Acquired Spiritual Treasure or Innate Spiritual Treasure once used, completely unleashing the treasure's power.

When Li Peng saw the card's description, his eyes immediately lit up.

Without hesitation, he said to the system, "System, I choose the third option!"

After making his choice, Li Peng looked toward the Phoenix Clan's upper ranks present and said calmly, "I understand. I will go investigate the demon race's movements now. You may wait here."

"Elder Brother, I'll go with you!" Kong Xuan quickly said.

"Nonsense! With your meager cultivation, aren't you just going there to die?" Li Peng rebuked him.

"I... I'm at least at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. I..." Kong Xuan argued.

Before he could finish, Li Peng interrupted him. "Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm? Do you know that Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi are at least Quasi-Saint Mid-stage experts, perhaps even late-stage? What can a Grand Unity Golden Immortal like you do?"

"I... I..." Kong Xuan was left speechless.

He knew full well that he truly could not be of much help. But seeing his elder brother face the enemy alone while he remained safely behind made it difficult for him to feel at ease.

Seeing this, Li Peng softened his tone and comforted him. "Little brother, you only recently took form. It is normal for your cultivation to be shallow. What you should do now is enter seclusion and cultivate, raising your strength as quickly as possible. Before you grow strong, let your elder brother shelter you from the wind and rain. When you become powerful in the future, you can protect your brother in turn."

As he spoke, he gently patted Kong Xuan's shoulder.

Kong Xuan nodded excitedly. "I will grow stronger as soon as possible!"

Li Peng smiled faintly, then transformed into a streak of light and vanished beyond the horizon.

Kong Xuan and the Phoenix Clan's upper ranks watched the direction in which he departed, their eyes filled with admiration—in their hearts, Li Peng was risking himself for their sake.

After leaving Bucephalus Volcano, Li Peng flew directly toward Loose Immortal Island.

It had to be said that King Father of the East's fortune was indeed not bad. Even though Penglai Island had been occupied by Li Peng, he had still managed to find another Blessed Land.

And judging by the scale of the demon race's deployment this time, the Loose Immortal Alliance King Father of the East had developed over the years must have grown quite powerful. Otherwise, Di Jun and Tai Yi would not have made such a grand mobilization.

Li Peng traveled at full speed and finally reached Loose Immortal Island half a year later.

Li Peng did not enter Loose Immortal Island directly. Instead, he quietly hid outside the island and observed. Loose Immortal Island was still peaceful, utterly unaware that Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi were about to attack.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Li Peng's mind. I can't let the demon race win too easily. The Loose Immortal Alliance needs some warning. If the demon race takes this place in one stroke, how will I profit from the chaos?

With that thought, his body shifted, and he transformed into a bull demon with only the cultivation of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. He had two horns atop his head, eyes red as cinnabar, a hulking body, and knotted muscles. There was no trace left of his former elegant bearing.

Li Peng was quite satisfied with this appearance and thought, This should be enough to fool them. He then put on an anxious expression and flew toward Loose Immortal Island.

In moments, the bull demon arrived near Loose Immortal Island's great formation. Seeing this unfamiliar demon race member flying over at high speed, the patrolling Loose Immortal Alliance soldiers all stopped and went on guard.