Chapter 43

Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi immediately bowed. "Greetings, Dao Ancestor!"

Dao Ancestor Hongjun's gaze was indifferent. Just as he was about to speak, Di Jiang's voice interrupted him.

"Dao Ancestor Hongjun! What is the meaning of this? Why are you interfering in the war between our Wu Clan and the demon race?"

Dao Ancestor Hongjun looked toward the Pangu True Body and said calmly, "The demon race must not be destroyed. This is the will of heaven. From this day onward, demons shall rule the heavens and the Wu Clan shall rule the earth. They are not to wage war again for ten thousand years."

Di Jun, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi, and countless high-ranking demons were overjoyed upon hearing this and promptly knelt.

"We shall obey Dao Ancestor's decree!"

The many Primordial Great Powers all believed the matter was settled once Dao Ancestor Hongjun had spoken.

The battle just now had left lingering fear in their hearts, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet just as everyone began to calm down, a discordant voice emerged from the Pangu True Body formed by the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

"Hongjun! We only call you Dao Ancestor out of respect. Do you really think you are the master of the Primordial Era?

"This Primordial Era was opened by Pangu the Father God. Our Wu Clan are Pangu's descendants, so we should naturally rule this world. Since when was it your turn to give us orders?"

As soon as those words fell, heaven and earth fell silent.

Li Peng stood dumbfounded. The Three Pure Ones, the Western Second Saints, Nuwa, and Fuxi were equally stunned.

The other Primordial Great Powers were even more shocked beyond measure. No one had expected the Wu Clan to dare defy Dao Ancestor Hongjun so brazenly.

And it was not over yet. As soon as that voice fell silent, the other Ancestor Witches spoke up as well.

"That's right! Hongjun, don't think too highly of yourself! It's not too late for you to leave now!"

"Hongjun, can you really protect these demons today?"

"Hongjun, leave at once if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, we'll kill you along with them!"

The Twelve Ancestor Witches spoke one after another, their voices dripping with mockery.

Although Houtu did not speak, she did not try to stop her brothers either.

She knew their temperaments well. Even if she tried to persuade them now, she would not be able to stop them.

Upon hearing the Ancestor Witches' words, Hongjun's face instantly turned livid, yet there was nothing he could do.

If Hongjun truly struck against the Twelve Ancestor Witches, who would restrain the demon race? And who would open the cycle of reincarnation?

More importantly, Hongjun could not bear the karmic consequences of severing Pangu's bloodline.

Upon hearing the Twelve Ancestor Witches' remarks, the Primordial Great Powers were left staring in stunned disbelief, utterly unable to comprehend their way of thinking.

Li Peng also felt deeply helpless. He thought to himself, The Wu Clan is still the Wu Clan. I truly cannot match this level of recklessness.

They dared act so wildly without even understanding the gap in strength. Their talent for courting death was surely unmatched in the Primordial Era.

At this moment, Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Tai Yi were watching the Pangu True Body formed by the Twelve Ancestor Witches with mocking expressions.

They were clearly hoping to use Hongjun's hand to eliminate these Ancestor Witches.

Just as the two were making their calculations, the Pangu True Body raised its giant axe once more, and its aura surged violently.

This time, it was clearly going all out.

The Pangu True Body roared, "Third Form of Heaven Opening, Heaven and Earth Open, Primordial Era Forms, Primordial Era Slash!"

Before the words had even faded, an axe radiance even more majestic than the one that had shattered the Zhou Tian Star Formation cleaved toward Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

Seeing how ungrateful the Wu Clan was, Hongjun could not help but furrow his brow.

It seems I have no choice but to teach these fools a lesson! Hongjun thought.

Having made up his mind, Hongjun raised his hand and struck at the axe radiance.

With his motion, a giant palm of magic power condensed and flew straight toward the axe radiance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The axe radiance and the palm seal of magic power collided with a deafening explosion. The void within a million miles shattered completely, and countless black holes appeared, devouring everything.

The aftershocks of the collision continued to spread, extending toward other regions of the Heavenly Court.

Hongjun's expression changed slightly. He immediately brought out the Creation Jade Plate to stabilize space and restore order to heaven and earth.

As Hongjun acted, the enormous axe radiance was shattered by the giant palm of magic power. The palm seal did not slow in the slightest as it slammed heavily into the Pangu True Body.

Boom!

Another thunderous explosion rang out. The Pangu True Body collapsed, transforming back into the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

Blood seeped from the corners of all twelve Ancestor Witches' mouths. Their injuries were clearly severe.

But Hongjun had no time to concern himself with them and continued doing all he could to stabilize the space of heaven and earth.

Countless demons were dumbstruck at the sight.

They had never imagined that the Wu Clan, who had held victory in their grasp, would be severely injured by Dao Ancestor Hongjun because of the arrogance of the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

If Dao Ancestor Hongjun eliminated these Ancestor Witches, the remaining Wu Clan would be nothing more than meat on the demon race's chopping block.

The day the demon race unified the Primordial Era seemed to be close at hand.

For a moment, every demon's face was filled with wild joy.

Yet the heavily wounded Twelve Ancestor Witches showed no sign of yielding. They glared furiously at Hongjun as if they wished to devour him alive.

Li Peng was completely speechless at this sight. Things had already reached this point, yet they were still so stubborn. Were they truly not afraid that Dao Ancestor Hongjun would erase them with a single palm strike?

As these thoughts raced through Li Peng's mind, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already repaired all the spatial collapses caused by the battle.

After finishing everything, Dao Ancestor Hongjun glanced at the Twelve Ancestor Witches, feeling rather helpless.

These Ancestor Witches could not be killed, nor could they be beaten too severely.

After all, if he struck too heavily and Houtu failed to transform into reincarnation in the future, the loss would be immense.

Left with no choice, Hongjun spoke again. "From this day onward, demons shall rule the heavens and the Wu Clan shall rule the earth. They are not to wage war again for ten thousand years. Those who violate this decree shall suffer heaven's punishment."

The moment he finished speaking, Hongjun vanished.

The Twelve Ancestor Witches remained filled with indignation after hearing Dao Ancestor Hongjun's words.

But they did not continue testing Hongjun's patience. They merely rose silently and flew out of the Heavenly Court.

Di Jun, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi, and the other demons watched the Twelve Ancestor Witches leave, equally helpless.

Though they wanted to keep the severely wounded Ancestor Witches behind, they too were badly injured. Moreover, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's warning still rang in their ears, and they did not dare act rashly.

From the Thirty-Third Heaven, Li Peng saw that the show had ended. He stood, opened a Space Channel, and left the place.

As for whether the other great powers had departed, it no longer concerned him.

After returning to Three Immortal Island, Li Peng began his seclusion.

Time flowed on, and five thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.

With the demon race retreating to the Heavenly Court and the Wu Clan too few in number to occupy vast territories,

during these five thousand years, without powerful enemies surrounding them, the human race experienced vigorous growth.

Their population grew from fewer than two billion to as many as two hundred billion.

As their population exploded, the coast of the Eastern Sea could no longer accommodate so many humans.

Thus, the human race continuously migrated outward. In just five thousand years, human tribes had spread across ten million miles beyond the Eastern Sea coast.

Fortunately, Li Wu had long taught the human race skills such as domesticating livestock and cultivating the five grains.

Li Wu had once wanted to find high-yield crops such as corn, rice, and sweet potatoes so that the human race would no longer have to worry about food. Unfortunately, those crops seemed to have been hidden by the Heavenly Dao. Even after he asked Li Peng to deduce their whereabouts personally, they could not be found. In the end, Li Wu could only abandon the idea.

As human territory expanded, the living space of the demons of the Primordial Era was squeezed. Humans near the borders were often attacked by nearby demons. Though these demons were not particularly powerful, they happened to serve as tempering for the human race and could also keep them aware of danger. Thus, Li Wu did not personally eliminate them.

One day, Li Wu was in seclusion within the Human Ancestral Hall when someone suddenly reported that Ancestor Witch Houtu had come to visit. Li Wu was puzzled. He had never interacted with Houtu before, so why had she suddenly come to see him? Unable to figure it out, he rose and welcomed Houtu into the hall.

"Why has Ancestor Witch Houtu come here?" Li Wu asked directly.

Houtu was slightly startled, not expecting Li Wu to be so blunt. She answered just as frankly, "I accidentally discovered that members of the Wu Clan and the human race can unite and produce offspring. These children all possess the Wu Clan's divine abilities, so I wish to propose that the two races intermarry on a large scale."

Li Wu thought to himself, So humans with Wu Clan blood have appeared this early? It seems this was inevitable. He then shook his head. "I cannot decide this matter. You must discuss it with Golden Peng Saint and Saint Nuwa."

As a clone, he had no authority to decide such a major matter. Moreover, if the Wu Clan truly wished to intermarry with the human race, figures of sufficient standing had to step forward to secure more benefits for humanity—otherwise, given the tempers of the Twelve Ancestor Witches, they might simply seize people by force.

Houtu suddenly understood. Remembering that the human race had been created by Golden Peng and Nuwa, she realized that intermarriage indeed required the consent of both Saints. Thus, she nodded. "All right, I'll go discuss it with them immediately." With that, she flew away.

After more than ten years of travel, Ancestor Witch Houtu finally arrived at Three Immortal Island. Li Peng sensed her arrival and directly welcomed her onto the island.

260

Li Peng pretended not to know and asked, "May I ask why Ancestor Witch Houtu has come?"

Houtu could only tell Li Peng about her purpose in proposing intermarriage between humans and the Wu Clan.

After hearing her out, Li Peng feigned deep thought.

In truth, he had already learned of the matter through his clone and was quite supportive of it.

As the human race multiplied, their natural aptitude gradually declined.

The number of those able to cultivate the immortal path had fallen from one in a hundred to merely one or two in a million, and even then, they could only barely enter the path.

As for geniuses of the immortal path, there was not one even among hundreds of millions.

Martial cultivation did not place as much importance on aptitude, but those with poor talent cultivated ten times more slowly, and their chances of breaking through bottlenecks were only one-tenth as high.

If humans were like the first generation, born with lifespans of ten thousand years, then even those with mediocre talent would have enough time to cultivate to the Earth Immortal realm and extend their lives.

Unfortunately, humans of this age lived no longer than two hundred years, and that was only because Spiritual Energy in the Primordial Era was abundant.

If they lived in places where Spiritual Energy was thin, their lifespans would be even shorter.

Therefore, the human race urgently needed to improve its aptitude, cultivate more geniuses, and strengthen its overall power.

Li Peng only pretended to deliberate because he wanted to secure more benefits for the human race.

After a moment, Li Peng felt the time was right and was about to agree when the system notification suddenly sounded.

"Ding! The host's current situation has been detected. Please make a choice!"

"Option One: For the purity of the human race's bloodline, sternly reject Houtu's request! Reward: one hundred thousand years of magic power and one randomly selected Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Root."

"Option Two: For the future of the human race, agree to Houtu's request! Reward: one hundred thousand years of magic power and one randomly selected Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure."

"Option Three: Set an example through intermarriage between humans and the Wu Clan. To promote an alliance through marriage between the two races, take Houtu as your Dao companion. Reward: One Aeon Magic Power! Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures: Book of Life and Death, Judge's Brush, and Heavenly Dao-level martial technique, Sky-Opening Second Style: Yin-Yang Slash!"

"Please make your choice as soon as possible!"

Li Peng froze when he heard it, never expecting the system to appear at such a moment.

But since an opportunity had presented itself, he naturally had to seize it. He immediately examined the options.

The first option, rejecting intermarriage, could be eliminated at once—he had already intended to facilitate the union between the Wu Clan and humanity.

Of course, that was not the crucial point.

The crucial point was that the first option's reward simply could not make Li Peng change his mind.

Next, Li Peng looked at the second option.

This one was acceptable and aligned with his intentions, but the reward was truly unimpressive.

Still, even a mosquito leg was meat. He would take it for now!

Then Li Peng's gaze shifted to the third option.

"What the hell? Human-Wu intermarriage should start with me? And I have to marry Houtu too? Houtu really is a rare beauty, but did the system really need to arrange something like this?" Li Peng could not help complaining.

But when his eyes swept over the rewards for the third option, his complaints came to an abrupt halt.

One Aeon Magic Power, Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures like the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush, and even a Heavenly Dao-level martial technique—Second Form of Heaven Opening: Yin and Yang Slash? These rewards are far too generous! Li Peng thought in shock.

"Um... actually, I think your arrangement is pretty good too, System," Li Peng said instead.

It smelled wonderful!

Seeing that the system did not respond, Li Peng said no more and directly made his choice. "I choose the second and third options."

After making his choice, Li Peng finally said to Houtu, "In principle, I do not oppose marriage between humans and the Wu Clan. But without senior figures taking the lead, it will be difficult to promote this matter. After all, the differences between the two races are too great, and there is a vast gap in both strength and lifespan."

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for fulfilling Houtu's request and completing Option Two!

Reward obtained: one hundred thousand years of magic power and the Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Root, White Jade Fruit."

The system notification sounded, but Li Peng did not pay much attention to it. He did not care about such a small reward.

Upon hearing Li Peng's words, Houtu first breathed a sigh of relief, but when she heard his concerns, her heart tightened once more.

"Then does Fellow Daoist Li Peng have a solution?" Houtu asked anxiously.

Houtu was so anxious because, although the Wu Clan had won the previous battle against the demon race, they had also suffered grievous losses.

Although new Wu Clan members had been born over the past five thousand years, their numbers were far from enough to make up for the losses in battle. Furthermore, the newborn Wu Clan members were still weak and had not yet matured.

Now that she saw hope for increasing their population, Houtu was unwilling to give it up no matter what.

"There is a way, but it may put Fellow Daoist Houtu in a difficult position," Li Peng said calmly.