Nuwa and Fuxi entered seclusion to digest what they had gained from hearing the Dao preached at Zixiao Palace.
The Dao Field at Fengqi Mountain once again returned to its former tranquility.
Only Qingxuan remained, continuing his great endeavor of lying flat like a salted fish.
The Primordial World, however, began to seethe with turmoil after the first preaching of the Dao at Zixiao Palace ended.
After returning to the Primordial World, Dong Wang Gong did not go back to his Dao Field. Instead, guided by the Heavenly Dao, he arrived above the East Sea.
The East Sea stretched out in vast, emerald waves.
There were three immortal islands in the East Sea, formed when fragments of Chaos fell into the sea as Great God Pangu split the heavens and earth apart.
Following the Heavenly Dao's guidance, Dong Wang Gong arrived before Penglai Island.
Dong Wang Gong's heart surged with excitement. He had only just become the Head of Male Immortals, and the Heavenly Dao had already issued him guidance. Didn't that mean the Heavenly Dao also approved of him ruling the Primordial World?
Looking at the protective formation before him, Dong Wang Gong did not hesitate in the slightest and began deciphering it.
Ten thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Nuwa and Fuxi had just emerged from seclusion.
Although they had vaguely touched upon the realm beyond the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, there was still a thin membrane between them and that realm. No matter how hard the siblings tried, they remained just a fraction short.
At that moment, Dong Wang Gong's voice, carried throughout the Primordial World by the power of the Heavenly Dao, rang out.
"I am Dong Wang Gong. I have received the decree of the Sage and been appointed the Head of Male Immortals. Today, I establish Zizhou Prefecture on Penglai Island in the East Sea to maintain order in the Primordial World. All living beings may enter my Zizhou Prefecture. I am Emperor Donghua, and I shall suppress the destiny of Zizhou Prefecture with a Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
As soon as Dong Wang Gong finished speaking, a golden cloud rapidly condensed on the horizon.
Heavenly Dao Merit!
In the Primordial World, as long as one did something beneficial to its development, the Heavenly Dao would bestow Heavenly Dao Merit.
Merit could be used for cultivation and artifact refinement. It could even transform into a Golden Wheel of Merit. Anyone who killed one possessing great merit would incur the Heavenly Dao's hatred. At best, their cultivation would decline; at worst, their destiny would rebound upon them, leaving them dead with their Dao destroyed.
The merit was divided into three portions.
Four-tenths fell upon Dong Wang Gong, successfully raising his cultivation to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal's perfection; three-tenths fell upon the Dragon Head Staff, suppressing the destiny of Zizhou Prefecture; and three-tenths fell upon the rogue cultivators who had previously joined Dong Wang Gong's banner, successfully allowing several Grand Unity Golden Immortals to break through to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Seeing the benefits, some rogue immortals and spirit monsters who were either confused about the situation or weak in cultivation and eager for a powerful backer came flocking to him. This made Zifu Prefecture lively for a time.
As Dong Wang Gong watched the number of followers under him grow day by day and heard the respectful title of "Emperor" shouted again and again, the pent-up frustration caused by the top Great Powers ignoring him gradually dissipated. In its place was an increasingly swollen hunger for power.
He truly began to regard himself as the ruler of the Primordial World, believing that beneath the Dao Ancestor's decree, all immortals should submit.
Seeing that the Three Pure Ones, Di Jun, and the other Great Powers had no intention of playing along, Dong Wang Gong turned his attention to those races and cultivators without powerful backers.
He dispatched envoys bearing "decrees" to every corner of the Primordial World, ordering the leaders of all races and the various rogue cultivators to go to Zifu Prefecture to pay homage to the Emperor, register themselves, and accept his jurisdiction.
Those who refused were accused of "defying the Dao Ancestor's decree." At best, they were reprimanded and punished; at worst, they were directly killed, and their Spiritual Veins and cave abodes seized.
For a time, countless weak races and rogue cultivators in the Primordial World suffered miserably.
Relying on Dong Wang Gong's name and strength, the cultivators of Zifu Prefecture acted tyrannically, forcibly collecting tributes and filling the Primordial World with resentment and chaos.
[Tsk, Dong Wang Gong has gotten carried away. Does he really think that picking up a chicken feather lets him use it as an imperial order?]
[Hongjun told you to be the Head of Male Immortals, not the ruler of the Primordial World. With intelligence like that, no wonder you died so miserably later on.]
[Unable to win over the top Great Powers, he started bullying the mid-sized and small races and rogue cultivators instead. What an ugly way to eat.]
Although Qingxuan was lying flat in his Dao Field, his mind occasionally swept across the Primordial World through the system, taking everything in and grumbling inwardly without end.
At the same time, on the Sun Star, Di Jun and Tai Yi had also finished digesting what they had gained from hearing the Dao at Zixiao Palace.
They had witnessed Dong Wang Gong's foolish actions with their own eyes, and they had also seen the resentment and disorder caused throughout the Primordial World by Zizhou Prefecture's tyranny.
"Brother, with Dong Wang Gong acting so outrageously, this is precisely our opportunity!"
Tai Yi's eyes blazed as he held the Chaos Bell, his battle intent soaring.
Di Jun nodded, wisdom and ambition flickering in his eyes.
"Indeed. Dong Wang Gong is unfit for any great task. The world is in turmoil, all spirits are fearful, rogue cultivators have no support, and every race is in danger. What the Primordial World needs now is a new force to unite all living beings and establish a new order."
After the two made their plans, they promptly sent out invitations far and wide. Using their identities as guests of Zixiao Palace and Sun Star Lords, they invited the many race leaders and Great Power cultivators throughout the Primordial World who had suffered under Zifu Prefecture's oppression or were dissatisfied with the current situation to come to the Sun Star and discuss important matters.
On this day, worthy sages gathered on the Sun Star, and powerful experts converged there.
Most of those who came were representatives of avian races, beast spirits, plant spirits, and other groups that had not taken Innate Dao Bodies and were often discriminated against. They had long been dissatisfied with Dong Wang Gong's "Zifu."
Di Jun stood before the assembled worthies, his voice ringing like a great bell as he spoke passionately:
"Fellow Daoists! In today's Primordial World, the three ancient races have withdrawn, order has collapsed, and villains are abusing the Sage's name to act tyrannically, leaving all spirits to suffer! My brother and I, having been favored by the Dao Ancestor, heard the Great Dao in Zixiao Palace and deeply felt the pain caused by the Primordial World's disorder!"
"Under the Heavenly Dao, all spirits should have a place to live and a path of the Dao to seek! Yet look at the current situation: rogue cultivators drift helplessly, and races are bullied. How can this be resolved? Only by uniting as one and building order together!"
"Looking upon the living beings of the Primordial World, anyone who has awakened intelligence and embarked upon the path of cultivation, regardless of origin or bloodline, may be called a 'demon'! I, Di Jun, and Tai Yi are willing to step forward and establish the Demon Race, striving to win a pure land and a path forward for all demons beneath the heavens!"
"With the Demon Race established, there shall be laws, rewards for merit, and punishments for transgressions. We shall protect the weak and resist powerful enemies together! We are absolutely unlike those who know only how to exploit and oppress others!"
Di Jun's speech left the many race leaders present burning with enthusiasm and excitement.
Compared with Dong Wang Gong's blatant coercion and plunder, Di Jun's concept of the "Demon Race" gave them a sense of belonging and hope. The order and protection he promised struck directly at their needs.
"We are willing to follow the Emperor and the Eastern Emperor!"
"Let us build the Demon Race together and restore order to Heaven and Earth!"
The crowd's spirits soared, and countless voices responded.
[Look at Di Jun and Tai Yi. Now that's what you call a professional team. They know how to unite the majority and establish order. Though they are also doing it for destiny and power, at least they make it look good and can give the demons at the bottom some real benefits.]
Before long, dazzling light filled the Sun Star as destiny gathered. The phantom images of two Three-legged Golden Crows soared into the sky, proclaiming the news throughout the Primordial World.
"I am Di Jun. Today, I establish a race called the Demon Race. Any living being in the Primordial World who has awakened intelligence and embarked upon the path of cultivation, regardless of origin or bloodline, may be called a demon. I shall be the Demon Emperor, and Tai Yi shall be the Eastern Emperor. We shall suppress the destiny of the Demon Race with the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Eastern Emperor Bell. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
Rumble—
In the distant sky, a golden cloud of merit even larger than the one that appeared when Dong Wang Gong established Zizhou Prefecture drifted toward the Sun Star.
The Demon Race was officially established!
Di Jun became the Demon Emperor, Tai Yi became the Eastern Emperor, and together they took charge of the Demon Race!
When the news spread, the Primordial World was shaken.
The races and rogue cultivators who had suffered under Zifu Prefecture's oppression flocked to the Sun Star to seek refuge. The Demon Race's power rapidly expanded like a snowball, soon becoming a colossal force capable of standing against Zifu Prefecture, and even faintly surpassing it.
The Primordial World officially entered an era in which Zifu Prefecture and the Demon Race stood opposed, with conflict gradually emerging.
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