Luo Xuan looked somewhat flustered and said, "Yes, yes, yes. I didn't know the Demon Race was here, so I'll be on my way."
The giant bird nodded in satisfaction, contempt flickering in its eyes as it arrogantly said, "Good that you know. Now get lost!"
Luo Xuan nodded repeatedly. "Fellow Daoist, Shouyang Mountain is not far from here. Are you planning to do something to the human race?"
The more Luo Xuan flattered him, the more pleased the giant bird became.
"By order of the Demon Emperor, we're here to monitor the human race."
"I don't mind telling you: besides us, there are several hundred boar demons below. We guarantee that not a single person from Shouyang Mountain will escape our sight."
"I see..." Luo Xuan said thoughtfully.
Impatience appeared in the giant bird's eyes. "Now that you know, get out of here... Ah!!!"
Before the words had even left its mouth, the giant bird saw flames filling the sky and rushing toward it.
Amid its shrieks, the giant bird turned to ash, without even leaving behind a corpse.
The Purple Gold Gourd hovered beside Luo Xuan, pouring out surging purple-gold flames that seemed endless.
The other bird demons immediately fell into chaos.
In the mountain range below, a fat-headed, big-eared boar demon looked up at the sky.
Two enormous tusks protruded from the corners of his mouth, and he carried a Wolf Fang Club on his shoulder.
Behind him stood several hundred more boar demons.
The boar demon said impatiently, "What are those stinking birds making such a fuss about again?"
The answer came in the form of purple-gold flames filling the sky.
The flames fell like a torrential rain, but each cluster seemed to have eyes of its own, accurately finding every boar demon.
The strongest boar demon was also at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Yet the flames clung to him like maggots to a rotting bone. Even he could do nothing but watch his companions turn to dust one after another.
As he collapsed, he saw a young man in Daoist robes slowly descend from the clouds. Then darkness overtook his vision, and he lost consciousness forever.
Luo Xuan looked around. He even closed his eyes and released his divine sense. Only after confirming that no demonic aura remained nearby did he head toward the human race.
Shouyang Mountain.
The Three Ancestors sat inside a room, discussing something.
The space beside them suddenly twisted.
The three of them immediately became vigilant. Only after recognizing Luo Xuan's face did they freeze for a moment.
"Luo Xuan, you're back from Kunlun?"
Suiren Shi and the others instantly became excited.
Luo Xuan nodded. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he asked, "Ancestor, where are the Witch Clan members in Shouyang Mountain?"
When he had just returned, Luo Xuan had not seen Hou Yi. There were barely any Witch Clan members around either.
Only then did he understand why the human race had failed to notice the Demon Race monitoring Shouyang Mountain for so long.
Suiren Shi sighed. "Recently, the Witch and Demon Races have been locked in constant warfare, and the fighting has grown increasingly fierce."
"I figured the Demon Race might not be paying attention to the human race, so I had them return."
From the Three Ancestors' explanation, Luo Xuan learned that the conflict between the Witch and Demon Races had already reached an irreconcilable point.
"By the looks of it, the war between the Witch and Demon Races is coming soon."
Luo Xuan rubbed his chin. Then, combining this with the Demon Race's surveillance of the human race, his eyes flickered.
Di Jun had found a method to refine the Witch-Slaying Sword!
"Ancestor, remain in Shouyang Mountain and be vigilant about the Demon Race's every move. I'm going to the Witch Clan."
With that, before Suiren Shi and the others could say anything, Luo Xuan vanished before their eyes.
Pangu Temple.
The Twelve Ancestor Witches had solemn expressions, and the hall was silent.
After a long while, Zhu Rong's unwilling voice rang out. "That filthy bird Di Jun is truly cunning."
"He actually used his heavenly soul and borrowed the power of the Taiyin Star."
"Exactly! Di Jun has no shame at all. This is clearly an affair between our two races, yet he refuses to show any demonic virtue!"
With Zhu Rong taking the lead, all the Ancestor Witches began voicing their agreement.
Di Jiang looked at Hou Tu and said, "Little sister, the Heavenly Court and our Witch Clan have been locked in fierce battle for so long without a victor. Do you have any ideas?"
Zhu Rong shouted, "What else can we do? Fight him! How could one tiny filthy bird possibly turn the tables on us?"
Just as the Twelve Ancestor Witches were arguing,
a minor witch entered Pangu Temple.
Zhu Rong abruptly turned toward him and barked in his rough voice, "What is it?"
The minor witch hurriedly lowered his head after Zhu Rong's shout.
"Reporting to the Ancestor Witches, outside..."
Mysterious Black Tortoise
At the border of the Witch Clan's territory.
Jagged rocks lay scattered across the ground.
Yellow sand swept across the sky, while sparse weeds stubbornly swayed in the wind.
A white cloud descended from the heavens, revealing a young man in Daoist robes.
Luo Xuan extended his hand. A gentle breeze carried sand through his palm, and he could faintly feel the grains rubbing against it.
"I didn't expect the Witch Clan's territory to be this desolate too. It seems the war between the two races has been hard on more than just the myriad races of the Primordial World."
As he pondered, Luo Xuan was about to walk toward Pangu Temple.
However, he had not gone far when his steps halted, and he turned to look in another direction.
Luo Xuan sensed a powerful aura approaching from afar.
The aura spread unconsciously and was not directed at Luo Xuan.
Even so, Luo Xuan frowned. "How could there be a demonic aura inside the Witch Clan's territory?"
Could a demon be lurking nearby?
At that thought, Luo Xuan immediately headed toward the source of the aura.
As he drew closer, the aura he sensed grew increasingly powerful.
"Keep it up! There's an opening on his left!"
"Hold him down! He's almost out of strength..."
Before long, Luo Xuan saw figures from the Witch Clan.
What puzzled him was that these witches showed no tension at all in the face of the Demon Race.
Instead, they excitedly gathered around something, occasionally shouting loudly.
Luo Xuan moved closer and discovered that the witches had vaguely formed a circle.
There was a large open space inside the circle, where two witches were engaged in a contest of strength.
The demonic aura he had sensed came from directly across from him.
It came from a massive Black Tortoise. Though it had already lost its life force, one could still sense the cultivation of a Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal from its body.
After listening to the witches nearby explain, Luo Xuan finally understood.
With Hou Tu promoting it, the Witch Clan would occasionally hold contests to temper their strength.
And the contests were not merely exercises. The victor of each match would receive a reward.
The giant tortoise's corpse before him was this match's reward.
Luo Xuan carefully examined the giant tortoise's corpse and discovered that it faintly possessed a dragon bloodline.
According to the other witches, although this giant tortoise had been a Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal, its defensive power had been comparable to that of a Quasi-Saint.
It had also been extraordinarily cunning. Back then, several Ancestor Witches had joined forces and expended tremendous effort before finally killing it.
Luo Xuan examined the giant tortoise as if admiring a work of art. "If someone from outside the Witch Clan wins, will the reward still count?"
"Of course it counts, as long as you can defeat one of our Witch Clan warriors."
Standing beside Luo Xuan was a Witch Clan burly man over two meters tall. Only after hearing Luo Xuan's words did he realize that a short figure had somehow appeared beside him.
However, when he saw that it was merely a member of the human race, arrogance appeared in his eyes.
Luo Xuan nodded at this and said, "If this tortoiseshell is refined, it will make superior armor."
Light swirled in his eyes, clearly showing that he had taken an interest in the giant tortoise.
"Kid, you've broadened your horizons, haven't you? You're lucky today."
The Witch Clan burly man chuckled dismissively, clearly not believing that a human could defeat one of their warriors.
As they spoke, a witch on the field was defeated and withdrew.
The contest seemed to be nearing its end. Every battle had been exceptionally intense.
Luo Xuan watched as one witch was sent flying by another's punch and shook his head with a sigh.
"He got impatient."
"If he had defended against the other side's sweeping kick just now, he could have blocked this punch."
"And at the beginning, he was too eager to show off. He insisted on overpowering his opponent in terms of blood and qi, wasting a great deal of energy."
The Witch Clan burly man beside him looked at Luo Xuan in surprise. "You're familiar with our Witch Clan's fighting style?"
Luo Xuan smiled. "I once knew a witch."
Before you continue