The ten Quasi-Saint-level demon saints led a hundred Great Luo Demon Gods, a thousand Taiyi Demon Kings, and a hundred billion Heavenly Soldiers and Generals down to the Lower Realm in a menacing display.
Just as they planned to slaughter the Human Race on a massive scale and harvest their resentment-filled three souls and seven spirits, the demon saints led by Bai Ze were astonished to discover that there was not a single human left in the region from Mount Buzhou to Shouyang Mountain.
The former Ancestral Land of Humanity had long been abandoned.
Countless buildings were blanketed in weeds and dust.
It was utterly deserted.
Let alone humans.
The Quasi-Saint-level Primordial Spirit power of the Ten Great Demon Sages spread out, yet they could not sense even a trace of the Human Race.
Bai Ze frowned. "That's not right. The Human Race has always lived in the region between Mount Buzhou and Shouyang Mountain. Why can't we see a single one now?"
"Could they have foreseen the danger and relocated their entire race?"
Bai Ze and the others searched the surrounding trillions of miles of territory, then finally returned to the Heavenly Court in helplessness to report the matter.
Dijun and the Eastern Emperor were likewise stunned upon learning of it.
Something was wrong.
Not merely wrong—twelve parts wrong out of ten.
Since this concerned the destruction of the Witch Race, Dijun gave the order. "Search! Even if you have to turn the entire Prehistoric World upside down, find that group of humans for me!"
"Yes!"
Bai Ze and the other Ten Great Demon Sages set out once again.
This search lasted ten thousand years.
But... there was still no trace of the Human Race.
Oh, right. There was one other person searching for the Human Race: Xuandu, the only human admitted to Shouyang Mountain Human Teach University, a 985 university.
Xuandu was so worried he was nearly tearing his hair out.
How could his home just vanish like that?
Xuandu was even considering whether he should ask his teacher for help.
Heavenly Court, Sun God Hall.
Bai Ze reported everything that had happened over the past ten thousand years. "Reporting to Your Majesty, over the past ten thousand years, we have searched everywhere from the Void of the North Sea in the north to the Nether Sea of Blood below. We searched every place we could set foot in, yet we could not find a single human. The Human Race... seems as though it never existed."
"In today's Prehistoric World, aside from the Witch-Human Race born from mixed blood with the Witch Race, not a single human can be found."
As his words fell, the Sun God Hall became so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath.
Dijun's anger was evident, and True Sun Fire flickered above his head.
What kind of situation was this?
He had finally found the opportunity to defeat the Witch Race, only to be told that the raw materials for that opportunity had vanished?!
How could Dijun not be furious?
The demon saint Gui Che stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and requested, "Your Majesty, I am willing to abduct those Witch-Humans and forge the Witch-Slaying Sword for Your Majesty."
"You must not." Demon saint Bai Ze hurriedly spoke to dissuade him. "The Witch-Human Race is unlike the Human Race. Though they possess human bloodlines, the Witch Race has already accepted them as its own. If we abduct and slaughter the Witch-Human Race on a large scale, we will certainly enrage the Witch Race. At that time, they may disregard Dao Ancestor Hongjun's decree forbidding the raising of arms for one hundred Yuanhuis and go to war with our Heavenly Court."
"Without the Witch-Slaying Sword, our Heavenly Court holds no advantage against the Witch Race."
"Then what do you suggest, strategist?" With his proposal rejected, Gui Che angrily questioned Bai Ze. "We can't possibly slaughter the races of our own Heavenly Court's forces to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword, can we?"
The gathered officials shuddered.
Bai Ze fell silent.
Naturally, he had a method, but it would be too harmful to the harmony of Heaven and utterly incompatible with the Heavenly Court's identity as the orthodox ruler of the Prehistoric World, protector of the Heavenly Dao, establisher of order among the myriad races, and leader of the myriad races.
At this moment, Demon Master Kunpeng spoke. He was a cultivator exuding a sinister aura. "Your Majesty, I do have a method to continue forging the Witch-Slaying Sword."
The moment he said this, he immediately caught Dijun's attention. "Beloved minister, what method do you have? Speak quickly."
Kunpeng revealed a cruel grin and looked toward the Ten Great Demon Sages and the three hundred and sixty-five Great Luo Demon Gods. He said darkly, "As everyone knows, the Human Race is the race in the Prehistoric World that reproduces most easily."
"Humans were delicious in the past. I believe many demon gods and demon saints enjoy that flavor. Surely you have imprisoned quite a few humans in your own dojos and worlds?"
"We can gather these humans together and have them endlessly reproduce descendants until their numbers are sufficient to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword!"
Kunpeng's proposal was truly ruthless!
He intended to raise the Human Race like livestock.
Once their numbers were sufficient, they would all be slaughtered to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword!
Kunpeng's words made Dijun and the others' eyes light up.
That was right.
The Human Race reproduced easily, often giving birth once a year. They could completely breed humans themselves.
Even without anyone guiding them before, the Human Race had reached a hundred trillion in a short time. Now that the Heavenly Court was guiding them, raising enough humans to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword in a short time would naturally be no problem!
"Good!"
Dijun laughed heartily. "Within one Yuanhui, we will certainly breed enough humans to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword!"
"Gui Che demon saint, you will personally oversee this matter. Gather every human in the hands of our Heavenly Court. Within one Yuanhui, you must breed enough humans to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword!"
Dijun's golden eyes were cold as he declared imperiously, "In the next great war, I will make those Witch Race barbarians turn into dust in the history of the Prehistoric World and sink into eternal silence!"
Demon Saint Gui Che was overjoyed. "This minister accepts the decree and will not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations!"
"Mm."
Demon Saint Bai Ze watched this scene and sighed. "Sigh."
As one of the Heavenly Court's three great military strategists, how could Bai Ze have failed to think of such a method?
But the same point remained.
Doing this would harm the harmony of Heaven.
It would severely damage the Heavenly Court's status as the orthodox representative of the Heavenly Dao.
No matter how weak the Human Race was, it was still one of the Myriad Races of the Primordial World. A single misstep could provoke the myriad races and bring their backlash.
"What should be done..."
Meanwhile.
Wa Huang Heaven.
The Heavenly Court originally had Thirty-Three Heavens.
Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, there were still five realms.
They were Wa Huang Heaven, Tai Qing Heaven, Yu Qing Heaven, Shang Qing Heaven, and Mount Meru Heaven.
Beyond these five realms lay Beyond the Heavens and the Archaic Star Sea, followed by the borders of the Prehistoric World.
Beyond that was Boundless Chaos.
Though the Prehistoric World was vast and boundless, before Chaos, it was no more than a small boat upon the sea.
Back to the matter at hand.
Wa Huang Heaven.
Nuwa, the Saint who had been comprehending the Great Dao, suddenly opened her eyes.
Her heart stirred with a premonition. In the unseen, she sensed that something involving her was about to happen.
And it was not something good.
But the Calamity had developed to this point, and the Heavenly Secrets had long since become murky and chaotic. This sensation seemed to be obscured by something as well. Even though Nuwa was a Saint, she could not deduce the specific matter.
"Elder Brother."
Nuwa called softly, and a somewhat disheveled middle-aged taoist with the air of an old god appeared before her.
This was Emperor Xi Fuxi, the second of the Heavenly Court's three great military strategists.
"Little Sister, why did you summon me?"
Fuxi asked.
During the last War of the Witches and Demons, Fuxi had suffered serious injuries. After Dao Ancestor Hongjun ordered a ceasefire, Nuwa personally appeared, took Fuxi away, and brought him back to Wa Huang Heaven to recover.
By now, Fuxi's injuries had completely healed. In the next War of the Witches and Demons, he could still take another round of beatings from the Ancestral Witches.
Nuwa spoke directly and told him of the bad feeling she had sensed in the unseen.
Fuxi frowned upon hearing it.
"It concerns you, Little Sister... then it is either the Demon Race or the Human Race. After all, you bear the fortune of both races. If either suffers damage, it will be bad for you."
Fuxi considered himself the greatest at divination, but that was only when Saints were excluded.
Even Nuwa, a Saint, could not calculate the specific outcome, much less him.
Fuxi did not attempt a divination. Instead, he reasoned from the circumstances. "The Demon Race... the Human Race... The Demon Race's Heavenly Court is powerful, with strong troops and mighty horses. Other than the Witch Race, no race can threaten its foundation. In that case, the problem is most likely with the Human Race!"
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