"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The huge bronze bell outside Pangu Hall rang out, and its sound instantly spread throughout the entire territory of the Witch Clan.
This bronze bell was also a spiritual treasure refined after the primordial era. Once it was struck, all the Ancestral Witches could hear it, no matter how far apart they were!
When the Ancestral Witches heard the bell, they knew something major had happened. They immediately set aside whatever they were doing and hurried toward Pangu Hall together!
Even Houtu, who had just followed Nuwa back to Fengqi Mountain, hurriedly bade Nuwa farewell after hearing the bell outside Pangu Hall and returned to the Witch Clan once more!
The Twelve Ancestral Witches soon arrived one after another and entered Pangu Hall.
"Brothers, scouts have discovered that the demon army has mobilized, but its destination is unknown..."
Dijiang immediately informed the other members of the Witch Clan that the demon army had suddenly been dispatched.
"Is the demon race planning to attack our Witch Clan? Saint Hongjun has already issued an edict. Could the demon race really dare to defy him?"
Gonggong spoke with uncertainty.
"Hmph! The demon race has always been utterly deranged, and it has never abandoned its desire to destroy our Witch Clan! Even with Saint Hongjun's edict, the demon race might not obey!"
Zhurong snorted coldly.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches still did not know that Di Jun had been reprimanded by Hongjun. Based on their understanding of the demon race, the other side might not take Hongjun's edict seriously at all!
"Regardless of whether the demon race's target is our Witch Clan, we must prepare for battle!"
Dijiang issued his order. "We must also mobilize the Witch Clan's army and prepare to repel an invasion by the demon army!"
The other Ancestral Witches had no objections and immediately accepted the order!
After the Ancestral Witches left Pangu Hall, they immediately mobilized the Witch Clan's army and advanced to intercept the demon army in the direction it was heading!
However, three days later, new intelligence arrived from the scouts!
It turned out that when the demon army approached the Witch Clan's territory, it had turned and headed toward the East Sea instead!
"So the demon race wasn't coming for us after all!"
After learning this, the members of the Witch Clan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it had all been a misunderstanding, they were still extremely relieved that a great battle had been avoided.
After the Witch Clan's army dispersed, Houtu left the Witch Clan once more and returned to Fengqi Mountain.
"The demon army wasn't heading for our Witch Clan. It seems to have gone toward the East Sea..."
After returning, Houtu told Nuwa and Shen Hongfei what had happened.
"What is the demon race going to the East Sea for?"
After listening to Houtu's account, Shen Hongfei frowned and fell into thought.
However, the matter seemed unrelated to him. Since Shen Hongfei could not figure it out for the moment, he stopped paying attention to it!
East Sea.
At this moment, the entire sky above the East Sea had already been completely shrouded in demonic aura as black as ink!
A hundred thousand demon soldiers and generals stood in formation. Their terrifying killing intent made the countless living beings of the East Sea tremble in fear!
"Old Ao Ping, His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor of the demon race has arrived! Why haven't you come out to welcome him?"
A great demon over a hundred zhang tall, with nine snake heads, shouted loudly toward the area below!
His voice was like the tolling of a great bell, instantly exploding across the entire East Sea and sending monstrous waves surging upward!
This great demon who had shouted was none other than Jiu Ying, one of the demon race's demon marshals!
Jiu Ying was a primordial mutant beast whose strength had already reached the peak of the mid-Golden Immortal realm!
Moreover, he had nine heads. Even if eight of them were cut off, they could instantly regenerate. His vitality was astonishingly powerful!
Hundreds of thousands of li beneath the seabed of the East Sea stood a magnificent palace glittering with gold and jade. It was none other than the East Sea Dragon Palace!
The several hundred dragons that had survived the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity lived inside this palace.
They no longer dared to venture outside casually and could only hide beneath the sea, struggling to survive!
When they heard Jiu Ying's shout, the dragons immediately fell into a panic.
Ao Ping, the Dragon Clan's patriarch, promptly summoned the Dragon Clan's elders and other high-ranking members to discuss the situation!
"What's going on? Our Dragon Clan has always kept to itself and obeyed the rules. Why would the demon race suddenly come knocking?"
Ao Ping asked in a panic.
Although the Dragon Clan rarely ventured outside, it was still very well informed about the current state of the primordial world.
The demon race was one of the greatest forces in the primordial world. It was simply not something the now-declining Dragon Clan could compare with!
"Di Jun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Fuxi—the demon race's three Demon Emperors—have all come. They've also brought a hundred thousand demon soldiers and generals. They clearly mean us no good!"
Ao Ying, the Dragon Clan's great elder, spoke with an ugly expression.
"Should we send a dragon out to ask what the demon race wants here?"
another Dragon Clan elder asked.
"I'll go ask them myself!"
After a brief moment of thought, Ao Ping said, "If the demon race harbors ill intentions, sending another dragon would only mean certain death! Besides, the demon race specifically called for me to come. If I don't go, I'll be giving them an excuse to attack!"
Ao Ping was currently the Dragon Clan's only powerhouse at the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm. Even if the demon race wanted to harm him, he could simply flee.
If another member of the Dragon Clan went instead, then the moment the demon race turned hostile, they could only surrender helplessly!
The Dragon Clan's population was now far too small. Every dragon was extremely precious, and none could be sacrificed for nothing!
"Then be careful, Patriarch!"
"If the demon race's demands aren't too excessive, we can still consider them!"
"That's right, Patriarch. Try not to fall out with the demon race. Our Dragon Clan can no longer withstand a war!"
"..."
The other high-ranking members of the Dragon Clan all began warning Ao Ping in a cacophony of voices.
They were not worried about Ao Ping's safety. They were only concerned that a conflict with the demon race might break out!
"Sigh! Our mighty Dragon Clan has actually declined to this point..."
Seeing the reaction of the other dragons, Ao Ping shook his head helplessly before flying out of the Dragon Palace!
"Boom!"
Amid a thunderous roar, a giant dragon stretching for hundreds of thousands of zhang instantly burst through the surface of the sea and arrived before the demon army's formation!
"My Dragon Clan has never had any dealings with your demon race. May I ask why His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor has come to my East Sea?"
The giant dragon opened its enormous jaws and shouted at Di Jun, who stood at the very front of the demon army.
This giant dragon was none other than the Dragon Clan's patriarch, Ao Ping!
"Ao Ping! Our demon race is currently recruiting troops and talents, and I am eager to find worthy experts. Thus, I have come to the East Sea specifically to invite your Dragon Clan to join the demon race and work together to accomplish great things! If our demon race unifies the primordial world in the future, I can confer upon you, Ao Ping, the title of Demon King, with the Four Seas placed under your Dragon Clan's rule!"
Di Jun stated his purpose directly.
As the ruler of the demon race, Di Jun naturally possessed broad-mindedness and bearing!
If the Dragon Clan sincerely submitted to the demon race, Di Jun naturally would not implicate the Dragon Clan because of Shen Hongfei!
The terms Di Jun offered could certainly be called generous.
However, after hearing them, Ao Ping rejected them without hesitation. "I appreciate Your Majesty's good intentions! However, after suffering through the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, our Dragon Clan's strength has been greatly diminished! Now, our Dragon Clan only wishes to struggle for survival beneath the sea, reproduce, and prosper. We truly do not wish to involve ourselves in the conflicts of the primordial world again. Your Majesty, please return!"
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