By East Prince Gong's design, Penglai Immortal Island in the East Sea should have been a place from which to subdue the Primordial World and rule over all living beings—a land where a great power could rise. Yet now, it was shrouded in gloom and despair!
East Prince Gong sat high upon the principal seat in the newly built Immortal Palace, gripping the Dragon-Head Golden Staff. His face was dark. Ever since the Demon Clan had been founded, the jade table before him had no longer been piled with letters of allegiance from various powers. Instead, it was covered with jade slips full of complaints and pleas for help from the cultivators under his command.
Their contents were almost identical—the Demon Clan's provocations, especially those of its great clans like the Dragon Clan!
Ever since Candle Dragon had founded the Demon Clan and the Dragon Clan had washed away most of its karmic burden, those dragons, who had lain dormant for countless aeons but remained arrogant and domineering to the core, seemed to have reclaimed their ancient "glory" overnight!
No longer content to lurk in the deep sea, they had begun to roam the East Sea in force, even openly patrolling near Penglai Immortal Island and driving away or attacking cultivators and clans that came to pledge allegiance or trade with the island.
They would unleash towering waves against the island's outer formations or intercept parties heading out to invite like-minded allies. Their misdeeds were too numerous to count. They were clearly trying to humiliate East Prince Gong and squeeze his Immortal Court out of existence!
"Unbearable! This is simply too much!"
East Prince Gong's chest heaved. A surge of anger burned through his insides. He wanted nothing more than to snatch up the Dragon-Head Golden Staff, storm the East Sea Dragon Palace, and fight that old Candle Dragon to the death!
But reason told him it was nothing but a fantasy. Candle Dragon was an Ancient Being at the late-stage Primordial Golden Immortal realm, and he wielded the unfathomable Time Law! East Prince Gong was also an early-stage Quasi-Saint and held a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, but he had little chance of winning against Candle Dragon. He might even bring humiliation upon himself.
He couldn't win a fight, and cursing was useless. East Prince Gong could only swallow his anger and order his subordinates to endure for now, pull back their forces, and avoid direct conflict with the Dragon Clan. The humiliation of having to swallow his pride nearly destabilized his Dao Heart.
What chilled him even more was that the cultivators and forces who had originally come in admiration, claiming they wanted to contribute to a shared cause, now saw the Demon Clan's might and the Dragon Clan's arrogance!
East Prince Gong's side seemed capable only of taking blows. Many opportunists immediately changed course: some shut their doors and watched from the sidelines, while others joined the Demon Clan outright! Even cultivators who had already joined Penglai were quietly leaving one after another to seek another powerful patron!
Penglai Immortal Island, once bustling with activity, quickly grew deserted before his very eyes. The ceremony East Prince Gong had spent so long preparing to establish the Immortal Court had to be postponed yet again!
His grand ambition had not even gotten off the ground, yet it had already suffered setback after setback. East Prince Gong could see nothing but darkness ahead!
Meanwhile, the Demon Clan's imposing heartland presented a very different scene, one of steady prosperity.
Kunpeng, the Demon Clan's First Great Elder, had not grown complacent after becoming a Quasi-Saint by severing a corpse. His foundations were still shallow, and he needed to render great service to secure his standing in the Demon Clan. Though the Demon Clan had been founded, he saw that the myriad clans had different customs and disorganized legacies, making it difficult for them to truly unite.
Relying on his extraordinary insight and understanding of the habits of all living beings, he labored tirelessly, observing the movements of the All-Heaven Stars and the cycles of life and death among all things. At last, he created the Demon Script!
He then combined his own cultivation method with the Immortal Dao techniques of Purple Heavens Palace, drawing on traits shared by the myriad demons of the Primordial World to compile a basic cultivation manual suited to most of the Demon Clan—the Demon Canon!
When the Demon Script and cultivation method, imbued with the power of order and legacy, manifested in the world and began to spread among the Demon Clan, the Heavenly Dao sensed them once more and bestowed vast merit, rewarding Kunpeng for bringing order to the Demon Clan, awakening its members' intelligence, and passing on the Great Dao!
Kunpeng had already severed one corpse through the merit of founding the clan. Now, with the merit he gained from creating the Demon Script and cultivation method, his cultivation surged once more! More importantly, Clan Leader Candle Dragon greatly praised his efforts!
The high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures in the Dragon Clan's treasury were of little importance to Candle Dragon. Seeing that Kunpeng needed one, he casually bestowed a high-grade treasure suited to him, to serve as the item with which he could sever a corpse!
With this second wave of merit and the treasure bestowed by Candle Dragon, Kunpeng secluded himself to cultivate. Before long, he successfully severed a second corpse, advancing to the mid-stage of the two-corpse Quasi-Saint realm!
For a time, Kunpeng's reputation in the Demon Clan soared. The myriad demons honored him as the "Demon Master"! His influence was unparalleled, even faintly surpassing that of Vice Clan Leader Yuanfeng, who remained confined to the Immortal Volcano.
On one side, East Prince Gong's plan for the Immortal Court was repeatedly battered, leaving him trapped between advancing and retreating. On the other, Kunpeng rode the Demon Clan's rising tide, gaining both fame and fortune.
The balance of power along the eastern shores of the Primordial World had clearly tilted toward the Demon Clan. With the Dragon Clan suppressing him and the Demon Clan rising in strength, East Prince Gong's dream of establishing the Immortal Court seemed ever more out of reach!
Mount Buzhou, inside Pangu Divine Hall.
Di Jiang stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing through the walls of the divine hall to fall upon the unseen River of Destiny of the Primordial World. Candle Dragon had founded the Demon Clan and gathered the fortune of the myriad clans. Its momentum was immense, and after Kunpeng created the Demon Script, it had grown more prosperous still.
The rise of the Witch and Demon Clans was the destined course of this era. He, too, had to seize the moment and gather fortune for himself and the Witch Clan, so they could take the initiative in the future order of the Primordial World and lay a firm foundation for the long-term presence of the Mount Buzhou lineage.
"The Witch Clan rules the earth; we must suppress Earthly Fortune!"
Di Jiang already had a preliminary plan. What he wanted to establish was not the Witch Clan, but a power called the "Underworld"!
In his vision, this Underworld would not be limited to the yet-unborn Netherworld and the six paths of Reincarnation. Its authority would extend over the entire land of the Primordial World as it existed now!
It would regulate the earth's ley lines, balance yin and yang, reward good and punish evil, and govern all order and authority related to the "earth"! It would be a supreme institution, corresponding to the Heavenly Court and governing the cycle of life and death on the land!
If he could establish the Underworld, the Earthly Fortune and merit it gathered would be boundless, bringing endless benefits to him and the entire Mount Buzhou lineage.
"If I could obtain Zhenyuanzi's Book of Earth and use it together with the Qilin Seal to suppress the Underworld's fortune, it would be impregnable!"
As Di Jiang pondered, he thought that after his previous attempt to intercept him in Chaos had failed, perhaps he could try a different approach!
If he could invite Zhenyuanzi to join the Underworld, his close friend Hong Yun might join as well. With two Quasi-Saints on board, the Underworld's foundations and prestige would undoubtedly be greatly strengthened.
Zhenyuanzi would later be the Ancestor of Earth Immortals. Hong Yun was a good-natured man, but his cultivation was also at the Quasi-Saint realm, and he had a wide circle of friends. Their joining would give the Underworld deep foundations.
However, everything had its pros and cons, and this carried its own hidden dangers!
First, the division of authority. With the Book of Earth in hand, Zhenyuanzi would surely gain an extraordinary position and authority in the Underworld, enough to rival Di Jiang. This was something Di Jiang did not want to see. He was establishing the Underworld to gather power under his absolute control, not to share authority with others.
Second, the potential threat! Hong Yun seemed destined to obtain that crucial Primordial Violet Qi in the future. If he used the Underworld's fortune and protection to successfully attain sainthood...
By then, with an Ancestor of Earth Immortals wielding the authority of the Book of Earth and a Heavenly Dao Saint on the other side, Di Jiang's leadership of the Underworld would face a tremendous challenge. Though he did not fear the two, he absolutely could not accept such an outcome!
"In the Primordial World, only by keeping power firmly in one's own hands can one secure the foundation!"
"The Book of Earth must be in my hands! Perhaps I can visit Zhenyuanzi first and try to trade for it?"
"I have no other spare spiritual treasures, but the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler is a postnatal merit treasure, unrivaled in its killing power and untouched by karma. Its value is certainly no less than the Book of Earth's!"
Trade the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler for the Book of Earth? The Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler was immensely powerful, a treasure of merit with countless wondrous uses. But for the Book of Earth and the great undertaking of establishing the Underworld, Di Jiang was willing to pay that price.
Yet Di Jiang soon shook his head and dismissed the idea.
"Zhenyuanzi regards the Book of Earth as his lifeblood. It came into being alongside him—how could he trade it away so easily? This approach has little chance of success. It might even alert him and make him wary, causing him to guard against me even more in the future."
After turning the matter over in his mind, a glint of ruthlessness flashed in Di Jiang's eyes! The innate battle spirit and domineering nature of his Ancestral Witch Bloodline began to stir!
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