Witch-Demon Conflict, Secretly Provoking

In the ruins of Chaos, a sky full of black light condensed into a lifelike projection--

In the projection, "Lu Chen" held a Chaos Brick and was frantically looting the third layer of Treasure Distribution Cliff, putting treasures like the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and Immortal Slaying Sword Formation Diagram into the Qiankun Diagram one by one.

There was even footage of "Lu Chen" sneaking into the core area and taking Chaos Source Liquid!

"This projection is fake!" Lu Chen's face turned ashen, "Junior was not at Treasure Distribution Cliff at all back then!"

"The evidence is conclusive, and you still dare to quibble?" Tongtian Saint drew his Four Swords of Zhu Xian half an inch from their scabbards, his killing intent palpable.

The Daoist boy knelt on the ground, weeping profusely, "Esteemed Saints, please be discerning! Lu Chen forced me! He said if I didn't cooperate, he'd kill my entire family... I'm just a gatekeeping Daoist boy, how dare I defy this ruthless man?"

Kunpeng also seized the opportunity to wail, "That's right, that's right! I was forced too! Lu Chen said if I didn't help him fence the stolen goods, he'd reveal how I ambushed Hongyun and colluded with the demonic path back then!"

With one singing and the other responding, all the blame was dumped onto Lu Chen.

The four Saints' gazes were icy, and their Saintly pressure surged like collapsing mountains and tsunamis.

Lu Chen's heart sank.

He knew that anything he said now was useless.

The Saints needed a scapegoat, and he was the most suitable candidate.

But his sixth sense, his instinct, made him calm down instantly.

He couldn't resist head-on; he had to divert the disaster!

"Esteemed Saints," Lu Chen took a deep breath and suddenly smiled, "Do you really believe that I, a mid-stage Quasi-Saint, could silently empty Treasure Distribution Cliff and also force the Daoist boy and Kunpeng to cooperate?"

"Why not?" Yuanshi said coldly, "You wield the Chaos Brick and the God-Slaying Spear, and the Morning Bell protects you. Your combat power is already not weaker than a peak Quasi-Saint."

"Strong combat power doesn't mean you can break through Saint-level restrictions," Lu Chen shook his head. "The restrictions in the core area of Treasure Distribution Cliff were personally set by the Dao Ancestor. If I had that ability, I would have become a Saint long ago, why would I be wasting words with you all here?"

What he said made sense.

Lao Tzu frowned slightly, "You mean to say..."

"Someone stole the goods and then framed me." Lu Chen looked at the Daoist boy, a cold glint in his eyes. "My Daoist boy friend, you said I forced you, so let me ask you – who told you the method to break the restrictions in the core area of Treasure Distribution Cliff? Without the solution, I couldn't even get in."

The Daoist boy stammered, "It... you broke it yourself!"

"Oh?" Lu Chen smiled. "Then tell me, how many layers of changes are there in the core area's restrictions? When is the weakening period for each? Information that even Saints might not fully know, how could I, an outsider, obtain it?"

The Daoist boy's face turned pale, and he mumbled incoherently, unable to answer.

"Can't answer? Then I'll answer for you," Lu Chen said loudly. "There are nine layers in the core area's restrictions, each corresponding to a type of Great Dao law. The weakening period occurs once every three thousand years, lasting for three breaths each time. This information is only known by the Daoist boy who has guarded Treasure Distribution Cliff for many years!"

"And you--" he pointed at the Daoist boy, "not only know this, but you also know the storage locations of the Saints' replica treasures, and you can even forge projections that even Saints can hardly distinguish between true and false! Is this the kind of skill an ordinary Daoist boy should have?"

The four Saints' gazes simultaneously fixed on the Daoist boy.

The Daoist boy trembled all over, still wanting to argue, but Lu Chen had already unleashed his final move--

He took out a projection stone from his embrace (found in Luohu's treasure vault) and crushed it!

"Buzz!"

Another projection appeared: the Daoist boy secretly meeting with Luohu's remnant soul. Luohu promised, "When I regain control of the demonic path, I will appoint you as the Left Envoy of the Demon Abyss, in charge of all demons..."

"This is a projection from the Demon Abyss!" Lu Chen shouted sternly. "If the esteemed Saints don't believe me, you can go to the Demon Abyss to verify. There are still imprints of Luohu's communication with him there!"

The evidence was irrefutable!

The Daoist boy's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Kunpeng was also stunned; he hadn't expected Lu Chen to have this move.

"A fine traitor!" Yuanshi was furious and struck down with his palm. Before the Daoist boy could even scream, his body and soul were annihilated.

Tongtian then looked at Kunpeng, "As for you..."

"Mercy, Saint! I was deceived!" Kunpeng kowtowed desperately. "I am willing to atone for my crimes! I know a huge secret of the Witch Clan!"

"Speak."

Kunpeng's eyes darted around, and he suddenly pointed at Lu Chen, "Him! Lu Chen is colluding with the Witch Clan! He secretly provided the Witch Clan with methods to break the Great Formation of the Stars, and he's also helping the Witch Clan forge fierce weapons that counter the Demon Clan!"

Lu Chen's eyelids twitched--this scoundrel still wanted to drag him down with him even as he was dying!

But what Kunpeng said next made Lu Chen's heart tremble:

"I also know that the Witch Clan is forging the 'Demon-Slaying Sword'! They are refining it with the blood and souls of tens of millions of my Demon Clan kin. Once it's completed, it can counter all Demon Clan bloodlines! And the one who provided the forging method... is Lu Chen!"

"Nonsense!" Lu Chen roared, "I never..."

"Do you dare say you don't understand artifact forging?" Kunpeng sneered. "The Chaos Brick, the God-Slaying Spear, the Morning Bell, which of these isn't a top-tier supreme treasure? If you don't understand artifact forging, where did these treasures come from?"

The four Saints' gazes towards Lu Chen turned dangerous again.

The Witch-Demon War had reached its climax. If Lu Chen was truly secretly helping the Witch Clan forge fierce weapons that countered the Demon Clan, he would be an enemy to the entire Demon Clan, and also an enemy to Saint Nuwa!

"This matter needs to be investigated," Lao Tzu said gravely.

"No need to investigate," Lu Chen suddenly said. "Junior does indeed understand artifact forging, but I have never helped the Witch Clan forge any Demon-Slaying Sword. However..."

His tone shifted. "Junior did see something else in the Witch Clan--the forging diagram for the 'Witch-Slaying Saber'. It's said that a certain high-ranking member of the Demon Clan secretly gave it to a traitor within the Witch Clan."

He countered with a frame-up!

"Witch-Slaying Saber?" Saint Nuwa's eyes turned cold. "A fierce weapon specifically designed to counter the Witch Clan's physical bodies?"

"Precisely," Lu Chen nodded. "The refining method is extremely vicious, requiring the Ancestral Witch Essence Blood as a catalyst, combined with Chaos malevolence... I only stumbled upon it by chance and thought it was a rumor at the time."

As he spoke, he subtly observed the expressions of the Four Saints.

Lao Tzu, Yuanshi, and Tongtian's expressions remained unchanged, but Nuwa's eyes flashed with anger—she was a Saint of the Demon Clan. If some high-ranking Demon Clan members were secretly trading with the Witch Clan, it would be a betrayal!

"I will thoroughly investigate this matter," Nuwa said coldly. "If I find out who it is..."

She didn't finish, but her killing intent was clear.

Lu Chen chuckled inwardly: It's done! The chain of suspicion between the Witch and Demon races has been sown!

"As for the theft at Treasure Distribution Cliff..." Lao Tzu looked at Lu Chen. "Although the main culprit was the Daoist boy, you also bear responsibility. You are forbidden from entering Chaos for a thousand years and must retrieve at least three stolen replica treasures to return to the Purple Heaven Palace."

The punishment was neither too harsh nor too lenient, clearly leaving room for Lu Chen.

"This junior obeys," Lu Chen cupped his hands.

"Kunpeng..." Yuanshi looked at the trembling great bird. "Your life is spared, but you cannot escape punishment. You are ordered to guard the North Sea Eye for a hundred thousand years, forbidden from emerging."

Kunpeng felt as if he had received a great pardon, repeatedly kowtowing, "Thank you, Saints, for your mercy!"

After the judgments were passed, the Four Saints transformed into streams of light and departed.

In the ruins, only Lu Chen and the limp Kunpeng remained.

"Lu Chen... you're ruthless!" Kunpeng gritted his teeth.

"Likewise," Lu Chen grinned. "But that Demon-Slaying Sword you mentioned earlier... that's a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lu Chen crouched down, lowering his voice, "since the Demon Clan believes the Witch Clan is refining the Demon-Slaying Sword, and the Witch Clan believes the Demon Clan is refining the Witch-Slaying Saber... why don't we let them both 'succeed'?"

Kunpeng's pupils contracted: "You're going to..."

"I'm going to secretly provide both sides with refining methods for fierce weapons that 'counter the other'—fake ones, of course, with fatal flaws." Lu Chen's smile was brilliant. "When the war breaks out, both sides will believe their fierce weapons can counter the other, only for them to explode upon use... that scene will surely be spectacular."

Kunpeng gasped: "Are you crazy! How much slaughter will this cause?!"

"Under the Calamity, it's already a fight for survival." Lu Chen stood up and patted his shoulder. "Besides, are the Demon Clan and the Witch Clan innocent? Haven't they spilled enough blood?"

He activated his Brick Escape and left, leaving Kunpeng stunned.

A moment later, Lu Chen appeared at the Witch Clan camp on Buzhou Mountain.

He found the Ancestor Witch Zhu Rong, who was recuperating from serious injuries sustained while trapped in the Great Formation of the Stars, and handed him a scroll of beast skin.

"Senior, this is a refining diagram for the 'Witch-Slaying Saber' that I chanced upon. It is said that high-ranking members of the Demon Clan are secretly refining it. Please take a look and see if it is useful to the Witch Clan."

Zhu Rong took it and, after a few glances, became furious: "What a vicious refining method! It requires the heart's blood of my Witch Clan's sons and daughters as a catalyst?! Di Jun and Taiyi, this is outrageous!"

"Senior, please calm your anger," Lu Chen comforted him. "Since the Demon Clan is unrighteous, the Witch Clan can also be unrighteous. I also have a refining diagram for the 'Demon-Slaying Sword' here, which specifically counters the Demon Clan's bloodline... however, the materials are difficult to find, requiring the essence blood of Demon Clan Grand Unity or higher."

"Materials are not a problem!" Zhu Rong slammed the table. "I'll go capture a few Demon Saints and collect their blood right now!"

Lu Chen "kindly" reminded him: "Senior, when refining, please be careful not to mix up the order of the thirty-seventh and eighty-ninth steps, otherwise... the furnace might explode."

"Understood!" Zhu Rong left in a hurry.

Lu Chen watched his receding back with a cold smile.

He then went to the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court and, as an "anonymous enthusiastic cultivator," "leaked" the refining diagram for the "Demon-Slaying Sword" to a certain Demon God.

Of course, he also tampered with key steps.

After completing these tasks, Lu Chen returned to his hiding place on the outskirts of Buzhou Mountain and instructed his self-corporeal Hun Yuanzi:

"For the next six months, keep an eye on both the Witch and Demon clans. When their 'fierce weapons' are forged and the great war breaks out, be the first to pick up... cough, cough, collect the heavenly treasures and earthly materials left on the battlefield."

"Understood," Hun Yuanzi nodded. "What about you, Venerable?"

"Me?" Lu Chen looked towards the west. "It's time to 'visit' Jieyin and Zhunti on Spirit Mountain. These two old schemers have been too quiet since their reincarnation, and I'm worried."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Moreover... the Dao Ancestor asked me to retrieve three stolen replica treasures. I suspect at least two of them are in their hands."

He activated his Brick Escape, and his figure vanished.

The undercurrents in the Primordial Era, stirred by Lu Chen's secret machinations, surged ever more fiercely.

And at this moment, deep within Chaos, inside Purple Heaven Palace.

Before Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the water mirror reflected Lu Chen's every move.

After a long while, the Dao Ancestor shook his head and chuckled:

"This kid... he truly is afraid the world won't be chaotic enough."

"However, the Calamity needs a catalyst. His actions are in line with the heavenly mandate."

The water mirror dissipated, and Purple Heaven Palace returned to silence.

Only the Dao Ancestor's whisper echoed in the vast hall:

"Lu Chen, oh Lu Chen... when you achieve Proving the Dao through Strength, what will this Primordial Era become?"