Longevity Mountain, the rear courtyard of Wuzhuang Temple.
Lu Chen lounged beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree with one leg crossed over the other, a blade of grass between his teeth, watching the tragedy unfolding across the Primordial World in the water mirror before him.
In the mirror, the Demon Clan's army swept across the Eastern Sea coast like a swarm of locusts.
They did not besiege cities or seize territory. They only killed members of the Human Clan.
And they did not simply kill them. They slaughtered them cruelly—ripping out their souls and refining them, drawing out their blood and tempering their bones, then forging the terror, pain, and resentment they felt before death into blood-red demonic sword blanks.
"The Witch-Slaying Sword..." Lu Chen spat out the blade of grass, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.
In the original story, the Demon Clan slaughtered hundreds of millions of humans to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword, a weapon designed specifically to counter the Witch Clan's bodies. They used the humans' blood essence and souls as materials to forge the most vicious weapon in the Primordial World.
Now, that tragedy was happening ahead of schedule.
It was because the Witch Clan had displayed far greater fighting strength than the Demon Clan had expected during the First Witch-Demon War. In particular, the incomplete Great Heavenly God-Demon Array had actually managed to withstand the Great Formation of the Stars. This had put Di Jun and Taiyi on guard.
So they had to speed up the forging of the Witch-Slaying Sword.
And the Human Clan had become the easiest-to-obtain, most effective "material."
"Your original self, are we really not going to do anything?" Yan Chen stood to one side, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white as he watched the humans being robbed of their souls and refined in the water mirror.
"We'll do something, of course." Lu Chen got to his feet and dusted off his backside. "Just not yet."
He looked toward the Demon Clan camp in the mirror. Blood qi surged there, and resentment had gathered into tangible black clouds. At least three million humans had already been slaughtered.
"If we rush out and save them now, we'll be going head-to-head with the entire Demon Clan's Heavenly Court." Lu Chen shook his head. "We're not strong enough for that yet."
"Then..."
"After most of the humans have died." Lu Chen spoke calmly. "Once Di Jun thinks he has enough material and lets his guard down, then we'll act."
Yan Chen froze. "But by then, won't the Human Clan..."
"Most of them will be dead, but they won't all be gone." Lu Chen grinned. "Tell me, why do you think the Demon Clan is only slaughtering the humans along the Eastern Sea coast, and leaving the others alone?"
Yan Chen thought it over. "Because the Eastern Sea coast is closest to the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court?"
"That's only part of it." Lu Chen walked up to the water mirror and swept his finger across its surface. The image shifted to various parts of the Primordial World. "Look. The Witch Clan is secretly protecting the Human Clan tribes at the foot of Buzhou Mountain. The Three Pure Ones occasionally keep an eye on the humans around Kunlun Mountain. Even in the barren western lands, Jieyin and Zhunti have secretly gathered a group of believers."
He paused, his voice low. "The only ones who've been abandoned are these three million humans along the Eastern Sea coast. They're too far from the Witch Clan, too far from the Saints' abodes, too far from anyone who might protect them. That's why the Demon Clan dares to slaughter them without restraint."
Yan Chen understood. "So the ones we're saving are these 'abandoned' humans?"
"Not only them." A gleam flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "I'm saving the Human Clan's 'kindling.'"
He took something out of the Qiankun Diagram: a fist-sized clump of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil essence—the half that remained.
"When Nuwa created humanity, I secretly kept twelve drops of the purest Human Clan origin blood essence." Lu Chen took out another small jade vial. "With this Breathing Soil, I can create another group of 'innate humans,' even stronger than the ones Nuwa created."
Yan Chen's eyes lit up. "Like the Twelve Yuan Chen?"
"A little weaker than the Twelve Yuan Chen, but still Earth Immortals from the start." Lu Chen nodded. "More importantly, they'll be born with a will to oppose the Demon Clan. Their souls were snatched from the Witch-Slaying Sword's soul-refining array, so their hatred for the Demon Clan is etched into their bones."
"But, your original self, won't Saint Nuwa notice if you do this?" Yan Chen asked anxiously. "After all, it involves the Human Clan's origin..."
"And what if she does?" Lu Chen smiled. "Nuwa is swamped right now. On one side, the humans she created are being slaughtered; on the other, the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court is too powerful for her to openly turn against it. If I step in to save people now, she'll be grateful to me."
He put away the Breathing Soil and the jade vial. "Come on. Time to get to work."
They concealed their forms and used Brick Escape to head straight for the Eastern Sea coast.
At the Demon Clan camp, in the heart of the soul-refining array.
The souls of three million humans were imprisoned there, their wails shaking the heavens. Their blood essence was drawn out and poured into blood-red sword blanks. Their souls were torn apart and merged with the runes of resentment inside the swords.
Di Jun personally oversaw the array, while Taiyi protected it from the perimeter. The Ten Great Demon Saints led a million demon soldiers in surrounding the place so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.
"We're only thirty thousand souls short. Then the main blade of the Witch-Slaying Sword will be complete." Di Jun gazed at the solidified blood-red greatsword in the array, satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "When that happens, no matter how strong the Witch Clan's bodies are, they won't withstand this sword!"
Taiyi frowned. "Elder brother, I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong with this soul-refining array. The souls' resentment is too strong—almost... abnormal."
"Abnormal is good." Di Jun dismissed the concern. "The stronger the resentment, the more effectively the sword will counter the Witch Clan's bodies. This is a secret technique we traded for with Minghe from the Sea of Blood. There won't be a problem."
Taiyi was about to say something more when his expression suddenly changed. "Someone's broken into the array!"
As soon as he spoke, a gap suddenly burst open on the eastern side of the array!
A wisp of green smoke slipped inside. Within it, a hazy figure could just be made out—it was Hun Yuanzi, the Self Corpse!
"What scoundrel dares break into the Demon Clan's array!" Taiyi roared, and the Chaos Bell Replica came crashing down!
Hun Yuanzi did not try to withstand it head-on. He raised a hand and tossed out dozens of talismans, all of them "Disruption Talismans" Lu Chen had crafted earlier.
The talismans exploded, turning into a vast sea of mist. The mist was filled with all sorts of interference: temporal and spatial turbulence, the inversion of the five elements, the disruption of cause and effect! Though none of it could harm Taiyi, it threw the entire soul-refining array into momentary chaos!
That single moment of chaos!
At the heart of the array, Lu Chen's true self appeared without a sound.
He held the Chaos Brick in his left hand and the Qiankun Diagram in his right, with the Morning Bell hanging around his neck. He was armed to the teeth.
"Gather!"
The Qiankun Diagram unfurled into a vast scroll that blotted out the sky, sweeping toward the souls of the three million imprisoned humans!
"How dare you!" Di Jun roared in fury, slashing at him with the Witch-Slaying Saber!
The blade was pitch-black. It tore through space, swallowing even the light wherever it passed! The strike contained the full power of Di Jun, at the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm. Combined with the Witch-Slaying Saber's ability to counter living beings, it was enough to badly wound anyone at the same level!
But Lu Chen was prepared.
The Morning Bell rang!
"Clang—!"
Time and space froze. The blade's light slowed by a thousandth of an instant!
In that instant, the Qiankun Diagram had already gathered all three million souls!
"Go!"
Lu Chen unleashed Brick Escape to its fullest, turning into a streak of black light as he tried to escape.
"Stay!" Taiyi brought the Chaos Bell down to suppress him, while a million demon soldiers formed a net that covered the sky.
Just as they were about to surround him—
Lu Chen suddenly grinned and pulled a small bell from his robes. He gave it a gentle shake.
"Jingle, jingle—"
The bell rang out clearly, but it had no power at all.
Yet Taiyi's face changed instantly.
That was... the little Golden Crow's protective bell!
The little Golden Crow, born from Yuanfeng's sacrifice, had been rescued by Lu Chen and hidden away to sleep deep within the Solar Star. The bell was its innate companion treasure, and only someone with Golden Crow Bloodline could activate it.
At the bell's ring, the Golden Crow Bloodline within Taiyi resonated with it, slowing his movements by half a beat!
In that half-beat, Lu Chen had already escaped the array and vanished into the horizon.
"After him!" Di Jun roared.
But it was too late.
Brick Escape was already renowned for its speed. With the Morning Bell accelerating him and the Chaos Brick breaking through space, Lu Chen escaped a million li in just a few breaths, vanishing completely from the Demon Clan's perception.
The Demon Clan camp was in ruins.
The soul-refining array had been broken, and the three million souls had been snatched away. The forging of the Witch-Slaying Sword's main blade had been set back by a full thirty percent!
"Lu! Chen!" Di Jun roared at the sky, his voice filled with boundless venom. "I will never rest until you're dead!"
At that moment, in a secluded valley somewhere in the Primordial World.
Lu Chen released the three million souls, washed away their resentment with Three Lights Divine Water, and used Nine Heavens Breathing Soil to rebuild their bodies.
Of course, he didn't rebuild all of them. He kept the three hundred thousand purest souls and, combining them with the Human Clan's origin blood essence and the Breathing Soil, reforged them into three thousand "innate avengers."
These "avengers" started at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm and were born with the "Demon-Slaying" talent—they dealt double damage to the Demon Clan.
Lu Chen sent the remaining two million seven hundred thousand souls into the Netherworld and Reincarnation Cycle. He also tampered with the Netherworld's records to ensure they would be reborn in safe places in their next lives.
When he had finished, Lu Chen looked at the three thousand "avengers" kneeling before him and spoke slowly:
"From this day on, you are the Kindling Department. You have only one task: survive, grow stronger, and then take revenge on the Demon Clan."
"But remember, revenge isn't the same as throwing your lives away. Don't do a thing until you're sure you can win. Keep your heads down."
The three thousand avengers answered in unison.
Lu Chen nodded and sent them into the inner world of the Qiankun Diagram. Time flowed differently there: one year in the outside world was a hundred years within, giving them ample time to grow.
Only after all that was done did he finally let out a long breath.
"Your original self, we've really made an enemy of the Demon Clan this time." Yan Chen smiled wryly.
"We'd already made an enemy of them. This doesn't change anything." Lu Chen shrugged. "Besides, didn't we leave them a 'gift'?"
He looked toward the Demon Clan camp.
He had secretly planted a drop of Chaos Demon God Grudge Blood inside the Witch-Slaying Sword's main blade. It was the same kind as the one in Di Jun's Witch-Slaying Saber.
Once the Witch-Slaying Sword was forged, when the two vicious weapons clashed...
"Heh." Lu Chen grinned and hefted the brick. "Come on. We should head back to Wuzhuang Temple and keep 'freeloading.'"
"This show has a long way to go."
Before you continue