Eve of the Final Battle, Schemes on Every Side

When Zhu Rong's blade slashed toward Dijiang's back, the entire battlefield fell silent for an instant.

The Demon Clan was dumbfounded, the Witch Clan was stunned, and even Di Jun, who had been fighting Dijiang to the death, froze for a moment—what was going on? Had the Witch Clan fallen into infighting?

"Zhu Rong! Have you lost your mind?!" Dijiang knocked Zhu Rong's longsword aside with a backhanded punch, his eyes blazing with fury. "Is this the time for internal strife?!"

"Internal strife?" Zhu Rong's eyes were blood-red. The flaming blade reforged from fragments of the Witch-Slaying Sword spewed violent flames. "Dijiang, you've occupied the clan leader's position for a hundred thousand years, and the Witch Clan has only grown weaker under your rule! Today, it's time for someone else to take over!"

Gonggong arrived atop the waves as well, the Primordial Ren Water coiling around him transforming into savage water dragons. "The Witch Clan should prosper, but I see no hope of that under your leadership!"

One on the left and one on the right, the two actually joined forces to attack Dijiang!

Dijiang trembled with rage, but faced with the siege of two peak Ancestral Witches, he had no choice but to respond with all his strength. In an instant, the center of the battlefield changed from a Witch-Demon confrontation into a Witch Clan civil war.

On the Demon Clan's side, Di Jun was initially stunned, then overjoyed. "Heaven is helping us! Taiyi, order the entire army to halt the assault and let them slaughter each other!"

"Yes!" Taiyi came to his senses as well. With a toll of the Chaos Bell Replica, the Demon Clan army slowly withdrew, clearing the center of the battlefield.

They would watch the show, pick up the spoils, and wait for the Witch Clan to tear itself apart.

The Demon Clan had calculated things beautifully.

But someone else had calculated even more shrewdly.

Lu Chen squatted atop a mountain peak somewhere on Buzhou Mountain, gnawing on a roasted beast leg as he watched the farce below. He spoke indistinctly to Hun Yuanzi, "See that? This is called the snipe and clam fighting while the fisherman profits... except we aren't the fisherman. We're the ones picking up shells on the shore."

Hun Yuanzi was speechless. "Master, what do we do now? Wait until they finish fighting, then go down and collect things?"

"No rush." Lu Chen wiped his mouth. "The good show is only just beginning. Tell me, do you think the other Ancestral Witches will just watch Dijiang get surrounded?"

The moment he finished speaking, Xuanming, Gou Mang, and Ru Shou burst forth from among the remaining seven Ancestral Witches at the edge of the battlefield, blocking Zhu Rong and Gonggong.

"Zhu Rong! Gonggong! Are you really going to betray the clan?!" Xuanming shouted fiercely, frost condensing around her.

"Betray the clan?" Zhu Rong sneered. "We're purging corrupt officials from the ruler's side! Dijiang is incompetent, so he should step down and yield his place to someone more worthy!"

"Bullshit!" Gou Mang roared. "Without Big Brother Dijiang, the Witch Clan would have been wiped out by the Demon Clan long ago! Your inner demons have taken control of you. Wake up!"

"Inner demons?" Gonggong laughed wildly. "We're perfectly clear-headed! You're the ones who should ask yourselves whether you're willing to be Dijiang's dogs forever!"

Words had failed, so they fought.

The seven Ancestral Witches split into two factions. Xuanming, Gou Mang, and Ru Shou protected Dijiang, while the other four—Zhu Jiuyin, She Bishi, Yan Zi, and Zhu Long—watched coldly from the sidelines. They too were dissatisfied with Dijiang's rule, but they had not yet reached the point of taking action.

The Witch Clan had completely fractured.

Di Jun watched with a beaming smile, even ordering the Demon Clan to bring out tables and chairs, lay out Immortal Fruit and fine wine, and watch the battle on the spot.

But just when the Witch Clan's internal struggle reached its fiercest point—

"Clang—!"

A bell toll rang through the entire Primordial World.

It was not Taiyi's Chaos Bell Replica, but the toll of the true Chaos Bell, echoing from the depths of Chaos—ancient and weathered, carrying the might to suppress all heavens.

"It's the Dao Ancestor's decree!" Taiyi's expression changed.

Sure enough, purple qi stretched thirty thousand miles from the east above the Nine Heavens. The phantom image of Dao Ancestor Hongjun manifested, his voice as indifferent as heaven itself.

"The thousand-year term of the Witch-Demon conflict has not yet ended, yet you have reopened the war without authorization and disrupted the order of the Primordial World. The Demon Clan's Heavenly Court is sentenced to seal itself for one hundred years. The Witch Clan is to retreat to Buzhou Mountain and may not leave without permission."

"One hundred years from now, the final battle shall begin and determine who receives the Primordial World's destiny."

"Those who defy this shall be punished by heaven."

As his words fell, the pressure of a Saint enveloped the battlefield. Every member of the Witch and Demon Clans still locked in combat was forcibly separated, unable to move.

Di Jun's face turned ashen, but he did not dare defy the Dao Ancestor's decree. He could only grit his teeth and bow. "We respectfully obey the Dao Ancestor's decree!"

Dijiang also sighed in relief—if they kept fighting, the Witch Clan truly would collapse from within. He bowed and said, "The Witch Clan obeys."

The Dao Ancestor's phantom vanished, and the Saint's pressure receded.

The Demon Clan began an orderly withdrawal, while the Witch Clan members returned one after another to the depths of Buzhou Mountain.

A final battle that had nearly erupted was forcibly placed on pause.

But everyone knew that the true decisive battle would come a hundred years later.

By then, there would be no room left for compromise. Either you died, or I did.

The battlefield gradually quieted.

Only then did Lu Chen carry the Qiankun Diagram on his shoulder and slowly drift down to begin his great "garbage-collecting operation."

This haul was richer than any before—fragments of Ancestral Witch Essence Blood splattered out when Zhu Rong and Gonggong fought, fragments of Demon Saint corpses left behind from the earlier battle, and all kinds of shattered spiritual treasure remains...

Once he had gathered nearly everything, he used Brick Escape to return to Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi was already waiting for him.

"The Dao Ancestor has intervened." Zhen Yuanzi went straight to the point. "What do you think about this hundred-year buffer period?"

"Just as expected." Lu Chen sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "The Witch and Demon Clans have suffered too much internal attrition. If they kept fighting, both clans might perish together. That isn't what the Dao Ancestor wants to see. He needs both sides badly wounded, not mutual destruction—otherwise, the Primordial World would lose its balance. Who would patch the heavens? Who would stabilize the earth?"

Zhen Yuanzi nodded. "So these hundred years are time for both sides to prepare, and time for... others to make their arrangements."

"Others?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Did you think you were the only one plotting?" Zhen Yuanzi said meaningfully. "The Three Pure Ones have already secretly contacted the Witch Clan remnants. They want to recruit some witches with pure bloodlines to fill the ranks of the guardian forces of the Human Religion, Explanation Religion, and Interception Religion."

"Jieyin and Zhunti haven't been idle either. While 'guiding' dead souls at the edge of the battlefield, they secretly held back a batch of souls with Buddhist affinity, intending to send them through the Reincarnation Cycle and recruit them into Buddhism in their Next Lives."

"Nuwa has been even more direct. She has passed cultivation methods down to the Human Clan tribes, preparing to support the Human Clan's rise after the Witch and Demon Clans wound each other, so they can claim a share of destiny."

Lu Chen grinned after hearing that. "Everyone's pretty busy."

"And you aren't?" Zhen Yuanzi looked at him. "What are you planning to do during these hundred years?"

Lu Chen pulled a small notebook from his robe, opened it, and revealed pages densely covered in plans.

"First, fully refine the God-Slaying Spear. It's still short of that last trace of baleful qi, so I need to make a trip to the Sea of Blood."

"Second, comprehend the Strength Demon God Inheritance and strive to break through to the late Quasi-Saint realm within a hundred years."

"Third, visit Lady Houtu in the Netherworld for a chat. The Reincarnation Cycle has only just been established, so they should be short on manpower, right? It wouldn't be too much for me to send some 'of my own people' over to work there, would it?"

"Fourth, and most importantly—" He paused, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "I need to search for the whereabouts of the Chaos Bell fragments."

Zhen Yuanzi froze. "Chaos Bell fragments? Don't you already have the Morning Bell?"

"The Morning Bell is a companion spiritual treasure. It isn't the genuine article, after all." Lu Chen shook his head. "The true Chaos Bell fragments are scattered throughout the Primordial World. The Dao Ancestor should have one, the Three Pure Ones each have one, and Nuwa may have one as well... I'll find a way to gather them and see whether I can piece together a third of it."

"And what would you do if you gathered them? You can't use it openly."

"If I can't use it openly, I can use it in secret." Lu Chen smiled. "For example, at a critical moment in the final battle, I could use the Chaos Bell fragments to activate the Morning Bell, imitate the power of the complete Chaos Bell, and add a little something to the Great Formation of the Stars..."

Zhen Yuanzi pressed a hand to his forehead.

This brat was truly thinking about how to screw people over every moment of every day.

"Oh, Senior." Lu Chen suddenly remembered something. "Could you help me look into something?"

"Speak."

"The Dao Ancestor said the final battle will begin in a hundred years and determine the ownership of destiny." Lu Chen lowered his voice. "The specific rules for this 'final battle' haven't been announced yet, have they?"

Zhen Yuanzi's eyes shifted. "You mean..."

"I'm guessing the Dao Ancestor might set up an 'arena.'" Lu Chen stroked his chin. "For example, each side sends out several people to fight in some special venue, and the winners receive destiny. If that's the case, I need to prepare a few 'enforcers' in advance."

"Enforcers?" Zhen Yuanzi frowned. "Who do you plan to send?"

"One of the Twelve Yuan Chen can take part, two avengers from the Kindling Department can take part, then I'll find a few rogue cultivator friends..." Lu Chen counted on his fingers. "In any case, their connection to me can't be exposed. They need to be a 'third-party force.'"

Zhen Yuanzi remained silent for a long while before finally sighing. "Lu Chen, by doing this, you're dragging every power in the Primordial World into your calculations. What if it all goes wrong...?"

"If it goes wrong, I'll run." Lu Chen shrugged. "Brick Escape is fast anyway. If all else fails, I'll dive into Chaos. Who could find me?"

Zhen Yuanzi was speechless.

This brat was truly shamelessly carefree.

"Fine. As long as you know what you're doing." He waved a hand. "Use these hundred years to prepare properly. This game of chess in the Primordial World is approaching its endgame."

Lu Chen rose and bowed solemnly. "This junior understands."

A hundred years.

That was enough time for him to do many things.

For instance, add a few more "minor problems" to the Witch-Slaying Sword Version 2.0 that was currently being forged.

For instance, help Gonggong and Zhu Rong's inner demons "grow" a little more.

For instance, let all the pieces he had planted throughout the land finally "mature."

Lu Chen hoisted his brick onto his shoulder, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

On the eve of the final battle, that was when Old Sixth was busiest.