How Could I Ever Surrender?

But when Haotian heard this, he nodded. "Very good!

I admire people with your integrity!

Since Fellow Daoist Qing Tian has put it that way, I won't stand on ceremony.

Watch closely, fellow Daoist. I'll begin."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Haotian's mind stirred, and a tiny flame of Emperor Flame drifted slowly toward Old Ancestor Qingtian.

Seeing Haotian's move, Old Ancestor Qingtian clearly hadn't realized how serious the situation was.

He thought Haotian was going to use Divine Fire to burn him to death.

So he simply closed his eyes and said no more.

Seeing this, Old Ancestor Cangtian shook his head and turned to look elsewhere.

He couldn't bear to watch!

They had at least known each other once.

Now he could only watch helplessly as his fellow daoist suffered.

How could he bear it?

Of course,

when he laughed in a moment, he'd have to make sure the other man couldn't see.

It would put a real strain on their friendship.

Just as Old Ancestor Cangtian expected,

in the blink of an eye, Old Ancestor Qingtian's screams reached his ears.

After listening for a while, Old Ancestor Cangtian couldn't help turning around.

He cleared his throat.

"Ahem!

Fellow Daoist Qing Tian, why don't you just surrender?

Digging in your heels like this won't solve anything.

Why put yourself through—"

But Old Ancestor Qingtian had no idea that Haotian wasn't trying to kill him at all.

So when he heard Old Ancestor Cangtian's advice,

he shouted back with great resolve, "Silence!

How could I ever surrender?

It's no more than death!

You, Cangtian, are afraid to die. Do you think I'm afraid too?"

Old Ancestor Cangtian pursed his lips at that.

Fine!

You're amazing!

You're the one with integrity.

Then keep holding out!

Let's see if you're still so stubborn in a little while!

If you can hold out for ten days or half a month, I'll personally admit you're a tough man!

From now on, whenever I see you, I'll greet you first.

After mulling it over secretly for a moment, Old Ancestor Cangtian simply said to Haotian, "Your Majesty!

I have nothing to do here. Why not let me go persuade Fellow Daoist Huang Tian?"

Hearing Old Ancestor Cangtian's words, Haotian knew exactly what the man was thinking.

He'd been caught in the rain, so now he wanted to tear someone else's umbrella apart too.

Still, it was a good thing.

If Old Ancestor Cangtian succeeded, Haotian would save himself some trouble.

Haotian casually replied, "Since you're willing, I'll leave it to you!"

"I obey!"

While Haotian was putting the Three Ancestors through their paces,

the powerful beings across the Primordial World were each lost in their own thoughts.

They had all been cultivating and comprehending the Dao. They weren't so idle that they spent all day watching the Heavenly Court.

But Old Ancestor Cangtian's screams had been rather loud.

His howling had startled every cultivator who wasn't in secluded cultivation.

When they took a look, they couldn't help exclaiming, "Good heavens!"

Old Ancestor Cangtian was getting the same treatment Kunpeng had received back then.

Back then, Sun True Fire had roasted a giant bird.

Now, Divine Fire was burning Azure Heaven.

Tsk, tsk!

What a spectacle.

But before long, these powerful figures all began having second thoughts.

Especially now that Haotian had dealt with Old Ancestor Cangtian and was moving on to Old Ancestor Qingtian.

Once he finished with those three, would they be next?

Haotian's words just now might have sounded perfectly reasonable, with no fault to find.

But they all lived in the Primordial World. Who among them didn't have a few skeletons in the closet?

If Haotian used those as leverage and suddenly came after them,

who could endure that?

Old Ancestor Cangtian couldn't take it. Did they think they could?

In an instant,

a faint worry settled over them.

The Six Sages weren't as worried as the other Quasi-Saints,

but their concerns were hardly any less serious.

Yes!

As Sages, they knew Haotian couldn't simply take them down.

Not in terms of cultivation, or anything else.

But that wasn't the point.

The point was that after two direct confrontations,

the situation had only grown more unfavorable for them.

Their dignity as Sages had been shattered in front of Haotian.

Now Haotian had spent dozens of Yuanhui in seclusion.

The moment he emerged, he'd gone mad and immediately taken the Three Ancestors as his targets.

The Three Ancestors were on the verge of giving in and joining the Heavenly Court.

Haotian's growing might was already plain to see.

Compared with Dijun and Taiyi, that bastard Haotian was only missing an Innate Supreme Treasure.

The Dao Ancestor had given Haotian the Chaos Bell without any other cultivators present.

And Haotian had yet to reveal the Chaos Bell, so the Six Sages didn't know about it.

Haotian already held an Innate Supreme Treasure in his hands.

Once he brought the Three Ancestors to heel, his authority as Heavenly Emperor would surpass even Dijun and Taiyi's.

And there was the problem!

The stronger Haotian's authority became, the more their own authority as Sages would be diminished.

Their disciples and followers would face even tighter restrictions in the future.

And restrictions on their disciples' actions meant restrictions on the spread of their Great Sects.

That was something the Sages could least tolerate.

Inside Wa Imperial Palace,

Empress Nuwa looked at Bai Ze, who had just severed his Evil Corpse and become a Quasi-Saint.

She said slowly, "From now on, the Demon Race is in your hands.

Haotian's authority is growing stronger by the day. Make sure you keep the Demon Race in check.

The Witch-Demon Calamity, along with Haotian's intervention, has already left the Demon Race utterly depleted.

Don't let the Demon Race suffer any more losses.

In your spare time, you should also focus on nurturing the next generation.

Help the Demon Race slowly recover its strength."

Bai Ze did not reply at once.

He knew this would be extremely difficult.

How many demons were there across the Primordial World?

How could he possibly keep them all in check?

He had been able to sever his corpse and break through to Quasi-Saint because Empress Nuwa had bestowed that opportunity on him.

But if he promised too much now, the more disappointed Empress Nuwa would be later.

After weighing his words for a moment, Bai Ze said, "Your Majesty, I'm not trying to shirk my responsibilities.

This matter is simply too difficult. I'm afraid I won't be able to do it.

The Primordial World is vast, and the Demon Race is as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

With my cultivation, I truly can't keep so many demons in check.

I can only say that I'll do my best to restrain them.

As for educating the Demon Race's younger generation and helping the race recover, I'll give it my all."

Hearing Bai Ze's answer, Empress Nuwa knew he was telling the truth.

She nodded. "Just do your best.

If you truly can't manage it, then keep the demons in the Northern Region in check.

After the great war, the Demon Race withdrew to the north. That was something the Sages had all agreed upon.

In other words, the Sages had designated the north as the Demon Race's home.

That is where the Demon Race's roots lie.

As for demons in other places, restrain them if you can.

If you truly can't, I won't hold it against you."

"Yes!

This one takes his leave!"

After Bai Ze left, worry finally showed on Empress Nuwa's face.

Haotian's authority had grown even greater.

If she couldn't keep the Demon Race in the Northern Region in check, the recent disaster might happen all over again.

The Demon Race couldn't withstand repeated blows.

Haotian was truly detestable!

While Empress Nuwa worried about the Demon Race's future, Zhunti and Jieyin on Mount Sumeru were just as troubled.

Without underhanded schemes, the Western Region couldn't prosper.

But if they resorted to underhanded schemes, they would be held in check by Haotian.

Haotian's subordinates were about to gain three more Hunyuan Golden Immortals.

There would be fewer and fewer underhanded schemes left for them to try.