The Witch and Demon Clans Emerge

The Green-clothed Woman's body trembled slightly. She hurriedly bowed deeply, her voice a little halting with nervousness. "R-Reporting to the Immortal."

"My master calls herself the Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix. She... she comes from the Phoenix Race and seems... seems to be a descendant of the Phoenix Race's Imperial Lineage."

Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix? The Phoenix Race?

Haotian gave a slight nod, understanding dawning in his heart.

During their earlier Dao Battle, the other party had mentioned the words "phoenix" and "Nirvana," which had already given him some suspicions.

Now that it had been confirmed, this bird indeed came from the Phoenix Race, one of the Three Great Hegemonic Races of antiquity.

"Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix..." Haotian rolled the name over and over in his mind, vaguely feeling that it sounded familiar.

After pondering for a moment, he finally recalled, "Could this bird be Nuwa's mount from the legends of my Previous Life?"

Suppressing his thoughts, Haotian continued, "Do you know when she arrived at Mount Wuyi?"

The Green-clothed Woman answered timidly, "This junior's cultivation is shallow. My Spiritual Intelligence was born only recently, and it has not been long since I underwent Form Transformation. I... I truly do not know when Master specifically descended upon the Immortal Mountain."

The other women below the hall also shook their heads, indicating that they did not know.

Only a young girl dressed in a Pink Skirt, whose childish face carried a touch of spiritual grace, moved her lips as though she wished to speak.

Just then...

BOOM!!

An incomparably deep and ancient thunderous blast erupted from the deepest reaches of the Great Desolation Land, crashing in from the direction of Buzhou Mountain.

It made the mountain ranges quiver and the Cloud Sea churn!

Immediately afterward, twelve voices spoke in unison—their declaration sonorous and domineering, brimming with the Blood Qi of the Savage Wilderness. In an instant, it resounded through every inch of the Great Desolation's mountains and rivers, branding itself clearly into the depths of every living being's mind.

"Since the Dragon-Han Killing Tribulation, the Three Clans have declined. No Mighty Lord has remained to rule the Eight Wastelands, resulting in strife among the myriad races, ceaseless slaughter, and unrest between Heaven and Earth!"

"We, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, inherit the bloodline of Pangu Father God and are the Orthodox of the Great Desolation. How can we stand idly by?"

"Today, in Pangu's name, with Pangu Hall as our foundation and Buzhou Mountain as our pillar, we establish the Witch Race!"

"From this day forth, the Witch Race shall forever guard the Great Desolation Land, set the Mountains and Earth Veins in order, and protect Myriad Things' Survival!"

The declaration's lingering echoes rumbled like Rolling Thunder, reverberating for a long while in the direction of Buzhou Mountain.

In an instant, boundless Blood Qi surged into the sky, stirring the Wind and Clouds.

Countless powerful and violent Auras could vaguely be seen awakening one after another, then converging.

A Vast Fortune, weighty as mountains and tyrannical as towering peaks, began to gather and rise from the earth!

Haotian gazed toward Buzhou Mountain, his expression darkening slightly.

Though he had not personally witnessed the scene within Pangu Hall, when he combined this proclamation that had shaken the Great Desolation with the memories of his Previous Life, he immediately understood.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches had already used the Pangu Blood Pool to create, in batches, a sufficient number of Witch Race clansmen.

After lying dormant for endless years, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were about to formally take the Great Desolation Stage and begin their magnificent campaign to dominate the land!

"Now that the Witch Race has emerged, then its counterpart..." Haotian's thoughts raced.

As if to confirm his conjecture, only a moment later...

Screech! ×2.

Within the Star Domain, the Solar Star's radiance suddenly blazed brighter!

Two Bird and Beast Roars, capable of splitting clouds and shattering stone, rang across the universe, filled with imperial majesty.

What accompanied them was another Resplendent Heavenly Sound that likewise spread throughout the Great Desolation.

"The Great Desolation has no order; all living spirits struggle."

"I, Di Jun/Eastern Emperor Taiyi, cannot bear to see Heaven and Earth in chaos and all beings suffering. Thus, bearing the Heavenly Mandate, I establish the Demon Race today!"

"Any within the Great Desolation who have awakened Spiritual Intelligence—whether Viviparous and Oviparous, Born of Moisture, Feathers, and Scales—may join my Demon Race. Together, we shall honor the Heavenly Dao, command the Stars of the Heavens, and establish the Order of All Things!"

The brilliance of Solar True Fire illuminated all heavens. The Stars of the Great Dipper flickered into brightness and dimness in response, scattering endless starlight.

A brand-new and even more complex, yet vibrantly alive Vast Fortune of power began rapidly gathering and spreading between the boundless Starry Sky and the vast earth!

"The Witch Race emerges, the Demon Race is established... The Witch-Demon Great Tribulation is finally coming..." Haotian muttered softly, his gaze profound.

The formal establishment of these two colossal races, born bearing Heaven's mandate, meant that the Primordial World would enter a new era—more magnificent and turbulent, but inevitably more bloody and cruel.

It also meant that Haotian was another step closer to ascending the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

He gathered his thoughts and turned his gaze toward the women inside the hall, who had grown even more frightened and uneasy after the successive Heaven and Earth Phenomena.

At last, his gaze settled on the Pink-skirted Young Girl who had wanted to speak earlier. "Just now, it seemed you had something to say."

"Do you know exactly when your master arrived at Mount Wuyi?"

He needed to confirm when the Protective Formation he had left behind had been broken.

Only then could he deduce why he had felt nothing at all when the formation was destroyed.

When the Pink-skirted Young Girl saw Haotian questioning her, she hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said in a soft voice, "Reporting to the Immortal, this junior once heard an Old Senior in the mountain mention..."

"Her master... arrived at this mountain roughly Thousands of Years Ago."

"Thousands of Years Ago..." Haotian formed a hand seal and performed a brief calculation.

At that time, he had been in Purple Firmament Palace...

With that, Haotian's confusion was instantly resolved.

He possessed only Golden Immortal Mid-stage cultivation.

The connection between the Magical Power Imprint he had left in Mount Wuyi and the Formation Core simply lacked the strength to cross the barriers of the Vast Great Desolation and Boundless Chaos and reach Purple Firmament Palace in the Chaos Depths.

"And also..."

As though recalling more details, the Young Girl hesitated before continuing, "After her master arrived at this mountain, she thoroughly investigated all of Mount Wuyi."

"After exploring the mountain, she once said..."

"This mountain seemed to have had a Former Master."

"But for some reason, this Former Master's aura had abruptly been cut off, vanishing without a trace."

"Her master surmised that this person... had already Met Tribulation and Perished."

"In the mountain... there also seemed to be some... Remnant Items left behind by that Former Master."

"They were sealed away somewhere hidden within the mountain."

"Remnant Items left behind by a Former Master?" Hearing this, Haotian raised a brow, a flicker of surprise rising in his heart.

He himself was Mount Wuyi's "Previous Master," yet he did not recall deliberately leaving anything behind when he departed.

"Could it be some item I inadvertently left behind while breaking the formation back then, which that Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix discovered and treasured as a 'relic'?"

"Or perhaps... before I arrived, this Mount Wuyi Blessed Land had already had an even earlier master?"

Doubt rose in Haotian's heart.

According to his memories, in his Previous Life, Mount Wuyi was only occupied by Cao Bao and Xiao Sheng after the Human Race emerged.

The Great Red Robe Mother Tree and the Luo Bao Golden Coin had also emerged at that time.

Now was certainly not yet the time for Mount Wuyi to emerge.

Haotian had only discovered Mount Wuyi back then because of the guidance of that Demonic Black Tiger that had suddenly appeared.

As for how the Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix had found Mount Wuyi, it was likely because he had already exposed the Heavenly Dao's protection.

A thread of curiosity and unease rose from the depths of Haotian's heart.

He asked in a grave voice, "Do you know where exactly that 'relic' is?"

Intimidated by the faint aura he deliberately leaked, the Young Girl hurriedly shook her head. "This junior does not know the relic's exact location."