The Twelve Ancestral Witches each headed in different directions.
Yet before long, they all returned.
Countless demons had surged in from each of the other ten directions.
What this meant for the Witch Clan went without saying.
Di Jiang was so enraged that he no longer spared Eastern Emperor Taiyi a glance. Instead, he roared at Di Jun.
"Di Jun, you deserve death! Today, I will use your blood to honor the fallen warriors of my Witch Clan!"
With that, he immediately charged toward Di Jun.
The moment Di Jun saw the Twelve Ancestral Witches emerge from seclusion, his heart sank.
Their Demon Clan currently had only four Quasi-Sages. Though the Twelve Ancestral Witches had only just broken through to the Quasi-Sage realm, they utterly outnumbered them.
Moreover, the Witch Clan cultivated their physical bodies and possessed extraordinary combat strength. The Demon Clan would gain nothing from facing them head-on.
Di Jun immediately ordered, "Everyone, retreat!"
The Demon Clan had already slaughtered most of the Witch Clan's living forces. Even though the Twelve Ancestral Witches' emergence had made up for the Witch Clan's lack of high-level combat power, the losses among their lower ranks would still take countless years to recover from.
The Demon Clan had already profited enough. Knowing when to stop and withdrawing in time was the right choice.
But Di Jiang was not about to let them escape so easily.
"Want to leave? Fine. Leave your lives behind!"
Di Jiang reacted swiftly, using his immense power to seal off an entire stretch of space!
Then, with a wave of his hand, he pulled the space containing Di Jun directly before him and threw a punch!
Di Jun was no pushover either. He tossed the Hetu Luoshu into the air, and they scattered radiant light that formed a luminous barrier around him.
But Di Jiang was burning with rage. How could he care about any of that? His attacks were practically frenzied.
Aside from Di Jiang and Di Jun, the remaining witches and demons also clashed.
Fuxi faced Zhu Jiuyin, while Nüwa faced Hou Tu.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Demon Clan's strongest fighter, faced the three Ancestral Witches Zhu Rong, Gonggong, and Xuan Ming.
Di Jiang and Di Jun were evenly matched. They unleashed every technique at their disposal, fighting until heaven and earth darkened and space shattered.
Fuxi, however, was completely outmatched by Zhu Jiuyin.
Though Zhu Jiuyin had always been famed only as the Witch Clan's wise man, his actual combat strength was second only to Di Jiang's among the Witch Clan.
Fuxi was not weak, but how could he compare with an Ancestral Witch's hardened body and Zhu Jiuyin's masterful command of the Time Law?
Though he had not yet been defeated, he was clearly being suppressed and beaten back by Zhu Jiuyin.
Nüwa's situation on the other side was much better.
She was stronger than her elder brother, while Hou Tu was somewhat weaker than Zhu Jiuyin.
Still, it could not be denied that these two goddesses were among the two strongest female deities in the Primordial Wilderness!
Hou Tu possessed the law of earth. As long as she stood upon the ground, she could continuously draw strength from the land.
Nüwa had been a Quasi-Sage for a long time and was not far from reaching the Mid Quasi-Sage realm.
For the time being, the two were locked in an evenly matched battle.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi's situation, facing three Ancestral Witches, was neither good nor bad.
His combat strength was already exceptional, and with the Eastern Emperor Bell, dealing with three Ancestral Witches was not particularly difficult.
However, Zhu Rong, Gonggong, and Xuan Ming were all especially troublesome opponents.
Zhu Rong's divine fire and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's Solar Divine Fire both ranked among the top ten divine flames of the Primordial Wilderness.
Which was stronger had always been disputed.
Because Zhu Rong was weaker than Eastern Emperor Taiyi, his divine fire naturally performed less impressively than the Solar Divine Fire, but only slightly so.
Meanwhile, Gonggong and Xuan Ming respectively commanded the Law of Water and the Rain Law!
Both happened to restrain his Solar Divine Fire.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi was frustrated beyond measure.
The remaining six Ancestral Witches charged into the Demon Clan army. Their Witch Clan had been slaughtered nearly to the last, while quite a few demon soldiers still remained.
Naturally, the Ancestral Witches vented their resentment upon them.
The Demon Clan's Demon Gods would not simply wait to die. Though they were not Quasi-Sages, by joining forces, they could barely hold off a single Ancestral Witch.
But that did nothing to change the fact that the Ancestral Witches were slaughtering the Demon Clan army.
On Kunlun Mountain, Laozi stabilized his cultivation in seclusion while watching in the direction of Buzhou Mountain.
"The Calamity Qi in the Primordial Wilderness is growing denser and denser."
Tongtian asked in confusion, "Will another calamity arise so soon?"
The previous calamity had been the Dragon Han Calamity. On the surface, it had been a struggle for supremacy among the Dragon, Phoenix and Qilin Clans, but behind it all, Hongjun and Rahula had been competing for the position of Heavenly Dao's representative.
By the end of the Dragon Han Calamity, not only had the Dragon, Phoenix and Qilin Clans, the main players, been crippled, but even Rahula, who had once dominated the Primordial Wilderness, had been forced to self-destruct all the spiritual veins of the Western Lands, leaving the region unable to recover even to this day.
Yet the Dragon Han Calamity had ended only several hundred thousand years ago, less than a million years in total.
And another calamity was already about to rise?
Yuanshi said disdainfully, "The Witch and Demon Clans do not understand the workings of fate. They are already trapped within the calamity, yet remain unaware of it. They are truly unworthy of being the calamity's protagonists."
Laozi shook his head. "Those who become the protagonists of a calamity are naturally affected by Calamity Qi. Their cultivation rises rapidly, but for that very reason, they find it difficult to realize they have already become entangled in the calamity."
After speaking, Laozi sighed again. "Who knows how much devastation this calamity will bring?"
"What does that have to do with us?" Yuanshi said. "In my view, the Witch and Demon Clans should have declined long ago."
Laozi did not respond, while Tongtian frowned.
Seeing this, Yuanshi simply resumed contemplating the Great Dao, attempting to sever his Second Corpse.
Tongtian asked Laozi, "Big Brother, Second Brother's words may be unpleasant, but they are true. The Witch-Demon Calamity has little to do with us. Besides, with your cultivation now nearly unrivaled in the Primordial Wilderness, as long as we do not provoke trouble, no one would dare provoke us."
Tongtian assumed Laozi was troubled over the Witch-Demon Calamity.
But Laozi said, "That is not what worries me."
"Then what is it?" Tongtian grew even more puzzled.
Laozi said, "I sense that our brothers have a great opportunity in this calamity."
Hearing this, Yuanshi, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them as well. "Then what is there for you to worry about, Big Brother? Is that not a good thing?"
Laozi looked toward the Blood Sea.
Yuanshi immediately understood. "Big Brother is worried about the one in the Blood Sea? In my opinion, he may be somewhat stronger at present, but not by much. If we brothers join forces, he may not be our match."
Laozi's face remained full of worry.
Styx was not his only concern.
Styx's strength was only temporary. Laozi was confident that one day, he would surpass him.
But if, as he had previously suspected, a Saint truly stood behind Styx, then what should he do?
Laozi's thoughts were somewhat similar to those of the Witch Clan.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches believed themselves to have been born from Pangu's blood essence. They saw themselves as Pangu's orthodox lineage and regarded the Primordial Wilderness as their private property.
Laozi's thoughts were much the same.
The Three Pure Ones had been formed from Pangu's primordial spirit after it split into three. By that reckoning, they too could bear the title of Pangu's orthodox lineage.
The Primordial Wilderness should rightfully belong to the three brothers.
Having the Heavenly Dao and Saints above their heads was already enough. There was no need for another Styx to appear.
Just as Laozi's mind wandered, a brief message entered his consciousness.
Laozi was greatly startled and turned to look toward his two brothers.
He saw the same astonishment on both their faces.
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