Immortal Court Established, Styx Targeted

At the foot of Buzhou Mountain

Di Jun watched in growing panic as the forces he had painstakingly assembled fell one after another under the Ancestral Witches' devastating assault.

"Stop! This time, we Demons admit defeat!"

But no one paid Di Jun's words any heed.

Di Jiang instead seized the opportunity to breach Di Jun's defenses with a Space Fragment, slashing his arm.

"Di Jun, I didn't think you'd be so naive as to believe that begging for mercy would make us spare you!"

Di Jiang's face was cold as ice, indifferent to the screams of the Demons below, and he sneered at Di Jun.

The price the Witch Clan had paid—the Demon Race would repay it a hundredfold!

By the time the Demon army was nearly slaughtered to the last by the Ancestral Witches, three Demon Gods suddenly burst into the battlefield between Di Jiang and Di Jun.

"You all...?"

Di Jun seemed to sense something.

The three Demon Gods hurriedly said, "Demon Emperor, we will cover your retreat. You and the Eastern Emperor must withdraw quickly! As long as the green hills remain, we need not fear a lack of firewood!"

Di Jun knew in his heart that this was the best option available.

If they all stayed behind, the final result would only be the complete annihilation of the Demon Race!

"Just three Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, and you talk so big?"

Di Jiang saw the three blocking his path and dismissed them as insignificant.

But just as he prepared to strike again, their actions made him stop.

They were going to self-destruct!

The combined explosion of three Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals was no joke!

It might not kill a Quasi-Sage, but it could certainly injure one.

If they were truly wounded, the tide of battle might shift.

So Di Jiang hastily shattered the space before him, teleporting himself elsewhere through the spatial rift!

The other Ancestral Witches, though some distance from the epicenter of the three Demon Gods' self-destruction, also retreated slightly to avoid being caught in the blast.

Di Jun seized this chance and, together with Taiyi, activated the Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation Technique, instantly fleeing beyond the heavens with the remnants of the Demon forces.

The Witch Clan did not pursue.

Not because they were unwilling, but because the Witch Clan's situation was hardly optimistic.

This conflict between Witch and Demon had left neither side victorious.

Aside from their top-tier combatants, both the Witch and Demon Clans had been reduced to less than twenty percent of their original numbers!

Both had suffered grievous losses.

With their strength diminished, others' power rose in comparison.

Take, for example, the Eastern Duke, whom Hongjun had appointed as the Leader of Male Immortals.

Just as Di Jun and his company slunk back to the Sun Star in disgrace—

Above the East Sea, the Eastern Duke's voice rang out across the skies.

"Heavenly Dao above! I, the Eastern Duke, have received the command of Sage Hongjun to be the Leader of Male Immortals under heaven. I now establish the Immortal Court on Penglai Island in the East Sea. Let the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"

The Heavenly Dao rumbled in response.

A vast expanse of Merit Golden Cloud descended once more. Though this merit was not as great as when Di Jun had founded the Demon Race, it was still considerable.

Di Jun stared toward the East Sea, the hatred in his eyes growing sharper.

Of all times for the Eastern Duke to establish his Immortal Court, why now—right after his defeat at the hands of the Witch Clan? It was like rubbing salt into his wounds!

One day!

He would make the Witch Clan and the Immortal Court pay!

For now, the Eastern Duke had no idea of Di Jun's thoughts, and even if he did, he likely wouldn't care.

Who was he?

The Sage-appointed Leader of Male Immortals, recognized by the Heavenly Dao itself!

Let Di Jun try to lay a finger on him!

As the Witch and Demon Clans quieted down to recover their strength, the Immortal Court's activities in the Primordial Wilderness only increased.

Coupled with the undeniable weight of the Sage-appointed title, and the allure of Penglai Island's abundant spiritual energy, many indeed flocked to join the Immortal Court.

Soon, the Immortal Court grew into the largest force beneath the Witch and Demon Clans.

In truth, the Immortal Court now far surpassed the Witch and Demon Clans in mid- and low-tier combat power, but it lacked top-tier strength.

For powers of this scale, low-tier combatants were not always the decisive factor on the battlefield—high-tier combatants were.

After all, a single Quasi-Sage could wipe out all those mid- and low-tier fighters entirely.

But the Eastern Duke didn't think that far ahead. He assumed the Witch and Demon Clans were both lying low out of fear of his reputation, so he grew increasingly ostentatious in the Primordial Wilderness.

Such a commotion in the Primordial Wilderness naturally caught Styx's attention.

However, he never left the Blood Sea.

For no other reason than seclusion.

Even the emergence of a top-tier immortal island like Penglai Island failed to draw him out of retreat.

In truth, Styx had once coveted Penglai Island. After all, in various Primordial Wilderness tales, the Three Immortal Islands—formed from fragments of chaos—were always said to be repositories of all kinds of treasures.

But as for the other two of the Three Immortal Islands, Fangzhang Island and Yingzhou Island, their whereabouts were endlessly debated in Primordial Wilderness lore.

Only Penglai Island was clearly recorded as having been claimed by the Eastern Duke.

Styx had planned to beat him to it and strip Penglai Island bare.

But then, a sudden flash of insight struck him—he had a moment of enlightenment regarding the Creation Law—and he hastily entered seclusion.

Thinking back on it later, setting aside the other two islands, Penglai Island probably didn't hold anything truly valuable.

If it did, then the Eastern Duke of legend in his past life would surely have obtained it, and how could he still have been so destitute?

Thus, aside from its abundant spiritual energy, Penglai Island likely offered little else.

So Styx ultimately chose to let it go.

That said, after being in seclusion for so long, had Styx achieved anything?

Naturally, he had.

By now, Styx's Creation Law had reached forty-five percent, just half a percent shy of allowing him to attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin through the Creation Law.

But!

The Destruction Law remained unmoved.

No matter how Styx pondered it, the Destruction Law simply refused to show any reaction!

Though Styx found it regrettable, there was nothing he could do.

By the time he emerged from seclusion, several hundred years had passed.

Now, it was less than three thousand years until the third sermon.

If Styx guessed correctly, during the third sermon at Purple Cloud Palace, he would receive another wave of fortune bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, the third sermon at Purple Cloud Palace was the most significant of the three.

Not only would it expound upon the Sage's Path, but it would also involve three major events: the distribution of Primordial Purple Qi, Hongjun taking disciples, and the division of treasures.

Styx had no intention of missing it.

He left the Blood Sea, planning to roam the Primordial Wilderness continent and see if he could stumble upon some opportunity.

But no sooner had he left the Blood Sea than he realized he was being tailed.

The one tracking him was no slouch either—at least a Quasi-Sage.

Without alerting his pursuer, Styx continued flying toward the remote South Pole Land on the edge of the Primordial Wilderness.

The South Pole Land and the Southern Blazing Volcano were both located in the southern part of the Primordial Wilderness continent, remote and little-known.

The Southern Blazing Volcano was at least somewhat notable, being the home of the Phoenix Clan.

But the South Pole Land truly had no races living there.

Yet even after arriving at such a desolate place, Styx still felt someone spying on him.

Styx confirmed that his pursuer was indeed targeting him, so he stopped beating around the bush and halted directly.

"Where does this fellow daoist come from? You've been following me for quite some time. Is there something you need?"

A figure stepped out from the void.

"Fellow daoist Styx, long time no see."