Resources Exhausted, All for Nothing; Tribesmen Had Long Planned to Retreat

The Demon Race's Dao Discussion Assembly lasted for a full ten thousand years.

During these ten thousand years, not only were the high-ranking members of the Demon Race, such as Di Jun and Tai Yi, keeping a close watch on every move of the Witch Race, but the great powers of the entire Primordial World, the vast majority of living beings, and even Hongjun were monitoring the Witches.

As it turned out, they discovered that ever since the last group of Witches entered the Ancestral Land of the Witch Race five thousand years ago, the entire territory had become like a dead zone that devoured everything; not a single Witch had emerged since.

"What on earth are the Witches up to?!"

This was the question shared by everyone, from Hongjun at the top down to every living being aware of the Witches' movements.

In truth, the high-ranking members of the Demon Race, including Di Jun and Tai Yi, had not been able to sleep or eat well for these ten thousand years. They had even made several glaring mistakes while lecturing during the Dao Discussion Assembly.

Of course, no one dared to mock them, as those great powers had also made their own share of errors.

It could only be said that the minds of the Primordial World's elite, including Hongjun, were entirely focused on what the Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race were planning.

Much like the saying, "When children are quiet, they must be up to mischief," they feared that the Witches were either doing nothing at all, or were preparing to hit them with something massive.

Yet, ten thousand years passed, and the Witches remained silent.

Now, the high-ranking members of the Demon Race found themselves in an awkward position.

An assembly always had to come to an end; in fact, keeping all those great powers in the Demon Court for ten thousand years was already the limit for both the Demon Court and the guests.

After all, if these great powers were staying there, the Demon Race had to entertain them.

And if they were to entertain, it certainly had to be done with class.

Once one reached the level of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal or even Quasi-Sage, ordinary spiritual fruits and materials simply wouldn't suffice.

Consequently, after ten thousand years, the Demon Race's once-abundant treasury was essentially on the verge of exhaustion.

The Demon Race could not hold on any longer, and those great powers were reaching their limits as well.

No matter how magnificent the Demon Court was, it was not home.

Anyone with a home of their own would hardly want to live in someone else's house indefinitely.

Furthermore, the mainstream pursuit in the Primordial World at this time was still cultivation.

After all, Hongjun had made it clear that he would only preach in the Purple Cloud Palace three times, with each session separated by three Yuan eras.

The ten Yuan eras of Hongjun's preaching were undoubtedly the period when the Innate Demon Gods' cultivation levels would advance by leaps and bounds.

They had already wasted ten thousand years on the Demon Race; continuing to do so would inevitably impact their own cultivation.

Thus, seeing that neither side could hold on any longer, the Dao Discussion Assembly had no choice but to be declared over.

When Di Jun, Tai Yi, and the other high-ranking members of the Demon Race finally took inventory, they nearly burst into tears.

"Millions of years of accumulation, gone in an instant. Why is our Demon Race so miserable!"

Di Jun was usually a man of iron, but seeing the Demon Race's treasury, which was now empty enough for mice to run through, he truly could not hold it together.

"Do you think the Witches did this on purpose? Using this 'truth mixed with falsehood' tactic to scheme against us, just to drain our treasury dry?"

Nuwa spoke with a hint of hesitation, laying out her thoughts.

Before Di Jun could even respond, Tai Yi waved his hands frantically in agitation. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

In truth, it wasn't just Tai Yi; at this moment, Di Jun, Kunpeng, and Fuxi were all highly agitated.

It was no joke—for the high-ranking members of the Demon Race, being unable to defeat the Ancestral Witches was already humiliating enough.

At the very least, they could comfort themselves and the outside powers by claiming the Ancestral Witches won through sheer numbers, and that in a one-on-one fight, they could hold their own against any single Ancestral Witch.

But compared to raw strength, if they admitted to Nuwa's theory now, wouldn't that prove they had been intellectually trampled into the dirt by the Ancestral Witches?

It was common knowledge that the Ancestral Witches were synonymous with brutes and the brainless.

And yet, the high-ranking members of the Demon Race—Di Jun, Tai Yi, and the others—had been tricked by them?

Their defenses were shattered. At this moment, even Fuxi, who had the best temperament, felt completely broken.

Yet, even if they refused to admit it, a voice in the depths of their hearts seemed to remind them that Nuwa's words might be true.

"I... I am going into seclusion. If I do not sever my Three Corpses and reach the late stage of the Quasi-Sage realm, I will never emerge!"

Tai Yi gritted his teeth, pulling a hideously distorted smile, before transforming into a streak of light and rushing toward the Eastern Emperor Palace in the Demon Court.

"Ah, Ancestral Witches, and the Witch Race, I want you all to die!"

From afar, Tai Yi's roar echoed throughout the entire Demon Court, sounding like the Sun Star erupting with endless True Sun Fire.

Di Jun, Kunpeng, and Fuxi exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth once more.

"Let us disperse!"

Di Jun waved his hand powerlessly, his heart filled with desolation.

While the outside world was in turmoil, the interior of the Ancestral Land of the Witch Race remained quite peaceful.

Zhu Jiuyin had originally expected that his urgent summons for all Witches to return to the Ancestral Land, followed by the announcement that the Witch Race would henceforth abandon all spheres of influence outside the Ancestral Land, would be met with widespread opposition from the lower and middle-ranking members.

However, to Zhu Jiuyin's surprise, when the clansmen received this news, although they felt anger and unwillingness, they ultimately accepted his decision in silence.

Influenced by millions of modern books, Zhu Jiuyin was finally different from who he used to be.

He took the initiative to seek out some middle and lower-ranking members of the Witch Race to ask them what their true thoughts were.

"I just feel that since this resolution was decided upon by the twelve Ancestral Witches, it must be correct."

"The tribe I was in before was in the west of the Primordial World, which is the place with the most Turbid Qi in the entire realm. I hope you won't laugh at me, Ancestral Witch, but whenever I absorb that Turbid Qi, it is truly painful—a pain that goes deep into the marrow and even the soul. So, if I could be relieved of this bitter chore, I would be willing."

"Ancestral Witch, although I, Hou Ji, have no Primordial Spirit and possess a rough and violent nature, I am not a fool. I can still sense that the creatures of the Primordial World around us generally shun or even hold hostility toward our Witch Race. Since they do not welcome us, why should we continue to stay there and absorb the Turbid Qi of those lands for them?"

"Hou Ji is right. Ancestral Witch, you be the judge: if it weren't for the need to absorb the Turbid Qi of the earth, why would our Witch Race need to hunt those demon beasts? Yet, whenever we go to hunt those beasts, the Demon Race always jumps out to attack us, claiming they want to avenge their kin."

"Exactly, exactly! I can understand why those of the Demon Race hate our Witch Race, but we have never laid a hand on non-demon creatures. Why do they also shun and hold such hostility toward us?"

This was the first time an Ancestral Witch had taken the initiative to seek out the opinions of the middle and lower-ranking members of the Witch Race, so Zhu Jiuyin was immediately met with a warm welcome from countless members of the lower ranks.

Because, at last, there was an Ancestral Witch willing to listen to their voices.