A Terrifying Tendency, A Disaster Sweeping the Primordial World Is Brewing

Zhu Jiuyin had never imagined that the vast majority of his kin had actually been longing to return to the Ancestral Land for a long time.

Among them, over fifty percent of the clansmen did not want to stay outside the Ancestral Land primarily because absorbing the Turbid Qi of the earth was simply too agonizing.

Beyond that, another forty percent felt that the living beings outside the Ancestral Land were generally distant or even hostile toward the Witch Race; after all, no living being could enjoy existing for long in an environment filled with cold violence and hatred.

As for the remaining less than ten percent of the Witch Race, they were the minority who did not particularly want to return, but their problems were far more severe than those of the previous two groups.

These nearly ten percent of the Witches, under the constant torment of Turbid Qi and the persistent alienation and hostility from the outside world, had already developed a tendency to give up on themselves.

Their logic was simple: since you living beings always claim that we Witches are cruel, bloodthirsty, and feed on the flesh and blood of others, then fine—since you've already said so, we Witches might as well act exactly as you imagine.

At this moment, Zhu Jiuyin suddenly realized why the Witch Race had ultimately met an end that was nearly total extinction.

The first War of the Witches and Demons had only just passed, and Hongjun had only delivered his second sermon; the Final War of Witch and Demon was still at least hundreds or thousands of Yuanhui away.

Over the course of hundreds or thousands of Yuanhui, such self-destructive thinking would have enough time to slowly spread throughout the entire Witch Race.

By then, this group that originally made up less than ten percent would balloon to forty, fifty, or even more; what was even more terrifying was that they would likely turn these thoughts into action.

Just think: if over forty percent of the Witch Race were frantically slaughtering the beings of the Primordial World, no matter how much merit the Witch Race possessed, they could not withstand such root-destroying consumption.

At this moment, Zhu Jiuyin felt a sense of relief, while simultaneously feeling deeply how naive and ridiculous his own previous management and rule—as well as that of Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches—had been.

As the strongest, highest-ranking, and most authoritative Ancestral Witch, he hadn't even grasped the thoughts of the vast majority of his kin. In the history books Zhu Jiuyin had read, this was clearly a sign of a falling nation.

Historically, the beginning of the collapse of any dynasty started when the central government could no longer effectively receive and process information and problems from the local regions.

Once the superiors could not communicate downward and the inferiors could not report upward, the center would find it difficult to suppress the regions, and under such circumstances, regional fragmentation and autonomy would begin.

Thus, the countdown to the dynasty's demise would naturally begin.

This had been true from the Qin and Han dynasties all the way to the Ming and Qing.

In fact, when Zhu Jiuyin passed the relevant information to the other Ancestral Witches, while Zhurong and the others who usually didn't concern themselves with management were one thing, Dijiang and Houtu were truly shocked and terrified.

Because they had managed the Witch Race, they were very aware of certain taboos in the Primordial World.

Consequently, they realized that if they truly allowed this mindset to run rampant, it would inevitably lead to the lower and middle-tier Witches slaughtering other races on a massive scale. This was a heinous act that would incite the wrath of both heaven and man, and the result would inevitably be the total exhaustion of the merit the Witch Race had inherited from Pangu.

The day the Witch Race's merit was exhausted would also be the beginning of their march toward extinction.

"It all connects, everything connects!"

Dijiang couldn't help but exclaim to Houtu.

"Indeed. I can hardly imagine what Second Brother saw within the River of Time. It is no exaggeration to say that if not for Second Brother turning the tide during this time, the outcome for us Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race would be self-evident."

Just as Dijiang and Houtu were sighing with lingering fear, a large face leaned in: "Big Brother and Houtu sister, what are you two whispering about?"

It was Zhurong speaking.

Facing Zhurong's slightly naive and inquisitive face, Dijiang and Houtu felt for the first time why Zhu Jiuyin, despite being able to make everything public, had ultimately chosen such an extremely complicated approach.

He couldn't bring them along; he simply couldn't.

"Second Brother, it's too hard!"

Dijiang and Houtu sighed in unison.

Time flew by, and thirty thousand years passed.

For the vast majority of beings in the Primordial World, these thirty thousand years were undoubtedly the most peaceful and carefree period since the birth of the Innate Beings.

First, the billions of Witches were all recalled to the Ancestral Land and did not emerge again.

As for the Demon Race, with high-level figures like Di Jun and Tai Yi all in seclusion, they also ushered in a period of peaceful development.

Apart from the Witch and Demon races, those great powers of the Primordial World were also in seclusion, desperately absorbing the essence of Hongjun's second sermon to serve as fuel for their own breakthroughs.

When the Witch and Demon races weren't causing trouble and the great powers were in seclusion, the Primordial World naturally became peaceful and carefree.

However, beneath this peace and ease, some imperceptible crises were hidden.

No one noticed that the Turbid Qi between heaven and earth was slowly beginning to increase.

Turbid Qi was, in essence, a negative aura left behind in the Primordial World after the fall of Pangu and the Chaos Demon Gods.

It stood in opposition to the Clear Qi, which was full of creation and vitality, and represented destruction and slaughter.

For living beings, Turbid Qi would not only clog meridians and defile the Dao body, but it also carried the danger of eroding the Primordial Spirit and clouding the intellect. It severely interfered with a cultivator's resonance with the Heavenly Dao, making it difficult to comprehend laws or break through realms. If one remained in Turbid Qi for a long time, they might even be "demonized," eventually falling into a Demonic Beast that knew only slaughter.

If it only affected living beings, that would be one thing, but more seriously, Turbid Qi would also have a massive negative impact on the Primordial World itself.

Where Turbid Qi permeated, Clear Qi would vanish and spiritual energy would wither. Over time, original blessed lands would be polluted into dead zones where even ordinary grass and trees could not grow.

Most importantly, Turbid Qi would increase the Karmic Force between heaven and earth.

Karmic Force was a type of baleful energy that even Sages and the Heavenly Dao avoided.

Once Karmic Force exceeded a certain limit, even the Primordial World could face the invasion of Chaos Karmic Fire. In the best case, the world would decline and be downgraded; in the worst case, the entire Primordial World could be burned to ashes by the Chaos Karmic Fire.

It was just that, all along, because the Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race had spontaneously absorbed the Turbid Qi of heaven and earth before they had even awakened their intelligence, the beings of the Primordial World knew of the terror of Turbid Qi but had never truly felt the severe consequences that its permeation would bring.

In the myths of the Primordial World, there were the Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race, and after they were gone, there was the Six Paths of Reincarnation created by Houtu to transform the Clear and Turbid Qi of heaven and earth.

But in this life, because Zhu Jiuyin was fortunate enough to span countless years to the downstream of the River of Time, and even more fortunately had read a few Primordial-style novels, many things were truly different.