Within Purple Sky Palace, the days still carried a lazy, decadent air of "peace and harmony." Xiao Kuang perfectly practiced his "Dao of Slacking"—if he was not soaking his feet and getting a massage, then he was studying how to use Chaos Qi to develop new barbecue skewer flavors, or forcing the Dragon Girls and Phoenix Girls to learn the latest "home dance." Life was absolutely blissful.
However, across the lands of Primordial Chaos, the Witch and Demon races had subtly changed some of their ways of thinking after Purple Sky Palace's sermon lectures—or team-building events. Their strength had also improved as their karmic burdens diminished. Yet the contradictions that had accumulated over countless eras finally erupted.
Perhaps it began with an ordinary struggle for resources. Perhaps it was an argument born of "mahjong table grudges." Or perhaps Di Jun simply found those muscle-bound Witch tribesmen increasingly unpleasant to look at, while Gong Gong thought those feathered Demon Race beasts were becoming more and more arrogant.
Although the calamitous aura of the tribulation had been somewhat diluted by the "crooked influence" of Purple Sky Palace, the innate opposition between the Witch Race, born from Pangu's blood essence, and the Demon Race, nurtured by the Sun Star—as well as the immense karma of competing for supremacy over heaven and earth—could never be fully resolved by one absurd sermon.
Thus, the first Witch-Demon War erupted with a thunderous crash—without warning, yet as though it had been destined all along!
This time, Dao Ancestor Hongjun did not appear to mediate things—someone else held the position now. Nor did the Heavenly Dao visibly suppress them—the Heavenly Dao was currently staring at a slacker and questioning its existence. The strength accumulated by both sides far surpassed that of the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity!
In an instant, Primordial Chaos shook, and the skies lost their color!
Beneath Buzhou Mountain, within Pangu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches—aside from Houtu—roared loud enough to shake the heavens as they revealed their colossal true forms! Dijiang moved through space, Zhu Jiuyin controlled time, Gong Gong commanded all waters, Zhu Rong burned the eight wildernesses, Qiangliang wielded lightning, Tian Wu rode the winds... Their terrifying power of flesh and blood shook heaven and earth. Baleful aura condensed into tangible form and surged toward the Demon Court above the Thirty-Three Heavens!
In the Sun God Palace of the Thirty-Three Heavens, Di Jun unfurled the River Diagram and Luo Script, instantly activating the Grand Formation of the Stars! The power of ancient stars descended, countless stars flowing across the star map like chess pieces before turning into world-destroying pillars of starlight that blasted toward the earth! Eastern Emperor Taiyi suspended the Chaos Bell overhead. Its vast chimes stabilized earth, water, fire, and wind, suppressing the space-time of Primordial Chaos! Countless demon gods roared as demon soldiers poured forth like a tidal wave!
This was the ultimate collision of power and laws! A mad clash between flesh and blood and stars!
The earth was shattered beyond recognition. Countless mountains and rivers were reduced to dust, ley lines ruptured, and spiritual essence dispersed. The skies were torn open with countless enormous rifts as Chaos Qi Flows poured in, annihilating all things. Myriad living beings wailed as they turned to ash. Blood rain poured down, while karma and baleful aura swept across all of Primordial Chaos like a boiling ocean!
The Primordial Chaos continent was truly about to be smashed to pieces! The devastation of this tribulation far surpassed anything before it!
[Warning! Warning! The primary structure of Primordial Chaos has sustained over 15% damage! Mass extinction of living beings! Karma and baleful aura concentration rising sharply! Tribulation progress accelerating out of control!] [Emergency! Emergency! Requesting the acting agent's immediate intervention! Immediate intervention!] [Heavenly Dao: Xiao Kuang! Xiao Kuang! Stop lying around! Get up and work! Something huge is about to happen!!!]
The Heavenly Dao's cold will exploded frantically through Xiao Kuang's sea of consciousness like the highest-level fire alarm, carrying unprecedented urgency and... a trace of panic?
Xiao Kuang, who was watching a Dragon Girl clumsily dance "Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss," shuddered at the sudden string of calls and nearly slid off his massage chair.
"What are you making such a fuss about?!" he complained irritably. "What happened now? Did the sky fall, or did the earth cave in? You interrupted my dance watching!"
[The Witch-Demon War has fully erupted! Primordial Chaos is about to shatter! The tribulation is out of control!] The Heavenly Dao's will was practically roaring—if it could roar. [Immediately use your authority! Stop them! End the conflict! Otherwise, there is a risk that the world line will collapse! We're both finished!]
"The Witch-Demon War?" Xiao Kuang scratched his head, becoming slightly interested as his divine sense instinctively swept across the lands of Primordial Chaos.
Good heavens! That scene really was... gongs pounding, firecrackers roaring, red flags waving, crowds gathering... No, that was wrong. Divine abilities flew everywhere, stars fell from the sky, flesh and blood scattered, and the battle was absolutely lively!
Gong Gong smashed apart an entire starfield with his head. Zhu Rong set half the sky ablaze. Di Jun Tai Yi drove the Grand Formation of the Stars like they were flinging things around for free...
"Tsk, tsk, they're fighting pretty fiercely..." Xiao Kuang smacked his lips and commented, "These effects, this spectacle—way more exciting than a Hollywood blockbuster! It's just a bit rough on Primordial Chaos."
Heavenly Dao: [...(((;￢＿￢)))...] [This is not the time to watch a show! Intervene! Intervene immediately! You are the Dao Ancestor! One who has undergone Dao Integration! Maintaining the balance of Primordial Chaos is your duty!]
"Duty?" Xiao Kuang rolled his eyes and lay back down. "What does that have to do with me? Let them fight if they want. Once they get tired, they'll naturally stop. Besides, how am I supposed to intervene? I only know how to strike people with lightning. Am I supposed to go down there and zap every one of them? That sounds exhausting."
The Heavenly Dao was nearly driven mad. [Authority! Use Heavenly Dao Authority! Forcefully separate the battlefield! Alter the laws of the combat zone! Strip them of their ability to draw upon the power of heaven and earth! Or... or just capture their leaders and lock them in Purple Sky Palace! There are plenty of ways! Hurry!]
"Oh? You can do that?" Xiao Kuang's eyes lit up slightly, but then dimmed again. "That sounds like way too much trouble... Do you think mobilizing authority doesn't take brainpower? It's exhausting! And where would I lock them up? The backyard zoo is almost full! Besides, interrupting someone else's fight is immoral!"
Heavenly Dao: [!!!] Morality?! Primordial Chaos was about to shatter, and he was talking about morality?! The temperature of the Heavenly Dao's core code surged, nearly burning up!
[Xiao Kuang! This is not a game! If Primordial Chaos shatters and all things wither, your Purple Sky Palace will not survive either! Your massage chair! Your hot springs! Your barbecue grill! They will all vanish! Those beautiful maidservants of yours will also perish! Think about what you will lose!]
Hearing that, Xiao Kuang actually hesitated. He rubbed his chin. "Hmm... when you put it that way, it does seem to make some sense..."
Seeing this, the Heavenly Dao struck while the iron was hot. [Quick! Act immediately! There's no time!]
However, Xiao Kuang's next words plunged the Heavenly Dao into complete despair.
"But..." Xiao Kuang looked troubled. "I'm right at the exciting part! That Gong Gong, yes, that water monkey—he looks like he's about to use his head to smash into something again! Let's wait until he finishes this hit, okay? Maybe he'll win with it?"
Heavenly Dao: [...] It felt its core code go out with a snap. Not sleep mode, not standby mode, but a genuine, complete, utterly despairing... shutdown.
It gave up. There was simply no way to communicate normally with this salted fish!
If Primordial Chaos shattered, then let it shatter. If all things went extinct, then let them go extinct. Everyone could be finished together.
It was tired. Truly tired.
Like a receding tide, the Heavenly Dao's will completely vanished from Xiao Kuang's sea of consciousness, carrying endless exhaustion and deathly stillness. It did not leave behind even the faintest ripple. It seemed to have resigned itself to fate, quietly waiting for the end to arrive.
Xiao Kuang waited for a while and realized there was no longer any sound in his head. He muttered strangely, "Eh? Why is it quiet? Did the signal cut out? Forget it, forget it. I don't care. Back to the show, back to the show... Hey, hey, hey! Go, Gong Gong! That's right! Smash the bastard!"
He actually focused intently on "watching" this war that was destroying Primordial Chaos, even cheering from time to time as though he were watching a ball game that had nothing to do with him.
Within Purple Sky Palace, songs and dances flourished—the Dragon Girl was still dancing. Across the lands of Primordial Chaos, heaven collapsed and earth split apart. Together, they formed a scene that was grotesquely bizarre, absurd, and despair-inducing.
And where this Witch-Demon War would ultimately lead, with no intervention from the Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao seemingly "crashed," no one knew.
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