Three Factions Cease Hostilities, Join Forces Against the Witch Clan

The battle had clearly been tilting in their favor. If they held out a little longer, they could wipe out the Demon Court in one stroke, then sweep through the Immortal Court and eradicate the Witch Clan.

That supreme opportunity to become saints would then be theirs for the taking.

Yet Hongjun had chosen this critical moment to interfere and forcibly halt the battle. It was tantamount to leaving the Demon Court a path to survival and needlessly adding two more rivals for the opportunity to become saints.

No one could accept that.

Meanwhile, the demons of the Demon Court led by Taiyi were ecstatic, the tightly drawn battle intent around them completely dissipating.

Hongjun's intervention had undoubtedly given the Demon Court a chance to catch its breath. They had finally escaped the calamity of imminent annihilation!

"You need not continue wasting yourselves in internal strife. From this day onward, I shall determine the ownership of the opportunity to become saints based on the merits of your efforts in destroying the Witch Clan.

"Should anyone dare provoke internal conflict again, I shall punish them without mercy!"

Hongjun knew full well that these great powers were each harboring their own schemes. To prevent them from turning on one another again, he directly established the rules, his tone icy and carrying a warning that brooked no dispute.

As his words fell, some among the two sides rejoiced while others were filled with sorrow.

Naturally, the Demon Court faction was beside itself with joy. They had already been driven into a dead end, yet now they had gained a chance to contend for the opportunity to become saints.

Those shrouded in gloom were Minghe, Yuanshi, and the others, their hearts full of unwillingness and indignation.

They had possessed the ability to monopolize the opportunity. Why should they share it with the Demon Court and the Immortal Court, competing over some so-called measure of merit?

Moreover, the evaluation of those contributions rested entirely on Hongjun's word. There was not even a clear standard. This was plainly treating them as chess pieces to be manipulated at will.

Bloodlight surged around Minghe's body. He forcibly suppressed the hostility in his heart, solemnly bowed toward the heavens beyond, and stiffly voiced his question.

"May I ask, Saint, by what standard shall these contributions toward destroying the Witch Clan be judged?"

If the assessment of contributions had neither basis nor evidence, then would not the opportunity for a Saint's seat go to whomever Hongjun wished to bestow it upon? After fighting to the death like this, would they not merely end up making a wedding dress for another?

The moment those words were spoken, the entire scene fell deathly silent. Every great power turned their gaze toward the heavens beyond, holding their breath as they waited for Hongjun's response.

Upon Penglai Immortal Island, Dongwang Gong led a host of male immortals. Their eyes blazed as they stared fixedly toward the Purple Cloud Palace beyond the heavens.

The chance to become a saint was what all living beings of the Primordial World sought throughout their lives. It concerned the prospects of their own Great Dao, so how could they not take it seriously?

Inside Pangu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had gathered. The dense Pangu Sha Qi surrounding them was so thick it seemed almost capable of bursting the hall apart.

Di Jiang's face was dark as still water. His fists were clenched tight, veins bulging across his forehead, while the power of space around him churned chaotically. His resentment and fury toward Hongjun had already set his heart ablaze.

What a Hongjun! What a Heavenly Dao Saint!

The Witch Clan could have watched as the various factions slaughtered one another, then acted once both sides had been grievously wounded, reaping the fisherman's profit and thoroughly securing their position as overlords of the Primordial World.

Yet he had to force his way in. He had not hesitated to cast aside a Saint's dignity, forcibly bringing the three factions together and driving the Witch Clan into a hopeless deathtrap!

As a Heavenly Dao Saint, he was neither fair to the Heavenly Dao nor protective of the common beings. Instead, he deliberately suppressed the Witch Clan. How was such conduct any different from that of evil demons?

The expressions of the other eleven Ancestral Witches were even graver. Their bloodlines surged like thunder, while their eyes roiled with despair and rage they could not conceal.

The Witch Clan did not cultivate Primordial Spirits, only their physical bodies. Relying on Pangu's bloodline, they had run rampant through the Primordial World and feared nothing. But now they faced the combined forces of three supreme factions.

With the three factions united, even they, who had always been so confident, had no faith in victory.

Though the Demon Court and Immortal Court possessed fewer Daluo than the Minghe Alliance, they still had several hundred each. Together, the three factions had nearly two thousand Daluo.

The Witch Clan had only the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Even if they poured out the strength of their entire clan and condensed Pangu's Dharma Form, they would find it difficult to withstand such a terrifying assault.

Pangu's Dharma Form might be powerful, but their cultivation had ultimately stopped at the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. They simply could not sustain this power, which did not belong to them, for long.

Once war began, the Witch Clan would surely be exterminated. There would be no chance of survival!

Gonggong clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Water vapor raged around him, filled with both indignation and helplessness, as he looked toward Di Jiang.

"Eldest Brother, with the situation as it is, how should we respond?"

Di Jiang pressed his lips together and said nothing. Traces of turmoil flashed through his deep eyes. Faced with such a certain deathtrap, even he could think of no solution for the moment.

Just as the various factions of the Primordial World harbored different thoughts and undercurrents surged, Hongjun in the chaos beyond the heavens finally gave a secret response.

No one could hear the contents of that concealed voice transmission. They could only judge from the reactions of Minghe and the others.

The demons of the Demon Court, the Minghe Alliance, and the immortal hosts under Dongwang Gong of Penglai in the East Sea all turned their heads at almost the same moment, their icy gazes fixed upon the depths of the Blood Sea.

Clearly, Hongjun's secret instructions had completely soothed the objections of every faction.

The three sides had already resolved to join forces against the Witch Clan.

Taiyi waved a hand and ordered the demon generals beside him to escort the severely wounded Dijun back to the Demon Court to recuperate. Yet the Sun True Fire around Taiyi surged wildly, and he showed no intention of withdrawing.

He was unwilling to leave even a moment for the demons under his command to catch their breath and reorganize their forces. He insisted on immediately leading an army against the Witch Clan, determined to seize the foremost merit in destroying them.

One had to know that the Demon Court had just endured two bloody battles and was already badly weakened.

Bai Ze's gaze swept gravely across the Demon Court's forces. After successive rounds of slaughter, the billions of demon soldiers and generals had been reduced to merely tens of millions of battered remnants.

Every one of them was wounded, their auras feeble, their treasures damaged, and their divine powers utterly depleted.

If they were thrown into a life-and-death battle against the Witch Clan at once, the already depleted Demon Court would likely exhaust its entire foundation and end up existing in name alone.

He opened his mouth, wanting to offer counsel, but when his gaze met the determination in Taiyi's eyes to obtain the opportunity to become a saint, he ultimately swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

Things had come to this. Saying more would be useless.

Bai Ze chose silence. Though the ordinary demon soldiers and generals were exhausted and terrified, none dared utter a single complaint.

Taiyi had always been decisive and ruthless in slaughter. If anyone dared speak out and disrupt morale, they would surely be beheaded on the spot and used to sacrifice to the banner as a warning.

"Buzz!"

The void trembled as an enormous spatial rift burst open from the summit of Mount Buzhou, releasing ten thousand rays of rosy light and a thousand streams of auspicious qi.

Wearing a crown with hanging jade beads, Dongwang Gong led countless beings of the Immortal Court out upon clouds, slowly descending beside the camps of Taiyi and Minghe.

At this point, the three factions of the Demon Court, the Blood Sea, and the Immortal Court had completely assembled.

Nearly two thousand Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals stood at the forefront, while countless soldiers and generals spread across heaven and earth. The auras of their divine powers intertwined and collided, forming a curtain of slaughter that covered the skies and blotted out the sun.

All living beings throughout the Primordial World sensed this battle intent capable of destroying heaven and earth. They concealed themselves and dared not emerge, quietly awaiting the beginning of this ultimate battle that would decide the Primordial World's order.

Within Pangu Hall, Di Jiang slowly rose to his feet.

The power of space around him raged wildly, Pangu's bloodline boiled and roared, and his Sha Qi shot straight into the heavens. His deep, resolute voice resounded throughout the entire Primordial World.

"The Saint is unjust, wielding all living beings as blades and forcing our Witch Clan to this point. There is no retreat, no escape. Since that is so, then let us fight!"