Scheming

There were Four Great Lotus Platforms in the primordial world.

The Twelve-Petal Black Lotus of World Destruction, Luo Hou's accompanying supreme treasure, had remained missing to this day.

The Twelve-Petal Golden Lotus was now in Qing Xuanzi's hands.

The Twelve-Petal White Lotus of World Purification was of unknown whereabouts. Qing Xuanzi guessed it might be in Nüwa's possession.

The Twelve-Petal Red Lotus of Karma Fire had been born from the Blood Sea alongside the Asura.

Yet now, it had been released directly by the Heavenly Dao.

The Demon Court was located in Great Luo Heaven, among the Nine Heavens. At this moment, the Karma Fire Red Lotus stood proudly within Great Luo Heaven.

Its purpose was obvious: it was plainly meant to be given to the Demon Clan.

Would the Witch Race agree to that?

Of course not.

The Twelve-Petal Red Lotus of Karma Fire burned karma fire.

It was precisely the nemesis of the ancestral witches' true bodies.

Seeing that the Demon Clan's plan to forge some Witch Slaughtering Sword would likely fail, the Heavenly Dao had immediately produced the Karma Fire Red Lotus.

Ordinarily, even if the Karma Fire Red Lotus emerged, it certainly would not have ended up in the Demon Clan's hands.

After all, there were six Saints in the primordial world.

But the Heavenly Dao had tampered with the Karma Fire Red Lotus.

For instance, the six Saints were currently gathered around the Karma Fire Red Lotus, their brows tightly furrowed.

A little farther out, the Witch Race and Demon Clan stood on opposite sides, glaring at one another.

The Demon Clan wanted to obtain the Karma Fire Red Lotus, while the Witch Race wanted to keep it out of the Demon Clan's hands.

No matter who obtained it, it absolutely could not fall into the Demon Clan's hands.

That had always been the Witch Race's creed.

"Big Brother, do you have a way?" Tongtian stared at the Karma Fire Red Lotus, practically drooling over it.

Among the Three Teachings, he alone lacked a quality spiritual treasure to suppress his fortune.

The Four Great Lotus Platforms happened to be the finest spiritual treasures for suppressing fortune, without equal.

Zhunti and Jie Yin also looked longingly at Laozi, hoping to hear the word "yes" from his mouth.

There was no helping it. Their perfectly good lotus platform had been swindled away.

And they had no ability to reclaim it.

Previously, they had possessed the ability but lacked the courage to demand it back.

Now, they had neither the ability nor the courage.

Naturally, they coveted the Karma Fire Red Lotus immensely as well.

"There is no way at all." Laozi shook his head. He truly could not understand why the Heavenly Dao would do this.

Wasn't this plainly telling all living beings that it was meant for the Demon Clan?

Qing Xuanzi gave a wry smile and asked Laozi, "Senior Brother, do you know why the Karma Fire Red Lotus is covered in the Demon Clan's karmic ties?"

"Alas, the Heavenly Dao is ever-changing."

After saying that, Laozi fell silent. A vague suspicion arose in his heart. Could this Karma Fire Red Lotus be an arrangement for the conflict between the witches and demons?

If that were truly the case, it was best not to get involved.

In the primordial world, no one who became entangled in a tribulation of calamity ever met a good end.

Qing Xuanzi naturally knew why. By asking that question, he was clearly trying to give the Sages a warning.

He wanted them to understand that the so-called war between witches and demons was fucking controlled by the Heavenly Dao.

Before the Sages reached a conclusion, neither the witches nor demons would make a move.

Even if they did, it would be a waste of effort.

Qing Xuanzi glanced at Nüwa, and she gave a slight shake of her head.

He then knew that Nüwa also did not wish to become entangled in such dense Demon Clan karmic ties.

That gave Qing Xuanzi quite a headache.

If he did nothing,

the final result would definitely be a direct war between the witches and demons.

He could even guess that, during the battle, the Karma Fire Red Lotus would suddenly acknowledge Dijun or Taiyi of the Demon Clan as its master.

There was no need to think about what followed: both sides would suffer grievous losses.

Then the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun would appear once more. After that, everyone would go their separate ways, return home to silently lick their wounds, and await the next war.

Perhaps they would even use this as an excuse to scheme against Houtu again.

Qing Xuanzi believed that, given the Heavenly Dao's current shamelessness, it was absolutely capable of such a thing.

Qing Xuanzi's CPU was nearly burning out, yet he still could not think of a single solution.

He was so anxious that he practically wanted to go up and seize it himself.

The last sliver of reason in him stopped him.

He sighed inwardly. What a pity. If only there were one of our own within the Demon Clan. Why hadn't I thought of that before?

One of their own.

A flash of inspiration crossed Qing Xuanzi's mind, and a name surfaced in his thoughts: Fuxi.

Fuxi was not one of their own now, but he was the Heaven-appointed future Heavenly Emperor of the human race.

With a little planning, it could still work.

Especially since Nüwa and Fuxi were siblings. As long as the Karma Fire Red Lotus fell into Fuxi's hands,

he could use Nüwa as an intermediary to place certain measures upon the Karma Fire Red Lotus.

In the future, even if the Heavenly Dao became shameless enough to try reclaiming it, it likely would not be able to.

Though his methods were limited by the realm of a Mixed Origin Great Luo Golden Immortal, the Heavenly Dao would have no way to unravel them anytime soon.

As long as they had this period of respite,

once Fuxi was reborn, the Karma Fire Red Lotus would naturally return to his side.

Surely the Heavenly Dao could not be shameless enough to directly snatch a cultivator's spiritual treasure.

By then, the human race would gain another top-tier innate spiritual treasure. Heh, that would be incredible.

Having made up his mind, Qing Xuanzi secretly sent Nüwa a voice transmission containing only two words: "Fuxi."

Nüwa was initially stunned, then nodded faintly.

Seeing her agreement, Qing Xuanzi immediately transmitted his voice to Dijiang. "Brother Dijiang, I already have an idea about the Karma Fire Red Lotus. Tell the brothers not to interfere and withdraw to the Ancestral Witch Land."

Dijiang had known Qing Xuanzi for over a hundred thousand years and trusted this human brother deeply.

He immediately waved his hand. "Brothers, let's go. Let those feathered bastards have it."

With a whoosh, the ancestral witches sang loudly, "Raise the great blades against those feathered bastards..."

They returned to where they had come from.

Before the Demon Clan could regain their senses, Qing Xuanzi coughed and said, "Fellow Sages, it seems this treasure is not fated for us. How about I make a suggestion?"

Laozi smiled faintly. Knowing that Qing Xuanzi, who never left empty-handed, had an idea, he said, "Let's hear it."

As the senior brother had spoken, everyone pricked up their ears, eager to hear Qing Xuanzi's brilliant insight.

Qing Xuanzi cleared his throat. "This treasure is indeed fine, but regrettably, none but the Demon Clan can take it. Everyone agrees with that, yes?"

"Stop rambling. State your idea. Anyone who isn't blind can see that much." Zhunti was clearly still wary of Qing Xuanzi's schemes.

He had truly become afraid of Qing Xuanzi.

Ever since Qing Xuanzi had entered the world, he had always been the one scheming against others and had never suffered a loss at anyone else's hands.

"Heh heh, Saint Zhunti, don't rush. I'll explain now."

"Since that is the case, why don't we simply hand this treasure over to the Demon Clan? It would also show how impartial and selfless we are, wouldn't it?"

"You make it sound nice enough. There are so many in the Demon Clan. Who do you intend to give it to?" Jie Yin was displeased. If Qing Xuanzi randomly selected some minor demon, wouldn't that leave room for manipulation?

"Naturally, we cannot choose at random. The Demon Clan has Demon Emperor Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Emperor Fuxi, yes? How about giving it to Dijun?"

Qing Xuanzi had finally reached the crux of the matter.

"No, I disagree." Zhunti immediately jumped out. So long as Qing Xuanzi supported it, opposing it could not be wrong.

Excellent. That was exactly what I was waiting for. Without your words, this would have been harder to arrange.

Qing Xuanzi had long expected that Zhunti would oppose him and had been waiting for precisely that.

He continued, "Then give it to Taiyi?"

"Hmph, Taiyi already has the Eastern Emperor Bell. That is enough." This time, Jie Yin spoke in opposition.

As for the Three Pure Ones, they had already seen through Qing Xuanzi's true intentions.

He was merely toying with those two fools.

Thus, they said nothing and quietly watched the show.

Nüwa needed no mention. Qing Xuanzi had already informed her, so she too watched with a smile.

Jie Yin and Zhunti each opposed one candidate, nearly enraging Dijun and Taiyi.

They felt utterly stifled. It was clearly a Demon Clan treasure, yet they had to listen to others decide how to distribute it.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Fine, distribute it if they must, but why oppose every suggestion again and again?

"Fine, then you choose." Qing Xuanzi shrugged.

Jie Yin and Zhunti froze. What was going on?

Their target was gone.

With no one left to oppose, they themselves had become the target.

Zhunti thought for a moment. "Then Fuxi."

There. Qing Xuanzi's intentions had been carried out perfectly.

Yet the Three Pure Ones had not even agreed.

A cold voice rang out. "No."

Qing Xuanzi inwardly cursed. This is bad. The Heavenly Dao has intervened.