The Demon Clan Still Had to Die Once

"Stop!" Qing Xuanzi arrived in time and halted the impending battle between the Witch Race and Demon Clan.

"Brother Qing Xuanzi, that mangy bird took Sister Xuan Ming!"

"Bullshit! It was clearly you who captured my youngest nephew!"

The moment Houtu finished speaking, Taiyi lost his temper and immediately started cursing.

"Enough." Seeing that the two sides were about to continue their verbal sparring, Qing Xuanzi shouted and stopped them.

Qing Xuanzi had already divined what had happened the moment Houtu spoke.

"Senior Sister Nüwa, keep an eye on them. Don't let them start fighting again. I'll be right back."

After saying this to Nüwa beside him, Qing Xuanzi vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already at Mount Sumeru.

"Jie Yin, Zhunti, come out. Stop hiding." Qing Xuanzi was not angry.

He knew the two of them did not have the nerve to cause trouble, much less provoke both the Witch Race and Demon Clan at once.

There was only one possibility: the Heavenly Dao had instructed them to do so, and had likely offered them something in return, such as restoring their status as Saints.

"Junior Brother Qing Xuanzi, we had our reasons." Jie Yin and Zhunti appeared, and Zhunti said with a bitter expression.

"Bring the two of them out. Don't make me do it myself."

"Y-yes, yes, we'll hand them over right away." What a joke. Even if they had ten times the courage, they would not dare refuse.

Back when they were Saints, they could still swagger around and say a few arrogant words. This time, showing off would only get them killed.

Before long, Xuan Ming and Little Tenth Golden Crow walked out.

"Qing Xuanzi, you have to kill those two! They dared capture me!" The moment Xuan Ming saw Qing Xuanzi, she spoke with murderous fury on her pretty face.

Her killing intent was practically tangible, terrifying Zhunti and Jie Yin badly.

Fortunately, Qing Xuanzi had no intention of killing the two of them, allowing them to relax slightly.

Just then, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky, but before long, the heavens became clear again.

Qing Xuanzi knew that Hongjun had likely stopped the Heavenly Dao's actions.

"Let's go, Sister Xuan Ming. I'll explain it to you afterward."

"It's Sister, not little sister. You're only a few tens of thousands of years old. How dare you call me little sister? I'm not that little fool Houtu, calling everyone big brother."

"Fine, fine, Sister Xuan Ming. Can we go now?"

"Hmph, that's more like it."

Qing Xuanzi felt that he was simply incompatible with goddesses. Why was every one of them so difficult to deal with? Houtu was still easier to fool.

With Xuan Ming and Little Tenth Golden Crow, he returned to the place where the Witch Race and Demon Clan had clashed.

"Ah, Sister Xuan Ming, that mangy bird didn't bully you, did he?"

"I'm fine. Zhunti and Jie Yin were the ones who captured me."

Now both the Witch Race and Demon Clan understood what had happened, and they immediately howled about flattening Mount Sumeru.

They had not dared say such things before. Even when they were bullied, they could only swallow it, because their opponents had been Saints.

But things were different now. They were merely at the Quasi-Saint Peak; they could simply crush them head-on.

"Stop! Are none of you using your brains? Didn't I tell you? The higher-ups were not to take action.

The higher-ups were not to take action, yet here you are, treating my words like the wind in your ears. Fine, then keep going.

Don't come looking for me when you die."

Qing Xuanzi was somewhat annoyed. Why were they so easily provoked? A little provocation, and they exploded. A little provocation, and they exploded.

"It's because we couldn't contact you," Houtu muttered softly.

"Fine, fine. This time, I'll admit it was my fault for disappearing. Satisfied? Go back first. I'll come find you after I deal with the Demon Clan's affairs."

Qing Xuanzi did not pursue the matter further and told the ancestral witches to return and wait.

He intended to deal with the Demon Clan first. After all, they had to die once before anything else.

After arriving at the Demon Court, Qing Xuanzi glanced at Nüwa, who slightly turned her head away.

Qing Xuanzi sighed. He still had to be the one to say it.

"Dijun, leave Taiyi, Fuxi, and the Ten Great Demon Saints behind. Have all the other demons withdraw."

Dijun did as instructed and kept the Ten Great Demon Saints behind.

Qing Xuanzi looked them over. Bai Ze, as the foremost of the Ten Great Demon Saints, ranked only below Taiyi and Fuxi.

The rest, in order, were Ying Zhao, Fei Dan, Jiu Ying, Shang Yang, Ji Meng, Qin Yuan, Ci Tie, Gui Che, and Fei Lian.

"Now that all Demon Clan members at the Quasi-Saint level are here, I'll speak plainly: the Demon Clan still has to die once."

Dijun, Taiyi, and Fuxi, seated at the head, all went pale.

Dijun looked as though all strength had been drained from him, collapsing limply into his seat.

"I refuse to accept this." Gui Che and Jiu Ying spoke.

These two had the most violent tempers among the Demon Saints. Upon hearing that their long-endured fate would still be the same, they immediately rebelled.

"Shut up!" Nüwa shouted, jolting the minds of the two men and drawing a trace of blood from the corners of their mouths.

Qing Xuanzi sighed. He knew Nüwa's intention: she feared that these demons would anger him.

Thus, she had punished them first.

Among the Demon Clan members present, only one remained utterly unmoved. That demon was Bai Ze, known as the pinnacle of Demon Clan intelligence.

"May I ask, Saint Qing Xuanzi, do we only need to die once?"

"Yes. Do you have another question?"

"This little demon has no more questions."

Dijun looked at Bai Ze and Qing Xuanzi's exchange in confusion, his eyes full of doubt.

Had Bai Ze gone muddle-headed too? Why ask whether dying once was enough? Could he possibly die twice?

Qing Xuanzi already knew that Bai Ze had likely understood the general idea. The difference was that he did not yet know the specific plan.

"If there is anything you do not understand, ask Bai Ze. If not for him,

the Demon Clan would probably be no different from the Witch Race. I will not explain the specific plan in detail.

All I can guarantee is that after you die once, not only will your cultivation not decline; instead,

it may even improve. Does anyone else have any objections?"

Fuxi was the first to understand. He heard the hidden meaning in Qing Xuanzi's words: die once, then improve.

That alone explained a great deal. If anyone else had said something so contrary to common sense, he would never have believed it.

But Qing Xuanzi had said it—the first living being in the primordial world to attain the Mixed Origin Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Fuxi believed him. Moreover, he had not seen any sign of alarm in his little sister's eyes.

Something was extremely unusual. The Dao Ancestor and the Saints had most likely arranged this long ago.

And he believed that all of it was Qing Xuanzi's doing. Otherwise, Qing Xuanzi would not have come to the Demon Clan.

"Saint Qing Xuanzi, I, Fuxi, thank you on behalf of the Demon Clan for your great kindness."

"Don't. Fellow Daoist Fuxi, you have shown kindness to the human race, so we may address each other as fellow Daoists."

Qing Xuanzi did not want to see Nüwa's expression. The moment Fuxi spoke, Nüwa seemed somewhat displeased.

If Qing Xuanzi did not take the initiative, this would probably become another muddled debt.

"Taiyi, I originally promised that the Eastern Emperor Bell would be returned to you after one hundred thousand years. However,

I have now given the Eastern Emperor Bell to Tongtian. To compensate for your loss,

I specifically obtained two top-grade innate spiritual treasures for you, one for offense and one for defense."

After speaking, Qing Xuanzi directly took out the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag and the Twenty-Four Sea Stabilizing Divine Pearls, handing them to Taiyi.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi was still pleasantly surprised. He had never held much hope for Qing Xuanzi's promise

to return it after one hundred thousand years.

He had assumed it was merely an excuse.

After learning again that the Demon Clan would face extermination in the future, he had simply stopped bringing it up.

He had only hoped that Qing Xuanzi would help the Demon Clan for the sake of the treasure, allowing the Demon Clan to survive the crisis.

He had not expected such a benefit, and hurriedly said, "Many thanks, Saint Qing Xuanzi."

"Report! The scouts report that Nether River and another person are intercepting and killing Hong Yun." A Demon Clan report came from outside the hall.