The Demon Race Shall Eternally Guard the Starry Sky, Watching and Aiding the Witch Clan

Inside Pangu Hall.

Dijun and Taiyi sat cross-legged, looking at Houtu with traces of confusion in their eyes.

The victor became king and the loser became bandit. From the moment the All-Heaven Star Formation shattered, he had prepared himself for death. The Witch and Demon Clans had stood opposed for countless years; even in his dreams, he wanted to kill the Twelve Ancestral Witches. He thought those Wu Man brutes must have hated him so deeply they wished to devour his flesh and drink his blood.

Reality was much as he had expected. Zhurong, Gonggong, and the others had even been arranging what to do with his limbs.

Yet Houtu had chosen to spare their lives.

"The victor becomes king and the loser becomes bandit, but the victor may not necessarily become king. I saved you today because someone once told me that in struggles for supremacy, there are never eternal victors—only losers!"

A trace of reminiscence appeared on Houtu's face.

"No victors, only losers?"

Dijun murmured to himself, falling into thought.

"When the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans fought for supremacy, the greatest winner was Hongjun. It seems that our Witch Clan won the struggle between Witches and Demons, but if you had not acted first, if Human Dao had not been informed and the clan war had not begun, do you truly think there would have been a victor between us?"

"Heh, ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. I, Dijun, always believed myself possessed of grand strategy and far-reaching vision, yet I remained stuck at the most basic level all along. How tragic. How lamentable!"

Dijun suddenly laughed, his expression complicated and filled with sighs.

"I concede. This time, I am convinced from the bottom of my heart."

Dijun then let out a long sigh. He was no fool; on the contrary, he was exceptionally clever. Otherwise, he would never have led the Demon Race into the ranks of overlords, nor would they have later traded blows with the Witch Clan directly.

The moment Houtu spoke those words, he understood the key to it all.

The dim gold in Dijun's eyes rekindled with a trace of brilliance. He looked at Houtu solemnly.

"Tell me. What do you intend for my brother and me to do?"

"Lead the Demon Race in guarding the boundless starry sky. If my Witch Clan faces hardship in the future, you must advance and retreat alongside us."

After some thought, Houtu laid out the plan that would squeeze Dijun as thoroughly as she could manage at present.

"No problem."

Dijun nodded without the slightest hesitation. Under Human Dao's judgment, their Demon Race had already lost.

Being granted the starry sky as their territory was not bad now.

At the very least, it was not barren, desolate land.

Moreover, the starry sky was vast enough to accommodate the entire Demon Race, and they could draw upon starlight to increase their cultivation speed.

A trace of hesitation appeared on Dijun's face. "Um... I have one more request. I do not know whether I should say it."

"Speak."

"The Demon Race is scattered to the four winds now. I need time to gather them together again."

"I prepared for that long ago." With a wave of Houtu's hand, several figures appeared inside Pangu Hall.

They were the Ten Great Demon Saints.

Seeing that his core followers had come to no harm, Dijun looked at Houtu with an added trace of gratitude.

"Thank you."

"Your Majesty! Eastern Emperor!"

Merchant Sheep and the others were equally excited to see Dijun and Taiyi.

"You may leave now."

Houtu lifted the restrictions around Pangu Hall.

Taiyi, who had remained silent beside Dijun all this while, suddenly spoke. "Are you not afraid that once my elder brother and I leave this place, we will turn our backs on our word?"

Houtu smiled faintly and asked in return, "Would you?"

"We would not."

Taiyi shook his head.

"Human Dao above, I, Taiyi, shall bury the hatchet with the Witch Clan and end all disputes. For all eternity, I shall not stand opposed to the Witch Clan. Should the Witch Clan face hardship, I shall render aid with all my strength. Should I violate this oath, may heart demons descend upon me. Let Human Dao bear witness!"

"Human Dao above, I, Dijun..."

"Human Dao above, I, Merchant Sheep..."

Dijun and the Ten Great Demon Saints voluntarily swore their oaths one after another.

"Farewell."

Dijun led Taiyi out of Pangu Hall, with the Ten Great Demon Saints following behind them.

"Dijun has left Pangu Hall?"

The instant Dijun, Taiyi, and the Ten Great Demon Saints stepped out of Pangu Hall, mighty figures from every side became aware of it.

Lu Chen returned to Kunlun Mountain with Tongtian. Tongtian entered seclusion once more, while Lu Chen summoned Duobao.

"Duobao, gather your fellow disciples."

"Alright, I'll go right away."

Duobao nodded, forming hand seals and sending voice transmissions to his junior brothers and sisters.

Before long, several dozen young men and women had gathered inside Lu Chen's cave abode.

The Three Holy Mothers, the Three Xiao Sisters, Zhao Gongming, and the Seven Attendant Immortals were all there. Even without Dingguang Xian, Tongtian had still chosen seven attendants.

There were also the Four Saints of Kowloon Island, as well as several junior disciples with particularly outstanding cultivation or exceptional diligence.

"Your senior brother has a small gift for you."

With a wave of Lu Chen's hand, several dozen gourds appeared, floating before each person.

"Senior Brother, this is?"

Jin Ling looked at Lu Chen with confusion on her face.

"This is Spirit Liquid. It will greatly benefit your cultivation. Accept it and cultivate diligently. Do not waste your senior brother's painstaking good intentions."

Sensing the aura emanating from every gourd, Duobao instantly understood what they contained and spoke with a smile.

He was extremely familiar with Spirit Liquid. If he had not wanted to comprehend the laws before entering the Great Luo realm, then charge at a higher grade of Three Flowers, he would have asked Lu Chen for Spirit Liquid long ago and used immense mana to force his way through the realm.

Lu Chen shot Duobao an annoyed glare. "Do not just lecture your junior brothers and sisters. You should put more effort into your own cultivation as well. How long has it been, and you still have not entered the Great Luo realm?"

"Hehe. Elder Brother, you were born with laws accompanying you, so entering the Great Luo realm is naturally as easy as drinking water for you. I do not have that. I can only start from nothing and comprehend them bit by bit. Naturally, that makes it slower."

Duobao chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head.

Jin Ling and the others held the gourds in their hands, their faces filled with delight.

When they heard that Lu Chen had been born with laws accompanying him, and that entering the Great Luo realm was as simple as drinking water, they were not surprised at all. They had long heard from Duobao of all their senior brother's deeds, including Lu Chen's innate origins.

"Go enter seclusion in Sword Cave. Do not come out until you have comprehended the laws."

Seeing Duobao's foolish expression, Lu Chen let out a helpless sigh.

Sword Cave was filled with countless sword marks left behind by Tongtian. Every mark had been created when Tongtian gained new insight into the Sword Dao and swung his sword. The sword intent had gathered there for ages without dispersing.

"Sword Cave... I understand, Elder Brother."

Duobao's face immediately fell at those words, but he still nodded in agreement.

It was not as though he had never gone to Sword Cave before. But the moment he entered, he felt as though countless sharp swords were slicing at his skin, the stabbing pain unbearable. After going there once, he had never returned.

He was somewhat afraid of pain.

But now that his elder brother had spoken, there was no escaping it. He could only strive to comprehend the laws as soon as possible.

"Nothing has happened on Kunlun Mountain recently, has it?"

Lu Chen asked casually.

"No. Ever since Senior Brother led a few of us to seize our cave abodes back that time, the people of the Chan Sect have been very well-behaved. But one thing did happen."

"What was it?"

"Ran Deng left Kunlun Mountain and returned to his former cave abode, Cosmos Cave."

"Second Brother, what brings you here?"

"Third Brother, have your disciples give up some of their cave abodes."

"Ah!"