Just then, a fiery-red figure wreathed in scarlet flames appeared before Jumang and raised a fist to strike the Three Treasures Ruyi.
Boom!
Terrifying power erupted, sending the newcomer flying backward in an instant, but the fiery-red figure had also neutralized the Three Treasures Ruyi's lethal strike.
Seizing the opportunity, Jumang blazed with Yi Wood Divine Light, broke free of Yuanshi's restraints, and spread his wings, appearing high in the heavens once more.
"Yuanshi, you little brat! Luckily, your grandpa here was blessed with a tough life, or I really would have fallen into your trap this time."
As Jumang recalled that strike, a wave of lingering fear swept through his heart.
"Second brother, why waste words on him? Let's attack together!"
Just then, fire flashed beside Jumang, and the figure that had been blasted away appeared at his side.
It was Zhurong, the Fire Ancestral Witch.
Zhurong was belligerent by nature. While he had watched the battle from afar, Dijiang had held him back from joining in. Now that Jumang was in danger, Dijiang naturally no longer restrained him.
"Get lost! I haven't had my fill of fighting yet! If you want a fight, find someone else. Don't steal the dish off my plate!"
Goumang cursed outright. Yuanshi had nearly killed him with that underhanded move, and he was still thinking about how to get revenge.
Naturally, he was unhappy about Zhurong stepping in.
"Then you fight first. I'll go after you're done!"
Zhurong did not dare trouble Laozi or Tongtian, or Dijiang would surely slap him to death.
The moment he attacked Laozi or Tongtian, all of Dijiang's planning would go completely to waste.
Even if the Twelve Ancestral Witches later beat the Three Pure Ones into the dirt, they would still give others grounds to accuse them of provoking the fight first.
"You two!"
Seeing Jumang and Zhurong treating him like a practice partner, Yuanshi was so furious that his heart and liver nearly exploded.
"A bunch of overbearing brutes without a shred of manners! I, Yuanshi, cannot be bothered to argue with you any further!"
Yuanshi swept his sleeve and returned straight to Mount Kunlun.
Goumang alone had tormented him for ages. With Zhurong joining in, if he kept fighting, he really would become the Twelve Ancestral Witches' sparring partner.
"What's wrong with that old Yuanshi? Why did he suddenly stop fighting?"
Zhurong stared blankly at the mountain-protecting formation rising around Mount Kunlun.
He, Zhurong, had not even fought yet!
And it was already over???
"Eldest brother, what do we do if Yuanshi won't come out? If he stays inside, Laozi and Tongtian are even less likely to come out!"
Seeing their plan to beat up the Three Pure Ones fall through, Gonggong was unhappy!
"Eldest brother, are we just going to leave like this?"
"If we don't teach the Three Pure Ones a lesson this time, I, Qiangliang, won't be satisfied!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
The Ancestral Witches spoke one after another, their clamor making Dijiang's head buzz.
"All of you, shut up!" Dijiang roared, then said, "So the Three Pure Ones won't come out? Fine. Have Jumang's and Zhurong's tribes move to the foot of Mount Kunlun. Let's see whether they come out then!"
"Good! I'll arrange it right away!"
Gonggong brightened at those words and secretly gave Dijiang a thumbs-up in his heart.
As the Witch Clan's population grew day by day, the demons around Mount Buzhou could no longer satisfy their appetite.
Moving Jumang's and Zhurong's tribes to Mount Kunlun would both resolve the Witch Clan's food shortage and provide opportunities to force the Three Pure Ones to come out of their own accord and make trouble for the Witch Clan.
With the Three Pure Ones' pride, how could they possibly let the Witch Clan eat, drink, shit, and piss right under their noses?
"What's going on between the Three Pure Ones and the Twelve Ancestral Witches?"
Watching the members of Jumang's and Zhurong's tribes enthusiastically building their settlements outside Mount Kunlun, the mighty figures of the Primordial World were all bewildered.
They could not understand why the Witch Clan, already fighting the Demon Race in full swing, had suddenly locked horns with the Three Pure Ones too!
"Alas."
In the Purple Heavens Palace, Hongjun sighed softly, his brows tightly knitted and his voice filled with endless helplessness.
In the War of the Liches, the Demon Race had no ruler and was a heap of loose sand, unable to pose a threat to the Witch Clan.
Without the Demon Race threatening them, the Twelve Ancestral Witches naturally went around stirring up trouble.
If this continued, what would become of the Primordial World?
At that thought, Hongjun's aged face nearly wrinkled into a bitter melon.
No, the Demon Race must have a ruler!
"These Twelve Ancestral Witches are rather amusing. The Three Pure Ones wouldn't come out, so they actually went and blockaded their cultivation grounds."
Outside the Sun God Palace, Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi watched the events outside Mount Kunlun with excitement on their faces.
"Yuanshi deserves it. Why should the Three Pure Ones call themselves Pangu's orthodox heirs just because they were formed from his primordial spirit? Our sun was formed from Pangu's right eye, so aren't we Pangu's orthodox heirs too?"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi smacked his lips, looking thoroughly unconvinced.
After three thousand years in seclusion, both he and Dijun had made gains. They had now broken through to the Middle Great Luo Golden Immortal stage, and each had refined several more layers of the innate restrictions within the Eastern Emperor Bell and the River Chart and Luo Writing.
"Exactly. If you really count it up, every living being in the Primordial World was formed from the great god Pangu. Why should they alone be his orthodox heirs?"
At the mention of Pangu's orthodox heirs, Dijun also looked thoroughly unconvinced.
"Time to go, time to go. The show's over."
Daochen clapped his hands listlessly.
He had thought the Twelve Ancestral Witches would clash with the Three Pure Ones, but in the end, Yuanshi had actually stopped fighting.
He watched Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi return to their palace and set up the Time Compass where the two would cultivate in seclusion.
Daochen merely smiled.
Because of his appearance, the Primordial World's original course had already changed.
No one knew how those changes would unfold in the end.
Nor did anyone know how Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao would respond.
Before that happened, he had to seize every opportunity to strengthen himself.
Only sufficient strength could serve as the foundation for changing everything.
Once Daochen understood that crucial point, he turned his gaze toward Mount Kunlun, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches truly acted the moment they spoke, recklessly charging ahead.
Using their great divine powers, they had moved Zhurong's and Jumang's two tribes straight from Mount Buzhou to Mount Kunlun.
Mount Kunlun was now bustling as never before.
Members of the Witch Clan busily built their settlements outside Mount Kunlun. Even Jumang and Zhurong lent a hand from time to time, shearing through mountains and cutting off rivers to reshape the tribal settlements.
"Eldest brother, what are we to do if this continues?"
Inside Mount Kunlun, Yuanshi watched the busy figures of the Witch Clan, so furious that his liver nearly burst.
During this period, not only they themselves but even his disciples had been provoked by the Witch Clan whenever they went down the mountain.
Every other word out of their mouths was that this was Witch Clan territory and outsiders were forbidden from entering.
Had he not held them back, his disciples would probably have clashed with the Witch Clan long ago.
"Eldest brother, the Twelve Ancestral Witches are showing utter disregard for us Three Pure Ones! If you don't come up with a solution, I, Tongtian, will make them pay!"
Yuanshi had it easier, since none of his disciples belonged to the Demon Race.
Tongtian was different. His disciples were mostly mountain spirits and ghostly beings, and several times they had nearly been captured by the Witch Clan and hacked into pieces.
Tongtian truly feared that if the Witch Clan were allowed to remain at Mount Kunlun, those big-bellied fellows might eventually eat every last one of his disciples.
That would be a tremendous loss of face.
"My two worthy younger brothers, we must consider this carefully and not act rashly. The Twelve Ancestral Witches are doing this precisely to force the three of us out. If we truly go out and fight them, even if we defeat those brutes, the people of the Primordial World will likely mock us Three Pure Ones for stooping to quarrel with them. That would put us on the lower path."
Laozi shook his head as he spoke.
"But if this continues, everyone in the Primordial World may think we Three Pure Ones are afraid of the Twelve Ancestral Witches."
Yuanshi looked indignant.
Before you continue