"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fuxi. It's been three thousand years. How have you been?"
Daochen greeted Fuxi with a smile.
As for Nüwa, be as haughty as you like. What the hell does that have to do with me?
"You!"
Seeing Daochen greet only her elder brother Fuxi, Nüwa stomped her feet in fury.
For some reason, ever since their last visit to the Purple Heavens Palace, Nüwa had felt an urge to squeeze Daochen to death whenever she thought of him.
Especially when Daochen ignored her and greeted her elder brother Fuxi instead.
That urge to squeeze Daochen to death grew stronger and stronger!
Yet proud as she was, she still wore a haughty expression.
"You must find us laughable, Daoist Brother. My sister and I are trapped on Mount Buzhou. Our lives can hardly compare to your carefree days in the Sun God Palace."
Fuxi shook his head with a bitter smile.
Over the years, the Witch Clan's strength had grown rapidly, and the great demons around Mount Buzhou had nearly all been slaughtered. If the Twelve Ancestral Witches had not refrained from wholesale slaughter on Mount Buzhou out of respect for its origins as Pangu's spine, things would have been different.
Even the siblings would have known no peace.
"Why do you say that, Daoist Brother? With your strength and your sister's, surely you can roam freely beneath the vast heavens and across the boundless earth."
Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi frowned slightly at these words.
They did not understand. With Nüwa being a Sage's disciple, would the Twelve Ancestral Witches really dare make trouble for her?
Sorry, but the Twelve Ancestral Witches really did!
In the eyes of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, everyone except Pangu was trash!
The other mighty figures of the Primordial World feared Hongjun, but the Twelve Ancestral Witches truly did not. At worst, they could hide in Pangu Hall. Would Hongjun really have the nerve to attack Pangu Hall?
"You may not know this, Fellow Daoist, but the Twelve Ancestral Witches regard Mount Buzhou as the Witch Clan's ancestral land. They hunt down and slaughter every member of the Demon Race around it. As for those of us living on the mountain itself, they turn a blind eye, but coming and going as we please is impossible."
Fuxi spoke with a sigh.
"Three thousand years ago, we only managed to attend the Dao Ancestor's sermon at the Purple Heavens Palace by slipping out while the Twelve Ancestral Witches were in seclusion."
The more Fuxi spoke, the tighter his brow furrowed and the gloomier his expression became.
An unshakable sorrow seemed to linger between his brows.
"The Witch Clan is far too overbearing! Acting like this, what regard do they have for the countless living beings of our Primordial World?"
Anger flashed through Eastern Emperor Taiyi's eyes at these words.
Unlike Dijun, he had spent most of the past three thousand years in seclusion and paid little attention to the Demon Race's affairs.
Now that he heard how tyrannical the Twelve Ancestral Witches were, fury blazed within him. He wished he could charge down Mount Buzhou right then and battle them.
Uncontrollable anger also filled Dijun's eyes.
Ultimately, they both belonged to the Demon Race and naturally identified with their own kind.
Although they had not involved themselves in its affairs, Fuxi's words now made them feel its suffering as their own!
Keep acting. Go on, keep acting!
Daochen smacked his lips.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches might be tyrannical, but they aren't brainless. If you don't provoke them, they won't provoke you.
You, Fuxi and Nüwa, might not be the strongest among the Primordial World's greatest powers.
But each of you could take on an Ancestral Witch alone without much trouble.
And now the Twelve Ancestral Witches are already at odds with the Three Pure Ones.
They'd have to have shit for brains to go around making enemies everywhere.
Brother, didn't you meet the great demon Bai Ze just a few days ago? How have we suddenly become trapped on Mount Buzhou?
Nüwa now looked at Fuxi in complete bewilderment.
Fuxi had thought that after he painted such a pitiful picture, surely Daochen would feel too embarrassed to refuse him as he had last time!
But what nearly made Fuxi cough up a mouthful of blood was Daochen nodding thoughtfully and saying, "Your life does sound rather miserable, Daoist Brother. Still, it's all right. At worst, you can remain in seclusion on Mount Buzhou from now on. I believe that as long as you don't deliberately provoke the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they'll respect the fact that Mount Buzhou was formed from Pangu's spine and refrain from attacking you here."
"..."
"..."
Brother, are you really sure Daochen has the makings of an emperor?
You haven't gone astray in cultivating your art of divination, have you?
Nüwa looked at Fuxi, utterly dumbfounded.
She was now seriously questioning Fuxi's judgment!
Fuxi's face darkened as he stared at Daochen in disbelief.
He felt he had made himself clear enough. All that remained was to outright ask Daochen to leave his retreat and champion their Demon Race. After such an impassioned speech, surely Daochen could at least give him some reaction!
Even if he truly wanted no part in the Demon Race's affairs, he should at least have shown some indignation!
But what happened instead?
Daochen acted as though nothing had happened.
He wore the air of someone who would hang the matter high out of reach because it was none of his business.
Fuxi was so stunned that he even forgot the lines he had prepared next.
What else do you want me to do?
Daochen felt helpless under Fuxi's stare.
Believe it or not, if I agree today to leave my retreat and champion the Demon Race, Hongjun will send that little attendant Haotian tomorrow to hand me a certificate of merit.
An award for helping others!
Hongjun must be fretting right now over the Demon Race having no leader and being unable to pose a threat to the Witch Clan.
And now you want me to jump into that pit?
Isn't that plainly asking me to march to my death?
Do you think a tribulation is a joke?
How could Daochen fail to see what Fuxi was implying?
The trouble was, even though he understood, he could only pretend he did not.
Stirring up trouble without enough strength was truly like an old god of longevity swallowing arsenic-tired of living too long!
Daochen refused to step into the pit no matter what, leaving Fuxi helpless.
After all, Daochen's strength spoke for itself. If he refused to jump in, Fuxi could hardly carry him into it.
Before Daochen even fell into the pit, Fuxi might already have been beaten to death by him on Mount Buzhou.
Because of Daochen's attitude, they had not been together long before Nüwa left on the pretext of searching for fortuitous opportunities.
Fuxi wanted to leave too, but since Daochen had said nothing, he felt too embarrassed to simply go.
After all, he had been the one to approach Daochen. How could he have the nerve to leave before Daochen said anything?
In the end, Daochen also took Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi and parted ways with Fuxi.
Staying any longer would only waste time. The three brothers were better off enjoying themselves together.
"How strange. This shouldn't be happening. Just where did things go wrong?"
After Daochen and his two brothers left, Fuxi frowned and repeatedly performed divinations, not even sparing a thought for finding Nüwa.
Yet no matter how many calculations he made, he could not discover where the problem lay.
Unfortunately, he could never have dreamed that Daochen simply had no desire to wade into these muddy waters.
In the War of the Liches, whoever stirred up trouble would die!
Even if Daochen really stepped into the pit, he might not necessarily die.
But what would be the point?
The future's leading race beneath heaven and earth would ultimately be the Human Race.
No matter how strong the Demon Race became, if the Heavenly Dao disapproved, all its efforts would come to nothing.
Unless one could surpass the Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and attain the fruition of a Great Dao Sage, thereby becoming able to disregard the Heavenly Dao.
But given the present circumstances, that was clearly impossible in the short term.
Since that's the case, why should I, Daochen, jump into that pit?
Before you continue