"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
Beams of white light shot out of Bifang's demonic body, followed by a succession of explosions. Then, before the horrified eyes of countless beings across the Witch-Demon Battlefield, his body exploded completely with one final bang. Demonic blood rained from the sky. The scene was truly... how could the word "惨惨惨" alone do it justice!
"Bifang!" At the sight, Bai Ze could no longer restrain himself. He wanted to rush over, destroy that fat bear, and save Bifang.
Although Bifang's demonic body had been destroyed, fortunately, his primordial spirit remained. As long as Bai Ze rescued him and took him back to the Heavenly Court to recuperate, he would surely rebuild his body in time and remain a Great Immortal Demon God of the Demon Race.
Bai Ze's plan was sound, but...
"Whoosh!" A Sun-Shooting Arrow hurtled toward him, forcing him back.
"Demon Sage, your opponent right now is me. You'd best keep your nose out of everything else!" Hou Yi blocked Bai Ze's path and spoke coolly.
"You!" Hearing those familiar words, Bai Ze grew angry, but his well-honed self-restraint kept him from unleashing a torrent of curses on the spot.
Besides, though the Witch Race possessed powerful bodies, they had no specialized means of dealing with demon souls. That fat bear had immobilized Bifang with a law earlier, but their cultivation was comparable, and Bifang was even slightly stronger. By now, Bifang's primordial spirit should be almost free of that law's restraints. With the power of his primordial spirit, even if he still could not defeat the bear, escaping unscathed should surely be no-
"Bang!" Just as Bai Ze was thinking this, a deafening crash suddenly rang out. Gungun had actually conjured an enormous black cauldron out of thin air and set it on the clouds.
Then...
"Open!" Gungun put away his folding fan and raised his two thick bear arms. The cauldron's lid immediately flew up on its own. Then he danced before the cauldron, waving his limbs and hopping back and forth like a spirit medium performing a ritual, muttering nonstop. A few seconds later, a sight unfolded that nearly made Bai Ze's eyes fall out of his head.
"Hummm..." A pitch-black pillar of light shot out of the black cauldron, unleashing a tremendous suction force that drew Bifang... no, not just Bifang, but the primordial spirits of every fallen demon on the battlefield toward it.
"Th-this... how is this possible?!" Bai Ze exclaimed in shock, his face full of disbelief.
"Hahaha! Who would have thought Brother Gungun had a treasure cauldron like this! Excellent! Let's see how your Demon Race can keep relying on your primordial spirits to fear no death now! Warriors of the Witch Race, hear me! Kill them! Kill every last one of these demons!" Hou Yi was likewise startled by the sight of Gungun collecting demon souls in a frenzy with the Spirit-Washing Cauldron. Then he threw back his head and laughed, issuing his command to all the witches present.
"Yes! Kill!!!" Hearing Hou Yi's words, the witches snapped out of their daze, each becoming extraordinarily excited. At once, they fought the demons even more fiercely.
On the Demon Race's side, they had originally relied on their primordial spirits, which effectively gave them one more life than the Witch Race. As long as they were careful not to let resentful qi erode their minds, this battle honestly had not put them under much pressure. But damn it, could someone tell them what was going on with that Iron-Eating Beast? Where had he gotten that cauldron? It could actually collect demon souls?!
Well, what would happen after they were sucked inside? Would they suffer endless torment, or... have their souls scattered into nothingness outright?
At that thought, the demon forces' morale gradually wilted.
Bai Ze, who was locked in fierce combat with Hou Yi, noticed this and gritted his teeth. Gripping the Ten Thousand Beasts Scroll, he gave it a forceful flick, releasing countless Demon Beasts to pounce on Hou Yi. Then he shouted, "Heavenly forces, hear my command! Form ranks and deploy-"
"Boom!" Before Bai Ze could finish, a meteor suddenly streaked across the sky and landed on the battlefield. A burly man wielding the Black Iron Battle Axe appeared. The instant his feet touched the clouds, he raised his battle axe and swung it hard.
"Bang!" Vast swathes of demon soldiers and generals were instantly slain by the Axe Light unleashed by his swing, their primordial spirits drifting toward the Spirit-Washing Cauldron before Gungun.
"Xingtian!" Seeing the newcomer, Bai Ze's pupils contracted, and a trace of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
One-on-one, he had no fear of Xingtian, but...
He looked at Hou Yi, who was pursuing him relentlessly and preparing to shoot another arrow, then looked at Xingtian. Could he admit that he could not fight two at once?
Moreover, the troops he had brought this time were all his personal soldiers, not the Six Heavens Guards. They could not deploy formations like the Lesser Stellar Formation. Even with him directing it, any formation they deployed could at most defeat one Quasi-Saint and several Great Immortals. Against another Quasi-Saint, it would be utterly useless!
If they fought to the death, they would still have a thirty to forty percent chance of victory, but... could he fight Hou Yi and Xingtian to the death here?
With that thought, Bai Ze quickly made his decision.
"Forget it. The years ahead are long, Great Shaman. We'll settle who is stronger another day!" Bai Ze retreated rapidly, putting away the Ten Thousand Beasts Scroll as he spoke to Hou Yi before him.
Then he raised his hand and ordered the remaining demon forces, "Retreat!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." At once, war drums signaling retreat sounded from the rear of the demon forces.
The Heavenly Court, the Jade Pool!
"Bang!" Dijun slammed his palm onto the white jade table beside him and rose from the seat of honor. His brows furrowed, his face filled with stern authority, and an oppressive atmosphere settled over the Jade Pool's immortal realm.
"Elder Brother, that Iron-Eating Beast is Houtu's battle pet, and the first Iron-Eating Beast born of heaven and earth. I dealt with him a hundred years ago. His cultivation is considerable, his foundation deep, and merit is faintly visible around him. He is blessed with great fortune," Taiyi said, turning to Dijun.
"Great fortune? Indeed. Even the supreme-grade innate spirit treasure, the Spirit-Washing Cauldron, is in his hands. How could he not possess great fortune? That Iron-Eating Beast, Houtu... hmph!" As he spoke, Dijun closed his eyes and gave a cold snort.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, sat down again, and said to Taiyi, "Bifang is gone. Go select another Great Immortal to serve as a Demon God, and teach him how to assemble the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation."
"All right." Taiyi nodded.
"Furthermore, this battle has made it clear that the Houtu Tribe is stronger than it was back then. Who knows where Xingtian obtained another divine weapon? He cannot be underestimated. Our Demon Race needs fresh blood. Only then can we be assured of defeating the Witch Race when the final battle comes," Dijun continued.
Hearing this, Taiyi could not help reminding him, "Elder Brother, A Yue is already my Dharma Protector. He is a Quasi-Saint who has severed two corpses and can be of great use. Moreover, I have already found a way to help him reclaim authority over the Dragon Race. Though he only controls the East Sea for now, before long, I will certainly bring the entire Dragon Race into our Demon Race."
"Mm." Dijun nodded and said to his younger brother, "You have handled this well. However, the Dragon Race alone is not enough."
"What do you mean, Elder Brother?"
"During the Dragon-Han Catastrophe, the Dragon Race ruled the scaled creatures, while the Phoenix Race reigned supreme over the birds. If our Demon Race gains the Phoenix Race's aid, we will have greater confidence in dealing with the Witch Race in the future. Not only that, the Heavenly Court's prestige will rise tremendously!" Dijun answered Taiyi.
"The Phoenix Race? Elder Brother, do you mean... the Nine Heavens Kunpeng?"
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