Chapter 180: with translation of chapter title

Di Jun

Taiyi

Establishing the Heavenly Court headquarters there is indeed appropriate… but after Dao Ancestor Hongjun was asked to go into retirement, we need to heighten vigilance, beware that the Wu Clan might directly strike, piercing the vital core of our camp.

"We have seized the initiative to suppress the Wu Clan; naturally we must also have the resolve to pay the corresponding price." Taiyi is more open-minded, unafraid of challenges, "Moreover, this arrangement also gives us a good opportunity to conduct drills."

Donghuang's gaze is deep and unfathomable, "The Wu Clan are all soldiers; every individual is the finest of the race… this is very tricky."

"Those who could surpass them in excellence hardly exist, unless they are the direct offspring of the ancient god great sages. But… how many could there be?"

From the perspective of the Wu Clan as a whole, their talent has already reached its ceiling.

the Demon Race

"Besides that, the Demon Race's highest-tier group is formed by the will of heavenly intent immersing the essence of heaven and earth and the Great Dao, allowing the natural creation of heaven and earth to produce physiques resembling it, bearing the profound subtlety of the Great Luo Dao rhythm—acquired holy spirits… and they are only on par with the Wu Clan, about fifty-fifty."

"The Golden Crow clan, the Fuxi clan, the Nüwa clan, the Phoenix clan… they appear to be many varieties."

"But when it comes to numbers? Even all together they cannot match the Wu Clan."

Hongjun Dao Ancestor

East Emperor

Dragon Clan

Human Race

Phoenix Clan

"Under heaven, the only ones truly capable of matching the Wu Clan are still the Dragon Clan." Taiyi sighed, "They have accumulated the wisdom of an entire era, pioneering and perfecting a flawless evolutionary path—the Path of Dragon Transformation."

Wu Ancestors

"Too bad, that old dragon… the ancestor of the Dragon Clan, is on friendly terms with the Wu Clan."

Yao God

These twelve kill horse specials, several of them have dragons adorning their bodies.

Phoenix Lineage

Demon Ancestor

Demon Ancestor Luóhóu

Innate Immortal Light

Just recently they were worshipping the dragon as a totem, whatever dragon descendants, true dragon sons of heaven; but then they went on to edit the dragon-slaying technique, promoting dragon meat from heaven and donkey meat from earth…

The relationship between the two races keeps changing, apparently due to the needs of the background of the times, stemming from the contest and rivalry between the human king and the dragon emperor.

"The primordial dragon has investments in the Wu Clan… otherwise, pulling them over to our side would also be fine, no need to worry like we do now." Donghuang sighed.

"You're wrong about that." Di Jun chuckled, "If you really want to win over the Dragon Clan, don't even mention the primordial dragon not having invested in the Wu Clan."

Even now we could poach the Ancestral Dragon and lure him to defect, making the Dragon Race work for us.

But have you thought about it?

Once we harness the Dragon Race's potential, encouraging and steering the Demon Race's future development toward the Dragon Race's path—when most of the Demon Race's core fighting strength is rooted and substantively linked to the Dragon Race—just how dire would the consequences be?

At that time, the Ancestral Dragon could easily sideline the holy spirits of all races and honor only the true dragon—it wouldn't be impossible.

Some things, Di Jun did not say.

By then, the four demon sovereigns' authority would be no match for the Ancestral Dragon.

When all beings in heaven and earth submit to the dragon, the Ancestral Dragon's authority would swell without limit—even this 'emperor' Hongjun hasn't yet made him a retired emperor; what would we do with an Ancestral Dragon 'prime minister' holding great power?

How would everyone manage then?

Actually, this problem isn't that serious.

Di Jun said softly, 'If we truly fall into a disadvantageous situation, considering the sunk cost of our massive investment in the Demon Race and still being able to keep some benefits after giving a large portion to the Ancestral Dragon, this choice also allows for deliberation.'

It's a pity—who kept the Dragon Ancestor from laughing last in the previous era?

How many heavenly decrees have tampered with the Dragon Ancestor's foundations after he was singled out and killed by the Demon Ancestor and his innate immortal light suppressed?

As soon as these words were spoken, the demon gods with sharp hearing—about half of them—raised their heads to stare at the sky, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.

—This definitely wasn't said by them!

So that's it.

Di Jun paid no heed to the performance of his subordinate star gods, saying, 'To guard against future counterattacks and guard against... many people are wary of giving the Dragon Ancestor the hope to command the world.'

Secretly tripping them up will definitely happen.

Besides that, the phoenix lineage and the powerful beings tied to it would certainly kick up a fuss—it would be strange if they didn't.

Dragon.

Phoenix.

Old rivals.

In the previous era, the innate divinities all took sides, and under the rule of these two leaders they built a massive camp.

Unfortunately, in the end, the greatest victor was not these two.

All we can say is that fate toys with people.

The Demon Ancestor Rahu has accomplished too many great feats, sweeping across Honghuang and shattering many top experts...

Even though those experts eventually return thanks to their innate immortal light, for the employees who got rich by riding on their boss's downfall... it's quite awkward.

Joining the Demon Race as a core, the Dragon Race would face fierce resistance, driven by strong internal opposition. Di Jun told Taiyi, 'But if we don't make heavy use of the Dragon Race, the cost we pour into luring the Ancestral Dragon to defect would be wasted too much.'

That's too uneconomical.

There are things everyone knows are most beneficial to the overall situation.

But if it's based on cutting one's own flesh without getting anything in return, most people will decline.

Such is the situation.

Even though Di Jun is the topmost demon emperor, it's not good to impose his will on his subordinates.

He still lacks the strength to single-handedly slay all three thousand Golden Immortals as a heavenly sacrifice, so he must take it easy.

Otherwise, even relying on demon emperor authority, overcoming opposition to invite the Ancestral Dragon to join and granting him great power, that kind of great power which offers hope of ascending to the highest position…

In the blink of an eye, the undercurrents will surge and churn.

Everywhere there are rumors like "a fine bird chooses its tree to roost," and strange sayings such as "if a ruler regards his subjects as dirt, then the subjects regard the ruler as an enemy" are rampant.

Too many demon gods are slipping away secretly; perhaps even the personnel needs of the Heavenly Circuit Star Dipper Grand Formation cannot be met.

Di Jun only needs to picture that scene—his side finally gains a top-tier great divine ability user, but the Wu Clan opposite inexplicably bursts out with several hundred great witches who have had an epiphany and breakthrough under the ×× tree…

The whole divine capital is in trouble.

Even if one finds the demon-wu war not difficult enough, this isn't the way to raise the stakes!

"Actually, letting the Ancestral Dragon join our demon race and make use of the Dragon Clan..." Xihuang suddenly said, "there is still room for maneuver."

"After all, isn't it just fear that the Ancestral Dragon and the Dragon Clan will rely on each other?"

"The Dragon Clan has the Ancestral Dragon as its spokesperson, coalescing a fearsome centripetal force; the Ancestral Dragon relies on the Dragon Clan, grasping the demon race's right to speak."

"Only when there is mutual response from top to bottom and deep-rooted foundations does it become hard to handle."

"If after inviting the Ancestral Dragon to join we make a move—'use nine'?" He placed his hand on his neck and gestured twice, "That's 'auspicious'!"

Xihuang's voice was pressed very low, and he deliberately set up a spacetime-layer barrier so that only a few demon race experts could hear it.

"This way, we can fully exert the Dragon Clan's function, need not worry about being top-heavy, and can put the hearts of all the heavenly wills at ease... achieving multiple gains at once!"

"As long as the aftermath is handled properly."

"Saying that the Dragon Ancestor accidentally became brave... while fighting the Wu Clan."

Xihuang earnestly offered his plans.

But beside him, Di Jun was somewhat better.

Taiyi, Nüwa, however, each had more twisted expressions than the last, fully revealing the complexity of their emotions.

"Holy shit!"

"This is burning the bridge after crossing the river!"

"Is it really this ruthless?"

"Too terrifying!"

Like newcomers looking up to veterans, they regarded Xihuang with awe.

In the demon emperor's work, they lost.

This practiced pulling the ladder after climbing onto the roof, dismantling the mill and killing the donkey, truly grasps the essence of black, ruthless, and absolute leadership.

Under such methods, does merit overshadow the lord?

Don't worry.

No chance.

The demon race remains the demon race, still a joint rule of top clans, not a demon hide with dragon bones turned into the Dragon Clan's shape.

Nüwa clicked her tongue for a good while before hesitating to speak, "Won't this seem too sneaky?"

"Whether sneaky or not, usually only the final victor can judge." Xihuang spread his hands, "If you lose, even if you lived a life of openness and brightness, enemies can still splash dirty water on your grave."

"This is a consequence that the losing side must bear, making it difficult to step forward in terms of speaking rights."

Xihuang lectured his sister, then shifted tone, "Of course, I'm merely giving you a suggestion."

"After all, that old dragon is cunning."

"Having suffered a great loss under the Devil Ancestor, and learning of those well-fed, satisfied employees from the time when the dragons were leaderless... after enduring setbacks and taking society's blows, he also gained tremendous growth."

"Even if one again considers similar decapitation operations... the Ancestral Dragon will surely be on guard."

Xihuang lamented that as the era advances, the space for conspiracies grows ever smaller. Those who have eaten enough bitterness and haven't fallen behind, the experts, are becoming ever more cautious.

"People's hearts aren't ancient anymore!" Xihuang sighed, "Just think back to the ancient dragon and phoenix era—how gullible the innate divinities were... simple?"

"How unlike now, so treacherous... old and deeply scheming!"

"So giving the Ancestral Dragon a dismantle-the-mill-and-kill-the-dragon treatment is probably just a thought; putting it into practice is too difficult."

"But the Wu Clan side could seriously ponder this, using it to address the problem of uneven spoils after victory, finding a chance to let the Dragon Ancestor die violently—for example, by having a sudden brain spasm and crashing into a mountain, smashing himself to death..."

Nüwa listened with relish.

One doesn't know what she wants to do after hearing that.

"Since the Dragon Clan is hard to employ, your idea of using Not Zhou to train troops is also good." Xihuang turned to Donghuang, "There are always some demon elites, even if their bloodlines are poor and their clans lowly, yet they possess a supreme wise heart, combat insight, able to make up for cultivation deficiencies, enabling them to contend at the same level with top clan members such as the Wu Clan."

The world is so big, there are always some oddballs.

"Just, wanting to forge such a battle saint, letting them shine, the sacrifice won't be small... we must first prepare publicity to drive them."

"Under generous rewards, brave men will surely appear."

"With diligent publicity, whoever passes through this dangerous method, successfully reaches the pinnacle of demon life, changing their fate."

"Furthermore, we can soften the handling of the mortality rate..."

"By the way, we can also hone the command ability of our demon race's top clans, have the major clans undergo integration, possess a sense of cooperation... Taiyi Dao friend, if you could offer opinions on this, then having you host it would surely be excellent."

"That is what I wish for, but I dare not ask." Donghuang smiled, "I am not skilled in governance, but I enjoy military campaigns and conquest."

"That would be best." Xihuang nodded, "My younger sister oversees creation and manages logistics; I have some accomplishment in the Yi Dao, able to command the Heavenly Circuit Star Dipper Grand Formation; Di Jun Dao friend is the leader of all demons, all personnel orders come from him; now if another Dao friend takes charge of planning and integrating the major military districts... each fulfilling their duty, what worry is there that we cannot one day crush the Wu Clan?"

"Crush the Wu Clan, then invite the Dao Ancestor to dwell forever in the Purple Cloud Palace... from then on, Honghuang can be well governed!"

Xihuang envisioned a beautiful future for all the gods.

"Since that's the case, we'll arrange the procedure... after all, the demon race's formal establishment, the Heavenly Court going public, we can't be too hasty." Di Jun proposed, "Let's have the heavenly sacrifice and auspicious signs, all of them?"

"That works." All three demon emperors agreed, but Taiyi then raised his own doubt, "But we seem not to be professionals?"

"No problem, someone is professional." Xihuang said with an air of ease, "Specializing in collecting all kinds of gossip and trivia, part-time historical archaeology, knowing astronomy and geography above, knowing chicken feathers and garlic peel below... finding him is sure to be right."

"That guy… Báizé! Yes, it's you!" Fuxi shouted, calling over the Yao Marshal who had come to start cleaning the battlefield and directing the stars back to their places, "It's time for you to be useful."

"The ritual text for the Heavenly Court's completion, the three steps of the auspicious sacrifice… give me another one."

"No problem!" Báizé the Yao Marshal slapped his chest and agreed, very straightforward, not refusing at all to be the gunner.

Even so, after he rummaged a few times in his own sleeve, he immediately produced a thick dossier-like object and handed it forward.

"Well… everything you need is in here."

"Just follow it."

Xihuang took it with a twitching corner of his mouth, flipped through it once, and weakly complained, "You wrote the whole thing venerating Pangu, inheriting Pangu's spirit… your stance is wrong!"

"Oh." Báizé took it back, swept his brush, deleting "Pangu" and replacing it all with "Heavenly Dao", "Hongjun"…

"How about this time?"

"So-so." Fuxi glanced at it, nodded, and considered the article's approval passed.

"By the way, this auspicious sign… huh? Heaven-bestowed thirty-three days? The Yao Emperor sensed the Heavenly Will, coincidentally obtaining it through fate? Somewhat interesting."

"Well… you've settled atop Mount Buzhou, you ought to have some grand and righteous justification, right?" Báizé curled his lip, "Just combine it with the auspicious sign—reasonable and proper enough to fool the masses."

"They wouldn't think… if there really were a good place, the great beings of the Dragon and Phoenix era would have already looted it clean; how could it be our turn now?"

(End of chapter)