Chapter 29: with translation of chapter title

Without finding a suitable opportunity, the witch clan won't start a full-scale war," Bai Ze Yao Marshal said confidently, wisdom pearl in hand.

But note: "Bai Ze Yao Marshal, with the wisdom pearl in hand, spoke very confidently." Means "Bai Ze Yao Marshal, the wisdom pearl in hand, spoke with great confidence."

We must keep the quotes? The Chinese includes quotation marks for speech. We should preserve them? The instruction: translate faithfully, keep punctuation. So we keep the Chinese quotation marks? Usually we replace with English quotes. We'll use English double quotes.

Thus line: 【1】 "Without finding a suitable opportunity, the Wu Clan would not initiate a full-scale war." Bai Ze Yao Marshal, the wisdom pearl in hand, spoke with great confidence.

But need to keep the structure: The Chinese line has two sentences: first quoted speech, then description. We'll keep as one sentence? We'll output as one line.

Let's produce: 【1】 "Without finding a suitable opportunity, the Wu Clan would not initiate a full-scale war." Bai Ze Yao Marshal, the wisdom pearl in hand, spoke with great confidence.

Check: "wisdom pearl in hand" means "wisdom pearl in hand". Good.

Actually line 【2】 is "Bai Ze Yao Marshal, with the wisdom pearl in hand, spoke very confidently." Wait the lines: The user gave lines with numbers. Let's re-express:

【1】...

【2】...

"What do you mean?" the divine eyes, radiating boundless light, swirled as they spoke.

Bai Ze said, "What I mean is—their current actions aim to intimidate us and show off their strength; that's the core. A full-scale war? That's impossible."

"Is that so?" the divine being leaned forward slightly, a fervent, surging light pouring down, asking, "Then, in your view, how should we respond?"

"Of course... a restrained but decisive counterattack!" Bai Ze smiled, "Let the witch clan know that while we demons may not be perfect, we truly stand firm between heaven and earth, and we are not without the strength to resist."

"Actually, we're not the only ones probing the witch clan—the Qiong Yao God's actions serve that purpose, and once the ancestral witches react, they also begin probing us."

"They are testing our peak combat strength, evaluating the progress of our demon clan's organization, probing our centripetal cohesion, and investigating our foundations."

Bai Ze paused, seeing that all the demon gods were listening attentively, then continued.

Thanks to the nature of the Great Luo, which can reverse cause and effect and reset timelines, information from the downstream of the river of time is no great secret to us top-tier powers.

What members roughly comprise the witch and demon clans? Each side already has a clear picture.

But that's the extent of it—after all, future information is a blend of truth and falsehood, some are possible variables, some are deliberately spread false intel, a special form of information warfare.

We only roughly know the camp divisions and some members; the rest needs verification—how strong are they? Are they loyal?

From this we can launch a series of moves—strategic intimidation, sowing discord, counter-espionage, and deadly espionage.

"Like, Fellow Daoist Bai Ze, did you compile the 'Bai Ze Atlas of Spirits and Monsters,' wiping out eleven thousand five hundred twenty tribes?" A demon god said calmly, without showing joy or anger.

"Exactly!" Bai Ze, unfazed and fearless, with a faint smile, said, "Such rumors from the future—who knows if they're true or false?"

If this is a plot by the ancestral witches to smear me with dirt, leading to my execution as a traitor by the demon gods, it would become a laughingstock, ridiculed by many great divine beings across heaven and earth.

Besides, if we apply that standard, the demon court's high ranks would likely be cut by seventy or eighty percent!" Facing the blame, Bai Ze spoke coherently, "Fellow Daoist Emperor Jun is related to the human king Emperor Ku."

Fellow Daoist Taiyi is worshiped by humanity as the supreme god.

Xihuang and Nüwa are, respectively, the heavenly emperor of humanity and the origin of humanity.

Demon Marshal Jimeng followed the human king Zhuanxu to attack Gonggong.

Demon Marshal Ying Zhao assisted the human king Yu the Great in slaying Xiangliu.

Demon Marshal Fei Lian was the right-hand man of Chiyou, honored as the Earl of Wind; after being defeated by the Yellow Emperor, he became a wind deity, tasked with gathering wind news from all directions and regulating the seasonal climate.

Still, among the demon marshals there are loyal ones—Bifang, Shangyang, Qinyuan, Jiuying, Zitie, and Guiche; these six seem reliable.

"All right!" Bai Ze clapped his hands, "Look! Look!"

The four sovereigns and four demon marshals are directly placed on the suspect list.

The enemy lies at the highest level of the demon court... what's the point of fighting the witch clan or humanity then?

Why not simply take our families and surrender?

By relying on our own strength, we can claim the Great Luo's mighty power and still fare quite well.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in this secret place instantly turned stagnant.

After a moment, someone spoke up, hoping to ease the tension: "Marshal Bai Ze is just joking..."

"I wasn't joking." Bai Ze interrupted, his expression very serious, "I'm raising a serious issue!"

The fledgling demon faction is rife with suspicion and prejudice; everyone views others through colored lenses, yet these are the comrades we'll work with and must trust.

With no trust given, the demon leadership is steeped in suspicion and vigilance—how can we function?

After some time, will we need to conduct a loyalty check to root out internal spies?

As he spoke, Bai Ze's tone and expression grew stern.

His perceptive wisdom had long detected an undercurrent within the demon clan—mutual suspicion and distrust have become a major issue that must be addressed.

Otherwise, when the witch clan attacks, if we spend half our focus on our own people, what will be left to fight?

Let's lay everything out today, bring this hidden danger to the table for discussion and resolution, so it doesn't fester in the dark and become an irreparable rift that could split the great demon clan.

"Marshal Bai Ze is absolutely right." Demon God Jimeng nodded, "Those rampant rumors should be curbed."

Loyalty cannot be used as a test.

Since we're here, our ultimate goals are likely the same: to fully expand the demon clan, monopolize the cosmic qi of heaven and earth, and become the source of the human way.

To achieve this, we should be rational—don't believe or spread rumors, don't obsess over unverified inner talk that harms harmony." He sighed, "After all, the future is uncertain; anything could happen."

Even if those examples are true, they don't indicate any real issue.

Even if they aid humanity, they might be trying to infiltrate the human camp to drive a wedge between humans and witches—anything is possible.

The demon gods listened, exchanging glances, wondering why they found his words so convincing.

Like Jimeng following Zhuanxu, his focus was on Gonggong.

Ying Zhao was part of the force that surrounded and killed Xiangliu.

……

It's hard to say whether each is a genuine traitor or has infiltrated the human side to boost the witches.

This matter ends here.

Majestic and divine like the sun and stars—Emperor Jun declared, "Use people without suspicion; suspect those you use."

Since you've joined the demon faction, the demon clan will place its utmost trust in each of you.

Therefore, if anyone later uses this as an excuse to cause trouble in the heavenly court, we will punish them together.

How?

Seconded!

Excellent!

The Great Luo demon gods present unified their thoughts and coalesced their core.

All right, the trust crisis is over; now we should consider rescuing the Qiong Yao God." Emperor Jun looked at Bai Ze and said, "Please, Fellow Daoist, propose a plan—how should we repay the witch clan?

Báizé pondered slightly, then said: "Di Jun, fellow Daoist, as the highest spiritual leader of the Demon Race, you naturally should not act rashly."

Besides, we need to display strength, reveal our foundation, and make the Wu Clan's Zu Wu wary..." His eyes lit up. "Then let us invite Daoist Taiyi to wield that supreme treasure, shake the Myriad Heavens spacetime, overwhelm past, present, and future, and startle the Zu Wu!

After saying this, the perpetually idle and taciturn Taiyi was instantly given a respectful gaze by numerous demon gods.

Taiyi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the encouraging expectation in Di Jun's eyes... he ultimately nodded.

"Alright... I'll go then." Taiyi let out a light sigh, extended a hand, and flicked his finger—

Ding!

The bell's sound that shocks past, present, and future now echoes throughout Honghuang.

…

Using the Chaos Bell, to intercept these Pangu bloodlines of the Zu Wu...

To say one is panicked would be an overstatement.

But feeling nervous in the heart is unavoidable.

As an innate deity, as Taiyi who had already attained the Dao in the Dragon-Phoenix Great Calamity era, he knows much about ancient eras' inner workings, even including the great secret of Pangu.

The opener of Honghuang, the ender of the Chaos era, the Supreme Emperor who achieved the transcendent god three thousand slaughters, the farthest-reaching existence in the Great Luo realm—Pangu; even though He has vanished, in this world He still holds tremendous awe.

To go up against the backup left by such a figure—the Zu Wu—is truly a heart‑testing endeavor.

One must know that even the Dao Ancestor Hongjun finds the Zu Wu troublesome; he cannot simply kill them outright, but instead must wear them down like boiling a frog in warm water.

For this reason, when Di Jun applied to establish the Heavenly Court to carry out Heaven's Dao and manage Honghuang, this Dao Ancestor readily agreed.

—He needs a knife, a sufficiently sharp knife, to deal with the Wu Clan!

As for whether this knife will ultimately break—

That doesn't matter.

Now, Taiyi stands at the forefront of opposing the Zu Wu; who can truly understand his inner helplessness and sorrow?

Of course, having accepted the mission, he will naturally strive to do his best.

The Chaos Bell hovered above his head, gently vibrating; endless ripples spread and swept, extending through the ages, protecting the perilous Qiong You demon god.

The emergence of this supreme innate treasure has caused tremendous waves throughout Honghuang.

One of the three supreme treasures transformed from the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, its power needs no elaboration; the key is its symbolic meaning, representing a portion of orthodoxy, Pangu's approval.

Countless onlookers at the Great Luo realm were in an uproar; even Di Jiang Zu Wu's face showed a hint of solemnity, already fulfilling part of Báizé Yao Marshal's intention—to display power.

But then the spectators grew excited, wondering, "How will the Zu Wu react upon seeing the Chaos Bell, which theoretically they have the right to inherit?"

Some emotionally stirred ancient deities have already begun shouting—

"Quickly!"

"Let's fight!"

"Let's fight!"

By comparison, at this moment no one cares about the Qiong You demon god anymore.

…

"Cease hostilities…… impossible." After a moment of silence, Di Jiang Zu Wu slowly spoke, rejecting Taiyi's proposal: "This demon god, who commands great armies to attack our Zu Wu rites…… if we do not punish him, how can the Wu Clan stand between heaven and earth?"

"But no matter what, Qiong You has never taken the initiative to attack, right?" Taiyi stood with his hands behind his back; the Chaos Bell's waves expanded, the ripples growing ever vaster as they swept through the Myriad Heavens and all elements: "Even if guilty, the crime does not deserve death."

"Death can be avoided, but living punishment is inescapable." Di Jiang said lightly, "I won't kill him; I'll just make him into an innate spiritual treasure to drive for hundreds of millions of years…… What's wrong with that?"

"If you really want to exempt him from guilt, that's not impossible either." Di Jiang sneered, "It just depends on your strength."

"If your strength is too lacking, this demon god…… I could still let him go, but then you'd have to exchange that great bell atop your head for it."

Di Jiang stared intently at the Chaos Bell atop Taiyi's head, "Forged from Pangu Ancestral God's weapon…… this ought to be the Wu Clan's inherited supreme treasure!"

"It ought to be held by my Pangu orthodoxy, wielded to command the world…… how could it fall into the hands of your Taiyang Star lineage?"

"Your words are mistaken, Daoist." Taiyi shook his head, "To command the world and lead the myriad clans, one should rely not on so‑called bloodline orthodoxy, but on virtue and accomplishment."

"Even if your Wu Clan evolved from the bloodline of the Great God Pangu, so what?"

"Can the Wu Clan represent the will of all beings under heaven?"

"Then you'll do?" Di Jiang said indifferently.

"We can't…… but the demon race behind us can!" Taiyi said, "In the Honghuang world, whether the Wu Clan exists or not is actually irrelevant."

"But what if the demon race that unites the myriad clans were gone?"

"This world would become lifeless and stagnant."

"So, members of the Wu Clan, please do not overestimate yourselves…… in this vast universe, the loss of any clan still allows things to run as usual."

Di Jiang remained silent.

Taiyi then said, "The demon race is the protagonist of this era's heavenly stage…… who could deny that these myriad beings are the true authors of history?"

"Their very existence is orthodoxy!"

"The Chaos Bell belonging to the demon race, not the Wu Clan…… that is only natural and proper."

"As for my Taiyang Star lineage, we merely, by operating the solar laws, illuminate Honghuang, bestow blessings upon all beings, and are recognized by them, thus qualifying to oversee this supreme treasure."

"If one day the demon race falls from its role as the world's protagonist…… this bell will naturally depart." Taiyi, devoid of joy or sorrow, gave an objective assessment: "It, however, is indeed real."

"So, Daoist Di Jiang, you need not harbor any ulterior thoughts…… if you have the ability, openly defeat the entire demon race, and this bell will be yours."

"All other schemes to seize it…… are useless."

"Oh? Is that so? I'm not too convinced." Suddenly, a gentle yet inwardly domineering female voice rang out, inserting itself into their conversation.

"I actually want to know——if this bell were to fall into my hands, even without having defeated the demon race, would its spirit truly be so stubborn as to refuse to acknowledge me, alive or dead?"

An entity that had always kept a low profile, nearly overlooked as a mere nobody, now begins to shine.

When the Wu Clan travels, the diplomatic envoy's team contains not one but…… two Zu Wu!

Apart from Di Jiang, the other Zu Wu is——

Houtu!

This supremely overbearing goddess began to erupt at this moment.

She stared at the Chaos Bell atop Taiyi's head, her eyes revealing unhidden longing—she wanted to obtain it, to grasp it in her hand, as the Wu Clan's supreme treasure for suppressing fortune!

(End of chapter)