The God of Fire (Zhu Rong) suddenly waking up was like a corpse manifesting life, filling the other Ancestral Witches with a surge of joy.
The fact that he could speak meant his injuries weren't that severe—not like the last time they were beaten into a state of suffocation and took ages to regain consciousness.
"Brother, focus on healing for now. In your current state, you can't even form the array!" Di Jiang held Zhu Rong's hand, explaining the situation with unusual patience.
Knowing his brother was alright made him genuinely happy.
"You there! Carry the God of Fire to the blood pool to recover." Before Zhu Rong could protest, Di Jiang stood up and began issuing orders.
Qiang Liang, without a word of discussion, hoisted Zhu Rong onto his shoulder and scurried toward the blood pool. Zhu Rong struggled, still muttering about forming the array for revenge, but in his crippled state, he was no match for Qiang Liang's grip.
"Big Brother, Zhu Rong is right. A grudge like this must be settled!"
Gonggong paused, then spoke up. Having been thrashed twice, his personal vendetta against the Crows was technically even greater than Zhu Rong's.
"I understand your desire for revenge, but it must wait until your wounds are healed," Di Jiang said heavily. Previously, he believed they could best the Three Crows even without the array, but he now had to retract that thought.
It was too dangerous.
"Big Brother is right. Revenge will come, but only after our brothers are whole again," Xuan Ming said with a faint smile.
At this, the other Witches nodded in agreement. Though they were rash, they weren't entirely brainless. To force a fight they knew they couldn't win would be pure idiocy.
"Have any of you noticed? Since we defeated the Yao Race, our clan's Luck and our speed of Cultivation have significantly increased?"
Di Jiang shifted the topic, setting aside the revenge for a moment to reveal a much larger ambition.
"Yes! Now that you mention it, I feel it too! I thought my talent had just improved!" the Ancestral Witch of Wind scratched his head and laughed.
The others nodded, realizing they had all felt the same sensation. They had dismissed it as an illusion until Di Jiang pointed it out.
"In my view, this is the benefit of collecting our Father's legacy. The Yao territories now belong to us, which has boosted our Luck and accelerated our progress."
"Therefore, the next step is to seize the West and the South, extending our domain into those regions."
Di Jiang spoke with a deep, analytical tone, his logic sounding perfectly sound.
Beside him, the East King Duke couldn't help but stare at the ceiling, as if there were something fascinating written there. He was struggling to keep his composure.
Hearing his own "joke" from earlier being spoken as a serious strategic goal right in front of him made it hard not to laugh. He feared that if he let out a chuckle, he wouldn't be able to explain it away.
"East King Duke!"
Di Jiang's call snapped the Duke back to reality. He straightened his expression. "Fellow Daoist Di Jiang, what are your orders?"
"This time, you shall be the vanguard. Attack the West and redeem yourself through service!"
"Huh?" The Duke was dumbfounded. He had been zoning out and hadn't heard the lead-up.
Why was he suddenly being sent to attack the West? The West was the territory of the Two Sages of the West—disciples of the Dao Ancestor and future Saints. Could one just... attack them on a whim?
"What, are you unwilling?" Di Jiang snorted, his Killing Intent overflowing.
The Duke felt a chill in his heart and immediately voiced his loyalty. "Willing! I am more than willing!"
"Then there is no time to lose. Go now," Di Jiang said with a smile.
Thus, the East King Duke followed several Ancestral Witches and ten million Wu warriors as they marched toward the West. The remaining Witches set out to conquer the South, splitting their forces into two prongs.
This time, they weren't just taking land; they intended to utterly exterminate any Yao remnants in those regions.
A majestic, overwhelming force swept across heaven and earth. The Ancestral Witches and the East King Duke led the charge, closing in on the Western Holy Land: Mount Sumeru.
Seizing this place would be equivalent to taking the entire West.
Jieyin and Zhunti awoke from their meditation, sensing the ferocious, malevolent aura of the Witches. Their faces filled with horror.
"Why are the Ancestral Witches coming to our West?" Zhunti cried out in alarm. It was too sudden; they had no preparation.
"They come with ill intent!" Jieyin's face was solemn, his eyes flickering. He already had a premonition of disaster.
While they were still agonizing over the situation, the Witches finally arrived.
Pillars of ferocious Evil Qi shook the universe, completely enveloping the entirety of Mount Sumeru.
"Fellow Daoists, what brings you to my Mount Sumeru?"
Jieyin stood tall and asked in a peaceful voice. A sacred, harmonious light enveloped him, and the halo above his head illuminated the eight directions of the world.
"Wasting no words—move out of Mount Sumeru! The West is now Wu territory!"
Candle Nine Nethers barked, his voice echoing across the horizon. The Ancestral Witches manifested their Dharma Bodies, standing as tall as Mount Sumeru itself.
Their failure at the Three Immortals Island made them exceptionally eager to redeem themselves.
If we can't beat the Crows, surely we can beat the Two Sages of the West?
"What? You actually intend to swallow the West?" Jieyin's face shifted dramatically.
It was madness. Their West was so impoverished, yet these Witches wouldn't even let it go. How thirsty for land were they?
"Swallow? The entire Great Desolation was formed from our Father's body. There is no such thing as 'swallowing'; we are merely taking back what belongs to the Wu!" Candle Nine Nethers said coldly.
Jieyin and Zhunti looked grim, realizing that logic and reason were useless against these Witches.
They spotted the East King Duke standing among the Witches—only half a body, neither human nor ghost. Zhunti's gaze turned sharp as he shouted, "East King Duke! Is this your doing?"
The Duke offered a beaming smile, showing no sign of awkwardness under the questioning. He had already reached the point of being "a dead pig unafraid of boiling water."
"Fellow Daoists, this is the trend of the era. It has nothing to do with me," he said with a laugh, offering no further explanation.
"Enough talk! Strike!"
Candle Nine Nethers commanded. As his voice fell, thunder exploded between heaven and earth like the end of the world. A black sea of lightning roiled above Mount Sumeru.
Qiang Liang was the first to move, throwing a heavy punch—an opening move using a supreme slaughtering art!
"Bastards! Do you think we are easy targets?"
Jieyin and Zhunti were incensed. They sacrificed their Magic Treasures, which radiated light through the Nine Heavens, as they met the enemy with their full strength.
This was a disaster from nowhere. They had never imagined a day when the Witches would fight their way to Mount Sumeru.
As the supreme leaders of the West and disciples of the Dao Ancestor, they expected some level of respect, yet the Wu Clan showed no hesitation whatsoever, launching an unprovoked attack on their doorstep.
Not long ago, they had been lamenting the fate of the East; now, the same tragedy had fallen upon their own heads.
"Heh! You think you're something special?" Qiang Liang said arrogantly, reaching out to grasp the air and pouring the infinite sea of lightning down upon the mountain.
"Ah!"
The Two Sages let out a long roar. The Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus and the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree erupted with light, breaking through the sea of lightning to strike back at Qiang Liang.
Seeing this, the other Ancestral Witches also moved, each displaying their own Divine Abilities. The battle shook the world in all directions, reaching far beyond the Western borders.
At this moment, the Yao leaders hiding in various corners of the world grew solemn, their hearts trembling. Bai Ze and Ji Meng, currently hiding in the West, felt the tremors of the Mount Sumeru battle most clearly.
"The Wu Clan is insane. They've actually fought all the way to the West!" Ji Meng's face was pale, filled with a mix of fury and fear.
If the Witches took the West and South as well, the Yao remnants would truly be left with no room to breathe. For the Yao Race, this was a total catastrophe—a terminal crisis.
"The Wu Clan isn't insane. They know they must do this, because swallowing the entire world is a form of transformation for them."
"But for the rest of the Great Desolation... this is a Great Tribulation. No one will escape!" Bai Ze said expressionlessly, his voice colder than ever before.