The Twelve Ancestral Witches descended. Their Aura was monumental, arriving so suddenly it seemed to come without a single breath of warning.
Di Jiang had torn open an independent space to ferry the Ancestral Witches to the Sun's doorstep. Behind them stood an array of Great Witches and a dense, sprawling mass of their kin. Their numbers weren't vast, but they were there to bolster the momentum—to roar and cheer for the Witches once the slaughter began.
Beside them was the East King Duke, dragging the remaining half of his body behind him like a morbid trophy.
It was a magnificent and terrifying scene. The gathering of the Twelve Ancestral Witches triggered a cascade of horrifying anomalies. Black lightning interlaced across the void, and a sky of Evil Qi (煞气) began to drip a rain of blood, the energies twisting together in a billowing, majestic mass of darkness.
Bai Ze's face grew solemn. The Twelve Ancestral Witches loomed as high as the vault of heaven, their silhouettes like twelve celestial pillars. The sheer pressure they exerted was enough to fill any soul with a sense of helplessness and absolute despair.
"In the end, you still came..." Bai Ze let out a long breath, his voice peaceful.
"We didn't let you die, so you cannot die! Our Wu warriors fell at your hands; this debt must be settled by us personally!" Ru Shou said with a savage laugh, his eyes brimming with a chilling, murderous intent.
"You aren't a fool. You knew you had caused a catastrophe and had nowhere to run, so you fled here for sanctuary and offered your life to beg the Crows to emerge."
"Ask yourself: is your life worth that much?"
The God of Fire (Zhu Rong) followed up, his face full of disdain. He looked down upon Bai Ze from a posture of extreme arrogance, his entire being radiating like a fiery sun. Standing next to the Sun Star, he looked like a second, smaller sun.
Seeing that the Sun Star remained silent, Zhu Rong's voice grew even louder and more confident. He was now convinced the Crows were terrified of them and dared not come out to find their deaths.
"I don't care if it's worth it or not—look, do the Crows even dare to show their faces? Anyone who opposes the Wu Clan has only one path: death! It doesn't matter who you beg!"
His words were unshielded, vibrating through heaven and earth, permeating the four seas and eight directions until they reached even the furthest corners of the world.
In this moment, the entire world was shaken. The Twelve Ancestral Witches had surrounded the Sun Star with an aggressive, surging Aura, their terrifying pressure causing countless pockets of space-time to shatter and collapse.
"Are the Twelve Ancestral Witches finally moving against the Sun Star?" Within the Immortal Caves of the sea, powerful auras flared. The Witches' intent was as plain as day.
Though they were currently "interrogating" Bai Ze, anyone with a brain knew that a mere Demon God wouldn't require the full mobilization of the Twelve Witches.
"Bai Ze's plan backfired. He wanted to sacrifice himself to trade for Ling Xiao's emergence and block the Wu Clan's momentum."
"He never expected that the Wu Clan had no intention of letting the Three Crows go in the first place. After all, the grudge between them is only slightly less than the one they hold against the Sanqing."
"They've truly been pushed too far. With no Saints currently in the world, who is left to check the Witches?"
"No matter how powerful the Sun Star Crows are, as long as they haven't Achieved Sainthood, they have zero chance of victory against the Twelve Ancestral Witches."
A group of great powers who had previously been thrashed by the Witches shared this sentiment. In truth, they all wanted to see the Witches humbled, but that hope felt far too faint—nearly impossible. Now, their only expectation was for the Dao Ancestor to emerge again and redefine the order of the Great Desolation.
Yujing Mountain
The Sanqing were naturally aware of the Witches' movements. For some reason, a sudden, inexplicable sense of comfort washed over them, and they couldn't help but let smiles tug at the corners of their mouths.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Crows were both their enemies. Now, the two were about to clash. It wasn't that they were being petty—it was just that the mere thought of such a fight was incredibly satisfying.
"Let them fight. It would be best if they both end up crippled or dead," Yuanshi said with a cold sneer, his brows full of arrogance. This was the ideal outcome, the one most beneficial to them.
Over tens of thousands of years, the Wu Clan had expanded so rapidly they had almost swallowed the entire Honghuang World. Had Yujing Mountain not been the former retreat of the Dao Ancestor, the Witches would never have let them be. This was a cause for concern, a growing sense of crisis, because the Witches were strengthening too quickly.
"Second Brother, I fear things will not go as you wish. Given the current Cultivation of the Witches, on what basis can the Crows fight them to a standstill?"
"Even without their formation, the Crows cannot possibly inflict mutual destruction upon the Twelve Ancestral Witches," Laozi said plainly, stroking his white beard.
"True. It is but a luxury of thought. Let them be. Once I become a Saint, no matter how strong the Twelve Ancestral Witches are, they will be nothing."
Yuanshi regained his composure, his gaze sharp and proud. He was wrong—he shouldn't wish for his enemies to destroy each other to find victory. The Sanqing were the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu; they were transcendent. Against any rival, they should simply crush them with absolute strength. In that moment, Yuanshi found his confidence again. He would Achieve Sainthood and dominate everything.
Elsewhere, the Two Sages of the West, hiding in a secret corner, were watching the scene with extreme excitement.
Their thoughts were similar to the Sanqing's. Having common enemies in both the Witches and the Crows, any outcome where one side was killed or maimed was a blessing for them.
"I actually find myself wanting the Crows to win... just to kill off those Ancestral Witches," Zhunti remarked to his Senior Brother. The Witches had stolen their Mount Sumeru and destroyed his Bodhi Tree; that debt of hatred had already surpassed what they felt for the Crows.
"Junior Brother, don't indulge in fantasy. The Twelve Ancestral Witches have the Pangu Formation as their trump card. The scenario you're imagining is impossible," Jieyin said with a faint laugh. Though he also wanted the Witches dead, he wouldn't entertain such an absurd thought.
Across the Primordial World, nearly every being with Great Divine Ability was watching. The Aura at the Sun Star was far too terrifying; before the fighting had even begun, it already felt like the end of days. Even across infinite space-time, they felt a shiver in their hearts.
The battle had not yet begun, but the invisible pressure was enough to suffocate them. In all these eons, aside from the final battle against the Yao, when had the Twelve Ancestral Witches ever moved as one?
Sun Star
Ling Xiao sat in quiet meditation, looking at the Choice before him.
[Detected that Bai Ze is offering his life as a calling card, requesting the Host to join the Yao Race and break the Wu Clan's momentum. Please make your choice:]
[Choice 1: Emerge immediately and face the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Reward: Divine Ability—Innate Five-Colored Divine Light.]
[Choice 2: Remain steady and ignore the situation. Reward: One strand of Primordial Violet Qi.]
"Five-Colored Divine Light..." Ling Xiao looked at the options, his face thoughtful.
Bai Ze's arrival was unexpected, but even more surprising was his willingness to sacrifice his life to beg for the protection of the Yao. Regardless of anything else, such character was truly admirable.
Through his divine vision, Ling Xiao could clearly see the Ancestral Witches standing outside the Sun Star like twelve celestial pillars, radiating an eternal, indestructible Aura. Their momentum was magnificent.
Looking at this, the two choices provided by the System were no longer that important.
They had already brought the fight to his door. Was there really any difference between emerging and staying hidden now?