Obtaining Nuwa's permission was naturally the best outcome; even if Nuwa disapproved, running the risk of offending Nuwa to take action against the Human Race and acquire the required primordial spirits was an absolute necessity.
For this meeting, he headed to the Wa Palace, a place in the Chaos space opened up by the Sage Nuwa.
Jinning had already received information from Nuwa about this visit and made preparations to welcome him.
Guided by Jinning, Dijun entered the hall and met with Nuwa, laying out his thoughts and the situation.
After listening, Nuwa's expression remained calm, and she replied, "The will of heaven delights in nurturing all things. Recklessly destroying the existence of the Human Race will disrupt the harmony of nature, which is harmful and provides no benefit to the overall development of the Demon Race. I ask Your Majesty to reconsider this course of action."
Faced with Nuwa's words, Dijun did not take it as a flat refusal and insisted on his own view: "If we can defeat the Wu Clan, our Demon Race will become the core of this heaven and earth, enjoying all the essence of heavenly fortune. The sacrifices right now are truly not worth worrying about." Clearly, he turned a deaf ear to Nuwa's words.
"It seems that my identity as the Sage who gave birth to both humans and beasts places me in a difficult dilemma. But in this matter, I do not wish to interfere. Please make your own decision, Your Majesty." Nuwa waved her hand to signal the end of the conversation.
"Many thanks, Niangniang." A satisfied smile appeared on Dijun's face as he left—as long as Nuwa stood aside, it would be a tremendous convenience.
Returning to the heavenly palace, he immediately summoned Fuxi, his teacher Kunpeng, the Ten Sages, and all the others to gather and discuss the matter.
The summoned members all exclaimed, "Who would have thought that the humans created by Niangniang could actually help us fight our mortal enemies! Truly, Heaven intends to protect our Demon Race!"
Hearing this suggestion, everyone present was filled with excitement.
However, Fuxi alone felt a trace of hesitation. Although he found it hard to accept, he chose to remain silent, realizing that he could no longer stop the impending upheaval.
Immediately afterward, Dijun loudly called out, "Bimeng, Yingzhao, and Baize, hear my decree!" The three stepped forward from the crowd.
He ordered, "Lead a million elite troops to conquer the primordial sacred land of the Human Race!"
"As you command!" they replied.
These humans were among the very first—a race of immense strength, personally created by Nuwa.
After receiving their orders, the three demon sages Bimeng, Yingzhao, and Baize returned to their original positions.
"Feidan, Feilian, Jiuying, Citie, Shangyang, Qinyuan, and Guiche, hear my command." Dijun continued to issue orders.
"Your subordinate is here!"
The seven demon sages Feidan, Feilian, Jiuying, Citie, Shangyang, Qinyuan, and Guiche stepped forward.
"Lead a billion demon soldiers to descend upon the mortal realm, annihilate the Human Race, and harvest their souls," Dijun said.
"We obey your command!"
Having received their orders, the seven demon sages also returned to their respective positions.
"Fuxi, Kunpeng, hear my command," Dijun shouted.
"Your subordinates are here!"
Fuxi and Kunpeng stepped forward in response.
"Prepare the Zhou Tian Star Formation and closely monitor the Wu Clan to prevent them from aiding the Human Race," Dijun issued his new command.
"We obey!" Fuxi and Kunpeng cupped their fists and accepted the order.
When the 1.1 billion demon soldiers appeared in the mortal realm, the sky grew pitch black.
Witnessing the arrival of so many demons in the mortal realm and mistaking them for an invading force, the Wu Clan rallied their fighting strength and prepared for battle.
Yet these demons did not attack the Wu Clan; instead, they began slaughtering innocent humans, leaving the Wu Clan temporarily bewildered.
.........
Inside the Pangu Hall,
"What on earth are Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi plotting?" Zhu Jiuyin furrowed his brow deeply, unable to understand why the Demon Race was slaughtering humans.
"Whatever their intentions, we cannot let these two three-legged birds succeed." Dijiang could not be bothered to think; he only wanted to take action.
"Eldest brother is right. Those two birds certainly mean no good. We must stop their conspiracy."
"On this land, we of the Wu Clan are the rulers. No matter what schemes the Demon Race hatches, there is nothing to fear."
"....."
Several Wu Clan generals expressed their own views, successively advising to go to war with the Demon Race.
"Very well, then pass down the order for the entire army to set out and annihilate these invading demon soldiers." Dijiang finally made his decision.
.................
In the birthplace of the Human Race,
The three demon sages Bimeng, Yingzhao, and Baize led hundreds of millions of demon soldiers in a fierce assault.
Although these were the strongest first-generation humans, under the pressure of the powerful Demon Race, they quickly suffered defeat.
The three ancestors of the Human Race—Suirenshi, Youchaoshi, and Ziyi—prayed before the stone statue of the Holy Mother Nuwa, hoping she would help them through this crisis.
"This is the suffering the Human Race must endure." Hearing their prayers, Nuwa did not extend a helping hand.
Seeing that Nuwa gave no response while their homeland faced utter destruction and countless of their kin perished at the hands of the demons, the three ancestors stopped praying and resolved to fight alongside their people to protect their home.
...................
Inside the Bajing Palace of Mount Shouyang.
Having left Kunlun Mountain, Laozi established a new place of cultivation on Mount Shouyang.
His disciple Xuandu knelt before Laozi and pleaded, "Master, please extend your aid and save the Human Race from dire peril."
"This is a matter between the Human Race and the Demon Race; I cannot intervene casually." Laozi's expression remained calm as he shook his head.
"Then please allow me to descend the mountain, Master." Xuandu begged.
Ever since the war between the Demon Race and the Human Race began, Laozi had sealed off the Bajing Palace, making it impossible for him to take even a step outside.
"Foolish child, with your current strength, what difference could you make even if you went out?" Laozi sighed.
"As a member of the race, I cannot sit by and watch my compatriots slaughtered by the demons." Xuandu said firmly.
"Very well. When the crucial moment arrives, your master will step in to ensure the ancestral fire of the Human Race is not extinguished." Laozi replied.
"Many thanks, Master." Xuandu fell to the ground in kowtow to show his gratitude.
……………
Zhang Tianchen felt deeply restless inside, yet he could not divine what had happened, so he decided to go out and travel for a while.
Having just left Wuyi Mountain, he witnessed the cruel scene of the Demon Race massacring humans, and rage surged in his heart.
"Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, one day I will collect this blood debt."
Zhang Tianchen had previously heard in myths and legends about the Demon Race refining the Slaughtering Sword, but now witnessing such tragedy with his own eyes, the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
A weak human tribe was being ruthlessly attacked by a group of demon soldiers.
"We live in peace and have never offended you. Why must you exterminate us down to the last root?"
The tribal leader looked as his compatriots died one by one, his eyes turning blood red as he fiercely interrogated the leader of the demon soldiers.
"Hahaha, your Human Race are merely toys created by the Demon Sage. We need your life's primordial spirit right now, so you should willingly offer it up." The demon soldier leader sneered and raised his sharp blade to strike the tribal leader.
At that moment, a streak of light cut through the void from afar, piercing straight through the chest of the demon soldier leader.
The demon soldier leader collapsed to the ground and died instantly.
Following that, a figure descended—it was none other than Zhang Tianchen.
"Who are you, daring to interfere with our actions against the Human Race?" A demon saw that Zhang Tianchen had killed their leader and aggressively demanded an explanation.
"I am a member of the Human Race. How can this be called interference?"
Zhang Tianchen's voice was icy cold, as if it could freeze every trace of warmth in the air.
Immediately, Zhang Tianchen unsealed the Immeasurable Gourd, and immeasurable swords flew out from within, hurling straight toward the demon soldiers.
With their cultivation levels resting only between the Heavenly Immortal and True Immortal Realms, how could these demon soldiers possibly withstand Zhang Tianchen's fierce onslaught?
In the span of a breath, thousands of demon soldiers fell under Zhang Tianchen's sword.
"Thank you, Exalted Immortal, for saving our lives."
The tribal leader led the survivors in bowing down to the ground before Zhang Tianchen, expressing boundless gratitude.
"Quickly find a secluded place to hide and only come out after things have settled down," Zhang Tianchen said, then gathered the remains of the demons into the Cauldron of Creation before transforming into a streak of light and departing. He still needed to go and rescue others.
Although his individual strength seemed insignificant compared to the entire Demon Race, he firmly believed that saving even one more person mattered.
Zhang Tianchen's actions drew the serious attention of the Demon Race's upper echelons.
The camp of Guiche, a Great Sage of the Demon Race, also began to make a move.
Guiche was the most ferocious demon sage under Dijun's command. His true form was one of the Five Primordial Insects, resembling a duck with a blood-red body and nine heads.
Although Guiche had attained sentience, his nature was cruel. He relished gloomy and baleful Qi, feared no laws of heaven and earth, was addicted to blood, and was exceptionally vicious—so much so that even other demon sages were deeply wary of him.
Originally, Guiche had ten heads, but one was bitten off by a heavenly dog in battle, leaving him with only nine. This left his cultivation imperfect and made it difficult for him to progress. Because of this, he had joined Dijun's faction, hoping to use the fortune of the Demon Court to heal his injuries.
At this moment, Guiche sat on a high seat with a gloomy expression.
"Moxuan," Guiche called out coldly.
"Your subordinate is here!" A large man radiating a chilling aura, dressed in black battle robes and black scales, stepped forward in response.
"Lead a hundred thousand demon soldiers to annihilate this human cultivator and make sure to grind him into dust." Guiche's tone was bone-chilling.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Moxuan flashed a fierce smile and then withdrew.
……
Zhang Tianchen had been rescuing humans everywhere, and after exhausting his magic power, he sought out an unassuming mountain peak to recover. Just as he finished regaining his strength and prepared to resume saving people, he suddenly saw the sky turn pitch black as a large swarm of monsters surrounded the peak.
Directing these monsters was Moxuan, a subordinate of Guiche.
"General, that human cultivator entered this mountain peak and has not emerged since," reported a monster tasked with watching Zhang Tianchen.
"Splendid," Moxuan laughed heartily. "Order fifty thousand troops to enter the mountain and search. The moment you find that person, sound an alarm immediately. The rest of the soldiers will hold the line here with me to prevent him from escaping."
"Understood!"
The fifty thousand demon soldiers received their orders and quickly swarmed into the mountain to search.
Realizing he was surrounded, Zhang Tianchen did not panic. With his abilities, such a predicament was hardly worth mentioning; he could simply use the Earth-Escape Technique to break free. However, he was not in a hurry to leave; instead, he intended to turn the tables on them.
After a brief moment of thought, Zhang Tianchen devised a way to counter this group of demons.
With a single breath, he blew out a cloud of thick mist that spread in all directions, quickly enveloping the entire mountain ridge. This was none other than one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations: [Cloud and Mist Shield].
Immediately afterward, Zhang Tianchen cast incantations to transform into thousands of clones of himself, and in an instant, countless avatars scattered in all directions. Next, each illusion transformed into the appearance of thousands of demon soldiers.