Two uninvited guests arrived at a large mansion in Demon City, leaving the faces of the Phoenix Clan members as dark as thunderclouds.
When Demon City hosted other factions, most were lodged in inns. Major powers like Great Xia, the Buddhist Kingdom, the Dragon Clan, and the Phoenix Clan, however, received far more luxurious quarters in expansive private estates.
An elder of the Dijiang Clan had arrived unbidden to once again urge the Phoenix Clan to surrender.
The Phoenix Clan also had a living-fossil-level figure of their own who personally came forward to refuse.
In a contest of wills at this level, even Clan Head Jiang Xi of the Phoenix Clan could only stand to the side.
"Jiang Mingzi, as the saying goes, a hero rarely finds a worthy master. The Ancient Ancestor has taken the initiative to welcome you. If you join the Demon Empire, the position of second greatest clan in the empire will belong to your Phoenix Clan. Such an opportunity is rare, so cherish it while you can!" the Dijiang Clan elder said with a beaming smile, though his eyes brimmed with unspoken threats.
The other uninvited guest was the Taowu Clan head, a cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Merely standing there, he exerted tremendous pressure upon the Phoenix Clan members.
"Our Phoenix Clan will not join any faction. Please see yourselves out!" The Phoenix Clan's living fossil refused to buy into it. According to the records left by their Ancient Ancestor, this Ancient Dijiang was by no means an easy character to deal with; joining the Demon Empire was almost certainly far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.
"See ourselves out? Jiang Mingzi, have you misunderstood something? I did not come here to make a request—I came to give an order!"
"What do you intend to do?!" the Phoenix Clan living fossil bellowed.
"What do we intend to do?" The Taowu Clan head sneered, drawing a glittering golden decree from his robes. Immortal rhyme flowed across it amidst radiant luster and celestial aura—a top-grade immortal artifact.
"Look at what this is!"
The Dijiang Clan elder activated the decree with his blood essence. Imprinted upon it was Ancient Dijiang's rudimentary Dao fruit, containing the full-power strike of Ancient Dijiang.
If one failed to withstand this strike, they would be branded with a master-servant imprint and forced to submit to Ancient Dijiang!
This was precisely how the Taowu Clan head had been brought to heel.
"A half-immortal decree!" The Phoenix Clan's heritage remained unbroken, and Jiang Mingzi recognized the object at a single glance.
"Invoke the Ancient Ancestor's token!"
As if facing a mortal foe, he likewise drew a treasure from his robes—a lifelike Phoenix jade pendant.
A palm-sized, five-colored phoenix flew out of the jade pendant, blazing with True Fire and carrying a terrifying aura. The might radiating from it was not in the least inferior to the half-immortal decree.
The two silent, invisible auras clashed, like a duel between two ancient grand demons across a gulf of three hundred thousand years.
Boom!
The half-immortal decree suddenly ignited in a raging fire, dimming into charred paper. Ancient Dijiang's aura vanished, and the imprint of the rudimentary Dao fruit was left riddled with holes.
"Cough—"
The Dijiang Clan elder and the Taowu Clan head staggered back two steps, coughing up traces of blood.
"Please see yourselves out," Jiang Mingzi said, holding the Phoenix jade pendant, his expression calm as ever.
"Good, good, good! Very well done!" The Dijiang Clan elder and the Taowu Clan head laughed in fury. Knowing they were outmatched, they departed the mansion.
***
"Mr. Ji, are we really safe coming to Demon City?" Kong Hao asked quietly, pulling his neck in. Inside him was sealed the old Taowu, Ji Xiong. Under Ji Xiong's vehement insistence, he had been forced to come to Demon City to broaden his horizons.
"Show some spine. Plenty of humans come to Demon City. As long as you don't make a scene, nobody will pay you any mind," the old Taowu chuckled confidently.
Having lost the contest for clan head and ended up sealed within Kong Hao's body, he had insisted on coming to see for himself after hearing that a nation was being founded in the Demon Domain and that the Taowu Clan was part of it.
"Hm?"
The old Taowu looked up and noticed two disheveled figures in the sky.
One of them happened to be his old rival—the current Taowu Clan head.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Just bumped into an expected acquaintance."
***
The Dijiang Clan elder and the Taowu Clan head bypassed several layers of guards, ignoring their salutes, and hurried into the depths of Demon City.
Deep within Demon City, the light was dim. Ancient Dijiang had revealed his true form, seated upon an enormous imperial throne like a small mountain.
Flanking both sides of the imperial throne stood two rows of equally colossal figures, faintly exuding the auras of the Tribulation Transcendence stage—beings known in the Demon Domain as Demon Emperors.
Also at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, the Dijiang Clan elder feared none of these Demon Emperors; his loyalty belonged solely to the Old Ancestor seated upon the throne.
The Old Ancestor placed great importance on hierarchy and order; only those at the Tribulation Transcendence stage possessed the qualifications to speak with him.
The two demons slowed their steps, fell to their knees, and said respectfully, "Reporting to Your Majesty: the Phoenix Clan has given their answer."
Ancient Dijiang opened his eyes. They were frighteningly bright, like two full moons—cold and profound.
"What did the Phoenix Clan say?"
The elder replied indignantly, "The Phoenix Clan remains obstinate and resolute, unwilling to submit to Your Majesty. Neither promising them great rewards—granting the Phoenix Clan a status in the Demon Empire second only to our clan—nor threatening them with force if they refused had any effect.
"The two of us brought the Old Ancestor's decree to coerce them with force, but the Phoenix Clan invoked the Phoenix jade pendant left behind by the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor to counter it. We failed to subdue them."
The elder drew the decree from his robes. The once-glittering sacred decree had become tattered and ruined, visibly battered beyond any further use.
The Tribulation Transcendence grand demons lining both sides of the throne wore varied expressions. That decree contained Ancient Dijiang's power, and it was precisely through such decrees that the Dijiang Clan envoys had brought them under control in the first place.
It was not that they hadn't tried to resist, but the decree's power had been too overwhelming and manifested too swiftly for them to react in time.
Failing to get the desired result, Ancient Dijiang let out a cold snort. The surrounding space quivered in his deep displeasure.
"Stubborn fools!"
Recalling his experiences in the ancient era, particularly the battles among half-immortals, his expression darkened further.
He knew the origin of that jade pendant. Jiang Lianyi favored jade flutes, and that pendant was made from leftover scrap material from crafting a jade flute. It served as Jiang Lianyi's personal token; seeing the pendant was equivalent to seeing her in person.
"Do they truly believe I fear the Phoenix Clan? Never mind that Jiang Lianyi is not around—even if she were here, the Phoenix Clan wouldn't have the courage to defy me!"
Presently, he had undergone an earth-shaking transformation compared to the ancient era. Through his rudimentary Dao fruit, he controlled nearly a hundred major clans and ten Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators, commanding clouds of powerful subordinates. In the process, his rudimentary Dao fruit had grown increasingly complete, showing strong signs of coalescing into a full fruit.
To say he was not the man he once was would be an understatement.
If he couldn't even deal with a mere Phoenix Clan, what had been the point of braving danger to sleep from the ancient era until now?
"The Phoenix Clan refuses to throw in their lot with the Demon Empire, leading a sizable portion of the clans in the Demon Domain to follow their lead and refuse to submit as well.
"To unify the Demon Domain and establish the Demon Empire, the issue of the Phoenix Clan must be resolved. Either they surrender, or they die without a burial place!
"I have given them a chance today. When the Phoenix Clan is annihilated in the future, they have only themselves to blame..."
Ancient Dijiang's gaze turned chillingly dark. Unifying the Demon Domain would help his cultivation take a step further, completing the metamorphosis from half-immortal to celestial.
While others were still waiting for the Golden Age to fully awaken and biding their time for opportunities, he had no need to wait. The absence of supreme powerhouses in the Demon Domain today was his opportunity.
By taking action ahead of time to attain the Dao and become a celestial, he would become a chess player in the revival of the Golden Age!
Unifying the Demon Domain was only the first step. Next, he would unify the East Sea and make the Sea Race submit to him as well, making himself powerful to an unprecedented degree.
With both the East Sea and the Demon Domain under his control, he would instantly become the greatest faction in the cultivation world, surpassing even Great Xia and the Buddhist Kingdom!
He could even take things a step further, invading Great Xia and the Buddhist Kingdom to unify the entire cultivation world.
By then, it wouldn't matter who awakened—even if the Four Ancient Celestials reappeared, he would have nothing to fear!
For now, what he needed to do was successfully conduct the founding ceremony and establish the Demon Empire. That way, attacking the Phoenix Clan would be justified by a righteous cause, and no one would be able to find fault with it.
The Phoenix Clan held supreme prestige in the Demon Domain. If he struck prematurely, it would easily invite public condemnation and damage his image.
"Phoenix Clan... I hope you can remain just as unyielding during the founding ceremony!"
Chapter 606