Primordial Era: I am a treasure trove, full of magical treasures.

A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye; on the Thirty-Three Heavens, in the Lingxiao Palace.

Emperor Jun sat high on his throne, his face grim. Below him, a dozen or so demon saints stood on either side, each with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, in the past thousand years, the thirty-seven new strongholds that our demon race has opened up on the prehistoric continent have all been unable to be maintained due to the obstructed earth veins and the thin spiritual energy." Fei Lian presented the jade slip, his tone heavy. "Furthermore, in eighteen places where there was already a foundation for cultivation, more than 30% of the spiritual energy of the earth veins has been lost for no reason, which has already affected the cultivation of those below the Golden Immortal realm."

Ji Meng added, "Not only that, I was ordered to build three 'Spirit Gathering Towers' in the east to gather the earth's spiritual energy. However, after only three months of construction, the tower foundations cracked on their own, the earth's energy was completely lost, and the hard work of tens of thousands of demons was reduced to nothing."

"Zhen Yuanzi!" Di Jun gritted his teeth, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the throne, making a dull sound.

Taiyi said in a deep voice, "Brother, if this continues, the power of our demon race in the prehistoric continent will continue to shrink. Even with the Heavenly Court in the Thirty-Three Heavens, if our foundation is lost, how can we talk about ruling the prehistoric world?"

"How is the Star Pulse Spirit Transfer Array doing now?" Di Jun asked.

Yingzhao replied, "The Star Vein Spirit Conversion Array has been initially completed, capable of converting chaotic energy into stellar spiritual energy. However, this array consumes a huge amount of resources, and the converted spiritual energy is far less pure than that of earth vein spiritual energy. Long-term cultivation may lead to an unstable foundation. Currently, it can only cover the core area of ​​the Heavenly Court and twelve important strongholds. If it is to be extended to the entire Demon Court, the required resources may deplete half of the Heavenly Court's reserves."

Emperor Jun closed his eyes in deep thought, and the hall was deathly silent.

"Also," Di Jun looked at Fei Lian, "what's been happening with Kunpeng lately?"

Fei Lian said, "In the Northern Darkness, Kunpeng is in seclusion, but his clan disciples frequently go out, seemingly collecting some kind of rare and precious treasures." However, Kunpeng himself rarely leaves his home, seemingly in seclusion.

"Hmph, old fox." Di Jun sneered. First, "send a message to Kunpeng, saying that the Heavenly Court can send an array master to Beiming to help him set up the Star Vein Spirit Transfer Array, on the condition that he joins the Heavenly Court."

"Second, we should intensify our exploration of Buzhou Mountain. Buzhou Mountain is the transformation of Pangu's spine and the central hub of the earth's veins. If we can control it, we may be able to counter the Earth Book."

"Third," Di Jun's voice turned cold, "send envoys to the various secluded cultivators' caves and hidden clans throughout the prehistoric world, offering them important positions in the Heavenly Court and inviting them to join. If any refuse... find out the location of their ley lines and report back to me."

Upon hearing this, all the demon generals in the hall were startled.

Your Majesty is planning a drastic measure—if they do not submit, you will destroy their very foundation!

"Your Majesty, isn't this going too far...?" Shang Yang hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"Too much?" Di Jun coldly swept his gaze over. "Zhen Yuanzi has already made the first move. If my demon race does not retaliate, will there still be a place for my demon race in the prehistoric world ten thousand years from now?"

"The Witch Clan is eyeing us covetously, and the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa are secretly supporting Zhen Yuanzi. If our Demon Clan shows weakness, we will be courting our own destruction!"

Taiyi also said, "What you say is absolutely right, elder brother. The great calamity has arrived; it is either life or death, and there is no room for womanly compassion."

Di Jun nodded: "Go and do it. Also, intensify your investigation into the movements of the Wu Clan. With Zhen Yuanzi causing such a commotion, those barbarians will definitely not stay quiet."

In the primordial land, there stands the Pangu Palace.

The twelve Ancestral Witches gathered, and the hall was filled with malevolent energy, yet it was different from usual, faintly forming some kind of mysterious formation.

"A thousand years have passed," Dijiang spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the hall, "The demon race has been weakened by the earth's veins. Our Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation has also been initially perfected."

Zhu Rong laughed heartily: "Brother, what are we waiting for? Let's march straight to the Heavenly Court and wipe out those feathered beasts and those creatures born from wet eggs!"

Gonggong sneered, "You brute! The Heavenly Court is protected by the Zhou Tian Star Array; a direct attack will inevitably result in heavy losses. Moreover, Hongjun has decreed that the Lich King and the Demon King must not wage a full-scale war within the First Yuan Hui."

"That old Taoist has already attained enlightenment, how can he concern himself with so many things?" Zhu Rong retorted.

"How could you possibly fathom the methods of a sage?" Xuanming said coldly. "However, Gonggong is right; a direct attack is not the best strategy."

Houtu said gently, "Brothers, I have been traveling through the primordial world for a thousand years, sensing the earth and making some discoveries about the changes in the earth's veins."

The ancestral witches all looked at Houtu.

"Zhen Yuanzi used the Earth Book to block the Demon Court's use of the earth veins, seemingly targeting the demon race, but in reality..." Houtu paused, "...he was actually repairing the damage to the primordial earth veins."

"What do you mean?" Dijiang frowned.

"For tens of thousands of years, we have been repairing the primordial earth veins. Although we have gained a lot of merit as a result, but..."

"I discovered that since the beginning of the Dragon-Han Calamity, the primordial earth veins have been severely damaged by the great war, with many earth vein nodes becoming blocked and broken. Although our Wu clan is trying its best to repair them, it is only a drop in the ocean compared to the entire primordial world. This time, Zhen Yuanzi mobilized the power of the Earth Book to not only restrict the demon race, but also quietly dredge and repair these damaged earth veins."

A glint of wisdom flashed in Houtu's eyes: "His actions are for three reasons: first, revenge; second, to repair the earth's veins; and third... perhaps, to prepare for the 'tunnel'."

"An underground passage?" All the ancestral witches were taken aback.

"Recently, I have been contemplating the earth and have vaguely sensed that the primordial world not only has the Heavenly Dao, but also the Earthly Dao and the Human Dao. The Heavenly Dao governs order and rules, the Earthly Dao is still unknown, and the Human Dao governs the evolution of living beings. The three should be in balance, but since the beginning of time, the Earthly Dao has remained hidden, and the Human Dao is even weaker."

Houtu continued, "Zhen Yuanzi is in charge of the Book of Earth and is a well-known ancestor of earth immortals in the prehistoric world. Perhaps... he is the chosen sage seed of the Earthly Dao."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent.

After a long silence, Dijiang said in a deep voice, "If that's really the case, then Zhen Yuanzi's ambitions are no small matter. But his restoration of the earth's veins will only benefit our Wu clan. Our Wu clan is born of the earth and grows up on the earth; if the earth's veins are strong, our clan's fortune will also increase."

So, does this mean my Wu tribe still needs to cooperate with Zhen Yuanzi?

"Exactly." Houtu nodded. "Therefore, I believe our clan need not fight the demon race head-on. We can take advantage of Zhen Yuanzi's repair of the earth's veins to further strengthen our clan's connection with the earth and perfect the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation. Once the formation is complete, we can summon the true form of our Father God. At that time, not only the demon race, but even the saints..."

She didn't finish speaking, but a fanatical glint flashed in the eyes of all the ancestral witches.

The true form of Pangu!

What power that is!

"However," Houtu changed the subject, "the demon race will absolutely not sit idly by and wait for their doom."

"Then what should we do?" Qiangliang asked.

"I have a method that can borrow the power of the earth to set up 'Earthly Fiend Restrictions' at key ley line nodes. If the demon race forcibly attacks with the power of stars, it will trigger a backlash from the Earthly Fiends. At best, it will cause the formation to backfire; at worst, it will cause the stars to collapse!"

Houtu's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "But this method requires the help of all my brothers to activate the Earthly Fiends using the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Fiends Formation in order to succeed."

Dijiang laughed loudly: "Very well! We will do as my sister says! My Wu tribe was born of the earth, how can we allow the demon tribe to defile the mountains and rivers created by our father god with stars?"

"However," Zhu Jiuyin slowly spoke, for he wielded the power of time and could often see what others could not, "the demon race will not only have this one plan. Mount Buzhou is the central hub of the earth's veins, and the demon race will surely have designs on it. In the long river of time that I have observed, there is a segment in which the demon race destroyed Mount Buzhou, and the primordial world created by the Father God was also destroyed in an instant."