Two uninvited guests arrived at a large mansion in Demon City; the countenances of the Phoenix Tribe were so gloomy they could drip water.

When Demon City received other forces, they were arranged to stay in inns. For Great Xia, Buddha Country, Long Clan, Phoenix Tribe, the accommodations were even more upscale, arranged in mansions.

An elder from the Di Jiang Clan came uninvited, once again attempting to persuade the Phoenix Tribe to surrender.

The Phoenix Tribe also had an ancient figure akin to a living fossil, who personally came forward to refuse.

In such high-level confrontations, even the Phoenix Tribe Clan Leader, Jiang Xi, could only stand on the sidelines.

"Jiang Mingzi, it is said that ’heroes struggle to find a wise ruler.’ Our ancestor actively wants to accept you. If your tribe could join the Demon Nation, the position of the second largest clan would be yours. Opportunities like this are rare; treasure it well!" the Di Jiang Clan elder said with a smile that barely concealed a threat in his eyes.

Another unwelcome visitor was the Clan Leader of the Taozhu Clan, with a Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivation level. His mere presence brought immense pressure to the Phoenix Tribe members.

"My Phoenix Tribe will not join any forces. Please leave!" responded the Phoenix living fossil, unfazed by their antics. From the records left by the ancestors, the Ancient Di Jiang was not an easy character to deal with; joining the Demon Nation was probably not as simple as it sounded.

"Leave? Jiang Mingzi, have you misunderstood something? I’m not here to ask you; I’m here to command you!"

"What do you intend to do!" roared the Phoenix living fossil.

"What to do?" The Taozhu Clan Leader sneered, pulling out a golden decree from his bosom. It radiated Immortal charm and was bedazzled with pearls and jewels, clearly a first-class Immortal treasure.

"See what this is!"

The Di Jiang Clan elder activated the decree with his Essence Blood. The decree was imprinted with the Dao Fruit Outline of the Ancient Di Jiang, and it also contained the full power of a strike from the Ancient Di Jiang.

If one could not withstand this strike, they would be branded with a master-servant imprint, submitting to the Ancient Di Jiang!

The Taozhu Clan Leader had submitted in exactly this manner.

"A Semi-Immortal decree!" Jiang Mingzi recognized immediately what the item was, due to the continuous legacy of the Phoenix Tribe.

"Summon the ancestor’s token!"

As if facing a formidable enemy, he too pulled out a treasure from his bosom, a jade pendant intricately carved with a lifelike phoenix.

A colorful phoenix emerged from the pendant no larger than a palm, burning with True Fire, emitting a lazy yet astonishing aura, its presence in no way inferior to the Semi-Immortal decree.

Two silent and formless auras collided, as if two great demons from Ancient Times were contending across three hundred thousand years.

Boom——

Suddenly, the Semi-Immortal decree self-ignited, bursting into fierce flames. It became dim as if it were burnt paper, the aura of the Ancient Di Jiang no longer present, the imprint of the Dao Fruit Outline riddled with holes.

"Cough——"

The Di Jiang Clan elder and the Taozhu Clan Leader both stepped back, coughing up blood slightly.

"You may leave now," said Jiang Mingzi, holding the phoenix jade pendant, his expression unchanged.

"Very well, very well, you sure did well!" The Di Jiang Clan elder and the Taozhu Clan Leader laughed in anger, knowing they were outmatched, and left the mansion.

...

"Mr. Ji, is it really safe for us to be in Demon City?" whispered Kong Hao, shrinking his neck; his body was sealed with the old Taozhu, Ji Xiong. At Ji Xiong’s strong insistence, he reluctantly came to Demon City to gain some experience.

"Be braver. There are many from the Human race who come to Demon City. If you keep quiet, no one will notice you," the old Taozhu said confidently with a smile.

He was a contender for the position of clan leader who failed and got sealed in Kong Hao’s body. Hearing about the establishment of a nation in the Demon Territory, with the Taozhu Clan as part of it, he insisted on coming to see it for himself.

"Hm?"

The old Taozhu looked up, noticing two disheveled figures in the sky.

One of them was his old adversary, the current Clan Leader of the Taozhu Clan.

"What happened?" Kong Hao asked.

"Nothing much, just encountered an expected acquaintance," replied the old Taozhu indifferently.

...

The elder from the Di Jiang Clan and the Clan Leader from the Taozhu crossed several layers of guards without pausing for their salutes and hurried to the depths of Demon City.

In the depths of Demon City, where the light was dim, Ancient Di Jiang revealed his true form and sat on the massive imperial throne, resembling a small mountain.

To both sides of the throne stood rows of equally majestic and huge figures, faintly exuding the aura of beings in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, recognized in the Demon Territory as the existence of Demon Emperors.

As a being of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage himself, the elder from the Di Jiang Clan feared no Demon Emperor; his loyalty was to the ancient ancestor seated on the imperial throne.

The Ancient Ancestor valued hierarchical order; only those in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage were qualified to speak with him.

The two demons slowed their pace, knelt on both knees, and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the Phoenix Tribe has sent their reply."

Ancient Di Jiang opened his eyes, which were frighteningly bright like two full moons, cold and profound.

"What did the Phoenix Tribe say?"

The elder, filled with indignation, replied, "The Phoenix Tribe stubbornly refuses to repent, and their stance is firm; they are unwilling to submit to Your Majesty. Regardless of whether I promised them high status in the Demon Nation, second only to our clan, or threatened them with force if they did not agree, nothing worked."

"We two carried the Imperial decree from our Ancient Ancestor, and pressed them with force but the Phoenix Tribe brought forth a phoenix jade pendant left by the Phoenix Ancestor to counter us, and we failed to control them."

The elder pulled out the Imperial decree from his chest; what was once a glistening, sacred command now tattered, clearly having endured severe damage and rendered unusable.

The expressions of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage great demons who flanked the imperial throne varied. This kind of decree contained the power of Ancient Di Jiang. It was precisely this kind of decree that had controlled them when the envoys of the Di Jiang Clan used it in the past.

They had not refrained from trying to rebel, but the decree’s power was too formidable, and its changes too swift for them to react.

Not receiving the result he wanted, Ancient Di Jiang coldly huffed, shaking the space around him in dissatisfaction.

"Obstinate and foolish!"

He recalled his experiences from the Ancient Times, particularly the battles between Semi-Immortals, and his expression grew even uglier.

He knew the origins of that jade pendant: Lianyi liked jade flutes, and the jade pendant was a remnant piece from making a jade flute, a token of Lianyi, seeing the pendant was as seeing her.

"Do they really think that I’m afraid of the Phoenix Tribe? Let alone Lianyi’s absence, even if she were present, the Phoenix Tribe wouldn’t have the courage to defy me!"

He had undergone earth-shattering changes since the Ancient Times. Through the Dao Fruit Outline, he controlled nearly a hundred major clans, ten beings in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, and had a multitude of powerful subordinates under him. The Dao Fruit Outline had become increasingly perfected in this process, showing signs of coalescing.

Saying that it was a completely different time would not be an exaggeration.

If he could not solve even the minor issue of the Phoenix Tribe, what would have been the point of his dangerous awakening from the ancient slumber?

"If the Phoenix Tribe does not join the Demon Nation, it leads a significant number of races in the Demon Territory to follow their lead and also refuse to surrender."

"To unify the Demon Territory and establish the Demon Nation, the problem with the Phoenix Tribe must be resolved, either by making them submit or by erasing them from existence!"

"Today I have been benevolent, so if in the future the Phoenix Tribe is annihilated, let them have no grievances..."

The eyes of Ancient Di Jiang were cold and stern; unifying the Demon Territory would aid in advancing his Cultivation Level further, completing his transformation from a Semi-Immortal to an Immortal.

Others were waiting for the Great Era to fully revive, waiting for opportunities, but he did not need to wait for that chance. Today, the lack of powerful beings in the Demon Territory was his opportunity.

By acting early to seek the path to Immortality, he would then become a player in the revival of the Great Era!

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Unifying the Demon Territory was just the first step; next, he intended to unify the East Sea, bringing the Sea Clan under his dominion, thus becoming unprecedentedly powerful.

With both the East Sea and the Demon Territory under his control, he would leap to become the number one power in the Cultivation World, surpassing Great Xia and the Buddha Country!

He could even venture further, attacking Great Xia and the Buddha Country to unify the Cultivation World.

By that time, it would be useless for anyone to awaken; even if the Four Ancient Immortals were to return, he would not fear them!

What he needed to do now was to ensure a successful founding ceremony and establish the Demon Nation, so that attacking the Phoenix Tribe would be justified, and no one could fault him.

Given the high status of the Phoenix Tribe in the Demon Territory, if he acted prematurely, it would easily tarnish his reputation and be detrimental to his image.

"Phoenix Tribe... I hope you can still be this defiant during the founding ceremony!"