The territory Sha Ya had once controlled spanned a radius of ten thousand li. It had taken the Witch Bull Clan a full three months to purge every demon from that domain.
Bao Qi's territory was far larger — several times the size of Sha Ya's at least — and the demons under his command were naturally more numerous. Beyond the six or seven thousand garrisoned inside the city, roughly the same number were scattered across the surrounding lands.
A mere half month. In just fifteen days, every demon within a fifty-thousand-li radius of the city had been slaughtered to the last. Every force stationed outside had been recalled by Bao Qi on the same pretext, surrounded by the Witch Bull Clan, and cut down without the slightest chance of resistance. The efficiency was beyond anything they had managed in the preceding three months.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya had both been guessing which unlucky Demon King would be next. They kept racking their brains, dredging up the names of every Demon King who had ever offended them, preparing to submit the list to Lord Witch Bull so those wretches could share their fate.
Just as they were stamping slave labels on one Demon King after another in their minds, Yang Kai suddenly emerged from seclusion and summoned the pair. He issued an order that sent a chill of terror through both Demon Kings.
Without giving them any opportunity to question him, Yang Kai turned and left, leaving Bao Qi and Sha Ya staring at each other with wide eyes. After a moment, a shudder ran through them both.
"This plan… is a bit extreme, isn't it? What if it doesn't work…" Sha Ya hedged, torn between anxiety and reluctance.
Bao Qi had lost all inclination for his usual needle-sharp sparring with her. Over the past days he had found Sha Ya thoroughly disagreeable, but on this matter he shared her view entirely — he had been thinking about persuading Lord Witch Bull not to be so reckless.
But when he turned it over in his mind, he simply didn't have the nerve. In the end he could only sigh. "Since the Lord has given the order, we can only obey. Sha Ya, you'll have to help me with this."
Sha Ya immediately sprang away. "He asked you to do it, not me. I'm staying out of this."
Bao Qi said, "We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. Neither of us can escape responsibility."
Sha Ya chuckled softly. "If the Lord wanted me to help you, he would have said so outright. He only tasked you, which means he has his own plans. If I were to help you, that would probably ruin everything."
Bao Qi's brow furrowed. He suspected it was merely an excuse, but the reasoning wasn't without merit. With a resigned sigh, he went to make his preparations.
Unlike Sha Ya, he had had very little direct contact with that Witch Bull. After returning to the city half a month ago, the man had remained in seclusion the entire time, seemingly deaf and blind to the world outside. But Bao Qi knew better — everything that happened in the city was observed by those eyes.
And that carefully maintained distance, that air of mystery, only deepened Bao Qi's dread of the Witch Bull.
Before long, at the city wall, demonic energy surged around Bao Qi's body. Tendrils of it detached from him like living things, twisting and contorting in midair until they coalesced into one black crow after another, wheeling and circling with harsh, grating caws.
Bao Qi swept his hand outward. The black crows scattered in every direction, more than twenty in all.
Watching the crows vanish into the distance, Bao Qi suddenly shuddered. If this strategy succeeded, the demon race was going to suffer catastrophic losses. It wouldn't cripple them at the root, but it would deal a devastating blow to morale.
The next several days passed uneventfully. Without battles to fight, the Witch Bull Clan rested and conserved their strength within the city, while Yang Kai remained behind closed doors, devoting himself to his breakthrough toward the Witch King realm.
The laws of heaven and earth in the Primordial World were fundamentally different. They had given rise to witches — a unique and extraordinary lineage — but regardless of how many paths led to the ultimate pinnacle, the destination was always the same.
Yang Kai already possessed the foundation of an Emperor Realm cultivator. Practicing the witches' methods in this ancient world had allowed him to gain insights by analogy. The deeper he went, the more acutely he recognized his own former weaknesses. He was certain that if he ever found a way out of this secret realm, his strength would increase dramatically — even if his cultivation level itself had not risen.
Five days later, Yang Kai emerged from seclusion.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya were waiting respectfully outside.
"Let's go," Yang Kai said with a gesture, striding forward. The two Demon Kings followed obediently behind.
A day's journey later, Yang Kai came to a stop over a stretch of barren wasteland. He scanned the surroundings — not a soul in sight, nothing but empty silence.
"This is the place you chose?" Yang Kai asked.
"Yes," Bao Qi replied respectfully. After a hesitant pause he added, "If my Lord finds it unsuitable, we can select another."
"No need. This will do." Yang Kai nodded, drew a deep breath, and opened his mouth. A round, lustrous bead rolled out.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya both peered at it with curiosity, wondering what exactly this bead was. Demonic beasts and the barbaric beasts of this land both possessed inner cores, but they had never heard of witches carrying them.
Moreover, the power emanating from that smooth, spherical bead was utterly unique — it didn't look anything like an inner core.
While they were still puzzling over it, the bead suddenly began to spin, faster and faster, until in an instant it vanished entirely. In its place appeared a visible vortex, its interior a churning chaos of void that devoured all light, as though it led to some other mysterious world.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya both froze, their expressions going blank — but only for a moment before understanding dawned.