Across the Honghuang World, the Witch army marched with terrifying momentum toward the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains (Hundred Thousand Great Mountains), directly confronting the Yao headquarters. This time, the Witches had mobilized almost their entire race, determined to wipe the Yao from the face of existence. For them, this was the ultimate opportunity.
The two armies faced each other across a vast distance. The collective pressure of their auras created a visible abyss between them, shattering the firmament.
At the head of the Yao stood Kunpeng, flanked by Fuxi, Bai Ze, Ji Meng, the Queen Mother of the West, and the other giants of their race. Despite his earlier "beatdown" by the Witches, Kunpeng's ability to survive a combined assault had actually increased his prestige; even Fuxi had voluntarily deferred command to him.
Opposing them were the nine remaining Ancestral Witches, backed by elite Great Witches (Da Wu) and billions of clansmen. Their concentrated Evil Qi (Evil Qi) dyed the sky the color of fresh blood.
"Hahaha! Kunpeng, Fuxi! I'm impressed you stayed," Di Jiang laughed, his voice shaking the earth for millions of miles. "Did you realize you couldn't run, so you decided to deliver your entire race to the slaughter?"
Kunpeng gave a dark, chilling smile. "Indeed, lives will be delivered today—but not ours."
"You savages understand nothing of the Heavenly Secret. You've delivered yourselves to your own graves!"
"Deploy the Formation!"
With that roar, billions of Yao moved in perfect synchronization. The Queen Mother of the West, Bai Ze, and Ji Meng each unfurled a divine flag.
"This is..." Di Jiang's face shifted. A sudden, cold premonition gripped the hearts of the Ancestral Witches.
Within a single heartbeat, the Five Elements Grand Array (Five Elements Grand Array) manifested. The power of the Five Elements began to circulate in an endless loop, weaving the very laws of the Great Dao into the air.
Yin and Yang were thrown into chaos; the elements were inverted. A hazy, primordial mist swallowed the sky and earth. The five directions were sealed, radiating an aura of absolute suppression. The Witches realized this was no ordinary spell; it was an array that rivaled the Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation.
"Beasts! You dare use such trickery?" Qiang Liang roared, trembling with fury.
"Trickery? You, who bullied us with formations for eons, dare speak of trickery?" Guiche laughed maniacally. "We'll give you time. Go on—try to form your own array with only nine of you!"
"Enough talk! Kill!" Kunpeng commanded.
The Grinder of Elements
The Five Elements Grand Array surged forward. Its cycles were ruthless: where the elements harmonized, the Yao were granted absolute defense; where they clashed, the Witches faced infinite killing intent.
In an instant, the elements were inverted. Massive swaths of the Witch army were vaporized or crushed by elemental pressure. The Void Realm (Void Realm) itself began a cycle of constant destruction and rebirth.
"I'll tear you apart!" Zhu Rong (God of Fire) roared, transforming into a million-foot-tall titan and lashing out with True Fire that ignited the clouds.
Di Jiang tried to use his Space Law (Space Law) to shift his warriors to safety, but he found the space was locked. The Five Elements Grand Array had anchored the entire dimension. They were trapped in a cage, and the only way out was to break it by force.
"Focus all attacks on a single point! Break the array!" Di Jiang shouted. The Ancestral Witches assumed their true forms, shielding the weaker members of their race while unleashing a torrent of Law-power that drowned the void.
The Observers
"I had thought to force Di Jun and Tai Yi into the fray to balance the scales," Jieyin remarked from the clouds, "but the Sanqing were far more direct. The Witches are in for a massacre."
"This is thanks to Ling Xiao killing those three Ancestral Witches," Zhunti added with a pious smile. "Without those three, even with this array, the Yao wouldn't be winning this easily." Seeing the Witches—who had once stolen their mountain—being pummeled brought them a quiet, cynical joy. "Once they exhaust each other, it will be the end for the Crows and the Witches alike."
At Kunlun Mountain, the Sanqing watched with satisfaction.
"At this rate, the Witches won't hold for long," Yuanshi sneered. "Faced with defeat at the hands of those they once called 'ants,' the Witches will surely grow desperate. Desperation leads to madness, and madness leads to self-destruction."
"Indeed. The Great Trend is irreversible," Laozi added calmly. Their calculation was finally bearing fruit.
The Sacrifice of Shebishi
Back at the battlefield, the Witches were nearing their breaking point. Under the constant pressure of the array, even the Ancestral Witches were beginning to sustain heavy injuries. Kunpeng, standing at the heart of the formation, was in high spirits. He constantly launched surprise attacks, picking off Great Witches and weakening the Ancestral Witches with clinical efficiency.
Driven to the brink, the Ancestral Witches launched a final, desperate charge. But the array's greatest strength was its durability. Even their combined might couldn't shatter the elemental walls immediately.
Seeing his kin being slaughtered, Shebishi (Weather Witch), who was already gravely wounded, made a fateful choice.
"Father Pangu, witness our final pride!"
With a world-shaking roar, Shebishi Self-Detonated (Self-Detonated). The explosion of an Ancestral Witch was unthinkable; it tore a massive hole through the Five Elements Grand Array and vaporized tens of millions of Yao instantly.
In the ensuing chaos, the remaining Ancestral Witches led the survivors through the breach, fleeing back toward Mount Buzhou.
The Yao had won. For the first time in the millions of years of their conflict, they had secured a historical, crushing victory over the Witches. They had killed an Ancestral Witch.
The Yao erupted in celebration, but they were already planning the second strike—a final march on Mount Buzhou to exterminate the Pangu bloodline once and for all. The Great Powers of the world were stunned; the "invincible" Witches had been humbled overnight.
As the Witches limped back to their ancestral home, their spirits broken, a mysterious silhouette arrived silently at the base of Mount Buzhou.