Chapter 147: Hongjun's Poisonous Scheme

“Shen Ni, what do you mean by that?”

“Are you blaming me for the Great Primordial War of the Ten Thousand Clans, sparked by those five little brats?”

Hongjun stared coldly at Shen Ni across from him. His black eyes suddenly transformed into supreme, noble purple orbs, icy and merciless as he spoke in a grim tone.

“Hmph!” Shen Ni was not intimidated by Hongjun in the slightest. His chaotic beast eyes locked onto Hongjun’s supreme purple gaze as he sneered, “Save your act! Who cares about your sacred might, except for those weak ants who haven’t reached the Saint Realm?”

“I am exactly blaming you,” Shen Ni said more bluntly. “We agreed that you, Hongjun, would oversee the grand affairs of the Primordial Era. Yet, what have you been doing?”

“I told you before to eliminate Nan Luo, this unstable factor. But you insisted Nan Luo was an outsider from beyond the heavens, saying we could use him to catch the mastermind behind the scenes, and thus delayed killing him.”

“And look now,” Shen Ni swept his gaze over the gathered demon gods, spreading his hands with a cold laugh. “Under Nan Luo’s instigation, those five brats not only claim themselves as Emperors, but seek to overthrow our rule by exploiting the calamity of the ferocious beasts.”

Though outwardly calm, the demon gods harbored growing dissent against Hongjun’s decisions.

This world was ruthless.

Mistakes had to be admitted, and beatings accepted with discipline.

When Hongjun said the mastermind could be caught through Nan Luo, the demon gods agreed and supported him.

But now, it had all fallen apart. That little one named Nan Luo not only intended to overturn the Primordial chessboard but stirred the other four to rebel against the demon gods’ dominion.

Such betrayal was intolerable.

Nan Luo must be wiped from existence—no grave, no soul, no trace left anywhere in endless time and space—to quell the demon gods’ fury.

And naturally, the saintly Hongjun who protected Nan Luo would bear their blame.

Hongjun observed each demon god’s expression carefully. Though their faces appeared composed, having interacted with them for billions of years, he could see their dissatisfaction clearly.

Shen Ni’s instigations only deepened their resentment toward him.

On the surface, Hongjun remained unmoved and calm, seemingly indifferent to Shen Ni’s attacks, but inwardly he raged, “That bastard Shen Ni is determined to oppose me.”

“Fellow gods, tell me, should Hongjun be held responsible for this so-called Great Primordial War of the Ten Thousand Clans?” Shen Ni cast his cold gaze over the assembled demon gods before sneering at Hongjun.

Present were six chaotic demon gods: besides Hongjun and Shen Ni, there were four others—Amitabha, Yang Mei, Ancestor Qian Kun, and Ancestor Yin Yang.

Amitabha and Yang Mei were unfathomably powerful and uninterested in the power struggles of the Primordial Era, so they remained silent.

Ancestor Qian Kun oversaw the Qilin clan, and Ancestor Yin Yang the Phoenix clan. Both harbored longstanding resentment toward Hongjun’s control over the Dragon clan and the ferocious beasts.

Now that Shen Ni had launched his first salvo against Hongjun, by prior agreement, Ancestor Qian Kun and Ancestor Yin Yang were expected to join the attack.

Hongjun ignored Shen Ni’s sneer and turned his gaze to the other four demon gods, immediately noticing a difference: Amitabha and Yang Mei remained composed and unmoved, but Qian Kun and Yin Yang showed signs of agitation.

“Hmph! It seems Shen Ni, Qian Kun, and Yin Yang have already conspired,” Hongjun’s eyes darkened with anger. “They’re attempting to force me out.”

Just as Qian Kun and Yin Yang prepared to denounce Hongjun’s failure, Hongjun unexpectedly spoke, cutting them off instantly.

He knew he could not let them speak.

If both Qian Kun and Yin Yang voiced their criticisms, he would lose control over the Primordial Era’s grand affairs.

After all, combined, Shen Ni, Qian Kun, and Yin Yang’s strengths far surpassed his own.

“Shen Ni is right; my handling of the Nan Luo matter was indeed flawed,” Hongjun admitted first, then shifted his tone. “But as for the five Emperors’ rebellion against the saints, I cannot take responsibility for that.”

“Ha! Hongjun, do you dare shirk your duty and deny your failure?” Shen Ni interrupted harshly, mocking him.

Hongjun’s expression flickered, suppressing a surge of murderous intent. “Shen Ni, you truly deserve to die!”

With Shen Ni’s repeated taunts, and his own pride and volatile nature as a chaotic demon god, Hongjun was on the verge of unleashing his wrath.

“Fellow Shen Ni, would you wait until I finish speaking before you respond?” Hongjun placated him smoothly.

“Hmph!” Shen Ni snorted and fell silent, evidently realizing his repeated interruptions were unreasonable.

Hongjun restrained his killing intent, smiling as he explained: “In my view, the rebellion of the five Emperors was inevitable, whether Nan Luo was involved or not.”

At this, the demon gods exchanged glances, unsure of his meaning.

“Amitabha, what does Hongjun mean by this?”

The ever-neutral Amitabha asked with interest, while Yang Mei, Qian Kun, and Yin Yang also looked at Hongjun attentively.

Only Shen Ni, staring at the confident, smiling Hongjun, felt a rising unease: his scheme might be slipping through his fingers.

“Why do the Ancestor Dragon, Phoenix Emperor, Qilin Emperor, Fierce Emperor, and Nan Luo oppose our rule?”

Hongjun smiled as he posed this crucial question.

This question would determine whether the saints’ dominion could truly last forever.

“In my opinion, the five Emperors oppose the saints not merely for freedom, but to advance further—to cultivate into saints themselves,” Hongjun conjectured with a smile.

The demon gods nodded thoughtfully.

“To cultivate into saints, as far as we have told the five Emperors and as they understand, there is only one path: to ascend through the destiny of qi.”

“To unify the Primordial Era and harness the great destiny of all beings, achieving sainthood in one step.”

“Even if not the five Emperors, any emperor reaching half-Saint would inevitably cause the Great Primordial War for this destiny.”

Hongjun explained proudly, watching the demon gods with satisfaction.

“Destiny of qi to ascend to sainthood? No wonder you forbade us from revealing other paths to sainthood to the five Emperors,” Yang Mei suddenly discerned Hongjun’s calculation, a gleam flashing in his black eyes. “You intend for the five Emperors to slaughter each other, weakening the power of the Primordial beings.”

Amitabha clasped his hands with compassion and asked, “Amitabha! Fellow Hongjun, is your goal to bring forth a saintly emperor from the Great Primordial clans?”

“Exactly!” Hongjun smiled proudly. “We are but a fragment, with strength only at the Mixed Yuan Great Dao Golden Immortal level.”

“The Primordial Era, created by Pangu, is vast enough to birth a being of Mixed Yuan Great Dao Golden Immortal rank.”

“Rather than waiting for such a being to arise naturally and overthrow us, we should control the birth of this Mixed Yuan Great Dao Golden Immortal.”

“Isn’t a saintly emperor also a Mixed Yuan Great Dao Golden Immortal?!”

Ancestor Qian Kun looked at Hongjun deeply and laughed, “The battle of the five Emperors will pit the Great Primordial clans against each other. Even if a saintly emperor emerges, we can weaken the power of the Primordial beings so that this saint becomes a worthless saint!”

“What a ruthless scheme!”

“The five Emperors’ war, the slaughter of beings; destiny ascends to sainthood, a saint is born.”

“In truth, it’s merely a trap set by Hongjun.”

Upon learning Hongjun’s plan, the demon gods shivered inwardly, their hearts chilling.

“Then killing this worthless saint will be as easy as flipping one’s hand!” Ancestor Yin Yang smiled coldly. “The Primordial Era will forever remain under our rule!”

Shen Ni said nothing, his gaze piercingly fixed on Hongjun, thoughts unreadable.