March

From the waters of the East Sea, pits opened up as armies of men and women rose into the sky. Legions of immortals of all kinds standing side by side, all dressed in armour signifying their loyalties to the dragons. Armies which numbered in the quintillions, potentially far more.

It wasn't just the supreme beings above the Golden Immortal fighting. Now every last lifeform who could were encouraged to fight against the devils. True Immortals, Profound Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, even mortal creatures who had yet to pass Dragon's Gate or the Immortal Tribulation were coming out in droves.

Wether these beings could make a difference was still left to be seen. But at this point, the people wishing to defend the Primitive World would take on anyone they could get.

Each and every one of these rising armies were some form of sea creature who were natives of the ocean. Only a small minority were land based innate creatures. Leading them were of course dragons who stood at the Great Principle realm at the very least.

These were the vanguards of the armies Zulong assembled in the aftermath of the first battle. Knowing the stakes, he spared no expenses in using up every last bit of resource he could to bolster his forces. It wasn't inaccurate to say that the full brunt of the ocean's fighting power was concentrated within these soldiers.

"So many immortals," Da Hai said offhandedly. He stood atop a cliff overlooking the eastern shore of the East Continent. With both hands behind his back, he cut a solemn figure. "Not many of them will survive."

"The world's is crying out for help. Every cultivator desires to do their part. Who am I to deny them?" Zulong answered from beside his master. "Though I would've appreciated more help in management. It's been a nightmare coordinating these people."

Despite returning some time ago, Da Hai had not gone to fight the West Continent after his first attack. Rather, he approached things with caution and planned alongside Zulong.

The number of lifeforms intending to invade the west was enormous. Zufeng had already created a base in the South Continent while Zulong was gathering the eastern forces to meat up with her. Other smaller cells had already begun fighting in the western shore.

Thankfully, as immortals no one had to worry about food or diseases.

With mighty powerhouses who'd undoubtedly be busy combating each other, thus tying each other down. Smaller figures should ideally able to wreck havoc on devil bases or perform specific tasks while the Chaos Immortals, or Golden Immortals were distracted. Da Hai understood this and thus, aside from warnings about how little their power would mean in the grand scheme of things, did not stop weaker lifeforms from joining in.

"Have you received any word from the Qilin Sovereign?" Da Hai asked.

"No. Unfortunately, unsurprisingly he hasn't talked to me since Mt Buzhou collapsed." Zulong wore an angry frown as he reported so. "Master, as I do not know his current disposition, It'll be up to you, me, Zufeng, and Hongjun to break the Immortal Extermination Formation."

The air turned cold.

Zulong felt a chill run down his spine.

The dragon gazed at his seemingly calm master with an unsure look. "Master, we need his help in this conflict. We do not have enough individuals with the strength of Limitless Supreme Chaos Immortals. Considering Qiankun ran as well, I don't believe he would be reliable. Meanwhile Hongjun is at the very least dedicated to the Primitive World's prolonged existence."

Da Hai did not answer the dragon for several minutes. The two continued to watch silently as groups of dragons led more and more cultivators out of the ocean. Luckily for Zulong, the freezing feeling disappeared after a while.

"Heavens Qiankun, he always favoured himself above all else. I'll have to track him down."

"He ran the last time. Pragmatically speaking, Hong…"

"I take it that the rogue cultivators of the East Continent will move as an alliance of tribes? They won't join up under either you or the Phoenix Sovereign? But rather as an equal?"

"Master…"

"Won't their desire to do so offend many dragons? Especially the ones fully invested in world domination?"

"Master…"

"Answer the question Zulong."

"…"

"Yes. But they maintain that they will coordinate with our forces. But only as an equal as a political entity."

"I'm surprise. With so much bad blood I thought they'll move on their own and ignore you entirely," Da Hai chuckled.

"Master, Sichen, Destiny Demon God, and Yingyang are dead. Qiankun is unreliable and Hongjun and you are the only Limitless Supreme Chaos Immortal here who I know are committed."

However, its like Da Hai did not even hear the dragon. He continued asking about the various situations around the world, most of which he should already be aware of. Zulong narrowed his gaze at Da Hai's blatant attempt at dodging the subject matter at hand.

Both of them knew of the power of Luohu's formation. And both of them were aware that on their own, none of them can do anything about it.

Da Hai was already intimately aware of said formation. According to his human knowledge, it was a magical array of such power that it required four saints or equivalent lifeforms to break. However, in this reality separated from fiction, it was a formation requiring at least four individuals of equivalent strength to the user to break. But as the Buzhou battle had proven, this was only in theory.

"Master we seriously…"

"Fucks sakes," Da Hai interrupted rudely. His eyes twitched with annoyance, however his lips broke out into dark amusement soon after.

None of this was aimed at Zulong however.

The dragon turned his gaze towards Kailong Chen. There he saw what his master was looking at. A dispute between his dragon ministers and some of the innate gods.

"Those, 'Pangu authentic decedents,' are proving to be a pain," Zulong said.

"I was going to hand back any predisposed assumptions for Yuanshi as false, but he is sounding just like what I'd thought," Da Hai said. His eyes then trailed a bit to the side at a certain monkey.

Zulong followed his gaze and frowned. "I'm surprised he's not kicking up a fuss."

"He's arrogant and self aggrandizing, but he is savvy enough to know when to back down," Da Hai said. "He knows better then to pick fights at his current condition."

Da Hai did not think much of Liu Er. The only thing the monkey and his disturbingly touch body was good for was to bash people's brains in. Thats why he had elected to send him into the front lines and only on the most brutal of battlefields where he can be put to use.

After all, for all his personality, his physique was still useful as a weapon to throw at the devils. He may be incompetent the art of immortal cultivation, but he has a unique talent in the form of cultivating the flesh. What's more, his six ears' ability to perceive sound made illusionary abilities near pointless. He was perfect as a battering ram to kill devils.

"But he does remind you of someone doesn't he?" Da Hai added in amusement. Simultaneously he sent a smirk Zulong's way. "But I digress. As long as he's willing to fight for the defense of the Primitive World. You better sort this issue out before it gets out of hand, Yuanshi's pride is legendary."

"I'll deal with him," Zulong grunted.

Zulong's figure dived as a mass of light and reached far beneath the waves in an instant. Da Hai released a sigh of relief as his eldest disciple left him. The elder immortal gazed at the sky with a blank look.

"Even Yi Fei'e and her sisters is relentless in joining the fighting," he mused. A concerned look gradually erupted across his face.

…

Zulong appeared back in Kailong Chen with an agitated expression. As such he did not bother with a gentle entrance and stomped his way into the army camps with a 'thud!' The resulting burst of waves did not knock anyone back but did indicate them to the Dragon Sovereigns mood.

"What is the issue here?" He inquired while glaring at all parties present.

Said parties, Yuanshi and Hong subconsciously took a step back. Even those watching, many of whom were innate gods were panicked by the aura the dragon produced.

"Your majesty," Hong immediately bowed low. "This unaffiliated immortal was questioning my decision to not give them command of their own army."

"Respectfully speaking Dragon Sovereign," Yuanshi interrupted. "We three siblings have proven ourselves in the battle at Mt Buzhou. As true descendants of Pangu it is only fair for us to lead soldiers into battle."

'Twelve others will dispute you for that,' Zulong did not respond to Yuanshi despite his thoughts. In fact, on the surface he barely even acknowledged the innate god. "Wake up your sister," he said to Hong.

Hong nodded and a change occurred. The rainbow dragon's masculine body disappeared in a flash of light and out emerged a sleepy women who looked eighty percent similar to Hong. At Zulong's expecting look, a shadowy dragon emerged from the woman's shoulder.

"We entrusted you smooth over things. Why does this group keep having descent? Why does this topic continue cropping up."

Nii and Hong glanced at one another before speaking in unison. "Your majesty, you have seen this young man's attitude right?"

"What?" Yuanshi recoiled with visible anger.

"Nii Hong are the most experienced in educating brats in our clan. Clearly you are one troubled youth," Zulong mocked.

A young woman and an elderly man, Tongtian and Taishang were tapping Yuanshi's arm this entire time. Yet he did not seem to want to stop.

"What is so wrong with leading our own force? We're among the strongest beings in the world. Not even Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals can survive us in single combat," Yuanshi arrogantly proclaimed.

All the other innate gods who spectated did not speak for or against him. He was right in that the Three Pure Ones were truly among the top tier expects despite still being classified as Primal Origin Chaos Immortals. Many of them were also somewhat offended that they could not lead their own armies.

The pride of innate gods were a profound thing.

A certain monkey stood a bit further off observing Zulong. His eyes held nothing but disdain despite his best efforts. On the other hand, he found it extremely satisfying to see Yuanshi getting his would be comeuppance. The sadistic side of him almost made him open his mouth for further fuel.

'Deserved, close minded asshole.' He knew Yuanshi and his hatred of people with fur and armour. He wasn't sure what armour was through mtl but it likely referred to scales. Either way, he didn't like Yuanshi one bit.

"Tell us," Zulong began. "Yuanshi was it? What's your experience in commanding an army?" He pointed at several dragon officers in the distance. "See them? They've led armies before. I know them and what they can do. They know what to prioritize and when to retreat. They know how to raise morale and how to coordinate with each other. What experiences do you have?"

Yuanshi did not know how to answer that.

"I told you, you didn't think things through," Tongtian whispered in his ear. Even the norm ally calm and steady Taishang appeared displeased. But Yuanshi wasn't one to back down, at least not initially. He felt insulted he was ignored when commanding positions were handed out.

This was supposed to be an alliance of all living beings across the Primitive World right? Then why were dragons leading everything? It didn't sound much better in the South Continent either, from news, there it was phoenixes being given command over everything. It was plain nepotism.

He wondered if he should've refused Zulong's invitation to the innate gods and gone to the East Continent instead. The treasure reward didn't seemed too appealing in hindsight.

"With all due respect…"

THOOM!

Yuanshi suddenly dropped to his knees with a shocked look of pain.

"Aside from the ability to hit things really really hard, you are nothing," Zulong rebuked. "The ability to punch someone really hard isn't going to help you in leading any army. You're gonna run all our forces into ruin. So be a good soldier and follow your orders."

Tongtian sent a venomous glare at Zulong but Taishang quickly shushed her. The elderly man bent down to inspect Yuanshi and helped him up.

"Apologies your majesty but my brother was angsty for action. We've been sitting still too long and the knowledge that there's an enemy threatening out father god's universe while we sit still does not sit well with any of us," he explained.

"You've all gotten your assigned roles already. Follow them and we'll may see all of us survive this storm," Zulong grunted in response. He turned around and left without further notice.

Nii breathed a sigh of relief after her clan head left. Raising a hand, she rubbed the sleep out of her eye and took a glance at the other assembled innate gods.

While the lessor cultivators were marshaled and sent eastwards. They were scouting forces sent to probe the devils' response. Majority of the mighty figures were waiting for further information from Da Hai, Zulong, Zufeng, and similar ranking individuals. Not everything was cohesive and there were still a bit of confusion.

"So as my brother was saying," she began. "You three brothers will join the ninth army and attack West Continent through the south with the Phoenix Sovereigns armies."

She continued on with informing the other innate gods the rest of their assignments without much pushback. Since all their roles essentially boiled down to the same thing, join one of the East Sea armies and kill devils.

The god from the Blood Sea Minghe grew a wide smile at the prospects. The swords strapped to his back were practically vibrating with a crimson aura. The only one with as much bloodlust as him was Liu Er himself.

"Hold on, what about Nuwa? She hasn't been given a role," Leizu the Thunder Patriarch asked. Fuxi glared at him from afar at his sister's mention while the woman in question shrugged.

"She's to remain here for now. His majesty acknowledges that her difficulties with controlling her newly acquired strength to be very real and that she must perfect the strength of a Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal before joining the battle. As I'm sure you know, if her power goes out of control she could harm herself and our men," Nii explained in a condescending tone.

It was at that moment that Hong wrestled control back from her. The male human form replaced the female and he continued where they left off.

"Xihe, Changxi, please come with me," he said.

After the three left, the rest of the innate gods shrugged and began heading off one after the other. Recognizing what army they were supposed to join was simple enough. Their high power level made them strong weapons for any of them.

…

The average strength of Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals in the Devilish Dao was below that of the outsiders. This was the disturbing thought running through many devil's heads.

Beneath the covered sky of the West Continent, a new formation was put in place. It was derived from Luohu's Immortal Extermination Four Swords and only served to prevent long range snipping attacks like the one Da Hai attempted not too long ago.

The godfiends' monstrous attack was just another reminder at their current precarious position. Numerous devils were working to recuperate their lost strength. Survival was the only thing on their minds right now.

With the deaths of so many Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal devils, many devils of lesser cultivation ranks were suddenly free to move up. However, there just weren't enough powerful devils ready to make the jump as many of the weaker levels had also died on Buzhou.

A gathering of the remaining Great Devil Emperors was held outside of Mt Sumeru. The leading figures of the devils were unable to meet Luohu as their esteemed patriarch had disappeared into seclusion again. To their frustration, Hundun was the only one of their leaders who emerged.

"Great Hundun, you've heard the same news as us. What are we to do with this threat?" One of the emperors asked.

The faceless godfiend appeared to be stuck in thought as well.

"Patriarch Luohu has already made his intentions known. All devils must defend the west. Luohu is storing power and when he is ready, he will annihilate all threats to the Devilish Dao," Hundun said. "He wants you all to not worry. Perform you're roles and he will attack when he has recovered."

"Consider that between every living being in the Primitive World, very few can actually withstand a single blow of his," he added.

Various Great Devil Emperors glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. To say their confidence in their founder was free-falling was an understatement.

Every single devil who were in the know were unsure of their future. Luohu had callously tried to destroy everything. And now their entire lineage was the target of everyone.

'We don't have any other choice do we?' They all thought.

"All is not lost," Hundun said. "We have counter measures in place. Luohu, Mara, and I have devised methods to keep the Devils Dao strong."

He beckoned them closer and locked space time with a flick of his wrist. No one else was permitted to hear what he was about to share. The faceless godfiend then told them of a news which shocked them to their very core.

After he died so he performed a spell on all of these devils. His magical powers placed a seal on their minds. This information cannot be allowed to leak.

"Get all your sects into fighting shape. See to it that the west is defended," Hundun ordered them.

Subsequently, the West Continent began fortifying their defenses. Since the outside world wants to invade their territory? They'll turn it into a death trap. Every resource they could muster, every individual of whatever renown. They just had to hold things out until Luohu can make his strike.

Hundun meanwhile took all these seemingly stressful events as if it were another day of the week. Instead he glanced eastwards towards the spot Rippling Reflection had perished.

…

Events were in motion. Large armies of immortals moved across the continent. Wether by their own abilities, or by transportation devices. The vast powers of the east and south were converging for a final time before a full invasion.

Meanwhile smaller cells brawled against devil sects upon the edges of the West Continent. The fighting, though bloody had not reached anywhere near the reality destroying devastation as the first battle at Buzhou.

None of this was in Da Hai's immediate attention. The sea god instead appeared over the skies of the East Continent. Through his divine senses, he scoured the lush forests and gentle plains for his target.

Wordlessly, he flew towards a spatially distorted area in an unassuming mountain range. By reaching out through his Dao of Distant Seas, he identified a location that exhibited similar properties to his understanding of the Dao. A location that simultaneously existed within the physical realm yet was also far away in a dimension of its own.

"Reveal yourself," he demanded. With a swipe of his right hand, spatial distortions were dissipated until a clear path towards a mountain engulfed in purple clouds appeared.

Mt Yujing was forced to reveal itself for the first time in ages. Atop the mountain, Da Hai landed before the front gate of the Zixiao Palace. With a second flick of his index finger, he forced the gargantuan doors open with thunderous noise.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A young girl called out from within. "No one is allowed into may master's property!"

Da Hai's attention was however, not on her. Rather it landed on the white robed young boy standing beside her. Both of them locked eyes and it took only a brief second before Da Hai recognized his splintered division.

"I will not repeat myself again!" The girl yelled. She leapt into the air and manifested a sword in her hand to attack.

"Wait Yaochi!" The young boy, Haotian called out. 'Do not hurt her!' He roared through his and Da Hai's shared mental connection.

For his part, Da Hai waved his hand. Yaochi was flung away from him by an invisible force. She skirted across the floor and would've impacted a pillar were it not for Haotian catching her.

"Where is your master?" Da Hai asked bluntly. "Where is Hongjun?"