Prologue: Ziwei High Priest

City of Flowing Moon, a divine city once desolate and quiet, was now filled with the sounds of battle and slaughter.

Inside the Hall of Life and Death.

A group of Central Plains Cultivators looked solemnly at the man in the wheelchair before them. The oppressive aura from earlier had been terrifyingly strong, giving them the illusion that time itself had stopped.

"The will of Heaven is always hard to question," the man in the wheelchair said calmly, unfazed by being surrounded, gently sighing. "Too much time has passed… This world no longer belongs to us. Even tribes stronger than us have perished… Prosperity inevitably declines, and things cycle through growth and decay. This is the way of Heaven. We, too… born in the cold night, will silently perish in the cold night."

Everyone looked bewildered. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Tong didn't explain, simply gazing calmly towards the center of City of Flowing Moon, in the direction of Jumu (Rectangular Wood).

"I really want to see it, to see that faint, firefly-like glimmer of light you described, A'Ye!"

On the path towards Jumu, a woman holding a konghou blocked their way.

"Lizhu is, the other people of City of Flowing Moon are, and so are you! Why? Why do all of you sacrifice yourselves for a person like that?"

Hua Yue stood with effort, her gaze incredibly firm. "A person like that? Heh, yes, in your eyes, he is indeed an unforgivable demon. But… for the sake of City of Flowing Moon, he has almost given up everything. His entire life has been dedicated to protecting his people, so at least today, no matter what, I must protect him!"

"…That feeling of wanting to protect someone no matter what, I understand it. But is it truly worth it?"

Hua Yue took a deep breath. "I will absolutely not let you pass… That is, more precious than my life, more precious than everything, the only thing I possess! It is the sole meaning of my existence!"

Meanwhile, beneath the Jumu tree.

The Ziwei High Priest, dressed in ornate robes, appearing solemn and dignified, was confronting a figure shrouded in black mist.

"Do you see? Your loyal subordinates are dying one by one. If you keep blocking me, you, the High Priest, will be all alone!" The black mist surged, and these sinister and bizarre words came from the mouth of a delicate and adorable little girl.

"Going against the heavens, how could there be no retribution? As for you, I didn't expect that in a moment of carelessness, you, this mongrel, would occupy Xiao Xi's body!" Shen Ye said in a deep voice.

"Xiao Xi" chuckled softly. "If you, the High Priest, had remained in City of Flowing Moon, it would have been impossible for this Lord to act under your nose. It's just unfortunate that you have too many constraints!"

Meeting Shen Ye's somber gaze, "Xiao Xi" continued, "In ancient times, Mount Buzhou's pillar collapsed, the sky cracked, and the Six Realms were in chaos. Shennong used Jumu as a foundation and built City of Flowing Moon here, guiding the gods to refine the Five-Colored Stones, which were given to Nüwa to mend the sky. However, mending the sky was a long and arduous process, causing grievous casualties in the human realm, and the gods were preoccupied. It was your Lieshan Tribe that volunteered to assist in City of Flowing Moon, which finally quelled the disaster! Yet, as heroes who helped mend the sky, you were sealed within this prison by Fuxi, under the pretext of preventing the Five-Colored Stones and Jumu from leaking secrets, enduring the erosion of turbid energy day after day. Do you not harbor any resentment in your heart?"

Shen Ye remained silent. As an ancient race that had lived in this world since Pangu created the heavens and earth, their spiritual power was a hundred times that of Nüwa's lineage. They were adept at controlling spiritual energy and had long lifespans. However, correspondingly, they also had very high environmental requirements, needing to live in places with dense pure energy.

After Nüwa mended the sky, the turbid energy on Earth grew denser by the day. Apart from the Divine Realm and the blessed lands occupied by some immortal cultivation sects, it was difficult to find suitable places for them to live. Although City of Flowing Moon was high above in the sky, it could not escape the erosion of turbid energy, leading to the decline of their kin's physique, shortened lifespans, and even terminal illnesses, with limbs festering and dying in agony.

The reason he had cooperated with the other party before was that Li Ying's demonic energy could infect his kin, making them no longer fear the turbid energy.

Seeing Shen Ye's silence, "Xiao Xi" chuckled. "You made some of your kin 'betray' City of Flowing Moon and publicly draw a clear line… Frankly, I truly admire you. Knowing it was a certain death situation, so many people were still willing to stay and die with you. It's just a shame, how many people can such a trick fool? Even without evidence, a large number of people will still use the pretext of eliminating demons and defending the Dao to eliminate future troubles, after all, those people are stained with my demonic energy!"

Seeing a red glow flicker in Shen Ye's eyes, "Xiao Xi" floated over and whispered in a bewitching voice, "Let's cooperate one more time. You believe in Shennong, and the demon realm was also born because of Yan Emperor. There's no irreconcilable hatred between us. In fact, I can even consider returning Xiao Xi… Ah!"

Before the words were finished, Shen Ye's right hand pierced through "Xiao Xi's" chest like a sharp blade. "Li Ying, you talk too much!"

Li Ying looked at Shen Ye in disbelief. "You, you even kill your own sister. Could it be that your affection for her over the past hundred years was all a pretense, all to scheme against me…"

The red light in Shen Ye's eyes vanished, and he said coldly, "If possible, this Lord would naturally not wish to harm Xiao Xi. It's just that this Lord has long made up his mind—no matter the cost, I will kill you."

If Li Ying didn't die, those infected by it would eventually become its demonic slaves.

As for Xiao Xi, without his protection, it would be difficult for her to survive in this world.

Not to mention, how much pain and torment would her identity as his culpable sister bring her?

Sacrificing countless common people in the lower realm for a glimmer of hope for his own race—this outcome was something he had long anticipated.

Although the truth was cruel, when had this world ever offered many choices?

It was merely a struggle against fate!

Li Ying grunted. "As expected of Shen Ye, truly ruthless. I underestimated you… Haha, come on, this Lord awaits you in the Underworld!"

Shen Ye said no more, activating the divine blood within him, burning away the demonic core inside Li Ying.

The demonic energy burned, emitting a ghostly, hellish shriek.

Just then, the seal outside shattered, and a large group of elders and protectors from the Central Plains immortal cultivation world rushed in.

"A demon! And a high-level demon, an Inner Demon!"

"Such powerful spiritual energy!"

"City of Flowing Moon truly colludes with demons, but who killed this demon?"

Shen Ye calmly swept his gaze over these people. "Naturally, this Lord did. Looking at the human realm, besides this Lord, how many others could kill it?"

Everyone's hearts tightened. Among the Six Realms, the Divine and Demonic Realms stood above all beings.

Even the lowest-level demons required strong, accomplished cultivators to eliminate them.

As for Inner Demons, who were among the Great Demons, in their impression, only powerful figures from the Divine Realm could destroy them.

What they didn't know was that Li Ying had been entrenched on Jumu for over a hundred years, constantly absorbing Shennong's divine power and the seven emotions of the human realm. Its strength was no longer comparable to an ordinary Inner Demon; it was almost on par with a Great Heavenly Demon.

However, the smooth sailing they had experienced on this journey ultimately gave them courage.

"Don't be afraid, he had a great battle with that Inner Demon, so his spiritual energy must be nearly depleted!"

"Eliminating demons and defending the Dao, now is the time!"

With that, various flying swords, spiritual gourds, flames, and lightning surged towards Shen Ye.

In response, Shen Ye simply placed his left hand behind his back and lightly waved his right hand as if caressing a lake's surface.

The next moment, an invisible pressure fell upon everyone, as if the sky itself was pressing down, making it impossible for anyone to straighten their upper body.

"How is this possible?" an elder of a major sect forced himself to look up, eyes wide with disbelief. "High Priests of the City of Flowing Moon are ranked by Ziwei Dou Shu, and there are at most fourteen of them. We've seen the other High Priests, and they clearly weren't this strong! Even if you are the Ziwei High Priest, the difference shouldn't be so vast!"

Shen Ye sighed softly. "In ancient times, such a thought wouldn't have been wrong. Unfortunately, my Lieshan Tribe has been confined within this City of Flowing Moon, suffering from the erosion of turbid energy day in and day out. We are no longer as strong as we once were. Apart from myself and a select few, the other High Priests are merely there to make up the numbers!"

Everyone's hearts sank upon hearing this. Although the High Priests they had surrounded and killed earlier were far from as powerful as Shen Ye, they were certainly not weak. Yet, in Shen Ye's words, they were just "making up the numbers"!

Was this the true power of an ancient great tribe?

Just as everyone was on edge, Shen Ye surprisingly withdrew his right hand, and the oppressive aura weighing down on them suddenly dissipated.

"Life is but an empty dream, a hundred years, ultimately difficult to defy the heavens!"

As everyone remained perplexed, a booming sound echoed. The towering Jumu (Rectangular Wood), rooted in the void and reaching straight into the sky, suddenly collapsed and disintegrated. The entire City of Flowing Moon trembled violently.

Spiritual energy ran rampant, the void collapsed—a scene of utter apocalypse!

Looking up, Shen Ye waved a hand indifferently. "You may leave!"

Everyone was astonished. "You're letting us go?"

"As the High Priest of the City of Flowing Moon, I shall live and die with this city! Of course, if you wish to die with me, I will not refuse."

Many people frowned. The rampant spiritual energy and collapsing void were naturally terrifying, but after witnessing the opponent's strength, they found it hard to believe this High Priest would die because of it.

"I understand!" someone in the crowd suddenly realized, looking at Shen Ye with complex emotions. "He knows his sins are too grave. If he doesn't die, the remaining members of the Lieshan Tribe can't escape reckoning. But if he dies, perhaps someone will retaliate against those 'traitors.' In that case, 'dying' before our eyes is the best outcome!"

"So that's how it is?" Everyone suddenly saw the light, their gazes, whether hateful or respectful, fixed on the figure before them. Even standing on opposing sides, they couldn't help but admire the sacrifice he was making.

Standing at the pinnacle of the human realm, possessing heaven-defying power, yet willing to dwell in darkness.

"Good, let's go!"

The situation was critical, leaving no time for further thought.

Some rode flying swords, others controlled spirit beasts, as the group of human realm experts fled into the distance as if escaping a disaster.

Only after everyone had left did Shen Ye cough up a large mouthful of blood.

As the blood left his body, it transformed into flames, intensely hot, shaking the void, as if even space itself would be scorched through by it!

"In the end, it was too rushed!" Shen Ye sighed softly, as if he had long anticipated such a turn of events.

Many people in the City of Flowing Moon suffered from the erosion of turbid energy. The reason he was spared bodily decay was because he had absorbed the divine blood left by Shennong within the Jumu.

However, Shennong's divine blood was too potent. Although he had endured the integration of the divine blood in his youth, it ultimately left behind a fundamental injury. Now, having been ambushed by Li Ying, who had possessed Xiao Xi, the injury could no longer be suppressed. The Great Dao fire, formed from the divine blood, had incinerated the Dao principles within his body, leaving him a dying man!

Life was gradually coming to an end, but Shen Ye paid it no mind. Instead, he looked towards the Jumu, his gaze piercing through time and space, as if seeing again that rainy night in his youth when he tried to escape with Xiao Xi, only to be caught by his father and thrown into the Jumu.

"Heh, in the end, I became the very person I despised the most…"