Just as Hongjun was contacting the immortals within the Purple Cloud Palace and preparing for the western campaign to slay demons a thousand years later, Luohu, seated deep within the Demonic Palace on Mount Sumeru, opened his eyes, which brimmed with destruction and madness.
"Hongjun, you brat, and that sneaky rat hiding in the shadows..." He sneered softly, the Demonic Energy surging around him nearly solidifying. Although he had held the upper hand in his battle with Hongjun in the North Sea, it had also made him realize that these Innate God-Demons, who seemed inferior to him, each possessed life-saving trump cards and could not be manipulated at will. Especially that mysterious being who had stolen the Geng Metal Divine Stone right under his nose and whose origins remained impossible to divine—it left him deeply wary, like a thorn in his back.
He had plotted across the Primordial Wilderness for three thousand years, and the hidden pieces he had planted were now sufficient. The fuse for the blood sacrifice had long been spread throughout every corner of the Primordial Wilderness.
"No more waiting!" Blood-red light flashed through Luohu's eyes as he made his decision. He fiercely activated his primordial spirit and released the World-Destroying Black Lotus, condensed from endless fiendish aura and Resentment Power. An invisible Demonic Thought filled with the will of corruption and slaughter spread like a plague through the karmic connections in the dark, instantly reaching every region of the Primordial Wilderness that his Demonic Energy had infiltrated or controlled!
The Blood Sacrifice of the Primordial World had begun ahead of schedule!
In an instant, beacon fires rose everywhere throughout the Primordial Wilderness, and tragedies erupted one after another!
In the East Sea, a group of Shark Clan warriors were patrolling the waters when a strange black gleam suddenly flashed in one captain's eyes. Without warning, he raised his bone blade and viciously hacked at the companion beside him, roaring in a voice no longer human, "Kill! For the Demon Ancestor!"
Somewhere beneath Buzhou Mountain, a Witch Race hunting party had just finished its hunt when one Great Witch suddenly went mad, swinging a massive axe at his own clansmen and sending flesh and blood flying.
In a Demon Clan tribe somewhere in the east, a highly respected elder was delivering a sermon when his face suddenly twisted. Demonic Energy surged around him as he pounced upon the bewildered young demons below the platform...
Chaos! Indiscriminate chaos!
Unlike the clearly divided war among the three races during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, this time, the enemy could be right beside you—your most trusted comrade, family member, or teacher! One moment, you might be drinking and laughing together; the next, they could become a puppet of slaughter and plunge a blade into your chest! Trust utterly collapsed, while fear and suspicion spread like wildfire.
Blood Fiend Energy so dense it made one retch, mixed with overwhelming Resentment Power and despair, rose from every corner of the Primordial Wilderness. It was even more terrifying than the final days of the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, as though a blood-red veil had been draped over the entire Primordial World. The sky turned dark crimson, the sun and moon lost their light, and the wails of living beings and howls of demons became the world's dominant melody.
This sudden upheaval left Hongjun, who had been preparing to act according to plan, utterly shocked!
"Luohu! How dare you!" Feeling the Blood Fiend Energy and karmic force gathering madly and flowing toward The West, he knew that Luohu intended to forcibly use countless living beings as sacrifices to break into the supreme demonic realm! If he succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Fellow Daoists, the demon is running rampant and the blood sacrifice has begun. We can wait no longer! Gather at once and march west immediately!" Hongjun's divine sense carried unprecedented urgency as it reached Qiankun, Yin Yang, and Wang Shu.
Qiankun Ancestor and Yin-Yang Ancestor had always loathed evil, and they responded immediately upon hearing this. Wang Shu had been warned by Li Cha and knew the dangers well, but since she had already agreed—and had now witnessed the Primordial Wilderness's misery—she could not refuse.
Luohu's actions also drew two more great powers into the demon-slaying force. The first was Daoist Wu Xing. Because his Dao conflicted with Luohu's destructive Demonic Path, and because Demonic Energy had disturbed his cave dwelling, he had developed the desire to eliminate demons and now joined the force. The second was Great Immortal Yang Mei, who had originally been unwilling to intervene. Perhaps he had divined that this great calamity could no longer be avoided, or perhaps Luohu's actions had utterly crossed his bottom line. In any case, he changed his mind and agreed to go with them.
Thus, the expeditionary force in the open became six Quasi-Saint great powers led by Hongjun: Qiankun, Yin Yang, Wang Shu, Five Elements, and Yang Mei! Such a lineup was the strongest Allied Forces since World Creation!
In the shadows, Li Cha had long been prepared. With the power of the Chaos Pearl, he perfectly concealed his aura and silently trailed behind the group like an invisible shadow. He wanted to see with his own eyes what this legendary Dao-Devil War looked like, as well as the Zhu Xian Sword Formation that could bring Wang Shu into calamity.
The six great powers, along with Li Cha concealed in the shadows, made no effort to hide their vast auras. They transformed into six—actually seven—shocking streaks of light that cut across heaven and earth, heading directly for the Western Demon Domain. Wherever they passed, the pervasive Blood Fiend Energy was temporarily dispersed by their combined, radiant Dao might.
But Luohu had operated in The West for so many years. How could he let them reach Mount Sumeru so easily?
Just as they entered the edge of The West, still some distance from Mount Sumeru, a sudden change occurred!
Rumble!
The earth trembled, and demonic clouds blotted out the sun! Upon the barren, shattered land ahead, an endless army of demons surged forward like a black tide! These demons came in all shapes and forms, their Demonic Energy grim and sinister. There were far more than a million of them! Their eyes were filled with frenzied bloodlust, and their deafening roars merged together as the Demonic Energy they gathered nearly solidified.
Above the demon army stood four figures emanating the terrifying demonic might of early-stage Quasi-Saints, towering like demon gods!
The leading Demon King was handsome, yet possessed an evil charm. The Law of Desire flowed around him, luring others into corruption. He was Pāpīyas!
Beside him stood a graceful figure whose face shifted endlessly—at times compassionate like a holy mother, at others hideous like a malevolent ghost. She wielded Demonic Thought of destruction and rebirth. She was Shiva!
The third had four arms and two faces, his aura deep and unfathomable, as though he could devour all things. The contradictory laws of protection and destruction existed in bizarre harmony within him. He was Vishnu!
The last was built like a mountain, with indigo skin and a demonic hammer in hand. He radiated the purest power and fury. He was Rudra!
These Four Demon Kings were Luohu's most capable generals, commanding the demon masses of The West!
"Hongjun! You shall go no farther! By decree of the Demon Ancestor, we shall take your lives as a gift to celebrate his ascension to supremacy!" Pāpīyas's voice was magnetic, yet carried a deadly allure as he attempted to shake the resolve of the six.
"Hmph, mere ghosts and fiends dare block our path? Kill!" Qiankun Ancestor had the fiercest temper. With a furious roar, he unleashed the Qiankun Cauldron, which expanded to ten thousand zhang and crashed down upon the densest concentration of the demon army!
The great battle erupted in an instant!
The six Quasi-Saint great powers each displayed their divine abilities. Above Hongjun's head floated the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation, its purple aura vast and mighty. With every sweep of his whisk, Dao Follows Nature, purifying Demonic Energy. Yin-Yang Ancestor manifested the Yin Yang Taiji Diagram, its black and white energies revolving to grind away all things. Wang Shu drew upon Stellar Power, moonlight flowing like silk; wherever her cold starlight passed, demons melted away like ice and snow. Ancestor Five Elements controlled the cycle of the five elements, with metal, wood, water, fire, and earth generating and restraining one another to form an elemental forbidden zone. Great Immortal Yang Mei was the strangest of all, flickering between illusion and reality as space folded and twisted at his whim, banishing swathes of the demon army into unknown voids.
The Four Demon Kings led their elite forces into a Demon Array, tightly entangling the six. Pāpīyas's demonic voice of desire seeped through every opening, Shiva's dance of destruction stirred inner demons, Vishnu's devouring power disrupted the circulation of magical power, and Rudra's berserk strength met them head-on.
The millions of demons were like rabid dogs, utterly fearless of death as they surged forward wave after wave. The moment they reached close range, they detonated themselves without hesitation! The self-destruction of Mystic Immortal- and Golden Immortal-level demons was not to be underestimated. Though it could not truly harm Quasi-Saints, the shockwaves and chaotic demonic essence produced by the unending explosions greatly disrupted the six men's spellcasting and drained their magical power and focus.
For a time, this borderland of The West became the most brutal meat grinder. Dao techniques thundered, Demonic Energy raged, stars fell, and space shattered! At every moment, tens of thousands of demons were reduced to ash beneath the Quasi-Saints' divine abilities. Yet the blood essence and Wraiths that escaped upon their deaths were immediately absorbed by the omnipresent Blood Sacrifice Array, making the surrounding Blood Fiend Energy so dense it was visible to the naked eye. It spread through the air like thick blood plasma and even began eroding the protective immortal light around the six great powers.
"Luohu is truly vicious! He does not care in the slightest whether these demons live or die!" Daoist Wu Xing said grimly as he swept his sleeve and scattered a cluster of self-destructing demons. He could feel even the circulation of his Five Elements laws becoming slightly sluggish.
"He is using the lives of these demon troops, along with the energy dissipated by our battle, as nourishment for his blood sacrifice—weakening us while strengthening himself!" Hongjun's gaze was icy as he saw through Luohu's scheme. He could sense a heart-palpitating demonic might rising at a terrifying speed in the direction of Mount Sumeru.
This brutal interception was merely Luohu's appetizer before the main course. The true test of life and death awaited within the Zhu Xian Sword Formation. The greater their expenditure now, the lower their chances of victory would be when facing the formation.
Hidden in the shadows, Li Cha silently watched the savage battle with a slight frown. Luohu's ruthlessness and schemes truly lived up to his reputation. He quietly circulated the Chaos Pearl, concealing his aura to the utmost limit as he waited like a calm observer for the moment of the final battle.
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