Chapter 45

The human observer atop the watchtower immediately struck the hanging Great Bell when he saw this. "Clang! Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The piercing alarm swiftly spread throughout the Tuqi Tribe.

Hearing it, the humans within the tribe sprang into action. The women quickly led the children into the defensive formation, while the men immediately took up their weapons and prepared to face the enemy.

The entire process was smooth and practiced, clearly the result of repeated drills.

Li Wu had taught them this response method, requiring every human tribe to master it so that casualties could be reduced when the demon race attacked.

At first, many tribes had not taken it seriously. Only after suffering several demon race attacks did they realize the importance of this method.

Now, every human tribe knew it by heart.

In mere moments, a battle formation had been arranged in the open ground outside the tribe, with the men forming a simple array.

Li Wu had improved this battle formation according to the characteristics of martial artists. It could gather their vitality, blood, and mana, allowing them to attack together or concentrate their strength into one person to temporarily raise that person's cultivation. The more people there were, the stronger the formation became.

Just as the human battle formation was completed, the demon race army arrived.

Leading them was a demon general at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal level. Standing before the army, he ordered, "All troops, charge! Kill every human here!"

At his command, countless demons charged forward with all manner of weapons. Those without weapons directly revealed their true forms—giant beasts such as oxen, sheep, snakes, tigers, and lions appeared one after another and pounced on the humans.

The Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe was a martial artist at the Acupoint Realm, equivalent to a Golden Immortal. Seeing the demons surge forward like a tide, his expression turned grave.

He shouted, "Everyone, prepare yourselves! Gather your vitality and blood, channel them into me, attack!"

As soon as he spoke, the martial artists present circulated their vitality and blood, transferring their mana and blood force into the Clan Leader's body.

In an instant, the Clan Leader's face flushed crimson and his aura soared. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the Golden Body Realm, equivalent to a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Then, he threw a fierce punch forward—

A massive fist imprint condensed from vitality, blood, and mana tore through the air, covering an area of a thousand meters as it smashed heavily into the charging demons.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The tens of thousands of demons at the very front were instantly blasted into chunks of flesh scattered across the ground.

A vast open area immediately appeared before the Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe.

Yet that empty space was filled again in an instant by the surging demons.

The Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe could only throw punch after punch, his fist imprints crashing down upon the invading demons like meteors.

"Interesting. A formation? It can gather all the power of these ants into one body and forcibly raise a Golden Immortal to a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. But how long can such forcibly elevated cultivation last? The number of my demon race is not something you humans can fathom," the Grand Unity Golden Immortal demon general muttered coldly.

He was so composed because these charging demons were not direct forces of the Heavenly Court. They were merely expendable troops temporarily conscripted from the prehistoric continent. Even if they all died, he would not feel the slightest heartache.

Suddenly, the demon general raised his voice and shouted, "Whoever takes the head of the human leader will be made a commander of ten thousand in the demon race and admitted into the demon race's core ranks for cultivation!"

At those words, countless demons went mad and rushed toward the Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe like a tidal wave. These demons scattered across the prehistoric continent had lived beneath the shadow of the Wu Clan's slaughter for ages. Now that they had been given a chance to advance into the Heavenly Court, how could they not fight for it with their lives?

Facing the increasingly frenzied assault, the Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe could only punch faster and faster. As fist shadows flashed, streaks of blood gradually seeped from his body. His fleshly body could no longer withstand the backlash of such violent mana.

Yet he paid it no mind and instead drove his assault to its limit. Even if he died, he would tear open a sliver of survival for his people.

Several hundred fist imprints blasted out once more, and the demon horde fell like wheat before a scythe.

"Pfft—"

The Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe finally could not hold on any longer. He spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee.

"Clan Leader!"

The humans cried out in alarm.

He waved his hand weakly. "Do not worry about me... Break out as quickly as possible later. You must deliver news of the demon race's massive invasion to the Human Ancestral Land. This is a grave duty that concerns the survival of our race!"

Blood-colored flames erupted from the Clan Leader of the Tuqi Tribe, and his aura suddenly surged. He roared at his clansmen before charging alone into the demon race army.

Amid earth-shaking roars, countless demon soldiers were reduced to ashes. The Grand Unity Golden Immortal demon general in the air secretly rejoiced. Had he rashly attacked earlier, he would have been either dead or wounded by now.

The surviving human martial artists endured their grief. They had to send news of the demon race invasion back to the ancestral land. Just as they began breaking toward the Human Ancestral Land, the Grand Unity Golden Immortal demon general attacked with a cold sneer, personally leading his forces to intercept and slaughter them. In less than an hour, every single escapee had perished.

The demon general ordered a complete purge. Resentment soared throughout the entire tribe, and wronged souls wailed in anguish. Yet he calmly took out a treasure bottle and collected all the resentment, souls, and human blood.

The same scene was unfolding simultaneously in countless human tribes.

Li Peng suddenly opened his eyes and sensed the human race's fortune rapidly draining away. He made calculations with his fingers, only to find the Heavenly Secrets obscured in chaos. Alarm immediately rose in his heart. Recalling the records of the demon race slaughtering humanity in prehistoric history, he immediately emerged from seclusion.

The moment he emerged, he saw Fuxi and Nuwa rushing toward him with grave expressions.

Before Nuwa even landed, she anxiously asked, "Husband! Has something happened to the human race? Why is the human race's fortune rapidly declining?"

Li Peng's expression was solemn. "We will know once we investigate together."

He immediately tore open space, attempting to construct a passage to the Human Ancestral Land. To his surprise, he could not lock onto the ancestral land's coordinates and could only helplessly disperse the spatial rift.

Nuwa asked in surprise, "Husband, why did you close the passage?"

"The space outside has been thrown into disorder. I cannot connect to the ancestral land," Li Peng said coldly. "It seems someone can no longer restrain themselves."

"Could other Saints be behind this?" Nuwa and Fuxi exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes. They found it hard to believe that any Saint would dare challenge Li Peng's authority.

"Since they have made their move, let us see who is so bold!" Murderous intent blazed in Li Peng's eyes as he rushed out of Three Immortal Island first. Fuxi and Nuwa followed closely behind.

As soon as they left the island, they saw the Three Pure Ones and the Western Second Saints standing in the air.

"So it really was you!" Li Peng's killing intent burst forth.

Laozi said calmly, "The human race's calamity is ordained by Heaven. Why must Fellow Daoist insist on interfering?"

"Ordained by Heaven?" Li Peng sneered. "You have only just become Saints, yet you already think yourselves Heaven? Move aside immediately, or I will make you lose all face as Saints today!"

"Please wait here, Fellow Daoist. Once this matter is finished, we will naturally withdraw," Laozi replied evenly.

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Peng laughed in extreme anger. Just as he was about to attack, the system prompt suddenly sounded:

"Detected that the host faces a choice:

One, exterminate the Three Pure Ones, the Western Second Saints, and the demon race.

Reward: one yuanhui of mana, God-Slaying Spear, Pangu Body Refining Technique.

Two, repel the attacks of the Saints and the demon race.

Reward: ten million years of mana, Treasure-Dropping Coin, Yin-Yang Law enhancement.

Three, retreat into Three Immortal Island and ignore whether the human race lives or dies.

Reward: Innate Concealment Grand Formation, ten thousand years of cultivation."

Reward: Human race favorability decreased by 50 points. Special title: Cowardly Turtle!

"Please make your choice as soon as possible!"

After hearing the system prompt, Li Peng carefully examined the choices.

When he saw the first choice, he could not help rolling his eyes.

The rewards were generous, but he had to live long enough to claim them.

How could the Three Pure Ones and the Western Second Saints be so easily killed?

As long as the Heavenly Dao remained, Saints would not die.

Even if Li Peng used a Primordial Limitless Great Luo Golden Immortal Experience Card to temporarily defeat them,

they could revive again through their souls within the Heavenly Dao's origin.

That was assuming Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao did not interfere.

If the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun intervened, Li Peng would not even have a chance to defeat them.

Therefore, he immediately ruled out the first choice.

Li Peng turned his attention to the second choice.

Defeating the Three Pure Ones and the Western Second Saints—was not too difficult.

Repelling the demon race—was not difficult either.

The rewards were also quite generous, making it worth considering.

Then, he looked at the third choice.

After only one glance, Li Peng abandoned it.

There was no way he would bow his head to the Three Pure Ones and the others.

Besides, the reward was suffocatingly awful.

He could not possibly choose the third option.

"I choose the second option," Li Peng said to the system.

After making his choice, Li Peng said, "Let us fight in the chaos."

The Three Pure Ones and the Western Second Saints nodded and lifted the surrounding spatial blockade.

Without another word, Li Peng opened a Space Channel and brought Nuwa and Fuxi into the chaos.

As soon as they emerged from the passage, the Three Pure Ones and the Western Second Saints appeared from their own Space Channels as well.

The moment Li Peng saw them, he summoned the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda above his head and called forth the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

After a brief thought, he took out the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler and handed it to Nuwa.

Nuwa accepted the ruler and asked, "Husband, why are you giving this to me?"

"I will hold off the Three Pure Ones first. You and Fuxi use this ruler to defeat the Western Second Saints as quickly as possible, then hurry to support the human race," Li Peng said calmly.

Mana surged through Li Peng's body as he poured all of it into the Yin Yang Twin Swords. In an instant, the swords' power soared, and sword qi filled the sky as it rushed toward the Three Pure Ones.

Seeing this, Nuwa and Fuxi hesitated no longer. Nuwa wielded the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler and charged directly at Zhunti, while Fuxi faced Jieyin. The battlefield was divided in an instant.

Facing the surging sword qi, the Three Pure Ones remained calm. Laozi summoned the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Yellow Pagoda to protect the three of them. Yuanshi waved the Pangu Banner, releasing dozens of Chaos sword qi to meet the attack. Tongtian activated the Immortal Slaying Four Swords, sending four streams of sword qi—Slay, Massacre, Trap, and Extinction—ripping through the air to collide fiercely with the sword qi of the Yin Yang Twin Swords.

Thunderous explosions rang out without end as chaotic space continuously shattered and reformed under this heaven-shaking clash. Li Peng did not stop attacking. The Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda above his head transformed into a towering peak ten thousand zhang tall and crushed down toward the Three Pure Ones. Laozi did not dare be careless and likewise enlarged the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Yellow Pagoda to the same size to meet it.

The two colossal pagodas collided, unleashing a world-destroying shockwave. Chaos Qi surged like a tide, forming chaotic waves millions of zhang high that swept in every direction.

Nuwa promptly unfurled the Rivers and Mountains Painting to shield Fuxi. Zhunti and Jieyin, however, possessed no defensive supreme treasures and could only manifest their Dharma golden bodies to withstand the impact. Under the tidal assault, cracks appeared across their golden bodies, and their expressions immediately darkened.

Just as they were considering how to obtain spiritual treasures, Nuwa attacked again with the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler.

Two hundred and seventy-four attacks came one after another.

Although Nuwa had not completely refined the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler, Li Peng's active cooperation allowed her to wield the treasure without any obstruction. Though she could not fully unleash all its power, its offensive strength still far surpassed those Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures.

Left with no choice, Zhunti summoned the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree to block the attack.

"Boom—crack!"

The Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler collided violently with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree. First came a tremendous crash, followed by the sound of something breaking. Zhunti looked up and saw that one branch of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree had been severed by a single strike of the Merit Ruler.

His heart immediately ached as rage flared within him. The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree had been formed from Zhunti's true body. Once it was damaged, his origin would be affected as well.

Nuwa did not stop. She raised the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler again and smashed it toward the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree. Zhunti did not dare take it head-on and flashed away to evade it.

For a time, the scene became somewhat absurd—Nuwa chased Zhunti closely with the ruler in hand, while Jieyin was completely suppressed by Fuxi and could not spare a hand to help.

Meanwhile, Li Wu in the Human Ancestral Land sensed the human race's fortune draining away.

He immediately realized that something might have happened to the human race and instantly thought of the calamity in which the demon race slaughtered humanity. Li Wu had always been preparing for this demon race killing tribulation. Now that the human race's fortune had suddenly plummeted, he concluded that the demon race was invading.

Li Wu immediately set off and arrived at a mountaintop near the Human Ancestral Land.

Before long, he found Daoist Jinlian, who was preaching to Sanxiao, Zhao Gongming, and the Yin Yang Panda.

"Fellow Daoist Jinlian, sorry for the trouble, but please quickly investigate what has happened to the human race," Li Wu said urgently.

"Alright." Seeing the urgency in his expression, Daoist Jinlian agreed without hesitation.

Li Wu immediately departed. Daoist Jinlian also instructed Sanxiao and the others, "I have urgent business to attend to. Cultivate quietly here." With that, he vanished as well.

Sanxiao, Zhao Gongming, and the Yin Yang Panda looked at one another, completely confused.

Two hours later, Li Wu arrived at the cave where the human race's elites were hiding.

Looking at the tens of thousands of human elites before him, Li Wu felt a surge of pride.

Even the weakest among these elites had reached the Golden Body Realm, while the strongest few had entered the late Martial Intent Realm.

In only tens of thousands of years, Li Wu had nurtured so many powerful experts for the human race. It was indeed something to be proud of.

It was only that after this group left, who knew how many of them would return alive.