Qing Huan stood at the heart of this apocalyptic scene, with mountains of corpses piled up beneath his feet, indistinguishable as demons or sorcerers.
The once radiant, noble blue robe was now stained with dark red, almost black, blood, torn in several places, revealing the equally wounded skin beneath, shimmering with a lustrous, jade-like light.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the purgatory he had helped create. In the depths of his eyes, which were as deep as a chaotic sea, a faint, almost imperceptible weariness and pity flashed, as if mourning this utterly out-of-control world.
But this fleeting emotion was instantly crushed and devoured by a larger, colder will.
'The Protagonist of Heaven and Earth? Ha...'
Qing Huan sneered silently to himself, the thought like a poisoned icicle.
"If the endless cycle of killing is allowed to continue, the so-called Protagonist of Heaven and Earth will be nothing more than pitiful worms destined to be crushed by the Tribulation under the Heavenly Dao!"
The Witch Clan... the Twelve Ancestral Witches...
His gaze pierced through the pervasive blood mist and chaotic spiritual energy, locking onto the twelve towering figures that resembled Primordial Divine Mountain.
Especially when he sensed the compassionate Daoist aura emanating from Houtu, which was completely out of place with the surrounding malevolent energy, and Gou Mang rich Innate Yi Wood Essence Qi that should belong to the demon race emanating from Jumang, an unprecedented and pure desire for Destruction erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for thousands of years!
"But things have come to this point."
"The only way is to completely eliminate the enemy! Otherwise, this Primordial Wilderness world will witness another great war like this..."
Qing Huan paused, his gaze sweeping over the shattered sky and the boiling Blood Sea beneath his feet.
"It's likely to follow the same trajectory as before—complete collapse and return to chaos!"
A chillingly ruthless thought flashed through the depths of his mind like lightning:?
To eradicate them completely!? The foundation of the Witch Clan lies in its bloodline, in the twelve Ancestral Witch who were born from the Pangu's Essence Blood.
As long as the Ancestral Witch are still alive, the Witch Clan is like a wasteland after a wildfire has burned out; as long as there is a spark, it can be ignited again!
Houtu... she will be reincarnated to create a Thread of Life for the Primordial Wilderness, a great Merit to heaven and earth... she cannot die...
As for the other Ancestral Witch...
His eyes, in the end, became like the sharp edge of a world-cleaving axe—cold, hard, devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation; only the purest killing intent boiled within them.
"The Witch Clan must not be severed! Keeping them will only cause great trouble! Except for Houtu..."
"Today, these Ancestral Witch must die! Can you still fight?"
Qing Huan suddenly turned around, his gaze like lightning, sweeping over the remaining core force of the demon race behind him.
The Demon Emperor Di Jun, the former ruler of all the stars in the heavens, now had his golden crown shattered, his long hair disheveled, and his handsome face was ashen, like gold paper. A deep claw mark on his chest, revealing bone, was slowly seeping out blood with specks of golden light. It was the mark left by the Space Ancestor Witch Di Jiang.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi was slightly better under the protection of the Chaos Bell, but the small Xuan Huang bell hanging above his head had dimmed considerably, and a thin but glaring crack had even appeared on the bell. Tai Yi had undried golden blood on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.
As for the ten great Demon Saint, including Ji Meng and Ying Zhao, they were in a terrible state.
Ji Meng's scales were half shattered, one arm hung limply, clearly the bones were broken, and he was panting, each breath bringing out large amounts of blood foam.
Ying Zhao's face was half-covered in blood and flesh, the gruesome wound so deep that bone was visible, and the wind and thunder energy swirling around him was in complete disarray; the other Demon Saint were either leaning on broken blades or hunched over, their faces ashen and their auras extremely weak.
However, when Qing Huan's gaze, filled with resolute killing intent, swept over them, the scattered eyes of these demon race giants on the verge of collapse instantly refocused!
A fierce aura, originating from the depths of his bloodline and ignited by hatred and despair, erupted like a dormant volcano, dispelling the physical pain and the depletion of his Magic Power.
It was a ferocity and arrogance that transcended fear and even life and death!
"Heavenly Venerable!"
Ji Meng suddenly straightened his almost broken spine, and although this action caused him to spit out another mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, his hoarse voice carried a chilling fervor.
"We... can still fight! Pfft... cough cough... Even if we perish today, our bodies and souls annihilated, we will make those brute-wielding brutes of the Witch Clan pay with their lives!"
Blood stained the mane on his chest.
"Yes! That's right!"
Ying Zhao fiercely wiped the blood from his face, revealing an even more ferocious and twisted expression below. His voice was like the grinding of sand.
"For the sake of our race! For the sake of future generations to become the sole Protagonist of Heaven and Earth, free from this Primordial Wilderness!"
Today, even if we are shattered to pieces and our souls are consumed, we will fight for the future of the demon race... and create a bright and Universe!
The divine weapon in his hand, the "Wind-Rending Blade," emitted a mournful hum, and even where the blade shattered, the power of wind and thunder continued to gather wildly.
"Ah! Hahahaha!"
Di Jun burst into wild laughter, his laughter filled with the sorrow and heroism of a doomed hero, shaking the surrounding space and causing fragments to fall in a flurry.
Supporting himself with the Sea-Splitting Heaven-Tearing Blade, he shakily forced himself to stand up straight.
The once mighty blue Four Seas, which had cleaved countless galaxies, was now covered with spiderweb-like cracks, a testament to the ferocity of the previous battle.
"Good! Good! You truly are my trusted lieutenant, and a loyal and righteous member of our demon race!"
Even if I perish today, my soul will return to heaven and earth...
He suddenly pointed the blade at the opposing Ancestral Witch, his golden eyes burning with a final madness.
"And I—will die before you!"
Sensing its master's unwavering will to die, the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure "Sea-Splitting Heaven-Tearing Blade" suddenly erupted with a dazzling, eerie blue light. As the blade's energy surged, terrifying visions of churning Sea of Stars and the end of the world flickered and vanished.
However, in this atmosphere of shared hatred and tragic resolve, one figure stood out as out of place.
The Demon Master Kunpeng, whose enormous body had long since shrunk, had transformed into a human form and was hidden in the shadows of blood-red clouds behind him.
His expression shifted constantly, his eyes darting around like a startled venomous snake.
Upon hearing Di Jun's impassioned words and seeing Ji Meng, Ying Zhao, and others' fearless declarations, the pre-existing desire to retreat in Kunpeng's heart grew wildly like vines.
'Madmen! A bunch of complete madmen!'
Kunpeng roared inwardly, "To perish together with the Ancestral Witch?"
For that vague and unattainable position of Protagonist of Heaven and Earth? Utterly foolish! Only by living can one have a future!
Those narrow eyes darted around rapidly, their cold gaze sweeping back and forth over the blood-soaked Di Jun, Tai Yi, and Qing Huan's retreating figure as he faced Houtu Gou Mang.
A crystal-clear plan instantly took shape:
'Di Jun? Tai Yi? Or perhaps Qing Huan? Hmph!'
If any one of the three of them... as long as there is even a sign of their demise...
I, your ancestor, will immediately flee to the North Sea! I will never accompany these fools to their deaths here!
The instinct for survival overwhelmed all loyalty and pride. Silently, he channeled his Magic Power to its limit, and the enormous phantom of the Kunpeng flashed behind him, ready to tear through space and escape at any moment.