Bai Ze shuddered. His words of admonition were abruptly suppressed by the unquestionable supreme authority in Di Jun's eyes, turning into a long sigh that dissipated in the scorching and oppressive air. He lowered his gaze and saw his reflection on the smooth, mirror-like golden bricks of the Heavenly Court, and he had the illusion of being scorched by the blazing Solar True Fire.
The "Youchao" tribe nestles on the edge of a vast forest of giant trees, adjacent to the roaring Bilán River.
Nests built from massive logs are stacked one on top of another, nestled among the gnarled branches of ancient trees, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys and mingling with the thin mist in the forest.
On the open ground by the river, human women and children were pounding millet with stone pestles, while several muscular men dressed in simple leather armor were shouting as they dragged huge fishing nets onto the pebble beach. Silver scales leaped in the nets—these were the unique spirit fish of the Bilán River.
Several children, clearly of the Witch Clan blood, exceptionally tall, and with skin bearing rock-like patterns, were chasing and playing around the campfire. One of them, a little fellow with a single horn on his forehead, was clumsily helping his mother turn over the fish skewers, and the aroma of grilled fish filled the air.
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
It wasn't dark clouds obscuring the sun, but rather ten "mini Greater Yang" that silently appeared above the tribe, carrying a terrifying pressure capable of burning the heavens and earth!
Those were ten Golden Crow Guard clad in blazing gold armor and carrying flaming spears!
The leader was none other than the shadowy figure transformed from the Demon Master Kunpeng! The scorching heat of the Solar True Fire emanating from the Golden Crow Guard instantly ignited the dry treetops of the nest below.
"Enemy attack--!"
A piercing, distorted scream shattered the tribe's tranquility.
The next instant, Destruction struck.
There were no superfluous words, and there was no even a disdain for proclaiming a crime.
Ten rays of Solar True Fire, condensed to their ultimate form, were like spears of judgment hurled by the gods, carrying sharp, piercing whistles as they precisely struck the center of the tribe and the areas where the most able-bodied men were gathered!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The enormous nest instantly vaporized in a blinding golden-red light, leaving not even ashes behind.
The hard rocky ground was blasted open, leaving a huge crater filled with flowing dark red magma. The humans, who didn't even have time to scream, were instantly reduced to nothingness in the extreme heat.
Terrified screams, desperate cries, and angry roars instantly Yunxiao, only to be drowned out by an even more violent explosion in the next second.
A burly man with an extremely robust physique, his upper body muscles resembling gnarled tree roots and covered with distinct earth and stone textures, was none other than the shaman of the Gou Mang Tribe who had intermarried with the Youchao Clan.
It let out a deafening roar, and its body erupted with a thick, earthy-yellow light, which condensed into a huge stone shield to meet a beam of Solar True Fire that was shooting toward the gathering of women and children!
"Stop them!"
His eyes were bloodshot.
Laugh--!
The fiery rays, imbued with the power of the sun, slammed into the stone shield.
The magical stone shield, harder than refined steel, was instantly melted, leaving a huge hole. The remaining beam of light still scorched through his shoulder blade! The big man roared in pain and staggered backward.
Just as his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged, and his defense had a fatal gap, an invisible and intangible gray-black human remnant soul, filled with the purest resentment and unwillingness of billions of living beings before their death, was drawn, gathered, and accelerated by some invisible force, transforming into an extremely vicious soul arrow!
It ignored the powerful physical defenses of the Witch Clan, which were so strong that even Innate Spiritual Treasure could not harm them. Like a phantom, it pierced through space without any hindrance and stabbed fiercely into the burly man's forehead!
"Ugh--!"
The burly man trembled violently, his eyes instantly becoming cloudy and lifeless, and the surging witch power, as powerful as the earth, rapidly melted and dissipated like boiling water poured on snow!
The rock-like skin cracked and peeled away inch by inch, revealing the rapidly decaying flesh beneath.
The massive body collapsed with a roar, as if all its support had been removed, raising clouds of dust. A powerful Witch Clan warrior had been completely disintegrated from the inside out by a weak remnant human soul!
This bizarre and terrifying scene was clearly reflected in the huge "Sky-Gazing Treasure Mirror" in the center of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
The mirror surface rippled like water, revealing the purgatory of the lower realm in exquisite detail.
"Did you see that, Tai Yi!"
Di Jun's voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement. He abruptly stood up from his throne, pointing at the image of the great Witch Clan man collapsing in the treasure mirror. "The Witch Clan's proud, invincible physical body has been shattered from within by the souls of these ants! The key! This is the only key that Heavenly Dao has bestowed upon us to unlock the Witch Clan's stubborn fortress!"
His eyes burned with an almost insane fire of ambition, a fire hotter and more dangerous than the eternally burning flames of the Solar Divine Palace.
A half-shaman, half-human child, covered in mud and blood, struggled to crawl out of the pile of corpses. A piece of the single horn on his forehead was broken off. He stared in horror at the Golden Crow Guard, which hovered high in the sky like a god or demon.
The next moment, a cold ray of Greater Yang swept across, and the child and the corpse beneath him turned to ashes.
Bai Ze closed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists within his robe sleeves, his knuckles turning white from the force. He seemed to hear the wails of countless human souls before they were annihilated in the true fire, and he saw the final fear in the eyes of those children with mixed Witch Clan blood.
The ancient warning in my heart resounded like a great bell. "To snatch chestnuts from the fire is the beginning of self-destruction; to sacrifice blood for the common people will surely be devoured by the heavens!"
Every single word carries immense weight.
"His Majesty..."
Bai Ze's voice carried a desolate weariness, as he attempted a final attempt to salvage the situation.
"Although human souls can harm witches, such slaughter violates the principles of Heaven and Earth, and may ignite immeasurable Karma fire, which could backfire and destroy our race's Luck..."
Di Jun abruptly turned around, his golden imperial robes drawing a sharp arc behind him, interrupting him:
"Bai Ze! Is womanly compassion the way to achieve anything? Karmic fire? Karma? Wait until my demon race crushes the Wu and Man tribes, unifies the Primordial Wilderness, and becomes the sole ruler of this world!"
At that time, all Karma, karma, and power would be decided by my single word! My mind was made up—"
Taking a deep breath, the voice, imbued with supreme will, thundered across the entire magnificent yet cold Solar Divine Palace, echoing in every corner with an unquestionable resolve, willing to sacrifice billions of lives:
"By my decree! All Demon Gods and demon soldiers of the myriad realms, heed my command: Mobilize your entire race and raise your demon army! On the Primordial Earth, slaughter every human tribe, regardless of size, gender, age... Take their essence and collect their flesh! I will use these billions of souls as a catalyst to forge— the Witch-Slaying Divine Sword!"
The moment the words "Witch-Slaying Sword" were uttered, the Greater Yang hanging high in the Above the Nine Heavens the palace seemed to dim. A chilling, terrifying killing intent, as if emanating from the deepest depths of the netherworld, mixed with the desperate resentment of countless living beings, silently swept across the entire Heavenly Court. Even the demon generals and soldiers standing outside, whose cultivation was slightly lower, couldn't help but shiver, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats.
Bai Ze raised his head, his gaze piercing through the magnificent dome of the divine palace, looking into the unfathomable depths of the void. Only one hundred thousand years remained until the ten thousand Kalpa set by the Dao Ancestor.
In this final countdown hourglass of 100,000 years, the first grain of sand stained with blood has already fallen.