However, on the edge of that torn, still collapsing and Void Turbulence, Di Jun's mind was filled with a thunderous blankness and a bone-chilling cold.
The excruciating pain felt like countless red-hot steel needles piercing his Demon Body. Golden Crow Imperial Blood gushed from the cave-in in his chest, staining his tattered Crown Robes with gold.
But the deeper pain comes from the complete collapse of one's understanding.
He was like a drowning man, just emerging from the raging waves, nearly suffocating from the icy seawater.
One punch! Just one punch!
This thought, like a curse, echoed wildly within his shattered Primordial Spirit.
The Heavenly Cycle Stars Great Formation, which was created by the entire Demon Clan Heavenly Court, exhausting all its resources and efforts, and whose supreme power was enough to briefly contend with a low-level Saint, was more fragile than glass in front of Jiang Yun's fist!
Three Hundred Great Luo Demon Gods, the backbone of the Demon Clan, instantly turned to dust!
Tens of millions of Demon Soldiers and Generals were annihilated in the aftershocks!
Eastern Emperor Taiyi, whom he regarded as a brother whose combat power surpassed that of the Ancestral Witch, was even knocked away by the Chaos Bell, Innate Supreme Treasure known for its unparalleled defense, and its whereabouts were unknown. Taiyi himself was in a precarious situation!
The Demon Master Kunpeng was soaked to the bone, half of his body was almost gone, and he was barely breathing!
All of this, simply because of a punch thrown casually by the other party!
Without using any earth-shattering Divine Ability, without invoking the Heaven and Earth Laws, it was simply the purest Physical Body strength!
"A draw... a draw with Tongtian..." The scene of his sparring with Shangqing Tongtian after the lecture at the Purple Sky Palace flashed through Di Jun's mind.
Although he was at a disadvantage at the time, he was able to hold his own thanks to the Heavenly Cycle Stars and the Imperial Fortune, which was regarded by many powerful beings in the Primordial World as a "special honor" to be able to fight against Saint.
Looking back now, how naive and laughable it all seems!
At that time, Tongtian probably didn't even use a third of his strength, right?
Those seemingly sharp sword lights were merely a casual instruction from the Saint, or simply an observation of the Demon Emperor's strength!
He was immersed in that false sense of a draw, thinking that the Saint were nothing special, that he could roam freely in the Primordial World with the help of the Heavenly Cycle Stars, and even... dared to try to scare Jiang Yun, who had attained the Dao of Hunyuan Great Luo, in front of everyone in the Primordial World!
"Below the Saint, all are but ants..." The truth uttered indifferently by Hongjun Dao Ancestor in the Purple Sky Palace was imprinted on the depths of Di Jun's Primordial Spirit for the first time with such clarity and such bloodiness.
That wasn't just a simple warning; it was an ironclad truth!
He used to think he was the one standing at the top of a pile of ants, but now he realized that in front of a true Saint, in front of Jiang Yun who had attained the Great Dao of Primordial Chaos, he and Heavenly Cycle Stars were nothing more than ants, utterly insignificant!
Cold sweat, mixed with blood, slid down Di Jun's temples.
It wasn't because of the injuries, but rather because of the bone-chilling fear and lingering dread.
The other party's previously indifferent words echoed in his ears again, "Three moves... If you can withstand them, you may retreat... If you cannot, you die!"
The First Fist nearly wiped out their entire clan and killed them!
That's a powerful punch, and there are two more to come!
Despair, like icy seawater, instantly overwhelmed Di Jun's Demon Souls.
The pride of the Demon Clan? The majesty of the Heavenly Court?
In the face of absolute death, it is utterly worthless!
Forget about being the protagonist of the Heavenly Dao, forget about conquering the Primordial World; at this moment, all he wants is to preserve the last remaining elite of the Demon Clan!
Let the Demon Clan leave behind some Seeds!
Help! Only Saint can save us!
This thought suddenly seized him like a lifeline.
Empress Nuwa, you are Saint of the Demon Clan!
You created the Human Clan, that's true, but you are also the reliance of the Demon Clan!
You can't just stand by and watch the Demon Clan be slaughtered!
The Three Pure Ones! Yuanshi Tianzun!
Saint Tongtian, many of your disciples are Demon Clan, and you once had high hopes for my Heavenly Court!
The Two Sages of the West! Jieyin and Zhunti! My Demon Clan still has value!
At this moment, Di Jun was like the most humble beggar. All his calculations and imperial strategies had been thrown to the winds, leaving only the most instinctive desire to survive.
He didn't even dare to hope for a counterattack. His only hope was that the Saint would intervene before Jiang Yun's second punch landed, considering that his Demon Clan still had some "use value," and preserve a sliver of the Demon Clan's vitality!
Just as Di Jun was trembling with shock and desperately pleading for help, at the edge of the distant Chaos Starry Sky, in the area interwoven with the projections of the Dao of Humanity, the atmosphere was equally solemn.
Within the projection of the Three Pure Ones Palace Towers, the brows of the Yuanshi Tianzun, whose face was as calm as an ancient well, furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The sheer power contained in Jiang Yun's punch far exceeded his expectations.
This is different from the Pangu's Divine Power that World Creation; it is more like an outward manifestation of the great power of one's own Inner Universe, violent and direct, carrying the Hunyuan Will to crush all obstacles.
"This Jiang Yun, his power is so domineering, it bears the shadow of the Pangu's Great Dao of Strength." Daoist Tongtian's tone carried a hint of amazement, but more so an excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.
Taishang Laojun lowered his eyelids slightly and said calmly, "The Hunyuan Dao is different from the Heavenly Dao Saint. Its great power originates from itself and is unrestrained. It has the power to overthrow everything at any moment."
This is neither a blessing in Primordial World, nor an unexpected Great Tribulation.
There was a hint of worry in Laozi's words.
Jiang Yun's strength far exceeded expectations, and his seemingly arbitrary style of action actually concealed profound meaning. His very existence was a huge variable.
However, the Yuanshi Tianzun had other plans in mind.
He recalled that not long ago, it was they who secretly fueled the flames, subtly injecting into the depths of Di Jun's increasingly inflated Dao Heart, which was smug and self-satisfied because of the Heavenly Secrets Demon Clan's slaughter of the Human Clan, a sense of "I am the only one who is supreme" and "I can rival the Saint."
They wanted to use Jiang Yun's return to suppress the arrogance of Di Jun and the Heavenly Court, and also to see the attitude of this Newly Promoted Hunyuan.
As a result, this tentative spark seemed to ignite a volcano that none of them had anticipated!
Seeing Di Jun's disheveled and terrified appearance, like a stray dog, and sensing the pathetic will to survive emanating from his Primordial Spirit, a barely perceptible look of disgust flashed in Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes.
As expected, he's a worthless, lowly beast; he reveals his true colors at the slightest pressure.
If it weren't for pushing the Witch-Demon World-Ending Tribulation onto its predetermined trajectory, ensuring the smooth completion of the Primordial World "cleansing," and making room for the Daoist sect to educate Human Clan in the future, why would these Heavenly Dao Saint need to go to such lengths?
Nuwa Palace, Nuwa's holy face showed neither joy nor sorrow, as if the horrific Slaughter below had nothing to do with her.
She created the Human Clan, endowing them with a trace of Creation Spirit Essence; from that moment on, the fate of the Human Clan was no longer her responsibility.
The Demon Clan race's slaughter of the Human Clan, taking their souls to Artifact Refining, is both Karmic Obstacle and the cycle of Heavenly Dao.
The Witch Clan watched coldly from the sidelines, reaping the benefits—a calculated move, but also a consequence of their fate.
The Human Clan's Heavenly Dao Oath to "humans and demons cannot coexist" was a desperate act of resistance, and also the beginning of a deeper entanglement of Karma.
All of this was beyond her control after she completed the mission of "Creating Humans" with the Authority of Creation, and it was no longer something she was willing to forcibly reverse as Saint.