Great Luo beings were immortal and indestructible. This was no exaggeration.
Their combat power might not be very high, but their ability to survive was absolutely formidable!
Eternal freedom across endless space-time—once proven, forever proven; once existing, forever existing. This meant something extremely frightening: their incarnations were also infinite!
Even killing one of them would not count as a major loss to their peak combat strength.
They could drag over an incarnation from another node, refill the emptied health bar, and once again become a hardy fighter capable of both taking and dealing damage.
Such cheating was enough to make any cultivator attempting to defeat a higher realm from below despair—
How could anyone defeat a cheater with an infinite health bar and infinite mana?
Of course, such a bugged ability—the transcendent authority granted by the very nature of Great Luo—was not enough to let one rest easy.
When the opponent was also Great Luo and could kill incarnations with ease...then things became extremely dangerous!
Because the enemy stood at an equal level and was likewise spread throughout endless space-time, they could use this to launch the greatest war across the entire timeline, attempting to lock down every variable, hope, and possibility in this Great Luo's past, present, and future; destroy all resistance with overwhelming combat power; cover the entire trajectory of his existence; completely suppress him; and format his personal self-awareness. In the end, only a Dao Fruit would remain eternal, with a single Innate Undying Spiritual Light left unextinguished.
If one's awareness vanished, could one still be considered alive even if the Dao Fruit remained?
Unconsciously and unknowingly, being driven by others to serve them, without the slightest qualification to resist or refuse...
Even merely imagining it made one's scalp tingle and heart tremble.
At this moment, despair and disbelief faintly rose in the heart of the Great Luo Demon God, as though he had witnessed his own tragic ending.
Fortunately, a glimmer of light remained suspended in his heart, bringing him hope.
I'm not without a background.
Behind me stands the Demon Clan Faction, which is about to emerge into the open...
This journey represents the shared will of the Demon Court's higher-ups... They should not abandon me.
I can still be saved!
"Nothing is impossible." Ancestral Witch Dijiang spoke indifferently, saying words that were true yet most capable of striking at the heart. "How could you possibly understand my level?"
"You think you can challenge me just because you're a Great Luo? Do you really believe that because we are both Great Luo and our cultivation is at the same level, we are truly identical?" Dijiang's tone was calm. "Great Luo represents infinite power, but the foundations of that infinity differ. Thus, our combat strength is worlds apart!"
The Demon God was a Great Luo, powerful beyond measure.
But Dijiang was stronger than him!
With power that was equally infinite, how could the infinity raised to the power of two compete with the infinity raised to the power of ten thousand in an instant of eruption?
Both gathered power from endless space-time. One could circulate mana equivalent to its true body through a single momentary domain, but when faced with a supreme being whose entire self existed within a single thought and breath, it was destined for a tragic end.
The reason they were both Great Luo was merely that the fundamental principles contained within them were the same, so they had been placed on the same cultivation tier.
But the pitfall within this...was infinitely deep!
The Great Luo Demon God understood Ancestral Witch Dijiang's words. A bitter smile appeared on the face of the body dragged over from another temporal node.
—How could he possibly have been qualified to glimpse such a supreme being?
The four great emperors of the Demon Clan, the ten great Demon Commanders, and other peerless mighty figures should have come to debate the Dao and contend with him. Only they possessed the ability and qualifications!
His arrival had only one purpose: to deliver a free kill.
"It seems you already understand your situation quite clearly." Dijiang glanced at him. "Very well. You can die knowing the truth, and you won't have too many regrets when the time comes."
"Go on your way!"
He extended one hand.
That hand did not strike the Great Luo Demon God. Instead, it entered the flow of time.
He launched an attack spanning the entire timeline, initiating the ultimate collision between the natures of Great Luo.
At that very moment, the Demon God felt the disparity between them most directly.
If he, as a Great Luo who pierced through the timeline, was like a worm clinging to the timeline, with his entire existence forming its body... Of course, as a Great Divine Ability User, he was much larger than a worm, about as thick as a python.
But the Ancestral Witch Dijiang emerging within the River of Time was a divine dragon capable of soaring through the nine heavens!
The thickness of their bodies represented the power they could circulate on the same temporal scale, signifying the difference between them—one as vast as heaven and earth.
Now, the divine dragon watched coldly. Then—it pounced downward!
In an instant, a fierce battle erupted within the flow of time.
No, it could not be called a battle at all. It was one-sided slaughter, and...an escape.
Across the ancient, eternal timeline of the Primordial World, countless figures of the Demon God in the past and future were slain... Even though he constantly resurrected and frantically fled, he could not escape this fate.
Transforming into thousands of incarnations, lowering his own level, and hiding among ever-changing possibilities and variables?
Useless!
They were both Great Luo, both eternally free across endless space-time. Who wasn't a cheater?
Every time he slew an incarnation of the Demon God, Ancestral Witch Dijiang invaded the hidden information belonging to this Great Luo—the trajectory of his individual growth.
A thousand times, ten thousand times... The confrontations occurring within the River of Time twisted the battlefield's space-time, cutting it away from the normal temporal order of the Primordial World.
Only after achieving the Ancestral Witch's objective and killing his opponent countless times did this severed stretch of time seamlessly reconnect with the original flow of the years.
Then the attack stopped.
However, the Great Luo, who had easily communicated with his incarnations through the Innate Undying Spiritual Light and restored himself to a flawless state, showed not the slightest happiness or joy. Only sorrow appeared on his face.
Because he knew that Dijiang had completely sealed him across the entire timeline.
The most terrifying and immense shadow covered the trajectory of his life. There was no road to take and nowhere to flee.
"I've lost... I will sink..."
Sensing the shackles invisibly binding him, he looked back over the course of his life and saw that, at some unknown point, a vague Black Hand had appeared... The Great Luo Demon God seemed to be crying and laughing at once, his expression bizarre.
"Great Luo loses the self... Great Luo loses the self!"
He lamented.
The formation of any individual's worldview, outlook on life, and other fundamental perspectives all originated from the interaction between living beings and the outside world.
That interaction could come through sight, hearing, smell, and taste... or through the impact and assimilation of external information, leaving traces in the spirit and mind.
No matter what, an individual's values and concepts of awareness could never form independently, free from the influence and conditioning of their environment.
This was a more subtle and profound manifestation of the truth that heaven and humanity were one.
Then...
If one could control all the external information that influenced a target living being, one could deliberately control every aspect of his awareness.
This was more terrifying than any forced mind-conversion divine ability—because it altered things from the source of history.
Changing history, resetting the life of a Great Luo, and formatting his fundamental views and awareness... This was the most terrifying method!
Many Innate Divine Beings and ancient supreme beings watching the battle felt a chill surge through their hearts.
"Although Great Luo transcends time, proving itself forever with a single proof, and once achieved, extends throughout the past, present, and future without any danger of falling, standing at the end of the Great Dao..." On Kunlun Mountain, one of the three figures surrounded by pure qi spoke. "Yet the original self-awareness was forged and formed by us during the long years of cultivation, before proving the Dao..."
"This fellow's past trajectory has been completely locked down. His roots have been found, and his life's growth trajectory can now be arbitrarily smeared and rewritten... If he does not wish to be refined alive by Ancestral Witch Dijiang into an incarnation, he can only sever his past awareness and emotions to respond."
"But through such attrition, the self will become lost... In the end, humanity will vanish, leaving only the nature of the Dao."
"The Great Dao is heartless and emotionless. It does not care about gain or loss, nor about changes in the outside world or whether its own situation is good or bad, nor whether it is arbitrarily whipped and manipulated by its opponent... It becomes like a stubborn stone."
"Then it becomes an Innate Spiritual Treasure!"
"How sad! How lamentable!" Lingbao Tianzun said. "A fellow has already sunk at the opening. By the end of this Witch-Demon Cataclysm, how many Great Luo will be buried beneath heaven and earth, and how many Innate Spiritual Treasures will be added?"
"Alas..." Primordial and Dao De Tianzun sighed simultaneously, lamenting the cruelty of the calamity, but they showed little intention of intervening in Ancestral Witch Dijiang's final killing blow.
"Hm?" Dao De Tianzun's white brows lifted slightly as he suddenly looked toward the ancient starry sky, where the Zhou Tian Stars revolved. He let out a soft exclamation.
At that very instant, a bell rang!
"Clang!"
The bell's clear, sonorous tone echoed throughout the entire Primordial World.
Its ripples shook the mighty, surging River of Time, throwing everything into disorder.
"The Chaos Bell!"
Who knew how many mighty figures across heaven and earth changed expression and called out the source of the bell.
One of the Three Great Innate Supreme Treasures transformed from the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe—the Chaos Bell!
The bell rang with vast majesty. The universe shone brilliantly, heaven and earth lost their color, and the cosmos trembled... Five-colored radiance illuminated the heavens, while the sacred might of chaos shook the universe!
This bell could reverse the space-time of the heavens, derive the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao, and refine water, fire, earth, and wind. Its ferocious might was boundless!
The moment it appeared, it suppressed the fate of that Great Luo Demon God, preventing Dijiang from eroding his awareness and causing him to lose his self and sink.
"Your Majesty!" The Great Luo Demon God's face filled with immense joy. Upon hearing the bell, he knew who had come to rescue him.
"Tai Yi." Dijiang raised his head and looked at the ancient bell that had suddenly manifested in the starry sky. He spoke a sacred title, and his gaze gradually deepened.
"Dijiang." In the starry sky, a brilliant divine figure radiating boundless light and splendor stood tall. "The Witch and Demon Clans... This is not the time for war. How about we cease hostilities?"
Eastern Emperor!
Tai Yi!
The appearance of this extraordinarily powerful Demon Emperor made the direction of the battlefield's situation bewilderingly uncertain.
However, no one could see that a trace of helplessness and worry lay in the depths of this emperor's eyes.
Time rewound slightly.
"It's obvious... Qingyou Demon God is no match for Dijiang. If the battle continues, he will suffer the calamity of losing himself and sinking."
In a hidden region of space-time, divine senses crisscrossed, transmitting information and exchanging opinions.
"Someone needs to act and save him." Someone transmitted, "Otherwise, if he dies, it will greatly damage our momentum... Once the Heavenly Court is officially established, how can we suppress the various clans and fuse the myriad races into one—the Demon Clan?"
"But Dijiang is too powerful!" someone else said. "He is one of the top mighty figures. Who would dare casually claim they could contend with him?"
"Heh... Even if Dijiang is overbearing, our faction is not without outstanding powerhouses!"
"Quickly go to Phoenix Perch Mountain and ask Great Sage Fuxi to act!"
"We can't get him... Great Sage Fuxi is being restrained by the Time Ancestral Witch and cannot spare any attention. We can't even contact him right now."
"Then what about Great Sage Nuwa?"
"Great Sage Nuwa? We can contact her." An Innate Divine Being quickly replied, "I already sent a signal earlier, but her reply... Her reply was, uh!"
"What is it? Why are you stammering?" The figure manifested by the divine sense beside him looked puzzled. "What did Great Sage Nuwa say? Just tell us."
"She's riding a Phoenix on the way there!"
As soon as these words were spoken, this stretch of space-time instantly fell silent.
How many Great Luo? How many Demon Gods? All were speechless.
"Well... all right!" After a long while, someone sighed. "Unexpected, yet reasonable."
"After all, her identity is complicated. She is not only an emperor of the Heavenly Court, but also the future founder and major shareholder of the Human Race."
"She has placed bets on both sides. Whichever wins, she profits greatly. Her ambiguous attitude is understandable, understandable." The topic was naturally shifted away from Great Sage Nuwa. "Several Demon Commanders, please go and..."
"We can't leave." A powerful, metallic voice rang out. A Demon God with a dragon's head, a human body, bird's claws, and feathered arms shook his head. His name was Jimeng. "Beneath Buzhou Mountain, the auras of several Ancestral Witches have erupted, locking onto us."
"If we move, they will move as well. We cannot go provide support."
"Is the Witch Clan planning to launch an all-out war against us!" someone said coldly. "Such arrogance—they are bullying the gods too far!"
"Our Demon Clan's preparations are not yet complete. At present, we have only just gathered our core forces, and even the overall framework remains unclear." Bai Ze, renowned for his wisdom among the Demon Commanders, spoke softly. "The Witch Clan, however, has already planned out its hierarchy and completed its organization. It possesses the ability to take the initiative and start a war."
"So you're saying that if war breaks out, we'll be at a great disadvantage?" A deity faintly at the center, radiating boundless solar light, spoke.
"Yes." Bai Ze nodded, then suddenly smiled, soothing his comrades' worries. "Of course, they also wouldn't dare to erupt in the largest-scale conflict so easily. At most, they would limit it to confrontations involving certain individuals."
"After all, they still have a great enemy!"
"Houtu's existence and his utterly undisguised attitude—he intends to obtain prestige second only to Great God Pangu in the name of enlightening all living beings... Since Pangu will not emerge to compete with him for the position, he will become the rightful supreme ruler."
"This is something the Ancestral Witches do not wish to see. Likewise, Hong dislikes the Ancestral Witches—Pangu's blood essence transformed into human form, and as his direct descendants, they possess an innate right of succession."
"Hong is waiting for the Ancestral Witches to reveal a weakness... Therefore, as long as the Witch Clan retains its reason, even if it possesses the ability to trigger the cataclysm, it will not take the initiative to start a war now."
"First, they must restrain Hong and drive him from the field, leaving him unable to concern himself with anything else. Only then will they have the energy to fight us decisively."
"Otherwise, even if they defeat us, how will they face the punishment Hong brings down with the righteousness of all living beings, under the banner of curbing the Ancestral Witches' wanton slaughter and brutal abuse of living beings?"
P.S. As for the cover, I designed it through the Author Assistant. It took me quite a while to find one that fit. As for the group, if this book manages to go premium, I'll create one then.
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