Utter silence.
The solar core, hot enough to melt gold and iron, had fallen utterly silent.
The long spear, pitch-black from tip to shaft, hovered quietly in Su Ming's hand. The blood-colored baleful aura coiling around its body seemed almost alive. Every time it flowed, ominous ripples spread through the surrounding space.
The ringing of the Chaos Bell stopped.
The flames of the Sun Essence Wheel went out.
Even the dazzling, glasslike True Sun Fire blazing around Tai Yi had encountered its natural enemy. Its radiance drew inward and trembled, no longer displaying even a trace of its former ferocity.
The power brought by forcibly breaking through the realm was as fragile as a joke before the edge of the God Slaying Spear.
For the first time, fear appeared in Tai Yi's eyes, which had transformed into glasslike suns. He could clearly feel his connection to the Sun Star's origin being forcibly severed by that pure aura of slaughter!
This spear restrained him!
No, it restrained the entire Sun Star!
"Damn it, I'll fight you to the end..."
Tai Yi's voice was dry and hoarse, filled with unwillingness.
Di Jun's condition was even worse. He had not benefited from the forcibly elevated cultivation Tai Yi had gained by relying on the home-ground advantage. The instant the God Slaying Spear appeared, its killing intent, which stabbed directly into his Primordial Spirit, caused nearly all the magical power in his body to congeal.
He stared fixedly at the spear, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.
As the future emperor of the Demon Clan, he had read widely about the secrets of the Primordial Wilderness. A terrifying name, one that existed only in legend, suddenly sprang from the depths of his memory.
The companion supreme treasure of Demon Ancestor Luohu, the greatest weapon of slaughter in the Primordial Wilderness!
The God Slaying Spear!
The moment this thought appeared, Di Jun felt ice-cold, as if he had fallen into an icy cavern.
It was over.
Even with the innate supreme treasure Chaos Bell protecting them, even while they were in their home base, the Sun Star, the two brothers had not the slightest chance of victory against this legendary weapon of slaughter!
That was not a magical treasure. It was the embodiment of a law born specifically to massacre the divine and sacred!
"Second Brother, stop!"
Seeing Tai Yi's eyes bulge with rage as he still tried to activate the Chaos Bell for one final struggle, Di Jun roared and forcibly suppressed his surging blood and qi before grabbing Tai Yi by the shoulder.
"Big Brother?" Tai Yi turned back in confusion, his eyes filled with madness and unwillingness.
"We lost."
Di Jun spoke each word slowly. Those three words seemed to drain all the strength from his body.
The pride he possessed as the future Demon Emperor was crushed to pieces at this moment. But he knew that if they continued fighting, it would not be their pride that shattered, but their Primordial Spirits.
Tai Yi froze. Then, the aura he had forcibly raised receded like a tide. The glasslike flames turned golden again before dimming further.
The backlash from forcibly breaking through erupted. His face went pale, and he spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood, his aura instantly weakening.
Di Jun supported the staggering Tai Yi, drew a deep breath, and looked up at the indifferent man holding the black spear.
He put away the Sun Essence Wheel and slowly lowered his noble head toward Su Ming.
"Daoist, your divine abilities are vast and profound. My brother and I are thoroughly convinced."
"What would it take for you to spare my brother and me?"
Di Jun's voice was calm, but every word carried boundless humiliation.
Tai Yi clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms, but he said nothing. He knew that his elder brother had made the correct choice.
Su Ming toyed with the God Slaying Spear in his hand. The baleful aura at its tip flickered unsteadily, as if it could pierce through anything at any moment.
He looked at the two future Heavenly Emperors of the Demon Clan. One was a formidable warlord, the other a God of War, yet at this moment they looked like two quails awaiting slaughter.
Kill them?
The thought flashed through his mind.
But it was not the time yet.
For one thing, the Heavenly Dao protected the two of them.
For another, the Witch-Demon Tribulation was the grand trend of the Heavenly Dao, and the grand trend could not be altered.
Even if Su Ming killed Di Jun and Tai Yi now, the Heavenly Dao would immediately appoint new "Demon Emperors," needlessly causing him trouble.
Moreover, their Destiny/Luck was sky-high. If he truly killed them here, he would probably have to pay a considerable price and become entangled in the karma of the Tribulation.
Since he could not kill them, then...
Su Ming's gaze fell on the Sun Essence Wheel Di Jun had just put away, as well as the dimly glowing Chaos Bell above Tai Yi's head. The corners of his mouth curled into a teasing smile.
"A way to live?"
"I can give you one."
Su Ming spoke indifferently. "It depends on whether your 'sincerity' is enough."
He placed heavy emphasis on the word "sincerity."
What kind of person was Di Jun? He immediately understood Su Ming's meaning.
Su Ming wanted them to pay a fortune to avoid disaster!
A trace of struggle flashed through his heart, but it was immediately replaced by boundless resolve.
If the treasures were gone, they could search for more.
But if their lives were gone, they would have nothing left!
"I understand."
Di Jun nodded, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
The next moment, he suddenly struck his own crown, opened his mouth, and spat out a large mass of Essence Blood, scattering it over the Sun Essence Wheel he had just drawn back into his body!
"Pfft!"
Di Jun's face instantly turned as pale as paper, as though all his vitality had been drained away.
He had forcibly erased the Primordial Spirit Imprint he had left on the Sun Essence Wheel!
This Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, which had accompanied him for countless epochs, became ownerless from that moment onward!
"Buzz..."
The Sun Essence Wheel let out a mournful cry. Its radiance completely dimmed, and it fell from the three flowers above Di Jun's head.
Di Jun did not even look at it. With a beckoning gesture, he summoned a Cosmos Bag engraved with countless star patterns.
"Daoist, the Sun Essence Wheel and all the treasures my brother and I have collected since transforming are inside."
He pushed the Sun Essence Wheel and the Cosmos Bag toward Su Ming together.
"Please, Daoist, show us mercy!"
Tai Yi watched this scene, his heart bleeding. The Cosmos Bag contained the efforts of countless years from the two brothers! But he also understood that this was their only path to survival.
Su Ming looked at Di Jun, a trace of approval flashing through his eyes.
Ruthless enough to be this ruthless toward himself.
No wonder he would become a Heavenly Emperor. Few in the Primordial Wilderness could match this decisiveness.
He beckoned, and the Sun Essence Wheel and Cosmos Bag flew into his hands.
When his Divine Sense swept through the Cosmos Bag, even Su Ming, who was accustomed to seeing treasures, could not help but feel his heart jump.
Good heavens!
Magical treasures, spirit roots, and all kinds of rare refining materials were piled as high as mountains!
Sun Gold, Star Iron, and the like were practically as common as cabbages that cost nothing.
As expected of the future master of the Heavenly Court, his collection was truly abundant!
"Not bad. I've received your sincerity."
Su Ming nodded in satisfaction and put away the God Slaying Spear.
The terrifying killing intent that had enveloped the entire core of the Sun Star instantly vanished without a trace.
"Get lost."
Su Ming uttered two words indifferently.
As if pardoned, Di Jun immediately helped up the weakened Tai Yi. The two transformed into two golden rainbows and fled the core of the Sun Star without looking back, not daring to say even a single polite word.
They were afraid Su Ming would change his mind.
As he watched their disheveled figures disappear, the system's prompt rang in Su Ming's ears at just the right moment.
[Ping! The host has detected the Destined Demon Emperor being suppressed head-on. Obtained Golden Trait: Origin of True Sun Fire!]
The instant the voice faded, Su Ming felt as if a tiny sun had appeared deep within his soul.
An utterly yang, supremely rigid, and incomparably overbearing origin of flame merged perfectly with his own magical power.
With a thought, a cluster of golden flames leaped to life on his fingertip.
These flames shared the same origin as the True Sun Fire of Di Jun and Tai Yi, but they seemed purer and more condensed, their power even more terrifying!
If his previous Netherworld Ghost Fire had been a sinister flame that burned the soul, then this True Sun Fire was a resplendent divine flame that incinerated all things!
Yin and yang—two Primordial Wilderness divine flames had gathered within one body!
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