Previously, the Anti-Demon Alliance had charged into the Demon Court, hoping to catch the Demon Race off guard and launch a surprise attack. They hadn't expected Di Jun to leave Bai Ze behind to guard the Demon Court and entrust him with the Zhou Tian Star Formation to protect it.
The Anti-Demon Alliance had suffered heavy losses in its reckless assault! Then Di Jun and Tai Yi had cut off their retreat as they returned to defend the Demon Court. The alliance's main force was wiped out, and only Brahma escaped with a small number of his clansmen.
Netherworld Blood Sea
Turbulent waves surged as boundless baleful blood energy condensed into a tangible mass, circling and roaring above the Blood Sea. Inside Blood God Palace, Ancestor Minghe sat upon the Blood Lotus Throne, surrounded by a crimson glow. The Twelve-grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus bore his seat, its flames dancing and casting a cold, sinister light across his face. The pressure around him was so oppressive it left those nearby struggling to breathe.
Brahma looked utterly wretched. His battle armor was shattered, his clothes stained with blood, and even his primordial spirit seemed dispirited. He stumbled to his knees before the Blood Lotus Throne, head bowed low. His voice trembled with the relief of having survived: "Ancestor, disaster has struck... We led the Anti-Demon Alliance in an attack on the Demon Court, only to fall into a Demon Race ambush. Our main force was wiped out. Only I managed to escape with dozens of clansmen..."
Before he could finish, a towering blaze of fury flared in Ancestor Minghe's eyes. The wrath came with boundless baleful energy, sending the surging Blood Sea beneath his feet into waves tens of thousands of feet high. The flames of the Karmic Fire Red Lotus abruptly surged several feet higher, scorching the air with a sizzling hiss.
"Useless!"
His furious shout shook the Blood Sea. Minghe raised a hand and unleashed a tightly condensed streak of blood-red light, like a long whip, with the power to split heaven and earth. It lashed Brahma with brutal force.
"Bang!"
Brahma was struck hard and sent flying. He slammed into a blood-crystal cliff deep beneath the Blood Sea, shattering it with a thunderous crash. He spat out several mouthfuls of blood essence, several ribs broken, and crashed into the bloodwater below. He struggled to get up, terror filling his eyes, too frightened even to beg for mercy.
"I ordered you to lead the alliance against the Demon Court so you could take advantage of the Demon Race's recent disaster and weakened state, seize some of the Demon Court's resources, and crush what remained of their spirit. And this is what you did!" Ancestor Minghe blurred and appeared before Brahma. He planted a foot on Brahma's chest and pinned him in the bloodwater. His voice was cold as ice, each word sharp as a blade. "An alliance of countless cultivators was defeated by a Demon Court with only one guardian! Tell me, how did you lead your troops?!"
Crushed beneath his foot, Brahma could hardly breathe. His chest throbbed with agony as he struggled to lift his head. His hoarse voice quavered on the verge of tears. "Have mercy, Ancestor... I didn't know... I didn't know Di Jun had left Bai Ze to guard the Demon Court! Bai Ze knows everything under heaven and foresaw our attack. He activated the Star Array of the Heavens in advance. The moment we charged through South Heaven Gate, we were trapped and slaughtered by the formation. Countless cultivators died... Then Di Jun and Tai Yi returned with the remnants of the Demon Race. The Chaos Bell sealed the void, and the River Map and Luo Book laid out a deadly trap. We had no way to resist, so only a few of us managed to fight our way out..."
The more he spoke, the more frantic he became, terrified that Minghe would kill him in his rage. He pressed his forehead to the bloodwater and repeatedly kowtowed. "I underestimated them. I was incompetent. Please spare me, Ancestor. Give me another chance to atone for my failure!"
"Atone for your failure?" Ancestor Minghe sneered, pressing down harder. Brahma's bones cracked audibly beneath his foot. "You fool! Your reckless attack cost the Blood Sea tens of thousands of its children, and made the entire Primordial World laugh at me! Do you know that Bai Ze held the Demon Court alone and used the Star Array of the Heavens to slaughter the alliance, while Di Jun and Tai Yi returned and destroyed our main force? Who in the Primordial World doesn't now laugh at the Anti-Demon Alliance as a band of self-important clowns who overestimated themselves?!"
Baleful blood energy roiled around Minghe. In his fury, the Twelve-grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus and the Yuantu Abi Twin Swords trembled faintly, as if eager to devour someone. Pāpīyas, Shiva, and Minghe's other trusted followers stood on either side, silent with fear, hardly daring to breathe. They all knew that their Ancestor was at the height of his rage. Brahma likely wouldn't survive.
The Blood Sea shuddered violently with Minghe's fury. Waves crashed against the walls of Blood God Palace with deafening force, and countless Blood Sea creatures hid beneath the surface, afraid to show themselves.
Brahma was barely conscious beneath Minghe's foot. Blood essence continued to seep from his mouth, and despair filled his eyes. He knew he had truly enraged the ruthless Ancestor.
Just as the cold gleam of the Yuantu Abi Twin Swords was about to split the air and strike Brahma, Ancestor Minghe abruptly stopped.
He gazed at the murky waves surging through the Blood Sea, and the scene above the Primordial World flashed through his mind: Pangu's Will had manifested, golden light pierced the sun, and the radiance of the Great Dao filled the sky. The Saints had joined forces to suppress the Heavenly Dao. Such overwhelming divine might was far beyond the reach of a Quasi-Sage like him. Though the Demon Race had suffered a disaster, Di Jun and Tai Yi still stood at its helm, Bai Ze still advised them, and the Star Array of the Heavens still guarded the Demon Court. Its foundations remained intact. His Anti-Demon Alliance, by contrast, was nothing but a ragtag band, brought together by paltry self-interest. How could they stand against the Demon Race, with its ancient legacy?
What's more, the Primordial World's balance of power had now been set. The Saints guarded the center, the Wu Race held the Netherworld, and the Demon Race had allied with Western Religion and settled in the west. The Great Dao was impartial, and the tide of history had turned. He had formed the Anti-Demon Alliance, hoping to seize fortune amid the chaos and break through to the Primordial Chaos realm. Now, it seemed, he had only been trying to stop a chariot with his arms—an act of foolish overconfidence.
If he remained stubborn and continued to oppose the Demon Race, then once they had recovered, with Western Religion's support as well, the Blood Sea would become the target of the entire Primordial World. When that day came, the Blood Sea would be destroyed.
His fury gradually subsided, and the rage in Ancestor Minghe's eyes gave way to cold clarity. The pressure of his foot slowly eased. He glanced at Brahma, who was on the verge of death, and spoke without the slightest emotion. "Get out."
Brahma froze, thinking he had misheard. He looked up at Ancestor Minghe's icy face, then scrambled out of the bloodwater without a moment's hesitation. Clutching his chest, he bowed and hurried away, not daring to look back in case the Ancestor changed his mind.
After Brahma left, Ancestor Minghe returned to the Blood Lotus Throne. The baleful blood energy around him gradually receded, and the Blood Sea slowly grew calm again. Yet the sinister eyes that had once burned with ambition to contend for supremacy in the Primordial World held no trace of that ambition now.
"Carry out my order." Ancestor Minghe's voice echoed across the Blood Sea, carrying unquestionable authority. "Disband the Anti-Demon Alliance at once. All members of the Blood Sea are to return, and none may set foot beyond the Netherworld again. Drive all cultivators from other domains out of the Blood Sea, and never admit them again."
"Also, set up the Blood Sea Boundary Sealing Array. From this day forward, the Blood Sea will seal itself off and focus on cultivation, taking no part in the affairs of the Primordial World!"
Pāpīyas, Shiva, and the others understood. They promptly bowed and accepted the order. "We obey, Ancestor!"
One decree after another went out from the Blood Sea, reaching the scattered remnants of the Anti-Demon Alliance throughout the Primordial World. The cultivators, already gripped by panic and battered by their losses, felt as though they had been granted a reprieve when they heard Ancestor Minghe's command. They all dispersed.
In just a few days, the once-boisterous Anti-Demon Alliance had vanished from the Primordial World like a passing cloud.
Above the Netherworld Blood Sea, the Boundary Sealing Array slowly rose. A curtain of crimson light enveloped the entire Blood Sea, cutting it off from all contact with the Primordial World. Upon the Blood Lotus Throne, Ancestor Minghe gazed at the red barrier, his eyes deep and unreadable.
The tide of the Primordial World could not be turned by any one person. Rather than fight for temporary gains, he would safeguard the Blood Sea's foundations. When his cultivation had reached its peak, he could contend over the rise and fall of heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, at the Demon Court, Bai Ze stood at the heart of the Star Array of the Heavens beneath South Heaven Gate, watching the Demon Race soldiers below clean up the battlefield. A flash of wisdom glimmered in his eyes. Di Jun and Tai Yi stood beside him. Looking toward the Blood Sea, where the crimson light was gradually fading, they exchanged glances and gave a cold smile.
"Petty fools dare covet the Demon Court? They don't know their place."
Before you continue