The great battle had finally come to an end, but Buzhou Mountain, inside and out, had long since become a scene of utter devastation.
Nearly half of the once magnificent, sprawling volcanic range had collapsed and fractured. Scalding lava burst forth from the depths of the Earth Veins and flowed unchecked, turning vast stretches of fertile land for thousands of miles into scorched wasteland. The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur, the stench of blood, and the lingering aftermath of fierce malevolent qi. The Undying Rosy Clouds in the sky had also dimmed considerably, torn apart by countless enormous spatial rifts and hanging above the firmament like shredded brocade.
The surviving Phoenix Clan warriors, Kirin Clan reinforcements, and Cultivators of every race moved tirelessly between the ruins, mountains of corpses, and seas of blood, collecting the remains of their comrades and treating the wounded who still clung to life. Every face was filled with exhaustion, grief, and the bewilderment of those who had survived a catastrophe.
"It's over... it's really over?" A young Green Luan Clan warrior knelt beside a fallen comrade, trembling as he tried to close the other's lifeless eyes. His voice was hoarse.
Beside him, an elderly Yue Zhuo Clan Cultivator looked toward the collapsed Mountain Peaks still belching black smoke in the distance, his eyes filled with sorrow. "But our homeland... has nearly been destroyed as well."
At the summit of Nirvana Peak, on the broad platform before the Southern Bright Leaving Fire Hall, the gathered high-level figures stood in silent solemnity.
Phoenix Ancestor and Yuan Huang stood side by side, gazing at the shattered mountains and rivers stretching for billions of miles below. Little emotion could be seen on the faces of the two Progenitors, yet the heavy aura around them made