Choice Is Free, Consequences Are Not

Bai Qiuran threw the two heads in his hands to the ground, gathered his True Essence, and released three beams of sealing Spirit Light, which collected and preserved the corpses of the Three Venerables Demon Venerable present.

"There's a significant difference in strength between individual Demon Venerable..."

There is a significant difference in strength among these three Demon Venerable. The weakest, the Shadow Demon Venerable, is only at the initial stage of the Vast Sea Realm, while the strongest, the Flame Demon Venerable, can even rival the Black Heaven Asura King, who has received Xingtian's blessing and reached the Great Perfection of the Vast Sea Realm.

In the future, there may even be individuals at the Immortal Venerable level.

Bai Qiuran pondered for a moment, then turned around and looked at the traitors of the Azure Nether Sword Sect.

"Seeing me, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Bai Qiuran brushed the dust off the Sect Master's chair, then turned and sat down.

The traitors of the Azure Nether Sword Sect looked at each other. They were all cowards; otherwise, they wouldn't have surrendered at the first opportunity when the Demon Race attacked.

"Among Cultivators, there are many who cherish their lives. I can understand your surrender to save your lives, but I cannot forgive you."

Bai Qiuran looked at the silent Qingming Sect traitors and calmly said, "Because you have betrayed not only Cultivation sects, but the entire race."

The pressure of silence spread, and finally, some of the traitors from the Azure Nether Sword Sect could not withstand the pressure and began to kneel before Bai Qiuran.

"Spare us, Martial Ancestor Uncle!"

They cried out, "We just... we just don't want to die so easily!"

People have the right to choose freely.

The Executive Elder also knelt down, crying and shouting, "Isn't this the principle you taught us? We are no match for your abilities and character. If we don't want to die, this is the only path we have!"

They looked at Bai Qiuran as if he were committing some unforgivable crime.

"Yes, you're right. People have the right to choose freely; that's exactly what I said."

Bai Qiuran, holding onto the armrests of the chair, slowly rose and walked to the group of the Qingming Sect traitors.

"However, as I've also said, behind every free choice, one must also bear the consequences of their choices!"

He raised his Sword Finger and flicked it lightly. Amidst the splattering of blood, the lives of the Qingming Sect traitors perished, and they all fell into pools of blood.

"Don't give me that nonsense. You're three thousand years too early."

Bai Qiuran wiped the blood off his hands, walked out of the empty doorway into the Great Hall, and passed through the Sect Master's Other Courtyard until he arrived at the cliff edge of the Main Peak of the Qingming Mountain Range.

Down the mountain, countless Demon Race, led by several Great Demons, were engaged in a frenzied battle. Among them were traitorous Cultivators, whose bodies had mutated into twisted forms like those of the Demon Race. Their Cultivators had also greatly increased, and they too had fallen into a Demon Race frenzy, slaughtering and devouring each Demon Race's flesh and blood.

Bai Qiuran and Wisdom Immortal stood there watching for a while. Wisdom Immortal said, "It seems that this is how those Demon Venerable are born. Bloodthirsty Demon Race without reason evolve into Great Demon through mutual killing and devouring, and then gradually become Demon Venerable with higher intelligence... However, where did the mutations of these Cultivators come from? The mutations on their bodies seem to be specially modified into this form by someone through precise methods."

"Who knows..."

Bai Qiuran looked at the mutated Cultivators.

"Who knows, there might even be living Heavenly Gods behind them."

A person standing on a high place overlooking the battlefield was an extremely conspicuous target, which immediately attracted the attention of the Demon Race fighting below. Countless Demon Race gathered like a tide, led by several Great Demons, and rushed towards Bai Qiuran's location, as if the end of the world had arrived.

"Alright."

Standing before the apocalypse, Bai Qiuran stretched leisurely and said, "Let's start cleaning."

That night, the Heavenly Demon Sect was still shrouded in a layer of blood-red Mountain Protection Array.

After Jueyunzi and the others escaped and Bai Qiuran went to the Azure Nether Sword Sect to clean house, Demon Race in the Northern Abyss region gathered again and launched several attacks on the area.

However, with the high-ranking members of various sects gathered here, and with the assistance of the Immortal Emperor-level Red Dust Immortal Elder, the Cultivators easily defended the area.

Relying on the Mountain Protection Array, the disciples of various sects fought and retreated, leaving the invading Demon Race with only corpses on the ground. The Demon Venerable who led the attack was also easily captured in the painting by the Red Dust Immortal Elder as research material.

After their Chief was captured, the Demon Race fell into chaos, fighting amongst themselves and engaging in a chaotic battle with the Human Race within the Heavenly Demon Sect. They were quickly wiped out.

The Heavenly Demon Sect was as quiet as other places at night. After several days of fierce fighting, even the Cultivators felt exhausted. Apart from the people on night watch and the group of research fanatics from the Profound Law Academy, everyone else returned to their rooms and Cave Abode early to recuperate or go to bed.

The tranquility lasted until the third watch of the night. After the third watch, the previously dark sky suddenly shone with brilliant light.

The sky seemed to have been torn apart, revealing a huge rift from which golden light, colorful clouds, and a rich and abundant Spirit Qi continuously poured out, illuminating the entire Northern Abyss Land.

"Damn it, who's lighting a lamp in the middle of the night? Are Lunatic?"

The sudden brightening of the light also woke up many resting Cultivators. They rubbed their eyes and cursed as they walked out of their rooms, only to be shocked by the strange phenomenon in the sky.

Su Xiangxue was also woken up by Li Jinyao. She walked out of the room and looked up at the sky in surprise.

After becoming Earth Immortal, her senses became even more acute than those of Cultivators, and she noticed the subtle differences in the energy and True Essence flowing within the golden glow in the sky.

"That's... Immortal Power?"

Li Jinyao also gazed at the sky and muttered to herself, "Is that the legendary Immortal Realm?"

The golden rays of light in the sky continued to spread until they enveloped the entire Northern Abyss Land. Then, auspicious clouds began to surge in, and countless rays of light flew out from the rift, heading towards the center of the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou.

A solemn voice resounded throughout the Eastern Immortal Realm Heaven and Earth, proclaiming to all. "I am Yang Immortal Venerable, a disciple of the Eastern Azure Emperor Realm. From this moment forward, affairs concerning the Demon Race shall be taken over by the Eastern Immortal Realm and Immortal Realm subordinate Immortal Imperial Army. You Cultivators must not interfere arbitrarily."

"Wait a minute."

As soon as the voice fell, an even more powerful aura suddenly rose from behind the Heavenly Demon Sect, instantly covering the entire sky.

"Huh?"

The solemn voice paused upon sensing this imposing aura, then respectfully inquired, "May I ask which Immortal Emperor remains in the Mortal Realm? Please reveal yourself."

"This old man is none other than the Mortal Immortal Elder, Red Dust Immortal Elder the First Immortal Emperor."

A streak of light flashed past, transforming into the Red Dust Immortal Elder. He hovered in the air and addressed the Rift, saying, "Yang Immortal Venerable, please, for my sake, grant these Cultivators some freedom, allowing them to take in the refugees and companions controlled by the Demon Race."

"So it's the third disciple of the First Immortal Emperor, His Majesty the Red Dust Immortal Emperor."

The solemn voice paused for a moment, then continued, "We will certainly give you face, as long as they don't interfere with our operations, that's fine."