Supreme Yang Refines Demons, Luohu Clone

After breaking through to the late stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, East King Duke left Mount Fang Island once again.

Over ten thousand years had passed since the Three Tribes—the Dragons, Phoenixes, and Qilins—had officially established their clans by swearing an oath to the Heavenly Dao. As they expanded in all directions, the karmic sins committed by the cultivators of these three tribes had become extremely heavy, yet they remained completely unaware that they were already entangled in karmic sin.

The tragic end of the Three Tribes could be considered a case of "the pitiful must have something hateful about them."

It was not just within the Four Seas; on the Primordial Continent, the Calamity Qi had become incredibly dense. Under the influence of this Calamity Qi, any being caught in the calamity—unless protected by treasures—would be affected, becoming bloodthirsty. Those with weak primordial spirits might even lose their minds.

However, most of those susceptible to the influence of the Calamity Qi were Primordial beings who had not yet attained the Dao. Great Supernatural Beings like East King Duke, who had already attained the Dao, were not affected in the slightest.

Judging by the density of the Calamity Qi, the war between the Three Tribes would likely break out soon. East King Duke knew that the Devil Race was pulling the strings behind the scenes. While even the Three Pure Ones and other Innate Divine Demons remained in seclusion, he had chosen to leave his dojo. Even though he knew full well that Luohu's cultivation was heaven-defying and beyond his ability to contend with, he decided to enter the calamity alone.

He wanted to make a trip to the west of the Primordial Continent to prepare for his upcoming plans.

At the border between the east and west of the Primordial Continent, a flash of light streaked by. A lotus flower formed from purple clear qi landed on the ground and transformed into a spirited, enlightened immortal—it was East King Duke, who had rushed over from the East Sea.

With a wave of his sleeves, the Daoist lotus flowers around him dissipated. This was the Supreme Yang Lotus Escape Technique he had derived from the Supreme Yang Dao Scripture after breaking through to the late stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. It could cover millions of miles in an instant, making it excellent for traveling.

Now that he had arrived near the Western Continent, East King Duke could no longer display such an eye-catching escape technique. He had come this time only to investigate in secret and make some arrangements; he absolutely did not want to face Luohu head-on. The Devil Ancestor's fated opponent was not him, but the one on Mount Yujing.

At this time, the boundary between the East and the West was not as distinct as it would be in later ages. Both were part of the Primordial Continent, equally beautiful and rich in Innate Spiritual Qi. It was only after that great war that the Western earth veins were damaged, leading to a scarcity of spiritual qi. The overall environment for cultivation became far worse than in the East, and it would not recover for several Yuan Hui.

This led to the era of the Saints, where those two in the West, due to their insufficient foundations, almost failed to become Saints and only managed to secure their Saint Positions by making Great Grand Vows to the Heavenly Dao in advance.

Upon entering the west of the Primordial Continent, although the Innate Spiritual Qi did not differ much, the air of the great calamity was significantly denser. East King Duke understood; the cultivators of the Devil Race were inherently bloodthirsty, and since they had instigated the war between the Three Tribes, such a scene was only logical.

Reaching a certain location, East King Duke descended from the clouds and expanded his divine sense to investigate the path of the earth veins.

Aside from probing the true strength of the Devil Race, his most important goal in coming here was to map out the Western earth veins and protect them. When the war between the Dao and the Devil began, he hoped to preserve as many Western spiritual lands as possible.

The destruction of earth veins in the coming war would surely burden all participants with karma and karmic sin. His act of protecting the veins was, firstly, to eliminate his own karmic sin, and secondly, a benefit to the Primordial World, which should earn him some Heavenly Dao Merit.

One day, at the foot of a certain immortal mountain, East King Duke was setting up a Supreme Yang Array to protect the earth veins when his divine sense detected a group of several Devil Race cultivators approaching from afar. He pondered for a moment, but instead of avoiding them, he sat down in place.

Only when they were within a hundred miles did the group of devils discover him, and they flew straight toward him.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in the land of my Devil Race?"

There were eight Devil Race cultivators in total. Their cultivation levels were not high, and the leader was only at the Mysterious Immortal realm, yet they all wore ferocious expressions and were filled with malevolent qi.

East King Duke looked at them with interest. Before he could even speak, these Devil Race cultivators directly brandished their spiritual treasures and attacked.

It was indeed the style of the Devil Race—their desire to kill was extreme. However, to East King Duke, cultivators of this level were like ants. He did not move his body, merely letting out a light shout.

Purple qi flew out, freezing the group of devils in place. With a burst of Supreme Yang refining power, in the blink of an eye, the group of Devil Race cultivators was refined into ashes and dissipated.

Suddenly, a few wisps of merit descended. East King Duke was surprised. He knew that the Devil Race committed many sins and was disliked by the Heavenly Dao, but he had not expected that killing such minor devils would also yield merit, even if it was not much.

It was better than nothing, so he accepted the merit.

Devil Race cultivators refine their bodies with Malevolent Qi, granting them immense physical strength. At the same cultivation level, they are significantly more powerful than Daoist Sect cultivators. East King Duke pondered for a moment before continuing his unfinished task.

For a hundred years, East King Duke rode the clouds, flying across the Western lands. At times, he used his divine sense to probe the spiritual veins; at others, he descended to set up arrays. Through this tireless effort, he established nine hundred Supreme Yang Arrays. These arrays possessed no power to kill or conceal; they were insights he had derived from his own cultivation techniques, and their sole purpose was to protect the spiritual veins.

A mere nine hundred arrays were but a drop in the ocean compared to the vastness of the Western Primordial World, yet for the living beings of the West, it was a meritorious deed.

Beyond setting up the arrays, East King Duke had also slain many Devil Race members along his path during these hundred years. Daoist Sect cultivators incurred no Karma for purging devils, so he had no such concerns.

Having protected millions of miles of spiritual veins, he had reached the limit of his Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal late-stage cultivation. He did not wish to linger in the West any longer and intended to return to wait for the great war to begin. However, before he had traveled far, his primordial spirit suddenly issued a warning.

Feeling a sudden palpitation in his heart, he did not hesitate to manifest the Twelve-grade Yin-Yang Dao Lotus.

No sooner had the Yin-Yang Two Qi risen than a flash of ink-colored light appeared, and a sword strike descended from the west.

The sword momentum was like a rainbow, with Malevolent Qi soaring into the sky. Its power was the greatest East King Duke had ever witnessed since his birth.

His expression turned incomparably solemn. He channeled the Supreme Yang Power to activate the Dao Lotus, driving the Yin-Yang Two Qi to their limit.

"BOOM!"

A deafening roar shook the mountains. The Dao Lotus shimmered with continuous fluorescent light, and East King Duke retreated rapidly for a hundred miles before he could dissipate the peerless force of the strike.

"A mere Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, yet you can withstand my sword without a scratch. Junior, who are you?"

Following a cold voice, the space before him rippled and then tore open. A figure clad in black robes, stepping upon an ink-colored treasure map with surging Devilish Qi, stepped through the shattered void.

Seeing the figure and sensing the momentum, East King Duke suddenly thought of someone, and his face changed drastically.

"Luohu!"

"You actually know my name."

Luohu was greatly surprised. He had not expected that this junior, East King Duke, not only possessed remarkable combat prowess but also had such extensive knowledge.

"Since you know my name, why not surrender and accept your death!"

Luohu's tone was indifferent, yet it carried an incomparably powerful aura, as if he held dominion over life and death.

At this moment, East King Duke was terrified to the extreme. Although his combat power was extraordinary, he knew clearly that he was no match for a mighty figure like Luohu, who was at the Quasi-Saint late-stage. Yet, in the depths of his intuition, he sensed that his chance of survival had not been extinguished.

As he pondered, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out:

"No, you have not transcended the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. You are not the true Luohu, but a primordial spirit avatar!"

"Junior, you truly have some insight."

Luohu spoke indifferently, then his voice turned sharp.

"Even if I am only an avatar, do you think you can escape from my hands?"

"Whether I can or not, we shall see."

At this moment, East King Duke was filled with fighting spirit. With a reach of his hand, the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Pure Yang Sword, was already in his grasp.