Even setting aside the two Dao Sect Elders attending Yuanshi Tianzun's side, Yuanshi Tianzun alone was already beyond what Gu Xian could stop. What was more, Gu Xian was now at the end of his tether. His earlier struggle against the Demonic Thought had nearly drained all his Heart Power. Taking down Gu Xian in this state required scarcely any effort from him...
The azure flame of the Eight Scenery Palace Lantern ignited soundlessly, illuminating Gu Xian's face, twisted in pain. He struggled to rise, yet could only watch helplessly as Yan Guiwan's body, along with the blood pool beside her that was gradually cooling, slowly turned to drifting ash within the Purifying World Fire. That palace lantern, passed down since ancient times, was now interpreting the true meaning of "the great tide is merciless" in the cruelest possible manner.
Gu Xian's roar echoed through the Void, yet in the end, it changed nothing. Yuanshi Tianzun stood with lowered eyes, his face beneath the Jade Purity Immortal Light betraying neither joy nor anger. Only the palace lantern continued to burn quietly, incinerating any other traces the Funeral Spirit Demon Emperor might have left behind, as though telling an eternal truth—in this pursuit of the Dao, some prices would always have to be paid by someone.
At the same time, within a Small World where the power of rules was weak, more than a dozen figures implanted with Demonic Seeds moved soundlessly across the desolate earth, continuously constructing bizarre altars. Countless corpses of living beings were piled atop the altars—all native inhabitants of the Small World who had not been corrupted by Demonic Seeds. Their flesh and blood had been drained dry, their souls extracted, transformed into the purest sacrifices.
This bloody ritual had continued for decades. With every sacrifice,