At some point, a sword appeared in An Jing's hand.
With a sword in hand, as if boundless power had been bestowed upon him, An Jing instinctively wanted to stride forward and use this mighty strength to destroy, slaughter, and erase from existence everything and everyone he loathed.
What a carefree, wholehearted thing that would be!
But just before he took a step, An Jing stopped.
Because he suddenly remembered the dream from his childhood: the sun that had burned the entire world to ash.
Because he suddenly realized that none of this was real. It was only an illusion. Even if he cut down everything, the world would remain as it was. Nothing would change.
Because he wanted to cut.
So he would cut!
But he wasn't cutting down these illusory phantoms. He was cutting—
[Slay the Inner Demon!]
Without hesitation, An Jing swung his sword and brought it down—
Slashing through the hazy black mist!
Vmmm—The clear swordlight shattered the black mist. And that wasn't all. The sword in his hand swept in a circle, arced through the air, then slashed toward the other eight people whose hearts were linked to his. Like deadwood before a gale, the black mist coiled around their souls was severed, every last wisp of it!
In an instant, the eight souls cleared, no longer struggling against their Inner Demons!
"Not enough!"
An Jing's eyes were crystal-clear after severing his Inner Demon. He looked across the entire Array Formation, toward the boys and girls in the other groups who were likewise being tormented by the Heavenly Demon.
The sight left him stunned, then filled him with unbearable sorrow.
Unlike the first group, who had An Jing's direct help and suffered no casualties as they broke free of the Heavenly Demon's torment, the other groups had seen a few lucky ones awaken their Fate Grids, but suffered devastating losses under the Heavenly Demon's assault.
During the "Know Your Origin Fate" stage, two people in all, including Bai Qinghan, awakened their Fate Grids. Five others went rigid, their Divine Souls dissipating, and died midway through.
During the "Obtain What You Desire" stage, five people awakened their Fate Grids, while seventeen died with their skulls bursting open and their organs rupturing.
Finally, during the "Destroy What You Hate" stage, four people awakened their Fate Grids, while nine died as their blood and qi ran wild, blood bursting from their bodies.
By then, eleven people had awakened their Fate Grids, thirty-one had perished beneath Huangtian, and sixty-six remained alive.
Even knowing that these people had already fallen to demonic corruption from consuming Demon flesh and had no chance of successfully awakening, An Jing still couldn't bear it. Those familiar faces he'd lived alongside for so long had died just like that—so easily, so horribly.
So silently.
"Heavenly Demon, how dare you!"
In his fury, An Jing saw the souls of several junior brothers and sisters being dragged away by black demonic qi, toward the depths of the darkness.
He could hold back no longer. With a furious shout, he drew his sword!
The thrust came with astonishing ease. All the strength in An Jing's body flowed through his waist, shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand, straight into the hilt, the guard, the blade, and the tip!
It was a strike in which his entire body's strength flowed without obstruction, body and soul united, as if aided by a god!
As An Jing thrust his sword, the sword qi surging from deep within the Earth Veins in the Grand Ritual of Imperial Heaven Star Fiend shifted slightly. Countless clear, pure swordlights gathered together, transforming into a beam of swordlight made of nothing but pure fury and killing intent.
It shot straight forward with a howl, smashing into a core hidden in the deepest part of the black mist. With a sharp crack, it shattered.
Sword qi burst in every direction, driving out all the black demonic qi.
The chains that had ensnared and dragged at the boys' and girls' souls, the demonic intent that had lured people ever deeper into delusions and fantasies—all were utterly crushed by the surging sword wind, then scattered to the four winds.
[Strange...] As the demonic qi dissipated, the Heavenly Demon's voice carried a trace of curiosity. [How... can you control this Sword Intent?]
"Get lost!"
An Jing didn't answer. He snapped at it. Just now, some icy thoughts seemed to have seeped into his soul and mind, but the sword hilt in his Divine Sea quivered, and pure Sword Intent swept them away.
An Inner Demon could still disturb An Jing to some extent, since it had been born from his own heart. But an outsider like the Heavenly Demon couldn't get past the Fuxie Sword Spirit.
"An Jing." Roused by the impact, the Sword Spirit said, "Next, I'll suppress the Heavenly Demon's remnant soul inside Xuanming Valley. It'll take some time. You must hold off the people from Xuanming Manor and keep them from noticing the disturbance in the valley."
The Sword Spirit gave a cold laugh. "Don't worry. I've seen through the true nature of this ritual Array Formation. Since they dare to wield the power I left behind alongside the Heavenly Demon's power, then let them taste what it's like to be devoured by the Heavenly Demon!"
"No problem."
The dim demonic qi dispersed like smoke. An Jing slowly exhaled and sheathed his sword.
As the Sword Spirit spoke, a stream of information about the Grand Ritual of Imperial Heaven Star Fiend suddenly appeared in his mind, along with numerous incantations and ritual methods for controlling the Array Formation. "Thank you. I won't let them have their way."
Speaking to himself, An Jing gathered the fury in his heart, tempering it into a clear, pure killing intent. It shielded his soul and the souls of the other boys and girls from the Heavenly Demon's invasion.
Just then, he suddenly felt his Divine Soul quiver. A feverish sensation rose from deep within his soul, surged outward, and spilled beyond his body and mind. Then—
—he resonated with the heavens!
Vmmm!
Outside.
The enormous black-mist hand that had reached out from Xuanming Valley and hung over the Array Formation suddenly shuddered. It slowly lifted, and countless wounds of astonishing Sharpness appeared across its fingers and palm. Sword qi streamed through them, forcing it back.
"How can this be? Why is the Heavenly Demon's Hand being forced back?!"
Frowning deeply, Manor Master Yao had presided over more than thirty Ritual Sacrifices, but he had never witnessed anything so bizarre.
But soon, he saw an astonishing sight that made him forget all about thinking it through and filled him with delight.
In the far west of the Array Formation, within the Xingji Group, an incomparably bright starlight rose majestically, mingled with blazing, oppressive killing intent.
At the center of the ritual platform, An Jing's eyebrows shot up. A great scarlet star hung overhead, spilling forth light like flowing blood.
Streams of Blood Flame poured down like rivers and formed a ring of fire behind his head.
The ring revolved, revealing a totemic vision of soldiers clashing in battle, and of punishment being meted out by those who held the authority to enforce it.
The scorching scent of blood and iron spread through the air. Killing intent surged and roiled, as fierce as swords and blades, carving seemingly haphazard yet ancient and mysterious streaks of blood across the surrounding air. The black demonic qi couldn't approach at all; it was shattered and driven back from afar.
"Incredible!"
Seeing this dreadfully fiendish Fate Grid manifestation, Manor Master Yao nearly cried out, "How terrifying!" But he quickly became ecstatic. Even the hand clutching the Jade Dagger had gone white-knuckled. "Another Strange Fate! The Fate of the Star Fiend!"
The dead children meant nothing to him. Their greatest value was as blood and qi to be reclaimed.
Only someone like An Jing, who awakened a Strange Fate they coveted so desperately, could make him this excited.
"With two Strange Fates, our Divine Cult is on the brink of great prosperity!"
But after his elation, Manor Master Yao found himself unable to make out the details. "Still, what Fate Grid is this? Yinghuo, Blood Fiend... perhaps a touch of Taibai, too?"
"Could it be... [Yinghuo Guarding the Heart]?!"
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