Within an ordinary dynasty's territory, a mortal population exceeding a hundred million was already considered a sign of prosperity.
Even the Sun Moon Dynasty, once hailed as the greatest dynasty on the Southern Heaven Continent, had possessed a total population of no more than a billion.
More than a hundred million ordinary mortals had to be slaughtered to refine a single Heaven-Mending Pill.
For many dynasties, that meant nothing less than the destruction of their nation and the extermination of their people, leaving their lands utterly lifeless.
The immortal cultivation factions that had submitted to the Nine Heavens Alliance all had territories of their own, along with clansmen and younger generations.
Even a rabbit did not eat the grass beside its own burrow.
Naturally, they would not target their own territories, nor could they slaughter people in the territories of other immortal cultivation factions that had submitted to the Nine Heavens Alliance, lest they provoke internal strife.
That left them with only a limited selection of targets.
The dynasties that had sought shelter with the Great Flame Dynasty, and the Great Flame Dynasty itself.
In the eyes of these Void Insight Realm experts seeking to break through to the Human Immortal Realm, they were simply great slabs of succulent meat.
Before long.
The news reached Heavenly Capital City.
Although the immortal cultivation factions seeking the Great Flame Dynasty's protection had huddled within the city, many of their Void Insight Realm experts had sent out Spirit Bodies to gather information.
Upon learning that the people in their territories were being slaughtered, the immortal cultivation factions flew into a rage.
"Bastards! The Nine Heavens Alliance is a pack of bastards!"
"Slaughtering mortals and harvesting their vital essence and souls—these are the deeds of evil cultivators of the demonic path!"
"My hometown was