The armies of the Three Clans passed through the spatial rift, and the moment they set foot in the Far West Lands, everyone held their breath.
A thick stench of blood rushed at them, mingled with rot so nauseating it made them want to vomit.
As far as the eye could see, the earth was cracked, vegetation had turned to ash, and incomplete corpses of living beings littered the ground, bearing witness to the tragedy that had occurred not long ago.
"Bastard." Shi Qilin cursed under his breath, tightening his grip on the staff in his hand.
Before the three armies could even reorganize their formations, billowing dust rose over the distant horizon.
The beast hordes had discovered them. Qiongqi, at their head, flapped his wings and let out a shrill roar:
"Men! Kill them! Then nothing in the Primordial World will stand in our way!"
"Roar!!!"
Countless Ferocious Beasts surged forward at the command, charging madly toward the armies of the Three Clans.
Zulong stood at the center of the army. Facing the incoming tide of beasts, his expression did not change. He merely slowly drew the sword at his waist and pointed it forward.
"Warriors of the Three Clans, heed my command... kill!"
"Kill!!!"
The armies of the Three Clans roared as one and charged headlong into the beast tide.
The two torrents crashed together with a thunderous boom.
The great battle erupted.
Dragon Clan warriors rode clouds and mist; Phoenix Clan warriors spread seas of fire across the heavens; Qilin Clan warriors stomped upon the earth, summoning thick soil to form shields that protected the others.
The instant the two sides collided, the most brutal slaughter began.
Dragon roars, phoenix cries, and qilin howls intertwined with the roars of the Ferocious Beasts, shaking even the earth.
The radiance of spells and the spray of flesh and blood formed a harrowing tableau. Every moment, lives vanished.
Hundun, Qiongqi, and Taowu, the three great generals, also entered the fray.
Hundun fixed his sights on Zulong, Qiongqi lunged at Yuan Feng, and Taowu faced Shi Qilin.
"Hundun! Your Fierce Beast Clan has brought calamity upon the Primordial World. Today, this clan leader has personally led an army here. Why have you not surrendered for execution?"
Zulong's voice boomed like a great bell, his dragon might vast and surging.
Hundun sneered without replying. He directly transformed into a gigantic beast with neither face nor eyes, opened his maw, and expelled a mass of chaotic qi that forced Zulong back several steps.
Zulong said no more. Throwing back his head, he roared and transformed into a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon that stretched across the entire sky.
Golden dragon scales gleamed beneath the blood-red light. His claws tore through space as he immediately engaged Hundun in battle.
Zhulong, Fire Phoenix, Ink Qilin, and other experts of the Three Clans also paired off against the other powerful members of the Fierce Beast Clan. The entire battlefield descended into chaotic melee.
This battle lasted several yuanhui.
By then, corpses had piled into mountains across the battlefield, and blood had gathered into rivers. The bodies of Ferocious Beasts and Three Clan warriors lay entwined, nearly impossible to distinguish from one another.
As the war continued, more and more Primordial World tribes, including the Vermilion Bird Clan, Black Tortoise Clan, and White Tiger Clan, arrived to provide support. Under the threat of the Ferocious Beasts, they united for the first time.
The Alliance Army grew increasingly powerful, while the Ferocious Beasts' battle lines began to collapse step by step.
After forcing Zulong back with a claw strike, Hundun looked over his shoulder at the increasingly strained rear lines and roared:
"Where is Taotie? Why has he not come to aid us?"
No one answered.
Hundun swept his gaze around, but Taotie was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn coward who clings to life and fears death!"
Hundun cursed furiously, but there was nothing he could do except throw himself back into battle.
The situation grew increasingly unfavorable for the Fierce Beast Clan.
Then—
A terrifying pressure descended from the heavens.
That pressure was so overwhelming that it felt like a mountain pressing down upon everyone's heart. On the battlefield, whether Ferocious Beasts or Three Clan warriors, all involuntarily stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky.
A figure wreathed in black-red arcs of lightning slowly emerged from the depths of the Far West Lands.
With every step he took, black cracks spread through the void beneath his feet. Wherever he passed, even heaven and earth seemed to wail.
Shen Ni.
The emperor of the Fierce Beast Clan.
He stood above the void, looking down upon the battlefield with an indifferent gaze, as though he were looking at a swarm of ants.
"Submit to this emperor, or die."
His voice was not loud, yet it entered everyone's ears with perfect clarity.
The Three Clan warriors' expressions changed drastically. The terrifying pressure of a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal made even breathing difficult for them.
Zulong looked up at the lofty figure, gritted his teeth, and tightened his grip on his sword as he cursed word by word:
"Bullshit!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield. Though it trembled slightly, it was filled with unyielding will.
"We Innate Three Clans would rather die than surrender!"
Yuan Feng and Shi Qilin stepped forward at the same time, standing beside Zulong and showing their stance through their actions.
"Good. Very good."
Shen Ni slowly nodded, a cruel smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
"Since you seek death, this emperor shall grant it to you."
With that, he raised his hand and struck downward with his palm.
That palm contained the power of heaven and earth. Before its force even arrived, the ground below began to split apart. The Three Clan warriors were crushed to their knees by the terrifying pressure, blood spilling from their mouths.
Zulong, Yuan Feng, and Shi Qilin exchanged glances. Then they roared at the same time, transformed into their true forms, and charged forward!
Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon! Fire Phoenix! Earth Qilin!
The three massive true forms collided head-on with Shen Ni's palm strike!
Boom!!!
A terrifying shockwave swept outward, sending nearby Ferocious Beasts and Three Clan warriors who had failed to evade flying through the air.
Zulong and the other two were blasted backward at the same time, crashing heavily into the ground and leaving behind three enormous craters.
Shen Ni withdrew his hand and looked at them coldly.
"That is all you can do?"
"We are not finished yet!"
Zhulong, who had been watching the battle, roared as he transformed into his true form and pounced toward Shen Ni. Fire Phoenix, Ink Qilin, and other Three Clan experts followed one after another, dozens of figures attacking Shen Ni at once.
Shen Ni snorted coldly and swept his hand. A black-red arc of Destruction light swept out, directly blasting several Three Clan experts at the front of the charge away.
"Overestimating yourselves."
The battle erupted again.
The three great generals of the Fierce Beast Clan also joined the melee.
This time, it was even more brutal than before.
In a corner of the Primordial World, on an unnamed island.
The Five Elements Demon God's Dao body and the Yin-Yang Demon God's Dao body sat beneath an ancient tree, playing chess. Black and white pieces crisscrossed the board, unfolding some profound principle of heaven and earth.
The two had been friends back in the chaos. After entering the Primordial World, they had arranged to meet and jointly plot for the Primordial World.
Suddenly, the Five Elements Demon God's hand paused slightly as he placed a piece. He raised his head and looked toward the Far West Lands.
"Shen Ni has made his move."
The Yin-Yang Demon God also set down the piece in his hand and looked in the same direction. "Do we need to intervene?"
"The Fierce Beast Clan's actions have likely already incurred the Heavenly Dao's loathing. If we help them now, we may gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition, which would benefit our later plans."
The Five Elements Demon God fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "It is not yet time."
He picked up another piece and placed it on the board.
"Do not forget, Shichen arranged something for Hongjun. The other Demon Gods must have laid down different contingencies as well. Yet none of them have appeared."
He raised his head and looked at the Yin-Yang Demon God. "Wait a little longer."
The Yin-Yang Demon God considered it, then nodded. "That makes sense. Then we shall wait a little longer."
The two returned their attention to the chessboard, as though the earth-shattering battle in the Far West Lands had nothing to do with them.
The battle continued for several more yuanhui.
More than half of both the innate living beings' Alliance Army and the Fierce Beast Clan had already been killed or wounded. Trillions upon trillions of corpses blanketed the earth, and even the rain falling from the sky carried the scent of blood.
At last, Shen Ni bore injuries. Zulong's dragon claws had torn open his left arm, yet his expression remained indifferent, as though he did not care about such a minor wound.
Zulong and the others were in far worse condition.
More than half of Zulong's dragon scales had shattered. One of Yuan Feng's wings had been broken, and part of Shi Qilin's horn had snapped off. Zhulong, Fire Phoenix, Ink Qilin, and the other Three Clan experts were all wounded as well, their auras weak and sluggish.
The Alliance Army's morale had begun to crumble.
Warriors from some tribes had already begun to retreat. They were not afraid of death, but when facing an enemy they could not defeat, despair was more terrifying than death.
Zulong knelt on one knee, leaning on his broken sword as he gasped for breath. He looked up at the lofty figure still standing in the void, gritted his teeth, and used the last of his strength to shout:
"Fellow Daoist Luo Hou! If you will not help now, when will you?"
His voice echoed over the battlefield with a note of tragic resolve.
The void rippled slightly.
A figure in a white Daoist robe slowly stepped out of the void.
Hongjun.
He still wore that calm, detached expression, as though this savage battle had nothing to do with him.
He glanced at the miserable Three Clan allied forces below, then at Shen Ni in the void, and sighed softly.
"Fellow Daoist Zulong, do not worry. Has this old Daoist not come?"
Shen Ni's pupils contracted as he stared at the suddenly appearing Hongjun. Alarm bells rang wildly in his heart.
This man appeared to be only at the early stage of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm, yet Shen Ni had only ever felt such danger from the Father God.
"Who are you?" Shen Ni demanded in a low voice.
"This old Daoist is Luo Hou." Hongjun smiled slightly.
"I have come specifically to subdue you, the leader of these Ferocious Beasts."
"Hmph, merely a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal." Shen Ni suppressed the unease in his heart as the laws around him surged.
"What difference does one more make? This emperor will kill you all the same!"
The two instantly began fighting.
The battle between two Primordial Origin Golden Immortal-level experts was even more terrifying than before. Every collision made heaven and earth tremble.
Yet the Primordial World had been jointly reinforced by the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods. Even battles at the Primordial Great Golden Immortal level—the Hunyuan Realm in chaos—could not damage the Primordial World in the slightest.
Hongjun deliberately suppressed his cultivation, responding only with the strength of the middle stage of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm. Immortal light and the power of Destruction collided incessantly, shattering space layer by layer.
After several hundred exchanges, he spotted an opening. With a flick of his Whisk, he lashed Shen Ni heavily across the chest.
"Pfft!"
Shen Ni flew backward, coughing up blood. His aura instantly weakened somewhat. Hongjun also pretended to be exhausted from excessive mana consumption and weakly said to Zulong and the others:
"Three clan leaders, now! Kill this fiend quickly!"
Zulong, Yuan Feng, and Shi Qilin exchanged glances, nodded at the same time, transformed into their true forms once more, and pounced toward Shen Ni!
"Kill me?" Shen Ni wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, madness flashing through his eyes. "With just you?"
He abruptly raised his hand. A crack opened between his brows, and a hazy gray millstone slowly flew out.
The moment it appeared, the surrounding heaven and earth suddenly darkened.
World-Extinguishing Millstone (replica).
Shen Ni had finally brought out this treasure.
Before you continue