Chen Ran's "Solar Furnace" plan was like lightning tearing through an eternal night, cleaving apart the confusion in everyone's hearts.
Rather than sit trapped in despair and wait at home for the end, they might as well take the initiative and establish the battlefield along the enemy's inevitable route!
This mad yet bold idea instantly ignited the long-suppressed bloodlust of all the mighty cultivators.
"Good!" Lord of the Heavens was the first to rise, unable to suppress the Fighting Spirit in his eyes. "Then that's what we'll do! If this succeeds, my Jie Sect disciples are willing to become the first guards of this 'Solar Furnace'!"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate also unusually refrained from objecting. He calculated in a low voice, "Using the Solar Star as the core of the formation, drawing upon endless True Sun Fire as energy, supplemented by the artifact-refining methods of my Jade Void Palace... if this fortress can be built, its power will indeed be immeasurable."
The Saints reached a consensus.
An unprecedented delegation, shouldering the Future of the Primordial Era, was thus formed.
Empress Nuwa personally served as its leader. Her identity was the sole bond capable of persuading the demon race.
The deputy leader was Chen Ran, the man who had proposed the entire plan.
Due to their status, the Three Pure Ones could not appear personally. They instead sent their core disciples, Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming, to represent the Chan and Jie Sects. The two venerables of the Western Teachings, along with the Four Dragon Kings, also joined them, demonstrating the resolve of the entire Primordial Alliance.
They had only one objective:
Travel to Tanggu Valley in the far north, find Xihe, the demon race's Heavenly Empress whose heart had long since died, and have her hand over every secret concerning the Solar Star.
Rolling auspicious clouds tore through the ten thousand miles of frozen land in the northern reaches of the Primordial World.
The farther north they traveled, the thinner the spiritual energy between heaven and earth became. In its place was a piercing, lifeless silence capable of freezing one's Nascent Soul.
The atmosphere within the party was as cold and oppressive as the weather.
Guang Chengzi looked down at the unchanging, boundless snowy plains, unable to hide the disgust on his face.
"Hmph. The demon race's remnants really knew how to pick a place to barely cling to life. This godforsaken wasteland is perfect for hatchlings and swamp-born creatures like them!"
His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Zhao Gongming's expression immediately darkened. He gave a cold chuckle. "Guang Chengzi, watch your mouth! We're here to ask for help, not swagger around! Besides, if your Chan Sect hadn't stabbed them in the back back then, how could the demon race have ended up like this?"
"Zhao Gongming!" Guang Chengzi flew into a rage. "What did you say? The demon race defied Heaven and slaughtered humanity back then. Everyone had the right to punish them! My Chan Sect followed Heaven's will and the wishes of the people. What was wrong with that?"
"Follow Heaven's will? What a joke! Did you kill fewer Jie Sect disciples than the demon race did?"
The Magic Power fluctuations around the two grew stronger and stronger, and they were practically about to fight first on this northern icefield.
"Enough."
Empress Nuwa's cool voice rang out. It carried no emotion, yet contained an irresistible saintly might that instantly soothed their rampaging Magic Power.
She looked at no one. She merely gazed toward the northern horizon and let out a faint sigh.
That sigh calmed both Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming, but it also made the atmosphere even heavier.
Chen Ran took everything in and understood.
This so-called "Primordial Alliance" was as fragile as a sheet of window paper. Old grudges were like volcanoes buried deep beneath the earth, forcibly suppressed only by the threat of an "external enemy," ready to erupt at any moment.
He had to succeed.
Only the success of the "Solar Furnace" plan could bind every faction's interests tightly together with a visible rope.
No one knew how long they had flown. Just as everyone felt their souls were about to freeze solid from the cold, an utterly different sight suddenly appeared at the end of the deathly silent ice plains ahead.
It was an enormous valley spanning tens of thousands of miles. Within it, the climate was warm as spring. A golden Fusang Divine Tree that reached from heaven to earth stood in the center, emanating a faint yet pure aura of True Sun Fire. Like a cautiously beating heart, it provided the last traces of life to this small world.
Tanggu Valley.
The demon race's last refuge.
Yet before they could approach, a powerful force of formation shot into the sky, filled with vigilance and hostility, firmly blocking their path.
Countless demon race figures could vaguely be seen atop the great formation. Each held a weapon, their expressions grief-stricken and indignant as they stared at the "enemies" among the clouds with hatred.
An elderly man in white robes stepped out from behind the formation. His features were refined, but his eyes were filled with exhaustion and the weariness of ages.
He was Bai Ze, the demon race's last strategist and Demon Marshal.
Behind him, Ying Zhao, Ji Meng, and the other surviving Demon Marshals stood in a row. Though their auras had weakened, the savage ferocity belonging to ancient great demons had not been worn away.
"Who goes there? How dare you trespass into my demon race's forbidden land!"
Bai Ze's voice carried bone-deep coldness.
"Bai Ze, it is I." Empress Nuwa's cool voice pierced through the formation.
Upon seeing Empress Nuwa's saintly carriage, Bai Ze and all the demons changed expression.
With complex looks, they bowed in greeting. It was impossible to tell whether respect or mockery lay in their voices.
"So it is the Wa Empress's Holy Carriage. May I ask why you, the demon race's Saint, have descended upon our humble Tanggu Valley today?"
"Insolence!" Guang Chengzi immediately rebuked him after hearing the sarcasm in his words.
But Bai Ze did not even look at him. He only stared at Empress Nuwa.
"No need for formalities." Empress Nuwa's voice remained calm. "I have come today to discuss with Fellow Daoist Xihe a matter concerning the entire Primordial World, as well as the survival of your demon race."
At the mention of Xihe's name, pain and resolve appeared on Bai Ze's face.
"Reporting to the Wa Empress. The Heavenly Empress's heart died long ago, when His Majesty Di Jun and the ten Crown Princes perished. There is no Heavenly Empress in Tanggu Valley now, only a group of lonely ghosts awaiting decay alongside heaven and earth. She will not see you. Please leave."
This utterly blunt order to leave brought the scene to a standstill.
At that moment, Chen Ran stepped forward, passing Empress Nuwa.
He did not speak to Bai Ze. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the enormous Fusang Divine Tree.
Empowered by Human Way Destiny, his voice resounded clearly throughout the entire valley.
"Senior Xihe, this junior, Chen Ran of humanity, did not come today to tear open your wounds. I came to tell you that someone wants to erase your wounds, along with the memories you cherish most, from this world completely!"
Buzz!
Chen Ran waved a hand, activating the Heavenly Net System.
The internal data of the captured Star Devourer probe transformed into an enormous screen of light, projected over Tanggu Valley.
A cold Star Chart, a clear route, and the final target highlighted in brilliant light—[High-Value Resource Zone No. 7322: Solar Star].
Below it was a line of cold, emotionless annotation:
[Conclusion: The 'harvesting' of this high-energy reaction source must be completed before the main fleet of competitor 'Gestalt' arrives.]
"I know you hate all of us. You hate the witch race for killing your children, and you also hate us so-called righteous sects for standing by as your demon race was destroyed."
Chen Ran's voice was like a heavy hammer striking every demon's heart.
"But have you considered this? One day, even His Majesty Di Jun's birthplace—the supreme Solar Star—may be devoured by these lumps of metal from beyond the heavens as though they were chewing on a piece of flesh... Then the final bond between you and Demon Emperor Dijun in the Three Realms and Six Paths will be severed completely!"
"By then, above and below heaven, in the past and the future, no one will remember that a peerless Demon Emperor was once born within the blazing sun!"
"Every trace of his existence will be completely erased!"
"Your bone-deep hatred and endless grief will become a joke that no one understands!"
Boom—!
A terrifying Killing Aura so immense that it drained the color from heaven and earth and moved even the Saints suddenly erupted from the crown of the Fusang Divine Tree!
It was not Magic Power, but pure resentment condensed from boundless sorrow, despair, and hatred...
Stimulated by that resentment, the entire Fusang Divine Tree burst into blazing golden True Sun Fire. The flames soared skyward, nearly melting the glaciers of the far north completely!
A breathtakingly beautiful woman in golden palace attire slowly emerged from the flames. She possessed noble grace and splendor, yet her face was so haggard it broke the heart.
With one step, she appeared above the formation, facing everyone directly.
She was Xihe, the demon race's Heavenly Empress.
There were no tears in her eyes, only two burning flames of vengeance capable of incinerating the Ninth Heaven.
She stared fixedly at Chen Ran, her voice hoarse like two hard stones grinding together.
"External... enemy...!"
She slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming. A miserable, self-mocking smile appeared on her face.
"So, you victors have come to ask me, a loser, to help you deal with a new enemy?"
"No."
Chen Ran shook his head. His expression was so sincere that it held not the slightest trace of falsehood.
"We did not come to request your help."
"We came to offer you, and the entire demon race, an opportunity for revenge."
"Revenge?" Xihe froze.
"Yes, revenge." Chen Ran's voice suddenly rose, brimming with a power that bewitched the heart. "With the demon race's current strength alone, you will never be able to reclaim your blood debt from the Heavenly Dao or the myriad races of the Primordial World. But now, the opportunity has arrived!"
"A common enemy, one even more powerful, that seeks to destroy all of us!"
"I, Chen Ran of humanity, in my capacity as deputy leader of the Primordial Alliance, formally invite the demon race to join us!"
"From today onward, we are no longer enemies. We are allies!"
"Together, we will travel to the Solar Star. We will use that great celestial body as a furnace and harness its boundless power to forge an unconquerable war fortress! A supreme divine weapon belonging solely to our Primordial World civilization!"
Chen Ran looked directly into Xihe's flame-filled eyes.
"This is not a request. It is a deal."
"The demon race will contribute its knowledge of, and control over, the Solar Star."
"And our alliance will grant the demon race the right to rise again in the new era! An opportunity for the demon race's battle banners to fly over the Ninth Heaven once more! An opportunity for you to personally pilot this 'Solar Furnace' and reclaim your blood debt from the true enemies destroying our homeland!"
"Then, you will no longer be a defeated remnant barely surviving in the ice plains. You will be a hero who protects the Primordial World! A creator of the future new order!"
His words set every demon's blood boiling!
Dying in battle was not frightening.
What was frightening was being forgotten, dying without any value at all!
Xihe's heart was deeply shaken.
She looked at Chen Ran's young yet resolute face, then at the members of her race beside her, hope rekindling in their eyes.
She knew she had no other choice.
"Fine."
Xihe finally nodded. The brilliance and decisiveness belonging to the demon race's Heavenly Empress returned to her eyes.
"I agree."
"But I have one condition."
She stared at Chen Ran, speaking each word distinctly, every word soaked in blood and tears.
"I want you to swear a blood oath upon the Primordial Great Dao, before the Wa Empress, before the disciples of the Three Pure Ones, using the future destiny of your entire human race!"
"Everything you said today must be fulfilled! The demon race shall, as an equal member of the alliance, receive the status and glory it deserves! If you violate this oath, the destiny of your human race for ten thousand generations shall be eternally cursed by the billions of dead souls of my demon race, condemned beyond redemption through countless tribulations!"
At those words, even Empress Nuwa's expression changed slightly.
This oath was far too weighty!
This was no longer Chen Ran's affair alone. It was a wager on humanity's entire future!
Guang Chengzi was about to speak in objection.
But Chen Ran raised a hand and stopped him.
He looked at Xihe, without the slightest hesitation on his face.
"I, Chen Ran of humanity, swear here..."
But before he could finish.
A clear, proud voice suddenly rang out from the top of the Fusang tree, interrupting him.
"Mother!"
Everyone followed the voice and looked up. A youth wearing golden feathered robes stood atop the tree crown at some unknown time. His features were handsome, and his brows bore an innate pride and loneliness.
Behind him, the phantom of a Three-legged Golden Crow could faintly be seen.
He was Di Jun and Xihe's sole remaining bloodline, the last Golden Crow—Lu Ya!
He looked at his mother, tears in his eyes, but his voice was incomparably firm.
"How can a blood feud as deep as the sea allow us to ally with our enemies?"
"Have you forgotten how my brothers died?!"
Before you continue