"Good... very good."
Luo Hou's voice was low and hoarse, as though it came from the abyss of the Nine Hells. "Since you insist on exterminating us to the last, then die with me."
He threw back his head and howled, his voice filled with boundless madness and resolve:
"Great Dao above! I, Luo Hou, offer the essence of my Dao fruit as a sacrifice to establish the Devil Dao!
From this day forth, wherever there is righteousness in heaven and earth, there shall be evil; wherever there is yang, there shall be yin; wherever there is Dao, there shall be devils!
As devils wax, the Dao shall wane; yin and yang shall cycle! Henceforth, cultivators must undergo the Heavenly Demon Tribulation in their cultivation! As long as the Devil Dao endures, tribulations shall never cease!"
The moment his voice fell, heaven and earth changed color.
The Great Dao sensed his oath, and a profoundly mysterious power descended from the heavens, enveloping Luo Hou.
The essence of his Dao fruit began to burn, becoming black flames that held boundless power of destruction and curses.
At that moment, the laws of heaven and earth underwent a subtle change.
An entirely new power, one that opposed the Dao, formally took root in the Primordial World.
From that day forth, the path of cultivation would no longer be smooth.
The Heavenly Demon Tribulation would become a hurdle every cultivator had to cross. As devils waxed, the Dao would wane; yin and yang would cycle, and righteousness and evil would coexist.
Hong Jun's expression changed. He wanted to stop it, but it was already too late.
Luo Hou's body began to swell, and his aura grew violent and unstable.
He was going to detonate himself-not merely his physical body, but the earth veins of the entire west as well.
"Retreat!" Hong Jun shouted, shooting backward.
Yin-Yang Ancestor, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yang Mei also realized the danger and fled into the distance.
But Luo Hou's self-detonation came too quickly.
BOOM-!!!
A tremendous blast shook heaven and earth.
Luo Hou's physical body exploded, its destructive power becoming a black shock wave that swept in every direction.
At the same time, the earth veins beneath the western lands were detonated. Endless subterranean fire erupted from below, reducing the entire west to scorched earth.
Yin-Yang Ancestor was closest to Luo Hou and took the shock wave of the self-detonation head-on.
His protective divine light shattered instantly. His physical body was ground to dust within the destructive power, and not even his primordial spirit remained.
Qiankun Ancestor likewise failed to escape disaster.
Although he was somewhat farther away, Luo Hou's self-detonation was too powerful. Combined with the force of the exploding western earth veins, it swallowed him in destruction before he could flee.
Seeing things turn dire, Yang Mei unleashed his power of space with all his strength the instant Luo Hou detonated himself, tearing open the void and escaping into Chaos.
The instant he vanished, the shock wave brushed past his side, nearly sweeping him into it.
Hong Jun shielded himself with the Creation Jade Disc and forcibly withstood the blast.
The Creation Jade Disc's light of Chaos kept the destructive power at bay, but the shock wave still drove him ten thousand li away.
When everything subsided, the western lands were unrecognizable.
The earth cracked, mountains and rivers collapsed, subterranean fire erupted, and baleful energy filled the air.
The west, once desolate yet still home to living beings, had now become a land of death.
Luo Hou's God-Slaying Spear and Twelfth-Grade Destruction Black Lotus had not been damaged in the self-detonation. They hovered above the ruins, giving off a dim glow.
Drawn by the power of the Great Dao, Luo Hou's primordial spirit joined the two supreme treasures, becoming three streaks of light that vanished into the depths of Chaos.
Hong Jun stood above the ruins, gazing at the scorched earth before him in silence for a long time.
He collected the Taiji Diagram left behind by Yin-Yang Ancestor, then the Qiankun Cauldron left behind by Qiankun Ancestor, and turned to leave.
Behind him, the western lands sank into eternal silence.
Inside Pangu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches and Pan Xuan were working out the Martial Dao.
The effects of the Heavenly Enlightenment Wisdom Light had lasted for a long time, and they had repeatedly contemplated the insights from the World-Creation Diagram.
Every Ancestral Witch was attempting to condense their own Martial Dao will.
Zhu Rong was sensing the creativity of fire, Gong Gong was comprehending the bearing capacity of water, Xuan Ming was touching the protection of ice, Di Jiang was contemplating the inclusiveness of space, and Zhu Jiuyin was gazing at the flow of time...
But the path of intent refinement was, after all, no work of a single day.
Even with the help of the Heavenly Enlightenment Wisdom Light and the World-Creation Diagram.
Even with their foundations already perfected, condensing their wills enough to commune with the laws of heaven and earth still required long years of tempering.
Just as everyone was immersed in their deliberations, the entire Pangu Hall suddenly trembled slightly.
That tremor did not come from within Pangu Hall, but from outside-from the lands of the Primordial World.
Within that tremor lay a destructive power, as though something utterly terrifying had happened.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches opened their eyes at the same time and exchanged looks.
"What happened?" Zhu Rong asked with a frown. "That shaking... didn't feel like an ordinary earthquake."
Gong Gong's expression was grave as well. "I felt it. In the west... something exploded."
Zhu Jiuyin opened his clouded old eyes, the power of time surging within them.
A moment later, his expression turned extremely grim. "The western earth veins... someone detonated them. The entire western land has been reduced to ruins."
The Ancestral Witches were shocked.
Pan Xuan also opened his eyes.
Although his perception was not as keen as Zhu Jiuyin's, he could sense that some fundamental change had occurred in the aura of heaven and earth.
The baleful energy that filled the Primordial World was slowly dispersing, and the karmic force entangled throughout heaven and earth was gradually fading as well.
In their place, an entirely new, profoundly mysterious power was gathering between heaven and earth.
Something stirred within him, and a thought rose in his mind.
The Dragon-Han Calamity was over. The Dao-Devil War was over too.
The war between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans, Luo Hou's Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, the encirclement by Hong Jun and the others... all of it had reached its end at this moment.
The three clans had withdrawn from the struggle for supremacy, Luo Hou had died by self-detonation, and the Devil Dao had just been established. Henceforth, cultivators would have to undergo the Heavenly Demon Tribulation.
And next would come the era of the Heavenly Dao's emergence.
Pan Xuan rose, looked at the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and said solemnly, "Elder brothers and sisters, let us pause our deliberations."
The Ancestral Witches looked at him.
Pan Xuan walked to the center of the hall and stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance through Pangu Hall's great doors.
His voice was steady and solemn. "A great upheaval has occurred in the world outside.
The struggle for supremacy between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans has ended.
Luo Hou detonated himself, the western earth veins were destroyed, and the Devil Dao has just been established. Henceforth, cultivators must undergo the Heavenly Demon Tribulation. The order of the Primordial World will never be the same."
He paused, then continued, "The Heavenly Dao is about to emerge. A new era is coming.
We cannot remain in seclusion working things out any longer. We need to go outside and see what the Primordial World is like now."
After a moment of silence, Di Jiang rose and said gravely, "Brother Pan Xuan is right. Working out the Martial Dao is certainly important, but we cannot build a cart behind closed doors.
The world outside has changed. We too need to know the current state of the Primordial World."
Zhu Rong also stood and grinned. "Going out for a look sounds good! We've been cooped up in this hall for so long. It's time to stretch our muscles."
Gong Gong nodded. "Let's go."
Xuan Ming said coldly, "Let's take a look."
Houtu asked softly, "Little Brother Pan Xuan, you said the Heavenly Dao is about to emerge... what is that?"
Pan Xuan shook his head. "I can't explain it clearly either.
But a new power is gathering between heaven and earth. That power is profoundly mysterious, different from everything that came before.
Perhaps that is the Heavenly Dao."
He turned toward the Ancestral Witches, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "We'll know once we go out and look."
The Twelve Ancestral Witches rose one after another and walked out of Pangu Hall with Pan Xuan.
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