"It's useless. This is the defensive barrier of Ancient Demon God; even the Power of the Heavenly Dao cannot break it," Xue Wuji sneered. "Just watch obediently as the Ancient Demon God descends."
The Snow Empress gritted her teeth and unleashed all the Power of the Heavenly Dao. The five divine artifacts— the Xuanyuan Sword, the Tiger Soul Saber, the Shennong Cauldron, the Fuxi Zither, and the Nuwa Stone —simultaneously emitted light. The power of the five emperors converged to form a five-colored pillar of light, which blasted towards the defensive barrier.
Under the bombardment of the Five Emperors' power, cracks began to appear in the barrier. Xue Wuji's expression changed drastically, "Impossible! How could the power of the Five Emperors be so strong?"
"Because the Five Emperors are the strongest protectors of the human world, their power exists to fight against the Ancient Demon God!" The Snow Empress shouted, releasing the power of all five divine artifacts, and the defensive barrier shattered.
Snow Empress rushed into the formation and slashed at Xue Wuji with Xue Wuji sword. Xue Wuji to dodge in time and was struck by the Xuanyuan Sword. His body was instantly ignited by golden flames and turned into ashes.
But the formation had already been activated, and the summoning of the Ancient Demon God was irreversible. The crack grew wider and wider, and a huge figure slowly emerged from it.
It was a giant hundreds of feet tall, entirely black, with four horns on its head and a pair of enormous wings on its back, radiating an aura of endless destruction. Its eyes were blood red, like two burning suns, and wherever it looked, black flames would ignite.
"This is... Ancient Demon God?" Everyone stared at the giant in horror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. This aura was too powerful, a thousand times stronger than the Demon Venerable. Even the Snow Empress felt a sense of powerlessness in the face of this aura.
"No, he hasn't fully descended yet." Snow Empress observed calmly, "Only half of his body has passed through the crack; the other half is still behind it. If we can close the crack before he fully descends, we can stop him."
"But how do we close the crack?" Huiming asked.
The Snow Empress took a deep breath. "Use the Nuwa Stone. The Nuwa Stone can mend the sky, so it can naturally mend this crack as well. However, someone needs to carry the Nuwa Stone into the crack and repair it from the inside."
"I'll go!" Yun Shang stepped forward. "Holy Maiden, you are the strongest among us, you cannot go. Let me go, my Jade Maiden Divine Art can protect me."
"No, I'll go." Leng Yue stepped forward as well, "My Sword Control Technique is the fastest; I can rush into the crevice."
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap!"
Many people volunteered, willing to give their lives for peace on earth.
The Snow Empress shook her head. "No one needs to go. I will go. Only I can unleash the full power of the Nuwa Stone. You all step back and protect yourselves."
"Holy Maiden!" the crowd cried out in alarm.
"This is an order!" Snow Empress shouted, holding the Nuwa Stone, she leaped into the air and flew towards the rift. The Ancient Demon God sensed the threat and stretched out its huge hand, trying to grab her. Snow Empress dodged the attack with a flash and rushed into the rift.
Inside the rift was a chaotic space, filled with spatial turbulence and fragments of time. The Snow Empress activated the Nuwa Stone, and multicolored light surged from it, enveloping her body. She flew to the deepest part of the rift and found its source.
" Nuwa Stone, to mend the sky!"
The Snow Empress pressed the Nuwa Stone to the source of the crack, and multicolored light surged from the stone, transforming into threads that began to mend the crack. Under the power of the Nuwa Stone, the crack began to slowly shrink.
The Ancient Demon God roared in anger. He felt the crack shrinking, and if he couldn't pass through it quickly, he would be trapped in the chaotic space. He struggled desperately, trying to speed up his descent, but the power of the Nuwa Stone was too strong, and the crack continued to shrink inch by inch.
"No--!"
The Ancient Demon God let out a furious roar of resentment, and the crack was finally completely healed. His body was severed, and the half that remained in the human world turned into a cloud of black mist and dissipated into the air.
"Success!" the crowd cheered, but then fell silent. Snow Empress was still inside the crevice and had not emerged.
"Holy Maiden!" Qingyunzi cried out, tears welling up in his eyes.
Just when everyone thought the Snow Empress had sacrificed herself, a golden light suddenly appeared in the sky, and a figure slowly descended from within the light. It was the Snow Empress. The Nuwa Stone in her hand had lost its luster and turned into an ordinary stone, but she herself was unharmed.
"The Holy Maiden is still alive!" The crowd cheered and rushed over.
The Snow Empress smiled slightly, "The moment the Nuwa Stone mended the sky, it created a spatial passage that sent me back to the mortal realm."
"That's wonderful!" Everyone was moved to tears.
The Snow Empress looked around at the five divine artifacts in her hands, a surge of pride welling up within her. With all five imperial relics gathered and the threat of the Ancient Demon God eliminated, the next step was to completely seal the Gate of the Demon Realm and eliminate any future troubles.
"Return to the Ziwei Sect!" Snow Empress shouted, leading everyone as they transformed into streaks of light and flew towards the Ziwei Sect.
Ziwei Sect, Ziwei Grand Hall.
The five divine artifacts were neatly arranged on the table in the center of the hall. The Xuanyuan Sword gleamed with golden light, the Shennong Cauldron glowed with green light, the Tiger Soul Saber shone with red light, the Fuxi Zither was colorful, and the Nuwa Stone, though it had lost its luster, still exuded a faint aura.
The abbot of Shaolin, the head of Wudang, the head of Emei, the head of Qingcheng, and the head of Kunlun, along with other sect leaders, gathered together to discuss how to reinforce the seal.
"Abbot, how exactly do you intend to reinforce the seal?" Snow Empress asked.
The abbot of Shaolin Temple stood up. "The relics of the Five Emperors contain the power of the Five Emperors, each corresponding to one of the Five Elements: the Yellow Emperor (Earth), the Flame Emperor (Fire), Chiyou (Metal), Fuxi (Water), Nuwa (Wood). The Five Elements interact in a cycle of mutual generation and restraint. If these five divine artifacts are placed around the Gate of the Demon Realm according to the Five Elements, a Five Elements Sealing Grand Array can be formed, completely sealing the Gate of the Demon Realm."
"But where is the Gate of the Demon Realm?" someone asked.
The abbot was silent for a moment, then said, " The Gate of the Demon Realm is located at the deepest part of the Spirit Source Secret Realm. The water of the Spring of the Spirit Source is the spiritual energy of the human world seeping through the Gate of the Demon Realm. This is why the Demon Venerable wanted to destroy the Spring of the Spirit Source, because once the Spring of the Spirit Source dries up, the Gate of the Demon Realm will be exposed, and he can directly enter the human Gate of the Demon Realm through it."
"I see." Snow Empress suddenly understood. "Then when do we make our move?"
"The sooner the better," the abbot said. "Although the Demon Venerable has been sealed, his Demonic Qi is still seeping in. The longer it drags on, the wider the Gate of the Demon Realm will become. I suggest that we go to the Spirit Source Secret Realm in three days to set up the Five Elements Sealing Grand Array."
"Alright!" Snow Empress nodded. "We'll depart in three days!"
Three days later, at the Spirit Source Secret Realm.
The Snow Empress, carrying five divine artifacts, arrived at the Spring of the Spirit Source with the leaders of various sects. The Spring of the Spirit Source was still gushing forth, but the water was noticeably less than before, and the Yezi of the golden lotus flowers were turning yellow.