In the darkness of night, the stars faded away, leaving only two dark red moons hanging in the sky.
Countless pairs of eyes fixed upon those two blood moons. A strange aura permeated the night of the Demon Ancestral Court.
The selection of the Demon Emperor had yet to begin, yet undercurrents were already churning in the Demon Ancestral Court, concealing chilling murderous intent beneath the surface.
In the dim sky, onlookers could vaguely make out colossal shadows shifting slowly in the dark. As the blood moons moved, the shadows moved with them.
Yet the sky was too murky to discern what they truly were.
Suddenly, the two blood moons plunged downward! Falling alongside them were peaks resembling yellow jade. As they scraped against the atmosphere, friction ignited blazing flames!
Once the fiery light brightened, everyone saw that the yellow-jade mountains were not mountains at all, but massive, thick fangs as huge as mountain peaks!
It was a colossal maw vast enough to envelop the entire Daoji Palace, dropping from the sky to swallow Daoji Palace whole!
Wherever its surging ferocity swept, every maid in Daoji Palace was instantly pressured into revealing her true form, turning into various demonic beasts that cowered and trembled upon the ground in utter terror!
Even Yuan Qi could not resist revealing his true form as a giant yuan snake to fight back, only to have his physical body compressed smaller and smaller under the terrifying aura of a Demon Sovereign, forcing the six great cave-heavens behind him to shut down one after another!
Ling Siyi, who had been applying medicinal ointment to Yuan Qi's wounds, was also provoked by the Demon Sovereign aura to the point of nearly reverting to her true form. She gritted her teeth, intending to cast out her willow branch, but the terrifying sovereign-grade pressure weighed down on her, preventing her from invoking it!
Their divine consciousnesses were crushed into disarray, their vital energy surged wildly, their yin and yang became muddled, and their souls were shaken to the core. They had no way of standing against an expert of sovereign grade!
"The first to act wasn't the Liu clan, but the Zhu clan!"
Those watching from the shadows were thoroughly shocked. "Great Sage Zhu Qiong of the Zhu clan was refined into a golden body by the main lineage after his death and preserved to this day. For Great Sage Zhu Qiong to be invoked, it must be at the behest of the Immortal Realm!"
Great Sage Zhu Qiong had been a legend of his era in the Demon Ancestral Court. A wild boar who had attained the Dao, he stood ten thousand zhang tall with iron teeth and savage tusks, his eyes like blood moons and his breath belching smoke and fire like an erupting volcano. Wherever he went, sand flew, stones rolled, and his demonic qi weighed heavy.
Back during the war between the Ancestral Court and the Immortal Realm, Zhu Qiong had once swallowed one hundred thousand immortals in a single gulp!
Later, because one of those hundred thousand immortals was a Heavenly Venerable of the Immortal Court, the Heavenly Venerable tore out through his belly, beating him to death on the spot.
The Zhu clan had refined Zhu Qiong into a golden body, which still retained his ferocious might from life. But ever since Zhu Qiong's demise, the Zhu clan had submitted to the Immortal Court, so those watching from the dark knew the Zhu clan was undoubtedly acting under orders from the Immortal Realm.
Zhu Qiong's true form opened wide its gaping maw, about to swallow Daoji Palace and the remnants of the Demon Immortal Court in one bite. Suddenly, within Xu Ying's courtyard in Daoji Palace, golden light erupted from the branch of an old tree. With a brilliant flash, it bathed the golden body of Great Sage Zhu Qiong!
No matter how boundless Great Sage Zhu Qiong's ferocity had been in life, the moment that chamber pot illuminated him, his Dao cultivation instantly collapsed and his arrogance evaporated. His massive body shrank rapidly, tumbling down along the golden light and plunging with a whoosh into the chamber pot below!
The people in Daoji Palace, who had just been crushed beneath the overwhelming might of Great Sage Zhu Qiong, instantly felt the pressure lift.
"Found it!"
A voice rang out from the darkness. Ten thousand li away in another sacred ground belonging to the Ma clan, a Great Sage of the Ma clan suddenly stood upright. He was as tall as a mountain peak, possessed a horse's face and a man's body, and had a third eye between his brows. Drawing a divine bow and nocking a golden arrow, he shot an arrow of light piercing through the void!
Just as the Ancestral God's chamber pot was about to seal Zhu Qiong inside, that streak of arrow light arrived, aiming to knock the chamber pot away.
In the next instant, purple radiance burst forth. Jin Buyi channeled the Eastern Emperor Heaven-Leveling Art, invoking his saber to slash straight into the incoming arrow light shot by the Ma clan Great Sage, splitting the golden arrow down the middle with a single blow!
The Purple Nether Saber was an artifact of the Imperial Monarch, once used to suppress the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit of Great Dao Lord Xuhuang. Its power was extraordinarily ferocious. Under Jin Buyi's refinement, the purple saber radiance traced back along the path of the arrow light, slashing straight toward the Ma clan Great Sage!
The three-eyed Ma clan Great Sage shot divine light from his eyes, severing the purple saber radiance.
In life, the Ma clan Great Sage had been a being akin to a Heavenly Monarch, and his residual might lingered even after death. Even though Jin Buyi cultivated the Eastern Emperor Heaven-Leveling Art and wielded the Purple Nether Saber, he was still far from being the Great Sage's match.
However, the Ma clan elder who had invoked this Great Sage's golden body saw that although the saber radiance had been severed, the saber intent came slashing right at his face! He grunted, raising a hand to meet the saber intent, only to see four of his five fingers severed. Clearly there had been no saber light or qi, yet the sight of his fingers drifting away was plainly visible.
The agony at the tips of his fingers cut straight to his heart!
The space between his brows felt as though it would split open when a palm suddenly reached out from the side. Its index and middle fingers snapped together like lightning, pinching Jin Buyi's saber intent tight.
The Ma clan elder hurriedly reached up to touch his face. Sure enough, a wound had split open between his eyebrows!
Jin Buyi's saber intent had actually transcended divine arts, injuring him from ten thousand li away!
Had that palm not caught Jin Buyi's saber intent just now, it would have pierced into his brain, inflicting severe injury!
"What a formidable Imperial Son Jin Buyi! How are the other Imperial Sons supposed to compete with him?" Lingering dread gripped his heart.
He was an elder of the Ma clan, possessing profound cultivation, and prided himself on wielding combat prowess akin to an Immortal King. Yet he had been unable to withstand Jin Buyi's saber intent and was nearly grievously wounded. The three Imperial Sons—Jin Daoli, Jin Yiqi, and Jin Lan—must possess cultivation and strength far inferior to his, leaving them unable to contend against Jin Buyi.
"The Eastern Emperor Heaven-Leveling Art truly lives up to its name as the technique of the Demon Immortal Emperor, a treasure among treasures!"
A voice full of praise came from behind the Ma clan elder, remarking, "I have long heard that this art was passed down by the Demon Immortal Emperor, a divine technique meant to verify the Supreme realm. Jin Buyi has possessed this divine technique for only a few short years, yet his cultivation and strength have already reached such a level! Elder Ma, you may rest for a moment. The Zhu and Ma clans have made a good start; there will be no need for you to act further ahead."
The Ma clan elder bowed in agreement.
A slender figure stepped out slowly from the darkness into the lamplight, looking toward Daoji Palace. He said languidly, "The demon race is truly remarkable. They didn't lose much vitality in the great war that destroyed the Immortal Court back then, and eight Great Sages have survived to this day. The major aristocratic clans also possess so many golden bodies of Great Sages. If we cannot eliminate Xu Ying and Jin Buyi this time, it would truly be laughable."
He had slender brows and eyes, carrying a refined, scholarly air. He was none other than the Mansion Lord of Shenxiao Yuqing Mansion, a subordinate under Heavenly Venerable.
The Mansion Lord was named Zhang Changqing, also known as Mansion Lord Changqing. His descent to the mortal realm on this occasion was specifically to manage the matter of the Demon Emperor. It was he who had just pinched Jin Buyi's saber intent between two fingers, saving the Ma clan elder.
Back when the Demon Immortal Court fell and the demon race cooperated with the Immortal Realm to establish the Heavenly Dao world, the one who brokered the alliance was naturally Heavenly Venerable. Now that the Demon Ancestor had located the Golden Crow imperial clan and sought to reestablish a Demon Emperor, Heavenly Venerable was naturally bound to intervene.
As Heavenly Venerable's most trusted subordinate, it was only natural for Mansion Lord Changqing to oversee this matter.
Mansion Lord Changqing looked toward Daoji Palace, where countless blurry phantoms swayed and extended beyond the palace, dancing like flood dragons as they invaded Daoji Palace from all directions—it was the golden body of the Liu clan's Great Sage!
The golden body of the Liu clan's Great Sage manifested in its true form, an ancient willow tree whose root tendrils whipped through the air, intertwining and invading Daoji Palace. The Liu clan elder Liu Shengtao had been slain by Xu Ying, and the entire Liu clan now stood atop the ancient willow tree leading a host of demons, unleashing various magic treasures accumulated across generations of the Liu family, slaughtering anyone they saw!
Jin Buyi shifted his stance, his saber light pouring like moonlight to sever branch after branch and root tendrils. Suddenly, above him, the wooden pot floated upside down, shedding golden light. Immediately, whether it was the Liu clan Great Sage or the demon experts of the Liu clan, they all fell into the pot one after another!
*Thump!*
Suddenly, a massive furry hand struck the Ancestral God's chamber pot unexpectedly, sending the wooden pot spinning through the air.
In the courtyard, Xu Ying tucked the golden book into his robes and was about to retrieve the chamber pot when he saw a golden-winged roc flapping its wings in the dark night. With a sharp screech, its talons reached out, seized the wooden pot, and took off, flying tens of thousands of li away in an instant!
The owner of the massive furry hand leaped up, demon power and Dao power surging as the giant hand pressed down. All around Xu Ying, palaces, walls, and residences collapsed one after another, the ground cracking open until only Xu Ying remained standing in place.
Xu Ying's expression remained calm. "Master Qi."
Suddenly, the Diamond Snare flew out and struck the skull of the giant furry hand's owner with a crisp clack, fracturing his skull and sending brain fluid spilling, nearly scattering his entire body's Dao power!
Yuan Qi was just about to invoke the Diamond Snare to take in the golden body of the Great Sage when he suddenly felt sharp claws slashing through the dark night. He couldn't help but cry out, "Lord Bell!"
The big bell descended from the heavens with a loud chime, immortal music resounding as various sealing runes flowed down alongside a luminous curtain—precisely the runes Imperial Monarch had used to seal Xu Ying, which the bell now deployed, forming a circle around Yuan Qi.
On the bell's surface, Mother Insect spread her wings and took flight, shaking herself to transform into countless minuscule immortal insects that darted through the night, seeking the person who had invoked the Great Sage's golden body.
*Rippp!*
The sharp claws swiped forward, tearing through immortal Dao runes one after another. Its speed slowed, and the big bell exhausted all its strength, its body nearly deforming, before finally blocking the blow.
Yet the claw's owner had already shredded through space with its other talon, lunging forward!
Yuan Qi invoked the Diamond Snare, intending to block the claws' owner, when the figure suddenly collapsed like a golden mountain toppling and a jade pillar falling, crashing down motionless.
On the shoulder of the claw's owner was a man with a tiger's face and human body. Suddenly, countless insects crawled out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—his flesh and blood had been completely hollowed out, leaving only an empty skin.
The immortal insects could not bite through a Great Sage's golden body, but devouring the demons invoking the golden body was effortless.
"Mother Insect is truly a tough guy!"
Yuan Qi praised, invoking the Diamond Snare, when a palm suddenly reached out from the side, flicking a finger to send the Diamond Snare flying into the distance.
Outside the wall, a massive civet bounded as if flying, leaping into midair, opening its maw to suck the Diamond Snare inside, and vanished as a streak of golden light piercing through the sky.
Yuan Qi tried to sense the Diamond Snare repeatedly, but could not feel it at all. With nothing left to invoke, he stood dazed in place. The big bell had also exhausted its strength, falling from the air with a clang and landing beside him.
The person who had flicked away the Diamond Snare walked over leisurely, draped tightly in black fur robes. It was Demon Sovereign Han, though his face was masked in black cloth. With a wave of his hand, he swatted away countless immortal insects, causing them to shatter into oblivion!
Yuan Qi grabbed the battered big bell and retreated. Mother Insect gathered the remaining immortal insects and landed on his shoulder, squeaking and shrieking, not daring to advance.
Just then, Yuan Qi bumped into someone and hurriedly stopped, only to see Demon Sovereign Jinghong standing behind him. Yuan Qi hastily stepped aside.
"Demon Sovereign Han, do you think covering your face with a black cloth can hide your identity?" Demon Sovereign Jinghong asked calmly.
Demon Sovereign Han chuckled. "As long as I'm not caught in the act, I'll deny to the death that I'm Demon Sovereign Han. Without ironclad proof, who dares convict me? Jinghong, you've grown old. You have no physical body, only a bare Primordial Spirit—you are no match for me."
Demon Sovereign Jinghong replied coldly, "Back when the last Demon Emperor was still on the throne, I was a rebel Great Sage. I've fought through countless slaughters and killed Great Sages beyond count. Do you think that lacking a physical body means I cannot kill you?"
Demon Sovereign Han snorted coldly, his figure drifting like a ghost as demon power erupted, striking toward Demon Sovereign Jinghong!
The two Demon Sovereigns clashed—one whole, the other merely a Primordial Spirit. Yet after only a few exchanges, Demon Sovereign Han felt the pressure mount dramatically!
Demon Sovereign Jinghong was a warrior forged in mountains of corpses, a ruthless figure who had dared rebel against the Demon Emperor, having survived countless battles against the strongest demons. Even without a physical body, he still pressed Han into a disadvantage!
Right at that moment, Demon Sovereign Kun, also masked in black cloth, joined the fray with a laugh. "The old monster Jinghong truly lives up to his reputation as a rebel general! But unfortunately for Imperial Son Jin Buyi, he only has you!"
Joining forces with Demon Sovereign Han, Kun instantly gained the upper hand. Han opened his mouth and let out a silent screech that jolted Jinghong's Primordial Spirit into disarray. Immediately, Kun invoked countless demon insects that burrowed into Jinghong's Primordial Spirit, gnawing away at it.
Mother Insect immediately flew out to devour the demon insects. The two swarms waged war inside Demon Sovereign Jinghong's body, slaughtering each other until rivers of blood seemed to flow.
On the other side, Jin Buyi staggered back, turning to slash with his saber, but the blade light was caught between the palms of a Great Sage's golden body. Along another path in Daoji Palace, a moon gate collapsed under the weight of a massive physique as yet another Great Sage's golden body strode forward, hemming Jin Buyi in from both sides.
"The dust has settled."
Atop the ancient Fusang tree, the Demon Ancestor gazed out at Daoji Palace. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help shaking his head. "These aristocratic clans of my demon race are nothing more than a sheet of loose sand. If you cannot even contend with loose sand, how could you possibly support a new emperor ascending the throne to stand against an Immortal Court thousands of times more colossal? Xu Ying, you aren't up to the task."
He shook his head, striking Jin Buyi from his list of candidates for Demon Emperor.
At the Ma clan, Mansion Lord Changqing of the Shenxiao Yuqing Mansion also smiled, remarking, "The great matter is accomplished. The demon race crowning an emperor harbored ill intentions to begin with. With Xu Ying aiding the rebellion, had they succeeded, the demons would surely have become a dire threat. Today, the Immortal Court can finally grasp the demon race's imperial authority and eliminate the menace of Xu Ying in one stroke—killing two birds with one stone."
More importantly, without expending an ounce of his own strength in this battle, he had settled Xu Ying in a single move and secured the demon race's future imperial throne. The brilliance of his strategy left him thoroughly pleased with himself.
Meanwhile, the golden-winged roc clutched the chamber pot and flew tens of thousands of li. Suddenly, a voice chuckled, "You silly bird sure fly fast. I almost couldn't catch up to you."
The golden-winged roc was an elder of the Ancestral Court's Yue clan, named Yue Peng, sent under orders to seize the chamber pot. Shocked, he looked up and saw Xu Ying floating above his head at some unknown point.
He gasped in alarm, "Xu Ying? Why are you here? Weren't you in Daoji Palace?"
Back in Daoji Palace, Elder He Hai of the He clan had invoked his clan's Great Sage golden body, transforming into a flying crane to repel Jin Buyi. Charging into Xu Ying's residence, he bellowed, "Xu Ying, hand over your head!"
With a wave of his hand, a flash of white light swept past. Before Xu Ying could resist, the white light severed his neck, and his head dropped to the ground.
He Hai was overjoyed and stepped forward to pick up Xu Ying's head to claim credit, when suddenly, with a pop, Xu Ying's head and body transformed into a streak of yellow qi that flew out and vanished, leaving only a golden book on the ground.
At the same time, Elder Yue Peng of the Yue clan was about to strike Xu Ying down when the chamber pot beneath his talons suddenly flashed with golden light, drawing him inside.
A streak of yellow qi flew back, sinking into the crown of Xu Ying's head and entering his body through the fontanelle.
Xu Ying supported the chamber pot with one hand, his eyes flashing. A stream of clear qi rose from the crown of his head and transformed into three Xu Yings who descended to stand at his left and right.
"Invoking this treasure with my strength alone might not yield sufficient magic power, so I must invite the three of you!"
Behind Xu Ying, his Primordial Spirit emerged, and the six great cave-heavens roared open. The yellow-robed, white-robed, and azure-robed Xu Yings also shouted in unison, their six cave-heavens bursting open behind them as well!
"Invoke!"
Xu Ying and the four Primordial Spirits joined forces to channel their divine ability. The chamber pot rose into the air, flying higher and higher until it vanished beyond the heavens.
At that moment, nearly everyone in the Demon Ancestral Court felt an uncanny sense of dread, and they all looked up toward the skies outside the realm.
Mansion Lord Changqing looked toward the outer heavens and saw an incomparably colossal chamber pot of the Ancestral God descending from beyond, entering the atmosphere of the Demon Ancestral Court and blotting out half the sky.
"Disaster!"
His eyelid twitched. Immediately transforming into immortal light, he fled across the sky.
Meanwhile, Xu Ying and the four Primordial Spirits unleashed the full might of the Ancestral God's chamber pot. Boundless golden light poured from the gargantuan chamber pot, showering down below!
"Give it all to me!" Xu Ying roared.
Chapter 479