The Tribulation Transcendence great demons realized their master-servant imprints had vanished and hastily retreated, putting distance between themselves and the battlefield.
Getting dragged into a clash between half-immortals was asking to die without even knowing how.
Besides, even if they managed to defeat Jiang Lianyi, what would happen if Immortal Kirin showed up to settle accounts? No matter how powerful Supreme Zhu Tian was, he could never surpass an immortal.
Yet some remained genuinely loyal to Zhu Tian. If they triumphed today, that would count as meritorious service in founding a dynasty, promising a boundless future.
The Dijiang Clan elder was naturally devoted to Zhu Tian. Zhu Tian was their ancient ancestor; by both emotion and duty, he had to lend a hand. Moreover, he was the one who had invited the wolf into the fold by summoning the real Heavenly Court Cult. When the time came to settle the score, he would be the first on the chopping block. Redeeming himself with meritorious service now was his only chance.
The Jiuying Clan ancestor and the Taowu Clan head also saw this as an opportunity. They had been the first and second to throw their lot in with the Dijiang Clan; they were grasshoppers bound to the same rope.
The three great demons briefly conferred through divine sense to confirm each other's intent, then turned to rush to Zhu Tian's aid.
Suddenly, the sky above them darkened as three massive silhouettes loomed overhead.
"Where do you three think you're going?"
The Dijiang Clan elder looked up, glaring intently at the three towering figures, hissing a name through gritted teeth.
"Jiang Mingzi!"
The ancestors of the East Sea Dragon Clan, the Demon Domain Dragon Clan, and the Phoenix Clan stood arrayed to fight.
The Dijiang Clan elder whipped his head around to plead for help from the other seven Tribulation Transcendence great demons, but they acted as though they had heard nothing, turning completely deaf ears to him. They were clearly bent on maintaining neutrality. Regardless of who won or lost, the law did not punish the masses; neither side would purge all of them, so there was no need to wade into these muddy waters. Furthermore, they had been coerced into Zhu Tian's servitude and harbored plenty of resentment, secretly hoping Jiang Lianyi would emerge victorious.
*Bastards!* The Dijiang Clan elder cursed internally, seeing right through their calculations.
"*Roar—*"
The Demon Domain Dragon Clan ancestor struck first, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang Azure Dragon. He condensed clouds into rain and rain into raging water, lunging at the Dijiang Clan elder.
The East Sea Dragon Clan ancestor locked onto the Jiuying Clan ancestor, unleashing an endless torrent of seawater from his storage ring. Merging as one with the waters, he took the form of a terrifying oceanic divine dragon capable of pulverizing mountains with a single claw. The Jiuying Clan was the ultimate culmination of the serpents; dragons and serpents rose across the land, locked in ancient rivalry since time immemorial.
Jiang Mingzi pulled out a grand banner. As it unfurled, it revealed a painting of a phoenix calling at Mount Qishan. This was the Banner of Five Virtues left behind by their ancient ancestor, a supreme treasure. In the past, he had feared covetous eyes and kept it tucked away, never daring to bring it out. Now that their ancient ancestor had returned, if not now, when else would he use it?!
"Dammit!" The Taowu Clan head felt his scalp go numb when he saw Jiang Mingzi taking the gloves off. He was merely a newly ascended Tribulation Transcendence, while Jiang Mingzi was a veteran of the late Tribulation Transcendence stage—to say nothing of wielding a supreme treasure. The gap between them was absurdly vast. Yet things had come to this, and he had no choice but to brace himself and fight.
***
Up on the Heaven Altar, Lu Yang and Zhu Yunwu saw the battle between the two half-immortals about to erupt and, without a second thought, leapt straight off the platform.
"Immortal-Felling World-Destroying Dance!" Zhu Tian began his dance, each step brimming with destruction and ruin. The entire Demon City trembled beneath the display, truly resembling the end of the world! It was worlds apart in power from the dance he had performed while possessing Zhu Yunwu.
A monstrous flood formed waterspouts, eight of them arrayed around the Bagua cardinal positions, sealing off every route of escape.
Jiang Lianyi extended a slender, jade-white hand, reversing her palm to produce a jade flute. It was the very instrument that had hung on the wall of the Good Fortune Ancient Realm's fourth level, showing just how deeply she treasured it.
Her vermilion lips lightly touched the mouthpiece as her fingers rested on the holes. With eyes closed in rapt concentration, her long hair danced in the gentle breeze as she played, utterly absorbed in the melody.
A crisp flute note pierced straight through the blockade of the eight waterspouts, seeming to cast the entire world into absolute stillness, devoid of the faintest trace of noise.
If the eight towering waterspouts embodied the absolute pinnacle of motion, then the crisp piping of the flute embodied the absolute pinnacle of tranquility.
Motion collided with stillness.
*Crack—*
The temperature plummeted abruptly. Starting from their very bases, the eight waterspouts froze solid, instantly transforming into massive pillars of ice. The temperature across the Demon Domain dropped down to zero, causing the watching cultivators to breathe out puffs of frosty mist.
"Go!"
Jiang Lianyi lowered the jade flute, hooked her index finger, and flicked it upward. The eight frozen waterspouts actually shattered into jagged blocks of ice, coalescing into an icy dragon that crashed down upon Zhu Tian.
"Space, solidify!" Zhu Tian roared. The space above his head compressed continuously into a spatial barrier, deflecting the barrage of plunging ice.
Seeing that the reach of the duo's attacks had exceeded the Heaven Altar and that shockwaves were beginning to sweep over them, the spectating crowd beat a hasty retreat to the gates of Demon City. Still, they kept their eyes fixed on the battle and clutched their shadow-recording spheres tightly, determined to film every second of the clash.
Their shadow-recording spheres had been activated right from the beginning of the founding ceremony, effectively preserving the entire sequence of events from start to finish.
Watching the hair-raising clash unfold in the skies over Demon City, Qiu Jin'an's eyelid twitched. "Originally, I just came to watch the spectacle because I heard the Ancient Dijiang was founding an empire. How did it blink into the ancient Heavenly Court turning Demon City upside down, and then turn into two half-immortals battling, plus six Tribulation Transcendence great demons dueling?"
The shifts were happening so fast he could hardly keep up.
He recalled Bai Ming's account of the chaos at the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony, the battle at Hanshui City, and now this. All three incidents shared a single common thread.
Qiu Jin'an leaned over and whispered secretly to the Great Elder, "In the future, wherever Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou are headed, give me a heads-up in advance."
The Great Elder gave Qiu Jin'an a puzzled look, not entirely understanding. "What for?"
"I'm afraid of dying."
Others in the crowd were sighing in amazement as well. In their wildest dreams, they had never imagined witnessing a battle between half-immortals in this lifetime. Coming to Demon City today had been well worth the trip; if the demon empire ever held another founding ceremony, they would definitely come again!
"This is one way to utilize the rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit," the Immortal Fairy explained to Lu Yang. Laymen watched the spectacle, but masters looked at the mechanics; in the entire audience, she was the only one who truly understood the underlying exchange between the two combatants. "The rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit isn't just about dominating people. Spiritual energy, spells, physical matter... all of them fall within its scope of control.
"Lianyi seizing control of Zhu Tian's waterspouts and Zhu Tian manipulating space are both examples of this."
Lu Yang wore an odd expression, suddenly recalling a certain fallen ancient powerhouse. "Why does that sound so much like Words as Law?"
"There's still a difference. The rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit can only control what is weaker than oneself, whereas Words as Law can control even those stronger than you. What a shame, honestly. That fellow had a decent chance of attaining immortality—attaining a Words as Law Dao fruit or something similar wouldn't have conflicted with Immortal Kirin's Dao fruit at all.
"Such a pity that he just couldn't keep his mouth shut."
The Immortal Fairy shook her head with regret, reminiscing over her former rival.
Clan Head Jin, meanwhile, was overcome with remorse. For such a spectacular clash, Little Ancestor hadn't come in person and would only be able to hear his verbal account... Wait, verbal account?
Clan Head Jin's face blanched in an instant. It seemed Little Ancestor had specifically instructed him to record everything with a shadow-recording sphere!
He had arrived in such a rush, and the moment he arrived, the Great Elder had begun exposing his embarrassing past, causing him to forget the task entirely!
He scrambled to mend the fold, asking the Baxia Clan Head, "Good brother, could you duplicate a copy of your shadow-recording sphere for me?"
The Baxia Clan Head sized Clan Head Jin up and down. "Got any money?"
Clan Head Jin gritted his teeth, his heart aching. A duplicated shadow-recording sphere would certainly not come cheap.
"Maybe forget it. I'll just recount it and Little Ancestor can make do with—"
Before the two could finish speaking, a resounding crash rang out. Zhu Tian plummeted from the Heaven Altar, smashing a massive crater into the earth.
Clan Head Jin glanced at the fallen Zhu Tian. "I'll buy it!"
"Price just went up."
Chapter 619