Chapter 1724: Blood-Stained Dimensional Heaven (Part 4)

Northern Territory of the Eastern Divine Region.

At the sound of the Heaven Smiting Bell, Zhou Xuzi and all the Heaven Smiting cultivators present instantly changed their expressions, stunned.

“Yun… Che!” Zhou Xuzi turned his head skyward, a fleeting look of ferocity on his face.

He would never forget Yun Che’s voice, even in death!

But then, his expression shifted to profound shock and terror.

Because it was clearly the Heaven Smiting Sound released by the Heaven Smiting Bell!

This meant Yun Che was currently in the Heaven Smiting God Realm… and the Heaven Smiting Bell was located in its core region.

“Father! This sounds like the Heaven Smiting Sound!” Zhou Qingfeng said gravely. “Could it be…”

“What… what is going on?” All the Guardians looked up at the sky, momentarily disbelieving their own ears.

At that moment, the sound transmission jades on Zhou Xuzi and all the Guardians began to flash intensely. Frantic, trembling, terrified, and hoarse voices poured in almost madly.

“Father, devils have invaded! They appeared inside the realm, we don’t know how… Father, come back, quickly, come back!!”

“Lord, three incredibly terrifying monsters have appeared, and all the main profound formations have been destroyed! And… what… what is that… a red profound ark… ah!!”

“Lord, Heaven Smiting has been attacked! Return quickly for rescue!”

As a Royal Realm of the Eastern Divine Region, the highest-tier existence in the current era, they feared no enemy. No one had ever dared to cause trouble in the Heaven Smiting God Realm.

However, every word of these sudden incoming transmissions was nearly soul-shattering, each syllable carrying a terror that made Zhou Xuzi’s entire body grow cold.

The Heaven Smiting God Realm possessed an isolation barrier that was always active, and in case of a major crisis, they could also activate protective barriers, such as the nearly indestructible “Star Soul Absolute Barrier.”

Yet, the utterly terrified voices echoing in his mind made him disbelieve… he couldn’t even imagine what kind of dreadful situation they had suddenly encountered.

At this moment, the sound transmission jades of the Upper Realm Kings present also lit up frantically… their faces grew progressively paler, and their eyes widened with increasing terror, as if they had all fallen into a nightmare.

“Sect Master! Devils have invaded… they are everywhere!”

“Father! Come back quickly… these devils are endless, and there are even Divine Master-level devils! Our sect’s protective barrier is about to be breached!”

“Sect Master! Countless devils… Ninth Elder is already… ah! Young Master! Young Master… Waaah!!”

All they heard were messages of their star realms and sects being attacked… the screams and roars of power spilling from those brief transmissions made it seem as if they were witnessing spreading seas of blood.

These one hundred and forty-three Upper Realm Kings, in response to Heaven Smiting’s command, not only came in person but also brought almost all of their core forces!

They had come to the Northern Territory, intending to encircle and eliminate all the devils from the rear. However, the devils had appeared in the Southern Territory, directly striking their undefended homelands.

And there were far more devils there, countless times more terrifying than those in the Northern Territory.

They were all stunned, their faces losing color, their bodies trembling violently… They couldn’t believe why the devils would appear in the Southern Territory.

All the intelligence and all their perceptions had indicated that the devils were ravaging the Northern Territory, and their numbers were already far more exaggerated than expected.

How many devils had the Northern Divine Region actually dispatched?! How had they even appeared in the Southern Territory!?

Zhou Xuzi’s entire body turned cold. He glared at Chi Wuyao, his voice trembling: “What a Demon Queen, what a Northern Divine Region!”

“Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor!!”

Before Zhou Xuzi could finish speaking, an Upper Realm King shrieked. He scrambled almost uncontrollably toward Zhou Xuzi, his face contorted, voice hoarse and desperate: “Quick! The teleportation array… quickly activate the teleportation array! My sect is under attack, I must go back, I must go back!”

The deafening roar jolted everyone awake as if from a dream. The Upper Realm Kings no longer cared about the Northern Region Demon Queen. They all rushed to Zhou Xuzi’s side, their eyes bulging with extreme terror, shrieking and even pleading.

“Quick! The teleportation array… where is the teleportation array?!”

“If we don’t go back now, our sects will be finished! The leading devils attacking our sects are likely Divine Masters of at least rank five! Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor! Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor!!”

A burst of profound energy pushed all the rushing Upper Realm Kings away under the force of the Guardians. Zhou Xuzi took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down, and said in a pained voice: “The dimensional formation’s base in Heaven Smiting has been destroyed. We… have been ambushed by the devils.”

With the formation base completely collapsed and the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Cauldron in Yun Che’s hands, Zhou Xuzi and the six Guardians present, even with their boundless power, could not possibly construct a dimensional array capable of traversing the Eastern Divine Region’s north and south in a short time.

“Oh, ambush? That sounds rather unpleasant,” Chi Wuyao said with a smile. “It wasn’t this Queen who cleverly brought them all here, but you, Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor. Now you want to blame this Queen? How shameless.”

Zhou Xuzi’s words were undoubtedly a basin of ice water poured directly onto their souls.

The transmissions in their ears continued, each voice more terrified, more shrill than the last, like countless knives carving into their hearts.

“Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor, we are all…” An Upper Realm King’s scalp felt like it would split, his eyes chaotic, but as the words left his mouth, he instantly sobered. Even though resentment seethed in his heart, he was facing the Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor; how could he speak ill, how *dare* he speak ill?

He suddenly leaped up, darting directly south, letting out hoarse shouts: “Go! Go!!”

With one person taking the lead, the other Upper Realm Kings had no need for hesitation.

Instantly, countless profound energies erupted without reserve. The powerhouses from various realms, who had just traversed half the star region to arrive, now shot south like madmen—towards the direction of their home star realms.

Let alone hesitation, not a single one even bothered to greet Zhou Xuzi.

Devils, Northern Region Demon Queen… they no longer cared about any of it.

Their star realms, their sects, their ancestral legacies, their wives, concubines, children, and grandchildren… were currently facing a terrifying and unparalleled demonic calamity!

They could only desperately rush back, wishing they could burn their essence blood to gain even a fraction more speed.

The situation was completely out of control. Under such circumstances, the Heaven Smiting God Realm’s prestige was utterly useless. Zhou Qingfeng also said urgently: “Father, we must go back quickly! These invading devils seem far more terrifying than expected, otherwise… otherwise, it might truly be too late!”

“…” Zhou Xuzi circulated his profound energy, trying his best to stay calm, but his chest heaved violently, and an icy chill had already spread from his soul to his limbs.

The transmissions in his ears even began to carry desperate wails… The realm had Grandfather Tai Yu and a host of Guardians and Elders guarding it, along with billions of Heaven Smiting disciples. Moreover, it was Heaven Smiting’s home ground. How could the situation have deteriorated to such an extent in such a short time?

“Go!” He gnashed his teeth, almost shattering them. At his command, everyone from the Heaven Smiting God Realm no longer dared to hesitate for a moment. A whirlwind erupted as they returned at full speed.

“Thinking of leaving?” Chi Wuyao’s enchanting lips curved slightly. “Did you ask this Queen first?!”

Black mist dispersed from Chi Wuyao’s body, and a black ribbon lightly swished out, instantly carving a ten-thousand-foot black mark.

It was as if a horizontal dark abyss had been sliced open in mid-air.

Below the “abyss,” heaven and earth fractured. The weaker sect disciples were instantly swallowed by the “abyss,” turning into nothingness before they could even scream.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

A group of powerful cultivators crashed heavily to the ground, some severely injured on the spot… But not a single one turned back to retaliate. They didn’t even look back, instead immediately getting up and flying, desperately rushing south.

The Northern Territory of the Eastern Divine Region suddenly presented an incredibly bizarre and comical scene: In front, the vast multitude of Eastern Divine Region profound practitioners fled south with all their might. Behind them, only Chi Wuyao stood, yet she was driving millions of Eastern Divine Region profound practitioners, each strike reaping countless lives.

Despite the vast disparity in numbers, not a single person dared to turn back and retaliate.

Their homelands were being overrun by devils. If they delayed for even a moment, their entire clans might be annihilated.

With their roots almost gone, how could they have any mind to confront Chi Wuyao?

Rumble!!

The Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor suddenly turned his head, flinging his horsetail whisk. Its power collided with Chi Wuyao’s in mid-air. At the same time, three oddly colored crystal beads in his hand shattered, revealing three small sound transmission profound formations.

“Brahma Monarch, Star God, Moon God… Heaven Smiting is under attack, the situation is dire. Please send urgent aid!”

As the sound transmission profound formations dissipated, Zhou Xuzi’s mind finally settled slightly… He had learned from the transmissions from the Heaven Smiting Realm that the dimensional profound formations connecting to the other Royal Realms had also been destroyed.

However, given the distance and the maximum speed of the other three Royal Realms, they would surely arrive within a few hours.

With the forces remaining in his Heaven Smiting God Realm and hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation, even if the battle was severe, they would surely be able to hold out for a few hours.

Then, he suddenly turned around, directly facing Chi Wuyao, and let out a low roar: “All of you, return to Heaven Smiting at once! Do not stop!”

Rumble!!

The Heaven Smiting Divine Emperor and the Northern Region Demon Queen’s powers collided violently, instantly tearing heaven and earth apart.

“Demon Queen! You of the Northern Region destroyed your own star realm, brought disaster to my Heaven Smiting, and now you poison the myriad lives of my Eastern Divine Region!”

“Your demonic hearts are venomous, your sins tower to the heavens, intolerable to heaven and earth! Are you not afraid of being destroyed by the Heavenly Way?!”

Each swing of the horsetail whisk in Zhou Xuzi’s hand unleashed profound light as bright as the sun. He glared with formidable might, bellowing out his furious, resounding words.

Chi Wuyao offered no response, only the curve of her lips growing exceptionally sarcastic.

She pointed a finger, her demonic eyes flashing slightly. Instantly, heaven and earth lost all light as a massive dark domain, like a demonic abyss covering the world, swallowed all of Heaven Smiting’s divine power, then in the next instant, forced Zhou Xuzi back dozens of miles.

Whether in profound energy or soul, Zhou Xuzi was no match for Chi Wuyao… Zhou Xuzi had known this well ten thousand years ago.

However, Chi Wuyao could not defeat Zhou Xuzi in a short period either.

Fierce battles between Divine Emperors rarely occurred in any region, because even their simplest clashes of power would cause unimaginable disasters for mortals.

Chi Wuyao’s dark power carried a pressure that threatened to shatter heaven and devour the world. Even someone as strong as Zhou Xuzi would falter before battling Chi Wuyao’s power, and even with his soul power fully unleashed, he could not completely erase this persistent sense of dread.

It was as if the moment one faced Chi Wuyao, an invisible devil would firmly take root in their soul.

Amidst the continuously collapsing space and fading light, in less than half an hour, Zhou Xuzi was repeatedly forced back thousands of miles. Although he did not suffer overly severe injuries, his face and arms were scorched black, riddled with hundreds of dark-corroded holes, making him appear utterly dishevelled.

Chi Wuyao, meanwhile, showed no trace of external injury.

At this moment, within the nearby star realms, numerous Star Steeles began to glow with unusual light.

Subsequently, projections unfurled across the sky, simultaneously spreading across countless areas of the Eastern Divine Region.

As the profound images spread, incomparably tragic sounds also followed, and countless eyes across the Eastern Divine Region looked upwards.

Zhou Xuzi, with his horsetail whisk half-raised, instinctively looked up… In that instant, he was as if struck by a thousand thunderbolts, his entire body frozen stiff. His eyes, originally filled with divine light, instantly burst with countless blood vessels.

Chi Wuyao also “mercifully” stopped her attacks, allowing Zhou Xuzi to fully admire the splendid and magnificent scene unfolding in his eyes.

Blood… The projection revealed a world entirely crimson.

Crimson ruins, crimson figures, crimson mountains of corpses, crimson earth; even the sky and floating clouds were stained a horrifying, rich bloody color.

Those crimson ruins were collapsed divine temples and Heaven Smiting Palaces. Those piles of corpses were the bones of countless Heaven Smiting disciples. Those pools of blood were the blood of Heaven Smiting, nearly forming a sea…

Blood mist, screams, death… Zhou Xuzi’s entire body trembled more and more violently, blood vessels burst madly in his eyes, and a horrifying pallor rapidly spread from his face to his entire body, as if all his blood had been drained in an instant.

The Heaven Smiting God Realm, the second Royal Realm of the Eastern Divine Region—how powerful it was, who would dare to offend it?

Even though the earlier chaotic transmissions were filled with fear and despair, he had not truly considered the possibility of “falling.” Because it was the Heaven Smiting God Realm; even if a large portion of its forces had been taken away by him, facing devils descending from the sky on their own territory, they couldn’t possibly truly collapse.

But now, in half an hour, in less than half an hour… he was witnessing a blood-red hell.

A hell formed from his very own Heaven Smiting God Realm.

Within his pupils, it was not the struggling resistance he had expected, but… almost a unilateral massacre!

Collapsing Heaven Smiting disciples, continuously falling Heaven Smiting Elders, and the Guardians who occasionally flashed into view—each bore horrifying injuries, and each Guardian faced two, or even more, terrifying devils whose strength was in no way inferior to their own.

And in the sky, Grandfather Tai Yu, in a daze, as if his soul had been shattered.

At this moment, a face suddenly appeared in the projection… A face exceptionally familiar yet utterly strange to all profound practitioners of the Eastern Divine Region.

Abyssal black eyes, a devilish chuckle. When his face appeared in the projection, the entire Eastern Divine Region suddenly became dark and oppressive.

“Old dog of Heaven Smiting,” he snarled, his voice a low curse like a bloodthirsty demon’s. “Long time no see. Are you satisfied with this welcoming gift?”

“…” Zhou Xuzi’s mouth hung open, his eyes, at some point, had turned completely scarlet. His throat violently twitched and twisted, and after a long while, he let out a dry, rasping cry like branches rubbing together: “Yun… Che…”

“Last time we met in the Northern Divine Region, I casually crushed one of your sons,” Yun Che chuckled, extending his palm and making the same motion he had used to destroy Zhou Qingchen years ago. “This time, meeting again in the Eastern Divine Region in such a wonderful way, how could this welcoming gift be anything less than spectacular?!”

He swept his palm backward, and a black light shot out… In Zhou Xuzi’s rapidly constricting pupils, a small world hidden within Heaven Smiting’s core abruptly collapsed, flinging out hundreds of figures.

The moment these figures were flung out, Zhou Xuzi suddenly let out a beast-like roar… In the Heaven Smiting Realm, Grandfather Tai Yu, still disoriented, also let out a thunderous bellow as if pierced by a myriad of swords: “Go! Quickly, go!!”

That collapsing small world had been opened by his ancestors using the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Cauldron, intended as a refuge in case Heaven Smiting ever faced a major crisis. Its existence was not meant to be detected by outsiders.

Yet, it was shattered by Yun Che’s single strike.

Without a doubt, those hidden within this catastrophe were important individuals… the most outstanding part of Zhou Xuzi’s descendants.

When Yun Che arrived, he had already discovered the existence of this special small world. But he hadn’t touched it, because such a lavish gift simply *had* to be presented to Zhou Xuzi in person!

Amidst Grandfather Tai Yu’s roar, he charged downwards, but a slender figure, like a dark bolt of lightning, blocked his path…

Boom!!

With a dark roar, amidst the collapsing space, Grandfather Tai Yu violently spat out a mouthful of black blood, then flew horizontally far away like a spinning top.

Zhou Xuzi… and all profound practitioners in the Eastern Divine Region who witnessed this scene were horrified to the point of death.

Grandfather Tai Yu, Heaven Smiting’s strongest Guardian, known throughout the world! A level ten Divine Master, standing at the pinnacle of the profound way.

He was actually… repelled by a single strike, spitting blood as he flew horizontally!?

In the distorted image, an old man appeared, his body shrunken within a dark cloak, his face extremely grotesque, his body withered like a skeleton. When his gaze turned towards the profound projection formation, the sinister and violent black light in his old eyes sent an icy chill through countless profound practitioners, making them tremble uncontrollably.

Yan One, the strongest Yama Ancestor.

The power of these three Yama Ancestors was terrifying. Not only Heaven Smiting, but even the Moon Eaters who had witnessed the Yama Ancestors’ might firsthand were deeply terrified.

They even felt that their presence was somewhat superfluous.

These three old monsters alone were probably enough to flatten Heaven Smiting today.

“Wuuuuuuaaah!”

“Father save me… save me!!”

From within the small world, they could clearly see everything outside; they had long been scared out of their wits.

Now, flung out from the small world, with terrifying devils suddenly close at hand, these Heaven Smiting descendants, inheritors of Heaven Smiting’s bloodline and will, instantly suffered a mental breakdown. Like a flock of startled birds, they shrieked and fled.

“Heh heh, how noisy,” Yun Che said with a beaming smile. “Did you, old dog of Heaven Smiting, never teach your descendants how to greet guests?”

He lightly flicked a finger and said leisurely, “Yan Three, why don’t you teach those Heaven Smiting descendants how to be quiet, on behalf of that old dog of Heaven Smiting.”

“As you command, Master! Nyeh ha ha ha ha ha!”

Amidst excited, bloodthirsty cackles, Yan Three’s figure leaped high and shot towards the fleeing Heaven Smiting descendants.

His scarlet eyes, with pupils almost bursting, Zhou Xuzi’s body seemed to be struck by a giant cone. Amidst violent tremors, he suddenly shot into the sky, letting out a frantic roar: “Stop! Stop!!! Stooooop!!”

His hands flailed wildly, his uncontrolled Heaven Smiting divine power desperately blasting towards Yan Three in the projection.

However, what met him were three black marks sliced by Yan Three’s demonic claws.

Siiish!!

Beneath the claw marks, the trembling space, the crimson earth, and hundreds of fleeing figures were instantly torn apart.