Chapter 468: New Era

Episode 18, Chapter 52: A New Era (End of this Episode)

The demon army, protecting the fake 'Chongxuan Demon Saint,' continued to travel to various locations, pretending to map connection points.

"This is bad."

In the center of the demon army, Ancestor Poison Dragon's expression suddenly changed. His consciousness penetrated the small grotto-heaven, only to find that the sole living being within it, the 'Chongxuan Demon Saint,' though still seated cross-legged, was completely devoid of life. His face turned pale.

"What's wrong?" asked Saint Lord Qiansi and Monarch Peacock, pressing for an answer.

"My command talisman, which I use to connect with Chongxuan Demon Saint, suddenly lost all sensation of his life," Ancestor Poison Dragon said hoarsely. "I immediately checked the small grotto-heaven, and Chongxuan Demon Saint is dead."

"How is that possible?"

Saint Lord Qiansi and Monarch Peacock's expressions both changed.

"He's dead," Ancestor Poison Dragon said, waving his hand. The corpse of Chongxuan Demon Saint, still seated cross-legged, appeared beside them. A domain surrounded it, preventing any prying eyes and confining it to the area around the three demon kings.

"He was clearly in your small grotto-heaven, how could he die?" Monarch Peacock asked, somewhat angered. They had invested so much, hoping to win and receive rewards from the Demon Emperors, but now it was all for naught.

"Don't blame Poison Dragon," Saint Lord Qiansi said, looking at the corpse. "Chongxuan Demon Saint's physical body is completely unharmed, but his primordial spirit is utterly annihilated. This must have been a direct attack targeting the primordial spirit. Normal primordial spirit secret arts cannot penetrate the barrier of a grotto-heaven. Only the legendary karma-lineage secret arts could do this. If it was a karma secret art, what could we have done? The Demon Emperors can't blame us."

"Let's go back," Monarch Peacock said, shaking his head. "So many years of effort, all for nothing."

"The human team is rapidly departing," Saint Lord Qiansi added. "My domain can sense them; they are moving incredibly fast. We can't possibly catch up. Oh... I can't sense them anymore. They're too far."

"With Eastern Ning King's speed, how could we possibly pursue them? Let's go, let's head back," Monarch Peacock said, shaking his head.

***

Human world, Yuanchu Mountain, atop the Nameless Peak.

Li Guan, the phantom of Qin Wu, the phantom of Luo Tang, the phantom of Bai Yaoyue, the phantom of Meng Tiange, the phantom of Mi Yu, the phantom of Xu Yingwu, the phantom of Zhang Chun, and the Head of the Demon Eradication Society, Jing Fei—a total of nine figures—had gathered here.

Since three days ago, when two demon saints attempted to break through the world membrane to reach the 'World Gap,' all Creation-level Venerables across the land had been watching with extreme tension.

Although they had intercepted and killed the Fire Dragon Demon Saint, Chongxuan Demon Saint had escaped into the World Gap and rejoined the demon army, leaving all parties anxiously awaiting the outcome.

"It's been over eight hundred years," said Jing Fei, Head of the Demon Eradication Society. "We've been battling the demon race for over eight centuries. If we fail this time, if we can't stop them, then humanity will enter its darkest age."

"We must stop them," Bai Yaoyue agreed.

"But we have no way to intervene now," Xu Yingwu said. "We can only place our hopes on the Godfiends of the Marquis realm, hoping they can stop the demon race."

Silence fell once more.

Only the whistling wind could be heard as the nine Creation-level Venerables grew increasingly anxious. After all, this was a moment that would determine the fate of humanity.

"This is bad." Li Guan, the phantom of Qin Wu, and the phantom of Luo Tang all changed expression.

"What's wrong?" The other six Creation-level Venerables couldn't help but feel a pang of panic.

"What happened? Good or bad, tell us quickly!" Bai Yaoyue urged anxiously.

Venerable Li Guan's eyes were slightly red as he said in a low voice, "Just now, King Zhenwu died."

"King Zhenwu is dead?" Bai Yaoyue, Xu Yingwu, Jing Fei, and the other Creation-level Venerables grew even more distraught.

"His cultivation was so high, comparable to the peak of the Grotto-heaven realm, and aren't the Zhenwu Seven Absolutes incredibly comprehensive? His defensive abilities were even more remarkable!" Jing Fei, Head of the Demon Eradication Society, asked anxiously. "He even possessed a Tribulation-level secret treasure. How could he have died?"

"Among this group of Godfiends of the Marquis realm, King Zhenwu was the strongest and most central figure. He's dead? Then the situation is dire," Xu Yingwu said, deeply worried.

"Let's wait. Wait for the outcome," Li Guan said.

The Creation-level Venerables fell silent.

They had no other option now; they could only wait!

Barely ten breaths passed.

"Boom."

The world membrane warped. Li Guan, Qin Wu, and the other Creation-level Venerables all looked up, watching as the distorted membrane was repeatedly struck by 'Blood Blade,' then completely pierced, creating a hole several zhang wide.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh...*

Meng Chuan, Peng Mu, Protector, King Moltenfire, King Tongming, King Beimu, and King Qianmu—a total of seven individuals—flew out of the hole together and landed on the Nameless Peak.

"How did it go?" Xu Yingwu couldn't help but ask first, while the other Creation-level Venerables watched them nervously.

Meng Chuan and the others exchanged glances. Although killing Chongxuan Demon Saint was a great triumph, King Zhenwu's death still left them feeling somewhat somber.

"We succeeded," Meng Chuan said.

"Succeeded?"

Excitement bloomed on the faces of the Creation-level Venerables.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Meng Tiange exclaimed, tears of overwhelming emotion welling in his eyes. "You did well, you did wonderfully!"

"We succeeded," Jing Fei also said, deeply moved. "We finally stopped the demon race."

"Well done," Li Guan said, looking at Meng Chuan and the seven Godfiends before him. "All of you performed admirably. Now, you only need to guard the city passes, and you can enjoy a long period of peace."

"Peaceful days, ha ha ha!" Jing Fei laughed.

However, Meng Chuan and the other Godfiends of the Marquis realm showed no smiles. King Moltenfire spoke, "It was King Zhenwu. He sacrificed his life and used a secret art to kill Chongxuan Demon Saint."

"We did nothing; King Zhenwu killed him single-handedly," King Qianmu added.

Meng Chuan also said, "Senior Brother originally had over a hundred years of life left. With his mastery of yin and yang, it was even possible for him to 'rejuvenate' and become a Creation-level Venerable in the future. To ensure a greater chance of killing Chongxuan Demon Saint, he poured out everything, sacrificed all his lifespan, and even burned his primordial spirit."

"He is a hero," Jing Fei, Head of the Demon Eradication Society, declared. "A hero of all humanity."

Li Guan, Qin Wu, and Luo Tang all felt a complex mix of emotions.

They had watched King Zhenwu from the time he entered Yuanchu Mountain as a youth, growing step by step to his current state. Even though he had once fallen to rock bottom and suffered, King Zhenwu's mastery and realm of skill were comparable to Qin Wu and Li Guan.

Now, he was simply gone.

***

On Yuanchu Mountain, inside King Zhenwu's cave dwelling.

King Zhenwu's body lay on the bed, but in wisps of flame, it gradually turned to ash.

Li Guan, the phantom of Qin Wu, the phantom of Luo Tang, and Meng Chuan watched from the side.

The strongest Godfiend of the Marquis realm of their generation, arguably the strongest in the past millennium, had perished and turned to ash just like that.

"I will bury his ashes on the hill behind this cave dwelling," Li Guan said.

"Does Senior Brother have no family?" Meng Chuan asked.

"He never married nor had children in his lifetime. He was always alone," Li Guan replied. "He once had a mortal sister with whom he had a deep bond, but after her death, he lost touch with her descendants."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

"These are Senior Brother's belongings," Meng Chuan said, pointing to a spatial wristband nearby. "The Tribulation-level secret treasure is also inside."

Li Guan nodded, took the spatial wristband, and then stepped forward to place the ashes into an urn.

Meng Chuan, Qin Wu, and Luo Tang watched silently from the side.

"Although King Zhenwu sacrificed his life, a new era has begun," Qin Wu said. "Humanity's days ahead will be much easier."

"Indeed," Meng Chuan nodded.

Yes, a new era had begun.

***

The Demon Realm.

"Chongxuan Demon Saint is dead; our plan has failed," Emperor Xinghe said, shaking his head slightly. "Humanity's foundation is deeper than we anticipated. Chongxuan Demon Saint was killed through karma, even while hidden within a small grotto-heaven."

"What should we do next?" Empress Xuanyue asked. "Should we find a way to arrange for demon saints to possess human bodies and infiltrate the human world?"

Emperor Xinghe shook his head. "It's difficult. Demon Saints are not our puppets. We can occasionally pressure one or two, but we can't force all of them. If we push too hard... the Demon Saints might simply leave the Demon Realm to venture into the outer realms."

"Back then, millions of demon kings infiltrated the human world, and the World Gap had just formed. Demon Saints like Chongxuan, Ancestor Huangyao, and Fire Dragon all went willingly, believing victory was within reach," Emperor Xinghe continued. "Now, the situation has completely reversed. Among the demon saints who entered the human world, Huangyao, Chongxuan, and Fire Dragon all died in battle. Even Demon Saint Jiuyuan was forced to flee to the outer realms to survive."

"Under these circumstances, convincing demon saints to willingly undergo possession and enter is extremely difficult," Emperor Xinghe said.

The greater the chance of victory, the more willing demon saints were to participate.

The higher the death rate, the more deterred demon saints became.

"Furthermore, we don't need just any demon saint; we need one capable of quickly breaking through two layers of the world membrane," Emperor Xinghe added. "Demon Saints like Beijue and Qianqu, who are currently in the human world, are not skilled in direct attacks."

"Finding a suitable and willing demon saint is very difficult," Emperor Peng also said. "Even if we find one, it would take approximately thirty years from possession for them to slowly recover their strength and cultivate to the peak of the fifth heaven."

"Thirty years from now... even if we make a move, it could still fail."

Emperor Peng shook his head. "Humanity has also produced a monstrous genius, Eastern Ning King Meng Chuan. Thirty years from now, he will be even more terrifying than he is now."

"Although the situation is unfavorable, we still must try," Emperor Xinghe said.

All three Demon Emperors felt the situation had become incredibly difficult.

***

The World Gap.

King Anhai, entirely formed from dark blue ice, patrolled alone.

"Senior Brother," King Anhai murmured, looking at the slowly growing world in the distance, "I truly envy you! Thwarting the demon race's plan is a great service to the entire human world, and your name will forever be etched in history."

"And me? I'm a joke, a joke played by the demon race."

"Even with the help of my master and others, I had to become an ice being to fully recover myself. Otherwise, I would have become a madman."

King Anhai continued onward, alone.

He needed to atone.

According to the punishment set by Yuanchu Mountain, he must patrol the World Gap for three hundred years.

(End of this Episode)

Tomorrow, Tomato will take a day off to carefully plan the next plotlines. Episode 19 will begin updating the day after tomorrow.