Chapter 540: War's Final Chapter (Part 2)

Cang Yuan Patriarch's treasure, like the moon's reflection in water, turned out to be nothing more than an illusion. After over nine centuries of effort, everything had amounted to nothing. Emperor Peng, Empress Xuanyue, and Emperor Xinghe found this outcome incredibly difficult to accept.

"What realm is he truly in?" Empress Xuanyue and Emperor Xinghe were equally bewildered.

Through the hundred-mile-long Demon Saint Passage, the battle unfolding at its entrance was clearly visible. Time and again, the 'Waning Moon' fell, unleashing power akin to a celestial body, repeatedly striking the azure fire lotus. Inside the lotus, the three demon cultivators trembled in fear.

"It's a complete subjugation."

"They have no power to resist at all." Emperor Peng's emotions were also complex.

It was like a mortal swinging a large hammer to crush a bean.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The bean had no power to resist; its only fate was complete pulverization.

"It's over."

Inside the azure fire lotus, the trembling Demon Saint Baifu, Demon Saint Sifeng, and Emperor Yingfeng were painfully aware of this. They watched as the white-haired man in the distance, with an indifferent expression, repeatedly unleashed the 'Waning Moon's Descent,' striking down again and again.

"Over seventy years ago, Meng Chuan participated in the World Rift War, and he was merely a King God-Demon then. How much time has passed? How can he be this powerful?" Demon Saint Sifeng muttered, on the verge of madness. "They said he was exceptionally talented and became an Emperor, but he was just a newly ascended Emperor. How were all these life-saving treasures so easily destroyed?"

"Even Tribulation Realm mighty ones would struggle to break through these defenses, yet Meng Chuan shattered them in just a few blows," Demon Saint Baifu said, looking up as the fifth 'Waning Moon' descended. "Meng Chuan is even stronger than a newly ascended Tribulation Realm mighty one. If we had known this, why would we have come to our deaths?"

"Yes, it's a death sentence," Demon Saint Sifeng nodded. "For the three of us to face a Tribulation Realm mighty expert, it truly is a suicide mission."

The fifth 'Waning Moon's Descent' caused the lotus petals of the azure fire lotus to tremble and suffer significant damage. The sixth 'Waning Moon' began to condense once more.

"The moment we leave this azure fire lotus, I fear even the slightest ripple would reduce us to dust," Demon Saint Baifu sighed softly. "But this lotus itself won't last much longer. I never wished to participate in this battle, but I couldn't defy Emperor Peng and the others. To think we'd truly throw away our lives, and in such a humiliating manner."

Just then, the azure fire lotus suffered another heavy blow, and its petals sustained numerous new deficiencies.

"It probably won't withstand the seventh strike. Baifu, you are truly pitiable; you could have become an Emperor and lived freely for a long time, yet you're forced to join us," Demon Saint Sifeng said, its wrinkled face surprisingly calm. It was old, after all, and not far from the end of its lifespan, so it had made peace with its fate.

Emperor Yingfeng remained silent, frantically absorbing exotic Origin Crystals to complete its physical body as quickly as possible. Having just reached its adult form, with a long lifespan and endless possibilities stretching before it, how could it possibly accept death?

*BOOM!*

Meng Chuan indifferently condensed the seventh 'Waning Moon.' It descended once more, striking the soon-to-collapse azure fire lotus with the 'Blade of Annihilation.' The instant it hit, the lotus completely disintegrated into dust and vanished.

"Run!" The moment the azure fire lotus was struck, Demon Saint Sifeng instantly transformed into a gale, frantically rushing towards the Demon Saint Passage.

Demon Saint Baifu, keenly aware of its own fragility without a protective formation, calmly looked up as the 'Waning Moon' descended, making no attempt to escape.

"Kill!" Emperor Yingfeng roared in defiance. After reaching the Emperor realm, it couldn't escape back through the Demon Saint Passage! This area was completely sealed by Meng Chuan's formations, preventing it from tearing through the world barrier to escape to the outside realm! Its only option was to charge at Meng Chuan.

*BOOM—*

The 'Waning Moon' strike, while annihilating the azure fire lotus, also engulfed the whirlwind that was Demon Saint Sifeng, the silently standing Demon Saint Baifu, and Emperor Yingfeng, who was frantically charging towards Meng Chuan's Primordial Spirit avatar. Engulfed by the spreading darkness, all three were utterly annihilated. The whirlwind dispersed, Baifu was annihilated, and Emperor Yingfeng's physical body disintegrated into nothingness amidst its furious roars. Only Emperor Yingfeng's unwilling scream continued to echo within the three-hundred-mile formation.

This demon force had been completely wiped out.

The human Venerables, observing the entire battle from outside the formation, were initially silent, then erupted in jubilant cheers.

"We won?"

"We actually won?"

The Venerables watched with immense excitement as the three powerful demon cultivators dispatched by the Demon Race were utterly annihilated. This represented the strongest force the Demon Race could send through the 'Demon Saint Passage.' With these three eliminated, the Demon Race would be unable to send similar Demon Saint-level forces for a significant period.

"After over nine hundred years, we have finally won!" Qin Wu was so overwhelmed with emotion that tears streamed down his face.

"This war, in the end, belongs to us humans!" Xu Yingwu's face was flushed with excitement.

"We finally waited for this day," Bai Yaoyue said, a joyful smile spreading across her face.

"Generations of God-Demons did not sacrifice in vain," Jing Fei murmured.

For over nine centuries, before Meng Chuan's emergence, humanity had been at a constant disadvantage in this war. Generation after generation of God-Demons had charged to the front lines. Even ordinary mortals were conscripted, toiling to defend crucial city passes. Countless mortals died or were left permanently disabled. Over one hundred thousand God-Demons had fallen in battle. Each of the three major sects alone had lost tens of thousands of God-Demons, and even more when including their outer disciples. Considering the rate at which human God-Demons were born, the proportion of those who died in battle was alarmingly high. For over nine centuries, almost every human God-Demon had participated in the conflict, and the majority had met their end on the battlefield. These Venerables had witnessed everything firsthand. They had done their utmost, yet their efforts had mostly involved sending mortals and younger God-Demons to fight, knowing that without their sacrifice, the situation would have been far worse. Watching so many God-Demons and mortals perish had been a constant torment for them.

"We've finally won," Luo Tang said, a faint smile on her face, tears welling in her eyes. "Even if we were to die now, we could face those God-Demons who fell in battle with dignity."

"I never imagined that in just a few decades, Meng Chuan would grow to such a level," Bai Yaoyue marveled.

Qin Wu, however, looked at Meng Chuan, who remained calm within the formation, and said, "No one achieves such strength by chance. We don't know what Meng Chuan endured to reach his current power."

"We won."

After eliminating the three demon cultivators, Meng Chuan felt a wave of relief wash over him. His greatest lifelong aspiration had finally been realized. Many had sacrificed for this goal; countless God-Demons, like Xue Feng and Senior Brother True Martial King, had given their lives. Even his wife, Qiyue, had burned her bloodline, almost exhausting her lifespan, and now slept within the Millennium Hall alongside other ancient God-Demons, awaiting humanity's next call.

"Everyone, we won," Meng Chuan murmured to himself. He should have been ecstatic, should have cheered, should have shed tears. Yet, his mind remained remarkably calm. He had spent too long in the Chaos Hole, dedicating too much effort to comprehending the 'Blade of Annihilation.'

"The Demon Race," Meng Chuan thought, looking through the Demon Saint Passage to the other side, where the furious and disbelieving Emperor Peng, Empress Xuanyue, and Emperor Xinghe stood.

"Go."

A sudden impulse stirred within Meng Chuan. The 'Waning Moon' that had condensed in the dark night sky, imbued with his will, transformed into the 'Blade of Annihilation.' It then pierced directly through the Demon Saint Passage, striking towards Emperor Peng and the other demon cultivators. Meng Chuan was still at the Chaos Hole realm, a Venerable-level cultivator. The 'Waning Moon,' infused with his True Essence and will, was not repelled by the Demon Saint Passage. Instead, it smoothly passed through, instantly cleaving towards Emperor Peng and the others.

"What?!"

Emperor Xinghe and Empress Xuanyue instinctively trembled with fear as they saw a 'Waning Moon' instantly strike. Their instincts screamed that a single sweep from that blade would mean their demise.

"Hmph," Emperor Peng snorted softly. With a single sweep of his hand, a colossal palm materialized to intercept the 'Waning Moon.' The 'Waning Moon' strike was silent, its impact dissolving into annihilated darkness. The colossal palm was directly pierced. Emperor Peng, caught by surprise, quickly transformed his right hand into a golden claw to actively block the incoming attack.

*CRASH!*

Emperor Peng, shielding Emperor Xinghe and Empress Xuanyue, was sent flying dozens of miles away, crashing into the ground and creating a large, deep crater. Blood dripped from Emperor Peng's right claw, but it was rapidly healing.

"What?! He actually suppressed Emperor Peng?" Empress Xuanyue and Emperor Xinghe could scarcely believe their eyes. Emperor Peng was a Third Tribulation Realm mighty one!

On the other side of the Demon Saint Passage, Meng Chuan calmly observed everything. Even after Emperor Peng was suppressed and sent flying dozens of miles, Meng Chuan's expression remained completely unperturbed. Following that, Meng Chuan turned and departed, vanishing from Emperor Peng's and the others' line of sight.

"He suppressed me, yet he didn't even consider entering the Demon World to seek revenge?" Emperor Peng mused inwardly. "Could he know I was feigning weakness?"

Meng Chuan had merely tested a single strike into the Demon World and had no intention of pursuing them.

"Even a Golden-winged Great Peng of the nascent Tribulation Realm can rival a Third Tribulation Realm cultivator," Meng Chuan thought, walking calmly within the formation. "It trapped me in the Chaos Hole for so long; it has likely reached the Second or even Third Tribulation Realm by now. In terms of strength... it's considered powerful even among Third Tribulation Realm cultivators. As for me, my technical realm is at the Fourth Tribulation Realm level, but my physical body and True Essence are still quite fragile, slightly weaker than even an Emperor's. My true body in my home world, never having consumed the Origin Stone, has a considerably weaker physical form. The immense disparity in physical body and True Essence! Even with a slight advantage in skill realm... overall, based on the information Meng Chuan possessed, his current strength was still slightly inferior to a 'Third Tribulation Realm' expert, let alone comparable to Emperor Peng. Most importantly... the Demon World was Emperor Peng's home. Just as Cang Yuan World was Meng Chuan's home. This time, Meng Chuan had set up two grand formations around the battlefield: one for offense and one for containment. With established formations, Meng Chuan could hold an advantage even against an enemy several times stronger. By the same logic, in his home world, Emperor Peng could deploy vast, fixed formations, allowing him to exert extraordinary power! If Meng Chuan were to go there alone, it would almost certainly be a suicide mission. And if he were to die... with his other true body far away in the Wugu River Region, Cang Yuan World would become incredibly vulnerable, likely prompting the Demon Race to launch another wave of invasion."

"As long as I don't act rashly and guard the Demon Saint Passage with formations, this war is won; the Demon Race will have no chance whatsoever," Meng Chuan understood clearly. "As for revenge? There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Knocked back dozens of miles by a single strike from me? Emperor Peng, your feigned weakness was truly exaggerated."

Meng Chuan's Primordial Spirit avatar then flew out of the formation. Outside the formation, a group of human Venerables had gathered.

"Meng Chuan."

"Emperor Dongning!"

"Father!" Each person looked at Meng Chuan with a mix of excitement and awe.

Meng Chuan nodded slightly and stated, "After eliminating these three Heaven and Earth Realm Demon Saints, the Demon Race can no longer dispatch any truly threatening forces. This war, we have won."

"We won!" Hearing Meng Chuan confirm it himself, the Venerables became even more exhilarated.

"I will arrange for my Primordial Spirit avatar to continue guarding Luotang Pass, using formations to seal off the Demon Saint Passage," Meng Chuan declared. "This Demon Saint Passage will collapse in anywhere from a few decades to one or two centuries. I will stand guard until it is completely gone. Rest assured, not only Heaven and Earth Realm Demon Saints, but even peak Emperors would be committing suicide by entering."

At this point, Meng Chuan no longer needed to maintain a low profile or conceal his true strength. The single strike that had landed in the Demon World was precisely to instill despair in the Demon Race!