Chapter 1649: Strange Old Man

Matian was instantly enraged. His immense foundation of dark cultivation aura unleashed a powerful collision. Around Xu Yang's body, layers of astonishing black demonic energy continuously coalesced, finally forming an entirely black Soul Sword under the guidance of Xu Yang's spiritual power.

That it could condense into a sword-qi form undoubtedly showed Xu Yang's ability to perfectly integrate the abundant demonic energy essence with his Eternal Sword Dao. This incredibly powerful Soul Sword was Xu Yang's perfect demonstration of the power inherited from Matian's totem.

This time, it was finally Xu Yang's turn to speak. "Heh, I once considered you evil soul cultivators, who were once revered figures, to be respectable seniors. But now I see that you can betray Matian, who sustained you for hundreds of thousands of years, at a whim. You are truly a group of irredeemably greedy individuals. Therefore, from this moment on, no one will be worthy of redeeming you in my presence."

As soon as Xu Yang finished speaking, he launched the formidable black Soul Sword he had just conjured. Its power was immense. In an instant, before everyone's eyes, it cleaved through all energy barriers in the void, piercing the very body of the strongest ancient evil soul.

Their physical bodies, having absorbed demonic energy, had transformed into a semi-ethereal, illusory form, making them impervious to ordinary attacks that targeted their life essence. However, the Soul Sword Xu Yang wielded was not merely conjured from elemental energy or attribute powers. Instead, it precisely utilized the power inherited from Matian, a power equivalent to the life force of these ancient evil souls. As the saying goes, "he who tied the bell must untie it"; the best source of power to combat these ancient evil souls naturally came from Matian himself.

A single attack from the Soul Sword was all it took. The leader of the evil souls, utterly unprepared and unable to resist, was instantly annihilated into nothingness before everyone's eyes. The moment the Soul Sword pierced his being, which was entirely composed of demonic energy essence, Xu Yang's terrifying sword-qi shattered him into fragments, making re-coalescence impossible.

What astonished the beast-tribe warriors below was that immediately after Xu Yang eliminated their strongest opponent, the supposed "right-hand men" of the evil souls showed no sign of grief. Instead, they ravenously devoured the essence of demonic energy released from their fallen leader's body, as if it were a treasure, and subsequently enhanced their own power.

"Heh, this is precisely why these ancient evil souls are unfit to continue living in this world. They possess no true affection or loyalty; their eyes are fixed solely on endless self-interest. The existence of such beings defies the fundamental human nature within the Heavenly Dao and can only bring more hateful negative energy to this world. Therefore, slaying these ancient evil souls is not an act of sin, but rather a purification and redemption of the Grand Dao. I believe we have no reason to hesitate. Let us fight with all our might!"

Xu Yang stood proudly in the void as he spoke. His words immediately resonated with everyone in the team. Undoubtedly, light was the ultimate means to eradicate these demonic ape powers. After Xu Yang judged these powerful ancient evil soul luminaries before all the beast-tribe warriors, he mercilessly unleashed the power of light.

At that very instant, the Matian Ancestor's totem behind Xu Yang vanished from his body, replaced by twelve glittering golden angelic wings. As Xu Yang's powerful Law of Light gradually spread from within him, it enveloped the entire battlefield ruins of North Imperial City, a place previously dominated by mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Every corner was completely purified by the traces of light. Hundreds of powerful ancient evil soul luminaries, too, gradually regained their original soul states under the cleansing power of light.

However, along with the formidable demonic energy within them, their once-dominant cultivation was also purified. Clearly, these evil souls, now with their autonomous spirits restored, had lost their immense power. Yet, compared to being utterly annihilated by Xu Yang, this outcome was undoubtedly far better for them. After awakening, most of the ancient evil soul luminaries remained grateful to Xu Yang for saving their souls, bowing deeply and expressing their thanks.

Almost no one complained that Xu Yang had caused them to lose their cultivation to save them; after all, power was insignificant compared to life itself. Moreover, they had long departed their original era, arriving hundreds of thousands of years later in the fifth major forbidden zone of the Path to Heaven. For them, possessing immense power held little meaning, as they were ultimately just higher-level puppets under the will of the Supreme God.

Since becoming guardians of the Path to Heaven under the will of the Supreme God, they had entirely lost their self-respect and individuality as independent cultivators. Should the Supreme God's will desire it, they would have no room to resist, even if it meant instantly losing their lives.

Therefore, at times, being peacefully sealed within the forbidden zone of the North Imperial Dynasty had not been such a bad thing for them. Although they now experienced a fleeting freedom, fundamentally, nothing had changed.

After completely resolving the plight of these ancient evil souls, Xu Yang reorganized the beast-demon army and ventured deeper into the forbidden zone at the heart of North Imperial City. This place was, in fact, a collection of cenotaphs for some fallen luminaries of North Imperial City, appearing desolate and quiet. However, Xu Yang had a strong intuition that only this place held the most surging and hidden destiny of the entire Northern City.

"If my judgment is correct, this should be it. Find the mysterious forbidden enchantment hidden in the darkness here, and you will be able to activate the teleportation barrier leading to the Summit of Kunlun. As for the whereabouts of those living fossil old-timers, I cannot give you a definitive answer."

It was clear this was a vast graveyard for powerful individuals. Further ahead, towering stone tablets stood in clusters, yet surprisingly, none of them bore any names.

Just as everyone felt a sense of bewilderment, an old man in a greyish-white robe suddenly appeared from nowhere within their sight. He held a broom and was quietly sweeping the area.