Chapter 565: The End

Everyone was baffled by his move.

However, as Pure Yang's self-awareness receded into slumber, they soon understood Spirit Official Yuwang's intention: he planned to use the power of the Void Refinement Heavenly Tribulation to temporarily suppress the Ancient Demon of Life.

It should be noted that due to the Immortal rules, these ancient demon bodies could only exert the power of a peak Soul Transformation cultivator, but their essence was extraordinarily profound.

After forcibly unleashing Void Refinement level power, they were suppressed again, and each was immortal and indestructible. Even the Immortal rules could only suppress them, not kill them, with the Ancient Demon of Life being a preeminent figure in the path of immortality.

Even Immortals could do nothing against him, let alone these cultivators from the lower realms. The only solution was to reseal him, a task whose difficulty was almost insurmountable upon reflection.

Neither Spirit Official Yuwang nor Wang Yu truly wished to see the ancient demon emerge, but what could be done now that things had come to this?

They watched as Spirit Official Yuwang threw Pure Yang into the void formation he had set up. Pure Yang surprisingly took his place, becoming the controller of the formation.

In just a few breaths, Spirit Official Yuwang freed himself from the cage.

Spirit Official Yuwang cast a cold glance at everyone present, his fighting spirit completely gone. He said coldly, "Perhaps you all obtained a great deal of secret information from the Immortal Black Stele, which led you to orchestrate today’s events. But there is one thing… that you absolutely cannot imagine."

Venerable Tai Xu could not hide his rage.

As he was about to charge forward, Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable pulled him back. He said gravely, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Me? You should rather ask yourselves what you intend to do."

Spirit Official Yuwang suddenly burst into laughter.

His youthful and handsome features suddenly contorted into a fierce grimace. He roared, "Though the ancient demons are powerful, they are merely bodies acting on instinct. How could they exterminate the entire cultivation world and break its lineage!

"While I may gain nothing from today's events and will even be punished, you… cannot kill me. You will forever be trapped within this cage.

"When the Great Dao Integration cultivators from the Immortal Palace, bearing Heavenly Edicts, descend, your generation will come to an end! Hahahahahahaha!!!"

With that said, Spirit Official Yuwang's figure was swallowed by the void. He had chosen to escape. Wang Yu, deep in thought about the other's words, failed to pay attention, and so, the opponent got away.

The concept of what lies beyond the world and behind spatial fissures are not, in fact, the same thing. According to the records of the 'Treatise on Worlds,' the outermost layer of every world is a thin membrane, much like a bubble.

This 'thing' has many names: world membrane, world barrier, the edge of the world, and so on. No matter the name, Spirit Official Yuwang originated from the void beyond the world.

Further inward lies the Chaos Layer.

It is said: Before heaven and earth opened, all was chaos; worlds emerged from chaos.

Therefore, the evolution of chaos can yield heaven and earth.

This Chaos Layer is the impassable Heavenly Abyss at the edge of the world. Further inward is the Spatial Layer, which supports the normal expansion of an entire world, much like the drawing board behind a canvas.

Without it, the entire canvas would be difficult to unfurl, becoming wrinkled and crumpled. It is one of the fundamental supports of the world, known as Space!

Behind the tears in space made by Wang Yu and others was a profound darkness, devoid of light and spirit, where only void beasts could survive.

Passing through the darkness and exploring the boundaries would lead one to chaos.

However, the Spatial Layer is disorienting, with no discernible directions, making it nearly impossible to determine one's bearing. Thus, the number of cultivators who have truly found the Chaos Layer throughout history can be counted on one hand.

Spirit Official Yuwang's ability to come and go freely surely meant he had mastered the Immortal Palace's secret method for traversing realms. He simply left, and there was no possibility of catching him.

With such flexibility, allowing him to advance or retreat at will, the difficulty of killing this fiend was no simpler than circumventing the Immortal rules. The event had already occurred. When Wang Yu looked at Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable and the others with a strange expression, he realized they were also looking at him.

No way, before formulating such a thorough plan, did you not consider restricting equivalent movement abilities? Even he, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, after learning the Nascent Soul realm's teleportation technique, specifically learned the Heaven's Lock secret method to restrict it.

That was how he managed to ensure every kill; it was difficult for any Nascent Soul cultivator to escape his grasp.

As their eyes met, Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable seemed to discern his thoughts and explained with a hint of awkwardness.

"If the World-Suppressing Tortoise were alive, it would have been the decisive factor in solidifying space to restrict Spirit Official Yuwang. Besides that, the Sword Tomb was also a backup."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Tai Xu's face clouded with sorrow.

"Sword River is within the Sword Tomb, capable of locking Spirit Official Yuwang inside it at a critical moment. Just now, Junior Brother Pure Yang… in short, it was my fault."

Seeing this, Wang Yu shook his head inwardly.

Although he had long suspected that the chances of victory this time were slim, he hadn't expected that Spirit Official Yuwang would escape due to a moment's oversight.

As for the ultimate trump card that would decide victory or defeat, neither of them spoke of it again.

The reason the two peak Soul Transformation cultivators explained themselves to him was related to what came next: how to respond to Spirit Official Yuwang's words, and how to deal with the Ancient Demon of Life?

Wang Yu stood in the demonic cloud, looking at the ancient demon doubly suppressed by the Heavenly Tribulation and the formation, as well as Pure Yang, who was about to be completely annihilated by the Heavenly Tribulation.

For some reason, an impulse to go and rescue them arose within him.

Just as he became increasingly engrossed and restless, "Fellow Daoist Wang, Fellow Daoist Wang…" A series of calls roused him from his strange state.

Cold sweat immediately ran down Wang Yu's back.

How could he zone out and daydream in such a dangerous place? Completely ignoring the external situation, his eyes seemed to see only the Ancient Demon of Life. For a Soul Transformation Venerable, this was almost impossible.

What exactly was happening?

Before he could ponder further, he saw many Soul Transformation cultivators gathered for this battle had entered the demonic cloud, with the four peak powerhouses standing in two opposing groups.

It was Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable who had called out to him.

"What do you think of what was just discussed?"

"Hmm?"

Wang Yu's spiritual sense retracted, and only then did he realize that his five senses had passively received a lot of information, which was the content of the cultivators' discussion just now.

Tai Xu: "I must first go to the Blood Abyss to rescue Fu Ling and Miao Zhen. The matter of this ancient demon I shall leave to you all to handle."

Azure Dragon angrily retorted, "You hypocrite, is an ancient demon something we can deal with? Why didn't you consider how to handle him when you and Refining Heaven released him?"

Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable said calmly, "Perhaps we would have been dead by then, and whether or not the ancient demon was dealt with wouldn't have mattered. But now the situation has changed, and this strategy has backfired on us."

White Tiger Demonic Venerable quickly restrained Azure Dragon, who was once again fuming with rage, and asked concisely, "Venerables, what do you think the villain truly meant by his words?"

The topic was diverted, and no one wanted to ponder the ancient demon problem.

Crimson Sky interjected, "What else could it be? Just trying to mystify us. I don't believe him."

Wang Yu thought, 'Crimson Sky, always consistent with his intelligence.'

Sure enough, Crimson Sky, who had spoken, was mocked by Yellow Springs Demonic Venerable.

He scoffed, "That Spirit Official views us as ants. Do you think he would deliberately deceive ants? In my opinion, his words are certainly not baseless. Historically, ancient demon rebellions were always resolved by Immortals from the upper realms—the Great Dao Integration cultivators he mentioned—and afterwards, the problem of severed lineage would arise.

"Historical records state that ancient demons were bloodthirsty, causing heavy casualties among cultivators, including the hegemonic powers of those eras, who were almost always the first to be annihilated.

"Yet, at that time, the ancient demon bodies should not have yet developed new consciousnesses. Do you think a wild beast hunting by instinct in the forest would kill and consume all the prey in the forest?"

Yellow Springs' words made sense.

But Crimson Sky was unconvinced.

"If it was truly done by Immortals from the lower realms, why isn't it recorded on the Black Stele? According to your logic, when the Great Dao Integration cultivators descend, wouldn't we all surely die? How could the Black Stele even remain? This is a paradox."

The Immortal Black Stele's nature made it an excellent medium for information to endure through countless ages. While Soul Transformation cultivators couldn't destroy it, that didn't mean Dao Integration cultivators couldn't.

Crimson Sky's words were not without reason.

However, thinking this way would suggest being influenced by Crimson Sky's rather simple-minded logic, turning one into a fool as well.

Refining Heaven suddenly spoke.

"If it were I, I would not care about the resistance of ants, but I would conceal the slaughter of those ants, allowing them to continue to aspire and long for me.

"It's not about power, but about cunning and reputation."

A single word awakened those lost in delusion.

The cultivators present suddenly understood. Indeed… throughout ancient history, there had been no successful cases. If the Black Stele recorded secrets of the prison, the Immortal Palace cultivators wouldn't care at all.

But if it exposed their slaughter of native cultivators, that would be 'slandering' them, and it had to be erased!

Even demonic sect disciples knew to call themselves Saint Sects. Those from the upper realms, even if more powerful, still cared about their reputation. As long as they were human, they could not escape this characteristic.

"So, what should we do now?"

Crimson Sky still deeply trusted his sect leader's judgment, so he didn't refute him at all, directly asking what to do.

Yellow Springs couldn't help but curl his lip at this scene.

This lackey, truly unworthy of being a Soul Transformation Venerable.

Imminent catastrophe loomed: the nearby Ancient Demon of Life was uncontrollable, and the distant descent of Dao Integration cultivators was an irresistible disaster. No one present could escape.

Even old Daoist Tai Xu no longer spoke of rescuing Fu Ling and Miao Zhen, but stood aside, waiting for the discussion to end.

With collective strength, perhaps there was a glimmer of hope.

After a long silence, Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable sighed.

"Only by forcibly breaking through the realm is there a glimmer of hope. The Primordial Chaos Heavenly Pivot Battleship in my possession might allow us to find the Chaos Layer of the Ice Prison Realm. Whether we can safely break through is entirely up to fate."

This was a fallback he had prepared when formulating the plan.

But it also required risking their lives.

The terror of chaos was such that even the hardest spiritual gold in the world, thrown into it, would be annihilated in moments, returning to its origin and re-enacting chaos.

But with two great mountains pressing down on them, if they didn't run, they would just await their reckoning.

He then pointed towards the Heavenly Tribulation and said, "Pure Yang can last at most another half-hour. After that, it's unknown how long the Ancient Demon of Life will need to break free from the void formation's suppression.

"Therefore, a decision must be made quickly. If you've decided, gather in Ice Plain City outside the Endless Ice Plain in half a month. I will wait for you until the Hour of the Tiger (3 AM - 5 AM). I will not wait past that time."

As for the Ancient Demon of Life, half an hour was enough time for them to escape this place. That demon could go wherever it pleased; they couldn't control it even if they wanted to.

But Venerable Tai Xu's expression was exceedingly grim.

Because this… was the Sword Sect's mountain gate!

"You're just going to leave like this?"

Recalling this battle, the Sword Sect had suffered heavy losses: two early-stage Soul Transformation cultivators captured by the Blood Demon Palace Master and taken to the Blood Abyss, their fates unknown; and two Grand Elders, including his junior brother, had all died tragically.

Though Pure Yang hadn't yet drawn his last breath, under the Void Refinement Heavenly Tribulation, unprepared and even without self-awareness, his defeat and annihilation by the lightning was a foregone conclusion.

No one could save him. In contrast, the demonic path suffered no losses at all. How could old Daoist Tai Xu bear this? After the ancient demon broke its seal, he was now asked to abandon his ancestral heritage.

This was no different from those righteous sects he had once abandoned.

What was the difference?

Nothing had changed, in fact, it was even more miserable, leaving only two early-stage Soul Transformation cultivators, Hao Ran Sword Head and Venerable Sword River, with their strength having plummeted to rock bottom.

But everyone knew what the demonic path was about.

Betrayal was commonplace for them, let alone merely burning bridges after crossing; what wouldn't they dare to do? Besides, the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Pivot Battleship was now in the hands of the demonic leader.

If they wanted to live, they still had to rely on him!

Therefore, Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable did not directly answer old Daoist Tai Xu, but merely continued, "Half a month is enough time for you all to prepare. Farewell!"

Old Daoist Tai Xu tightened his grip on his sword repeatedly, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to unleash a sword of indignation.

Approximately five to ten minutes later, only one person and three demons remained on the demonic cloud: Poisonous Dragon, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Wang Yu. With the information sorted out, he returned to the previous scene.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, what do you think of what was just discussed?"

Seeing the old demon ask, Wang Yu's gaze flickered. He evaded the question.

"With such a grand drama unfolding, and the demon race observing it all, I presume you also have a contingency plan, don't you?"

Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable smiled. "It's true, Fellow Daoist, we did prepare, but they are all methods of slaughter, useless for the current situation. As for what Refining Heaven that fiend said, I feel it's not quite right."

This statement caused a slight ripple in Wang Yu's mind.

He couldn't help but look at Pure Yang beneath the heavy thunderclouds. To be honest, the fact that the Ice Prison Realm could manifest a Void Refinement lightning tribulation was already far beyond his expectations.

This indicated that Soul Transformation was not the limit that the Ice Prison Realm could accommodate.

This precisely proved that his earlier speculation was true: the essence of the Ice Prison Realm was by no means comparable to an ordinary world. Otherwise, how could it imprison ancient demons who had almost reached the 'half-immortal' realm?

Even if their consciousness and bodies were imprisoned separately, it was enough to show the extraordinary nature of this realm.

But at this moment, he was more concerned with the Ancient Demon of Life's influence on him. Being awakened by external stimuli, he had realized how dangerous his impulsive act of devouring the ancient demon's finger to break through to a new realm had been.

He had mistakenly believed he had resolved the demonic corruption, but in reality, it had already begun to influence his personality and daily behavior.

The thought of the large quantity of carefully refined life-nourishing liquid in his Sea Heart Ring sent a shiver down his spine. Wang Yu almost immediately postponed all his plans.

He had eight inventory slots: four for operating cultivation techniques. The other four must simultaneously hold demon-refining secret methods like the Demon-Crossing Heart Incantation, which he had to master as quickly as possible.

Only then could he focus his mind on Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable's words.

Therefore, the period of silence was inevitably much longer.

Seeing that the shrewd man, who in his eyes was as cunning as a little fox, showed no reaction, Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable couldn't help but prompt him.

"Refining Heaven Demonic Sect's obsession with the Ancient Demon of Life began early in its establishment. Shortly after the first Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable founded the sect, he initiated a war against the Sword Sect."

This… was the suspicious point.

The timeline extended back tens of thousands of years, meaning it involved the contemporary Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable's grand-master, a Soul Transformation cultivator from three generations ago, spanning an entire era.

Wang Yu smiled sheepishly. "I was a bit distracted just now, Senior Azure Dragon, please continue."

The other party sighed helplessly.

It was a pity that human cultivators all held blood feuds against the demon race. Only Wang Yu, this newly risen Venerable, had no record of slaughtering demons and even maintained harmonious relations with the demons in the ancestral land.

If not for this, he wouldn't have wanted to prompt him!

"To directly break the world barrier and traverse realms, that battleship is indeed indispensable. What was said just now actually added quite a bit of credibility to that brat Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable.

"It makes people overlook the many treacherous acts he's committed. But I've lived a long time, and I know his true nature best. That fellow never prepares any backup plans.

"Once he devises a plan, there are only two outcomes: success or death! To have reached this point, he has faced no small number of schemes and calculations, yet he still managed to cultivate to the peak of Soul Transformation. Do you understand, Fellow Daoist Wang?"

Wang Yu was thoughtful.

After shifting his focus entirely to this matter, a flash of insight suddenly struck Wang Yu. He said, "Senior, the Qi of Chaos can cause all things to return to their origin, re-enacting chaos. It can also be seen as a form of refinement. And the World Power ultimately evolved from the Way of Refining Heaven—

"is also an essence of exceptionally high energy, virtually omnipotent. Do you think he might be tricking the Soul Transformation Venerables into their deaths, then collecting the chaos formed from their human bodies?

"This 'inferior product' might not be comparable to true Qi of Chaos, but it would have the potential to be controlled and utilized."

Azure Dragon was also taken aback by this speculation. However, his understanding of Refining Heaven was far beyond Wang Yu's, and he quickly discerned something from it.

"Hahahaha, I know his plan now."

"Senior, why are you laughing?"

"Refining Heaven, Refining Heaven… don't they have a very famous saying in their Demonic Sect? Have you heard of it?"

"Refining Gu, refining people, and even refining heaven?"

"Precisely."

A flash of wisdom gleamed in Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable's cloudy eyes as he stroked his beard and said, "The ultimate goal of the Way of Refining Heaven is to refine a world. Then I ask you, where do worlds come from?"

"From chaos… ?"

Wang Yu suddenly realized. The so-called Way of Refining Heaven was, in essence, the Way of Chaos. It was simply that this immense power was too formidable for Soul Transformation cultivators to control.

Thus, a secondary Way of Refining Heaven emerged.

Cultivating this path, he could probably safely cross the Spatial Layer and directly reach the Chaos Layer without needing secret methods.

How to utilize this group of Soul Transformation cultivators at that time would be Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable's concern. Don't forget his original intention: to break free from the Ice Prison's cage. In essence, these peak powerhouses were unwilling to let their path of cultivation stop, and this was their act of defiance, an act against heaven itself.

If he could break through to Void Refinement, greatly extending his lifespan, he might be able to go into seclusion again, accumulating power and waiting for the day when the winds would rise.

If Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable's initial goal was to break through to Void Refinement, then his failure to capture Spirit Official Yuwang was already within his calculations.

The situation for other Soul Transformation Venerables would be extremely perilous.

As for what role the Ancient Demon of Life played in all this, due to insufficient information, it was difficult to deduce for now; even guessing would not likely lead to the correct conclusion.

In summary, the true purpose of the Righteous-Demonic War was actually to induce the Sword Sect to defy their ancestors' commands and successfully release the Ancient Demon of Life. Refining Heaven's cunning foresight was evident from this.

It could be said to be truly terrifying.

At the same time, the fact that Earth Fiend Demonic Venerable remained silent also made Wang Yu suspicious.

After a long silence, "Since things have come to this, Senior, do you have a way to avoid the calamity from the upper realms?"

Since matters had progressed to this point, rashly preventing other Soul Transformation cultivators from gathering and disrupting Refining Heaven Demonic Venerable's plan would only cause these powerhouses, who had abandoned everything, to view him as an enemy.

After all, they had already given up everything, determined to take this desperate gamble. If he now told them it was all false, a conspiracy and a trap, no one would believe him, and they would be even less willing to believe.

This was because it represented their last hope.

How immense was that weight?!!!

Therefore, Wang Yu directly abandoned the idea of disrupting Refining Heaven's plan and instead asked about methods to evade the calamity.

"This matter is both simple and difficult."

Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable extended three fingers. "Three methods.

"First, find an unknown secret realm and hide within it using the Turtle's Breath technique. Dao Integration cultivators, while searching an entire realm and dealing with the ancient demon calamity, will have limited energy. There should be a sixty percent chance of surviving.

"Second, after the Dao Integration cultivators descend, seize the body of a mortal, cripple your own cultivation, and live humbly among the mundane world, waiting for the calamity to pass before resuming the path to immortality. This method only works if your primordial spirit is unique, offering over seventy percent chance of survival, but it is susceptible to human-instigated disasters.

"Third, come to the Ancestral God Mountain of Ancient Beasts. This is the Beast God's place of inheritance, existing since ancient times. Dao Integration cultivators will not casually destroy it, and within it, there are shelters left by the Beast God. The survival rate is as high as ninety percent."

None of the three methods sounded particularly appealing.

Furthermore, the shelter on the Ancestral God Mountain of Ancient Beasts was likely the consciousness space inside the bronze sculpture. While indeed mysterious, the number of people who could hide there was limited.

If Wang Yu were alone, he would have taken refuge there as well.

But he had Yu Tangtang, Xiao Chan'er, Jin Miaoshan, Yan Ling, Yin Gui, and other confidantes, friends, close acquaintances, and fellow Daoists. He was no longer the person who had nothing back then.

Ah, once a person has attachments, they gain more concerns and worries, and it becomes difficult to maintain a carefree mindset.

Yet, if one achieved immortality without friends, confidantes, or descendants, staying in a cave dwelling every day, drinking morning dew, basking in the warm sun, and watching the passage of time and the shifting clouds, what meaning would there be?

The complexity of emotions is fundamental to being human. To rashly abandon them? He was unwilling!

Returning to the matter at hand, "Even if the ancient demon breaks free, it will take time to cause enough destruction for the Immortal Palace to notice. Conservatively, there will be at least a few years of lead time.

"That Spirit Official would certainly not dare to report it rashly. He would only feign a momentary oversight or secretly seek help from his sect. However, the Ice Prison Realm will become exceptionally dangerous in these next few years. Fellow Daoist, please be careful. I hope we will meet again someday."

Since Wang Yu was unwilling to avoid the disaster with him, Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable said no more. After giving a few instructions, he returned to the ancestral land of the demon race in the North Severed Mountain Range, taking Poisonous Dragon with him. At a time like this, there was no need to heed the human Venerables' prohibitions; the human cultivators would be too preoccupied to bother them.

And so, the vast Sword Sect was left with only Wang Yu. He turned back to glance at Pure Yang, who was on the verge of turning to dust, and then sensed the power of the Void Refinement lightning tribulation.

Shaking his head, he was about to leave.

"Young friend, please stay."

The speaker was none other than Venerable Tai Xu, who had returned.

"Senior." Wang Yu bowed slightly, wondering what Venerable Tai Xu wanted from him now.