From the various civilizations and True Worlds of the Vast Expanse, countless gazes were fixed upon this scene, watching closely.
Two super-powers had arrayed their armies; the decisive great battle was on the verge of erupting, and the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder.
"The Heaven-Slaying Alliance has gone too far. This battle is destined to be unavoidable."
A high-level member of the Alliance of Righteous Unity manifested, appearing above the ancient city and standing in the void with an indifferent gaze. Behind him, several existences with world-toppling power stepped out one after another, confronting the massive army of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance across the vast sea of stars.
Over the years, for various reasons, the Alliance of Righteous Unity had been in retreat, trying its best to avoid a direct confrontation. This had long dissatisfied many high-level members, causing resentment to build and anger to be suppressed. Now that they had finally received the notice to go all out—knowing the battle could neither be avoided nor retreated from—what fear was there in fighting?
Rumble!
One ancient bronze war chariot after another crushed the firmament, rolling forward. Their wheels sped through the star domains, causing the entire Great Universe to tremble in their wake. Standing upon these ancient chariots were rows upon rows of soldiers, each clad in cold iron armor and wielding celestial blades and war-halberds. Their cold, eerie glint sliced through the starry sky, striking fear and trepidation into the hearts of onlookers.
Internally, the Alliance of Righteous Unity was divided into multiple factions: the bellicose "Hawks," the "Doves" who sought peaceful coexistence, and the "Tortoises" who chose only to avoid war. However, as the Leader and several Vice Leaders of the alliance simultaneously signaled their intent to fight the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to the death, even the Doves and Tortoises had to dispatch experts to the front lines.
A massive army was arrayed here, their iron armor grim, as eerie cold light flickered throughout the Great Universe.
"Does the Heaven-Slaying Alliance truly intend to start a decisive great battle? Our Alliance of Righteous Unity has never feared trouble, but you must consider carefully what price you will have to pay!"
An expert from the Alliance of Righteous Unity roared, his voice like a great bronze bell vibrating through the universe, causing the surrounding stars to shudder.
Across the star domain, the many experts of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance watched coldly, and no one responded to his words.
The Master of the Demon Court, Demon Emperor Di Kun, arrived personally. Behind him, the demon army was equally murderous and dense, resembling a vast sea of demons. Over the years, he had led the demon forces to conquer in all directions, earning a prestigious and formidable reputation—far beyond what he had when he first ascended to the position of Demon Emperor. Even if the Demon Ancestor Di Huang were to appear now, his prestige might not match Di Kun's.
"By the decree of the Lord Alliance Leader, we crusade against the Alliance of Righteous Unity."
"The Alliance of Righteous Unity has colluded with Dark Beings to subvert the Vast Expanse and bring calamity to all living souls. Today, my Heaven-Slaying Alliance upholds the will of heaven to set things right and purge the world."
"Kill all who stand in our way!"
Di Kun's expression was cold as he rose and stepped out of his carriage. He wore a wide purple robe embroidered with Qilin and dragon motifs and a ceremonial crown, his gaze deep. As he shook his wide sleeves, a decree suffused with a supreme aura emerged. This decree soared into the sky, emitting billions of strands of radiant light as countless Great Dao runes flashed. Every character was written with strokes as sharp as silver hooks and iron beams, channeling true seals.
The terrifying aura was surging and tumultuous, causing countless cultivators and the entire universe to tremble along with it. Upon the surface of this decree, one could faintly see a blurred, slender figure. He seemed to be seated at the end of heaven and earth, surrounded by the phantom images of vast, boundless worlds and clusters of surging divine flames, looking down upon all living beings across infinite dimensions.
All the experts and armies of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance knelt down toward that phantom image with fanatical and pious devotion.
"That is the phantom of the Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance..."
"It seems he is truly determined to move against our Alliance of Righteous Unity."
The expressions of all high-level members and experts of the Alliance of Righteous Unity changed at this moment, feeling an indescribable, terrifying pressure. Many broke into cold sweats, their faces turning pale as their hearts palpitated with tremors.
They felt an irrepressible urge to kneel and kowtow; their legs grew weak, and it felt as though their spines were about to be crushed.
The vast army of the Alliance of Righteous Unity felt a spontaneous surge of fear and trembling, like lowly ants facing a true dragon. The head-on, terrifying pressure was suffocating, leaving them unable to muster even a shred of fighting intent. Their faces were full of fear and pallor; they had no idea if resistance was even possible if they truly had to face an existence like the Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. A single thought from him could likely easily destroy universes, space-time, and erase an entire era.
Within the ancient city, the Green Bird crossed the sky, its wings spanning thousands of feet. Chu Xiuyan stood upon it, her expression shifting slightly.
To the various races and civilizations of the Vast Expanse, the Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was an existence they were all too familiar with—familiar because the alliance he founded shook the Vast Expanse and his fierce reputation intimidated all worlds. However, those who had actually seen the Leader were few and far between. His mysteriousness was no less than that of the benefactor she had glimpsed in the Grand Primordial Golden Book who had assisted her father.
Yet, at this moment, Chu Xiuyan felt a faint sense of familiarity. She couldn't put it into words, but it seemed as if she had seen that figure somewhere before. Although it was blurred and hazy, obscured by chaotic mist, she was certain she had truly seen that silhouette.
"Is it you?" Chu Xiuyan suddenly thought of a certain existence. Her expression froze as she fell into a daze, her red lips moving as she asked in a murmur.
"Kill!"
While Chu Xiuyan was dazed, the sound of endless charging suddenly erupted across the vast star domain. Dao law light soared to the sky as various fluctuations of energy swept across the world. Following Demon Emperor Di Kun's activation of the decree, the boundless army of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance instantly charged forward.
It was truly a sight of blotting out the heavens and earth—an infinite army like a tide, wave after wave, submerging the entire universe. Heaven and earth were torn apart, and the cosmos itself cracked as the great battle suddenly broke out.
The Heaven-Slaying Alliance was clearly well-prepared, knowing this battle would erupt today. They had laid down various grand arrays in advance. Chariots and ancient warships rumbled past, constantly shifting positions within the star domain, using people as the array to channel the Great Dao.
Infinite celestial power was being drawn in—endless, vast, and surging. Banners inscribed with ancient array runes were placed in all directions by the many experts of the alliance. The world turned murky as a hazy mist rose. The infinite army, like a host of ghosts and gods, charged out from the mist, destroying everything in their path with unstoppable force.
In other cosmic territories, battles broke out simultaneously. Many experts of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance appeared to sever the connections of the Alliance of Righteous Unity in various places, truly intending to use an encirclement to catch all the high-level members in one net.
"Kill! Do not give them a chance!"
"Those who collude with Dark Beings shall be executed by the whole world!"
From the ancient warships, divine light soared as figures with surging blood-Qi stepped out, crossing the starry sea ahead to clash with the experts of the Alliance of Righteous Unity.
"There is no retreat in this battle! The Heaven-Slaying Alliance has wolfish ambitions, intending to devour the Vast Expanse and rule all worlds. If our Alliance of Righteous Unity falls today, from now on, no force will be able to restrain or check them!"
In the depths of the universe, experts roared as their blood stained the sky, besieged by multiple experts from the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Rumble!
Within the ancient city, inscribed array runes were activated, and boundless light soared, instantly illuminating the dark, deep universe. In the void, one gateway after another cracked open, gushing with radiance as banners unfurled. The reinforcement army of the Alliance of Righteous Unity swept in like a flood of iron, clashing with the forces of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
In other cosmic regions, the battlefields were equally tragic. Existences with cultivation levels exceeding the Dao Realm were fighting in various otherworldly battlefields; blood seeped and flowed from the void in a shocking display.
"As long as I kill three more existences in the Ancestral Dao realm, I will have accumulated enough military merit to exchange for a bottle of Creation Matter. At that time, I'll have a chance to survive the ninth Heavenly Decay Tribulation."
The otherworldly battlefields were filled with darkness; even the most powerful cultivators could not hope to see through the scenes within. Here, rules were incomplete and the Great Dao was shattered; any Dao method would be suppressed.
At this moment, the silhouette of a terrifying Golden Crow spanned across the entire space-time void. The River of Time manifested beneath its feet, shimmering with ripples and interlaced fragments, as vast fluctuations swept through ancient and modern history. Its body was so immense it seemed as though all worlds could not contain it. Its eyes alone were as bright as the morning sun, flowing with piercing golden light that flickered with a certain obsession and madness.
This was the Ancestor of the Demon Court, the father of the current Demon Emperor Di Kun—the Demon Ancestor Di Huang.
Opposite him, a red-haired figure stood above a surging sea of blood, within which endless terrifying demonic shadows swam. Blood-colored mist rose from the sea, where figures capable of shocking the past and present emerged—former sages, ancient sovereigns, and ancient emperors—all emitting world-topping divine might. They were all enemies who had previously fallen at his hands.
As the two fought in this otherworldly battlefield, hundreds of millions of techniques were enacted and alternated in an instant. Chaos was destroyed and then re-evolved, as if they were creating the heavens and earth or reshaping all of the past. The aura of the Ancestral Dao realm was incomparably powerful, sweeping through the entire space-time; if an ordinary Dao Realm existence stepped in, they would instantly be crushed to dust by this aura.
"Demon Ancestor, I didn't expect even you to submit to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. Back then, I heard the Demon Court was schemed against by that Alliance Leader and turned into a blade to deal with the Xian Chu Sacred Land..."
The blood-light was sky-high. Within that infinite, vast sea of blood, the red-haired figure condensed into a human form—a middle-aged man in a blood-red robe with no facial hair. His face was cold, his eyes crimson, and the Dao of Blood surged around him.
"Hehe, Blood Ancestor, aren't you also selling your life to the Alliance of Righteous Unity right now? I just don't know what benefits they gave you that make it worth risking your life against me like this," Demon Ancestor Di Huang sneered. His massive, boundless figure seemed to be the only existence in this space.
A brilliant sun emerged behind him, reflecting upon the entire sea of blood as if it could evaporate all matter before him at any moment. Ancestral Dao existences like him, who had ostensibly survived eight Heavenly Decay Tribulations, could be counted on one's fingers in the Vast Expanse. The rival before him was an ancient figure famous for many eras in the Vast Expanse, known as the Blood Ancestor.
Rumors said the Blood Ancestor had obtained the legacy of a certain existence from the Innate Era and was gestated from its later-generation shell; he had survived eight tribulations many eras ago, and his strength was unfathomable. The Demon Ancestor hadn't expected the Blood Ancestor to eventually submit and join the Alliance of Righteous Unity, serving them by coming here to fight him.
One must know that existences like them truly stood at the very peak of the Vast Expanse; no one could force them to do anything. The reason the Demon Ancestor served Gu Changge was naturally because he was envious of the small bottle of mysterious matter Demon Emperor Di Kun had been ordered to bring to him.
His cultivation, which had been stagnant for many eras without any change, began to show signs of loosening after refining a wisp of that mysterious matter. The path ahead, which was originally full of fog, seemed to be suddenly illuminated by a ray of dawn, letting him know how to proceed.
Having lived for countless eras, it was the first time the Demon Ancestor had encountered such a mysterious substance; naturally, he was shocked and horrified. In that moment, it was as if a mortal had suddenly learned what spiritual Qi, longevity, and eternal life were. That feeling of waking from a dream made him both terrified and trembling.
He didn't know where Gu Changge had obtained that substance, but it was indeed what those at the Dao Realm needed. It felt as if he had been thirsty for many years and suddenly drank a large bowl of spring water.
Unable to hold back, the Demon Ancestor had once secretly gone to find Gu Changge to ask what it was. Gu Changge did not hide it, giving him a faint smile and saying it was Creation Matter, containing the secrets of transcendence at the end of the road.
It was from that moment that the Demon Ancestor finally understood why so many taboo figures were willing to follow and serve Gu Changge. Gu Changge's background was likely too vast to imagine, directly bringing out such mysterious Creation Matter and openly placing it in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance's Military Merit Hall for anyone to exchange.
The Demon Ancestor no longer dared to think about how this substance came to be. Now, he only wanted to accumulate enough military merit as soon as possible to exchange for another bottle. He had a premonition that this would be his opportunity to survive the ninth Heavenly Decay Tribulation.
Over the years, he had often traveled to various battlefields to hunt beings of the same level existences of the Alliance of Righteous Unity, but Ancestral Dao figures were very cunning; upon sensing danger, they chose to flee immediately rather than fight him head-on. This had resulted in the Demon Ancestor having killed only one Ancestral Dao existence so far, still far from the merit needed for a bottle of Creation Matter.
However, the Blood Ancestor before him was much stronger than ordinary Ancestral Dao existences—an existence like him who had survived eight tribulations. If he could kill the Blood Ancestor, the military merit would definitely be enough to exchange for a bottle of Creation Matter.
"We each serve our respective masters; it's all just service. Demon Ancestor, why must you fight so desperately?" the Blood Ancestor's eyes were crimson as he watched the other, his voice low. He could sense that the Demon Ancestor truly wanted to risk his life to kill him; he had truly moved with killing intent. What kind of temptation could make the Demon Ancestor so devotedly serve the Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, even at the cost of his life? Or was it as the rumors said—that the Leader's methods were eerie, capable of controlling hearts and converting those around him?
"Hehe, it seems you don't truly want to die for the Alliance of Righteous Unity, but are merely being coerced." The Demon Ancestor sneered, seemingly seeing through the Blood Ancestor's thoughts at once.
"Blood Ancestor, if you are wise, you should abandon the darkness for the light soon. It is impossible for the Alliance of Righteous Unity to contend with the Lord Alliance Leader, while he still doesn't want to act personally."
"If you think the Alliance of Righteous Unity and the Dark Beings joining forces qualifies them to be the Lord Alliance Leader's opponent, then you are still too naive."
As he heard this, the Blood Ancestor's expression shifted repeatedly. He didn't know why the once dominant and arrogant Demon Ancestor would say such things. Just who was that Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?
"It seems even you have been converted and brainwashed, Demon Ancestor..."
"I heard you once clashed with the Alliance Leader, but after one move, you fled hundreds of millions of miles without a word. That doesn't sound like the Demon Ancestor I once heard of, who looked down upon the world and intimidated all races."
The Blood Ancestor looked at him coldly and said no more. The sea of blood surged as endless powerful silhouettes flew out to attack the Demon Ancestor.
In the next instant, heaven collapsed and earth rent as ghosts wailed and gods howled, as if a great destruction had arrived. Various terrifying Dao laws and orders flew about, becoming a great storm that swept through everything. Between the two, various Great Daos were enacted—this was no longer ordinary Dao law order, but pure Dao transformed into order. Upon collision, they expanded like ripples of the Great Dao, shaking the world, intimidating the past and present, and disturbing the River of Time.
If such a storm appeared in the Hundred Realms, it could easily destroy all universes and civilizations; it was far more terrifying than any natural disaster. Since ancient times, who had ever seen a battle between Ancestral Dao existences who had survived eight tribulations?
In other otherworldly places, shocking battles broke out as well—contests between peers. Those whose strength had not reached the Ancestral Dao realm had no qualification to intervene.
This great battle between the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity shook the entire Vast Expanse. Countless civilizations and races felt shocked and incredulous. Since countless eras, when had such a terrifying and shocking battle ever erupted? How many civilizations and True Worlds might disappear in this war? And no one knew how this battle would eventually conclude.
Had the Heaven-Slaying Alliance come with such dominance truly intending to destroy the Alliance of Righteous Unity in one fell swoop? Furthermore, at a time like this, what would the Dark Beings do? Would they join forces with the Alliance of Righteous Unity to resist the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, or would they watch the fight from the sidelines and help neither?