In the north, five Great Shamans surrounded Taiyi, with Dijiang, Gonggong, Xuanming, and Shebishi encircling him from the southeast, northwest, and west.
Houtu descended from the Ninth Heaven, surrounding Taiyi's head.
Though the power of the Earth could not be mobilized, the shamanic arts, born from the Ancestral Shamans' affinity with heaven and earth, could command the laws of the cosmos. Their formidable physical defenses and fearless battle spirit remained, for they were still Ancestral Shamans.
Houtu sighed softly, "Taiyi, abandon the demon path, and you shall walk away unharmed today."
Though compassionate, she still held the Wu clan in her heart, caring for her kin. She could not allow a formidable force that acted as an enemy to the Wu clan to survive.
Xuanming scoffed, "Sister, why waste words? If he refuses, let us fight. Life and death will decide."
"Indeed, are we afraid of him?" Gonggong roared.
Dijiang added, "The Demon Race has one Emperor and one Sovereign. If they are not eliminated today, they will surely become a great threat in the future!"
Taiyi laughed aloud, "How ridiculous! Five Ancestral Shamans surround a single me. Where is the valor and fearlessness of the Wu clan? Do five against one still instill fear?"
Shebishi snarled, "You seek death!"
Dijiang, however, let out a cold laugh, "Do not fall for the tricks of this feathered beast. Shebishi, go and sever the three thousand heavenly ladders. Taiyi provokes us only to delay the Demon Race's ascent. My sister Houtu is exceptionally strong; her presence alone is sufficient."
Hearing this, Shebishi ceased his anger and said, "I shall go at once!"
Taiyi's expression darkened, and he shouted, "You still wish to leave?"
The sky rained down True Sun Fire, transforming into the form of a three-legged Golden Crow, incinerating the void and surging towards Shebishi.
Xuanming snorted coldly, and immediately, a thousand miles of frigid wind swept forth, bringing with it a deluge of ice and snow. Gonggong, in turn, unleashed a torrent of water, extinguishing the sea of fire and clearing Shebishi's path.
Dijiang grinned malevolently, his body phasing through the void, each punch and staff blow impacting the Xuanhuang Bell shield, sending ripples cascading outwards.
Houtu struck palm after palm, her descending palm prints obliterating mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.
The Eastern Emperor Bell chimed urgently, its chaotic resonance shaking spacetime and creating tidal waves of space that deflected the Ancestral Shamans' assaults.
However, the soul-attacking sonic abilities of the Chaos Bell were useless against the Ancestral Shamans, as they possessed no souls within their bodies.
Shebishi emerged from the battle, observing the beast-men, no, the Demon Race, ascending to the heavens. If these demons were to truly reach the celestial realms, they would likely become an eternal enemy of the Wu clan.
He closed his eyes, spread his arms, and embraced the heavens and earth, slowly uttering, "All corpses under heaven, heed my command, Shebishi! I march through the Eight Desolations, sever the heavenly ladders, and slaughter ten thousand demons!"
As his voice faded, dark mists condensed beside the three thousand ladders, forming colossal giants that began to move.
Qing Ling, watching from the summit of Jianmu, felt a slight surprise. Logically, Dijun and Taiyi would establish the Demon Race only after subjugating Kunpeng. At that time, with five Demon Emperor-level existences and the aid of the Taiyin, they could barely contend with the Wu clan. However, due to his earlier guidance, the twin brothers of the Sun star had established their race prematurely, leading to this perilous situation.
As for Kunpeng, it was a ripple effect from Qing Ling. Kunpeng's nine avatars, originally damaged during the Dragon-Phoenix era, had remained unharmed because Qing Ling guarded the dragon clan's home. Thus, Kunpeng's strength as a supreme being had not only been preserved but enhanced. How could Taiyi and Dijun dare to "invite" Kunpeng to become their Demon Master?
This was a series of changes brought about by Qing Ling. He had not known it before; perhaps the nodes where destiny converged would alter the grand tide of events! The three thousand paths of Jianmu must not be severed! If they were, the Demon Race could only ascend Mount Buzhou to the Nine Heavens. With the newly established Demon Race's weakness, how could they contend with the Wu clan's main encampment that had already slaughtered its way around Mount Buzhou?
Amidst the swirling clouds, atop the secluded Jianmu, Qing Ling's eyes suddenly opened. He stood up, taking a single step forward.
"Boom~"
"Rumble~"
Thunder shook the heavens, cosmic nebulae converged, and heavenly punishment lightning descended, enveloping the summit of Jianmu. The majestic heavenly might, even from twenty-eight layers of heaven away, caused all beings in the Eastern Wilderness to prostrate themselves in absolute terror.
Heavenly Punishment!
Qing Ling's movement halted. As his first step landed, he did not take a second.
He coldly declared, "I wish to lend aid to an old friend; why do you obstruct me?"
The rolling thunder did not retreat, encircling him. Wherever Qing Ling moved, the vast lightning tribulation followed!
Qing Ling instantly recalled the White Dragon Ancestor, trapped in a sea of flames and lava—a punishment from the heavens for meddling with the destinies of all beings. Now, if Qing Ling were to intervene, he would disrupt the balance between the Wu and Demon clans, altering the grand momentum of their conflict. Even if he acted only once, merely to save Taiyi, he was the master of Jianmu, the lord of the Earthly Path, the ruler of the Eastern Wilderness, a paramount figure in the Primordial World... Under a string of such esteemed titles, even a single word or action would draw the attention of myriad beings and alter the course of the heavens and earth, leading to countless unknowns!
Qing Ling understood much in an instant. The numerous titles that protected him under the Heavenly Dao also served to bind him by it. Taking one step could change the sky; speaking one word could alter the landscape. This was the heavens' restraint upon him, but it was also their, and all beings', recognition of his influence, indicating that his impact on the world had reached a terrifying level!
Qing Ling sighed and withdrew his step. Instantly, the thunderclouds dispersed, and the mist churned like a vast ocean, serene as an immortal realm where the passage of time was of no consequence.
Far away in Kunlun, Yuanshi looked up at the sky, then towards the distant Jianmu. His complex gaze gradually cleared. The Way of Heaven was his way. The immensity of Heaven was like an endless ocean. Even those with great wisdom and terrifying calculations, who surpassed countless beings, were merely like freshwater rivers on small islands in the vast ocean before the Heavenly Dao! Yet, the ocean of the Heavenly Dao was saltwater, and the rivers on the islands were freshwater!
Yuanshi understood, his heart clearing, and he laughed heartily, "Eldest Senior Brother, Junior Brothers, it is time for us to spread our Way throughout the world!"
Laozi, witnessing this, couldn't help but show a trace of a smile in his eyes. "It is time. Let us wait until the Teacher's second discourse."
In the north, mountains and rivers were shattered, seas were filled, the sky was rent, lava flowed backward, and all living beings were filled with dread. The battle between six terrifyingly powerful beings had reduced the northern regions of the Primordial World to ruins, the earth split asunder, and countless lives were lost. Yet, the fighting did not cease.
The Chaos Bell sounded a thousand times, as if the entire world were being torn apart. Even with the suppression of the Four Sacred Beasts, the elements of earth, wind, water, and fire were on the verge of breaking through the dimensional barrier. Shebishi's army of shadowy corpses formed, severing the branches and stems of Jianmu, only for them to be revitalized and the heavenly ladders to be reconnected moments later! Meanwhile, the patriarchs of various demon clans sacrificed themselves in desperate resistance against the endless army of corpse puppets, covering the retreat of their own kin.
On one heavenly ladder, a tribe of white mice fled in terror. Ahead, a hundred corpse puppets blocked their path, each exuding a fearsome aura, formed from boundless corpse energy—soulless, mindless, and dead to Shebishi's command.
As the group of white mice trembled in fear, the elder members of the tribe stepped forward. Without any panic, they transformed into colossal Heavenly Rats and advanced towards the corpse puppets. White light blazed forth, and they entered the puppets. The laws of their brows flickered, and their primordial spirits entered the corpses, their white rat bodies collapsing powerlessly. The hundred corpse puppets were suppressed by the elders of the white rat tribe using a secret art.
The chief of the white rat tribe was filled with grief, but he still roared, "Quickly ascend to the heavens! The corpse puppets have been suppressed by the elders. Pass through the heavenly ladder beneath the corpse puppets swiftly. Do not startle or touch them in any way!"
The rat folk, some shocked, some bewildered, some panicked, all trembled as they passed beneath the stationary, colossal corpse puppets. They knew that within the puppets were their respected elders, their kin, those who had been kind and loving, sternly admonishing, or even sharp-tongued towards them. But at this moment, they coexisted with the corpse puppets, protecting them at the cost of their souls. Countless rats could not help but weep, yet they still ascended the ladder. The dead had stopped, but the living continued to press onward.
Once the white rat folk reached the fifth heaven, the souls within the dormant corpse puppets collapsed, their eyes once again blazing red, and malevolent energy surged towards the heavenly ladder in pursuit.
...
Every tribe experienced the same fate, without exception. The Wu clan had no souls, and all myriad races knew that the Wu clan's arts were feared by primordial spirits. Thus, they could only offer their primordial spirits as sacrifices, sacrificing themselves for their kin to ascend and procreate! The fifteen newly appointed Great Luo experts of the Demon Race even abandoned their own kin, converging to surround Shebishi. If they had not obstructed the Ancestral Shamans, the entire Demon Race would have perished!
The three thousand paths of Jianmu were stained with countless blood and tears, all from the Demon Race. This was the fate of all beasts and sentient beings to escape the mortal realm. Those with destiny lived, ascending to the heavenly realm, transforming from beasts and attaining the Dao! Those without destiny died, their blood spilling across the three thousand Jianmu, their corpses falling upon the Divine Continent.
At the Beihuo Mountain battlefield, Taiyi was still surrounded by the Ancestral Shamans, isolated and without aid. The ten Great Luo of Beihuo Mountain had been ordered to lead their tribes in ascension. Ten of the fifteen Great Luo attacking Shebishi were from Beihuo Mountain. In this Wu-Demon war, only the Ancestral Shamans fought, while the myriad demons participated; the myriad Wu did not.
This great battle had raged for over ten years. Dijun had endured the sun for ten years, and the sun had not set for a decade. Once the sun set, Taiyi, within the Primordial World, would suffer a loss of combat strength. Five Ancestral Shamans attacking! Even Taiyi, even the Chaos Bell, even the Sun God, what could they do?
The Chaos Bell rang a thousand times, the Eastern Emperor bore the sun, his robes torn, blood splattered. The Eastern Emperor of the Demon Race and the myriad demons of the Demon Race fared equally miserably.
Upon Jianmu, Qing Ling had watched for ten years; the Demon Race had also been migrating for ten years. Even with Shebishi's obstruction, more than half of the Demon Race had migrated from the Primordial World. Although the demon population was immense, thirty percent perished on the heavenly ladders, and another twenty percent fled, seeing the Demon Race's decline and switching allegiances. Yet, even those who escaped had shouted "demon" before the heavens, and their entire race would be labeled as demons for eternity!
Qing Ling fell silent for a long time. He saw Nuwa's hand, holding the red sleeve blade, already cut and bleeding. He saw Fuxi's zither, which he had broken seven times and repaired seven times with his hair. He saw Dijun's spine bent by the ten-year pressure of the sun star, his face scarred and bruised. He saw the radiant Lord of the Sun, whose hair had turned as white as snow, like a waterfall. He saw Taiyi, beneath the sun, whose robes were tattered, his hair dishevelled, the Xuanhuang of his bell dimmed, still fighting, still standing beneath the sun. He was still fighting, they were still fighting, and the myriad demons were still fighting!
Qing Ling looked up at the heavens. These myriad beings, all born because of him. Dijun was willing to bow to him as an elder. Nuwa and Fuxi were willing to fight the Wu clan for a million years to protect the myriad demons. Taiyi was willing to fight for him. These people, these demons, were the pieces he had moved, yet they were also the players in this world's game. He and Hongjun were pawns in the heavenly and earthly chess games, and the Primordial World was a piece in the grand cosmic game of the Great Dao and Hongmeng. Qing Ling had never believed he could change any grand trend or calamity. He had deduced countless times that his ultimate goal was to thrive alongside the Dragon-Phoenix tribulation, to hide and plan for the Wu-Demon tribulation, and to attain enlightenment through the Investiture of the Gods tribulation. However, observing the ten years of the Demon Race's struggle, he seemed to see something.
At the same time, Tongtian on Mount Kunlun was also engrossed in the battlefield of the Demon Race. His expression was impassive, except for the Dao sword "Qingping" suspended beside him, its blade radiating an ever-increasing divine light!