“You absolute bastard! You are dead! Utterly, irrevocably dead!”
From within the stone statue, the voice erupted, raw with incandescent fury. This was beyond all reason! Unthinkable!
The Lord of the Demon Court, revered by all demonkind, his very statue embodied his presence! Today, this White Robe Great Emperor not only brazenly defied his authority and obliterated the Demon Hall, but, even more unforgivably, he dared to desecrate the Demon Lord’s sacred statue by urinating upon it! Should the Magnates of the Demon Court ever learn of this outrage, their killing intent would be utterly uncontrollable! He couldn’t even begin to fathom the sheer, unbridled rage that would consume the Lord of the Demon Court upon discovering this insult!
Meanwhile, with his task complete, Lu Xuan casually flicked his sleeve, activating a Supreme Great Emperor Formation Pattern. He vanished from the ruins of the Demon Hall, a contented smile playing on his lips as he carried a bounty of demon carcasses, reappearing swiftly back at the Blackflame Mountain Range. He hummed to himself, “Seems I’ll be making more trips to the Demon Race Provinces. Plenty of good eating to be found here.”
Soon after, with a thunderous roar, the Fire Dragon Old Ancestor and Golden Crow Old Ancestor Traversing the Void, materializing high above the annihilated Demon Hall. The sight that greeted them left them utterly dumbfounded. The Demon Hall was nothing but smoldering rubble, its once proud structures reduced to dust. Only the colossal stone statue of the Lord of the Demon Court stood defiant amidst the desolation, a solitary sentinel between heaven and earth. Blood stained the earth, flowing like crimson rivers, a truly horrific spectacle.
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor suddenly froze, his gaze drawn to the Demon Lord’s statue. A strange, steaming liquid trickled down its ancient stone. “What is that?” the Fire Dragon Old Ancestor asked, a note of bewildered curiosity in his voice. The Golden Crow Old Ancestor shook his head slowly. “This… is the White Robe Great Emperor’s handiwork? A deliberate act of defiance against the Demon Lord?”
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor nudged him, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Go on, you go check it out. What could it be?”
The Golden Crow Old Ancestor hesitated, then strode to the statue. He extended a finger, collected a single drop of the steaming liquid, and brought it to his lips. His face instantly paled, then flushed a furious black. But just as quickly, he plastered on a strained smile. “Fire Dragon Old Ancestor, come here! This is truly a… fine thing left by the White Robe Great Emperor!”
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor eyed him suspiciously. “Really?”
The Golden Crow Old Ancestor swallowed another gulp, nodding emphatically. “Oh, it’s definitely good stuff! Would I ever lie to you?”
A beat of silence.
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor took a cautious taste. His face instantly froze, then contorted into a mask of pure rage. He whirled on the Golden Crow Old Ancestor, roaring, “You goddamn bastard! This is the White Robe Great Emperor’s piss, isn’t it?!”
The Golden Crow Old Ancestor merely chuckled, a sly glint in his eye. “Well, now we’re truly in the same boat, aren’t we? Sharing the good times and the bad!”
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor glared daggers at the Golden Crow Old Ancestor, his fists clenching. He was itching to land a punch. That old fox! He played me for a fool!
Moments later, the two Old Ancestors, having reached an uneasy truce, turned and returned to their respective domains. The Golden Crow Old Ancestor’s voice was grim. “It has come to this. We must move our entire races to the Blackflame Mountain Range. If we can pledge allegiance to the White Robe Great Emperor, our two races might yet survive. Otherwise, when the Demon Lord finally awakens, we will be the first to face his wrath.”
The Fire Dragon Old Ancestor nodded in agreement. “You speak the truth!”
With that, both Old Ancestors simultaneously unleashed their Nine-star Emperor Weapons. Instantly, an overwhelming Emperor’s might erupted, and an utterly terrifying, peerless power surged forth from the artifacts. Across the territories of the Golden Crow and Fire Dragon Races, Heaven and Earth Anomalies manifested with cataclysmic force. Boundless, dazzling light erupted, and the very ground beneath their feet began to rip apart. Thousands of miles of territory were engulfed in a maelstrom of energy, an overwhelming aura surging to the heavens. Boom! Crack! The vast expanse of land, encompassing both the Golden Crow and Fire Dragon territories, was instantly pierced by intricate spatial array patterns. A heaven-shaking power tore the earth from its foundations, lifting thousands of miles of solid ground into the void, where it now floated like a colossal island.
The demonkind of both races watched, utterly bewildered. Their Old Ancestors had made a decision that brazenly defied the will of their Ancestors: to surrender to the White Robe Great Emperor! For millennia, since the Ancient Era, the Demon Race had prided themselves on their pure bloodlines, considering themselves inherently superior to humans. Yet now, they were to kneel before the White Robe Great Emperor, a human! But the Old Ancestors had made their choice, and who could deny the terrifying might of the Demon Lord? For them, this was the only path to survival!
Soon, where the two territories once stood, only colossal, bottomless chasms remained. With a grand sweep of their sleeves, the Fire Dragon and Golden Crow Old Ancestors unleashed their heaven-defying power, propelling the two massive, thousand-mile landmasses to Traverse the Void. They shot forth like meteors, tearing streaks across the azure sky. As they moved, a colossal, sky-darkening shadow stretched across Qingzhou, visible for thousands of miles. Their momentum was overwhelming, their passage unstoppable!
As the two floating territories passed through the Demon Race Provinces, countless demon powerhouses watched in utter disbelief. From below, Great Demons roared in outrage. “Fire Dragon! Golden Crow! Are you truly betraying the Demon Lord?!”
“To abandon the Demon Race Provinces! When the Demon Lord descends, it will be the end of both your races!”
“You’ve backed the wrong horse! The White Robe Great Emperor may seem invincible, but he’s already marked for annihilation!”
The Golden Crow and Fire Dragon Old Ancestors merely scoffed, a cold sneer on their faces. “Ignorant fools.”
The other demons muttered, “Still so mouthy.”
Yet, none of the other Great Demon Emperors dared to intervene. That White Robe Great Emperor was a phantom, utterly lawless, brazen enough to annihilate the Demon Hall itself. What wouldn’t he dare to do? The Fire Dragon and Golden Crow Old Ancestors cast a final, mournful glance back at their ancestral lands, sighing. “Ancestors,” they murmured, “we only wish to survive.”
***
At the Blackflame Mountain Range, the Fuyao Dynasty Founding Ceremony, after a full day of grand festivities, had finally concluded. The various human Magnates and their retinues departed, a lingering reluctance in their steps. Indeed, throughout the day, they had gorged themselves on an abundance of Nine-star Emperor-tier Great Demon meat. Their bodies were now brimming with Dao Rhyme, their physical forms pushed to their absolute limits of absorption. Even Yuan Qingzi, despite his constant internal grumbling, had indulged freely, even taking a generous portion of the demon meat with him. With the last of the guests departing swiftly, news of the events at Blackflame Mountain Range spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Southern Wilds with astonishing speed. The various provinces trembled!
No one had anticipated the White Robe Great Emperor’s terrifying might; even the combined forces of three supreme factions had been utterly powerless against him! Furthermore, Xiao Ke, the infamous leader of the Stabbing Heaven Palace, was dead! Her death had even provoked the manifestation of the Dark Night Monarch, Xiao Zheng himself! The name of the Dark Night Monarch was legendary, whispered with dread across the ages. In the Ancient Era, during the epoch when Dark Shadow Island’s power had first surged, every faction had quaked in terror at the mere mention of his name! Whispers and debates erupted everywhere.
“The White Robe Great Emperor’s days are surely numbered! He destroyed the Demon Hall; how could the Lord of the Demon Court possibly tolerate such an insult?”
“What if the Demon Lord redirects his fury towards other human powers? If that happens, the White Robe Great Emperor will become the ultimate sinner of our entire human race!”
“The Bronze Ancient Palace is set to open in just one month. The White Robe Great Emperor simply won’t live to see it!”
Meanwhile, at the Supreme Profound Sect, Nanchenzi and the others watched Yuan Qingzi return, a smug smile on Nanchenzi’s face. “The Grand Dao Sect is playing with fire, courting their own destruction!” he declared. “Setting aside the three Supremes the Demon Race has produced, even Dark Shadow Island has had Supremes attain the Dao. The Grand Dao Sect’s Ancestor abandoned the Supreme Fruit Position, their foundation is simply too, far too inferior to these ancient powers!”
Yuan Qingzi nodded gravely. “Indeed. The White Robe Great Emperor may be peerless within the Emperor Realm, but before a Half-step Supreme, he is nothing more than an ant!”
Sect Master Wei Qianhan chuckled, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “Our Ancestor warned us to be wary of the Grand Dao Sect in this era. It seems we won’t even need to lift a finger; they are already ensuring their own demise.”
***
At the Blackflame Mountain Range, two days quickly passed. Ji Fuyao was deep in discussion with Wang Man, Qing Yan, and her other loyal commanders, strategizing the training of the Imperial Dragon Guards. Lu Xuan, however, was comfortably sprawled on his bed, leisurely engrossed in a storybook.
Just then, the System’s voice chimed, calm and clear.
“Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully completing the ‘Protect the Fuyao Dynasty Founding Ceremony’ quest! Rewards are now being issued!”