Chapter 1678: 21: Cruel Arrival (Part 2)

Chapter 1678: Chapter 21: Cruel Arrival (Part 2)

“That sword, I understand it as well. It is nothing more than the power of Subdue Evil. We linked to the All Realms and learned many ancient rumors, thus we know that over the long ages past, Subdue Evil has in fact been Unsheathed many times. Each time it shook heaven and earth, annihilating many Supreme True Demons that ought to have brought calamity upon all heavens.”

“But that, too, is nothing much. We anticipated it long ago. The reason we dispatched those three Sword Cultivators who likewise bore Evil Suppression Sword Intent was precisely to take one step ahead and disrupt the connection between Subdue Evil and him. Without Subdue Evil, this An Jing is, in the end, merely a fragment of a powerful Heavenly Venerate who has returned. However strong he may be, he cannot possibly be that strong.”

Speaking to this point, the golden humanoid said arrogantly, “So long as An Jing retrieves his own Power, he must undergo Ascension and will be unable to affect the overall situation of the Great Wilderness. If he cannot retrieve his Power, then he is nothing more than a very powerful True Person, and can completely be buried to death under piled‑up resources. Not to mention, the Demon Abyss side will certainly have methods aimed specifically at him. He is instead the one we need worry about the least; we can entirely leave him be!”

“Indeed.” On the Demon Abyss side, the evil demon called Shandaka also laughed. It did not look particularly hideous, merely like an ordinary prince or duke; only when it smiled could one see its Sharp, pointed fangs. It said with great pride, “Long before that An Jing revived, we too, through the Demon Lord’s Secret Technique, sought out many fragments of the True Names of Exalted Great Heavenly Demons and revived Them.”

“Without Subdue Evil, no matter how strong An Jing is, that is all he is. Each Exalted Great Heavenly Demon, in essence, carries the Power of the Creator Celestial Venerable. Even if confined to the level of a True Person, they are still absolutely formidable.”

“Even if that An Jing had three heads and six arms, how could he contend against the combined assault of the all-heavens Demons? There is no need for us to be in such a hurry…”

At this point, Shandaka saw that the Purple Qilin seemed about to grow angry again, and hastily said, “There is no need for you to lose your temper. We are by no means sitting back and watching the enemy grow stronger. In fact, because those True Persons who were originally meant to rebel instead surrendered themselves, we indeed suffered considerable losses at the Desolate Alliance Headquarters.”

“But we prepared backup plans long ago. As things stand now, you need only wait a few days, and you will see… that seemingly impregnable Chonggen Great Wall, before our erosion, is no different from a flatbread!”

“When that time comes, according to the covenant, it will naturally be your Qilin Clan who first break into the forbidden zone!”

Hearing this promise, the Purple Qilin snorted heavily through its nostrils. It certainly knew that the evil demons and that Outer World Heavenly Venerate faction were treating their Qilin as cannon fodder—the forbidden zones beyond the Chonggen Great Wall were mostly composed of Heavenly Venerate remains and Heavenly Venerate relics; even when they were not, they were Divine Objects and aberrant spawn born from the collision of All Realms, incomparably dangerous, and one might fall with the slightest misstep.

However, how could these outsiders know that, as the Qilin Clan who once held one of the four Heavenly Mandates of the Great Wilderness Realm, they possessed their own trump cards and senses? When that time comes… ha, the ones to regret it will be these outsiders who fancy themselves clever!
𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Thinking this, the Purple Qilin continued to feign anger: “Don’t joke. This was originally set down in our covenant, yet you botched things, and the result is that nothing changes and there is not the slightest compensation?”

“If—”

[Enough]

All of a sudden, a vast, majestic voice, as if the Heavenly Dome itself were trembling, resounded.

In that instant, both the Purple Qilin and the golden humanoid shuddered. The former immediately turned its head, looking behind itself, and at once saw a tremendous, misshapen silhouette rising from beneath Jade Kunlun, from that Great Abyss whose depths were remote and unfathomable, ceaselessly spewing forth endless streams of intermingled silver‑black light‑mist.

“Zhan Tujia!”

The Purple Qilin shouted warily. Unlike Shandaka, whom it had earlier called someone with whom there was no talking, this dragon‑like evil demon with distorted twin wings before its eyes was now the strongest among the Demon Abyss in the Great Wilderness Realm, and was a truly genuine Heavenly Demon. Upon its head, seven fine dragon pupils aligned neatly like rays of the Sun, encircling a single deep Yuan Dong at the center—this was precisely the mark of a Heavenly Demon.

[Failure]

Yet Zhan Tujia paid no heed to the wary Purple Qilin and the golden humanoid. At the instant it descended, it raised its hand and seized the head of Shandaka, whose face was now filled with terror and despair. Within that thick, Xuan‑scarlet arm surged an Incredible Power: [You actually… failed to report the news of An Jing’s revival at the very first moment!]

“Great General, Great General!” Shandaka shrieked, “In that first moment, we simply did not know that was An Jing. This news was itself a rumor spread within the Desolate Alliance, inferred from the side, and not yet a confirmed conclusion!”

[That was the best opportunity to eradicate him, and you let it slip!] Yet Zhan Tujia showed not the slightest mercy. Though other Life called it Zhan Tujia, its Heavenly Demon name was “Huang Nue.” As overwhelming strength erupted, Shandaka’s head began to fracture inch by inch and then, with a final shriek, exploded and scattered, completely turning into a cloud of black blood‑mist, while Shandaka’s demonic body spontaneously combusted out of nowhere, turning into masses of Demonic Qi that returned into Huang Nue’s body.

Nor was that all. After Shandaka’s death, Huang Nue let out another roar. Within all of Jade Kunlun, the myriad evil demons lurking there suddenly let out wails of agony in unison. In an instant, countless evil demons surged skyward, shrieking, cursing in rage, and despairingly hurling their maledictions—but all of them, a heartbeat later, exploded outward into fragments, then turned into a boundless tide of Demonic Qi that poured toward Huang Nue and was wholly absorbed by it.

—They had thought themselves the high echelon of evil demons, thought they could grow stronger along with the strengthening of the evil demons, thought they could safely pursue Cultivation in the rear, enjoying the spoils of the battles waged by the evil demons at the front…

No longer Heavenly Demons, becoming more like human Demons instead, they had nurtured human corruption and human base Nature. Yet for that very reason, when this pitch‑black hope of theirs was shattered, overturned in an instant by the hand of a Great Demon, the absolute futility and despair thus born were precisely the sacrifice the Demon Lord needed most.