Chapter 128: The Spirit Unleashing Final Battle (Part Two)

In the lower realm, the human race had long since abandoned the battlefield, focusing entirely on survival; no one had the heart to continue fighting. The Western Zhou forces retreated in their entirety, while the Yin-Shang army, under the command of Grand Master Wen, withdrew from the battlefield with disciplined precision.

Upon receiving a brief transmission from Grand Supreme Elderly Lord regarding Tongtian’s impending arrival, Primordial Heaven-Lord frowned. How could Tongtian have disengaged from the battlefield so quickly? To think that Tongtian could break free from the combined assault of four sages! Reflecting on this, Primordial Heaven-Lord realized that both he and his elder brother had underestimated him.

Observing the battlefield again, Primordial Heaven-Lord noticed a shift in the balance of power: Zhenyuanzi, the Lord of Earthly Immortals, and Styx, the ancestor of the Asura clan, had arrived to assist the Spirit Sect. It appeared he had no choice but to eliminate Xuan Daozi and the disciples of the Spirit Sect before Tongtian could arrive. Waving his Pangu Banner, Primordial Heaven-Lord unleashed a torrent of sword qi toward the Spirit Sect disciples. Xuan Daozi wielded his jade-green staff, struggling to parry the attacks while shielding his retreating followers.

The fundamental difference between Xuan Daozi and Primordial Heaven-Lord was this: Xuan Daozi had attained the status of a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal—a sage—solely through his own cultivation, whereas true sages had anchored their primordial spirits within the Heavenly Dao. As long as the Heavenly Dao endured, the sage was immortal. Once his mana was exhausted, Xuan Daozi’s chances of victory were virtually zero.

Meanwhile, the Good and Evil incarnations of Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and Primordial Heaven-Lord launched their own offensive, targeting Zhenyuanzi and Styx. Facing four entities that possessed the strength of sage-level incarnations, the two were inherently at a disadvantage. Just as their mana began to wane under the strain, Zhenyuanzi placed his Earthly Book upon the ground, causing a temple to manifest and firmly shield them. They were safe, but the Spirit Sect disciples had nowhere to hide. The Three Clouds, Zhao Gongming, Yu Hua, Luo Xuan, and others were all slain by the incarnations of the two sages.

Seeing his disciples slaughtered, Xuan Daozi let out a maddened roar, launched a desperate, ferocious strike at Primordial Heaven-Lord, and rushed to save the remaining disciples who were being hunted by the incarnations. "Stop! Stop!" Xuan Daozi burned his own life essence to charge forward, sweeping all four incarnations aside with a single strike of his staff. "Clouds! Clouds! Gongming! Gongming! I will have you all buried with them!" Xuan Daozi had truly snapped.

"Hmph, you wish for us to be buried with them? Let us see if you have the ability!" Primordial Heaven-Lord retorted.

"Is that so? Then let you all taste my wrath!" Tongtian arrived, leading the rest of the Spirit Sect disciples to join the fray.

"What?" Primordial Heaven-Lord had never expected Tongtian to arrive so quickly; it was completely outside his calculations. The East Sea was a month’s journey away, even for a sage—let alone ordinary beings. What Primordial Heaven-Lord did not know was that Tongtian had utilized the Six-Soul Banner to tear through space and descend directly onto the battlefield.

Tongtian wasted no time with words. With a wave of his hand, the four incarnations were hoisted into the air. "Tongtian, what are you doing?" Primordial Heaven-Lord panicked.

"What am I doing? Let me show you!" Tongtian denied them any chance to counterattack; with a clench of his fist, three agonizing screams rang out. Only one figure was saved by Primordial Heaven-Lord—the Good incarnation of Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.

"I will never rest until you are destroyed!" Primordial Heaven-Lord shook his Pangu Banner in a frenzy, while Tongtian roared, "Deploy the Myriad Immortal Formation!" Tongtian gripped his Qingping Sword and handed the Six-Soul Banner to Daoist Duobao, ordering him to chant the names inscribed upon it. Tongtian had truly unleashed his killing intent.

It was not just Primordial Heaven-Lord unleashing sword qi; Tongtian, the very progenitor of the sword, used his own techniques to neutralize the blasts from the Pangu Banner. "Retreat, all of you!" Primordial Heaven-Lord sensed the danger. The Myriad Immortal Formation was not merely a defensive structure; it incorporated the celestial patterns of the cosmos. Under the command of Holy Mother Jinling, the formation resonated with the stars. Their power was drawn down, raining destruction upon the disciples of the Chan, Western, and Demon sects.

"What is Haotian doing?" Primordial Heaven-Lord wondered. As the Celestial Emperor, why could he not restrain the movement of the stars? It was not that Haotian could not—it was that Haotian was currently in trouble.

In the High Heaven Palace of the Celestial Realm, the Old Man of the Moon stood with a grim expression. "Your Majesty, it would be best to remain within the palace. It would be most unfortunate if our blades were to accidentally harm you or the Empress." The heavens were firmly under the control of the forces led by the Old Man of the Moon: the Yang siblings leading the Seven Monsters of Meishan and eighteen hundred grass-headed soldiers, the Li family, and the hundred thousand demon troops led by Wuzhiqi—all forces of the Spirit Sect.

"Why go to such lengths? Senior Brother, why do this? Is this not seeking your own destruction? There is no good end for those who oppose the Heavenly Dao!" the Queen Mother Yaochi pleaded.

"No, I do not do this for the Spirit Sect, but for all living beings of the Great Desolation. If we allow the Heavenly Dao to act unchecked, the world will become its plaything, and we shall become mere puppets," the Old Man of the Moon said slowly. He understood Yaochi’s perspective, but to settle the karmic debt owed to the living beings of the world, he had no choice.

"Since you have made your decision, we shall not force the issue. If you wish, there is no need to return; simply serve in the Celestial Court, and in doing so, protect the living beings of the world," Haotian the Great Emperor said, pulling on Yaochi’s sleeve.

"Then let His Majesty rest. We shall keep watch outside the palace," the Old Man of the Moon replied. He led his forces outside, deploying a formation to monitor every move of Haotian and Yaochi.

"Senior Brother, do you wish to know why the Emperor did not stop the movement of the stars? It is because the entire Celestial Court is under my control!" Tongtian hurled a hammer toward Primordial Heaven-Lord, who countered by throwing his Jade Ruyi. The collision of the two spiritual treasures sent shockwaves that forced them apart, though both retrieved their weapons with a flick of their wrists.

Primordial Heaven-Lord watched as his disciples were slaughtered. The Moral Daoist and the Lingbao Daoist were obliterated amidst the siege of the Spirit Sect disciples. Of the Human Sect, only the Perfected Lord Lingbao remained; the Eight Immortals and the rest had all been killed and their spirits sent to the Investiture of the Gods list. The situation for the Western Sect was equally dire; the Spirit Sect’s assassination squads, each a Quasi-Sage, had brought the specter of doom upon them.

Kunpeng had never witnessed such a massacre, exceeding even the brutality of the ancient war between the Sorcerer and Demon clans. How many hidden cards did this Spirit Sect possess? Kunpeng, Lu Ya, and other great powers of the Demon clan were being harried by the celestial lords led by Holy Mother Jinling. Had it not been for the Map of the Mountains and Rivers and the Demon-Refining Pot, Lu Ya would have long since perished.

Primordial Heaven-Lord let out a long sigh toward the heavens. Was this truly the end of his Chan Sect? Just then, a voice dispelled his despair and reignited the fighting spirit of the four sects: "Junior Brother, fear not! We have arrived!" Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and the others had finally come.