Chapter Forty-Four: The Great Tribulation of the Human Race (Part Two)

Gazing at the endless sea of demon troops, Tongtian felt not a trace of fear in his heart. His grip tightened around the Azure Blade, and a ruthless aura radiated from his presence.

“Tongtian, you’d best surrender early, lest you be reduced to ashes in the end.” The words rang with unmistakable dominance, fitting for a sovereign of his stature. It was clear that this was the Demon Emperor Dijun of the demon race speaking.

The demon army surrounded the mountain peak with impenetrable force, the demonic energy swirling oppressively in the sky, casting a suffocating pall over the battlefield. Tongtian, the Emperor of Fengdu, and Xuan Daozi stood atop the clouds, forming a threefold bulwark to protect the human race. Below, the people armed themselves with whatever they could grasp, determined to defend their families and homeland.

The demon army attacked from three directions, besieging Tongtian’s defensive circle. Donghuang Taiyi confronted Tongtian, while Xuan Daozi faced the Demon Emperor Dijun, and the Emperor of Fengdu battled the ten great demon saints. The other demon powerhouses, knowing these were not fights they could join, descended to the ground to engage the human cultivators below.

Donghuang Taiyi launched the first assault; a resounding bell shattered the uneasy calm. Tongtian braced himself against the chaotic sound waves of the bell, channeled all his power, and with a swing of the Azure Blade, sent sword energy slashing toward Donghuang Taiyi. In response, Donghuang Taiyi mustered all his strength to strike the Bell of Chaos, and for a moment, the sky blossomed with a beauty reminiscent of fireworks.

The Emperor of Fengdu was clad in a flood dragon robe, holding a banner with six tails and a karmic red lotus spinning above his head. The ten demon saints—Ji Meng, Ying Zhao, Fei Lian, Jiu Ying, Shang Yang, Qin Yuan, Zi Tie, Gui Che, Bai Ze, and Fei Dan—formed their array and charged at the Emperor of Fengdu. Yet, no fear marred the emperor’s face; the corners of his mouth curled into a cold, venomous smile.

The three-petaled Karmic Red Lotus revolved gently overhead, shielding its master. The emperor wielded his six-tailed banner, upon which he had inscribed the names of six demon saints: Fei Lian, Jiu Ying, Shang Yang, Fei Dan, Qin Yuan, and Zi Tie. With a casual wave, six black threads shot out from the banner toward the demon saints.

The demon saints struggled against these vexing black lines. Fei Lian, the weakest among them, was the first to be penetrated; the thread burrowed into his primordial spirit, and with his late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation instantly undone, he was forced back into his original form.

Countless years of cultivation, and trials surmounted to reach his current state, were thus wiped away in an instant—how could anyone accept such a fate?

Yet the black lines did not vanish with Fei Lian’s transformation; they reemerged on the battlefield. Once more, the Emperor of Fengdu unleashed six black threads from his banner. Instantly, the demon saints were seized by panic and hastened to muster their magical power to resist the assault. The conflict reached a stalemate; the Emperor of Fengdu, as if toying with them, managed to keep the demon saints fully occupied, rendering them unable to lend aid elsewhere.

As for the banner, it was none other than the Six Souls Banner, which had made an appearance in “The Investiture of the Gods.” Only now did Tongtian understand why, in that story from his previous life, the Grandmaster Tongtian had used the Six Souls Banner as the core of the Myriad Immortals Formation—it truly was a heaven-defying artifact.

The Six Souls Banner was forged to correspond to the six paths of the underworld, and wielding it equated to using the karmic power of those paths as a counterforce. However, due to the Emperor of Fengdu’s principles, he would not casually destroy those who were not irredeemably evil, so he merely reverted them to their original forms as a warning. Another reason was that his own cultivation was not yet sufficient; otherwise, he would have ended the battle long ago.

Meanwhile, the Demon Emperor Dijun unleashed the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams—mystic artifacts that had accompanied him since birth—transforming them into a grand array to trap Xuan Daozi. As long as Xuan Daozi remained ensnared, victory would surely tilt toward the demon race.

In both cultivation and magical prowess, Dijun surpassed the Emperor of Fengdu. Should Xuan Daozi be contained, the advantage in this battle would be lost.

Xuan Daozi walked step by step through the vast cosmos conjured by the formation, meteors hurtling toward him. He countered each attack with calm precision—why was he not anxious? Because he had already deduced the method to break the formation.

Every great formation possessed a core, an eye of the array, and this one had manifested as an endless universe. If he could discern the direction from which the elemental energy fueling the meteors originated, the solution would be within reach.

Hearing the sounds of slaughter from outside, Xuan Daozi quickened his pace toward the source of energy. He knew that the longer he delayed, the more disadvantageous it would be for his side. Gritting his teeth, he charged headlong toward the heart of the formation, heedless of what might lie ahead.

Within the formation, the Demon Emperor Dijun grew desperate, pouring vast reserves of power to drive the meteors at Xuan Daozi.

Undeterred by his injuries, Xuan Daozi pressed on, his gourd vine staff poised to strike the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams. Fearing for the safety of his artifacts, Dijun hastily withdrew the formation.

Xuan Daozi had broken free at last, but his strength was utterly spent. He could fight no longer. Dropping to one knee, he gasped for breath, sweat pouring from his brow in great beads to spatter on the ground.

Seeing Xuan Daozi’s exhausted state, Dijun burst into triumphant laughter.

Hearing Dijun’s laughter, Tongtian parried an attack from the Bell of Chaos and sent a mental message: “Are you unharmed?”

“I am simply out of strength—nothing serious!” Xuan Daozi managed to stand, but before he could straighten, he collapsed forward again.

“If I can personally join the fray below, the demon race will truly have gained the upper hand!” This thought delighted Dijun, who laughed heartily, unable to contain his glee.

Below, Daoist Duobao, Black Ox, and the three progenitors of the human race fought valiantly against the onslaught of the demon army’s great fiends. The humans, with their meager cultivation, were utterly outmatched; without the intervention of Duobao and the others, they would have been massacred already. Yet the situation remained perilous—the demon fiends were too numerous, and the defenders’ strength was waning. The balance of victory was shifting, ever so slightly, toward the demon race.

Tongtian immediately perceived the subtle turn in the tide. Anxiously, he resisted the bell’s assault, launching counterattacks whenever possible. Donghuang Taiyi, a crafty old statesman, saw the momentum and understood that as long as Tongtian was held in check, victory was only a matter of time.

At this critical moment, three figures appeared from three directions, charging into the fray against the demon race. A flash of pink shot straight toward the Demon Emperor Dijun. When Xuan Daozi saw who it was, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Why have you come?” he cried out.