Chapter 153: Being Fulfilled

The scaled beast twisted wildly within the blazing cage, and every inch of space collapsed continuously as the sun wheel turned.

Until the whole sky was left only with a blinding golden sun, the roar of the Jiao Demon King was finally completely devoured by the Burning Heaven Holy Flame.

When the Great Sun Void Shadow faded, the merit flame seed hovering in Sui Huang's palm inhaled and exhaled bright light, causing the demons' pupils to tremble.

The fleeing demon tide surged over the battlefield like a breached dam of black water, while the Red Flame Army and the Wind Wave Army became blazing scythes; wherever they passed, demon blood soaked the scorched earth.

The Green Snake King's pupils narrowed to thin lines as he exchanged panicked glances with the Black Bear Spirit, the Red Scorpion General, and the Mysterious Toad Elder; yesterday they were plotting to devour Human cities, now they had become lambs awaiting the slaughter.

A sudden clatter of scales rang out as the Green Snake King turned into a blue shadow soaring skyward, the three demons fleeing in panic behind him. Though the Longlin formation below was as solid as copper walls and iron barriers, it could not stop the Great Luo Golden Immortal's soaring escape.

Silver‑armored soldiers raised their spears to the heavens; their formation, though as firm as molten gold, could not hide the regret of being unable to pursue. This battle exposed their weakness: plenty of enemies but insufficient mobility.

Flames on Sui Huang's fingertips leapt, eager to chase, when suddenly a pressure of Chaos descended from the nine heavens. This change froze the battlefield instantly, even the fleeing demons hung suspended in midair, as if time and space had turned to amber.

"Since you all have come, stay as guests!"

The sky suddenly split into five golden sigils, forming a sky‑covering giant palm that enveloped the four directions.

The Azure‑scaled Giant Python was about to slip into the Eastern Sea when it suddenly found the surrounding space solidified like amber; their plan to disperse and break out became a joke before absolute power.

The Four Great Demon Kings revealed their true forms: the Azure Python coiled around the mountain, the Red Scorpion scorching the sky, the Dark Turtle anchoring the sea, the White Bat covering the moon.

As demonic aura surged, vegetation for a thousand li withered instantly. Yet when their innate divine abilities collided with the golden palm sigil, they vanished like dewdrops falling into fire.

Atop the bronze altar on Shouyang Mountain's summit, Zhou Yi held four starry phantom shadows hovering in his palm.

As he curled his five fingers, the celestial giant palm closed in unison, compressing the struggling Demon Kings into four glazed beads. Within each bead, tiny demon souls could be seen darting left and right amid thunder‑fire.

"The Demon Race's test this time did bring four decent soul lanterns," Zhou Yi snapped his fingers, embedding the glazed beads into the four corners of the altar; the demon souls' wails instantly turned into dense spiritual energy feeding the mountain‑protecting array.

The plain below the mountain had been swept clean. The Red Flame Army was purifying the blood‑tainted land with Phoenix true fire, the Wind Camp scouts turned into glowing fireflies to track fleeing remnants, and the Forest Unit medics let azure lotus bloom from their fingertips, pulling severely wounded soldiers back from the Gate of Ghosts.

When triumphant war drums rang across the thirty‑six tribes, Sui Huang stared at the mountain‑high piles of demon pills and still felt dazed.

Three months ago, the council's argument still rang in his ears: "Launch a preemptive strike on the Demon Race? The sovereign must be mad."

Now the tribal children trampled over a pyramid built of demon bones, scrambling for the moonlight pendants seized from the demon generals.

Zhou Yi brushed over the battle report presented by the Red Flame Army commander, his gaze lingering on the three cinnabar characters reading "Zero casualties."

He knew the real test had only just begun; the He Tu pattern hidden in the Four Demon Kings' neck scales confirmed that this raid was indeed ordered by the Heavenly Court.

The night sky suddenly drifted with blue snow, an omen that appears only when the Demon Emperor falls. Zhou Yi chuckled, crushing the turtle shell in his palm; the fragments reflected a shattered glazed cup inside a palace beyond the thirty‑three layers of heaven.

In the seventh convocation of the Honghuang Era, when the Longlin banners were planted on Beiming Demon Mountain, the entire tribe trembled. Those Humans struggling in the cracks among Honghuang's myriad races could truly witness the moment a blade was stained with blood.

"May the heavens bear witness!" the white‑haired elder fell to his knees beneath the blood‑stained battle flag, his fingertips touching the shattered scales of a demon commander.

The youths who three days earlier were tilling fields now paraded the wreckage of a nine‑headed bird on the streets with bronze halberds. Such a subversive sight made even the eldest Shaman crush a turtle shell.

As Zhou Yi stepped over the demon‑blood‑soaked scorched earth, the Red Flame formation suddenly erupted with a thunderous war cry.

Young warriors struck their shields with sword scabbards, shaking loose fresh blood droplets from armor; this spontaneous victory rite was far more persuasive than any hymn.

The tribal elders exchanged horrified glances; they had never seen such fierce fire blaze in Human eyes.

Behind this meticulously planned lightning war lay a triple chessboard set by Zhou Yi.

The foremost shock came from the three great corps undergoing metamorphosis in battle: Longlin's Five‑Elements formation evolved into the Twenty‑Eight Mansions array, the Red Flame Army's Fire‑Spirit True Secret breached three layers of passes, and the Wind Wave Army's Mystic Ice Barrier forcibly shattered the Demon Race's essential treasure.

More astonishing, when the four Great Luo realm Demon Kings manifested, the Human formation that should have scattered instead erupted with a dragon‑like battle spirit.

Few noticed that Zhou Yi continuously caressed the bronze short sword at his waist during the victory feast.

That weapon, forged from the bones of a hundred races, was the prototype of the Witch‑slaying Sword.

Ten years ago, at that blood‑red dawn, he had personally witnessed the Demon Race using a million living souls to forge a vicious weapon.

Rather than wait for the calamity of annihilation, he preferred to let the Demon Race taste Human edge; this mad notion has now become a blade lodged in the heart of the Demon Court.

"Do you know why we chose the lunar eclipse night for the raid?" Zhou Yi looked at the soldiers practicing the new formation by the bonfire, whispering to the strategist beside him, "We must let the lads remember that we are the torch that tears the darkness apart."

From afar came the rookies' laughter as they competed to see who could cut off the most intact demon horn.

This courage that turns fear into loot is exactly the transformation Zhou Yi most wishes to see.

This is precisely the scenario Zhou Yi has long awaited.

When the Human spine truly stands tall, even against the Demon Race's claws, the tens of thousands of warriors will have battle fervor, not fear, burning in their eyes.

Even if mountains and rivers overturn, they will choose to become stars within the flames rather than kneel in the dust.

When cheers swept across the earth, Zhou Yi and the Twelve Elders sat around the bronze cauldron.

The dancing flames within the cauldron reflected their solemn faces; they must uncover the truth behind the Demon Race's raid.

The Azure‑scaled Demon King, shackled by dark‑iron chains, lifted his head with difficulty, meeting Zhou Yi's gaze as cold as an icy pool. The Human leader tapped the stone table lightly with his fingertip; four seals responded and released, revealing the suppressed Demon strongman.

"You have half a incense stick's time," Zhou Yi's voice was like a tempered blade, "who can speak the truth may walk out of the ancestral hall alive."

The air suddenly solidified. The Azure‑scaled Demon King lunged up, but froze in place when he saw the mysterious yellow‑black energy swirling in Zhou Yi's palm.

The earth‑shattering palm from three days ago still bears cracks on their demon pills.

"I speak!" the Silver‑horned demon commander roared, "Three months ago the White‑feathered Eagle envoy delivered a secret order, saying that consuming human flesh could break the realm's shackles!" The other three demons hurried to add details, fearing to lag behind.

The bronze cup in Zhou Yi's hand suddenly burst, the scalding tea coiling on the stone table into a fierce totem.

The worst speculation was coming true: when the Demon Race discovered that Human flesh could be transmuted into demonic power, the protection of the Nv Wa Sheng Ren would be like a candle in the wind.

"Seal off the Eastern Sea border immediately!" Zhou Yi sprang up, twelve jade communication swords soaring at once, "Notify all tribes to cease sacrificial rites; transfer all pregnant women to the underground palace." He knew the time left for the people might be shorter than the lingering afterglow of sunset.