Chapter 702

Facing the heavenly net and earthly trap laid out by the myriad gods, Minghe Mozu entered the situation calmly.

After all, to them it was both a restriction and an opportunity.

Under ordinary circumstances, wanting to hone one's sword with top-tier divinity—how could that be so simple?

Yes.

In terms of combat strength, they are the strongest on the surface of the new version.

In single combat, none can match them.

But just because others can't defeat them……doesn't mean they can't run!

Take a look at these big shots in the Wu-Demon camp!

They either master the source of spacetime, or wield an innate supreme treasure, or specialize in Nirvana rebirth… each of their life-saving abilities is top-notch.

Even Kunpeng, nowadays a mere tile of the Taiyi realm, a unit of combat power measurement, has extraordinary accomplishment in the field of speed—one move of the Great Peng spreading its wings, and a person vanishes without a trace!

These figures, if they exhaust their minds and wisdom, avoid battle and guerrilla tactics, abandon their camp's foundation, and prioritize self-preservation above all… even if the Demon Ancestor goes all out, frantically pursuing and killing, managing to slay two or three of them would count as his achievement!

Minghe looked around left and right, silently calculated in his heart, and found that perhaps the Human Emperor seemed the easiest to bully at first glance.

His strength is not strong.

His legs are also short.

His defense is frail.

He's easy to handle.

But…

He's a ruthless fellow!

As a big shot of the Taiyi tier, he actually could set aside his dignity, cross-dress, disguise himself as Houtu, personally lead the reform and perfection of the reincarnation system, and before being exposed, he even conveniently trapped and killed two Yao Marshals!

For a person full of dirty tricks, Minghe judges that he's probably not easy to deal with… perhaps one misstep, and he'd end up embarrassed, a loss not worth the gain.

Scanning the surroundings, the Demon Ancestor smacked his lips, unable to admit that even though the pillars of the Wu and Demon clans have each gone far away, now is the best time for him to strike, but hoping to wipe out the enemy in one go, the odds remain slim, requiring constant attrition.

However, as time drags on, all sorts of oddities easily pop up, giving rise to variables… perhaps before he can exhaust the gods and ascend to the supreme Dao realm via the Slaughter Dao, Nüwa, the Dragon Ancestor, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Dao Ancestor could all return to the board to resume their game!

Before, how delighted the Demon Ancestor was in abusing the weak!

Afterward, facing a gang-up by four peak combatants, how sorrowful his tears would be!

While the Wu Clan and the Demon Race fear Minghe, how could Minghe himself not harbor misgivings?

By common sense, he should wait a bit longer for an opportunity, letting the Wu and Demon clans wear each other down… but the Qi Luck Dao Master unilaterally conveyed his will—qi luck as bait, already released; if you don't act now, perhaps the next qi luck you see will be not an ally but an opponent!

The Qi Luck Dao Master has gone all in—what can Minghe do?

He had no choice but to join in the action!

Fortunately, the situation is leaning toward him, and the Human Dao is also leaning toward the Five Fortunes.

The Demon Ancestor gained the upper hand, and the elite of the Wu and Demon clans decided to employ the most resolute and decisive method.

The gods unite in Dao, the Three Thousand Great Daos transform into a heavenly net!

Seal the age, seal the demonic Dao!

They will not flee, choosing to guerrilla against Minghe; instead, they strive to unite as one rope, to settle the outcome with the Five Fortunes' Great Dao!

'Not choosing to run?'

'Excellent!'

'My Dao shall be fulfilled!'

Minghe, the Demon Ancestor, laughed heartily; facing the boundless heavenly net descending to suppress him, he remained calm, merely gripping tightly the Yuan Slaughter Avici in his hand.

He felt his hot blood boiling; the dawn of perfection in the Slaughter Dao had appeared.

After passing this hurdle, the Demon Ancestor who commands slaughter will ascend to the pinnacle of the Dao realm beneath Pangu, standing on the same level as Hongjun, Nüwa, the Dragon Ancestor, and others!

Moreover, due to the special environment, the slaughter tribulation has reached its climax; judging solely by combat power, he is poised to rank first!

Therefore, when faced with the Great Dao's legal net suppressing him, and the dust of time covering him, the Demon Ancestor neither fled nor avoided battle; on the contrary, he sliced through time with a sword, inserting his own rule into the killing game set up by the united gods.

"Since you want to play, let's play big!"

The Demon Ancestor said with a grim smile, "If you all unite in Dao, wouldn't that be boring?"

"Count me in too!"

The Slaughter Great Dao unfurled; the Demon Ancestor, also an innate divine sage, by virtue of this, inserted himself into it, becoming one of the net's foundations, adding some variables while also retaining some original constants.

In an instant, the net acquired a subtle change, giving some ancestor witches and Yao Marshals a bad premonition.

"The net has eyes." The Demon Ancestor's tone was deep and secluded, "Even if you weave the net of heavenly intent, almost able to be tight without leaks."

"Too bad, your realms are all inferior to mine."

"Thus… almost, it's merely almost."

Minghe's figure stood tall, hazy and illusory, "The influence belonging to our Five Fortunes will ultimately spread through these mesh openings, condensing into the greatest deluge of destruction for an era."

"I will make you know… the greatest mistake you've made is to confront me head-on!"

The Demon Ancestor laughed loudly, "If you scatter and flee, at most I can Absolute Kill two or three of my fellow Daoists, then slay a thousand eight hundred Great Luo."

"After delaying enough time for those people to return, even if the Five Fortunes are strong, they will also be resolved."

"The great trend of the Demonic Dao will once again be strangled."

"What a pity!"

"You all have selfish motives!"

"You are afraid!"

"Afraid I'll fixate on the Wu Clan or the Demon Race, specially strangling that faction's members until they collapse… even if each side's trump cards return later, and they defeat the Demonic Dao, the battered side will already be destined to lose the wager for the protagonists of this era's heaven and earth."

"So you attempt a compromise, fantasizing to clear the stage with minimal cost…"

"I will use concrete actions to tell you just how outrageously wrong this is!"

When the Demon Ancestor's words fell, a stunning sword light flashed forth from the Suiyue Changhe, striking toward the Honghuang world.

This is precisely the sword that Minghe previously slashed at the Suiyue Changhe, carrying the essence of the Avici Killing Sword.

This sword, though not particularly strong in power, yet its subtle profundity mingles the Demon Ancestor's myriad insights from this era, and also enjoys the convenience of the Sea of Blood neighboring the netherworld, having witnessed too much worldly joy and sorrow, mortal sins.

It sweeps across heaven and earth, slices through the hearts of myriad beings, moves between existence and non-existence, transcends the laws of time and space, as if it were about to open up something, or perhaps merely to draw forth something that already existed.

"Karmic Tribulation!"

Minghe growled, "Why don't you act?"

The Karmic Tribulation Dao Lord, likewise bound by the net, suddenly sighed, his hands twitching slightly, as if about to assume some posture.

However, he finally restrained himself, merely whispering, his form faint and burning, performing a sacrifice, releasing a strange divine ability.

This ability disturbs the constancy of heaven and earth, inscribes the law of reincarnation, carries a kind of inverted evil and terror, making the gods tremble.

"An era of blood calamity, a turbulent age, turning people into ghosts!"

"When there is an Avici Hell bearing all mortal sins... fellows, proceed and ponder thrice, lest you let Hell stand empty, with evil spirits roaming the world!"

The Karmic Tribulation Dao Lord sighed deeply, "Otherwise, eventually the human realm will bring down a great reckoning, sweeping clean the cosmos."

"At that time, it will not be my demon sect that wants to kill you... but all the myriad beings under heaven will wish to kill you!"

This Dao Lord hides nothing, directly pointing to the vital point.

He joined forces with Minghe the Demon Ancestor, and at the final moment established the Avici Hell for humanity.

The Avici Hell is the Unintermittent Hell, where suffering knows no respite.

There, to live is to suffer!

This ability, like a bone-deep carbuncle, entwines itself in heaven and earth and among myriad beings, using all manner of blood calamities and tribulations as nourishment for its incubation and growth.

Time and sin are its best aids on the path of growth!

When it proliferates to its peak, what kind of change will befall the human realm...

The demon gods trembled, the great shamans were horrified, none daring to ponder further.

"Minghe, your methods are ruthless!"

Di Jiang said in a low voice, "But I have always believed that within calamity lies the seed of hope."

"You are betting, betting that this age will turn people into ghosts."

"Then I too am betting, betting that someone will arise to the occasion and turn ghosts back into people!"

"Hahaha..." Minghe the Demon Ancestor burst into loud laughter, facing the net that had come to suppress him, completely sealing it within the ring-shaped spacetime, and through the final crack he let out the loudest shout.

"Then... let me wait and see!"

"Boom!"

Blinding light burst forth, illuminating the Myriad Heavens of eternity; the clash between gods and demons shifted into the void, becoming a sharp blade hanging over the age.

No one knows when, but the Demon Ancestor will soon break through the net and descend once more into the world.

At that time, who could possibly stop him?

"What a drama full of twists and turns!"

"Indeed."

"The more critical the moment, the more people cannot sit still; those who ought to jump have all jumped out."

In the camp of East Yi, Chief Chonghua witnessed it all, shaking his head with a wry smile, "With so many variables, the original plans of far too many have been smashed to bits."

"Who could have imagined beforehand that the demon sect would go to such extremes?"

"But this is also good."

"At the very least, competition has become somewhat fairer—everyone's main fighting strength has been pulled away, output limited, so it comes down to fine execution."

"I never expected... I thought I only had a spare piece here, but it turned out to be surprisingly useful."

Chonghua smiled and issued the order, "The Primordial Shamans have departed, the Fire Master Court cannot attend to us—it is only fitting that the Bird Master shall shine brilliantly!"

"Beat the drums! Deploy the troops!"

"The hope of the age lies in us... guns in hand, follow me!"

"Go visit the Dragon Master, to provide basic proxy management services for our good friend, the dragonkind without a leader, and render military aid!"

That day, East Yi set out!

Once, the Dragon Master was mighty and domineering, for a time controlling many tribes including the Bird Master, gaining recognition from the human ancestral court, becoming the hegemon of this region.

Alas, the tides of fortune turn!

Today, East Yi reaches out, seeking to seize power!

"Your Majesty!" a minister of the Bird Master worried, "Will this... break the rules and undermine stable unity?"

"What rules? There are no rules left now!" Chonghua merely smiled, "The times have changed!"

"This time, the strong shall reign!"

"As for stable unity..." Chonghua's smile faded, his eyes grew grave, his expression solemn, "I can't worry about all that."

"After all, unity is impossible; the era of chaotic warfare has arrived."

"The Five Fortunes run rampant; even if the gods seal them temporarily, in the end we must still face what we must face."

"Perfect virtue must appear!"

"Only thus can we establish a flawless system, granting sufficient resilience against risk, no longer fearing interference from ownerless fortune, and able to dispel the threat of the final fortune."

Chonghua's eyes grew dark, "So in the end, we must inevitably hold a contest to decide who shall be the final leader."

"This is an opportunity that our East Yi Bird Master lineage has finally caught up to!"

"If we give up... are you willing to accept that?"

The Bird Master's ministers exchanged glances, remaining silent.

Fangxun declines, the Dragon Master lacks a person in charge able to maintain the situation; it is fitting that we assume the regency and manage, to secure the world.

Chonghua waved his hand; banners unfurled, horns blared, shaking the vast mountains and rivers.

This is merely the beginning.

……

Uncle!

The sole surviving Imperial Prince of the Golden Crow Lineage shed tears, standing in the East Emperor Palace, unable to stop his sobbing.

My brothers……

Sniveling and sniffling, what a sight!

A trace of Donghuang's will stood before him, shouting coldly, instantly making the Imperial Prince choke back his sobs.

Even though Taiyi, for participating in the seal of the demonic path, had pressed his main battle form into it, leaving only a weak incarnation of will, yet his accumulated might was so great that it could strike down his nephew.

The era has not yet ended, nothing is settled, and you're panicking like this—what propriety!

Taiyi's eyes deep and profound: "Since you still live, you ought to shoulder the responsibility on your shoulders and continue your father's undertaking."

Donghuang's calm arrangement: "The elder brother had long planned for millennia, already made preparations for many possible events, preparing in advance."

Therefore, you exist… just so that when he is unable to attend, you can step in with your own status.

You ought to take on this duty!

"Please give your orders, Uncle." The Imperial Prince requested instructions.

The standoff between the Lich and the Demonic Sect remains, but under the Demonic Sect's pressure, many things are mutual, with tacit understanding. Donghuang pondered a moment and said, "Of course, this understanding will eventually be torn apart and broken."

Even before that, there is still room for someone like you to act.

Go on your way!

Taiyi's voice low and solemn, he switched to a secret mental transmission, conveying some secrets to the Imperial Prince, making his eyes widen: "This this this… can I do this?"

Whether you can or not, you must do it!

Donghuang merely said in a light tone: "The Sun God Lineage venerates the Dao; it is to be initiated by you."

I will arrange the Black Bird to lend you a hand.

Be cautious, prudence above all……

Donghuang wanted to say more, but finally realized he was not adept at this, so he gave up, merely patting the Imperial Prince's shoulder: "Learn more from your father… do not disappoint the elder brother."

Nephew, I will keep it in mind.

The Imperial Prince respectfully accepted the command.

……

None of them are simple goods!

Wenming commanded a great army of Bird Masters, observing the celestial signs; seeing the great sun sink, the stars lose their light, he suddenly let out a sigh.

There are always those who try every means to stir up trouble……

Sigh… I truly am a fate of toil!

(End of chapter)