Chapter 766

Blood rain drifted.

The Bird Master launched.

The Divine Clan's seeds were planted; after time's nurturing, they have already flowered and borne fruit.

The Bird Master……has defected!

Batch after batch of ambitious figures are active, in the name of the god-human covenant, gradually annexing what the human clan once upheld.

And under Chonghua's covert support, this generation of novices continually replaced the old guard; a coup, silently turning the tides.

Thus.

When Chonghua finally issued the decree, suddenly launching armed forces, carrying out a major internal purge, drawing clear lines with the Fire Master and Cloud Master, even sending troops to oppress, dealing a heavy blow to the human clan's fundamental fortune—everything then fell into place naturally.

The Bird Master was originally not bad.

Among them still lie countless men of virtue and ambition, contributing to the human clan's development, firmly supporting the opening and advancement of the path.

What can be done?

The Divine Clan's path appeared, and many things went off track.

When Chonghua laid bare his hand, issuing an ultimatum demanding a change of stance within a certain time—when they disagreed, even protested, they suffered the bloodiest suppression and purge!

In the shortest time, on the land of the Eastern Barbarians, bright red blood stained the ground.

Many virtuous and ambitious souls unwilling to flow with the new Heavenly Court's prosperity circle, their blood flowed aimlessly, as if silently speaking of something——

On this land, the human clan's great undertaking to defy Heaven, oppose the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Court, has failed!

The seeds of hope and dawn, just having sprouted shoots, were brutally strangled.

Killing cannot solve problems.

But it can solve the people who create problems.

In the defected Bird Master's court, within the new human prosperity circle system, the supreme leader coldly presides over this matter, in the shortest time killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, attempting to use white terror to intimidate all of humanity from top to bottom, making the Bird Master's great ship wholly his tool, becoming the dagger driven into the human clan's heart!

At the same time, the pace of bribery is hastened……after the demonstration, it's time to bestow favors.

Chonghua in the Eastern Barbarians is establishing a divine lineage, giving each clan leader willing to submit and follow his footsteps benefits.

Thus employing both carrot and stick, one hand wielding the rod, the other offering the date, the situation seems truly under his control.

He eradicated the fearless sacrificers who upheld righteousness for the human clan's orthodoxy, awed the leaders of the clans belonging to the Eastern Barbarians, and then bought them off with great profit—one side is a dead-end with no survival, the other side is merely nodding, turning toward the prosperity circle, and together they can exploit all under heaven——

How many can refuse, dare to refuse?

Moreover, Di Jun has prepared for this day for far too long!

Even before the Absolute Kill of the Dragon Master, he had already laid ambushes, plotted……over these years, step by step, through the Great Flood plan, he has controlled the economic lifelines and survival foundations of many clans.

At this point, the chilling, suffocating reality warns all clan leaders on the land of the Eastern Barbarians——do not speak of rebellion with mere hot blood.

Think of all the resources you need to survive!

Look at who now holds them in their hands!

Rebellion?

You can!

Not to mention the Bird Master's countless strong soldiers above and below……just the severing of transport lines means all crucial cultivation and medical supplies cease to flow; fighting alone, you can be trapped and killed!

Which clan leader could bear to?

To let one's own clan kin, because of one's stubborn solitary course, embark on a path to death where hardly any hope of victory can be seen?

Many people, it's not that they lack hot-bloodedness.

They just see more.

The weight of reality prevents them from merely following a hot-blooded impulse to rebel recklessly——because rebellion truly offers no hope of victory, seeming like pure futility.

If that is so……

Might as well acquiesce!

Following Chonghua's path……seems not bad?

At worst……

Not exploiting one's own kin and subjects, but turning outward to extort, gaining benefits from the myriad other clans……

Such a practice satisfies personal profit while barely giving an excuse to one's fellow humans——

——We have deviated from the human clan's original path, but not completely.

Improve!

Just a simple improvement!

Should……be no problem, right?

Dreams are dead.

Reality endures.

In the cold age, as the human clan's overall situation declines, those on the accelerating human train drift aimlessly with the current, only able to be passively swept forward.

"Indeed."

Chonghua strums the reforged Slaughter-Witch Sword; at this moment it reveals its edge again, smiling faintly, bearing an air of composed ease: "Human hearts are such things that cannot withstand trial."

"What a romantic and great undertaking, in the end must bow to reality."

"Witch……a group of people standing tall between heaven and earth, together sketched the grandest dream blueprint."

"What a pity."

"My sword specializes in slaying dreams."

The perfected Slaughter-Witch Sword shows no formidable killing aura or murderous qi.

It does not threaten with the sharpest blade……in fact, for true outstanding ones, the more mountains of blades and seas of fire, the more they are fearless and undaunted!

Who would fear death?

Not afraid at all!

So, to slay such outstanding people, one must rely on… striking at the heart!

Exactly.

Reality… is often a weapon that best strikes at the heart.

This sword resembles reality: its blade is long and slender, bearing a faint chill that freezes people's hearts, erecting a towering heart-wall between every living being.

Where there are walls, there are divisions.

With divisions, mutual understanding is impossible.

Everyone walks in the dark forest; the cruel law dictates that no one dares to trust each other, and one can only consider problems from the standpoint most beneficial to oneself.

The prisoner's dilemma kills mutual trust; every living being is actually an isolated island.

"Which fellow cultivators will become souls beneath this sword?"

Chonghua hefted the Witch-Slaying Sword, his thoughts wandering as he pondered the situation of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

When the Witch-Slaying Sword appears, it can sever the boost that campaign fortune gives to individual combat power, and even temporarily affect the state of a Great Luo cultivator themselves!

Great Luo— infinite spacetime, eternal and free— is the liberation of the mind.

And this sword grants a special boost to the mind.

Saying it knocks down one's realm is going too far.

But disturbing one's state for a moment is no problem.

In a decisive battle, this moment is enough to decide victory or defeat, life or death!

This is a true weapon of mass destruction.

However, Chonghua pondered for a while, and ended up somewhat stunned.

"Really puts one in a difficult spot…… each and every one has a background."

"Now it's easy to take care of them, but later there will be troubles……"

"Those goddesses, sticking together tightly, and also close with the ladies… If I come down hard here, I will inevitably be nagged by Xihe in the ear later…"

"What remains… Tiānwú? Zhulong? Leize?"

"Hmm… should be no problem, right?"

"Sigh… truly a happy trouble…"

Chonghua plucked the Witch-Slaying Sword, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He felt victory was in his grasp.

As long as we follow his plan step by step… great things can be accomplished!

Especially, when Wuzhiqi came to report, the numerous tribes of the Eastern Barbarian lands had completed their integration, whether voluntarily or not, roughly twisted into a single rope— the time to advance westward had arrived!

"Very good."

Chonghua nodded, ordering Wuzhiqi: "Since all departments have successfully integrated, then deploy all forces!"

"To bury the Fire Master, to erect a monument for the Cloud Master…"

"The conquest of the witch-demon era should end."

"Enough living beings have died."

Chonghua sighed softly, his voice filled with sorrow and grief over the countless living beings who have perished.

In this regard, his idea to end the war coincides with Fengxi's.

However……

The difference lies in.

Fengxi laments the death of all beings, desiring to end the war, for the common folk die pointlessly in the struggle of interests and paths among the ancient godly sages.

And Di Jun…

"Too many living beings have died— who will still create labor value for this world?"

"If no one creates value, how can the gods be noble?"

He starts from the perspective of viewing them as production tools, and is unhappy about these tools being meaninglessly consumed.

The same performance, yet a different stance.

Di Jun protects the common folk in order to maintain the stability of the gods' path.

If humanity cannot enter a state of great prosperity, then it's not right for the gods to exploit and oppress, is it?

Promoting a wolf-like culture, then improperly throwing in two chunks of meat, causing the frenzied wolf pack to literally bite the owner to death.

"For the Heavenly Court…… this era should come to an end."

Chonghua's brows and eyes relaxed, calm and gentle, naturally bearing the divine aura of overlooking the myriad worlds and turning through all realms.

He gradually acquired an incomparably transcendent demeanor, like a Pangu, whose single word decides the rise and fall of the human path.

"Yes, Your Majesty! Heavenly Emperor Majesty!"

Wuzhiqi involuntarily bowed his head, receiving the Heavenly Emperor's decree.

The Bird Master's forces thus erupted fully!

In the shortest time, they charged straight in, successively breaking through many key strongholds of the Fire Master!

The fortunes of humanity fluctuated ever more, as if they might collapse or overturn at any moment.

This directly affected the battlefield at its peak.

Dang!

The reverberating bell waves that shocked all realms severed the river of ages into segment after segment, from the source of all time to the exact anchor point of the witch-demon era, all splitting and shifting.

This is the utmost magnificent war power, the East Emperor, wielding the Heavenly Court's fortune, advancing forcefully, now occupying absolute initiative!

Originally the situation wouldn't have been so bad…… humanity after all had some capital; back then, Nüwa gave the August Emperor a dressing-down, directly taking all of the "merit of opening heaven", robbing the rich to aid the poor— the wealth taken in that robbery was the most abundant treasure of the Dragon and Phoenix era.

Such substantial funds, injected into the human race, turned into boundless foundations; the greater the crisis, the more they could stimulate the eruption of those foundations, providing the possibility of a sudden surge.

The human race might suffer losses, but to be completely defeated… is difficult.

But this is merely a normal situation, simply facing external enemies.

The strongest fortresses are often breached from within.

The Bird Master's betrayal shakes the core path; even with foundations, where should we go?

The human race's fate suddenly became unstable; the support for Yandi and Xuanyuan wavered, and in the contest with the Heavenly Court they gradually fell short!

The two human emperors thus suffered heavy blows… Donghuang dealt a lethal strike, taking advantage of your illness to take your life!

The fist-light that shatters all worlds shone through ancient and modern times; Taiyi's unprecedented vigor flashed past in an instant, sweeping away great swaths of blood.

"Give up."

In that fleeting interlude, he shook off the blood-stained water, stood with hands behind his back at the source of time, his back to the swaying Yandi and the staggering Xuanyuan, bearing the bearing of a victor: "You have cultivated such achievements; it is no easy feat."

"Under this heaven, countless beings exist, but those who attain the Great Dao as Lofty Immortals are only three thousand in number."

"By the time of the Great Simplicity, even fewer than twenty remain."

"Each one is my fellow Daoist, each a most precious treasure of Honghuang."

"For the sake of the Way's contention, we face each other in life and death… I myself am unwilling."

"So, surrender then."

Taiyi bears a vision that transcends the camp.

"First survive, then speak of other things… your path now does not suit the age, but perhaps the future may yet hold a thread of hope to rule the era."

"Retaining a useful body, you can at least harbor some thoughts for the future."

Donghuang spoke calmly.

"Cough!"

Fresh blood blurred Xuanyuan's eyes; half his body was shattered, even the Taiji Diagram could not protect him, blood flowed incessantly, yet he cared little: "I do not want to accept a meager survival given as charity."

"To live on my knees? That was never among my options."

"I want to stand."

"The human race must stand."

"The human Way… must stand even more."

"Even if it means standing to die… we must still stand."

"Because I am afraid… I fear that if I kneel now, I will never be able to rise again."

"So…"

"Taiyi!"

"You need not say anything either."

"If you have the ability, come and utterly kill us, bury us!"

"Right."

"Afterward, remember to give us a higher rating, as a sign of respect for former opponents."

Xuanyuan coughed blood and said.

"…" Donghuang turned to look at him, gave a slight nod, "Good."

"I will remember… after all, respecting the enemy is also respecting oneself."

"If you are too weak, what is there for us, who have defeated you, to be proud of?"

"I not only respect you, I also want to praise your backbone… only then will the Heavenly Court's victory shine all the more."

Taiyi's eyes were clear, his wisdom unmatched: "This is the simplest principle; I naturally know it."

"Hahaha…" Xuanyuan laughed, his laughter growing louder: "Excellent!"

"Taiyi!"

"You surpass your brother by far!"

"If you surpass Di Jun and even Pangu, I would still be pleased to see it come to pass."

"Are you trying to sow discord between us brothers?" Donghuang disapproved, "Our brothers' affairs need no outsider's meddling."

He stepped forward, pressing step by step; the boundless Chaos collapsed, exploding everywhere— a sight more terrifying than the creation of heaven and earth, all things annihilated, Chaos ablaze.

"I speak truly, why do you not believe me?" Xuanyuan laughed, shook his head, and ceased arguing; he merely rallied his forces, stood shoulder to shoulder with Yandi, and went to battle with his life to block Donghuang's advance.

The two human emperors placed their hope in countless fellow countrymen.

This is not merely their war.

It is also the war of countless humans, indeed of all beings under heaven!

The spark of hope may flicker, but it has not yet been extinguished!

As expected.

The Bird Master's smooth sailing was only temporary.

Soon they encountered an opponent.

At the critical juncture when the Fire Master was in dire straits and the defenses kept breaking, reinforcements arrived!

The Jiu Li Clan launched an attack!

Chiyou led the eighty-one clans, becoming the most steadfast line of defense.

Beside him, moreover, was an indignant little girl, eyes wide open, very fierce.

"How outrageous!"

"Dare to steal my home?!"

"Dare to pry at my wall corner?!"

「Di Jun……Chong Hua……you're fed up! 」

This turned out to be a girl.

She commanded the Ling Shan Witch Tribe, joining forces with Chiyou's troops, to block the Bird Master's advance, thereby easing the plight of humanity.

Meanwhile, to the side, there stood a monk with a serene expression, smiling silently.

(End of chapter)