Chapter 98

Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Lord!

Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Lord!

To dare bear such a title is destined to be extraordinary.

After all, the essence of a Great Luo is boundless spacetime, eternal and free… the word 'free' lies within; how could it be stingy?

Absolutely domineering!

Mu also highly rates his power; among demon lords he ranks among the foremost, dominating the ages and rebuking ancient and modern.

"The eighty‑one demon lords… are they all Great Luo?" Fengxi asked, somewhat disbelieving.

"That's right, all are Great Luo." Mu nodded, then sighed, "Still very domineering Great Luo, comparable to a great divine ability wielder!"

"The top few, I estimate they are hardly different from the Ancestral Wu."

Fengxi rubbed his ears, feeling he had hallucinated.

The Grand Wu continued: "One level below demon lords, honored as demon kings… there are probably several hundred in the demonic path, right?"

"Demon kings, their strength equals that of an ordinary Great Luo."

"How can the demonic path's forces be so strong? It's outright insane!" Fengxi gave a dry laugh, "This has become a third pole outside the two major camps of Wu and Yao."

"Sir, I wonder… when you looked at the intel, did you accidentally see an extra zero?"

"This data is also too unreliable, right?"

"No, this data is completely reasonable, with not a hint of falsehood." Mu said calmly, "Absolutely no problem at all; you're just inexperienced."

"Back then, the Demon Ancestor dominated the Honghuang, how incomparable!" The Grand Wu's eyes grew deep, as if lost in thought, "The Slay‑Immortal Sword Formation covered the sky; the Heaven‑Demon Banner commanded the ages!"

"Using spies and schemes, peerless; using troops and strategy, looking down on all ages!"

"What a heroic figure!"

"Such heroes naturally possess supreme personal charm, earning the admiration of the strong, who gather and unite under their banner, heed their orders, and fight for them!"

"One brilliant battle after another was won under the Demon Ancestor's leadership… the Dragon Ancestor was slain in Chaos, the Phoenix Ancestor wailed and was reborn in the Undying Fire Mountain..."

"Countless thousands of Great Luo sages, in this world‑shaking demonic calamity, either fell and turned into innate spiritual treasures, unknown when they might return; or were gravely wounded and slumber, requiring eons of recuperation!"

"The Demon Ancestor's might cannot be grasped by those who did not live in that era… the demonic taint soaked Honghuang, and all beings became demons!"

"Just a little more and the whole world would have sunk into ruin!" Mu said in a solemn voice, his tone extremely grave and dignified, "Fortunately, at the most perilous moment, Dao Ancestor Hongjun held the Creation Jade Disc, and with the aid of the last strength of the surviving innate divinities, he managed to defeat this supreme Demon Ancestor."

"This is the Dao‑Demon Calamity!" the Grand Wu said, "If one day you can attain the Great Luo Dao and trace the traces of time, seeing the history of that ancient era… you will then witness those magnificent, grand scenes and understand how vast and tumultuous they were!"

Fengxi listened, stunned again and again.

Is it really that terrifying?

Just a slight association, and he could feel a history‑shaking weight across the Myriad Heavens… what kind of cruel calamity was that?

Thousands of Great Luo clashed in bloody battle, the life‑and‑death struggle of the two supreme beings, Dao Ancestor and Demon Ancestor…

Despite having read the Records of Honghuang, he thought its contents were somewhat distorted and false, doubted its credibility, and read it both straight and reversed.

"It really shouldn't be like this…" Fengxi reflected, "How could a mighty being capable of writing history write false history?"

"At most, under pressure, he made some content vague and brushed it over, rather than large‑scale tampering, nonsense fabrication…"

While reflecting, he earnestly asked, "The destruction wrought by the Demon Ancestor is so terrible… as the saying goes, "remember the past, learn for the future"; have the representatives of justice—the innate divinities and the Supreme Great Luos—not exterminated this demonic path?"

"How many of those eighty‑one demon lords and hundreds of demon kings are still alive today?"

"Pretty much all of them survived." Mu said with a solemn face, uttering shocking content.

"Sir, don't scare me—I'm timid." Fengxi looked at the Grand Wu's face that seemed to say "what are you deceiving me for?", swallowed, and asked, "Does Dao Ancestor Hongjun not care? Aren't you afraid of so many dangerous elements that would cause irreparable harm to Honghuang, or else rescue the calamity‑stricken Rahu Demon Ancestor?"

"And… with such a terrifying number of Demonic Path Great Luos, do they still unite under the Demon Ancestor's banner today? Are there split factions, attacking each other, all kinds of internal strife?"

Mu remained silent for a moment, then spoke calmly, "Hongjun doesn't care, isn't afraid; the Demonic Path stands united, loyal."

"Don't ask; the answer is, the Dao Ancestor is awesome, regarding all Demonic Path Great Luos as mere chickens and dogs, not taking them to heart, as long as they don't cause an established fact of destruction to heaven and earth, he simply can't be bothered."

"Don't ask; the answer is, the Demon Ancestor is awesome, his demonic charm transcending limits; though his body is dead, his Dao is not extinguished, his spirit and will endure forever, making all Demonic Path Great Luos obey his command, dare not overstep, turning them into tribulations for Honghuang cultivators, so that the Dao rises one foot while the Demon rises ten feet!"

Two successive "don't ask" replies answered Fengxi's confusion.

"The Demonic Path's Great Luos, though their deeds are dangerous, their loyalty to the Demon Ancestor is shocking—day and night they think and strive to rescue the Rahu Demon Ancestor, sacrificing life and blood, almost wholly devoted to this matter, with nothing else in their sight."

"Therefore, most of the time no faction dares to provoke them… and these Demonic Path powerhouses are also savvy, not touching cultivators who have severed the three corpses at all."

"Everyone lives in peace, well water does not trespass river water."

Fengxi stared, dumbfounded.

"Is this really true? I'm inexperienced, don't deceive me… is there really no problem here?"

"It's fine that Dao Ancestor Hongjun is awesome, and accepting that Rahu Demon Ancestor is awesome too…… but the Demonic Path's Great Luos being so loyal to a deceased Demon Ancestor, and also having such tacit understanding with the innate divinities of the orthodox Honghuang Dao, each drawing their own lines and not infringing…"

Looking at Mu's expression, Fengxi racked his brain, turned it over and over, then a flash of insight struck: he thought of power hegemony plus lackey dangerous elements, covert support and so on, suddenly realized, and clapped his hands—

"I understand… that's how it is!"

"Isn't it just… boohoo…"

"No, you don't understand, your brain is twitching." Mu said gloomily, casually using a divine technique to seal the mouth of the curious baby Fengxi.

"What back‑room deals, what white gloves, what dirty work—none of it exists, it doesn't exist…" the Grand Wu said righteously, "If my Wu clan wins in the future, it

"How could there be collusion with the wicked?"

"This little fellow Fengxi, his thinking still isn't up to par..." Mu shook his head and sighed, "You're imagining the clan's higher-ups as too dark."

"Such conspiratorial thinking must not be allowed!"

"I'll help you calm down for half an hour, then you must write a 100,000-word self-critique and hand it in, deeply recognizing and reviewing your mistakes, never to repeat them."

Having said that, the Grand Wu turned away in a suave manner, leaving only his back to Fengxi.

Fengxi was dumbfounded, yet he could not utter a single word in his own defense.

"Wuwuwu... mumumum... wuwu..."

Being silenced is a very cruel thing.

Pfft!

"Ha... cough cough!"

The little witches nearby were all snickering, standing alongside the tyrannical great witch, with not a shred of sympathy.

They ruthlessly built their happiness on others' suffering, leaving Fengxi feeling anguished and resentful.

Filled with grief and indignation, he gazed at the Taiyi cultivator who had passed the trial to prove the Dao, and at the poor soul already sentenced to death, his eyes filled with sorrow and pity.

We are all unfortunate souls adrift in the world!

…… (ellipsis)

Having proven the Dao and attained the Daluo realm, a strand of innate spiritual light towers above all; from then on, one exists eternally and freely, immortal and indestructible.

This is the supreme achievement of cultivation in the Honghuang era!

With infinite universes stacked together and countless beings as the base, how many Daluo powerhouses have emerged so far?

How few they are!

One could say that every being capable of reaching the Daluo threshold and possessing the potential to successfully prove the Dao represents the pinnacle of all sentient wisdom.

The most terrifying comprehension, the most stunning wisdom—anyone's life story written out would be an epic, a myth!

And today, the entire Honghuang world will gain a new Daluo Supreme Emperor, rising from humanity to heaven, able to hold the chessboard for eternity and place the first stone of the ages.

This was supposed to be a grand occasion.

Alas.

Without backing a mountain, without background, without proof of breakthrough—no matter how outstanding you are, you cannot escape a tragic end.

A Demon Lord blocks the path!

A great adept goes to suppress and kill a half-step Daluo cultivator who is in the midst of passing the trial—this is truly excessive.

A pitch-black little boat drifts leisurely forward, inching ever closer to the being proving the Dao; wherever it passes, all the temporal winds raised by the Dao-proofing calm down.

Such blatant conduct is sensed by the being engaged in proving the Dao.

The vital light is sublimated, tempered and forged, its essence transformed, making distraction difficult—but that does not mean there are no other means to resist the enemy.

From the collapse of its true form emerges a dark chaos; with a turn, the Three Thousand Great Daos flicker in and out, evolving from the primordial Hongmeng, the universe cycles through rebirth, all tangible things are being bound and collapsed by a supreme power, to be thrust into a strange state as the Ruins crumble.

An entire river of ages has been destroyed!

Yet all of this is but a fleeting wisp to that little boat and the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Lord—nothing can shake them in the slightest.

He approaches slowly and leisurely, blowing a mournful dirge of destruction.

"Roar!"

A faint roar arises, emanating from that sublimated vital light; a sliver of true spirit vibrates desperately, striking to catalyze the Dao fruit—in an instant, the state of the Ruins vanishes and the dark chaos explodes.

Boundless light and boundless energy, the power to open heaven and create the world bursts forth; the Three Thousand Great Daos evolve and align across the 10,800 dimensions, countless vast beings come into being, and together they strike the Demon Lord.

Normally destruction is mightier... but here the reverse occurs, unleashing creation itself, its power far surpassing that previous strike upon the Ruins.

This, too, is normal.

After all, this stunning Dao-prover was born and raised in the Honghuang era, comprehending the heavenly rules of its prosperous age and mastering them to perfection—compared to merely imagining the Honghuang's destruction, its power is greater by thousands of folds.

At this moment, a vast world the size of one percent of Honghuang's land emerges from the dark chaos; no longer does it condense and shrink spacetime to hide within the Dao fruit, but instead it manifests truly upon the river of ages and crashes down upon the Demon Lord.

Ferocious!

Terrifying!

The spectator Fengxi could see nothing else at that moment - only a world radiating the most splendid light descending, destroying everything.

What's more terrifying, the world is ablaze, and every living being within it is offered as a blood sacrifice - right from the start, it's a fight for survival!

Ultimately, he is a peerless hero who fought his way step by step to the Daluo gate, his resolve decisive and his cruelty taken to the extreme.

The moment he gauges the enemy-our disparity, he launches an all-out assault, staking everything.

That madness, that sacrifice of all power released in an instantaneous burst, caused Mu aboard the distant warship to raise his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

Although the path is a bit skewed, the strength is still tremendous - an instant's explosion, burning everything in a single blow, almost climbing without limit - a pity, in the end it is not infinite.

Mu shook his head.

Just as his words fell silent!

"Useless."

The Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Lord spoke.

With an indifferent evaluation, he extended a hand and lightly pressed down!

One palm, burying the myriad heavens!

That magnificent sight - beholding it stirs the heart and shakes the spirit, evoking a sense of frenzied madness - this 10,800-dimensional world, under that palm, becomes as illusory and powerless as a dream-like bubble.

Layer after layer of dimensions is torn apart and destroyed, countless great-thousand worlds melt away - so fragile!

Dimensions wither, the universe collapses, beings perish - all in an instant, a mighty one's lifelong Dao-fruit crystal is shattered.

This is deadly!

The vital light in transition loses its foundation, can no longer withstand the tribulations of becoming the Dao, the true spirit's radiance flickers, and it is on the verge of collapse and extinction.

"Ha... pitiful that I've suffered a lifetime of cultivation only to meet this fate..."

A sorrowful sigh transcends the barrier of time, infecting the human heart.

"Ants, cut the chatter, keep proving your Dao." The Demon Lord said coldly, the hand that had been pressed down slowly retracting.

Thereafter, it was as if the button to reverse time had been pressed.

Everything is reversing!

The destroyed Dao-fruit re-condenses, returning to its original peak of perfection, sustaining the falling, withering vital light.

"Hurry up."

"To prove the Dao and attain Daluo, condense the innate spiritual light; slaying something yields an innate spiritual treasure - only then is the cost of my appearance covered."

The Demon Lord, cold and ruthless, demands as such.

Bullying people too much!

The strong one proving the Dao let out a sorrowful roar and angry shout; treating it as nothing, trampling it underfoot—such behavior is utterly infuriating and maddening.

No more nonsense—you won't even get to see the scenery of Great Luo. The Demon Lord's voice grew colder: "If you break through to Great Luo, you might still have a chance to turn the tables."

The words "turn the tables" seemed to ignite a fire of hope for that strong one: "You'll regret it! You will definitely regret it! I swear!"

"Who are you swearing at?" the Demon Lord sneered. "To Heaven? Or to the Great Dao?"

If you don't sever the Three Corpses, you have already cut yourself off from Heaven, cut yourself off from the Dao, and yet you still swear?

Ridiculous!

(End of chapter)