Chapter 163: The World Watches, the Pioneer of the Era!

No one believed Gu Jiangming could win, and no one believed Gu Jiangming could survive.

In this world, the Enlightenment Stage is already the absolute pinnacle, and with nine individuals at the Enlightenment Stage surrounding and attacking one person, no one thought they could lose.

Yet, the world had ultimately forgotten—forgotten that there are still distinctions of high and low even among those at the Enlightenment Stage.

The world had further forgotten that there are, after all, some people in this world who can break the rules! The old Dragon King did not favor Gu Jiangming, the Elder Taicang did not favor Gu Jiangming, and even those under the command of Liu Moran in Niankong Villa did not favor Gu Jiangming.

Even though, in Liu Moran's eyes, her own senior brother was invincible under the heavens.

Even though, in Jiu Jiu's eyes, no matter the era, her husband was destined to be the Dao Venerable of Mount Shu who would suppress the human world in the future.

But as time slowly passed, whether it was Liu Moran, Jiu Jiu, or Wang Qinghe and Long Xi, a sense of urgency slowly took hold in their hearts.

Too much time had passed; that darkness covering the earth had already existed for nine days and nine nights.

This also meant that Gu Jiangming had been fighting and battling alone in that darkness for nine days and nine nights.

No one knew how much longer Gu Jiangming could hold on; the Demon Race did not know, and the Human Race knew even less.

But those humans who had received the Starfire Technique from Gu Jiangming understood that if Gu Jiangming were to fall there, then this world would be exactly the same as it had been in the past, no different from before.

A practitioner of the Starfire Technique who had reached the Golden Core Stage visited several major Human Race sects in succession over three days.

This Golden Core practitioner knelt and begged the strongest experts within the major Human Race sects to come forward—to come forward and save Gu Jiangming, who was known as the Demon Venerable but was in truth an Immortal Venerable.

Yet, even as this Golden Core practitioner bowed again and again, those major Human Race sects remained as silent as the grave.

"How could it come to this, how could it come to this!!!"

When this Golden Core practitioner was turned away by several sects in a row, he looked toward the darkness created by the nine great demons and let out a cry of grief and indignation between heaven and earth.

Under the gaze of countless people, on the seventh day, this Golden Core seed who had practiced the Starfire Technique suddenly triggered his Golden Core, turning into a tragic and brilliant firework that exploded outside the Demon Race's great formation.

How could a Golden Core practitioner, even by detonating and igniting everything he possessed, shake a great formation set up by Enlightenment Stage demons? Among the experts observing that battlefield between heaven and earth, some sighed, some were disdainful, and some lowered their heads, unable to bear the sight.

To these top-tier experts standing at the pinnacle of the world, they could not even remember the name of that Golden Core practitioner; they only knew—they only knew that this person was a peerless genius and monster.

If he were not a peerless genius and monster, how could he have reached the Golden Core Stage in just over a year? Watching such a genius and monster fall before their eyes could naturally stir a slight ripple in people's hearts.

But this ripple was not enough to make those Human Race experts take action.

There was no other reason; it was simply because the strength of the Human Race was still weaker than that of the Demon Race—far too weak!

To those Human Race experts standing at the pinnacle of the world, Red Lotus Demon Venerable was not someone who must be saved; after all, when Red Lotus Demon Venerable walked the world, he would not care about your background or sect—if you committed evil and encountered Gu Jiangming, death was the only outcome.

There was no friendship from the past, and there was even enmity involved, so how could those Human Race experts be willing to act lightly? Added to the fact that the Human Race was not fully prepared to resist the Demon Race, even if some admired that Golden Core practitioner for proving his resolve through death, these experts could only lower their heads and watch from the sidelines at this moment.

"Mother..."

In Niankong Villa, Gu Nianmo watched that Golden Core genius fall between heaven and earth, then looked back at his mother, Liu Moran; at this moment, it felt as if a raging fire was burning in his heart.

His words were not finished, but how could Liu Moran, who had raised Gu Nianmo with her own hands, not know her son's thoughts?

"We cannot move!"

"Every expert in this world has awakened!"

"Niankong Villa is being watched by at least four auras of Enlightenment Stage demons; if you or I move, war will instantly erupt at Niankong Villa!"

Liu Moran gripped her palms tightly; she exerted so much force that her fingernails dug into her flesh.

Yet, as she looked at her son, Liu Moran still slowly shook her head at this moment.

She could understand why the Human Race was not rescuing Gu Jiangming; Niankong Villa was locked onto by Demon Race experts, and it was likely that other major Human Race sects were no exception.

But watching Gu Jiangming fall into a bitter battle and a dead end, only she knew the anger in Liu Moran's heart.

"We cannot move!"

"All the old things in this world have surfaced."

"At this time, whoever goes to that battlefield will face the malice of all the experts in the world."

"If I were to rush there, the Demon Race might not stop me, but there would surely be those in the Human Race who would!"

"Even if I said it was to save him, I fear the Human Race would not believe me..."

Jiu Jiu stood in the ancestral lands of the Guhuoniao; at this moment, Jiu Jiu was also worried to the extreme.

But Jiu Jiu could move even less; between heaven and earth, thoughts of the Enlightenment Stage flew across the sky—these Enlightenment Stage experts were either wary of one another or locking onto a certain location.

Unknowingly, the experts of the entire world had formed a peculiar atmosphere.

No matter how many things were on people's minds, at this moment, the world could only wait for the outcome within that great formation.

"Human Race, Human Race, oh Human Race!"

The standoff between the experts was unknown to the common humans; millions and tens of millions of practitioners who had cultivated the Starfire Technique across the world had already received the news.

They did not know why those high-and-mighty Human Race experts were unwilling to act; they only knew—they only knew that in this dark age, the one person who had acted as a torch to light up the world was currently facing a great life-and-death crisis.

Stronger practitioners cried out in grief between heaven and earth, and weaker practitioners had already begun to gather.

They did not know what they could accomplish, but they knew they absolutely could not do nothing.

If there were any experts standing above the firmament, they would surely be able to see at this moment that across the four corners of the world, countless streams of people were rushing toward the territory where Gu Jiangming was trapped.

What a massive scene this was; Gu Jiangming had walked day by day, and he himself did not know how many people he had taught the Starfire Technique to, and those who had practiced it were, one by one, teaching the Starfire Technique they had mastered to others.

Across the world, there were truly tens of millions who had practiced the Starfire Technique...

At this moment, it was no longer "though there be millions, I shall go," but rather, wherever one went, there were millions! "Stop..."

"You are the seeds of Red Lotus Demon Venerable; the Demon Race intends to exterminate all humans who practice the Starfire Technique."

"If you gather here, you will only make it easier for the Demon Race to wipe out the seeds of the Human Race. Stop, stop now!"

"Live on, live on as the seeds of Red Lotus Demon Venerable!"

Among the Human Race, there were, after all, countless people who understood reason; these people were also shocked that Gu Jiangming, this Red Lotus Demon Venerable, possessed such great appeal, yet they were still blocking these people from going to the battlefield.

Just as that practitioner said, every human who had practiced the Starfire Technique was a seed of the Human Race!

Throughout history, perhaps only Gu Jiangming had achieved such a feat.

The experts of the Human Race naturally knew what the advantages of the Human Race were—the reproductive capacity of the Human Race, the most common wisdom of the Human Race; these were all clear to them.

But the constitutions of people are not the same, and the aptitudes of people are not the same.

Throughout history, it is not that no one has wanted to tear apart this dark world, but they could not do it; they had no way to create a technique that ordinary people could cultivate like Gu Jiangming did, and they could not let all of the Human Race embark on the path of cultivation.

Countless cultivators walked the world; they hid the members of the Human Race who cultivated the Starfire Technique, they dissuaded the members of the Human Race who cultivated the Starfire Technique, and just as they said, they were doing their best to preserve the seeds of the Red Lotus Demon Venerable.

However, with such a great commotion stirred up in the world, how could it escape the eyes of those powerhouses?

Among the Demon Race, great demons watched the Human Race gathering and then slowly dispersing, and the gazes of several great demons became deep and somber.

Unknowingly, the Human Race has already accumulated this much power!

【This is your ninth day trapped in the array of the nine great demons; while you were unaware, the winds and clouds of the outside world have changed.】

【Countless members of the Human Race who have cultivated the Starfire Technique want to come to this battlefield to save you; they are either deceived by the Demon Race, or they are willing to risk their lives to rescue you.】

【The vast and mighty tens of millions of Human Race Starfire seeds have connected into one, and at this moment, even Heaven and Earth have changed color because of it.】

【But these Starfire seeds have also attracted the covetousness of other powerhouses among the Demon Race; they are all waiting for a result, waiting for the outcome of your death in battle.】

【If you die in battle, all members of the Human Race who have cultivated the Starfire Technique will be eliminated.】

【The Demon Race has already recognized the heart of the Human Race; this battle has come earlier than anyone thought, but regardless of the outcome of this battle, a new era will begin.】

【You are the initiator of the new era; no matter how the years change, the world will eventually remember the pioneer who first raised the torch for the masses of the Human Race between Heaven and Earth.】

Within the great array, lines of text were also refreshing on the Seek Immortality Interface.

But at this moment, how could Gu Jiangming have the energy to pay attention to the Seek Immortality Interface? He is very strong; the demonized Gu Jiangming would not fall into a disadvantage against any Enlightenment Stage powerhouse, but he is facing three great demons presiding over the array and six Enlightenment Stage great demons surrounding and killing him.

After nine days and nine nights, only the last tiger demon remained before Gu Jiangming.

But the injuries on Gu Jiangming's body were truly too terrifying.

His physical body was nearly half destroyed, and half of his body was almost exposing bone.

Although he has already cultivated to the Enlightenment Stage, at this moment, Gu Jiangming was like the most ordinary mortal in the world, just gasping for air in large gulps.

Has he reached the limit? Gu Jiangming did not know either; the only thing Gu Jiangming knew was that he could not die! Not to mention for the sake of the Human Race, Gu Jiangming did indeed want to overturn this shitty world, but at this very moment, Gu Jiangming was thinking more of Jiu Jiu, of Wang Qinghe, of Liu Moxuan, and of Long Xi.

"However, I probably won't die!"

Gu Jiangming braced against the injuries on his body and walked step by step toward the tiger demon before him.

After nine days and nine nights of slaughter, the true outcome was about to be decided.

And the winner was Gu Jiangming.

Half of Gu Jiangming's body was exposing bone, but within this array, there were also the corpses of several large-bodied members of the Demon Race.

Those were the corpses of the pig demon, the rat demon, the wolf demon, the ox demon, and the eagle demon.

As for the tiger demon, his strength was the greatest, but at this moment, he was clearly also breathing his last; this slaughter was won by Gu Jiangming.

Regarding the three great demons presiding over this array, Gu Jiangming had no worries; using themselves as the Array Eye, they also bore the impact of the battle between seven Enlightenment Stage powerhouses.

Especially when facing life and death, whether it was Gu Jiangming or the other six great demons, they were all burning themselves and sublimating themselves.

In Gu Jiangming's perception, this "Darkened Heaven and Earth" array had already reached the end of its tether; if they did not leave after Gu Jiangming killed the tiger demon, Gu Jiangming would be able to slay all nine Enlightenment Stage great demons in this battle.

"Human Race..."

"Human Race..."

The tiger demon looked at Gu Jiangming, who was moving step by step toward him; at this moment, the tiger demon's mouth was bubbling with blood, but as he looked at Gu Jiangming before him, his voice carried a sneer, unwillingness, and regret.

No one knew what the meaning of the tiger demon's last two "Human Race" utterances was; the moment Gu Jiangming walked in front of him, he completely lost his breath.

Accompanying the moment the tiger demon lost his breath, this array that had sealed off a thousand miles of territory also collapsed in an instant! Between Heaven and Earth, one could only see three black shadows fleeing frantically.

Even though Gu Jiangming's body was covered in terrifying injuries, having witnessed Gu Jiangming slaughter six Enlightenment Stage great demons with their own eyes, the three demons who set up the array felt uncontrollable fear in their hearts at this moment.

They, who had always treated the Human Race as food, felt the deepest fear in their hearts for a member of the Human Race for the first time.

The moment the "Darkened Heaven and Earth" array shattered, all the powerhouses watching the "Darkened Heaven and Earth" array stared in a daze at Gu Jiangming, who was dragging his hunched body out of the sea of blood.

In a situation where no one was optimistic, Gu Jiangming won.

Even if it was a pyrrhic victory, even if the injuries on Gu Jiangming's body were that shocking, this scene still left the world speechless.

There were Enlightenment Stage great demons who were restless; they wanted to take advantage of Gu Jiangming's severe injuries to completely erase him.

But this time, it was the turn of the powerhouses among the Human Race to begin turning back to deter those members of the Demon Race; even though the number of Enlightenment Stage powerhouses of the Human Race was far fewer than the Demon Race, these Human Race powerhouses were still locking onto the great demons one by one at this moment.

Gu Jiangming's victory meant that the Human Race and the Demon Race could never return to the past.

It meant that Gu Jiangming had completely opened the prelude to an era.

Gu Jiangming's victory also meant that the conflict between the Human Race and the Demon Race could no longer be concealed.

The prelude to a new era has begun, and the old order has been torn open; this prelude is destined to ensure that only one of the Human Race or the Demon Race can become the protagonist of the new era! (End of chapter)