The furious roar of the Sky Blue Demon Roc echoed out, but this time there was a hint of panic in its voice.
It did not want to be banished, so it resisted with all its might.
The massive lotus flower, illuminated by the falling white lotus rain, wrapped tightly around its enormous body.
“Rise,” as more and more spiritforce poured in.
The Demon Roc’s huge form began to float slowly upward, pushed toward the rift.
But it still fought violently.
Its sharp cDaos tore at the lotus, the two golden horns atop its head radiating terrifying power.
Flames, lightning, and countless elemental forces burst outward.
At that moment, everyone noticed that the white lotus wrapping around it was gradually turning black.
In just an instant, half the lotus had become pitch black.
“This is… the Dao of Death,” the woman in the white dress said in shock. “Stop it quickly, don’t let it use the Dao of Death, otherwise my lotus won’t hold.”
The Daos were divided into many kinds. The five elements, metal, wood, water, fire, earth, as well as wind, thunder, light, darkness, ice, these were Minor Daos.
But above these Minor Daos were Grand Daos, life, death, spirit, destruction, curse, even time and space.
These Grand Daos were far harder to comprehend, and their power far exceeded the Minor Daos.
Hearing her words, the crowd grew solemn.
The Blind Sage wielded his long staff, smashing it down toward the Demon Roc’s head.
The staff spun several times in his hand, buzzing as the vibrations tore through space.
Then, with a deafening boom, it struck the Roc squarely on the skull.
The others didn’t dare hesitate either.
A five-clawed golden dragon soared from the sky. Freezing snow sealed the land for miles.
A flaming lion roared its way forward, while a giant axe split the heavens.
The Ten Founders all unleashed their powers, striking at once to stop the Demon Roc from using the Dao of Death to destroy the white lotus.
“You all deserve death!” the Roc bellowed from within the lotus.
“World-Purifying White Lotus!” The white-dressed woman’s voice, hoarse yet powerful, drowned out its roar.
Endless streams of white spiritforce surged from her body, linking directly with the enormous lotus.
A sacred aura flowed within it.
“The Dao of Divinity?” sensing this, the Demon Roc shouted in horror. “You too… have stepped into Immortality.”
Meanwhile, above them, the heavens darkened as thunderclouds gathered, lightning ripping apart the demonic aura.
Heavenly Tribulation descended, ready to obliterate the land, its power vast and merciless.
“Hurry!” sensing the heavenly calamity, the white-dressed woman shouted. “My tribulation is not yet passed, if I use the Dao’s power too long, it will force me into tribulation. We’ll all die here!”
Everyone’s expressions grew grim.
Xu Zimo remembered she had explained before.
Stepping into the Nirvana Void Realm required two steps: first, turning Nomological Truths into Primal Daos. This she had already accomplished.
But without enduring the tribulation, it was only half a step.
The tribulation was crucial, and without full preparation, she had no intention of facing it now.
“Together, push it into the rift!” the Blind Sage commanded.
With the Dao of Divinity countering the Dao of Death, and everyone’s combined effort, the Demon Roc’s massive body was finally forced inch by inch into the rift leading to the God World.
“You wait, one day this king will return!” the Roc roared in fury from within.
But with a wave of Xu Zimo’s hand, the spatial wall slammed shut.
The demonic aura and storm clouds gradually dissipated, leaving only the battlefield in ruins.
……
When the Sky Blue Demon Roc was thrust into the God World, its Nirvana Void cultivation allowed it to sense a world’s Daos directly.
It discovered this was nothing like what Xu Zimo had claimed, not some collapsing world on the verge of destruction.
But instead, a complete world, with perfect Daos and abundant spiritforce.
Its heart trembled, unwilling to believe.
A complete world.
It understood all too well what such a thing meant.
“Welcome to the God World,” a voice suddenly came from the side.
The Demon Roc turned quickly, seeing Paimon and Seven-Face standing there.
Shockingly, it hadn’t sensed their presence at all until now.
“Who are you?” it demanded.
“You’ll know in time,” Paimon replied with a grin. “But for now, our master has ordered me to teach you a lesson before giving you answers.”
That day, the anguished screams of the Sky Blue Demon Roc echoed endlessly throughout the Myriad Beast Realm.
……
“It won’t come back, right?” After the Roc was sent away, a weary elder collapsed onto the ground with a sigh of relief.
“It shouldn’t,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“This time our Heavenly Dao Academy owes you a great debt. In the future, if you need aid, as long as it’s within our power, we will help,” the Blind Sage told him.
Xu Zimo simply shook his head lightly.
His real goal was the Demon Roc. As for the Academy’s debt, that was just a convenient side effect.
After finishing, the Blind Sage looked toward the woman in white again.
“Now that the Demon King is dealt with, we will return to seclusion. In this crisis, remember well the students who stood by the Academy.”
“I will,” she nodded.
The Ten Founders’ figures slowly faded into the void.
Unless the Academy faced destruction, they would not appear again.
Now, the Academy was left entirely under the headmistress’s authority.
“After such a war, there is much to rebuild,” the white-dressed woman looked at Xu Zimo with a faint smile. “I’ll be very busy for some time.”
“I’m going to the Treasure Tower,” Xu Zimo replied directly.
“No problem,” she answered. “The token I gave you before grants you entry. No one will stop you.”
Waving his hand, Xu Zimo walked straight toward the Treasure Tower.
Watching his retreating back, the woman in white shook her head with a smile.
“I truly look forward to the day Heaven’s Will descends.”
At that moment, Pure Water was still keeping watch at the tower’s gazebo. Seeing Xu Zimo approach, she hurried to ask, “Are you all right?”
“It’s all been taken care of,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“That’s good, that’s good,” Pure Water exhaled in relief, nodding. “Thank you again this time.”
Xu Zimo took out the token and placed it on the chess table in the gazebo.
As the token glowed brightly, the previously locked stalemate of black and white stones shifted in an instant.