Chapter 555 Taibai Pass in the Northern Territory (Part Two, Nearly 10,000 Words!)

Like armored mountain ranges, colossal insects resembling divine peaks charged towards Taibai Pass with unstoppable force.

It was a Kun race Great Demon, similar to a centipede but with a smooth carapace. Its body stretched thousands of meters long and over four hundred meters wide. It arched like a ring mountain, bursting from the earth and using countless limbs to create pit after pit in the frozen ground.

Even among the myriad grotesque monsters of the demonic and邪邪 realms, such a vast and ferocious creature as the Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede was a rare sight. Endless earth-element spiritual power was drawn from the earth's depths, clinging to its outer shell as armor.

Boom! Scorching hot air transformed into white mist, erupting from the gaps in the giant insect's carapace. The soaring heat waves even melted the surrounding ice and snow, turning the frozen earth into a swamp.

Yet, even such an enormous insect seemed insignificant compared to its target.

It was a pillar of divine light reaching the heavens.

Amidst the surrounding mountains, layers upon layers of grand formations, as brilliant and vast as a galaxy, rotated in intricate patterns, the Five Virtues revolving like a small world.

And at the heart of these five formations, a man-made mountain forged from divine metal hung upside down in the sky, releasing a beam of light that connected to the earth's ley lines, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Several True Persons (Zhenren, experts above the Foundation Establishment stage) were stationed within, coordinating the formations and the earth's power, causing the light to blaze.

Countless spirit patterns flew, even obscuring the starlight. The platinum-gold divine mountain rotated, and as symbols and runes appeared and vanished on its surface, they guided the incredible power of the earth's ley lines through ethereal array patterns, merging it into the outermost city walls, reinforcing the hundreds of zhang (丈, ~3.3 meters) high fortifications to be virtually indestructible.

Faced with such a massive heavenly pass, even if a giant Kun demon at the True Person level attacked with all its might, it wouldn't be easily shaken, as long as the defending soldiers responded properly.

Taibai Pass was built on ley lines, a mountain range array based on the surrounding mountains. The patterns on its surface stretched hundreds of li (里, ~500 meters), and the divine runes beneath the ground extended even deeper into the earth's veins.

The core 'Taibai Undying Evil Subduing Grand Array' was personally blessed by the Holy Emperor and contained the purest five elements, the golden virtue power of a divine demon array.

However, the defending soldiers weren't just worried about 'this one' giant insect.

Many veterans who had fought against the Kun demons in the past had solemn expressions.

They knew that if one Kun demon at the True Person level could appear, it was impossible for there to be only one.

The Kun demons were never known for their 'power'.

Their key trait was always 'quantity'.

Boom, boom, boom!

Just as the first Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede began its charge, a series of similar bulges appeared on the ground, and seconds later, accompanied by the earth's rumbling, four more Mountain Ridge Giant Centipedes emerged.

They looked almost identical, making one suspect a multiple birth. These giant centipedes also moved their legs without hesitation, stirring up the dark clouds in the sky, and began a massive charge on Taibai Pass!

Behind them, the earth began to shake violently, then cracks spread everywhere. As black demonic mist churned, countless flying giant insects swarmed out. In just tens of seconds, the number of flying insects in the air exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand. They gathered in swarms, their ferocious mandibles and sturdy wings flashing in the sky, emitting an irritating buzz.

At the same time, from within the demonic mist, empowered by the dark heavenly demon and almost impenetrable to any detection spells, a tide of demonic soldiers suddenly surged forth — they were like crazed bees swarming around a hive, with the giant centipedes at their core, aggressively advancing with the Kun demons, like a black tsunami capable of destroying everything.

For a moment, if one ignored the obvious heavenly demon aura, the entire battlefield looked just like the core battlefields between the Tianyuan Realm and the Kun demons from decades ago.

"Damn it!"

Watching this, Wang Haitian's expression was grim: "They deceived us and avoided my detection!"

The moment he saw the Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede, he knew something was wrong—these earth-burrowing giant centipedes were skilled in earth-element power and were best at digging tunnels underground to supply the Kun demons' march. Moreover, for some reason, these demonic beings moved through the earth's ley lines with incredible ease, unimpeded, and even the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had difficulty finding them.

Taming the Kun demons was almost impossible even for gods and demons because their thought patterns and behavioral logic were so different from other creatures. They only obeyed the will of the Mother Nest Mother Insect.

Bewitching spells and mind control were useless. These fellows had no hearts; some didn't even have souls. Their bodies were essentially flesh-and-blood machines.

However, the presence of so many Kun demons on the battlefield indicated one thing.

The heavenly demon must have controlled a heavenly demon-level Kun race Mother Insect to control the numerous Kun demons born from that Mother Insect!

"When will reinforcements arrive?"

"The nearest Zhenbei Army (镇北军, Army that Protects the North) needs four hours. If the demonic army has reinforcements, it might be difficult to hold out."

The True Persons guarding the heavenly pass had solemn expressions. With the demonic army attacking on a large scale, they needed to maintain the stability of the earth's ley lines to ensure the stability of the Northern Territory's Taibai Pass, making it difficult to intervene.

Although His Majesty the Holy Emperor had foreseen that the heavenly demon would make a move recently, in order not to arouse the gods and demons' vigilance and attention, he didn't directly mobilize troops to the vicinity of Taibai Pass in advance, so reinforcements would still take some time to arrive.

For a moment, the atmosphere within Taibai Pass was heavy.

Since there were no reinforcements for the time being, they could only rely on their hard power to resist!

But, at this moment.

Just as Wang Haitian calmed down and prepared to return to the interior of the heavenly pass to adjust the earth's ley line patterns to ensure that the grand array wouldn't malfunction when impacted.

A swordsman whom no one had expected stepped forward.

The untrusted True Person, Yanchangfeng the Sky-Rending Sword, walked lightly towards the front of the city wall, facing the charging Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede.

"You—"

Watching the other party's back, Wang Haitian was stunned.

For a moment, he didn't understand why this remnant of the Zhengyang (正阳) Dynasty would actively fight for the New Dynasty's pass that had destroyed their country.

He didn't understand what was going through the mind of the True Person who was now gripping his long sword.

He didn't understand why Yan Changfeng would take action.

But in reality, sometimes there is no reason for action.

"Demonic army, Kun demons."

Gazing at the countless black figures surging out of the churning black demonic mist, and the giant Kun whose charge alone caused the surrounding mountains to crumble.

The sword-wielder felt no fear, nor any worry: "Since enemies have appeared, I should draw my sword."

—It was a matter of course. Such things as blades and swords were forged and born for this.

Yan Changfeng had always lived like this. He always wielded his sword for someone else, for the glory of his family, for Nan Zhengkai's ambition, for the mission of the Zhengyang Kingdom, never fearing anything.

Even when facing Zhuzhou, he dared to draw his sword, even if the price was almost facing death head-on.

But, at this moment.

The man's heart was stirring with thoughts very different from the past.

Yan Changfeng couldn't help but think of Ming Zhengde, who was unusually familiar with him despite never having met him.

He recalled what His Majesty the Holy Emperor of the New Dynasty had said to him.

"Yan Changfeng, you have no sense of country, no sense of civilization, and no sense of affiliation. You think working for anyone is working, wielding your sword for anyone is wielding your sword, it's all the same, is that right?"

"Yes, now, I can wield my sword for you too."

Sitting on the throne, a majestic and gentle voice came from above, while the swordsman simply stood and gave a dry, simple answer.

Although it sounded shameless, that was his true life.

"But, Yan Changfeng, aren't you human?"

To such an overly simple answer, Ming Zhengde shook his head slightly: "If that's the case, why not use your identity as a human, for yourself, for the human race, to wield your sword against those gods, demons, and hordes of monsters?"

—That sounded very reasonable.

Feeling the surging demonic energy from afar, Yan Changfeng, who was trying to wield his sword for himself for the first time, felt no fear, but also no expectation.

He merely gripped the hilt of the Nine Tribulations Divine Sword in his hand and began to gather strength to slay those incredibly powerful demonic soldiers who were infested with the power of heavenly demons, and to use his peak True Person level power and sword skills, which had once slain the divine bird Qingluan (青鸾), to block those mountain-sized giant insects.

—But, in the end, isn't it still the same thing?

He still felt some confusion in his heart.

Why was Ming Zhengde unwilling to personally order him to fight the demonic army? He would have done so, without any hesitation even if it meant death.

Why did he have to make him wield his sword with his own will?

Grasping the sharp blade in his hand, Yan Changfeng drew his sword.

At this moment, unparalleled sharpness emanated from him, and the sword light of the Nine Tribulations Divine Sword illuminated the clouds for a moment—but for some reason, this sword light, which was once enough to rend the sky and cleave clouds, had lost its former purity, as if it were a mirror, reflecting the sword-wielder's confusion.

Faced with such sword light, even the Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede felt no fear. It still screamed as it flew, charging with the densely packed demonic army covering the sky.

—To wield a sword against gods and demons as a human; or to wield a sword against gods and demons as a weapon being wielded by someone else… is there really a difference?

"Of course, there is."

Suddenly, at this moment.

Yan Changfeng seemed to hear a voice.

The voice came from the distant horizon, very young, but with an unspeakable majesty. Endless baleful aura seemed to reside within, making its words grim: "The latter is merely drifting with the tide of fate, while the former is a rebellion against this unjust world."

"And rebellion, is very important."

—Every rebellion, is very important.

At this moment, the Nine Tribulations Longsword in the man's hand was humming.

The divine weapon trembled, because it sensed that there was a similar, but far more powerful, counterpart appearing not far away.

And, it had already been drawn.

In the rear of Taibai Pass, a cyan-gold escape light flew, cutting through the sky and illuminating the battlefield.

Then, a fierce golden saber light shone on the horizon. It cleaved through the dark clouds, traversed the sky, and howled towards a Mountain Ridge Giant Centipede.

Crack—

In just an instant, the giant centipede's carapace, as indestructible as divine metal, snapped and split in two.

Its lower half struggled in place, while the upper half of its body, after emitting a shrill and painful scream that pierced the ears, still did not stop its momentum. This True Person level giant centipede still exerted force and lunged its large mandibles towards the walls of Taibai Pass.

But this time, Yan Changfeng followed closely with his sword, and dense sword light, with cyan sword-mark trajectories, enveloped the incoming insect head.

The incomparably sturdy head of the Kun demon immediately turned into a cloud of blood mist dissipating in the wind, like a sand sculpture on the beach.

Although it was a clean-up, it still counted as an instant kill of a True Person.

But Yan Changfeng didn't care about this praiseworthy achievement. He just raised his head, staring blankly at the high sky.

"National Preceptor, it's the National Preceptor!"

"It's True Person Zhuzhou!"

He could hear the heavenly pass soldiers who were deploying on the city walls looking up in joy, pointing to that starlight at the end of the sky.

There, the aura of Dao soldiers (道兵, soldiers empowered by Dao) was spreading.

—The sword and saber were born for contention, questioning, and the wielding of violence.

—Whether as a sword and saber, or as a wielder, one should question.

Only in this way can the sword and saber, as tools, have power and be imbued with the Dao of the master. Only then can an ordinary weapon become a Dao-bearing weapon!

In the distant high sky, from which the saber light was emitted, a figure wrapped in cyan-gold spiritual light stood in the clouds, more solemn than gods and demons.

He was now raising the Dao weapon in his hand, and the saber light of the Annihilation Blade was condensing with a momentum that seemed capable of destroying everything, causing the dark clouds in the sky to rotate around the blade like a vortex.

For a moment, it was as if a sun had appeared in the sky, shining before dawn. Whether it was the numerous soldiers within Taibai Pass, the heavenly pass shrouded by the ice and snow of the Northern Territory, or the earth shrouded in the black demonic mist, everything sensed a fierce scorching heat.

They couldn't help but cast their gazes and attention towards that direction.

Therefore, the Supernatural Power, Unity of All, was activated.

On the battlefield, whether it was the New Dynasty's side or the Nine Nether Demonic Army's side, the aspirations of everyone were gathered into the divine saber, becoming part of that vast power.

"The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons, and vice versa."

The saber hummed, and the young man's voice was like thunder: "Just wielding a sword without criticizing or questioning the opponent's beliefs—such wielding of a sword cannot be called combat, cannot be called swordsmanship."

"It's just children wielding blades!"

After saying that, the saber-wielder gripped the handle with both hands.

He swung the saber towards the land opposite the heavenly pass, covered in black mist, towards the Nine Nether Demonic Army flying all over the sky, and the countless Kun demons!

Rumble!

All the dark clouds in the sky collapsed with the saber light at this moment, turning into a cloud-flowing saber of unknown length, scarlet flames rising in the twisting dark clouds like a tornado, stirring up lightning and thunder.

The scarlet-gold light of the Dao weapon shattered the sky, pulverizing the clouds and the sky together. The wind and snow turned into rain in an instant, then vaporized into mist, and the mountains and earth shook and even cracked.

Countless demonic soldiers and Kun demons dissipated in this saber light, purified into flying dust.

Yan Changfeng gazed at this scene.

He watched the divine saber that clearly gathered the thoughts of millions of beings on the field, yet was incomparably condensed, and with one strike, it slew tens of thousands of Kun demons and demonic soldiers. He remained silent.

That was a saber light that surpassed his centuries of honed sword skills, far more condensed and pure than any sword light he had wielded in the past.

Bathing in the light of the Dao weapon imbued with the 'Dao of Eternal Innovation'.

The man gripped the sword in his hand.

—To wield the sword for one's own wishes.

Could one become so powerful with one's own words?

But, what exactly were his own wishes?

Yan Changfeng—the swordsman—the Sky-Rending Sword of the former Zhengyang Kingdom, now gripped the sword in his hand.

He stepped forward, then leaped off the city walls of the heavenly pass, rushing towards the several Mountain Kun demons that had stopped due to Zhuzhou's saber strike, but were now charging again.

Perhaps few people, or perhaps no one, knew that Yan Changfeng didn't like swords at all, didn't like weapons.

He was just a child who liked to daydream and read books. It was only because he was born into a family of generals that he casually chose the sword as a compulsory weapon.

Indeed, he had astonishing talent, great strength, and incredible sword skills, but that didn't mean he liked fighting or sword skills.

Compared to these, he would rather sit at home practicing calligraphy and ink painting. Only those unrestrained strokes could bring him joy.

But in the Warring States era, if a man didn't wield a sword, how would he survive?

The Tianyuan Warring States era, started by gods and demons and expanded by Kun demons, was an era in which everyone had to fight. If you didn't fight, you would die.

At that time, even young children in the countryside would sharpen a small stone knife for themselves and play with it on weekdays, let alone the Yan family, which was originally a family of generals.

Not liking swords, yet having to make a living with swords, Yan Changfeng, who had no dreams or wishes, could not find any reason to wield his sword.

In that case, he would entrust the reason to others—let others decide for him how to wield his sword and who to wield it against.

By entrusting all thought and responsibility to others, he could get rid of all extraneous thoughts and wield a pure, flawless sword light.

But now.

For some reason, the man's heart, as he acted, was stirring restlessly because of Zhuzhou's saber light, as hot as fire.

—Zhuzhou, also, seemed to have no reason.

He clearly didn't belong to this land, nor was he human. He clearly had no hatred or grievances with the gods and demons, nor did he have any relationship with the people of the New Dynasty—why did he protect the residents of Beiling City in the first place, and why did he oppose the gods and demons?

He couldn't understand. No matter how much he thought, he couldn't understand, just like how someone without a dream would protect the dreams of others. This kind of thing sounded like a joke.

But, Zhuzhou still decisively took action, wielding his saber without reservation, and was incredibly powerful, and getting stronger and stronger.

This…

Could this be 'Dao'?

A 'Dao' that was enough to become a god and demon, surpassing the True Person realm?

If that was the case, what was my 'Dao'?

No… Thinking of this, Yan Changfeng shook his head. This was too far away. He was still very far from the Dao.

—So, it was better to think.

To think about what he really wanted to do.

Then, after a moment of silence.

"I don't want to wield a sword anymore."

Whispering to himself, expressing his most sincere wish, the long sword in Yan Changfeng's palm was now burning.

Cyan flames were ignited from the tip of the sword, and then instantly enveloped the divine sword Nine Tribulations. The swordsman raised the long sword in his hand, and a bright arc of light swept across, causing the dust and mist to break open: "I don't want to live in an era where I can only wield a sword anymore."

"Therefore, the present me, must wield a sword."

On the earth, an incomparably bright sword light lit up again, a power that was enough to burn mountains and boil seas, stirring up a heaven-shattering tsunami.

Accompanying it were the wails of several Mountain Ridge Giant Centipedes.

Above the sky.

Su Zhou, who had been flying all the way from Chiqiu Province and had arrived at the battlefield as quickly as possible, held the divine saber in his hand, staring intently at the depths of the demonic mist.

There was the power of the Dark Heavenly Demon there, who blessed the darkness, making it difficult to see the scene inside the mist.

At this moment, he also noticed that in front of Taibai Heavenly Pass, Yan Changfeng was wielding his sword, and this time, his sword light was no longer as empty and illusory as it used to be, but finally had its own core.

That guy, who in Ming Zhengde's words, had a shining point deep inside his heart, seemed to have 'once again' found a reason to fight in this life.

—In this world, everyone has a reason to fight for themselves, whether they are strong or weak, noble or humble.

Just like in the Dragon God World in the past, the seven Dragon Ball holders fought each other, they all had their own correctness, they all had their own wishes, and they all wanted to change the world for themselves, or for others.

The same was true in this Perfect World. Whether it was immortals or heavenly demons, heavenly demons or mortals, they all had their own purposes.

And Zhuzhou, of course, was no exception.

He existed to awaken the internal motivation of people's hearts, for a 'better world' and 'better wishes'!

"Without you gods, demons, and monsters."

Therefore, standing in the sky, the young man laughed and swung the divine saber at the depths of the black mist for the third time: "This world will become better!"

Unlike the fierce saber strike before, and unlike the sky-collapsing saber strike before, this time, Su Zhou's saber light was like a straight line, thin and condensed. It flew out without causing any waves.

The light was like a line, flashing past, and even the dust in the air was not stirred up.

At the same time, in the depths of the black fog, a demonic army general wearing black Weiguo (卫国, Defend the Nation) battle armor, who seemed to be sitting in the center of an array, let out a shrill scream.

He also had the strength of the True Person level, and was wearing incomparably tough divine metal armor. But as the saber light flashed, an unhealable, immortal saber mark appeared on his chest, causing the general, who was wielding the power of gods and demons, to gradually move towards death.

—That thin saber light seemed to be swung casually at the Kun demons and demonic soldiers all over the sky, but in reality, the real target was him, who was presiding over the 'Demon Earth Great Array'!

[Zhuzhou! It's you again!]

In the general's mournful cry, an extremely furious thought of a god and demon rang out—it was the voice of the Dark Heavenly Demon.

It had blessed the demonic mist, causing everything in it to be shrouded in darkness. In this way, the heavenly pass side could not actively attack, or prevent the Nine Nether Demonic Army from moving in advance, and could only passively take a beating, allowing the Demon Earth Great Array to gradually be perfected.

But now, the body of descent, which was the intermediary for the Dark Heavenly Demon to exert its power, was beheaded by Su Zhou's saber. This immediately made the Dark Heavenly Demon feel an unspeakable fear in its heart—compared to the last time when the avatar could fight back and forth with Su Zhou for several rounds, this time, its body of descent was instantly killed upon meeting, which was enough to show how terrifying Su Zhou's progress was!

If this continued… if that Zhuzhou became a god and demon, then even if his true body descended, he would probably be beheaded by him!

And at this moment, because the Dark Heavenly Demon's body of descent was beheaded, a large gap suddenly appeared in the demonic mist that originally shrouded half of the Northern Territory, and dissipated in the storm.

It could be seen that on the white earth that should have been flowing in Baishan (白山) Province, there were now deep demonic patterns everywhere. The power from the heavenly demon penetrated deep into the earth's veins, gradually changing the essence of this land and infecting it into 'demon earth'!

Demon earth that could allow many heavenly demons' true bodies to descend, without fear of 'great misfortune'!

At the same time, it could also be seen that on the land that was originally covered in black fog, a Nine Nether Demonic Army was detouring, seemingly planning to attack the weak area of Taibai Pass from the side—under the cover of the demonic mist, this action could indeed be said to be done without anyone knowing, but now that the black mist had dissipated, exposing them, it immediately made the leader of this demonic army not know what to do.

Everything happened in just a few breaths.

The cyan-gold sunlight floated in the sky, cutting out three saber lights, killing the True Person Kun demon, sweeping away most of the demonic army and Kun demons, and killing the Dark Heavenly Demon's body of descent, all in just three breaths.

And now, the silent Taibai Heavenly Pass finally started, and began to explode with its own power.

"Prepare!"

Wang Haitian's angry voice rang from inside the core array of Taibai Heavenly Pass: "Aim and attack the target!"

—Because it was impossible to aim at the target in the demonic mist, and they could only wait for the Nine Nether Demonic Army to move and passively take a beating, all the guards of the pass had felt extremely aggrieved these past few days.

Now, with the clouds and mist dissipating, following the order of the chief engineer of the earth vein array, the five layers of arrays surrounding Taibai Heavenly Pass inside and out suddenly intertwined and rotated under the control of a cultivator, deriving countless dense rune array patterns, making the entire heavenly pass thunder web like a honeycomb grid.

Incomparably majestic spiritual energy poured into these honeycombs, and dazzling spiritual light converged and focused, the power of the 'Golden Land Veins' of Baishan erupted.

In an instant, countless spiritual lights condensed into incomparably sharp golden energy blades, and then turned into a rain of knives all over the sky, directly pouring into the ranks of the demonic army—thousands of divine lights comparable to those of heaven-rank experts, and several divine lights that could be compared to True Person spells, were derived from the arrays all over the sky, killing many demonic soldiers and tearing countless vertical and horizontal knife marks into the earth.

Then, the golden energy blades exploded on the spot, shattering into countless sharp knife light particles, crushing the Nine Nether army.

Although endless Kun demons were still gushing out from the cracks in the earth, the offensive power of the fully operational Taibai Heavenly Pass was equally incredible.

It could be seen that the divine metal mountain hanging above the heavenly pass trembled slightly. At this moment, one could even clearly feel the pulse of the earth. The power of the earth's veins was mobilized and extracted by the array, and finally a materialized long sword was condensed on the top of the divine mountain.

—Ying Tian Cheng Qi Five Virtues Great Array·Gold. (应天承炁五德大阵·金)

—Innate Geng (庚) Metal Sword Light.

The terrifying formation designed with gods and demons and even the Heavenly Emperor Demon Lord as imaginary enemies was now showing its power.

A platinum-gold light shone from the Geng Metal long sword. This light was not dazzling, but it was impossible to look directly at. As long as you glanced at it slightly, your eyes would be as painfully as if they had been pierced by a sharp sword.

Then, the sword energy burst out, and the long sword turned into a shooting star, with a long rainbow tail, and landed on the cracked earth.

Buzz—

There was no violent roar, and no abnormality. It could only be seen that the platinum-gold sword energy was vertical and horizontal in silence, and the world seemed to be stagnant—but after a moment, all the areas swept by the sword energy, whether it was hills, mountains, frozen earth, or ice and snow, all were cut off in silence, constantly being cut off, and divided into basic particles.

This was a slash that penetrated to the atomic level. Even the sound was crushed. The army of Kun demons was instantly wiped out and turned into particles that didn't even count as dust.

And the earth that was constantly pouring out Kun demons was now an extremely regular cylindrical pit with a radius of tens of miles. This pit penetrated extremely deep into the ground, and there was still sword energy permeating inside. Although Kun demons were still digging out from the soil and rocks around the pit, they would be directly crushed as soon as they appeared.

The Northern Territory Taibai Heavenly Pass was indeed showing the combat power that Ming Zhengde had planned for many years.

Even in the face of the Nine Nether Demonic Army blessed with the power of gods and demons, it could still confront it head-on!

But even so, it still could not eliminate all the enemies.

No, it was better to say that the enemies that could survive… were not human in the first place!

At this moment, it could be seen that on the demon earth that had been washed several times by Su Zhou's saber light, Yan Changfeng's sword light, and even the entire Taibai Heavenly Pass formation attack, there were still a few demonic soldiers alive.

—The so-called demonic soldiers were nothing more than human armies that had been infected by the heavenly demon's aura, completely crazed, and lost their self.

And every demonic soldier was a good material for the descent of gods and demons.

Therefore, it could be noticed that the aura of those surviving demonic soldiers was becoming more and more powerful and terrifying.

[I haven't seen a little bird like you who is so disrespectful to gods and demons for a long time. I didn't eat enough last time, so this time I will taste it carefully…]

[Despicable divine bird!]

[This Taibai Heavenly Pass is still a bit interesting. If it weren't for our true bodies descending, it would really be difficult to break through.]

In an instant.

Deep and terrifying thoughts of heavenly demons descended from the distant Nine Nether world.

In an instant, three huge heavenly demon phantoms appeared on the opposite side of the heavenly pass. These phantoms had boundless aura. The moment they appeared, they stirred up all the heaven and earth vitality within a radius of hundreds of miles, and the range of influence continued to spread in all directions, all at the peak of the True Person realm!

Decay, darkness, war.

In an instant, the bodies of descent of the three heavenly demons arrived together.

The body of descent of the Decay Heavenly Demon was a giant insect like a dragonfly. With a flap of its wings, it rapidly changed and disrupted the heaven and earth vitality. The chaotic vitality changes in the giant pit sealed by the Xiantian (先天, pre-natal) Geng Metal sword energy immediately erased the sword mark that should have lasted for hundreds of years unchanged, and many sealed Kun demons once again poured out from the ground, covering the sky.

The world-descent body of the War Heavenly Demon, a middle-aged Weiguo general, stretched out his hand, and all the murderous aura and fighting intent of the soldiers and weapons were collected into his hand. Even the corpses of the many dead and wounded demonic soldiers and Kun demons before dissolved under his power, turning into light, and finally turned into a blood-red mountain-like halberd in his palm.

The heavenly demon phantom waved the halberd in his hand at will, and wherever the murderous aura passed, the earth was lifeless. He looked at the distant Taibai Heavenly Pass with a smile on his face, his scarlet eyes full of expectation, whether it was battle or slaughter.

[Don't be too careless, this Zhuzhou is very strong, unlike the divine birds you have seen in the past!]

And the Dark Heavenly Demon, the heavenly demon that Su Zhou had met many times, had a solemn look on his face.

Because he had been repelled by Su Zhou several times, he was more cautious than other heavenly demons: [The order from His Majesty the Demon Lord is to take down the Baishan Province earth veins as soon as possible. He will block the God Emperor and buy us time!]

Turning his head, the huge heavenly demon phantom looked at the Taibai Heavenly Pass at the end, and at the young man who had already landed on the walls of the pass.

[Zhuzhou, in the name of the Great Desire Heavenly Demon King, I am issuing you the final invitation—are you willing to become one of us and become a 'Destruction Heavenly Demon'?]

They were also very clear about Zhuzhou's power. Although it was not impossible to eliminate him, if it dragged on for too long, the Demon Lord's plan would undoubtedly be disrupted.

In that case, it was better to try to recruit him.

The heavenly demon's voice echoed between heaven and earth.

Hearing this public invitation, although everyone in the entire heavenly pass believed that Zhuzhou, as a virtuous divine bird, would not agree, they could not help but hold their breath.

Yes, Zhuzhou was their New Dynasty's National Preceptor, the creator of the Yin-Yang Rotation Immortal Technique and the Five Virtues Qilin Technique, two popular cultivation methods. He was the 革易 (Ge Yi, Revolution and Change) divine bird who was born to uphold the idea of saving the world and protecting the people.

But that was a heavenly demon—a member of the gods and demons.

Although it was said to be a heavenly demon, not a celestial god, was there really a difference?

Was there really anyone, any being, who could calmly refuse when faced with the temptation to become an immortal god or demon?

At this moment, standing on the gate wall of Taibai Heavenly Pass, Su Zhou, holding the Annihilation Blade, remotely faced the three extremely powerful heavenly demon phantoms, which were obviously descending with serious and full strength.

Under the gaze of everyone, the young man grinned and smiled.

"Not enough."

Under the horrified gazes of all the New Kingdom soldiers, including the heavenly demons' incredulous gazes, Su Zhou shook his head gently and sighed, "Not enough."

[Don't go too far, little bird!]

Immediately, the Decay Heavenly Demon's insect body flapped its wings and flew forward, making a buzzing sound that shook the mountains.

His tone was impatient: [The position of the Destruction Heavenly Demon is the position of the Great Heavenly Demon, even my position is slightly inferior. The only ones that can be compared with it are the 'Death Heavenly Demon' and the 'Domination Heavenly Demon' and other Great Heavenly Demons!]

[However.] But at this point, he suddenly changed his tone: [If we add the position of an ordinary heavenly demon, it's not impossible to discuss.]

[After all, with your potential, if you become one of us, you will definitely be a strong man second only to the Heavenly Demon King!]

He was actually seriously bargaining—this instead showed the sincerity of the heavenly demons.

"No, you probably misunderstood something."

But at this moment, Su Zhou shook his head.

He showed a subtle smile, the young man gripped the handle of the divine saber, and the spiritual energy in his body, which contained both yin and yang and the five elements, was rapidly running, transforming into incredible power.

"I mean, just the three of you heavenly demon descents?"

"Not enough."

Yesterday's update! There's another chapter today, trying to write it!

Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month!