Daqin Zhentiansi

In the sky, flying demonic birds and skeletal war chariots, blotting out the sun, poured down corrosive demonic flames and destructive beams of light, precisely bombarding the core nodes of the gravity-distorted field.

The array masters responsible for controlling the formation bled from all seven orifices, desperately injecting their true essence to maintain it.

However, the resonance of the "Earth Vein Essence" was forcibly interfered with by the raging will of the abyss, and the gravitational field began to become unstable, with its range shrinking rapidly.

On the ground, the skeletal warriors, trampling over the corpses of their own kind, and under the supervision of the demon general, defied the remaining gravity and slammed their flesh and blood against the phantom of the Xuan Turtle!
Each impact caused the phantom to shake violently, and golden light to fly everywhere.

Behind them, the horde of venomous lizard demons spewed out a thick torrent of poison, constantly eroding and contaminating the runic shell of the Xuan Turtle, emitting a terrifying "sizzling" sound.

The Shadow Blade Demon Generals swarmed through the shadows, searching for weaknesses, and unleashing deadly soul piercings and curses, causing the warriors maintaining the formation to fall in droves as if struck by a heavy blow to their souls.

The arrow towers and spell cannon positions were already firing at full power!

The archers, equipped with the "Rift Abyss Camp-level Demon-Slaying Bow" and the "Thunderous Star-Shattering Arrow," moved their arms in a blur, unleashing arrows like locusts. These arrows exploded amidst the demonic tide, creating bursts of ghostly blue lightning and purifying green light, precisely targeting and killing the Shadow Blade Demons and high-ranking demon generals who were attempting to destroy the array base.

The cannons roared, and the power to annihilate stars cleaved through the demon horde, leaving bloody furrows.

However, the arrows were consumed far faster than they could be replenished, and the cannon barrels overheated, turning red-hot and twisting, even bursting!
The stockpile of arrows and energy crystals is rapidly running out!
The corpses quickly piled up like mountains in front of the defensive line, and the blood completely stained the scorched earth dark red!

The warriors' new "magic-piercing cone tower shields" shattered under countless heavy blows, and their fine rune armor was torn apart by demonic claws and corroded by venom.

The stretcher teams carrying the wounded shuttled back and forth, but they couldn't keep up with the speed at which the wounded were falling.

Under the relentless and frenzied onslaught, the illusory image of the Xuan Turtle had already dimmed by more than half, and its shell was covered with cracks. The speed of repair could not keep up with the speed of destruction!

Under immense pressure, the defensive line began to groan in distress, collapsing backward as a whole. Several key nodes flashed with a dangerous red light, and the runes covering them were crumbling and extinguishing inch by inch under the deep erosion of demonic energy!
"Report! The core of the 'Starry Gold' array at the third base on the left wing has shattered! The gravity field has failed!"

"Report! The right-wing arrow tower has run out of arrows! The rune cannon has overheated and is more than half destroyed!"

"Report! The central army's forward shield wall has been breached! Monsters are charging in! Brothers... they're using their bodies to plug the gap!"

Desperate cries were mixed with deafening battle shouts and demonic howls.

With the outermost and middle layers of defense exhausted, the core Xuan Turtle phantom and the defense line relying on it are about to be completely torn apart and collapse!
From the high platform, Yue Shanhe looked around.

Beneath their feet lay mountains of corpses and seas of blood, shattered weapons, and the resolute faces of warriors, their bodies stained with blood yet still fighting to the death.

He could clearly sense that the 200,000 comrades who were maintaining the illusory image of the Xuan Turtle were nearly exhausted in their true essence, and their souls were teetering on the brink of collapse under the erosion of the curse.

All backup plans, all reserves, and all ingenious arrangements have been exhausted to the limit under the crushing force and sheer numbers of this overwhelming power!
There's nowhere to retreat, and nowhere to defend!
Only by using this last bit of blood and spirit can we secure that crucial sliver of hope for the beacon towers behind us and for the Fire Commander's counterattack!
He suddenly raised his head, his steel-needle-like hair and beard dancing wildly in the demonic wind, letting out a mournful howl that pierced through the battlefield for miles, carrying with it his reluctance to part with his comrades, his regret for the unfinished cause, and even more so, his unwavering determination to move forward:
"Fire General! My lords! The flame of humanity will never be extinguished! Yue Shanhe... departs!!!"

The next moment, an unprecedented, more dazzling and intense light burst forth from his body!

That was not the light of true essence, but the radiance of Dao Fallen, which burst forth from the ultimate burning and sublimation of the source of life, the cultivation of the Venerable Realm achieved through a lifetime of arduous practice, and the indomitable guardian soul!

"To become the Dao with one's body, to forge the Great Wall with one's soul! Suppress—!!!"

"boom--!!!"

Yue Shanhe's towering figure, along with his burning will, transformed into a pure, vast, and eternally heavy pillar of light, like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens, forcefully plunging into the shaky, cracked phantom of the chaotic tortoise!

"Buzz—Roar!!!"

The phantom of the Xuan Turtle let out a dragon roar that shook the universe, filled with sorrow and indomitable spirit!
In an instant, it solidifies a hundredfold!
Every crack on the tortoise shell was mended by the Xuanhuang light, and every dim rune was relit, clear as a substance, flowing with Yue Shanhe's lifelong principles, soul power, and unwavering will to protect!

A tragic yet eternal protective aura suddenly spread out, forcefully stabilizing the collapsing defense line. The giant head of the Xuan Turtle was raised high, and it actually pushed back the surging torrent of demons at the forefront by dozens of feet!
Venerable Realm experts abandon reincarnation, transform their bodies into the Dao, merge into the defense line, and live and die with the position!
This was the most resolute and noble sacrifice, and also the last and most solid defense of the Bloodstained Gorge after exhausting all tangible defenses.

The Great Wall, forged from flesh and blood and soul!
Almost at the very moment that Yue Shanhe transformed into the Dao, and the tragic and eternal phantom of the Great Wall stabilized the crumbling defense line of the Blood-Weeping Gorge and pushed the demonic tide back!
"Now! Kill—!!!"

A roar filled with determination and boundless killing intent exploded like thunder from behind a carefully constructed camouflage bunker behind the defensive line!
The Venerable Zhaowu made a move!
His massive body was like an ancient ferocious beast that had broken free of its chains, and his body burst forth with an unprecedented, dazzling, pure golden light of the Celestial Race!
But within this golden light was a chilling crimson blood flame that burned the very essence of life and the foundation of the Great Dao!
His temples turned gray in an instant, and his resolute face was covered with fine bloodstains that indicated the collapse of his Dao foundation, but his aura was rising wildly at a destructive speed!

"Heavenly Gang Camp! Follow me—to slay the demon!!!"

The roar of Venerable Zhaowu tore through the demonic howls and the roar of the battlefield.

"We swear to follow the Venerable One to the death! Kill!!!"

Three thousand elite warriors of the Tiangang Camp, who had long since disregarded life and death, roared in unison, their voices converging into a soaring aura of malevolence.

They too ignited the flame of life, their true essence and blood burning fiercely, transforming into streaks of golden-red meteors!

Following closely behind were hundreds of warriors from different vassal races who had voluntarily joined this deadly raid. Their eyes showed no fear, only a resolute determination to perish with the demons!
This desperate army, fueled by flesh and soul, burst forth like a poisonous dragon emerging from a furnace of hell, striking fiercely from a weak point in the defensive line that was temporarily obscured by Yue Shanhe's Daoist light and deliberately appeared weak!
There is only one target: the Demon Lord's banner, fluttering in the surging demonic tide, exuding a strong aura of corruption and the oppressive power of a high-ranking demon lord's bloodline!

That was the most beloved direct descendant of the "Corrupted Poison Demon Lord," and the core of the Eastern Route Commander of the Demon Army!
"Stop them! Crush these ants!" The Corruption Demon Lord was filled with shock and rage. Its massive demonic body, covered in sticky scabs, suddenly turned and let out a piercing shriek.

Its personal guard of demons, a terrifying array composed of venomous lizard demon lords, skeletal troll overseers, and elite shadowblade assassins, surged forward like boiling venom, attempting to completely engulf the small "golden-red arrow."

The battle instantly intensified, becoming far more brutal than imagined!

Venerable Zhaowu took the lead, and the gilded giant axe in his hand, which symbolized the glory of the Celestial Race, was now infused with the power of his burning origin, as if it had transformed into a chaotic pillar of light that split the heavens and the earth! Each swing was accompanied by a shrill whistling that tore through the void and a roar that purified demonic energy.

Wherever the axe flashed, the skeletal trolls blocking the way were cleaved in two like rotten wood.

The lizard demon lord, spewing poisonous flames, was shattered into a foul-smelling mist by the violent axe strike.

Before the Shadow Blade assassins who attempted to launch a sneak attack could even get close, they were scorched by the violently burning golden-red aura and revealed in agony. They were instantly torn apart by the Heavenly Gang Camp assassins who were following closely behind!
However, the demonic tide's resistance was too strong!

The Heavenly Gang Battalion's suicide soldiers forged their sharp arrows with their burning lives, but like snowflakes thrown into a furnace, they melted away rapidly.

"Clear the way for the Venerable One!"

A centurion from the Heavenly Gang Battalion roared and shoved a skeletal giant that was blocking his way with his body, at the cost of having his chest pierced by the poisonous claws of another lizard demon lord.

He clung tightly to the lizard demon's claws, unleashing all his true essence and burning life force in his final moments!
"boom!"

The light from the self-destruction briefly cleared a small area, but it also took him and several of his comrades with him.

On the other side, a battle formation of dozens of assassins was covered by a dense barrage of Shadow Blade Demons and venom.

Their heavy armor rapidly melted away under the corrosion, their bodies withered under the curse, yet they remained stubbornly rooted to the spot, using their broken bodies and final roars to shield Zhaowu from the flank attacks.

With every breath, burning lives were extinguished by demonic claws and curses. The golden-red arrows struggled and resolutely advanced through the filthy demonic tide, leaving behind a tragic path paved with flesh and bones.

The Venerable Zhaowu's eyes were bloodshot with rage; the tragic sacrifice of his comrades felt like boiling oil being poured over his heart.

He let out another inhuman roar, the price of which was even heavier.

His hair turned from gray to pure white, and the bloodstains on his face burst open, with golden blood mixed with burning flames flowing down.

The giant axe in his hand shone with a light that surged a hundred feet, carrying a terrifying will that would destroy everything in its path and sever all cause and effect!
"Those who stand in my way—annihilated, body and soul! Slay them!!!"

This axe blow seemed to have drained the last bit of vitality from Venerable Zhaowu!

The axe light was no longer a simple slash, but transformed into a destructive torrent that swept across the battlefield, distorting space and seemingly freezing time wherever it passed!
The dense array of demon generals, the sturdy magic energy shield, and the gushing torrent of venom in front of them were all completely pierced and evaporated like paper before this axe light that combined the glory of heaven and man with the final song of life!
"Pfft—Boom!!!"

The grotesque body of the Corruption Demon Lord, covered with thick scabs of poison, was like a giant, red-hot blade cutting into rotten flesh!

Its protective artifact, forged from the bones of abyssal demons, shattered with a mournful cry the moment it came into contact with the axe light!

Half of the demon's body, along with several waving tentacles, was forcibly severed and torn apart by the violent axe force!
Thick, filthy demonic blood, containing terrifying corrosive power, gushed out like a burst dam, instantly corroding deep pits into large areas of the ground and emitting a nauseating stench.

"Ah—!!!" The Corruption Demon Lord let out a deafening scream, his massive body staggering backward, his demonic eyes filled with unbelievable fear and excruciating pain.

It never imagined that a Celestial Venerable who burned his very essence could unleash such terrifying power, so close to that of his father!
Victory seemed within reach; all that was needed was one more strike!
Despite the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart and his foundation crumbling, Venerable Zhaowu, his white hair dancing wildly and his cracked face contorted with murderous intent, raised the giant axe whose light had dimmed but was still deadly, and with the last bit of strength, cleaved it down fiercely at the Demon Lord's head, which was twisted in agony!
"Demon... beheaded!"

However, in that crucial, decisive moment!

The cost of burning, like a maggot clinging to a bone, has finally erupted completely!

The force that had been forcibly increased and pushed beyond the limits receded instantly like a tide, and an unprecedented feeling of weakness swept over his entire body.

Venerable Zhaowu felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, a tearing pain shooting through his soul. The giant axe he had raised seemed to weigh a ton, its light completely extinguished, and his downward strike inevitably faltered and distorted. His body staggered, almost losing its footing. That potentially fatal blow ultimately failed to land!

"Hehehe... Foolish celestial being! Your head is mine!"

A cold, mocking voice, filled with endless malice, like a viper flicking its tongue, rang out without warning behind Venerable Zhaowu as he staggered from exhaustion!

He is the top assassin under the command of Shadow Blade Demon Lord!
It had been lurking nearby for a long time, like the most patient venomous spider, waiting for this moment of decisive kill!
Just as Zhaowu's old strength was exhausted, new strength had not yet arisen, his foundation of the Dao collapsed, and his mind and spirit developed a crack due to exhaustion!

The space rippled slightly, and suddenly a silhouette, completely blending into the shadows except for two scarlet demonic eyes that gleamed with cruel light, appeared!
In its hand, a shadow blade, invisible and intangible yet imbued with the ultimate evil intent and soul-destroying power, pierced straight into Venerable Zhaowu's unsuspecting back with its extreme speed that could pierce through time and space, silently yet ruthlessly!

This attack was perfectly timed and extremely vicious, targeting Zhao Wu's most vulnerable moment, aiming to completely annihilate this Celestial Race Venerable who had burned his life to fight for a chance for humanity, along with his soul!
"mean!!"

Venerable Zhaowu instantly sensed the deadly chill and the killing intent that locked onto his soul.

He suddenly twisted his body, his eyes blazing with endless resentment and fury!

He saw those two crimson dots, he saw that invisible blade of death!

He could clearly feel the remaining power within his body frantically resisting the excruciating pain of collapse, trying to mobilize it, even if it was just to turn it to the side by half a step!

He even saw ahead, in the eyes of the Corrupt Poison Demon Lord, a mixture of ecstatic joy and resentment at surviving a catastrophe!

Almost there!
It was just a hair's breadth away from severely injuring or even killing the Demon Commander, and from creating a huge gap in the Fire Commander's plan!
This would alleviate the fatal pressure on their comrades who were struggling to hold out in the Bloodstained Gorge! (End of Chapter)