The power of spacetime seeped in. Across Demon King Pu’s body, vast swaths of destructive runes dimmed and shattered, his aura plummeting sharply.
“Ah!!”
Demon King Pu let out an unwilling roar, attempting to detonate part of his origin to break free, yet under the suppression of Immortal King Wuzhong, he was powerless to escape.
Witnessing the inevitable trend of defeat on his side, Kundi, trapped within the Life Forbidden Zone, finally had a trace of despair flash through his eyes.
He knew that everything was over.
This expedition to the Primordial Ancient Realm had not only failed to seize the Origin Ancient Artifact, but had instead cost them a great number of Immortal Kings. Even he himself was now mired in a desperate situation.
He cast a venomous glance at the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit and Immortal King Wuzhong outside, then looked once more at this shattered yet still-standing ancient realm, and let out a low growl like that of a wounded beast:
“Wuzhong! Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit! And this damned ancient realm! This matter… will never end here! The fury of the foreign land shall descend again!”
Before his words had even faded, he suddenly drove the Kunwood Staff in his hand into his own chest!
A dark origin far surpassing before, imbued with a tragic and sacrificial aura, erupted with a thunderous roar!
He was actually burning more than half of his own origin and this accompanying ancient artifact as the price to unleash some sort of blood-escape secret art!
“Bang!”
The cage of the Life Forbidden Zone was forcefully blasted open by this power, leaving a gap.
Kundi transformed into a blood-red streak of light so dim it was almost extinguished, carrying Demon King Pu with him as he fled into the chaos at an inconceivable speed, vanishing in an instant.
Only the Kunwood Staff, covered in cracks and greatly diminished in spirituality, fell from the sky.
Immortal King Wuzhong and the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit did not forcefully stop him.
When a giant burned his origin at any cost to flee for his life, unless a heavenly net had been laid in advance, it was extremely difficult to keep him there.
Moreover, their own conditions at this moment were far from perfect. If they forced an interception, they might well be injured by his deathbed counterattack.
Kundi had fled in grievous defeat!
With Kundi’s rout, the remaining dark power within the Primordial Ancient Realm was swiftly purged.
The tragic war that had lasted for who knew how long finally ended in a bitter victory for the Immortal Ancient allied forces!
Across the battlefield, everything was in ruins. Corpses lay everywhere, and shattered stars, mountains, and rivers bore witness to the cruelty of war.
Yet on the faces of every survivor was the excitement of having escaped disaster and the joy of victory.
“We… held it!”
The Immortal King of Six Paths Reincarnation was on his last breath, yet a relieved smile appeared on his face.
The True Dragon King let out a weary yet gratified dragon roar, his enormous body slowly coiling atop the ruins.
The Immortal Monk King pressed his palms together and softly chanted scriptures for the departed, his compassionate gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
Immortal King Pan, Immortal King Hunyuan, and the other reinforcements from the Immortal Domain also let out long breaths, their hearts filled with emotion.
They had arrived in time, fought shoulder to shoulder with their comrades of the ancient realm, and in the end, defended this important land.
The gazes of all the survivors involuntarily turned toward the enormous willow tree standing tall in the void—the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit.
It was Its timely return that had turned the tide of battle, bringing life and hope.
The Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit’s gaze slowly swept over this wounded homeland. Looking at the living beings casting grateful and reverent eyes toward It, Its emerald-green willow branches swayed gently, scattering even more light-rain imbued with healing power.
“The homeland… has finally been preserved.”
Its voice was gentle and carried a trace of fatigue almost impossible to detect, yet it conveyed an unwavering conviction to protect.
Immortal King Wuzhong also came forward and gave the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit a slight nod. “Many thanks, fellow Daoist, for your timely aid.”
“It was my duty,” the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit replied.
The two most ancient guardians of the ancient realm stood side by side once more. Though devastation filled their sight, the spark of the ancient realm had, in the end, been preserved.
After this battle, the connection between the Immortal Domain and the ancient realm became even closer, and the future in which they would jointly resist the darkness seemed to grow a little clearer.
And this heaven-shaking conspiracy meticulously planned by the foreign land, one that had swept across the Immortal Domain, the ancient realm, and the Realm Sea, ultimately ended in the foreign land’s total defeat.
The name of the Golden Crow Immortal King, Lu Xuan, was destined to resound throughout the myriad heavens and worlds alongside the legend of this battle.
The foreign army had collapsed. The Chi King and Wushang fled back to their lair like homeless dogs. Even the Imperial Radiance Immortal King, the Blade King, whose might had shaken the Realm Sea, had been grievously wounded and forced to flee, his whereabouts unknown.
This news spread through the entire Immortal Domain like wildfire, at a speed far surpassing light.
The ancestral land of the Golden Crows.
When news of victory, along with the battle images recorded at the front lines, was sent back to the Golden Crow ancestral land, the entire clan fell into an unprecedented frenzy and uproar!
“The Immortal King is invincible! The Immortal King is invincible!”
“Did you see that? That is our king! He holds up the heavens with one hand and can even defeat existences from the Realm Sea!”
“My Golden Crow clan shall rise! We shall rise to great heights!”
The younger clansmen were so excited that they revealed their true forms, transforming into Golden Crows burning with blazing flames. They wove and danced among the branches of the newly born Fusang divine tree, letting out clear, proud cries and scattering specks of golden solar radiance.
They waved their fists, their eyes filled with supreme worship for Lu Xuan and boundless yearning for the clan’s future.
The older generation of clansmen, such as Clan Chief Jin Qing and the elders, were even more overcome, tears streaming down their faces as they sobbed.
They recalled the danger of extermination not long ago, the despair under the coercion of the three great Immortal Kings, and compared it to the present, when Immortal King Lu Xuan, with invincible might, overawed the Immortal Domain and forced back the foreign land.
This violent contrast from hell to heaven made it impossible for them to restrain their emotions.
“Heaven blesses the Golden Crows! Our ancestors protect us, granting our clan such an enlightened lord!”
Clan Chief Jin Qing bowed deeply in the direction of the Sun Ancient Cave, his voice choked yet filled with strength.
“Pass down my order: the entire clan shall celebrate! All clansmen are to take the Immortal King as their example, cultivate diligently, live up to the Immortal King’s grace in remaking our clan, and raise our clan’s might!”
The entire Golden Crow ancestral land was decorated with lanterns and streamers. Immortal wine filled the air with fragrance, divine fruits were piled like mountains, and the clan sank into several days of revelry.
Every Golden Crow clansman’s face brimmed with pride and glory. Their backs were straight, and as they walked through the Immortal Domain, no one dared look down on them in the slightest.
Because of Lu Xuan alone, the Golden Crow clan had risen completely, returning to the ranks of the Immortal Domain’s top powerful clans. Their might was even greater than in ancient times!
Unlike the Golden Crow clan’s wild joy, the other races and forces of the Immortal Domain, while shocked by Lu Xuan’s terrifying strength, felt far more complicated emotions.
Those clans and orthodoxies that had once watched coldly from the sidelines when the three great Immortal Kings pressured the Golden Crow clan, or had even coveted them in secret, were now frightened out of their wits.
Clan chiefs and sect masters convened emergency meetings overnight, their voices trembling as they issued a series of orders:
“Quick! Take out the Nine-Orifice Divine-Communion Flower that has been treasured in the treasury for ten epochs! And that Solar Essence Gold Sword! No, inventory half the treasury’s treasures—no, seventy percent of them!”
“Immediately select the most beautiful and most talented goddess of the clan, prepare generous gifts, and this king will personally lead the party to the Golden Crow ancestral land to offer a humble apology—no, to congratulate the Immortal King for turning the tide and saving the Immortal Domain!”
“All disciples and followers, listen well! From this day forward, when you see a descendant of the Golden Crow clan, treat them as if this king himself had arrived! Whoever dares show the slightest neglect shall be executed without pardon!”
These forces surged toward the Golden Crow ancestral land like a tide. The gifts they presented piled up into mountains, and words of flattery and ingratiation were heard without end.