As the formation cracked under the relentless assault of Xinzi's Divine Blood Tide, some unfortunate Qiu clansmen suffered heart-stopping accidents. A middle-aged man dragging a crate of wing-shaped metallic treasures to a nearby ritual spot stumbled due to the tremors. The crate fell on his back, bringing down the wing-shaped treasures. As sharp as a sword master's qi blades, the metallic wings tore through the middle-aged man's back—turning him into a mess of blood, flesh, and bones.
"Father!" A nearby young man squealed at this scene, but as he too carried dangerous materials, he couldn't ignore the ongoing tremors to rush to his father's side. His eyes turned moist, rising towards the sky where Qiu Sanbao raced at the Hengye monarch.
"Hengye clan! If I don't wipe you all from the face of Earth, my name isn't Qiu Chen!" The young man clenched his fists and resumed his work. Scenes like this replayed all around. The Qiu clansmen found nothing wrong with their actions, nothing wrong with their elders making them carry such horrifying tools around, nothing wrong with the sacrifices they had to suffer or the disasters that Qiu Meng's return would likely bring forth.
The conviction that all their actions had the blessing of righteousness drove them on, making any other considerations irrelevant. Their hatred for the Hengye clan ballooned, even eclipsing the Taiyang that caused Qiu Meng's death in the first place.
Separated from Xinzi's Divine Blood Tide by the Immortal Slaying Formation, Qiu Sanbao's storage ring flashed. One mammoth-sized shadow appeared in the sky, expanding under the world's gaze as it tumbled on the scene. Pale-blue flesh shriveled on elongated, bony limbs, flashing green eyes and a fanged smile, the creature stirred from its visible torpor, causing an eruption of Blood Energy and Evil Qi to soar into the night sky.
"A False Devil of the Relentless Affiliation?" Xinzi said, and with one glance, could see that the devil's cultivation base reached the peak of the Demon Creed—quite low for an upper realm lord.
Without glancing Xinzi's way, the undead clawed at the Divine Blood Tide—causing spatial disruptions from sheer physical prowess alone. An Evil Blood Tide formed at his clawed fingertips, rushing to crash upon Xinzi's Divine Blood tide. Both sides met in a cataclysmic explosion. The Qiu island shook once more, and though the clansmen's progress had never stopped, many died from stumbling on the wrong block.
The False Devil expected swift victory, but barely managed to reduce the scope of Xinzi's tide, his green eyes flashed at this peculiar scene, and his sanguine elongated tongue, flicked over his lips.
"Oh? Young man, you can contend with My Infernal Self? I am the Undying Freak, a Red-Tongued Devil of the Relentless Affiliation. State your na…holy shit." The red-tongued undead had barely started his "I Am a Demon Boss" entrance speech that his eyes locked on Xinzi's radiant third eye, and the Thousand-Faced God's shadow at his back. His cold undead heart chilled further, and he reeled back.
"Devils and demons of the Relentless Affiliation are notorious for their nigh-invulnerable bodies. But My Divine Self has always felt that you were all overrated. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to prove this point. As for the name…" Xinzi folded his arms. The Divine Blood Tide gathered around him. More blood energy poured out, painting the world red while at Xinzi's left and right, the unrestrained Divine Power shrank into tall armored forms. Built from divine light alone, the six armored giants wielded bows and quivers, ready to fire at Xinzi's command.
"Others would deny you the right, but I am of the firm belief that the dead should always know to whom they owe their grief. Hengye Zhen, of the Eternal Night Dynasty, greets Your Excellency," Xinzi said, and as the Devil still processed what he faced, the six Divine Guardians bent bows and arrows, knocking off their shots at both the False Devil and Immortal Slaying Formation.
Six arrows became one million, the Crippling Night Manifestation enfeebled all underneath the sky, Xinzi snapped his fingers, and black tribulation lightning tumbled down, making all Qiu clansmen despair before this succession of methods that only true deities could unleash.
"Humph! I don't know what connections you have to Shenzuo and Yongye, and I don't care. Qiu Meng's resurrection involves existences that a mid-stage Immortal Foundation boy shouldn't antagonize. Since you're so eager to return to Heaven, allow My Infernal Self…to fulfill your wish!" The Red-Tongue Devil regained his momentum and again clawed at the air. His head, body and arms swayed, falling into a tribal dance rhythm.
One-hundred dark-purple coffins appeared in the sky, forming a barrier of Evil Qi that stood in the million-arrow and black lightning's way.
Deafening blasts upon deafening blasts turned the world upside down. The vibrations spread throughout the Endless Sea, warning island lords, archipelago masters, sea beasts and other underwater lives of the confrontation that took place at the Qiu island.
The Undying Freak backpedaled. His 100 coffins cracked, clearly outmatched by the relentless barrage that pressed them from the front and up above. "Qiu bastards, what are you waiting for? Give me the talismans, otherwise, we will all get buried here!" The False Devil panicked.
Gods and spirits belonged to Elemental Pantheons whereas demons and devils split into Affiliations. The affiliations made up all the actions, emotions and desires that disturbed the natural order or generated Evil Qi. In this infernal order, the Relentless Affiliation ranked low. After all, in the paradises where most individuals had some form of immortality, bloodlines that only granted resilient bodies and regeneration abilities couldn't impress many.
If not for the backing of some superior entity, this Red-Tongued undead wouldn't have managed to become a False Devil. It didn't plan to die here, especially not against a boy by two levels his inferior!
"Y-yes!" Turned speechless by the confrontation, Qiu Sanbao stuttered the words, then tapped his storage rings, releasing a flurry of glowing talismans that raced at the Red-Tongued Devil. His lips curled into a fiendish grin, revealing chalky-white fangs that cackled in his mouth.
"Your mid-stage Immortal Foundation cultivation base is just equal to a peak Void Tribulant mortal. I, on the other hand, am a match for a peak Heavenly Immortal. I refuse to believe that you can make up for this gap!" The devil said, and joined his hands for a succession of mudras. Eldritch incantations rolled out of his lips, bringing forth infernal runes that fused with the golden talismans. The cracks on the 100 coffins vanished, the lids rolled to the side, revealing 100 Corpse Demons that leaped out of the coffins—animated by feral murder-lust.
Alas, while the coffins and Red-Tongued Devil avoided harm, the barrier didn't have such luck. Divine arrows cracked their ways in, bringing volleys and night tribulation lightning into the whirlpools—destroying them all instantly!
The Immortal Slaying Guards broke down, the ritual had reached a stable point, with one tall altar shining with colorful rays and sucking in…the most promising of Qiu clansmen. A rift opened at the altar's back, but the Qiu elders who poured their all into the defense barrier puked blood. Seeing this, the Red-Tongued Devil sneered and tossed talismans their way.
Qiu Sanbao aside, all Qiu elders—including Sanren—found a talisman plastered on their forehead. Their vitality dwindled, their skins paled, and they shot toward Xinzi, empowered by nefarious magic.
The Glorious Eye of Heaven's divine light swept through the elders' ranks. The 100 Corpse Demons marched at their backs, each with at least a late-stage Demon Creed cultivation base—some even at the peak!
Xinzi's Immortal Qi, the weakest of his arsenal, rolled out. One-hundred divine locks took shape all around him, pairing with his matchless constitution to make his Immortal Qi, Blood Energy and Divine Power rise again.
"Shield." Xinzi ordered, and before his six bow-wielding retainers, a vanguard of twelve shield-wielding giants appeared, with spears raised beside their shields in a phalanx formation. The Qiu elders slammed into the vanguard and burst into nothingness.
"B-brother!" Qiu Sanbao tightened his fist, but soon shrugged off his brother's fate to bring about the ritual's last step.
"Assault!" Xinzi's 100 shackles vanished, appeared above the Corpse Demons, and sent them all tumbling into the depths of the Endless Sea. Answering their creator's command, the 18 Divine Guardians lunged forward. The shield and spear-wielding phalanx surrounded the Red-Tongued Devil. The six archers aimed at the Qiu clansmen, again firing a deluge of bolts that dropped upon them like Heaven's wrath incarnate.
Building on the Qiu clan's sacrifices, the ritual altar produced a new body. "Someone, grab the mortal shell and flee into the rift! I will hold the rear, so long as just one person succeeds, we…win!" Qiu Sanbao barked at his descendants, summoned a golden shield, and raced toward the deluge of divine bolts. The shield expanded to cover the island. Qiu clansmen scrambled to grab and push the new body into the rift, but the False Devil, who faced imminent danger, couldn't care for the resolution of this grand plan.
"This cultivation method…damn! Your Blood Energy is higher than mine, and can you tap into powers and techniques reserved for the highest deities! Why?! Why?! What kind of Divine Spirit are you?" The Red-Tongued Devil, who could see that Xinzi had not crossed the Divine Consecration Ladder, refused to accept this turn of events.
"The kind that can kill you." Xinzi vanished, appeared before the False Devil, and slapped his head off his neck. His phalanx pressed on, skewering the devil's colossal body—not sparing the Demon Heart that fueled its foul existence. The green light in its eyes dimmed, its limbs fell limp, and it hung in the air…like a dearticulated puppet.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The myriad arrows cracked open the golden shield. Qiu Sanbao uttered a guttural howl, setting his body and soul ablaze to fuel this immortal artifact. The arrows fell in droves, butchering the Qiu clan. But one man—Qiu Chen—won the race, and though bolts tore through his legs, he held on the new body. His dying clansmen poured all their Qi into him, propelling his body into the time rift.
Xinzi stomped on the golden shield, shattering the last line of defense, then appeared before Qiu Sanbao.
"It's over," he said, grabbed Qiu Sanbao's burning head in his massive hand and squeezed—body and soul burst at once.
There was no need for Xinzi to read any of the Qiu clansmen's souls. His third eye had seen all that they hid already.
The divine arrows and black lightning went unhinged, erasing the Qiu island and time rift from the face of the Endless Sea.
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