Chapter 669: The Root of Righteousness
"Pitiful demon. Wanting to be a dog, yet the master doesn't care about the dog's life at all."
Fu Riluo looked up, his scarlet eyes turning toward the source of the voice. He saw the Woodcutter Sage walking toward him from afar, surrounded by the raging flames that were destroying Xiancheng. This Celestial Master walked out of the great fire stepping on magma, the sky behind him filled with fragments of Luofu Heaven trailing long fiery tails.
The Woodcutter Sage soon arrived before him and said in a deep voice, "Fu Riluo, when you and I signed the Earth Lord's Pact, you told me that it wasn't you who wanted to destroy Grand Emperor Heaven, but someone else. I didn't tell you then that when the nest overturns, no egg remains intact. If Grand Emperor Heaven is destroyed, do you think the demon race can survive?"
Fu Riluo stared at him fiercely, his voice hoarse: "Shihe City is farthest from the impact point and has the strongest defenses. The demons in the city can survive this collision. My demon race will not be destroyed because of this!"
The Woodcutter Sage looked at him with pity and said, "And what about outside Shihe City?"
Fu Riluo panted heavily.
Less than one in a hundred demons in Shihe City could be saved. All other demons would surely die in the great collision of worlds—there was no chance of survival!
"Twenty thousand years ago, Chixi brought the alien star fleeing from pursuit and arrived at Luofu Heaven. The arrival of Chixi and the remnants of the Chiming clan's divine beings made Luofu Heaven uninhabitable, so you had no choice but to strike at Grand Emperor Heaven."
The Woodcutter Sage said softly, "So, who forced Chixi and those alien stars to Luofu Heaven? Why was it precisely Luofu Heaven? Haven't you ever wondered about the reason? In fact, you know very well who the enemy of the Chiming era truly was. You just didn't dare to think that way; you still harbored a sliver of hope. Now, it's time for you to wake up from that fantasy."
Fu Riluo laughed loudly, his voice harsh: "They indeed plotted against the remnants of Chiming and also against my demon race, forcing us to go to war with Grand Emperor Heaven. But what about you? You're no better! You built those blood sacrifice altars! Lou Yunqu used those very altars to blood sacrifice Luofu Heaven! How did you escape? In truth, you were waiting for the Heavenly Court to come, using their hands to blood sacrifice Luofu, forcing me into your camp! I'm no fool!"
The Woodcutter Sage looked at him and said unhurriedly, "You are indeed no fool. I did indeed plan to use the Heavenly Court's hand to force you into my camp. But if you think that without my building the altars, the Heavenly Court wouldn't have blood sacrificed Luofu, then you are too naive."
Fu Riluo remained silent.
The Woodcutter Sage continued, "Whether I built the altars or not, the Heavenly Court would have blood sacrificed Luofu. Destroying your demon race's ancestral land, Luofu Heaven, and using it to crash into Grand Emperor Heaven would plunge Grand Emperor Heaven into death and desolation, with no living being able to survive here. To seek survival and reproduction, the demon race would inevitably be forced into Yankang. The Heavenly Court could then use your demon race to level Yankang—that was their true purpose."
Fu Riluo slumped in defeat, his voice bitter: "When you and I made the Earth Lord's Pact back then, you must have foreseen this day, right? Why didn't you say so?"
"Before today, we were enemies. Why would I tell you?"
The Woodcutter Sage extended a hand and said in a deep voice, "After this moment, are we enemies or friends?"
Fu Riluo hesitated as he looked at that hand. After a moment, their hands clasped firmly together.
The slanting Luofu Heaven finally collided with Grand Emperor Heaven.
Beside the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, Qin Mu stared blankly as Luofu Heaven descended from the sky, watching Licheng, the divine city that had endured the baptism of war for so long, crushed into powder by Luofu Heaven. The Grand Emperor Heaven cultivators swarming in were frantically pushing toward the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, squeezing him so much that he could barely stand.
People trampled over each other, losing all comradely bonds in this moment, each desperately trying to escape.
"Mu'er!"
Village Chief, Granny Si, and the others pushed through the crowd toward him. Qin Mu turned his head to look at them amidst the surging masses, forcing a faint smile: "I'm fine, really."
At the place where Luofu Heaven fell, the earth looked like a glass mirror struck by a heavy object, cracking and flying up in large sheets.
Crimson magma gushed from the fissures in the land.
The scene gave the impression that the earth was so soft, so fragile, lifted into the air like waves, surging and rippling in all directions.
That was a wall of earth and rock thousands of miles high—or perhaps more accurately, a wave mixed with magma and fire. Even peaks ten thousand ren high became nothing more than an insignificant splash within that wave.
The hurricane generated by the collision was sweeping through, destroying everything. Lightning became the most violent rain, blowing in all directions with the wind, rushing at tremendous speed toward every corner of Grand Emperor Heaven.
A mushroom cloud of fire was rising into the sky, soon crashing into the suns that the National Teacher and Yankang's cultivators had painstakingly created. Those two suns, as fragile as paper, shattered into pieces under the impact.
"Mu'er, go!"
Village Chief and the others shouted, "Get into the Transfer Bridge quickly! In this situation, you won't survive!"
Qin Mu stared blankly at the scene. Granny Si pushed through the crowd, grabbed his hand, and without a word, dragged him toward the Transfer Bridge. The bridge was packed with people, all frantically climbing, pushing, and trampling over each other.
Dragged by Granny Si, Qin Mu stumbled upward. He looked back, his gaze somewhat dazed. He saw gods and demons around the great collision, doing everything in their power to withstand this world-ending impact, trying to buy time for the people here to escape.
The gods and demons of Grand Emperor Heaven and the Floating Void Realm shattered in the blindingly bright light. The light scorched their divine bodies, igniting them, evaporating them, reducing them to nothing!
Even gods and demons were so insignificant before this world-destroying power.
He couldn't see the situation on the demon side; Luofu Heaven blocked his view. But presumably, on the other side, there were also demon gods roaring and fighting desperately, trying to block the shockwave of the world collision to give their people a chance to survive.
They knew full well that even as gods, they were powerless to resist, yet for their people, they were willing to fight to the death.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Qin Mu murmured.
Grand Emperor Heaven was finished. The people who hadn't managed to evacuate were finished too. And the demon race, which had fought them for twenty thousand years, was likely finished as well.
Then, he saw the First Human Sovereign. This man, who had fled during the life-and-death battle twenty thousand years ago, was now descending from the sky, landing in front of the collision point of the two worlds.
The First Sovereign was resisting the energy of the two worlds' mutual destruction, buying time for the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge. His technique was the Heart of Heaven and Earth Sacred Art, and his seal was the Heaven and Earth Seal.
Standing in the torrent of earth, water, wind, and fire that was destroying everything, he seemed to have returned to that battle twenty thousand years ago, as if he had become the man he was back then.
But this time, he did not flee.
His technique, his seal, were precisely meant to deal with this very scene—to establish a heart for the collapsing heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the common people!
Qin Mu watched that man from afar, seeing the First Sovereign for the first time with such spirited and earnest expression.
The First Sovereign's Heaven and Earth Seal was exactly meant to counter the scene of heaven falling and earth overturning. The Heaven and Earth Seal blocked the surging earth, water, wind, and fire, buying time for the people rushing toward the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge to escape.
Suddenly, the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge shook violently. The runes on the altar's surface exploded with a crackling sound. Components made of various divine metals and materials began to snap. Cracking sounds came from within the altar.
Qin Mu's face changed drastically, and he shouted sharply, "The bridge is about to collapse! Everyone, don't go in! Get out quickly! The bridge is collapsing!"
His voice was loud, echoing all around. But even so, people still frantically rushed toward the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge.
At that moment, the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge suddenly collapsed. The light shooting into the sky vanished in an instant, and countless half-bodies fell from the air. Most of the alien star in the sky had already entered Yankang, but the remaining part, like a bowl, was sliced off by the closing space in an instant, the cut perfectly smooth.
The severed remnant star fell from the sky, growing larger and larger, about to crash into Grand Emperor Heaven!
Qin Mu's heart turned ice-cold. Countless cultivators with only half their bodies left fell like rain around the shattered Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge. These were the people who hadn't been transported to Yankang. When the space closed, they were cut in half—one half of their bodies remained in Grand Emperor Heaven, the other half in Yankang.
"What do we do?"
Someone cried out, like a helpless child, his voice hoarse: "What do we do? Without the bridge, we're going to die here!"
The sky was splitting, the earth cracking. Meteors fell like rain. Earth, water, wind, and fire still surged violently—an apocalyptic scene.
The First Human Sovereign still stood there, executing the Heaven and Earth Seal again and again, single-handedly resisting the world-destroying impact. This prince of the Kaicheng era was already exhausted to the point of vomiting blood, his chest stained with blood. The cultivators around the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge were still alive only because he was blocking the shockwave head-on.
But at this rate, the First Sovereign would eventually be exhausted to death.
Suddenly, Divine Lord Pang Yu flew forward and shouted sharply, "Everyone, follow me!"
He went to the First Sovereign's side, joining him in resisting the impact, and called out, "Preserve the roots of our Grand Emperor Heaven!"
Divine Lord Sang Ye and the others hesitated for a moment, then rushed forward, surrounding them, desperately fighting against the destruction of heaven and earth. Village Chief, Butcher, Mute, and the others were among them. Ma Rulai also led the monks, joining in.
The old Daoist of the Dao Sect, the old immortal of Jade Capital, the generals and nobles of Yankang—all stepped forward, risking their lives to shield the cultivators of Grand Emperor Heaven and Yankang.
A young man carrying a box walked out of the crowd, heading toward the gods. Cripple's face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Xing Han! If you strike at us now, I'll dig up the graves of your ancestors for eighteen generations!"
The young man said nothing. He put down the box, and a True Dragon belt flew from his waist. Xing Han manifested his demon god form, joining the others in resisting the impact.
Qin Mu shouted, "All who are still alive, follow me!"
He walked forward. The other cultivators followed him, staggering along. Qin Mu went to the First Sovereign's side, desperately using his techniques to resist the impact. Tens of thousands of other cultivators felt a surge of hot blood in their chests, each unleashing their techniques, forming great shields, fighting desperately.
"It is the spirit that surges forth!"
Amid the world-destroying impact, a bold and unrestrained song rang out: "It is the spirit that surges forth, awe-inspiring through ten thousand ages! When it pierces the sun and moon, what matters life or death?"
That was Butcher, a chivalrous and unrestrained man. Even at the brink of life and death, his brilliance could not be dimmed.
Qin Mu's chest swelled with heroic spirit, and he burst out with stirring passion: "The axis of the earth relies on it to stand, the pillar of heaven depends on it to be revered. The three bonds are truly its life..."
Butcher laughed heartily, finishing the song: "And righteousness is its root!" Note 1
Blind Man, using the Dragon Tamer Divine Spear to resist the impact, snorted coldly: "So sentimental..."
Note 1: The poem is excerpted from Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Righteousness."