Chapter 1517: Demon God
The dark barrier dissipated at that moment, revealing Jie Yuan and Yun Che's figures. The gazes of all the Divine Emperors and Divine Lords simultaneously sharpened. But Jie Yuan still did not look at anyone. Her figure flickered, and she was already standing directly in front of the Crimson Passage. This action made everyone hold their breath again. Each person could clearly hear their own violently pounding heartbeat. Many looks turned toward Yun Che, hoping to glean some information from him... but Yun Che met no one's gaze. Instead, he stared fixedly at Jie Yuan's back. His mood was completely different from everyone else's. After You'er's call, Jie Yuan took a full hundred breaths to finally calm down and dismiss the barrier. So many eyes were on her. Everyone feared her, yet in their excitement, they wished for her departure—the sooner the better... None of them knew why she was leaving, what burdens she carried, or what she would face upon returning to the Outer Chaos. Only Yun Che knew. He also knew that Jie Yuan did not want to leave... and if she were just a tiny bit selfish, she would not leave at all. In fact, if it were anyone else present, they too would choose not to leave. This is the Demon... in their eyes, an unforgivable evil, a demon not tolerated by heaven and earth. This was the Demon Emperor that Mo E had once killed at the cost of greatly damaged lifespan and by using despicable means he would normally disdain! How lamentable, how sorrowful.
In the silence, Jie Yuan stepped forward, drawing closer and closer to the Crimson Passage, which was only a few meters away, until she was just one step away... At that moment, Yun Che bowed deeply and called out softly, "Farewell, Senior." This cry was very soft, carrying an indescribable melancholy and sadness. The Divine Emperors and Divine Lords' eyes flickered slightly, and then they also quickly bowed: "Fare... well... Demon... Emperor..." In their excitement and ecstasy, this chorus of shouts was chaotic and fragmented, forming a rather ironic contrast to the earlier unison.
One more step forward, and Jie Yuan would enter the passage, cross through it, and arrive in the Outer Chaos... At the other end of the passage, she would destroy it, cutting off all Demon Gods—and herself—from any possibility of return. But just then, Jie Yuan's movement abruptly halted, her expression shifting drastically. The change in her mood instantly caused the surrounding spatial aura to shift violently. Yun Che lifted his eyes and was about to ask, when suddenly a black light exploded from Jie Yuan's body. Her arms slammed heavily into the Crimson Crystal.
BOOM—
A profoundly dull sound, almost overturning everyone's internal organs. In an instant, space churned, elements went berserk, and a colossal cosmic storm erupted. Yun Che was greatly alarmed... Zhou Qingchen, who was nearest to him, immediately shifted his position and enveloped the area with a massive force, urgently asking, "Brother Yun, are you alright?" Almost simultaneously, Xia Qingyue also closed in beside him, her brows furrowed: "What's happening?"
"I don't know," Yun Che gritted out. As he spoke, black light flashed again from Jie Yuan's body, and a force even darker than a black hole struck the Crimson Crystal once more.
BOOM—
Space trembled violently again, and everyone was thrown far back... accompanied by a tearing sound so piercing that no words could describe it. A crack spread rapidly across the Crimson Crystal. Clearly, Jie Yuan was desperately trying to destroy the spatial passage!
Yun Che's entire body's qi and blood churned. He ignored the need to regulate his breathing, staring at Jie Yuan with a face full of shock: She was supposed to destroy the passage after crossing it, so why was she suddenly attacking now? If the passage was destroyed from the inside, wouldn't she be unable to leave the Chaos World as well? Could it be that she ultimately couldn't bear to part with Hong'er and You'er, and thus changed her mind? Or...
Wait!
Yun Che's pupils suddenly constricted: Could it be...
The already dim space suddenly grew even darker. The raging cosmic storm whipped wildly like a maddened beast, growing more intense by the moment... If not for Xia Qingyue's protective power, Yun Che would have been torn to shreds in just a few moments. And even he, the weakest in power, could clearly sense that this overwhelmingly terrifying dark pressure and the force stirring the spatial calamity all originated from Jie Yuan's direction. But it wasn't from Jie Yuan—it was from within the Crimson Passage!
"Could it be..." Xia Qingyue's face drastically changed.
Everyone else also realized something at that moment, their expressions filled with terror.
"De... Demon God!!" Zhou Tian Shen Di cried out in horror.
Following the terrifying dark pressure and aura of destruction, a voice that seemed to come from a distant abyss confirmed the dreadful conjecture in everyone's minds: "It's the scent of Chaos... the scent of Chaos!!" Just over a dozen words, yet hoarse enough to nearly shatter everyone's internal organs, carrying extreme distortion and madness... more gruesome than the most horrifying howls of evil spirits one could imagine. And there was more than one such voice!
"Finally back... finally back... ahahaha... wuhahaha..."
"It's the Demon Emperor's aura! Our supreme lord is waiting for us!!"
Boom!!
Jie Yuan's face was ice-cold. Terrifying power struck the Crimson Passage once again, bringing forth a dozen rapidly spreading cracks. And the savage roars of the Demon Gods.
"The passage is trembling... is it about to collapse?!"
"No... someone is trying to destroy the passage!!"
"We must go quickly! Damn it... whoever it is, they deserve to die!"
"All the gods of Chaos, all living things... deserve to die! Deserve to die!!"
The roars of the Demon Gods and their terrifying aura drew closer and closer... Yes, they were the Demon Gods! The ones who had barely survived in the Outer Chaos! They were returning to Chaos through the Crimson Passage opened by the Cosmic Thorn. Each step felt like it was stepping on everyone's soul and heart! The faces of all the Divine Emperors and Divine Lords turned deathly pale. The joy of Jie Tian Mo Di's imminent departure was completely swallowed by endless dark terror!
"How could it be so fast..." Yun Che clenched his fists. This terrible turn of events caught everyone off guard... including Jie Tian Mo Di! Back then, Jie Yuan had told him that if the Demon Gods tried to break through on their own to connect to the Crimson Passage, even if they started immediately, it would take about three months. But now, only a little over two months had passed! Jie Yuan had chosen her departure time early enough precisely to prevent such an accident. Yet it still happened! And so coincidentally, so cruelly, at this very last moment! Yun Che was certain this was not what Jie Tian Mo Di intended. She had simply never imagined that there would be something even she could miscalculate! Was it because the Demon Gods, faced with the successfully opened Crimson Passage, their extreme desire and madness triggered power beyond their limits? The reason no longer mattered... Once these Demon Gods entered Chaos, they would absolutely trigger a calamity so terrible and unimaginable that it would engulf the world! The demonic sounds they roared carried such intense hatred and violence! Nearly a hundred soul-twisted, world-hating Demon Gods! Once they descended, no one could stop the widespread disaster—not even Jie Yuan!
BOOM!!!!
Another world-shaking explosion. Space collapsed madly. Some Divine Lords immediately had their internal organs burst, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths... This was not from bearing Jie Yuan's power, but from a mere backlash force that didn't even count as a shockwave—and yet it was terrifying to such a degree! Under Jie Yuan's power, large cracks burst open on the Crimson Passage again. At this moment, the entire rhomboid passage was covered with dense, net-like cracks, seemingly on the verge of complete collapse. But the roars and malice of the Demon Gods also approached rapidly. The soon-to-collapse spatial passage made them realize something, and they let out increasingly terrifying howls.
But at this moment, Jie Yuan's movements stopped. Her figure turned into a black streak of light, charging forward and completely disappearing into the Crimson Passage... leaving only a single vast demonic sound echoing in everyone's ears:
"If you don't want to die, destroy the passage within fifteen breaths—by whatever means necessary!"
BOOM!!!
Within the passage came an earth-shattering thunder-like explosion, along with the screams of several Demon Gods. Their aura also thinned considerably... evidently, they were blasted far back and isolated by Jie Tian Mo Di's power.
"Demon Emperor, you... what are you doing?" a Demon God roared in shocked hoarseness.
"Go back!" Jie Yuan said in a deep voice. "Gods and demons alike will perish. The Chaos of today is no longer our world!"
"No... no! Demon Emperor, have you gone mad?!"
"We suffered so much torment to wait for this day... The Demon Emperor has gone mad! She must have gone mad!"
Jie Yuan said no more. She knew verbal persuasion would have no effect at all. She fully released her dark divine power, step by step blasting the approaching Demon Gods back, while also completely blocking their power from spilling into the Inner Chaos and harming Yun Che... and her daughter.
"Chaos is right before us... No one can stop us!!"
"The Demon Emperor is mad... Stop the Demon Emperor! The Demon Emperor is mad!"
The aura weakened and receded much further... but then, suddenly, more dark aura appeared! The approaching Demon Gods grew in number—from just a few to over a dozen... and would only increase!
"Destroy the passage—now!" Yun Che roared, nearly tearing his throat.
The shocked and horrified crowd finally snapped out of their stupor. Zhou Tian Shen Di was the first to charge forward, facing the Demon God power that could spill out at any moment, rushing straight to the front of the passage. His profound light flashed explosively, and his full-force power slammed onto the crack-covered Crimson Passage, accompanied by his shout: "Quick... quick!!"
After Zhou Tian Shen Di, the other eleven Divine Emperors also rushed forth, their powers blasting in unison, profound light filling the sky. A protective barrier shimmering with intense moonlight enveloped Yun Che. Xia Qingyue also moved to the side. Thirteen streams of Divine Emperor power struck the Crimson Passage simultaneously. Among the fourteen Divine Emperors of the three divine regions, now thirteen were pouring out their power—and all at full strength. This was absolutely unprecedented in history. After the Divine Emperors, everyone else also surged forward. Streams of Divine Lord-level profound light pierced through the void, slamming into the Crimson Passage.
"Qianye!" Yun Che shouted.
Qianye Ying'er obeyed, releasing golden profound light.
Everyone present, except Yun Che, was attacking the same target with all their power. They had different temperaments and moral standings; there might be rifts or even hatred among them. But at this moment, every single person's face was grim, even twisted, as they unleashed their profound energy without any reservation. Because this was not only the spatial passage opened by the Cosmic Thorn—it was the fate of Chaos, and the turning point of their own destiny! If they failed, calamity would befall them all! Under such circumstances, who could have selfish motives? Who would dare have selfish motives?!
But after all, this was the spatial divine power from the Cosmic Thorn. Although cracks covered it and it seemed barely holding together, under such terrifying combined force, it barely changed at all... it only trembled very slightly.