Immortal of the Nine Realms

The Ancient Demon threw his head back and laughed towards the heavens. "Hahahahaha."

Then Saint Jinyang, the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire, and the others followed suit. A barrage of thunderous laughter echoed out.

In stark contrast, over on Fang Chen's side, everyone remained dead silent. The Sarira in Yun He's palm had grown thoroughly dim and lusterless, even developing visible fractures.

Lu Fengshen had been watching it closely the whole time. Seeing this scene, the fury in her eyes felt as if it were about to spill over.

"You hid for so long, yet in the end, you still have to come out and meet your doom!?"

"Look at them; they are so pale their faces are practically devoid of blood! They must be frightened out of their wits!"

"They truly deserve to die for wasting so much of our strength!"

"Now that you are without the protection of the Sarira's golden light, is there anyone among you willing to abandon their path and join ours instead?"

"Grand Commander of the God Slaying Army."

"Saint Demon Lang Daochun."

"Even the Ancient Demon has chosen to cooperate with us. You two aren't fools, so you ought to understand the rationale behind this. Cooperate and live. Resist and die!"

"And you human cultivators as well. We only want this junior of the Fang family. If you proactively hand him over, we will not stop you if you wish to leave."

The crowd cast their gazes up at the Soul Suppressing Stele hanging in the sky. Deep down, they knew that even if Fang Chen wanted to leave, he likely couldn't. But perhaps they themselves had a sliver of hope. It was just that...

Fang Chen keenly sensed numerous complex gazes landing upon him.

However, these people were third- to fifth-transformation cultivators. Some were even in the sixth, seventh, or eighth transformation. As for the ninth-transformation immortals present, they all maintained exceptionally steadfast stances.

Only they understood that the path the Ancient Demon and the others have chosen has already completely abandoned any regard for the race's destiny. If the Ancient Demon and his cohort successfully established contact with the Supreme Qingming Alliance, it was very possible that only a select few would be able to survive. The vast majority would inevitably be reduced to slave soldiers, serving as mere cannon fodder in the clashes between supreme powers.

"Motian Dizang, you chose the wrong path," said Lu Fengshen, her gaze icy. "You could have easily followed us to the foundation established by the Dao Seeking Faction. With your identity, your status there might have even surpassed mine. Yet, you personally threw that opportunity away."

Motian Dizang didn't pay any attention to Lu Fengshen. Instead, she coldly swept her gaze toward Li Daoye. "You once said that only by choosing Fang Chen would there be hope of attaining the Dao. What about now?"

The crowd looked toward Li Daoye with highly peculiar expressions.

They vaguely knew that this pseudo-Heavenly Dao was the former Heavenly Dao of the Demonic Beasts Race. It was just that after his demise, the blood of the Heavenly Dao had splattered across the Nine Realms, and his soul had fractured into countless pieces alongside that blood.

The individual before them was merely one of those remnant souls. He couldn't be considered a complete Heavenly Dao, but he still possessed a fraction of a Heavenly Dao's capabilities, much like the one the Demon Race had recovered.

Lu Fengshen sneered. "To think you would believe the words of an incomplete pseudo-Heavenly Dao. You have helmed the Motian Division for so many years. Did it consume every last bit of your intelligence?"

Motian Dizang glanced at Lu Fengshen, a trace of mockery crossing her eyes. "Do you truly believe that I would blindly trust the words of a mere remnant soul?"

Lu Fengshen was taken aback. The Ancient Demon, Saint Jinyang, and the others also fixed their gazes upon Li Daoye in unison, suspicion written all over their faces.

Li Daoye glanced at Fang Chen. "Lord Fang, what are you waiting for?"

Fang Chen smiled faintly. Immediately, the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower in his hand began to billow out massive torrents of black fog.

The first emperor of the Black Sun Empire couldn't help but laugh mockingly. "You expect to contend against us with just that? The ninth-transformation Great Yin Demons under my command alone can slaughter every last one of the Yin Soldiers refined inside."

In the next instant, figure after figure of seventh transformation Yin Soldiers began to manifest in rapid succession. The first emperor of the Black Sun Empire's smile grew even more pronounced.

A ninth transformation immortal standing beside Chen Feifei couldn't help but furrow his brow. "These are seventh-transformation Yin Soldiers... can they really be of any help in a situation like this?"

Yun He and Fang Zhentian looked toward Li Daoye. When they saw him give a slight nod, the two exchanged glances and immediately became somewhat calmer.

Saint Jinyang suddenly urged, "Ancient Demon, let the battle begin."

"What is the rush? They wish to make a final, desperate struggle. If we are to strike, we must make them submit completely, plunging them into absolute despair," replied the Ancient Demon indifferently.

As he spoke, his eyes kept shifting between Shao Mengyuan and Lang Daochun.

Soon after, the seventh-transformation Yin Soldiers were all released. Next came the turn of the eighth- and ninth-transformation Yin Soldiers.

Before long, a massive army of nearly one hundred thousand Yin Soldiers stood behind Fang Chen. The sheer number of ninth-transformation combatants among them was in no way inferior to the First Emperor of the Black Sun Empire's ninth-transformation Great Yin Demons!

The smile on the First Emperor of the Black Sun Empire's face immediately faded.

The crowd was utterly dumbfounded.

"The number of ninth-transformation Yin Soldiers has actually reached five thousand?!"

No one could have ever imagined that the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower housed such an immense number of ninth-transformation Yin Soldiers! Originally, they had assumed that having a handful would already be considered quite decent.

The crowd quickly spotted familiar figures within the ranks: Great Venerable Baigu and the Northern Sea Profound Snake. Their eyes were vacant, and their movements were mechanical. They had been completely refined by the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower.

Furthermore, Great Venerable Baigu's aura was vastly superior to that of ordinary eighth-transformation Yin Soldiers. The same applied to the Northern Sea Profound Snake, who was significantly stronger than a standard ninth-transformation Yin Soldier.

"If the Ancient Demon didn't exist, this force alone would already be sufficient to completely reverse the situation and thoroughly unify the Underworld. Even if we combined the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire's thousands of ninth-transformation Yin Demon puppets with Shi Xinghai and Lu Fengshen's forces, they would still be thoroughly torn to shreds by these five thousand ninth-transformation Yin Soldiers..."

"What a pity..."

"It doesn't matter. At the very least, we stand a bit of a chance now. We can finally free up our hands to join forces and deal with this Ancient Demon together."

"Indeed, we also possess half-step Heavenly Dao experts on our side."

The Grand Commander of the God Slaying Army, Lang Daochun, Motian Dizang, as well as Yun He and Fang Zhentian. All of these could be considered half-step Heavenly Dao entities. If they joined forces, they might not necessarily be unable to contend against the Ancient Demon to some degree.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Saint Jinyang's brows furrowed deeply. When he noticed that the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower was still operating, he couldn't help but take a step forward, intending to strike immediately.

Shao Mengyuan and the others reacted with lightning speed. The moment the enemy took a step forward, they also stepped forward in unison, standing in sharp, direct opposition!

Yet, in the very next second, behind Fang Chen, over a thousand more figures suddenly materialized. The moment these figures manifested between heaven and earth, the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire could no longer summon even the slightest hint of a smile.

The aura radiating from these thousand-odd Yin Soldiers had visibly and completely transcended the boundaries of a ninth-transformation immortal. Although they couldn't match the likes of Lu Fengshen and the Motian Dizang, they were significantly stronger than any ordinary ninth-transformation expert present!

"Are those half-step Heavenly Dao entities!?"

"Are they truly?!"

The crowd was ecstatic, filled with a sense of utter disbelief. Some, fearing that their own eyes were playing tricks on them, even rubbed their eyes vigorously. Only after confirming that over a thousand Yin Soldiers comparable to half-step Heavenly Dao entities had indeed appeared did they burst into raucous laughter.

Conversely, over on the Ancient Demon's side, not a single soul was laughing anymore. The millions of human cultivators that Saint Jinyang and his cohort had rallied all manifested expressions of profound shock and uncertainty.

The first emperor of the Black Sun Empire muttered blankly to himself, "Impossible... how could the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower possibly contain over a thousand experts at the first step of the Limit Breaking Realm? Where in the Nine Realms could there possibly be so many Limit Breaking powerhouses for it to refine...?"

Lu Fengshen's expression changed dramatically, but she managed to regain her composure very quickly.

A thousand-odd half-step Heavenly Dao entities might look terrifying on the surface, but these Yin Soldiers appeared to possess certain flaws, meaning their strength wasn't completely intact. Even if their side couldn't deal with them, the Ancient Demon alone would still be able to handle them with ease.

Then, another four to five hundred figures flew out from within the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. The moment this group of Yin Soldiers at the second step of Breaking Limit revealed themselves, Lu Fengshen's fickle composure finally shattered completely.

"The second step of Limit Breaking!?"

Shao Mengyuan turned to look at Lang Daochun, his face masked in sheer, unadulterated shock.

This time, regardless of which faction one belonged to, the entire battlefield instantaneously fell into a profound, dead silence. Traces of deep, biting regret began to circulate within the hearts of quite a few people. Had they known that so many supreme powerhouses were hidden away within the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, how could they have ever lost their resolve to contend for it?

"They can't smile anymore now, can they?" Xie Aman muttered to herself.