Chapter 1941: War!
Those one hundred and eight figures completely tipped the scales of the battle. Each of them exuded an aura matching that of Saint Jinyang and the others.
Although they were remnant souls and couldn't match a genuine third-step Limit Breaking expert, Saint Jinyang and the rest had taken a heretical path using Ancient Forbidden Zones to barely squeeze themselves through the gates of the third step. They were vastly weaker than true third-step Limit Breaking powerhouses of the Divine Realm.
If Saint Jinyang could effortlessly defeat Motian Dizang, then every single one of these one hundred and eight third-step Limit Breaking Yin Soldiers behind Fang Chen could easily do the same.
Only now did everyone truly understand the depths of the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower.
Shao Mengyuan murmured blankly to himself, "So, the ultimate key to everything has always rested within this tower. No wonder Saint Wandao came all this way bearing the emperor's Sarira."
Without the Sarira's golden light, they never would have lasted long enough for the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower to settle down. They would have been thoroughly beaten to a pulp by the Ancient Demon's camp, collapsing into an immediate, irreversible rout.
The golden light had bought them the crucial time they needed. Little Immortal Honglian's sudden defection had provided even more time. Finally, because everyone had erroneously misjudged the tower, when Fang Chen took possession of it just now, he hadn't encountered the slightest resistance. Even the Ancient Demon's camp hadn't paid it any mind.
"This time, even if we are up against the Ancient Demon, we stand a certain chance of victory. At the very least, it's a fifty-fifty split," remarked Chen Feifei emotionally.
The eyes of the ninth-transformation immortals from all factions grew increasingly bright.
At the end of the day, the Yang Gods—who stood on their side—were the ones who won. They firmly believed that the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower being so powerful was undoubtedly connected to the Yang Gods. Monarch Yan was merely the figurehead the Yang Gods had pushed to the absolute front of the stage.
Xie Aman muttered to herself, "We won't lose this battle, at the very least."
Immediately after, her expression turned incredibly sharp as she issued a voice transmission to the Enlightenment Core disciples and the horde of elders present. "Get ready for war. Each of you handle your own respective enemies."
Everyone's hearts tightened. The battle was about to begin.
They also understood perfectly what Xie Aman meant by getting ready for war. At a time like this, coordination was paramount. Everyone needed to know exactly whom they were supposed to fight.
"Ancient Demon, if you cannot take them down, there is no longer any need to bring up the cooperation between us. The Dao Seeking Faction will not pull any more strings for you." Lu Fengshen's face turned incomparably dark. "You should have detected all of this much sooner."
Saint Jinyang and the others exchanged glances. Their expressions were grave.
Doubt surfaced within their hearts.
Did Wandao and Fang Lie truly calculate all the way to this step?
"No, all of this should be related to this person."
Their gazes converged on Li Daoye, standing beside Fang Chen. From beginning to end, they had never treated this pseudo Heavenly Dao with the correct level of caution. It was simply because they had long since known that the Demon Race and the Human Race were conducting this type of mission. Furthermore, similar methods had actually been attempted very, very long ago.
However, back then they had discovered that pseudo-Heavenly Daos possessed extremely short lifespans. In fact, after unleashing special methods a few times, their souls would completely scatter into nonexistence, failing to exert any major influence over the political climate of the Nine Realms.
Yet now, they realized they might have perhaps profoundly mistreated this pseudo-Heavenly Dao.
Saint Jinyang's face shifted slightly. "He is not a remnant soul. He is the primary soul..."
Only the primary soul of a former Heavenly Dao could lure people into a carefully arranged trap like this, leaving them with no path of retreat by the time they finally woke up to reality.
At that moment, the Ancient Demon, who had remained utterly silent, finally made his move. He first reached toward Lu Fengshen with an empty grasp. Terrifying black mist instantly bound her.
Lu Fengshen cried out in shocked fury, "Ancient Demon, what are you doing!?"
The powerhouses she had brought along rushed forward in succession, intending to shield and protect her.
"Your God Dao Sect has consistently refused to show its face, sending nothing but a spiritual treasure like you who only knows how to yap before me. It is truly annoying. You're a mere spiritual treasure and nothing more. You should learn to act like one. Don't actually start thinking of yourself as some existence capable of attaining the Dao and becoming a Saint."
The Ancient Demon let out a faint chuckle, slowly exerting force with his hand.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire battlefield, Lu Fengshen let out a tragic shriek as she was crushed to pieces. She transformed back into her original form, the God Decree Ranking. It wasn't anywhere near as extravagant as the crowd had imagined. In fact, it merely looked like a set of damaged bamboo slips bound together with simple hemp rope.
As the God Decree Ranking fell into the hands of the Ancient Demon, the expressions of the God Decree Ranking powerhouses Lu Fengshen had brought along changed in an instant. Looks of submission appeared on their faces as they looked toward the Ancient Demon. They were controlled by the God Decree Ranking. And now, the God Decree Ranking itself was controlled by the Ancient Demon.
The Ancient Demon said indifferently, "Everyone, what are you waiting for?"
Saint Jinyang and the others exchanged glances. Gritting their teeth, they lightly waved their hands.
"War!"
Terrifying shrieks and roars tore out from the mouths of the millions of human cultivators controlled by the various alliances. Millions of figures launched the very first wave of assault against Fang Chen and his forces.
Before Chen Feifei and the others could react, the ninth-transformation Yin Soldiers under Fang Chen's command had already led the remaining ninety-thousand-plus Yin Soldiers to charge right out to meet them.
Conversely, the Ghost Gods under his wing stood completely motionless right beside Fang Chen.
The Yin Soldiers are the cannon fodder, while these Ghost Gods are the true future foundation of the Underworld.
Lang Daochun laughed uproariously toward Shao Mengyuan. "Grand Commander, shall we go?"
"Let's go."
Clenching his hand around the God Slaying Sword, Shao Mengyuan led the God Slaying Army as he and Lang Daochun charged straight toward the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire and Shi Xinghai.
Lang Daochun laughed. "Leave Shi Xinghai to me. You handle the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire and his horde."
"Do you even need to say it?"
Without even turning his head back, Shao Mengyuan sneered at the first Emperor of the Black Sun Empire. "Let's see if your underworld yin puppets are more formidable, or if my God Slaying Army reigns supreme!"
Chen Feifei burst into a long laugh. "The Demon Race has already joined the battle. We cannot afford to remain idle either."
In a flash, the top-tier factions of the Upper Three Realms all joined the battlefield under the leadership of their respective ninth-transformation immortals.
The Dragon God glanced at Fang Chen and smiled. Then, with a sweep of his massive formation tail, his gargantuan form swam directly into the heart of the battlefield.
Standing well behind the front lines, the Ancient Demon looked at Fang Chen and the Yang Gods behind him with a half-smile.
"Right now, pawns face pawns and generals face generals. The main course you all have prepared for me should be served by now, shouldn't it?"
As for the state of the battlefield itself, he seemed utterly unconcerned.
"By turning against Lu Fengshen, he no longer intends to cooperate with the Demon Race. He has his own independent ideas. Do not fall for his provocation," said Wang Chongsong softly, his figure shifting as he manifested right beside Fang Chen.
Fang Chen said nothing. With a mere stir of his thoughts, all the Yin Soldiers at the first, second, and third steps of Limit Breaking under his command seemed to transform into a devastating, razor-sharp blade slicing through the military formation. After hacking through over one hundred thousand alliance human cultivators, they pointed straight at the Ancient Demon.
A portion of them detached from the blade and charged toward Saint Jinyang and the others.
"Can the Ancient Demon block this assault?"
While dealing with the immediate predicament that had arrived before him, Saint Jinyang cast a solemn glance toward the Ancient Demon. He wasn't entirely certain if the Ancient Demon's Inner Domain could truly sustain such a brutal, protracted war of attrition.