Immortal of the Nine Realms

Just as Xie Aman had said, the moment Saint Jinyang and the others saw the fifteen hundred-odd first-step and second-step Limit Breaking experts behind Fang Chen, the faint smiles upon their faces vanished completely without a trace.

They couldn't understand where the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower had found so many formidable Yin Soldiers to refine. After all, souls had not existed before living beings. Only after living beings came into existence did souls follow.

Souls were the materialization of what living beings aspired toward, the very source upon which faith was anchored. Yet, within the Nine Realms, when had there ever emerged so many Limit Breaking powerhouses?

"Even during the absolute zenith of the Demon Race, did your race ever possess so many Limit Breakings?" Saint Jinyang asked, glancing at Lu Fengshen.

Lu Fengshen instinctively shook her head. "They were not transformed from the Demon Race."

If they weren't from the Demon Race, then what were they? The Human Race?

Back when the Human Race was forced into exile, how many Limit Breakings did they even have left? They didn't even amount to a tiny fraction of this number!

Saint Jinyang suddenly thought of the Major Immortal Realm.

"Could it be from an even earlier era?"

Based on their direct or indirect scouting of the Major Immortal Realm over all these years, they had long since known that its sheer vastness was terrifyingly immense. Even if it wasn't quite as large as the Divine Realm, it likely wasn't far off. Within it also existed numerous divine and mystical phenomena that even they could not explain.

Saint Jinyang's train of thought instantly spiraled into a dead loop. "If the first emperor of the Demon Race back then was capable of condensing an Inner Domain as majestic as the Major Immortal Realm, his strength must have surpassed figures like Saint Long of old by an unimaginable margin. Perhaps he was even more powerful than that Realm Lord of the Divine Race. During that golden era, the number of Limit Breakings would naturally not be small. However, the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower... is fundamentally not an item of the Nine Realms..."

A flash of intense jealousy suddenly flared within the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire's eyes. "For countless years, I used the methods transmitted by my masters, exhausting my entire life's strength to scour all directions for karma, just to barely refine a batch of ninth transformation Great Yin Demons. Yet, hidden within the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower is an even more powerful force. Why is it that even my masters knew absolutely nothing about this matter?"

Given his status, the power he currently wielded was actually being suppressed and outshone by a Monarch Yan surnamed Fang. That truly disgraced his face as a Half Saint!

"Daoist Shi, how do we respond to this now?"

The four ninth-transformation Immortals standing beside Shi Xinghai asked with heavy expressions. According to their calculations, their side's strength should have completely crushed the opposition. In the beginning, that was indeed the case. Except now, an additional thousand-odd Limit Breaking powerhouses had suddenly manifested among the enemies. Instantly, the situation became thoroughly murky and was no longer clear.

Could the presence of the Ancient Demon truly deal with this batch of powerhouses? Could the Ancient Demon slaughter every last one of them?

Shi Xinghai's expression was profoundly calm and collected. "Any single one of the opposing sides, I can cut down with ease. If that's the extent of their strength, though their numbers are vast, the odds of victory still remain with me."

The four ninth-transformation immortals let out sighs of relief. They had absolute trust in Shi Xinghai. Since he claimed that the odds of victory were still there, then they most definitely were!

"Ancient Demon, we absolutely cannot allow them to escape today. The Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower must stay too. Otherwise, its mere existence will severely impact our welcome of the outsiders."

Lu Fengshen stared intently at the Ancient Demon, her expression solemn.

The Ancient Demon, who had remained tight-lipped all this time, carefully sized up the thousand-odd Limit Breaking combatants. Upon hearing Lu Fengshen speak in such an earnestly serious tone, he couldn't help but let out a spine-chilling, faint chuckle. "You all don't understand the disparity between a Half Saint and a Limit Breaking cultivator in the slightest. The strength of a Limit Breaking can ultimately be exhausted, whereas a Half Saint is a Half Saint precisely because he has touched upon the word 'Saint.'"

Hearing that, the crowd instantly breathed a collective sigh of relief.

For the Ancient Demon to say such a thing meant that the army of over a thousand Limit Breaking weren't worthy of his attention.

However, those ninety-thousand-plus Yin Soldiers were still more than enough to give everyone present a serious headache. The four to five thousand ninth-transformation entities alone would require everyone to drag every ounce of their forces onto the battlefield, leaving them completely unable to distract themselves to assist the Ancient Demon.

"So that's how it is," Motian Dizang murmured softly to herself, her lips curving.

She stepped forward and took Fang Chen's hand, a trace of shyness appearing in her eyes. "Dear, use this force to suppress them, and then assist me in attaining my Dao."

Chen Enxue's expression shifted slightly as she subtly curled her lips in disdain. "Old witch."

"Since you chose to believe Li Daoye, struck this deal with him, and stood on our side, you need not worry that I will back out of my word," Fang Chen stated indifferently. "All of us have a very simple goal—to preserve the Human Race of the Nine Realms. And to accomplish this, someone must ultimately attain the Dao. If you're willing, then naturally, that person can be you."

Motian Dizang was momentarily taken aback, and the bashful smile she had intentionally put on faded a notch. Since the opposing party had offered such a firm promise, there was no need for her to continue employing any sort of succubus techniques. Truth be told, she wasn't accustomed to doing so anyway.

"In addition to the human race, you must also preserve our Demon Race. We are a single entity now," reminded Shao Mengyuan.

The way he looked at Fang Chen had already completely transformed.

Before this, the shred of respect he held for Fang Chen was merely due to his identity as a Monarch Yan and the Yang God backgrounds of Yun He and Fang Zhentian. Now, however, the shred of respect in his eyes was directed strictly toward the terrifying power Fang Chen currently commanded.

A Monarch Yan whose cultivation was only at the seventh transformation commanded such a massive force. Could his position within the Nine Realms still be judged according to his cultivation? Naturally, not.

Now, whether it was Shao Mengyuan, Grand Commander of the God Slaying Army, or Lang Daochun—the Chief of the Saint Demon faction—or the ninth-transformation experts of the various top-tier factions and the Yang Gods, and even Motian Dizang, none could ever look upon Monarch Yan with their past perspectives again.

Li Daoye stepped forward and stood beside Fang Chen.

He offered a faint smile toward Abbess Qinghe and the Ghost Mother Hua Zizai, then glanced at the ghost infant cradled in Little Sword's arms. Finally, his gaze settled on the Ancient Demon and the millions of figures spanning behind him.

"Once this battle concludes, I shall leave. Lord Fang, the favor I owed to the Reincarnation Immortal Sect can be considered fully repaid."

"The favor you owed to the Reincarnation Immortal Sect?"

Fang Chen's thoughts stirred. He did not utter a word, merely locking his gaze deeply onto Li Doaye for a long moment. Then, he lightly stamped his foot. In an instant, every Ghost God Fang Chen had ever conferred a title upon began appearing within the military ranks.

For a brief instant, confusion appeared in their eyes. Then, through Fang Chen's thoughts, they immediately understood the cause of everything that was happening.

Some among them were sword cultivators of the Void Immortal Sword Sect. Wang Zhenlong led the horde of sword cultivators from the Void Immortal Sword Sect, standing tall with heads held high. When Wang Chongsong witnessed this scene, a ripple finally appeared within his normally placid eyes.

Some among them were sword cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Division. Li Wuwang, Huang Wuji, and every sword cultivator of the Heavenly Sword Division wore freezing-cold expressions, their icy gazes locked firmly onto the Ancient Demon's camp.

Some among them were the heads of the various grand divisions within the Lesser Underworld. Xia Ji, Marshall Xiao Lang, and various other heads led massive cohorts of subordinates, standing arrayed behind Fang Chen, representing the forces of the Lesser Underworld.

Beholding this scene, a subtle ripple couldn't help but flicker through Motian Dizang's eyes. Others among them were Great Yin Demons within the Floating Pagoda Realm—Shi Long, Tai Yin Dragon King, Empress Ci, Dangyin Mountain Lord, Xing Xian...

One figure after another who had crossed over from Underworld Demons to Ghost Gods silently gazed upon the scene before them. In truth, their cultivation bases were far too weak to have any effect whatsoever on today's battle.

Just as the crowd was feeling thoroughly perplexed as to why Fang Chen would summon these seemingly insignificant Ghost Deities, his voice resonated leisurely in everyone's ears.

"Today, the Underworld shall be pacified and its land divided anew. Ghost Gods shall stand at the head of its new order. In the future, all of you shall become capable ministers responsible for governing the Underworld. So how could you possibly miss out on this battle? Either you die with this battle, or you are reborn anew through it!"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, their expressions becoming increasingly solemn.

Monarch Yan was clearly using this opportunity to temper his troops and broaden the horizons of the core force under his command. At the same time, it also represented his absolute resolve to risk everything. If he lost this battle, Monarch Yan and his faction would all cease to exist!

"Even if you are prepared to risk everything, the disparity in strength is fundamentally not something—"

The Ancient Demon abruptly stopped talking.

Behind Fang Chen, one hundred and eight terrifying figures had appeared.