Those six raging rivers were like Lord Demonheart’s body. The smaller it became, the weaker he became. Suiren’s final suicide attack had completely burned away nearly two of the rivers, causing Lord Demonheart’s body to be dramatically lessened and weakened, buying time for Houyi’s final arrows to arrive and save Shennong.
“Don’t blame yourself too much. Suiren was already in a desperate situation. Even if he didn’t launch a suicide attack, he still would’ve been killed by Lord Demonheart.” Daoist Three Purities let out a sigh, then said consolingly, “He just didn’t wish to see you die alongside him. Better for one to die than both.”
“Alright.” Shennong nodded slowly, but he couldn’t disguise his grief.
The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all joined together.
“Houyi.” They all turned their heads towards Houyi as the latter flew towards them. Houyi’s face was ashen, but he still looked quite calm.
“You alright?” Kuafu, in command of a Pangu Genesis Formation, immediately inquired after his well-being.
“Not dead yet.” Houyi nodded and smiled, quickly flying to the side of Ji Ning and Buddha Jueming.
“Senior apprentice-brother Houyi.” Ning looked at Houyi. “It was all thanks to you.”
“If it wasn’t for Houyi, it would’ve been hard for us to survive this battle.” The nearby Buddha Jueming let out a sigh. “I really didn’t expect the cause of this war to be the Lord of the Demonheart. He truly was quite powerful, even more powerful than he was during the war that ended the Primordial Era.”
Ning could sense that Houyi’s aura was very weak right now. He didn’t fully understand what each arrow had cost Houyi, but he could sense that the price had been enormous.
“Too bad about Suiren.” Houyi sighed softly.
“He transformed his body into kindle, using his life to fuel the flames and ensuring that it would continue unto perpetuity. This…this is the true meaning of the ‘Eternal Kindlefire’.” Buddha Jueming folded his palms together into prayer. “Amitabha.”
Ning nodded slowly as well.
During the Primordial Era, Suiren had led the puny, weak race of humans to slowly rise to power. He had watched as countless human heroes had perished for the sake of their race, and thus he had developed his own ‘Eternal Kindlefire’ technique. However, the Eternal Kindlefire could only unleash its most terrible flames when it was truly infused with the essence of sacrifice.
Although the Nuwa Alliance was filled with grief, they were also filled with confidence that they had taken control over the battlefield. Old Man Yuan, Daofather Ink Bamboo, Keeper Everwood, and the others had all retreated for now. Without the Lord of the Demonheart, the Seamless Gate no longer felt any confidence in their ability to win.
“Three Purities. Tathagata.”
The two bodies of the Lord of All Fiends merged into one. He stood there in midair, looking at them and speaking in a calm voice. “The outcome of this war is very clear. It was Demonheart who caused this war, all for the sake of escaping from the Heavenly Daos. In addition, the Heavenly Daos themselves acted in ways to mislead us and instigate this war, precisely because there were too many living creatures within the Three Realms. Many of us have died on both sides, and the burden on the Three Realms is now much lower. I think we should bring this war to an end.”
“Bring this war to an end?” Shennong’s face was a mask of grief, but his eyes blazed as he growled out, “What, the Seamless Gate still intends to live here within the Three Realms?”
“The Three Realms is also the home of the Seamless Gate.” The Lord of All Fiends sighed softly.
“Ahahaha…”
Daoist Three Purities laughed coldly. “What a joke! You had your chance…and in fact, the Nuwa Alliance didn’t wish for all of this to come to a war. It was your side which continuously caused problems, furiously assaulting us and provoking us. You even went so far as to cause chaos throughout the Three Realms, assassinating the friends and family members of our major powers. Do you think we can just wipe out all these debts at one stroke?”
“We were foolish enough to let you return once…do you really think we would be foolish enough to do so again?”
* * *
Book 23, Chapter 25 - The End of the Road for the Godking
The two great alliances faced off against each other as Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Fuxi, Shennong, Houyi, Jueming, Gonggong, and Ji Ning spoke mentally to each other.
“Everyone, should we keep fighting? Or should we force them to leave the Three Realms instead?” Daoist Three Purities sent mentally.
“Kill them. Kill them all. Make sure they will never pose a problem ever again.” Gonggong’s mental voice was filled with murder.
“Who can kill the Lord of All Fiends?” Tathagata asked.
Everyone fell silent.
Tathagata spoke out again. “Houyi, can you kill the Lord of All Fiends?”
“I cannot. He’s too fast. Although my arrow is faster than him, it’s only slightly faster. I’d probably only be able to hit him with one or two arrows, by which point he would’ve fled outside the range of my bow. In addition to that, I badly injured myself dealing when I dealt with Demonheart. There’s no way I can kill another Elder God,” Houyi said.
Ning and the others all sighed secretly. They could all tell that Houyi was very heavily injured; for him to be able to kill Demonheart was already an unexpected surprise for them.
“No one can kill Allfiend.” Tathagata sent mentally, “If this battle was to continue…Allfiend is too fast. He’ll probably launch a series of crazed counterattacks with his speed. We’ll definitely win, but our losses will be very heavy and he himself will probably be able to escape in the end.”
“Agreed.” Everyone nodded.
“As I see it, we should force them to leave the Three Realms,” Tathagata sent mentally. “That will lessen our total casualties. If they ever dare to return, we can fight them then.”
“That works as well.” Daoist Three Purities nodded in agreement. “Ji Ning, what do you think?”
The other major powers were all waiting for Ji Ning’s input. They knew exactly how deep Ji Ning’s hatred for the Seamless Gate ran. It could be said that the Seamless Gate’s torments had accompanied him during his entire cultivation path.
“Let them leave. However…they have to hand over their Godking.” Ning gave his response. He would never be able to forget how the Godking had killed Yu Wei. No matter what, he would never spare the Godking. In the earlier battle, he had focused on the big picture and so had not attacked the Godking, but there was absolutely no chance that he would let the Godking leave this place alive.
“Agreed. Many of the vilest actions that caused chaos throughout the Three Realms were carried out by the Godking. I agree that we can’t just let him leave.”
“Agreed.”
“Fine.”
The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance quickly concluded their discussion, coming to a joint agreement.
“The Seamless Gate is willing to leave the Three Realms.” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly spoke out. “Let this battle come to an end now.”
There was a stir in the ranks of the Seamless Gate. Their major powers, Immortals, and Fiendgods all turned to look at their leaders, their eyes filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this outcome. Many of them had been born within the Three Realms; they truly did not wish to leave this place, their home, and venture into the terrifying, unknown parts of the primordial chaos. If they were Elder Gods, they would naturally be able to roam the primordial chaos without fear, but the vast majority of them were far too weak. Even True Gods and Daofathers would merely be minor figures in the primordial chaos.
Still…they also knew that if they continued to fight, the only result would be death. Although leaving the Three Realms would be dangerous, staying behind would be even more dangerous.
Desolate Era (Book 22 - Book 24)
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