With the change of the zither music, a fundamental transformation had already taken place.
In this world, desire existed everywhere, and the seven emotions harmed people the most. The True Chapter of the Heavenly Demon was even more terrifying—it directly infused the power of the seven emotions into the melody. One could clearly feel that the influence of the music instantly increased tenfold or more, pulling on the emotions of everyone who heard it.
In an instant, countless emotions surged uncontrollably within the minds of those listening.
"Hahaha, I've broken through! After ten years, I've finally broken through!"
"My son… you died so tragically!"
"Damn demons! They dare try to destroy our peaceful lives! I will never forgive you!"
All across the land, countless commoners suddenly felt their hearts lose control. Anger flashed across their faces, some burst into wild laughter, others into bitter tears.
The most terrifying part of this Seven Emotions Transformation was that it could turn the emotional power within one's own heart into blades of demonic energy that erupted outward from within the body—instantly slicing a person into countless fragments, as if their corpse had been torn into thousands of pieces.
Its power was so overwhelming that it was nearly unstoppable—unless one had completely severed emotions and desires. Unless one walked the path of heartlessness and forgetting all affection.
If not for Green Emperor's singing suppressing the demonic sound, weakening its power by more than ninety percent, this single attack alone could have caused catastrophic casualties among the citizens of Great Yi. Even a simple strike from a Saint-level being could bring devastating destruction.
This—was the destructive power of a Saint.
However, Green Emperor's strangeness had far exceeded the expectations of the Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign. Who could have imagined that this dog not only endured the True Chapter of the Heavenly Demon, but even suppressed its power? At the very least, his face had been utterly disgraced.
"This dog is no simple matter. Great Yi has already completed all the steps for ascending to the Immortal Court. Once the True Dragon of Fate successfully transforms within the Immortal Gate, Great Yi will officially become an Immortal Court. By then, they will be even harder to deal with. We must act now."
Blood Heaven Dao Sovereign drew in a deep breath and spoke decisively.
If they did not want Great Yi to ascend, now was the best time to strike. Miss this moment, and it would be nearly impossible to find another chance.
As he spoke, he cast a glance at the Sea of Bitterness.
Within the Immortal Gate, endless Immortal light radiated. No one knew when the True Dragon of Fate would complete its transformation, but the process likely would not take long. By then, they would truly be on the defensive.
"Very well. In that case, we act—kill Yi Tianxing."
Heaven Dao Sovereign pondered briefly before making his decision.
So long as Yi Tianxing was slain, their purpose would be fulfilled.
Everything else was secondary.
Since Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign had already descended, they could not sit idly by.
Yet, just as the Dao Sovereigns made their decision, a shocking change suddenly erupted on the battlefield below.
Without warning, a pitch-black spear appeared from the void, only a thousand feet behind Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign. With unimaginable speed, it thrust toward the back of his head.
Silent, unseen, it came like lightning in a deadly ambush. Within the spear surged an unfathomable aura of slaughter—its edge indescribably sharp.
In the blink of an eye, it was already upon him, about to pierce through his skull.
"Not good!!"
Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign instinctively felt the threat of death. Without thinking, he struck his zither. The instrument instantly blocked behind him, intercepting the black spear.
The demonic melody abruptly ceased.
The strike knocked the long spear backward, while Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign's body shuddered as demonic qi surged wildly around him. His expression turned grim and unsightly.
"God-Slaying Spear!!"
He uttered the words in shock.
"Sharp eyes. Unfortunately, today you die."
A soft laugh echoed from the void. Looking closely, one could see a young man clad in blood-red robes emerge with a smile. That smile carried a strange demonic charm. With a flash of light in his hand, a vast formation diagram suddenly manifested in the void.
In an instant, both the red-robed youth and Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign were enveloped within it.
The array brimmed with overwhelming killing intent, suffused with a forbidden demonic will that defied the heavens.
"Rahu, since you've escaped your seal, instead of hiding, you dare appear before me? You're seeking death."
Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign coldly rebuked.
"Heh, I am the true Ancestor of Ten Thousand Demons. You… are nothing but a thief, a usurper who stole the karmic position that belonged to me. Now it's time you return what you stole."
The red-robed youth was naturally Rahu, the so-called Demon Ancestor of the previous era. His origins traced back to the dawn of creation itself—he was the remnant of a primordial Chaos Demon God.
After escaping suppression within the Ancestral Veins, even with only a remnant body, it had not been difficult for him to recover his other sealed parts. Over the years, he had reassembled his true body, restoring his cultivation to terrifying heights.
Not only that, he had reclaimed his supreme treasure—the God-Slaying Spear. This innate treasure possessed the incredible power to slay Saints, a top-tier killing weapon unmatched in assault.
Moreover, he had refined a supreme formation—the Nine Tribulations Sword Array!
This sword array was in no way inferior to the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array, and was perhaps even stronger. Rahu had worked on it since the previous era, pouring all his power into creating an ultimate killing formation. Using nine Tribulation Swords as its cores, once the array was set, it was nearly unbreakable unless nine beings of equal cultivation simultaneously entered to dismantle it. Once trapped, one faced only calamity and death.
If Rahu ever proved the Dao and ascended to Hunyuan or Saint, then unless nine Saints attacked together, his array could never be broken.
One could imagine—if pushed to its peak, how terrifying this array truly was.
This sword array's essence lay in the formation diagram, refined through endless tribulation force, and the nine Tribulation Swords: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Thunder, Ice, Poison, Soul, and Blood.
This array was even more terrifying than the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array.
Rahu was not only a peerless master of the demonic path but also a top existence in formations. His Nine Tribulations Sword Array existed only for slaughter. If the Immortal-Slaying Array was the extreme of killing, then this array transcended it one step further.
For calamity was eternal in this world. War was calamity, slaughter was calamity, disasters were calamity. Even Saints could not escape calamity. Once covered by tribulation force, even Saints would wither and fall.
Such was the most terrifying scene of all.
Though Rahu had yet to complete forging all nine swords, with only four—Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—he could already deploy the Nine Tribulations Sword Array and unleash most of its power.
The enormous formation diagram overhead was precisely this sword array. At this moment, both Rahu and Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign were fully enshrouded within it. The void around them darkened completely as terrifying tribulation power spread. Even light could not pierce the shroud of black mist.
Within the endless haze, four dazzling swords floated at the cardinal points of the array, radiating the essences of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—none other than the Earth Tribulation Sword, Fire Tribulation Sword, Water Tribulation Sword, and Wind Tribulation Sword.
Creation itself began with calamity. Earth, fire, water, and wind were the four primal forces of creation, the tribulation forces of world-birth. Forging them into swords was a perfect match. Once unleashed, they could revert all creation back to chaos, annihilating all things.
"Rahu, you will die."
Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign's voice was ice-cold.
"I've already died countless times. Yet each time I die, I rise again."
Rahu replied indifferently.
Rumble!!
Within the Nine Tribulations Sword Array, sword-lights churned like crashing waves. The killing intent of tribulation surged violently. Even a single strand carried a mortal threat so terrible it could make one's heart tremble in despair.
"That's Rahu… it's really him."
Ming He muttered gravely, his expression dark.
How could his name be unfamiliar to these ancient powers? In the previous era, he had dared to contend with Dao Ancestor Hongjun himself, and for a time even held the upper hand. Were it not for Hongjun summoning allies, Rahu would have become the true Dao Ancestor of that era. His potential had been limitless.
Even in defeat, he did not perish. He opened the demonic path, became the Demon Ancestor, and his influence spread endlessly.
Now, he had reappeared once more.
Seeing the Nine Tribulations Sword Array, Ming He instinctively felt a sense of overwhelming crisis.
He had witnessed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array himself. Compared to it, this Nine Tribulations Sword Array was not inferior in the slightest—perhaps even more dreadful. Once caught within it, even Saints faced death.
"This is good. Excellent! Rahu's appearance restrains Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign. The pressure on us will be greatly reduced. Our chance of success just increased."
The other mighty ones were both shocked and secretly pleased. Rahu's battle with Demon Heaven Dao Sovereign was an inevitable clash of Demon Ancestors—once they met, there could only be a life-and-death struggle.
"Courting death!!"
Heaven Dao Sovereign and the others also saw this sudden upheaval. None had expected Rahu to emerge so suddenly, and with such a terrifying display. His aura was deeper, more unfathomable than ever before. With the Nine Tribulations Sword Array, he could truly threaten the lives of Saints.
The Immortal-Slaying Sword Array was his creation, after all. None dared underestimate this new array.
"Four swords, forming a sword array—just like the Immortal-Slaying Array. The only way to break it is to sever the four swords within. Now that Motian is already trapped, we three—Cangtian, Xuantian, and Juntian —shall enter the array and face this Demon Ancestor of the previous era. We will shatter his sword array, cast him down into the dust. That era is over—this era has no place for him."
Cangtian Dao Sovereign declared decisively.
"Well said!!"
The other Dao Sovereigns all nodded in agreement.
"In that case, the five of us will go and kill Yi Tianxing."
Blood Heaven Dao Sovereign said with a chilling laugh.