That sword strike was none other than the one the Ancestor of the River of Blood (Ming He) had prepared for hundreds of years. Without the protection of the Heavenly Demon God Weapons, that sword forcibly slew Green Heaven. Within the borders of Great Yi, the suppression upon the Heavenly Demon God Weapons was far too great, and coupled with the Eternal Ark that was in no way inferior to the Heavenly Demon God Weapons, the combined factors meant that even Dao Venerable Green Heaven could not escape a tragic fall.
After Green Heaven fell, one could see at the place where his body once stood, a strand of Primordial (Hongmeng) purple Qi appeared, along with a mass of Green divine light and a golden sphere of radiance. Clearly, none of these were ordinary. The Ancestor of the River of Blood's eyes lit up instantly, and without hesitation, he swiftly claimed the Primordial purple Qi and the other treasures.
This scene naturally did not escape the eyes of the other mighty figures.
Yi Tianxing, however, did not interfere. Instead, with a wave of his hand, he quickly began gathering the shattered fragments left behind from the destruction of the Heavenly Demon God Weapons—especially those broken arms and the scattered divine weapons. These were no ordinary artifacts; each one was an Innate Spirit Treasure, of the caliber to drive countless beings mad with greed. To obtain even one such treasure would be a cause for bloodshed across the realms.
These were genuine Innate Spirit Treasures.
Even if they were tainted with the demonic miasma of Eternal Night, so long as one could find a way to purify them and expel the demonic aura, they could naturally be claimed and used.
There were over ten thousand such treasures.
The value was immeasurable, truly beyond comprehension.
Yi Tianxing could afford to pass up other things, but these Innate Spirit Treasures—he would take as many as he could. Now that the Great Yi Immortal Court had expanded to such a vast scale, countless strong cultivators were eagerly awaiting to obtain an Innate Spirit Treasure to serve as their life-bound artifact.
Fortunately, the method of cleansing away this demonic aura was no real difficulty for Yi Tianxing.
In his hands, their potential could be brought forth to the utmost.
With prior intent, he managed to seize nearly seventy to eighty percent of the Demon God, no less than seven or eight thousand in total. This was an immense harvest, one beyond imagination. Of course, the other mighty ones also seized the opportunity to claim their share.
No cultivator, regardless of their rank, would ever consider themselves to have too many Innate Spirit Treasures.
Only too few.
Earlier, when the mighty figures gathered, they had only discussed the ownership of the Primordial purple Qi after the slaying of the heavens. That was the sole item bound by agreement. As for other gains—whoever could take them, they were theirs to keep.
Everyone knew this well, and so each strove desperately to claim more treasures.
Whoever got them, would never suffer a loss.
In the end, Yi Tianxing and the Ancestor of the River of Blood reaped the greatest share, but all the mighty ones also had their gains.
Rumble!!!
At this moment, another mournful wail echoed through the void, as blood rain once more poured across the skies.
A torrential blood rain spread across the Eternal World.
"Another saint-level powerhouse has fallen. Who is it? Could it be Dao Venerable Demon Heaven, who was trapped in the grand formation?"
"The third one… the third Dao Venerable. This is madness. To see three of the highest Dao Venerables fall in succession… will this battle end with all Nine Dao Venerables annihilated?"
Countless cultivators gaped in disbelief. By now, the battle had long spiraled out of control. The carnage was extreme, far beyond words. Saint-level beings fell one after another. Not only Dao Venerables—even many great powers had just been witnessed perishing under the Nine Dao Venerables.
The fallen great powers already numbered in the dozens.
Even though each of them had their life-saving methods and great resilience, before the might of a Dao Venerable, death was never a far possibility. By now, not even bones might remain.
The battlefield could only be described with one word—tragic.
"The one who fell came from the Nine Tribulations Sword Formation."
Yi Tianxing's gaze instantly turned to another battlefield, where the Nine Tribulations Sword Formation covered a vast area. Sword light intersected in countless arcs, tribulation power surging like a boundless ocean.
Shua shua shua!!
Within the sword formation, sword light rolled like waves, and three figures suddenly strode out.
They were none other than Dao Venerables Cangtian, Xuantian, and Juntian. The three Dao Venerables appeared somewhat disheveled, hair scattered, clearly having endured an earth-shattering battle.
Shua!!
The Nine Tribulations Sword Formation then dispersed, revealing numerous great powers within. These were the mighty cultivators who had joined the attempt to slay the heavens, who had earlier chosen to enter the formation to besiege four Dao Venerables. With the aid of the formation, they had posed immense threat to the Dao Venerables, though at the terrible cost of over ten great powers' lives. But together with Rahu, they had forcibly slain a Dao Venerable.
The one who fell was none other than Dao Venerable Demon Heaven.
At this moment, Rahu stood grinning before the corpse of Demon Heaven. In his hands appeared a strand of Primordial Purple Qi, a golden radiance, and a pitch-black core of demonic origin. It was clear—Demon Heaven had fallen to Rahu's hand.
As for these spoils, Rahu unhesitatingly claimed them, for this had been his purpose all along.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion resounded.
At the site of the Twelve Zodiac Grand Array, a terrifying force detonated, blasting the array apart. Endless streams of black qi burst forth in all directions, so numerous they were beyond imagination, vanishing into the world in an instant.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
In the void, twelve figures cloaked in divine radiance all spat blood simultaneously—it was the Twelve Zodiac Guardian Gods. Each of them appeared battered and miserable, their war armor cracked and damaged, spewing blood mixed with fragments of their own internal organs.
"Immortal Emperor, this subordinate has failed. Dao Venerable Evil Heaven self-detonated his Heavenly Demon God Weapons, Cthulhu, destroying the Zodiac Array and fleeing without a trace. I beg the Immortal Emperor for punishment."
Lin Feng coughed blood as he spoke with deep shame to Yi Tianxing.
"What a decisive Evil Heaven Dao Venerable. What a worthy Eternal Night demon—so resolute. Seeing the situation hopeless, he chose to self-detonate his Heavenly Demon God Weapons, and by doing so tore open space to escape without a trace. Truly, his nature is as wicked as expected."
Yi Tianxing's eyes shone deep as he then turned to Lin Feng and the others, saying: "Evil Heaven Dao Venerable, combined with his Heavenly Demon God Weapons, was already far beyond your level. That you could restrain him with the Zodiac Array, allowing Great Yi to successfully ascend into an Immortal Court—this is not failure, but great merit. Your lack of strength is not a crime of war. Return now to the Zodiac Shrine, recuperate, and restore your Zodiac Armors."
Their power came only from the Zodiac Armors and the grand array.
If not for the transformation of Xuanhuang Immortal City, which caused the Zodiac Armors to ascend as well, the formation would have collapsed earlier. Evil Heaven's self-detonation was not only to shatter the array but to tear open a rift in Great Yi itself and escape the siege. Without detonating his Heavenly Demon God Weapons, it would have been impossible.
Clearly, he knew full well when to abandon and when to take, making a ruthless but precise decision.
With Green Heaven fallen, Blood Heaven fallen, and Demon Heaven fallen as well, he knew that Great Yi had already become a graveyard—a tomb meant to bury them. His identity exposed, not only would Great Yi and the other mighty beings not spare him, even the remaining Dao Venerables would never allow him to live. Staying meant certain death. Thus, with even a chance, he would seize it.
Even at the cost of his Heavenly Demon God Weapons.
And indeed, he succeeded—transforming into boundless black qi, vanishing without a trace, escaping Great Yi's restraints. With the strength of Dao Venerable Evil Heaven, finding him again would be near impossible.
"Evil Heaven!!"
Dao Venerable Cangtian trembled with rage, his entire body shaking. He could no longer deny it—the Nine Heavens Dao Venerables harbored Eternal Night demons among them. Green Heaven was a demon. Evil Heaven was a demon. From this day forth, their title as Dao Venerables of the Nine Heavens would be utterly disgraced. Their reputation shattered beyond repair.
"Nine Heavens Dao Venerables, among your number are Eternal Night demons. This is now confirmed beyond doubt. Green Heaven is dead, Evil Heaven has fled. Cangtian, today, none of you shall leave alive."
Yi Tianxing sneered coldly, killing intent radiating from his eyes without the slightest concealment.
Taking advantage of Great Yi's ascension, the Nine Heavens Dao Venerables had struck with true killing intent. If not for Great Yi's preparations and foundations, not only would the ascension have failed, the entire Great Yi would have been annihilated. Now that they had the chance, Yi Tianxing would not let them escape.
No matter that they were saint-level existences—if they were not his allies, then they were his enemies.
And enemies were best when dead.
Otherwise, they would remain as future calamities.
Shua!!
At that moment, a supreme pressure descended from the void. Vast purple qi spread like an ocean, heavenly flowers rained down endlessly, and a colossal purple palace appeared in the skies. Just the sight of that palace gave one the feeling of beholding the Dao itself, as if facing the very heavens, with three thousand laws manifest within.
That was the Dao.
"Disciple respectfully greets Master!"
The three Dao Venerables of the Sanqing (Three Pure Ones) revealed themselves from hiding and bowed deeply toward the purple palace.
That was none other than the legendary Palace of Zixiao.
And within the Zixiao Palace resided none other than Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
"Greetings to Dao Ancestor!"
Countless mighty cultivators bowed in reverence.
No one dared show the slightest disrespect before such a being.
"Dao Ancestor Hongjun…"
Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed sharply. Of course he knew the legends of Zixiao Palace. Reliable sources had confirmed that the Zixiao Palace had existed since the previous era, and that it too was an Eternal Ark, surviving from the last epoch until now. As for just how far Dao Ancestor Hongjun had reached—no one knew.
(End of Chapter)