While the Hongchen Kingdom was jubilant, the demon territory was in a completely different mood. The demons who had witnessed their god's failure simply couldn't accept it. As such, the totality of the failure was laid at Empyrean Asura's door. Thankfully for him, Demon God Da Mo had concealed his actual identity. The reason why he had done so was to hide that he was injured. His followers wouldn't understand a weakened god who needed a host to survive. Apparently, it was now both an advantage and an inconvenience. On one hand, it was good that his divine image remained intact. But, because of it, it was his Empyrean Asura identity that was threatened.
Civil unrest was spreading throughout the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Honestly, Empyrean Asura wasn't afraid of revolts. However, his own priests were now turning against him as well. Everything he had built could be toppled over. Of course, he could simply repair everything if he could manage to rebuild his original body. Originally, he wanted to find some of his blood. Indeed, he had left some behind. Unfortunately, Emperor Nuwa had been very thorough, and all of his blood had been purged from the Piaolu planet. So his only chance was to actually be able to open the one gate toward the Withering Fusang Domains, which he knew Emperor Nuwa had maintained. There was no way she would have ever closed it, he was certain of it.
A bit more than a century ago, Demon God Da Mo had been able to find a breach in the veil between the worlds. Since his body had been killed and annihilated by Emperor Nuwa, he had been forced to send a part of his Demon Soul. His Demon Soul had already been damaged by his fight against Emperor Nuwa and the Weaver of Souls. Still, he was too afraid to send his entire Demon Soul, so he fractured it further. After waiting long enough, he came back to the Piaolu planet and realized that Emperor Nuwa had left. At that moment, he was elated. Demon God Da Mo saw a future where he could finally rule. But he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. This time, he would slaughter all humans. Only demons would remain under his tyrannical rule.
Moreover, this Forsaken Dao Era was a good thing for him. Demon God Da Mo possessed a young demon with great potential and quickly became a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. His Demon Soul was much stronger than that, but it was still weaker than it had been before his fall. Honestly, it was difficult even for Demon God Da Mo to assess his real strength as he couldn't fully manifest it. Most likely, he had to be as strong as a 4th-grade or 5th-grade Exalted Demon. That being said, he didn't want to be forced to burn himself out. Even taking another body wasn't something he wanted to do. As long as he could salvage his current body, he would keep using it. After all, a new body might not be as compatible with his Demon Soul.
If he tried to take a weak cultivator as a new body, he would require a lot of time to cultivate it. But if he tried to take on a powerful cultivator, his own Demon Soul might be damaged further, or even extinguished in the worst possible case. As such, the current situation was a nightmare for him. Demon God Da Mo wasn't used to being in charge of everything. Now that his world was crumbling around him, he only had one tool: violence. He knew nothing else but that.
The more the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was shaking in its foundations, the more violent it became. As a consequence, more and more revolts erupted throughout the demon territory. Some regions even claimed their independence. Furious, Empyrean Asura was almost ready to dispatch his Supplicant Tyrants, but he had lost the means to produce more of them easily. It would require years, maybe decades, to create more of them. As such, he was forced to send soldiers from other regions. Of course, he also demanded Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's obedience in the matter.
Before Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan even got back to the capital to report to Empyrean Asura, he received orders to march on a nearby region and to kill everyone in his wake. Empyrean Asura wanted to strike terror in the hearts of the demons. If they rebelled, he would slaughter the entire region so that demons would denounce anyone trying to revolt. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan couldn't accept such orders, but he couldn't deny Empyrean Asura. Even now, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was terrified as he was one of the few who knew that Empyrean Asura was in fact Demon God Da Mo. For Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan, he was an actual god. Even if by some miracle they could vanquish Empyrean Asura, Demon God Da Mo could come back, stronger. However, his beliefs were not damaged by what he had seen. Maybe even a god could be beaten. Even if he couldn't be killed, he might be banished or even sealed.
If Cao Yun had heard those thoughts, he would have told Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan that Demon God Da Mo wasn't even an Immortal Demon, so killing him wouldn't be that much of a problem to begin with. So long as he wasn't too strong, Demon God Da Mo could be killed. Besides, if three or four 1st-grade Sages united against him, he probably would have a really hard time. The only thing that truly scared Cao Yun was the Demon Soul within, since he couldn't know how powerful Demon God Da Mo actually was if he went all-out.
Anyway, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan tried everything to delay the orders of Empyrean Asura. Moreover, he began to wonder if his Six Fangs Generals would keep following him if he agreed to those orders. As his fear of his god had been damaged, their trust in their marshal had almost suffered. Until now, they had been certain that Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan had good reasons to obey Empyrean Asura. Now, they were doubting him more and more. If they were sent to slaughter countless civilians, they probably wouldn't respect his authority as much. In fact, they might even fight among each other. Truly, this one battle had thrown the entire demon society into pure chaos.
The Huang family and the Hongchen Kingdom even sent forces deeper and deeper inside the demon territory. With Cao Yun's knowledge, they were able to free slaves everywhere they found them. The Empyrean Asura Theocracy was falling apart, piece by piece.
In the Yanbei Region, Lan Duoyan had decided to force the Xueyan couple to take part in the rebellion. He hated to do so, but he couldn't stand idly by. One way or another, he had to fight, no matter how much of a difference he would actually make. Thus, with young demons like himself, they raided several temples and left the crest of the Xueyan family behind. Soon, Xueyan Jin and Xueyan Gu's reputation spread. The priesthood wanted them tortured to death for their heresy, while rebels admired them even though they had done nothing.
Although they probably suspected that Lan Duoyan was behind it all, they never told him anything, they never asked him anything. Lan Duoyan was ashamed as he had forced them into this fight. However, he was convinced that this was the right thing to do. In a sense, he was also faced with similar dilemmas to his master Cao Yun. The Xueyan couple didn't really have any alternative. Their only escape from the battle would have probably been to denounce everyone in their group and beg for leniency from the priesthood. Everyone knew that there was no way they would ever do so. Thus, they were forced to fight.
The Xueyan couple didn't mind fighting in battle. However, they had already lost their entire family, and they didn't want to know this torment again. Originally, they had formed their rebellion only to protect demons and hide them from persecution. Now, they would be forced to fight. That meant that some of the demons they had saved would die in battle. For the couple, they were like family, and the pain of losing them was too much to handle. Unfortunately, they had no choice, and they knew it.
The revolt in the Yanbei Region grew larger and larger until something changed everything. Lan Duoyan raided a large temple with a group of young demons. They killed all the priests and left behind a message written in the blood of their tormentors while their bodies were impaled all around the temple. The Empyrean Asura Theocracy tried to silence this message, but it spread like wildfire as Lan Duoyan and his young demons made sure that no one could ignore it. The Yanbei Region was freed from the false god. Not only was it an attack against Empyrean Asura, but it was an insult against Demon God Da Mo, a blasphemy. Empyrean Asura had to make an example.
Empyrean Asura finally sent his Supplicant Tyrants to the Yanbei Region. It took them two months to get there. More than half a year had passed since his Staircase to Hell had collapsed. The Supplicant Tyrants were powerful middle Accomplished Demons. In other words, no one in the Yanbei Region was strong enough to face them in battle. Even for powerful cultivators, finding rebels hiding in an entire region would have been difficult. Instead of searching the entire region, they simply began slaughtering everyone. Empyrean Asura himself declared the Yanbei Region as heretical. Only blood could cleanse it. The true believers had to offer their blood to their god, while the blasphemers had to suffer the seven torments of the soul.
In other words, anyone refusing to be killed would automatically become a heretic. Thus, they would be deserving of death, too. The right thing to do for Demon God Da Mo's followers was to either kill themselves or kill as many demons as they could before dying in battle. Sadly enough, a few demons, especially among the priests, did so. As a result, the Yanbei Region became a complete bloodbath. Entire villages and cities were annihilated. Lan Duoyan had never thought that such atrocities were possible. In that moment, he regretted his decisions. He had wanted this fight, but he realized that he had never been ready for it. However, it was too late. Ready or not, he had to fight!
The Xueyan couple tried their best to protect people by hiding them. Their only hope was to flee the Yanbei Region. That being said, the other regions around them would never take them in. To be fair, the Xueyan couple understood why. If even one survivor was found in another region, the entire region might suffer the same fate. While fighting Empyrean Asura's authority was still acceptable to many, blaspheming Demon God Da Mo was not something that could be forgiven. The Yanbei Region had what it deserved, according to many demons. Even those who despised Empyrean Asura thought that they had gone too far with this insult. Anyone who would support them stayed silent.
Empyrean Asura hoped to use this slaughter as an example of his authority. Hopefully, he could restore some order to his Empyrean Asura Theocracy. He didn't need long. If he could simply crush the Hongchen Kingdom, he would be able to rule everything in peace. In fact, he didn't even need that, he simply had to find Emperor Nuwa's last portal to the Withering Fusang Domains. With it, he might be able to bring his full Demon Soul here. That way, he would grow even stronger. Maybe he could even break the curse of the Forsaken Dao Era.
As Empyrean Asura was meditating, he was disturbed by a messenger. Reading the report, Empyrean Asura had a glimpse of hope in his eyes, mixed with intense fear. Strangely enough, he felt as if the ground had opened under his feet while the heavens had simultaneously shown him a way to victory. Matriarch Huang Yufeng had broken through, she was now a 1st-grade Sage. More than that, Sect Leader Xuan Mu had also broken through a few months afterward. For an instant, Empyrean Asura wondered if the Forsaken Dao Era was over. Maybe he could also break through to the Exalted Demon realm.
Immediately, Empyrean Asura began to meditate. However, he felt the same pressure around him. Obviously, he knew what this was. That damned Withering Fusang Tree was still devouring all their fate with the Dao. As long as its influence was there, no one could break through, as the tree was literally feeding off their connection with the Dao. But then, it was impossible for humans who didn't even know about the Withering Fusang Tree to break through. Once more, he saw the shadow of Emperor Nuwa. A terrifying thought crossed his mind. Could she have come back?!
By this time, Emperor Nuwa might have actually become a God, the seventh realm of cultivation.
Demon God Da Mo dismissed this thought immediately. If Emperor Nuwa came back, she would annihilate him in an instant. This was a terrible truth he had to accept. That little wench had surpassed him a long time ago already. Hopefully, though, she had been killed by some other cultivator while exploring the universe. Unlike Demon God Da Mo, she wasn't aware of the dangers of the universe. He would rather slowly grow stronger on a remote planet than face the absolute powerhouses of this universe.
Maybe Emperor Nuwa had left something behind. It was possible that his attack had activated it. This would explain how the Hongchen Kingdom had destroyed his Staircase to Hell too. That wench was still a thorn in his side. If she weren't dead, he would have to find a way to kill her. However, his lifespan was reaching its end. If only he could get some of his original blood to rebuild a body. He had been so close to becoming an Immortal Demon, there might be a chance for him yet.
As he was trying to figure out his next move, Empyrean Asura suddenly felt something. His face froze. Slowly, he turned toward the Hongchen Kingdom. There was no mistake. He had felt it!