BOOM!!
This was likely the most terrifying explosion the Yama Devil Realm had experienced since its foundation. The entire Eternal Darkness Devil Palace was trembling, and the shockwave reached thousands of kilometers away from the explosion.
"W-what is happening!?" Yan Jie exclaimed in shock. But before he could do anything else, his terror increased tenfold because of the next thing that happened.
Rumble!!
Crack!!
Black cracks suddenly appeared across the gray sky above their heads. It only took a second or two for them to spread across the globe that enveloped the entire Yama Imperial District.
The central palace was collapsing, and black storms were ravaging its remains. But Yan Jie, Yan Tianxiao, and the rest of the Yama Devils were far too stunned by the black cracks above their heads to care about that right now.
Because the "sky" breaking apart was none other than the great protective formation of the Yama Imperial District!
The core region of every star realm was protected by a powerful barrier, especially the capital city where the divine emperor of a Royal Realm resided. They were the strongest barriers in the world, and it required a colossal effort to forcibly break any of them.
It was the final wall separating a Royal Realm from its enemies.
But now, the great protective formation of the Yama Imperial District, the strongest defensive barrier in the entire Northern Region... was collapsing!?
The Yama Imperial District was trembling. The hearts of every man and woman witnessing this were trembling as well. Even Yan Tianxiao's eyes were covered in red and black veins.
"Royal Father!" At that moment, Yan Wu appeared beside him and asked, "What is happening!? Why is the Great Yama Formation..."
"..." Yan Tianxiao could not say a word. He wanted to know what the hell was happening more than anyone else.
Rumble!!
Another loud explosion came from the Eternal Darkness Devil Palace, and the disastrous black storm suddenly began dissipating rapidly. The cracks covering the entire Great Yama Formation stopped just before it could collapse completely.
The nightmare ended—or rather, paused—as quickly as it had appeared. At the same time, Yan Tianxiao and everyone else turned toward the heart of the Eternal Darkness Devil Palace, the entrance to the Eternal Darkness Bone Sea, and stared...
A figure slowly emerged through the black dust and chaotic energy that was still dispersing.
It was a man so beautiful that mere words seemed insufficient to describe him. His long snow-white hair fell to his waist, shining beneath the dim light of the Yama Kingdom. His face was perfect, possessing a supernatural and dangerous beauty, refined features, a sharp jawline, a straight nose, and thin lips curled into a faint smile that carried both seduction and cruelty. His eyes were rubies soaked in fresh blood, deep, hypnotic, and filled with an absolute coldness that made anyone who met them feel their soul tremble.
Anyone who laid eyes on him would have only a single thought engraved into their mind:
That man was a true Demon God.
His appearance resembled that of a perfect angel who had been cast out of heaven and corrupted into something infinitely more dangerous, an existence that seemed to embody both divine beauty and the absolute depravity of a demon king at the same time.
However, the aura emanating from him was completely depraved and demonic. An overwhelming pressure, blacker than the deepest abyss, enveloped his entire body. It was so intense and oppressive that everyone present—including Yan Tianxiao, the King of the Yama Kingdom—instantly turned pale. Before that existence, they felt like mere sparks before the sun: insignificant, fragile, and capable of being extinguished with a single thought.
Amid the absolute terror, Yan Tianxiao finally understood why the Great Yama Formation had nearly collapsed completely.
The Eternal Darkness Bone Sea was protected by dozens of barriers and ancient seals, each powerful enough to isolate even high-level existences. It was almost certain that the terrifying explosion of black energy had destroyed all of them simultaneously. And that was an unimaginable disaster, because the final barrier sealing the Bone Sea was directly connected to the Great Yama Formation, the primary protective formation of the entire kingdom.
In simple terms, it was as if someone had punched a gigantic hole directly through the core of the formation itself.
But the most terrifying part was precisely that.
The power required to accomplish something of that magnitude simply should not exist in the current era.
Yan Tianxiao's eyes trembled violently as he stared at the white-haired figure standing before the Eternal Darkness Bone Sea.
And then, a horrifying conclusion emerged in his mind.
There was only one possible explanation.
That man was a monstrous existence on the same level as the ancient demonic ancestors who had founded the Yama Kingdom.
Or perhaps even stronger...?
Obviously, that Demon God was Ren Zu.
After completing his secluded cultivation, he had plundered everything in the possession of the Three Yama Ancestors. And now, apparently, he had decided to resolve the rest of the situation in the most authoritarian and arrogant way possible.
Without showing the slightest emotion, Ren Zu slowly raised his hand.
Then, with a casual gesture, as if swatting away a mere annoying fly, he pointed behind himself.
CRACK!!!
The sound that followed was deafening.
The entire Eternal Darkness Bone Sea behind him trembled violently before beginning to shatter apart. At the same time, the Great Yama Protective Formation, which enveloped the entire Imperial District, cracked like cheap glass struck by a divine hammer.
Gigantic black fissures spread across the sky.
The entire space itself seemed to be forcibly torn apart.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
With a final explosion capable of making the Yama Kingdom itself tremble, the Great Yama Formation completely collapsed. Fragments of black energy exploded across the heavens like dying stars, while the legendary Eternal Darkness Bone Sea, a place that had existed for nearly a million years and was treated as an eternal symbol of the Yama Kingdom, was reduced to nothing more than black dust slowly floating through the air!
The silence that followed was terrifying.
No one dared to breathe.
No one dared to speak.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the white-haired figure standing in the void, as though they were witnessing the living incarnation of a primordial catastrophe.
Because destroying a formation was one thing.
Destroying the Eternal Darkness Bone Sea together with the Great Yama Formation with a single casual gesture...
That completely surpassed the very concept of power they understood.
Was that a True God!?
Ren Zu took a step forward, his dark purple robes swaying gently. His voice was calm, almost gentle, yet carried an authority that admitted no disobedience.
"You have ten seconds to answer my questions. Otherwise, you will be killed."
His red eyes slowly swept across everyone present, like a god of death judging mortals.
"First question..."
He smiled, a beautiful yet extremely cruel smile.
"Who rules this Yama Kingdom now?"
The air around them seemed to grow even heavier. Every Yama Devil present felt their heart pounding uncontrollably, as if Death itself stood before them, waiting for an answer.
Yan Tianxiao felt his entire body tremble uncontrollably upon realizing that the terrifying man wanted something from him! His face, normally imposing and authoritative, was pale as a corpse. Even so, he gathered all the courage he had left, stepped forward, and bowed deeply, almost touching the ground with his forehead as a sign of utmost respect.
"This humble Yan Tianxiao... greets Lord Sir!" His voice came out hoarse and trembling, filled with terror he could not hide. "I am the current ruler of the Yama Kingdom. This humble king does not know what great existence Lord Sir is... May I know your name?"
Ren Zu looked at the kneeling king indifferently, as though observing an insect.
"There is no need to concern yourself with my name..." he replied calmly, his voice echoing through the deathly silence enveloping the palace. "I am merely some Venerable of the Demonic Path. Nothing more..."
He took another step forward, and the simple movement caused the air itself to tremble. Every Yama Devil present felt their heart tighten.
"Since I am in the presence of the current ruler, things become easier." Ren Zu smiled faintly, a beautiful yet extremely cruel smile. "You have exactly one hour to gather every inhabitant of the Yama Kingdom in this palace so that this Venerable may place a slave mark upon them. If you fail... I will erase this kingdom from the map."
Those words fell like a divine hammer.
Yan Tianxiao felt his blood freeze. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. The terror was so deep that his mind seemed to have frozen.
At that moment, a gray-haired elder, one of the Supreme Elders of the Yama Kingdom, could no longer contain his rage and wounded pride. His body trembled violently as he stepped forward, his aura exploding in a desperate attempt at resistance.
"You arrogant bastard! Even if you are powerful, how dare you threaten our Yama Kingdom!? I will—"
Puchi!
Ren Zu simply raised his index finger and lightly flicked the air.
There was no sound. No grand explosion.
The elder's body instantly transformed into a dark-red mist of blood, completely dissipating into the air without leaving behind even a single bone or trace of energy.
Absolute silence.
The terror that had already been palpable became suffocating. Several Yama Devils collapsed to their knees involuntarily, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Yan Tianxiao felt his legs weaken as cold sweat ran down his forehead.
Ren Zu lowered his hand casually, as though he had merely killed a fly.
"Does anyone else wish to test my patience?"
No one dared to respond. The air was so heavy that even breathing felt difficult.
Yan Tianxiao bowed even lower, his voice barely more than a terrified whisper:
"T-this humble king... will obey immediately! All inhabitants will be brought here in less than one hour!"
Ren Zu nodded faintly, the cold smile still on his lips.
"Good. Do not make me wait."
After that, all of his plans unfolded perfectly...
Under Yan Tianxiao's desperate orders, every member of the Royal Family, nobles, guards, elders, and even ordinary citizens were urgently summoned to the Eternal Darkness Devil Palace.
As people began arriving, he simply extended his hand and directly planted the slave mark into each of them.
Among the crowd, one young woman caught his attention.
It was Yan Wu, Yan Tianxiao's daughter, a girl of cold beauty and elegant bearing, who in the original story had received help from Yun Che. Now, she trembled violently as she approached, her eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
Ren Zu looked at her briefly, without any special emotion, and planted the mark into her soul as well.
Yan Wu let out a muffled groan, collapsing to her knees like all the others. When she raised her gaze again, there was no longer fear in her eyes, only blind loyalty and subservience.
It took several hours to mark all the important inhabitants of the Royal Kingdom. By the time the process ended, the sun had long since set.
Ren Zu looked at the sea of kneeling people before him and casually waved his hand.
"This kingdom now belongs to me."
In merely half a day, the Yama Kingdom, one of the greatest powers in the Northern Divine Region, had completely fallen into his hands...
Yan Tianxiao, now utterly subdued, approached with his head lowered and asked in a trembling voice:
"Venerable... what do you wish for us to do now?"
Ren Zu looked toward the dark horizon, his red eyes gleaming with faint amusement.
"Continue ruling as before. I only want you to conquer the surrounding kingdoms. Starting today, I officially declare that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has been born..."
He turned around, his purple robes swaying softly.
_________________
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