It was an incredibly oppressive aura that overshadowed the brilliant heavenly majesty brought by Little Red. It was a sensation that made living beings instinctively feel revulsion and a desire to distance themselves, for it represented death and destruction.
In an instant, the sky split open, revealing a darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything. From the center of that darkness, a figure stepped out, its height seemingly no different from an ordinary person.
His entire body was shrouded in Chaos Demonic Flames, and his facial features were blurred. Only a pair of eyes were clearly visible, with pupils of a darkness so pure it seemed to swallow all light and hope; gazing into them was like staring at the end of all things.
Everywhere his gaze fell, even the flowing radiance at the edges of Little Red's wings seemed to suffer under an invisible suppression, becoming somewhat stagnant.
"The... Great Heavenly Demon! It really is him!"
Ancestor Shenhui's face turned pale, his hands trembling slightly, and his voice was incredibly dry.
"The head of the Heavenly Demons, the Incarnation of destruction... Against such an existence, I wonder if Senior Nine Nether Devouring Phoenix can hold its own."
Jiang Linyuan had taken advantage of the gap when Little Red attacked to retreat back to Shenji City with Su Ming. Originally, he felt that with Little Red there, they could survive this calamity.
However, when this ancient aura of destruction spread, his face turned deathly pale. Looking up at the chaotic darkness tearing through the sky and the figure emerging from it, his pupils shrank abruptly.
Suddenly, a cold voice resounded in the heart of every living being present:
"Your Dao wound has not healed; how dare you oppose us?"
The Great Heavenly Demon's voice was like a death sentence pronounced upon everyone. Everyone now knew that Little Red was suffering from a Dao wound.
"You are merely an Incarnation yourself. Do you truly think you are invincible in this world?"
Little Red's blood-moon-like eyes turned toward the figure in the sky, its tone not backing down in the slightest.
"A single Incarnation of mine is enough."
The Great Heavenly Demon's voice remained emotionless and calm:
"This seat can allow you to retreat and will not pursue the matter for now. Otherwise... today, I shall have you, this sickly phoenix, buried completely in this place to become the first sacrifice... to welcome the return of the Saint Ancestor."
As the words fell, a terrifying aura was fully revealed. This was power far exceeding the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal Realm, already reaching the Celestial Golden Immortal level.
Little Red's blood-moon-like eyes narrowed slightly, and the blood-red radiance around its body began to flow faster, letting out a low cry.
Although it had undergone a Nirvana and recovered quite a bit from its injuries, it only barely possessed the power of Celestial Golden Immortal. Compared to this Incarnation of the Great Heavenly Demon, its strength was likely inferior.
Lu Fan and the others could feel that although Little Red spoke toughly, it seemed to have... become more tense, as if gathering all its strength to face this true arch-enemy.
The air seemed to become incredibly heavy. The confrontation between two of the Immortal Realm's top-tier Powerful Experts made time across the entire battlefield seem to freeze.
"Fine. Since you seek death, I shall fulfill your wish!"
As the Great Heavenly Demon finished speaking, a pitch-black beam of light condensed in his eyes and suddenly burst forth.
It was a dark torrent that seemed to materialize the concepts of 'End' and 'Destruction,' silently piercing through the Void Realm and shooting straight at Little Red! Wherever the beam passed, things weren't just destroyed; they simply vanished. It seemed even space was completely obliterated, leaving behind a void trail in the sky that was difficult to fill.
This was the manifestation of the power of the Great Dao, such as the Origin of Destruction, refined to the extreme, as if it intended to completely erase Little Red along with this world.
Facing this terrifying strike, even a Celestial Golden Immortal Realm expert could not ignore it. The dark light in Little Red's eyes surged, and it let out a sharp phoenix cry, its wings snapping shut in front of it.
On the surface of those fiery red wings, countless Great Dao runes flickered wildly, each feather seemingly forming a high-speed rotating devouring vortex.
"Heaven-Swallowing Earth-Devouring!"
That pitch-black destruction beam slammed violently into Little Red's closed wings, as if crashing into a black hole that swallowed everything. Within the devouring vortexes, the two fearsome powers intertwined crazily, producing a strange sound like something feeding.
Seeing that Little Red had blocked the Great Heavenly Demon's first wave of offense, everyone was heartened.
But soon, the Great Heavenly Demon's cold voice rang out again:
"Hmph, merely a spent force."
He lightly raised his hand, and several more terrifying attacks shot out, transforming into various phantoms of Chaos Demon Gods, striking toward Little Red's head, heart, and other vital points.
Little Red shrieked repeatedly. A trace of exhaustion flashed in its blood-moon eyes, but more so, a fierce ferocity from being provoked. It flapped its wings, whipping up a towering storm of waves to barely withstand those few lethal attacks. At the same time, the blood-light around its body boiled, but with every collision, its aura weakened a fraction, and the radiance on its wings dimmed slightly.
Below, Lu Fan, Jiang Hao, and the others watched with burning anxiety, yet they were powerless to help. They didn't even have the qualifications to intervene in a battle of this level; just the dissipating aftershocks made their blood and Qi churn and their Dao foundations unstable.
The entire Lingxu Immortal Domain side, from the Old Ancestors and first seats down to the ordinary Disciples, was awed by the supreme and malevolent might of the Great Heavenly Demon's Incarnation. Panic spread like a plague.
The two Primordial Chaos Devil Emperors who had been casually wounded by Little Red also laughed wantonly:
"With Lord Great Heavenly Demon taking action, the defeat and death of that Nine Nether Devouring Phoenix is only a matter of time!"
"When the time comes, we will completely trample the Lingxu Immortal Domain and execute these prodigies of the Immortal Dao!"
A smile finally appeared on the Demon Master's face; the situation was settled.
He had wondered what trump cards the Lingxu Immortal Domain had.
If this Nine Nether Devouring Phoenix were in its prime, they might truly have to retreat.
But a half-crippled Nine Nether Devouring Phoenix was not enough to block their path.
Only the Four Heavenly Demons frowned, already intending to quietly leave this place.
Regardless of the outcome, it wouldn't have anything to do with it anyway.
If the Great Heavenly Demon won, it wouldn't need to act.
If he lost, it would be of even less use... At this very moment, many people were watching this battle.
Among them were many great powers from the Human Race, the Heavenly Court, and the Yao Race.
Beyond the Nine Heavens, above the River of Destiny.
An old figure wearing a coarse cloth Daoist robe, whose aura was almost integrated with the River of Destiny, stood quietly. It was none other than Qin Wuming.
His gaze, which seemed capable of piercing through eternal ages, watched the tragic battlefield below, watching Little Red fighting a bloody battle and seeing Su Ming and the others seemingly trapped in a desperate situation.
Qin Wuming's right hand rose slightly, a warm, jade-like dao-rhythm flowing at his fingertips as if he could strike at any moment. However, a flash of complex hesitation appeared in his eyes, which had experienced endless vicissitudes.
"Chaos Demon God, Eternal Human Sovereign, Battle Prodigy, Sword Dao Prodigy... all are unpolished gems and fine talents, rare in hundreds of millions of years."
Qin Wuming whispered in his heart, full of appreciation.
"If they were to fall here, it would indeed be a great loss for the Human Race, and even the Immortal Realm."
However, his finger ultimately did not point down. This Great Heavenly Demon was only an Incarnation, not the true body descending; he could easily and quietly rescue Su Ming, Lu Fan, and the others.
"It's just that... jade must be carved to become a vessel, and without facing calamity, the Dao will not be deep."
A cold, clear light flashed in Qin Wuming's eyes.
"They have come this far, and though they have faced trials, they have relied on the protection of their sects and their extraordinary natural talents. They have never truly experienced the despair and struggle of a desperate situation, being isolated and without help. They lack that bit of great terror and great enlightenment found between life and death."
He thought of how he himself had risen from insignificance, undergoing countless life-and-death battles and realizing the Great Dao amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood. That kind of will and potential that bursts forth from despair was irreplaceable by anything.
"Perhaps... letting them suffer a bit is not a bad thing."
Qin Wuming weighed the options in his heart.
Lu Fan had insisted on going to Shenji City. Although he wasn't wrong to do so, Qin Wuming also wanted him to know that making choices blindly often comes with a price.