Chapter 115: Sacrificing One Life for the Greater Good of the World

The Primordial Supreme Emperor, the Holy Ancestor Baize, the Holy Ancestor Golden Crow, the Holy Ancestor Azure Dragon, the Holy Ancestor Qilin, and a host of other new gods stood tall above the nine heavens. They looked down upon the old gods as if they were nothing more than blades of grass.

However, they could not enter the Sea of Chaos and needed to rely on the Jade Capital Terrace. Thus, the massive bronze coffin of the Jade Capital Terrace appeared here and now. The master of the bronze coffin extended only one hand, lifting a small portion of the Jade Capital Terrace and reflecting the twelve jade towers. After the gaze of the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation fell upon it, the master of the bronze coffin withdrew their hand and pulled the lid of the coffin shut once more.

"Heavenly Dao!" The Primordial Supreme Emperor spoke, his words blooming like lotus flowers. His own Dao techniques reflected across the heavens, and a massive reincarnation grotto-heaven obscured the sun and moon. "Return to his Niwan palace, and we may spare you. Otherwise, we shall have no choice but to use force."

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation sneered, "Do you truly believe you can seal me away again?"

"We sealed you once, and we can seal you a second time. Why remain so stubborn?" Behind Baize stood his companion treasure, the Baize Diagram, which functioned as his own reincarnation grotto-heaven. He spoke with earnest gravity.

"Why waste breath with it? In my opinion, we should beat it into submission, stuff it back into that young man’s body, and then kill the young man. That would settle everything once and for all." Golden light radiated from the brows of the Holy Ancestor Golden Crow, and two beams of divine light shot from his eyes, spanning the heavens and the earth.

"You are welcome to try!" Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation sneered repeatedly.

"Since you are so obstinate, do not blame us for being ruthless." After saying this, the Holy Ancestor Azure Dragon reached out and plucked a magical treasure from beyond the nine heavens.

The treasure was composed of thirty-three layers of canopy, seamless and natural in appearance. It connected the nine heavens above to the Yellow Springs below, with endless lightning surging within it like rolling waves, causing the world to fall into a solemn silence.

"The Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy?" The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation gasped upon seeing the treasure.

This was the companion treasure of the Thunder Ancestor. The Thunder Ancestor was the manifestation of the very first clap of thunder born in the heavens and earth, and the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy had been forged from the lightning that trailed after that first strike. It symbolized the supreme power of thunder.

While this was not the true Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy, but a replica, it remained incredibly powerful, capable of resonating with the heavens and earth to summon thirty-three layers of thunderclouds. Standing upon each of these layers was a Creator, who, through their own power, had cultivated the thirty-three layers of thunderclouds anew. In that moment, the power of karmic tribulation locked onto the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

"You were meant to be a god existing in the heavens—untouched by joy, indifferent to sorrow, possessing the mindset of a sage, and transcending the material world. Yet, you chose to cling to the living creatures of the earth, desiring a physical form."

"But once you obtained a body, you ceased to be the sage-like Heavenly Dao and became merely one of the common masses."

"Since you are now among the living, you must face the karmic tribulation."

Hearing the words of the Primordial Supreme Emperor, the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation realized it had been locked in by the tribulation and was being forced to endure it. However, this thunder tribulation did not belong to the governance of the Heavenly Dao.

"This is a tribulation of human governance!" the Primordial Supreme Emperor declared as he wielded the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy. "The common masses have no need for the Heavenly Dao, so the masses shall bring tribulation upon it."

Rumble! The thirty-three layers of thunderclouds churned and stirred with ten thousand thunders, and in the next instant, this deluge of lightning fell like a torrential downpour.

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation looked up. Like all living beings facing a thunder tribulation, it accepted it calmly, harboring the delusion of subjugating the lightning. The Demon Manifestation invoked Xu Zhong’s Four Symbols Divine Banner. In an instant, the four divine beasts emerged from the white banner, and countless threads of spiritual energy, crystal clear like bone marrow, flowed like water. These threads wove into a massive net, blocking the first wave of the thunder tribulation for the Demon Manifestation. The four divine beasts shattered and perished within the lightning, and the white banner lost its spiritual essence, turning dull and falling to the ground.

On the other side, the Primordial Supreme Emperor continued to wield the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy, summoning more thunder. The Creator of the first layer of thunderclouds was the Holy Ancestor Kui Ox. He lowered his head and gazed down at the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

"Boom!" Another wave of thunder fell. The Primordial Supreme Emperor extended his hand and opened it. Instantly, it transformed into divine light, interweaving into a sacred mountain that suppressed the thunder falling from the sky. The tribulation could not destroy the mountain; instead, it was shattered into arcs of electricity and streams of light that fell to the earth, entangling and evolving into a marsh of thunder embedded within the Sea of Chaos.

The Creator of the second layer stopped, and the third began to urge the third layer of thunderclouds. The lightning from the third layer shattered the sacred mountain. However, in the next moment, the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation reached out and suppressed it. With a grasp and a squeeze of its palm, it compressed the ten thousand acres of thunder-marsh into a tiny glass marble, flicking it tens of thousands of miles away.

Immediately, another bolt of lightning descended. The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation exhaled, spitting out Samadhi True Fire. This fire seemed to burn not just the essence and spirit of Xu Zhong, but the very essence and spirit of the entire world. The fire was profoundly mysterious, flowing upward and spanning ten thousand miles. In an instant, even the thunder was ignited by the Demon Manifestation's Samadhi True Fire. The fire even touched the fourth layer of thunderclouds. The flames looked like splashing water, burning the clouds and everything in the sky.

But the Samadhi True Fire was quickly suppressed by the Primordial Supreme Emperor’s singular effort. He brandished the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy, stirring the winds and rain and disrupting the celestial phenomena. On the remaining twenty-six layers of thunderclouds, gale-force winds roared—the Nine Heavens Qian-Yuan Gale and the Chaos-Shattering Gale—kicking up ten-thousand-foot waves, plunging the world into darkness and tearing the sky into jagged fissures.

The lightning within these twenty-six layers erupted simultaneously. The brilliance of the lightning replaced all other light, injecting a flash of white into the Sea of Chaos. The entire sea was reduced to this single stroke of white light, and every inch of brightness was a marsh of thunder. In that moment, the entirety of the Sea of Chaos, inside and out, above and below, was filled with the lightning of karmic tribulation. Yet, this lightning was not directed at all beings, but solely at the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

"Your power cannot fully master the might of the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Canopy. Are these twenty-six layers your limit?" The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation looked around. The lightning sank and transformed into drops of liquid, each one a ten-thousand-mile marsh of thunder. "You are far inferior to the Thunder Ancestor, but compared to the others, you are much stronger."

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation shifted its form, and thirty-three layers of demonic clouds condensed behind it, merging into the original reincarnation grotto-heaven. It used these grotto-heavens to resist the tribulation. The twenty-six layers of thunderclouds merged into the final, ultimate wave of lightning. Its power was boundless; as it fell, even mountain peaks hundreds of thousands of miles away trembled, covered by the lightning's reach, and a mere wisp of its aura was enough to shatter them.

If the mountains and rivers so far away were like this, one could only imagine the fate of the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation within the clouds. It was enveloped and consumed by a sheet of silver lightning. The reincarnation grotto-heavens erupted with their most potent power. The collision of these two forces caused chasms to crisscross the entire Sea of Chaos, with world-shattering gales blowing through them.

The Jade Capital Terrace drifted, suppressing those fissures and abysses. The master of the bronze coffin employed their own spells to stabilize the universe, preventing it from being destroyed in the process.

When the lightning faded and the karmic tribulation dissipated, the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation remained standing tall, though its body was covered in hideous and terrifying wounds. Blood stained the entire Sea of Chaos, and the spiritual essence within its blood enlightened the rocks, plants, and winds. Those beings instantly gained wisdom and cultivation, though they remained ethereal and drifting, their eyes dazed as they looked upon the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

Pfft! It coughed up a mouthful of blood, which transformed into a river of blood that fell to the earth. Its power was indeed great, but its reaction was slow. Had it condensed its divine soul, it would never have suffered such heavy injuries. Yet, where it was wounded, the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation felt a power budding, repairing its flesh. This seemed to be the world's way of nourishing it in return. It had once been the Heavenly Dao, always the one to nourish the common masses. Now, the world was feeding it a portion of power in return. It seemed to be an alternative form of acknowledgment—an admission that it had changed from the Heavenly Dao into a living being of this world.

"Baptized by the tribulation, I am now a true living being!" As the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation spoke, the movement tugged at its wounds, causing blood to flow out, yet it could not hide the joy in its eyes.

However, no sooner had it spoken than the Holy Ancestor Baize invoked the Baize Diagram. The diagram drifted and eventually settled upon the head of the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

"Even if you are no longer the Heavenly Dao, get back inside!" The Holy Ancestor Golden Crow flew out, cloaked in a brilliant sun. The other Creators behind him also attacked with ferocity. Their powers intertwined, and with the aid of the Baize Diagram, they forced the Heavenly Dao back into the seal within Xu Zhong’s Niwan palace.

Xu Zhong, residing within the human soul, opened his eyes in a daze. As soon as he did, he saw gods over one hundred thousand feet tall standing in the clouds, surrounding him on all sides. He was holding the Golden Elixir Dao Tree. He hurriedly pulled the Dao tree into his body.

"The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation has been sealed once again?" He used his Mirror Heart to reflect upon his Niwan palace. He saw that a towering palace had been erected once more, and the Demon Manifestation was suppressed at its very center.

"Am I alive?" he wondered, feeling a surge of joy. But his joy did not last long, for at that moment, the Holy Ancestor Golden Crow began to attack.

With just a single glance cast downward, Xu Zhong saw two incredibly bright suns cross millions of miles, surging from the eyes of the Golden Crow into his own. Everything within his body, save for the Golden Elixir Dao Tree, seemed to evaporate in that instant.

However, in the next moment, a flash of sword light descended, severing that gaze. It was the Primordial Supreme Emperor who had intervened.

"Feng Yang, why do you stop me?" The Golden Crow’s eyes burned with unparalleled fighting spirit. "Do not tell me it is because he is of the human race and therefore cannot be killed. You must understand: if we allow him to continue on his own path, it will only lead to greater consequences."

"To kill one man is to benefit the heavens, the earth, and all living beings."