Chapter 425 - 424: The Demon Emperor’s Harvest, Lin Yuan Seeks the Weakness of Eight Demonic Hands

Gu Cangming was not trying to defeat the cultivators in a conventional battle. He was bypassing them entirely, reaching for the foundations that supported their world.

Even if every surviving Emperor joined forces with Lin Yuan and Bai Qingyue, they could not defend every region simultaneously. The hands were spread across the Nine Provinces, and each one carried enough power to overwhelm the ordinary formations protecting the targeted structures.

Lin Yuan’s mind moved rapidly through the possibilities. If he attempted to stop a single hand directly, he would leave the remaining structures undefended. If he focused on protecting the most important Wonder, the others might be seized before he could intervene.

Even a successful counterattack against one manifestation would not necessarily prevent Gu Cangming from producing another.

The situation demanded more than strength alone. He needed to understand the connections between the hands, the laws they carried, and the structures they were attempting to seize.

If the manifestations were linked through a shared foundation, there might be a way to interfere with that connection. But if each hand possessed an independent connection to the Demon Emperor’s authority, the problem would become far more difficult.

He continued observing the descending hands, searching for the faintest inconsistency in their movements. His Dao Fruit of Three Rebirths rotated within him, and the principles of Rain and Thunder stirred beneath the suppression of the broken laws.

The silver-blue Rain Dao and golden-purple Thunder Dao had once allowed him to confront enemies whose strength far exceeded his own. Using them now would require careful judgment.

The world was changing too quickly for reckless action.

Above the Grand Court, the enormous hands continued their descent. Their shadows spread across the ruined buildings, swallowing the remaining patches of light and making the surviving cultivators appear insignificant beneath the approaching darkness.

The sound of collapsing formations and trembling foundations echoed from distant regions. The bleeding spatial rift pulsed as though it were a living wound.

Emperor Beiming finally forced himself to move. He raised his damaged Black Tortoise shield, attempting to summon the remaining power within his imperial foundation.

A faint defensive pattern appeared across its surface, but the light was weak and unstable. His cultivation had been suppressed to the Peak of the Nascent Soul realm, and the shield itself had suffered severe damage during the earlier battle.

He knew that his attempt would accomplish little against the enormous hands. Yet he could not simply stand still while the Nine Provinces were being dismantled.

His entire life had been devoted to protecting the world. Even if his strength had fallen far below its former level, he refused to abandon that responsibility without resistance.

"Everyone, move away from the exposed formations!" Beiming shouted. "Do not gather beneath the descending hands. If the foundations collapse, the resulting spatial disturbances may swallow everything within their reach!"

His voice carried across the courtyard, prompting the surviving cultivators to begin moving. Some were too injured to flee quickly, while others struggled to carry their wounded companions through the debris.

The imperial guards attempted to organize a defensive line, but their formations were already disintegrating beneath the pressure. Their efforts were admirable, yet the scale of the attack made it clear that ordinary measures would not be enough.

Emperor Nanheng lifted her broken Vermilion Bird fan and forced the remaining flames to gather around its surface. A small plume of fire rose above her hand, flickering weakly before stabilizing.

She directed the flames toward the sky, attempting to establish a signal that could reach the surviving forces scattered across the Nine Provinces.

The flames climbed only a short distance before the pressure from above distorted their movement. Nanheng’s expression tightened, but she continued feeding the technique with what remained of her spiritual Qi.

Even if the signal could not reach every region, she hoped it would warn the nearest cultivators to abandon their positions before the descending hands reached the ground.

Tianxu watched the efforts of his fellow Emperors, then looked back toward Lin Yuan. He had already sent the emergency transmission to awaken the Supreme Grand Elder, but the ancient cultivator’s arrival would not solve the immediate crisis unless they could buy enough time for him to act.

The enormous hands were moving toward the foundational structures at a terrifying speed, and the remaining forces were too scattered to defend them all.

"Lin Yuan," Tianxu said, forcing his voice to remain steady. "If you can identify a way to interfere with those hands, now is the time. We cannot stop them with our current strength, and the Supreme Grand Elder may not awaken before the next Wonder is taken."

Lin Yuan did not answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the descending manifestations, and his consciousness continued examining the patterns that connected them to the distant Demon Emperor.

He could feel the oppressive authority behind the attack, an immense will that treated the laws of the Nine Provinces as material to be gathered rather than principles to be respected.

For the first time since the hands had appeared, Lin Yuan’s expression grew noticeably colder.

He had already understood that the Demon Emperor intended to gather the Nine Wonders, but witnessing the process had clarified the scale of the danger. The enemy was not satisfied with defeating the defenders or ruling over the survivors.

He intended to refine the foundations of their world into a treasure that would support his own advancement, and the destruction of everything else was an acceptable consequence.

Bai Qingyue stepped closer to Lin Yuan, her bow raised and ready. She did not ask whether he had a plan, nor did she urge him to retreat.

She understood that he was still examining the enemy’s technique, searching for a weakness that might not be obvious even to the surviving Emperors. Until he decided what to do, she would remain beside him and prepare to support whatever action he chose.

The Weapon Spirit stirred within the Sun Shooting Bow, its awareness spreading through the artifact’s dark star-iron structure. It could sense the difference between an ordinary opponent and the immense force descending from the Hollow Beyond.

The bow had been forged to release extraordinary solar power, but its true strength depended upon the laws that governed its attacks. If the world’s foundational structures continued to collapse, even a divine-grade weapon might struggle to display its full potential.

"Master," the Weapon Spirit transmitted quietly to Bai Qingyue, "those manifestations are connected to an authority far beyond the level of the demons we fought earlier. In this suppressed world, I can gather strength for perhaps a single arrow, and I cannot guarantee that ordinary attacks will damage them. If you release it, aim for the points where their spatial connections converge rather than their physical surfaces."

Bai Qingyue’s eyes narrowed slightly as she received the message. She shifted her grip on the bow, studying the enormous hands with renewed attention.

Their surfaces were dark and almost featureless, but faint distortions appeared around the fingers whenever they passed through the spatial rift. Those distortions might represent the connection between the manifestations and the Demon Emperor’s will.

She did not release the arrow yet. Lin Yuan was still examining the same phenomenon, and she trusted his judgment enough to wait for a clearer opportunity.

If she attacked too early, she might waste the Sun Shooting Bow’s limited power without accomplishing anything. The coming battle would demand precision, and she was determined not to squander an opportunity simply because the enemy’s strength had frightened the surrounding cultivators.

Lin Yuan finally lowered his gaze for a brief moment, allowing his consciousness to settle around the principles of his Dao Fruit. The silver-blue Rain Dao stirred first, followed by the golden-purple Thunder Dao, while the principles associated with the Three Rebirths began to rotate around them.

The combined movement produced a faint fluctuation within his body, almost imperceptible beneath the oppressive aura of the Demon Emperor.

He had no intention of allowing fear to dictate his next move.

The hands were enormous, and the enemy behind them was far stronger than any ordinary cultivator within the Nine Provinces. Yet the Demon Emperor’s strength did not mean that every action he took was beyond examination.

Even a being who could reach across dimensions and seize ancient Wonders still had to rely on some relationship between his will, the laws he controlled, and the targets he intended to capture.

If Lin Yuan could understand that relationship, he might discover a way to interfere with the harvest.

He raised his head again, his deep purple eyes reflecting the darkness that had swallowed the heavens. The descending hands continued moving toward their targets, and the foundations of the Nine Provinces trembled beneath their approach.

Behind the broken spatial boundary, an ancient being watched the world as though it were a collection of treasures waiting to be gathered.

Lin Yuan stood motionless amid the ruins of the Grand Court, his crimson robes shifting faintly in the oppressive air. Beside him, Bai Qingyue held the Sun Shooting Bow with both hands, prepared to release its power at the moment he gave the signal.

Ku Ming and the three Emperors remained nearby, their battered bodies and weakened cultivation offering little protection against the approaching catastrophe.

Above them, the enormous demonic hands continued their descent.

The Demon Emperor had begun his harvest, and the fate of the Nine Provinces now depended on whether anyone could find a way to stop him.